Confessional Friday

I confess that I tweeted my Blockbuster beef  to Blockbuster on twitter.  It was really hard to fit my frustration into 140 characters or less but I included a tiny url to my blog post for good measure.  Since their stupid contact us feature on their website wasn't working they left me no choice.  I still have not received Last House on the Left BUT they actually did reply and were kind enough to give me a one month credit.  That's something at least.  I was also randomly selected to do a survey while I was on the site and I complained my little heart out.  If movie availability does not improve we'll make a decision about what to do next.

I confess that I'm starving!  I was crazy enough to do a juice fast and I'm pretty much over it now and can't wait to finally eat again.  I'll update you on how that went next week.

I confess that about a month ago my husband commented that my face was always in my phone and he started declaring cell phone free hours in the evening. I realized that he was right. I was becoming overly engrossed in my phone mainly due to a temporary social media obsession with Twitter and Instagram and I've made a big effort to cut back.  He and our time together is way more important then finding out what my blogger buddies ate for dinner and what they wore while doing it.  Not that I don't love knowing all that random stuff but ya know, it's all about priorities.

I confess that all this time I had no idea that google maps could talk.  A few weeks ago I was on my way to a casting and decided to use it as back up to my GPS and my mapquest directions.  I was so surprised to hear that lady telling me where to go that it startled me for a second.  It's a lot easier then trying to stare at the tiny print on the phone and avoid a wreck.  Anyone else so paranoid that they use 3 different map sources to get from point A to point B?  More about the model casting coming later.

Linking up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition 

I confess that I experienced a mix of awe and envy when I saw Ashley Green's underwear clad butt in Apparition.  There was an obligatory shower scene that showcased the water cascading down her skin and  her lotioning up afterwards.  Then there was a scene with her walking through the house in fear wearing nothing but a black lingerie top and panties that showcased her totally perky not a sag in sight butt.  I wonder how many squats I would have to do to achieve that kind of perfection.

I confess that sometimes I feel like I'm not paying bills.  I mean, I know that I'm going to work for a reason and most of my income disappears from my checking account on a monthly basis but it's all done so automatically without me doing anything; you know aside from the whole slaving away for 40 hours a week.  Every now and then I just feel like it's been a while since I paid a bill and that I'm supposed to be paying something but in reality it's already been done. 

I confess that I am a sweepstakes entering junkie.  Whenever HGTV gives away a dream home I enter every single day!!  I never win but for some reason I can't stop trying.  The bloggy world has blown up with giveaways which has made my sweepstakes loving heart happy.  Sometimes I don't even know what the prize is and I'm already entering away.  Half the time I know I have almost no chance in hell of winning if I only get a few of the entries but I do it anyways.  It's paid off!  I've actually won 3!  Never mind how many I had to enter to win those.  Now I just need to win the Dream Home.

 
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He Bought a Juicer

Freshly Juiced Orange Juice

And when I say HE bought a juicer I guess I mean WE bought a juicer but he was the one who picked it out and brought it home and I will probably never use it.  Or so I thought.  He did his research and decided that the Omega VRT350  was the one he wanted to get.  The day he bought it he stopped at the grocery store and came home with tons of fruits and veggies so he could get started right away.  I was fine with tasting the fruity stuff.  Not one to be adventurous when it comes to tasting new foods I refused the green stuff.  I wasn't saying that I'd never taste it just that I couldn't deal with it right then so he would leave me alone.  It bought me some time but I knew he wouldn't give up.  A few days later he asked again.  I sighed and made a dramatic face but took a sip anyways and you know what?  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought a bunch of juiced up veggies would be.  In fact, it actually tasted pretty good.

Juicer Parts

I was worried about having some giant bulky thing sitting on the counter but this one is pretty slim. As long as the item fits through the hole there is no need to chop it any smaller then that so there isn't a whole lot of cutting required.  If the skin is bitter like Oranges you should probably peel it.  There is one chute for refuse and another chute for juice.  All the parts come apart very easily for washing.  The only con is that it's hard to clean the ejection area for the side where all the refuse comes out.  It comes with a little brush for that and it really doesn't take that long but you do have to get in there and scrub it.  That being said, is juicing time consuming?  Overall, I'd say yes but then again I think doing almost anything in the kitchen is time consuming.  You have to get the produce, wash it, do some chopping, thread it through the juicer, then rinse out all the parts and that does take some time. 

