Distract Me

Here is the deal. My life is not as sweet and nerfy right now as it has been in the past, which is why I haven't posted in so long. But I don't want to focus on that stuff here; I have to focus on it enough on a daily basis without purposefully sitting down and reliving it yet again, so I am just not going to do it.

One of the things that has kept me from posting for a while was the decline in my grandfather's health due to lung cancer that led to his death on June 19, 2009. I don't think it requires a lot of explanation to be able to imagine the emotional stress and anguish the accompanies watching someone you love die from something so deeply self-inflicted as a lifetime of smoking, so we will just leave it at that. However, the process of a family gathering to celebrate someone's life and then work together to iron out the details of the situation that is left behind has been a new, eye-opening experience.

My part of the process were things as simple as researching the printer my parents needed to buy to be able to print out all the necessary documentation and paperwork, or helping them set up the wireless internet in my grandparents' house so we could all be connected to each other. Before the funeral it was my responsibility to compile all the digital pictures we had, then scan in all the older ones that we wanted to include in a slideshow for the viewing. The undertaking of organizing and preserving my family's history is something that came out of all of this, and I am really looking forward to it. I was only able to do a fraction of the overall work while I was there, and I had to focus on scanning just the ones we needed for the various events. In the end I bought a huge tub at Wal-Mart and brought back every photograph that was not specifically being displayed in a frame or already organized in an album. As I work on it, I will share some of the results here. Like I have said in previous posts, it amazes me how well-documented our family history is when so much of it happened in a time when technology was just not an everyday thing. I am grateful, yet not too surprised, that someone had the foresight to make it happen.

Young Army Papa...so handsome!

Channeling Bear Bryant. The guy in the short shorts behind him is making me lol...

That is Papa and me!

This is just him, how we all knew him and remember him.

OK, so I know I said no more reliving bad stuff, but while the process behind his death was REALLY hard and bad, remembering him and being excited about the possibilities of preserving my family history is something I am looking forward to. I have lots of other distractions up my sleeve, so be ready!

Delicious

I have done nothing productive today at all. I slept until 10:00 then snacked and knitted all morning. The only productive things I have done today are be with Dave and see my family for a while; I did vacuum a little, but that was only motivated by the knowledge that my family would be here and I would be embarrassed if everything was dirty. Besides the snacks I grazed on all day I have had bread, pizza, ice cream, and a brownie with cream cheese icing to eat today. Pretty healthy, right? I watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which was OK. I am still knitting, playing with the pom pom puppy and watching Shrek on TV. Also waiting for Dave to get done with thesis work for the night so we can watch Bones.

"You are literally like my musical soul mate."

I Say YES to Strawberries, Too

www.nataliedee.com

Germany 2009 Style

Courtesy of Kaboodle, here is a styleboard of the things I am going to take with me on my trip this summer. I am very excited, in case you can't tell:)

Germany 2009 by marbt

Pinch Me

This weekend has been fantastic. I have gotten a ton done while still getting to spend time with all the people who matter most to me, which is really what the weekends should be about, isn't it? Right now I am rounding out the weekend working on a project I started a long time ago. There have been a few snags in getting it done that I have yet to fully work out, but the general idea is filling my hallway with photos of our family. I think the majority are going to be vintage, and I have spent the afternoon cleaning up my craft room so I can continue scanning old pictures I got from my mom and dad. I am scanning as I write this blog, and I actually made enough room on the floor to spread out all the frames I bought and make some sort of plan as to what I am going to put in them.

This is the only one I have done. I have had it framed for a while because it is the only picture (of my mom, of course) that I knew for sure I wanted to include

Right now I am looking through and scanning pictures of my mother as a young woman. Looking at these pictures always fascinates me and makes me wish I could travel back in time and meet her as a person my age. Whenever I say something like that to her she cringes and says that I really don't want to because I wouldn't recognize her as the person I know; she was apparently wild and misguided and reckless with her own life and the lives of others, but I still think it would be amazing. It is always a toss-up if a picture of her looks like me or my sister, but you can definitely see where we get our bone structure and coloring. My mom's life is actually fairly well documented for growing up in a time where technology was nothing like it is today. When I look at pictures of her I also wonder what my dad was doing at that same time, wherever he was. My parents are not the same age, and for all my mom's lamentations about her mistakes growing up I know she wouldn't change anything because it all led to my dad and, ultimately, to me and my sister. For example, my mother was married before she met my dad. She had a big elaborate wedding, dropped out of school, and settled down. Things didn't work out, and she went back to school where, in her absence, my dad had become the editor of The Crimson White, the newspaper at the University of Alabama. That is where the met, and ta da! The rest is history. I love my parents' story, and I am so happy their life together, as well as my early childhood is well documented. Here are some of the pictures of my mother I have scanned today...










