Watching People Fall Is Funny

What is it about watching people fall that is so funny?  You feel terribly bad about it but at the same time it's just so damn funny that you can't help yourself.  As long as no one gets hurt watching people fall is funny.  Sad but true.  Falling as an adult is always embarrassing.  I wrote a post about a tumble I took down concrete stairs at the front entrance of my job here aptly titled Fall Down Go Boom.   

Well, these ladies fell on the job too when their only assignment was to walk.  I only feel a little bit sorry for them.  It's hard to feel too sorry for a tall, beautiful, thin model who gets to work the runways of New York Fashion Week.  The scary thing about heels is that once those ankles start turning you are in trouble and your fate is solely at the discretion of gravity and momentum.  I tend to stick mostly to flats and 2"-3" max in heels not only because they are more comfortable but they are also safer!!

You will not make it through this 3 minute video without laughing uncontrollably. I promise. It's hilarious in the same way that treadmill accidents are.  If you need a good laugh, and don't we all?  Watch it.

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Have I Let Myself Go?

It dawned on me the other day that I look a lot cuter when I'm not at work. Too bad my co workers will never know the magnitude of my true hotness.

It's not exactly a corporate or fashion forward type of environment.  If you are an administrator you might wear Ann Taylor suiting and dresses but other then that most of my co workers don't.  I've never had to wear a suit to work thank goodness, so I don't even own one.  The style of dress ranges from tennis shoes and jeans to slacks, suits and dresses.  The age range is anywhere from 20's to 60's.  We don't have an official dress code. I mean, there is the moral code of not wanting to look like a ragamuffin at work but overall, it really is left to our own discretion to wear what is appropriate.  There is little to no face to face interaction with anyone outside my office.  I see the same people every day.  I sit inside an air conditioned office for about 9 hours staring at computer screens and most of the time don't even go outside.  And then I go home.  So what's to get all beautified for?  I'd rather spend the extra time in the morning scrolling through Instagram and Twitter feeds thinking about getting out of bed instead.  I don't think I have to look "done up" to present a professional image and I'm comfortable with my appearance without make up. 

There is some cross over, but my more conservative work outfits are less exciting then my non work ones.  Monday through Wednesday I wear my favorite chino type pants that I get from J.C. Penny's or slacks from The Limited and Express.  I try not to wear any pants that are too bright or skinny delicious on those days.  I pair them with casual tops or button ups and cardigans.  I do casual Friday AND casual Thursday just because I can.  Those days I'm in colored denim or blue jeans and cute tops.  I like my casual clothes way more and I hate ironing.  I live in flats.

NO make up, NO filter, NO problem

And then there is the face.  I feel like I used to care a lot more, but somewhere along the way it stopped mattering so much.  I've never been a big make up person anyways.  There was a time that I never showed up to work without at least blush and a colored lip gloss which I keep in my purse and put on in the car on the way there.  About a year ago I stopped doing that every day.  I even show up to work totally bare faced.  The horror.  It feels like too much effort to do it every day before 7am. When I do feel like wearing make up for work it's just my 5 minute face with the basic fixings. I really don't see the point of any more then that.   Unless I have plans directly AFTER work.  Sometimes I have to whip out the flat iron but the hair is basically get up and go.

I don't think I look bad.  Typically anyways, unless I'm running on hardly any sleep or it's the day after an annoyingly mid week holiday.  Yes, I'm talking about you 4th of July 2013.  If I'm in an outfit that I feel good in and well groomed that works for me. And earrings.  For some odd reason I feel naked without earrings and I get bummed out for a second when I realize I forgot them.  I wear the same necklace everyday.  It rarely comes off.  Outside of work  I put in more effort with make up and styling my outfits.  I get to wear fun things that won't cut it even in our casual office environment and I enjoy taking the extra step with make up to feel extra pretty.  I'm not a glamour girl.  Unless we are going out out out I'm still not wearing a lot make up but I will wear a little more and switch up the jewelry.  I'm more motivated to take those extra steps on weekends when I'm on MY TIME enjoying life with friends and family and doing things that I want and when I'm just schlepping around doing errands lately, I just rock the glasess and don't even bother putting in my contacts.  I'm not going out like the people of Walmart but I'm definitely not going to get done up.  And if I run into someone I know from work or elsewhere?  Who cares.  Since I don't wear a lot of make up anyways I don't look all that much different. 

So have I really let myself go?  I mean, is this where it starts? One day you stop wearing make up on the daily and the next you are shopping in the ugly Missy section at Macy's and leaving the house with pink rollers in your hair. I'm not quite there yet so I'm going to go with no.  As much as I wish I was more glam...it's just not me.  I'm going to call it settling into my casual self and not caring what anybody around me thinks of it instead and I'm finding it to be very liberating.

Blog Power and Human Barbie Dolls

Here are a few stories that caught my eye from the June and July issues of Marie Claire magazine.  Click the links for the full story.

The Blogger vs The Dictator 
This just goes to show you the potential power of blogs.  Yoani Sanchez started her blog Generation Y in 2004 and has been writing about the oppressive life in communist Cuba ever since.  Apparently, the government didn't shut down her blog because they didn't see her online activity as a threat.  This woman is not concerned about being popular.  She's too busy trying to change the world and yet she is so well known that she's interviewed Barack Obama on her blog.  How many bloggers can say that?  I find it refreshing because sometimes I do get a little bit caught up in the whole mania of being liked and popular.  This is just another example and an excellent reminder of how little that really matters.  Blog with a purpose, whatever that purpose is.  Whether it be lifestyle, fashion, cooking or politics.  Forget about the rest. 

