I'm Up, I'm Up...

Those were usually my famous last words to my mother before I nodded off again when I was suppose to be getting ready for school.  It's almost ten years later and I'm still doing the same thing.  I think that to myself every time the alarm goes off, and I push the snooze button.  The hubby and I have a horrible sleep schedule, but in the past week and a half it's been affecting my workouts as well.  Going to bed at 4 a.m. doesn't really equal wanting to wake up and hit the gym.

google images

I need to get back into my morning workout habit and start getting motivated to greet the sunshine again.  I love being able to say that 9 or 10 a.m. is early for me.  I have to admit, it feels pretty good to feel the sunshine.  I can't wait for spring!

I came across this article while looking for my favorite Marilyn Monroe workout picture.  How perfect.  I still think it's funny that people insist Marilyn was fat, when in all actuality she died weighing 117 pounds.  The photo below was part of her last photo shoot she took before her death.   

Oh well, I guess you'll never change the minds of women who really want the ideal American woman to be larger than she actually was.  Yea she had curves, but curves aren't a bad thing.  I wish I had curves like her!  She was tiny for 5'5!  

Anyway, off to the gym I go!  What inspires you to keep working out?  How do you stay in shape?  Any star that you idolize? 

A Great Weekend...

It was so nice not working on a Saturday.  When you're in the restaurant business there are a lot of things that you need to get used to and not having a life on the weekends is one of them.  So this was my exception to the rule.  

The hubby and I headed down to Jersey to see Miranda Lambert in concert.  Jerrod Niemann and Chris Young really weren't that impressive as opening acts; maybe it was the sound of the iZod center being split in half, or maybe it was because the crowd really wasn't feeling them, but I've definitely seen both guys do much better shows.  I kinda think it was the crowd just not knowing the guys well enough. Maybe they're just better in intimate settings; my vote is still out on that one.

My hubby isn't exactly a huge Miranda Lambert fan but he bought the tickets because he knows that I am.  But by the end of the concert, I think he said at least six times how impressed he was with her singing ability and her performance.  She definitely rocked it.

I really wish that I recorded the Aretha Franklin number she sang—the girl sanngggg, if you know what I mean!  

I get so emotional watching concerts.  I think I've mentioned that before.  I want my songs to be heard someday.  I want that overwhelming feeling that an artist must feel when a crowd sings their song back to them.  

I'm pretty sure she's living the life that I'm suppose to be living.  I'm pretty sure I hate that.  How rude! I mean, could I at least write your songs Miranda?  You could sing them, I'll just write them.  Can anyone make that deal happen?

Oh well, I'll just keep writing and stop waiting for it to happen.  I need to make it happen.

"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle...

If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right...

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary...

Stay hungry.  Stay Foolish." — Steve Jobs

Hi Thursday...

Hi Thursday.  I love you.  You're like the unexpected gift before my weekend starts.  You're kinda fabulous.  I only really enjoy you every other week, but that's the best part about you, you're my every other week friend that I've fallen for.  You're pretty perfect.

Bath Time with Lavender and Epsom Salt

My Earring of the Month Arrived

Ruche Arrived

I Got Dressed for Dinner With Friends

I Gave this Little One Tons of Loving

This Became My New Addiction

Thank you Thursday, you've been great, as always.  I wouldn't expect anything less.  Granted, I still had to cook and clean, but I've got so much time to enjoy you that I really kinda forgot about those things.  Thanks again— see you in two weeks!

Uh Oh...

I found a new dress site I love.  Ruche.  Just like Modcloth, it's kind of addicting.  Even worse, they have the cutest accessories too.  And as an old lady, I love having accessories.  Too much is never enough, right?  Hmmm.  It's pretty hard to stop "window shopping" during my downtime.  I was good though; I only bought one dress... but way too many other things.  A girl has got to look cute.

What?  It's not like I went crazy or anything?

I wanted these too, but they're out of my sizes.  

Oh, well.  I made sure I signed up to be notified if they're restocked.  This is the one damn problem with feeling good, I just can't stop shopping!  

(all pictures courtesy of www.shopruche.com )

It's Been So Long...

