Every. Day. Matters.

Well, Hello Again.

2012-02-11T08:25:00.000-05:00

Most of the time when I post about birthdays it is a recap of mine, or a cake photo from someone else's birthday.

However, today is my birthday.

I'm 26.

Trust me, I'm not going where you think with this. I'm not sitting around thinking about how old I am right now.

I had a doctors appointment this week. I went in waiting for the big reveal of how much weight I've lost. I'm down a pant size. I run a least twice a week. I lift at least twice a week. I'm on the magical chocolate cake diet. But I'm down a pant size.

Somehow I've only lost three lbs since November. Three. I don't know how this is possible, but I'm trying not to flip about it. I don't weigh myself at home since we don't have a scale, so the only time I get weighed is at the doctor.

This is what my face looked like when I got weighed.


Source

So what does one do for a non-monumental birthday? Go to the gym of course.

And after the gym, I'm going to eat Chinese food. Why? Because I want to.

On Thursday, Ingrid and I made it to 20 minutes of running without stopping, which also ended up to be a mile and a half without stopping. We went slow, but it's the longest and farthest I've ever ran so far without stopping. It felt really good. I'm ten minutes away from getting that jacket I want. I only have $9 in my jar though, so I better get on that.

What do you do for your birthday?

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This Is Why I Squat

2012-01-29T11:04:00.001-05:00

You should read that title like the song This Is Why I'm Hot. You know, I'm fly cause you not.

Anyhow. Yesterday after I posted about our glute workout, Joshua asked "do you ever feel like you're completely wasting your time with workouts like this?"

You may have read that as a sincere question. However, he said in the tone of: "Why did you do this? It's a waste of time." I'm sorry babe, but you did.

So in honor of my glute day hating husband, here are the three exercises that are the end all be all of weight lifting. These three exercises are all you'll ever need.

In all non-sarcastic-honesty, these three are good for beginner lifters. I did a workout solely of these three exercises for quite a while. I did five sets of five of all three at about 80-85%. That may not sound like much, but once you get going, you get a good workout in. It is exhausting. If you do it right.

Without further adieu, here are the only three exercises you will ever ever ever need.

The squat.
There are different forms of squatting, but I prefer the back squat. I find the front squat extremely uncomfortable.

This is pretty self explanatory. Babies can do the proper squat form. Not many adults can.

Source

The bench.
Again, there are different types of bench. Incline, decline, flat. I prefer flat. Bench is not a strength of mine. I just really learned how to do it about a year ago when Joshua started working with me on it.

Source

The deadlift.
This one is pretty cut and dry. You pick it up, you put it down.

These are our happy faces.

This is Joshua. He wants you to know this was years ago, and he lifts more than this now. He also enjoys long walks on the beach and puppies. Occasionally rainbows.

Source

So there you have it. All you'll ever need. You're welcome.

What are your go-to exercises?

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Power Girl

2012-01-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

That title means something different to you than it does to my husband. It makes him think of Superman's extremely busty cousin, but it makes me think of lifting weights.

Even though I seemingly only speak of running lately, I'm still lifting. While it isn't the powerlifting I did early last year, I'm still pushing it pretty heavy, in my opinion.

I typically do my lifting days as follows:
Day 1: Quads/Hamstrings
Day 2: Chest/triceps
Day 3: Back/biceps
Day 4: Shoulders/Calves/Abs

Today however, we did a glute day, which is not our typical pumping iron type day. For those of you who work out at home, you could do this one in your living room. You remember my last post about glutes, right? Speaking of getting hurt, I wrote a post a few weeks ago about something that happened to Ingrid yesterday. All you people who laughed...you're next.

Today Ingrid had a page she ripped out of a magazine for glutes, so we did it. One thing about us is that we don't care how stupid we look in the gym (which is good, because we often look like idiots). For example:

"Carving Curl"

Lie facedown on floor with head on folded arms, squeezing a 1-pound dumbbell or rolled-up towel behind bent left knee, foot flexed. Tuck pelvis to flatten out low back.
Lift bent left leg a few inches off floor; lower. Do 20 reps.
Switch sides, repeat.

This one isn't too bad. It is one of those things though where after you do a few you feel like you're going to cramp up.

"Bend & Extend"

Stand in front of chair, bend over and place left hand on seat, right forearm atop chair back; tuck pelvis and extend left leg behind you, foot flexed.
Pulse left leg 10 times (lift and lower by 1 inch).
Keeping left leg lifted, bend knee and then extend 10 times; then trace 5 clockwise and 5 counterclockwise circles with leg.
Hold leg lift for 5 counts. Switch sides; repeat.

Awkward, but whatever.

"Swaying Bridge"

Lie faceup on floor with knees bent, feet flexed with heels on floor and arms by sides; step heels out so legs are slightly wider than shoulder-width.
Lift hips so body forms a line from rib cage to knees (bra line stays on floor). Lower. Do 10 reps.
With hips lifted, sway hips from left to right as you squeeze glutes. Do 20 reps, alternating sides.
With hips lifted, do 20 pulses.

When we did this one we were glad Josh wasn't around to make fun of us. It wasn't pretty.

"Slimming Swirl"

Stand with heels together, toes out, holding chair back with right hand. Lift heels (still touching) off floor; bend knees 90 degrees out to sides.
Maintaining plié, tuck pelvis as you squeeze glutes and then arch your back slightly. Do 10 reps.
Draw 10 clockwise circles with hips, squeezing glutes to tuck position at 12 o'clock. Do 10 counterclockwise circles; finish with 10 more tucks.

This one was really awkward. Especially since everyone decided to crowd us at this very moment.

"Cross Your Legs"

Start on floor on all fours.
Lift bent left knee to hip level so that it's pointing slightly out to side as hips stay even. (Tuck pelvis under so that your back is not overextended.) Do 20 pulses, lifting and lowering left leg 1 inch.
Next, cross left knee behind right knee and then lift if out to left side at hip level. Do 10 reps.
Do 20 pulses, foot flexed. Switch sides; repeat.

I can only imagine how pretty this was. By this point I stopped even looking in the mirror in fear of what I'd see.

"Door Hinge"

Standing, bend at hips to rest right forearm on chair back, and squeeze a rolled-up towel behind left knee, foot flexed; place left hand on hip
Tuck pelvis, lift left knee out to side; bring knee in toward chest and then behind you. Do 10 reps.
With knee behind you, do 20 press-back pulses: Bring left leg toward right 1 inch, then back again. Switch sides; repeat.

Here is about where it got really funny. Instead of being called the door hinge, it should be called the dog peeing on a hydrant.

"Clamshell"

Lie on right side and bend knees 45 degrees so they are in front of you; lift feet 12 inches off floor.
With heels together, raise left knee so it points up (clamshell position); lower knee. Do 10 reps.
Return to clamshell; keeping left knee raised, extend and then bend left leg 20 times. Return to clamshell, do 10 pulses (lift and lower left knee by 1 inch). Switch sides; repeat.

This is where all dignity is lost. If you're laying on the floor at the gym doing anything called a "clamshell" you're done. Self respect is gone.

"Second Position Pulse"

Stand with feet wide, toes turned out, left hand holding chair back for support, right hand on hip.
Bend knees 90 degrees out to sides and, maintaining squat, open legs wider by pressing knees back 1 inch; then bring them back. Do 10 presses.
Lift toes off floor in squat position; do 10 more presses.
Finish with 10 presses on toes with heels lifted.

This was hard. Felt a lot of burn here. Much less humiliating by the way.

"Fly Trap"

Stand with right hand on chair back for support.
Hinge forward at hips, lifting left arm in front of you and left leg behind you (body parallel to floor).
Side bend to left at waist, bringing left elbow to left hip and bending left knee. Extend. Do 10 reps.
From elbow-to-hip curl position, do 20 pulses, lifting and lowering bent left leg by 1 inch. Hold final rep for 5 counts. Switch sides; repeat.

I have a feeling we did this one wrong.

Source for all photos and workout descriptions.

We also did 45 mins of wogging on the treadmill. My goal jar is getting lots of dollars in it.

Do you purposely do a glute day?

Relax?

2012-01-23T21:59:00.001-05:00

Source

Yesterday I was grocery shopping for the food for Joshua's birthday dinner. While in the soup aisle I ran into a girl I used to work with. We hadn't seen each other for four or so years because she left for a new job before I did. We caught up a little, you know, those typical are you still married? questions.

I consistently get asked "any kids?". Right after the marriage question.

When she asked the kids question, I decided to just say "We don't have any yet. We want them, but getting pregnant isn't as easy as I hoped it would be."

That is an awkward situation. I'm clear on that. People don't really know what to say. Typically, they always say (as she did), "I have a few friends who went through the same thing, and as soon as they relaxed they got pregnant."

Yes, yes. Allow me to relax.

But first, let me clear my mind.

This is an example of some of the thoughts going through my head at any given time.

Did I take my pill last night?
Did I make that appointment?
What if my period doesn't start?
What if my period doesn't stop?
What is that noise coming from the sink?
Is my curling iron still on?
Where is my phone?
Why won't my engine light turn off?
What if I can't get pregnant?
What do I want for dinner tonight?
Do we have any cake?
Should we vaccinate our children?
Are the dog's shots up to date?
What if I can't meet my running goal?
Can we afford to have a baby?
What if the jacket I want goes out of stock?
What is today?
Are my fingers crooked?
Will we be able to have Amico inside when we have a baby?
Will we ever have a baby?

That is ten seconds worth.

Relaxing though? What is that?

Here is something I've not shared here before: When I was five, my sister died after having an allergic reaction to a vaccination.

How in the world can I not think about that when I'm thinking about our own future children?

I don't have many bible verses memorized, and I don't even have this one memorized, but I always think of it when I start to worry (see above list).

Matthew 6:27
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Well, this post has been basically just a choppy mess of random thoughts. What I'm getting at is that I'm anxiously back in the waiting game to see what will happen.

As I prepare for my next cycle of Clomid, I'm going to try to relax (pshhhh), and remind myself of the above verse. I'll just keep breathing and hopefully some day I'll be able to answer the kids question differently.

Do you have to make an effort to relax? Tips?

IKEA For Dinner

2012-01-19T19:22:00.000-05:00

I will be the first person to tell you that I hate comfort food. Believe it.

I can't stand beef and noodles, chicken and noodles, pot pies, pot roast, or anything covered in gravy. It isn't a health thing either, I'm just not a fan of big heavy meals.

When Ingrid and I went to IKEA last month I was past hungry, into shaky territory and decided (without really thinking) to go with the Swedish Meatballs meal. And it was amazing. This is the actual photo of my meal.

On Tuesday I got really hungry for it again. It is so odd because never in my life have I ever wanted a meal like this. I'd eat it if it were around, but would never go out of my way to make it.

Josh didn't want it on Tuesday, I didn't want to go to the store on Wednesday, so we had it tonight.

I got to use my gravy boat for the first time ever. Hopefully not the last.

I picked up this jar of lingonberry preserves while we were at IKEA. Next time I have to buy more than this one little jar. Josh likes it on his toast.

Gravy, lingonberry preserves, and mashed potatoes.

Josh's plate.

Only real difference is that my gravy wasn't as thick as IKEA's gravy, but this meal was still delicious.

Now, get ready to flip out all you Foodies. I used frozen meatballs, packaged mashed potatoes, and powdered gravy. This meal took 18 minutes to make, and would have taken less if I had made the meatballs in the microwave. We're talking 10 minutes start to finish people.

I'm a firm believer that the amount of time you spend on a meal does not dictate the deliciousness of said meal. If you can make a fantastic meal in less than 20 minutes, who cares?

I'm like that Semi-Homemade lady, but didn't get drunk while I was cooking.

Rewards

2012-01-18T17:41:00.000-05:00

Do you set goals for yourself and then reward yourself for meeting them?

I did this once before. In 2007/2008 when I lost weight, I told myself that every ten pounds I lost I would buy myself a new piece of workout apparel. The first ten pounds I lost I got a fleece warm up outfit, and the next ten pounds I think I got sports bra. The reward system worked soooo well that I forgot about it and then didn't buy myself anything for the next ten pounds. It was really exciting and motivating at first though, and then my health and the way I looked became more of a reward than buying things.

