Thanksgiving 2014

Well, a lot has happened in the last year+. Life is just this organic, always changing thing. To go from daily activities being the same to an extreme shake up is a bit difficult to accept.


Our son has started preschool. He goes 3 full days a week, which in turn enables me to job hunt, clean, and sort of decompress. Anyone who said I would become a Stay At Home Mom when I was laid off 4+ years ago, I'd have laughed at them. However, it has encompassed so much of the last 3 and a half years. Most days go really well, while others I hide in the bathroom while my mom keeps an eye on lil man....so I can cry. To go from an "ideal" of thinking "My blog will be my main source of income"(psh, yeah right) to now applying for ANY job is a shock. Most people cannot stand the dull desk jockey job, whereas I thrived in my cubicle; decorated with photos of myself and the Hubs at our wedding, our crazy corgis, and general interests. OH! I had a 5 gal fish tank at my desk! True story! Wait, the rambling self is coming out. **FOCUS** To go from a professional, high stress job....to submitting applications to CLEAN (No hate, just not what I am used to) has been sort of a shock and a shake up for me.


But, now with the impending holidays...and realizing how BROKE we are....it sucks. At the beginning of April, we were looking to buy our first place. My (stupid) appendix had other ideas: ER admittance, followed by a CT scan showed it was the size of a grapefruit, thus needed to be removed. 3 day hospital stay and my Hubs staying home to take care of myself and lil man since per the doctor, I wasn't to lift over 5lbs. for 6 WEEKS. That screwed us financially.


Fast forward to present day- with lil man being in preschool (he needs little people socialization) it has become abundantly clear how BADLY I need to find work. There was something in the works for the end of September, alas it never came off. If only there were a way to be paid for attending to a rambunctious toddler while entertaining him, doing enrichment activities and trying to keep him eating balanced meals....but there is no such thing unless you work at a daycare/preschool.


I had a direction when I first started writing, but now it just seems to have become a "What the hell has been going on/catch-up" post.


I am thankful for my Health- that my appendix did not burst, that my Hubs and Lil Man are healthy and happy. Could we use more money, sure. But we have love and happiness in spades. And I am excited to have made our first Thanksgiving yesterday for my side of the family: my mom, sister, brother-in-law and nephew. I will post photos next week! And I am thankful to be spending the later part of today with my wonderful Mother and Father-in-law as well as my Brother-in-law and Lil Mans great Grandma.


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What are you Thankful for this Thanksgiving Day? Are you traveling to be with family??

A few cell phone photos from Georgia.

Our weather was kind of blah while in Georgia. It was kind of nice; chilly and rainy.

 

 

 

About an hour and a half still from my dads! Mind you, we had been awake since the morning before, around 9:00am- this photo was around 9:30am the NEXT day!

 

 

Gorgeous back roads in Cleveland, Ga!

 

 

 

Another winding roady!

 

 

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I will definitely be getting around to uploading from the camera! Much better photos!

New computer- new frustration!!!

Well, a few months back I mentioned the acquisition of said new equipment. It is a headache at best. It is brand new, in the box laptop- purchased from Amazon.com; however it takes FOREVER to power up, to get on the Internet, upload photos- everything is a mission for this new laptop. Reasons my sad lil blog have been suffering.

 

Our son will be TWO in 4 days! AAH!!!!! Craziness!! It still baffles my brain that we have this awesome Dude and he is OURS. Not a nephew, not a friends child- OURS. AH-mazing! With our son being born a few days before Fathers Day two years ago, his birthday generally falls a day or two before said holiday. Since this is the case, we will be celebrating ON his birthday with my half of the family (ice cream cake included!) and ON Fathers Day with my in-laws (and a different cake!). Our lucky boy gets TWO cakes, and sort of two parties!

 

The year has flown by! Seriously, in just a few blinks and **POOF!** its June!

