My "101 Things About Me" 25-50

25.  I wish I could wear my hair to work in a messy bun every day.  Sadly, I can't.  My job requires me to be beautician beautiful which in my personal opinion is completely over the top and not pretty at all.  The made-up look isn't really me, and I only want to do full make-up and hair when I'm going out on the town or taking fancy pictures.

26.  I love all the gore and blood in horror movies, but not in real life.  My boyfriend makes fun of me because I get squeamish around raw meat, yet I can fall asleep to the scariest horror movies.

27.  I should be scared of real life monsters like bad guys, but I have to purposefully not think about things like ghosts or aliens because I will scare myself silly (especially if I am home alone)!

28.  I never get to take my birthday off of work, because my birthday is December 12, and Christmastime is our busiest.  I don't expect to, but it would be nice.  My boyfriends birthday is right after Christmas and New Years (January 3).  Lilly's birthday falls right in the middle of spring break (and very close to Easter...March 25th).  Daisy's is August 7, so she has a summer birthday, and there are usually complications with their dad's visitation.  I think we should all pick a day and celebrate our un-birthdays.

29.  I love my fat free french vanilla coffeemate coffee creamer.  I try time and time again to order fun coffee drinks at Starbucks and other places, but I end up hating them.  So if I don't have my coffeemate I drink it black.

30.  I don't have a sweet tooth, I have a sweet fang!  I never go more than a day without something sweet.  Since I've been losing weight right now, I make a square of dove dark chocolate my daily indulgence. 

31.  I don't like dogs.  Some of them are cute and sweet, but....dogs are rude.  They smell gross, they jump on you and get you dirty, they sniff around in your crotch, they lick you and rub their cold slimy nose on you, they slobber/ pee/ poop on the floor, they hump people/ animals/ things, they eat your prettiest most expensive high heels, they make you go outside when you are sick, and they run away at the most inconvenient times.

32.  I can't keep fish alive.  I've tried 3 or 4 times.  They all die.  It's the same way with plants.  I do pretty well with a cactus though.

33.  I love winter holidays.  Halloween, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, and St. Patrick's Day are the best.  I like to decorate and put my fancy clothes on.  I wear the right colors and cook the traditional meals.  Holidays are so much fun.

34.  That being said, Christmas always stresses me out.  There is never enough money, yet somehow I always manage to spend too much.  I get sad about the buy buy buy aspect of it all.  I try to make as many gifts as possible, but worry that homemade gifts aren't enough.  I always have a holiday detox (alcohol).

35.  I am in love with pin-up girls.  I even got tattooed lines down the back of my legs to look like old fashioned stockings.  When I reach my goal weight I am going to reward myself with a professional pin-up photo shoot!

36.  I have to clean my ears out every day after my shower with a q-tip or I feel really gross if I don't.

37.  Long toenails creep me out!  I cut all of my free edge off, which leaves my toenails really tiny and ridiculous looking, but it makes me feel much more clean.  I love cutting nails off.

38.  I can seperate all my toes on my right foot, but not my left.

39.  I like the smells of gasoline, hot blacktop, and pipe-smoke.  But I also like the smells of cotton candy, vanilla, lavender, pumpkin, apple cinnamon, leather, new shoes, pine, tea, bergamot, rose, lilac, tomato plants, grass, and almond.

40.  As much as I love winter, there's no point in winter if it isn't going to snow.  I'd prefer a foot of snow or more all winter long.

41.  I'd like to have a little bit of land so I can have goats, chickens, and some lambs.  And bunnies.

42.  I have a hard time committing to a single favorite color.  Right now I'm loving mustard yellow, chartreuse, all shades of gray, ice blue, mint green, and orangey reds.

43.  I think thongs are gross.  I wear regular (but cute) cotton underwear that I get from Aerie for everyday.  And black lacy panties for sexy days.

