life and love of a parrot head

I'm afraid of...

2012-02-08T06:30:00.000-06:00

The Big. Bad. Wolf.

No seriously, I am.

When I was little, my Dad wasn't really into censorship. He took me to see Die Hard when I was 7 at the theater. He went to a friends house around the corner and left Basic Instinct in the VCR (remember those?!)

Whoops. I learned a lot watching that movie..

I will never forget the time he let me watch Silver Bullet.

He has always been an avid Stephen King fan. Reads every book. When I was little, King was notorious for some scary shit. I mean, a CLOWN that lives under the street?

*excuse me. I am feeling verclempt. talk amongst yourselves...*

So when Silver Bullet was out on video, he sure wanted to watch it. And there I was right beside him.

Glued to the tv and terrified at the same time.

The interesting thing about this poster is that.. it was a long long time ago but I think this werewolf is far freakier looking than some of the modern day ones.

So from what I remember, some dude is a wolf by night and is a mean mofo. He kills pigs and people and is generally not well received by the town folk.

Then comes along our favorite 80's kid:

Cory Haim.

He figures out who the bad guy is and takes him down, all while cruising around town on his scooter called, Silver Bullet.

How YOU doin?

After I watched this movie, I was terrified for MONTHS. There was a branch that was outside my window and when it was windy I would flip out. Finally my mom was so curious as to my sudden fright of night beasts, she asked my dad what was up. She wasn't happy.

They even had to trim the tree down and hang blankets in front of my window.

Ever since, I have always been afraid of things that go bump in the night.

While I am sure it was the freaky wolf man that scared me, I wonder if this scared me more:

Gary Busey

Because that is not for the feint of heart.

What are you afraid of?

11 Questions

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

I was tagged on Friday by Kelly at Simply Kelly. This is so fun!

The Rules:
1. Post the rules
2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself
3. Answer the questions the tagger gave you in their post & then create 11 new questions for the people you tag.
4. Tag 11 people and link them in your post
5. Let them know you've "tagged" them

11 Fun or Random Facts About Me

1. Cockroaches strike the fear in me. I freeze and start screaming for my husband.

2. I am pretty sure that being addicted to coffee and wine is like being addicted to uppers and downers..

3. I am the most self conscious person you will ever meet. My goal in 2012 is to change that. I hope the Mayans don't take that away from me!

4. I love what I do for a living but I have no confidence in designing things for my own home...

5. Pinterest makes me feel really stupid everytime I am on there. I constantly say "Really? Why didn't I think of that?"

6. I am only a stay at home mom one day a week (Fridays) and it kicks my ass. You full time SAHM's rule!

7. I get really anxious in crowds of people I don't know and tend to blend into the wall.

8. I have been to 8 Jimmy Buffett concerts and I pray he is still touring when Logan is old enough to go.

9. I'm an only child but I don't feel like I fit that typical mold.

10. I cannot sleep without my hair in a ponytail. If my hair is on my neck I flip out because it makes me hot!

11. Logan is growing freakishly fast. I am overwhelmed!

Questions From Kelly For Me To Answer

1. Where is the coolest place you have traveled? - St. Thomas was pretty awesome. We took a taxi from the cruise ship to a little beach called Coki Beach, ate lunch in the sand and fed dog bones to fish. LOVED IT.

2. What is your favorite book? EEK! Only one? Well Water for Elephants ranks way up there but I have read Message From Nam by Danielle Steel at least 6 times. Not for the romance but because I was obsessed with Vietnam in High School. (ok maybe some of the romance was cool...)

3. What are you most thankful for in your life? My Family. Lee and Logan are the best things that have ever happened to me and our families are both so supportive of us!

4. What is the best concert you've been to? Jimmy Buffett at Minute Maid Park in Houston. AWESOME time.

5. What is your favorite Superbowl party recipe? I hover over the 7 layer dip. I make mine a little special by adding Taco Seasoning to the sour cream layer.

6. Why did you start blogging? Well i started blogging a long time ago, in college, just because my friends were doing it. Then I started up again just for fun. Once Logan came along and I saw how hot the blogging world had gotten, I got very into it!

7. Did you have any resolutions for 2012? Do what I need to in order to be happy with myself. So far this included losing 30 pounds, which I am halfway done with, and I may have become a shopoholic as of recently...

8. Who is your favorite author? Patricia Cornwell

9. If you could switch careers and have your dream job, what would it be? A wedding planner. But I don't want to work on Saturdays!

10. Whats the best movie you've seen lately? We watched Drive last night and it was awesome, but it may be too gory for some tastes. Otherwise I saw Moneyball twice. It's wonderful.

11. Charlie Sheen or Kim Kardashian? Kim Kardashian because I am pretty sure I am smarter than her and Charlie gives me the creeps!

Questions for Parrothead Taggers
1. What is your biggest "quirk?"
2. What is your hobby and why?
3. If money were no object, what would you do with it? (i.e. travel, build a house, etc)
4. What do you hope to accomplish this year?
5. What is your favorite Superbowl party recipe?
6. What is your favorite color?
7. What recipe do you like to make over and over?
8. What was your favorite childhood book?
9. What did you want to be when you grew up?
10. Who should win at the Oscars this year?
11. Ryan Gosling or Justin Timberlake?

I tag:
Tiffanie @ Pineapple and Pickles
Missy @ The Johnson Family
Megan @ Meagan's Madness
Christa @ I Know How Babby is Formed
Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife
Ashley @ Very Ashley
Dottie @ Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Kristin @ Lexi and a Little Lady
Heather @ Living at 1, 2, 3.
Michelle @ Michabella
Amber @ Surviving Suburbia

Have fun!

Giveaway Winner!

2012-02-03T13:21:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! It's 1pm and I have already been to Gymboree and the grocery store and have failed to fall asleep at nap time - so I am chugging coffee and trying to keep up. How is your friday?

I wanted to take this opportunity to announce the winner of the Giveaway!

It's Megan at Megan's Madness!

*cue applause*

Congrats Megan and you will be contacted via email for your winning code!

Sale! and GIVEAWAY!

2012-02-02T16:17:00.003-06:00

2 very exciting things to tell you about today!

First off - please tell me you haven't forgotten about the GIVEAWAY for the amazing Scrapbooking software! Don't forget to enter by leaving a comment on what caught your eye, and also liking on Facebook and Twitter for extra chances! ENTER NOW!

Second, Scentsy is in what we call "transition mode" - basically it's Spring cleaning with out with in the old and in with the new. Therefore nearly everything is 10% for the month of February!

CLICK HERE!

I was able to preview the spring line on Wednesday and smell the new smells and I was pretty darn excited.

Also, don't forget about the discontinued items:

You will want to stock up on scents if one of your favorites is on it's way out the door.

AND - no more bricks after the end of February! So if you like to buy bricks, do it now and save 10% at the same time!

Click here for the website and please please don't hesitate to email me if you have ANY questions/concerns.

Wino Wednesday

2012-02-01T06:30:00.000-06:00

I love wine. You love wine. So why not dedicate the middle of the week to talking about wine?

Today's wine is a family favorite and so good that we buy it by the case.

Raymond Cabernet - we currently are drinking the 2008.

It's lush, vanilla-y, dark cherry, and as formal reviews say "On the palate, this big, bold, well-structured Cabernet has concentrated flavors of dark chocolate, tobacco and spice, with a toasty, long finish."

It's pretty freakin yummy.

It's a great go-to for parties or just sitting around the house in sweatpants.

Yes. Sweatpants.

At about $18 a bottle, it's a winner!

My Memories Digital Scrabook - GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm. NOT. Crafty.

I glue my fingers together.
I staple my shirt to the paper.
I maybe get more glitter in my hair than I do on the paper.

So when My Memories approached me about reviewing Digital Scrapbooking Software, my ears perked up. I love computers. I am always more comfortable with computers. I sit on one all day at my job and I am in charge of most of our technological training.

You can say that I may be creative, but not good with my hands!

Downloading couldn't have been easier.

Once I downloaded the product, I started poking around.
I picked a standard template and started tweaking it.

I started changing colors and text and adding photos, with many easy to understand buttons and menus to choose from.

Finished Product:

I know this is a little simple, but it literally took me 10 minutes. I can't imagine what I could come up with if I had an hour to sit and play around.

If you look closely to the menu bar on the left hand side of the software, there are templates you can download for free if you aren't finding what you need already loaded.

Basically the possibilities are ENDLESS.

My favorite part about My Memories has to be the endless creative outlets. I created a photobook through another software over the holidays and I was very limited in design and extras. This is just like paper scrapbooking with with easy edits and NO GLUE!

Here's the fun part for YOU!

You can get the My Memories Suite for $29.97 using the code STMMMS23148, PLUS get a $10 coupon for the My Memories.com store! Just visit this link and add the Suite to your cart, enter the promo code at checkout to receive the $10 off.

One of you will win the My Memories Suite ( a $39.97 value)!

To Enter:

Visit My Memories and leave me a comment telling me what caught your eye.

For extra entries:

"Like" My Memories on Facebook and leave a comment.
Follow My Memories on Twitter and leave a comment.

I will close this down on Thursday and announce the winner on Friday! Good luck!!

*Thank you to My Memories for the software so that I could review, giveaway, and have a new obsession :) *

Product of the Week

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's not a secret that I am a bit of a wino. Therefore I thought it would be most appropriate if my product of the week was wine related.

For Christmas I was given the ultimate of coolest gifts.

A Corkcicle.

WHAT is a Corkcicle you ask?

It's this:

Via: Amazon

It's this nifty little thing you put in your white wine to keep it cold so you can leave it on the table and reduce those pesky trips to the refrigerator.

The only downside?

I have yet to have a bottle of wine last long enough to really use it much...

Don't judge me.

So, my fellow wine lovers, get yourself a Corkcicle!

Life's too short to get up a bajillonty times to refill your glass!

Link up and tell us your product of the week!

Mission Organization

2012-01-25T06:30:00.000-06:00

I have been on a bit of an organization kick.

See we live in a 1,200 square foot 1954 "ranch" house. 3 bedrooms, one bath. We are cozy to say the least.

I mean, I have to share one bathroom with my husband folks!

Needless to say, things get piled and shoved around until I can't take it anymore and i do something about it.

First I attacked the ~~Living Room~~ Play Room. I went to Target and bought 2 pop up laundry baskets to sort toys. One has little toys, one has the bigger ones.

This makes cleaning up at night so much faster. Plus as we teach him to sort and put things away I can feel like I am super mom for thinking up a learning game!

Then I designated another basket for stuff that has parts that need to stay together, like his wooden puzzle train, etc.
I also chose another shelf for his books. Granted all he wants to do right now is pull them all off the shelf, but at least when he is in bed it looks like I deliberately put the books there.

Now let's ignore the fingerprints on the glass door...

Now onto the 3rd bedroom in our house which is a dual function Guest Room and Office. I have been drooling over the Pottery Barn Office System for YEARS. Finally I just splurged and ordered it. Now above the desk is a mini command center that will hopefully help keep junk off the desk itself.

Have you been organizing lately? Any big projects?

Girly Baby Shower

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning I co-hosted a shower for a very good friend of mine, Carlin! This is her second baby but it's a girl so it was time to lavish her in all things pink!

The Table

The Cake - Nothing "Bundt" Cakes

The bud vase holds up the letter

Blood Orange Mimosas

Katie - my co-host

Salmon

French Toast, potatoes, eggs, chicken sausage, and fruit to make you feel healthy!

Congrats Carlin!

Product of the Week

2012-01-19T07:18:00.000-06:00

Well hello there everyone, welcome!

It's that time of the week where I tell you all about something that makes me super happy in some way. While the obvious thing would be wine, I decided to think hard about something that makes life better and settled on this:

Williams Sonoma

Flexible measuring cups.

For one - GENIUS!

For two - it is a set of three - so you don't have to dirty the large one to measure one cup of ~~wine~~ liquid for a recipe. You can microwave them too. There is even a picture of someone using an immersion blender in the large one.

Woah.

So these cups make my kitchen time happy.

To be fair, these do too:

Which should need no explanation...

*Check out other Products of the Week here!

Where I Blog

2012-01-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

I saw this going around and decided to participate.

