Friday, July 30, 2010

Your kiss is on my list

I don’t know how your week has been, but my week has been ridiculously busy. You know, one of those weeks where you have something to do every single night and all weekend long and every night next week? Yeah, one of those weeks. Most of it is fun stuff, just exhausting.

But last night was the cherry to my cheesecake. Last night we went to see Eclipse. Have I mentioned how much I loooooooooooooooooooooooove the Twilight Series? It’s all thanks to my friend, Kait. But back to the story at hand….

So yes, 2.5 hrs. of Edward, Bella, Jacob, crazed vampires, and I go home with one impression.

Techy and I don’t kiss enough anymore.

You know like kissing just to kiss.

Um, yeah.

That NEVER happens in our house anymore. We only have time to kiss with intentions….

And I was determined to rectify the situation when I got home. As in 3 hour make out session. The kind we hadn’t seen since college days. More sucking face than I have seen in a year.

I couldn’t wait.

When I got home, Techy was in the basement playing video games, but within 10 minutes he was cuddled up in bed eating an ice cream bar.

I couldn’t wait. Chocolate flavored tonsil hockey is right at the top of my list.

And then it happened.

As I climbed into bed, so did my dog. And the first thing he did was run up to Techy’s face and start sniffing and licking with the hopes of getting some of that chocolate.

UGH. He beat me to it! And no way was I kissing those lips after the dog just slobbered all of them! UGH.

So much for my grand illusions of the make-out session that could have been.

How much do you have to love someone….

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Tomorrow is a day we wait all year for. Tomorrow we are making our annual beach trek with our former neighbors. Last year was epic, and I am sure this year will be legendary.

Last years events involved Techy and Little Bill digging a 6 foot hole in the sand, the girls reading magazines, everyone but Little Bill and riding the waves, a school of dolphins swimming nearby, and a pregnant me walking up and down the beach to the port-o-potty.

Just so you understand, here are a few pics from last year's adventure:


About an hour into the dig

Bill and Michelle - the-best-neighbors-who-upgraded-to-friends in the whole wide world.


Techy and Little Bill about 3 hours in.



Lunch. Yum.




Me and Techy and New Moon - anything Twilight related became the inevitable 3rd party to all events last year.

Little Man - along for the ride. It's going to me much more difficult to keep him from getting burnt this year.

Techy in his element.
The Burris's taught us how to do it up right. When I say day at the beach, I mean FULL day at the beach. We hit it early and leave late. It’s hard core. Last year we headed down there at 6:30 in the morning.

But Techy just called me to say that this year we will be leaving at 6. Because he and Bill decided it would be a great idea to stop on the way for breakfast.

I think Techy forgot something.

You get it, right? I know you do, but I feel compelled to spell it out anyway.

On my one day off, I have to get up at 5 am to shower (because clearly, these legs can’t hit the beach with out a good shave!), get Little Man up (which is ridiculous! Who wakes a sleeping baby to go to the beach!?), and get Techy ready (which will consist of me for half an hour saying, “Honey, you really need to get up and shave. You are going to hate yourself if you have to shave a sunburn tomorrow.” And then 5 minutes before we HAVE to pull out of the driveway he will roll out of bed, shave, take a 30 second shower, and run out to the car while putting his bathing suit and flip flops on. You think I joke?)

But for some reason I said “Okay, honey. Whatever you want.”
Either I really love him or I am really stupid

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Dirty Little Secret #2,658

I have a little obsession. Make that a big obsession. And once a week it takes over my life.

Every Wednesday or Thursday when we get the supermarket sale papers, I pour over them looking for the best deals. It’s like a scavenger hunt. And I LOVE it. I have been doing it since we got married and I had to start buying groceries on my own. (Yes, another little dirty secret of mine is that other than living in a college dorm, I lived at home until I got married. Scary, huh?) Once I have established what is on sale, I scour the internet for coupons. And then waaaaa-laaaaaaaaaa. Magical cheapness!

It’s my shameless hobby. It’s how I managed to buy 6 months worth of baby food for $10. It’s how I have managed to walk away from a grocery store with 10 boxes of cereal, 9 packs of English muffins, and a bill of $4.39. My sister told me one time that she is a firm believer in coupons because it’s the same as free money. And she’s oh so right.

Once Little Man joined our world, and we started paying for daycare, our monthly savings took a nose-dive. So this is one little method to help keep me from internet shopping. Instead, I am internet coupon scouring.

Call me cheap, but I think it’s just smart spending.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Praying

God of justice, Saviour to all,
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served...

Saying some prayers for the ones who are hurting tonight.
And there are so many.

Yet, God is still on the throne tonight, just as he always is.

"The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God."

May he bring glory through the dark days!

And in the mean time, may He "Fill us up and send us out" to comfort those around us.


I love being short but I am jealous of people who are tall

I am 5'3.5" tall. My sister is 5'8" tall.

I love being short because:
-I could always date short guys.
-I could always ask cute guys to help me reach things from the top rack.
-You can always find petite sizes on sale.
-You are considered cute.

I am jealous of people who are tall because:
-People respect you.
-No one calls you cute.
-You are referred to as "powerful", "sexy", and "strong".
-"Overweight" is farther away for you than me.
-You can look skinny even when you are "overweight"
-Chances are, your legs are not short and stubby.

Just a random thought for today.

Biting my tongue

Hi, remember me? Infamous advice giver*?

Yeah, well, last night I was put to the test. And I am proud to say I didn’t overdo it.

In a nutshell, we were at the in-laws for dinner and their neighbors (who have a 5 month old) dropped by to baby-talk.

And mommy and I talked it up for a good 15-20 minutes.

And then sleeping came up.

And it was everything I could do to not push Babywise at her with both hands.

Apparently, her little girl was doing great sleeping through the night. But lately she has been waking up.

And my first question was is she on a schedule. Answer – Kind of**.

