Friday, January 30, 2009

And then it hits you...like a sack of potatoes to the face

Do you ever wake up in the morning, get dressed and feel like this (with clothes):

only to get to work, wipe the sleep out of your eyes and realize you actually look like this?

Well, let me tell ya, it's even worse when you get to work and realize you look like this:

Although I was feeling good about my outfit initially, when I got to work it dawned on me that I looked an awful lot like a circus ringmaster. Testament to the fact that a couple great pieces do not a great outfit make. A whole is not always better than the sum of its parts, if you will. Look for me in glamour with my eyes blacked out.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

101 in 1001 Update

Ok, ok. Two weeks overdue on this.

Let's see here...

2. Sell or rent our house in Richardson.
Looks like this is in progress! Our property manager is approving a couple tomorrow. Not having to pay a mortgage and rent payment is going to be good on my closet.

6. Paint our house.
Tim has painted the bathroom and living/dining room. Little less than 1/2 way there!

21. Cook one new meal a month for a year.
24. Cook a real meal at least once a week.
Mmm...healthified tortilla casserole. It was yum.


26. Get a massage.
Kinda weird goal, I know, but it's always kind of freaked me out. Well, CHECK and now that I've checked I believe I'll be checking weekly! We have a masseuse come to our office a couple days a week and a co-worker had bought me a massage. So glad she did, it was fantastic..

43. Call a far-away friend at least once a month
Finally talked to Lindsay today - it was short, but she'll be here this weekend, so that's ok. I'm determined to stop this vicious game of phone tag with Julie before the month is through. It would be a heck of a lot easier if my cell phone had service in our house!

68. Blog the “best thing this week” weekly.
Two shallow best things. Last week, I got my own reserved parking spot. Big time!

This week, inspired by Christy's Tassimo, and with a couple Crate and Barrel gift cards still burning a hole in my wallet, we invested in this beaut:



Add some Starbucks espresso pods and sugar-free hazelnut and vanilla syrups and I can make my very own Grande Decaf Skinny French Vanilla Latte, extra hot. And save the embarrassment of saying all that in Starbucks.

71. Read at least one business book every two months.
Finished Forgotten Men, thank goodness, it was a beast. About a 1/3 of the way through A Whole New Mind - which is about why right-brainers will rule our future - REALLY interesting. I highly recommend it.


73. Maintain my blog (at least 1 post a week) for three months.
Check.

Ketchup

aka - Catch-Up

First, Enginerd Jill tagged me with the honest scrap. Despite my usual evasion of anything foward-esque, I'm humoring it for fun.




The rules:
1. Chose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave them a comment informing them they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself

10 Honest Things...

1) If I could choose any toilet paper in the world, I’d still choose Scott. In white. I hate soft toilet paper. I don't care what that cute little bear says about no-lint. BS, bear. And colored toilet paper. It’s wrong.

2) I believe you can tell A LOT about someone by their shoes.

3) You know those signs that, at a traffic light, say “Left Turn Signal?” It’s telling you that you’ll have a left arrow to turn? I thought they meant you had to put on your left turn signal. One day, I was just sitting at the light and thought... ohhhh…ding! Not a bright moment, I was embarrassed for myself.

4) I have one similar confession to Jill’s. I judge people by their spelling. If one person writes “bare with me” to me in an email again… “Umm…no thank you? That may be awkward.”

5) I fear I may be becoming a Republican. I’ve been researching the Great Depression lately and learning more about the economy – on big govt types of issues I find myself agreeing with the Red a bit and shocking myself. What?

6) I like dolphins more than a grown woman of 31 should. Please note, my love of dolphins is not reflected in my décor or manner of dress. Animals do not belong on your clothes, people. Seeing Shamu (I know not dolphin but sea mammal just the same) swim to You Raise Me Up (by Josh Groban) brought me to tears -- the marriage of beast and man moved me (although to be fair, i wasn't the only one).

7) I got my degrees in Sociology and Criminal Justice because the Hotel & Restaurant Management classes were all at 8 a.m. my freshman and sophomore year of college. It was for the best though.

8) I love to watch bullriding on t.v. Odd for a girl from the northeast, but i love it. I can't wait for the rodeo in March!

9) My dream job would be to be Stacy from What Not to Wear. Not that I'm the best dresser in the whole wide world but it just frustrates me SO MUCH when people consistently wear clothes that are unflattering (ESPECIALLY people with decent bodies). There's a running Stacy-esque commentary in my head all day - it's a curse, really.

10)I've never seen Rocky. And never will.

I tag K-K-K Kathy...you're it.
And Jen.
And Christy.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Knee-slappin' for real

Oh gosh...i had to repost this. I've been thinking about and laughing at this intermittently through the whole morning. It's like Tim with a chocolate chip cookie.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Cooler than the other side of the pillow...