 

We went to visit my father at the end of March/beginning of April. If you cannot tell, the hassle of trying to get said computer to work PLUS trying to upload photos has become sort of a PITA. When I get some free time (as these are generally done when The Dude naps) I shall upload our photos from Georgia as well as his birthday photos.

 

In December, I hadn't mentioned that my sisters FIL passed away suddenly so this is my Brother In Laws first Fathers Day as a dad and WITHOUT his father. To be considerate, my mother suggested we celebrate on Wednesday- tomorrow. We will be going to lunch at a wonderful seafood restaurant and it will be nice to NOT have to trudge through the craziness that is "Insert name of holiday" Day here. We can all relax and not stress.

 

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Do you have any Father's Day plans or traditions??

Almost April!!

So, I haven't had time to get on our computer. Plus our home is an older house that gets KAKA reception for wifi..

 

We generally don't go on many vacations but we went away after my birthday to Orlando for a few days. The Travel Deity had different plans seeing as all 3 of us got sick. Definitely put a damper on our plans. This will give us a greater incentive to return soon! AND! A-HA! The Hubs said we can to NEXT February for our first family trip to Disney! Talk about excitement! The Dude is tall enough to ride quite a bit at Magic Kingdom, but the year to grow will help with his speech development.

 

Also! We will be traveling soon to see my father in the next month! Sort of a bummer that he hasn't met my son yet, nor my sisters. BUT! She will be on her own to go with her husband to see our father. The weather has been insane in Georgia lately- snow, tornadoes, and rain about the wazoo. My father is currently recovering from the Flu (blech) so he should be back to full health when we venture up! Since my Hubs bought our wonderful camera, it will be nice to take GOOD quality photos whilst visiting. The time before last, my camera crapped out. (BOO!!)

 

My birthday was wonderful! As mentioned before, this was the birthday that my Jo Totes camera bag was finally obtained! Although, my shoulder pad tore within 3 weeks of using it. The Jo Totes team was wonderful & sent me a new one! My Hubs replaced my iPod classic; my old one died a few months back (The first one crashed & Apple gave me a refurb & that one lasted over 3 years) & the iPod currently being used- the battery would no longer hold a charge. So he got me a 160GB iPod Classic engraved with our two sayings! So sweet!

 

I wish there was more to report. Our mini rex bunny passed away. He was 11 years old. He'd been sick for quite some time (we actually thought this time last year that he would not make it) however the last 3-4 months especially, signs were showing that he wouldn't be with us much longer. He actually waited until my Hubs went in and loved on him. A few hours later, he was gone. Mr. Woolley- we are glad you are with Sniffles now & are restored to your pristine self. One of our basset hounds may be going to the Rainbow Bridge soon. She is 14+, and has terrible respiratory problems. Tomorrow will tell what the Vet says.

 

All in all, same old.

 

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Anything new/exciting going on with you??

Very lastest update! And a new laptop!

We FINALLY got a new computer so yay blogging! My birthday is in 9 days *whoo*. In my family, my mom always made a big deal about our birthdays; now that the years are racking up, the excitement doesn't feel the same. There is still the tingles of joy in my belly, but the expectations versus the reality are never the same. That is not saying as the birthday comes and goes that it isn't joyful (with the exception of last years Birthday-That-Shall-Not-Be Named), which this year will be "The 30th Birthday: The Revenge", or "30th Birthday, Part 2". Now that I'm getting older, the birthdays don't seem to be the same.

 

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned, but my father-in-law & I share a birthday, just 20 years apart. Maybe that has something to do with the loss of magic? My birthday comes first in my family, followed by my mother 4 days later, and my sister 2 days after our mother. We do go to dinner for a trifecta birthday celebration. One year we tried 3 celebrations; needless to say, it was exhausting and a pain to boot. 

 

This year, we are (I am) hoping to trek north to Orlando for a few days. ALL I wanted to do was eat at Planet Hollywood & eat myself silly on Cap'n Crunch chicken.

 

I've received my birthday gifts from my family already. Since this is a new computer, it will take me a few days to upload all the photos I've taken, including those of my new awesome stuff.

