Buhdubadu..duh-duh..duhduhduh...

I'm certain this is a common theme around the offices of my small blog viewing circle, but this place is D.E.A.D. Blog? Yes, please.

My Christmas weekend begins tonight. Not with Christmas activities but family time. I will be having a lot of family time in the next few days. A couple of years ago, that would not have sounded as appealing as it does now. It's funny how as you grow older, things are put into perspective. My family is awesome. Not only my immediate family but the other little rascals too!

What I'm looking forward to most....

• My Dad making me fires in the fireplace, just because he knows they make me happy


• Fighting with my not-so-little brother over Dad's rocking recliner. When we are home, Dad so graciously arranges himself on the couch instead of his rocker. I think he enjoys watching the battle.


• Hanging out with my Mom. Helping her cook and doing some junk store shopping with a trip to Spunky Monkey and Pink Hydrangea tossed in somewhere.


• Playing cards, watching The Christmas Story and drinking Scotch on Christmas Eve


• Opening gifts Christmas morning and hoping Mom likes what we got her :-)


• Hearing how Little B liked all his new toys from Santa!

Most of all I look forward to spending lots of time remembering the real reason for the season. Even though it seems to get lost in all the hustle and bustle, I am truly reminded this year of the good Lord's gift of life and His love for each of us. I am blessed beyone belief and am so very undeserving.

May your Christmas be Merry and White (possibly) and may you enjoy the time spent with loved ones as much as I will.

crg

Breaking all the Rules.

Confession: I am NOT going to be able to hold off on Christmas decorations for a whole 'nother week plus. It's just not going to happen. Tonight after work, instead of going to the gym like a good girl, I'm hitting the town in hopes of finding some sweet deals on Christmas decor. In fact, when I get home this afternoon I will have a Target shipment containing the cutest stocking hangers.

This guy:

And this guy:

Upon looking back for pictures, I'm not sure I made the best decisions but they're cute, if only for Christmas 2010.

I'm a large fan of cranberries and really want to decorate with them. I don't think I like eating them but I love they way they look and how cranberry scented goodness makes my house smell!

Basically, tonight might be the end of my pumpkin happiness. Either they are gone or my entire guest room is full of Christmas decor!! AHHH!

Tis' the Season, dammit. I. Can't. Wait.

Too Much...

I've been in a rut lately. I got some news today that will hopefully tied me over for a month or so until better opportunities present themselves. At least that is what I will tell myself until then.

I think this is just a weird time. It is still sort of that transitioning phase from college student to adult. Sometimes I still get the desire to have a few beers on a work night but then the weekend rolls around and I'm not looking forward to a night on the town. I blame part of this on being older and not "recovering" as easily and the other part on the expenses one entails when out on the town. This "expense" makes me miss college even more! Not because I didn't always pay my bar tabs out of my own pocket (Thanks, Mom!) but because college towns are so stinking cheap! Dollar drafts; two for one longnecks (and jager bombs. vom.); and who can forget, FREE beer. Roll back the time machine, will ya!

That's just what I plan to do this weekend. Roll back that ol' time machine. It's homecoming in the bustling town of Cookeville, TN. That means good food, great friends and CHEAP DRINKING!!

Fall

Oh how I love fall. My life has been a whirlwind lately but I think it has finally calmed down for a little bit at least. Just the other day I purchased a Chiminea (something like that) and built myself a fire, with the help of Duff the Buff Stuff. We got her going and relaxed with JED and TT. I'm a bit worried that Fall might be extra short and skip on to Winter which will make me very sad.



I have also committed to learning all the words to a new song. Well, it isn't really a new song but one that was conjured up on the way to All-Employee staff meeting a couple of weeks ago. That song would be.... duh duh duh. Ice, Ice, Baby by none other than Vanilla Ice himself (who I saw a pic of in Hooter's today at lunch so it's even more of a sign I've chosen the perfect song.) I realize I'm about a decade behind on this song but it is quite a long song. I listened to it for a solid two hours Friday on my way to Illinois and all I can remember is "If you got a problem, yo, I'll solve it. Check out da hook while my DJ revolves it" or something like that. I feel it has a good message. When I figure out what that is, I'll let you all know.



My current life in a nutshell. Word to yo motha.

Life Lately

It has been quite some time since I posted anything. I don't feel bad about it since only a couple of people have updated their blog in the last, oh, 4 months.

Lately:

• Work - I've been working. A lot. Funny how things can go from so painfully boring to staying late and working weekends at the drop of a hat. I LOVE being busy. It makes the day go by so much quicker and I feel like I'm actually needed on the job!
• Football - After spending a fun-filled Labor Day weekend with RB, Puh and J-Money, I've spent the last two weekends attending football games. UT vs. Orgeon left a lot to be desired. Nothing like standing for an hour and a half in the corridor of one of the largest STEEL stadiums in the country while a hellacious storm passes through. Oh and the game went quickly downhill after that storm. Titans vs. Raiders the following day was a good way to end the weekend. Then there was this past weekend. UT vs. FL - I've seen worse games. I've had much crazier weekends in Knoxville. BUT I have NEVER sweated so much in Neyland Stadium (or anywhere other than Bonnaroo) in my lifetime. It was a scorcher! My arms were the color of ketchup by halftime. Titans vs. Steelers. Thanks. God. I. Didn't. Attend.
• Kickball - I've been playing a little kickball lately. Nothing like a Tuesday night kicking a ball and drinking beer. On an organized team. Well I was on an organized team until this week when I "tore" my left quadricep and pulled the heck out of the right one. And cried for the whole second half of the game. It hurt like a mother. Still a little tender but I'm hoping to be back on the field for the next game. That is unless my team is embarrassed by my lack of muscular endurance. You simply cannot cry in kickball. Who does that?!
• TV - This could possibly be the greatest week in TV history. Monday night I tuned into "The Event." I was cooking dinner during the first half but JED brought me up to speed. I think it's going to be a good one. Tuesday night was the season premiere of "Parenthood." Gotta love that show. Last night I attempted to watch "Undercovers" because it is written by the "Lost" dude. It was alright but the urge to clean hit me mid-show and so I might have to re-watch. Tonight is Grey's and Private Practice. Nuff' said. Sunday is Brothers and Sisters. Rob Lowe is dead. Sad day. I, unfortunately, have missed every new episode of Weeds and Gossip Girl this season. I don't have Showtime and Bachelor Pad conflicted with GG. Must catch up on them both.