I was looking around on Pinterest and saw a few pieces of Lululemon clothing that I thought would be awesome for outside running.

I went on Lululemon and quickly realized that I can't afford even their hair ties. Pretty outrageous.

I was thinking about how to justify spending money like that on a piece of outerwear, and I think I came up with a reasonable goal.

I don't know if this item will even be available by the time I complete my goal, but if it is I want to get this:

Source

My goal is to run for thirty minutes without stopping. The most I've done so far is thirteen minutes, and that was a near death experience.

I decided that was a tough enough goal that I could justify spending the $108.00 on this jacket (or one similar). Chances are I won't be able to wear it this year, but I'll have it for outdoor winter running next year.

I also saw this idea via Pinterest today.

That looks like a great way to save up $108 dollars. Get ready for 108 more workouts, Ingrid.

How do you reward yourself?

Are These Dark Circles Forever?

2012-01-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

The other day I noticed that in the mirror I'm noticing dark circles under my eyes more often. This made me wonder if a) I'm sick b) I'm pale c) I'm getting older. I'm going to go ahead and believe b and c. I'm not so sure about a, but I think its unlikely.

I started looking at old photos of me. I mean like almost ten years ago. If I could find a 2002 photo I would have ten years worth.

So here is my own sample of age progression photos.

Allison and I at our Junior Prom - 2003. Also known as the year I worked at the tanning bed, so I resembled a real Mexican.

Senior year - 2004

End of 2004 - Freshman year at USF

Vacation in 2005

Meg's 21st birthday - 2006

Mom & Dad's 25th Anniversary Party - 2007

Pacers Game - 2008

Rehearsal Dinner - 2009

USF Graduation - 2009

Sarah's Wedding - 2010

Dad's Birthday party 2011

I was really surprised by this. It is crazy to see photos of myself side by side like this.

Even if you can't really tell a difference in some of those photos, you have to admit there is a huge difference between 2007 and 2008.

In other news, Ingrid, Joey and I went to Chipotle today and had the worst service ever. I mean, the service was so bad that the food tasted awful. It is saying a lot that I didn't think the food was fantastic because I talked about how fabulous it was going to be for a good portion of our run. The other portion of our run was spent telling Ingrid how I was pissed off at her, and that before I knew her I didn't believe it was possible to love and hate someone at the same time. She is so bossy. Seriously though, my food was made with the tears of puppies and angels. Tears taste bitter. Much like the employee running the front at Chipotle who FORGOT MY SOUR CREAM. I can't eat Mexican food without sour cream. Who forgets that? Its a main option on their menu. No bueno.

Have your looks changed a lot in the past ten years?

The Fall

2012-01-14T15:31:00.002-05:00

This morning I said this:

Then Ingrid said this:

And then I said:

And then Ingrid said:

Sooo we ran outside. Because she totally told me we were.

It is COLD here. Cold cold.

And I was mad mad.

Thats my fierce face. And apparently my "go to" sweatshirt. I am constantly photographed in it.

If you're in the Midwest, you know what I'm talking about when I say we had some snow a few days ago. It so looks like this now in Indiana.

Source

Well...maybe in some parts, but definitely not here. This looks more like what we ran in today.

Source

When it snows, there is ice. Hand in hand. Thunder and lightning, snow and ice.
It has become apparent to me though, that I am in need of one of these. (Why is that falling person using jazz hands?)


Source

We were wrapping up our run, and I began to look like a mixture of these photos.

Source

But mostly, this was me.

Source

Ingrid was kind enough to suggest a chalk outline.

Source

Before I even knew what was happening, I was laying on my back, staring at the sky wondering how in the world I got there. It happened so fast. To Ingrid's credit, she didn't laugh nearly as much as I would have.

I don't know if you remember or not, but I got hurt one other time at the gym. I was walking. I almost died. Exercise is soooo dangerous.

Anyway, somehow we still got 55 minutes worth of outdoor wogging (walking/jogging) done today. I didn't feel the greatest while we were going, but whatever. I think it was just one of those days.

Have you ever fallen while running? Or exercising of any kind? Tell me your funny stories.

Music

2012-01-02T19:09:00.001-05:00

This was a good Christmas for me and my siblings in the area of music. All three of us got new music players. I've been calling them iPods and Joshua corrects me every time.

Being that they're not Apple products, I got a hands-on lesson regarding the difficulty of using both iTunes and Windows Media Player. Not so much difficulty, but general crappiness.

Before this mp3 player I just got, I've always had iPods. More specific I've always had a Shuffle. I had three different versions of it. I never really understood paying more for the higher end ones, because all I needed was something to listen to. My Shuffles did me well. My very last blue one died a tragic death about a month ago in our dryer. If we're being honest, I'll say it was probably already dead by the time it made it to the dryer. Most likely the cause of death was drowning.

Anyway, onto a brighter subject. (I'm supposed to be cooking dinner right now, but I'm blogging instead.)

I got this Phillips GoGear Vibe for Christmas, and it rocks very much.

Source

The reason why I've had so many different iPods is because I get tired of them. I'll use it for the first month or so, and then remember why I never use one. I don't like to have it when I'm lifting because it always gets in the way. The earbuds never fit right, and always fly out of my ears when I get the cord stuck between two plates. It's a hard hard life. (First world problems, right Eric?) They always end up being appropriated by Joshua anyway when he needs a replacement player.

All this running business is a different story though. I had music when I ran my mile the other day, and it was awesome. I'm so talented that I can listen in one ear to my music, and Ingrid in the other ear being bossy.

Moral of the story being that I'm pretty pumped about this iPhillips. That's what I call it since my husband finds it so pertinent to correct me when I call it an iPod.

So, for someone who doesn't usually listen to music, I didn't know what songs to put on the thing. I found this site, jog.fm where they list the beats per minute for songs. There are people who believe that bpm help you keep pace, and people who don't. I'm not either, I just don't want to have the soundtrack from Hope Floats playing when I'm trying to stay in beast mode. (I don't actually own that soundtrack. Or that movie I guess. I'm still looking for mine if you have it.)

Combined with jog.fm and other songs I pieced together, here is my playlist so far. Make fun. Yes, that is Willow Smith. I don't care.

The dumbest part of all of this, is that I buy the music from iTunes, put it in a playlist, have to burn it to a CD, import that CD to Windows Media and then sync my iPhillips with the music. It is insanely stupid, but I don't know any other way around it.

Since I'm the last person in the world to start listening to music while working out, what music do you listen to? How do you choose?

Today Was The Day

2011-12-31T17:37:00.000-05:00

Right after I started running I was talking to one of my bosses about it. (a different one than I usually post about. I like this one. I mean, I like them all. Mostly.) Anyhow, he was being supportive and said that if I kept my interval training up he would bet I could run a mile by the end of the year. So the seed was planted, and I made it my goal to run a mile by the end of the year. I even updated my "Goals" tab to show this. I had planned on it and was working up to it.

Earlier in the month when I was having the worst of my hip pain, Josh suggested I take a week off for rest and then see what happens. I was super upset about that, but sat out anyway, and as soon as my week was over I started again. We started out slowly on the treadmill and then went back outside. The time off did me good, and I've also discovered that the hip problem has something to do with my job, because my hip doesn't really hurt if I've been off work for a few days. Interesting.

So I got back in it, we started going pretty hardcore again, and pretty much rocked it out.

This past Tuesday, Ingrid and I were running on the treadmill. I went for ten minutes without stopping, and it felt pretty good. I was proud of myself. I had Ingrid do the math for me to see how long it would take me to run a mile and I would have only had to run three more minutes. We got off the treadmills and I decided that on Wednesday I was going to just go for my mile. No problem. I could have gone three more minutes. No big deal. Super pumped to get it done before the last day of the year.

Then Wednesday happened. I woke up with somewhat of a small cold. I felt fine enough to go to work, and was just a bit annoyed at how often I had to blow my nose. I decided when I woke up though that I was going to have Wednesday be an off day from the gym. I just felt tired and didn't really want to go. I have a very serious policy that when I'm ill I don't exert myself in order to allow my body to properly heal (I'm going to break my own policy later in this post). As soon as I felt myself not feeling well I cut it off.

So I worked all day, came home and went straight to couch. I didn't feel like doing anything at all, including making dinner. We got gift cards for Christmas so we picked one of the restaurants we were going to have for dinner. Joshua went and got it and I stayed on the couch. We ate dinner and he went over to his mom's house to use her laptop. I took a nap, woke up around 8:30 and decided I was going to go to bed. Then it got ugly. I won't tell you what happened, but it wasn't pretty. And from what Josh said, it didn't smell good either.

A few years ago I had pneumonia when the plague hit our house, and ever since then I've been pretty much terrified of getting sick. Whenever I start to feel symptoms I clench in fear and wait for that moment where I have to go to the emergency room. (Serious, serious trauma here people.) Also, when I'm sick I'm often a bit irrational. Whatever.

Thursday morning I set up my Sick Station.

If you're interested in your own Sick Station, here is what you need:

Chair
Two ottomans (these are the bottom part of your bed for when you want to lay down)
Drink (Gatorade)
Playstation remote (and someone to switch it out for you when it dies)
Television remote
Chapstick (I'm addicted to this stuff from Trader Joes)
Face Cream (Its a baby lotion that I get at Target that I'm addicted to)
Coffee Mug (and someone to fill it for you)
Kleenex (with lotion)
Trash Can (made from empty Kleenex box)
Laptop (for day 2, when you feel well enough to contact the outside world)
Blanket (not pictured, dog was borrowing)

This next one is the Dog Station, and it's pretty much just every day life. He isn't sick, just lazy.

Anyway, back to me. I was off work Thursday, and went ahead and took Friday off, because I felt like it. Friday I absolutely felt better, but not 100%. I did realize on Friday that my time before the end of the year was ticking away quickly, and I got super angry that I wasn't going to meet my goal. Like super angry. I figured I would sleep Friday night and see how I was Saturday morning.

Today is Saturday. I woke up, felt better, but still didn't feel like I had the energy for a mile without stopping. I really didn't feel like I had the energy for grocery shopping. I texted Ingrid and told her I wasn't going to make it and that I was super pissed off. She asked if I wanted to come to the Y and walk with her. Sometime between that conversation and when I ended up at the Y, I decided that I was going for it. I couldn't not do it. Yeah, I still feel a little ick, but I would have been so disappointed in myself if I hadn't at least tried. Yes, I know, I couldn't have predicted I was going to get the flu, and I couldn't have stopped it, but I really, really wanted to do this.

So I did! (Ingrid did too.) (And Ava, but she has four feet, so thats her advantage.)

In 13:13 minutes, I ran a mile without stopping for the first time in my life. Make that 1.07miles.
We're really classy and take photos of phones because we aren't tech savvy at all. Yeah. So what.

I told Ingrid this story, but not all of you, so I'll repeat it. In high school, when we would exercise for cheerleading (don't worry, I'm on the side that it is not a sport. I won't go all "cheerleading is life" on you. Ever.) it was kind of lame. They would have us run a lap around the track, which was 1/4 of a mile. Four times around is a mile. Congrats, we can all do math together. I never, in the four years I was in high school, made it one lap around the track without stopping to walk. Never. Never before in my life have I been able to run more than 1/4 of a mile without stopping. Today was a pretty big deal for me. It feels pretty awesome to know that I can do things now that I couldn't do when I was a teenager.

This is me afterward. I'm pretty pale, but thoroughly pleased with myself.

My next goal? Five miles, no stops, by June 2012.

What is your goal?

Lazy, Lazy Ovaries

2011-12-28T18:47:00.001-05:00

Well. They still don't want to do their jobs. I feel like I should just let them go sit in a tent at the park.

I did my first cycle of Clomid, and nothing happened.

Well, mostly nothing happened.

My moods actually weren't too bad...except for the night when Josh forgot to bring home tortilla chips. I saw the crazy and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Since this was only my first cycle I'm not too upset about it. Right now I'm actually not bothered by it. Everything I've read (on the internet, so it's true) says typical results don't happen the first cycle. Whenever my next cycle starts (no idea when that will be as of right now) my dose will be higher, and hopefully we'll find better results. My doctor said she'll do three cycles total and then send me on to a fertility specialist.