My second question was the rocking one. You know the one that I talked about here?
Answer: Yep – she’s rocking her.

Because those were the two things that caused the biggest issues for Little Man's sleep issues.

But I didn’t want to push anything on her.

And I fondly remember wondering if something was wrong with my baby for his little quirks, after hearing other mommy's brag about their babies sleeping patterns.

I did however tell her what things worked for us.

To be honest, I feel like I am rich in baby knowledge thanks to a certain blog. And thanks to lots of hard work from both of us, Little Man has been sleeping through the night since about 10 weeks when he was sleeping 6-8 hour stretches. And since we did Cry it Out at 4.5 months, his sleeping has bumped up to 11 hours at night. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, he is usually back asleep before I can even get in his room to check on him (that doesn't mean that I don't go check on him, though).

Clearly, I still have alot to learn. Every baby is different from any other baby. I didn't take every piece of advice offered and not every piece of advice would have worked for me. But I am thankful that I had a resource to go to when the crazy questions started to attack me. Hopefully, you other new mommies out there have a helpful resource too. If not, feel free to whine to me about it. We all know I love nothing as much as a good complaint fest. Just be ready for my uncontrollable advice session!

*Please know I am highly mocking myself for my lack of control when it comes to advice giving. I absolutely cannot control myself!

**New (Babywise Believing) Mommies, Please know that I THINK the key to a good, solid schedule is your first daytime feeding. If you set a time for baby to have his/her 1st feeding every single day, your schedule will regulate very quickly, meaning, you will probably have better sleep patterns early on. I didn't figure that out until week 7. That means you, SAM! For more questions on this check out this post.

The o'Connor-tons

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to introduce our little guy to Techy's Aunt Deanna and her crew.




And I can't begin to tell you how awesome it was for me. Aunt Deanna is legendary in Techy's family for having been one of the greatest aunt's of all time. And that's in spite of the fact that she lived 700 miles away in Georgia for their entire lives.

It was also special because Aunt Deanna was the closest sister to Techy's mom. And even though, in my heart, I believe that Techy's mom had her own little meet and greet with the little guy, this is the closest thing I get to seeing her with Little Man.

So before I start crying about the pain of the past...let me brighten it up with this little gem.



That's right, girls. He's all mine.... Be very, very jealous.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Housewifemania

By now, you should probably have a good understanding of my obsession with reality television. But for some reason, I feel compelled to continue to discuss it with you.

In case you wondered {or cared} I do have favorites in the reality television realm. Survivor being the clear winner. Unfortunately, Survivor doesn’t run year round and neither does The Office or Parks & Rec {yes, I realize neither of them are reality tv, but whatevs}, and I have to find something else to fill my evenings. That’s where the Housewives come in. No, my Housewives are not desperate. My Housewives of choice are those in NJ, NYC, and (hopefully) DC*.

But can I tell you the difference between the Housewives of New York and the Housewives of New Jersey?

The New York housewives like to think they are classy. The New Jersey housewives make no pretense. The New York housewives trash talk one another behind each other’s backs. The New Jersey housewives have all out scream fests, table flipping, and hair pulling incidents in front of the masses.

But the one thing they have in common?

The girl who loves to play the victim and hopes that makes her popular.

That being said, I can’t wait to see what DC brings to the table!

*I have high hopes for The Housewives of DC. And only about 99.9% of it revolves around this.

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am.

New definition of "Too much time on your hands"

You have to check this out.

Man it is too cute! Wish I had thought of it first.

Question

What kind of bear is best?

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica.

Oh. Man. Do I love The Office.

As in, all time fave TV show.

But all that aside, I am contemplating a life changing decision. Earth shattering, even.

And I am stuck at a cross roads.

Bangs or No Bangs?

The real issue is that I am not sure if I am comfortable enough with my face to be without bangs. But to be honest, I don't wear bangs 80% of the time. If I know I am going to exercise during my day, I don't even bother. Leaving me about 2 days a week that I actually make the effort to wear the bangs.

Ridiculous? Probably. So why not forget about them and just grow them out?

Because. I have had bangs for the last, oh, 15 years. And the last time I didn't have bangs I was in the ugly duckling stage. I think I may be scarred. In my mind, I believe that to grow out my bangs would make me look like I did when I was 12 years old with the giant, blue-rimmed glasses and chubby cheeks.

I have a minor obsession with my appearance, huh?

How much longer

As soon as my arms are back in some kind of decent shape, I am going to sport a dress like this. Even if it's just to Red Robin for dinner. And I can't wait.




Source


And I don't care how the rest of me looks in it as long as my shoulders and arms look amazing. So.there.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Lookout Techy. I got it bad for Mr. Rollback!

Because I couldn't end the day with a post about my post-baby-breasts. And because I am always looking for an opportunity to try to make Techy jealous*.

Am I the only one who laughs at every single commercial with Derrell, i.e., Mr. Rollback, in it? Honestly, I feel like I know the guy. And his happiness is so contagious. It makes me want to go work at Wal-Mart. But not my Wal-Mart, HIS Wal-Mart. Because I have seen the people at my Wal-Mart. And none of them are that happy.

Does anyone else notice how I start a lot of my sentences with the word, “And”. And to think at one time I was an English major. Mrs. Edwards would cringe if she could see me now.

But anyway, back to Derrell. Props to Wal-Mart for finding such an amazing character to personalize their roll-backs.

“I am so happy right now**…”

*FYI - As long as Techy and I have been together, I have never one time seen him act jealous or possessive of me. It's just not in his character at all.

**If you know that this line comes from the Wal-Mart ice cream commercial, then you, like I, have been watching way too much tv this summer. Or you, like me, are avoiding the 90+ degree weather, by watching tv inside. Either way, I don’t think it’s healthy. But that doesn’t mean that anything is changing any time soon….

Sagfactor

Male readers beware. You are about to enter Ladyland. A place where we like to brag about ourselves and complain about ourselves in the same breath. Just so you know.