44.  I'll drink other waters, but spring water is the best.  It just tastes so clean.  Evian is my favorite!

45.  I shave my arms.

46.  I really love my muscular legs, but it sucks when your calves are too big to fit into tall boots!  :(

47.  I love gleaming white movie star teeth.

48.  Mustaches are gross, but I prefer guys that have facial hair (but not those ridiculous chin straps or an out of control beard).

49.  I like the stupid jokes on Laffy Taffy.  I like Laffy Taffy.

50.  I read the entire label on anything I put in or on myself.

101 things about ME. (1-25)

Everyone is doing it.  So will I.

1. I'm always tired.  I could take a nap pretty much anywhere and anytime.  Even immediately after lots of caffeine.
2. I love caramel swirled into things....ice cream, coffee drinks, apples, cheesecake...yum.  I only like the chewy caramel though....not the almost too sweet runny or grainy kind that comes in packets.  Ick.
3. I really want long hair.  I have a hard time growing it out because I've damaged it so much. (don't bleach your hair!)
4. I want to learn how to play the guitar.  I want an old acoustic with a mint green strap.  
5. I can never commit to a decorating "style".  I like a mix mash of modern retro, shabby chic, minimalist, and kitch.
6. I want to start collecting old metal first aid kits.  I like the red cross.  And the colors are beautiful....many shades of green, black, red, and white.
7. Seven is my favorite number.  I think it's pretty.
8. I love painting.  It is really fun experimenting with colors, textures, layering, glazes, etc.  The best part is cleaning up though.  It's what I call a "fun mess".  Watching the colors swirl down the drain mixed with soapy bubbles and dirty hands......bliss.
9. I like candles that smell like food.  Mostly vanilla notes.  Pumpkin and Apple Cinnamon are favorites too!
10. I love tea...but I don't prepare it enough because I'm too lazy.  I love hot English Breakfast tea with cream & sugar, hot green tea, hot jasmine green tea, iced black tea, and iced green tea.  I don't like "flavored" prepared teas.  I despise fake sugar.  I actually don't require sugar at all in my tea, but sometimes a tiny bit is nice.
11. I still enjoy "little kid" activities like coloring books, roller skating, ice skating, bowling, lazer tag, put put golf, blowing bubbles, playing in the sand, etc.
12. I like to read celebrity gossip magazines.
13. I like the number 13.  I like Friday the 13th.  I usually have good luck that day.
14. I love baking.  My favorite thing to bake is cookies.  My favorite cookie is chocolate chip banana walnut.
15. I want to speak fluent french.
16. I want to learn more about my ancestors, and visit Norway, where they were from.
17. I don't like the sun.  The sun doesn't like me.  It burns me.  I have really white vampire skin, which I love.
18. I'm completely un-organized.  But I'm working on it.
19. I fantasize about getting married on an almost daily basis.  It's ridiculous.
20. I have too many clothes, but I don't think I have enough.  I think it's because I don't like what I have.  I buy things on sale, and then I wonder, "why do I have this?"
21. I want to make time to read again.
22. Every time I go into a book store or an antique market I come out with about $100 worth of things.  I can't help it.  That's why I don't go shopping very often.
23. I want to learn how to sew.  Almost all of the women in my family know how to sew except for me.
24. My favorite chore is getting down on the floors and hand mopping.  I don't do it very often though.
25. I make my own laundry detergent.  It's cheap, fun, and easy.  I ran out of an ingredient though and bought All "fresh rain"....the small & mighty bottle....and I looooovvvvee how my clothes smell.  When I make my own I can't smell the fragrance I add, which can be really nice.....but I miss that fresh laundry smell.

new journal entry

Hello my beautiful readers!  I got to play in my art journal a few days ago.  I've been absorbing all the great information over at journalgirl.com, learning so many new things (I finally know what gesso is)!  She has a lot of great videos and tips for beginners.  Her journal pages are so pretty....I love her technique!!  This is what I did.

Sorry for the horrible photos.  I was just excited to tell you all.  Have a wonderful day!

summer storms

In honor of summer thunderstorms, I give you this.....