Hopefully I will get this project done over the next few weeks and I will post pictures of the end result. This is just one of the many things I still have planned for our house, and it has been nice having time to work on some stuff. Jen is coming over later and we are watching the Oscars. I am pretty excited for another good mindless entertainment session:)

Made for Walking

I have had a shoe buying streak recently. I am not sure what it is, but I am happy to forgo new shirts and pants for a nice pair of shoes. Some were bought out of necessity, others not so much.... I have ridiculously large feet. It is a horrible, horrible curse that I would not wish on anyone, but I always remind myself that as a person of 5'10" it is unreasonable to wish for size 6 feet. I would fall down all the time, but at least I wouldn't have the depressing shoe shopping experiences I have. I was recently told at Dillards during a trip to buy one of the pairs of shoes I am going to comment on that they only get ONE size 10 shoe in each style. That means that my years of agonizing over whether or not I should buy that pair, even if they are not something I really need, have been totally justified because the likelihood that they will be there when I come back after convincing myself I REALLY need them is very slim. I knew there was a method to my madness! I also do this thing with shoes where once I find a pair that I love I wear them exclusively until they fall apart instead of spreading out the wear across the hundreds f other pairs I have. Ok, not hundreds, but enough to satisfy most people. So here are three pairs of shoes I recently purchased, along with the justification behind each...

Red Canvas TOMS



I have had my sights set on a pair of TOMS for a while now but I felt that I needed to wait until I saw them in real life in order to make a final decision as to whether or not I wanted them. They are what I would consider expensive for a pair of non-leather shoes, although you are really buying two pairs because TOMS matches every pair purchased with a pair of shoes to a child who has never had shoes before. Then my friend Jessica (I should have know, Jessica is my hippie soul mate) came into work wearing a super cute olive green pair, and I really liked them. The main thing I was nervous about was if the soles were sturdy or if they had any support at all inside. They kid of look like house slippers, so I think my concerns were valid. It turns out that their soles are legit and the footbed is actually very soft leather with a medium amount of arch support sewn in. I know this means I just admitted they are not vegetarian, but f that bothers you you should probably quit reading this post now. Anyway, I originally ordered a 10 because it said order true to size, but they were too small when I got them so I sent them back for an 11 which fits perfectly. I got the 11s back on Wednesday and I have worn them Thursday and Friday in mildly cold weather with great results. Jen calls them my psycho shoes because they look like the shoes people are given who might harm themselves with buckles or laces, but I really like them and would recommend them for sure.


Brown Antonio Melani Flats



So remember when I was talking about my problem of buying a pair of shoes and loving them so much I wear them out? Well, this is what has happened to my pair of brown Antonio Melani flats I bought a little over a year ago. I LOVE them. I wore them practically every day until the sole is now worn down to a thin wafer and is coming unglued from the toe back to the middle of my foot. They don't look that bad from the top, but people who don't love them as much as me, namely my boss, think they look shabby. The only bad thing about them is that they did not have a leather interior, and actually thinking back I doubt they had any leather at all on them except maybe the patent toe, but the manmade material insides made my feet stink. So a few weeks ago I made my way to Dillards to see if I could find a suitable replacement, and I ended up ordering another pair of Antonio Melani's (I had to order them because they didn't have that one size 10 left! This is the trip where that revelation occurred). The are not exactly like my old ones; I think they are slightly better made and are more comfortable, although I am not as crazy about the overall style. However, I took them out of the box after they were delivered, put them on to discover a perfect fit, and walked out the door with David to the grocery store. I carried my other ones around with me for like a week after I started wearing the new ones just in case they decided to suddenly give me blisters and I would have to run back to the others asking for forgiveness, but that has not happened yet. I haven't worn my old ones since.


New Balance Women's W595 Sneaker



In a few months my mom and I are going to Germany. I am VERY excited because I have not been back since we left when I was 7. My sister and my mom went two years ago as my sister's graduation present, and my mom and dad went last year, so now it is my turn. We just recently bought our tickets, and my new passport came in the mail, so legally I am all set to go. I have been schooled by my mom in what I am allowed to pack so I can start preparing myself and anally purchasing small tubes of toothpaste and hand sanitizer months in advance, but there are actually two essentials for the trip that I needed to purchase. One is a jacket, and the other is a pair of shoes. I am waiting to buy the jacket from Land's End until maybe it goes on sale a little, but I wanted to go ahead and buy the shoes now so I could break them in. For a long time I wanted a pair of Merrill hiking-type Mary Janes, but decided I really just need a good pair of sneakers that I find attractive and comfortable. I had a pair of New Balances in high school that I have worn out a la my brown flats above, and I replaced them with a big ugly pair of Nikes when I went to college. I hate the Nikes, and I don't even remember what possessed me to buy them as opposed to another pair of New Balance, but that is what happened. I bought the W595s a couple of weeks ago and instantly loved their look. They are very stiff which makes me glad I bought them this far in advance, so it remains to be seen how they will wear in. I think I am going to be really happy I bought sneakers that I can wear with socks once all the walking and hiking in potentially cold weather starts.