Ingrid and I had a short conversation last night about fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization. Most of my adult life I've been completely against it. I don't like the thought of it for me. I'm not a super all natural person. I don't have to have the most organic foods, or any for that matter. The only thing I buy in the organic aisle is Josh's special peanut butter (seriously). For some reason though, I wanted all this baby stuff to happen naturally. I was very against using Clomid for a long time. I just wanted it to be something I could do on my own. (I'm stubborn.) But the longer it takes to get pregnant, and the more I read about it, the more IVF seems like it might be okay for me.

My friend Amy just went through the IVF process. We have very different health issues from each other, but being able to follow along with her journey made it seem more manageable to me, and not so clinical.

Ingrid made the point last night that years ago, Josh and I would have just lived the rest of our lives without children. Which is very true. Modern medicine is the reason why we are able to do things like IVF, but they're also the reason why we have drugs like Clomid. My reasoning for drawing the line at Clomid but not going past it doesn't really hold any weight now that she pointed that out.

Right now, I'm trying to say focused on not getting to ahead of myself. I have two more cycles of Clomid that may work and none of this planning will be necessary. I'm trying to stay positive and upbeat about everything that is (or isn't) happening. Some days its hard, and other days it isn't.

Sarah McLaughlin shouldn't be able to have commercials anymore. She is THE WORST.

So in order to stop myself from going into a rambling dialogue, where do you fall on this topic? I know certain religious beliefs dictate how you answer that question, but I am curious of your opinions.

It isn't that I want you to agree with me, I want to hear your point of view. I appreciate hearing from you.

Christmas Cards

2011-12-20T18:14:00.000-05:00

I was sitting down to write a bitter post about Christmas cards.

I just erased all of it because I didn't want to post it.

Basically what I was going to tell you was that I'm not sending out cards this year.

I was going to show you pictures of the cool cards we've gotten, but all I could think was that the first says "We're Having A Baby!", the second says "We Have A Baby!", and the third says "I AM A Baby!".

I wanted to post it , because it would be funny and I'd laugh, and hopefully you would too.

But the more I looked at it, the less funny I thought it was.

I was afraid I would come across that I don't want your Christmas cards with your photos on them, because I truly do. I love getting mail, and I love your children. I do.

I don't want to come across as a bitter woman who can't handle my own issues, because I can.

I want to see your baby belly photos, sonograms, baby showers, and baby photos. I like seeing your family pictures. I like reading your tweets about the baby, and what all is happening. (I don't want to see the birth though. Who in God's name decided THAT should be filmed?)

So I just want you to know, I love your Christmas cards, but I'm sorry, this year you won't be getting one from us.

But be warned, once we do have kids, your mailbox is going to be full.

I wanted to post this though (I got permission). Eric & Michele sent out the cutest birth announcements I think I've ever seen. Isn't he adorable?

Do you send Christmas cards?

Book Club

2011-12-18T12:15:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a book club post in a long time. Last night I went on a mad hunt for matte nail polish. I've been to three different stores looking for it, and decided to make the trip (ha) to Ulta. No luck there either. I got mad and decided to walk over to Barnes and Noble to look around a bit.

It's been forever since I was inside a book store. I like to just go in and look. It was somewhere Josh and I used to go on our date nights. Back before money went to bills and such. Those days are put on hold for now.

By now I think just about everyone has some type of eReader...except for Joshua and me. My mom has wanted to buy us one for years but I always tell her no. I use the library like crazy, and there is no sense to spend money to get a reader. Except now, I'm thinking I want one. I told her last night that if she wants to get me one for perhaps my birthday (which is around the corner) I would like it. Just the cheapest Nook would do. Not color or anything. That one in the center though, with the Real Simple magazine displayed, looks really nice.

You should be able to click directly on the photos to go to the Barnes and Noble page that contains the book info.

I don't know much about Laura Bush (I've heard that when I was younger I was a huge fan of Barbara Bush, but this I don't remember). To be honest, I'm not a biography reader. I don't see why I would want to read about someone else's life when I have my own to live? However, a few weeks ago a friend directed me toward this blog: In Pursuit of Parenthood. I went and read the post about Laura Bush's book, and then clicked around her blog (She has a beautiful two month old girl, after eight years of infertility). I read this quote from the book and almost cried.

"For some years now, the wedding invitations that had once crowded the mailbox had been replaced by shower invites and pink-or-blue-ribboned baby announcements. I bought onesies or rattles, wrapped them in yellow paper, and delivered them to friends. I had done it with a happy wistfulness, believing that someday my time, my baby, would come. George and I had hoped that I would be pregnant by the end of his congressional run. Then we hoped it would be by the time his own father announced his presidential run, then by the presidential primaries, the convention, the general election. But each milestone came and went. The calendar advanced, and there was no baby.

The English language lacks the words to mourn an absence. For the loss of a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or friend, we have all manner of words and phrases, some helpful some not. Still we are conditioned to say something, even if it is only “I’m sorry for your loss.” But for an absence, for someone who was never there at all, we are wordless to capture that particular emptiness. For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent ephemeral shadows over their lives. Who can describe the feel of a tiny hand that is never held?"

I also love Ellen. I haven't heard anything about this book, but I'm sure it is hilarious.

I WON this book from KJPugs! It was even Pawtographed! Her pugs make a wonderful appearance in the book. They look great. I love it.

I love Mindy on the Office. I have this on my GoodReads list to get from the library.

Joshua likes Demetri Martin's show, so I may get this book for him. I tried to get him a comic book he has been wanting last night but there are six different versions of the same comic at the store. And I'm dumb for not understanding this.

Again, with the biographies. I like Cary Grant though, so I think it would be interesting to read this book his wife wrote...

...and this book his daughter wrote.

I also think this book by Lady Blue Eyes would be interesting.

I really enjoy classic movies, so I'd be interested to see what is in this book.

The following are all books that I would only assume were heavily edited to remove all of the "ummmmm"s.

Seriously. Are you all buying these books? Why would Snooki or JWoww need a book? They can't read. And Russell Brand, "My Booky Wook". Really?? REALLY?

What are you looking forward to reading?

A New Twist

2011-12-14T20:08:00.002-05:00

Before I get into the real story, let me just say that I have an awesome mom who bought us some really awesome Christmas decorations. I came home and these packages were all waiting for me in the breezeway (yes, Joshua, you walked right past them).

Aren't they pretty?

She was at Cracker Barrel and picked this nativity set out for us. It is two separate sets. One is Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. The other is the Three Wise Men.

Beautiful family.

But wait, who is this??

Upon closer examination, I found that we only have two Wise Men....

And two Josephs.

It is your everyday blended family. Gives new meaning to "Jesus has two dads" doesn't it?

I laughed so hard that my mom couldn't understand me on the phone trying to tell her about it.

Some responses:
Eric: "hipster Jesus"
Joshua: "It's a modern set"
Ingrid: "I bet when you wake up in the morning, your whole house will be rearranged and made over. Fabulous!"

Now you can't stop laughing either.

Running Inside, Running Outside, Infertility

2011-12-12T18:51:00.001-05:00

Source

So I don't know exactly how long it has been since Ingrid started making me run, but I would guess three to four weeks. I'm still having this lame hip issue which is holding me back a bit, but I'm beginning to enjoy running more and more each time.

Each time we've ran it has been doing intervals. Before we started this, I had the misconception that running was basically just going as far as you could, as long as you could, one time. Which is part of why I thought it was so stupid. The first day that I actually worked hard we did one minute of running and one minute of walking outside on the trails. It was so exhausting. My breathing was awful, I felt like I was being stabbed all over, I was sweating something ferocious, and yes, it was awesome.

I much prefer running outside, but it is a challenge when it gets dark around 5pm, and thats when we get to the gym. We have been doing a lot of running inside on the track at our Y. This is less than enjoyable, because of the following reasons:

Our annoying boss (not you, the other one) is always up there, and for some reason he has to run faster than we do. (I swear I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about a different boss).
Running in a circle is not enjoyable.
The girls who walk in the run lane. Really?
That creeper boss who has to run faster than us.
It is hot up there.
It is booooooring.

Yesterday we were able to run outside since we went early afternoon. Reasons why I love running outside:

TIGHTS! I got to wear my tights and my legs look AMAZING in them. F'real.
Less sweat.
I find it easier to breathe.
It is much less tedious.
Much less crowded.
Scenery.

Anyway, (I love lists and bullet points), yesterday we were almost done with our run and I suggested we bump it up to 3min run/1min walk, which is by far the longest run I've done so far. The best thing is, it didn't hurt that bad. I enjoyed it. It is so weird, and unlike me. (And we went 1.7miles past where we were going to stop.)

We tried to figure how far we went, but our best guess is between 4.5 and 5 miles. It took us about an hour and 20 minutes. (That is why I was asking about distance apps on Twitter yesterday.)

I felt like such a beast when we were done. It was such an amazing feeling.

My goal is to run one mile without stopping by the end of this year. Yeah, I know, like two weeks away. I can do it though. It is going to be the first time in my life I'll be able to do it. I'm looking forward to it.

In a short infertility update, I am finally finished with my Provera medication. This means there will be no more fights about tortilla chips in our house, for a while at least. (Sorry, Joshua. I love you.). In the next few days I will be starting Clomid and the testing that goes along with that. I am hoping that this running will help me trim down some body fat and will help all those reproductive things to work better with the Clomid. Optimally I'd love for them to just work on their own, but as of this moment, it isn't happening, and I don't want to wait.

What are your fitness goals? Please, do tell.

The Holidays

2011-12-11T11:06:00.001-05:00

One thing I learned yesterday at IKEA: Don't try to go on December 10th and expect them to be fully stocked with Christmas decorations. I only moderately wanted this, until I saw it on Ingrid's dining room table, then I really wanted it. It is adorable. We looked all around the store (there were a few other things I wanted that were not to be found, like all the mugs) and I asked a woman on our second time checking out (seriously) and she acted like I was an idiot for thinking they'd still be there. Ok, I may have been touchy, but whatever. So, no tree for me.

This post is going to jump around quite a bit. This is my parents and brothers at the lighting of the Santa and Reindeer on the bank building next to where I work.

I got my Christmas decorations out this year and found this thing that I bought. I completely forgot that I even had it, but now that I remember, I love it all over again. The balls were on clearance at Kirklands last year for $1 or so a piece and I found this bowl in a display at Hobby Lobby. Ingrid - I totes pulled a you. The bowl had display stuff in it and I made sure no one was looking, emptied it, and walked away with the bowl.

Mom got me these candles and holders last year. A lady I used to work with gave me the block light. My dad made the bowl, but it isn't a Christmas decoration, it's out all year.

I just got these Fiesta 75th Anniversary ornaments for an early Christmas gift this year. They're ceramic, and too heavy for our little tree. I think they look nice sitting on the table though.

Josh's mom started getting us yearly ornaments the year we were engaged. That is our first one.

The crocheted green ornament was a wedding gift from one of our friend's moms. I don't have a clue how she did it, but I really like it.

I got this tray at IKEA yesterday. Love it. I'm going to look for some matching pillar candles at Walmart though. I think they'll look better on it than this mismatch I have going on.

Joshua got me these kissing reindeer the very first Christmas we spent together in 2003. I guess they're the oldest Christmas decoration I have.

I got this tree topper at IKEA yesterday. It may be a bit big for our tree, but I still like it.

My friend Joey made a snowflake to decorate our big front window.

If you look closely, he made it on his math homework.

I got this plant and pot at IKEA yesterday. The pot was on sale for $1.99 and the plant is a gardenia.

I put a small box under it so it wasn't in there so deep.

Other things we did in Michigan yesterday:

Ate Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberry Sauce
Discussed Ingrid's grumbling road rage
Visited Trader Joe's and 8 Mile Rd
Visited Biggby's Coffee, got $5 cups of tea, and witnessed Ingrid steal peanut butter
Decided that the next time we go to IKEA we're going to go to Cincinnati.

There you are. Our day, complete with bullet points.

Finally, my latest gift from Ingrid. She has already let the guys I work with know about this, and it must be displayed on my desk for the entire Christmas season, if not all year.

