This past weekend flew by so fast! Crystal arrived Friday evening and we went out to dinner at my favorite Japanese restaurant. Crystal lived in Japan for a year while she was in the Army so it brought back memories. At this restaurant they cook the food in front of you. Our chef was offering to toss food into your mouth and I pulled open Crystal’s shirt so it would go between her boobs. She just loved me for that one. We stopped at a few stores before returning to my house. We had some drinks and I put in a movie. We both were exhausted. Me from working that day and Crystal from the drive. We fell asleep during the movie.
Saturday I took Crystal to downtown Raleigh to ride the trolley at the Mordeaci plantation. It takes you around downtown Raleigh and provides the history of the city. I have not been on that tour in a few years so it was nice to do it again and get some ideas for new places to go. I took her to The Pit for lunch. Bobby Flay did a BBQ throw down there. Very great place to go. We did not even make it there until after 2:00 and it was still packed! We had the funniest gay waiter ever. He was fun and so on target with his jokes. Later that evening we decided to go to the comedy club for a show. It was OK. The opening act was better than the main act. I can’t remember the guys name but he was the opening act for a show Tony and I saw a few weeks ago and also was way better than the main show. I took her to Rum Runners after the show. Rum Runners is a dueling piano bar where the musicians and crowd get involved and sign obnoxiously to classic songs. I love this place. I am able to break out of my shell since everyone is acting like an ass. Crystal is used to clubbing so this was a little out of her comfort zone but she had fun. We only stayed for an hour and then went home. We had the midnight munchies so we stayed up to eat and talk some more before going to bed.
Sunday morning Crystal left to return back to Charleston. I had a Tastefully Simple show at my friend, Elissa’s house. I think I did OK in front of the crowd. I was able to get $410 in sales and two more show bookings!
Tony returned home from camping with the guys Sunday afternoon while I was still at the show. He had a great time with the guys. It was a little strange not talking to him at all on Saturday. Not sure if we have ever gone a full day not talking to each other when one of us travels. I think he was a bit disappointed I did not miss him as much the last time he went to the Harley rally in the mountains. With Crystal visiting she kept me busy so my mind was on other things.
I am excited to report we are planning our next vacation in October. We are going to go to NYC for a four day weekend. I was able to get one day off of work next month plus a banker’s holiday. We want to go to Arizona to visit Tony’s cousin but that will have to wait until earlier next year. We want to make that a five day trip since it is a longer flight to get there and my vacation is limited because of a project I am working on so I was lucky even to get the one day off. I am going to buy the plane tickets soon so I cannot be forced to cancel my trip. I am going to use my travel vouchers from American Airlines to pay for the tickets so they will be practically free.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Happy Anniversary!
Wednesday was our anniversary. Nine years already! It is so hard to believe. Many people never thought Tony and I would make it even a year after we were married and here we are nine years later still going strong. I think many people do not fight hard any more to keep their marriage alive which is why so many end in divorce. Tony and I have been through a lot in our marriage and we always managed to pull through and come out even stronger.
For our anniversary we stayed in and I made Italian fondue and a chocolate caramel dessert fondue. Tony did not care for the Italian fondue sine it used white wine. I liked it especially since it had bacon it. Normally I make a German fondue with beer that he loves. We never get each other anything on our anniversary. Many years we went on a mini vacation around our anniversary. I did have a trip planned for Charleston next weekend but I canceled it since I am just now working again. So instead of a trip we consider the new concrete patio our anniversary present. We did exchange cards. Sappy cards really make me want to vomit. Normally we get each other funny cards but Tony went down the route of a sappy card this year. Even though they make me want to hurl I know the words in the card are what Tony would say to me. Now my card on the other hand was a funny card. On the front of it were two frogs and it said “I’ll love you…” and in the inside it said “…until I croak”. I thought it was funny and in my weird way my version of romantic…Tony…not so much. But he did laugh. I promised him for our 10 year I would get him a sappy card.
We watched a movie we just received from Netflix. Get your tissue ready. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a huge tear jerker for people that love dogs. Even if you don’t have dogs there is no way you could not possibly cry in this movie. It is based on a true story about the strong bond between a dog and its owner. The dog showed up every day to greet him at the train station when he returned home from work. Halfway through the movie the man dies and the dog still showed up every day for nine years waiting for his owner. Very powerful story. There is a statue at the train station in Japan where this all took place. The movie puts it in the United States in a current time to relate to the viewers. You can read more about it on this link. http://japancinema.net/2010/01/13/hachi-a-dogs-tale-review/
Yesterday I could tell a huge difference in my knee from the cortisone injection. I was able to get a great workout in karate. Probably the best I’ve had in months. The bad news is I was about to have a steroid fit at work from the injection. I could feel my chest tightening and my adrenaline start racing over silly things I had to do at work. Nothing that would every make me angry or irritated on a normal day. I had to leave work during lunch before I lost it. It was kind of scary. I hope my knee stays doing well so I do not need the shot again.
Today Tony leaves for the mountains with his friends for a dude weekend camping trip. Crystal is coming up from Charleston to visit me for a girl’s weekend.
For our anniversary we stayed in and I made Italian fondue and a chocolate caramel dessert fondue. Tony did not care for the Italian fondue sine it used white wine. I liked it especially since it had bacon it. Normally I make a German fondue with beer that he loves. We never get each other anything on our anniversary. Many years we went on a mini vacation around our anniversary. I did have a trip planned for Charleston next weekend but I canceled it since I am just now working again. So instead of a trip we consider the new concrete patio our anniversary present. We did exchange cards. Sappy cards really make me want to vomit. Normally we get each other funny cards but Tony went down the route of a sappy card this year. Even though they make me want to hurl I know the words in the card are what Tony would say to me. Now my card on the other hand was a funny card. On the front of it were two frogs and it said “I’ll love you…” and in the inside it said “…until I croak”. I thought it was funny and in my weird way my version of romantic…Tony…not so much. But he did laugh. I promised him for our 10 year I would get him a sappy card.
We watched a movie we just received from Netflix. Get your tissue ready. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a huge tear jerker for people that love dogs. Even if you don’t have dogs there is no way you could not possibly cry in this movie. It is based on a true story about the strong bond between a dog and its owner. The dog showed up every day to greet him at the train station when he returned home from work. Halfway through the movie the man dies and the dog still showed up every day for nine years waiting for his owner. Very powerful story. There is a statue at the train station in Japan where this all took place. The movie puts it in the United States in a current time to relate to the viewers. You can read more about it on this link. http://japancinema.net/2010/01/13/hachi-a-dogs-tale-review/
Yesterday I could tell a huge difference in my knee from the cortisone injection. I was able to get a great workout in karate. Probably the best I’ve had in months. The bad news is I was about to have a steroid fit at work from the injection. I could feel my chest tightening and my adrenaline start racing over silly things I had to do at work. Nothing that would every make me angry or irritated on a normal day. I had to leave work during lunch before I lost it. It was kind of scary. I hope my knee stays doing well so I do not need the shot again.
