BOO!

I was so excited to get an email this week from Deb at Mommie Mayhem asking me to be their Friday Featured Blogger! It's a really fun site and I've found some really cool blogs there. So, if you came from Mommie Mayhem, thanks for stopping by and leave a comment so I know you were here...

AND...

Happy Halloween everybody!!

I love Halloween. It's so much fun and especially now that I am a parent. For me, this starts the holiday season. I am a Christmas junkie so I consider November 1st through oh say, President's Day "The Holiday Season". I start listening to Christmas Music, gradually pulling out the Christmas decorations, start Christmas shopping, and generally start being in a better mood! I am on a continuous high until after the holidays. Then, watch out! Ha, not really. I don't really get the post-holiday blues, thankfully... I am too busy enjoying the Minnesota winters! It definitely helps to be a winter person if you live here. Otherwise, these winters may just do you in.

Today, however, it will be hovering around 60 degrees!! 60 degrees on Halloween!!! Thank God because I am taking the kids out trick-or-treating tonight and it's usually sooo cold they don't want to go for very long and that's too bad because our neighborhood goes insane for Halloween. It's a mob scene with kids and parents and monsters and pumpkins. I cannot wait! Last year the boys took the kids out and J came back telling me about all of the houses that had warm adult beverages and heaters outside for everyone to get warm and how it was just a fun time. Woo hoo! I love it. Reason #2,304 why we moved here. This will be our 3rd Halloween in our new house so we're hoping for more trick-or-treaters to come by (we're still in the new construction area and it's still too dark!). Oh, more candy for us! :P

(Kaitlyn was none too pleased to smile today--she's supposed to be a MEAN witch! Oh well...)

Happy Haunting everyone!

Thank you SITS Blogathon and Photofiddle!

I was a lucky winner in the SITS Blogathon on October 14th and won a Photofiddle project. What's Photofiddle? It's this cool website where you can upload a photo and they will print it on a canvas! You can do other things to it too like stylize it using colors, blurs, etc. It's amazing and such a cool idea. I uploaded my favorite picture of the girls and they told me I could request whatever design I wanted (nice!). I chose to have the photo printed as is on a canvas. I recieved it today and it. is. simply. awesome.

It's 36X24 and just insanely cool. I would totally recommend Photofiddle to anyone. The canvas was packaged in a sturdy cardboard box, wrapped in heavy duty plastic. AND, it came with soft cotton gloves to handle the canvas (oils from your hands damage the canvas). Nice touch.

Channeling Stuart Smalley...

I have decided that my life is exactly how it is supposed to be. I am supposed to be a mom of two daughters, married to J, living where we are, working in the field that I am in (and hopefully, at the company I am at for a looooong time!) It's easy to day dream about all of the what-ifs and the shoulda couldas about life. But really, I do think things are right. Sure, I can make them BETTER but generally, I really don't want anything to change. I think that is very freeing because I can put aside all of those doubts about who I am and what I am doing because I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Sounds silly, but think about it. Not wanting to change anything about your life is a big deal I think. I have what I have for a reason and it's up to me to keep it going in the direction I want. So, instead of wishing I was doing something else, or looking like someone else, I just stop. I want to look like me, but better. I am Kaitlyn and Chloe's mom, but I can be a better mom. Same with being a better wife. And employee and manager for that matter. All of it. It's like I can't change the TV channel-- but I can adjust the focus, turn up the volume, or put on the closed captioning if I need help understanding what is going on. Okay, corny TV analogy, but it works for me! I started thinking about this this morning while I was muddling through a 530am cardio class with my neighbor at our gym. It's been a while since we took the class and I got lost in thought (during those awful pushups!) about how things are. Yep, I want to get into better shape and improve my diet and all of that. No question. But, I don't want to be someone else anymore. I like who I am--I'm a nice person, good mom, good wife, and good friend. Could I be better? Absolutely. I think it's a good attitude to have.

Latest Giveaway Obsession...

So, I've been on a roll, so to speak. I've been entering blog giveaways right and left and even won a few. But, this one, THIS ONE, is tailor made for me. Why oh why do you ask? Well, just look at it! It's a bucket full of cupcake stuff! Scary Mommy is holding a giveaway of this delectible delight on Friday and I am doing everything in my power to win! Well, as much as I can anyway since it's a totally random winner. :) I need to come up with a giveaway for my blog, too. I'd love to giveaway yummy cupcakes, but how on earth would I do that if my winner is outside of the Twin Cities? Any good ideas?