IKEA, IKEA

2011-12-08T21:43:00.001-05:00

Be jealous. On Saturday I'm going to IKEA and you're not. (Unless your name is Ingrid, and then you totes are going. Congrats, you!)

I've been stalking their website and made this visual list of everything I want to buy:

I may or may not get these. I'll decide when we're there. I love to give baked stuff at Christmas, and last year I bought a ton of these at Wal-Mart and spent too much money on them. This is a steal.

I wanted this back when we went in July, but I talked myself out of it because it was blue and I wasn't sure what I would do with it. I decided I was going to get one while we were down in Orlando in September, but never made it to a store. Now they aren't selling the blue anymore, so silver it is.

We don't have a topper for our sad little baby tree.

Also wanted this in July but couldn't find it in the store. I don't want the bar across the top, just the paper towel holder. It screws directly into the wall. Instant counter space.

Undecided about this.

I looooove mugs.

And I need this.

I'll see how this looks in person. We have a back door that could use a mat.

If we had children, they would be getting this. Our kids are going to LOVE having a 15-piece breakfast. It's just like real life.

Again, if we had them.

I think this is so cute. I won't allow myself to buy them. Yet.

I mean, really. How could you not want these?

Most likely getting these.

I'm going to check these out and see how they look in person. I think they would be awesome across our front window in the winter time.

Ditto.

This isn't a big item IKEA trip. I still have our bed in the garage that I need to get a mattress and box spring for. Moving super fast on that one.

What do you want from IKEA this season?

That's Right, I Said It: Infertility

2011-12-06T19:11:00.001-05:00

Source

Caution Dad: You might not want to read this. It's girl stuff.

So I went to my doctor and she said "You, my friend, are a Fatty McFatterson who will never get pregnant unless you lose 100lbs."

I may have changed a few words. But she basically said that.

I don't know if you've ever seen me or not, but let me give you an idea of my overall size and shape. I am 5'10", 130lbs..oh wait..that isn't me. Right.

I'm 5'2" and I will not tell you my weight. What a rude thing to ask. However, I will tell you that I am a size 12. Since I've started running I'm more like a size 11, but I'm still wearing my 12's because I want to, and don't know where to buy an 11.

Onto the more serious stuff, Joshua and I have been talking about starting a family for a while. About three years, a while. We discussed it before we got married, and after we got married. We started really being serious about it right before our first anniversary. Josh was pro-baby long before I was. It's true.

So we got on the same page, we decided to start a family. I stopped taking my birth control pills.

And then nothing happened.

And still, nothing happened. Literally. No period, no ovulation, no baby.

So I go to my doctor and explain to her everything that is happening (or not happening). You know what her diagnosis is? LOSE WEIGHT.

Her actual diagnosis was Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. I was diagnosed with this when I was 13. NEWS FLASH: I'm 25. The 90's called, and they want their diagnosis back.

Do you know about PCOS? Oh, you don't? Well let me explain my situation. Basically I have these little cysts on the inside of my ovaries. (Some people get them on the outside, instead of the inside. Cysts on the outside are painful, and cysts on the inside are not. Joshua taught me that is because the ovaries don't have nerves on the inside so I won't feel pain. He also told me that none of the organs have nerves on the inside. Now you've learned two new things today. You're welcome.) Anyway, little cysts inside my ovaries. They are (I'm not using the correct terminology. I had a hard time understanding the doctor language) little baby eggs that never formed right, so instead of leaving my ovaries and turning into a future baby, they formed a club and set up shop, much like those pesky Occupiers in your local park, except in my fat ovaries. Must be a cool place to hang, doesn't get cold in the winter, no cops kicking you out. Very exclusive.

So I don't ovulate. It has a fancy name, but it's just Latin for: NO BABY.

PCOS also effects insulin resistance and cholesterol and all those really fun things to talk about. My crabby doctor put me on Metformin, a diabetic medicine to hopefully help me lose weight and get everything working right. Nothing happened. And so it went, for nearly two years. Crabby Doctor kept putting me off until my next appointment. At my next appointment we would talk about trying this. At my next appointment we'll talk about trying that. Until one day, she said "You're fat, and we might talk in a few more months". Again, paraphrasing.

After my crabby doctor called me a Fatty McFatterson, and referred me to a dietitian instead of moving forward with anything, I switched to a new doctor. Brilliant idea. My new doctor has been moving forward very quickly, almost to the point where I get that panicky feeling where I think we're sprinting and I should be pacing myself.

She put me on a medicine that is making me the Queen of Eating Dark Chocolate. (Take that old doctor.) I'm crabby, tired, crabby, and tired. It's called Provera. I am going to be on this for a few more days, have a period, and then start Clomid. A fertility medicine. It is supposed to make me ovulate. My new, happy doctor told me that the success rate of Clomid is 75%.

She also said that the chance for twins is 6-10%.

I have no problems with that.

While I was waiting for my happy doctor to give me my lab forms (I have to go like every three days while I'm on Clomid) and I heard the nurse holler (had to throw a Nanny word in there for you) to my doctor: "is the reason for these infertility?" My doctor didn't respond quite as loud, I'm guessing due to tact, but when I heard it, I thought to myself: Yeah, I do have infertility. There is no harm in accepting it, or saying it. No need to be secretive about it. No need to feel bad about it.

So, I'm not. After two years, I'm telling you. Because, why not? Don't expect a regular weekly Ovary Update from me to be featured here, but I will talk about it from time to time. And hopefully if things work out, I'll eventually share with you things about our family. It's a one day at a time thing though.

I would really love to talk to you if you're in this same boat, or even if you're not. I'd really just love to talk to you. My email is up there in the sidebar if you feel like contacting me.

Cannot Stop Laughing

2011-12-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

I won't lie. I watch Antiques Roadshow almost every Sunday. I hated this show when I was younger, but its the non-cable-having version of all the pawn shop shows. This is a letter written by Frank Sinatra to newspaper columnist. The letter is funny enough, but I love this little old lady more. I was just sitting here watching and this is hilarious. Watch all the way to the end. She is so funny.

Running.

2011-12-03T12:27:00.001-05:00

This is a post to tell you that I run now. Before I get into all that, I want you to know that I still lift. Four days a week. I'm not a "one or the other" gym goer. Lifting and being beasty is important to me, so while I am running, it is just replacing my lower impact cardio with a higher intensity exercise.

I may have even written in my "Healthy Living" tab that I hate running. Because I do. Running was invented by the devil. The devil.

Last Saturday, Ingrid (@ingrid283 on Twitter. Follow her. She's funny. And friends with the devil because she made me run 48 miles this morning.) and I went outside to use the trails at our Y because it was unseasonably warm. She said that we would run one minute, walk one minute. Did I tell you that she's bossy? She is.

So I thought I was going to die.

I've never ran before, really. I've done a few minutes here and there on the treadmill, but this was outside running. I quickly found out that it was much harder. While I'm gasping for my last breath, Ingrid is talking her freaking head off. I would have told her to shut up, but I was completely incapable of forming words. It was awful. I hate, hate, hated it. I swore she was making me run for longer that one minute, and my breaks were shorter than one minute. She swore she wasn't and even told me she wasn't trying to be bossy (HA!). And when we were done, I was exhausted. But you know what, it felt good. It was the same exhausted that I felt after powerlifting. It was an accomplished exhausted feeling. I pushed myself (okay, Ingrid totally pushed me) and I accomplished what I thought my body was incapable of. I woke up Sunday morning and couldn't wait to do it again. (who AM I? I never think things like that).

So we did it again on Sunday. Again, I thought I was going to die, but kept going. And when we were done, it was wonderful.

After our run on Sunday, I noticed that my hip was bothering me a lot. Joshua is finishing up his degree in physical therapy assisting, so I had him give me his opinion of what might be going on. He said he thinks that I may just have irritated an muscle from running and to give it some rest. This morning we ran, and when we were stretching I discovered a stretch that really, really made me hip feel better. I shared that with Josh when I got home and he said that I was stretching my piriformus. Or the red muscle in the photo. My left hip hurt the first few days of the week, and when it stopped, it switched to my right hip. I'm hoping that giving it rest will help and I'll eventually get used to it.

Source

Allison: I had Josh check my gait, and he said I have a normal gait.

I got a new pair of running shoes this week. I have always loved Nike. The last time I needed shoes I thought that I should try a different brand to see if I only loved Nike because of some brand name secret obsession I may have. I've never tried any other brands, so I wondered if there was a better shoe out there for me. I got Asics, and honestly, I was less than in love. I went back to Nike for this pair, and I'm really happy that I went back. They fit my feet so well.

Source

So, I'm on the running bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, I'm slow. Ask my boss. He made fun of me for being slow. Idiot. The great thing is that I have 17 bosses, so if you happen to be my boss, and you're reading this, I'm definitely not talking about you. I'm talking about a different boss of mine. Anyway, as much as I hate to say it, I like running. It's a huge challenge for me. It's different.

Source

Do you run?

Are you hardcore like this weight lifting six-year-old?

Things That Weird Me Out

2011-11-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

I was talking to my friend Amber yesterday on the phone, and she was telling me she was reading a book full of birth stories (she is a trained birth doula, which is amazing, just not something I could do). I love babies. I think they're incredibly adorable (I used to not). I also could not pick up a book full of birth stories and read it. I just can't do it.

That being said, what in the world are some people thinking? Take the following for example:
All photos found via Pinterest.

This is creepy to me. I don't know what else to say about it besides that if I ever see one in person I will not be the person who says "I want the foot piece!" Ick.

I mean, really?? I didn't enlarge this on purpose. You're welcome.

For real?

And this. Let me tell you, if you're my neighbor and I see you stuffing your newborn into your mailbox, I'm calling Child Protective Services. There are places you can put your baby, and the mailbox is not one of them.

Do you do weird stuff with your baby?

Thank God for the Internet.

Easy Pulled Pork

2011-10-30T11:23:00.002-04:00

I've never made pork before. I think I've make pork chops once, but we're just not a big pork eating house hold. Bacon doesn't count. I could live on bacon. (Ask my doctor, she'll tell you I probably live on bacon).

I've been trying to be better at planning what we're going to eat all week so that we don't grab something quick on the way home, or splurge every night at the grocery store. I've been doing big grocery shopping once a week, and for the past two weeks it has worked out pretty well.

I typically shop at Wal-Mart, but I couldn't find any pork that I liked there. A new Kroger Marketplace (also known as Grocery Heaven) opened and I got the pork from there.

I used this recipe from My Baking Addiction:

Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place onions in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.
3. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.
4. Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last ½ hour of cooking.
5. Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with remaining vinegar mixture or your favorite barbeque sauce.

I followed the recipe except that I doubled the dry rub because my piece of meat was a little larger than what the recipe called for. I think it was 6.5lbs. It is hard to find a small pork shoulder around here. I cooked it 11 hours on low, and it was fantastic. I thought I was going to shred it with two forks like I've seen people do before, but I pulled this out of the crockpot and used a wooden spoon to get the bone out, and all I had to do was touch the meat with it because it all fell apart. It was delicious.

These pictures suck because I didn't take the time to get my camera out. After 11 hours I was too hungry to.

Try it. F'real.

Last Vacation Post

2011-10-29T17:14:00.001-04:00

You're welcome. When we decided we were going to Florida for vacation we decided we wanted to go to Universal again, and wanted to go to Islands of Adventure since we went to the other side last year. As soon as we figured all that out, we decided that since we would be there, and had heard Harry Potter was so awesome that we wanted to read all the books and watch all the movies before we went. We rock, so we did it. By the time we finished the books I was so excited to go to Universal I couldn't contain myself. Really.

We didn't even get inside the gate before people started commenting about how big Joshua is. This lady asked me if she could touch him.

The entrance to Hogsmeade.

The Hogwarts Express

It is funny to be in bright sunny Florida on a 90° day, and see snow on the rooftops.

"The Constipation Sensation: U No Poo" inside the joke shop.

Joshua (with his eyes closed) and our one mug of $11.25 worth of Butterbeer. It was good...but not that good.

The Three Broomsticks was a sit down restaurant.

Honeydukes candy shop had tons of jellybeans inside.