So there ya go! Jen and I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic and we are both convinced our shopping habits are nothing now, and at least we buy attractive clothes as opposed to the total train wrecks in that movie....

Teeny Tiny Tittie Committee

The TTTC is the exclusive club that I was a member of in high school reserved for those whose ta tas never fully developed. My boobs have never been much to write home about, but for as long as I can remember I have worn a 36B. Well, recently I have known but have not wanted to admit to myself that I not only needed a new bra but I needed to get professionally measured when I went in to buy it. The bra I wear every day has deteriorated and the underwire was starting to wear through and irritate my side, so wearing my back up bra I trekked to the mall today with my sister. We spent some time continuing to deny the fact that I had no idea what size I should be wearing now that my boobs have shrunk down to the size of two clementines, and we gathered up several options that just didn't fit. I was officially lost, so we got the little measuring tape lady and she did her thing, listened to my sob story about my magical disappearing boobs, observed the tragedy that was my back up bra, and then left for about 10 seconds only to reappear with a bra that was obviously made specifically for my body. It was amazing, and as I write this at 12:34 at night when I should be asleep I can honestly say I would rather have really small boobs that debilitatingly huge ones, so I am not letting it bother me that my new bra is a 36A. Not at all. Now, my sister likes to go on and on about how her boobs are small and shapeless, but they are two regular Jabbas next to mine, so here we are in the fitting room together:

Me: "I just know it is going to be an A."
Carol: "If she brings back an A I am going to be making some phone calls to plastic surgeons for you."
Me (with a sad face as she hands me the 36A): "Well, it is an A. I don't think it will fit, but I will try it on..."
Carol (as she helps me fasten it): "How does it feel? It fits like a glove doesn't it!!?
Me (standing there observing my middle school self in the mirror): "Yessss..."
Carol: "You look like a french girl, with your haircut and your little bra..."

The worst part of the whole experience was having to take off the perfect bra and put back on the old one which was then OBVIOUSLY enormous in comparison. It put my years of poor undergarment choices into perspective. It was all very interesting, and I would highly recommend letting a professional help you with this process if you think you might not be wearing the right size. I shouldn't be preoccupied with the numbers, but it is just one of those things that women freak out over. I am now the official president of the TTTC, and we are accepting new members....

Shot to Hell

Since I apparently have commitment issues with this thing, my chances of being allowed to join BlogHer are, you guessed it!, shot to hell. Oh well, I guess that is just the way it goes. Things since I last posted have been busy, as usual, and with this being the first Christmas and Thanksgiving my dad has been here for in a long time, family time has been the main order of the day. I am very proud of our little family. My dad seems to have really mellowed out as a result of finally being free from the grips of Iraq for the moment; my sister has gotten her life together and is with someone who she is not only allowed to bring home but who is now a part of our family. My mother leads an active, healthy lifestyle that has rubbed off on all of us and we go walking as a family almost everyday. We have even been able to incorporate the puppies into this daily routine with the purchase of a "Poodle Pram" as my mom calls it. We get a lot of goofy looks, but whatever, it beats leaving them in their kennels while we are gone and they get a little fresh air, which is rare for two mostly indoor dogs. All-in-all, we are doing pretty good.

I am not a resolution type of person, but my accomplishments this past year have inspired me to set some goals for myself in 2009. In 2008, without any particular forethought or planning, I became a vegetarian and have been going strong for about seven months now. I also lost some weight, which was something I needed to do to be healthy and feel better about myself. In 2009, I want to let go of some of the anger that often shrouds my otherwise happy existence. The things I am angry about are typically outside my control, which, of course, just makes me angrier, and I need to just let them go. We will see how I hold up as the year goes on.

Tonight I feel lucky to get to go out with some friends I have not seen in a while. We are all growing up, getting married, moving away, and it will be nice to catch up. 2009 has started off pretty well!

Its not just lean its cuisine and depressing

This is my life every day around noon.


nataliedee.com

Funniest/Scariest Thing EVER

Now, I am not one to be afraid of clowns, but the second one made me laugh until I was bawling, while at the same time being the creepiest clown I have ever seen.  This is an awesome site, btw.

Homicidal Horned Boo-Boo

Those There are Some Keepers!

RED METAL CANDLEHOLDERS AND RUSTIC CANDLES

My mom spotted these candleholders at a store called Fant's in Guntersville where my grandparents live.  It is this old hardware store that was converted into a general-type store a long time ago under the name Hammer's.  There was this big uproar in town when they changed the name, but they have really updated their inventory since the switch.  My mom knew I would have to have them, and of course, I totally did!!  I got the candles from a big interior design place in town called Spice.  The best thing about the candleholders is that they are reversible and can be used as large vases for centerpieces, etc.  

CUPCAKE TREASURE BOXES

I got these four cupcake treasure boxes from Fant's, too.  They were only like $5.25!  I couldn't believe it, so I bought one of each kind.  The tops are made out of acrylic or something, so they are pretty sturdy.  At the moment I am displaying them in my Taste of Home cake stand (another reversible find) and dome in the middle of my dining room table.  Eventually they will be in a baby room, but until then I want to show them off!