Today Tony leaves for the mountains with his friends for a dude weekend camping trip. Crystal is coming up from Charleston to visit me for a girl’s weekend.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
My First Tastefully Simple Party
Today was my first Tastefully Simple open house hosted by me. Five of my neighborhood friends came over. We had such a great time talking and getting stuffed. It is so amazing how the product sells itself after people try it. I even sold myself on more products! In LOVE with the Artichoke and Spinach mix. Including my Mom’s order I had $366 in sales. Not bad for my first show!
Yesterday an old coworker from WI came to visit with his fiancée. Tony and I took them around Raleigh and we ate dinner at one of the Irish Pubs in downtown Raleigh. They came back to the house for drinks. We had a fun time talking and catching up. It was a gorgeous day in Raleigh.
This weekend flew by so quickly. Tony is taking off to the mountains on Friday with some guy friends for a camping trip. My friend Crystal is coming up from Charleston to visit for the weekend so we can do girl things. Another exciting weekend heading my way!
Yesterday an old coworker from WI came to visit with his fiancée. Tony and I took them around Raleigh and we ate dinner at one of the Irish Pubs in downtown Raleigh. They came back to the house for drinks. We had a fun time talking and catching up. It was a gorgeous day in Raleigh.
This weekend flew by so quickly. Tony is taking off to the mountains on Friday with some guy friends for a camping trip. My friend Crystal is coming up from Charleston to visit for the weekend so we can do girl things. Another exciting weekend heading my way!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Give Me a Freaken Break
Thursdays I have a meeting that goes until 4:45 so I do not have much time to get home, eat, and make it to my karate class at 6:00. My work is in Durham and Karate is in north Raleigh. I rushed out of the office and down two flights of stairs. I fell down a few steps on the second flight and had to grip onto the handrail so I would not fall all the way down. My body swung around and I hit the side of the steps with my bad knee. Are you kidding me? Both of my feet smashed against the steps pretty badly to. I guess this is a sign (could God be more obvious) that I need to take a break tonight. No karate for me.
No MRI for Me
My doctor decided to do a cortisone injection rather than jumping on the MRI right away. Since my knee was in the process of getting better before my little set back he wanted to try the shot first. I have a follow up appointment six weeks out and if it is not better in four I will call to schedule the MRI. The shot starts working in a few hours up to a week. So far no real change for me. The hardest thing for me is going up and down the stairs since I am putting all my weight on the one knee at the same time. Yesterday when I was trying to do crunches on my exercise ball Jack ran into it and knocked me over – twice. Things like that do not seem to help the knee very much. Tony of course thought it was one of the funniest things he saw in a while.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Touchy Topic - Mosque Near Ground Zero
I am about to speak out on a very unfavorable topic, the Mosque near Ground Zero. This is a very tough situation. It was Muslim extremists that killed almost 3,000 people in the 9/11 attacks. A tragic day in America. I was against this when I first heard bits and pieces on the news. After doing research of my own I am now leaning on the side for the Mosque. Let me explain the facts I found and please keep an open mind about this when reading it.
1. A Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims. It is just like a Church to Christians. It is not a memorial. The English language falsely translates it to memorial when it really is a place of worship. Only Muslim extremists believe in killing people despite what other people may believe.
2. Many people are comparing the Mosque to a tribute to Hitler. You can only compare this situation to Hitler if there was a memorial dedicated to Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. A place of worship is completely different than memorials for the World’s worst offender of terrorism and crimes against humanity.
3. Muslims have been worshiping in another area near Ground Zero for years prior to the 9/11 attacks. We only know about the Mosque in the news now because of the new building proposal.
Now after I found some of these simple facts I thought to myself in the Christian religion we believe Jews killed Jesus. In America we allow Synagogues and the freedom to practice the Jewish religion. It was Adolf Hitler’s Christianity extremist view against Judaism that led to the Holocaust and the murder of an estimated 11 million Jews. Have we banned Christianity in America or in Germany? Has Christianity been banned in Israel? Absolutely not. Maybe this is America’s opportunity to understand the Muslim religion. Can you imagine what it must be like for a decent Muslim American with so many people against them just because of their religion? What about all the hate crimes against Muslims right after the 9/11 attacks when these people did nothing wrong. Isn’t it against our beliefs to discriminate a person because of the color of their skin or religious views? There are bad Muslims out there just as there are bad Christians.
While not the ideal location with Americans still healing from 9/11 we need to consider religious freedom in our country and promote understanding of the Muslim religion. Muslims need healing as well for those that have escaped terror in the Middle East and those currently being discriminated against in our country for matters out of their control. I think Americans would be in an uproar even if it was a mile away versus two blocks just because this is all over the news. My concern with the Mosque near Ground Zero is the hate crimes and vandalism that may happen there. I think the considerate thing to do would be to build the Mosque further away from Ground Zero. However, if for any reason that is not possible due to loss of members because it is further away, lack of the type of property they are looking for (it is NYC), etc. then we need to accept this for what it is. This is not meant to be a slap in the face to Americans.
To end, if you read this and still are completely against a Mosque near Ground Zero at least I provided you with some facts and things to think about. There are a lot of false assumptions currently out there and I hope I helped clear up some of the confusion.
1. A Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims. It is just like a Church to Christians. It is not a memorial. The English language falsely translates it to memorial when it really is a place of worship. Only Muslim extremists believe in killing people despite what other people may believe.
2. Many people are comparing the Mosque to a tribute to Hitler. You can only compare this situation to Hitler if there was a memorial dedicated to Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. A place of worship is completely different than memorials for the World’s worst offender of terrorism and crimes against humanity.
3. Muslims have been worshiping in another area near Ground Zero for years prior to the 9/11 attacks. We only know about the Mosque in the news now because of the new building proposal.
Now after I found some of these simple facts I thought to myself in the Christian religion we believe Jews killed Jesus. In America we allow Synagogues and the freedom to practice the Jewish religion. It was Adolf Hitler’s Christianity extremist view against Judaism that led to the Holocaust and the murder of an estimated 11 million Jews. Have we banned Christianity in America or in Germany? Has Christianity been banned in Israel? Absolutely not. Maybe this is America’s opportunity to understand the Muslim religion. Can you imagine what it must be like for a decent Muslim American with so many people against them just because of their religion? What about all the hate crimes against Muslims right after the 9/11 attacks when these people did nothing wrong. Isn’t it against our beliefs to discriminate a person because of the color of their skin or religious views? There are bad Muslims out there just as there are bad Christians.
While not the ideal location with Americans still healing from 9/11 we need to consider religious freedom in our country and promote understanding of the Muslim religion. Muslims need healing as well for those that have escaped terror in the Middle East and those currently being discriminated against in our country for matters out of their control. I think Americans would be in an uproar even if it was a mile away versus two blocks just because this is all over the news. My concern with the Mosque near Ground Zero is the hate crimes and vandalism that may happen there. I think the considerate thing to do would be to build the Mosque further away from Ground Zero. However, if for any reason that is not possible due to loss of members because it is further away, lack of the type of property they are looking for (it is NYC), etc. then we need to accept this for what it is. This is not meant to be a slap in the face to Americans.