After Harry Potter World we went on to Jurassic Park World and then Marvel World. Joshua is a pretty big comic fan (he bought his first comic book collection last night. F'real) so he really enjoyed it. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. It was pretty awesome. The rides were all pretty impressive. Especially the Hulk, which was my favorite. This is in the line to get on the Spiderman ride. It was a pretty realistic office.

The City Walk or whatever they call it on the way into and out of Universal had a cigar bar, and Joshua loves cigars so we stopped. I thought the humidor was pretty cool. I'd never been in one this large.

That is all for Universal. I didn't take too many pictures there. We definitely had a ton of fun at Universal, and I wouldn't mind going back. The weather was perfect, there were no lines, and we got through the park in about three hours. Unheard of.

If you're going, I recommend going late September, we had a great vacation.

And that is the end of my fairytale. Word.

Glutes, Glutes, Glutes

2011-10-28T21:22:00.000-04:00

You're not going to believe this, but this is a post about my arm.

Ask Ingrid and she'll tell you I was being a baby the other night during our workout.

Here is what happened:
(all images courtesy of Google Images)

I was getting off the treadmill after we did our cardio, going to get a drink before we started our circuit. I was walking, paying super amazing attention to what I was doing (like always).

I looked a little something like this:

Except, you know not. My arms weren't in the air, and hopefully my mouth wasn't open. It probably was though. Basically I just wasn't watching what I was doing.

Have you seen this machine before? The glute press? You lean in it like this and press back with your legs. It's technically known as "the butt machine". Supposedly you get hot buns of steel with it, like you can't even get through airport security anymore because your buns are so steel-like.

So I was like this:

And the girl on the butt machine was like this:

And then I was like this:

And that is basically all you need to know.

One other thing you need to know: If you Google anything with the word "Glute" in it, you get hilarious images.

This is a rare naked and skinless photo of my husband. Yes, his hands are bigger than his entire head.

This is my new gym outfit. I'll have to make sure I wash my bike shorts though. How awkward would that be if I forgot?

And, really? Who is The Glute Guy? How do you get to be that guy?

Do you have a funny story from a time you were at the gym and your arm got hurt on the glute machine? No? I didn't think so.

Changes

2011-10-23T11:25:00.001-04:00

I've got no direction this morning. I just decided to post, without any idea what to say. So, expect rambling.

Joshua and I have been talking a lot lately (always good, right?) and we've decided to make some changes in our lives. If you've been around my blog for a while, you may (or probably don't) remember that when I was 21 we got engaged, decided to get married in May 2009, and then move to Arizona in August 2009 so that I could begin law school at Arizona State. If you've only been around five minutes, you will have realized it didn't happen. The getting married part did, but we never moved, and I never went to law school (thank God). We bought a house in our little corner of Indiana, hunkered down, and braved two or three winters since then (I'm not good at math). I finished school, Joshua started school, I got fired from a job, got a new job, sold a truck, bought a truck, and successfully rid ourselves of two Cadillacs that were older than us.

Joshua finishes school in March. I work. Well, I wouldn't call it work, but I go somewhere from 8 to 4:30 on the weekdays and someone pays me for it. We're 25. We've never been further west than Chicago. Yes, really.

I love pictures, so I made this handy map for you to view.

You can view the map larger if you click on it.
This is how to read it:
Yellow: I've never visited
Blue: I've visited or driven through
Red: Where I've lived

I was going to include Josh's states, but his are identical except that he's been to NY and PA on his way to Canada.

PS. If you want to make your own map, click here. It's kind of cool.

Also, supposedly I've been to OK, but I was less than a year old. If you can't remember being there, it doesn't count, so I didn't add it.

My point here is that we're young, we don't have children, and we're both done (or almost done) with school. Why not see what there is to see out there?

We're discussing a move that would take us pretty far from Indiana. We're talking about Arizona again. We know it will be a big thing, and we have so much to do before we can even go. But we're going to do it. And we're going to kick ass at it. Because, why not?

Have any of you ever made a huge move? Any words of advice?

Epcot

2011-10-15T13:37:00.000-04:00

Again, more vacation photos. If you don't care, do not fret. I only have one more post about vacation after this one.

The dome.

Right when we walked into the World Showcase they had a cranberry bog.

It was pretty cool, in the "first time to a farm" kind of way. I've never seen cranberries in a bog before.

The spread in France.

We got a cheese plate.

My husband is French. Doesn't he look exactly how you would picture a French guy? I thought so, especially in his element like this.

What in the world is it with turkey legs? Every single park in Florida sells steaming hot turkey legs. Really? It's 90°, I would love nothing more than a hot turkey leg, right in the middle of the day. I don't understand.

Japan

Morocco

The Wines of France. (I translated that myself, so I'm probably incorrect). This was a cool shop. I love wine shops.

Beer in Germany.

China

Terracotta army in China. This was pretty cool. These statues guard the burial site of the Chinese Emperor. The statues in real life are six feet tall and contained horses, chariots, and these soldiers. If I am remembering correctly it said that there were approximately 6,000 statues. Just for one Emperor.

This is in Norway. We have a friend named Nate, who calls himself a Viking, and kind of looks like this. So Josh took a picture with Nate.

We got Skolebrod (School Bread) and a cherry danish in Norway. Josh liked the school bread so much that my Norwegian friend Ingrid (pretty handy, huh?) found a recipe for me. Click here if your husband likes it too.

I don't know if they do this in Norway or not, I'm assuming they do since they did it here, but there is a lawn and flowers on this roof top.

Margaritas in Mexico

Joshua called these guys my uncles.

Mexico

We ate a meal in Morocco. I had lamb, couscous, hummus, and some green stuff. Josh had sliders, which were like gyros, a lentil salad, green stuff, and hummus.

On our way out.

We were completely exhausted after Epcot. It took us so long to walk everywhere. I didn't realize it was so big. There was a bunch of stuff in Futureworld we didn't even see. By the time we got around the world to Mexico we decided we were done and going back to the house.

Up next is Universal Islands of Adventure. I know, you can't wait.

Vacation

2011-10-04T15:19:00.001-04:00

I know, you don't care about my vacation. Nothing is as interesting to anyone else as it is to you. Especially if you're spending a week on the beach. No one cares unless they're there with you.

This is where you would leave my blog if you're not interested in hearing how much fun I had on my vacation last week.

Last chance.

I mean it.

Ok, here I go.

So on the way down, we were traveling 434mph, which means it took 20 minutes to get to Cincinnati. Amazing, right?

Josh decided to get toasted on the morning flight we took. My purse became a liquor cabinet.

This was the sunset the first night.

I've never gone to Florida this time of year, so I don't know if it was just the city we were in, or that it was fall, but every sunrise and sunset was absolutely beautiful.

Sunrise.

I can honestly say that I was not aware. Mice are fast. As are roaches.

This was a limo we saw on our way to Orlando. It was hideous.

Jellyfish washed up almost every day.

Sunset.

Autumn on the beach.

Sunrise.

This Catholic Church in Kissimmee served Cheese Steaks. Better call ahead.

Another amazing sunset.

Me and Carsyn on the beach.

This is my favorite.

Me and my super happy husband. Doesn't he look like he's having a wonderful time?

Joshua took such good care of me on vacation and made me breakfast every day that I didn't get up and eat before he did. These were my Toaster Strudels.

Banana or plantain? I tried Googling it, but they look the same to me.

Joshua relaxing in the hammock on our last afternoon.

You're gonna have to come back for my pictures of Epcot and Universal. I'm already tired of blogging this one, so they're going to wait.

We did have a fantastic time though. I can't wait for our next vacation. :)

I Can't Wait Any Longer

2011-09-08T21:24:00.000-04:00

So. I am very upset with Dairy Queen. Our DQ shares a parking lot with our Dunkin' Donuts. Now don't get me wrong, we don't live in a little hick town (I guess that would be my opinion, I'm sure lots of people think we do) and this isn't our only DQ & DD. They have the same parking lot, so of course they share the same road sign. I was driving past the other day and the sign said "PUMPKIN IS BACK", so naturally, I flipped out, posted on Twitter and absolutely lost my mind believing I would be the next person to get a Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

The offending sign:

Wrong.

Joshua made dinner last week and after, a Blizzard sounded fantastic. We get there, go through the drive through (which was necessary because I had already taken my bra off and there is no putting it back on) and Josh orders it for me. The fourteen year old working says "that sign is for next door, we don't get our pumpkin until October". I was so angry. Soooo angry.

The point of my story is, I've been craving pumpkin ever since. Josh went to our friend's house on Monday and his mom had made pumpkin cupcakes. I went down, and I kid you not, by the time I got there they were gone. Gone. It's like I'm being taunted by the pumpkins of the world. It is unjust.

So I've been whining about how bad I want pumpkin, how bad I need pumpkin, and finally got sick of listening to myself.

And I did something about it.

Introducing:
The Easiest Cupcake I've EVER Made via Pinterest

Ingredients:
One box of yellow cake
One can of pumpkin
(seriously. that is all)

Mix together the ingredients with an electric mixer.

It looks like this. Don't add egg. Don't add water. Don't add oil. One box of cake mix. One can of pumpkin.

Ta da!

These would be fantastic with cream cheese frosting, but our kitchen was all out. I improvised and used powdered sugar instead. I love these. And they're so dang easy.

But very filling.

Jillian Michaels

2011-09-06T20:35:00.000-04:00

Jillian scares the bejeezus (Meg said that once and I've always wanted to) out of me. She's super intense looking, and that smirk. Ugh. She makes me nervous.

Ingrid (my workout partner. Don't worry, you didn't forget, you just haven't been formally introduced...let me see what I can do about that.) has this box and we used it for the first time last weekend. I said "used" but what I meant was "Jillian kicked my butt up and down the gym with her first circuit workout in the box". The whole time we were doing it all I could think of was how much I hate her. She's a psycho for coming up with this stuff....then we're probably psychos for doing it. Ugh.

So, if you'd like to die in the gym too, check it out.

OR! if you act now:
Buy your ShakeWeight and look like this girl in only 6 minutes a day!

Without further blabbing from me, here is me and Ingrid:

Ingrid enjoys IKEA, working out, tattoos, a nice pair of slacks, and long walks on the beach. Don't get on her bad side because she can be super scary. I mean it.

You can typically find us after our workouts half-dead on a mat in a corner, or chasing down our trainer looking for good tips.We're both also on Twitter. Ingrid is @Ingrid283. Check her out.

Oh No She Didn't

2011-08-23T20:04:00.002-04:00

So I have this slight obsession with checking out my stats page. Except for when I'm not posting, and then it can be a bit depressing.

Today however, I looked at it and noticed this:

Am I an over-using-comma-fool or what? Really. I never noticed how often I use commas, and now I'm wondering if I'm using them correctly or not.

Am I driving you grammatically nuts with my commas?

If you're interested in those posts:
I Mean, Really
Oh, The Things You'll Find
Well, Here I Am
Now, I Understand
Oh, The Things You'll See

I Mean, Really?

2011-08-21T20:58:00.001-04:00

I finished reading all the Harry Potter books on Friday. Yes, I'm aware that I'm four years behind the rest of the world. For what it's worth, Josh was only about a week ahead of me.

Tonight I was browsing around on Etsy.com and found a print for sale with a quote on it.

This one in particular. I want it for my hallway wall whenever I get around to it.

However, I was looking at it, and realized that I could do this exact same thing by printing it out on a piece of paper and framing it. Much less expensive that way.

So my next thought was "well, I wonder what other commonly used quotes are out there, because I may like one better."

So I went to Google.

And I hit the jackpot.

Not of quotes, of course.

Of tattoos.

I Googled: "Harry Potter Quotes" and started getting all these images for tattoos. So I changed my search to "Harry Potter tattoos" and came up with this mess.

Now, I understand tattoos. People get them because its what they like. But really. Not only did you get this tattoo, then you went home, took a picture, and put it on the internets. For real. That is forever.

Well, Here I Am

2011-08-13T09:22:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you noticed or not, but I haven't been posting. (If you didn't notice, its ok, it took me a while to notice too.)

Reasons why I haven't been here:
1. I haven't felt like it. I have a back log of photos to upload and nonsense to share with you, but you know what, I just haven't felt like it. I'm sure you have lots of other outlets for nonsense (right) and you've been surviving just fine.

