the last week in my 20s

This time next week I'll be celebrating my 30th birthday! It is insane to me that my 20s are almost over. Part of me wishes I had made a big 30 for 30 list or something like that, but alas I didn't. I'm ready for 30! I feel happy and settled like I'm on the right path and I know for sure that the last thing I feel is old. Granted, I have a heating pad wrapped around my neck and back at the moment. Maybe I have a jacked up neck and back, but that doesn't make me OLD! I can remember my 20th birthday like I celebrated it last night. It fell the same night of the Sigma Chi/SAE party, Manmouth, (was that what it was called?) and I dressed to the nines in a black tube top and black skirt. Wonder what shoes I was wearing? Shoes are always a tell tale sign of the times... 2001. Too bad there aren't any pictures. So... here we are, 10 years later and a lot has happened, so I figured I ought to give my 20s a proper reflection.

1. Turned 21. Wasn't the best present of your 20th birthday was that you were 1 year closer to 21? Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't wait to be able to get into Schooners.


2. Graduated from Baylor. I still look back and think about my study habits to social habits and have no idea how I did it. In 4 years.


3. Moved to Austin. People ask me now why I moved to Austin and it was because my BFF was moving there, so why not? Such a wise decision and I'd move back to Austin tomorrow if given the chance.


4. Lived on my own~ish. Enjoyed all my roommate experiences, some more than other, and some I wish I could form a compound with now. But my single girl studio apartment that I lived in in Chicago is my happy place. I go back there in my mind when I've just got to get away.


5. Changed my hair ~ In the past 10 years I've been red, brown, black, blond, purple. Short hair, long hair, messy hair, angled bob, The Rachel, straight, "curly", teased, flat, frizzy nappy. Of all those, I think I want to revisit blond.


6. Watched every single episode of Sex and the City. Saw both of the movies and then watched it over and over and over again. How is it that the episodes are still relevant and their clothes don't look out of date?


7. I started my career, but at the time I had no idea that it was my career or how it would all pan out.


8. Met my good friend, the stiletto. In 2004, I wore 4-5inch stilettos every.single.day. I thought there would never be a time when I wouldn't feel more comfortable in stilettos. Now I can't wear them for more than a couple of hours at a time.


9. Tried sushi. Gagged my fool head off at first bite and now I love it. Spicy tuna, y'all!


10. Traveled from coast to coast, but not out of the country. If I had to pick between NYC or California... I'd pick California. Obviously, not the city, but such a great place.


11. Moved to Chicago. God closed a door, opened another one and that move changed my life.


12. I met my best friends in my 20s. I lost some best friends too. Martha Stewart once said, "Sometimes best friends are not, and that's too bad." Couldn't agree more. Losing friends, I believe, has shaped me into a better friend. I'm so thankful for the best friends I have. Truly, they are the best.


13. I lost all of my Grandparents. It is so weird to think that they are all gone, but I am very lucky that I had all the years I had and made the memories I made.


14. Friends ended. "I didn't get on the plane." I bet a week doesn't go by that I don't drop a quote from "Friends" in a conversation. Still so funny, but unlike Sex and the City... their clothes DO look out of date!


15. Started a blog. Well, a xanga, then a blog and here we are. Wish I had known then that the internet is written in ink, but I do love looking back and seeing how I've changed.


16. Met my husband at an Avis Car Rental in San Diego, California. When he introduced himself, I immediately looked for a ring. I was pretty sure that he was way too conservative for me. He's made me want to be a better person. I think I've made him a little less conservative.


17. Got healthy and lost 20lbs. To look back on where I was it boggles my mind to realize I'm at a place where I like to exercise. I had a couple of glasses of wine the other night and confessed that to Christina. I guess it's no secret... I enjoy working out. It takes a long time to get to THAT place!


18. Taught myself how to cook with the help of my good friends at the Food Network. Now it's one of my favorite hobbies and I get to do it all day every day and most nights at home.


19. Moved to the South. I NEVER thought I'd move back to Texarkana because it was so small and now I live in a town that is half the size of Texarkana. Welcome to Mayberry my friends... a far cry from Austin and Chicago, but charming all the same.


20. Got 2 babies... Lola & Stella. Good grief I love those angels. Not sure if I would treat my kids as good as I treat my fur babies.


21. Bought a house. Basically by myself, because Justin was out of town. I adore our little cottage, but wish that it had of come with endless funds to make it fully my own.


22. Started drinking wine. Wine got a bad rap in college... it was just so snotty and pretentious. What was I thinking? Give me a glass, a bottle or a box... I love it all!