And today’s topic is post baby breasts.

You have been warned.

I feel like there should be an educational manual for those who are considering getting pregnant. Like a couple things you should know before making this decision.

At the top of the list should be “Major breast alterations will occur.”

And the discourse should go something like this:

One of the first symptoms of your pregnancy will be soreness in your general chest area. Soon after that, they will blow up like balloons at a birthday party. And they will continue to get larger and larger, and higher and higher, with every week of your pregnancy. Post birth, they will get even more enormous and some days, as hard as a rock.

Should you choose to pass on the free nutrients your body provides to the baby, you will have to try to get a baby to attach itself to these hard-as-a-rock devices, and it will hurt, and you will not have anyone else to help you. But you will continue to do it because it’s free, and after you have a baby, you will be cheap and never want to run out to the store for baby formula.

And then, after said free nutrients dry up, you will be left with something resembling a water balloon when you are holding it by the knot. And no, I am not kidding.

However, you will be among the few, the proud, the strong, who can truly say that your boobs actually did something useful. Which clearly makes them way better than 20 year old, did-nothing-but-show-off boobs. CLEARLY.

The 2 pound advantage

Well, after a very difficult 4-day weekend of fighting with myself over what foods to eat and what workouts to do, we had our weekly weigh-in at work.

And yes, I know, the title gives it away, but I lost 2 lbs. Technically 4 because I weighed myself before and after I put my clothes on and my clothes weigh almost 2 lbs. But since I am not allowed to take them off for our weigh in at work….

All that to say, I am most definitely in the 160’s. I have officially lost 12 lbs.

Excuse me, while I go do my happy dance in the corner.

In 3 months of exercising and dieting I have lost 12 lbs. A little depressing considering I have another 34 lbs to my goal weight. But only 32 to my prepregnancy weight.

At this rate, I should be about 12 lbs away by Christmas time.

Not sure how I feel about that right now.

On the agenda for this week is at least 3 miles of running around my neighborhood. At least 3 sessions of 30 Day Shred, and at least 2 hours of elliptical/cardio.

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, if I could make it a 6 lb. week, it would be totally worth it.

Yesterday, in Sunday school, we had a visitor who spoke about making your daily decisions with your long-term goal in mind. I keep thinking this is so true for almost any area of your life. Every day has to be a mass of consistent decisions to hit your long term goal, whether for your spiritual life or your health or your marriage relationship.

So here’s to making right decisions today to get me to my goals.

Why I love being a Mommy

Here just a few reasons...





Little Man will be 7 months old on Wednesday. And what a ride it's been. His little laughter fills our home with so much happiness. And his cries, though few and far between, make the days exciting.

Yesterday, I watched Juno for like 2,365th time. And as usual, I cried. I am always so touched with Jennifer Garner's portrayal of the mommy-to-be. The look on her face when she feels that little guy kicking is so beautiful. I hurt for her. And I feel so fortunate for the fact that I was able to carry my own little guy and give birth to him and have the experience that so many women are fighting for these days.

So today, I am thanking God for my Little Man despite the +60 lbs., the sleepless nights, and the inconvenient schedule. I never knew how amazing this could be.

Sorry for the cheesy-ness. But you get it, right?

And by now, you kind of expect this, right? Just wait. I have more cheesy-ness right around the corner!

**Note: the drool is not the only reason I love being a mommy, even if it is present in every photo. Sorry. Teething does that.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

Riddle me this, Batman. If your husband called you and said, “There is a tornado in the area. If it starts to rain and get windy out you need to take our son to the basement asap.” How would you respond?

I responded by packing a bag after having read this post on Friday. I mean, clearly, it was a bad omen. Even if tornadoes are rare in DE. I also grabbed a pile of pillows, blankets, baby toys, baby, dog, and my iPad, because by this time, the wind was blowing and the rain was dumping out of the sky.

And to the basement we headed.

And stayed for about 30 minutes.

While NOTHING happened outside. Except for the rain and the wind.

After about 15 minutes of the hunkering down, Techy called to tell me he was coming home.

And when he got home and found me under the stairs in our basement with the baby, dog, bag of supplies, blankets, and pillows, do you know what my loving husband did?

He called his best friend to laugh about my paranoia.

Now, let me ask you again. If your husband calls you and tells you to take your baby to the basement because there is a tornado in the area, what would you do?

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Projecting on you

Just wanted to give you a little glimpse into my big weekend project.

I saw the idea on a blog last week to create original art using numbers from special dates in your life. Which I LURVE!!!

I think anything original and full of meaning is amazing when used in your home. But this tops it for me.

My BFF has a wall of personal photo's used as art. And I covet it. But I don't have the patience or the time to precisely hang this many photos.


So this is my shot at personalization. And I think I am in love....



But I am infamous for loving something one week and hating it the next. At least it didn't cost me more than $30 to make it.

I heard through the grapevine that my sister-in-law is DIYing art this weekend. Looks like the bug is catching. I am trying to convince her to send me pics so I can pass the bug on to you.

In case you want to know what the numbers mean: 12-3-05 our anniversary, 12-28-09 The day we became parents, 4-2-03 the day Techy asked me to be his girlfriend. Pivotal, life changing moments that we have shared.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Toe Woes

I have spent alot of time talking about my physical appearance lately. But I finally found one portion of my body that I haven't complained about within the last 6 months.

And obviously, your life wouldn't be complete without my complaining about it....

And I am guessing that you already know which portion since the title kinda gives it away.

This is the way my toes look right now.



And this is the way my toes have looked since approximately the 2nd week in February.

And we are going into the last week of July....

A little overdue on a pedicure, huh?

I didn't even paint them for vacation. Or on vacation.

I am so ashamed of how far I have let myself go. Between the chub, my bad hair and my untouched toes, I am feeling so sorry for my hubby. Next thing you know, I will be that wife who sits around in sweats. Oh wait, I already am that wife!

Darn it!