 

I just love thunderstorms.  They're creepy and they encourage cuddling.

cuss you.

I'm tired of all the foul language I've been hearing lately.  It is so vile.  I hear beautiful girls spitting out profanities left and right all day long.  It's astounding to hear such vulgar words tumble out of their mouths so naturally.  They emphasize these poisonous words with such hatred.  It is starting to make me feel really uncomfortable.  I've been becoming more aware of my personal presence lately.  There are things about the way I present myself to others that I never thought about at all until now.  I have a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be, and I'm pretty sure cursing like a sailor won't help me present myself like the lady that I am.  Don't get me wrong.  I appreciate a good cuss word now and then.  They just lose a lot of their power if they are used all the time.  Wouldn't you agree?

What I'm loving right now:

Mint green nail polish! (image link) I just polished mine with Revlon's 85 "Minted" and they look so pretty.  I wish I had a picture of my own nails when I first polished them.  They're so sugary sweet, and would compliment baked goods so perfectly.

                        Taking beautiful nature photos and turning them into black & whites.

                     BFF's birthday parties!  I got her lots of girly things....and a hula hoop!

                      Homemade jalapeno popper recipes from this awesome jalapeno website!!!

                                                      Watching The Hills on Netflix.

                                                                    Pretty sunsets.

                                                                         Pen-Pals!!!

Why does this have to be so dificult?!

This is so frustrating!  I have spent so much time trying to research online on how to add my "grab my button" to my sidebar....and I still can't get it to work.  It seems like I can get the html code box to show up, but not the button image.  :(   Does any kind soul out there in blogland know how to add your blog button?  Please help me.

a brownie bunny birthday

Daisy's birthday is on August 7th.  She tells me she wants a brownies and bunnies swimming party.   I'm brainstorming ideas for it.  She told me her current favorite color is pink.  Her second favorite color is purple.  I don't really like pink and purple together, so I said, "what other colors do you like?".  She said turquoise and green.  Then she said her favorite color was orange.  Maybe we could do all the colors with dark brown.  That would be cute.  I saw these crepe paper medallions here, and thought it would be fun to do something with them.

I searched "brownie birthday" on Google, and found these:

And I found instructions here to make this bunny pinata:

What do you all think?  Do you have any ideas for us?

I have a new button.

I have a new button.....yay!  I've been wanting to know how to do this for a long time now...and this handy post really helped me figure it out.  I hope you like it!  Please let me know what you think...(and if it works)!  ;)