23. Got an iPhone. Think back to your first car phone/cell phone. Now, how great is the iPhone? I've had 3 now and I can never go back!


24. Didn't learn how to not put my foot in my mouth. My Stupid Mouth by John Mayer is still one of my most played. Maybe I learn how to shut the heck up in my 30s. Here's hoping!


25. Didn't learn how to arrive early or on time. I'm still late everywhere. STILL! My internal time clock is just 10 minutes behind the world clock. My weakness will always be my weakness.


26. Ran a half marathon! It felt amazing to push myself to new levels, and now 2 years later I'm thinking about doing it again this year. Running isn't an addiction for me, but I do enjoy setting and reaching goals.


27. My feet got smaller and my hair got thicker. Is that a getting closer to 30 thing?


28. Got Facebook. Deleted Facebook. Got Facebook again. How different would life be without Facebook? It's taught me how to be a better internet stalker and that nothing is ever truly private!


29. My real body age, which was tested a month ago, is 24. The truth is, I feel far better now than I ever did at 24. If the 20s were any indication of what's to come... my 30s will be fab.u.lous!


30. Finally, that no matter where I am, God is always faithful to provide. Even when I scan this list, I can't help but think how undeservedly blessed I am. For that, I am so grateful.

detox week

Seems like the blog trend to announce that you have a little nugget on the way is to go "dark" for a while and then come out with the big NEWS! I'm here to announce that while I've been absent and more blog silent than usual, we have...

NOTHING to report!

{for the record ~ we're not even trying & a baby is not even CLOSE to being on our radar.}

As Allie likes to say... I haven't been making time for blogging. I've been making time for couponing {amanda ~ i took the class!}, exercising {loving jillian's new yoga DVD}, recovering chair cushions, hanging curtains, working, working, working & reading!

This week Mom is in Portugal serving the Lord, so I offered to take her place as Gram's care-taker for a few days. Every few months work gets me worked up into an unbearable state of stress, so this week is the perfect time for a good ole detox and cleanse in my food & my life.

Food Detox ~

No Meat
Dairy
Sugar
Caffeine
Processed

I did this same detox/cleanse at the beginning of 2010 & quickly found out that
1. It wasn't as hard as it initially seemed.
2. It made me feel great. {and 4lbs lighter}

Also, it's a great time for a life cleanse as I'll be away from my day to day job and my normal life routines. Time to reflect on where I want to be by the end of 2010 and see what progress has been made thus far. I want to be a better version of myself and I think for me this starts with forgiveness. I plan on taking time to really try and wrap my brain around issue and figure out where I can start chipping away in my life.

My To-Do lists for the week are written, but now it's time to pack, I'm hoping that I can figure out how to get my pictures from my camera on to my computer, because there might be a picture of 2 of George Strait & Reba McEntire that y'all might want to see! And I'd really love to get back to making time to blog and share and write. Now, let's get this party started!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

just a few things.



1. I am not dead! I have a lot of things swimming around in my head, but haven't felt like making time to blog them out. It doesn't help that our laptop completely broke. We are in the process of having the hard drive retrieved and a air card shipped so we can use our desktop at home.


2. I had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. When we surveyed the damage of Christmas it was apparent that we got a lot of STUFF! This is the reality of life without kids, I suppose. The start of a new decade has kick started me into being a different, hopefully better, version of myself. It's a journey, not a destination.


3. The other day I made a beautiful vision board out of a cool frame I found. I have said vision board right by my closet. Staring at my goals/resolutions everyday have made me much better at keeping them.


4. To start the year I did a "No Crap" detox week. No Meat, No Dairy, No Sugar, No Caffeine, No Processed. I lost 4lbs that week and have been taking these. I hope to blog about both of these incidents on my other blog ~ http://www.fourfatchicks.blogspot.com/. In the meantime, go check out the newest feature of Ryan cooking her way through the weight watchers cookbook. VERY cool!


5. Last but not least ~ we have a new addition! Es No BABY! I will go more into detail on a separate post, but I thought you'd like to know that we adopted a new fur-baby into our home! Meet Baby Stella! She is a long haired, dachshund/terrier mix. She has been a delightful addition to our family and she and sister, Lola, are becoming the best of friends.

what is there to be thankful for?

I know blogs are usually happy and fluffy and thanksgiving is tomorrow, but Justin and I were talking the other day and I told him, "2009 has been my least favorite year." Marriage has been harder, because our work has been so stressful. My family has suffered major heartache. Mostly it feels like everything I've asked the Lord for has gone the other way. I refuse to believe that woe is me and I can boldly claim in His name that He will not give me more than I can handle and He will give me the desires of my heart. I know I will one day look back on 2009 and realize aha, this is why things didn't turn out MY way!