 

I will say.......I FINALLY got a #JoTotes camera bag!! Let me gush for a moment. After deliberating for 10 minutes over 3 different ones, I chose the Millie in Marigold.

 

Lovely Millie

 

This bag is gorgeous! We currently have just the lens that came with the Rebel T3. If you're like me and have just the one body & lens- this bag is perfect. The camera fits perfectly on one side while the other side holds my wallet, phone, and tiny calendar & pencil bag (a very tiny pencil bag). Versus the old bag I bought from Amazon, this one is lighter with all that stuff than the old bag was EMPTY!

 

Having pulled a muscle UNDER my right shoulder blade is causing me a great deal of pain. Hopefully after some rest & a hot shower will set me right!

 

Once the photo upload is complete, the birthday gift photos will be put up in a separate post!

 

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When is your birthday?? Do you have any fun traditions?? 

 

 

Christmas!

Holy moly! I have NOT had time to blog! My son can now climb (on everything, I might add!) so it makes it difficult to get to the computer. 

 

With that said! Today is Chrismas and we celebrated with my in-laws and my family! We visited my in-laws yesterday (for Noche Buena) and The Dude had tons of fun with his grandma, grandpa, and great grandma! He was spoiled (yay!) he got ABC foam Sesame Street mats/puzzle pieces, new shoes, jammies, and a lady bug toy (which the name of escapes me!)

 

Not too sure if my few readers remember me having a Nail Technicians license so when my mother gave me a gift card to a local supply store for professionals, it excited me greatly! There are a few tools that need replacing and this will help!

 

Overall, Christmas was WONDERFUL! Time spent with family, lots of photos taken, and lots of memories made!

 

OH! My nephew will be 2 months at the end of the month! Neat, huh?? He is getting so big!

 

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Hopefully some of the photos taken with the working graces of the computer, will be posted (hopefully) by New Years!!!

 

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (I truly hope to publish another post before then!)

Tuesday Things I Love renamed for Wednesday Wishlist!

Lately it has been hard to get to the computer on Tuesdays for the aforementioned post, this is because it is one of the two days off my Hubs is home.

 

 

Not wanting to do the typical Friday Favorites type post, my brain has been trying to figure out a different to post. Having only scheduled one post for a "future day", I prefer to have the idea of WHAT items I'd like to show and post them THAT day.

 

The fact that my son is teething like a dinosaur is making daily consistency difficult. He does not want to nap lately, only if the same boring movie is on and he has ran himself around the house in to exhaustion.

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So without further ado, here is the new Wednesday Wishlist!!!

(These are things I'd love to have, but do not have unlimited funds to buy this stuff!!)

 

The color of this bag is so pretty, and a nice neutral- not too bright or too bland.

Epiphan!e Camera Bag

 

These shoes are super comfy! I have them in gray but would love these! And for every pair you buy, SKECHERS will give a new pair of shoes to a child in need.

 

Sketchers BOBs

 

My son LOVES tags- on toys, clothes, blankets; everything!! Dino fabric and ribbon tags?! YES!

 

Taggie Dino Blanket

 

 

I have a video of my son playing with the tag on a toy.....for at least 5 minutes. The video, only being a minute long, is hysterical. He is GIGGLING profusely for a minute! It brings such joy to my heart!

 

 

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My sister is due with her son soon. She went to the hospital a few days ago, since her BP was high. Depending on what her doctor says tomorrow, he may be here sooner rather than later. She used to have high BP and was on medication for it. Now it seems to have regulated but the day it was high, she had an issue with her preregistration at the hopsital where she will deliver. So she thinks due to human stupidity (they made her wait for 3 hours just to drop off a pee sample- TMI, I know. But c'mon, she is 38wks pregnant!)

 

Next Wednesday (Halloween) is our 4th wedding anniversary!! We were not able to get costumes this year, but I have enough halloween socks and such to pull together something for myself. >.<

 

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Do you have any special Halloween traditions?? Will you be dressing up??