Okay, well, wish me luck cuz I'll be super sad if I don't win this!

Looked under the hood...

So, I've been tinkering with my blog tonight and am hoping that things are all put back together. Let me know if you see anything that looks funky. ;)
***********
Hey, have you checked out Etsy yet? I found THE best case for my BlackBerry there and CANNOT WAIT to get it later this week. I found it here! Go check it out!

Cheers!
suzi

The Facebook Phenomenon?

So, I’ve been a member of Facebook for a couple months now. I’ve reconnected with people that I haven’t seen since high school, old co-workers, family members, and even the kids I used to babysit for—who, coincidentally are no longer kids but adults! With jobs! Yikes, I am old. That’s a whole other post…

I originally was very leery of these new-fangled social networking sites. I had a page over at another social networking site (you can guess) at first because my friend had one and she kept telling me about it. I did connect with some old High School friends, but to be honest, I really didn’t like the whole look and feel of it. It felt like a bunch of late 1990’s web sites all mangled into one big mess. Nothing was consistent or user-friendly, and as a person who works in the usability field (sort of, us technical writers often have to clean up the UI after some of the developers hack all over it), this drove me insane. So, I moved on over to Facebook.

It’s a lot of fun to get back in touch with everyone. It’s fun to see their kids and see where they live and work, etc. It’s WEIRD to see old pictures of yourself or friends from back in the high school days—WEIRDER STILL to see your husband’s high school PROM pictures. Ha! I debated about whether Facebook is an okay thing to have, professionally. I don’t want to do anything that may appear unprofessional and I was initially worried—until I saw that my company has their own network of thousands of Facebook members. I think I am ok. ;)

But, there are some “quirks” about Facebook that actually are freaking me out. I think it’s weird that people I haven’t seen in years suddenly know that I am at home with a cold—because that’s what my “status” message says. I read a post over at Scary Mommy where she talks about that very thing. In fact, her post got me thinking about all of the weirdness about these social networking sites. Here’s an example: so you can run a search and see all of the Facebook members from your high school class. And, sometimes Facebook will show you someone that you may know because he/she is a friend of someone you are friends with or belong to the same network as you do. I have one person from high school who is ALWAYS listed in the People You May Know area and yet I haven’t added her as a friend. Why? Cuz, she was way more popular than me in high school and I don’t know that she would accept me as a friend on Facebook! Hello!?!?! Did I just jump through a time warp? Am I back in high school? It’s so weird that seeing some of these people brings back all of those same insecurities. I mean, I don’t know where she is in life yet I feel like she’d think I was still that nerdy band geek who was too shy to talk to anyone other than her other band geek friends. I can’t be alone on this—I bet that’s a widespread phenomenon worth studying. Okay, maybe not.

Anyway, Facebook has been a great find for me and in turn, I’ve found many old faces which I think just rocks.

Help Wanted

Seeking: personal assistant to a typical working mom. Must be willing to be on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Duties include:

• assisting said working mom in keeping her head on straight when she's about to lose it


• help prioritize her workload so that she gets more done in a day


• be her real-life diet journal and write down everything she eats and assign the appropriate WW points value


• help solve her dilemma over how to arrange and furnish the family room so that it looks like a Pottery Barn display


• start Christmas shopping for her kids and family and, naturally, pay for all of these presents


• drive her sorry butt to the gym and make her work out harder and longer than she would normally


• come up with witty and interesting topics for her blog and comment on all of the great blogs from SITS and others in hopes of growing her readership


• remind her that she's not the only person in the world who is feeling overwhelmed and unable to be "super mom/wife/employee"

Compensation is minimal, but gratitude would be enormous.

As if I could just post an ad asking for some help like this. Okay, most of these duties are completely selfish, I know. But, it's my list and my fantasy, so there. I know I am not nearly as overworked and over committed as other people, but lately I feel like I am operating at a lower level of efficiency than I should be. Kind of like an old avocado-colored refrigerator. The one that still does the job, but barely, and makes a lot of noise while doing it. I know I complain way too much about the stupid stuff, like why Weight Watchers doesn't work when I know full and well that it does, I just don't work Weight Watchers. Ha.

