When a man loves a woman

Steve Martin: When a man meets the woman he loves, everything changes. His heart races, his head spins. And suddenly, all the dozens and dozens of women he's sleeping with no longer matter. A few years ago, I found the woman I love, and I have put some of my feelings into this little poem:

"Every man needs a woman, and I need you
To lift me when I am sad
To comfort me when I am down
To clean me when I am a drunk
To walk beside me when I want to look like I'm not gay
To walk in front of me when I need someone to act as a human windbreak
To kiss me when I'm horny
To massage when I am tense and/or horny
To make me horny when I'm not horny,
and then to watch me fall asleep.

I need you, darling,
to clean between my toes when they are not clean to my satisfaction.
To pick the nits out of my hair when I have head lice
To try milk for me when I am not sure of the expiration date.
To be there when I need you to be there
and to be out of town the rest of the time

My darling, although it may seem sentimental
I want to take this moment to tell you I love you,
because I don't want to lose half my stuff.

And even though you are far away across the ocean
I always have this to remind me."

[ points to his ring finger, where he quickly notices no ring is there ]

Sorry.

Good night, my love.

I was crying from laughing so hard when I saw this skit on the Steve Martin SNL compilation that was on VH1 the other day. I love his sense of humor! How he kept a mostly straight face while reading this is beyond me.

Hope this was a good pick me up for everyone on a Monday morning :)

Things I hate about winter

As a follow up to my previous blog, here are some of the things I despise about this time of year. Yes, I'm aware I live in Ohio and that's all just part of living here, but someday I want to move south.

1. No one can remember how to drive when it snows.
2. The car is dirty for months and it drives me crazy.
3. Meteorologists make every flake sound like its going to create a full blown blizzard.
4. I love wearing hoodies, but when it so bad that I need that plus a coat, hat and gloves, I'm totally over it!
5. Coming home from running errands and the bottom of your jeans are wet and cold.
6. Not being able to wear heels because I'm afraid I'll slip and fall.
7. After Christmas, who really wants to keep seeing snow?

I seem to be over winter more this year than others and I'm not sure why. Its really only fun when you're a kid and you go out to play in the snow or get school canceled because of it. Now as an adult you have to worry about getting to work or wherever you need to go on time, cleaning off your car and driveway and dressing warm enough.

I'm excited for spring to come :) What do you hate about winter?

Things I love about winter

There isn't a whole lot I like about winter, in fact I would give anything to move away from the snow. But there are a few things I love about this time of year, or luxuries I have that make these months a little easier.

1. Having a garage I can park in so I don't have to scrape snow off my car.
2. The quiet after a big snow.
3. Curling up on the couch with a blanket and a bottle of wine.
4. Cooking in the crock pot.
5. Having a snow blower (although I can't use it) so the snow cleanup is much easier.
   
6. Andrew's winter beard (which I blogged about yesterday).

I was trying to come up with 10 things but I didn't get that far so here are a few photos from our latest winter storm.

What I like about you

I have a really weird thing I love about my boyfriend - his ability to grow an AWESOME beard! This is last winters beard and yes, in real life it looks just as full and crazy! He looks totally different when he doesn't have a beard but in a way I look forward to this side of him.

See he only grows this beard in the winter, you know to keep his face warm since apparently we live in a igloo or something. He usually starts around Thanksgiving and its normally shaved off as soon as spring starts to show its face. Sometimes I wish he would keep the beard year round but really who has something like that on their face in the summer?!?!

He jokes every year that he's going to get it going really long, maybe down to his chest so he can stroke it or braid it. Although I think that would be funny for a minute I don't really want to date someone who looks like they are in ZZ Top ;)

So my boyfriends odd talent might seem odd to you, but you have to admit - the beard plays!

Wanna write something up about your hunny - head on over to Mama Kat's by clicking the button below and link up!