 

 

 



Sick baby= no productivity

There is a naaaaaaaasty stomach bug going around our area. One which my Hubs and The Dude have both caught. We took The Dude to the pediatrician twice in two days, which when we went afterhours Sunday The Dude felt like a champ giggling since he did not receive any shots.

 

With him being sick, it has been hard to get to the laptop. Hopefully regular posts will start back tomorrow, if not Monday at the latest.

 

I have a feeling I am the stomach bugs next victim, since my friend & her son just recovered from it. To which she warned- it is very contagious so Lyson EVERYTHING!

Quirky me!

I just had to share this with the interwebs!

 

Things that annoy me:

*Tiny font on blogs- I am already going blind and the super tiny font isn't helping.

*People who don't use their blinker!!! ARGH!!!

*When I forget to refill the baby wipe box & the Dude has a SCARY diaper (whoops!)

 

 

Things I LOVE!

*My family! Our son has started to pull up for hugs!

*Chocolate- I have a SEVERE pull towards the yummy stuff!

*The Corgis- So silly and fuzzy!

*Perfectly buttered and salted popcorn.

 

 

Just a few things that have been irking me/making me smile lately!

 

THAT IS ALL!! Have a Great Wednesday! (Every time I see the word wednesday- I say in my head "Wed-Ness-day")

Hello, October!!!!!

October is finally here! It has to be one of my favorite months!! Halloween- seeing children trick-or-treating, our Wedding Anniversary is also on Halloween! Plus all the yummy pumpkin flavored treats abound!

 

We usually decorate shortly after Labor Day but September was a weird month. The decorating will commence tomorrow!! Instead of carving a pumpking (because of all the fateful videos we have seen on AFV of kids eating the pumpkin innards & puking everywhere) we will be painting a pumpkin!! Maybe putting our hand prints on it to make them look like Turkeys!

 

General with September, since my Hubs bday is at the beginning portion of the month- it is a very exciting time of year! Hello Gateway month! Hubs Bday, First Day of Fall, HALLOWEEN!, Thanksgiving and then the winter holidays! It is my absolute favorite!!!

 

With living in Lovely South Florida (wah-wah) we do not really experience "cold" fall weather. Maybe 3 collective weeks of chilly sweater-worthy weather. (BOOO!!!!)

 

With my Hubs receiving his promotion, we keep toying with ideas of where we eventually want to sprout our own roots- Stay in Fla? Move to Washington? Who knows! A few days ago, we discussed a dream of Hay Rides, and Corn Mazes, Pumpkin Patches and fall colored leaves. Stirring that into the possibility, we couldn't really think where that would plant us. For a VERY short time,Orlando was home to me. We have tossed around the idea of moving to Orlando- I've got 3 GREAT friends up there, Hubs could easily transfer (since they do not have any Advance Auto Parts in Washington State.)

 

At this point in life we still need to set aside money TO move, potentially buy a home to raise Our Dude. My father says if we come to Georgia, he would sign a mortgage with us, thus helping us lock in a lower financing rate.

 

Aah! Sometimes being, granted a modified version, an adult.....SUCKS. Choices that will now affect our son more directly. It is kind of hefty to shoulder!!

 

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What sort of decisions do YOU have currently on the backburner or in the future??

 

 

New Epiphan!e bags video- featuring some new styles & Fab Faves!

OK lovlies, I have been trying to win an Epiphanie Camera bag like whoa lately.  With my Dude, just thinking of dropping the money for one of these lovely bags pangs me with guilt- its money we could use for Clothes/Diapers/Etc for the Dude.

 

BUT WHEN THERE IS A GIVEAWAY!!!!

 

http://www.haveanepiphanie.com/home/2012/9/17/epiphanie-fall-2012-video.html?lastPage=true&postSubmitted=true

 

YUP! I've got my fingers AND toes crossed! I'd really love one!!!

