I love a good romance

I am not ashamed to admit this, but while I didn't get up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the entire royal wedding, I did watch the parts that were going on after I got up at 6:30.  Yes, I was sucked in.  I mean, I was a little tired of the pre-wedding coverage and the whole "what she will she wear?"  "What if he drops the ring?"  "What will the royal wedding souvenir be?"  That got old about one day after their engagement.  But the wedding....that's a whole different picture.

 

 

I can't help but watch because ultimately, it comes down to a couple, two people who are deeply in love with each other, wanting to get married and spend the rest of their lives together.  It's hard not to smile as you see Kate walk down the aisle, watch them sit nervously on the altar, glancing at each other and smile.  It's hard not to notice the sense of relief you can see on both of their faces after they are pronounced husband and wife and make their way down the aisle.  You can really see the happiness and love on their faces as they ride in the carriage and make their way to the Buckingham Palace.  That is the part that drew me in.  And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

 

 

I think it's funny that no matter who you are, you still get those butterflies and still go through many of the same feelings during your own wedding.  My birthday present from T was this beautifully put together wedding album he created for me, and as I look through those pictures, it's hard not to see similarities between the two.  And no, our wedding was nowhere near as fancy and formal as theirs, which, yeah, is a given.  But the love.  The emotion.  The anticipation.  I can relate. 

 

 

I looked through those photos this morning, pictures of me walking down the aisle, and you can see the look of happiness but also that "I'm trying so hard not to cry" look in my eyes, as I hold my father's arm.  I smiled at the pictures of T and I sitting on the altar, holding hands and glancing at each other throughout the readings and sermon given by the priest.  Looking at all of those pictures, it takes me back to that day.  And watching these two people, so deeply in love, pledge their lives to each other?  I can't help but be brought back to that day, too.

 

 

So there you have it....I did it.  I watched the royal wedding.  And I'm not ashamed.

 

 

Because who doesn't love a good romance?

 

 



Thirty

I'm thirty today. 

Wow.  I can't believe I'm saying that.  Back when I turned twenty, thirty seemed so far away.  It seemed so....old.    But now that I'm at that age, I don't feel any different.  It's not like all of a sudden I have this urge to get the early bird dinner at Denny's or start sorting my pills in one of those day of the week pill containers.  I'm still the same Nain I was yesterday, just older. 

I've read that a lot of people do those "30 things to do before I'm 30" lists.  I have to say I wasn't motivated enough to actually create one of those lists before I am thirty.  Perhaps I dropped the ball on that.  I'm usually one for the lists and "things to do."  Maybe I need to come up with 40 things to do before 40.  Who knows?  Regardless of lists, though, I think I have had a truly blessed 30 years.  Sure, I've had my shares of ups and downs (many downs, but who is counting), but looking at my life right now, I truly love where I am.  I'm married to my best friend in the entire world.  We have set up a great life and have just moved into an amazing house.  I have my health, which I recognize now more than ever.  And I'm in a great place with my job. 

Honestly, I look forward to what's to come in my thirties.  My twenties had its ups, but it also had its fair share of downs.  So in a way for me, it's like closing a chapter and beginning a new one.  I have no doubt that the next ten years will bring its share of challenges, but I also know that this time I have a great partner by my side.  That makes all the difference. 

So tonight, T and I will be toasting to my 30th birthday at a special dinner at Buca di Beppo, enjoying some Chianti and tiramisu.  I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather celebrate with than T. 

Here's to another great ten years!

Wordless Wednesday

This can't be completely wordless because it does need explanation...on Easter, there was about an hour or so when I needed to entertain Roo while her mom was out, and this is the result of it:

 

I found a box of my sister and my old Barbies from the 80s.  I thought this guy looked like Pauly D.  So these are my Jersey Shore Barbie and Ken dolls out fist-pumpin' at the club.  They were getting their GTL on.  And yes, Roo and I took them to "the club." 