Another week of the "new me"

I've been doing really well this week with my diet and working out (I mean shoveling snow off the sidewalk is also a good workout). I have been eating a lot of healthy things, like fruit for breakfast and snacks, adding more veggies to our meals and trying to cut out more carbs. My most difficult thing has been desserts, I love candy, ice cream and chocolate. I found these little Weight Watchers ice cream cups and they have held me over when I need a sweet tooth fix.

Working out has been going much better, my body doesn't feel like its going to fall apart after every work out and I've been mixing things up to keep it exciting and to work as much of my body as possible. For those of you who do Pilates, man you must have slamming bodies, I did an ab video and it really worked my core hard!

Cheating - well there was a little yesterday when we went to Amish country and I had mashed potatoes with my lunch and half a piece of peanut butter pie (none of the fruit pies they had for the day sounded appealing).

People say they can tell I'm loosing weight but right now I feel like a lot of it is water weight because I've been cutting out a lot of sodium and a good deal of carbs and if I do eat carbs its all whole grain (part of that South Beach Diet I've kept going). I've found though that its not really all about the diet, yeah you shouldn't eat junk all day, but its mostly portions and keeping your metabolism going throughout the day.

This week my goal is to work out everyday but Sunday and to try a few new recipes!

Confidence

I've lacked confidence for most of my life due in large part to my horrible problem with acne. I've literally had breakouts since I was in the 4th grade, about age nine. I was wearing make up by 5th grade to cover up said zits and the never ending cycle of dermatologist visits, pills, creams and washes began.

Everyone told me it would go away as I got older and it has somewhat. I also did 9 months on Acutane, the very controversial acne drug and it helped so much despite the crazy side effects (hair loss, very dry skin, nosebleeds, night blindness and dry mouth were all really fun).

Now that my acne is mostly gone I struggle with the scars of years of "face picking" and "zit popping" that no matter what I couldn't quit doing. So for Christmas I asked my mom for the Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector expecting that for $50 it would do something.

I've been using it for almost a month now and I can totally tell a difference. My redness is extremely reduced, my scars are much less noticeable and when a new zit goes away it doesn't leave a bad mark (I'm trying to be better about picking too). I can't wait to see what happens as I reach the end of the treatment which is about 6-8 weeks.

For the first time today I had the CONFIDENCE to go out to the grocery store with hardly any make up on (just concealer under my eyes and powder, no eyeshadow or anything) as well as my hair pulled back. I never would have done this a month ago let alone a year ago. I think Andrew would be proud of me, he's not a big fan of my "face putty" and is happy to see my confidence growing each day!

Home Dream List

Now that there is a decent possibility that I'll have a job by Valentines Day (I'm about 98% sure, but trying not to get too excited till I get my actual offer) I've been thinking about things I really want for the house. We were out and about today and I took a look at a few things I've been dying to get and the top 10 list is:

1) A small deep freeze - much like the one pictured. I plan on freezing and canning a lot of food this summer because I'm going to do a square foot garden. I also feel like our freezer gets full so fast because we have a side-by-side and now a Sam's Club membership so you do the math.

2) New couch and love seat for our living room - Preferably something in leather or microsuede, a dark tan or brown would be nice. I haven't been able to find a picture of something that I want really bad or anything and I'd rather go and look in a store then on the internet.


















3) Maybe some new dishes/pots and pans - I will probably wait and ask for these as a wedding gift (lol well you know it's nice to dream). We were at Kmart today and I was browsing the dishes while Andrew looked at tools and saw a few Corelle and Country Living sets I liked a lot. Pictured is the Corelle set and Sears didn't have a picture of the Country Living set that I loved but it's called Blue Denim and its adorable! A little country but I like it a lot. I've also got a set of Calphalon pots and pans picked out that I've wanted for the last seven years.

4) A new vacuum that is good at picking up dog hair: We currently have an upstairs and downstairs sweeper system going but I'd like to get it down to just one. I know everyone keeps saying get a Dyson - but I'm not going to. I've heard they break often and you have to send them overseas to have them repaired (this was from a vacuum salesman if you can believe that). Instead I'm going to get a Shark, its $150, lightweight and has a whole bunch of attachments just for dog hair!