Love these.



Life is all about perspective...

Perspective is the difference between a good day vs. and a bad day, a horrible event vs. a dark quarter hour. I’m a huge believer in perspective. Everything in life is relative and when you lose your perspective it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself. Whenever I have a “bad day,” I say (often aloud), “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, this is a pretty good day.” I was not diagnosed with cancer today, I did not lose a family member, I did not declare bankruptcy, I did not fear for my life, I was not raped or kidnapped, I got to choose what I wanted to wear, I was not called by a slur, I was not forced into slavery, I did not sleep on the street, I did not worry where my next meal would come from, I did not wake up in pain.

This is my life philosophy: live righteously, and never be ignorant of my relative place in this world.

Sometimes I just have to repeat that mantra to myself as I bang my head against the wall.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Thank you.

Thank you, Barack Obama, for moving the world today. It was amazing to watch. There is a renewed belief in the people today. I am proud to be an American.

Ummm...hello Jill Biden!

I had no idea! Fire-engine red Reem Acra? Fabulous. Argh, can't find a picture yet! She also wore a Milly grey dress to the inaugurationo (with knee high boots). How cute is she!


Aretha Franklin's "bow-hat?" Not so much.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Shoe envy.

cannot get over this girl's shoe closet. If I still lived in Dallas I might stalk her and try to be her friend (we're the same shoe size). But since she's only 16 that might not fly...I resolve to hate her. Prada, Dries Van Noten (I die), Bruno Frisoni...on and on! Maybe her parents would adopt me? Her website is www.seaofshoes.com. Here are some of my faves (so many to choose from):















Monday, January 12, 2009

101 in 1001 Update

Alrighty...overdue from yesterday, but here it is!

2. Sell or rent our house in Richardson.
I'm going for positivity and saying this is "in progress." Showing activity has been good. Hopefully something happens soon!

6. Paint our house.
This goal is actually for Tim. He's currently working on the living room and has two walls finished (before we ran out of paint).

11. Get the dogs nice beds.
Got them these cute little doggie baskets. It "should" be too little for Mike but he likes to curl up. Once they got used to the funny creaky noises, they loved them!



42. Take a photo of us at least once a week for three months.
Post meat-feast at Salt Lick.


44. Try 15 new restaurants.
In Progress
1. Taco Deli is our new favorite Sunday morning spot. Yesterday, I tried a papas(mashed taters), bacon and cheese taco and it was DEEE-LISH. Followed by a brief walk down the greenbelt (it was chilly).

2. I'm counting Hyde Park Grill as a new restaurant. I had been there a million years ago when we first moved to Austin, but apparently it's been so long that I forgot that it sucked. I got this pimento cheese & cuke sandwich and tim an eggplant sandwich. Both were nasty. And the fries weren't that great either.

68. Blog the “best thing this week” weekly.
In-Progress
The best thing about last week was our jaunt to Salt Lick for Tim's birthday. We went with some old and new friends and it was even better than we remembered! Yummy, yummy, yummy in my tummy!

71. Read at least one business book every two months.
On-track
My goal last week was to get to page 300 in Forgotten Men - and I made it. But still so much further to go.

73. Maintain my blog (at least 1 post a week) for three months.
On-track

75. Make my blog pretty.
Complete
Like the new photo at the top? That's our feets.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Golden Globe Fashion Review

The fashion is the only reason to watch this. Why do the tables at the Golden Globes make it feel so awkward. Are they actually eating? Anyway... I'm going to try to sum up what I've seen so far in five words or less (and before the fashion reviews taint any of my opinions). Unfortunately, I missed all but 10 minutes of the pre-show so I missed most of these walking. Not sure how successful I'll be. I just changed the rules and decided a follow-up explanation is allowed.

Soccer mom goes golden globes.
I know it's to be expected from Maggie, but still appalling. This print is kindergarten teacher. But even worse is the shoes - they look like sensible sandals peeking out - like those made with straps made out of wide elastic? The horror.


Cheap whore and skeletor (that rhymes).
It really amuses me that the tabloids call him Skeletor. Low-cut, backless and shiny gold = cheap. Nuff said.


Blah.
This reminds me of the dresses we wore in high school with a white tee underneath. Soooo boring.


I die (but not in the good way).
As far as I'm concerned Rachel Zoe can do no wrong...unless she style Anne for the Golden Globes. Not feeling it.


So close.
Why have we not yet learned that giant, random appendages ruin a dress (did you forget about Charlize's bow?) It might have been a gorgeous look and a standout in white without the gobs of extra material.


WRONG.
Oh come on. If you want people talking, you'll have it. Floaty, ethereal BABY BLUE in an 80s pattern with the "expected-unexpected" blood-red clutch? No words for the hair. No words. I am shaking my head sadly for her.