I can neither confirm nor deny that I may be a negative influence on my niece :-)

  



Progress is a treasure

Small Treasure Tuesday with Chantel time!  So mine kind of goes hand in hand with yesterday....my motivation, that is.  Last night T and I had our first session together with our personal trainer.  He did the fitness test with us that we did our first month training.  Apparently, our trainers were supposed to do this like every month, but....suffice it to say we haven't done one since December.  Both of us have lost inches!  For me it was inches on my arms, chest, hips and thighs.  Of course, not my waist...that stayed the same, damn.  But yay for small steps!


Also, with the exercises we did with the first test, I improved.  For the plank position, I only managed to do like 30 seconds in December, but yesterday?  One minute and 28 seconds, baby!  And my crunches and push ups improved, too!  So that's exciting, right?  It's good to see things paying off...now if only I could get that waist number down...hmmm...but somehow I think the whole birthday week thing is going to hinder that progress.  


However, I think small steps in the right direction is a small treasure, so that's what I'm sharing with all of you.  What treasures do you have to be grateful for this week?

Motivation Monday!

I'm not going to lie...I'm lacking in motivation this morning.  Seriously lacking, but...I wouldn't pass up a week of Motivation Monday, and who knows?  Maybe one of your posts will rub off on me?


You know the drill...just write a post about what is motivating you this week or what you need to motivate yourself to do, link it up to my blog and comment on this post with a link to your motivating post.  And I'll link you up!  So here goes nothing....


We are just two weeks away from the mini.  We did training this last weekend with a 60 minute walk/run, and this next week we're supposed to take it down to 30-45 minutes since it's the week before the big race.  T and I will be walking with my family, however, in the March of Dimes walk next Saturday.  We're walking in support of babies all over who were born prematurely and had to fight to grow each day, especially two little miracles, my niece and nephew Erin and Griffin.  I shared their story on their birthday earlier this year, and if you look to the right of your screen, you will see a link where you can donate to support the cause.  I'm trying to raise $200 for my team, and unfortunately, I'm a little short (slacker aunt...).  If you should feel so inclined, clink on the link and read a little bit about the two kiddos we call the "gruesome twosome." 


In addition to getting ready for the big race, I'll be changing up my personal training a bit.  My personal trainer who I absolutely loved had to leave for the National Guard, so I will be working with a new personal trainer.  And not just any personal trainer - T's personal trainer.  We'll be doing our sessions together so that we get a total of even more a month.  We were doing 3 each a month, but now we get to do 6 together each month.  So that means I'll be getting my butt kicked on a more frequent basis.  But I think that's a good thing.  But my tune may change, depending on how sore I'll be tomorrow :-)


So that's my motivation...what's motivating you guys this week?  I can't wait to read your posts!



 Chantel @ My Thoughts and TreasuresChloe @ My New Life as a Housewife 

Try a little harder next time

The job market is tough.  I get it.  But as I find myself in a position where I'm looking for employees and receiving applications for open positions, I'm definitely surprised by what I find. 

Without going into too much detail, as you know me and how I like to keep the work stuff private but this was just too much...

The other day I get my mail, and on top of it is this piece of printer paper.  On the paper is a note written in blue ink and printed in all caps.  And the letter said:

"Just graduated from law school.  Am currently working at Starbucks and looking for job.  Need legal experience.  Would be like to work Wednesdays and possibly Thursday afternoons.  My email is (insert email here) and phone number is (insert phone number here).  If you need my resume', let me know.  Signed, Inexperienced applicant.  (That really wasn't his name, but that's what I was thinking at the time...)

Apparently this was shoved under our office door, and our office manager found it in the morning.  I started at it for a few minutes, thinking "surely, this is a joke."  But no, this sad guy actually thought this would be a good idea.  I mean, come on...I know I run a legal aid agency, so it's not like this is high corporate law or anything....but wouldn't that at least call for a typed letter and, I don't know, a resume'? 