Ok, I gotta go find something pretty to wear and make myself feel pretty.

Haha, as if that will happen. It's 10:15 and already way past my bedtime. Maybe tomorrow I will get back on the vanity bandwagon.

Night ya'll!

Failure is Mine...

I love days off. I love days off with my hubby. I love days off with my hubby when no one else knows about them or makes plans for us.

This morning, I mentioned to Techy that I would like to take a quick trip to the mall. Which turned into a not-so-quick trip when we found out that there was a give-away at noon. Techy apparently heard the word "free" and he just had to stick around long enough to find out what it was.

When he found out that the "free" was catered lunch from Cheesecake Factory, he was delighted. Like giddy delighted. There's nothing my man loves more than free food(except maybe his home cable and internet). When he found out that other mall vendors were handing out samples and coupons, all diet bets were off.

And somehow we wound up here

On the upside...


But I don't think it helps if you eat the largest cup of gelato they offer....

Infomercial Mania

This morning, while feeding Little Man, I made the mistake of turning on the television. Which I had left on Bravo after yesterday's Reality TV Fest. Mistake #1.

Only to hear that some chick went from a size 14 to a size 4 in 6 weeks (or some non-sense) from doing the advertised workout video. (Ok, maybe not in 6 weeks, but still...)

And I am completely intrigued.

When they named the advertised video, I totally have it. I totally have done it. And I totally didn't lose any weight. That was in the period of getting back into the workout routine and gaining 10 lbs.

So, am I brave enough to try it again? I doubt it. Jillian's success rate is way higher. Think I will stick with her for now.

For the record, our weigh-in this week has been moved to Monday, and my goal is to be in the 160's. You know, like finally lighter than Techy. That means I have to seriously resist the food in my cabinets that will be calling my name all weekend. Including but not limited to the whole wheat zucchini bread and whole wheat pizza I made yesterday.

Geez. I am so intelligent.

(Please excuse my jumpiness in this post. Not sure if you can sense it or not, but I totally drank regular coffee this morning after not having had a cup of regular coffee in YEARS...my fingers are a little out of control.)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Great minds...

Who does this sound like?

Remind you of anything?

I guess I haven't obsessed about ice cream lately, but everything else in this sounds like everything else I obsess about.

Good to know I am not alone

Operation Impossible Recovery

Remember way back at the beginning of the week when I recounted the tale of the Beach Bash? Yeah well, unbeknownst to most of us, a tragedy occurred that day.

If any of you saw my photos from our trip to Palm Coast way back in May, you may have noticed a theme...




I have a special beach headband. Which also doubles as a workout headband.
And I wore it to the beach last week.



But remember the giant wave that knocked me over and over and over?

Well, apparently, it also stole my headband.


And I am a little bitter. I may never find a headband that comfortable again.

A Dream Come True

Or "I heart Craigslist"

I held myself back all day yesterday from posting this post. I didn't want to get the cart before the horse, as my pappaw used to say.

Here's how the story goes. Two years ago when we were preparing to move into our house, back when we thought we were going to have 10 grand to settle into our house with, I was a furniture shopping queen.

But the best laid plans....

That just didn't happen. We moved in our house with no extra money, and having to pull a couple grand out of our savings account. Leaving us with no money for furniture.

And I became the Craigslist queen.

To this day, there are only 2 pieces of furniture in our house that we purchased new.

Because of the odd shape of my dining room, I desperately wanted a square dining room table. But I was stuck with this old hand-me-down that we had received from someone when we moved into our first home.

But because of the drop leaf design on the table, none of the legs were far enough apart to fit extra chairs at each side.

Meaning that we could fit no more than 4 people at the table.

And I dreamed of a table - any table that would fit allow more than one chair at each side, but I coveted that square table. And we looked everywhere for one. They were few and far between and usually only bar height, which I didn't really want for my dining room. We found one that we liked ok, but it was almost $900 for the set.

But I am a firm believer that you can find anything on Craigslist in the price range you want if you wait long enough. So I waited and I prayed.

And then I found this beauty. Just what my heart desired.

And $50 and a trip to Dover, this beauty is now sitting in my dining room.


The only thing that makes it better...

This $40 Craigslist bench that perfectly matches my table and chairs.


Dining room set Total $90. 10% of what I intended to spend. I love a good deal!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Everything but the kitchen sink...

Wanna know another scary secret about me?

I am a messy clutter-bug. It’s a lot like a cotton-headed ninny-muggins only different. And really, I don’t know how it happens. But it does. I think the fact that I collect things may contribute to the problem, but I haven’t had time to verify.

Really, though. I clean out my closet and a week later, there are shoes all over the floor, clothes falling off hangers, and a lot of clothes not even in my closet anymore. And I am usually so good about hanging up my clothes, that I really don’t know how that happens unless there is a messy fairy in my closet. In which case I would rather have no fairy at all than a messy one!

And our bed? I never take the time to make our bed, partially because Techy is usually in it when I decide to make it, and partially because, what’s the use, really? (I feel somewhat justified in this, though, thanks to a certain post I read this morning….)

My house (other than my bedroom) is usually ok. Not great, but ok. Thanks to the help of my handy dandy, amazing babysitters, it is currently sparkling. YAY!

That means the clutter is in hiding. And it’s hiding in my purse. I seriously don’t know how this happened. This purse is almost brand new. I have only had it for about a month.

And somehow it already looks like this



Among the contents are about one thousand million coupons, a sample pack of doggie treats, a box of medicine, an iPod charger, a pack of crackers, a magazine, a tee shirt (yes, one of mine…?), body wash (in case I need a shower on the go?), body lotion (after shower?), a pull up (my child wears diapers?), sunglasses, a pair of Techy’s contact lenses, and about 30 chap-sticks/lip glosses (another obsession of mine).

At least I am prepared for just about anything.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What’s the one thing that can make Techy cranky?