Darn dentist

Last Tuesday was my first appointment to start fixing all the crap from the past. (Mind you, my first appointment was July 17th and we are just getting around to fillings etc.) I panicked and started sobbing- I have a deep rooted fear of the dentist and was borderline hysterical at the office. Once the Novocaine set in, I was OK. The pain wasn't bad and it was relatively quick. But now, almost two hours after my appointment- I am in PAIN. I have no idea why the pain is so bad. The area worked on was YEARS neglected so that may be the cause of the pain.

It has almost been a week and I still have some pain/weird feeling in the area. She connected two of my fillings to one another, since the main tooth getting worked on was in such bad shape.

The next appointment is a week from tomorrow, also the same day we take our son to the Pediatrician for his 15 month check up.

I cannot wait until all the dental shenanigans are taken care of, that way I will just need to go for fillings.

Oh yeah, she also needs to refer me to a specialist. GRRREEEEAT.

The last few weeks have been funk-inducing. The Dude is teething like a mo-fraggie and has not been sleeping so well.

So round about thats what has been going on.

Sunday....something amazing/scary happened!

September 2nd is the first day my husband and I will be going on a date for the first time since our son was born!

With his recent promotion, upcoming Birthday and my mom chomping at the bit to watch The Dude, we went to one of my Hubs favorite restaurants - The Rustic Inn, sans baby. **Insert panic here** 

This place is a South Florida legend for their crabs. The waiter comes around, ties a bib on your neck (much like my son!) and hands you a mallet, for cracking crabs. He loves seafood whereas the smell alone makes me nauseated. BUT! He really wanted to go there and GO we did!

Thinking we could handle not having The Dude, we proceed in to the restaurant where a nice hostess seats us by the water (The restaurant is located of the intracostal-sort of) and we start perusing the menu. Our server comes up with waters and take our order....at this point we have only been there for 5, maybe 10 minutes. The hostess seats a family of 5 in front of us- they have two children; girls- the younger is around 2, the other is closer to 7. At this point, this "panicky first time mom, first time away for a long period of time" checks in with Nana (what he calls my mother). "We are fine! Walking around! Take your time!". OK, good. Everything is good.

Insert crying here. Yup. I get all teary eyed since The Dude is not with us, and there is a super cutie at the table in front of us. So we NOM, have dessert (Key Lime Pie!) have coffee and set off back home!

All in all, we were only gone for 2 hours. My mother in law also wants to babysit her grandson. They live quite a distance from us so we are planning an outing in their next of the woods so she can have quality baby time!

How was your Long Weekend? Did you do anything fun??

Tropical Storm Isaac

Well, the news kept forcasting that this tropical storm was going to affect the west coast of Florida. What the news didn't predict was that a small "cell" would break away from the storm and go along the east coast.....which ended up downing a single (sad) tree and it fell on a main power line at the entrance of our dead end street.

 

 

Around 3:00am Monday morning, I awaken to NO fan, a/c, no lullaby playing to keep The Dude asleep. Immediately, my inner voice says "Oh crap." Right afterwards, the "oh crap" is vocalized. Mind you, my sleep schedule is soooo off the wall lately; falling asleep at 1:00am, waking up between 7:30-8:00am, and falling back to sleep until 9:30am. On this WONDERFUL Monday, I fell asleep at 1:00am, awoke at 3:00am, did not fall back to sleep until 6:15am, and awoke for the day (with no coffee to look forward to!) at 9:00am. Needless to say it was a ROUGH day.

 

 

Around 11:00am, the Fire Dept. sent a truck to tape off the entrance with the stupid yellow police tape "Do Not Cross" kaka. And they had a small pick up truck from the Fire Dept. "guarding" the entrance/exit so no one would leave. In a display of "overkill" they even taped off the entrance/exit in to the WHOLE neighborhood. (In my neighborhood, you turn right from the main road, then come to a stop sign- my street is to the left & a dead end, to the right is another portion of the neighborhood which has 4 streets connected to it, with 2 alternate entrance/exits). So at this point between communicating with my Hubs, I charge my phone in the car to 40%. It was breezy since the rain bands kept coming through.