Part of me wanted to go to Starbucks, find this man and write no on the note and hand it back to him.  But that would just be cruel.  Regardless, I'm keeping this one on my desk in case I need a laugh from time to time....

    

Where's that line?

I'm going to talk about a little bit of a controversial topic today...no, not politics.  Nope, not religion.  Or Charlie Sheen (though I could say a lot about that one).  No - dating.  And cheating.  See, something has been on my mind lately, as someone I love is going through this and I have in the past.  What constitutes cheating? 

The conundrum:  If your significant other creates an online dating profile while you are still with that person, does that constitute cheating? 

Some would argue that no, it doesn't cross that line.  It's like going to a bar and seeing what's out there but not picking anyone up.  Looking but not touching.  But that's where I tend to disagree...



I found myself in a similar situation in a relationship before I met Tim.  I discovered that my current boyfriend at the time was trolling for girls on Match.com for months.  When confronted with the situation, I was told that he didn't consider it cheating and that he was just bored one night and looked around.  Of course, I found an email from someone who was just around at the time he happened to be "bored" so...that was icing on the cake, but to me, that was considered cheating.

Flash forward to my friend's current situation...she was in a relationship with this guy.  Guy broke up with her.  She does what many of us do (I, too, am guilty of this) and does an Internet search of said guy to see whether he was up to any funny business (you know, self torture?), and what do you know?  He's been on an online dating site!  And recently, too!  Said friend is crushed and feels betrayed, and I feel rightfully so. 




It seems to me that this is a more and more common occurrence.  Now I have told all of you how I met T, and it was an online dating site called Catholicmatch.com.  Having come directly from a relationship where the person cheated on me by "online dating," I was hesitant.  I feared for the longest time that he would still be online looking, seeing if there was something better out there.  Of course, my fears were unfounded, but it's truly sad how many people do continue to "look" even though they are in a relationship.  So is that cheating? 


It's kind of scary if you think about it - when you go on an online dating site, most people are really looking to find a relationship.  And if there are people out there just looking to find someone else besides their significant other, how horrible is that for a) the significant other of that person and b) the person who thinks they just found Mr. or Mrs. Right?  Who can you trust? 




To me, the second your mind strays from being loyal in any way and you start actively looking for something else, that is cheating.  When I'm with someone - that's it.  I don't even flinch at another guy.    The thought never crosses my mind.  So I find it incomprehensible personally, but I don't want to judge.  But to me, even if you never "act" (meaning, meet the person or do anything with them), it's still cheating.  It's definitely emotional cheating, in my mind.  But I know there are some people out there who would disagree.  So I put it out to you my blog friends - what are your thoughts?  Cheating or not cheating?  And is emotional cheating as bad as the act of physically cheating?

 

No rest for the weary

This move has taken a toll on my sanity, and it reached a fever pitch yesterday.  I've kind of lost my mind.  I'd say it's time for Nain to take a vacation, but that would only be possible if I had vacation days to use...but the following things did happen yesterday.

One of my coworkers approaches me in the copy room and says "hey, aren't you turning one year older next week?"  I turn to her and go "I am?  When?"  I then have to walk over to the calendar to look at next week in order for me to realize "oh yeah...I guess next Thursday is my birthday.  Huh.  Wait, Easter is this weekend?  When did that happen?"  Where am I?  What's my name?  Did I really just need to look at a calendar to realize when my birthday was?  (I'm turning 30....not 80...my memory shouldn't be going so quickly!)

Driving home, I'm thinking of the millions of things T and I need to get done at our house - last night, I needed to go to the gym, cook dinner, grocery shop, shower and somehow find time to relax.  Not to mention the island of boxes we have in our kitchen right now.  So I'm sitting at the light, waiting for it to turn green so I can go straight.  The green arrow goes on, so what do I do?  Just head right through that red light.  Thank God no one was turning left across the street from me or there would have been an accident.  And if there was a police officer there honestly I would have just said "yeah, that was totally on me.  I have no idea why I did that."  Just tired, I guess.  But I just can't focus.