The hard part about this is that I don't always blog in the same place. Sometimes I blog from our office at home. Sometimes I blog at the kitchen table. Most of the time I blog while I watch TV at night after Logan is asleep. It usually looks like this:

I first saw this over at Coffee Lovin Mom (we could be the same person I think...) and then there is a bigger link up here:

Enjoy!

Facts about me

2012-01-16T15:20:00.000-06:00

*I am sorry. All out of ideas for the moment. Here is a little place holder. See you back Wednesday for a link up!*

1. Favorite snack food:

M&M's

2. Favorite place you've ever visited:

St. Thomas, Coki Beach

3. Favorite movie:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall, or Dan in Real Life

4. Favorite childhood memory:

Playing kick ball in the back yard with my dad under the magnolia tree

5. Favorite candle scent:

Scentsy: Mochadoodle

6. Favorite way to travel:

Hate traveling

7. Favorite Starbucks drink:

Pretty much a Grande NonFat Vanilla Latte person

8. All time favorite meal:

Spaghetti with Meatballs/Meatsauce

9. If you could be on a reality show which one would you choose?:

I always thought real world would be interesting. Would I be the boring one reading a book instead of partying? Yeah probably.

10. A fun fact about you:

I can only sleep with my foot sticking out of the covers, and never in socks.

2012...and the appearance of zombies

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

As an avid fan of all things zombies (even before the recent trendiness of it) I have often discussed with Donald how we would all survive in the event of a zombiepocolypse. Now with this whole 2012 Mayan Calendar thing, this seems to come to my mind a lot.

Plus Sara's post on Facebook made me laugh out loud:

While watching The Walking Dead a few weeks ago, I started thinking about how that pregnant chick is pretty screwed while being pregnant during the apocalypse.

Seeing how pregnancy can suck sometimes even in a perfect society, I have come up with a list of reasons it would suck to be pregnant during a zombie apocalypse.

You can't exactly run...fast.

2. There won't be any more leisurely shopping trips to the mall when it's 180 degrees outside.

But there was a sale at Pea and the Pod!

3. Want to take a walk around the block? I wouldn't advise that... It's a little worse than a mailman being harassed by a chihuahua.

Damn ankle biters!

4. Zombies are just gross!

How YOU doin?

5. NO EPIDURALS!

No meds for you!

While being a survivor sans baby would be hard enough, at least you could concentrate on turning your new wee one into a major zombie killin machine. Did you read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Those girls were awesome.

Looks like Lee and I better get Logan into an archery class asap...

What Happens When I Try To Nap

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

Setting: Home. Logan is in his crib and has just fallen asleep. This normally means there are 1.5-2.5 hours for me to either do whatever I want, or also try and take a nap. Before Logan, I could yawn once and pass out for 3 hours and still go to bed at 10 or 11. Now, a nap is nearly impossible unless I am sick.

Many things happen when I try to take a nap. The asshole dogs next door bark at the wind. My phone vibrates with text messages. My own asshole dogs bark at squirrels out the back door.

Most of the time, what stands between myself and a nap is my own mind, going 150 miles an hour, no matter how tired I feel when I lay down. I am sure it looks/sounds a little something like this.

Ok so I have about an hour or so to nap that would be so nice if I could actually nap fall asleep fall asleep you never know how long you have to sleep because he could wake up I hope dinner turns out good tonight because I worked really hard on it and i need to stop trying new things with guests because it usually sucks and i am apologizing for it instead of looking amazing speaking of i am so glad i have lost 13 pounds but i am pretty scared i am about to gain it all back i wonder if those clothes in the garage still fit i would need a red cardigan to go with that skirt if it does where do i find a red cardigan that would be cute for valentines day wait am i too old for valentines day being all married with a kid now i really want some chocolate i wonder if that movie is done burning at the computer i need to assign the artwork to it gotta get to Star gotta get to Star gotta get to Star i freaking hate that commercial and the jingle gets stuck in my head all day and it's too expensive to really shop there anyway and I always feel like I am settling for lesser furniture than i really wanted i wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad buy all of the things i never had i need to read the lyrics to the rap part of that song but i know he says something about Oprah and i do own the glee version in itunes i wonder if that movie is done burning yet so i can start the other one oh my god my phone is buzzing again what it's been 30 minutes since i laid down oh my god may i should just get up and drink coffee since i never finish a cup when he is awake i wish I was Lola she is always asleep oh screw it I am up...

How about you? Good napper?

Spring TV

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Now that the Holidays are over and we are all back to work and school, what do we "look forward to?"
Um - hello? SPRING TV!

New mid-season shows, returning shows, etc. Here is my little spreadsheet:

It's actually a little sparse. We fill this in with crap on Bravo and HGTV. Right now Lee is obsessed with Pawn Stars and American Pickers. We may also stumble upon some shows we like that aren't on here. For instance I didn't know anything about Once Upon a Time and then I watched a few episodes and now I love it!

How about you? Looking forward to any returning or new shows?

2011 Recap

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

This little blog came a long way in 2011. My inspiration grew with the birth of Logan and continues as I try and find my footing as a "mommy blogger." Here are the top 10 posts as dictated by Google Analytics.

10. And then He was 1 - The dude man turned one, no matter how much I denied it.

9. Pink Eye and Sippy Cups - I ranted a little about sippy's...

8, 7, & 6: Our Love Story - Parts 1, 2, and 4! (part 3 must have been a little boring.. sorry!)

5. Upcoming Fall Tv - which reminds me it's time to make the winter tv schedule...

4. Evil Pumpkins - The pumpkin patch rose against Logan

3. Enough Already! - I was sick of the heat. In fact it still hasn't gotten cold enough for me this season.

2. Special Edition Post - In which I Throat Punched Rick Perry

1. Frumps - It means a lot to me that this was the all time viewed post of the year because I had to really just put myself out there. I was really struggling with being back to work after Logan. I still do but as he gets more... energetic... I am thankful for daycare to burn that all off for him!

This year was a whirlwind, from raising a baby, overcoming PPD, giving the blog a facelift, going back to work, and the list goes on and on. Some days I feel like I kick ass, others I feel kicked in the face.

I am trying to focus on fresh topics and ideas to get more readership, as I see it slipping and comments dwindling. I need to re-focus on commenting on all of your lovely blogs - because as I get busier I seem to just scroll through them and read and move on. I am so sorry, as I do love comments and I know you do too.

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for visiting and please come back!

Christmas Recap

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

I know I am late... today is the first day in a week I have felt like a normal human being!

Here is a recap on how our Christmas went...

(*Note: Logan at this point had thrown up once on Wednesday at school and once Thursday night at dinner time*)

Friday: Christmas Eve Eve - I wake up and proceed to throw up all day. My Dad and Step-Mom came over to help wrangle Logan so I could rest and Lee could run errands.

Saturday: Christmas Eve - I wake up fine but find Logan in his crib covered in puke. He drinks some water and that comes back up too. We spend the day in the recliner with a sippy of Pedialyte and plenty of snuggles.

Sunday: Merry Christmas! - I wake up fine, so does Logan, and we do Christmas morning. My camera? Ooops... around 9am I start feeling... funky? The stomach virus is back, in a different direction if you catch my drift. Lee takes Logan to his parents house and I lay down until around 2pm and then I feel well enough to go over. On the way over I find out my dad is now throwing up... We have a WONDERFUL gift exchange and I manage to eat a little bit.
That night, around 10, we find Logan has thrown up again.

Monday: Oh look, now I have a head cold! Logan seems fine and we all get out and go to the store. My cold proceeds to get worse throughout the day. We find out one of Lee's sisters, Laura, is throwing up and has missed her flight to meet her boyfriend's family in San Juan for a cruise. Here are some photos of him in his tunnel I managed to take:

Hey Logan! Let's go through the tunnel! (yes you can bring Buddy Bear)

Off he goes...

Here he comes!

Getting closer!

Zooming on by!

Logan throws up again that night in his bed.

Tuesday: Now I have a serious sore throat. What is going on? We take Logan to the Dr and they think the throwing up is mucus related, but there isn't really anything "wrong" with him. Logan is happy all day and we stick pretty close to home. I even cancel my trip to Palestine the next day...He throws up again around 1am.

Wednesday: I can barely swallow and super-awesome Tiffanie gets me an appt at her clinic. I take Logan back to Lee's parents so they can watch him while I go to the Dr.
I have Strep Throat.
Somehow, within hours of taking the penicillin, I am already feeling better. Logan throws up in his bed at 9pm, this time screaming and crying...

At this point, Lee and I are wizards at getting everything cleaned up in a timely fashion...

Thursday: I wake up feeling MUCH better. I think I better make Tiffanie some cookies once my contagious-ness is over huh? Logan is happy for the most part but we have a 2:45pm Dr appt because we just don't buy that everything is ok. They said he now has an ear infection and recommended the BRAT diet until his stomach settled.

So yes, while Christmas was a bust health wise, we did have some great times. I will do a gift recap another day. I will say, this has been an interesting way to lose weight...

I will leave you with our new family portrait, which was on our Christmas Card:

Mister Grinch!

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the abrupt stop in posting and for not even covering our Christmas. Since Thursday, either me or Logan have been sick with a stomach virus and then I even got strep throat. Top it all off we spread it to a few different family members too! It's been a tough week and I blame it on that bastard the Grinch...You're a mean one, Mister GrinchYou really are a goat,You brought us a stomach virus and passed on around, Mister Grinch, You even made it last a week and added in strep throoooaaaat!You're a monster, Mister Grinch, Your heart's an empty hole, You made our holiday full of fevers and made us hurt down to our soul, Mister Grinch, I'd love to beat you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole! We will be back by the New Year, fresh and ready to go...

O Christmas Tree...

2011-12-24T09:30:00.000-06:00

After our Man Trap experiment, we decided to think about what we would want under our tree...

Everyone was pretty specific. Like Christi, with her Audi Q7:

Hey Adam, need to hitch a ride?

Then Nicki really wanted this Noguchi table:

Jack Sparrow Approves!

Rogelio wanted a Maserati, since his Mini is acting up...

What's better than a Maserati? John Hamm driving one...

Tony was uber specific. He wanted a palette of Gold boullion:

I thought he needed a Ninja to gaurd it...

Me? What did I want?
Not too much...

Just a flat stomach and some Tory Burch boots...

What do you want under your tree??

Have a Merry Christmas!

Man Trap

2011-12-22T10:30:00.000-06:00

The other day I was doing some work for a bank in the area and saw this room on the plan called "Man Trap."

What? Man Trap?! What is that?

No one around me knew so we starting dreaming up this scenario where you could lure your dream man in there and trap him until he agreed to love on you.

Then we found out what it really is and were depressed...

So here is a Man Trap:

Then I decided to put my celeb-fav in there:

Here Marky Marky Marky....

Then I made one for the girl at the bank, who was also depressed upon hearing what a Man Trap really was...

McDreamy..... *sigh*

Christi wanted one too...

Adam Levine

She then requested this photo "uncropped." I sent it to her, but I try to keep this family friendly.

Then MyLien, who has been contemplating a short hairdo and new glasses, got hers:

Jason Batemen

Here are a few more:

Cradle Robber Man Trap

Depp as a Pirate... pretty specific trap there...

Sophisticated Man Trap...

What about you? Who would you put in your man trap?

Maybe Santa will bring you one for Christmas ;)

**For the record, a Man Trap is a room were you have to shut the door behind you before you can open the second door, therefore trapping a person inside. Boring huh?**

Comfort Zone

2011-12-21T11:19:00.001-06:00

Do you ever feel like you are in a rut? Like it's just easier to go with the same ole same ole?

Me too. EVERY DAY.

Christi at work took me under her wing, dragged me into some vintage shops in Rice Village, and read me my rights.

So, Tuesday I wore this:

Dress: Mint
Belt: Mint
Leggings: Urban Outfitters

I was pretty out of my element all day, it was a little breezy outside.

Now, today actually, I am wearing outfit #2:

Dress: Langford Market
Sweater: Express
Boots: DSW

I am much more comfortable in this one for sure.

I have to admit I feel kinda snazzy! I can't say this means my cardigans are going away, but maybe this means I will shop a little differently?

This is random but makes me laugh every morning while watching Looney Tunes with Logan

http://youtu.be/C374lrpZ2NM

No Friends?