I am trying to decide if and when to have a gathering at the not-so-new house. Halloween would be perfect but I don't have a costume or an idea so that sorta puts a damper on that. Possibly a weekend before with football watching and pumpkin carving instead. Fall is pretty rad except for Fall at 90+ degrees. Thank you, Mother Nature/Global Warming/El Nino.

TaDa....

So I finally posted some house pics on Facebook. Not too many but enough for you to get the idea. I left out JED's room because I didn't want to be super creepy and snap photos of her space while she wasn't home.

Also, I have finally completed a project. I repainted an old Army coffee table I once spray painted black and used as an "entertainment center." Here is before (I almost forgot the before pic...)

And here is the final product. I was going to do a little bit of distressing action but I decided I liked the fresh, clean feel of the plain light grey.

I know. This is quite the boring blog but things have been NUTS at work and I'm certain no one wants to hear me vent about that!

Here's to the long weekend with good friends AND the kick off to Football Time in Tennessee.

Which reminds me, please take a trip over to my dear friend Sara's blog. A little something to get the football juices flowing. Miss you SKP!!

Until next time...

CRG

Random Tidbits

I'm taking the leap of health this week. I hope it's worth it. I am doing the GNC 7 Day Fast Loss thing again. I'm trying my hardest to do what it says this time so I can get results. It was difficult the initial time due to my big move coming smack dab in the middle (poor timing on my part.) I'm also joining the Y this afternoon. I've been planning on this for awhile now but since I'm officially a TVA employee, I have no more excuses since it's essentially free as long as I go. I think I'll feel much better getting back into the groove.

Side note - my body is sore from playing Corn Hole all weekend. I would venture to say I spent about 8 hours total tossing the bags around. I can't wait til Fall!!! It was so good to see so many great friends this weekend! (Welcome to East Nashville, Ben and Kitzie!!!) Hopefully some others will come visit soon!!

Another side note - Tonight I will be rummaging through the old paint in the basement, looking for the perfect color to paint an Army coffee table I used for an entertainment center in Memphis. It's taking up space and the current black paint clashes with everything. I will not paint it to match anything though. I'm thinking a ivory, white or gray, whichever is handy in the paint cabinet. After following the blog, "Life in the Fun Lane," I pretty much want my whole house in these hues. (Link to the blog on the right) It's so refreshing!

Random blog. Apologies.

Amen and Amen.

A little soul yelling from my lovely friend over at Come Sit By Me.

Us girls are tired of getting pushed around. Read here. Trust me.

I miss you SKP!

Life Lessons

One day last week or the week before I was having a bad day. You know, one of those days you feel so sorry for your perfect life and can't seem to get past all the extremely silly things you're so "depressed" by. Yes, rough life. In my fumbling around online to find God's life lessons (oh, the irony...), I did come across something that is worth sharing. I think the girl called them the "10 Dating Mantras" or something of that sort but I just think they are good things for any female to remind themselves every now and then.

1. I can't control behavior. I can only control my reaction to it.
2. I am a human being worthy of love.
3. Everyone is responsible for guarding their own heart.
4. Big picture, big picture.
5. I am lucky to be alive.
6. Life never ceases to surprise me.
7. It is okay to be sad.
8. I am taking it one day at a time.
9. This too shall pass.
10. Everything will work out in the end.
11. Serenity now.

Interesting - that's 11. Oh well.

When I read over these, it seems like most should pertain to breakups. But anyone of these things standing alone could mean a totally different thing when not relating to "dating." Job, family, yard work, etc. I'm almost certain whatever it was I was upset about had nothing to do with dating. Regardless of what it was, I felt the need to take note of these in the even I needed a little encouragement. Take them however you'd like but I can only hope they might be helpful to another person.

Don't Be That Coworker

Don't be that coworker that the ENTIRE FLOOR can hear when you speak. In a meeting, on the phone, wherever. Just tone it down. We all effin know you're here and you think your job is uber important and all power for the Tennessee Valley would come to a screeching halt with ensuing chaos beyond imagination following if you fail to perform your job. Clearly, your mother did not teach you about inside voices.

Almost Friday... Almost Friday.

Musically Declined

I've never really been a hard core music person. I have my favorites and I like most things. Lately, I've had these moments where my taste changes so quick. For instance, when I was still living in Memphis and attending my old gym (tear...), my friend/instructor had this particular song on her CD she played that irritated me soooo bad. It was by this newer chick artist that everyone was raving about. I, being the non music buff that I am, could have cared less about this chick but the song reallllly irritated me. I recall being in Dickson one weekend and telling the bro's girlfriend about how much the song bothered me. Then, out of the frickin' blue, I was obsessed with it. Like, bought it on iTunes and rocked out in my car to it. What song? You might ask. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga. Rah-rah-rahahah. It was just so dang catchy.

I'm since over this obsession though I do think Gaga has some good tunes. Of course they aren't classics and we won't be lining up to see her in concert years from now like Tom Petty and Reba.