We did end up going grocery shopping last night (T drove, per my request after I didn't pay attention to yet another red light), and as we were unpacking groceries, I tried to put the bag of frozen fish under our sink where we keep our dish soap.  Why?  I don't know. 

Heading up to bed, I asked T if he turned off the blinds.  He goes "do you mean did I close them?"  Yes, of course, that's what I meant.  I can't be responsible for putting words together into coherent sentences. 

Nain needs some rest.  Stat.

  

Getting back to normal is a treasure

 

So, we're officially moved in!  All boxes, bags, and furniture are now safely in our brand new home!  Sure, it looks a warehouse and nothing is where we want it, but it's all in.  (Breathes huge sigh of relief)

 

 

Tonight we will be having our first home-cooked meal in our new home, too.  It's the first home-cooked anything we've had in awhile, actually.  It's nothing fabulous, but it'll be nice to just be normal again.  You know, come home from work, cook dinner, relax?  Not be packing until late at night?  Not have to go out to eat because there's nothing to eat or we're defrosting our fridge?  I miss that.  It'll be nice to have that back.  So having a sense of normalcy will be nice, and I definitely consider that a treasure. 

 

 

And one huge treasure I have to be thankful for is my husband.  With my new job, I don't have a lot of vacation time to take off to assist with the move, and he has had to coordinate the whole thing - the movers yesterday, the blinds people today and cable guy this afternoon, the carpet cleaner for our old place, most of the unpacking and arranging...I feel just awful that I can't take off work like he did and be there to help.  So having his help and his ability to be flexible and be there is a big treasure.  I don't know what I'd do without him.

 

 

I promise to have pictures soon...I just don't want to have pictures with everything looking like a hot mess.  So it might take a week or so, but we will have pictures, I promise!

 

 

Stop by Chantel's blog and see what other treasures people are sharing this week!

 

 

 

  

Motivation Monday

Hi everyone!   It's another Monday...another Motivation Monday, no less!  You know the drill...just write a post about what's motivating you this week and comment on this post, leaving a link to your post, and I'll link you up! 


Sorry it's taken me awhile to get my post up...dragging a bit after this weekend.  We spent the majority of our weekend at our new house, installing light fixtures and ceiling fans and installing our new custom closet.  (It's not done yet, otherwise I'd post pictures).  We worked all day Saturday, staying at the house until 11:30 that night, and then packed and cleaned and worked some more the next day.  So needless to say, both of us are extremely sore today.   I'm back at work this morning, while T is coordinating the movers.  So I'm guessing a lot of this week will be dedicated to unpacking, cleaning and organizing the new home.  So that's my first motivation.


My second?  To eat a little healthier this week and keep going with the workouts.  Since we had to basically empty out our refrigerator to move everything that meant a lot of eating out.  I'm feeling the effects of that, and so is my scale.  So this week, once we're settled, I'm making a concerted effort to cook meals at home and to force myself to get up every morning and go to the gym.  Even if it kills me.  (Which it's highly possible it might)


So what about you?  What's motivating you to get going this week?  Check out these other motivating posts:



  Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife Amber @ Amber LaShell RantsErika @ Studio E DesignsChantel @ My Thoughts and TreasuresRobin @ Find Good in Every Day 

Hi house!

With the craziness of this week with work, I hadn't gotten the chance to just take in the fact that I'm a home owner.  That house that we've been watching be built since January is now mine.  All mine.  Well, mine and T's, but you know what I mean :-)


Last night was the first time since we closed on our house that I got the chance to just run around in it and bask in the fact that it's all ours now.  And I'm not going to lie...it is a great feeling.  I went from room to room, saying "hi kitchen....hi master bathroom....hi den....hi Mary Kay closet (yes, T is giving me a whole closet devoted to storing my Mary Kay inventory).  I think the only room I didn't say hi to was our basement, and that's because I'm not a big fan of basements.  They're cold and they smell.  So I'll let T have at that one. 