Kidnapped
Jessica Buchanan was kidnapped by Pirates while she was doing work in Afghanistan for a non governmental organization.  She an her co worker were carjacked, had AK-47's pointed at them and were held captive.  I have no clue how I would handle such a terrifying situation.  Every now and then I'll here a bump in the night while I'm at home causing my mind to wander.  What if it's an intruder?  What if a stranger came into my home with a gun?   Sometimes when I'm at the ATM I think, what would I do if someone tried to rob me?  How would I react?  When I get really scared my body freezes up so I have a bad feeling I'd be totally helpless to defend myself and might even pass out.  Luckily, I've never had to find out.  Jessica and her co worker were rescued by Navy Seals after 93 days on orders from Barrack Obama.  We all know about the Navy Seal mission to capture Osama Bin Laden but reading this story made me think about all the other missions that they are probably doing around the world right now that nobody ever hears about.  This stuff is happening like a scene from an action movie but it's not. It's real people sacrificing their real live everyday.



All Dolled Up
I'm very concerned about the mental health of these women.  I admit that I have body image issues and may have obsessed over a Barbie or two in my lifetime but to see the lengths that these women have gone to BE Barbie is quite disturbing.  The first real life Barbie was Valeria Lukyanova.  She claims to be from another planet placed on Earth to spread her message of spirituality.  The next two living Barbies from Ukraine were Olga Oleynik and Nastasiya Shpagina.  They're calling it the Barbie Flu and apparently it's spreading.  There are a few others popping up in other parts of the world.  Valeria is the only one that claims to be otherworldly and I'm not sure which is worse.  To truly believe that you are a Barbie from Venus or to just really really want to look exactly like one.  Valeria claims she's had no plastic surgery but I found this video on You Tube suggesting otherwise.  She was a very pretty girl before she went Barbie and now she just looks like a weird plastic person.  When I saw those pictures in Marie Claire I couldn't believe that they were actual people.  Look at how vacant and creepy their eyes look.  Scary.  I think there has to be something wrong for these women to strive for this standard of beauty.  I couldn't be Barbie if I tried and I'm glad I don't want to.

Skin For Sale
Young women in Tokyo have been enlisted to advertise on their thighs.  Yes, you read that right! And it even rhymes. I've heard about people being paid to advertise on their cars but never on their actual body.  The company isn't interested in having men do it.  Only women.  It's obviously another case of objectification of women.  I really don't like the the message that targeting females to advertise products on their skin sends but if I were a poor college student I might actually consider doing it.  It beats working retail or fast food, it takes up less time leaving more time for studies and probably pays better.  It's an easy way to make good money legally and quick without having to take off your clothes.  My only issue is that I'm always cold so having to wear a skirt short enough to bare my thighs would be a big problem.

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Friday Randoms

SUMMER or lack thereof
Well hello there Friday. Nice of you to make an appearance! This week seemed to last forever but it kind of feels like every week is that way right now. Like, the sunnier and warmer it gets outside and the more what I'm doing for summer vacation posts I read the longer the work days seem to get.  And I am having serious issues with focusing.  My attention span is shot.  I'd rather be outside enjoying the longer days then sitting in an air conditioned office.  Not that summer vacation actually exists for me.  Our weather is mostly awesome year round, I don't have kids out of school and I still go to work every day.  The concept of Summer is really nice but nothing much really changes around these parts.  At least not for me.

I found this cute striped maxi at Papaya for $12.99 // Link

SHOPPED OUT
I'm so over shopping right now.  Thank goodness!  I don't know how long it will last but I'm thrilled.  I've been on a shopping frenzy over the last year and I think I have finally beefed up my wardrobe enough to the point where I have options that I really like when I get dressed.   I still haven't even worn a lot of it because I'm weird like that and like to hold onto those I have new clothes to wear moments for as long as possible.  I don't feel driven to be out buying anything and this is a very good thing for my bank account.  I was getting tired of the spending and it was really starting to feel really excessive.  Now I can save more.  BUT, I wanted a maxi dress.  They will be perfect for our Maui trip in December and I knew if I waited they'd be out of season and I'd never find them in stores.  I went on a find a maxi dress mission and found three.  It was exhausting.  It's kind of hard to shop when you are kind of over shopping.  I've never owned a Maxi but I've been seeing everyone else in them.  Fashion bloggers are posting them left and right so they must be cool and they look so comfortable that even though I'm not a "dress" person I wanted one.  Or three.  Wonder how long it will take before I actually wear it or model it on my blog.

THE ELLIPTICAL
I haven't been going to the gym lately.  I've been doing the 30 day shred almost every day at home instead, but on Tuesday I decided to skip out on Jillian for an elliptical session at the gym.  Oddly, I kind of missed it.  Don't ever let anyone tell you that the Elliptical is not a good work out!  Before I started the shred I was doing the elliptical every week for 30-60 minutes.  This has been going on for years and had become routine.  It had almost started to seem easy.  But after a month off I did the elliptical for an hour and it was so HARD! Even at the half way point I was about to die and I was thinking to myself how did I do this every single week?  I about fell off when my hour was up, I burned 570 calories and even after three weeks with Jillian my legs were tired and fatigued for the rest of the night.  Well, I guess that's why they say you are supposed to mix up your exercise routine.  When your body gets used to it then it becomes routine, starts to feel easy and you aren't getting as much benefit out of it.  Yes, Mj you were right! He's been telling me I needed to switch things up for a while now but I wouldn't listen.  I do the elliptical on the interval setting and it's nice to throw in there because it's low impact on my old lady knees.  So maybe it shouldn't be your ONLY work out but it is definitely a good cardio work out.