2011-12-20T13:37:00.002-06:00

Hello lovlies.

I have heard a rumor that Google Friend Connect is going away! Just in case, please make sure you subscribe via RSS (there is a button on the top right for you) so you don't miss any of my craziness!

Until tomorrow... tata!

Holiday Beer Dinner

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

Lee wanted to throw a beer dinner instead of a Holiday Party because he thought it would be easier.

Nope, not at all.

It was pretty tasty however.

First the menu:

In advance, I apologize if the photos start getting blurry... I was starting to get a little tipsy as the night went on...

First Course: Guava, Grapefruit, Mango and Arugala salad. Alongside was served seafood and avacado crostini.

Lee served 3 beers which I won't even try to describe:

I mean look at all the glasses...

Second Course: Mushroom Risotto with shaved black truffle

Um, YUM

Third course: Braised short ribs with blue-corn grits

Bad photo, so sorry...

Final Course: Sticky Toffee Pudding, served with 3 stout beers

I have to say, this was my favorite part of the meal. I made the pudding and Katie made the topping and holy crap it was sinful.

Exhaustion the next day was worth it. We had a small group but it was a fun one.

Now to prepare for the Family Christmas Party - imagine a whole room full of people exactly like my husband.
I hope there is lots of wine...

When Blonde's "Craft"

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

While messing around on Pinterest ~~at work~~ I saw the cutest gift idea and I knew right away I was going to make this for my coworkers.

All 9 of them.

Basically it's a jar where you stack the cookie ingredients inside, decorate it cute, and all they have to add are a few ingredients at home. Simple, right?

Nope.

Oh that Bakerella... she makes it look so damn easy.

I went out and bought all the necessary ingredients and while Logan was eating lunch, I went to work.

First you add the flour. Each jar got 1 1/3 cups. Well how do you get the flour into each jar without it going everywhere? I stood over each jar with a spoon and spooned it all in. I was about 3 jars in with the oats when I realized... make a funnel you imbecile.

So a funnel I made.

This made the process go much faster. You can already see I was making a mess.

I went on to add the M&M's and chocolate chips and then I started to panick..

Yeah so... they are pretty full, no? I still have 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 a cup of white sugar to put in here. I started pushing and squishing the best I could.

I added the brown sugar to each and then started on the white... which is where I wanted to cry and feverishly search for Bakerella's phone number on the internet for help. The first 2 jars were a disaster, but after that I got the lids on and apologized to Logan for all the bad words mommy just said.

Now to clean up the mess and start decorating the jars.

Never in my life have I wished I had three hands than when trying to tie felt around these damn jars. First of all, felt fights back. Second of all, I found myself using my teeth to hold the string taught so I could tie a knot.

Hell. On. Wheels.

At this point Logan was napping and unaware of the hijinks going on in the kitchen.

It took all I had not to just crawl in that crib with him and forget about the jars in the kitchen.
Finally after bad words, and telling a few of the girls on Say Yes to the Dress to stop their pity parties, I was finished.

Next year? My coworkers get cards and a smile.

Logan Loves His Wagon (Wordless Wednesday)

2011-12-14T09:30:00.000-06:00

Winter Cleaning

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

While Logan doesn't seem to care all that much, he suffers from small-closet syndrome. Because of that, I don't hang up any of his clothes and they all go in the dresser. Usually I reserve the bottom drawer for clothes he can't wear yet, the middle for current clothes, and the top for pj's, socks, and extra changing pad covers.
Then it looks like this:

The drawer doesn't close because I only have 5 minutes a day to put up laundry and it is what it is.

I went to work on the drawers first and took out stuff that doesn't fit, and emptied the bottom drawer to put bigger clothes in something else.

Then the closet...

Eeek.. I started pulling everything out and making piles, then I turned around to this..

I'm boxed in! It gets worse before it gets better, right?

Where's Logan?

When I was done, the closet was much more organized than before...

There are things in there that we are saving for friends, like the bumbo and bathtub seat.

Now the bigger clothes are in a reusable bag on a hanger and out of the way. We used to have stuff piled on the other side of his crib and now that stuff is in the closet. *shoo*

I can't part with that damn boppy lounger... he slept on that for months...

I took his stuffed animals and put them in the toy chest

This toy chest used to be MY toy chest... if you flip it around you see my name...

And if you open the lid, my parents had stenciled something on the inside...

The top used to have a clown.

I hate clowns.

I am pretty sure that has something to do with the circus theme of my room and the 9' clown my dad bought me that stood in the corner.

*shudder*

Now it's nice and generic so that no matter what he likes as a theme, the toy chest will fit right in.

So now that his room is clean, I should do mine huh?

Nope.

Logan's Wish List

2011-12-08T06:30:00.000-06:00

Logan doesn't know it, but all these things are on his wish list for Christmas!

Play Tunnel

Amazon

He is starting to like the ones at Gymboree, and I figure - what's one more thing in our living room?

The little floating animals aren't doing it for him anymore really - so he needs some better bath toys. These look cool:

Amazon (he already has the frog)

This just is so sweet:

Yoyo

What little boy doesn't need a tug boat?

I would love to get him a collection of all the best Disney movies. While I don't really care to have the physical DVD, it's necessary to get the Digital Copy I want. Here are a few of the ones I want him to have:

20th Edition for Aladdin? I remember when it came out! So old...

There are many more (Nemo, Monster's Inc, etc) but these are the real classics that I could stand to watch with him. Lion King is currently available and I am checking out the Disney website to get an idea of the rest of them.

He also needs books. I would love for him to have all the Dr. Suess.

I figure since he got so many toys for his birthday, maybe Christmas can be other little things. I am sure a new pair of shoes will make it to his stocking as well.

What do you think? Should he add anything to his list?

My Wish List

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Heeeere comes Christmas.

Some think I am easy to buy for. Others think I am hard. So here, take these ideas.

Cusinart Hand Mixer:

Red one, please

Why I want it: Because my old one is gross and... well... old. Time for an upgrade.

Next up - Cuisinart Multi-Cook

Why I want it: Because it is not only a slow cooker, it is a roaster and a steamer. In the 195 degree summer I could use this instead of heating up my whole house with the convection roast setting on my stove.

Le Creuset Coffee Mugs:

Why I want these: Love this color. We have a mix-match of sizes of coffee mugs and I would rather them at least be all big enough for the large setting on the Keurig. Because, who needs a small cup of coffee?

Otherwise, I am always looking for a cute long scarf (light weight)
House shoes
Amazon Gift Card for all my Kindle purchases
A nice notepad for meetings (maybe a cute portfolio thing?)
Charms for my Pandora necklace
Fiestaware

Hopefully this helps anyone who needs ideas!

First Birthday party

2011-12-06T07:15:00.000-06:00

Logan's first party was a success! I was more tired than after labor with him, but hey, it's all worth it for the photos, right?

First the Decor:

Cupcakes made by his Gee Gee

I don't craft, excuse the tape...

Then there was cake...

And now, a bath..

He had great friends there

It's P, from Pineapples and Pickles!!

And family too...

Gee Gee came all the way from Palestine (with cupcakes!)

He opened presents and played with his new Wheely Bug!

I liked the puppet, which we named Rory, and I was a little exhausted and out of my mind by the end of the party...

Ignore my bad hair. I had 10 minutes to be dressed for this party...

All in all, it was a great day. There are many many more photos but I hope this gives you an idea of the party.
Now I have a one year old...

Hell Day

2011-12-02T07:28:00.001-06:00

Yesterday ranked way up there on my list of days that I wish to never repeat again. I was wiped out and laying in bed watching "One Born Every Minute" and tearing up by 8:30pm. Here is a timeline of how yesterday went.

6:45am: up. Grab Logan, change foul diaper, head to kitchen. Lee gets in shower.
7am: feed Logan oatmeal, pick up dropped sippy one bajillion times, guzzle coffee.
7:20am: lay out Logan's outfit, from a laundry basket of clean clothes 2 days old, get in shower.
7:40am: help lee dress Logan since he won't stop alligator rolling
7:55am: head out the door for 8:30am dr appt
8:am decide it's a great idea to get coffee to drink on the way to the dr
8:10am: stuck in drive through, regretting decision
8:15am: start stress headache, break traffic laws
8:45am: stroll into dr 15 min late
8:55am: get weighed, cry, get undressed
9:15am: still naked
9:30am: still naked
9:45am: STILL NAKED
9:50am: nurse let's me know there was a mix up and dr wasn't seeing patients until 10.
10:05am: make joke to dr about how I am not usually naked this long without wine.
10:40am: oh hi coworkers
11:25am: leave for a rep lunch, eat 6 pounds of sushi
1pm return from rep lunch
2pm meeting
2:15 pm meeting (different one)
2:30pm - 3pm: freak out and plot 5 sets of construction documents for boss to sign as neither of us is in the office Friday
3pm: leave to get Logan for 3:30 dr appt, break traffic laws
3:20pm: sprint into day care and grab still sleeping (how?!) toddler (HOW?!) from crib and sprint to car
3:30pm: right on time to appt
3:45-4:15pm: - chase Logan around the exam room so he doesn't dive off the table or slam his fingers in all the drawers and doors
4:30: walk out with SCREAMING child from pricked finger and shots
5pm: open mail while Logan plays
5:15pm: lay Logan down for mini nap, suck boogies first, doesn't end well
5:16pm: say fuck this day and order pizza
5:50pm: feed toddler his first pizza because he earned it
6:00pm: Hoover 3 pieces of pizza and not track any of it on weight watchers
6:30pm: bathe pizza sauce covered kid
6:45pm: rock him and read him a book
7pm: lay him down after giving benadryl for cold
7:01pm: drink wine

So so so tired.

However I love hearing how Logan is doing so...
Logan's Stats:
Weight-22 pounds
Length - 31"
Percentile - 60%, head is 75%

He is starting to clap when you try and play patty cake with him
Will walk by pushing things around the room but doesn't stand on his own or hasn't taken any independant steps
Will eat anything I put in front of him (if it's not spicy..)
HATES Milk.

She said kids tend to thin out around now because of the activity levels and change in food habits so he is doing great!

That made me feel better on Hell Day.

So did the wine...

And then he was 1...

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

There are so many things going through my head right now about this last year. So many things I didn't know when Logan was born and so many things I sure wish I had known.

I didn't know:

I could ~~function~~ survive on so little sleep
I could love something with all my heart and soul
How much he would increase my love for Lee
That I would end up with night vision
I would sleep for nearly 3 months on the sofa or the guest bed
I would cry so much, sometimes while he cried too
How very little I knew about how to keep him alive
That when he would smile I forget all the things making me sad
That I would ever in a million years need antidepressents
That I would fail at breastfeeding
That his laugh would make me laugh too
I would never sleep past 6:30 again

I wish I had known:

That it really does fly by, that people don't just say that
How great it would be after the dark days
To hold him all I could because he won't want to be held forever
How crazy I would be about shopping for baby clothes/toys/books/anything baby related
That all the little things don't matter whatsoever

Logan is everything we could ever have wished for. He is funny, silly, loving, playful, and curious.

Logan - we love you so so much and we are so proud of you!

*His check up is on Thursday so I will have stats and milestones for you then!*

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T08:54:00.001-06:00

This year Thanksgiving was about the Turkey:

Brining

Basting

Glazing

It was about Pumpkin Bread to snack on...

And calling the plumber for your sink...

Thank you, John Moore

It was about babies first Thanksgiving:

And of course... the food

And cleaning up the food...

Thank you Dwyn for washing dishes and Thank you Donald for washing Logan!

I hope you all had a wonderful day...

Is anyone else sick of turkey?

What I am Loving Wednesday

2011-11-23T09:23:00.001-06:00

Now that I am 30 31, ~~flirty~~ fatty, and ~~thriving~~ tired - I figured I need to start taking better care of my skin.

Recently, for my birthday, my sister in law got me a gift box at Kiehl's and thus started an addiction.
First there is the facial cleanser:

I have been a clinique snob for years when it comes to face products - but this has changed my life. I have very fair and freckly skin. This has made it so that I barely have to wear makeup. I don't get those big break outs once a month anymore. Love it.

Then I follow it up with the cream:

This is divine. It only takes a little bit and your face feels silky.

