Thursday, February 24, 2011

Alrighty then...

Well hello there, strangers! It's been a while. Again. Wanted to check in and post a little bit about some new music I've been LOVE-ing as of late. I never, ever post anything about music, I would go ahead and venture to say that this could be my first blahg about music.

**Sidenote: Last night during my run, as one of my favorite songs was finishing, I thought to myself that I definitely would not enjoy running as much as I do if it weren't for the music. It's really one of the only times that I get to listen to something I love.

First up,


Christ, I love this band. Downloaded the album and the whole thing is lovely.

Listened to this on the drive in this morning, and was completely blown away.The hour that I sat in traffic just flew by. When I first heard Little Lion Man, I immediately knew I would like this band. I was right. Love.



For some reason, I knew that these two groups would have/could have been lumped together, and lo and behold - Grammy night 2011, they were paired with Mumford & Bob Dylan. I don't which album I am more in love with right now.



And THIS guy...oh man. I seriously cannot stop listening to this. He is amazing. This album is amazing, still sad that it didn't win the Grammy it was nominated for.




Yay. Music.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Another year, another list...

Day 6 of my 2-week vacation and it dawned upon me that I still have a blog, and by golly, it was time for me to update. Between movie watching, catching up on my DVR shows, resuming my running schedule and completing Christmas 2010, it's that time of year again...time to cover what was accomplished in '10 and set some new goals for 2011. In doing so, I thought it would be fun to look back on last years post and do a little comparison. To begin, my list from 2009 - time to tick off what I can.

I struggled with this weight thing constantly in 2009. I would make headway and then get into the habit of ruining it all and blowing it. Well, I feel that I've accomplished my main goal for this year. I focused on my diet and it all seemed to pay off in the end. CHECK!

Run more! I want to try to run at least 1 race per month. Well, I didn't quite run a race per month, I think the frequency of my races remained the same. Off the top of my head, I think I've completed February, May, October, November (2), and one last one in December. Semi-CHECK!

Save $$! I always told myself that I want to be a home owner by the time I was 30. CHECK!! This was the main focus of my 2010 and it happened quicker than I thought it would. Very proud of ourselves and we are looking forward to many happy years in our new home.

Job/Career. Make a decision about this company I am currently working for. Still on the fence here. I go back and forth, it was a pretty good year and as of now, I am looking forward to the new year with this company. We will see what the year brings. Uhh, kinda-check.

Reconnect. I am going to try to make it a monthly thing, schedule permitting, to reconnect with old friends from my past. Still need some work on this one. Will remain on the list for 2011.

Stay connected with all of my gal pals. I am always a sucker for a game night, dinner, or drinks. I love all of my friends and I hope we get to hang out in the new year as much as we were able to in 2009. There were some great nights and I hope to have plenty more in the new year.

Make sure Lola is happy! Well, I think I can check this off, although this will always be number 1 on every list. My little girl (officially 2.5 years old as of Christmas Day), seems to be a very well-adjusted, outgoing and happy pumpkin.

So, for 2011, my list of goals:

-- Love and adore my Lola every day. My baby will be 3 years old this year. We will continue to make sure she is happy and I look forward to all of the amazing things that 2011 will bring.

-- Run faster and more often. 2010 has been good for me and I have made lots of progress in this department. I'm faster and I feel, more athletic. Looking forward to the half-marathon at the end of January and I hope to better my time by at least 15 minutes. Also, instead of 3-3.5 miles as my normal run/work out, I think I need to increase my regular schedule to a 5 or 6 mile norm. The only way to get better is to push yourself. 2011 should be my year to focus more on times/mileage rather than weight loss.

-- Settling in the house. Hoping to be able to add more to the house this year. We have started a list of things we need/want. Dining room table, drapes/curtains, paint, art/stuff for walls, Lola's bedroom, our bedroom. I think we'll be able to get a good start on some of this in January. Looking forward to making the house feel more and more like home.

-- Learning to cook more/better, and actually doing so. We have this great kitchen, Max is a chef and I need to learn my way around the kitchen. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, this is very high up on my list.

-- More time with Max. 2010 seemed like a whirlwind, due to the house purchase and everything that comes along with that. Max and I really didn't make a lot of time for each other and I hope to be able to do this more in the new year. Date nights are a must!

-- Vacation. I was happy to forego a vacation for a house, but I have my list started on a great vacation in 2011. I'm sure we'll visit Arkansas at least once, but in addition to that, Baltimore & Nashville are in the running for a fall/winter football vacation. That's right. Our vacation list, it seems, will now always try to revolve around taking in a good football game.

Well, that's about all I can think of at the moment, and I think it's a pretty good start of a list. Definitely looking forward to what 2011 will bring for all of us. Well wishes to all of you in the new year and I hope to see and hang out with you all again very soon!!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Man...