THE WEEKEND
This weekend we have nothing planned.  Not a single thing.  It seems like the first weekend this has happened in a while and I'm glad.  I don't even have to clean the house.  I'm caught up on my DVR so now I'm like, well what am I going to do?  There will be a lot of sitting on the couch and of course Jillian but I plan on doing at least one productive thing.  I should be able to handle that.

Have a nice weekend!!! 

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Vacation Over and a Broken Bra

We're back. The 2nd thing I relished as I stepped off the airplane was the crisp cool air.  Don't get me wrong.  In two seconds I was getting chilly again but it was a huge departure from the muggy, hot, heavy air that permeates the DC Metro area. It's like a hot musty blanket hanging over your head and that's when it's not even raining.  When it rains it's worse.  The 1st thing I relished as we came in for landing was the beauty that is San Diego.  It's so nice to be home.

Our flights there and back were obscenely early.  Both departed at 6:30am so coming and going we had to wake up at zero dark thirty.  I hated ever single second of our flights to and from Europe and normally I hate every second of air travel just going coast to coast but surprisingly it just wasn't that bad.  And I didn't feel like a total wreck when I got off the plane.  I may have looked like one but I felt okay.  I am NOT plane pretty.  I am more like plane plain when I have a long flight ahead of me.  It's yoga pants, converse, glasses and Vaseline on my lips.  I asked Mj.  Do I look awful?  He said no and he would totally tell me the truth so that's good enough for me.

On the way there I worked on my novel for about 4 hours.  No new pages really, just fine tuning.  Which was definitely too long for me to be staring at a white screen with tiny words thousands of feet in the air because by the time I shut my lap top my stomach was queasy and I was looking around for the barf bags.  The five hour flight was over before I knew it.  Same thing on the way home.  I worked on my novel for most of it then napped.  Maybe early morning instead of our usual red eye flights is the way to go.  Airport bathrooms however are always terrible and awkward.  Mj never had to use them but I did.  I bend over to pull my pants down and my head hits the wall.  Then I'm hanging onto the hand rail for dear life as I hover and squat because nobody sits on those toilets right?

We made it home by 11:30am which was great.  We unpacked and by that I mean threw almost everything in the laundry.  I decided to hit the gym.  If not now then when?  Turns out it was the most awesome elliptical work out ever.  I had an hour to burn.  Literally.  So Mj suggested I take a movie he'd ordered off iTunes (Hit & Run) and watch it on his iPad.  I forgot I was working out and it flew by.  It was like I was sweating profusely while watching a movie and the whole burning 630 calories thing was a bonus.  I watched the last 20 minutes later that day.  When I got home Mj was winding down for a nap.  I was tired but that gym work out revved me up a little. I just didn't feel I had enough time to sleep, wake up and still be functional.  Between finishing laundry, eating, watching a few shows and recovering from the shock of finding out that my favorite bra had split in half I never got around to that nap.

Yes, you read that right.  When I took my bra out of the dryer it was literally split in half.  Normally I don't put them in the dryer but I wanted to wear it that night so went ahead and did it.  It's been in the dryer plenty of times before back when I used to dry them so I figured no big deal.   It's a Victoria's Secret Biofit bra and honestly, I've had the thing since 2008 so I guess it was just time for it to split.   It's my only nude bra with straps so now I have to add trip to Victoria's Secret to my list of things to do.

So on top of the five hour flight, gym and laundry we went to a 7:00pm Padre game that night.  The Braves were in town and Mj had to see them so that was that.  Bedtime did not come until around 11:30am but it was so deliciously wonderful to be in my own bed.  I'm on the juice for the next few days to cleanse myself of all the crap I've been foolishly putting into my body and then I'll be starting the Advocare herbal cleanse.  It's a detox that includes food so that's pretty exciting.  I need to get back to making better food choices again.  No more vacations until December so that should help!  I'll be back with a vacation recap and that darn giveaway I keep mentioning.  I promise! It's really going to happen.

By the way thank you soooo much for all of your wonderful comments on this post and crystallizing the concept that popularity is totally overrated.  I have such great readers and have made such amazing connections with other bloggers just being who I am.  Nothing else really matters.  Duh.

Boys and Their Toys

I'm not sure what's so fun about this little toy remote control helicopter. A friend of Mj's had this and when Mj saw a Groupon deal for it he bought one too. I shook my head a little and wondered why he wanted such a thing. Boys and their toys. But when he started the little thing up and sent it flying about the room I found myself fascinated. It's so cute and it's just fun to watch for some reason.  On his first try he  crashed it into walls and even me! Now he's so good he can land it in the palms of my hands.  This little helicopter is indestructible.  It doesn't break upon impact and it also doesn't destroy things that it crashes into because it's made of a really lightweight plastic material.  It's fine to fly it in the house as long as you don't run it into fragile objects.

This is an Estes Remote Control Helicopter. It takes 6 AA batteries and I recommend rechargeables because it kills batteries pretty quick.  If you are looking for a fun and different gift for your guy this is perfect. Father's Day maybe?  It's not just for kids. And chances are you'll get a kick out of it too.