Losing Weight. Pt. 2

Ok, I know I've posted weight loss entries, and entries on becoming a vegetarian on here.  And then totally went back on my word.  The truth is, I'm trying to figure it all out.  You have to have balance, and you have to be happy or it just won't work.  I want to lose weight.  But not at the expense of my health or my happiness or my sanity.  I realized that it all comes down to diet.  Exercise is good for toning and mental happiness, but it won't make you lose weight.  It is really important, but it won't shrink my stomach.  Waking up at the crack of dawn (losing sleep!) to work out was really burning me out.  I will still exercise, but not like that.
I really wanted to be a vegetarian, but honestly, for me, it wouldn't help me lose weight, which is my current goal.  You really need a lot of protein when you are reducing your food intake to help you lose weight.  I know you can get plenty of protein from a vegetarian diet, but it gives you much more options when you can have meat, fish, beans, eggs, milk, beans, tofu, cheese, soy, and nuts.  Meat is relatively low cal, lean cuts are low fat, it keeps you full, and honestly it tastes good.  I won't be eating much red meat, if any, ....but tuna and chicken are great "diet" foods. 
In the past when I have lost weight, I ended up putting the pounds back on because I restrained myself so much for months that I ended up caving in and binging on something really cheesy or a hot fudge brownie sundae.  I didn't allow myself enough chocolate or healthy fats, and I consumed way too much sucralose and aspartame....ick.  This time around, I'm letting myself have one or two squares of dark chocolate per day.  I will have plenty of healthy fats, like nuts, olive oil, and avocado.  I will try to eat as many vegetables and fruits as possible (for fillers).  I will have a yogurt every day.  I will drink mainly tea, coffee, and lots of water.  I will be careful with reduced fat or sugar foods (I want to eat REAL food).  I will chew gum if I'm not really hungry but I want to eat something.  I will try to keep myself busy and keep my mental health in check so I don't fall back on bad emotional eating habits.  If I eat dessert, it will have to be really REALLY good, not just whatever treat someone brought into work.  I will cook more and eat out less.  It is so hard to find healthy "weight loss" type foods in restaurants!  I will eat off the kids menu if I have to.  I've often told myself that if I treated myself like a child (if I wouldn't let my kids have it, then I shouldn't eat it) or like a pregnant woman (eat as healthy as possible for the baby and don't gain too much weight!) that I would eat so much better.  I will stick to this, because I really really want to look like a hot mama when I'm still young, and I know that even though this isn't a "diet", I won't have to eat like this forever.  I will be able to cheat, but not until I'm at goal weight.  I want to be a complete fox by the time I turn 30.
This all came up in my internal dialogue again when we went to Colorado for vacation.  Here in Missouri, there are so many beautiful women that are overweight.  I never felt that bad about myself because I was part of the average normal.  Then we went to Colorado, and everyone there is so fit.  I mean, I saw so many hot young mamas at the pool in bikinis....it was unbelievable!  I realized that if I really wanted to, I could look like those mamas too.  That I didn't have to accept my extra pounds just because I am a Mommy or that I am a normal average girl.  I like curves, but I want to FEEL good.  I want to look good in and out of clothes, and not worry about how my clothes make me look.  I want to wear whatever I want and know that I'll look good regardless.
Today I went out to my garden and picked out my lunch.  I feel really good about that.  Eating healthy feels good, and I know that in turn, I will look good because of it.  This time it's for real.

Colorado

Colorado was amazing.  The drive up there wasn't bad at all.  Coming home was another story, but I'll get to that later.  KC got us through Missouri and into Kansas.  Then it was my turn to drive.  Everyone says Kansas is horrible to drive through and that it is ugly & barren.  I disagree.  Kansas is beautiful.  I wouldn't want to live there, but driving through is wonderful.  Kansas is a breath of fresh air.  I can just imagine running free through the great plains with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face.  It was neat to see things like these windmills...

I took a 5 hour energy shot to make it through my 6 hour driving stretch, but I don't think it did anything because I wasn't really tired in the first place.  I was already so excited, I didn't need it.  It would have been fun to stop at some of the roadside attractions, but we were on a mission to make it to Colorado by night time so on we went.  It was a good thing we filled a cooler full of nutritious and delicious snacks.  The only stops we had to make were for gas and bathroom breaks.  KC took over somewhere in Colorado, well before we hit the mountains.  This is the first mountain shot I took...

The mountains are absolutely breathtaking!  The girls and I were awestruck.  It's hard to describe how incredible you feel out there.  It's a spiritual experience.  We had to roll down the windows to smell the fresh pine air, wet with fresh rain.  We searched the mountainside for wildlife and waterfalls as KC pointed out points of interest along the way.  When we finally arrived, KC's dad and stepmom  welcomed us with hugs and smiles.  We lugged in our suitcases and got comfortable, and that's when it happened.  I followed Daisy out to the car.  She made it.  I didn't.  My eyes were focused on my 6 year old bounding out of the garage instead of on the ground in front of me.  I lost my footing and sprained my ankle.  Great.  Of course this would happen to me on the first day of vacation.  The pain right then was awful.  I was seeing stars and sitting down because I couldn't move.  At that point I was just praying that I hadn't broken it!  I eventually hobbled in and was immediately taken care of by Carol.  She got me an ice pack and brought me Advil and wine, and I was grateful.  The first Colorado day we drove back into Denver to meet up with the rest of the family.