Last Friday night we had a huge thunderstorm. Right around 2 am our pitch black bedroom was bright as daylight for a split second and the first crash of thunder shook through our home. Little Man slept right through it, but Techy and I both jumped out of bed horrified at the sound. And then we both listened to the quiet.

Techy makes a lot of fun of me, but I like to sleep in the cold – I keep our AC ridiculously low. And it kicks on constantly all night long making all kinds of noise. Quiet is not a sound we want to hear in our house.

Within seconds, Techy was in the basement checking on his Emergency Watchdog. And I was fussing around praying that the power would come back on before it got too hot upstairs.

But soon enough we were back to sleep.

When I woke up, the power was back on.

Little did we know….

Later when I went to turn on Little Man’s new craze, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, nothing happened. And then Techy went to check his email. Nada.

After a call to Verizon, Techy was just sure he had it up and running, but ten minutes later, it went out again. And again, and again, and again.

After another call to Verizon, they were scheduled to come out today to fix it, but due to a conflict in my schedule, we had to move it to Thursday.

Wanna know what makes Techy cranky? 4.5 days without being able to get his Tech on at home. That’s what makes Techy cranky.

Pray for me.

Best Babysitters on the Block

This week Baby Lady is on vaca. And we totally miss her.

But man do I have it good.

For 3 days I have not 1, but 2 live-in babysitters.

They just texted me to ask if they should add bleach to my load of whites that they are throwing in the washer.

I am so spoiled.

And no, you cannot have their number.

The thing no one ever tells you about pregnancy....

When you're pregnant, people give you lots and lots of advice. Usually things you don't want to hear, and occasionally some things you do. (P.S. I love to give advice about having babies. Even though I have only had one, I count myself as an expert now. And I had an amazing childbirth experience, so one day you can expect that post. Yes, male readers, beware.)

However, I am appalled at the lapse in advice I got. You see, despite all the useless advice I got, there was one pivotal piece of information that was omitted.

Pregnant women everywhere - Listen to my cry! You should definitely be exercising your arms as much as possible during pregnancy. I don't care if you never get your butt off the couch...at least do some weight curls while sitting there.

Seriously. My arms are enormous. My arms are like the size that my calves used to be. And not an ounce of it is muscle. Well, at least not an ounce that you can see. I am sure there is muscle buried deep under there. But you can't tell. And I have been doing 30 Day Shred for almost 2 months with no visible change in my arm size.

I am getting desperate.
But am I this desperate?

I'll let you know next month.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter

Dear Friends,

I need help.

I am sooooooooo weak.

Look what was waiting for me in my mailbox today?


(Sorry, I know that's a really small picture...)

If you can't see what's on the cover here are some closer looks.





And I already checked the price. $$$!

But oh, I love.

I am pretty sure it's a conspiracy against my wallet and my good sense.

Lovey Dovey vs. Poopy Doopy

Have I mentioned how much I love my hubby?

He is such a weird, strange, odd kind of person. (For the record, I already know you are bobbing your head up and down…) But he is also one of the kindest, most generous, and loving people I know. He doesn’t always show it, but he totally is.

Last week he spent a good portion of his week working on a video for our Student Ministry department at church. And I am not going to lie, it takes aaaaaaaaaaaaa-lot of work to make half an hour of video clips comprised of people trimming bushes interesting, but he worked so hard to make it happen. This is becoming a regular occurrence for him and he loves it. (In case you are interested in seeing any of the other student ministry videos you can find them here. This one is my favorite.)

So, yesterday, during his bestie’s 30th birthday, it was not surprising to find him walking around with a camera in his hand. And yesterday while we were all playing in the ocean, no one was the least bit surprised to find him with his waterproof camera draped around his neck. It’s just a given. Just like no one will be surprised, when a week from now, he emails out a copy of the video he collected during the party.

However, I am always amazed at the extremes he will go to in order to capture said video.

That being said, allow me to recount a tale for you.

I have already admitted to playing in the ocean for the first time in a long time. But what I omitted from that post was the fact that the waves were ridiculously rough. They were breaking very close to the shore and the undertow was extremely strong. Meaning, if you ended up under a wave, the undertow would continue to pull you back under the next wave, unless, by some chance the waves were far enough apart for you to get out. But all of that was fine as long as you were out past where the waves were breaking. Which we were. And then for some reason, I went along with Techy when he suggested that we all ride the waves in. And somehow I ended up right under a breaking wave. Slammed into the shore. Skidding across the beach. With more sand in my bathing suit than anyone should ever have to experience. And rather than helping me up, do you know what my dear sweet husband was doing? Recording every last moment of my adventure as wave after wave knocked me down and shoved more sand into my skin. All for the sake of adding to the unforgettable moments from the party.

Yes, thank you, Techy. I love you too. And all of the sand infused crevices on my body thank you too.

Blog Broadcast

Just for my info, if any of you regular readers have a blog that you think I would be interested in following, please comment leaving me the link. I would love to keep up with your lives as much as you are keeping up with mine. I know I am following all the blogs that I know of either through blogger or Google Reader, but either way, I am just nozy enough to wanna read your stuff too!


Hugs!

Making Memories of Us

Yesterday was Techy’s BFF’s 30th birthday party. At the beach. And clearly, we would never miss the party. But man was it hot. And crowded. And fun.

After having spent 4 years on the {once – yeah, thanks, BP} gorgeous, white sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast, I am what some {that means you, BFF} would call a “Beach Snob”. Meaning I do not have a healthy appreciation for the crowded, hot, and dirty Delaware/New Jersey beaches. I don’t like to swim in water when you can’t see what’s swimming under your feet. I don’t like to fight with the crowds for my 10 x 10 space of beach. But this trip was different.

Yesterday was hot. Scorching, really.

And there were plenty of grandmommy’s around to play with babies.

And it was Techy’s BFF’s birthday party.

And did I mention it was hot?

