Lack of motivation

I've been a bad blogger this week....nothing from writers workshop got me very excited today so I decided to skip this week....so here is a little recap of things that have been going on....

I've gotten back into my workout routine - Jillian Michaels is still and always will be evil. My legs hurt today and the first day back it was my shoulders. I know in the end it will be worth it though since I've struggled with this weight for a good year now.

I've been better with my diet (except yesterday I needed chocolate several times, if ya know what I mean).

Big project starts at work tomorrow and goes till the end of next week. This means long days and some out of town travel so don't expect anything too thrilling from me till I get a little rest.

I plan to start weeding out my big flower bed tonight - its going to be bad because I've let it go for several weeks. I need to get it under control so we can put mulch down. I hope I don't pull any muscles or end up throwing my garden tools across the yard and walking away...literally I feel it looks like this:

Maybe I need a machete and a brush hog to get through it....or a flame thrower I'm not quite sure!

Its supposed to rain all weekend here in lovely Ohio, which means I won't be able to do much outside. But I'm designing some advertising material for Andrew's mothers day lilies that she sells so that should be fun!

So sorry for my lack of exciting blog topics but I promise I'll have some soon!

My very first blog award!!!

So while I was catching up on blog reading from my total weekend lazyness I was over reading at Little Miss Scatterbrained and noticed she had bestowed upon me a blog award! Her blog is great and she writes about a lot of the same things as me: working out, cooking, being a wife (okay I know I'm not married yet but whatever), pets and all kinds of adorable stuff. So per the rules of the award I have to write 10 honest things about myself.


1) There was a girl at my high school with the same name as me, first, middle and last and I used to get called down to the office for her....for skipping classes I didn't even take. It was an awful year for me being accused of getting in fights, skipping school and ripping someones hair out. I almost changed my last name to my mothers maiden name so it would stop.

2) I have one tattoo, its on my right hip and sometimes I forget about it. Its a smiley face from the Bon Jovi CD Have a Nice Day. I want to get another one, but I'm still undecided on what to get.

3) My brother and I were never close till I went off to college, now we hang out a lot and go on double dates and other fun things. We are basically best friends who hated one another for about 15 years.

4) I've dated two diesel mechanics (this includes Andrew) who went to the same tech school just in different states.

5) Secretly I've always wanted to be a country girl and I like country boys and now I really do live in the country. Some of my college friends like to think of me as the redneck of the group, but I have just never been a big city kind of girl.

6) I love to cook and bake but despise cleaning up the mess. Sometimes I beg Andrew to help but most of the time I just do it myself.

7) I've started this gradual vegetarian diet but sometimes I just can't resist eating junk. I know its bad for me, but its just so good. I've been really good about not eating fast food (with the exception of Subway and a salad bar at the grocery store near my work) but this past weekend I really cheated, A LOT and afterward I feel so guilty.

8) I am a worrier (as I've mentioned before) but I'm hoping to start getting over that.

9) I hate bugs, they make summer kind of suck sometimes. Ticks and bees are the absolute worst, along with the giant centipede type bugs we have in our basement sometimes.....they make me want to scream!

10) I love to grocery shop and find good deals: Aldi and Meijer (its kinda like Walmart, but cleaner and I think better quality stuff) are my favorite places to go!

So now to pass the award along to 5 people:

1) Rachel @ If its a hero

2) Stephanie @ The Mrs.

3) Caitlyn @ The other Hairs. No, the other ones.

4) Jessica @ This, That and My Blog

5) Jenn @ Loveletter Typewriter

Weekend in review

I had a lovely long weekend since I took Friday off. That morning we cleaned the house a little and did some yard work and waited on our HVAC people for a seasonal checkup of our system. Its only a year old, but they do it free for 5 years, so what the heck. They actually found a part that was installed wrong at the factory and will have to come back in two weeks to fix it....I'm not that concerned because we don't need our AC right now! After that finished up we went to the garden store and I finally got plants for my pot on the front porch, some Miracle Grow and more Phlox (my favorite flower of the moment). Then we got ready for the Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum concert - it was AMAZING. For a 43 year old he has a nice......body......and voice.....and cute, tight butt!

Saturday we headed up to Andrews parents place to spend some time with them. Our little niece is WALKING now, at just 9 months old and she gets cuter everyday! She is saying about 6 words, eating people food and pretty soon she won't even have a bottle anymore. We headed home around dinner time and got to work cleaning the house and making dinner.