To end, if you read this and still are completely against a Mosque near Ground Zero at least I provided you with some facts and things to think about. There are a lot of false assumptions currently out there and I hope I helped clear up some of the confusion.
Dinner for Me
Yesterday I came home to dinner on the table for me and Tony waiting to eat until I arrived! He even poured me something to drink. I was in shock and completely grateful. I can’t even remember the last time he went that far for making dinner. Okay, so it was a steamer meal he had to toss in the microwave for 10 minutes but still the fact he did it is awesome. I hated to eat dinner real fast on him and leave but I had to head out the door to karate. I started testing for my first degree brown belt last night. I am not going to make it this month but am glad to have some things signed off. I passed five out of nine katas. Not a lot considering I still have 14 self defense sets and line drill to pass. Just as I was getting ready to test on my sixth kata my knee gave out. I pushed myself way too hard. It almost felt like my tear went down even further. I am sure that is not the case but it did NOT feel good. My doctor’s appointment is this afternoon so I will let you all know how it goes.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Getting back in the groove
Yesterday Tony and I tagged teamed dinner. He got home 45 minutes before I did so he put the pork in the oven and I finished making dinner when I got home. Normally we eat around 5 and we did not eat until 6 last night. It felt nice to make a decent meal and sit down together. We do not get to do that too much now that I am working again. I am going to save the easy bagged meals for the nights I go to karate. I only have about a half hour from the time I get home to when I am out the door again.
My job is starting to get more interesting as the days go on. I am getting more involved on one of my projects and am starting to feel like a contributing asset. I brought the team peanut butter bars yesterday since we are locked in a room for 3-4 hours straight each day performing testing. It was appreciated and I think I earned some brownie points with the team.
This past weekend Tony and I were very busy. Now that I am working again we are going to have our concrete patio extended the second week in September. In the meantime we have to tear down our shed and move some existing patio blocks over to where the shed was located. That area will become a courtyard since it is already boarded by bushes and trees. I am going to plant some vine bushes as soon as we build a pergola around it. On Saturday Tony cleaned out the shed and made a trip to the dump on Sunday. Then we began tearing down the shed. We are just about done with it. This weekend we will be able to move the blocks over. Where the patio block is now located will become part grass and the rest of the area will be taken over by the new concrete patio. Our current patio is only 10x10 and when it is done I think will be 14x27 or 14x22. I can’t remember what I told the guy. That area will also get a pergola but with a covered roof. Then we will tile it. It is going to be a lot of work that probably will take a year to complete it all due to cost but it will be beautiful once it is all done.
My job is starting to get more interesting as the days go on. I am getting more involved on one of my projects and am starting to feel like a contributing asset. I brought the team peanut butter bars yesterday since we are locked in a room for 3-4 hours straight each day performing testing. It was appreciated and I think I earned some brownie points with the team.
This past weekend Tony and I were very busy. Now that I am working again we are going to have our concrete patio extended the second week in September. In the meantime we have to tear down our shed and move some existing patio blocks over to where the shed was located. That area will become a courtyard since it is already boarded by bushes and trees. I am going to plant some vine bushes as soon as we build a pergola around it. On Saturday Tony cleaned out the shed and made a trip to the dump on Sunday. Then we began tearing down the shed. We are just about done with it. This weekend we will be able to move the blocks over. Where the patio block is now located will become part grass and the rest of the area will be taken over by the new concrete patio. Our current patio is only 10x10 and when it is done I think will be 14x27 or 14x22. I can’t remember what I told the guy. That area will also get a pergola but with a covered roof. Then we will tile it. It is going to be a lot of work that probably will take a year to complete it all due to cost but it will be beautiful once it is all done.
The Rest of my Trip to WI
Sunday late morning Tony and I left to visit Joe and Kelly. They came to the wedding reception the night before but I was not able to visit with them as long as I would have liked with everything else that was going on. We stayed there for an hour or two and then left to visit my friend Gladys in Wisconsin Rapids. I have not seen her in a few years. She was one of my good friends before I moved. I was so glad I had time to go and see her. Normally Tony and I are not able to visit with friends when we go to WI because our time is so short. This time around I did not feel bad leaving the family since we were just there last month. Gladys lives an hour and a half from my parents which makes it even more difficult to see her when I visit. Gladys invited Sy and Melissa over for dinner as well; some old friends as well. We had such a great time. I forgot how funny Gladys’s husband, Jeremy is. Gladys has a 14 month old daughter and is pregnant again. Ileana is so cute. She was playing in the cabinet that has the storage containers. Tony looked over and said, “Is she grating her tongue?” Ileana grabbed a grater and put her tongue against it. Gladys turned around and took it from her. The funny part was Tony just questioned it rather than running over to see what she was doing. We all laughed. Later on we found out Ileana thinks farting noises are funny. Tony was making them with his mouth and then I lifted up my arm and blew on it to make the noise. Ileana copied me and did the same thing. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Now she knows how to make farting sounds on her arm. The day after we left she still was doing it. Gladys made some awesome pickles and gave me some to take home. Hers were crunchy compared to the ones I canned. I am going to have to get the recipe from her.
Monday morning Tony’s parents took us to the airport. Everything was going great until I tore my knee in the Detroit airport. We were walking and I could feel it tear and heat up and then it started swelling. It remained sore for the next few days and I had to get out some steroids from when I first injured it. The steroids really help the swelling but I want to eat everything I can get my hands on. I struggled through karate last week to keep up and my instructors knew I was injured so they took it easy on me. I am going to see the doctor on Wednesday this week. I am sure I am going to need the MRI done to see how bad my knee is. I have a better health insurance plan where I work at than Tony’s insurance. Paying for the MRI will not be a huge deal now.
Monday morning Tony’s parents took us to the airport. Everything was going great until I tore my knee in the Detroit airport. We were walking and I could feel it tear and heat up and then it started swelling. It remained sore for the next few days and I had to get out some steroids from when I first injured it. The steroids really help the swelling but I want to eat everything I can get my hands on. I struggled through karate last week to keep up and my instructors knew I was injured so they took it easy on me. I am going to see the doctor on Wednesday this week. I am sure I am going to need the MRI done to see how bad my knee is. I have a better health insurance plan where I work at than Tony’s insurance. Paying for the MRI will not be a huge deal now.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tim and Ashley’s Wedding Part 2
My mom is one of the noisiest people you will meet. I was hoping to sleep in a bit the day of the wedding. My hopes were crushed by the sound of Mom doing dishes and laundry. I could hear flatware being tossed into the sink, dishes banging together, the dryer door slamming…and much more. Mom, I know you are reading this and saying to yourself “Laura! I was busy that morning and stressed out.” Love you Mom but you have always been this way. I was too until Tony pointed it out to me years ago. He hated how I used to slam the lid on the toilet seat or the door on the washing machining. A new washing machine lid and toilet seats with shocks on them can help a person break some bad habits. Anyway…back to the morning of the wedding. I took a shower that morning and put extra hold gel in my hair so my style would not fall out. That crap sucks. It took three days for the gel to completely wash out of my hair. After getting ready I made my way to the salon. Tony cousins were doing the hair for the wedding. They both did amazing jobs on everyone’s hair. Of course I had to be the last bridesmaid to show up but not incredibly late. The Southern living is finally catching up to me. In the South it is appropriate to be late to anything and everything.