For those awesome ~~crows feet~~ smile lines around the eyes:

I have been using this for about a week and I am really like it. Right now I am still on the sample because the price tag freaked me out...

When I do wear make up, I have been using this:

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer. It's light and airy and does just enough to even out skin tone.

My new favorite body cream is:

Silky, very light scent, amazing.

So, gone are my college days when I never washed my face with more than water, put Lubriderm on my face as a moisturizer, and put that white Clearasil stuff on a zit.

Being old is hard..

And expensive.

Not to mention the Kiehls Store is next door to the Williams Sonoma in the shopping center.

For a little pick me up, hop on over to Shabby Apple. They are having an AMAZING sale.

Women's Dresses from Shabby Apple

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my friends!

My thanksgiving menu

2011-11-21T10:30:00.000-06:00

I am so excited about Thanksgiving this year. I am super Thankful for Logan (of course) and I wanted to celebrate by hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year.

*gulp*

Last year, I was super pregnant and only about a week and 1/2 from a scheduled induction so I didn't do anything but show up and eat. So this year I wanted to take on more of the cooking.

We are having our meal at 6pm, which may be odd since some eat at 1 or so. I want so badly for Logan to eat with us so I scheduled it at a time when he will be hungry and happy.

Here is what I am in charge of:

Turkey - which I am brining.

From Williams Sonoma

I have read up on Pioneer Woman on how to ensure your brined turkey isn't a salt lick.

Then while it is roasting I will baste it with this glaze:

from Williams Sonoma

Just in case the drippings are still super salty and I need some help, I grabbed a jar (or 2) of turkey gravy base:

from - yes - Williams Sonoma

Oh wait, we need something other than Turkey?

I am also making:
Steamed green beans
Mashed Potatoes (made with my secret recipe)
Apple Crisp (from Barefoot Contessa, but it's much like this one from PW)
Rolls

From Others:
Sweet Potatoes
Fruit Salad

Broccoli Cheese casserole
Dressing/Stuffing

Wine
Wine
Wine

My game plan is to get up and make the potatoes right away and then I can just put them in the oven to heat up before we eat. Otherwise I just need to rise the rolls and prep the crisp while the turkey roasts all day.

And watch the parade.
And drink cider.
And eat pumpkin bread.

Super excited Logan will get to eat Thanksgiving with us at the table like a big boy.
And then 4 days later turn 1.
Oy,

Feeding Hungry Man Logan

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Now that Logan is ALMOST one (not yet!) Feeding him has gotten more and more interesting.

First - no more bottle. If you put the bottle near him he screams or he grabs it and throws it on the floor.
Ok, kid.

Second, he loves to feed himself. He will eat just about anything you put in front of him, but especially spaghetti. So I don't know if it was him giving me the spaghetti craving when I was pregnant, or if I passed my love on - but this kid HOOVERS spaghetti.

I know he is not quite one yet, but we have already switched to milk. Specifically, this one:

When he doesn't drink much milk in the day, I supplement with pieces of cheese and a yogurt. I also pour a little milk on his apple oatmeal in the mornings.

When time isn't on my side, I have cans of soup in the cupboard. I just drain the water and put the contents on his tray and he goes to town!

For now, he prefers the Nuby No Spill sippy, with or without handles.

Otherwise, he is content eating whatever I can scrounge up, even when out to eat!

And if it's shrimp and avacado, well of course it's just fine!

Any other tips/ideas on feeding a one year old?

In other news -here is what I have been eating on Weight Watchers.

What I wore Wednesday

2011-11-16T11:30:00.000-06:00

Last week we had the first truly cold snap of the year. I used this as an excuse to break out the leggings, boots and socks, and a scarf and sweater.

Leggings: Target. Socks: Target. Boots: Steve Madden

Scarf: Ann Taylor Loft. Sweater: Target

I also stole one of Lee's shirts to be cozy in while home playing with Logan.

And then 3 days later it was 80 degrees again.

Dadgum.

Fatty Fat Fat Fat

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

These days I feel like a fatty fat fat heffer.

So instead of wining about it, it's time to do something about it.

When I got pregnant with Logan, I was 140 pounds. I wasn't really that happy about it but it was what it was.

When I delivered him I was 163 pounds.

Then, on maternity leave, I lost 30 pounds and I was so proud of myself for getting below my pre-pregnancy weight and for getting closer to where I should be.

Then I started going out to eat for lunch every day at work.

I stopped going for a walk everyday with Logan at the park.

I started drinking a good amount of wine.

Hello - now I weigh about 145 pounds.

Oops.

At 5'-1", I should weigh more like ~~110~~ 120 pounds.

So my goal is to try and lose 20 pounds in the next few months. I realize it's holiday season. But I can look at those 2 big foodie days as cheat days.

When my dress didn't zip for Ben and Katie's wedding, I cried. I put on a small Maternity Dress
(um, this one actually)

16 weeks

and got online in the car on the way there and joined Weight Watchers.

Exercise seems near impossible but I am going to make myself put Logan in the stroller and go for a walk 2 days in the week and both days on the weekends, weather permitting. A 30 minute walk has to be better than no walk at all, right?

When I see photos like this, I like to blame my favorite thing in the world - PMS:

When I look at this photo, I don't see the candle or the scarf... I see the tummy bulging over my pants because I wasn't thinking about sucking it in. You know what? It may have been PMS, but that's not 100% the issue...

Pregnancy did a number on my midsection. Again, instead of an excuse, I am going to do something about it.

Even if that means all my flex points each week go towards wine...

Nutcracker Market

2011-11-14T06:30:00.000-06:00

For the third time in 4 years, I took off work and went to the Nutcracker Market.

Don't worry, my boss understands. In fact, she was with me!

This is something people travel from all over to go to. It's basically a Christmas Decorating / Chochtky explosion.

Arial shot. No, I did not take this photo..

It's booth after booth after booth of stuff.

Stuff like:

Texas Tree Decor, of course

Sparkly Stuff

Wine Tree Decor (yay!)

Useless stuff:

They sold these tights with feathers to stick out of the top of your boots. Why? No idea.

There are also very very very interestingly dressed people:

She just needed some boots and feathers...

Also funny stuff:

Oops, I adopted another cat! My daycare lady needs that shirt

There are interesting people....

Donald got a lot of compliments on that hat...

I bought a ~~ton of shit~~ few things, but my favorite of them was this:

Now I want to decorate for Christmas so bad!

Eversave Giveaway!

2011-11-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Lee and I don't get to go out on a date very often. We don't complain because Logan sure is a hoot to be around.

But wouldn't it be nice to open your email in the morning and see this:

Example Deal

I tell you what, Lee and I LOVE wine and to have this pop in my email would be a dream!

Now it can be reality. The kind people at Eversave are doing a giveaway!

Today through Saturday Eversave will be featuring The Cellar Door!

Don't fret if there isn't a Cellar Door in your town, because one of you lucky readers will win $15 in Save rewards to use on a deal near you.

Here is a little tidbit about the company:

Eversave works day and night to negotiate the very best deals for you on all the things you love. Fromspas and restaurants to lift tickets and yoga classes – Eversave delivers these local discounts directly toyour inbox, in the form of a Save.

In addition to their daily local deals, they also offer spectacular Saves from online merchants whichallows their customers nationwide to get in on the fun!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up to start receiving daily e-mails with details of theSaves happening in your neighborhood. Eversave will even give you $2 to use towards your nextpurchase just for creating an account!

And don’t forget to spread the word. Eversave makes it easy and rewarding to share Saves with familyand friends. Whether you tell them about a deal you love via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter, whensomeone you’ve referred to the site makes his or her first purchase, we’ll add $10 in Save Rewards toyour account.

Daily deals offering out-of-this-world savings – it’s that simple. Visit Eversave today & learn more.

Here are a few rules and regs:

Leave a comment on your favorite wine for your chance to win
Create an account at Eversave
That's it!

Optional:
Follow Eversave on Facebook http://seyv.es/ow60 or Twitter http://seyv.es/Xw60 for the “in” to Facebook and Twitter exclusive contests!

Have fun! The winner will be announced on Monday!

LINK

Mother Nature can suck it

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Look, I get it. There is this whole stipulation written in an unknown land that we ladies have to go through crazy bodily issues every. single. month.

Being pregnant was actually a welcome break from the monthly debacle of bodily changes and crazy mood swings. Plus I could eat what I wanted 90% of the time and always felt great about it.

This month, 11 months after giving birth, I am experiencing the worst wrath from that bitch Mother Nature than I have in many years. I woke up yesterday feeling like this

EFF UUUUUUUUUUUU!

Then I tried putting on pants and felt like someone had swapped out all my clothing to play a trick on me. I know I didn't gain 15 pounds overnight. It made me feel even more empathy for the possibly-pregnant-photos of Jennifer Aniston that were going around last month:

PMS is a bitch, y'all.

It doesn't help that in the midst of feeling ~~like a fattened up hog~~ this way, I only crave pasta and brownies. This makes me think of the Midol commercial where the one girl says "I would kill for a brownie!" and her bitch friend says "Oh yeah, you are menstrual!" What? If anyone I knew, hell even my own mother, said that to me, I would promptly punch them in the neck and then eat that brownie over their unconscious body.

Later in the day, I started having cramps that made me think I was having contractions and that I was now one of those freaks that accidentally squirts out a baby while on the toilet.

HOLY SHIT! It's not just GAS!

However, you are supposed to welcome your monthly flow with pretty tampon packages, right?

New! Glittery vag!

They even sell plush toys in the shape of uterus's these days. Why? I have no flippin' idea.

Come on, gimme a hug!

I can tell you this - never in my several umpteen years of going through this have I seen a pretty jeweled heart emerge from my body. In fact, if you did a MRI of my innards, I am sure you would find this:

So, in conclusion - Mother Nature can SUCK IT.

Now, I will have a brownie.

Remember Remember the 5th of November...

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

...When Ben and Katie were wed!

The bride walked down the aisle

Which made the groom smile

And then the vows were said

The ceremony was beautiful, smiles and tears were rife

With wine for unity

A kiss for finality

They were announced as husband and wife

Now it's time for a party, much fun we shall make!

With champagne and berries

First dances were merry

We even left room for the cakes

After speeches and dances, omlettes and wine, it was time to call it a day

Many memories were made

A lifetime of charades

And they wouldn't have it any other way

Mr & Mrs. Pyle!

Congrats to such wonderful friends!

*I hope my rhyming wasn't too painful!*

Grocery Store People

2011-11-03T09:08:00.003-05:00

Last week - after seeing the People of Starbucks post, Donald and I discussed other places you see interesting groups of people. Where else but the Grocery Store? This is a little something he wrote up, and check his non-facts out at Made Up History!

Grocerystores seem to be this interesting nexus where people just LOSE THEIR F***INGMINDS.

*ahem*

Literally– it’s like the second they cross the barrier from the street intothe parking lot, they dump their brain into the trunk of their car, and forgetabout it completely until they get back on the street to go home.

In themeantime…let’s go over a couple of ground-rules.

1.      Get off your phone. Unless youneed to call someone with a grocery-related question, the phone causes you towalk slowly, wander aimlessly (frustrating people trying to get around you, orstuck behind you), and I don’t need to hear the details of your lastdoctor’s visit.

2.      Don’t park your cart in themiddle of the aisle.

3.      Your family is not a solar system– your children shouldn’t be orbiting your cart in an expandingcircle, until they’re bouncing off the shelves and blocking theaisle. You also don’t need to bring your entire family to do shopping. Simply get their requests at home and bring your own self (maybe onefriend/family member for company).

4.      Bump my heels more than once, Ireserve the right to thump you in the head.

5.      If you’re taking an extendedperiod of time to choose a product, do NOT glare at me when I say “excuseme” and reach in front of you for something on the shelf.

6.      Don’t tsk or make noises atpeople who are buying items you disagree with. Alcohol, meat,non-organic…whether or not you buy these items is yourpersonal choice…making a noise in the store is not going to persuademe. In fact, I might just buy more of that product, on the spot. And I promise you, if you try to come between me and my beer or food,you’re losing a limb.

And theself-checkout…ohhhhhhhhh, it’s a whole new adventure:

1.      Don’t walk past the line(there’s always a line) and then act surprised when people“ahem” at you and direct you to the end of the line. “Ohhh, there’s a line?” is not cute – what did youthink we were doing standing here…getting into formation to conga dancethrough the store??