It got me to thinking, though, surely beyond all the frustration and the stress and the heartbreak there is something to be thankful for? When I looked around, there was much to be thankful for.

~I'm thankful I'm not Kate Gosselin. When I think about her life, damn. I have learned from her how not to speak to and treat my husband. I vowed to love, honor & cherish him, which starts with my words and manifest in my actions.

~I'm thankful that God has entrusted me with 25 lives that I get serve and love every day. As crazy as work gets at time, I cherish the moments when I look around and think holy cow (no pun intended) how were we lucky enough to get this opportunity?

~I'm thankful that hamstring injuries heal. My body has so graciously allowed me to do things this year that I never dreamed of doing and pushed itself to limits I never knew were possible.

~I'm thankful for candle warmers. I love the way candles smell, love to have them burning, but dang they melt down fast. Not with a candle warmer! Best $5 I've ever spent and now I need like 5 more.

~I'm thankful for our neighbors. I haven't know or been friendly with neighbors in YEARS. Our neighbors feel like an extension of our home. They go in my home when I'm not there (even if my house is messy) and I've let their dogs sleep in our bed. Honestly, if they moved or we moved I'm not sure who would be the saddest ~ us or the babies.

~I'm thankful for waking up every morning. The best part of my day is when I wake up and see my 2 favorite loves sleeping peacefully. With those two by my side, how bad can things get?

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends.

ZDJ

I got a call at 5:30 Saturday morning from my mother. Everyone has a mental time frame of when their family can call to chat and when they call and you know something has to be terribly wrong. This was one of those times and in the split second that it took to register that my phone was ringing I tried to mentally prepare myself for what I was going to hear. I assumed that my Gram had taken a turn for the worse...I never imagined it would be my 21 year old cousin. After, what we believe to be an accidental overdose while spending time with friends, Zach was clinging to life through machines at a Nashville hospital.

I was the closest family member in proximity and there was no question that I should be the one to go, so I hurried around in a state of shock to shower, eat breakfast, pack a small bag and get on the road. For 3 hours I rode in my car going over the details in my head. Holy crap, what the heck has just happened? I felt stunned and numb except for the pit in my stomach and prayed for a miracle that only our God could make happen.

When I arrived I was embraced by my aunt who reassured me that he was fighting. Of course he was fighting, fighting was his job. Zach was a solider and he had spent time in Iraq, jumped out of airplanes and studied at West Point. These thoughts flooded my brain and as I watched him in the hospital bed I kept secretly thinking wake up, wake up, please please wake up. It would have been just like Zach to wake up, look around and crack a joke about being late to the party.

Zach never did wake up & our hearts are all broken on so many levels. I was thinking on the way home, and it's hard to swallow, that our family will never be the same and there will always be a void. Zach and I had a special bond {Justin & I were married on his birthday} & I am grateful for our memories. I keep thinking fondly back to the time that Zach came and stayed 2 weeks with me while I was in Austin. We ate lots of Chick-fil-A and watched hours of Laguna Beach. I laugh thinking of his impersonation of Kristin Cavillari. "SteeePHEN"

As a family of Christ followers, the Lord has affirmed to us that Zach is with Jesus in heaven and that brings a calming peace that gets us through the moments of questioning and the stunned disbelief. It was Zach's wish to be an organ donor, so his organs will go first to help any solider in need and then Nashville, TN and beyond. It is my prayer that the 20-50 people that will benefit from this special gift will live their life with the vitality, fearlessness & gusto that Zach approached every situation he encountered in his life.

{Zach & Me ~ November 2006}

Natalie Grant's lyrics keep playing in my head & now I fully get their meaning ~ Held

This is what it means to be held

How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know

That the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

Shaping lives

Justin & I have been consumed with the College World Series this weekend. It's a 3 year running tradition for us, and no matter who plays we enjoy watching. I actually attended the CWS 4 years ago, & we hope to go back one day together, because the excitement of the tournament is enjoyable to us.

We've especially enjoyed watching this tournament, because Texas is playing. If you've been reading this blog for a number of years, perhaps you remember that when I lived in Austin I helped out with a youth group...teaching Sunday School & Wednesday night bible study.

Texas played their 2nd game on Tuesday night & I was pleased to see that Chance Ruffin was the starting pitcher. Chance was also one of my students in the youth group. Unfortunately, Chance was retired after the 2nd inning & the announcers {who I usually think are TERRIBLE & ridiculous} start talking about what a fantastic young man of character Chance is.