Another confession. There is this other extremely ridiculous female signer (ridiculous in a bad way not a cool way) who is supposedly from Nashville. I am ashamed if this is the case HOWEVER I do like one of her jingles as well. This one followed the same pattern. Hated it to jamming out on RB's boat like a fool. (I was jamming out, not him!) The name of this hit single? Your Love is My Drug - Ke$ha*****. This song has yet to make it to the iPod but I'm thinking about fixing that for my drive North this weekend.

Yes. I totally give you permission to make fun of me.

***** This was so funny to me I gave it 5 asterisk's! I just Wikipedia-d this broad and this is what the first line says.... "Kesha Rose Sebert, better known by her first name Kesha, is an American pop singer, rapper and songwriter." RAPPER!?!?!! Oh snap. I'm looking into this and posting a follow up. I hope that "huh-huh-huh. I like your beard," is not considered rapping.

Flying by...

Oh how I love the weekends. And oh how they drain my energy. This weekend, I got sunburnt for the first time all summer. That is a record if there ever was one! Evidently the one weekend I spent not on the lake was enough to zap my tan and allow me to get quite the farmers' tan on the lake this weekend. I evidently waited about 5 minutes too long to apply the SPF 30 which I am generally a pretty good latherer!

I am officially looking forward to fall. It is by far my favorite season. I love the feel of it in the air and I can't wait to have little fires on my back porch WITHOUT mosquitoes!!! I'm also ready to make the many trips East to spend quality time with 100K (or possibly 80K this season) of my closest friends. Though the orange faithful might not have as much to cheer for this season, it's still a great feeling hanging out with family and close friends while enjoying beverages and a good game of cornhole. That, of course, is before the game. After the game, depending on the company one keeps, is usually a whole different story. Hopefully, this season there won't be a need to punch steel doors or throw burning couches into dumpsters. Or rob anyone with pellet guns for that matter.

Go Vols!

A Little Sprucin' Up

During this downtime at the new job, I have been thinking a lot about the house and projects that need to be completed. I believe I am going to attempt a couple of these projects tonight. I have stumbled upon a couple of really good blogs lately and one in particular has inspired one of my projects for this evening. Life in the Fun Lane is one of the better DIY blogs I have found, especially when it comes to anything white or having to do with distressing furniture. I plan on making one of these tonight:

These are called ghost lamps and her blog entry can be found here. Assuming it turns out as planned, I will be putting the lamp in my bedroom hanging off my oddly sloped ceiling where I plan to move my gigantic chair after I purchase a replacement. It is a bit premature to make this tonight but I'm in the decorating/creating mood and these just look like fun! Plus my good pal Tara is willing to assist. :)

I've also been tossing around the idea of painting. One of the main reasons I settled so quickly on this house was due to my not having to paint anything because I loved the colors. The colors are fine but I've since learned that I find myself saying "they painted; they did; they whatever" and I don't like it. It's my house now and I want to make it mine! Plus some of the colors are dark and make rooms look smaller than they really are. This whole idea will likely pass but I'll be picking up some paint samples tonight no doubt.

I still have one wall in the living room that needs a little character. I decided today to make a photo wall. I plan to do this in my room also but these things take funds and I'm close to fresh out of those! I'm really liking the idea of this type of arrangement: Image found here

I like that it's more compact and the images pop. If I stumble upon lots of perfect frames, I would love to put one like this in my den with old pictures of my grandparents and parents growing up:

Image found here

My next task will be filling the frames for the one in the living room. Either my camera sucks at taking quality pictures or Walgreens sucks at developing them. Probably a combination of both. Regardless I'm not really one to take pictures of landscapes or things that would make something like this more attractive. I'll have to work on that I suppose. Or maybe someone will just lend/give/not-know-I-stole pictures. Gotta love Facebook! ;-)

I will attempt to remember to take pictures of the house this weekend and share. It's still very much a work in progress but nevertheless, something to be proud of! Happy Friday!

It's a Twi-hard Life

Tonight, I will be viewing that new movie you might have heard about called Eclipse. I've read the books. The movies are okay. That's my opinion. Like most movies, the books are far better. I took the pleasure of getting my dear friend LShep addicted to the series. I gave her the first book (Twilight) for her birthday almost 2 years ago. Her birthday fell just about a week or so before the release of the first movie. I needed a fellow Memphian to go see the film with and she seemed like a good candidate. Holy smokes. This pharmacy student became a Twihard (or whatever the heck they call them) in like 2 days. She finished all 4 books in literally a week or less, and possibly reread the first one before going to see the film. I am surprised she didn't make us t-shirts to wear to the movie!

When New Moon hit the big screen, my excitement had subsided. New Moon is the worst book. BORING! Did that mean LShep wasn't revved up for the flick? No sirree! She reread the whole series for the 3rd time? Maybe 2nd but still. And the movie was as expected. Boring.

Eclipse should be better. I've heard good things.

Upon completing the Twilight Saga, LShep has read damn near every series based on vampires available. She even watched/watches that Vampire Diaries show. Obsessed :)

Off subject but I think I have recently lost that gene in my body that creates excitement. You know that feeling you had when you were younger before Santa Claus came or before you left on vacation for Disney World? So excited you can't sleep. Well, that feeling has vacated my body. Maybe this is all part of growing up. Whatever it is, it's stupid. I want to be so excited about something I can't sleep! I could do work with a time machine.

Huh?

Maybe I'm the only person in the world who feels this way but the word "texted" drives me bananas. Maybe it is proper terminology, maybe not. To me it is somewhat like beer. Beers might be correct when used in a plural form but it sounds ridiculous. Again, this is all just my opinion but when the word "texted" comes out of mouths, I cringe. I will text people in past, present and future tenses, occasionally adding the ever popular "-ing" when necessary. Happy Tuesday!!