I can't wait to be making decent money and to be able to afford things like this. And then maybe someday when I get my loans paid off I can finally get a car of my own and a list of about a million other things.

Week one

This has been the first solid week of my working out/diet routine and let me tell you I was more out of shape than I thought! My abs and thighs are killing me thanks to the workers of the devil named Jillian Michaels and Denise Austin. I'm going to get a yoga mat today and try out some of her yoga videos (I found this amazing On Demand channel that is nothing but work out videos - SCORE).

Also, I have a job interview today! Its not a PR job but it would get my foot in the door at a really great place and help me further build my resume. Plus, those student loans are hanging over my head and making me crazy and I have to have income by March or else its bad news bears.

I still haven't taken down all of my Christmas decorations, but the tree is out of here and I still need to get my manger scene and some other odds and ends put away. I'm thinking Sunday will be a good day for that and the rest of the house cleaning.

I'm glad that its the weekend again - although you would think not working means everyday is a weekend, that's not the case. I love the time I get to spend with Andrew and there is a lot of that on the weekend! We're going to the Boat & RV show tomorrow to check out some boats and fantasize about things we can't afford and then maybe have dinner out with some of our Christmas gift cards.

So what are you up to this weekend? Can you believe another year has come and gone?

Getting back on track

I've decided that starting today, its back to a better diet and exercise - and no this isn't a "New Years Resolution" I'm just sick of feeling fat.

My goal is to consistently loose weight, if its a pound a week, fine. If its 10 pounds a week, that's even better (totally joking here though because that seems impossible/is probably not healthy).

No one believes I'm going to stick with it this time, but I have a feeling I will. See its all about this "body image" issue that I've been having. It started with my mom getting me the Clinique Clinical Dark Spot corrector for Christmas, and in one week I am already seeing an improvement. Since my acne scars are going away to quickly I want to see this weight come off as well. Its been hanging around far too long. I've been horrible about eating well, drinking more than I should and snacking during the day because I get bored while looking for jobs.

I'm getting back to the healthy eating. I bought a lot of good food to make this week and didn't get any junk food at the grocery store. I'm also going to detox from alcohol and coffee for one month and see if that helps with my heartburn (I've read that weight loss also helps with heartburn).

I'm not sure just yet what my goal weight is but I'd like to be a size 8-10 again; here is what I'm going to attempt for a routine.

- Monday, Wednesday and Friday: Work out with my "sister-in-law" either doing a DVD workout or a long walk around the farm where they live.
- Tuesday and Thursday: Use my treadmill for at least 20 minutes alternating jogging and walking.
- The weekends: Not sure yet, when its warm we go on a lot of bike rides, but right now we don't do many outdoor activities.

I hope I can really make it work this time!

Looking back and moving forward

2010 was quite a year. Big events that occurred:
~My dad finally got a job after 15 months of unemployment
~ I got my BA in Public Relations!
~Went camping for the first time in July at Salt Fork State Park and had a lot of fun
~Andrew sold the motorcycle and bought a creeper van
~I met the most inspirational and amazing women through my internship. They have touched my life in ways I can never explain
~Went on two fishing trips to Northern Indiana and never caught a single fish
~I learned how to make applesauce and can/freeze veggies
~We had our first big party at the house for Memorial Day/my 25th birthday
~I tried and failed at becoming a vegetarian but did make a good attempt to eat healthier foods

This year has been great but I'm really looking forward to 2011. I hope that this year I will:
~Get a job I love
~Maybe get engaged
~Celebrate 3 years with Andrew
~Save money and start paying off my student loans (maybe that's an oxymoron)
~Get a lot done in the house
~Spend plenty of time with family and friends
~Continue to do volunteer work through my former internship and meet more amazing people.

So what was the best part of 2010 for you and why are you looking forward to a new year?