Justin turns to me & says, "And just think Lesli, you helped shape his character."

Not sure there's any truth to that statment, but wouldn't I like to think so! {wink, wink}

Character aside, he's a darn good pitcher ~ Hook 'em!

"My weaknesses have always been food & men - in that order." ~ Dolly Parton

I rarely re post tagged blogs, and not because I think I'm too good for them, but more like when I have to think of a number of random things about myself I can't and it makes me crazy for about a week trying to think of random things! I'm working from home today, so I'm going to start this list now and see how far I can get.


I was awarded by ~ Sirena & Lynn. Sirena is a friend of a friend & I believe we have hung out a couple of times in real life, but we mostly know each other through email, blogs & facebook! Lynn is my bloggy friend who I met when me and the fat chicks started our blog! I just realized that Sirena's link on my side bar has NOT been updated since she got married, so I will be fixing that. {I read blogs through google reader, so it's fixed there!} Both girls lead very exciting lives and are always good for a fun read! Check them out if you haven't!

All right... so the rules are to post 7 things that make me awesome, and at the risk of sounding braggy I'll just refine the rules to make them 7 ~Random~ things about ME! {Hopefully, I can come up with 7 things that you DON'T already know about me!}

1. When I met my husband, Justin, and fell in love... I did EVERYTHING I said I would never do. Married my complete opposite, married 1 year to the day we met, long distance engaged. It's funny to me how love changes EVERYTHING.

1st Visit ~ March 2007

Our Wedding ~ December 2007

2. I eat EDAMAME every day with my lunch. It's my alternative for chips & fries, and I LOVE it. On Fridays I eat it for lunch & dinner. It's not just for sushi anymore, folks!

3. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when people cut across parking lots instead of driving down the designated way. If I see you do this, be assured that I WILL honk at you! Follow the rules!

4. I'm 2 Weeks into Marathon training & I'm scared to death to actually do it. I had a dream last night that I showed up to the race 3 hours after it started. The only people that I've said this secret to prior to revealing it here on my BLOG is my husband & one of our employees that is deaf.

5. The highlights that the lady gave me & then covered up are peeking through. It adds insult to injury every time I look in the mirror. If you'd like to donate money to me so I can afford to get my hair REDONE for the 2nd time in a month, leave me a comment & I'll send you my routing number!

6. I'm realizing my age. For 28 years I've rarely worn sunscreen & never needed glasses. In this past month I've changed my tanning habits and lathered up in sunscreen, primarily getting my tan from a spray can. And as I write this blog I'm sporting my extra fabulous Burberry Glasses {the only designer thing I'll ever own!}. Here's a twitpic of the 1st day I had them!

7. I go to sleep all by myself every night! Justin is a total night owl & stays up MUCH MUCH later than I ever could on a school night. This is my alone time & selfishly, I get a little disappointed when I don't get to drift away to sleepy land in my big old bed by myself!

There you have it, sweet friends! 7 random things about me...I hope you learned something new about me. I mean it only took me and entire day & a half to think these up!

500

It is hard for me to believe that this is my 500th post on this blog. I say this blog, because I originally blogged in xanga. Some of you might be too young in blog years to remember Xanga, but basically it's what got me here. I've been thinking about this post and what I would write, and I felt pressure to make it more special that just a post about my underwear eating dog or a make-up recommendation.

I thought about going back through my entire blog and picking out my favorite posts, but how on earth would I chose? I'm real big on picking favorites, but this blog catalogues my life starting with my oat-sowing days in Austin, to moving to Chicago, to meeting my husband, to making new friends, to losing old friends, to surviving marriage & adapting to in-laws, to moving across the country to the south, so it's too hard to nail down a handful of favorites.

I did go back and read the very first post to this blog, and I thought it would be the best reflection of a blog milestone.

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Welcome to the inaugural post of the new blog! I hope you like what you see. I'm extremely open to criticism and suggestions!!! What's missing? Is there too much of something? Please let me know...We've been working REALLY hard on this for the past week.

I feel I should probably explain why I got a new blog in the first place. I really felt like I had found my niche as a blogger. . . I have figured out what kind of blog writer I want to be and have developed my very own style, so I decided it was time to graduate to blogger. Now, I can have a little more control on the look & feel & order of my posts. I like that. . . (I'm putting those spaces in just for you!)

I also like the fact that only a few of you will know about this, and it can grow from there. I will post a more normal entry later. Thank you for coming, we can now cut the ribbon.