Additional information - as I was about to post this blog entry, I hit the handy dandy spell checker and to my suprise, the only word mispelled on the screen???? TEXTED!! Slam bam thank ya ma'am! :)

Beat That...

I have recently established I have zero summer blouses. Everything I own is dark and gloomy. While bored at work, I shopped around on one of the only websites I can actually access, Banana Republic. Before I got this job, I wasn't sure what line of work I would be getting into or what the dress code would be. Here at TVA, we're business casual. Some folk rock jeans and Hawaiian shirts. I'm guessing they are IT of some sort. Us business services people know business casual. My point is when I moved and began making purchases for my house, I put EVERYTHING on my Banana Republic card (and paid it off of course) so I would receive LUXE rewards (large amounts of gift cards to spend in any Gap, Ltd. store) in case I needed to spruce up my wardrobe for some fancy job. Clearly this was not the case. Today I purchased 2 shirts.

This one:

And another one. I obviously got the very last one of the other shirt because it is no longer even listed on the website and I seriously placed my order 20 minutes ago. The original total for this order was somewhere around $90. I weasled myself out of shipping and an extra 25% off this sale item listed above. I ended up paying a whopping $1.35. Success.

Every now and then, you just gotta get right with the shopping gods. Happy almost Friday!

On the Job

So I started my job recently. Okay so it was yesterday. So far so good. Except for a few things. I am assuming I am not the only person this has happened to, twice, but when you begin a new job you are typically given someone else's old desk/cube/area (as I prefer to call it). and it generally needs some tiddying up. Upon my arrival yesterday, I was introduced to my team and my area. Since I am new and this is a government job, it will take some time for me to have "access" to the programs I will be using so I am basically constructively killing time until then. My team is great and I'm certain this will be a great job!

A few weird things did occur on day one, however.

Since I really have nothing to do, I was told to do some "housekeeping." You know, get my area in order and what not. Boss tells me, "whatever you don't want, just put in that empty cube over there." So here begins my cleaning. My area is much bigger than the area I occupied at Bill's. I even have the actual cube material on the "walls" so I can pin things up and such. Bill didn't allow anything on the wall which sort of made for a dismal looking area. Any who, I discovered a few things I didn't need and just before I walked them over to the empty cube, I took a closer look at the CD-Rom I was about to toss to make sure I didn't need it. Title: Girls Gone Wild.... Bible Edition. Excuse me? Is this for real? Not looking much closer, I speed walk this CD-Rom/DVD over to the empty cube and hope it is what it says and my finger prints aren't traced back to some kind of corrupt watching of porn here at Tennessee Valley Authority. Whew.

After that scare, it was off to be fingerprinted (probably so they can trace me to Girls Gone Wild.... Bible Edition.) My coworker drove me over to the TVA Police station and Officer Billings greeted me. Then he asked me if I had any tattoos. Random. Just met the coworker here with me and now we're getting a bit personal. I say yes, unfortunately, I have a tattoo. Coworker chuckles in a they-totally-didn't-ask-me-that-question-I-feel-like-I-should-leave-the-room kind of way. Then Officer Creeper asks me where the tattoo is located. Part of me wanted to make up something ridiculous like having a spider web on both knee caps or something but I answered and carried on. Coworker then proceeds to come back and tell my whole team about the question (and of course I am the only one that got that question). The way he described it made me sound as if I were a walking billboard for tattoo artists around the world. He clarified and I am no longer thought of as a devil child. In fact, I think they even like me. After his revelation I felt the need to disclose the Girls Gone Wild.... Bible Edition. Lucky for me, they knew just who it belonged to.

The new career looks promising even after the odd first day. Bright side----- LONG WEEKEND AHEAD!

Killing Time

It's official. I am bored out of my mind. I do not believe I could ever be a stay-at-home anything. I feel so worthless it is unbelievable. I am sure this will all change when I am back at work daily and scrambling to get things done after work each day once again. But on the bright side, I did get to see the entire USA vs. Algeria game today. I watched every bad call, missed goal and yellow card from my bed. I am also a lazy bum but I plan on getting out of bed after I finish this blog. I, along with most others who had watched the USA get poor call after poor call, had all but given up on another early morning game when the Algeria goalie took a tumble and set up the perfect finish for Landon Donovan. I jumped from my bed and did a little ditty around my room. And then got back in bed. Naturally. Another bright note. Just received a call from TVA and I should be set to start on Monday. Yippee for no more boredom, hopeful gym membership and most importantly, paychecks!

I am hoping my life takes a turn for the exciting side so these blog posts are not tearfully boring anymore! :)

Recently...

Almost a month and no new blog. I know, I'm slacking. BUT what a month it has been! I moved into the new house May 22nd and it has slowly taken control of all my time which is so much fun! I've learned to love gardening and making yard improvements. The interior is coming along though I still need to make a few purchases which will have to wait until I start MY NEW JOB! I'll be starting my new job with Tennessee Valley Authority (better known as TVA, or those people who are raising our electric rates yet again which is more than likely being done to pay this really cool new employee they have hired :) ). I will be a Financial Consultant with the Nashville Financial Services Department. Woo hoo!