I can't believe that it's been almost three years since the hubby asked me to marry him.  He didn't get down on one knee.  He was still in the process of having my ring made.  He just looked at me one night and said, "Can I ask you a question?" In my head, I thought, yes, I'll marry you, but then he actually said it.  He told me how much he loved me.  How much living the rest of his life with me would mean to him.  I cried.  Of course I said yes.  Of course I called my mom.

Three years.  So much has changed since then and yet so much has stayed the same.  

I love when people ask, "so how is married life treating you?" I'm not exactly sure how to answer that.  It's exactly like any relationship in your life.  There are ups and downs.  At some moments you hate each other.  But more often then not, you see the love you have in the reflection of each others eyes.  You make compromises.  You feel love.  You feel your emotions.

He still indulges my quirky, dorky side.  He says nothing about my dress habit— lucky me, after a 7-month engagement I got to wear the most beautiful dress a girl could ever wear.

Photos by Michael Bloom Photography

www.michaelbloomphoto.com

I'm the Oldest Young Person You Know...

That's what I've been told.  That I'm the oldest young person that most people know.  I'm not exactly sure if that's a compliment or if it just means that I act like a boring old lady.  I mean, I do.  Kinda.  I mean, I am.  Kinda.  But that's completely fine with me.  

I can tell you that at least once a week someone tells me that I should have been a twenty-something in the 1940's or the 1950's.  My mom is usually the one dishing that one out, but tons of my customers do too.  I could wear a dress everyday of my life and be completely fine with it.  Even in the dead of winter I'll make due with some tights and boots.  I think I've found a style that finally suits me.  It only took me until I was 26 to figure it out.  I mean what's wrong with fondness for old lady sweaters and vagabond knitted hats?  Anything with a touch of vintage charm is completely perfect for me.

Or is it my clip on earrings and old lady charm?  Maybe it's the earring of the month club.  I'm not exactly sure.  Maybe it's my librarian attitude?  Or the Modcloth shopping that includes my little dress shopping habit.  Or my new favorite site Ruche.

Maybe it's having the 40's on four on Sirius playing every time I'm in the car (sorry hubby, I can't help it!).  Ya gotta love some Glenn Miller Band.

All I know is that I take it as a compliment.  I think I'd make my Grama a proper companion back in the day.  Just sitting drinking tea and bullshitting with the girls and doing the least amount of housework possible (minus Grama's pesky cigarette habit that she had back then).

The other day when my hubby caught me getting out of the shower, he also saw me in my favorite little item I picked up about a month ago.

It possibly could cross the limit of the old lady charm.  Personally, I think my shower cap is stunning!  At least as stunning as a shower cap can possibly be.  I mean he might have asked me if I was eighty, but I don't think many eighty-year olds can rock a shower cap quite like I do. 

Now, if I start wearing rain caps on outside, then I might have a problem.  Is there an I Love Lucy or Golden Girls episode I could reference for help with this problem?  If there is, maybe I should re-watch it for the 100th time.  Then again, maybe those shows are what caused my problem.  Damn TV.  You always get the best of me!

New Beginnings...

I've been really feeling the need to change my header, but honestly, I've forgotten so much of my copy editing and layout class from college that I really didn't want to try to start up with the headache of using InDesign.  But alas, I finally broke down and decided to jump back in.  I'm no professional.  Honestly, it's just something I don't have patience for, until I start getting back into it, then I start enjoying it again.  

I hope it's not too bad, or too much of a change, but I'm kinda liking it.  

I was always one of those kids that rearranged my bedroom with the seasons, so having the same header for two years, started to kill me!  

My goals in life have been tweaked a tad.  My love of different things in life has grown.  I really felt the need to change my blog as my life has changed.

What do you think? Should I go back to my old one?  Revamp the new one?  

So many questions.  Let me know.

I Hate Saturdays...

I know I rave about Mondays and how much I love them; even Thursdays get my vote every now and then.  But have I mentioned how much I despise Saturdays?  

