Let’s Play Tag!

One of my fave bloggers and fellow OH-natives, Mammatudes, has tagged me! So here goes nothing:

What’s your current obsession? Hmm, Twitter? Not really an obsession though. But close.
What’s your weirdest obsession? Making sure my garage door is closed. I have to watch it close or I’ll keep wondering. And, I may or may not have enlisted a few neighbors to check on it for me.
What are you wearing today? My new Old Navy PJ bottoms. :)
Why is today special? Is it? Today is special because my red tulips are finally blooming.
What would you like to learn to do? RUN and enjoy it. Take better pictures.
What’s the last thing you bought? Today it was a Diet Coke in the vending machine (did you know they take credit cards? Nice.)
What’s your favorite weather? sunny, Fall 60 degrees and sunny.
What’s your most challenging goal right now? Holy cow, losing weight. Hands down. Why the hell is it so hard? Although, I did lose 4lbs this week. Yay me!
What do you think about the person who tagged you? She is really cool and always leaves great comments.
What's your favorite guilty pleasure? US Magazine, Perez Hilton, and any tv show on Bravo including Real Housewives, Flipping Out, Kathy Griffin, and Rachel Zoe. I DIE
What would you like to get rid of? My butt. ha!
Which language do you want to learn? Mandarin Chinese. Kaitlyn is learning it now in kindergarten and I want to know what she is saying to me.
What super power would you like to possess? I want to be ElastiGirl
What’s your favorite thing about the city you live in? I LOVE where I live. I love the people, the variety of places to go with my family, the schools, the wide open blue skies, the 4 extreme seasons, the lakes, all of it. I am a Minnesotan now. Ohioan always.
What’s your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet? Sadly, it’s a skirt that I bought last year that is a wee bit too small but I loved it. I plan on wearing it to my cousin’s wedding in July.
What’s your dream job? I would love to own my own business. I don’t know what kind of business, but something that I am passionate about, that I can hang out at with my friendly co-workers, sell really cool items, and make a ton of money. However, since that isn’t happening, I’ll say my job now. It’s pretty close to perfect.
Do you admire anyone’s style? I really admire Michelle Obama. She’s got an amazing sense of style. She’s stunning. I also have some very stylish friends and neighbors and co-workers.
Describe your personal style. Ugh. I don’t like anything I wear except for a couple necklaces, a sweater, and a couple pair of shoes. Sad. I try to dress appropriately for work but it’s hard when I hate my clothes and just want to stay in my yoga pants.
Who’s fashion show would you want tickets to? Vera Wang or Giorgio Armani?
Who’s closet would you want to raid? Oprah’s because she has awesome clothes and shoes. And Kimora Lee Simmons because she has faboo handbags.

What are you most proud of? My daughters. Hands down. They are perfect.
If you could choose one person who has passed to have lunch with who would it be and why? My cousin Rob because I miss him and think of him a lot. He would have been an amazing father.

Now the rules of this tag:1. Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention.2. Tag other people to pass thing along to. Ok, I didn’t do this part. I ran out of time to go through and find 7 blogs to tag. I read TONS of great blogs that are listed in my Required Reading section. Check them out instead. Feel free to be “tagged” by me.

Dear Susan Boyle

Dear Susan,

I was one of the millions who watched your YouTube video. Your voice literally took my breath away. I passed that video on to all of my friends, posted it on my Facebook page, and I even Twittered about it. (like millions of other people). I was just so taken by your story, your humble sweetness, and your amazingly perfect voice. I was so happy this happened for you.

But now I am worried. I am worried the entertainment gods will want you to change. They will want you to spruce up your appearance so that they can market you better. In fact, it’s already started. I hope the changes made were because YOU wanted to make them, not because Simon Cowell or whoever else around you “suggested” you make them. I imagine all of this attention has boosted your self confidence and it rightly should. You have an amazing talent and you should be paid attention to. But that doesn’t mean you need to fall into step with the other plastic singers that these shows produce. Be yourself. You captivated the world by being yourself. We have enough plastic singers out there, we don’t need another one—regardless of how great your voice is.

All of this to say that if you are happy with making changes to your appearance or whatever, great. Go for it. I am sure there are stylists and makeup artists just chomping at the bit to “help” you. Everyone wants a piece of what’s hot and you seem to be it.

So, Good Luck Susan Boyle, and I look forward to hearing your next amazing performance.

Where’s Bobby Trendy when you need him?

Remember Bobby Trendy, from the Anna Nicole Show on E!? He was her personal decorator. He loved pink, leopard prints, and lip gloss. He has such flare for design. Wonder if he’s still available? Probably not…

We ordered a new sectional sofa for our main family room off of the kitchen back in March. We’ve been wanting to replace what we had in that room ever since we built the house in 2006. I could never figure out how to furnish that room. I knew I wanted to find something that seats a lot of people and that is durable and comfortable. I am not a fru-fru type of of furniture gal so I could never find anything I like. Finally, we found this awesome beast and have been waiting and waiting for it to arrive. Its super comfortable, seats a billion, and it rocks.