2. I'm having a computer issue. I use our laptop to blog and for some reason the photo uploading is junk. I typically (always) write photo heavy posts, and this makes it difficult to do.

3. I've been at the gym. I don't know if you've been following me for three years or three days, but I have this battle with the gym. Either I'm a hard core lifter, or a hard core excuse maker. I'm always off and then on and then off and then on again. I've been pretty hard core on for three or four months now, and these past two or three weeks I've been at the gym. A lot. I have a new workout partner who is basically at the same lifting level I am, so it makes it more enjoyable to go. Josh has a friend he lifts with and I never understood why they would like to lift together so much, but I get it now. Also, I signed us back up at the Y. I liked Anytime Fitness, but it wasn't the same as the Y.

Speaking of hard core lifting, if you follow me on Twitter, you'd have seen a few weeks (a month) ago I competed in a power lifting competition. Joshua was supposed to compete with me, but he had an injured hamstring, so it was just me and our friend Kory.

I decided to be patient and upload some photos so that you can see what I beast I am. You're welcome.

This is my squat max. 275lbs - my personal record. I attempted 300lbs and failed. I am pretty happy with 275lbs though.

This would be me. In order to compete in a power lifting competition, you have to wear really, really sexy clothing. Naturally, I fit right in.

This is Josh's friend Kory. He was super pumped because he won his division. He didn't know he was the only person in his weight class, but regardless, he dominated.

This girl was my competition. I'm just calling her my competition to be nice. I could instead say something like "This big girl scared the bejeezus out of me, and I still beat her." And beat her I did.

See how much more she's lifting than me? Doesn't matter. They do this thing called the Wilks Coefficient which is a super complicated calculation of weight lifted divided somehow by body weight. Since big girl is so much larger than me she obviously lifted more weight than I did. However, by doing the calculation, it was scientifically proven that I am stronger because I lifted more weight per pound of body weight. I hope you didn't think I was kidding when I said I am a beast.

Enough about her, back to me.

My totals were:
Squat: 275lbs
Bench: 115lbs
Deadlift: 315lbs
Total: 705lbs

And now I'm off to the gym again. Hopefully I'll be back before two more weeks go by without a single post.
What is new with you guys?

Zoo Day

2011-07-30T07:35:00.000-04:00

I've had these photos on my computer so long that I can't remember when it was that we went to the zoo. I'm thinking it was back in June. I've been a sucky July blogger. Oh well. You'll get over it, right?

We have an awesome zoo.

Nom nom nom. This turtle is 50ish years old. There is a male and female and they're both that old. Josh and I thought it was crazy to think that our parents looked at the same turtles when they were younger. Not that our parents are old or anything. Not at all.

It was baby day at the zoo. this is the baby lemur.

If you look to the right, there is a little baby peacock.

This calf looks just like Amico, our dog. It was weird.

The jellies.

A baby monkey. I don't remember what it was.

The red panda. He poses for photos after 2pm.

Giraffe

My favorite, the zebra.

Joshua planned out the whole wonderful day. I woke up and went into the kitchen and saw that he was making lunch. I thought it was odd, but decided that maybe he just wanted it for breakfast. So a little later I went back in and he was still making lunch. So he fessed up that he was trying to surprise me with a zoo day and a picnic in the park after. Isn't he the best??

Our first picnic. :)

Random Photo Monday

2011-07-18T10:20:00.002-04:00

Some more photos that I didn't want to give each their own post for.

I like birds, but I don't get too excited about Robins.

I do get excited about Fire Red Cardinals. Not orange like fire, more red.

I've seen this a few times. I don't think it's his girlfriend though because the girls are brown. I could be wrong.

Lie like a rug.

Summer swimming.

Father's Day

2011-07-17T09:54:00.002-04:00

This post isn't late at all, right? For Father's Day we had a cookout at our house. Josh smoked ribs in the smoker that we bought right after our wedding, I made the inside stuff, and my family and Josh's came over for dinner.

Joshua, expertly hacking away at the ribs.

Wet ribs in the front, dry in the back.

Light Lemony Slaw

Here is the easiest way ever to give you a recipe.

Strawberries.

Romaine, tomatoes, strawberries, red onion and cheese salad.

Chocolate cake with milk chocolate icing. Dad's (second) favorite. His first is German Chocolate, but that is a birthday thing.

Ribs and dogs.

Delicious.

My brothers went outside to play. With sticks.

It was a very nice Father's Day. It was really awesome because Josh was able to get off of work, so we had someone to run the smoker.

Crazy Bird Lady

2011-07-16T09:48:00.000-04:00

For some reason, lately I've become quite crazy about birds. I really like them. Joshua and I are both reading through the Harry Potter books right now and I declared halfway through book 3 (The Prisoner of Azkaban) that I want to get an owl. Just a small one.

I'm working on gathering items for our hallway wall (very slowly) and have wanted these pictures since I saw them full price at Target. I was super excited to get them on clearance.

Do you have an unexpected favorite thing?

Product Review

2011-07-15T09:38:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I did a review on MiO Water Enhancer and told you all that it was a bit too sweet for my tastes. Meg told me about this Crystal Light Pure which isn't made with any artificial sweeteners. Don't get me wrong, the "pure" part is misleading. There are chemicals in it (duh) just not Splenda or Aspartame.

Another thing I've discovered? Kraft Foods makes everything. They manufacture MiO and Crystal Light. I never know this stuff until I go looking for it. Strange, huh?

So I tried the Strawberry Kiwi and the Fruit Punch. Both were pretty good. The packets are bigger, and have more calories (15/serving, 30/packet). Not horrible, but still more than zero.

I would rather use these than the MiO, because they taste better to me.

Also, my friend KJPugs had this to say about MiO:
"KMSull and I have been talking about this. I heard they had free ones available on their Facebook and "liked" it but saw they had run out. Then I noticed people posting pictures of their hands after this broke or spilled on them and it WOULD NOT COME OFF. I kind of figured if it semi-permanently stains your hands, then it might not be a good idea to keep around and consume, right?"

Right.

Random Photo Thursday

2011-07-14T09:31:00.000-04:00

Just a few photos that don't really fit into a post of their own.

I was trying to take pictures of our fire a few weeks ago. This is one of my favorites.

My boss put this sign up in the public restroom at work. It was up for a few days until maintenance took it down. It's a serious issue, believe it or not.

Pizza plates! I found these at Target in the $1 bins.

I had no idea that magnetic paint existed. I knew about chalkboard, but magnetic? Do any of you know if it works?

No, Really...

2011-07-09T08:18:00.000-04:00

Does this backpack make my back look big??

Traffic Violation

2011-07-06T09:29:00.000-04:00

My Megan got a new job working for our local government, which is awesome, because now we're both government workers, with a billionty days off a year. I'm not kidding, it doesn't get any better than that. Meg gets to work in the super fun world of misdemeanor crimes.

I told you that story, to tell you this story. We get these little flip top notebooks at work, and I gave my brothers some. Every once in a while my mom will get a ticket for various offenses she has invoked among the family members that live with her, such as not picking up laundry. However, she got this ticket the other day. She's going to have to see Meg about this.

It says: "Sman ran a stop lit and her nam is Pam"
What it means: "She/someone ran a stop light, and her name is Pam."

Busted.

Random Puppy Pictures

2011-07-05T09:18:00.002-04:00

These have been building up since I haven't been posting.

Mo.

This is his "I'm afraid of the vacuum" face.

His perch.

"If I look really cute will you let me stay here?"

My Hydrangeas

2011-07-04T09:00:00.002-04:00

Mom called me one day while I was at work and told me to stop by Sam's on my way home that day because they had drastically marked down their plants. I got there and found some sad, sad hydrangeas that were only $8 each, just begging for me to bring them back. These pictures were taken the day I got them.

I alternated them with the bushes I already had planted.

We'll see how this goes.

Untitled

2011-06-26T20:50:00.003-04:00

Updated 6/27/11 5:13PM
Dear Friends,

My blog is not typically a very serious blog, so I hope that you can realize the seriousness of this post.

Maria, Stephen, and Kim Hatch
Photo credit: Maria - Facebook

The family of a dear friend of mine was involved in a very tragic airplane crash on June 24, 2011. You can read the news stories here, here, and here. I highly suggest you read them.

In the crash, Maria's mother Kim, and father Stephen, both died, and her 16-year-old brother AJ was critically injured. At this time he is still in a medically induced coma. Maria and her husband, Jason, sister Brittnee, and brother Austin are all undoubtedly in a great deal of pain. Maria is due to give birth to her first child at Christmastime.

It is a miracle that AJ survived this plane crash, but it is even more unbelievable to know that this is the second plane crash he has survived.

I personally, am at a loss for what to do, or even where to start. I don't really even know how to write this post.

I've been brainstorming with Allison on how to help them out, and we want to help in any way we can.

Kim and Stephen Hatch
Photo credit: Maria - Facebook

We felt that doing a gift card drive would be the best route for us to go. I would hate to inconvenience anyone by causing them to sit around and wait for us to deliver meals, so if we were to get them gift cards to specific restaurants, grocery stores, or even Visa gift cards, they could make their own decisions about what they would like to eat.

I understand that asking for donations via the internet can be sketchy at best, especially since most of you don't know me, but I need to get this out there anyway, in the event that you can and want to help.

We know that we cannot take away their pain, but if we can bring even a small amount of comfort to them by showing we care, that is what we intend to do.

Kim, Stephen, AJ, and Maria Hatch
Photo credit: Maria - Facebook

If you are interested in helping, please contact me by email at ayterry @ live (dot) com, and I can get you the details of where to mail your donation to. If you feel negatively about our collection, please keep your thoughts to yourself, as we are only trying to help and be positive.

We will collect as long as you want to donate. Please, read the news stories and try to imagine how you would feel, and how much you would appreciate the help.

Thank you,
Angi & Allison

**Update June 27, 2011**

Dear Friends,

We understand that there may be many of you that would love to give but are hesitant due to not knowing us and the increased number of internet scams. So, we are currently in the process of finding out if their local church and/or school has set up a memorial fund yet. If not, we will find a way to get one in place for the family.

We are still collecting gift cards for the family and would appreciate any donation you can and are willing to give. We will hand deliver these to Maria.

If you do not know us are you are wanting to give but are hesitant because of that fact, please check back periodically for the memorial donation information.

Thank you in advance for your donations and thank you again for your continued prayers for the Hatch/Neal family!

Sincerely,
Allison and Angi

Here is the link to Austin's CaringBridge page

Cats Are The Spawn Of Satan

2011-06-22T20:50:00.000-04:00

That is a bit harsh, but not too much.

All my life I've heard people describe themselves as either a "cat person" or a "dog person". I've never really heard anyone call themselves both. You know why? Because it is illogical. You can't be both. (I think Josh might be, but for my purposes here, we'll say he is strictly a dog person.)

My story starts here:

This beautiful mama rabbit is crying tears of terror during this photo. She is weeping her big black eyes out all over the lawn.
One awful, awful, Friday evening a few weeks ago, I was in the house opening all the windows because it was gloriously beautiful outside. It takes a good minute to open them up, and while I was moving from room to room I would pick something up that needed to be put away elsewhere. So I'm minding my own business when I start hearing this cawing. I listened because I had never heard anything like it before. I walked to the window and saw four gigantic crows fighting one another over a baby rabbit. Right then, I may or may not have screamed.

I saw the baby rabbit get away and run its heart out over to our brick planter. I ran outside because I was going to help it...only to realize that I couldn't find it. It's mama was sitting in the side yard, so I thought that if I went inside she would hop on over and pick it up.

No such luck.

So in the mean time, Megan comes over (Don't worry, I'm getting to the evil cat part) and I tell her about the horrible crows and how much I hate them, and how much I may or may not have cried for mama rabbit. (I'm fairly certain that Mama Rabbit is the same rabbit I named Hal a few weeks ago. Fitting though that a female rabbit have a male name in our house.)