It hasn't always been this way.  I use to like them just about as much as any other day.  Then all of a sudden my hubby had this idea of doing a double on Saturdays for work.  It kinda put a damper on that whole Saturday thing and my Tuesday thing.  The thing is now he leaves work on Friday night a little after eleven and then has to be back up for work at 4 a.m.—the problem with that?  I get home from work about 2:30 a.m. and he wakes up at the sound of the toilet paper roll.  

Him and his damn Spidey Senses.  

So he does a double on Saturday so he can have off on Tuesdays; it turns his week into a four day work week and he loves every minute of it.  Well, Tuesdays use to be my Me Time day; which sadly meant that I basically would clean the house and get my errands done, but now it's a day together (this is good!), but now when I come home on Friday night from work, I have to sleep on the couch until he wakes up because I can't disturb my sleeping prince.  The puppy also has to stay at Grama's because Daddy needs his four hours of sleep (understandable).  

Last night I came home from work and he had the blanket all laid out on the couch for me with my pillow and his shirt to sleep in.  How cute is he?  I'm pretty sure it took me about 5 minutes to pass out.

As per our new normal, he woke me up around 5 a.m. to tuck me in upstairs before he left for work.  I got my forehead kiss. 

Now, I know what you're thinking, I have a whole Saturday to myself to get chores done and run errands right?  Nah, I'm tired from working late and it snowed outside!  I don't wanna shovelllll!!!!

This has shitty Saturday written all over it!  I'm totally going to veg out in the house and possibly get some stuff done around here.  Other than that, I'm hoping to stay in all day until work tonight.  But I have to say, without the hubby and without the pup, the house does get a little lonely.  I'm also pretty sure that I'm silly for making fun of all those people who grocery shop right before storms—if I grocery shopped on a regular basis this wouldn't be a problem, but I'm not exactly sure what I plan on eating today.  I think it's going to include lots of Shop Rite brand iced tea mix because there's not much else.  How long can one live off of pure sugar?  Any theories? Just wondering.  

Stupid Saturday.

A New Life...

How is it that I can feel incredibly happy one second and instantly sad in the next?  My best friend since first grade just had her first child, and I couldn't be happier.  Blake William is perfect.  I'm so excited to be an Auntie and to spoil this little man.  

I held him in my arms for almost two hours and he was just, sigh, perfect.  

He had that baby smell and his skin was so incredibly soft and perfect.  His little cone shaped head with blonde hair covering it— priceless.  The spitting image of his Daddy.  It was amazing to see this little man come from being in mommy's belly one day and then be welcomed into the world the next.  I couldn't stop staring at him.

On the car ride there I cried tears of happiness. Then on the car ride home from the hospital I couldn't stop crying.  And not for the happiness of my friend (how terrible is THAT!) but for the sadness that I feel because the feelings that she's able to experience right now, I may never have.  The joy her husband feels.  The love her mother feels.  That completion of a family.  

I keep saying, maybe I'm not meant to be a mom, maybe I'm meant to do other things... but today, while holding that little man, I have to say, it felt kinda, well... perfect.

Welcome to the world Blake William; It's kind of a scary place, but your mommy and daddy (and your auntie) will help you along the way. It's never easy, but right now, as you're in mommy's arms sleeping, it's kind of perfect- we will all try really hard to keep it that way.

Is There Such a Thing...

I'm an old TV show addict.  Nothing compares to older shows and the little snippets of wisdom that they always include.

I remember an episode of "All in the Family" where Mike ("meathead" as he is so fondly remembered) and Gloria were trying to teach Edith how to "fair fight."  This is their method of setting aside a time to fight with each other and vent out their frustrations.  

Do you think there really could be such a thing?  Do people do this? Sometimes it's hard to compromise when you're in a relationship.  How do you know when a fight is worth it?  How do you know when you should back down or when you should have it out?  I've learned that there should always be a little give and take, but I'm far from a professional.

I love this episode... "gunnysacking" Oh, Gloria and Mike, they always thought they knew it all.

So About this Working Out Thing...

I'm kinda giddy about working out.  It's weird.  I have a true love hate relationship with it.  I always have. But even though I hate the idea of going to the gym and the idea of waking up to go and workout, I have to say, I pretty much love it when I finally get my start.  