 

OLD POTS

My dearest wish is that at some point David and I will get the inside of our house under control so we can focus on the yards.  The big copper pot was given to me by David's mother, and I found the little blue ceramic enamel pot while digging through my parents' storage unit last weekend.  Eventually they will both have beautiful plants in them in my backyard.

POLKA DOT VASE

Yesterday, in a separate trip from when I bought the candles, I went to Spice and the shops on the floor above and one of the booths was going out of business.  I don't think this vase was something she actually sold, I think it was a prop of some kind.  Anyway it was like $20 and I thought is was a little funky, but I have yet to find a home for it.

RUSTY OL' KETTLES

I don't know why, but I particularly love antique kettles and pots.  I have a really old enamel ware coffee pot that my mom got me at an estate sale, but the two below are recent finds.  The first one was purchased from an antique vendor from the shops yesterday, and it is really cool because the metal has this green sheen to it.  I suppose that is a sign that it could be toxic or something, but I am willing to wait it out.  The second one was a gift from my grandmother when we went to Alabama last month.  I think she is trying to get rid of some of the excess around their house, and knew I would love anything cast iron.  It is SUPER heavy but really cool.

ENAMEL WARE TUB

I saw this beauty and immediately knew I had to have it to display hand towels and wash cloths in my guest bathroom.  It will therefore serve two purposes: making some extra room in the extremely crowded linen closet and adding that touch of rustic that I love so much.

MY SPIFFY NEW HAT

Gotta save the best for last.  ALSO a find at the shops, it was just laying there on a table with other odds and ends, and I put it on and I was suddenly like Frosty the freakin' Snowman.  It just fit.  My head is really awkward shape and hats never fit me, but this was definitely love at first try-on.  And it happened to match the outfit I was wearing that day perfectly, so I had an excuse to wear it around all day.

A Conversation with My Mother on the Phone…

Mom: “Well, I think I have convinced your father to buy me a new light fixture for over the kitchen table. Do you think David would help him install it?”

Me: “Sure he can. I am excited! It will look so much better.”

Mom (with a smirk in her tone; we have been scheming about this for weeks): “Now all I have to do is convince him we need to replace that fluorescent light over the island.”

My Dad in the background: “What IDIOT suggested that?!?! That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. That will be so expensive! Only an IDIOT would suggest doing that!”

Mom: “Mary Beth suggested it.”

Silence in the background...

Me: “Tell Dad I dare him to read 30 issues of Country Living in a row and not come up with a better idea for that light over the island. If he can do it, he wins.”

If you want to piss my Dad off just mention the fluorescent light fixture over the kitchen island. If you want to piss me off read 30 issues of Country Living in a row and remain devoid of fabulous ideas for home improvement.

Looking Forward to a Vacation!

Well, it is official -- David and I booked our flight, car, and hotel for a trip to Gulf Shores! Gulf Shores may seem like kind of a weird choice, but the beaches are beautiful and it is where my family has always gone for beach vacations. It was really hard to make myself reserve everything because I normally am happy to only travel when it has to do with work or is a family vacation, and David and I spend our money on other things. The thing that really made me decide we need to make the commitment and go was that I realized we have never been on a vacation just the two of us in the history of our relationship! We didn't get to go on a honeymoon because we were both still in school, so this trip is definitely a long time coming. We are actually staying in a condo, not a hotel, and the pics below are of the actual unit we rented. AND I am super-excited because I remedied my previous gripe of not having a good camera today! I ordered an amazing Canon PowerShot that is exactly like Jennie's and it is great because I know I will love it since I have been coveting hers since she bought it and I know the picture quality is great. Although Dave laments spending money I think he was excited to get a really nice camera, too, since so much of our house is dedicated to pictures of family and friends. I absolutely love being surrounded by our memories!













Going back to my previous post, David and I did actually get a lot of good work done last weekend. I LOVE it when the house is clean, and I have been making some progress on getting the little decorating touches taken care of. I am really excited because I have some fun projects lined up for the next couple of weekends that are going to help put the house together even more. I am at my parents' house this weekend because it was my mom's birthday yesterday so we celebrated last night and then David's family is coming over tonight to celebrate. David and I bought my mom a new coffee maker for her birthday and we have been drinking the fancy new coffee made by the fancy new coffee pot all day long. It is so cool, I want one now, but if I got one it would bring my coffee maker count to three, which is a little embarrassing. While I am here this weekend I really had planned on going to Target to buy some picture frames since the Target in Waco, which I love but was lacking in this particular area this time, had the ones I want but I SWEAR every one was horribly scratched or dented. And they are black, so you can totally tell! Heights has a brand new fancy Target, but unfortunately this weekend is tax-free weekend and people are out in droves. This town is absolutely nuts.



Anyway, I am off to figure out what I am going to do for dinner since we are getting barbeque for everyone else. Perhaps I hear Subway calling my name?