Funny, if you asked me today what kind of blog writer I am I wouldn't have a good answer for you. I do know that blogs have come a long way since then. The Pioneer Woman recently won the award for Best Weblog at SXSW. To me, The Pioneer Woman changed the face of blogging and many of you (and I) have her to thank (in my honest opinion) for the current popular style of blogging where pictures tell most of our story and we fill in the blanks with words. If you go back and skim through the beginning of my blog you might go through months of archives and maybe find one photo. Times they are a changin'!

The more I've thought about that lately, the more I've been thinking about the kind of blog writer I am and the kind of blog writer I want to be. I'm thinking of getting back to the ways of vintage style blog writing where quality was more important than quantity. And now that that pressure is off, I will take cues from the great blog writers of today and remember to always include a picture.

That was me then, and this is me now.

being the change

The following post is a tad more serious than most of my posts on ALifeLesOrdinary, but it is something that has been on my heart and my mind for the past week and this is my honest attempt to put it into words. My hope is that it will challenge and inspire you.
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Christina and I sat in her kitchen last January sipping peppermint hot chocolate and discussing our views on life. You see, Christina and I are good at this, and in a matter of hours we can solve many of the worlds problems with a few great debates. We sit respectfully on opposite sides of the political fence, but on this night could see eye to eye on one thing. We decided that we did not want to raise our children in the world in which we were raised and with that thought in mind adopted a motto between the two of us. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Ghandi


We want our children to be raised in a place where people of different colors and race are NOT viewed negatively or less than anyone else. True racial equality and meeting in the middle. In my opinion, the civil rights movement happened close to 50 years ago, and while most public places are integrated, little has come by the way of attitude and vision of seeing all as equally human. As the year has played out I've thought about that conversation and our motto on many occasions. It has helped shape my thoughts, my behavior, my language and my attitude.


I stumbled upon an article the other day about the racial happenings surrounding the presidential election and couldn't help but read to see what's being going on. I will go on the record right here and now to say that I never intended to vote for Barack Obama and I did not vote for Barack Obama due to my own political convictions not aligning with his, but as a fellow human being I respect him and the office he will soon hold. For the record, I've really enjoyed his interviews and press conferences post election ~ he's funny & charming! I wasn't surprised that there were incidents around the country, but one that shocked me was one that happened at my alma mater ~ Baylor University.


The day after the election there was a noose found tied to a tree in the middle of campus.


This horrific act of ignorance turned my stomach and made me feel ashamed and embarrassed to be associated by degree to that university. And ignorant it is, because while racial equality is something yet to be grasped, I believe there isn't a soul in my generation that can truly wrap our brains around the hatred and torture that embodied our land many years ago. The thing is, I think it's easy to point a finger at Baylor and say how dare you allow such ridiculousness?

And I did that for a few days until I it dawned on me. If I MUST be the change that I wish to see in the world my attitude had to go. It's about forgiveness and me. I can not force people around me or even people of other races to be different, think different or act different, and while I believe their actions are punishable by dismissal I can only be me. I can act out and think out and live out how I want that world to be and my hope is that soon many others will follow my lead.

Welcome to the Lipstick Jungle..oh wait.

So, how many of you ladies are fans of Lipstick Jungle? I am such a fan that I've watched this entire season on my laptop with a skittish Internet connection. Which is more than I can say for Grey's Anatomy.

There I said it, I haven't really watched much of Grey's Anatomy. What? I think it's kind of lame this year, and now that I've said it out loud you can feel ok about admitting it to yourself. Justin and I started at the beginning of the season and thought, well maybe they just seem lame because we're not watching in the moment, but then they never seemed to get better.

However, my Lipstick Jungle girls were thriving! Every episode was rich in dialogue and suspenseful drama that made me long for more, not to mention all those sexy men and the beautiful clothes! Then I heard the news ~ CANCELLED.

It's hard enough when one of your favorite shows decides for themselves that it's going to end, ie ~ Sex and the City, but I'm so sick of good shows getting cancelled. Or like my beloved Friday Night Lights that always right on the fringe of being cancelled.

Then you have 57 versions of Law & Order or CSI, and I'll admit that I don't mind watching some of these from time to time, but can't there just be one? Or shows like the one starring the acclaimed superstar from the underwear ads AND I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Ghost Whisperer. How does THAT stay on the air and I have to say goodbye to my sistas in the Jungle. Get to writing Candace, we're all going to need a new show here pretty soon.

The Midas Touch

Justin and I enjoyed yet another wonderful weekend in Austin, Texas and of course it was filled with MUCH football. College... professional... ok mostly college. It dawned on us last night... we might just have the Midas Touch for college football teams.