Holy Crap. Those are the two words that I have to describe the past two months at work and about how busy I've been in all aspects. We have finally finished the move into our new office, but there are still hundreds of things to finish up. It's definitely been a learning experience and I hope that I never have the pleasure of organizing an office move again. I went to Dallas this week for an HR Seminar and it was great. I learned a lot and it was a very informative class. I missed my toodle-bear and I knew I had to get back to the office, but I think I learned a lot about HR and about how our company can move forward. Anyway...enough about work!

Family stuff, running - pushing myself, and getting ready for the holidays has taken up the rest of my "extra" time. The Monster-Mash 10K was a blast and it was a blast competing with myself and beating my time from last year. I ended up knocking 4 minutes off of my time from last year and it felt great. Those 25 pounds that are no longer jiggling behind you really makes a difference. I ran a 5K the week after and actually performed my personal best in that race. I finished in 30:25, and it was awesome. I think I came in 4th in my age range. But....I think there were only about 8 or 9 people in the age range to begin with. But, whatevs, I made a personal record and it's my fastest 3.10 miles to date. I'm running the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning - a 5 miler, and I'm excited to see if I can get it in under 50 minutes. We shall see.

Lola is doing great and I soooo cannot believe she is almost 2.5 years old. I absolutely can't believe it. She does so much these days, it amazes me. I am a very lucky Momma to have this little girl in my life. She is smart and social and funny and um, did I mention smart? I couldn't have asked for a better little girl if I tried. She's about 75% potty trained and that in itself amazes me. Kids are pretty cool.

One more thing I cannot believe?? That freaking Thanksgiving is next week. Um, what?? When did November arrive? My dad,stepmom and step sister are coming down from Arkansas and they are staying with us for the holiday. It's exciting because it is our first Thanksgiving in our own little house. These next few weeks are going to fly by, I am sure, but I am looking forward to some white elephant, friend time coming soon in December!! I miss all of you and can't wait to see you all. XOXO.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Distraction

While I should be busy concentrating on our upcoming office move, I am taking a much needed break and blogging about house stuff! We recently acquired 6 new high back leather dining room chairs, and I lovelove them. Now, I need a nice dining room table to complete our little "dining" area. Since we have such an open floor plan, it's been hard to envision what I really want to do, but I've found a few good ideas that I'm really liking right now.



This pic is actually from the model of our floor plan. I really like the idea of this. The table isn't too cumbersome and I think it could work in that small space. The table has to sit at least 6, so this type of table would be perfect.



This is just another view of the model that shows the main area with the table and chairs.

I've been scouring the internetz for some nice table ideas and pretty much relied upon the ole standby's in Pottery Barn, Pier 1, and Crate & Barrel.




This is a 6-seater, with extension board, and at $699...it's not a bad deal. Perfect for game nights and family dinners!

Ooooh, and we will be needing a new bed for the guest room/Lola's play room. Yes folks, it's true. We put our old TV in the guest room so Lola can go in there and watch Hairspray and Dora to her heart's content. We also have a queen-sized mattress and box spring in there, dy-ing for an awesome bed frame. I've never been an iron type of bed gal, but I think I'm changing my ways. Actually, I take that back...in high school, my mom bought me an black iron-ish day bed, and I actually really liked it.These beds - I love:







And, I'll just go ahead and mention, that my thinking was right in that if we had Lola sleeping on a full-size/queen sized bed that she would actually sleep in it, instead of in our bed. I'm sure that little crib mattress that her toddler bed holds is not the most comfortable. Well, she has successfully transitioned to sleeping in the guest room in the bed, by herself for over a week now. She still gets up and comes to our room in the morning, and a few times in the middle of the night. But, for the most part, that's all that she needed the whole time. This is not to say that we still don't put her in the bed with us anymore. I'll just say her time is split, 50/50. We love our little bed hog, it's true!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ugh, Finally...

So, after 7 days of complete gasterointestinal HELL, I think I'm finally starting to feel normal again. Last Tuesday at about 3 pm, while leaving a meeting at The Four Seasons, I seriously thought I was going to have pull over and hurl. I thought maybe my blood sugar was just low and that it would pass. Back at work, I was simply too busy to eat anything and it was quittin' time, so I willed myself to ward it off until I got home. Once at home, I ate some pasta with chicken, but barely had an appetite. At about 8:30, I barfed! I never, ever puke when sick, so I knew something was awry. But, as per the usual relieved feeling after puking, I of course felt better. Until about 1 in the morning, when I woke up with extreme nausea. Horrible night #1. Couldn't call into work the next day, as there were executive meetings that I had to get stuff ready for. I decided I would go in and do what I needed to do and leave. Needless to say, Wednesday was spent laying in bed, answering emails and sleeping. Thursday & Friday I fooled myself into thinking I was better, regardless of the massive amounts of poopage. Friday night...laying on the couch, watching Six Feet Under, back comes the barfing. THREE times this round! Again, I never, ever puke, so this was a big deal. Saturday, I think I slept about 18 hours, which was super nice, but still did not feel rested. Dehydration had set in. Sunday, could barely eat anything, but the nausea was starting to subside. I was happy. For a bit. Well, Monday was spent on the toilet and most of today. But, back to my main point - I'm starting to feel better. The cramps are gone, the belching/gas is done and no more nausea!