My Family with Ashley
Between the salon and wedding the bridesmaids were doing their makeup in Ashley’s hotel room. I stopped at Grandma and Grandpa’s after the salon waiting for Mom to arrive before heading to the hotel. Mom was running behind and when she got home at about noon to get her dress and get Dad…Dad was still sleeping! Yes, if Mom had not gone home Dad would have slept straight through the wedding. At least he looked well rested in the photos. I ended up not making it to the hotel room to do my makeup with the girls but did meet them at the church. I know, I know…last one there again. I did start helping out immediately. Ashley needed her shoes put on so I crawled underneath her wedding dress, in my bridesmaids dress, with my ass in the air. My sister-in-law knows me so well she said “Leave it to Laura to go under.” As payback for all the unflattering rear end photos I took of my mom in the past she had the photographer get pictures my ass in the air.
I just like how this picture makes me look skinny
The wedding ceremony went well. The maid of honor froze so I stepped up and fixed Ashley’s dress during the ceremony. The ceremony goes by so fast. It is hard to believe brides and grooms have so many nerves or the easiest piece. We took pictures at the church and at a park. The photographer was very creative although I did get worried when he had Ashley stand on an unstable log, on steep hill. All I could do was picture her falling and rolling down the hill right into the water. Luckily nothing like that happened.
Before we knew it the time flew by so fast it was getting close to the reception. We all sat down for dinner and the fun was about to begin. I bought two 12 packs of PBR and a bottle of Jack Daniels for Tony and my cousins to drink so they would not have to pay for drinks at the wedding. They could just sneak up to the hotel room for a refill. What I did not expect was for Tony and my cousin Gary to polish off a bottle of Jack Daniels before the dance even started. Dad took the flask away from Tony during dinner so I think that helped him pace it out more…what little could be paced out.
Jon had a great Best Man speech at the wedding. He had people laughing and giving more reasons for him not to get married since he already has a woman to cook for him – Ashley. Ashley’s Dad’s speech was pretty good and embarassing for her. Lets just say he reminded Tim once a month he needs to stop at the store and pick up Kotex super. I had my own little speech but it was not nearly as good as Jon’s.
When we did the bridal party dance the groomsman I was with had never danced to a slow song. To make matters even worse he was already shit faced. The funny part is people could tell I was teaching him to dance. Luckily Tim and Ashley’s bridal part are a bunch of goofballs so they thought it was hysterical.
Tony started dancing late into the night. He is so funny when he dances. My uncle Bill was watching Tony and asked me if that is how Tony dances or if that is the Jack Daniels dancing. It was the Jack Daniels. There was even a song that told people which direction to turn and how to step. Tony just decided to start dancing in a circle…I have that one on video.
The night seemed to go by so fast and before we knew it the reception was over with. Tony passed out on the bed snoring so loudly. I decided to sleep on the other bed in the hotel room or he would keep me up. The next morning there was gift opening at th hotel. Tim and Ashley received a lot of nice things.
More to come on the rest of my trip!
My Family with Ashley
Between the salon and wedding the bridesmaids were doing their makeup in Ashley’s hotel room. I stopped at Grandma and Grandpa’s after the salon waiting for Mom to arrive before heading to the hotel. Mom was running behind and when she got home at about noon to get her dress and get Dad…Dad was still sleeping! Yes, if Mom had not gone home Dad would have slept straight through the wedding. At least he looked well rested in the photos. I ended up not making it to the hotel room to do my makeup with the girls but did meet them at the church. I know, I know…last one there again. I did start helping out immediately. Ashley needed her shoes put on so I crawled underneath her wedding dress, in my bridesmaids dress, with my ass in the air. My sister-in-law knows me so well she said “Leave it to Laura to go under.” As payback for all the unflattering rear end photos I took of my mom in the past she had the photographer get pictures my ass in the air.
I just like how this picture makes me look skinny
The wedding ceremony went well. The maid of honor froze so I stepped up and fixed Ashley’s dress during the ceremony. The ceremony goes by so fast. It is hard to believe brides and grooms have so many nerves or the easiest piece. We took pictures at the church and at a park. The photographer was very creative although I did get worried when he had Ashley stand on an unstable log, on steep hill. All I could do was picture her falling and rolling down the hill right into the water. Luckily nothing like that happened.
The Bridal Party
Before we knew it the time flew by so fast it was getting close to the reception. We all sat down for dinner and the fun was about to begin. I bought two 12 packs of PBR and a bottle of Jack Daniels for Tony and my cousins to drink so they would not have to pay for drinks at the wedding. They could just sneak up to the hotel room for a refill. What I did not expect was for Tony and my cousin Gary to polish off a bottle of Jack Daniels before the dance even started. Dad took the flask away from Tony during dinner so I think that helped him pace it out more…what little could be paced out.
A great close up. I can tell I am aging
Jon had a great Best Man speech at the wedding. He had people laughing and giving more reasons for him not to get married since he already has a woman to cook for him – Ashley. Ashley’s Dad’s speech was pretty good and embarassing for her. Lets just say he reminded Tim once a month he needs to stop at the store and pick up Kotex super. I had my own little speech but it was not nearly as good as Jon’s.
When we did the bridal party dance the groomsman I was with had never danced to a slow song. To make matters even worse he was already shit faced. The funny part is people could tell I was teaching him to dance. Luckily Tim and Ashley’s bridal part are a bunch of goofballs so they thought it was hysterical.
Tony started dancing late into the night. He is so funny when he dances. My uncle Bill was watching Tony and asked me if that is how Tony dances or if that is the Jack Daniels dancing. It was the Jack Daniels. There was even a song that told people which direction to turn and how to step. Tony just decided to start dancing in a circle…I have that one on video.
Tony dancing with my Aunt Sandy
The night seemed to go by so fast and before we knew it the reception was over with. Tony passed out on the bed snoring so loudly. I decided to sleep on the other bed in the hotel room or he would keep me up. The next morning there was gift opening at th hotel. Tim and Ashley received a lot of nice things.
More to come on the rest of my trip!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Nikki's Visit
The night before we left for Wisconsin Nikki came to visit. They were running behind so I got out of cooking them dinner. I did make the Hungry Girl Red Velvet cupcakes and completely slaughtered them. I was in such a rush I forgot to put the salt in and I ran out of red food coloring. Amazing how just salt makes such a difference. I thought they tasted like crap but Tony did not mind them. I sent a bunch with Nikki since we were not going to eat them.