As you know we were in Norman, Oklahoma for the start of the season. While we were there the Oklahoma Sooners were ranked #1. Rightly so, our staff and customer base were all die hard sooner fans and even sooner coaches, so we hoped for the victory every week lest we'd have some distraught people on our hands.

Then we were up and transferred to Austin, TX. A city that stands on itself without The University of Texas, but still... hard to go anywhere and not see the burnt orange and longhorn. Would you believe that in under a week and a half the tides have turned and now the Longhorns are #1? I'm with Colt... wish they could have flown under the radar for a little while longer, but entertained a very nice thought of all the sad weary souls in Norman on Saturday afternoon.

I said week 1 that Alabama and Texas were the two teams that were better than the rankings suggest. Now lookey who's number 1 and number 2. But be careful all BCS teams... Justin and I head back to Lexington, Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Wildcats, December 1st... just in time for bowl play!

truly real

i slammed the car door into the middle of my thigh the other day. it was a rental car and i suppose i misjudged the length of the door. i was more mad that it didn't bruise immediately than i was about the immense pain i was in. i wanted proof of my pain. to make it more believable to everyone else. i could feel the pain, but if everyone else could see it, then it would truly be real and the commiserating could ensue.

last week when justin and i were dragging our worn bodies through one of the most frustrating weeks we've experienced in our work i needed someone to feel my pain - to feel for me. i arrived at work and sat in the parking lot with tears streaming down my face thinking this... this is my valley and this pain is the worst. during those tears i received emails of encouragement and emails of other people's problems.

wait a second...selfishly, i wanted this moment in my car to be about me and you're saying that i'm not the only one with problems in the world? there was that madness again. why couldn't my pain be the most important pain today. i needed to feel validated to make my pain truly real. where did my commisery go?

in my friend's grandmothers house there is a saying that hangs - if all the world's problems were hung on a line, you would take yours and i would take mine. seems like right now every woman i know is in a place in their life... a place of pain, a place of anger, a place of hurt and also a place of frustration. when i took time away from my selfish pity to reflect on what other people that i love were experiencing i realized that my emotional bruises were small potatoes.

while this post is mainly to remind me that even if you can't see the bruise of frustration doesn't mean it's not there but if you're feeling like you're in this place... let this post remind you that you are not alone. you're pain is truly real and it's ok to think it's the absolute worst thing in the entire world.

a few days later the bruise on my leg eventually showed and a little part of me was very happy, because damn that door hurt!

from clark street to lexington

when i lived in chicago christina and i had this summer time tradition. well, is it a tradition if it's not set in stone, but somehow managed to happen about once a week if not more? she'd call me when she woke up on saturday, because i'd been up for hours watching cooking shows and cleaning my studio. she'd meet me at my house and we'd plan our day of shopping or sunning or wine~ing. every weekend it would begin with brunch at tarascas. it was my sort of stand in for the juan in a million (austin) void i needed to fill, and while not a perfect replacement- it helped.

tarascas was a block from my house and was famous for their margaritas. their $3 mimosas are what brought us back every week. we'd sit outside and watch the fit people exercise while we polished of plates of huevos rancheros with chips and salsa and $3 mimosas.

we'd sit there for hours, much to our fiance's chagrins, but there was life to discuss and new situations to figure out. i was newly in love and she'd been at it for 3 years. i was about to be engaged and she was about to have her wedding. it was such a favorite among the two of us, that if we skipped church on sunday, we usually met back up at that same place.

since i moved from chicago we've made our best effort to keep up our girls time and since our husbands saw how happy maintaining our own traditions made us, they go to great lengths to ensure we get a proper amount of girl time in.

this past weekend christina came down to good old lex for a few days of laughing, crying, eating and of course wine~ing. we stayed up late re-watching so you think you can dance and dishing our critiques, she taught me the chicago step and there was a noise violation that came as a result of our 4pm dance party. we watched juno and 7 episodes of sex and the city, and as a treat from the tv god's Steel Magnolias was on sunday afternoon

our weekend seemed to be sprinkled with specific ingredients to create girls weekend perfection for us. of course i was only able to snap one picture of the entire weekend, but then again y'all probably aren't interested in seeing us sprawled out on the couch watching our shows in our ratty pajamas.

the baby conversation

when justin and i were first going through our marital counseling he thought he'd want to start trying for babies after our first year of marriage. this is when he thought kids were all giggles and barbies and baseball games and trips to toys r us. six months into the marriage he turned to me and said, "You know how i thought i wanted kids after being married a year?" "Yeah..." "I really like our life and how we live and i think i want to wait more like 5 years." music to my ears.

i like our life too. it's not over the top or extravagant, but it is splendidly ours and it's wonderful.