 

Being an adult, we know how to acclimate to heat better than my 14 month old son. He was soo sweaty and just grumpy and uncomfortable. He fell asleep in his pack n' play in front of the opened living room window, with hardly any breeze since the rain had subsided for the moment, to wake up 25 minutes later drenched in sweat. My mother suggested I charge my cell phone in her car (Since she had a full tank of gas, and I was at 1/3) and bring The Dude so he can enjoy some a/c. This was around 2:30pm. Almost 12 hours after losing power

 

 

Around 3:00pm, the Fire Dept says anyone who "snuck out" would NOT be allowed back on to the street until power is restored/the tree is cleared. UM, really??! My HUSBAND won't be allowed back in? Or my elderly neighbors, one of whom is going through chemo?? At this point I am LIVID!!

 

 

Around 3:15pm I contacted our local news station, with a photo of the downed tree along with explaining that they were not letting us leave our street. Also explaining their cockamamie plan to have the street patrons that "escaped" to park at an abandoned buildings parking lot at the front of the street & they can walk back to their homes. Never mind that these officials haven't mentioned if the cars would be protected from being towed!!

 

 

At 5:15 the sound of a chain saw fills the air, and a service truck can be seen at the entrance of the street! **Happy Dance!** The Dude and I take a stroller walk down to see the progress! In the skies, there is a cherry picker on the horizon! After 20 minutes the same Fire Truck that was babysitting the entrance is driving down the street....anticipation crawling, I step outside to see if we are released from our temporary prison. As soon as the door clicks shut, my mother hollers "POWERS ON!" Cheers are heard throughout the neighborhood!!

 

 

Aaaaaaannnnnnd that was my Monday. Considering we live by the major International Airport here, the fact that it takes soooooo long normally for the power to come back on (During Katrina, we were out of power for THREE WEEKS!!!) less than 24 hours was a RECORD since it was one sad tree that fell. It wasn't a large tree, just an unfortunate placement to where it fell.

 



Asking for help

I've always had a hard time asking for help. Not sure if it is a pride issue, or a "stubborn to a fault, I can do it myself" mentality. My hubs would say the second. Pot meet kettle.

 

Recently this "not asking" thing was squashed! Hurray! I truly am stubborn, which we are seeing this characteristic in our Dude. In the early evening, or like Dr. Sheldon Cooper says "preevening", we were playing in our front yard, where he kept wanting to walk in to the road (Um, not gonna happen lil dude! Sorry!) and every time my husband would take his hand to lead him back on to the lawn, he would shriek and fuss like no other! Oh, this is a glimpse of things to come. **Hides now**

 

Teachers in school advise that if we do not know something or need assistance- ASK. Why is this so hard for adults to implement in to their lives?? We all must be pigheaded to a certain extent.

 

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A few days ago I was having a bizarre day where it felt my skin would explode and my insides would ooze out in a gelationous mess. Truly thought I was going to burst in a violent, messy, and extreme sort of way. Frustration was taking over and my thoughts were rambling together and my body was not cooperating in keeping my movements from looking like I was a robot and my "tin-man joints needed oiling". Truly frustrating.

 

Our son has stopped napping lately so my brain has become mush and marshmallow fluff in my skull. AND! Aha, my body has forsaken the desire to FALL ASLEEP until 1:30am! Argh! It must be a woman thing since my hubs can fall asleep within MINUTES of making contact with his pillow. My brain however is on HYPERDRIVE when I lie down. Worry, mental list of things not accomplished that day & what will need to be done the next day, what bills need to be paid, praying for my family and loved ones, analyzing life in general: Where is the dang "OFF" button for my brain??! 

 

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Do you have a problem asking for help? Do you have any tips for shutting your brain up at night??

WONDERFUL THINGS are HERE!

After a few weeks of waiting for "T"s to be crossed and "I"s to be dotted, here is the BIG News! (And NO!, I am not pregnant again!)