I've worked out before.  I've gotten some results before, but i've never had definition.  I've definitely lost weight before (and then gained it back) but I've never ever, had results before that I'm truly proud of.  I'm very proud of myself.  It's been almost a year of going to the gym (April 1st) consistently and of doing weights.  I've fought my hubby for years on the whole weight lifting thing—"weight lifting is for guys" or "I don't want to bulk up"... pretty much any excuse to lose weight by just doing cardio and cutting my eating in half.  

I've lost weight before.  But never like this.  

I'm not there yet, but I'm halfway there.  I'm pretty damn proud of the fact that I'm actually getting cut.  So here's my official, I'm sorry, to my hubby.  You were so right.  Lifting weights really is the key to getting big results.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have definition in my stomach or wear a Victorias Secret bikini.  I've got more work to do before I rock this in Aruba, but I'm almost there.  And today is my official start of Ab Ripper X.  So I'm expecting to be seeing amazing results by then (I have this really hot friend that swears by it).

I can't believe I'm putting this online.  But I'm damn proud.  Even if I'm not there yet.

Is it Really Almost February...

Wow, time is flying!  It's already the middle of January!  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was running around trying to find last minute Christmas gifts for people and trying to prepare myself for the bill that was going to come at the end of the month.

I love receiving gifts just as much as I love getting them— especially the unexpected ones!  How great is it when you actually have a secret santa at work that gives you something you actually love?  Let's be honest, most of the time, we fear the secret santa.  We try to act all satisfied and happy over the gift but usually, they just miss the mark.  This year, I really was touched by mine.  The gifts were so personal and so perfect; they actually made me tear up (even though I cry at the drop of a dime!).  

Inside the notebook was a personal note from my secret santa telling me to continue to chase my dreams and write my lyrics down in this notebook (and not to forget her when I make it big)... it was so sweet, and the cowboy boot necklace was the perfect kicker!

For anyone looking to give a perfect gift still (perhaps for Valentine's Day?), I have to say that last year I found this site Darlybird.com through one of my favorite blogs and I joined her earring of the month club.  Let me tell you how awesome it was to get a cute new pair of earrings every month in the mail.  I mean seriously, who gets real mail anymore?  It's never letters, it's never packages unless you just bought something—it's always bills!  And even those don't always come in the mail anymore.  For me, it's mostly not for profits looking for donations (I guess that's what happens when you try to be nice and donate to a place, they sell your name to every other charity, but I digress, don't get me started!).

I almost forgot to sign up for the monthly club.  I'm telling you, it's a great gift, even if like me, it's a gift you give to yourself (as long as you don't mind having the same earrings as me).  You pay upfront, but then every month it's like getting a surprise in the mail.  I loved it last year, and I can't wait for this years' earrings that will be added to my collection.

Check out Rachel's site.  She includes a cute little note with the earrings each month.  

One hundred dollars for 12 pairs of earrings isn't too shabby (last year I'm pretty sure it was 14 pairs)... if I do say so myself.  I just love finding cute things.  Any cute places to shop I should know about?  Please share!

Don't You Just Love a Date Night...

I am convinced that everyone should have a date night.  Whether you're single or spoken for, a date night keeps you sane.  Just a night to get away from the house chores and to get away from your work life.  

One great thing about the Christmas season is that a lot of people give gift cards.  Thankfully, my step dad picked our perfect dinner spot— Nina.  

From the atmosphere to the food and the service, this place definitely has it all.  I love having any excuse to get dressed up and have my every once in awhile drink... this time it was a Grape Ape Martini (yes please!)—grape vodka, grape pucker, chambord, and sour mix—Fabulous!

Nina never disappoints.  The meal was fabulous and I'm pretty sure we'll both have leftovers for the next week.  Yum!  We decided we weren't going to get our typical selections, so we started with the Risotto Tort with a basil pesto and then the hubby had a Cajun Chicken Penne (he tried really hard to not act like it was too spicy) and I had a Fettuccine in a Rosemary Sauce.  Fabulous.  But we couldn't resist and bought the Braised Chardonnay Short Ribs to take home—I'm pretty sure I've ruined my attempt at being a Vegetarian for the week.  So worth it.

There's always next week!