50 second video of the juicer in action

So, since we have a juicer we figured we might as well try a juice fast.  It's been 3 days now.  I haven't eaten solid food since Sunday evening.  Mj gave in and ate a bagel yesterday.  He literally could not continue to work unless he ate.  I'm still going.  I'll assess how I feel today and then decide if I'll continue.  If you see another giant cheesy Pizza or a pile of Chocolate in my Instagram feed you will know I threw in the towel.

 
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Ode to Blogging

Linking it up with Leslie @Blonde Ambition

Blogging, blogging.  Oh, how I love thee.  I wanted to take a minute to say how much I absolutely love blogging.  I've had this blog since 2009.  In the beginning I had things to say and a desire to share it with others but I was basically just blogging into cyberspace. I don't think anyone read it.  I didn't get any comments and I had no followers.  But so what. I didn't care because I loved to write and now I had my own little spot on the internet in which to do so.  Ever so slowly I started getting a few followers.  Then there was a comment every now and then and that was just a bonus.  Now I still don't have a lot of followers but my blog has really grown in the sense that it has become part of a fun blogging community that I enjoy very much.  I'm not doing a lot of the things that other blogger are doing to increase their following and I know that.  I guess I'm old school.  When I first started most of us happily tapped away at our computers without giving that much thought to GFC numbers and if we got 2 comments we were thrilled.  The primary marketing strategy was posting and commenting on other posts.  I don't do a lot of giveaways or link ups and I haven't ventured into sponsorships.  I did make a blog Facebook page but I'm not very well "liked."  I guess I'm still trying to figure out where I fit in on all of that.  I don't put pressure on myself to post a certain amount.  I want to keep this fun and not burn myself out.  I see that happening to a lot of bloggers lately and I'm just not so sure I want to go there.  This blog was never about numbers to begin with and don't want that to change.  I don't concern myself so much with figuring out ways to increase traffic.  I do what feels naturally to me and if people like it they will keep coming back.  I want to allow my blog to be what it is and accordingly it has grown organically which is basically another name for very slooooowly.  A huge following isn't necessarily what I'm after so I'm okay with that.  Mostly anyways.  I have to admit that I succumb to blogger mogul envy every now and then but I think that's only natural.

I'm not a food blogger, fashion blogger or personal finance blogger.  I don't fit into any one niche so I have to call myself a lifestyle blogger.  Which sounds kinda cool actually.  I'm a mash up of all kinds of different things so I makes sense for me that my blog is too.

I've been writing in journals since I was 10 and in online journals since 2003 so I think it was meant to be that I have a blog.  I do this because I love to write.  On one hand it might seem weird that I blog because I'm more of a private quiet person.  On the other hand it makes complete sense because I love writing so much.  I keep my url under wraps for the most part.  It's hard not to mention that I blog because it's such a fun part of my life but at the same time I like to keep it for myself and not share the link with everyone that knows me.  Mj's  had it since the start but it's only recently that my older sister has it too.  Sometimes I have mixed feelings about putting so much out there on the internet.  I don't share all of my secrets of course but still; we kinda put ourselves out there every time we hit publish.   It goes with the territory.  Being part of the blogging community is such a joy to me.  I get to do what I love and interact with others who love doing it too.  I love checking in every day to see what all of you are up to.  When someone decides to follow my blog or takes a few minutes to read or comment it always means a lot to me. I may not follow every blog, comment on every single post I read or reply to every single comment I get but know that I love it that we are all in this blogging thing together. 

Anyways, I was enjoying my Saturday morning blogging and brimming with all kinds of ideas for blog posts.  I started feeling all mushy inside about blogging and so I started a new post and just had to get that out.  Here is another link about why I blog.

Blogging is Bad for Your Budget

Being part of the blogging world is so informative.   You get to see all kinds of things that people are wearing and buying and doing.  We post Christmas wish lists that makes others wish for it too and exchange ideas on home decor, beauty products and fashion just to name a few.  Blogging is great and all but it can be bad for your budget and I have a hard trail of evidence to prove it starting with what happened in December. 

Exhibit A:

Back in December I saw this Holiday wish list posted on Brown Girl blogs that included Tom's Wedge Booties.  So what did I do?  Within hours I ran to my computer and ordered them from Nordstrom's.  I also saw blue chambray shirts on lots of wish lists so I wanted that too but luckily I got that from Mj for Christmas.  Or you can bet I probably would have been out buying that too!

Well, once I had a cute pair of wedge booties in beige of course I had to have a pair in black.  So what did I do?  Within days I'd done my research and and ordered these Etienne Aigner black suede wedge booties on Amazon.