Keep scrolling, for dramatic affect!

Mentioning on July 27th that BIG things were on the horizon for us came to official fruition yesterday......my husband was promoted to STORE MANAGER!

AKA- Mr.Boss Man, El Hefe, Capt. Awesome! Well, he was always Capt. Awesome.

This is HUGE news since he will be making almost double his previous earnings!  I really do not have enough words to express how PROUD I am of him! He told me yesterday and I cried since my mother and I were JUST discussing it about 20 minutes beforehand! He is truly such an asset employee within his company. He is 120% gives-his-all hard worker, he does not "dole" out tasks that he does not want to do- he has done the icky, difficult, strenuous tasks; he is fair when scheduling his team; and he really wants to help each employee in any way he can.

That is the big news on this coast (East Coast, SE Florida)!

Do you have any exciting news??

Photos from my first few days with my Canon

For my birthday/Mother's Day/Just Because- my Hubs got us a Canon EOS Rebel T3. I love this camera. My old (sad) point and shoot would NOT take photos in low light. So now that our, excuse me, BADASS Canon will!

The first photo taken. Granted its not a super compositional photo, but look at my subject!!!

Cute lil house! And my filthy car!

Snozzola licking Libby!

The ever attentive Dyddy!

My little family! Libby is outta there! She hates having her photo taken!

I have a few more photos I want to add, but my computer is being wonky!

What are some things you like to photograph??



Obsessing and letting go

A few years days ago, my obsessive behavior came to a head. For as far back my recollection goes, there seems to always been SOMETHING I was obsessing over- shoes, a scratch on my car that was not there the week before, wanting to cut my hair, an article of clothing I did not purchase even though it was on clearance, that now 5 years later seems to haunt me still. Yes, haunts.

After having my Dude, I managed to lose a decent amount of weight (I was down 36 lbs after his birth) in two months! The thinnest I had been since high school! When my supply dropped, my doctor told me I wasn't eating enough calories to maintain my supply. I chose to eat the good bad stuff! In 14 months since the Dudes big debut, I've gained back 25 lbs. Which brings me back to obsessing. How my body looked before. How clothes fit. This gorgeous dress my mother bought me for Mother's Day. That FIT, when tried on 3 months before. In that time period I managed to put on about 8-11 lbs. (This was just after I stopped breastfeeding & the 30th birthday disaster and I was sad/annoyed/depressed) My Hubs tries to zip up the dress (think a 50's style empire waist white dress with beautiful pink floral print with gorgeous green leaves and cute cap sleeves) and where the skirt portion is sewn onto the bodice, is where the zipper gets stuck. He FINALLY gets the zipper over that evil speed bump in the fabric. The dress is soo tight on my bust that it is pancaking my breasts. Naturally, my reaction is to break down sobbing, demanding he unzip it so it can be returned and never seen in my home again. This same dress was on CLEARANCE a few days ago at one of my favorite stores. For 1/3 the price. Having weighed if it would be worth buying said offensive dress and hoping to lose weight (once my knee stops hating me, I will be continuing my exercise!) which I had planned to do before my sisters baby shower and so the heat here will not be as bad on a slimmer body (MAN, the heavier you are, it seems the heat TRIPLES in disgustingness) which will also make chasing my now-running Dude around easier. Having decided that unnecessary pressure would drive me batty, more so than normal, it was put back on the rack.

This is an item first seen in FEBRUARY. We are in August and yet the damned thing still HAUNTS me. Maybe taunt is the more fitting word. But this is not the first obsession over an item like this! Ohhhh no!! There have been a pair of heels, which as a SAHM would be ridiculous to spend the money on them just to say they are there when needed (really, when would that be??) if necessary. Not that they were expensive- $39.95, not $395- I'm not Carrie from SATC. Even things as simple as someone hitting my car at my old job. Came out after a hard day to see a pretty sizable dent in my drivers side back tire wheel well. Tears were shed. Curse words were spewed quite like a fountain. For about 10 minutes. The dent is still there, 5 years later. SIGH.