We were also surprised when we got there that they started putting in landscaping.  We have trees and shrubbery!  No grass yet, but that'll come with time.  We need to get a few days with no rain for that to happen...let's see how long that one takes. 


So this weekend we'll be spending lots of time at the new house, mostly assembling the custom closet T bought for me.  I will post pictures once we're done.  It's going to require a LOT of manual labor, but it's so going to be worth it. 


Official move-in date - Monday!  That will be one heck of a Motivation Monday, let me tell ya!


Have a great weekend everyone!

      



I'm too tired to come up with a good title...

It's Thursday!  I'm still alive, still breathing...exhausted beyond belief but here....here's how our week has gone so far:

Tuesday I worked all day and then headed to a volunteer expo event at a location community college to try to recruit volunteers for our agency.  I was there until 6:30 or so and headed home, only to get home around 7:30.  Unfortunately T was at a personal trainer appointment until then, too, so we had leftovers for dinner...separately.  We got maybe two hours to say "hey honey, how was your day?" before heading to bed.

Yesterday I got up at 5:30 a.m., headed to a personal training appointment at 6:00, ate breakfast and rushed to our closing on the house.  We got there ten minutes late, but it didn't seem to be too big of a deal.  Signed a TON of paperwork and saw a very scary number as our mortgage, but we walked out of there an hour and a half later with our keys.  The house was ours!  Yay :-)  We headed home, and I then jetted out to work.  I had a big presentation to make for a grant yesterday evening, so I needed to get ready for that.  The presentation went well, but I didn't get out until 7:15 p.m.  I made it home around 8:00, when T came home after a tough day of hanging light fixtures at the new house.  It was late.  We were both exhausted, so we had a healthy dinner of popcorn and ice cream.  Healthy, right?  Eh, whatever.  I was too tired to cook. 

So I'm back in the office this morning.  Just two more days to go!  I see lots of coffee/caffeine in my future today.  My goal is to put in 8 hours without crashing and passing out on my keyboard and to cook a meal that doesn't involve the microwave.  Let's see if we can do it!

Our official move-in date is Monday...but we'll be working on the house this weekend, and I promise to post lots of pictures!

  

I'll be back...I promise!

Pardon the interruption, but your dear Nain will be going MIA for the next few days...why?  Work is crazy, I have two huge work events Tuesday and Wednesday, and we close on our house in just two days.  Plus the packing.  I promise...I'll be baaack!!!

 

 

In the meantime, check out my dear friend Chloe's big giveaway at My New Life as a Housewife!

 



Motivation Monday!

Monday, Monday!  Normally I'd be bummed about it being a Monday, but nope...we close on our house this Wednesday!  So yes!  Good week!


So, this week, my motivation is to keep up the training.  We are less than a month away from the mini-marathon, and this last weekend we did the 15k training race.  That's 9.3 miles, folks.  It's a long freaking time.  I don't think I have ever walked that for, in a race that  is...sure, I've done shopping sprees, and I'm sure if you calculated how much I've walked, you may get 9 miles...maybe...but...seriously, this was hard.  A lot of it was mental.  I'll admit that coming up the Mile 1, Mile 2 markers I thought "Oh shit, I have 7 more to go?"  But I pushed along. 


The tough part was when it started raining.  We knew there was a chance it would rain (It was like 30%), but as soon as it started sprinkling, I started to worry.  Soon it wasn't just sprinkling but actually raining.  Then came the thunder.  And lightning.  I hit the 7 mile mark when my feet started killing me shortly after I stepped in a giant puddle.  But I kept going...I had to finish.  I joked with these two girls who were walking at the same pace as me about how hardcore we were.  Because seriously, how hardcore is that?  Ha


I finished the race at 2:12:57, and from T's calculation that was a 14:16 minute mile.  I impressed myself with my hauling ass.  Of course, I limped to the car and was barely able to walk the remainder of the day, but it was worth it.


