Just a Jane of All Trades...

I get bored so easily.  I can't help it.  I've always been pretty indecisive.  But I like my life that way.  I love stability when it comes to my love and my money, but when it comes to my hobbies and what I do on my down time, I can't keep stop loving different things.  I think I'm good at a lot of things, but I'm not a master of any.  But I'm OK with that.  Honestly, I kinda like it that way.  I like the fact that I dabble in a lot of things; my only problem is the follow through.  I start projects and then I get so easily sidetracked.  

I've been writing a book about the bar I work at for over two years now.  But things change all the time and then my idea for the book changes all the time.  Needless to say, it's still a work in progress.  Hey, it took JK Rowling like a thousand years or something to write Harry Potter, right? 

I've been trying to learn guitar and another language.  Guitar is still an ongoing process, but my practicing is just faltering.  Language attempt: epic fail.  I swear I'm going to pick it back up again.  

I write music.  I need to get my ass moving about getting it published.  Honestly, I'm scared.  I'm scared about putting myself out there.  I'm scared about being ripped off.  I'm scared about failing.  I'm scared of succeeding.  I'm scared of the entire idea of it all.

I had an idea a few months ago about making earrings out of buttons.  Especially old buttons.  The kind your Grama probably stored in tins.  I buy a lot of earrings.  Not the expensive kind.  The cute kind.  The unique kind.  But not the Claires kind.  I like old earrings.  I like going to antique stores and buying old clip ons.  I'm a dork.  A vintage loving dork.  So, recently I started making earrings.  And hair clips.

I like when people comment on them.  I like saying I made them.  I'm thinking of selling them, but Etsy isn't the way for me to go because of the fees.  I wouldn't charge that much for them, so Etsy just isn't the way for me.  I'm thinking of building a website, or just doing a Facebook page.  I'm not sure of what to do really.  Again, I'm just a little all of the place. 

I love having different creative outlets.  I need them for my sanity.  I need to keep my ideas fresh and stay creative.  But I need to also have some follow through. 

For those of you creative types, how do you stay motivated?  How did you make a real go at it?  When did you decide that a hobby could actually be something more and what did you do to make that happen? Just curious.  A girl needs a helping hand sometimes.

All this on my brain and I still am hitting the gym five days a week.  Aruba is just around the corner.  I know i'm going to lose my concentration.  I just got to keep my focus on all the end results.  Even if I'm not sure of what they are yet.

Obsessed...

Have you seen Ruche's new Lookbook?!  I'm Obsessed!!!!  

I'm pretty sure that my shopping cart has six items already.  I can't stop going through and finding all the little details that I love about the looks!  And the model is breathtaking! 

I know I've been a bad blogger, but I'm a tad busy in my real world.  Life has too many blessings.  It's hard to keep up with them all.  In true dilettante style, I'm working on so many projects.  Hopefully, I'll show you some soon.

Happy Shopping!

I Just Feel the Love...

I'm just a sentimental fool I tell ya.  I'm really loving this Valentine's Day thing.  Today couldn't have been a better day.  As I was getting ready to hit the gym the doorbell rang (thinking it was the UPS guy just dropping off a package, I didn't answer it) then a second ring, made me go downstairs and answer.  The hubby was too cute.  He knows I don't need flowers, so this year he bought me an edible arrangement.  How perfect.  Chocolates just won't do with Aruba right around the corner.  In fact, I think he knows to never buy me chocolates because they wouldn't last longer than the five minutes it would take to pick them out!  I just can't stop when it comes to chocolate!

With a huge smile on my face, I had a great workout.  I was complimented at the gym by the 70 year old man that loves me there.  He told me how fabulous I looked by saying he thought Miss America entered the room as I stepped up to the elliptical.  I mean how can your day go wrong when it starts off like that?  Edible arrangement and I'm Miss America?  Ok, I mean, it's a stretch but it was a pretty good line for a 70 year old.  

My hubby likes to eat early.  So, of course he made a reservation at Peter's for 5 p.m.  I made fun of him for at least a week by saying, "So, we're going in for the early bird special huh?"  —his comeback, "It's Valentine's Day, there won't be an early bird special."  But we do like to eat with the 70 year olds. It's weird because we don't have the 8 p.m. bedtime though.