30 second video of the helo in action

So, it's time for me to be off on trip #3 for the year.  I have not organized any guest bloggers so it's going to be pretty quiet around these parts.  Which is fine.  The old blog will be here when I get back.  Hopefully.  I've heard of two bloggers that had their blogs randomly deleted by blogger but it won't happen to me.  Right?  I'm off to my 2nd trip in as many weeks and I haven't felt a single ounce of anxiety.  Which is completely unusual for me.  Maybe I'm finally getting a hang of this whole not freaking out before a trip thing.  The packing was done in advance and I'm only going to Washington DC not Timbuktu so aside from my glasses and my Rx I can buy anything I forget when I get there.  Our flight leaves obscenely early.  6:30 am!  Which is probably why we got such a great deal on our airfare so it's worth it.  I packed way too many clothes and I'm really wishing I didn't see thunderstorms in the forecast but I'm ready.

When I get back I'll be trying aout the Advocare Herbal Cleanse.  I'm sure my body will be screaming for a good detox when I get back because I plan on hitting up Cracker Barrel at least 4 times while we're there.  Kidding.  One time will do.  I've also got a great giveaway planned.  See you then!!

Magazine Musings

I subscribe to 3 magazines. Half the time they end up piled up in the backseat of my car so I can read them when I have hair appointments. When it's time for vacation I usually have a stack of them saved up.  I'm so distracted by everything else that reading magazines literally takes a back seat.  It may take me a while but I read every one cover to cover.

Here are some random things that caught my eye in the May issue of Marie Claire, which by the way I can't believe I actually got to it in May!  And even posted about it in May.  If you want to read the full article just click each link.

Second Class Soldiers?
If you are part of a same sex marriage and your spouse dies in combat under the current law the surviving spouse is not awarded the spouses Purple Heart or granted the same benefits as the surviving spouse of a straight couple.  The 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and woman and therefore does not include same sex couples.  It's another example of the neverending process that is updating laws to our current reality.  Our laws can't keep up.  I think that if the same sex marriage is legally recognized then they should receive those same benefits too.  I hope that gets changed.

Babies in Burkas
Islamic culture doesn't require the wearing of a Burka until puberty but in certain areas they want it to start at infancy.  Why?  Can't they just just let a baby girl be a baby girl?  Her life becomes more and more complicated and difficult the older she gets.  I don't understand what harm the sight of an innocent baby girl could bring.  It sends such a terrible message and and is such an unfair double standard.  That picture is so sad.  I think it teaches them to be ashamed of themselves.  This little girl is hiding under a blanket living in a culture where she learns from infancy that she is so inferior that she is not to be seen or heard and should basically just disappear. 

Splurge vs Steal
These always crack me up because at outrageous as the splurge price is even the steal price is out of control.  The outfit on the left is $15,010.  But if you pinch your pennies and bargain hunt you can get it for the low price of $920 purchasing the items on the right.  I can't help but wonder why are clothes so expensive?  I can buy a car for that much or less so how could something you wear on your body be so costly?  Is anyone buying this stuff?  I guess rich folks are but I wouldn't know a thing about that.  I won't be getting the splurge or the steal.  I'll stick with following my trusty fashion bloggers who shop at Forever 21, Old Navy, splurge at J Crew and could probably put this outfit together for $50 bucks.

Italian for Beginners
John and Ondine were a typical couple living in NYC until they threw caution to the wind along with a lot of money and opened a posh boutique hotel in Tuscany.  Not only was that one a success but they just opened a second one.  I loved Italy when we were there but I did not come home with any kinds of ideas of moving there let a lone starting a business there.  It's one of the few places I'd actually consider living which is probably not a good thing because I'd probably want Pizza every day.  I already want Pizza every day living here.  As cool as it sounds to live in Italy and be your own boss I can't even say I would want to.  I mean, in a faraway fantasy maybe; but in real life....I don't know.  I just wouldn't know where to start.  They felt the same way but they did it anyways.  Major guts.

Scarlett Johansson on Social Media
All of it drives me crazy.  I don't understand this need to 'share.'  We almost exploit ourselves in order to feel seen.  

She makes a good point.  I like it when I post something and it gets liked or commented on.  It means that someone paid attention.  Someone was interested in something I had to say.  Who doesn't like that?  On the other hand, I'm not gonna put out a sex tape just to see how many hits I can get on You Tube.  Not that anyone would be all that interested in my sex tape since I'm not a celebrity and all but you know what I mean.  Some people take their sharing way too far.  I felt like I was getting really caught up in posting everything all the time so I'm really trying to be conscious of it and not be so "into" it.   You start to wonder why you are so interested in what everyone else is doing and spending so much time scrolling through feed after feed on your phone. It can be fun, but when I realize it's sucking up too much time it gets annoying.

Jordana Brewster
I just love this girl!  The first movie I saw her in was The Faculty. She's such a good actress and has such a natural beauty about her.  Olive complexion, dark hair, dark eyes.  Oh, how I wanted her bangs! I wish she were in more movies.  I feel like I don't see her in all that much but she's kept her role in Fast and Furious 6 which I really can't believe took off the way it did.  I don't even know if I've seen them all because there are just too many to keep track.  I'm not the biggest fan.  They are all so phony and kind of the same thing over and over.  The car scenes are so over the top. I'm sure I'll watch it but it's not on my must see movie list.  I'm mainly interested because she's in it.  Oh, and Vin Diesel is fun to look.


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Volunteers Wanted

I hate painting. Painting our house started out fun but ended up being torture.  With the prepping and taping and extra coats it takes so long.  We still have 3 bathrooms and two bedrooms with plain white walls that I do not even want to touch. So when Mj signed us up to paint the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Building at 7:30 am on a Saturday I wasn't too thrilled.  It was for a good cause so I didn't fuss. Well, not too much anyways. They had a bunch of projects going on to spruce up the building.  We signed up to outside painting which is a heck of a lot better then painting inside because outside you don't have to tape things off and if the paint falls on the ground it's no big deal.  Everyone grabbed brushes and pitched in wherever it was needed and by the end of our time there the we'd all painted a garage, two cinder block walls, part of the building and you know what?  Turns out it wasn't so bad after all.  It was actually kinda fun.