Sunday my moms brother and his wife came for a visit from PA - it was so great to see them! They haven't been here since my brother graduated high school about 3 years ago. We showed them all around the house, had some cookies and drinks and then they had to head home. After everyone left, I vegged out on the couch the rest of the day....sometimes its nice just to not do anything!

On the schedule for this week: getting a lot of stuff ready for school, big project at work starts on Friday (I will be working a few 10-12 hour days), designing some advertising material for Andrew's moms day-lilies and not cleaning the house since I did that for 3 days....hope everyone has a good week!

I can't believe after all these years.....

I'm still talking about/annoyed with/struggling to cure my acne. My skin has never been and will probably never be perfect. I know that maybe 60% of that is my fault. I pick at my face (not nearly as much as I used to) I'm not religious about washing it at night but I'm getting better. I wear make up and I don't constantly change my pillow case. But my mom and dad both had horrible acne so 40% is there genetics.

I just hate that I was cursed with such an awful thing that has affected every aspect of my life. My self esteem has always been low - at 9 years old I started to break out, that is quite traumatic for a young girl. My mom let me start wearing makeup in 4th grade because I felt so awful about the way I looked. I started going to the dermatologist shortly after, the third best dermatologist in the country and the founder of the dermatology program at the Ohio State University. I went on every pill, topical gel/lotion and face wash and I cannot fathom how much money my parents spent on my skin.

When I was 20 my parents finally decided that I could go on Acutane, a very powerful acne medication with a lot of side effects. At this point in time my face was at its worst, I wasn't just breaking out in the T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) but I was breaking out on my back, chest and all over my face. Three months into taking the medication I had lost some hair, had horribly dry skin and bloody noses pretty frequently (all of these were normal side effects). I also had problems seeing at night and my appetite went out of whack. I still get a few break outs now and then but for the most part my skin has calmed down.

I recently just started using some more organic methods for my skin, taking Zinc and using a Tea Tree Oil and Witch Hazel cleansing pad at night. I read a lot about the Zinc online and apparently it can help cure the redness of acne scaring as well as preventing future breakouts so we'll see how it goes. But honestly, I still talk about my acne a lot and feel very self conscious about it to this day. I wish I had the money to get microdermabrasion but its horribly expensive and not covered by insurance. Maybe it will just go away on its own someday.....or maybe not.

So what are you angry at yourself about or what writers workshop prompt did you choose?

Click the button below to play along.

Wonderful Weekend

So I realized that I didn't do a weekend re-cap last week, which is probably okay because I don't think many people read them anyways. But I will write it one last time and see!

Friday: I had a pretty crummy week, with some great moments mixed in but I didn't feel like doing much once Friday rolled around. We stayed in for dinner, and ran to Target so I could return some stuff.

Saturday: I was up early making pancakes and getting ready to go Amish Country with Andrews mom. We had been trying to go for a good two months but the weather or other things always prevented us from going. Andrews parents arrived around 8 and we were on the road by 8:30. We went to Millersburg, Charm, Berlin and Walnut Creek. I got a bunch of food at the bulk food store: cornmeal, barley, rice, raisins, lots of spices for next to nothing, cookie cutters, animal crackers, popcorn and yeast. We also went to an organic food store where I bought some rice mixes and organic face cleanser. Driving around was probably the most fun, see all of the buggies and kids, pretty farms and just a totally different way of life that I can never imagine.

Sunday: We went to Lowes and got some things for the yard. I have some flocks in a flower bed out front and wanted to get more so they would fill in around our gas meter. We mulched around the trees and a few flower beds and tried a new dandelion killer (yes, I know this probably sounds really exciting). I made manacoti for dinner and now we're just relaxing.

On the agenda for this week: Well, not much really, just work and getting things ready for the garage sale that will be going on in a few weeks!

Daddy things

I am forever and always a daddy's girl. Through and through he has always been the light of my life, we share a love of music (and he gave me a great appreciation for a fantastic guitar solo or song with a lot of passion and soul), we have the same sense of humor and we enjoy the same things. Growing up I always thought of my dad as an attractive guy with a good sense of style.

His hair always looked great even as it thinned thanks to:

he would comb and move his hair around ever so carefully before we went out anywhere and then spray it down with this stuff. This hairspray is old school but I still buy it sometimes, your hair will not move and its great for that up-do for prom or to make you look like you're not balding!

My dad always smelled great too and I recall one cologne that he had only because we thought the name was stupid:

I am pretty sure he doesn't use this anymore but I still have the free duffel bag he got when he bought this the first time at Lazarus!