Is this a running theme in my life?  Gosh, I am old.

It was nice to see one of my friends there too; on top of running in to at least five people that come in to my restaurant.  The hubby kept asking, "who's that, who's that", every time someone said hello.  He was a little disappointed because we both ended up deciding on the same meal.  He loves to pick off of my plate and get a little variety.  But we both couldn't get enough of the food.  I think going to Peter's is our Valentine's Day tradition.  I like having traditions.  I didn't even eat that much, but I'm pretty sure, two hours after dinner, that I'm still in a food coma.  

We didn't go crazy on gifts this year.  I made the hubby a photo calendar and he bought me the edible arrangement and a shirt I've been wanting for months, but it's been sold out.  He bought it from a Victoria's Secret in Indy.  He's crazy. 

I just loved being able to see the one I love on Valentine's Day.  It pretty much makes every day a better day.  

How did you spend your Valentine's Day?  I hope it was fabulous and you got to say, "I love you" and hear I love you.  I hope it gave you chills.  Doesn't it just feel so amazing when you know the person feels it to the core just like you?  Love is definitely in the air.

Ruche...

I'm so excited to be a guest blogger on Ruche's Blog today.  I think it was the perfect Valentine's Day gift.  If you're new to my blog, my name is Dana.  But the people at Ruche can call me Annabelle anytime.  Maybe that is my alter ego, vintage, old lady name.  I like it.  I'll go with that.  Anything to be a part of such a beautiful site.  I hope your Valentine has treated you well.  Is it just me or can you just feel the love in the air today?

I Was Scurrrrred...

Ok.  I took a big step today.  I'm not a person who gets their hair cut on a regular basis.  I get kinda scared.  I've had really really really bad haircuts.  I've asked for trims and had it cut up to my shoulders.  Listen hairstylists—a trim does not equal 8 inches off of someone's head!  Ugh, I digress.  That was many many years ago.  Since those horrible days I've only trusted my one friend to trim my hair.  But this time I was thinking of getting it colored or the keratin treatment.  I asked a friend to recommend a stylist since my friend does it out of her home.  She recommended the place she use to work at; Thomas Michael NYC.  

I'm not gonna lie, it was terrifying trusting someone else with my hair, especially since the guy said he was having the worst day in his life since his 30 years of styling.  Apparently, his computer systems at both salons were down and he was having issues with his bank so they were denying charges for everything he was trying to purchase.  

Umm.  I'm sorry I thought to myself, should we reschedule this?!  Oh shit.  Worst mistake of my life, I was thinking as he's combing out my hair.  I kept on saying in my head, tell him you're going to reschedule, it's really ok.  But he started and I was like ok, here we go.  No small talk.  No chit chat.  I just sat there staring at myself.  He started cutting and then said the words that I love to hear, "Wow, you have amazing hair, this is going to look amazing on you."  It took him a total of maybe 10 minutes to do the cut.  And it was done with so much ease.  He knew exactly what he was doing.  I saw myself in the mirror and LOVED it!  Seriously, love it.  I'm going to do the Keratin treatment before Aruba I think just to keep away the frizz.  Apparently, it doesn't take away your curl, it just keeps the frizz down.  Which is exactly what I need!  I'll show better pictures soon.  I swear.  I'm just kinda loving running my fingers through it right now.  

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so i'll be taking pictures I'm sure.  What to wear, what to wear.  Thankfully, I have like 140 dresses to choose from.  Decisions, decisions.  

A Tad Better...

I think I got one sip or two of wine in before I fell asleep pretty early last night.  I asked the hubby to pour me one, and for some reason he never uses one of the twelve wine glasses we have.  It's always some big old mug.  He gets an "A" for effort. 

But I think my body needed the sleep.  I think mentally I needed it.  Nine hours of sleep.  How unbelievably perfect right?  I mean, seriously, when's the last time you got that many hours in?  I hit the gym early and hard and felt like a new woman.  I think the sun was even shining today.  I'm totally taking that as a sign to try to stop being all moody.  We shall see how well that works for me.  

On the other hand I did wake up to seeing my favorite Super Bowl commercial.  Sure, there were some funny ones, but there's only one that made the ladies in the bar stop chatting and clap at the end.  Ok, I think I might have started the clapping.