I am not the best decorator and my ability to accessorize is seriously failing. I can’t figure out how to decorate this room. My neighbor has an amazing eye for decoration and every time I go to her house I try and memorize how she has things organized and laid out so I can try and replicate it at my house. Except, I can never do it. I don’t want to rip her style off or anything, but I just wish I could see spaces like she sees them. Take for example, the window above the sofa in the above picture. I am thinking of putting some framed black and white photos of the girls there. Like a series of 3 frames that span the length of the window. What do you think? My neighbor did something like this and I loved it. It’s such a huge wall I don’t know what to do and I am afraid that if left to my own devices, I will destroy it. :(

Here’s another picture of that room:

Kaitlyn promptly claimed the chaise lounge part of the sofa as her new bed and has been asleep on it for the last 2 hours. She wanted to move her clothes and everything downstairs and was FREAKING OUT when we said no. She seriously wanted to claim that as her new bedroom. Holy cow was that funny. She was pissed. HA.

Also, I need lighting advice. The corner above K’s head is where we used to have a lamp but now it’s empty. Dark. I think we’ll need to buy a floor lamp. But which one? Yikes.

So, either I am going to hire my neighbor and pay her in cupcakes because that’s all I’ve got to spend on this adventure…or I will track down Bobby Trendy and Lord knows what I’ll end up with.

Happy Birthday Data!

Today is my aunt's birthday. Her name is Mada, but Kaitlyn could never say Mada and always said Data, so ... Aunt Data is now her name forever. :)

My aunt rocks. She's amazingly smart, caring, very pretty, and is probably one of the toughest ladies you will ever meet. She's also the biggest Ohio State Fan ever. Oh, and don't even get her started on George W. Bush...

She's everyone's caretaker and we would be lost without her.

Happy Birthday Data! Go Bucks!

Love,

Kaitlyn, Chloe, Suzi and Jason.

If not now, when?

 

I am a good procrastinator. I put off what’s hard, involved, painful, intense for as long as I can. I save the hardest projects at work for last. When I was in school, I would wait to the night before a deadline and crank out an A paper. That used to infuriate my sister. I work better under pressure. Long, extended deadlines don’t work well for me. Which is why I think I struggle with weight loss so much. I only see a long journey ahead. I only see the end result where I’ve met my goal weight. I always look at the longest route, how painful it will be, and how much sacrifice I will endure. I never look at the stops along the way. The exciting new revelations I will uncover about myself.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I am tired of putting things off for when I get to goal. What kind of life is that? Take my bike as an example. I JUST bought a bike. I put it off, didn’t really think about it for years because I just didn’t want that to be another fitness tool that got dusty and rusty for lack of use. Screw that. I want to ride. I am tired of waiting. I am tired of worrying about stupid stuff. I am tired of sitting on the sidelines of my own life. Waiting for my weight to magically disappear so I can get back to living. How warped is that? Yes, I need to lose weight. Yes, I need to lose more than a “little” weight. You know what, who cares? I am more than a number on the scale. (Thanks Wynona. Did you see that commercial with Wynona Judd for Alli? Good commercial. Really weird product).

I am not satisfied with my progress, more like stalled progress. I am tired of feeling regret for the days and months and years that pass me by while I sit and toil about my weight. As my daughter would say, “Whatever Major Loser”—only she has hand gestures that go along with it. (Think of the “L” on your forward type of hand gesture—nothing obscene!)

I created a Google Group for my WW meeting location so those attending meetings at that location can talk to each other and offer encouragement. It was off to a slow start but it’s been picking up lately and I am really excited about all of the great members who are on there. Everyone has their own journey and we can help each other and celebrate each other’s victories and be there for the trip ups.

I can do this.

Spring Training...Wheels

FINALLY. I got a bike. I am so super excited. I've been wanting a bike for forever and just never got around to getting one. I left my old bike in Ohio when we moved out here almost 10 years ago and just haven't replaced it yet. So, on Sunday we all went down the street to our neighborhood Super Target and picked up my bike, which was on sale, by the way. I even got a new helmet. We got J a helmet and a new one for Kaitlyn.


Take a look at my new bike:



It's so cute. And, it's surprisingly comfortable. Mind you, it's been over 10 years since I've been on a bike, so I was a little...rusty. To say the least. That old saying isn't true you know--you CAN forget how to ride a bike! OUCH. My butt hurt. Really f-ing bad. ha! And, I need to read the owner's manual because I need to figure out how to shift the gears (don't laugh).

But, the ride was awesome. Kaitlyn and I rode down to the lake in our neighborhood and just rode and rode. We stopped at the park on the other side and then rode back and went to the park by our street. We had so much fun. It was so freeing to ride my bike. I forgot how fun it was to just coast on down a hill and just be free.

I am planning on incorporating my bike rides into my workouts. It's so easy to just take my bike around the lake a couple times and bang out 2 or 3 miles. It's just fun to do and I totally can do this. Once Chloe gets more stable on her bike, we can take rides around the neighborhood as a family and that will be the best. I just can't wait for that.

I am also excited for Spring to finally get here. We had a few teaser days of 50s and 60s, but that was cruelly replaced by snow and cold temps. Come on. Looks like another cold weekend ahead but hopefully it'll start to turn warmer soon. I am ready to see some crocus blooms and my all-time favorite flowers: tulips. I can't wait for my tulips to bloom. I am just ready to come out of hibernation.

What are you looking forward to this spring? :)