Also in the past month I have gone on vacation to PCB and also braved Bonnaroo. Both were extremely fun! I will have to post pics from Bonnaroo later when JED or RB post theirs. I didn't take my camera because I have HORRIBLE luck! We began our Bonnaroo adventure just a few miles down the road and D & J's humble abode in McMinnville. We thought this was a great plan since we could sleep a little later and not be in traffic so long. WRONG! 10 hours after departing on the 25 minute trip to the grounds from their house, we finally made it to our campsite. We could have been to the beach and half way back! That was just about the only downfall. Front row of DMB was pretty ridiculous and made battling the heat and walking 2 miles uphill both ways to and from our campsite well worth it. Somehow we managed to avoid most of the madness which, looking back, is sort of sad. I feel like I have no crazy Bonnaroo story other than the running of the bulls moment to get into the pit for Dave. No we didn't see any show after 12pm. No we didn't get sprayed with acid from a squirt gun (believe it or not, this was actually a fear I had!) No we didn't board the sketchy Farris wheel or slide on the giant slip 'n' slide my parents diligently looked for us to be doing on the news. Yes we did see naked, sometimes painted people. Yes, Jay-Z was pretty ridic!! Again, pics to come later...

Oh and about that cleanse, I really liked it! I did not however lose 10 pounds in 7 days. Big surprise there!

Bargain Shopping

...but on the brightside, I'm closing on my house in approximately 4 hours. Hallelujah! (There you go Club Sara!)

No really. I could not be happier to get this in the books. I'm sort of sad that I will not physically be there to close on the house since I am wrapping up my LAST DAY IN MEMPHIS!!! My Mom and Dad have been pretty stellar through this whole process and Mom has offered to go and close on behalf of myself and my good ol' Dad because I didn't want him to cancel his golf tournament. Some things are just that important! I feel so blessed that they helped me through this since I do not have a job in Nashville yet and had to have a cosignor. In return, if my brother ever needs a cosignor, I have offered to step in and rid my parents of having to go through this hellacious process again. That is, of course, assuming I get a job by the time he is purchasing anything significant.

Anywho, here is the idea I've been waiting to post about until I know I have a home. See, my roomie JED and I were discussing clothing the other evening and decided we had far too many nice articles of clothing to just give them away. Well I thought a little about this and decided it would be sorta fun to have a little consignment store in the basement. At least for a little bit. I'm a large fan of my basement. Here's a snapshot of the Fisher's (previous owners) setup.
Man cave, no doubt. I'm thinking it just might work. The only problem I have with consigning items in the basement is controlling the random folk that just might stroll into the basement. I'm thinking an invitation only, bring a friend sort of thing would be best. More like an event. Think "Confessions of a Shopaholic." You know the scene with that big open room and all those goodies and people fighting for things. Yeah, our stuff is that cool! Bargain Basement. Watch out.

GTL7DFL Days 4

Day 4: Not only is today day 4 of this biz but it is also my last day of work, living in Memphis and hopefully the day I'll FINALLY close on my new humble abode. Yesterday, I ate well and the felt good about the GTL7DFL since it was really the only day I had done it correctly. And then I got off work. I met the Auntie for drinks before our painting class and I ordered sliders and fries. Good call, Carolyn. Then we get to the class and low and behold Kloker has so graciously provided us all with a Chickfila Nugget tray. During our book club meetings, it never fails that the nugget tray positions itself directly in front of me and draws my hand to it like a magnet. I end up consuming at least 5 servings of these nuggets. Well, last night the nugget tray was positioned across the room but that didn't stop me from eating my share from last night as well as my share from the book club meeting I missed on Tuesday. The point I'm getting to here is that I woke up around 3am and puked my guts up. I took that as a sign from the cleanse gods that when they say avoid fried foods, they aren't kidding! Good news - weighed this morning and lost another pound! 3lbs total and I will say that a large bulk of it has to be water weight. (Try this and you'll get my drift) Another important thing to note is the GTL7DFL suggests you exercise an hour a day. Any normal week I would be doing this already except this week is far from normal and my gym membership has expired. I'm hoping to make up for it this weekend during the big move!!! (Fingers and toes still crossed...)

GTL7DFL Days 2 and 3

Day 2: Worst day of my life. Nothing to do with the GNC Total Lean 7 Day Fast Loss.

Day 3, 11am: At my desk and just now beginning my day of Fast Loss. Currently drinking a Vanilla Bean Total Lean shake which I have really become a fan of. I've lost two pounds thus far though I wouldn't say it's due to the GTL7DFL as much as it is due to being under CRAZY amounts of stress. I have been traversing the state like a mad woman the last two days and so it has been very hard for me to eat the blueberries and strawberries and tuna wraps which are not served out of drive thru windows. I've done my best, kinda. Recap of days - Day 1 night I got a bit off course after moving furniture with my bro, father and friend of the bros. We hit up the ol' Sonic which has absolutely NOTHING guilt-free on its menu. I went with the Grilled Chicken Wrap and (wait for it....) cheese fries. Day 2 began well with my shake and yogart parfait from McDonald's for a snack. When I arrived home, we had ZERO food in our house (my mother is clearly more concerned with her campaign than feeding our bellies) so me and the Mom met for lunch at Sister's. I thought this would be okay since I could get the veggies it tells me to eat. Low and behold, I end up with Meatloaf, Green Beans, White Beans (I was really feel the legumes), and Mashed Potatoes. Toss in a piece of cornbread and a roll and you have a whopping million calories. Oops! For dinner I had a small chicken salad of some sort and a sammie from Quiznos. Not bad at all. LOTS of food for only $5!! And I ate it all... So as you can see, I've really done well with this whole experiment. Luckily I have 4 days left!

Side note: if you add a little more water than the directions tell you on the side of the Pre-Diet Cleanse, it sort of tastes like sour lemonade which is a heck of a lot better than what it was before!