Credit H&M

Oh, David Beckham.  Somehow, you just know exactly how to put a smile on a girl's face.  I think my day just got totally better.

One of THOSE Days...

I have been so incredibly moody today.  Moody enough to change my blog header at least 14 times in the past 12 hours.  Enough to never want to see Photoshop or InDesign for a few days.  I'm feeling so dang indecisive about everything. 

I didn't go to the gym today.  I ate a pack of starbursts. I drank soda. I'm in total sugar addiction mode.  Stupid hormones.  I even drank a beer last night.  Today, in total need of a glass of wine.  

But I did take Luna for a haircut and she looks fabulous.  I was ten minutes late on dropping her off and ten minutes late on picking her up though.  I figured I'd stay consistent.

Then I stood in front of the moisturizers at Kmart for at least a half hour tonight trying to pick out a brand since the one I've been using and that has been recommended is out.  And has been out for two weeks.  I couldn't decide if I should prevent wrinkles, prevent the sun, stop wrinkles, reduce wrinkles, clarify my pores, reduce acnes marks, tone my skin, or look refreshed and renewed.  It was an exhausting process.

I finally decided on Aveeno Smart Essentials.  The nighttime moisturizer at night and the eye thingy for those puffy eyes I get when I only have a few hours of sleep.  Which is too often.

I still will always use Vaseline on my eyes and lips at night.  It's a little tip a friend gave months ago on her Vlog that I still follow.  It always makes me feel refreshed in the morning and it's great at getting off waterproof mascara.  

We'll see how I like them.  Tomorrow I'll probably change my mind.  But I'm going to use them consistently unless I totally hate them.  I need a refreshing change.  I'm such a sucker for advertising.  They say they're the smart, natural choice.  They must be telling the truth right?  

I wish I could live one day as my hubby and he could live one period day as me.  Poor guy.  Hopefully, I wake up on the right side of the hormones, I mean bed, tomorrow.

The Voice...

So I have to admit, I'm kinda liking this whole, The Voice show.  I didn't watch it last season.  I've been on TV overload so I try to not add any new shows to my DVR.  But after a crappy night of work last night, I started watching it while cleaning up after the Super Bowl.  I like the idea of the show only having the talented, seasoned performers audition in front of the judges.  I like the idea of it not being a joke.  

I also kinda love the fact that Blake Shelton continuously talks about Miranda Lambert on it too.  He's either so enamored of her or he just likes to use her as a bargaining chip.  I think it's cute either way.

But I'm not gonna lie, I can't wait to see this show Smash, it looks fabulous and I hope it lives up to the hype.  

In the meantime, I need to practice my guitar; I love hearing musicians perform and then get inspired.  Learning chords has been the coolest experience.  I can't wait to get my lyrics set to music.  It's hard trying to depend on others.  Everyone has lives of their own to live.  Music is usually an afterthought for everyone, and I'd love to make it my main mindset.  I can't wait to do one of MY songs one day.  Even if it's only in front of my hubby or my mom.  I love the idea.  

Music is such a healer of all things.  I love seeing it all over television.  Especially, the country music loving.  Five years ago, you never would have seen Blake Shelton judging a singing show—oh, how times are changing. 

Exhausting...

This weekend was just too jam packed with things to do.  That whole saying, "there's just not enough hours in the day" definitely fit my entire weekend to a tee.  

I've been working on a website for my job for awhile; since it needed to be done for Monday when we release our new menu, I felt a tad overwhelmed.  (I really try to make this blog about anything and everything BUT my job because I spend way too much time thinking about it already, but it's the reason that I've been MIA).  We had a staff meeting to introduce the new items and address other issues, I helped with menus, took photos, and edited photos... I'm tired of looking at a computer screen.  Isn't that ironic, as I sit here and blog?

I lost a ton of sleep on Friday because of my stress levels.  I thought to myself that I shouldn't take a melatonin to help me sleep because I didn't want to feel groggy the next morning, but instead I had about an hour of tossing and turning sleep.  I even resorted to the couch because the hubby started snoring, but only Luna fell asleep, I just laid wide awake.  