2.      Don’t get in the self-checkoutif you have more than fifteen items. Treat it like the express lane.

3.      If you have no (or minimal)experience with computers or video games, GET THE HELL BACK TO A CASHIER. Self checkout is not voice-activated, and it doesn’t have levers –it involves mashing a computer screen.

Seriously,the goal of self-checkout is “I only have a couple of items, so thisshould be quick”. If your purchase might jack with this system, getto the express lane.

And people*in* the line, quit grumbling and making noises. The self-checkoutabusers either can’t hear you from that distance, and they probablydon’t care anyway. Unless you’re prepared to put your moneywhere your mouth is and go push them out of the way, hush it. Granted, ifyou DID go push the self-checkout abusers out of the way, you’d get around of applause from those of us stuck in line with you.

Basically– use some common sense, be aware that you’re in a public spacewith other people (it’s not your own personal store), and beconsiderate. Otherwise, you’re a Grocery Store Assclown.

Thanks

-Management

Loganasauras

2011-11-02T09:12:00.002-05:00

Logan wasn't really sure what was going on for Halloween, he just knew he was NOT in a pumpkin patch.

Otherwise, it was a pretty tame Halloween. I hope you all had a good one.

I am not in a bloggy mood this week so hopefully I get my mojo back soon.

But I still love you all more than my luggage. (name that movie!)

Also - there is a sale on the Scent of the Month. Check it out here: November SOM.

11 Months

2011-10-31T09:34:00.001-05:00

How did this happen? How is my itty bitty tiny man turn 11 months?

This means... in a month... he will be...

Ok I can't talk about it.

So this weekend Logan got some shoes for his 11 month day. He hates shoes. He yanks on them and tries to get them off his feet. However, at some point he can't be a barefoot kid out in public anymore.

I went to the Galleria with Aunt Kelly and we found him these:

Red chucks!

After a little while he quit trying to get them off and even played in them for the afternoon:

Then he figured out how to run in his little walkabout:

Too bad our living area isn't bigger!

He has gotten really finicky about the bottle. Doesn't really seem to want it anymore. I tried putting formula in the sippy and that doesn't cut it either. So I am trying to keep him hydrated with water and giving him yogurt and cheese to help with the dairy. Otherwise, he hoovers food. I took a broccoli and cheese deal from the freezer and combined it with some chicken and rice and he ate tons of it. Even with just having water and no formula, he slept solid all night and even a little later than normal!

I know in a few weeks he can have cow's milk so until then we will just keep trying other methods of dairy.

Here is something cute to get you through the day:

Have a great week everyone!

Color Naming Guy...

2011-10-28T07:09:00.001-05:00

There is hardly a day that goes by at my job where I am not digging through a paint deck. Often enough I come across a color and color name that puzzles me. I thought it would be fun to show a few colors and their names, then re-name them to something more appropriate...

Name: Confident Yellow
Should be: Surface of the Sun

Name: Derbyshire
Should be: It's no longer 1993

Name: Eye Catching
Should be: Baby Pea Vomit

Name: Neighborly Peach
Should be: I live in Miami

Name: Rose Colored
Should be: It's still not 1993

Name: Stop
Should be: My Eyes are on Fire

Name: Chartruese
Should be: What were you thinking?

Next time I will do perfectly lovely colors with awful names...

I want the job as a color naming guy for sure!

Have a great weekend!

In less than 60 days...

2011-10-26T09:48:00.001-05:00

Christmas will be here.

I am not kidding. I would never kid about Christmas!

Recently I started working with a company called Scentsy. They make wonderful "warmers" that you would use in lieu of a candle.

Before you start a mob to my house about hating on candles, here are some reasons I like the warmer option:

1. Spend $30 now, only $5 later… Yankee Candles (or most name-brand candles) are $25-30 and once you burn it up, it’s gone. With these warmers, you spend the money up front to buy the warmer but then you have over 80 scents that you can change out at only $5 for the wax. Each wax bar could last a few months depending on how long you burn it.

2. No Flames! Ever go to bed or out to dinner and think “Oh no! I left my candle burning!” With the warmer, it’s just a 25 watt bulb, so no harm done

3. Free Lightbulbs! If you choose me as your trusted rep, I will keep you in light bulbs for the life of your warmer. Just call me up and I will get one to you ASAP!

4. Personal Testimony. I use a warmer in my home and I think it smells the house up better and I like that there is not an open flame with a little one running around the house. The wax only gets as hot as the paraffin used in nail salons, so it will not burn your skin if it fell.

5. Variety of product: Along with the warmers and wax, there are travel tins, room sprays, hand soap, and sachets in certain scents.

6. No Waste: Ever get about halfway down a candle and find that it's burning unevenly or the wick won't stay lit? With Scentsy, there is no waste of product because you melt it over and over until the scent has faded, then you toss it out and put new wax in the tray!

Basically you plug the little guy in, put a few cubes of wax in the tray and whala! Within 15 minutes your house is smelling goooooood.

So with that said, here are some images of popular products.

If you are feeling in the holiday spirit already:

Here comes Santa Claus...

Source

If your little one needs a great smelling bear to snuggle with while dreaming of toys and treats:

Source

On prancer on Dancer on Comit on Vixen!

Source

If you need a present for a college football obsessed friend, they have oodles of warmers (more than shown in this photo)

Source

I picked this one out for Tiffanie - for pretty obvious reasons...

Source

There are so many scents that there are several for everyone. There are vanilla and baked goods smellies, cinnamon holiday smellies, clean citrus smellies, even tropical vacation smellies. I may have ordered some coffee smellies because, well, I am addicted to coffee...

So do some browsing and feel free to contact me with questions. These make great gifts for someone you just don't know what to buy them, or maybe something for your self to perk up your home!

Evil Pumpkins...

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend started off pretty great. We went to Logan's fall festival at school, which really ended up us just pushing him in the swing...

And sliding...

But he got to wear his costume!

Sorry, snotty nose...

Then on Saturday we went and did what every new mother can't wait to do... take the baby to the Pumpkin Patch for photos.
Logan slept all the way there and was in a generally happy mood when we got there... Then he saw the pumpkin patch.

We put him in his dinosaur costume and put him down next to the pumpkins..
He proceeded to cry:

and then scream:

Until someone picked him up:

See the tear?

I tried to get a good photo with him...

We tried everything... feeding him, checking his diaper, sitting down on the ground with him, taking his shoes off (made it worse b/c then he felt the grass) and taking off the costume... it was like he was 6 weeks old and it's 2 am and everyone is going "why is he crying? WHY IS HE CRYING?"

Later we pulled him in the wagon... we took the pumpkins out first:

But he was still very very unsure about the whole ordeal.

Anyone else ever had a baby freak out at the pumpkin patch?

People of Starbucks

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

We have all seen those "People of Walmart" sites and other embarrassing photos... but there are times I am in Starbucks and I think about the kind of people who frequent this establishment (myself included.) If you stop and look around, it really is quite the eclectic group. I don't have photos but here is how I see the group.

The Regular:
At my 'Bucks this is an old man who is normally wearing headphones and sitting in one of the cushy chairs. Other regulars stop and talk to him and admire his jean shorts and socks/sandals combination. Favorite Drink: Coffee. Isn't that why he is in a coffee shop?

High School Students:
You mainly see these kiddos if you are stopping in around 7:30/8am. There are times when they have shown up later and I am thinking to myself "what time does school start these days?" The girls have their hair in a slept-in-it ponytail and wrinkled uniform. Don't get me started on the boy's hair cuts... Favorite Drink: Passion Fruit Tea Lemonade.
*yes, I am an 80 year old woman these days*

Hipsters:
You know these guys. Skinny jeans, funky shirts, really odd shoes. My deal with them is that they shouldn't be at a Starbucks. They are too cool for that. They should be at some emo "organic" coffee shop that plays new wave music in the background. Their favorite coffee would more than likely include hemp.

Gym Bunnies:
These are my favorite. More than likely they have a kid or 2 with them and although they are wearing an outfit that suggests they are going to the gym, the hair and makeup state otherwise. They wave at other Gym Bunnies and get ogled by the fancy car driving CEO's. Favorite Drink: Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte, extra skinny.

CEO's:
Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini... these are usually in a row in front of Starbucks with below-average-in-height men emerging from them for their latte. They are wearing insanely expensive shirts and barely look up from their iPhone except to ogle the Gym Bunnies. Favorite Drink: Venti Black Eye.

Cops:
Because there isn't a Dunkin Donuts nearby and a cop has to have a place to hide... Favorite Drink: Grande Americano.
Construction Workers:
More than likely working on a fancy new store in the shopping center nearby, they sneak over for good coffee while the others hit up the Exxon station. They are slightly in the closet about their love for Starbucks because it makes them a little less rough around the edges. Favorite Drink: Coffee, because what the hell is a Pumpkin Spice Latte?

Addiction...

2011-10-19T09:39:00.002-05:00

After seeing Tiffanie playing with puff paint last week, I was eager to get to Hobby Lobby and grab some up. With the cooler weather, I am actually leaving socks on Logan during the day and he was slip sliding away. Now he is good to go!

Last night I lined them up on the table and probably did about 6 more pair! Dots, stars, swirls, you name it. I can't wait to see him toddling around knowing there is something fun on the bottom of his feet!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Little Man Munchies

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last week when I saw that Tiffanie was having success with Preston on table food, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get brave about it. The problem hasn't been that he isn't interested - he certainly grabs for our plates, but it's more because he eats at 6:30 and we eat after he goes to bed.

Then I was also avoiding the big mess of self feeding.. but that I will just have to deal with, because he LOVES it!

Although I don't know how much goes into his mouth...

Another benefactor for Logan's messy eating is Teddy..

He positions himself so that any and all falling food is his. Since they have such sensitive stomachs, we are going to have to start keeping the dogs from the kitchen until he is done. Sorry Teds...

Since he loves it so much and we aren't really ready to eat at 6:30, I tried to be creative at the store on ways I can feed him "real" food without cooking two meals. Here are some of my ideas.

These are like little gifts from above. Single serving, in a little tray, that you pop in the microwave. I figure I can put this in to heat up, give Logan a bath, and by the time it's time for him to eat, this will be cool enough for him to chow down on.

Also comes in brown and chicken flavored.

Same deal here. 1 minute in the microwave! These look big to me so one cup should last 2 meals.

Also in bow tie and penne.

These are itty bitty, baby sized pieces of pasta. I could boil some on Sunday and have for most of the week to mix with other veggies I purchased. I heard babies love some butter noodles. I grabbed some Ziplock Steam Baggies so I can throw other veggies in the microwave for easy cooking while we do bath time.

My coworker told me that she used to buy these fruit cups, rinse the sugary juice off, and whala! Soft fruit for the taking.

Don't get me started on these. Now that he sprouted 4 teeth on top in the last 3 weeks, he loves to take these and bite on them. I do mean LOVE.
But what happens when the parents get ahold of these one late night while watching a movie?
Let's just say I bought 2 bags today...

While I realize that Gerber makes these:

I like the thought of fresh or flash frozen veggies and fruit when I can. For now I will still send whatever baby food I have to school to make it easier.. then I guess I will have to find a way to send finger foods with him. They are super nice and give me lots of suggesstions. In fact they told me to try juice and I can barely pry that sippy of diluted apple juice from his little hands!

Any more ideas on quick table food for when he eats before we do? I know I can do leftovers easily and when we go out to eat I can give him things off my plate.. the kid loves the Kabobs and Rice from Zoe's and my mother in law's chicken spaghetti.

I am looking forward to the switch from formula to cows milk in 6 weeks. Between that and the baby food, I am looking forward to over $200 a month back in my ~~wine budget~~ pocket!

Best. Wedding. Ever.

2011-10-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lee and I went to Jacksonville / St. Augustine Florida, for a wedding this weekend. It was slightly traumatizing to leave Logan for the first time but we ended up being the best time!

I am not kidding... super best wedding ever...

Congrats Sarah and Brett!

So in little to no words, here is the wedding...

The bride watching the crew put on the finishing touches..

The "univited guests"

Who were shoo'd away....

The happy couple

Why a boutonniere when you can have a pinwheel?