We did this through the company that Mj works for.  They fed us breakfast and lunch and provided us with giant sexy red T-Shirts.  The kind that I won't even wear to the gym.  It will go in the drawer with the rest of my collection of T-shirts of sentimental value that I won't wear OR get rid of.  We were done by 11:30am and still had the rest of our Saturday.  And what did we do with it?  Showered, watched a movie and then took a great nap on the couch.  Then Mj spent the rest of the day doing homework while I lazed around on the couch getting caught up on House Hunters.  Since last Saturday I was in LA and this Saturday I was painting a building our house went another week without a cleaning.  Technically I could have done it when I got home, but realistically; yeah right.  If I don't do it Saturday morning when I get up it probably 'aint gonna happen.  Oh well.  There is always next weekend. 

I donate money here and there sporadically and I haven't done any kind of volunteer work in a really, really long time.  Sometimes I do feel very badly that I don't do more when I know how fortunate I am to have what I do.  Time is so precious when so much of it seems to be spent at work, doing chores and trying to fit in time at the gym.  It's always the same old excuse.  I don't have time.  I only get the weekends and I want to enjoy them.  I have too much to do. So while I was annoyed at first I'm glad that Mj took the initiative and signed me up for it too.  It felt good to volunteer my time to do something good for others.

 
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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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Oh, Monday's

Oh Monday's. I try not to hate you but you just make it so hard. Yesterday was crazy. I felt like I was rushing from one thing to the next all day long. Nobody wants to get out of bed on Monday after a nice weekend of sleeping in to your heart's content.  I hit the road by 7:20am and sat through a 1 hour 40 minute commute to work that normally takes 30 minutes. You know those trucks that carry sheets and sheets of glass? Well one of them got into an accident and there was glass all over the road causing a morning commute nightmare. I got to work about 40 minutes late, rushed around getting my breakfast and coffee, then took a moment to read a few blogs dove headfirst into work.  There is so much work right now with no end in sight that I wanted to cry!  Things are just really busy for us right now and the database that we use to facilitate all this work is perpetually broken so it's a little bit overwhelming.  I barely took a lunch break.  Work, work, work.  Eat a granola bar, drink some water.  More work.  The upside is that the day flew by.  Then I realized I hadn't even taken the time to get up to use the bathroom all day and I had to go BAD.  I rushed to the bathroom then rushed back to my office and locked the door so I could do a quick change into my Pilates gear.  It's always weird taking my clothes off where I work.

At 5:01pm I was running out the door.  I have 30 minutes to get there but if anything goes wrong traffic wise I'd be screwed because there are no refunds on missed classess.  It's Reformer Pilates so it's just a tad bit more rigorous then the regular kind.  It felt good to stretch out those stiff muscles in my back and neck from sitting at a desk all day.  Definitely the highlight of my day.  Fifty minutes later I jumped into the car and headed home.  I rushed into the house and put my things down so I could start making dinner right away.  It was 6:45pm by then so I wanted to get it going.  I'm no chef on a good day but especially on a busy Monday it was just Mexican Pizza on Flatouts.  Tasty and easy.  I popped them in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes then rushed upstairs to take a quick shower.  No shaving involved so I could get back downstairs and eat while it was still hot.

At 7:45pm I finally got to sit down.  I started watching Teen Mom 2 and everyone except Chelsea was annoying the hell out of me so I found myself talking yelling at the TV.  Which is weird because normally she drives me crazy too.  Maybe I should have picked a different show to watch.  Maybe I should just quit watching this show altogether but we've already discussed my addiction so that's probably not going to happen.  Whew.  There was some cuddle time on the couch with Mj while he watched one of his shows then before too long it was time for bed.  And that was my long busy exhausting crazy Monday. 
 
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Confessional Fun

I confess that I got to page 132 of Fifty Shades of Grey and wanted to call it quits.  It dawned on me that the book was going to be about her life as a willing sex slave and I found that  I just wasn't all that interested. I stopped reading it for a week but I'm thinking I might as well finish it.

Budget Buster $130, marked down from $400
[Photo Source]

Budget Friendly $12, marked down from $49.99
[Photo Source]

I confess that last month I actually considered buying a pair of Jimmy Choo Sandals.   I was looking for snake print flat sandals for my trip, they came up in google images and I fell in shoe love. They were on sale for $130 down from $400.  I have only ever spent over $100 on boots so even though the price was low for Jimmy Choo it's still too high for sandals and my budget.  I found a cute pair of Alfani flats on clearance at Macy's for $12 bucks instead. My heart still yearns for the Jimmy Choo's.  It could have been my one chance to every own a pair but I'm glad I didn't spend that much.  I guess.  If anybody tells me that I should have bought them I'm going to cry.

I confess that even though I'm on shopping lockdown I bought a cute little Victoria's Secret I Love Pink hoodie.  Hey, it's for my trip.  That makes it okay.

I confess that I seem to have replaced my pretzel addiction with Ritz and Peanut Butter Crackers.  It used to be one of my favorite after school snacks and now I've been eating it after work.  For dinner.  Between that and PBJ's I've almost gone through a whole jar of peanut butter in a month.

I confess that when Chloe beat Maddie at Nationals on Dance Moms I screamed and did a happy dance.  Maddie is an amazing dancer and I think she's adorable but Chloe is the underdog, I love her long beautiful lines and I think it was her turn to shine.  I also screamed when they won 1st for the team.   They won everything!!