It was so awesome to see Nikki again. Her husband is really nice and I am happy for her that she found such a great guy. It is funny that it seemed like we picked up right where we left off and did not feel like 9 years since we last saw each other. I took them over to my friend’s house so her son Benjamin could meet Evan. They are only a month or two apart and when they were babies they looked like twins. It was fun to watch the boys run around and play.
Just having Benjamin around for a few hours shows how little I know about children. He is only 16 or 17 months old and Nikki asked for a glass of water for him. I fill it up to the top and hand it to him. He attempted to drink it and proceeded to dump it all over himself. Okay…I filled it too full. So I emptied half of the glass and gave it back. This time he thought it would be funny to dump it on Sydney. Nikki laughed and said “Laura you have to hold it for him.” Before they left we took a few pictures and Nikki handed me Benjamin for one of the pictures. Holding kids makes me nervous especially when they start to cry. That mother instinct surly has not picked up in me yet.
Nikki is back in Jacksonville, Florida so hopefully Tony and I can take a road trip by her sometime this next year.
It was so awesome to see Nikki again. Her husband is really nice and I am happy for her that she found such a great guy. It is funny that it seemed like we picked up right where we left off and did not feel like 9 years since we last saw each other. I took them over to my friend’s house so her son Benjamin could meet Evan. They are only a month or two apart and when they were babies they looked like twins. It was fun to watch the boys run around and play.
Just having Benjamin around for a few hours shows how little I know about children. He is only 16 or 17 months old and Nikki asked for a glass of water for him. I fill it up to the top and hand it to him. He attempted to drink it and proceeded to dump it all over himself. Okay…I filled it too full. So I emptied half of the glass and gave it back. This time he thought it would be funny to dump it on Sydney. Nikki laughed and said “Laura you have to hold it for him.” Before they left we took a few pictures and Nikki handed me Benjamin for one of the pictures. Holding kids makes me nervous especially when they start to cry. That mother instinct surly has not picked up in me yet.
Nikki is back in Jacksonville, Florida so hopefully Tony and I can take a road trip by her sometime this next year.
Tim and Ashley's Wedding: Part 1
I have so much to write so I am going to split it up into a few postings.
I can’t believe my little brother is married. It seems so strange. The wedding was beautiful. The whole time I was in Wisconsin I was kept very busy.
Thursday when we arrived Mom had to take us to Kohl’s so Tony could buy some dress clothes. It never fails. Every trip we take he packs late at night the night before the trip. All of Tony’s ties were ruined…I put them in the washing machine last year. Ops! None of his shirts fit him properly and his dress belt was coming apart. We were able to get him what he needed for the wedding.
Friday was the day of the rehearsal. Jon and I went shopping that morning. Jon has not been clothes shopping in years. I know he must really be interested in girls now since he asked his big sis to help pick out some new clothes. Back to Kohl’s I go with him. Jon has no sense of fashion. His wardrobe consists of old, light colored tapered leg Levi’s, old steal toe shoes, and a random t-shirts. I filled a cart to the top with clothes for him to try on and sent Jon to the dressing room. The man takes forever to try things on. He is even worse than me. I decided to grab a stool out of one of the dressing rooms and sit down right outside his door so he could show me everything he tried on. Yes…I was in the men’s dressing room. A lot of men turned away once they saw me there. Tough crap – welcome to 2010. What I found hysterical was the 65 year old guy in the dressing room trying on the same type of Levi’s Jon wears. Good reason for him to update his wardrobe. Jon really did not care for most of the things I grabbed but he was a good sport about it any way. He told me if he starts attracting bleach blonde bitches he is going to be pissed at me. I responded with “would you rather attract a burly bitch instead?” Amazingly Jon said yes. Jon ended up spending about $200 that day and I spent another $50 on new pairs of jeans for him he would have never bought on his own if I sent him back. Hopefully he wears them. I really enjoyed being able to hang out one on one with my brother. We hardly get to do that. Jon does not understand marriage. He told me he is enjoying being alone and having fun with the single life. I reminded him herpes is forever.
Jon and I were put in charge of decorating the getaway car before the wedding. Mom provided us with a “tastefully” prepackaged car decoration kit. I applaud her effort to think Jon and I would do anything tastefully. After we were done clothes shopping we stopped at Walmart for some additional car decorations. Balloons, streamers, 3XL panties, Schlitz beer, car paint, and condoms. Jon blew up the balloons and condoms to toss in the car. Tim has an old Ford Galaxy. I hung the panties from the rear view mirror and Jon tied the beer cans to the back of the car. We did use the kit mom provided so the decorations were not so redneck.
After Jon and I were done shopping we had to go to the reception hall to help decorate. Most of the work was done by the time we got there. I don’t think Mom was too happy with us showing up late but Jon and I had planned our shopping trip for a while. I was helping out with decorating the trellis and almost flattened it! I was standing on a chair leaning forward, trying to put flowers on top of it. The chair I was standing on started to tilt forward and my knee banged into the trellis. Luckily I caught my balance and was able to put the chair back down. If it was not for someone underneath it at the time to help stabilize I probably would have crushed it just like Chris Farley crushed the coffee table during an episode of SNL…You all remember it….Live in a van down by the river!! HAHA. So what were the guys doing while this was happening…sitting down acting as project managers. Yup. Not a one got up to catch me. Go figure.
The rehearsal went great. Ashley put me in charge of being the bitch. I am good a bossing people around. I made several corrections to make sure her day turned out perfect. Amazes me how some people are afraid to touch each other when walking down the aisle. Then they act like they are sprinting in the Olympics. Slow down! I had to go out for a drink with the bridal party after the rehearsal to show people I am not a complete bitch.
Mom prepared most of the food for the rehearsal dinner. She is never going to do that again. Talk about stress for that woman. Ashley bought all the bridesmaids jewelry for the wedding, a makeup bag, lotion, and a lipstick holder. Very nice of her to do that. The groomsman were given Jack Daniels flasks and glasses. Perfect for those guys.
Tim and Ashley at the Rehearsal Dinner
I can’t believe my little brother is married. It seems so strange. The wedding was beautiful. The whole time I was in Wisconsin I was kept very busy.
Thursday when we arrived Mom had to take us to Kohl’s so Tony could buy some dress clothes. It never fails. Every trip we take he packs late at night the night before the trip. All of Tony’s ties were ruined…I put them in the washing machine last year. Ops! None of his shirts fit him properly and his dress belt was coming apart. We were able to get him what he needed for the wedding.