Here Comes the Weekend!

Whew!  Today is Friday and we got back from the AL late Monday night.  I am so glad that as an adult I can really appreciate why we go to Alabama, and I had a fabulous time doing not much of anything!!  My sister's boyfriend Chris went with us, and despite them not having all that much in common, he and David got along really well and I think Dave appreciated not being harassed by a bunch of bossy southern women all weekend.  Not that he didn't get harassed anyway, but at least he had an ally.  The tally of the trip includes...

2 ~ four-mile walks by the lake

20 ~ Issues of Country Living Magazine read (twice as many new decorating ideas concocted, much to David's chagrin)

Who Knows ~ Cups of coffee!

2 ~ Fishing lines untangled

23 ~ Hands of cards

11 ~ Rows of knitting completed

112 ~ Pages read in my book

And untold delicious fresh vegetables from my grandfather's garden.  Even though I was upset because I didn't think I would be able to get good pictures, I used my mom's camera and it seemed to work out fine.  

I love going on vacation but I hate the way it makes me feel at work the week after.  I never feel motivated and I regretfully take too many breaks in the name of "recovering."  This week wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I am really glad it is the weekend, which brings with it the hope that I will magically become motivated to get some stuff done.  I think David and I are seriously going to take a trip for our birthdays and our two year wedding anniversary, so before we can do that I have got to get all the other birthday gifts figured out.  This time of year is always hard because EVERYONE'S birthdays are in August and September.  Jennie and I are going to do a little shopping tomorrow so I am hopeful I can make a dent in it.  

David messed up his thigh muscle playing softball last night, and he literally can barely walk.  He is loving the fact the he legitimately can't get up and switch 70's Show DVDs, give the dog more food, move just slightly to the left so he isn't taking his half of the bed out of the middle, you know, things that require movement.  Lounging is an art to him, and he is definitely getting some practice.  Right now he is beside me being hairy and snoring and trying not to move.  I have big plans for the weekend, so he better walk it off.  

I wish I were waking up tomorrow to a covered back porch with a view of the lake, but instead of pining away I will wake up early and make steps towards making my own house the haven I desperately want.  Wish me luck!!

Going Back to the Mothership

Today is Monday and my family is going to Alabama on Thursday.  I am deeply regretting not getting my act together and buying a really nice camera before this trip.  My grandparents' house is gorgeous, and it makes me sick to think that their house and land might not always be where we go to when we want to remember our roots.  Thus the reality of changing times and the people who I always thought of as full of vitality and life growing older.  It is wholly unfair, but I can't do anything about it except make time to go there and soak it in before it is gone.  I really want to capture it in photographs, but my camera is just not very nice.  The camera I want is almost $2,000, so I guess I better start saving.  In the mean time I will try my best with the camera I have.  I am not bringing my computer on this trip, so I will be MIA for a while after Wednesday night. 

These are some pics from our last couple of trips...

I am thinking about joining Twitter.  Not that I need another excuse to use the internet and my phone constantly, but it looks like fun.  I have been delving deeper into the world of fer-serious blogging the past few weeks, and am super jealous of the women who got to go to BlogHer a couple of weeks ago.  Here is my first twitter:

I fit into a size 8 jean, trouser, and skirt at the GAP today.  That hasn't happened in about 5 years.  Oh, and I bought all of them.

A Beautifully Crafted, Supple, Durable Dilemma

As has been established, I am now a vegetarian.  I have been a vegetarian for one month tomorrow, and it is going smashingly.  I have more energy than normal and just feel good in general.  What I have come to realize over the past month is that giving up the meat was the easy part.  The part that is going to kick me in the ass is living without wonderful, beautiful, soft, hypocritical leather.  I L-O-V-E LEATHER.  Unlike my past food intake, I have the evidence of my former lifestyle all around me in the form of wallets, car seats (It must have taken an entire cow to cover the inside of that car.  Sorry Bessie!), planners, PURSES, watches belts and most importantly, shoes.  And it is not even the having the leather that bothers me, it is the not being able to purchase leather anymore that is sad to me.  It is the best feeling in the whole wide world to go into a beautiful store and pick out a beautiful, well-made purse that you know is going to last you forever, and drop that credit card like a ton of bricks on the counter.  Is that materialistic?  Yep.  Is it only that good if the purse is Italian-tanned, tumbled leather?  Absolutely.  

OK, so where is all this pent-up leather-loving coming from, you might ask?  It has been pointed out to me on several occasions that I am being a hypocrite if I choose to continue buying leather products and wearing leather now that I am a vegetarian and claiming that part of the reason I became a vegetarian is for the animals.  Well, people, it is partly for the animals, so I am going to have to suck it up, huh?  I can't do anything about the things I have bought in the past, and I refuse to throw away literally thousands of dollars of beautiful, hand-picked things because of a lifestyle change.  I have chosen to severely limit my leather purchases in the future, with the main exception being my shoes.  I have horrific feet problems -- of course they are enormous, fallen arches, horrible cramping, etc. -- so it is really impractical to never buy a pair of Borns again, for example.  Here is the thing.  My feeling is that I do not have to have meat in my diet to be the healthiest I can be, and in fact eliminating it might make me more healthy, but in order to justify spending money on items like high-quality purses and shoes that are investments and will last a very long time, leather is the best quality material available.  Therefore, if you see me out in public with my enormous red leather purse, it is not necessary to point out to me that it was, indeed, made out of a cow.  I know.  Thanks.  I don't need to justify all of this, it is just something that I have been asked several times, especially by people who know my affinity for shopping, so I just wanted to explain where I am at.