Since my dad has played guitar since he was 16 I always remember him buying these strings. I always thought that the package was really cool too.

I'm sure my dad wasn't the only one who used this shaving cream and I'm sure I'm not the only girl who would steal it when I ran out of my own and then get in trouble when he couldn't find it.

So I know I was supposed to come up with 5 things, but honestly I can't think of anything else that I always remember my dad using. I would say though that the guitar strings bring me the most happiness to think about. I've always loved listening to my dad play, seeing the look on his face when he would finally master a song. I loved when he was in a rock band, when they would let me sing with them or make up songs about my boyfriend at the time. They played at my 16th birthday party and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I always wanted to learn to play but I'm content being the singer.

What did you write about for Mama Kat's Writers Workshop?

More spring

This is my only tulip that bloomed. Something ate the tops off all the other ones and the others I planted in another place just didn't come up all the way.....I was pretty bummed.

One of the bushes by the front door it smells really good when it blooms.

Crab apple tree which also smells wonderful and just looks gorgeous.

I'm glad my dad trimmed this tree up last year. The branches were almost on the ground by the time the crab apples came on - this is my favorite place in the yard. Behind this tree is the magnolia which has already bloomed and got ruined by the wind.

Simple silence

*I wrote this on Friday night*


I'm waiting for Andrew to get home so we can go get something to eat.

For once today, I didn't turn on the TV when I got home from work. I got out the laptop, plugged it in and opened my iTunes and found some songs that were kind of quiet and soothing.

I hated country music till college for whatever reason, but now it is so relaxing to me, along with some other songs that always seem to make my mind go to another place.

Watched the cars drive by out the front window and just enjoyed the quiet.

I feel like its been years since I've done this. When I had my apartment in the spring I'd open my window and play music and just lay on my bed and daydream. Sometimes I think I need to be that carefree again, just listening to music and not caring what else is going on. I forgot what an amazing stress reliever this was until just now.

So how do you unwind after a long week?

My outrageous fear

I have always been made fun of by my friends and family for my bizarre fears and sometimes I wonder myself why I am so afraid of this one, pretty stupid thing.....

CLOWNS

via

I can recall pretty vividly the day that this started. My grandpa was part of the Shriners when I was younger and every year they would have a Christmas party. Those dang Shriner clowns would always be there, out in the hallway greeting kids. The last year that I went one of them came up to me and asked me to blow into his fist (yeah is it just me or is that creepy) and after I did what he asked he opened his hand to show me this dinosaur toy and said my bad breath made it come to life.

Ever since that day I've hated clowns. I know it seems dumb but they totally freak me out - their painted faces, creepy smiles and laughs, big shoes and weird magic tricks. I am always afraid that under that weird make up is some weirdo old man who just likes to be around kids (I know I am probably going WAY out on a limb with that one). Now my fear has even grown a little to a hatred/fear of mimes and the Burger King Man/The King....

I want to punch him in his large plastic head and watch him fall down and maybe get run over by a garbage truck. Yes, that is how much I dislike him. They had this one commercial for Burger King breakfast where he stuck is head into someones window while they were sleeping and handed them a breakfast sandwich. If that happened to me I'd be sure to run for the shotgun in the closet.....

So I know it probably sounds totally nuts that I am afraid of clowns but I know I can't be the only one......

What are you writing about for Mama Kats Writers Workshop?

Dog update

Thank you to those who left their comments of concern about Bessie on my blog. Here is what happened with the dog situation! I finally got a hold of the Animal Control people yesterday (they are only open from 11am till 4pm M-F and don't have an answering machine). I gave the lady all the info I had on the dogs, where we see them and the frequency of these events. She then asked me the most idiotic questions ever....

"Why haven't you called before about these dogs?" - Hmmm lets see you're only open 5 hours a day, 5 days a week and you're always closed when the dogs are around! I told her I had called our local police and they wouldn't do anything about the dogs - then she laughed at me.

"Have you tried to approaching the black lab to see if you can catch the dog and bring it to our drop point *which by the way is 25 miles from my house*" - Uh no, its hair stands up when you look at it and its always barking and growling, am I going to risk my life to catch this dog, uh no.

After all her dumb questions she said and asking me for directions to our address 5 different times (if you work for the COUNTY shouldn't you know your way around?!?!) she said she would TRY to have someone come out and set a trap for the dog......

And in other news: my beloved/hated/boat of a Lumina has finally retired after 6 years and thousands of miles, I'm a driver of another fine Chevy vehicle, the Impala for the time being; allergies are in full swing; I've got a great post coming together for writers workshop tomorrow so be sure to come back; the diet is still going well I just haven't been able to work out yet but today I swear I'm doing something; 3 months to go till I'm back in school!