I've often discussed with my mom why I exhibit this behavior. She was not able to pin point why. Neither have I.

Back when my Hubs was not the only one working, we had a silly mantra of, "If you see something you NEED, have the money, and all the bills are paid at the time- get it. You may never see it again." (I used to make pretty good money, in addition to Hubs!) Now we are less wasteful with money. Thus letting go of silly ideas of "Spend, Spend, Spend". It is more an ideal of "save, then buy" if it is something that has been a top item for a while (and doesn't cost $400 or something exorbitant!). From a post a week or so ago, still awaiting on officiality for a Good News post! But steps are in place for us to be better finiancially.

What is a personality quirk of yours??



Tuesdays Things I Love! - camera bag edition!

Hello lovelies!

After perusing my Amazon wishlist, I notice a pattern of camera bags. Hello, I am a purse/bag addict!

OK, these are a few I would LOVE to get my hands on!

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Epiphanie London Burnt Orange -$225

The fact that this can convert in to a backpack makes me Happy Camper!

Handmade Vintage Green Crossbody Camera Bag $176

This color is beautiful! I love that it looks like an adventurer bag!

Smaller DSLR camera bag $28

Having the single lens for my T3, this is perfect for short outings, and if you've only got the one body & lens.

Jo Totes Gracie in Butterscotch $119

The color is so creamy! Makes me count down the days until Fall and Winter!

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I wish I had the drive to take more photos. I am trying to take more through out the day. Especially of our dogs!  We have the silliest Corgis on the planet! Trying to set a "goal" of taking 10 quality photos a day & increase each week.

What is one thing you'd like to do more of?



Blogs and "stalking"

I read quite a few wonderful blogs and rarely comment on them. I feel as if my unsolicited comment will just be lost in the sea of others hoping for a response. Whereas my comment would be to say what about the blog/post I appreciated/liked/could relate to; others post to be recognized by the Blogger. And who's to say they would care to read my comment anyway?

If I felt stronger in the blogging craft & could find something I 1000% want to put out there and share with the world, I would attend Blog conferences and seminars. When I did nails, I used to go to "shows" with all the new techniques and products. I was confident in my craft because I had taken all the required courses and had the state certifications. With writing, unless you've gotten a degree, have a strong writing background, or endless amounts of time on your hands (Which with a 13 month old, makes difficut) it can appear difficult to produce quality posts. Maybe if I had a nifty planner to have a prix fixed guide of what types of posts I'd like to publish. Having the "Things I Love Tuesday" post helps a lot. One day I will truly sit down and make a "plan" outlining what post sorts to do during any given week.

I see the "traffic" on my blog, which there isn't a ton, but it makes me wonder how many people actually read the posts while feeling the same as not wanting to leave an "unsolicited comment". If you do read this and aren't my one wonderful follower- please leave a comment with a link to your own blog! I love new blogs and to read other peoples perspectives on life, the world, their hobbies and everything in between!

I wish there were a local blogger conference. My Hubs and I were discussing it last night & he thinks I have interesting things to say (Bless his heart, I LOVE that MAN!) and thinks others would want to read them. Some bloggers are able to make decent coin on sponsorship. Seeing as I'm a SAHM, the fund to pay someone for a sponsor spot are not really in the budget. Plus, the thought of having a sponsor tab with my dorky face makes me nervous. What would others think of my blog? Having originally started it for a place to express the thoughts I would not discuss with family/friends and to see how it has shaped up now would make me feel like a little girl playing in her mothers clothing and make up.

So I pose this- what sorts of things would you like to see? I do not leave the house and to get gussied up to chase my toddler around are not within my realm of realistic. If we have an event to go to, I like to post my outfit. I collect lunch boxes and Mr.Potato Heads, I have a decent amount of Harry Potter collectibles also.

What are some of your favorite things to see on other blogs??