So Meg and I are sitting on the couch talking and start to hear this horrid squeal. At first we thought it was a bird, but it kept getting closer, and louder, so I got up and looked out the window. So did Amico. We both saw, at the same time that the Devil Cat next door was running across the yard with baby rabbit in its dirty little mouth. Hal was just running along side of them, helpless. I felt so bad for her. So Amico flips out. I mean flips out, flips out. He started his "I'm going to EAT YOU NOW" freaking out. Megan had never seen Amico flip out at a cat before, so she started flipping out. It was a freaking mess.

I ordered Amico into his cage, and me and Meg sat on the couch and cried for ten minutes.

I'm kidding.

It was fifteen.

My story ends with Devil Cat. The next morning I woke up to this. He's after my birds now.

This. Is. War.

Dog Tease

2011-06-19T00:42:00.000-04:00

I think this is hilarious.

So Adorable

2011-06-13T17:12:00.000-04:00

Saw this at work today and had to share.

The Hack Has A Home

2011-06-09T12:24:00.000-04:00

You remember a few weeks ago when I made screens, right? I bought this, my first ever hack saw. Since I'm not typically a handy lady I don't have a toolbox, workbench, or any of that manual labor related stuff. I usually borrow everything from my dad, but decided I was going to buy this.
Back on topic, I don't have a home for this thing. I don't have one of those cool peg boards where everything has its own outline. So I went out into the garage, found an empty nail, and called it a day.

Perhaps someday I'll add other components of a do it yourself lifestyle and they can all live together on the wall in the garage.

Planting Plants

2011-06-09T12:00:00.002-04:00

I have no idea what this is, but I love it. I don't even know why, I just do. The other day I was hanging out and my mom called and asked me to go to Sam's Club to check out some plants they had for sale. So I did and found this. I love it. Sadly, someone in line told me that its a one time thing and won't come up again next year.

I got these bushes. They're called Weigela Wine and Roses. Supposedly they're going to flower, and get gigantic. Like 5 ft x 5 ft. I made sure they had enough room to grow.

This is once I had them in. It was much more difficult to plant with the weed carpet down, but I made it work.

Consider this the official before. If you look real close you can see the four of them. Two on the outside corners of the big window. And one on each side of those, equally spaced away. I'll post in a few weeks to check the progress.

Appetizer Night

2011-06-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

Earlier in the week, Meg and I were discussing our weekend plans and decided to do a dinner club on Saturday. It originally started out as a Mexican Night, then changed to a Dip Night, and finally ended up being an Appetizer Night. We love to eat, what can I say?

Skinny Girl Margaritas. I thought this was extremely bitter, so we added the strawberries. Meg drank hers, but I ended up pouring mine out and going for the good stuff.

Megan's famous Fruit Salsa

Edamame. My newest favorite snack.

Crab Ceviche - fantastic. I wish I had used real limes instead of the juice I had in the fridge. I skipped the peppers, but it was still delicious. As is anything that contains cilantro.

Guacamole. Premade.

Today for lunch - ceviche taco w/guac. I love leftovers.

Compost

2011-06-08T12:44:00.000-04:00

My mom got me this compost container last year, but I never got around to setting it up.

So last week I set it up, but left it on the patio because I couldn't decide where I wanted to put it. Today Josh suggested just putting it where the old pile is and it sounded like a good idea. I wanted it closer to the house, but with one pile already existing, it just seemed easier to go with it.

Do you compost?

Face Time

2011-06-07T16:27:00.000-04:00

About a year ago, I started asking you all for opinions about face care (like this and this). I can honestly say, until about a year ago, I can't think of a time I had ever had a really bad breakout. My face was super clear and healthy, and much to the dismay of a certain Lancôme clerk, I only washed it with regular bar soap. Like just whatever we happened to have in the house. For real.

So like I said, about a year ago, I started breaking out pretty bad for me. Having never dealt with it before, I had no idea what to do. My eyebrow magician tried to give me some cheaper products to use, but in the end said "you know, you may just have to suck it up and splurge a little for the higher end face wash" (those may not be her exact words, but it was along that line). So I did. And I can't be sure whether my body just decided to finally give me a break, or if it was just the face wash, or a mixture of both, but I'm much happier now.

This is what I use now:

This is the Eminence Organics website. I know if you Google this product you can buy it online, but not directly from the company. I buy mine from my eyebrow magician, and one tiny bottle is a three month supply. There is no water at all in the product, so you only use an amount the size of a pea. It is much gentler and kinder to my skin. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Breakfast with the Guys

2011-06-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

Joshua and I went to Dunkin' with my brothers and dad yesterday.

I love their hair short.

Young House Love

2011-06-06T15:07:00.000-04:00

I am absolutely obsessed with this blog. Young House Love is amazing. Every time I read it, I see something else I want to do to my own house.

My most recent project I'm determined to do is "wallpaper" the hallway with frames. Check out their posts about it here and here.
Per their disclaimer: All photos are owned by Young House Love. If you use any of these, credit it back to them.

As someone who previously had no idea what in the world you were supposed to do with a hallway, I'm so excited to see a project like this. I love everything they have in it, and cannot wait to put my own stuff up in our hallway. We won't have room for a table, but we have a chair rail that runs down our hallway.

I cannot wait to update you all with pictures from this project!

A New 'Do

2011-06-06T12:19:00.000-04:00

Al got her hair cut...she actually looks like a rabbit now.

But you still can't see her eyes.

Oh, What A Life.

2011-06-06T12:15:00.001-04:00

I love summer.

This beautiful flower came right off of my peony bush and straight into the vase...as soon as I got the bugs off.

My kitchen: home of my favorite Tequila Sunrise. Yum.

I'm Not Sure Words Are Needed

2011-06-05T16:24:00.000-04:00

I'm not the only fan of peonies. I was so stinkin' excited when I saw this, and even more excited that it didn't fly away immediately.

I'm gonna have to print this one.

What The Hex? Part Deux.

2011-06-05T12:47:00.000-04:00

A couple days ago I posted about this bracelet I made. I thought it was awesome, but I didn't like the leather string I used. I wanted something thinner, and easier to move. Yesterday Megan and I went to Hobby Lobby and I got this black twine. I cut the bolts (I like to call them beads but Megan makes fun of me for it) off of the leather one and reused them for this one...which I like much better.

vs.

What do you think?

Happy Birthday

2011-06-05T11:02:00.001-04:00

to Marky Mark.

Somehow this has turned into a tradition. I read the site Dlisted and they update every day with birthdays. I'm not like a super stalker who remembers.

Really.
Source

Oh No She Didn't

2011-06-04T11:41:00.000-04:00

You cannot be serious.

Wildlife Week

2011-06-03T09:20:00.002-04:00

At the lake this weekend we saw this mama bird protecting her nest. She built it right by the main walkway. It may not have been smart, but she was really watching us. She has Easter basket grass all in her nest. Very resourceful if you ask me.

When we got home, Hal, Al's cousin was hanging out in the yard.

Betty drank too much again and passed out outside her house...upside down.

Amico loves the windows being open. It really maximizes his potential as neighborhood watchdog.

It's Peony Time

2011-06-02T21:05:00.002-04:00

My favorite time of year is when the peonies bloom. They are by far my favorite flower (as can be seen in the flowers from our wedding).

The house came with a pink bush. I have some bulbs that I'm hoping are different colors. I love every shade that peonies come in.

This one I swapped the color with the red of my Jeep.

This is the color of the hideous dumpster sitting in our driveway. I rented it to clean, and need to finish filling it and have it picked up.

What is your favorite flower?

More Bathroom Ideas

2011-06-02T10:42:00.001-04:00

Back in February 2010 I finally fessed up about the bathroom that I hate. I do this thing where I pretend that my house only has one bathroom, when it really has two. I hate hate hate the one in my bedroom. Check out my previous post for all the reasons why.

When I was at Menard's with mom the other day we were discussing that bathroom, and she suggested putting a new shower in. I actually think I would use it if there were a new shower inside, so we were checking out the corner showers. I remembered that Megan's parents put a corner shower in at their lake home, and Megan told me they did it themselves, so I'm sure I could do it...or I know someone who could.

This is one of the displays that I liked, but the exact one I want is here.

Have you ever done a bathroom remodel on your own?

What The Hex?

2011-06-01T10:15:00.002-04:00

I saw this idea on Pinterest, but the original is here on Honestly...WTF. This bracelet pictured is a designer one that supposedly sells for $300+, but I'm unable to find the website, so I can't really confirm that.

Supplies:
3 yards of string/cord whatever you want
18 hex nuts +1 if you want to make a clasp like I did.

The original tutorial says just to knot the ends together. I hate showering with jewelry on, so I used an extra nut and made this. When I was younger my dad made me a board with a screw at the top to make bracelet making easier. I really could have used that today. It worked so well. I closed this in a cabinet door to hold it tight.

If I make another one I would use a lighter color and use string instead of leather. The leather is really stiff and hard to knot.
I made the whole bracelet for about $4.

It's All So Green

2011-06-01T10:09:00.000-04:00

I put up one of my bird feeders yesterday, and so far I haven't seen one bird on it. I got this at Wal-Mart. It's one of the Better Homes & Gardens products. I love it.

They're getting close to blooming. I'm super excited. Peonies are my favorite flower ever.

Date Night

2011-06-01T10:06:00.000-04:00

This is from Dad and Dill's night at the baseball game.

This is from mom and Will's date at Cebolla's. William paid. I think.

My Personal Trainer

2011-05-31T21:44:00.001-04:00

Can lift more than your personal trainer.

He needs to upload a new video.

Isn't he smokin' hot?

Still Working On It

2011-05-31T10:26:00.001-04:00

With the crap load of rain we've gotten this week, I decided to try to figure out aperture and shutter speed. I'm still no pro, but I think I might be getting the hang of it.

Now, I'm ready to practice with sunshine!

These Do Not Belong To Me

2011-05-31T10:02:00.002-04:00

My brothers saw our ducks the other day in Lake T and thought we had gotten more pets. They're still out in Lake T, but they aren't really ours. We just let them stay here rent free.

A lady in the division next to mine at work had this video stream on her computer last week. Her daughter had a duck that built a nest in her landscaping. She put up a webcam to stream the video of the ducks hatching. It was really cool....and a very unproductive day for all of us.

These are screen shots of the ducklings once they were born.

Unfortunately we don't get to watch them grow because the first day they're out of the shell their mama takes them to the water and gives them swimming lessons.

They are adorable though.

Where To Begin?

2011-05-31T09:16:00.002-04:00

If you're not interested in me rambling on about how I'd like to change things in my house, and what my dream house would hold, you're not going to like this post. For sure.

Back in June 2009 you got my first bathroom related post. We had just been to Menard's to get my hammock right after our wedding, and walked around looking at everything that glorious store has to offer. Is Menard's everywhere or just here? I don't know that I've ever heard anyone outside of FW talk about them. Do you have one?
Anyway, in this post you can see my fascination with the vessel sink. By fascination, I mean obsession. The salon that I go to has a vessel sink and in the bottom they have three or four flat river rocks over the drain, and I love the look of it. Absolutely love it. I decided I needed to have my own, and kept that decision for two years.
On Saturday, me and mom went to Menard's to return some extra supplies from my Screen Making Sunday, and then walked around looking at everything.

I was ready to put this one in the cart.

I loved this. I mentioned in my old post that I wanted a frosted bowl, which I still think would be a better idea because it wouldn't look as dirty as a clear glass bowl. I think me and mom spent at least a half hour to an hour looking at bathroom vanities. Seriously. Right after looking at this one though, something changed in my mind. I realized that while I do love the vessel sink, it is very trendy. I think it looks awesome, and absolutely wonderful in the spa, but I don't live in a spa. Fact is, I live in a house that was built in 1954, long before a vessel sink would have been put in a home. While I love it, in time it will probably start to look how the 70's orange counter tops and yellow shag carpeting looks in bathrooms now. Very dated. (I'm not hating if you want this vessel sink in your home, I've simply decided that it isn't good for my home. Go ahead, spa it up if you want.)

So we moved on to other vanities. I really love this, but even without Josh being there, I knew he would say that he wants counter space on the side of the sink for when he's shaving or when he doesn't put his tooth brush away. I really do love this one though.

But I ultimately decided that I want this style, in dark brown. The white is the exact ensemble I want, but wrong color.

This is the correct color.

One minute I love this faucet, and the next minute I don't. I can't decide if it is what I want or not.