So I need to keep that good feeling in mind as I prepare for the mini and add 4 miles to that 9.3.  And I need to keep up with the interval workouts on the elliptical and weights with the trainer.  And stay away from the sweets, which is super hard because I really really LOVE Easter candy.  It is the best candy of the year, you know...


So that's my motivation...what's yours?  It's easy to participate...just write a post about what kind of motivation you need this week and comment on this post with your link, and I'll link you up! 


Hope everyone has a great Monday!




Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife Erika @ Studio E DesignsRobin @ Find Good in Every DayAmber @ Amber LaShell RantsAudra @ Rediscovering DomesticityAli @ A Coffeeqween's LifeChantel @ My Thoughts and Treasures  



I'm ready!

To move, that is!  We close just 3 days from today!  Today was spent packing, cleaning, and packing some more.  Perhaps it was the fumes from the oven cleaner or sheer exhaustion, but for some reason, I thought this would be a good idea...

 

When did this happen?

I turn 30 in just a few weeks.  I try not to think about it, and yes, for those of you who are older than 30, I'm sure you're thinking "30 isn't old!"  But sometimes I do feel old...my body doesn't recover from hard workouts as easily as it used to, my medicine cabinet resembles one of an 80  year old (medical conditions don't help with that for sure), and the ability for me to stay awake past 10:00 p.m., even on weekends is become more and more difficult.



So, I ask....when did this happen?




Another side effect of getting older?  The whole getting domesticated thing.




We get excited about staying home on a Saturday night and trying out a new recipe.




Going to Home Depot is a weekly thing.  Picking out blinds and light fixtures for the new home = fun.




We're excited about our new kitchen.  Talking about silestone counter tops and our new appliances is something we find entertaining. 




My idea of a good night out with friends is a dinner party in. 



I get excited about buying seasonal decorations for the house.  And not just Christmas - we're talking Easter, Thanksgiving, and St. Patrick's Day. 



I have more, but my tired mind can't think of any.  Needless to say, the girl who liked to go out every weekend and stay out late at the bars, the girl who couldn't even cook Hamburger Helper properly and took THREE tries to get Easy Mac right...that girl?  She wouldn't even recognize this person I have become. 




But I'm not so sure that's a bad thing....3 more weeks until the big 3-0!

  

Don't make me use the lawyer card!

Throughout the house process and dealing with our landlord, I've let T have the reigns with that.  Even moving into our rental and with all of the issues we had with mice, problems with the water heater, the garbage disposal, I let T handle first.  If the landlord gave us crap, only then would I step in.  The reason?  He actually volunteered.  Because he knows how I get when pushed too far.  And it isn't pretty. 

So with the mortgage process, I've let him handle it.  Until recently.  See, with my job change in January, we had our concerns that it would cause issues with the final mortgage approval.  But we were reassured since we were closing in April and since my pay did not go down, we wouldn't have any problems.  However, two weeks ago we get a notice that my pay is "too low."  T inquires as to why they think that.  They say my pay stub shows my pay is too low for year-to-date, which makes no sense because even if I had kept my previous job, the year-to-date pay would still be the same, low, because, well, it's the beginning half of the year.  They wanted a letter from me stating that my income was my income.  Why would that be better than a pay stub?  So I decide to respond.