We got to go through the Eisenhower Tunnel again, which is over a mile and a half long and a lot of fun.  I sort of ruined our Denver fun.  We were going to go to museums (there was a King Tut exhibition) and theme parks and whatnot.  But no.  We hung out in the hotel and watched television.  Awesome.  Family time was fun though.  I got to meet KC's mamaw and papaw, which was great.  They are such fun and sweet people.  Carol made sure I was as comfortable as I could be.  I met KC's sister Miranda and her boyfriend Oscar.  They were great.  Miranda is such a sweetheart.  And Oscar was great.  He taught the girls some Spanish, which was fun.  The younger generation made plans to go to the Casa Bonita (a resturant that was featured in an episode of South Park) which would have been a lot of fun, but sadly, we didn't make it.  After 3 days in Denver, we went back up into the mountains.  We did a lot of relaxing in the early days because of my foot.  KC's dad and stepmom took his mamaw and papaw to Hawaii from Denver, so we had their house to ourselves while we were in Eagle Vail.  KC found some old home movies in the basement.  Those were so great!  I got to see his mom (who died when he was 15), and his siblings and him when they were little.  It was so cool.  I feel like I know him a little better now just from watching those silly things.  :)

KC has been telling me about his favorite restaurant for 2 years now.  We finally got to go to Fiesta's!  I have to say....It was pretty awesome!  I got a chicken chimmichanga.  KC got the chilies rellenos.  He let me have a bite of his and they were to die for.......yum!!!!

It was so much fun going to the small town KC grew up in.  He drove us around and showed us his old house, the schools, library, the "Nearly Everything Store".  We went to his friend Brook's wedding...

KC's friends were so warm and welcoming.  I really enjoyed meeting and hanging out with Brook, Amanda, Mikey, Stephanie, and Travis.  I really hit it off with Stephanie.  She was so sweet.  I wish we had more time to chill with his friends and family.  




We almost didn't make it out to see fireworks on the 4th.  It just wasn't a priority.  We were going to check out the fireworks show KC's friend Travis put on, but the town he was working in was too far away.  :(  At the last minute I kind of got disappointed about not seeing any fireworks while we were in Colorado, so we did a drive by up a mountain resort in Beaver Creek.  We saw the tail end of the display from the comfort of our car, since it was sprinkling.  Oh well, at least we got to see them!  We ate all kinds of Mexican and diner food, which was awesome.  I had a really good banana malt at the Red Rock Diner.  KC showed us some cool mountains like Lion's Head and Castle Rock.  Because of my foot we couldn't do any hiking or river rafting, or anything cool like that.  But we did get to go to the Glenwood Hot Springs, which was really cool.  It was so relaxing after torturing myself for days walking around on a sprained ankle!!!  Check out the coffin shaped pool in the photo!  ;)


We saw a lot of wildlife while we were there.  We saw deer, buffalo, goats, a prairie dog, and lots of magpies (the state bird.  they were beautiful, but they're mischievous little things!).  No mountain lions.  Sadly.  It would have been cool to see one.
KC got a car while we were there, so the pleasant 10 hour drive out there turned into an 18 hour test of endurance.  It sucks to do that thing solo!  We were bad asses though.  KC ordered me to sleep when we got home because I had work that day.  I slept for 3 hours, then got up and worked 8 hours on my sprained ankle (and we were busy that day)!!  Yeah, I'm a tough lady.
All in all it was a pretty fantastic trip.  We are already planning our next trip out there.  This time we want to go int the winter.  My ankle will be jim-dandy and we'll go skiing!  I'm thinking January.  Did you all go on any vacations this summer?  Please tell!

be right back...

...I promise!  I've been so busy preparing for vacation, and then actually being on vacation that I haven't been maintaining my blog lately.  I hope you all can bear with me for a few more days until I get back from Colorado.  I'll have so much to share with you all when I get home!!!