ANYWAY, let it be known that I have discovered Death Cab for Cutie.  They are pretty amazing.  I hate their name and I feel like a total dweeb saying it, but their music is so ethereal; deep yet simple, I wish I had not resisted them for so long.  I bought Transatlanticism first, and I recently bought Plans.  My favorites so far are We Looked Like Giants, Passenger Seat, Someday You Will be Loved, and I Will Follow You into the Dark.  Granted, I have only listened to Plans once through, but those are my initial feelings.  The thing is, I ALWAYS find my self strangely attracted to weird guys in weird bands who make weird music.  I have an emo disease of some kind.  I had to say that to preface my next new music love.  PLEASE DON'T DISOWN ME AS A FRIEND!  It's.....Metro Station!  Miley Cyrus's older brother's band!! AHH!  I simply can't help myself.  It is just my thing.  The way he looks has facilitated my like for their music.  It is just a surface love, not a deep love like Coheed or anything.  Their song on the radio is Shake Shake, which you might know.  

I can't embarrass myself any further.  Ta ta for now:)

It is a Miracle of Some Kind

Well, I am actually updating in a timely manner! Like I said, it is a miracle of some kind. I just got home and dinner is in the oven. While I am waiting for the food I am flipping between Jon and Kate + 8 and That 70s Show and wishing Dave was home and we were eating dinner. I wanted to update and give the fun news that I passed my 10 lb mark in Weight Watchers this week! As of Monday I weighed 149.2 down from 160. Yay! It was really rewarding to hit that mark. As for the vegetarian change, it is going really well too! I honestly have not missed eating meat at all, but I will admit the thought of never eating El Con's soft chicken flautas and the occasional Arby's roast beef sandwich makes me a little sad. But I think it is for the best, and I just think of all the pros when I am feeling sad about foods that used to be my go-to comforts.

Something else that I wanted to share with everyone is a change that David and made a while ago -- we gave up bottled water! It was kind of hippie-ish, but Dave played along and now a lot of our friends have joined on in! Now, I think in most places, for instance, my parents' house, they don't need bottled water because the water naturally tasted great, but here in Waco it tastes horrible! It is simply called Waco Water and everyone knows that it is rank. It affects the soft drinks, the tea, the coffee, you name it, so I always used to use bottled water or the filtered water from our fridge. About three months ago I decided that we were being super wasteful with our daily bottled water consumption, so I did some research and ordered us BPA-free water bottles by CamelBak from REI. I had never heard of REI before, but apparently it is a BFD, and they had a great selection of BPA-free bottles. I admit, they kind of look like sippy cups for grown-ups, but they work really well and don't leak or anything. Dave and I were the first to get them, then my parents wanted them, and then Jessica and Jennie from work got them too! I am just glad we are reducing the water bottle waste:)



So today my music obsession might seriously surprise some of you. I LOVE the NEW New Kids on the Block!! You have to understand, I grew up at the very end of their reign and more in the Hanson, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync craze, even though I never really swooned for any of them. My sister on the other hand was obsessed with all of them plus the Spice Girls. I was into Alanis Morrisette, Savage Garden, The Wallflowers, and people like that. The point is that the NEW New Kids on the Block are SO tacky-licious, so over-the-top ridiculous, that I just have to love it. The slang! The beach! The voguing! The synchronized dancing in matching outfits!!! It is too much to handle. I absolutely can't get enough. I think I have an illness of some kind! Help!

You MUST watch if you haven't experienced it yet!

Doin' it for the Animals, and My Colon....