GNC Total Lean 7 Day Fast Loss

Day 1, 9am: So I might or might not have gotten myself in over my head with this 7 day fast loss deal. First, I go to GNC to scope it out and the box is HUGE and sort of heavy. I'm not sure what I was expecting but they were not at all concerned about space when they designed that box. Whew! I took it home and tried to make a plan in my head on how I was going to make this happen. So far this morning, I have had a Vanilla Bean Total Lean shake and I am about to drink my Total Lean Pre-Diet Cleanse. This cleanse is the part I am a bit afraid of drinking. It is "citrus" flavored and not many citrus flavors make me happy so the fact that GNC couldn't just call it orange or lime or grapefruit doesn't excite me too much. I'll update later....

The Beach Bod

Tomorrow I will begin a 7 day detox before going to the beach next week. As I researched exactly what I wanted to do, my fellow blogger friend G-Train told me another fellow blogger friend CAtk and her husband are giving the Sacred Heart detox a whirl before they vacate the city as well. I'm interested in the Sacred Heart Soup Diet after checking it out but this is moving week for this kid (yippee!!) and I don't believe it will be a good time to for me to try that one. I am going to give this one a go, assuming GNC has it in stock when I leave work today. I am a fan of the GNC brand products and just recently ran out of the GNC beBUFF protein shake and beHOT exercise enhancing viatmins. I'm pretty excited about seeing what kind of results this next experiment produces. My gym membership is expired so I'll probably be forced to run this week instead of going to the gym *yuck* but that could be beneficial as long as my old woman knees can take the pounding. Some people who used these products lost 10 pounds in one week!!! I will try to update as the week progresses. Maybe I'll be a shrimp eating shrimp at the beach next week!

Countdown

Margarita Thursdays will begin in 23 days. Today I decided I would no longer be participating in Margarita Thursdays. This is not to say I will not be enjoying a beverage on my back patio with Nashville's finest BUT I am ex-naying the margaritas. A friend informed me on Cinco de Mayo (while I was being a good little girl and enjoying time at the gym as opposed to fighting the crowd at the local Mexcian restaurant) that just one margarita can contain up to 1,500 calories!!!!!! Now I have never been one to calorie count and quite frankly it drives me bananas to hear folks talk about keeping track of every ounce of dietary supplement that enters their body every second of every day. But 1,500 calories is a crap load of calories! I think back to college. Close to every weekend was spent at Chili's for 2 for 1 Margaritas. This means me and my people drank at least 2 Margaritas each AND ate a meal from the restaurant. That is close to a whole work week worth (4 w's in a row, look out!) of calories in ONE SITTING! After those years, I am suprised I do not weigh 1,500 lbs!!

Back on track - I have decided that I will have to indulge in Whiskey Thursdays. Or maybe wine but I suspect my wine cooler will remain empty until I become employed and can afford to stock it. (Unless this really cool Auntie of mine who sometimes reads my blog wants to give me a hand in boosting the supply.... :-) ) So there, Whiskey Thursdays it will be. Or maybe Vodka. This two makes me think back to the days at Crawdaddy's. Thursday = half price top shelf Whiskey. Friday = half price Grey Goose. Those were the days....

The countdown continues. Name of occasion subject to change.

Entrepreneurial Endeavors

The last post originally began by me contemplating my job hunt and spun out of control into ribbons and such. As of late, I have been thinking about jobs I would actually enjoy going to on a daily basis. As a kid, I had a strange obsession with being either a bank teller or a travel agent. At daycare, we used to build teller windows out of wooden blocks and use Monopoly money to give the "customers." Perhaps I found that fun? Not quite sure where the travel agent aspect came from. I mean our travel agent was cool and all but I don't believe I had a reason to pursue her career.

Currently, I would like to open a butcher shop or a fish market type place where one could come in and get the fixings for a good meal out in the beautiful weather or in their gourmet kitchen. Maybe it is the weather causing this thinking or the fact that I have been deprived from a grill for the last two years (one of the 2 things I will be purchasing for my new house.) Another idea is opening a restaurant in Nashville called Humdingers. This restaurant opened in Memphis next door to my work in the Fall of 2009. It is a huge hit and a relatively healthy alternative to most restaurants of its kind. It reminds me a lot of Bonefish with lunch prices. I am obsessed and will miss it dearly!

Something still draws me back to The Sugar Plum Tree, however. Maybe I could open some kind of store and just name it The Sugar Plum Tree. I'm not too keen on children so I don't know that I could go the same route as Mom and Nan did but I'm sure I could think of something. Wine? Denim? Food? Pretty much my three necessities. I should probably just stick to the financial world and keep my dreams to myself.... but on the brightside, if all else fails I could open The Sugar Plum Tree and sell dress made of Monopoly money! Two birds, one stone.

Childhood Memories...

I used to joke around that I wanted to reopen The Sugar Plum Tree in Dickson with my Mom like she and her Mom opened and ran during my childhood. You better believe I was the kid everyone wanted to be friends with and more importantly, to attend their birthday parties. Hello Kitty all around. All of this also applied to my sweet lil' cousin, Master Christy (she asked us on twitter to "just call her" that so I'm going with it.) The best part about it for us happened to be Christmas. Nothing better than opening gifts at Nan and Granddaddy's and getting the same outfit as Master Christy (MC, for short) and her older sister, Muffin, only in different colors. What made this even more rad was the fact that MC and I always attended the same elementary school and were even in the same class once, not to mention the best of buddies. I suppose our mother's called one another daily to ensure we didn't arrive looking like two peas in a pod. Needless to say, I yearned for Limited Too.