Seashell sand...

Here comes the bride...

All dressed in white....

Husband and Wife!

The tables...

Popcorn!

Mustaches...

Sunglasses...

And co-best men holding bouquets so the bride can dance...

Wonderful time and wonderful friends!

What I am loving Wednesday!

2011-10-12T07:02:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhhh..... Wednesday. The day of the week that marks that you are mid way through it...

Sometimes you need to sit back on Wednesdays and think about what you love - just to give you a little extra pep.

Here is what I am loving this week:

Marzetti's Simply Dressed Balsamic. WOW. This is probably the best salad dressing I have ever had. It makes me want salad just so I can have this dressing. I made Pioneer Woman's Spinach and Bacon salad and instead of making a dressing like she does, I used this and it was awesome. It's in the cold dressing area by the bagged lettuce. There are other flavors as well.

Logan wants to walk. Badly.
I am in denial about this. Heavily.
For now he will walk across the room like a little robot while pushing this cart toy. However if I put him in the walker that he can sit in, he just rolls himself backwards... Whatever floats your boat, kid.

It's no secret that I LOVE coffee. We found that we were getting tired of the coffee we order online, it just wasn't as roasty as we liked it. I dug around and found this on Amazon (no, really?) and Lee loves this one. It's very bold and roasty and gives you a swift kick in the pants...

When I get home from work, I change into capri leggings with a long tank top. I bought an XL long and lean tank top at Target so it hangs past my bum. Throw on a boyfriend sweater and flats and instant comfy mom attire! I like this sweater at Target a lot:

Even though I lost this week....

I still love Fantasy Football. This has made a lot of difference in how much football I can tolerate in one day. This coming week I am playing Lee again - I won last time so we will see!

Last but not least (and with an announcement!)

Not a current product but I thought the theme fit with my lifestyle...

I love Scentsy! You have more than likely heard of these wonderful ceramic warmers. You put the fragranced wax in the top and a 20 watt bulb melts it slowly and fills your house with wonderful smells. This way, you don't have hot flames around when there is a mischievous little baby milling around...
I am now officially a Scentsy REP! Woo-hoo!
This means that if you want to order something, you can click on my button on the right side of the page here and order away! You can email me if you have any questions, just click the email icon up top!

For the little ones, there are even these Scentsy buddies for them to cuddle with:

Click here for more info!

Have a great Wednesday!

Monday Magazines

2011-10-10T07:13:00.002-05:00

It's Monday... again.

I have my coffee and I am watching my DVR while my husband gets ready and the baby babbles next to me in his high chair. I say that's a good way to start things out, wouldn't you?

I took this photo at the grocery store right before they took my wallet and lit it on fire:

Right away I noticed a trend....

I don't really know what to say here. People freaked out when they got together since he was so young. I never never been a fan of his so to see that he is possibly a huge douchebag doesn't surprise me at all. I would think at some point the age difference would get to them, no matter how beautiful she is. The In Touch cover bothers me the most - who told them about "unsafe sex" and how is Demi already down to 95 pounds? I guess when you already only weigh as much as my big toe it's easy to lose that weight.

Then I saw this:

Aw dang - it's that time of the month again - Jen has PMS and everyone else calls it a baby. It looks like she and Princess Kate are on the same monthly schedule...

And for the one that isn't so much a surprise..

Anyone watch this show? Those babies should be thankful they aren't with their moms. For real.

Lastly...

I don't know what I think about this case. It's another one of those where reasonable doubt was evident but I think she knows more about what happened than she lets on. However, if she was wrongly convicted then I am glad it was overturned.

The sidebars on these mags this week were boring. In fact since I don't give much of a crap about Demi and Ashton, I would have skipped all these and grabbed a House Beautiful or something instead anyway!

Happy Monday folks!

Buddy Bear

2011-10-06T07:26:00.000-05:00

Recently, we went to Palestine and my grandmother (fondly known to the little ones as GeeGee) had a special present for Logan.

A bear.

All 4 of us kids have sat in that rocking chair...

We named him Buddy.

Of all the stuffed animals he has played with, this is the only one he has pretty much clung to and loved on. He LOVES Buddy.

I had a "Buddy" when I was little - her name was Daisy. I put her through the trials of testing out Logan's new things here...

I never went anywhere without Daisy. I also had my Po. These two things were my smelly and soft best friends.

I wonder if this is Logan's woobie. If this bear my grandmother lovingly picked out for Logan and couldn't wait to give him will the bear that is thrown in mud and dragged around the house by his ear.

I have to go... there is something in my eye.

What about you? Did you have a Buddy?

Planning a Birthday Party..

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Now that I am done crying in the corner, I am in full on party planning mode.

I thought about different themes, almost decided on none at all, and then I settled on Trains. His bedroom is already a light train theme so I thought finishing out his first year with trains would be fitting. Here are a few images of what I am thinking of...

Centerpieces... Source

Cupcake Toppers... source

Confetti (in blue, not pinks...) Source

I have ordered most the decor, the invites, and now I am working on gift bags for any kids that may attend. I see a trip to Hobby Lobby in my future...

Any other ideas? This is the first party I have had to throw!

10 Months!

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

*So sorry for lack of blogging last week. Logan had an ear infection, I had a huge work issue, my mom came into town, etc. Whirlwind doesn't even begin to describe it!*

Logan turned 10 months old on Friday!

In the last 4-5 weeks he has started doing MANY things!
Here are a few of the things he is doing:

Sitting up on his own
Sitting himself up from any position
Saying Dada
He said Mama like... once. But I know he will say it again!
Says "Uht oh!"
Crawls on all fours (when he wants to.)
Pulls up... on EVERYTHING

The play pen...

The baby gate

The crib

There was a panicked afternoon to lower the crib because he started doing this so fast.
And now he cruises along the furniture to "walk." He got somewhere I didn't think he could and pulled a cup of water down. He is so fast!

Things around here are full force 24/7.

Happy Monday everyone!

Work Life Balance

2011-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

*warning: Stress Post*

Let me ask you - is work/life balance even really achievable?

Are you (we) always just trying to "make things work?"

I feel like I am always scrambling to get all the pieces together, and all it does it create more issues for me to scramble against.

Why does it seem like if work is going great, home is a mess? and vise-versa?

Or why does the shit storm always hit at once?

This week has been baby ear infection / missed work / sleepless nights / angry client / husband leaving town / mother coming into town / need to clean the house / crazy long to do lists / dropping the ball / more sick baby / oh shit I better start planning his birthday /

Scramble Scramble Scramble.

And what happens at the end of the day? I have a glass of wine or ~~three~~ two and start all over again the next day?

What happens to us that we feel the pressure to be 100% at all three of our roles?

Wife
Mother
Employee

That means you need to be 300%!

Then what? You quit your job and eat Ramen Noodles because you just dropped your lifestyle to non-existent? Are you then feeling that you are failing at having a good home life because money is so strapped?

I love my husband and baby.
I love my job.

I don't love the act of meeting the needs of everyone at once. I have this sense of failure at times that leaves me wondering why I even try..

Yes, the Zoloft helps but still... I don't want to turn to that forever.

Where is this "balance" when you get home at 5:30pm and proceed to shove play time/bath time/dinner time/ bed time into less than 2 hours? Then you still need to be a non-vegetable to interact with the husband and pets and fold laundry and clean up dinner and watch a funny tv show and..

Holy shit I am tired.

Currently...

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

**I saw this on Brunch with Amber and loved it so I thought I would give it a whirl**

current book(s):
I just finished up Hunger Games (awesome!) and now not sure where to turn. I have a Michael Connolly and a JD Robb book on my Kindle I could read. Any suggestions?

current playlist:
The Limousines - Internet Killed the Video Star
The Black Keys - Tighten Up
Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
Kings Of Leon - Knocked Up
Jimmy Buffett - Migration (or really anything)

current color:
Mademoiselle - Essie

current drink:
Godiva Pumpkin Spice Coffee

current food:
None... I made Italian sausage, broccoli, sun dried tomato pasta last night though!

current favorite show:
Flipping Out on Bravo - LOVE!

And Real Housewives of New Jersey..

Anything on Bravo really...

Big Rich Texas! Best show ever!

current wishlist:
These flats.. I can't help it!

current needs:
Pedicure. BAD

current triumphs:
getting the hang of motherhood and not freaking out when I get puked on...

current bane(s) of my existence:
This damn heat.

current celebrity crush:
I don't stray far from Mark Whalburg...

current #1 blessing:
Everything in my life. My husband, son, pets, home, job, friends, you name it!

current indulgence:
chardonnay (or wine of any kind)

current outfit:
Black pants, white ruffle shirt, purple cardigan, black flats.

current excitement:
Going to Palestine this weekend!

current mood:
tired... Baby ear infections are the worst!

Monday Magazines!

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Man. This weekend I was pretty much on my own with Logan while Lee was in New Orleans.

I am tired.

I needed more wine.

I needed way more coffee.

I am totally ready for a little trash talk.

Who knew how empty the grocery store is on Sat morning at 9am??

This week seems to be all about Brad and Jen:

So in the last week or so, Brad said some odd things about his life when we was with Jen. Something about being "boring", etc. Now this headline leaves you to believe that he just made that up because Angelina has his nuts in a silver case somewhere.
Also: What? Annulment for Kim already? Goodness. Give them more than 4 months. (wait, how long did they date?)

So this headline makes you think otherwise than the one above. Is she mad? Come on - after John Mayer telling everyone in the world how awesome you are - do you really give a shit what Brad says? I mean, Angelina is a freak and they have 25 kids and 35 nannies and have this odd life that no one quite gets...

I do want to see Moneyball....

Again - balls in a silver case. Knowing her, maybe some blood somewhere... just not right.

I wonder if he was all "Hey, we are filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith and you are hot for a freaky chick so we should get together and OHMYGODWHATHAVEIDONESHELOCKEDMEINTHEBASEMENT!"

Speaking of freaky and evil...

If she is in Texas or Florida, she will be shot in a Walmart parking lot by a redneck with a hero complex and then there will finally be justice for Caylee.
Until then, NO MORE MAGAZINE COVERS for this evil woman.
Also: More Brad and Jen. Don't worry, Kirstie will gain it back....

Now I need coffee....

Welcome!

2011-09-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody! Today is the greatest day in all of bloggy land! Today is my SITS DAY!

*cue applause*

Thank you! Thank you!

Welcome to Life and Love of a Parrothead where I blog about things my husband does that makes me nuts, cute stuff my kid is doing, and just general obsessions (like Gilmore Girls). Sometimes I ramble. Sometimes I rant.

Since I am sure I will have some people stopping over by-way-of SITS, I thought I would explore how others find their way to my little slice of blogosphere.

According to Google Stats - here are a few random google searches that resulted in my site.

1. Blue Bell Ice Cream Slogan (3 hits). Ok... I had to search my own site to see where they may have landed, but this one may be a good post for them. Texas Grown

2. Computer mouse with long cord on white background (2 hits). What? I am sure they were dissapointed in the findings here and were like "WTF is this site?" But maybe they enjoyed learning that I had to bribe myself back to work... Prezzies

3. Jeans and Boots / Boots and Jeans / Jeans with Boots (total of 16 hits): Well I can say I did recently blog about this. I am super happy to see that I am not the only person out there obsessed with the fall weather ~~that will never show up~~ coming! I mean this heat... Enough Already!

While I am sure my website wasn't exactly what they were looking for in their search, I am really glad they stopped by and I hope they at least enjoyed the visit.

This weekend was a rough one y'all. Logan is teething hard core and had two break through up top and I think another one is just under the surface. Needless to say, he wasn't happy all day. Tylenol and lots of stuff to chew on helped a little. He kept doing this thing where he would just lay his head down like "oh man, I am so over this!"

Nowadays, if it is stable, he pulls up and stands. That box in the background? Stands against it. Baby gates, ottomans, myself - he is up. Seriously the coolest dude on the planet.

Thanks for stopping over today and y'all come back now, ya hear?

*I think that is from Beverly Hillbillies, which my husband has never seen.
*He has also never seen Andy Griffith - really? Wow. When I tell him that he will go fishing with Logan and they will be like Andy and Opie, he has no idea what that means.
*AND when I refer to the garage looking like Sandford and Son? Nope, hasn't heard of that either.
*Ok maybe I watched too much Nick at Night as a child...