TMI? Then don't read on. This post is long overdue, as I don't make it a priority to update this thing. I have, however, made it a priority in my life to change some things about myself and my life in general that I have been meaning to do for a really long time. The first major thing that I have done for myself is to lose some weight. Now, every time I tell people this they look at me like I am nutso, which I do understand because I did not look overweight necessarily, but I am a firm believer in things being relative, and relative to my health and weight when I was in school I had become the most unhealthy I have been in my life. The history of my weight is that I was pretty chubbums in middle school, and the very end of my 8th grade year and the summer before my 9th grade year I lost it all. And my all I mean I had NO body fat. I was as tall as I am now, which is 5'10", and weighed about 109 lbs. I am not 100% sure how I was mobile. It was an extremely awkward skinny, not a good skinny. Then as high school and college went on I progressively gained weight and I was at a steady 135 for a really long time. I wore between a size 8 and a size 10, which seems kind of big, but I am super tall, so I need the length associated with those sizes. I never felt big at all wearing a 10. So by the time I finished college and got married I weighed about 140. I was totally happy with that, but in the time between finishing school and now I gained about 20 lbs. This was mainly due to the fact that I went from being very active with school and work to sitting at a desk in front of the computer all the time and not changing my eating habits at all. I was not really unhappy with my weight except for the fact that the clothes I was so used to wearing were not fitting me anymore, and I did not want to have to buy all new clothes in a size 12. So that is why I chose to lose some weight. I decided to do Weight Watchers. The idea of keeping lists and weekly weigh-ins was appealing to me, but going in to meetings was definitely not, so I chose to do the online program. My starting weight was 160, and my target weight is 139. I have lost almost 10 lbs since I started, and I am really happy with results, pace, etc.

The next thing I have done that I have wanted to do for forever is become a vegetarian (hence the title of the post). I know that may sound kind of funny to say I have wanted to do that for forever, but I was not in a place in my life where I had the freedom and money to make that choice until recently. I am not a PETA member or anything yet, but I do have extreme compassion towards animals and I don't think eating meat fits in with that mentality. I have officially been a vegetarian for one week now, but before that I slowly went off of red meat to make the transition easier. This switch has fit in well with Weight Watchers, and David is not yet malnourished, so things are going well. I bought some books to help me out, and I had my second veggie burger ever yesterday for the 4th of July, and it was super tasty! I am just really excited about this change, how it will impact my health, and I am glad I am doing it now because it is really important that when I do become pregnant I have healthy habits in place and I can teach my kids healthy habits and compassion towards animals. Here is where the TMI comes in: as some of you may know, I have had digestive issues for a really long time now. I think most people do, but they are too embarrassed to say anything. Well, I am not, and the #1 benefit of the Weight Watchers and the vegetarian thing is that they are highly fiber rich. Not only has this helped me lose weight, but it is totally preventive for things like colon cancer (which my family has a history of). It is super important people! Get on the fiber trian!

The third thing I have done is just get my shit together in general. I have always wanted to be one of those people that gets up really early, gets ready for work, maybe runs some errands on the way there, still gets in by 8:00, has their morning coffee, goes to the farmer's market, etc. Before about a month ago I was one of those people that couldn't get my ass out of bed before 7:30, got to work after all my part time people were already there, couldn't be bothered to set up the coffee maker the night before so it just never got done and the last filter I used would be moldy the next time I checked, NEVER made it to the farmer's market, insisted on taking a shower in the morning because I was too lazy to do it the night before, etc. etc. Today, that person pisses me off. The main part of all that that makes me upset at the way I used to be is the whole getting to work on time thing. I am amazed I wasn't reprimanded in some way. It is definitely unacceptable to get to work at 8:55 in the morning when you expect your part timers to be there by 8:30! So I made some changes. They weren't motivated by one thing in particular, but they all add up to a better me. I started taking my shower at night most of the time, and I don't bother blow drying my hair, I just let it air dry over night then flat iron it in the morning. This leaves plenty of time for me to get up about 7, put my make up on, flat iron my hair, get dressed, take DJ out, get my lunch together, and turn the coffee make on (which I now religiously set up the night before) by 7:45-7:50 ish. Sometimes it is a little later than that, I definitely still have those days that I am dragging a little, but that is the usual routine. I get to work at an appropriate time, sometimes I go to the farmer's market (it is on my way to work for cryin' out loud), sometimes I skip the homemade coffee and go visit my friends at Starbucks, it all just depends. The point is, I am excited and feel like I have entered a new phase in my life. Dave, bless his heart, is so supportive and has graciously tried, and I think genuinely liked!, my tofu salads, vegetarian lasagna, and other dishes I am experimenting with. I still encourage him to eat meat if he wants whenever we do dinner separately or when he goes to his parents' house, but my hope is that as we do this thing together his dependency on meat, especially red meat, will lessen. I don't want him dying of a heart attack when he is like 40 or something!!! Not something I want to have to worry about. Anyway, I will hopefully keep this updated on the progress I am seeing with my weight and vegetarian lifestyle. Now that I feel like I have a grip on some other stuff, maybe this blog will become a priority too. Wish me luck!

Summer is Almost Here and I Just Can't Believe It

Well, it has been absolutely forever since I have posted! I will now tell the lie I always do and promise to update more often. Since a lot has happened I will discuss each thing in its own little paragraph...

MY DAD CAME HOME FROM IRAQ
Oh yes he did! He has been home since the middle of February and I really think we have all enjoyed just being a family as opposed to having to worry about the strict division between the kids and the parents. My dad had a while off right after he got back, and for now he is working he regular job until he switches to Inspector General in a few months. He also bought the first new vehicle for himself in probably over 20 years a few weeks after he got back. He has always wanted just a basic F-150, and he negotiated the crap out of the people at the Ford dealership in Temple until they gave him the exact one he wanted for the exact price he was willing to pay. He traded in the ENORMOUS old F-150 that he bought off the lemon lot a long time ago and has never looked back. He is super fancy in his new truck and is happy not to be in the war zone for the moment.