Exhibit B:

And sadly, it doesn't end there for me.  Not only that, but I dragged my fellow bloggers along with me for the ride.  I'd been wanting a striped cotton blazer for a while.  They were wearing them all over Europe when we were there and I was silly enough not to buy one.  After I got home I searched and searched but couldn't find one in any stores.  I gave up, but seeing Brittany's over at Fun With the Fullwoods looking so good in hers refueled the fire.  Isn't she pretty?  By the way this woman had a baby not too long ago.  Anyways, thanks to Brittany I had to continue my search.

So what did I do next?  In January I googled it and found them at Old Navy for a great price.  I thought about it for exactly one day then went there and snatched up the last size small.  Faith at Life, Love & Marriage posted this cute outfit with a striped blazer she saw on another blog so I knew she wanted one too.  It was my blogger duty to tell her  about it so I e mailed her and what did she do?  Within days she ordered it online.  Here we are in our must have striped cotton blazers styled in two totally different ways.

Top: Express // Blazer:  Old Navy 
Jeans:  Joe's Jeans // Boots:  Aldo

Too bad Mj noticed that the sensor tag was still on it when he took these pics.  Thank goodness I'd stuffed the receipt in the pocket so when I finally went back they knew I hadn't stolen it.  I also noticed that I forgot to put on a belt and that these other ladies are miles ahead of me as fashion bloggers.  Good thing I'm not a fashion blogger, but still; I need to work on my skills.

Faith- Top: Alloy// blazer: Old Navy  // Necklace & Earrings: F21 //
Jeans: Old Navy // Shoes: Zara's

How cute does she look? I love the way she styled it with pink shoes and rolled up the sleeves. A big thanks to her and her photographer husband for braving the snow for these shots. It just dawned on me that she came down with pneumonia not too long after these shots were taken. She's all better now thank goodness.  I hope this photo shoot didn't bring it on.  Oh the sacrifices we make for blogging.

 Exhibit C:

The story of woe continues.  While I was in Old Navy getting that striped cotton blazer I saw the gingham shirts that everyone in blog land has been rocking lately.  I told myself I wasn't shopping anymore, well except for that cotton blazer that got me there in the first place, so I didn't get it.  Then, I saw this post over at Because Shanna Said So about buying the black and white gingham she finally found at Old Navy after an exhaustive search.

I stayed strong and told myself I didn't need it but it was Emily's post at The Sweetest Thing that pushed me over the edge; and I quote. I own gingham button-downs in several colors because of the versatility. They are layering essentials, they look great alone, and they are multi-seasonal.  Well clearly Emily was telling me that I should go back for the black gingham.  I commented on her post that I'd probably be going back to Old Navy to get one in black and white.  She emailed me back that she didn't know they had them there.  I think that might be the one color she didn't have!  Well, it's a good thing I told her because within days she posted this pic.  And she's posted this shirt styled in two other amazing ways since this post.  Can you believe that I haven't even worn mine yet? But I will.

And here is Shanna rocking her black and white Gingham.  I'm learning from the best apparently.  This girl is so fashionable that she's in the running to be the first official US Wallis Blogger Ambassador.  She's in 1st place!  You can vote for her here. 

Source: becauseshannasaidso.blogspot.com  via Cece on Pinterest 

And that my friends is how blogging is bad for your budget.  I do believe the evidence that I have presented speaks for itself and proves that this kind of domino shopping effect is absolutely sweeping the blog world.  You better watch out.  Those fashion bloggers are dangerous!

Exhibit D:

You!!!

See anything you like here?  Who knows who's posting what tomorrow.  I hate to say it but there is an excellent chance that you have already fallen victim to blogging budget busting or that you will be next.  In fact, I've been struck again.  I bought some red skinny jeans two weeks ago...something I would have never considered even buying before!  Thanks again Shanna!  All I can say is DON'T break the bank and DO exercise some measure of self control. As much as we'd like to we can't buy everything! I love checking out blogger fashions as opposed to fashion magazines or runways because it's much more accessible and realistically presented to me.  Their influence has inspired quite a few shopping episodes but as long as I'm only spending what I can afford that's okay.  It's fun to like what I see in my closet and get excited about getting dressed.  I will never be a fashionista like some of these ladies but I think my wardrobe choices have definitely improved since I've started blogging and I like that...even if my bank account doesn't!