Leslie at Blonde Ambition is bringing confessional Friday back next week, Yeah!!  So, I will be linking up with her next week for more of the same.  Have a great weekend!

Hot New Camera

'aint she a beauty?
[Photo source & reviews]

Mj finally decided to buy another camera.  Do you know what this means?  It means that when we go places together and look back on our pictures you will actually be able to tell that I was there too.  Normally, I can barely even get him to take a picture of me but I have a feeling he'll want to use this one.  Anyone ever hear of a Canon Rebel T3i?  I hadn't.  This sucker is big and it 'aint cheap.  He bought an extra lens to go with it too that zooms in really close. 

So what suddenly made him decide to spend hundreds on a camera after four years of not owning a one at all or barely taking any pictures?  Europe that's what.  He wants us to have a really good camera while we're on vacation which is pretty cool but then I got sort of sad.  I'm the picture taker not him.  I'm the unofficial historian in this marriage and I'm the blogger.  I take pictures of EVERYTHING yet he has a really nice camera and I don't?  Since I was looking all pathetic and sad he said it'll be ours, which is sweet, but then he jetted off to Germany with it and I haven't seen it since.  As soon as that camera and I are in the same country again and I figure out how to use it you might see some better pictures around these parts.  Our vacation pictures should be awesome and maybe I can finally get my food pics to look as good as they taste. 

More Confessions

Link up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition

I confess that I spent the majority of  last weekend laying on the couch watching movies and catching up on DVR.  Oh, I did laundry and ran some errands too but that was probably only about 20% actual productivity.

I confess that I am annoyed that I felt guilty for taking a nap in the middle of the day and lazing about the house all last weekend.  Why should I feel guilty for relaxing?  I spend 5 days 50 hours a week including lunch hour dedicated to work.  Why can't the other 2 days and 48 hours be all mine for whatever I want even if whatever I want is NOTHING?

I confess that I got a little depressed when I read above confession.  My 5 day work week equals the same amount of hours as my 2 day weekend but it sure doesn't feel like it.  That 5 days feels like forever and those 2 days are gone within the blink of an eye.

I confess that I hate Captcha.  It's one thing to make us type letters into a box to ward off auto bot spammers but why do they have to try to confuse us too?  Do they WANT us to fail?  Why not just make the damn letters legible so I can read them and don't have to try five times just to get two words I can actually read.

I confess that there have been times when I went to comment on a post and just gave up when I saw the lovely Captcha box pop up.  Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for deciphering code.

I confess that I just added Gallery Girls to my TV watching line up.  If they were all rich NYC trust fund babies that I could never in a million years relate to then forget it!  But only 3 of the 7 are living off of mommy and daddy so I decided to give it a chance.  I did get rid of Locked up Abroad to compensate.

I confess that I spent way too much money this month.  One pair of shoes, two pairs of Capri pants, four sweaters (yes 4!!) an area rug and a new pair of Rx glasses really did me in.  I am on total spending lock down for the month of September so I can spend money on my vacation.

I confess that at 5:01pm happy hour is ON and I'm gonna go have a drinky drink or two with some girlfriends.  Pay day, happy hour and a three day weekend!  Can't wait. 

You Call This a Tote?

The Gold one is tote size; tiny two on the right-not so much

Glamour is running this promotion where if you subscribe to Glamour Magazine for 1 year you get a free tote set.  I have been subscribing to Glamour off and on for years.  After I grew out of Seventeen I found it to be a perfect mix of fashion, healthy and beauty tips and some good reading.  The fact that I would receive a tote set didn't motivate me to order it any more or less.  I've got plenty of bags at home.  I don't need anymore but if it's free,  I'll gladly take it.  

Don't they look nice and full in the pic?

So imagine my surprise when I get this package in the mail about the size of a magazine.  I hadn't ordered anything.  What could it be?  I open it to find my free totes but they are not quite what I expected.  No where on the free tote add did it mention size or material.  I looked.  But I did not expect them to be this tiny!!  If you are getting a tote you kind of imagine that it will be sizable enough to actually tote things around.  Especially when the post card says it will carry "all of your essentials."  A tote is big right?  Guess not.  It's either a classic case of product misrepresentation or just my fault for assuming but I can't be the only one who assumed they would be bigger.  I'm okay with it because they have come in handy for other things.  I just found it hilarious that I thought they were going to be the size of an actual tote and they weren't.  Maybe it's the word tote.  A better word would be mini tote, purse, or make up bag considering that's what size they are.   They were free so hey; can't complain too much. 

Well, if anyone else want's a free MINI tote set, you can get it at here at Glamour.   And when you see how small they are you can't say I didn't warn you!

Friday Confessional

I confess that after Direct TV dropped MTV then added it back we DVR'd all the Teen Mom episodes we'd missed and had a Teen Mom marathon extravaganza over the weekend.  The show is as terribly addicting as it is terrible and I'm not naming names but some of them; Amber, are complete train wrecks.  Sadly, I can't stop watching.

I confess that when I turned on my radio in the morning on the way to work last week I was crushed to find that AJ and AJ in the Morning was no longer.  He's gone with no explanation.  They've replaced him with someone else and it's just not the same anymore.  I may even stop listening.  AJ MADE that radio show.  He was so funny and what will happen with AJ's Annual Kids Crane Toy Drive?  So sad.

I confess that I think my 10% off Proctor & Gamble E store link is a total bust.  It's no surprise.  I've never been a good salesman.

I confess that sometimes I strip down naked in the laundry room so I can wash EVERYTHING including what I'm wearing.