when i was in texas i got to spend time with a 1 month old, a 1 year old, a 3 year old and a 6 year old. there was a point when the 1 month old was screaming and spitting up (this is what they call throw up for babies - throw up is throw up) and i thought i am NEVER going to be cut out for this kind of work. and a good friend told me some thing to the effect that i may never feel ready and if i don't, i shouldn't force myself to have kids. it's not right for everyone.

naturally, as newlyweds, we get the baby question a lot. i think, even in 2008, people still believe that just because you get married you HAVE to have children. if no one has every told you this, allow me - you don't have to be a parent just because you are a spouse. now - for the people who can't have children and are heartbroken each month - my heart ACHES for you. i hate that life is so unfair.

then one afternoon the 3 year old and the 6 year old crawled into my lap and we laughed and snuggled. maybe i could do this.


just the other night justin and i were watching one of our very favorite shows - Jon and Kate Plus 8. if you are not watching this, then you need to be. single, married, parent, grand parent, girl, guy - it's great for everyone! it's funny and cute and keeps life in perspective. if kate can do for 8 children what i would struggle with for 1 then i am impressed. justin looks over during a recent episode and says, "can you take fertility drugs to get pregnant with twins and then go off of them?" and i'm thinking if we ended up with 6 at once i'm afraid he'd be enjoying life as a single dad, because i would be running for the funny farm asap.

for now we'll be sticking to the natural 5 year plan...maybe longer.

the difference of 365 days

this was me one year ago today. i'd say 3 mimosas deep... maybe 4. i was making them with a very heavy hand, so there was really no way to count. we left my house around 11:30 am, and by 2 pm i was walking home barefoot and glazed over. ravenous, i dined on popcorn and thin mints and routinely threw them up as soon as lay my head down.

that was one year ago today. that was the last time i was drunk...real drunk. gawd that's a long time for a former 20s something party girl! sure, i had my wine on my stoop and a couple of beers at the bar, but not even on my birthday was i drunk. i don't think i realized how much love had changed my life until the other day when i remembered back to st. patrick's day last year.

this time last year justin and i were newly exclusive by 2 whole weeks. after the st. patricks day festivities it suddenly became way more fun to stay in and talk to my other half than it was to close down bars only to wreak havoc on my head the following day. i made up excuses to leave a night out just to sit at home and talk to him. if you've never been there i'm sure you think i'm lame with a capital L. and if you have been there i think you'll get it, but maybe not... love reacts different on everyone. that was my life before, and it was fun - real fun. this is my life now and you should believe me when I say...it's even better. plus i don't feel like i've been hit by a city bus and dragged 10 blocks in the morning.

that's the difference of 365 days and what the life changing experience of true honest to goodness love did to me.

on the spitz

all that bragging about a tough immune system got me BOTH sides of the flu virus. first time i got a full week of the sore throat/coughing laced with aches and pains; had a week off then on monday got the throw up/fever aches and pains. thank GAWD that didn't last a week, because i wasn't sure i'd make it through the night - drama. but i guess that's what i get for being a bragger.

all that sickliness landed me in bed most of monday evening and all of tuesday, so there was much tv to watch in between bouts of nausea and naps. i couldn't stomach the food network, so i watched HGTV, the girls next door and the news! thanks to the new york governors scandal there was a lot of news to watch!

now i'm obsessed with this story, and just watched for 45 minutes to see him emerge from his apartment and announce his resignation. my thoughts yesterday were...

1. he wanted to get caught. if you don't want to get caught you go to No Where, North Dakota and check in with HillBilly the Desk Clerk where it wouldn't matter if you used a fake name or not, because she wouldn't know you from the farmer down the road.

2. that wife might be standing by his side, but don't hand her a knife because she looks like she is ready to KILL someone; ie- her husband!

my heart truly for his wife and the teenage daughters. i'm sure on top of being publicly embarrassed they are deeply hurt by their husband and father - a man whom they should have been able to trust.

as i listened to his speech this morning he mention Luke 12:48 - But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. he then went on to ask for prayers for the Lt. Governor.

wonder why the scripture memory didn't come mind when the ding-a-ling was spending $80,000 on hookers?

come to a complete stop

i'm adjusting to the kentucky traffic, as driving here is very different from walking in chicago. people will go out of there way here to break the laws to let you in or let you turn, which is nice, but a little annoying. i don't mind waiting my turn. plus the roads are silent. not one single horn or cab alerting me of their whereabouts. even after 4 months it's taking some getting used to.

so today i was dropping my husband off to meet his boss to head towards cleveland on business, and i was waiting at a traffic light picking at my nails. i do this a lot... it drives most people crazy and has for 26 years. i look up and the light is green and the car in front of me is long gone. "I hate that people here don't use their horns. I wouldn't have been mad, but would have liked to have been alerted." "Well, you know this is Kentucky, and people here don't honk." but they all buy cars with horns in them...