Week Two

2011-09-20T07:22:00.002-05:00

This was week two of my adventure in Fantasy Football and here is how I did:

Yeah, kind of got my butt kicked...

Better luck next week huh? The thing that is hardest is when a player is "questionable." Then you don't know until game time if they are playing and it's too late to put them in your line up... Last night I had H.Nicks who plays for the Giants and he was questionable with an injury..and what happens? He has a touchdown. Grrrr....

I would like to announce the winner of my giveaway!!

Hilary of Real Life isn't Always Clever!

Hilary's comment was:
My dear friend (dear friend, I swear) is pretty much having a wedding YEAR. I am the planner for the bachelorette party in Vegas and a bridal shower out of town.

She is a very expensive friend. Expensive friends are great gift givers and shopping friends, but I'm concerned about my abilities to plan these events up to her expectations!

So far, I have collected baby jars for party favors at her bridal shower... I am not sure I'm meeting her standards yet.

It would be wonderful to use these labels to liven up (read: look expensive) some baby jars or the centerpieces (which are some collected wine bottles... I am nothing if not thrifty)

Haven't we all been there?!!

Have a great day everyone!!

Monday Magazines!

2011-09-19T07:28:00.002-05:00

Ah, Monday. Such a love/hate relationship with Mondays...
But here is something to cheer you up a bit...

A GIVEAWAY! Today is the LAST DAY and I will announce a winner tomorrow! HURRY!

Now on to Monday Magazines!

I was an avid fan of Girls Next Door and I have watched Kendra's spin off. She isn't really in the news very often and the fact that she is on the cover makes me wonder how much truth there is to this. Depression I could understand since she travels with her husband and he has had a rough career lately in the NFL. I thought the last headline I saw was them wanting another baby?
Also: Jlo and Bradley Cooper? NOOOOOOOO!

I watch Teen Mom. I watched these girls as 16 and pregnant. Farrah took the longest to grow on me because she was a spoiled brat who didn't seem to want to own up to the new responsibility a baby brought upon her. Also, who talks to their mom like that? This whole leaving baby with mom to go to college thing has me torn. I don't see why she needs to move to Florida, but I could see how taking the baby would set her up to fail. We'll have to keep an eye on this and see how it goes...
Also: Justin and Jessica - wedding? When did they get back together?

I am not even sure I can comment on this. It's plain trash.
Also: UGH, stop showing the Jlo and Bradley photo! I can't take it! I just don't like her...

Really? Miserable already? How is that possible? I mean if Kourtney can make it work with that dillhole Scott, surely she can be happy for at least a month with Kris.
Also: Oh man, Ali Lohan looks baaaaaaaaaaaad.

Again, we can put up with Scott and go through all those things with him, but Kris gets no chance? This is just malarky.
Also: Poor Cameron Diaz.. I think she can do better than A-Rod.

I saved this for last... I don't watch this show. I refuse. This is just plain awful. These little girls are being made into hellions who will later turn into slutty young women who feel entitled to everything. Dressing one girl up as Julia Robert's Hooker chick in Pretty Woman... REALLY? Sexy dances? SERIOUSLY? These are little girls! They should be playing barbie and having sleep overs. Living through your children is unacceptable.

Once again - don't forget - GIVEAWAY!

Seriously?!

2011-09-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

You guys, I am so very happy to all of you who have nice cool weather and can play outside, open the windows, and not sweat by just opening the front door.

Really, I am.

However, here in Houston, it's still a nice, humid, hell-like 95 degrees.

So to have to go out for an entire day and measure a crap-ass strip center wasn't really something I was looking all that forward to.

I woke up, moved slowly around the house since Logan slept a little longer than normal.
(Sidebar - why doesn't he do that on the WEEKENDS? huh?)
As we were getting ready to head out, I tested the laser measure tape I had to make sure it was working.
Nope. Nada. Zilch.

Great. The #1 tool I needed for the day wasn't working.

I get in the car with Logan and head out, only then noticing I am running a good 20 minutes late.

Logan is dropped off and I am headed to the office to get the other laser measure tape. I call in and Jimmy tells me it will need a new D battery.

Fine. I stop at CVS.

Then at Starbucks.

Then at Costco for gas.

THEN at the office for the other measure tape.

At this point, it's about 9:15. That's 15 minutes later than I thought I would be at the site.

So I drive my merry way down to Sugar Land, TX and pull in the parking lot.

In my bag are the following items:

(2) Cameras
1 tape measure
1 laser measure
1 clip board with papers
Travel pack of tissues (impluse purchase at CVS) (then I used them to clean up spilt coffee)
Small makeup case holding womanly items, because what makes being out in the heat better than that awesome time of the month?
Phone
Keys

Then I notice the major thing missing.

A pen.

A fucking pen.

SERIOUSLY?

Invent some expletives and that is what I said. I dug through the car and didn't find a damn thing. So I leave the parking lot and drive up and down the feeder road looking for a place to find a pen. I finally end up at Super Target.

Oh darn.

With all the reserve I have in my body, I walked past the fall candles and to the supplies and bought a pack of Sharpie Pens and a pack of mechanical pencils.

Really, that's all I bought.

I promise.

So, after almost getting run over by an Asian lady in the parking lot, back to the site I go. At this point it's 10am. Perfect.
It's also about 85 degrees or so.

You know, I think you all need a visual of what I was trying to draw.

Let me ask - just HOW do I get the radius of that?

So after wandering around swearing and trying to figure out where to start, I decide that I will just count windows. Almost every window was 5'-0" big. So my sketch would have:

9w
Door
3w
Door

Etc.

As I am in the atrium (the part under the white thing in the middle, which smelled like arm pits) these kids come running out of a suite and they are all over the place and screaming and playing. I notice the sign on the door - it's some kind of children's behavioral center.

Oh swell.

After 2 hours, my face was red as a beet, people were looking at me cautiously, and I had walked around the whole thing at least 3 times, and my notes were crap. I got into my car and blasted the air and made lunch plans. At this point, it was 90 degrees and hot as hell. We are in a drought with no signs of any real rain and the slimy green "lake' behind this building was calling my name.

But rather than embarass myself by swimming around behind the building, I went and had fattening tex mex instead.

So, who wants my job?

Didn't think so.

**Side note, I love my job, but days like today I yearn for the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
**Also, I think I earned my Tex-Mex after that crap.
**please don't judge me for saying something off color about an Asian person.

Where am I?

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

At work it is highly stressed that we keep our calendars up to date so that if someone is looking for us, they know where we are.

Today I will be about 30 minutes south of work measuring and ENTIRE STRIP CENTER that then I have to come back to my desk and stick all my measurements in the computer. Fun times, right?
And it will only be a balmy 94 degrees!

I decided to have fun with my calendar so that if someone is all "Hey, where is Breann?" they will look at my calendar and see this:

FV = Field Verify

Notice my priority - to be done in time to come back and have a snack with a rep.

Don't forget about the GIVEAWAY! Who doesn't like labels?

I heart football....

2011-09-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

When I was just a little girl
I asked my father "who's a good team?"
Will it be Cowboys?
Will it be Steelers?
Here's what he said to me...
Que sera sera
You better root for the Cowboys
They are America's team
And I said so...

So... I grew up in a football household. My dad played high school football and was quite the small town legend.
In our house, it was all about the Cowboys. Granted, this was during the Troy Aikman and Emmit Smith days, so they were hot to trot.

As I have grown ~~older~~ wiser, I have chosen my own team to root for, and that is the Houston Texans.
This year I decided to play Fantasy Football, just to really get into the other teams and know more of the players.
And to understand what the hell this is all about.

Here is my team:

The first week, I was up against non other than... my husband!

Here is how I did...

I WON! How about that?

I am now trying to learn the ins and outs of moving my players around and keeping up with injuries, pick ups, and trades.

I hope to keep up the fun!

Do you play Fantasy Football? Do you even watch the games or hide in the other room?

Rules of Civility

2011-09-12T15:15:00.002-05:00

Do you like Mad Men?
Martini's and Tweed?
The 50's in general?

Then you will enjoy Rules of Civility by Armor Towles. Read my review here:

BlogHer Book Club - Rules of Civility

Giveaway!

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Helllooooo fellow bloggy peeps. How's it hanging?

Don't answer that.

Today I am pleased to announce my very first GIVEAWAY!

*squeeeee!!*

So here are the details:

Prize:

250 Labels for One (1) Winner
2" x 3.5"
70lb Label Matte, Front Only Printing, 4 Business Days Turnaround
Free Shipping

Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.
You must be a blogger and have a website I can link up to.

Have you heard of UPrinting? Well...

UPrinting.com is one of the versatile online Printing Companies and one of their products is Labels. They can also customize it according to your needs and offer Custom Labels.

Here is how I will choose the winner...

Go to the website (link is under the photo) and look at the type of label that will be the prize. Tell me in a very funny and creative way what design you would choose and why. Whomever I think is the most creative/funny will win!

You can go like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter, but I am not requiring that for the winner. Honestly, I dislike campaigns that require that!

Have fun!

You have until September 20th. HURRY!

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive labels for hosting

Monday Magazines

2011-09-12T07:20:00.000-05:00

Man, what a weekend. Between football and the 9/11 remembrance, I am beat. Now it's Monday and I am slugging a Pumpkin Spice Latte and trying to stay awake at my desk. Let's enjoy some gossip, shall we?

Oh man, all new stuff! This should be fun!

First - In Style

About time we got off of Jennifer Anniston's ass about a baby and moved on to Angelina. First off, she has always been skinny as a rail. I remember her next to a helicopter or something some years back and how she was too skinny. What's the real news here?
Also: Leave Taylor from Real Housewives ALONE. NOT OK to talk about her being skinny because she is sad. Who wouldn't stop eating out of sorrow or shock? Hell I lost 10 pounds after hurricane Ike because I was so freaked out. This is way more serious of a situation.

Next up, Us Weekly:

I'm not gonna lie - I thought that was Lindsey Lohan on the cover at first and my reaction was "WTF?!" Even so, JLo doesn't really do it for me.
Also: I doubt Joe wants Taylor back. She wrote a song about him. She messed around with John friggin Mayor. Moving on....

In Touch (my guilty pleasure)

Seriously? You have NO M-O-N-E-Y. A wedding? I love this show but I have been against her this season because she is in serious denial.
Also: Again - give Taylor a break.

How about some People Magazine?

No. No her kids will not be ok.
Also: Why is Eva Mends slumming with Ryan Gosling? Just because he got all ripped for that movie doesn't mean he is hot. Not my type I guess.

Now we see why Jennifer got a rest this week... OK! Magazine:

Now it's Sandra's turn for crazy rumors!
Also: There is nothing redeemable about Kate Gosselin whatsoever. I don't care if she is broke.
Why did Jlo and Marc split? I would like to know why they were together in the first place!!

I hate Sexy Bikini Bodies issues. At least I didn't burst into tears while trying on clothes in the dressing room this week. Making progress...

10 years ago...

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had reservations about blogging about the Sept 11 10th anniversary today. I realize that many other bloggers out there will be doing the same.

Some will blog about where they were, how they found out.

Some will post photos of the towers on fire.

Some will blog about what it means to them today.

I am not really sure where to begin for one simple reason....

I had no idea what was going on when it happened.

I woke up late that day and skipped my first class. I was a Junior in college at Stephen F Austin in Nacogdoches, TX. I got on AOL Instant Messenger and was surfing the internet when a friend popped up and said "Are you watching tv? a plane hit the twin towers this morning!"
My first thought was: What are the twin towers?

I went into the living room and turned on the tv. At this point, the towers had both fallen. I saw the images as they replayed over and over. I had no idea what was going on. Why did this happen? Why did someone fly the planes into those buildings?

Terrorism?

You don't hear much about Terrorism when you are growing up in East Texas. The only memory I have of Desert Storm is seeing the map on the news. I couldn't tell you one single thing about that war.

As the day went on, I went to class and I listened to the conversations around me. One teacher even said "yeah yeah I know what's on the news but we need to focus on the assignment." I wonder if he even knew what the real deal was.