Friday was the day of the rehearsal. Jon and I went shopping that morning. Jon has not been clothes shopping in years. I know he must really be interested in girls now since he asked his big sis to help pick out some new clothes. Back to Kohl’s I go with him. Jon has no sense of fashion. His wardrobe consists of old, light colored tapered leg Levi’s, old steal toe shoes, and a random t-shirts. I filled a cart to the top with clothes for him to try on and sent Jon to the dressing room. The man takes forever to try things on. He is even worse than me. I decided to grab a stool out of one of the dressing rooms and sit down right outside his door so he could show me everything he tried on. Yes…I was in the men’s dressing room. A lot of men turned away once they saw me there. Tough crap – welcome to 2010. What I found hysterical was the 65 year old guy in the dressing room trying on the same type of Levi’s Jon wears. Good reason for him to update his wardrobe. Jon really did not care for most of the things I grabbed but he was a good sport about it any way. He told me if he starts attracting bleach blonde bitches he is going to be pissed at me. I responded with “would you rather attract a burly bitch instead?” Amazingly Jon said yes. Jon ended up spending about $200 that day and I spent another $50 on new pairs of jeans for him he would have never bought on his own if I sent him back. Hopefully he wears them. I really enjoyed being able to hang out one on one with my brother. We hardly get to do that. Jon does not understand marriage. He told me he is enjoying being alone and having fun with the single life. I reminded him herpes is forever.
Jon and I were put in charge of decorating the getaway car before the wedding. Mom provided us with a “tastefully” prepackaged car decoration kit. I applaud her effort to think Jon and I would do anything tastefully. After we were done clothes shopping we stopped at Walmart for some additional car decorations. Balloons, streamers, 3XL panties, Schlitz beer, car paint, and condoms. Jon blew up the balloons and condoms to toss in the car. Tim has an old Ford Galaxy. I hung the panties from the rear view mirror and Jon tied the beer cans to the back of the car. We did use the kit mom provided so the decorations were not so redneck.
After Jon and I were done shopping we had to go to the reception hall to help decorate. Most of the work was done by the time we got there. I don’t think Mom was too happy with us showing up late but Jon and I had planned our shopping trip for a while. I was helping out with decorating the trellis and almost flattened it! I was standing on a chair leaning forward, trying to put flowers on top of it. The chair I was standing on started to tilt forward and my knee banged into the trellis. Luckily I caught my balance and was able to put the chair back down. If it was not for someone underneath it at the time to help stabilize I probably would have crushed it just like Chris Farley crushed the coffee table during an episode of SNL…You all remember it….Live in a van down by the river!! HAHA. So what were the guys doing while this was happening…sitting down acting as project managers. Yup. Not a one got up to catch me. Go figure.
The rehearsal went great. Ashley put me in charge of being the bitch. I am good a bossing people around. I made several corrections to make sure her day turned out perfect. Amazes me how some people are afraid to touch each other when walking down the aisle. Then they act like they are sprinting in the Olympics. Slow down! I had to go out for a drink with the bridal party after the rehearsal to show people I am not a complete bitch.
Mom prepared most of the food for the rehearsal dinner. She is never going to do that again. Talk about stress for that woman. Ashley bought all the bridesmaids jewelry for the wedding, a makeup bag, lotion, and a lipstick holder. Very nice of her to do that. The groomsman were given Jack Daniels flasks and glasses. Perfect for those guys.
Tim and Ashley at the Rehearsal Dinner
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Help Received
My stress level is going down now. Tony helped me out yesterday with the house. Judging by the base box still being on and the internet cords not hidden under the bed Tony did not read my blog yesterday about my rant. Which means he really did step it up by offering to help me. I need to have more faith in him when it comes to working together. I skipped the last karate class so I would have more time to prepare for my trip to WI. As much as I did not want to skip class I knew I had to. The house is cleaned and ready for Nikki’s visit tonight. What sucks is I forgot to make cupcakes last night. I got completely tied up with other things. Maybe I will have time right before I put the turkey breasts in the oven. If not I guess it is no big deal. Tony did comment to me during dinner he liked me better when I was unemployed. I know he was joking but I have to agree with him. I was more relaxed and not so stressed out about all the things I need to get done in a day.
Now that I am not at home during the day any more my dogs were wired last night! They wanted to play late into the night. I normally do not allow Jack or Sydney on the bed but last night I called Jack up just so he could lay by me and chill. When I called him he jumped from Toni’s side of the bed and woke him up by jumping right on his stomach. Ok…so it did hurt Tony but I could not help but laugh uncontrollably.
Well you won't be hearing from me for a couple of days since I am off to WI for my brother's wedding.
Now that I am not at home during the day any more my dogs were wired last night! They wanted to play late into the night. I normally do not allow Jack or Sydney on the bed but last night I called Jack up just so he could lay by me and chill. When I called him he jumped from Toni’s side of the bed and woke him up by jumping right on his stomach. Ok…so it did hurt Tony but I could not help but laugh uncontrollably.
Well you won't be hearing from me for a couple of days since I am off to WI for my brother's wedding.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Redemption!
Tony just redeemed himself. He sent me an email about Nikki coming and what needs to be doing beforehand. He either read what I wrote below and had a wakeup call or he is actually taking the initiative to reach out to me and see where I need help. Either way, I am impressed and he scored some brownie points.
A Little Help Here!
I have so much going on this week and I do not know where to even start. I think Tony got way too spoiled the last year or so with me being able to handle just about everything around the house from cleaning, bills, cooking, shopping, vet appointments, and everything else it takes to run a household. I did all of that while working at my old job as well and putting in massive OT each week. So now Tony needs to get his ass in gear and realize now that I am back to working in an office I cannot handle everything on my own. I need help cleaning again and once in a while he is going to have to make dinner if I get home later than he does. I really do not know how working parents function properly. It is hard to keep just Tony and me straight.
Yesterday after work I had to drop off some clothes at the tailors for Tony and me and then I went to Kohl’s before coming home to find a new coffee maker. Of course the coffee maker I wanted was out of stock…or…let me start over. I pressed the help button at Kohl’s. It took a while for someone to show up and it was not even her department. I wanted to know if they had the coffee maker in the back. New stock is always coming in. The lady disappeared for a while and came back and said someone told her what they have out there is all they have. BULL SHIT! I asked her if they could call a different store to see if they have it before I drive all the way up there. She said I can go to the customer service counter and have them do that. My response…wait for it…”So you are telling me the person who is responsible for this area cannot come out here and help me like they should be doing.” Her response was “….Well….yes”. Horrible customer service. I stopped at another Kohl’s after karate and found it. Of course they had a nice stock guy who was filling the shelves again. Now let me tell you why we needed a new coffee maker. We have a cappuccino/espresso/coffee maker that seemed so cool when we bought it two years ago for only $25 – a $150 unit. It already has been replaced once by the manufacturer since it leaks water from the bottom. Our new one started doing the same thing and just continued to get worse. Tony does not think we need a new coffee maker…why…because he is not the one that cleans it up!