T's had a hard time getting them to respond to his emails.  Not sure why, but my email got a rather quick response.  Perhaps it was because it was harshly written.  I pulled the lawyer card, and I'm not ashamed to say I did it.   I'm not going to say everything I said, and it was all politely written, but I think I said they were being illogical and that getting a letter from me should not and did not trump my pay stubs and how my pay would have been the same if I had stayed at my previous employer.  I think I also said they were wasting my time, I was much too busy to write multiple letters and try to figure out what they needed me to say so they should write the letter themselves and email it to me.  I also pointed out how ridiculous it was that they waited until two weeks before closing when they knew this information in January.  And I signed it with my full lawyer name.  (Meaning, I included that three letter "Esq." behind my name).  Yeah, I did it.  And what would you know?  Five minutes later, I get an apologetic email stating how this was a mere formality and they would take care of it and how I should not worry at all, this will be taken care of. 

That's right.  That's what I thought.

I try to not pull the lawyer card out because I'm not one for a power trip, really I'm not.  I've only used it a few times - once when my apartment was trying to get me to pay for carpet cleaning for stains that were there before I moved in, another time after a botched CAT scan, I happen to mention I was a lawyer.  (Meaning, don't mess this up...)  It's not always the nicest way to proceed, but sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.

I have a short fuse, I'll admit, and a very low tolerance for stupid.  This is why T doesn't let me speak for us sometimes...but at least it's nice for him to have an ace in his pocket, right?

 

Butter and noodles!!!!

With the new house, the wedding, and medical bills, finances have been a wee bit tight in the T and Nain household.  I can't remember the last time either of us bought something just for fun or went to the mall and just bought clothes.  (Who am I kidding?  I'm talking about me here...pity party).  We've majorly cut back.  I clip coupons like it's my second job, we pack our lunches every day, and we hardly ever go out to eat.  My Mom even bought me a pair of $5 boots she found on sale somewhere because I had complained to her that my black boots were falling apart, and I was using black Sharpie to fill in the scuffs. 

That isn't to say that tight finances haven't resulted in a few fights/tiffs between the two of us.  They do say that money is one of the biggest reasons marriages fail. (I should know, having done divorce law), and I can see why.  When things are so tight, it does get tense. 

A few weeks ago, I decided to stretch a meal, so when I made spaghetti with meat sauce, knowing that Friday was a meat-free day (Lent, you know), so I made extra noodles and put butter in them with a little bit of cheese and basil.  (Hey, it sounded good to me!)  T texts me during the lunch hour and says "you know you're really cutting back on money when you're eating buttered noodles for lunch."  Hey, it's a meal.  Deal with it, right?

Well that butter and noodles thing has become a bit a joke between us when one of us (ahem, me) has reached a breaking point in the whole being cheap and not having any money to waste lifestyle.  I may or may not have shouted "butter and noodles" at a certain someone when we were sternly discussing a grocery bill.  I think it went along the lines of how high our grocery bill was and why did we need so much food, and I pointed out that I'm trying to save money and reminded him of the buttered noodles meal we had.  When I couldn't take it any more and had reached a basic state of panic attack, I kept shouting "butter and noodles! butter and noodles!"  It took a hug from T and a glass of Merlot, but I calmed down eventually. 

This whole house thing is worth it, and I know we'll look back on these days when we were first starting off and laugh.  "Hey remember that meal you made with what we had in the fridge and cabinet by putting diced tomatoes on top of cubed steak with no seasoning?"  or "Remember when you made like a pound of elbow macaroni and just put butter in it for lunch?" 

But until then...I cry out in frustration....butter and noodles!!!  For God sake, butter and noodles!

 

Confidence is a treasure

As always, I'm participating in Small Treasure Tuesdays with Chantel, who is just awesome.  So stop by her blog and check out the other treasures people have to sure. 


I have a treasure to share that is more a feeling than it is a tangible treasure:  confidence.  I seriously lack in confidence.  I can put on a good show in the court room and at work, but deep down, there's always that "you suck" voice in the back of my mind.  (Yes, I'm quite blunt and pretty damn hard on myself too).  But I'm a work in progress. 