So, I took complete advantage of the opportunity to not have to worry about a baby for a few minutes and jumped in the ice cold Delaware ocean. We goofed around, we rode waves, Techy swam like a fish, I bobbed, our friend Joe got “bit” by a crab – multiple times if you believe him – and our friend, Kyle experienced swimming in the ocean for the first time in his life.

And at some point, I just stopped. To enjoy. The sound of waves hitting the shore. The sight of watching grown men play in the waves like little boys. The sound of children squealing and running away from the waves just the way I did as a kid.

It’s times like these that make memories we will never forget. And I love to get all nostalgic like that!

But that’s not to say I am a Delaware beach convert…. Not by a long shot.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Is "Skinny" Insensitive?

Well, I am back with another dose of weight loss woes. On the upside, yesterday I weighed myself and I lost another 3 lbs. this week. Amazingness, right? I know I was pretty psyched. Even this morning with all my clothes on, I still had lost 2 lbs, so there was some definite scale moving this week.

I was feeling elated.

And then it happened.

I had the opportunity to take Little Man in to Techy's office. Rarely does Techy have a chance to show our little guy off to his peers, and I love the fact that he wants to. So off we went.

And that's when it happened. As we were walking around and showing the little guy off, Techy's boss asked me the dreaded words.

"You aren't pregnant are you?" With a pointed look at my puffy tummy. And then a, "You're sure? Hmmm, I guess it's just the shirt."

OH.DEAR.ANGELS IN HEAVEN ABOVE.

I almost sat on the floor and cried. Right there. In the middle of all his co-workers.

But I held it together. I had to stop listening to anything she said after that. But I managed to not sit in the floor and throw a pity party.

I know she didn't mean it.

But she's 62 years old with a body that I have never had. She probably never had to lose baby weight.

Part of me hopes she was as embarrassed as I was. And part of me knows she doesn't even know she hurt my feelings.

So now, I think I will go sit in the floor and cry about looking pregnant. And then I am going to bed. To dream about not looking pregnant anymore.

Mrs. Wages

Until last week, I had never heard of Mrs. Wages. And suddenly, she has taken over my world. She makes my sun shine brighter, my grass a little greener, and my steps a little springier.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, with the help of Mrs. Wages, I took these


(the tomatoes)

And turned them into this:

(It's salsa)

If you recall, Mrs. Wages came to my assistance with these:


What? You don't remember Mrs. Wages helping with these?!?!?! What the!

Mrs. Wages was key to my making those!


Right. NOW you remember....

Well, this week I found her again. Sitting right on the top shelf of the spice aisle in Wal-Mart.

And I said to myself (imagine the Windows 7 commercial, with a beautiful red head standing in the spice aisle tapping her beautifully manicured finger to her chin), "I do still have a tomato and at least one jalapeno left on my counter." (Now imagine the angels singing and the heavenly ray of light. No seriously, that's what it was like!) And with that, I stashed her in my cart and ran home to allow her handiwork to begin.

Now, admittedly, I only got 3 jars out of her this time, but Peeps, I made SALSA!
Let's celebrate!

Weekending

In T-1 hours, my weekend begins. And it doesn't end until Monday. I know, nothing magical about that right? But, this weekend is one of the busiest weekends we will have in a while. Actually, make that one of the busiest months we have had in a while. (Secretly, I can't wait until this month is over - I despise busy-ness.)

But this afternoon, I have some grandios plans in store. Today I am going to my favoritest place ever.


Don't tell Techy or my credit card company!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Donations can be made to me...

I have a problem. A major problem.

I am a collector. It makes Techy crazy.

I collect all things "B". Baskets, books, blankets, boxes.... It's a serious issue.

And now I have added another "B" to the mix. BEDDING.

In the past year alone, I have ordered no less than 4 bed sets for our master bedroom. That doesn't even take into account the 4 years of marriage before that when we had countless other bedding options.

It's pitiful. And embarrassing. And I don't know how to make it stop.

My problem is all based on the fact that I want a good deal for our bedding.
And we have a king sized bed. So if I find bedding on the cheap and it looks remotely like the color I want, I buy it. And then I get it and find that there is something wrong with it, or it's 5 inches short on one side, or it isn't the right color or Techy says it's the ugliest thing he's ever seen in his life.... You know. And then I end up returning it.

Now, the bedding we currently have on our bed, I love. I got it for way CHEAP last year on Black Friday. And I have never seen anything that matched the color scheme in my room so perfectly. But I have 2 problems with it.

First, the center of the comforter is a huge, embroidered square of cream fabric....
Um, you get it right? Do I really need to spell it out for you? Oh, alright...remember the dog that sleeps with us? He also likes to walk around outside barefooted all the time. I can't seem to convince him to wear his puddle jumpers, but oh well.

Secondly, it's already coming apart at the seams. Partly because it's cheap and partly because Techy and Gizmo like to wrestle on the bed. I refuse to go on the rabbit trail that this could take me on. Just trust me when I say that nothing infuriates me more than Techy and Gizmo wrestling at bed time.

So now, I have fallen in love again. And I want it so bad, I can hardly stand it.

Want to see it?



Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I.wantz.

But I know that if I came home with yet another bed set, Techy may blow a gasket.

So, I will admire it from afar and beg one of you to talk my dear, sweet husband into getting this for me.

Because he loves me.

And because I love it.

And because it's pretty and it might not come apart at the seams.

And it's not really that expensive....

{King sized will do}

Puppy Paradise

Ok, people. Techy and I have a king size bed. I think I have told you that a time or 2. Because I hate to be touched while I am sleeping, right? Ok, so.

We also have a 19 pound puppy, Gizmo. Who most of you know and love.

And last week, his girlfriend, Pickles spent the week with us. Actually 12 days.

Pickles is a 45 lb. Bassett Hound who likes to nap and take long, slow walks on the beach.

And Gizmo is a 19 lb. Cockapoo who likes to chase squirrels in the trees and likes to "hug" Pickles ALOT.