I brought the old coffee maker up stairs in storage just in case one day we may have someone over that would want a cappuccino or espresso. I would prefer to toss it in the garbage but Tony wants to keep it. On my way up stairs the piece of shit dripped gross, thick, old coffee from the bottom all over the stairs and hallway. Where was Tony when I was cleaning up this mess…playing video games. He had such a hard evening mowing the lawn. Can I say give me a f’ing break! He spends maybe 2-3 hours a week on yard work mainly because I can’t mow with my knee and then also a few hours a week working on the fence. Me…I spend at least 15 hours a week just cleaning alone not including paying bills, monitoring our spending, cooking, grocery shopping, and all the other wonderful things. Yet he always has to bring up the fact he stained the fence or mowed the frickin lawn. Like he deserves a reward. Here is a beer…good boy. Are you kidding me? He can’t even pick up the lawn furniture and mow underneath it. Annoying! I am the one that takes care of the landscaping other than him trimming a few bushes once in a while. Never have I seen him out there treating our bushes with Sevin or spraying weed killer. I do all of that. Oh another thing that pisses me off. He drags out the internet cords to hook up to his Xbox. He never puts the cords back all the way underneath the bed so no one sees them and forgets to turn off the base box which I asked him to do in the past.
Why am I ranting like this? Tonight I will be at karate from 5:30 – 9:00 including travel time. I do not pay $100 a month to not use my membership so I make an effort to go at least twice a week but lately has been more like once a week with everything that has been going on. My friend Nikki is coming to visit tomorrow and the carpets need to be vacuumed and hardwoods washed. Tony knows it needs to be done but I can guarantee I am going to be coming home at 9 and have to start on the floors. I also need to dust, just in the main area and make sure the kitchen is picked up. The rest of the house is fine. Wednesday Nikki comes to visit Wednesday when I am off of work, I am going to cook dinner for us and then not sure how long she is staying. After Nikki leaves Tony and I need to pack for WI and get the house ready for our dog sitter. Then to bed as early as possible since we have to get up at 4:30 AM to catch our flight to WI. I love that Nikki is coming to visit but I need help from Tony to prepare the house and I have a feeling I am not going to get it. I am not completely blaming him. Much of this is my fault with how he has not had to lift a finger around the house for over a year. Heaven forbid I ask for help because then I am nagging.
I am also working on my speech for my brother’s wedding. It is a hard speech to write. I checked online for tips on what to write about but the circumstances of my family make it a bit difficult. One of the things was to write about where you first met the bride. The first time I met Ashley was at my brother Bill’s funeral. So can’t write about that. I do want to mention Bill watching this special day from heaven but also do not want to burst into tears at the reception. URG! This is so hard. This week I feel like I am drowning in things to get done and do not know how I am going to do it.
Yesterday after work I had to drop off some clothes at the tailors for Tony and me and then I went to Kohl’s before coming home to find a new coffee maker. Of course the coffee maker I wanted was out of stock…or…let me start over. I pressed the help button at Kohl’s. It took a while for someone to show up and it was not even her department. I wanted to know if they had the coffee maker in the back. New stock is always coming in. The lady disappeared for a while and came back and said someone told her what they have out there is all they have. BULL SHIT! I asked her if they could call a different store to see if they have it before I drive all the way up there. She said I can go to the customer service counter and have them do that. My response…wait for it…”So you are telling me the person who is responsible for this area cannot come out here and help me like they should be doing.” Her response was “….Well….yes”. Horrible customer service. I stopped at another Kohl’s after karate and found it. Of course they had a nice stock guy who was filling the shelves again. Now let me tell you why we needed a new coffee maker. We have a cappuccino/espresso/coffee maker that seemed so cool when we bought it two years ago for only $25 – a $150 unit. It already has been replaced once by the manufacturer since it leaks water from the bottom. Our new one started doing the same thing and just continued to get worse. Tony does not think we need a new coffee maker…why…because he is not the one that cleans it up!
I brought the old coffee maker up stairs in storage just in case one day we may have someone over that would want a cappuccino or espresso. I would prefer to toss it in the garbage but Tony wants to keep it. On my way up stairs the piece of shit dripped gross, thick, old coffee from the bottom all over the stairs and hallway. Where was Tony when I was cleaning up this mess…playing video games. He had such a hard evening mowing the lawn. Can I say give me a f’ing break! He spends maybe 2-3 hours a week on yard work mainly because I can’t mow with my knee and then also a few hours a week working on the fence. Me…I spend at least 15 hours a week just cleaning alone not including paying bills, monitoring our spending, cooking, grocery shopping, and all the other wonderful things. Yet he always has to bring up the fact he stained the fence or mowed the frickin lawn. Like he deserves a reward. Here is a beer…good boy. Are you kidding me? He can’t even pick up the lawn furniture and mow underneath it. Annoying! I am the one that takes care of the landscaping other than him trimming a few bushes once in a while. Never have I seen him out there treating our bushes with Sevin or spraying weed killer. I do all of that. Oh another thing that pisses me off. He drags out the internet cords to hook up to his Xbox. He never puts the cords back all the way underneath the bed so no one sees them and forgets to turn off the base box which I asked him to do in the past.
Why am I ranting like this? Tonight I will be at karate from 5:30 – 9:00 including travel time. I do not pay $100 a month to not use my membership so I make an effort to go at least twice a week but lately has been more like once a week with everything that has been going on. My friend Nikki is coming to visit tomorrow and the carpets need to be vacuumed and hardwoods washed. Tony knows it needs to be done but I can guarantee I am going to be coming home at 9 and have to start on the floors. I also need to dust, just in the main area and make sure the kitchen is picked up. The rest of the house is fine. Wednesday Nikki comes to visit Wednesday when I am off of work, I am going to cook dinner for us and then not sure how long she is staying. After Nikki leaves Tony and I need to pack for WI and get the house ready for our dog sitter. Then to bed as early as possible since we have to get up at 4:30 AM to catch our flight to WI. I love that Nikki is coming to visit but I need help from Tony to prepare the house and I have a feeling I am not going to get it. I am not completely blaming him. Much of this is my fault with how he has not had to lift a finger around the house for over a year. Heaven forbid I ask for help because then I am nagging.
I am also working on my speech for my brother’s wedding. It is a hard speech to write. I checked online for tips on what to write about but the circumstances of my family make it a bit difficult. One of the things was to write about where you first met the bride. The first time I met Ashley was at my brother Bill’s funeral. So can’t write about that. I do want to mention Bill watching this special day from heaven but also do not want to burst into tears at the reception. URG! This is so hard. This week I feel like I am drowning in things to get done and do not know how I am going to do it.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Work and Play
I am now day three into working again. It still feels weird. I miss sleeping 10 hours a day and now my body has to adjust to 6-7 hours of sleep again. Not liking this. I am a person that loves to sleep. Tony on the other hand is happy I am not staying up until midnight any more. It does not help the coffee at work is so strong it tastes burnt. So gross.