I BOUGHT A NEW CAR
RIP Mustang. You were incapable of comfortably seating more than two people (and that may be a stretch) and you were voted most likely to overheat on the way to work and have the check engine light come on. BUT, I loved that darn Mustang as my high school/college car. It was awesome, and was not a problem until my commute to work increased by 20 minutes. Oh, and the government decided to overcharge for gas. That definitely played a role in the demise of the Mustang. So what did I buy you might ask? Well, only the cutest little red car ever! I would never even have thought about it, but I am so glad I gave Nissan a chance. I got a Sentra! I love it so much. I have all the cute little bells and whistles and it cost less than $20,000. Yay!

I WENT TO OKLAHOMA CITY
Dave and I drove up to see a magical event called Coheed (my favorite band) opening for Linkin Park (David's favorite band). We also drove up to see Jessica and her fiance Jason in their new place in Ardmore, OK. It was really fun! I had never been anywhere in Oklahoma really except for driving through when I was eight and going up briefly for David's grandfather's estate sale. The drive up was really nice (lots of rocks and strata!) and while we waited for the hotel check-in time we went to a really nice mall to pick up a few things I needed from stores we don't have here. Namely the Apple store and Franklin Covey. Loves! The concert was later that night and the next day we went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial before driving to Jess and Jason's. I got to see where Jess works now, and we had a really nice dinner and breakfast the next morning. I can't believe their wedding is so soon! Ahhh!

I WENT TO HOUSTON
Jen, Stephanie and I went to Houston to see the Lucy exhibit. The big draw was that we actually got to see her real bones as opposed to the replica that has previously been circulated in traveling exhibits. It was really fun, and I mainly had fun hanging out with Stephanie and Jen! It has been so long since we ALL have been together, so we were super sad Liz couldn't come. The hotel was fabulous and maybe the best part was The Cheesecake Factory for breakfast the next morning! Sorry Lucy, but millions of years of evolution ain't got nothing on eggs benedict with spinach and fresh tomatoes. Joking! But it was really yummy!

I WENT TO GALVESTON
The Texas Association of Museums was in a fancy hotel in Galveston this year. The conference itself was not spectacular; the session choices were extremely limited and I didn't really feel like I learned a lot of new stuff. However, I have never been to Galveston before for an extended period of time and it was amazing! We ate a ton of great food, were right on the beach, the hotel pool was heated, and the night events were fun. Jack and I ate at this amazing restaurant called Palms M&M and later went shopping were I found beautiful handcrafted jewelry by local artists as well as a great antique. I know I am not technically supposed to have more fun than work, but sometimes that is just how it turns out. And by the way, I worked my booty off the first day because I did a half-day seminar about blogging, podcasting, etc. with a few other very talented web people from different museums. It was received very well and I really enjoyed presenting about technology. People want to know so badly but are so afraid of the money! Not at all how it has to be...

I WENT TO DENVER
OK, so this is my most recent trek and therefore freshest in my mind. Now, unlike Galveston and last year's American Association of Museum meeting in Chicago, I greatly enjoyed the actual conference. I liked Denver the city OK, but I did not like the extremely dry air and the fact that it was snowing when we got there and on the day we left, but not the days in between. Joy and I used an entire bottle of lotion between the two of us because of the dry air, and I had altitude sickness that left me with debilitating stomach cramps for days. I will just skip to the absolute BEST part of the trip, which was when I randomly decided to go to a session entitled Technology and Museums: Are the Inmates Running the Asylum? The answer is an obvious "YES!" I go in and immediately realize it is going to be a much more laid-back session, and it was just that. There were about 200 people in the room, and on the big screen was a Jeopardy-looking board with different titles in the squares, each of which had smaller squares that were the buttons to different examples of that category on the internet. The point was that the audience could just shout out a category they would like to see an example of and the presenters would click on a funny example. There was a category called Too Much Time that was picked a couple of time throughout the session, and towards the middle someone picked it and Holly Witchey (one of the kick-ass presenters) said "These girls may have too much time on their hands, but they are two of the most talented women on the internet. Mary Beth, this is for you." And then she played TWO of mine and Jessica's video blogs for everyone! I was absolutely floored. They stood up and clapped for me after they were over and made me stand up and point myself out to everyone. I went up to them afterwards and they said they all freaked when I walked in the room before the session started. It is definitely one of the most surreal moments in my life, but also the most rewarding. Nothing else even close to that amazing happened while we were there, so I will just leave it at that. Oh, Jack thought we were eating sushi next to Stephen Spielberg, but he was grossly mistaken.

Well, wrapping up a long couple of months of traveling is really nice. Work is crazy getting ready for this big event we have coming up, but hopefully it will calm down soon. Again, I will try to update more often!!!!