I have no idea what the hell that was. Food poisoing? Possibly. Stomach virus? Quite possible. Something more serious - I hope not. As long as I don't have a relapse, I think I'll stick with one of the above. If I do, then a doctors visit is definitely in my near future.

Just glad to be feeling better. Hoping to get out there and enjoy some of this amazing fall-ish weather! So ready for a nice, long run and then a big ole glass of wine.

Cheers!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I remember

It seems like there was a lot more attention towards the 9-year anniversary of 9/11 this year. I don't know if it all stems from the whole Ground Zero/Islamic Center controversy or what. I do know that for the first time, since 2001, I really sat down and listened to the stories and watched the news coverage and remembered. That day in 2001, I was working for a real estate company in West Houston and living with Guad. On my way to work that morning, I remember it was a beautiful day. I had the windows down and was jamming something...which I cannot remember. September 11th is my brother's birthday, so I was planning on calling him when I got to work to wish him a happy 24th birthday. We had a little radio that we listened to at work and during my normal morning routine, I flipped it on and heard something about NYC and a plane crash. Our corporate office was actually in the heart of NYC, on Avenue of the Americas - to be exact, and within about 15 minutes, probably close to 9:30 or so, one of the VP's from the corporate office to tell us they are evacuating and that they would not be reachable all day. There was a television upstairs, so me and the other assistant ran up and turned on the news. I really don't remember too much of anything and/or seeing the second plane hit. I think at that point, it was a sure thing that it was a terrorist attack and not just a freak plane crash.

Of course we were sent home early. I believe Guad was already home when I got there. We sat down on the couch, watching the news, smoking cigarettes and calling people for a good 3-4 hours. I know some people came over and it seems like there were lots of people coming and going that day. I just know that when we saw those people jumping from the buildings, it was all over. It was heartbreaking to know that they made that decision to jump to their deaths. I was so saddened by what happened that day and was in a state of shock with the rest of the country.

Since 2001, I really never paid attention to, or made an effort to watch or read anything about that day. I think the furthest I made an effort to "remember" was during my weekly Rescue Me episodes.

This year, something changed. I wanted to watch the news coverage, and I wanted to hear the stories. I started recording a bunch of the specials that The History Channel began airing, and I was excited to start watching them. Saturday, I watched about 3 hours of 9/11 specials. I cried like a baby.

I think it's really sad that so much has happened since that day and because of that day. The few weeks following 9/11 felt like something out of a history book. I remember thinking that this is what it must have felt like during WWII - all of the patriotism was astounding. It seems like we, as a country, have strayed so far from what I think, holds us together as a nation. There is so much political bullshit that gets in the way of reality. Everything and everyone has an agenda. Well, we didn't on that day nine years ago - we were all Americans, and we were all shocked and saddened and in disbelief that something so tragic happened on our soil. There were no party lines drawn - no partisanship present - when those people were killed that day.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Smorgasbord

This blog is going to contain a whole smorgasbord of updates and stuff! I think I just really like writing and saying the word smorgasbord. I've been so busy at work it's been hard to take some time to update stuff! But, it's Friday and it's kind of quiet, and I'm caught up enough to take a few minutes today.

So, last night we went to Lola's "Open House" at her school. She's been there now for 3 weeks. It was basically a meet the teachers, see what their daily schedules are and watch the kids play. It was good. Lola seems to have adjusted quite well. The first week, she cried every time I left her in the morning (except that 1st morning), but the second week was better. She plays well with the other kids and she's doing really great with potty training. I hung up a chart in our bathroom at home and every time she goes in the potty, she gets a sticker. She still needs some work in telling us before she has to go, but she'll get there. We moved to the "pull-ups" and I think she's beginning to understand a little better. I think she's adjusted well and that she's happy at her school. This makes ME very happy. Yay!

Officially down 18 pounds. Still need to get off about 10 more, as I think this will improve my running times and get me back to my official pre-pregnancy weight...the one I maintained for about a year before getting pregz. It's all so very exciting, but I know that the last 10 are always the most difficult, so I will really need to dedicate myself and work hard.