I wish I could take a few days off and just really go through all of the things I want to get done at home and at work and for myself and just prioritize and make a start. Kind of like an off-site meeting! Go somewhere, work out all the stuff I have to work out, and come back refreshed, reprioritized, and refocused.

OK, so back to reality... No off-site in my future and certainly no personal assistant either. I have to just buckle down and figure out how to juggle all of the balls in the air. I know I am not alone, like I said. I bet some of YOU have the same feelings and issues. How do you deal? What tips and tricks do you use to keep organized and on track? I've posted questions out to the Internet before and have found the comments very useful and witty, so here's hoping... now, go solve this for me! Thankyousomuch.

Tag, you're it!

So, I finally got tagged! Woo hoo! I am not the last person in blogger gym class to get picked! ha. So, Texan Mamma over at Who Put Me In Charge Of These People tagged me. So off I go:

Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules in your post.


• Share 7 random/weird facts about yourself.


• Tag 7 random people at the end of your blog and link to their blogs.


• Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment in their blog.

Ready, Set, Go!

1. I am a rabid Ohio State Buckeyes football fan. YET, I do not watch any of the games on TV or in person. It's cuz I jinx them. It's completely true. Every time I watch them they lose. So, I have to settle for internet updates on my BlackBerry. You'll thank me when they win the BCS championship again...someday. Probably not this year. I swear, it's not my fault.
   
2. I hate rice. I hate the look, smell, taste, and texture of rice. Rice cannot touch any of my food. If it is, I won't eat it. I went out my neighbors to a Japanese steak house and I had one too many swigs of Sake and I ate a kernal of rice. I barely choked it down. Seriously, one kernal.
   
3. I have horrible vision. Always have. I have really thick eyeglasses and I HATE anyone to see me in them. I am getting less uncomfortable about people seeing me in them because my eyes hurt so badly wearing contacts that I just have to suck it up and wear them sometimes. Mostly around family and I still think they all stare at how thick they are.
   
4. When I was on maternity leave with Kaitlyn, I watched "The West Wing" every single day on Bravo. I LOVED that show and everytime I see it or hear the theme song, I always think of that time.
   
5. I am super shy. It takes me forever to warm up to people at parties or whatever. I always feel like I am saying something stupid. Even if it's a goup of people I know really well.
   
6. My favorite movie is The Silence of the Lambs. Nothing compares to that movie, in my opinion.
   
7. I am all about traditions and I get really upset when I can't do something that I think is a tradition, such as going to the Fair, having Pumpkin Pie on Thanksgiving, or watching "A Christmas Story" for 24 hours on Christmas Eve through Christmas Day. Doesn't make a whole lotta sense to most people, but whatever. Traditions are part of living. Kind of like "mile markers" or something.

So, there ya go. Now, comes the fun part. I am tagging these great bloggers: Kelsey at K is... Not Your Average Girl, Tressa at American in Norway, Christie at Pretty Paper Blog, Melody at Pennies in My Pocket, Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick, Jennie at Jennies Corner, and last but not least Dorsey at Searching For My Inner Skinny. All in the spirit of fun, ladies!

So, this is what it's all about.

Every now and then, and not often enough, I remember to stop and take a look around and be thankful. Today was one of those days. I took the girls to get their flu shots this afternoon and we came home earlier than usual. We had about an hour together before J came home from work and we spent that hour coloring, reading, and putting together puzzles. It was heaven. Really, I felt myself float outside of myself and just watch "from above". I am a good mom and my kids love me. Yep, we are often rushing around and not taking enough time to just "be". It's really important to sloooooow down. I know that. J knows that. We just get caught up in life. But, it's times like these that you really need to focus on what truly matters.

I've been spending a few nights this week reading blogs, mostly from the SITS site and their awesome blogathon. I've read a bazillion blogs written by moms, some just like me. All are true and heart felt. If ever anyone doubts that our country is lacking in true families, amazing parents, and plain 'ol honest people--just read some of these blogs. Really, our country is in good hands. Never mind who wins this election. We'll get through whatever life, or the government, throws at us.

So, when life spirals out of control and we get caught up in the mundane, like this crazy presentation I have tomorrow and how SCARED out of my gourd I am!, it helps to just remember that no matter how bad (or good?!) I do tomorrow, my family loves me, supports me, and will cheer me on. I hope that you all have that support system backing you.

Blog on.