She (wants to be) a little runaway

This dog is my heart but lately she has been giving me a heart attack. Story: since we have been working on/lived in the house there has been a "runaway basset hound" on our street. It belongs to someone about 4 or 5 houses down from us and walks down our busy road randomly during the week and on weekends. We've tried to catch it with no luck to see if its got a tag on its collar. Now the runaway has a little buddy - a black lab mix stray that runs down our road with it. We know this dog doesn't belong to anyone but believe the owners of the basset are feeding it. Andrew saw it for the first time this winter, he went to let Bessie out and it was on our porch so he scared it off. All of its hair stood up and it barked and growled at him and Bessie of course wanted to run off after it.

Two times in the last week these dogs have been in our yard or running down the middle of the road and just as I open the door to put Bessie on her run (no we don't keep her chained, she just loves to be outside and her run is totally humane) she sees the dogs and takes off. It happened to me this morning and I screamed bloody murder running after her barefoot through the muddy yard hoping she didn't run into the road. Once we got back to the house I called the non-emergency police number and they said they would send a sheriff out but the dogs ran off and I didn't ever see the sheriff show up.

I am afraid that one day either Bessie is going to get bit or get in a fight with one of these dogs or she will run after them on the road and get run over by a car. I've exhausted everything and our county doesn't have a dog warden (and the number to call for runaway dogs, well they are only there from 11am till 4pm and closed on weekends). I would be so devastated if anything happened to Bessie, but now I just don't know what to do!

Monday again

I don't really have much for a weekend re-cap (I didn't take any pictures this weekend, nothing too thrilling was going on).

Friday: We went out to dinner after Andrew got off work and then walked around in Home Depot. I got some garden tools and we headed home to have a few drinks on the deck.

Saturday: I started my "Spring Cleaning" by moving furniture in the living room and getting all the dog hair out from under the couch - I hate to admit I don't do this often enough, scrubbed the floor in my hands and knees and then scrubbed down the bathroom. Laundry and cleaning the kitchen followed while Andrew was helping my brother with his truck (its almost done). We stayed home that night and cooked our last two steaks on the grill. I made Andrew watch Father of the Bride with me for the millionth time too :)

Sunday: I sang at church at noon and then ran some errands with Andrew before dinner at my parents. I got nice flowers for my mom, wine and made a relish tray and carrot cake (from scratch). My mom wrote me the nicest email thanking me for bringing everything to dinner. We had a great meal, my dad outdid himself as always with a standing rib roast that was incredible and we had asparagus and my moms homemade dinner rolls. We worked on the yard a little after we got home.

For the week ahead: getting more yard work done before we have another cold snap, starting my square foot garden, more spring cleaning/getting rid of clothes, start working out for real this week!!!!

So how was everyone's Easter Weekend or just your weekend in general?

Spring

My daffodils and star magnolia finally bloomed yesterday. When I got home from work I was giddy like a kid to take some pictures of everything. Its amazing how three days of warm weather can bring everything out. Our grass needs mowed already and the birds are singing like crazy outside every morning.

I think for some reason this spring seems extra wonderful considering we had over 30 inches of snow in the month of February and that thaw was something everyone wanted.

10 Things I've learned from blogging

Its that time again, Writers Workshop over at Mama Kat's! This week I chose the first prompt: List 10 things blogging as taught you!

1. There will always be people who do not understand why you blog (like say your boyfriend or your mother).
2. There is an amazing support system out there if you look in the right places, like The Lady Bloggers Society (check out my button to find out more information). Not only can they give you a support system, but also blogging tips and great resources.
3. Pictures = lots of comments.
4. Its okay to vent on your blog, but its also okay to keep some things to yourself.
5. Sometimes the people that comment on your blogs give better advice than people you know in real life.
6. Spam = just as stinky in the blogging world as it is in the email world.
7. Blogging and reading blogs can often distract you from many things - I've recently burnt a batch of cookies and forgot to switch the laundry for about 3 hours because I was reading blogs.
8. Chocolate and blogging go together like peanut butter and jelly!
9. Consistency is key as I've learned along the way. This blog was a hot mess at first but I think things are more consistent now.
10. Everyone has their reason for blogging or reading blogs but for me its about sharing life experiences and exchanging like experiences with other amazing women. I love this community and I love being a part of it!

So what have you learned from blogging? Do you share any of my list?