Missing the glamour.
There just isn't any to this look. Too casual print, too casual pose. Meh. And look at the dude in the background. He apparently isn't feeling it either.


Not memorable, but beautiful.
She's just gorgeous and this dress fits her body just perfectly. Five days from now I'll have forgotten this dress, but I thought she looked beautiful.


Channeling Mimi!
A bit too Mariah Carey/Little Mermaid for me.



Shut the Front Door
I am SHOCKED to be saying this myself, but my best-dressed of the photos I've seen is hands-down Rumer "tater-head" Willis! Her of desperate celebrity clinging, PLEASE LOOK AT ME, I'm a CELEBrity (please, please take my picture I want it so bad!) I have always been amazed at how two very good looking people could produce children who were so...not...but I think Rumer looked GORGEOUS! Beautiful color, beautiful gown, beautiful styling. For this, I die (and about did when I realized it was her in it).


Also loved Amy Adams, Eva Longoria Parker loved the color, not the dress (though loved the fit), did NOT like the Slumdog millionaire's curry dress (which somehow felt contrived and was such a shame because she's SO gorgeous), thought Angie's dress was unflattering (though didn't see it move), hated Debra Messing's 90s halter.

Ah...how nice to just be able to sit on the couch and judge!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Offer on the house today!

And we'd only lose 20 grand! Yeah...um...no. Thanks but no thanks. And thanks for making me run around my office all afternoon trying to find a friggin' fax that works (is the fax the WORST technology or what - why haven't we identified something better?!?) to counter your offer that was a joke to begin with. To our counter, they did not counter... sad face.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Oooh, pretty!

I would like this, please.

\
(thedesignblog)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

And I've had some embarassing moments...

If you ski, you know it's embarrassing enough to have a "lift incident" - you wipe out getting on, you wipe out getting off (i could NEVER master the t-bar), you jump OFF the lift when your son doesn't get on (MOM!). They stop the lift for you, everyone riding is pissed and those in line are giving you dirty looks. Snow and two sticks also makes for some funny wipeouts on the slopes. Nothing like watching somebody take out a ski school or leave a yard sale down the mountain. But this? And if falling off the chairlift wasn't embarrassing enough, considering the weather...well...uh...I'll just leave it at that. The horror. Horror, I say.

(smokinggun.com)

Sunday, January 4, 2009

101 in 1001 Update

It's only been a couple days but I thought I should start an update (start building a habit and all).

#2 Sell or rent our house in Richardson.
Nowhere near complete but our showings have been increasing and we just lowered the price yesterday (which hurts but hopefully inspires an OFFER!!!!)

#4 Get a subscription to Martha Stewart Living.
Also not complete, but I did get a subscription to Body + Soul, her new magazine. It looks beautiful, focused on whole living.

#25 Create a habit of taking vitamins (take one a day for at least 30 days).
(1/30)

#39 Go on one special date night a month with Tim.
Tim and I had a delicious Chinese dinner last night and got the best seat in the house. Is it gross to eat Chinese food for breakfast?

#42. Take a photo of us at least once a week for three months.
(1/12)

Unfortunately, my fab cheetah shoes got cut off.

#68 Blog the "best thing this week" weekly.
It was a great week...ringing in 2009, yummy dinner with Tim, closet organization (and fantastic new huggable hangers). But I think the highlight was Slumdog Millionaire. Two thumbs up, a much happier movie than I expected, great music, beautifully shot.

#71 Read at least one business book every two months.
In progress - I'm reading Forgotten Men by Amity Shlaes. It's a history of the Great Depression - not a traditional business book, but I'm reading it for a work bookclub, so I'm counting it. It is HEAVY (let me know if you're a Great Depression...ha, ha, typo I caught when I went back to read -- let me know if you KNOW about Great Depression).

#73 Maintain my blog (at least 1 post a week) for three months.
Complete!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Hello there bandwagon

Hello there, bandwagon. Mind if I ride on ya?

No, I am not finally going to try to shove my behind in skinny jeans or rock a pair of orange crocs. (oooo...I feel a post coming on about sensible shoes). I created a 101 in 1001 list. On the one hand it seems kind of silly because it's anti any real effective goal setting "principles." But it's fun so I've filled it with mostly frivolous things. So far, I only have 75 things on my list, but I figure it's better to it over a few weeks rather than a day or two, so for now, they'll stay blank. I'm leaving work goals off this list. So here it is (so far):

Domestic

1. Invest in matching hangers.
2. Sell or rent our house in Richardson.
3. Print our wedding pictures, frame and display.
4. Get a subscription to Martha Stewart Living.
5. Decorate my office.
6. Paint our house.
7. Grow basil
8. Decide where we want to live in Austin (for the long-haul)
9. Buy a new house in Austin.
10. Organize jewelry in some kind of “not a complete mess” manner.
11. Get the dogs nice beds.
12. (Private) Have XXX in savings
13. (Private) Get debt to under XXX
14. Buy a fireproof box