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How I Celebrate April Fool's Day

I really couldn't have asked for a better Birthday weekend.  Five day staycation.  The weather was perfect and filled with simple things that I enjoy and a lot of me time.  Friday was Yoga in the morning, a coffee shop in the afternoon where I made some good progress on my novel and happy hour in the evening.  All things I love.

Saturday I woke up and cleaned house while Mj was at football and then we went to a local Farmers Market down the street.  It was a really small one so there weren't a ton of booths but so many of them had things that we wanted.  We went expecting to buy some fruit but ended up finding a whole lot more then that plus, eating some delicious foods too.  We might go there again for lunch next weekend!

Me and my nephew

My Chocolate on Chocolate Birthday Cake from Ralph's Grocery Store

My mom, sister and nephew came down and spent most of the day with us.  We spent some time outside in the backyard enjoying the sun and then went to dinner at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza.  I hadn't been there in a really long time.  I'm not sure why because their Pizza is really good.  All of our eyes were bigger then our stomachs.  We each ordered an appetizer when we found out they were 1/2 off and then ended up taking more food home in boxes then we actually ate in the restaurant.  But that's okay because we love left overs.  I've had so many Birthday's that having my mom, sister and Mj sing Happy Birthday to me felt kinda lame so I skipped it.  I did not however opt out of cake, ice cream and presents.  I got the same chocolate cake that we had on my Mom's Birthday because it was just that good.

Clinique eyeliner from my lil' sister

Mom, me, my sister

I'm an April Fool's baby.  Mj was at work so I spent all day Monday on my own.  I went to the gym first thing in the morning and did one very sweaty hour on the elliptical.  I was so excited to use my new Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor that Mj got me for my Birthday.  Then I went into recovery and relaxation mode with a manicure pedicure.  My nails were a raggedy hot mess.  It's been way longer then I care to admit since the last time they had any grooming.  My toes are this really cool pearly grey color.  I'd show them to you except I hate my feet.  I stopped over at Starbucks for some coffee and blogging time.  Then, I went over to the spa for an amazing 1 hour facial.  My skin was glowing and I felt so relaxed when I walked out of there.   Dinner was left over five cheese Pizza from Sammy's and wine.  I even fit in a random Indy chick flick.

Started the day with the gym //  New Polar FT4 HRM // 532 calories burned on the Elliptical

Nails Did // Blogging at Starbucks // Fresh from my facial // Left over's for dinner

It was a leisurely day where I had time for everything I wanted to do because the only thing on the agenda was ME.  There was no traffic.  No rushing around.  No fatigue.  No stiff neck and back from sitting at a desk in front of a computer for eight hours.  Just me in my yoga pants and flip flops wearing no make up with my hair slicked back in a wet bun and a day totally committed to doing whatever the hell I wanted when I wanted to do it.  Working on your Birthday is for the birds.  I am so glad I skipped out on it and focused on me instead.

I'm NEVER going back to work.  Now that's an April Fool's Day joke.

 
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Spring Break

I wore jeans to work all week just because.  We don't really have a dress code per se at but I typically err on the side of business casual.  Forget casual Friday I went with casual WEEK. 
I ate an assortment of chocolate for breakfast yesterday.  Don't worry, I had coffee too.  I tell ya, it's just been that kind of a week.  Or should I say that kind of a month.  After eating said awesome breakfast I had the nerve to go to the gym after work for one of my quickie 30 minute elliptical sessions.  I basically only burned off a few pieces of chocolate but it was better then not going at all.

Sometimes you just need to eat chocolate for breakfast

In my world there is no Spring Break.  I don't even really know what that is anymore.  We get Cesar Chavez day so I am off today and I'm telling you, the timing couldn't be better.  I really need it! So why did my co workers have to convince me to take Monday off too because it's my Birthday and I've earned an extra day off?  Things are so busy that I contemplated coming in anyways or at least doing a half day but now that I'm sitting at home in my pajamas blogging I'm so glad I decided not to.  It felt good to sleep in today and I might as well do it an extra day.  My Birthday just so happens to fall on the Monday after a holiday? This five day weekend was meant to be. I better take it!

The last time I worked on my Birthday was four years ago and I had a Microsoft Access training workshop that day.  It was awful!  The workshop was not for a beginner.  I spent the day on the verge of tears, didn't learn a thing and basically wasted my job's money.  I told myself NEVER again!   The work will be there when I get back.  It's not like I don't have a million vacation hours that I've been hoarding since I started working there.  In an hour I'll be heading off to Yoga.  I made my own Spring break and it starts today.

 
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