I confess that I sit at work with a space heater on all day even when it's 80 degrees outside.  Did I mention that space heaters are banned?  Shhhh...don't tell anyone.

I confess that I'm still a little bitter that Mary blew up the toaster at work four months ago.  I love Mary but I also loved eating Fiber 1 toast with reduced sugar jelly on top every morning.  In her defense the toaster was like 20 years old so it wasn't really her fault.  Toasters got banned so I had to find a new breakfast.  Boo.

I confess that I have a pretzel addiction.  They give me my "chip fix" because they are munchy and salty yet don't have all the fat and calories of actual chips but what they do have is tons of sodium.  It's been about two weeks since we ran out and I haven't bought any since.  Let's see how long I can last! 

Cinnaminy Goodness

I confess that I ate five cinnamon rolls this week including the one I'm going to eat tonight.  The husband baked AGAIN!  He made brownies last week and this is his 3rd time making cinnamon rolls this year.  I'll be lucky if I still fit into my skinny jeans by Fall.

Have a great weekend!!

Link up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition

 

I Love Weddings

Thank goodness for that shade.  It was HOT!

I love weddings.  The last one I went to was ours...two years ago.  It's been way too long but I finally got to go to another one.  My co worker got married on Saturday in Balboa Park where we took our pre-wedding pictures.  Being back there always brings back wedding day memories and so does being at a wedding.  This poor bride had it a lot rougher then I did.  Wedding planning was stressful at times but for the most part I really did love every minute.  It actually took me a while to get over no longer being a wedding planning bride to be anymore after it was all over.  I was so sad.  Her, not so much.  I'm sure she's glad to have it over with so she can get her life back.  On more then one occasion she said that she now understands why people elope.  I mean, I could kind of understand it too as I went through the process myself.  It's so hard not to get lost in all the details and it's hard not to think of all the money you are spending on what is essentially a big party.  She spent triple what she anticipated on her dress and shoes.  She had to fire her caterer two weeks before the wedding and some of her vendors including her wedding coordinator were nuts but she made it and the wedding was absolutely beautiful.  Hopefully she'll find that it was all worth it.  My day had some hiccups and it went way too fast but it was one of the happiest days of my life and worth all the anxiety and every painstakingly budgeted penny.

The cocktail hour, the open bar, the great 80's music and the random cross section of people on the dance floor aged 6-60.  What's not to love about weddings?  Oh yeah, and true love.  They say 50% will get divorced but I still believe in marriage and think it's so special when two people for no other reason then that they love each other want to commit to spending their lives together.  I teared up a little when she walked down the aisle with her dad and then linked hands with her groom.  It kind of made me wish I could do it all over again. 

How was wedding planning for you? Worth it, wish you could do it all over again, hated it or did you just call it a day and elope?

My First Confessional

I confess that I've wanted to do a confessions post for a really long time but when I'd start to write it I'd draw a blank.

I confess that I've been blogging for 3 years now and this is my first link up ever.  At first I kept seeing other bloggers saying "lets link up" and I couldn't figure out what they were talking about.  

I confess that we went to the movies to see Batman Dark Knight Rising  and it was really good but I have almost no idea what was going on.

I confess that I shed a tear while watching Ted.  What can I say, that crass cute little trash talking bear grew on me.  I actually wish I had one for myself.

I confess that I really wish just one person would buy something from the Proctor & Gamble E store with my 10% off link.  Even if I only made $2 bucks it would make me feel very accomplished.

I confess that I did a group exercise torture class called Hard Core on a Tuesday, could barely stand up straight without wincing the next day and was still sore four days later.  Think P90X Ab ripper for 50 minutes.  If that kicked my butt how am I going to make it to the next Olympics?  Oh yeah.  I'm not.

The Fierce Five made the Corn Flakes Box

I confess that even though I don't eat corn flakes I would still love to be on the box.  How cool is that?  

I confess that I woke up at 6:30 am to watch Olympic Gymnastics live online two Sundays in a row and because that wasn't enough for me I watched the Prime time coverage of the same thing on NBC too.

I confess that I still don't understand why everyone else doesn't LOOOVE Gymnastics as much as I do.  Maybe for the same reason I don't LOOOVE Archery or Triathlon .  I just don't.

I confess that I had a dream that I saw Gabby Douglas get on a train headed for Russia.  I had to explain to her family that she was really happy after I showed her the replays of her Olympic performance and that I had no idea why she left.  I know.  Weird.

I confess that I've been drooling over the amazing bodies of these Olympic Athletes.  Men and Women both!

I confess that I'm really sad that the Olympics are almost over and not just because of Gymnastics.  Coming home to find out who smashed a world record or came back from a loss has become part of my routine.  It's been awesome to watch these people compete their hearts out and hear their incredible stories.  They captured our hearts.  They had dreams, they achieved them and we were fortunate enough to get to watch.

I confess that after work my husband and I are meeting his co workers at a cool Pizza place for happy hour where I'll be indulging in Mashed Potato Pizza.  And maybe some beer too.  5:00pm can't come fast enough.

Link up with Leslie @Blonde Ambition

Friday Randoms

The last time I can remember using a stamp was in 2010 when I mailed out my wedding Thank You cards.  I just used up my last one last week because I had an actual bill that I needed to write out an actual check for and put in the actual mailbox.  Good thing it was a forever stamp because it literally took me forever to use up that one book of stamps.  We just don't use them anymore.  Remember when you used to use your debit card and write out your checks and track each transaction in the cute little check register?  Those days are done.  Now we track everything online and all my bills are paid through online bill pay.  I might write two maybe three checks a year if that for random situations that come up.  Which is good because I think they are at 45 cents a piece now.  I can still vaguely remember when they were 0.29.  Do you still use stamps or checks for that matter?