I went back home and watched the news all day. My cousin joined me at one point. It took me longer than I can remember (or even admit) to really understand what happened and why. I just knew many many people had died. That alone made me so sad. This was the first time I could recall actually even hearing the words "World Trade Center."

As the years have gone on, I have watched the repeated news coverage and have been totally entranced by the reactions as things actually happened. I slept through all the beginnings.

I remember watching a report later that year on why the towers fell. As an Interior Design student, I was interested in the structure and how it was all put together. Come to find out, the towers were built to withstand the possibility of a Cessna hitting them, but never accounted for a jet liner full of fuel.

Other than increased security at the airports and the friends I have had go off to the war that followed - I still to this day can't really put a finger on how it has affected me. This is something I have never really told anyone and I guess I felt that being 10 years older, maybe it was time to admit that I was someone who had very little knowledge of the world outside of the U.S. or sometimes even Texas in general. I was young and in college and living life in a selfish state of mind, like many 20 year olds.

It's somewhat embarrassing to reveal how ignorant of the situation I was. I know this even affected everyone differently, and to talk of how long it took for it really affect me at all feels awful.

As hard as it was to write this post, it's even harder to find a decent way to close up. While I will spend the day with friends watching football, I will also spend the day hoping that the world becomes a safer place for my son to grow up in.

Photo Challenge - Day 3 and 4

2011-09-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

Day 3 - Clouds
It was a little hard to find clouds - but I kind of did...

No Clouds..

These are either clouds or smoke in the sky from the fires...

Day 4 -My favorite color
Being a designer makes it hard to say what my "favorite color" is - however anyone that knows me well knows that I lean towards one end of the spectrum pretty heavily...

Sage.

Of all the sage-green colors out there - Grey Wisp by Benjamin Moore is the one I love the most. I am a very traditional person when it comes to design. Heavy leather furniture, dark woods, and neutral walls. I like to mix sage in my home with light greys and beige's.

I hope that isn't a boring "favorite" color...

Gimme...

2011-09-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

Guys, I need help. I am a we bit ~~obsessed~~ over-focused on a new table for the kitchen.

As always, my house is covered in baby things...

This table it too large for the space and... boring.

I really want a stainless top. I love the look of it and the easy care.

I found this at Crate and Barrel

But it's too big - exactly the same size as the one we have, which defeats the purpose.
And it's 'spensive.

I found this at West Elm

But it's technically an island, so it would be hard to get 6 around this.

I am thinking of trying a place that builds custom...

The deal is - do we give up the look I want for a smaller table that still accommodates 6 when needed (maybe a leaf that pulls out, etc)

Or do we stay with the look we love and really only comfortably seat 4?

Thoughts?

Photo Challenge - Day 2

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Forgive me for the double posts, but I didn't want to ignore the challenge!

I am participating in the photo challenge, much like Jenni and Chloe.

Today was back to work after a long weekend and it was actually not sweltering hot! I celebrated by pulling out one of my favorite work jackets, and went pretty casual after that:
I am short and have to get on tip toes at my dresser. I will try and be more creative in the future...

Sorry, hard to get a photo in my house! I have on navy slacks...

My favorite shoes of all time I think. Soft, brown, leather driving shoes. Have had them 3 years.

Better showing of what I was wearring...

Jacket: Ann Taylor Loft

Shirt: J Crew

Pants: J Crew Everyday Chino

Shoes: J Crew (see a pattern here? so so bad...)

Wee Bit Wednesday

2011-09-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Fun survey I saw at Amy's Life. Link up!

{one} what's your guilty pleasure tv show?

I love trash tv. It's something I can watch with one eye while I blog. Love Bachelor Pad, any Real Housewives, and Big Rich Texas!

{two} ear piercings on men: yes or no?

NO. I am pretty traditional on what I think a man should dress like...

{three} do you have dish or comcast?

AT&T U-verse. It's the best!

{four} what's your favorite current fashion trend?

Right now my focus is on stayin cool (sundresses) and I am looking forward to jeans with boots weather!

{five} if you could learn to do anything, money not being an issue, what would it be?

Stay at home mom.

{six} red or white wine?

White. Chardonnay

{seven} what type of food is your favorite

(ex. italian, mexican, etc.)

Tex-Mex

{eight} hp or mac?

MAC!

{nine} what color is your bedroom?

Light grey

{ten} what's your favorite form of exercise?

Walking with the stroller - which I haven't done in weeks since it's so damn hot..But now that we have had a cool front, I plan on going this afternoon!

Labor Day

2011-09-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

This year, Labor day was:

Babies crawling on all fours for the first time:

Baseball caps:

I am ready for football season!

Playing outdoors:

What is this weird prickly green stuff?

I missed my swing!

Fun toy!

Homemade guacamole and sand dollar cookies.

And Day 1 of the Photo Challenge: Self Portrait

I swear my hair is not yellow...

What was your Labor Day about?

Monday Magazines!

2011-09-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Last week, I took a break because the magazines didn't seem very updated on any of the shelves. Hopefully now this will be fresh!

I am tellin' ya - they are all over Jen this week about this "baby."
First we have US Weekly:

I didn't even know she was a smoker, but still - stopping is a good thing whether she is preggo or not. I have to admit, after 3+ weeks of these baby rumors, I am starting to wonder (and get a little excited?!) but until then, just let her be happy with her man!
Also: Kim K - no ma'm with that headpiece.

Of course Life & Style has to keep up with the Jen Baby Brigade:

WAIT A COTTON PICKIN' MINUTE! Twins? So first she is pregnant and now it's with twins? Can we not get a new photo other than the unfortunate willowy purple shirt one?
Also: Bachelorette Baby too? Don't drink the water girls...

Now on to a story I am not all that shocked about:

Well, maybe the married part is over the top - but the fact that they are boinking isn't a surprise at all. As much as I love Sandra, I think Ryan could do a little better - younger and all.
Also: We can't leave out Jen's baby news. If Katy Perry really IS getting a divorce, who is really all that shocked?

Ok this is crazy town:

Who would STEAL Skelator? Is he hung like a Mexican Donkey? What's with the hot models and actresses waging war over this guy?
Also: JWow's surgery - when will this Jersey Shore crap end?

Lastly, and looks like least:

Woah woah. I have tasted some of the baby food in this house. As badly as I want to lose the 10 pounds I gained after going back to work, I would never be able to live on baby food. It's not that good... I also don't have the stamina to work out at midnight. If I am awake that late, I am drinking wine. (or eating ice cream)
Also: Brad has a mystery woman? 'bout time!

I intentionally left out any comments on the Real Housewives Suicide that is on the cover of each of these. Suicide is devastating, no matter if you are a "celebrity" or not. I don't think it belongs in these magazines. I am unsure of how I feel about the upcoming season of the show and I can only hope they touch on this gracefully because his family is really hurting and confused right now.

To celebrate this ~~extra day off~~ Holiday, we are going to a BBQ at a friends house and getting tanked. How about you?

When I grow up...

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

Awhile back, I was blocked for inspiration and asked for your help in topics or what you wanted to hear from me. Joshua over at Vive Le Nerd came back with:

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

This is not going to be something anyone would guess.
A Teacher? - No
A Nurse? - No
A Ballerina? - Hell No.

I wanted to be a Homicide Detective.

You may wonder how old I was when I wanted to be this.

I was 11.

I had just seen the movie V.I. Warshawski and fell in love with the dectective "who dun it" style.

I ran around the house "investigating" things.

This lasted a very long time. I remember I even saw a woman cop when I was about 16 years old and wanted to ask her how long you had to be a street cop before you could be a detective. I didn't want to be a street cop and write tickets and chase drug dealers around. I wanted to wear a suit and say important things.

When I was 15/16, the movie Seven came out. This gave me a whole new look at the grisely side of detective work. I had my doubts about this field around then and started looking at other avenues.

Eventually I tried Nursing.. that was a no go. Then I was a Computer Science major, which lasted 2 semesters and then C++ and I broke up for good. Finally I settled on Interior Design.

Part of me thinks I should have looked at History Teacher, but for now I am happy.

I live vicariously through the shows I watch. I love Bones:

and I really like the new show Rizzoli and Isles:

The books I read are the same. I love J.D. Robb:

And especially Patricia Cornwell:

There you have it. Interior Designer / Wife / Mother by day. Envious of homicide detectives by night..

What did you want to be when you were little?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

2011-08-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

There are so many reasons I am glad it's Wednesday already.... the main being that I am off on Friday AND Monday! So that means it's really kinda Thursday for me....

First up is something that makes a world of difference in my house:
The Summer Infant Video Monitor

This keeps me from running into his room ~~every 10 minutes~~ every hour to check on him. Also, in the night, if he starts to fuss I am look at what is going on before actually getting up. Usually he finds a pacifier and is back to sleep in a minute. Love this thing!

Next up is what I am sleeping in every night:
Boxers and a t-shirt

I found that getting boxers in cute girly patterns is hard, since they are only made for pre-teens with no ass. So instead I went over to the men's section and grabbed some small boxers and small plain white tshirts and I am so glad I did. I can sleep in this without being hot and in the event I have to get up in the night, I am dressed appropriately.

Lastly I am obsessed with Logan's new high chair from IKEA:

Before, we had the Graco one. I liked this high chair but it takes up a lot of space in our kitchen and we were always shoving it around to make room:

The IKEA one sits right up to the table when the tray is off and it so much smaller in footprint that we don't trip over it or try and shove it out of the way.
Also, Logan just recently upchucked and all we had to do was take the highchair outside and hose it down, no washing liners required!
I still have the Graco high chair just in case we need it, and I do like the recline feature, but for day to day, the IKEA one fits in nicely in our bungalow.

Something I am NOT loving.. antibiotics. Logan has been on them once before, but this time it's a little different and he is having bad reactions. He has very runny diapers, has thrown up twice, and even had what looked like ant bites on his face and arms! I have to call the Dr tomorrow and let them know what is going on. Until then, no more meds!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

9 Months...

2011-08-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks Logan's 9 month birthday! Things around here are surely changing, and FAST!

Weight: 21 pounds
He pulls up to his knees
He stands supported
He has 2 bottom teeth
He babbles constantly - da da da da, ba ba ba ba,... but no Mama yet!
He has 4 bottles a day (total of 22 ounces a day) plus 3 servings of solids a day (total of 12 ounces of food)
Diaper size: 3
Solids: Stage 2 and 3. Some stage 3 I have to thin out because it's just too thick
He will drink water from a sippy cup
He is becoming less interested in the bottles and more on the food!
He sleeps 11-12 hours a night (from 7pmish to 7amish)
He doesn't really focus on the tv that much
He still army crawls, but will get on all 4's and rock back and forth
He has gone from laying to sitting on his own once... I don't think he realizes he did it!

He is a true joy and here are some 9 month shots:

Playing with Tigger after lunch

Saturday morning play time!

New high chair puff-eating, the wild hair is back!

Pink Eye and Sippy Cups

2011-08-29T08:53:00.000-05:00

What a week we had last week! Monday I stayed home because Logan had a red, goopy eye. We go to the Dr and sure enough, it's pink eye. Blegh.
However, they didn't prescribe drops - they prescribed cream. Which means I had to hold down a squirmy pissed off baby to rub cream in his eyes. Guess how much he liked that...

By Thursday, he wasn't looking much better and had a pretty bad cough. I made an appointment for late Friday so I could take him when I got off work - but I didn't get off on time and Lee had to rush out to take him. Now he is on antibiotics, which I think are giving him tummy trouble. He had inflamed ears along with the cough and goopy eye but all that is gone and is replaced with runny diapers. *sigh*

For the past few weeks, I have been working with Logan on sippy cups. I started out with 3 totally different kinds to see which he liked. He seemed to like the Nuby ones the best so I went out and got a few of them.

I also tried the Avent:

And the Nuk:

Then he stopped liking ANY of them and was being really stubborn. Lo and behold which ones does he like? The cheap ass throw away Nuby cups:

The main downside with these are they are hand-me-downs. So another kid has already chewed up the cup and they are old and dingy. Not trying to be a snob, but when you have your first kid, you want everything to be shiny and new. Or at least not chewed up and dingy.
I haven't ordered new ones yet, because I am hoping he goes back to the other Nuby's, but I know they they like what they like...

What about you, what kind of sippy cup trials have you been on?