I am quickly realizing I am not longer going to be able to keep a nice house 24/7. When I worked from home I was still able to keep the house clean since I straightened up the house on my breaks or while on conference calls. I hate having a dirty house. I vacuumed at least once every other day. I can’t stand dirt. Tony made the bed this morning. I think that was the first time he made the bed in the morning in probably over a year. He still does not do it right but at this point I really cannot complain.
Tony and I kept busy this weekend. Friday night we went out to dinner and then went to Elissa’s house for drinks. I rode the Harley with a dress on which made for a cold ride back home later in the evening. The first cold night we had about two months and it just had to be that night. It also takes skill to get on and off a motorcycle with a dress on and not show everyone my business.
Saturday I of coursed cleaned…now that I have to clean on the weekends again. I was able to stop at Kohls and get some pants for work. It rained all day so we stayed in and watched movies. We watched The Young Victoria which Tony HATED and could not wait for it to be over with. I loved it.
So I am trying not to spend money on things we do not need to but Sunday we found an awesome deal. We love the Adirondack style beach chairs and World Market had them on sale for $50 each…solid wood! We bought four of them. It is impossible to find these chairs under $100. The plastic ones are around $50. The plan is to have our patio extended in the middle of September so these chairs are a perfect addition. With the chairs and the new work clothes I bought it is time to stop spending money for a while.
I am so excited about kicking off my Tastefully Simple business. I organized my office around it. I only make 30 percent on sales, which for the price of the products is not a whole lot. After business and party supplies it is probably more like 20-25%. I had to spend quite a bit of money to get started but my kit also included products to sell. It probably will take me around 3 or 4 shows to recoup my start up costs. There are other items I want to buy to create gift baskets that can be sold at the shows. I think this is going to be more of a sales job that gets me out of the house to meet new people and share my obsession of Tastefully Simple. The money making will come later after I get a larger customer base and get recruits under me.
I am back counting weight watcher points this week. When I was doing weight watchers earlier this year I lost 15 pounds. I only wanted to lose 10 so the 15 was an added bonus. However, I started putting a few back on since my bridesmaid dress was tailored. My brother’s wedding is this coming weekend so I cannot afford to put on any extra weight. I hate counting weight watcher points. I hate watching my weight period. Lucky for me the first few pounds I gain go right to my rear end and Tony loves a nice bottom. I think I graduated from the Jennifer Lopez ass to the Kim Kardashian. Really, for the size of my waist this thing is huge. My size 4 skinny jeans from Ann Taylor Loft are tight around my thighs and butt now to the point of cutting off my circulation. They have stretch in them but I stretched those things to the max. I let Tony witness what it is like to put on skinny jeans. Not a pretty sight. Pull them up, squat, pull them up further, squat again, repeat, suck it in, zip, button, and squat…squat some more...in about an hour they will feel right. You know what really does suck with losing weight, what little bit of real boob I did have disappeared. Now I am all fake. I can’t imagine how odd I would look without these implants. My proportion was so off before.
Oh, update on my knee. It was getting better but now with me on my feet all day again it is swelling back up. I was supposed to go to the doctor this week but I cancelled my appointment. I know he is going to recommend a MRI so I am going to put it off for another month or so until my paychecks come in. I am able to get around OK but the bending is killing me. I am happy to report my ER visit only cost me $150. I was so worried it was going to be very expensive with the CT scan but all of that was included in my ER copay. I have not received the bill from the doctor yet. Hopefully that is all covered. The hospital outsources to another company so they bill separately.
I am quickly realizing I am not longer going to be able to keep a nice house 24/7. When I worked from home I was still able to keep the house clean since I straightened up the house on my breaks or while on conference calls. I hate having a dirty house. I vacuumed at least once every other day. I can’t stand dirt. Tony made the bed this morning. I think that was the first time he made the bed in the morning in probably over a year. He still does not do it right but at this point I really cannot complain.
Tony and I kept busy this weekend. Friday night we went out to dinner and then went to Elissa’s house for drinks. I rode the Harley with a dress on which made for a cold ride back home later in the evening. The first cold night we had about two months and it just had to be that night. It also takes skill to get on and off a motorcycle with a dress on and not show everyone my business.
Saturday I of coursed cleaned…now that I have to clean on the weekends again. I was able to stop at Kohls and get some pants for work. It rained all day so we stayed in and watched movies. We watched The Young Victoria which Tony HATED and could not wait for it to be over with. I loved it.
So I am trying not to spend money on things we do not need to but Sunday we found an awesome deal. We love the Adirondack style beach chairs and World Market had them on sale for $50 each…solid wood! We bought four of them. It is impossible to find these chairs under $100. The plastic ones are around $50. The plan is to have our patio extended in the middle of September so these chairs are a perfect addition. With the chairs and the new work clothes I bought it is time to stop spending money for a while.
I am so excited about kicking off my Tastefully Simple business. I organized my office around it. I only make 30 percent on sales, which for the price of the products is not a whole lot. After business and party supplies it is probably more like 20-25%. I had to spend quite a bit of money to get started but my kit also included products to sell. It probably will take me around 3 or 4 shows to recoup my start up costs. There are other items I want to buy to create gift baskets that can be sold at the shows. I think this is going to be more of a sales job that gets me out of the house to meet new people and share my obsession of Tastefully Simple. The money making will come later after I get a larger customer base and get recruits under me.
I am back counting weight watcher points this week. When I was doing weight watchers earlier this year I lost 15 pounds. I only wanted to lose 10 so the 15 was an added bonus. However, I started putting a few back on since my bridesmaid dress was tailored. My brother’s wedding is this coming weekend so I cannot afford to put on any extra weight. I hate counting weight watcher points. I hate watching my weight period. Lucky for me the first few pounds I gain go right to my rear end and Tony loves a nice bottom. I think I graduated from the Jennifer Lopez ass to the Kim Kardashian. Really, for the size of my waist this thing is huge. My size 4 skinny jeans from Ann Taylor Loft are tight around my thighs and butt now to the point of cutting off my circulation. They have stretch in them but I stretched those things to the max. I let Tony witness what it is like to put on skinny jeans. Not a pretty sight. Pull them up, squat, pull them up further, squat again, repeat, suck it in, zip, button, and squat…squat some more...in about an hour they will feel right. You know what really does suck with losing weight, what little bit of real boob I did have disappeared. Now I am all fake. I can’t imagine how odd I would look without these implants. My proportion was so off before.
Oh, update on my knee. It was getting better but now with me on my feet all day again it is swelling back up. I was supposed to go to the doctor this week but I cancelled my appointment. I know he is going to recommend a MRI so I am going to put it off for another month or so until my paychecks come in. I am able to get around OK but the bending is killing me. I am happy to report my ER visit only cost me $150. I was so worried it was going to be very expensive with the CT scan but all of that was included in my ER copay. I have not received the bill from the doctor yet. Hopefully that is all covered. The hospital outsources to another company so they bill separately.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tastefully Simple Website Up
I finally got my Tastefully Simple website up and ready to go. Check me out online!
www.tastefullysimple.com/web/lhilt
www.tastefullysimple.com/web/lhilt
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