Everytime Pickles is over, Gizmo "hugs"* her like crazy. To the point that Pickles expects it. Last fall, we were over at Pickles' parents house for dinner with another girlfriend and her dogs and Pickles kept sticking her rear end in their faces for the hugs. It's a little bizarre really.

Anyway, every single night last week, Pickles - all 45 lbs. of her - would sit at the end of my bed whining up at Gizmo until one of us picked her up and put her on the bed. And then she would promptly crawl over to my pillow where she would stay until I pushed her out of the way.** Then she would cuddle up to my legs and stay there until 5 or 6 am when Gizmo decided it was awake time.

Again, a little strange, right?

Needless to say, I assumed that this week with Pickles home, I would regain my side of the bed and my comfortable - not touching anyone - sleep patterns.

Not so.

You see apparently, Gizmo and his 19 lbs, have decided that he has every right to half of the bed and Techy and I should be squeezed into the other half.

After several days of this, I cracked. At 2 am, I woke Techy up and demanded he scoot the enormous 19 lb. dog over to an appropriate place and let me get some comfortable rest.

And then I have to think, man, Gizmo has it made. I feed him, I give him a yard to roam in with squirrels to chase, I occassionally bring home his girlfriend and let him "hug" her for several hours at a time, and I give him half of my comfy, king sized bed to sleep in.

He's gotta know he has it made!

*Hugging does not actually involve real doggie lovemaking since Gizmo and Pickles can't seem to line up properly. But that doesn't mean Gizmo won't give it his best try every time he sees her.

**Pushing Pickles out of the way is not at all an easy task. Especially when she doesn't want to be moved. It's like trying to scoot a cinderblock across your bed. The only real way to make it happen is to flip it a couple times.

Reader's Digest

So, remember way back when I posted about my lack of initiative to read educational books?

Well, apparently, that only pertains to books that are written in an educational manner. Meaning, I finally started Jillian's "Master your Metabolism". And I am hooked. Like I couldn't put it down last night. Rather than being an educational read, she wrote it conversationally - like she is talking to you.

I know, weird, right? I think so too. But I was on the edge of my seat, or my elliptical or whatever.

But she said something that hit me square in the face. Something that I practically SPELLED out here yesterday. She said for a really long time she spent all of her time and all of her energy on being skinny and in the quest of being skinny. She put body through the ringer with every diet she could find and the most rigorous exercise routines ever. But eventually she realized that being skinny isn't the prize. You can be skinny and still be unhealthy. The goal is being healthy.

And the heavens opened, and I heard angels singing.

I can't wait to see what she says next.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Tweeting, really?

Dear world. I do not enjoy Twitter. I may have a Twitter account, but I rarely if ever use it. So why have it? Because there lots and lots of giveaways out there that tweeting provide additional opportunities for. And I am greedy and like to win free stuff so I tweet to get it. It's worked a couple times now. What I find most comical is that people continue to follow me. People I have never heard of follow my 3 tweets a year. Maybe now that I have a blog I should be tweeting more? I just don't see the point. If I really want to see what people are doing, I would much rather Facebook stalk. Thank God bethenny frankel face books. By the way, has anyone else seen how ridiculously skinny she is after having that baby like yesterday? Puh-lease.

Which leads me to my next post.

*I sincerely apologize for the lack of paragraph breaks but typing on my iPad makes me lazy.

Good friends are like fat thighs

They always keep in touch....

I guess we've all heard the saying, right?

And I guess we all know about my weight issues, right?

And the fact that I obsess on all things reality television.

Yeah, Techy doesn't get it at all. AT ALL.

But this week, I have been overwhelmed with the weight of it all. Pun totally intended.

I mean, this week I watched Kourtney Kardashian hate on her teeny, tiny body (which doesn't look a thing like my post-baby body, even though she delivered like 2 weeks before me.) Yeah, thanks for that, Kourtney. The girl absolutely dieted herself into passing out on the beach. And then decided that she would rather be healthy than emaciated and sickly.

And I cried. Because I understand her feelings. I want to be skinny so bad that I could scream.

To top it off, one of my besties just came home from the beach and for some unknown reason decided to weigh herself on our scale. She's like 6 lbs from her pre-pregnancy weight. But she's also running 6 miles a day like 4 or 5 days a week. (I think I have said this before, but I don't have time to run 6 miles a day anymore. I barely have time for 2 30 minute workouts a day, and I can't run yet. I have tried, but every time I end up crippled for 3 days after.)

But let's face it. Skinny isn't in the cards for me right now. I am being healthy, I am eating right, I am exercising, but I absolutely refuse to kill myself for the sake of being skinny. I did that once. A long, long time ago. Back when I was running 7 miles a day at 4:30 in the morning. To be a size 4-6. Back when it didn't matter if I was healthy as long as I was skinny

The fact is, my body is not meant to be 120 lbs, and I am not meant to be a size 4-6. And I own that. But that doesn't mean I don't want to get back to the weight I was before having the Little Man - a healthy 135. That doesn't mean that I don't dream of a day when my thighs don't rub together when I walk and I don't have a dimple on my shoulder from the back-fat. That doesn't mean I don't dream of a day when I could possibly get away with a 2 piece bathing suit. It does mean that I usually laugh at myself during those day dreams. And it does mean that everytime I see a Hydroxycut commercial, I sit up and pay attention and wonder if it really works.

Point being, I have a long, long way to go. A lot longer than Kourtney Kardashian. And for today, I am ok with that. I will keep plugging along. I sympathize with all the girls who struggle with me. And I will continue to post about it much to your chagrin.

Oh and one more thing...wanna know what inspired this post? The fact that last night, for the first time since vacation, I put on my bathing suit, got in a swimming pool, and then remembered why I haven't. My fat thighs and that stupid rub rash I get every single time.

Mountain Craving

I have been avoiding my blog today.

I had better things to do.

But then Google Reader started giving me the stink eye, so I figured it was time to post.