I have two memorable outfits from first grade. (They might even be worth me trying to dig up some pictures!) On Halloween, I had an orange painted Halloween sweatshirt with striped leggings from none other than The Sugar Plum Tree. I was actually pretty proud of my getup for this festive holiday. MC and I were in the same class this year so the mother's must have coordinated us wearing different outfits on this particular day. Mom didn't, however, remember the other key individual who happened to purchase this same outfit. MY TEACHER! Yep, me and Mrs. Chandler, the Bobbsey twins. Mortifying! Almost as mortifying as the other outfit. Yellow sweatshirt with ribbons flowing off the sleeves, all of which were the boldest colors on the color wheel. Striped leggings to accent. I looked like Big Bird on acid.

So this blog took a total turn from what it originally began as..... but on the brighside, everyone appreciates a good flashback now and again I suppose.

That Time of the Year Again, Ladies Part 2

So I broke down and bought my REAL favorite suit of the season. Lord knows it probably won't fit. I'll report back. Happy sunning! :-)

UPDATE: Carolyn 1, Victoria's Secret 0. Take that Vicky.

Genie in a Bottle

I am currently poor. This does not change my taste. Not in food and certainly not in clothing and shoes. Now, I am poor for a good reason I suppose. This guy....


This does not mean that I still can't want. It does not mean j.crew stops sending me the stupid email reminders of all the things I want and need so badly that are 20% off and FREE SHIPPING if you order by 10:13am tomorrow, or that Anthropologie's prices sink to my affordability scale when I walk through the door. Nope. So here I sit at my desk, 2009 style. I KNOW! It's truly a shame, right? Yes, I am aware of how bratty I sound and no, I will not apologize! :)

The real point of the matter here is that why in the HECK do these things I like have price tags for that of the rich and famous? There really isn't a purpose for this sort of inflation on the simple things in life I need. For instance....

I spot these and like them. Check the price. No thanks. Also available in teal if you're interested? This is the sort of things I'm running into lately. They are not made by Christian Louboutin for crying out loud! (A stretch, I know. And about Louboutin's, please check out this pair. $6,295. Yeah, you read that correctly. I'll make you those for half price! Deal?)

Honestly, I wish someone would just dispose of my wardrobe and a new one would appear! Where is freakin' Aladdin and his genie when ya need them? Can't a girl get some new threads?? I could certainly put that magic carpet to good use as well with my mad travelling habits. ....but on the brightside, I'm sure if I were kicking it with Aladdin, I would not be wearing Frye wedges with a dress from Anthropologie. I would look like a fool with jet black hair and MC Hammer pants.... I'm just sayin'.

Symphony Brownies

I have recently prepared these brownies for book club as well as RB's birthday. They are a big hit! (Thanks, D) They are EXTREMELY easy and very tasty!! An added bonus: Paula Dean makes them so you get that extra boost of cooking confidence!

Ingredients:
1 (17.6-ounce) package brownie mix with walnuts
Vegetable oil cooking spray
3 (6-ounce) Symphony bars with almonds and toffee chips

Directions:
1. Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.
2. Line a 13 by 9-inch cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil cooking spray. (Very important to spray!) Spoon in half of the brownie batter and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Place the candy bars side by side on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter.
3. Bake according to package directions. Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil. This makes it easy to cut the brownies into squares.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

So I have been busting my tail to get this book, The Help, finished to return to Auntie in order for her to have enough time to read it before our next book club meeting. Yes, I am a 25 year old book clubber. Another blog for another day! (Nashville ladies, I'm thinking we should start one!)


This book really took me by suprise! I loved it! I remember the day I picked it up and opened the first page to begin reading. The grammar was that of an African American woman living in the 1960s. After adjusting to the flow, I was so happy she narrated that character like she did. It allowed the reader to get further involved in the character's life. Jodi Picoult attempts this sort of thing by changing the fonts and such with each character. It makes me crazy and I refuse to read her books now. Not the case with ol' Kathryn. (Not to mention she doesn't change characters at a nauseating rate.) I didn't think I was going to be able to read an entire book written in the dialect of a 1960s maid in Jackson, Mississippi but it really made the book what it is. Aibileen, Minny and Miss Skeeter are fun characters and you can't help but care about their futures.

I won't blab too much about the happenings because I wouldnt' want to spoil book club for those who haven't read and some who likely won't read this book. Good vacay read! Enjoy!

Got a little change in my pocket...

No looking on the bright side necessary today, my dears. It be Friday! I will say that I have become bad, again, about wishing the week away for the weekend and not really enjoying each day as I should. I continually make a promise to myself to stop focusing on the weekends and live in the present but I'm certain I'll become better with this whole scheme in less than a month! So until then, I live for the freakin' weekend!

Hopefully everyone has some rowdy plans. Several of my people are running in the Music City Half-Marathon tomorrow morning and I give them big props!! GOOD LUCK MY LOVELY LADIES! Instead of being at the finish line like a good friend should be, I will be making the trek North to see RB. This weekend RB becomes a year older so I figured I would go up for a visit and see if anything new is happening in the corn fields of Illinois.

D and I were just discussing (on the Gchat-o-sphere) those shows we used to look forward to on Friday night. You had your regulars like Full House, Family Matters, and Step by Step, assuming you could stay awake until 9:30pm. But what about the ones that got away? Dinosaurs. Hangin' With Mr. Cooper. And don't even get me started on some SNICK. I LIVED for SNICK. Are You Afraid of the Dark? Nope, not me! But that's a whole different day and today, is Friday! (Full House theme song, just to make sure your Friday begins on the right foot!)

As I aged, my people and I realized Friday nights could be spent at a more risque' venue. Enter Magic Wheels. The only good thing I can say about my time at Magic Wheels is at least it was exercise and a big dose of seeing people behave in ways I knew inappropriate for our age. I witnessed, learned from their mistakes and even chuckled a bit at their actions while taking a break from the rink to enjoy my dill pickle. After that phase came the Ouija board. (Probably more of a digression.) I still think LShep moved that little Ouija thing but if not then I spent my Friday nights speaking the spirits in the graveyard behind her house. Our mother's were so proud!