So we get to the next red light, and before i can barely touch my breaks to stop the lady honks her horn. I don't play fair when people are acting unreasonable like this. so, i lay on my breaks and sit there and watch her get angry and yell at me in her mirror. having been the victim of two consecutive rolling through a stop sign tickets in college i always come to a complete stop, and because of that - i haven't rolled in years.

why was she in such a hurry? she had to get to the walgreens, doncha know! as luck would have it, i ended up back next to her on my drive home. i gave her the quick once over and watched as i pulled out. wouldn't you know the stay at home mom in her lexus SUV behind me nearly side swiped the honker as she was turning out. yeah, i pumped my arm in private victory. we won one for the complete stoppers!

if i were a betting woman

i'd be sooooooooooooooo rich! ok well maybe not so rich, but i would have won tonight. as much as i love college football, i've never really understood spreads. probably because i've never really loved betting.

all that said to say, i couldn't deny my instincts, and boldly blurted out over dinner that my money was on LSU by two touchdowns. maybe it was the vegetable juice talking (i'm a recent admitted addict!), but truthfully i've been thinking this for a while, but keeping it to myself. i have ten witnesses, and trust me, when next year rolls around i'll be putting my money where my mouth is!

congrats LSU! thanks for letting them score one more time! waaaa hooo!

honeymoon state of mind

I'm guessing i'm still in a honeymoon state of mind. i couldn't update the week after the wedding, and didn't want to the next week, so it turned into routine. like when you're on a dedicated work out kick and you skip one day and then it turns into a week, well now it's been a month!


honestly, i was waiting to post when i had wedding pictures to share, so i wouldn't have to tell you how beautiful my wedding was...i could back it up with proof. i've seen the pictures, and like any roll of film, some are bad, some are great. as soon as i get the disk, i will put up some of the favorites!


so let's see.... how can i finish this statement?


in the past month I...


-Got a new last name that I love! I take every advantage of using it.


-Got a new computer! Mine just keeps rebooting and not starting. i knew this day would come, and beyond the itunes that are lost, i was saddest about loosing my camera software. wouldn't you know that computers come with SD slots, so you can upload from your memory card? if i hadn't of found it on my computer, i would have invented it myself.


-Got straight across bangs! total anne hathaway/heidi klum style. i did not, however, grow 11 inches, but i got the bangs. i wanted a change and before i chopped my hard work, i figured i'd try bangs. those cute new bobs are so dang tempting!


-Got some fantastic gifts! i'll be sharing with you my very favorites of all my showers gifts, but so excited to serve my guests on my new dishes. sounds like a a thank you note.... been doing a lot of that too. gawd i just love those dishes... seeing them makes my heart warm.

-Got a new roommate who is my lovah! living with a boy is funny, and i already have many a story to share, so stay tuned!

thanks for being patient. i missed you!

i wake up, it's a bad dream - keane

isn't it weird how when you're having those fantastic dreams that you never want to end, you will inevitably wake up right before it's about to get good, but if you are having a bad dream, even if you wake up you'll keep dreaming about it?

clearly i've been elbow deep in wedding invitations, because in my dreams last night it was the rehearsal dinner and i hadn't sent any of them out. nor had i gotten anything to wear to the RD and decided i would just improvise with something old. or something i didn't even own like black cowboy boots. The RD will NOT have a line dance theme! guess i couldn't get black boots off my brain, because i've been out looking for my 2007 pair of black boots! it's the one thing that i like to replace every year. plus, i'm awfully hard on shoes, so i deserve it, right?

all the bad dreaming made me think about people with real problems. as the very last fan of britney spears still admitting it, i know that some of you came back during the divorce, but i've stuck it out when it seemed like it could get no worse, and then she'd shave her head, i am finally going to say something. when anything happens in her life, i will typically get emails, phone calls, ims, etc to let me know - like i don't stay abreast of the news in the world, and i've stayed quiet about her for a long time.

until now. will you all agree with me that justice has been served to a celebrity? sure paris and nicole may never serve out jail time, but her kids were taken away from her. her kids. not her driver's license or her dignity, her children. and while i do hope that this is the best thing for my favorite pop star, something inside makes me hurt for her. it's one thing for people to smear your name, it's a whole other thing when family is involved. that is what i call a real problem.

there, i said it...guess i better get back to addressing my non-problems.