But be ready.

Today I am a whiny-pants.

I know, I know. So what else is new, right?

Today, I am homesick. And surprisingly it’s not just about my sister that I miss. Or her 2.5 adorable kids. And most certainly not about my brother-in-law, who is practically my big brother. Or my mommy, who I want to talk to right now. Or Daddy, who would still let me sit on his lap for a good cry, if I needed to. Or baby brother, who makes me feel old and unholy because he just graduated from college and got a full time job as an assistant pastor. Or Nanny and Pappaw, who I just talked to about our awesome vacation and I miss so much it hurts.

Or Nanny’s sweet lime pickles.

Or living within 5 minutes of everyone I know.

Although, today I really do miss all those things.

But you know what I really miss today?

I’ll give you a hint.






Have you seen the terrain in Delaware?



Umm, yeah.

And we started the morning with a tornado warning or watch or something. So, I miss Virginia. The land of mountains that are too big to let a tornado form.

And that's all I have to say about that!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Tried & True, and a Tad Bit Tumultuous

Remember when I talked about how amazing it is to be married to Techy? Well, it is.

But. Just so you don’t think I walk through a daisy-laden meadow everyday, I thought that I would provide a glimpse into the OTHER side of Techy.

Remember when I talked about how nice it is that Techy is forgetful because he never remembers any of our arguments and he always forgives?

The other side of that is that Techy doesn’t just forget fights. Techy forgets way more than that.

Techy, the amazing husband/father that he is, is amazingly, incredibly, and unceasingly forgetful.

What’s that? Examples, you say? I dunno…that just wouldn’t be nice….

Oh, alright, already. Gosh, you people are persistent!

So, last week, while running home between fireworks shoots, Techy lost his keys. All 290,348 of them. On one of the most ridiculously long key ring/strap thingy’s you have ever seen. In the shortest time frame possible. He swears he was only at the house for 5 minutes. And then he spent 2 hours looking for them.

And then I spent DAYS looking for them.

And then we cleaned our house.

The keys have yet to be found. THE.END. (But just of story 1)

As if that weren’t enough. On Friday night, we went to visit our former neighbors, who have now been upgraded to real friends that we actually go hang out with and stuff. They have a pool. And Techy LOVES pools. So, of course, he hopped in. Leaving his cell phones on the pool deck. Yes, I said phoneS. As in, work phone + personal phone.

And that, my friends, is where they stayed until sometime on Saturday afternoon. After about 6 or 7 hours of steady rain poured on them all day. Nope. They don’t work. Totally fried. THE.END.

The good thing is, Techy knows how Techy is. And I know how Techy is. And we work around these minor irritations. Heaven knows I do things like this all the time.

One day I should have Techy write a guest post about the downfalls of me.

Or maybe not.

Would I still have friends if everyone knew my downfalls?

Hopefully, we will never have to know.

I itch...alot...all over

So, it's Monday and I have already posted my thought provoking, earth shattering post for the day. If you didn't read it, be sure you do. Or at the very least, go read your Bible. And be thankful you have it. And.I.mean.it.

But now, allow me to digress for just a second.

Remember my sweet baby boy? You know which one...



Oh, I know, I know.

Well, after a long and traumatic (a whole week and a half - but in his world that's like 16% of his life) bout with a rash on his face, I finally caved and called the doctor. Only to be told that my baby boy has baby eczema. Grrrrreat. So he's probably going to look all rashy like this for a long, long time now.



But not to worry, cause he's really too young to itch yet....

That doesn't mean Mommy won't break out in contact hives every time she sees it.

And then I come back to read this on my go-to blog.

I.itch.

All.over.

In the beginning was the Word

Last night, Techy and I {and a couple of our closest friends} watched “The Book of Eli”.

Seen it?

If not. Stop reading and go watch it. Otherwise, I am going to completely ruin the whole premise of the movie.

I was completely moved.

Very rarely is the Bible portrayed in a good light. Much less as something worth fighting for.

And in this movie, it is the treasure.

When it was over, I felt like I needed to grab my old KJV and hug it to my chest.

It is something we take for granted. Something that has been around forever. But what if it was taken away. What would the world be like? What would you be like?

There were a few things that really touched me, though.

Throughout the movie, the comment is made that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. What would happen if we did? If we were so in touch with our faith that it was palpable. That it guided where we go and what we do…. But it’s so difficult in this world. We are so caught up in the actual visual world around us….

Finally, I am compelled by a single phrase from one little verse – a verse that wasn’t even quoted in the movie at all – “I will hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Whether now or 35 years from now, there will come a time in my life that I need the guidance that can only be gained from my Bible at a time when I don’t have access to one.

I remember when my Great Grandma Price was in the hospital, she was a nervous wreck without her Bible. Mom and sister stayed up with her into the wee hours of the morning quoting scripture to her. She would say a verse or two, mom would quote one that she remembered, Sarah would quote one. And Grandma was finally calm, peaceful, and able to rest.

I guess I can’t really begin to explain to you the cord that movie struck in me. But trust me when I say it shook my little Southern Baptist world.

The Bible is valuable. It is earth changing and powerful.
Sad that it took the thought of not having it to make it valuable to me.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Dear Ceej, Feel free to stay on vaca for another week....

Because I promised, and because I am a show off, and mostly because I need an excuse for not working out.

This is how my morning began


And this was just before my 2 trips to the grocery store for forgotten items.

Notice how you can still see the color of the fruit/veggie.

And 3 hours later, this is what I had....


And then...9 and 1/2 pints later.


But that's not all boys and girls! Remember those zucchini that I didn't know what to do with? This was a big hit with me and Techy.


Wait! How did he get here!?


Sorry about that! I don't know how that happened....

Anyway, then somehow this happened....zucchini bread? With apples. Mm, mm good.


And then from out of nowhere, this happened.

And Techy said, I can't wait will we have pictures in those.

Ahh, men.