Fashion & Beauty

15. Find a great pair of jeans
16. Get a real make-up routine
17. Get an anti-aging skin care regimen (and use it).
18. Buy a fabulous pair of sunglasses
19. Buy cowboy boots

Health/Wellness/Food

20. Run a 5k
21. Cook one new meal a month for a year.
22. Lose at least 10 lbs.
23. No take-out fast food for a month.
24. Cook a real meal at least once a week.
25. Create a habit of taking vitamins (take one a day for at least 30 days).
26. Get a massage.
27. Find three veggie recipes to be part of “the repertoire”
28. Get a fantastic sports bra
29. Take a yoga class.
30. Take a pilates class.
31. Take a dance class. (and maybe like one of the above and stick with it!)
32. Eat something I generally find “icky”
33. PRIVATE – Work on xxx
34. Learn how to make paella.
35. Learn to meditate and meditate at least once a week for a month.

Relationships
36. Get another set of “married” pictures taken.
37. Make a new friend.
38. Take a girls trip.
39. Go on one special date night a month with Tim.
40. (PRIVATE) xxx
41. (Private) – xxx
42. Take a photo of us at least once a week for three months.
43. Call a far-away friend at least once a month

Weekend Fun
44. Try 15 new restaurants.
45. Go to the rollerderby.
46. Go to a concert
47. Go to the comedy club
48. Go to Ester’s Follies
49. Visit a new state.
50. Do 10 Austin-y things (1/10 Alamo Drafthouse)
51. Kayak on Town Lake.
52. Go to Umlauf.
53. Go to Arboretum.
54. See a play.
55. Try 10 new beers
56. Host, or organize, a game night
57. Go to a winery
58. Go to a brewery
59. Go on a picnic.
60. Go bowling.
61. See Bob Schneider
62. Design set of monogrammed notecards with Gocco.
63. Go to gospel brunch at Stubb’s.
64. Go to first Thursday.
65. Go to San Francisco

Goodwill

66. Join a volunteer organization.
67. Stop using plastic bags at the grocery store.
68. Blog the “best thing this week” weekly.
69. Perform 10 random acts of kindness.
70. Set up regular tithe

Mind
71. Read at least one business book every two months.
72. Read at least six novels a year (I usually read more but feel I need to focus a bit more on the business books for a while)

Misc
73. Maintain my blog (at least 1 post a week) for three months.
74. Finish the 101 in 1001 list.
75. Make my blog pretty.]

Date: Saturday, October 1, 2011

Thursday, January 1, 2009

2009...seriously?

I CANNOT believe it's 2009. The new millennium does not feel like it was almost a decade ago (shout out to Pablo..."back it up Pablo, back it up").

2008 was a good year, and I'm a bit sad to see it go. So, here's a "new year survey" that helps to sum it up...

What was the best part of last year?
Tim and I had the perfect wedding at Star Hill Ranch. It was exactly what we envisioned, relaxed, fun, comfortable and all about us (okay, so it could have been a week bit cooler). The best part was having all of our bestest family and friends fly to Austin to celebrate with us. And it was even in a magazine!







What was the biggest surprise of last year?
We ended up moving back to Austin. Although I knew maybe it could happen at some point, we completely weren’t expecting it. But an opportunity came and we had to take it!


What are you most looking forward to next year?
Selling our house in Dallas!
Being able to SHOP again (this is contingent on selling our house in Dallas).
Seeing where my new role in my new/old company goes.
And one secret “looking forward to” (No, I’m not pregnant).

Is there anything you are not looking forward to next year?
2008 was the last solid year of people asking me “How is married life?” This is soon to be replaced in 2009 with, “When are you having kids?”
The continuation of the boy skinny trend jean and the continuation of short skirts, bare legs and Uggs.



What will be your new years resolutions next year?

More balance in my life – taking more time to enjoy friends, relax, take hikes – getting myself more “holistically well.”

What was the best song of last year?
It’s not a 2008 song, but my favorite that was new to me was Stars Go Blue, Ryan Adams. It was Tim and I’s last dance song at our wedding – at the moment we were dancing to it I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my life.
Other than that…I really like Mraz’s I’m Yours. I keep expecting to get sick of it since it’s every third song on the radio, but I’m still diggin’ it. Duffy's "Syrup and Honey."

I'm bored with this survey, so call me a quitter. I think I covered the important stuff. Other highlights of the year were a fun bachelorette weekend in Seattle and Julie's gorgeous October wedding. Ok, so I looked like Wonder Woman…whatev, my dance moves distracted from it. And playing flip-cup for five hours in the basement of a comfort inn? Totally priceless.

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