I certainly hope everyone enjoys their 60 hours of freedom this weekend! And Happy Birthday, RB!

That Time of the Year Again, Ladies

So my dear friend, D, spoke to me from the Gchat-o-sphere today and told me I should blog about finding the perfect swim suit. I decided I would be perfect for giving this advice. Everyone who knows me knows I have the perfect bikini bod, a crisp, golden tan at all times (see last entry) and can always be found wearing that perfect suit.... you're welcome for that little chuckle. Men will never understand the thought and work that goes into picking the perfect suit. Especially with all those choices nowadays! (Can we please discuss the "one-piece" with the disgusting strip of material down the front and back? Talk about some killer tan lines!)

Now, if I know my girl D, she's thinking, "If only my rear end could be as perky as my boobs and as tight as my curls, I'd rock a thong on the lake all summer." While that might be entertaining for those of us who tend to poke fun at individuals in thongs, I think upon her quest for the perfect suit, she has ruled that one out for this summer.

Bandeau: This is the newer hotness. I say newer because those crazy one-piece "things" are popping up all over the place. I am a big fan of the bandeau. Here is my favorite suit of the season.


It can be found here. It is also a small fortune. Another point of interest is that I am not top heavy in the least. With that being said, you best be careful where you go diving with one of those mothers on! It is very likely to be ripped from your body at Mach 10 speeds, never to be seen again. This, my friends, is quite the predicament! No bandeau equals, well, topless.

Topless: Dear 8 pound, 6 ounce baby Jesus, Please make this option go away. Amen. This is just bad all the way around. Sure, it's legal in Mexico and other ridiculous places to go topless but SPARE US ALL. It is always the women that have no business exposing their goods who take advantage of this legality. Okay, maybe not always but I'd bet on a large percentage of the time.

Halter: Always a good option. Tie the top a bit tighter to give that extra lift so many of us not-so-blessed ladies desire.

Bottoms: I am partial to the bottoms with the sides that tie. This isn't to say I prefer "string bikini" bottoms. No sirree! You can get a good tying side bottom that doesn't create the dreaded muffin top and still has the coverage most classy, quarter of a century old girls such as myself prefer. Roxy and those surfer-esque brands are going to be a little skimpy on the rear end coverage. Take it or leave it, but don't say I didn't warn you! You could end up like this chick...

One-piece: I'll throw the ever popular tankini in here also. These are required for those working as lifeguards or camp counselors and those who just feel more comfortable behind threads. I have noticed quite the cute selection this year! Love this one from J.Crew!

I certainly hope my coverage of the hard-to-avoid swim suit will benefit a few. It is certainly not rocket science. Chances are, you look just fine. ....But on the bright side, you can always invest in a super cute cover up! And don't forget that SPF!

Roast your insides?

Ok. So I've been going to the inside-roasting bed for a few days now. Each year I vow to myself I will not get back in that wrinkle/dark spot causing, dead skin smelling, cornea burning tunnel of bright lights and year after year, I return. I make excuses for myself like, "but if I don't go, then I will fry on vacation" (true story) or "I need some vitamin d." I even go as far as to tell my people how horrible it is for your body and they should lay off. So guess what. That makes me a hypocrite. Now don't get me wrong. Some people really take that bed of bulbs a bit far. Freakishly tan YEAR ROUND or for our entire friendship is a bit much. They know who they are. But, I'll admit, there is just something about the place that draws me back visit after visit, 6 minutes after 6 minutes (I can't imagine the condition my skin would be in if I actually stayed the entire 20... Sheesh!). Maybe it is the smell of the "tanning" lotion or the question mark surrounding the color of my skin upon departure of Tan-N-Go. Golden brown or embarrassingly burnt (usually a nice crimson color...hey, it sorta turns into tanish color). I guess the point I am trying to make is I still hold out hope each year that this, my friends, will be my summer to tan. So assuming my insides don't fry and I don't get crows feet, this could be my summer! But on the bright side, no matter what tan (sometimes orange)complexion my Mystic spray might give me, it'll always be there for me, keeping me melanoma free!

...but on the bright side

Blogging: seems like a pretty rowdy concept if you are doing something cool like getting married, selling something, making fun of people, adopting a child, etc. These are all reasons friends of mine have created blogs. I am doing none of the above. If for any reason at all, I am blogging to waste time, vent and maybe even to make myself a tad bit more interesting. More importantly, I'm blogging to increase positivity within my own mind...

Enter the blog: ....but on the bright side. I've always been one to sort of think things through too much and even become extremely negative about ideas and people just simply by thinking too much about it. Recently, it has occured to me that there is always a bright side. It might take us a while to figure out what that might be, but it is definitely there. My blogging experience might change directions over the course of its life, however short-lived it might be. My thoughts behind it is simply to share my "positive views" on these not so "positive" occurences in the lives of 25 years young individuals such as myself.

Current situation: house, job. You see, I just purchased a home in a town I do not currently reside in or even have so much as a job. Crazy? Probably a little. Did I think too much about this purchase? OBVIOUSLY not or I would not have made such an extremely rash decision. ....but on the bright side, I LOVE IT! It's perfect and I KNOW I will be so very happy there. Another bright side (woohoo! big step, there's more than one!), I get to live with one of my best friends and exactly 3.5 miles from another one and have plenty of sleeping space for all the others! Yep, looks like this one will turn out A-OK!

As for the job situation, I'll be posting that bright side when there is one to post.... Until then, I'm decorating in my mind.