For over the toilet.

This is the correct everything.

I don't like this one, but I thought it was interesting. The vessel is a leaf. That would look pretty awesome in a spa.

This is the website for the vanity maker, they have some awesome stuff.
This is the website for my new favorite store, Menards.
This is the website for the rabbit with a pancake on its head.

Date Night

2011-05-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

I was a date crasher tonight. My brother was taking our mom out on a date tonight, and I went along. What a third wheel, right? He didn't mind that much. However, he doesn't have a wallet so mom had to pay.

It was a great date.

The Rarely Used Spare

2011-05-30T11:04:00.000-04:00

We have a three bedroom home, and since we're only two people who use one bedroom, we have two extra rooms. One is used as a computer room/library, and the other is a basically unused room. I didn't do a thing to the room until right before our wedding when I had to put a bed up quickly because we had overnight guests. The bed I put up belongs to Joshua's mom, and we lost it when she took it up to the lake. The spare room stood empty for nearly two years. It accumulated some really weird odds and ends, and didn't look much like a bedroom at all.

Today, my dad brought over this bed that was in my Grandma's house. It had this amazingly delightful quilt on top.

Also, this chair came to our house.

It looks great in this room. I'm excited to see how the room ends up looking once I'm finished getting it all put together.

This post is officially:
TO BE CONTINUED.

Color Replacement

2011-05-30T10:41:00.004-04:00

Megan and I had coffee a few days ago to celebrate some of her good news. I was asking her for help with some features on my camera and started messing with the color swap feature that I've never tried before.

Here is the original of Meg's Vera bag. I don't know how many times I've told her not to put her purse on the ground. Geesh.

Swap - yellow to green

Swap - pink to green

Original of our empty cups.

Swap- green to pink

Swap - green to yellow

Joshua's protein powder - original

Swap - purple to green

I seriously love this camera.

New Residents

2011-05-29T22:54:00.003-04:00

With the ridiculous amount of rain that has fallen in the past week, the front part of our yard is flooded. This morning, Joshua and I went out this morning to get breakfast and saw our newest pets on our way out.

Meet Mr. & Mrs. Q. They live in Lake T.

Product Review

2011-05-29T18:31:00.001-04:00

I've heard a lot lately about MiO Water Enhancer. Mostly I've heard "Oh, its great" or "No, it's awful". I decided to try it the other day. A coworker had the peach mango flavor and I didn't care for it at all. I attributed it to the fact that I typically don't care for peach flavoring. I bought the Berry Pomegranate Enhancer, and was underwhelmed. A few months ago, I stopped using artificial sweeteners. I'm aware that it is almost impossible to avoid them altogether, but I stopped buying Splenda to use in coffee and other foods, and I stopped drinking diet pop a few months before that. The other day I stopped by Starbucks on my way to work and got a tall regular coffee and decided to use Splenda that day just because. I got to work and started drinking it and had to throw it away after a few sips. It was so sweet that it made my stomach hurt.

I have a feeling that is why I was less than thrilled by MiO Water Enhancer. If I used less than the recommended amount it didn't have much flavor at all. If I used what the bottle recommends it was super sweet, and I couldn't drink much of it.

I just started doing some research on it, and didn't realize until now that it is a Kraft Foods product. I love everything about Kraft, except for this.

Once again, I'm not popular enough for Kraft to have sponsored my post, or for anyone to even care about my opinion.

I have this at work in my desk, and will most likely try this again this week. I'll let you know if I have a big change of heart.

Have you tried it? What did you think?

Nap Time

2011-05-29T17:43:00.000-04:00

Looks like a great day for a lazy afternoon nap.

I hope you have a great day.

Talk About Lazy

2011-05-28T22:25:00.000-04:00

I swear, she's only sleeping, even though she looks totally dead.

It was a long day, and no one had fluffed her pillow. It's a rough life.

Fun With Colors

2011-05-28T22:21:00.000-04:00

Original

Vibrant setting

Color accent - yellow

Color accent - Green

Color accent - green

Vibrant

Color accent - green, yellow

If you're interested in info about my camera click here.

Crazy Bird Lady

2011-05-28T17:28:00.000-04:00

It's still better than being a crazy cat lady.

We had a bluejay this morning. I get super excited when we get any birds besides robins.

I couldn't get a very good picture of him though because he was constantly moving around.

He was so pretty though.

Imagine how many pictures I would post if I would just put up my bird feeders.

I think this one is my favorite.

I'm not sure what this is.

The Countdown Is On

2011-05-27T21:03:00.003-04:00

My mother keeps sending me her pictures from Florida, and it makes me want our vacation to be here so bad!

We have almost exactly four months until it gets here.
Come on!

The Green Smoothie

2011-05-27T17:18:00.002-04:00

Megan and I were in the car the other day and she mentioned that she saw this recipe for a green smoothie made by Snack Girl.

The only ingredients:
1 cup kale (pull off of stalk into smaller pieces)
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1/2 banana
1 cup water

Really. That is all that is in it.

I let the blender run for quite a while to make sure that it was all chopped up. I didn't want to risk a gulp full of kale.

This is actually, by far, my favorite smoothie I've ever made. Whenever I do it, I end up with big chunks, or its too cold, or too thick. (Josh, I know you just said, "that's what she said").

You really can't taste the kale. I think it tastes most like bananas, but either way, it is delicious. I am so excited about how delightful and easy this is. Josh even liked it. The man who will only eat veggies smothered in cheese.

If you're on Weight Watchers, this is ZERO points. Look at that.
Here is the nutrition:
132 calories, 1.1 g fat, 31.2 g carbohydrates, 3.8 g protein, 5.8 g fiber, 31 mg sodium, 0 PointsPlus

It doesn't get much better than that.

My Poor Neglected Mo.

2011-05-27T17:05:00.001-04:00

I always post pictures of Amico and Betty, but not so many of Mo.

He really is a good dog, but we don't hang out that much. He always barks at me, and its really loud and annoying.

All of these pictures were snapped between barks.

He can be sweet though.

And he really is cute. Check out his sock.

But sometimes he acts like he doesn't like me.

And sometimes he acts like he looooooves me.

Beautiful Indiana Sunset

2011-05-26T13:38:00.000-04:00

Right, I know it isn't the same as a beautiful beach sunset, but it's all I've got.

Just go with it.

As Easy As 1-2-3

2011-05-26T12:39:00.003-04:00

Joshua and I were sitting in the living room this morning talking about how I'm a crazy bird lady, and somehow got onto the topic of window screens. I said "I'm going to make screens today", and guess what...I did.

I Googled "how to make window screens" and got a ridiculous amount of websites where I could watch videos, get step by step DIY photos, and even order pre-made screens (I'm going to go into business for the pre-made ones. It's so easy I could make a billion and sell them. Since you read my blog though you won't ever need to buy any because you'll know how stinkin' easy it is to make your own.).

Menards had the best info on their website about the kits to make screens, so I hopped on the highway and went out there to see what they had going on. I pink puffy heart Menards. Big time.

They even had directions in the aisle, which made me feel way easier about doing this myself.

I know, you can't tell, but this is the window without a screen. Our living/dining room has an obscene amount of window space. Like unbelievable. There are four openable windows in this area, but we could only use one, because they didn't come with screens when we moved in. I really dislike using the air conditioning unless it's July and I'm near death. Joshua would like to turn it on in March if it were 70°F in the house. The cost of using the air typically wins this argument though, and we keep the windows open as long as possible. Back to my original point, we have four windows and only one that opens. Nonsense.

So I promptly went to Menards, got all the supplies I needed (which, by the way were listed on the screen kit I bought. The only thing that came in the kit was the frame pieces, the screen and tools were sold separately.

I bought my first hack saw today. It was $3.49. I've never used a saw for anything before. In my whole life. Once I got the hang of how to use it, I busted these screens out like nobody's business.

This is the completed frame for the big window.

Here it is with the screen in and finished. I know, it's hard to see, but this was a serious accomplishment for me. At least act impressed.

It gets a bit messy. This is the smaller frame.
Did I mention that I need a workbench in the garage?

And now the living room has air.

We can breathe now, and maybe get a few extra weeks without the air conditioning. I can only hope.

This was a pretty easy and inexpensive project.

The supplies:
12" hacksaw - $3.49
Spline plastic roller - $2.50 (this helps get the screen into the crease. I wouldn't recommend skipping this)
48x84 gray fiberglass screen - $6.49
2 36x36 Frame kits - $15.38
1 48x48 Frame kit - $10.98

Subtotal: $38.84
IN 7% sales tax: $2.71

Grand Total: $41.55

It took me about an hour to put all three together, which would take less if I did this again because now I know how. It would also cost less because I wouldn't need to purchase the hack saw or the spline tool.

I am so happy I finally did this. Have you made screens before. Was it cheaper than this? Do tell.

Product Review

2011-05-25T18:24:00.004-04:00

A few weekends ago, my mom gave me some of this Purex Complete Crystals Softener to use, in the lavender scent.

I'm a big fan of fabric softener, specifically lavender, and was excited to try this.

Trust me, I'm not a popular enough girl in the blog world to have this post sponsored, so this is all me.

I'm not super impressed by this. It isn't bad, and I do like that I don't get it on my hands because the bottle doesn't leak like my liquid softener can.

However, I still like my Method Detergent and Softener better than this product. I will definitely use it until it is gone, but will probably not buy more...unless it's free.

Weed Control

2011-05-25T16:29:00.003-04:00

My parents got us this gardening set for our second anniversary. Josh is going to get lots of use out of it. Yesterday I decided that I was going to do some yard work.

More specifically I was going to make it look like someone actually cares about our house, and get it looking nice.

It took me about three hours to get all this landscaping carpet down. I ran out of pins and had to end up using sticks.

Right now, it doesn't look like much, but soon we're going to fill it in with something (insert your suggestions in the comment box, please!).

I'm super glad this is done.
My dad gave me the landscape carpet, so I didn't have to pay for that. Thankfully there was enough to get this whole planter done. I figured I would run out.

The only cost we've incurred so far is the extra garden staples I picked up at Menards.

Garden staples 10 pack: $1.38 x 3 = $4.44

This amount is going to go much higher once we find something to do with this space.
This post is officially...

TO BE CONTINUED.

Incredibly Jealous

2011-05-25T12:09:00.000-04:00

I could not be any more jealous of my parents.

They're hanging out here.

Random Puppy Picture

2011-05-24T11:22:00.001-04:00

I was sitting on the front stoop the other day when I was taking my dandelion pictures, and someone was curious about why the door was ajar.

A Post Written By Betty

2011-05-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

Well hello. I bet you didn't think I could make it all the way up here. Little ol' me.

Yeah, whatever.

I just have one thing to say to you:

You smell goooood.

Holy What?

2011-05-23T23:19:00.003-04:00

So I was at Target the other day, and found this wonderful candle. It smells amazing, and I want it. However, as you can see, it is $17.99. No. Way.

I found a similar scent at Wal-mart, for $4. I accidentally took off the label though before I took a picture. Fail.
I love this Calypso brand that Target is carrying.
That is all.

This is How We Do

2011-05-23T11:16:00.001-04:00

For our anniversary, we had pizza from Papa Murphys:

And wine that we got on our honeymoon from the Smoky Mountain Winery.

Absolutely delicious.
2 down. :)

Random Puppy Pictures

2011-05-22T23:10:00.003-04:00

Oh, it's picture time?

Do I have anything on my face?

How about in my teeth?

It's Peony Time

2011-05-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

Peonies are my favorite flowers. I was lucky enough to move in and have a wonderful peony bush already planted.

My great grandma had a peony bush at her home when I was younger. She always told me that ants crawl all over the buds in order to make them open. Now that I'm older and think about it, I wonder how true that is, but either way, the buds always have ants crawling everywhere.

These should be open Memorial Day Weekend. Look forward to more pictures.

Pretty Weeds

2011-05-21T22:50:00.002-04:00

I can remember one time, a few years ago, Joshua and I had a discussion.

It was about these.

The discussion was what they were.

Joshua told me that this was a dandelion. I told him he was crazy.

I absolutely did not believe this was a dandelion.

Guess who was wrong?

That is right. Joshua was right.

And now the whole world knows.