Speaking of running - Looking forward to beginning actual "training" for the half. This will start once the cooler weather arrives. Which, by the way, seems like it never will! Longer runs, faster runs, MORE runs. Come on FALL, get here! First race on the list is the Monster Mash 10K. All I know is that last Halloween was freeeeezing, and it was great. I am hoping for the same temps for this years Monster Mash 10K. So far, I think I've improved my pace time - even in this hot, humid weather to under 10:30/mile - average. I think once it cools down, I'll be able to get it to flat 10:00/average. I think last year my marathon pace was 11:25 or something. Working to improve on that.

Work. One word. Busy.

I've been reading a lot lately. I got a bunch of books on sale that are stacked and waiting. I pretty much love sitting down with a good book and getting lost in it. It's the best.

Almost have a paint picked out for the office. I have about 7 different swatches taped to the wall right now and I think I'm pretty close to a decision. Can't wait to start doing stuff in there!

I think that's it for now. Will try to post more this weekend!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Jack

When Max and I first started dating, this song was put on multiple mix cd's and it was pretty much played constantly. When I hear this song now, it helps me remember the reasons we fell in love. Sometimes it's good to remember. Life gets in the way much too often.

"Banana Pancakes"
by Jack Johnson

You hardly even notice 

When I try to show you this 

Song it’s meant to keep you 

From doing what you’re supposed to 

Like waking up too early 

Maybe we could sleep in 

I’ll make you banana pancakes 


Pretend like it’s the weekend now 

And we could pretend it all the time 

Can’t you see that it’s just raining 

There ain’t no need to go outside 


But just maybe, hala ka ukulele 

Mama made a baby 

I really don’t mind the practice 

Because you’re my little lady 

Lady, lady love me 

Because I love to lay here lazy 

We could close the curtains 


Pretend like there’s no world outside 

And we could pretend it all the time 

Can’t you see that it’s just raining 

There ain’t no need to go outside 


Ain’t no need, ain’t no need 

Can’t you see, can’t you see 

Rain all day and I don’t mind 


Telephone singing, ringing, it’s too early 

Don’t pick it up 

We don’t need to 

We got everything we need right here 

And everything we need is enough 

It’s just so easy 

When the whole world fits inside of your arms 

Do we really need to pay attention to the alarm 

Wake up slow, wake up slow 


But baby, you hardly even notice 

When I try to show you this 

Song it’s meant to keep you 

From doing what you’re supposed to 

Like waking up too early 

Maybe we could sleep in 

I’ll make you banana pancakes 


Pretend like it’s the weekend now 

And we could pretend it all the time 

Can’t you see that it’s just raining 

There ain’t no need to go outside 


Ain’t no need, ain’t no need 

Rain all day and I really really really don’t mind 

Can’t you see, can’t you see 

We’ve got to wake up slow

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day

We made the move. Lola is officially in her new school. We kept reminding her that Monday she would be at a new school with new teachers and new friends. It took me a whole 5 minutes to get to the school, it was great. Over the weekend, we got some new clothes shopping done, so she was decked out in some new shoes and a matching outfit. Well, she didn't wear the necklace to class...but you get the idea.



So, we walk in and she is still very excited. We go into her class and she jumps right into playing with the other kids. Who was I kidding thinking she would have a hard time adapting, right? She proved me wrong and I was very happy about that. One of the perks at this new place is that they have a live video feed for parents to log into and watch their kiddos! I was on that mug almost all day yesterday. It's so fun to watch her interact and play. The video isn't high quality or anything, but it enables me to just see that she's not sitting in a corner by herself all day.

When Max picked her up, she ran to him and exclaimed, "Daddy, Daddy...my new friends!"

I think she had a wonderful first day at her new school, and thus far I am happy about the move. I don't know how the potty training worked out, as the afternoon teachers did not give Max a report. Hopefully Max will ask for a report today and not walk out without one.

Yay for new schools and new friends!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Room #1

I think I want to transform the home office. I think I was actually inspired, by all things, and don't laugh...Hobby Lobby. Ha! I went last night to pick up some picture frames and there were so many cute things. I FINALLY framed my Degree and man, it looks good! And that got my little wheels spinning and I am excited to try to start thinking of ideas. It will probably take at least a year to actually have it complete - just because some of the furniture that I have in mind is pricey, and I will have to buy it one at a time! But, I'm thinking a paint job to start. Something nice and neutral. Beige/Tan/Cream - something along those lines. And then I'll move on to some nice drapery. And then the furniture. I'm excited! Here are some of the items that I would love to have:



I love the glass bookcase/display case. I also am in love with RED. This would be the only room that I think I could away with having bright & vibrant colors.



White would work too, though. I like white.



I like this look, too. I like the warm colors and I think the cabinet would look nice with a good, sturdy wood desk.



Gotta throw in a trunk, too. I think my obsession with African/Asian elephants would work well in a room with these items. Haha. I'm such a dork.



Those are just a few ideas I have swimming around in my head. I think I'll go pick out some possible paint choices this weekend. I'm liking the cream/very light yellow color option right now. Updates soon!