So instead of moping around I hit the gym hard after a night of not sleeping.  I've been completely motivated by friends, customers, and family members loyal support.  The hearing, "You look great D", or "Good job I can tell you're doing something, you look awesome," is really keeping me on track.  Hearing a stranger or two tell me I have great style while I was in the check out line also doesn't hurt. 

I think I'm exuding some sort of confidence I never thought I would ever have.  Hopefully, it stays that way.  But hopefully, I'll also learn to use my workouts as a way to de-stress from my day or mentally prepare myself for my day, instead of keeping that pent up tension that I have from the daily goings on in life.  I'm still learning here people.

I did have a nice lunch with my Dad, which has been long overdue.  It was a nice tradition that we picked up for a good year, that I was happy to have back again.  He's been having a hard couple of weeks and I was happy to listen to him vent.  He lost his brother and is a little stressed.  Sorry to say I didn't know my uncle, or any of my father's family really, but I hate to see anyone I love sad.  

After an unexpected, huge, busy, day at work on Saturday, I was totally prepared for a huge Super Bowl Sunday, only to have it completely flop.  Oh well, I guess when a local team is in the big game, everyone decides to keep game time at home to stay safe.  There's always next year, right?

I'm looking forward to Monday so much.  I love Mondays.  A little work, a little guitar, a little me time, and a lot of home time with my family.  Basically, a lot of what I love.  Happy Monday everyone!

So About this Vegan Attempt...

I'm doing horrible at it.  I totally convinced myself that before Aruba I would try to get back into a more Vegan lifestyle.  It's healthier and I need to clean up my eating just a tad more in order to feel fabulous in those Victoria Secret bikinis.

I'm doing great, but every once in awhile I get these cravings for everything and anything not on my good for me list.  Isn't that always how it works though?  Every time you cut something off your list (even if you don't eat it often) all of a sudden you start just jonesing for it!

Stupid food.

So, after I wrote the other day on here that I really haven't been cooking lately, I decided that I needed to cook.  I made a fabulous salad that I saw on Apartment 34 (minus all the fanciness) that I just can't stop eating (I know it's got cheese, I know it's not Vegan...).

Unfortunately, three days of eating this fabulous salad (minus the candied walnuts) has equalled my need for another product.

I'm dying over here!  I love my fruits and veggies, but no one lets you know that when you start going all fruit and veggie that it really, well, is just a fabulous mess on your digestion. 

Maybe potato chips would be better?

Then I got this brilliant idea to make some vegetarian chili.

I know, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment.  

Anyone Else Think that the Vegetable Classic Black Bean Flavored with Bacon is Hilarious?

Sometimes, I could just kick myself for the stupid things I do.

So, all day I suffered.  I'm pretty sure my size eights were cutting off my circulation by the end of the night.  I think muffin top would have been the understatement of the year.  

It's almost 2 a.m. and I've resorted to this.

Stupid Vegetarian thing.  I'm over it.  Unless you've all got a better idea!

Such a Perfect Day...

Today was just the best day to be off and the best day to run errands.  Why can't I have off days like this in the summer?  We live in the fabulous state of New York, but usually around this time of the year we're digging ourselves out of tons of snow; which if you know me at all, I despise!  This year has been absolutely fabulous.  Other than two snow storms, pretty early in the season, we really haven't been hit hard.  This makes for a very happy Dana.  Now, please don't blame me if we get hit now, I just looked at the weekly forecast and it's still fabulous, so I really can't be blamed for jinxing it yet!

So today, as the weather creeped into the high 50's, I brought back what I like to call Dress Day.  

Granted, I still wear dresses in the winter, now that I've found leggings and tights to be tolerable— but this is Dress Day weather!  I wasn't even cold.  I didn't even need my hat.  I hope it continues like this all the way up to the day Spring is official.  And I love my new Ruche sweater and necklace (call it my friendly reminder to practice like a good girl, especially since I've been enjoying it!).  And I'm pretty stoked over the fact that those boots I wanted are back in stock and are now on their way to my front door.  

One of my friends told me today that I could quite possibly be considered a shopaholic— I totally disagree!  I don't shop often, just a little more than usually lately, and my lack of cooking makes up for it right?  I mean, rarely having a grocery bill does help with buying my dresses.  Score one for my side.

I'll try to tame down my spending, but I just love when Dress Day weather hits.  Hopefully, the Groundhog cooperates.