One of the things that has boosted my confidence, and I honestly had no idea would have such an effect on me is my Mary Kay business.    Sure, I like the extra money and getting the products for half price, which is exactly why I started doing this to begin with, but the more I'm around other Mary Kay women, the more I'm inspired.


This last weekend, I travelled to Cincinnati for a "Career Conference" for Mary Kay.  I was a little nervous and intimidated as hell as I walked into the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.  I mean, seriously, the place was huge, and there were TONS of women everywhere.  I knew no one, but I sat down by myself, quickly to be joined by some very nice ladies from Indiana, too.  We had 3 classes on how to build a customer base, on the new products and on getting team members, and I was just so inspired by the ladies who did the classes.  One of these ladies was just so positive, it was hard not coming away enthused.  One of the things she said really stuck with me.  She said that everyone goes through a hard time in life and you'll have your hills and valley in life, but she said you can't have a testimony without having a test.  And that's so true.


Sure, it's just make-up, but I've gained so much more from selling Mary Kay.  Even T has noticed that I tend to have a bit more confidence.  I look better, I feel better, I've met some great people, and I'm earning some money in the process.  And for someone who constantly doubts herself, gaining confidence is a great thing.  (and it helps with that whole staying positive thing, too...)


So that's my treasure this week...what's yours?  Stop on by Chantel's blog and see what others have to share!

  

Motivation Monday!

It's the start of another week, and you know what that means?  Motivation!  As in Motivation Monday, that is.  So how do you play?  For those of you who haven't played before, just write a post about what is motivating you this week, whether it be to make the bed every morning this week, or eat vegetables every day or make sure you catch up on your Toddlers & Tiaras DVR episodes...whatever it is, just write a post and link up to this one by commenting, leaving your link in the comment.  It's as easy as that!


So this week...I have several things I need to motivate myself with...first of all being work.  I have a TON to do at work.  I'm interviewing pretty much every day for open positions we have, I have reports to do, grants to send out, and meetings/presentations to prepare for.  So the thing I need to do most?  Stay focused.  I have a bit of A.D.D., I have to admit, and I'm horrible at staying focused when working.  So I'll be working strictly on a "to do" list this week at work, and I think I can make it.



I'm also motivated to keep up on my working out and training.  Since I was at a Mary Kay conference on Saturday, we missed our weekly trainings with our training group, and this week they had planned the hour and forty-five minute walk/run.  So we got up early on Sunday and did it.  My feet were killing me afterwards, but I'm proud to say both of us finished it.  T did a total of 12 miles, and I think I was somewhere around eight.  Next weekend we will be doing the 15k training, which is somewhere around 9 miles.  It seems incomprehensible, but it's a necessary step to getting to the 13.1 miles needed for May 7th.  I can't believe we're only a month away from the mini!  Yikes!



My third motivation?  Staying positive.  We have a couple of family crises going on (and yes, that's about as far as I'll go into that), but needless to say, it's bringing me down.  See, I'm the sponge that soaks up everyone's problems and everyone's negativity.  That's not a good thing, especially when we're in the middle of a move and I'm super busy at work.  So....I'm needing the motivation to stay positive and keep my chin up this week.  I'll need your help, my fellow blogging friends....if I happen to write a negatively nellie post, just say "snap out of it, Nain!  It'll be okay!"  I promise to listen :-)



So that's what's motivating ME this week...what's motivating you?  Comment with a link to your post, and I'll link you up!

Ali @ A Coffeeqween's Life

Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife



I am still alive, I swear!

Sorry I've been MIA!  I promise to be back this week with lots of posts, but for now...check this puppy out...it's my brand spanking new kitchen!  (appliances and all!)  Isn't it beautiful?

Needless to say....I can't wait until we move in - just two more weeks!  They just have the finishing touches to do next week before we close on April 13th!  Yay!


And since tomorrow is Monday...don't forget...that means it's Motivation Monday!  Be ready with your motivating posts!!!