Ours is the top left

We are getting our counter tops replaced next week!  I'm so excited about the finished product but oh how I dread the process.  I can't stand seeing my house turned upside down and having people marching all through it making a mess.  We bought our sink last week.  The one we have now is an over mount and we needed an under mount.  It cost us $375 bucks!  Just another thing that you don't realize the expense of until you need one.  Home Depot does give a 10% military discount though...that's something at least.  It's 9" deep and a stainless steel grade that's not supposed to spot or stain.  We love farm house sinks but those can cost anywhere from $600 to $900 bucks.  Not happening.  We are still trying to figure out what we want to do for back splash. 

Pain at the pump

I got gas this morning.  Ouch!  The average price in our city is $4.39 so apparently paying $4.29 I actually got myself a deal but it sure didn't feel like it.  It cost me $47 bucks!  Thank goodness my Honda has pretty good gas mileage so I can go about 10 days between fill ups with my normal routine.  In my Jeep Liberty it would have cost me about $80 something and I would be right back there before too long filling up again.  When is this gas price madness going to end?  I can still remember 99 cent days.  I realize that is a thing of the past but can we at least stay in the $3 range?



Jordan Wieber in Podium Training for American Cup
This USA Gymnastics You Tube link shows different gymnasts one after another.

Gymnastics will be on tomorrow morning!  I'm so excited.  It's the most prestigious international competition held in the US every year and the first big competition of the year that will pave the way to the Summer Olympic Games in London. The AT&T American Cup is being held in Madison Square Garden NYC and will be broadcast live on NBC at 1pm EST.   My DVR is set.

I hate our gas prices but I love our weather.  It's supposed to be sunny and in the 70's and 80's this weekend.  Tomorrow Mj and I are participating in a mini Amazing Race competition sponsored by his job.  He recruited me to be on a team with his co workers and we'll be running around downtown on some sort of scavenger hunt searching for clues.  I've never done anything like it and I think it's gonna be fun.

Have a good weekend everyone!!!

Laughter: Fuel for the Soul

Pic from a couple years ago but it's basically how I looked all night

Mj's friends cousin has been doing stand up comedy around town.  Friday night we went to one of his shows.  During the week I saw a commercial for sparkling wine.  I can't even remember what brand, but ever since then I had a craving for it and I was really excited about going to the show just so I could get some.

The last show we went to seemed a little bit like amateur night so I wasn't sure what to expect.  There were 7 comics and they got 10 minutes each.  The host opened the show.  He was hilarious.  Good sign.  These guys were all good.  One after another each comic got on stage and made us laugh.  Good old fashioned straight from the belly mouth wide open head tilted back uncontrollable laughter.  I laughed hard and loud in between sips of my sparkling wine; thank goodness they had some!  Laughter is such good fuel for the soul.  It just makes you feel good.  I love laughing and I love to see Mj laugh.  He was laughing so hard his eyes were all watery and teary.  For a second I thought about what a racket the night was.  It cost us $10 each to get in and on top of that there was a two drink minimum at $7 each.  That's $24 bucks each just to get in the door!  But it was a really good show and we were supporting a friend.  Laughing out loud for almost 2 hours straight while drinking wine after long week of work was well worth the price of admission.

Thursday Thoughts

It's funny how you could have never heard of something your entire life and then once you do you keep hearing about it.  I'd never heard of punkin chunkin before in my life until I watched a Modern Family episode where Cam had this far fetched story about chunkin a punkin in a sling across an entire football field and they chunked a punkin at the end in an attempt to see if he was fibbing or actually telling the truth.  Then over Thanksgiving break I happened to see the Punkin Chunkin World Championships competition on TV.  Ironically enough, this occurs in Mj's home state of Delaware and is a big thing there.  Then, I discover a new blogger and she lives guess where?  Delaware.  And she actually went to guess what?  The Punkin Chunkin' World Championships to watch.  It seems that you don't know of something until the universe decides you are supposed to and then once you do it sort of pops up all over the place.  Never heard of it either?  Well, they have a website of course; Punkinchunkin.com.

As if Basketball Wives weren't enough we now have the pleasure of Baseball Wives in Arizona.  This show is really reaching here.  Most of them aren't even actually wives and most of the who are actually wives are married to retired players.  They'll show a "wife" and the illustrious caption of Married to So and So Retired flashes across the screen.  Or even worse,  Ex Wife of So and So (Tampa Bay).  If you are really at the bottom of the barrel it says Dated so and so (Denver).  Okay.  I better shut up though; because at least it gets me through my Elliptical work outs.

Is anyone else a regular unwitting participant in class action lawsuits?  I had a string of class action settlement pay days last year and a few this year too. I can't even count how many class action e mails and letters I've received advising me of my rights to opt out or in or whatever else.  Most of the time the lawsuits are against companies I've actually heard of but a couple weeks ago I got an $18.00 check out of the blue for a lawsuit about something I've never even heard of.  It's funny how they find me too.  They had my new address but not not my new last name.  It's kinda nice to receive a $20 check here or a $30 check there every now and then out of the blue.  It's just odd.

Decorate Me

OK...so we got the tree last Saturday.  It smells like Christmas but it doesn't look like it quite yet.  We have TWO neighbors with lit up Christmas carousels in their front yards (I know....random).  We also have a blow up Santa and Reindeer across the street and we have yet to decorate our tree.  This is a going to be a jam packed weekend but mark my words it will be decorated  by the time the weekend is out.