SITS: Finding new friends and cool blogs along the way…

SO, a couple weeks ago I stumbled across this site called The Secret is in the Sauce. I was immediately intrigued. Turns out, it’s a site run by these two lovely ladies who’s main goal in life (well, maybe not) is to help promote other blogs by having commenters leave comments on other blogs. It’s a tidal wave type of thing where if I leave a comment on your blog, you will come and check out my blog and leave a comment. And so on, and so on… I really like the site and have found a lot of great new blogs to read in my spare time. :)

Today is the SITStas Blogathon! With giveaways! J woo hoo! So, part of this blogathon’s goal is to raise awareness of their site. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite new discoveries! Stop by and say hi!

Thrifty Décor Chick
I found her through SITS and she’s now on my Google Reader list. Woot! Sarah has awesome taste and I love love love her decorating ideas.

Where are My Angels?
I just found her yesterday. She has three daughters, two with down syndrome. She’s got a great sense of humor and her stories are hilarious and real.

Keeping Up with Yesterday
I like Evi. She’s another cool lady from Canada. Fun Fun Fun!

American in Norway
Funny blog about an American now living in Norway with her family. Very very cute family and fun comparisons about life there versus here.

Nobody But Yourself
Heather rocks. I am still plowing through her old posts but each one so far has been great. Really, go see for yourself.

Seriously, go check these out! And, if by some awesome chance you are here because of another blogger’s recommendation, HI!! Thanks for stopping by!

chloe belle

This is Chloe. She's 2. I've come to the conclusion that she, not her older sister, will be our wild child. She is very strong willed, opinionated, and fiesty. She's AWESOME. These pictures were taken yesterday and I just love them. Nothing really exciting there, just her and her trains with the remnants of her pancake breakfast all over her face. :) Love it.

Ha, now this is who I'd vote for! (kidding)

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Defeated and Deflated.

Dear Internet,
I normally don’t take a “sky is falling” approach to life but yes, lately, I’ve been looking up at the sky more often than normal. ;) But, on the whole, I am a happy camper. I’ve got lots to be happy about and I know it. I also know that things can change in an instant in our world and I should take NOTHING for granted. Too true. So, I am trying to keep things in perspective and remember that I should be grateful and appreciative of what I have and my “lot in life” and quit bitching about the stupid stuff. No one cares about my complaints anyway. Not being mean or cynical, it’s true. You can complain about stuff to everyone and anyone who is near you but really, it’s up to you to either change it or remove it from your life.

However...

I’ve been feeling pretty defeated lately. I feel like no matter how great and eager my intentions are to change something, somehow my brain manages to mix up the signals and I end up not changing a thing. For example, I set out earlier in the summer to start training for a 5k run on Thanksgiving. I even bought new shoes! :) I started out strong and really got excited that I was indeed on my way to running this damn race. Then, something stopped and I haven’t been running in a while, like since August. I tried to add it back in to my walks but I just can’t seem to build up my stamina with it. I truly feel like I am afraid to run. I am afraid to just start running, running to the next milestone, etc. I don’t get it. It’s just putting one foot in front of the other—but faster and while jumping up and down. So, instead of feeling defeated as has been my M.O. lately, I am going to turn this thing around. I WILL add running back into my walks, starting tomorrow. Even if it’s just to the end of the street. I can do it.

Same thing with Weight Watchers. I started off ok and am still down around 7lbs. Big whoop. But, to be honest, I haven’t really been following any part of the program. Yet again. Is it worth it for me to keep paying $40/month for this? I’ve done WW a bazillion times and have spent thousands of dollars (I’m just guessing, but wouldn’t be surprised) on it. I know what I have to do and I know how to do it. Ask me, I’ll tell ya. Just don’t make me show you. That’s where I screw up. You see, I could write a book of all of the weight loss, exercise, diet tips/tricks I’ve amassed in my tiny little brain over the years. Yet, you won’t see me consistently doing any of them. Ugh, how horrible is that to say to millions of people? (ok, probably not millions, but a few!) I know how to do it, I just don’t. Plain and simple. The end. There’s one lady in my meeting that has lost about 100 lbs and she said that it took her about 20 different attempts at WW before it worked. I bet I am almost there. Can’t even guess at how many times I have joined and quit and joined and quit. Yikes. I really don’t want to quit but feel like it’s just not in me to keep going and paying this money when I am not being a good WW member. I really struggle with this because I HATE quitting anything.

I’ve got a lot to work on, I know. I really do want to succeed and be healthier. No question. I just need to stop complaining and get off my super-sized arse and do something about it.

Thanks Internet, for letting me vent today.

Bah Humbug already??

So, I don’t know about you, but I am freaked out. The country’s economic situation is dire and it looks like it is getting worse by the minute. The Dow is down below 10,000 as I write this. The election is less than a month away and I DON’T LIKE EITHER OF THEM YET (see previous post for more on that fun topic)! I feel like everyone’s just that much more stressed. I am. Totally. Stressed. I worry about losing my job. I’ve survived multiple rounds of layoffs in my career and keep thinking that my number is coming up soon. I’ve been spared a bunch of times—how long can my luck go? Ugh. Logically, I know that my company is solid and strong so I shouldn’t worry too much, but still.

So, I’ve started thinking about Christmas. EVERY year I tell Jason that I am going to set aside money each month for the holidays and EVERY year I never do. I wait till the last minute. This year is no different, except I am no mood to stress over this. Maybe this year is a good year to teach Kaitlyn about saving money and being thankful for what we have and not expect a mountain of presents. Chloe, thankfully, is still too young to notice. Phew. It’s not like we don’t have money to do this, it’s just I don’t think I want to spend a fortune on presents right now and I don’t want my family members to either. The girls have tons of toys and maybe this year we can think of some other ideas instead of more Barbies and Dora stuff. I’ll still buy them little things but I really want to try to keep it to a minimum. Also, we have other reasons to do this—we fly to my parents for Christmas and checking in bags is gonna cost us a bunch. SO much for bringing that extra suitcase this year.

Geesh, it’s all so depressing. I remember celebrating Christmas with mountains of presents and stuff. My sister and I would get up in the middle of the night and wait and wait and wait and try and guess what we got from Santa. I even used to sneak downstairs to make sure that we in fact had presents waiting for us. My favorite memories of Christmas when I was a kid was getting the Barbie Dream House. I loved that thing and my sister and I played with it for YEARS. I remember getting Strawberry Shortcake toys and Smurf toys and ATARI!!!! Sweet. Most of all, I just remember being happy and playing with my sister and cousins and Christmas dinner, etc. I want to make memories for the girls that are just as wonderful. I think we are doing good so far but I want them to realize that it’s not about the presents you get, but about family and being together and celebrating Christmas.

I bet a lot of families are thinking the same thing. At least it’s still October and I can start figuring out what I am going to do now instead of mid-December as is usually the case…

none of the above?

So, I’ve watched both the presidential and vice-presidential debates, kept up with the news, and tried to keep well informed of each candidate’s positions… With just about a month before the election, I have a very uneasy feeling. I don’t really like either candidate. Huh? You’d think after all of this time I’d be able to support one of the candidates and since I’ve been historically Democratic, it would be Obama. Perhaps I am still bitter that Hillary isn’t on the ticket. I’ve always been a Hillary supporter and I think she would have done a much better job as the candidate and as President. Sorry Obama fans. I am trying really hard to like him and throw my support to him. I still have time, but not much time. I have never been on board with McCain. I think he’s an honorable man who’s served his country and has done some honorable things in his career. I just think he’s too much like Bush. I don’t want anyone remotely like Bush in the White House anymore. Haven’t we had enough? Come on. So, that’s my issue with McCain. Don’t even get me started on Palin. Yes, I did find her engaging during her RNC speech and thought she was interesting, but since then---nada. She’s completely uninformed, too rehearsed, and is just trying too hard to be “folksy”. Last night I really tried to give her another chance but it was just too much with the “doggone it” and the “Oh Joe, say it aint’ so” crap. I thought Biden wiped the floor with her. Maybe she’ll improve over time, but hopefully we won’t have to worry about it after November 4. I really hate discussing my opinions about this but I need to just lay it out there. If you are a McCain fan, don’t hate me. :) If you are an Obama fan, don’t hate me. :) I’ll most likely end up voting for Obama but I really had high hopes of walking into that voting booth 100% sure and excited that I was voting for a candidate that I truly supported. I would’ve been if HRC was on the ticket. Maybe this is all just sour grapes. Ha, could be.

I just don’t like this uneasy feeling I have so close to “the most important election of our lives”. Geesh.