i don't think oprah would like me very much

I have a new guilty pleasure – the Oprah channel on XM radio. My lunch break is planned around the Gayle King show. I sit in my car and eat while I listen to the show. Loser-ish? Totally. But I love it. Then, on my 25 mile drive home, Dr. Laura Berman teaches me all about sex and relationships. It’s like radio crack and I love it.

Sometimes they play old Oprah shows. One that I caught the beginning of today was about living your best life. I’m all about living my best life. Sounds cool, so why not? But I’ve come to the conclusion that Oprah would not like me very much. She does all these shows on spiritual awakenings and being in touch with the universe and blah, blah, blah. She reads books like “Eat, Pray, Love” and “A New Earth”. It’s all kinds of new age mumbo jumbo. And to this I say, “Massive eye roll.”

Perhaps this makes me unenlightened, but so what. I believe in good old-fashioned common sense and hard work. I don’t seek some deep spiritual or philosophical meaning in everything. Here’s what I think: as long as what you’re doing is working for you and the people you care about, keep on trucking. If it’s not working, fix it for crying out loud. I listen to these people talk about meditation and past life regression and being one with the universe, and I just wonder who the heck has the time for that. You spend more time thinking about life than actually living it. I can’t think of a single instance in which over-analyzing has done anyone any good. This could be why I’m so sucky at yoga.

Anyway, not sure why any of that matters. It just occurred to me earlier as I was stuffing my mouth full of McDonald’s double cheeseburger and listening to Oprah radio. I’m sure that’s not helping me live my best life. Oops.

I got my Real Simple magazine in the mail today. I love that freaking magazine. One, it’s thick. So I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. That’s lots of shiny pages of joy. Second, it has great advice and ideas and the articles are actually interesting. Third, and most importantly, it’s pretty. It’s the little things. Tonight I read an article and there were a few things that stuck out to me. I’ll leave you with them…

These come from the article “10 Truths I Wish I’d Known Sooner” by Amy Bloom

“Events reveal people’s character; they don’t determine them. Not everyone with divorced parents has terrible relationships. If two people are hit by a bus and crippled for life, one will become a bitter shut-in; the other, the kind of warm, outgoing person (cheerful despite everything) whom everyone loves to be with. It’s not about the bus, and a dreadful childhood is no excuse. You have the chance to be the person you wish to be, until you die.”

All I can say to that is, “Amen!” I can’t tell you how many times this has proved itself true in my life. There have been times that I have questioned whether you can truly know another person. I’m not sure that you can. Because sometimes people you thought you knew, people you thought you could freely love and trust do such horrible things that seem so out of character. The truth is, though, that they aren’t out of character. It just wasn’t apparent before. I’ve learned a lot about myself and other people in the past year. It’s been a year full of pain, heartbreak, tough realizations, and cold reality. I have one friend in particular that rocked my thoughts about relationships and trust and the goodness of people in general. Think of the worst thing that someone very, very close to you could do. She did that to me and then some. It changed who I am and how I look at other people. It was one of those defining moments in my life. I truly think that tough times make you a better person. Although it hurt me more than I could ever explain, her lack of character only added to mine. For that I am grateful. I have never believed more strongly that circumstances reveal a person’s true character, and that that character will remain unchanged because it is part of the fabric of who they are.

That got longer than I intended. Just brings up some still fresh and very painful parts of my life. But never fear, I made it to the other side. Although I’m not unscathed, I am better for it. Anyway, here’s the other part of the article that really spoke to me:

“Mean doesn’t go away. Some people get better looking with age; some don’t. Some people soften’ some people toughen up. Mean streaks tend not to disappear. A person who demeans and belittles you and speaks of you with contempt to others is probably going to be that way for years. The first time it happens, take note. The second time, take your coat and go.”

xoxo

smooth criminal

I got fingerprinted today. Apparently it's Georgia state law that anyone employed by a mortgage company has to be fingerprinted. Random. Especially since they did a background check. What are fingerprints going to show that a background check wouldn't? I guess maybe my aliases.

Funny story about aliases...When we lived in NC I worked for an insurance company. In order to do quotes we had to order a tier score. Tier scores are based on credit scores and give you that kind of info without putting a hit on your credit report. So you don't get your actual credit score, you just get another number based on it. If that makes sense. Anyway, I checked my tier score shortly after I started working there; just for giggles. According to the report, I had an alias. WTF??? The only other name I've ever had is my maiden name, but it sure wasn't that. I don't recall exactly what it was, but it was something way off. Like Katherine Ann Jones or something random like that. I had to call the people and get it taken off. Crazy.

So I wonder if my mystery alias will show up on anything. No one has ever asked me about it, so I suppose it doesn't. Anyway, the place that you get your fingerprints done at is g-h-e-t-t-o. I was slightly terrified. In the middle of the day...I felt like I was getting booked. For someone who has never been arrested, that's an odd feeling. Especially when I didn't even do anything wrong! I went straight to my car and busted out my hand sanitizer. I love hand sanitizer. I have multiple bottles so that they're accessible wherever I may be. One in my purse, one in my car, one in my desk at work, one at all the sinks in my house, and so on.

I just ate a lot of goldfish and now the top of my mouth is all raw. I don't just chew up my goldfish. I have to suck on them till they get mushy and then I eat them. Totally random and pointless, but it's how I eat them. That means the little salty dudes get smashed up against the roof of my mouth and rub it raw. Fun fact for the day.

I wish I had something more exciting to say. I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging, so even though I was totally boring tonight I wrote anyway. Now I have to get in bed cause I'm way sleepy tonight. I've been sleeping without my sleeping pill though!! I'm proud of myself :)

In other news, the husband comes home tomorrow. He's been in Florida for the last week. He was in Vegas two weeks ago. Funny how the military trips are always somewhere "vacation-esque". I'm starting to doubt the actual amount of work that gets done on these trips...Oh boys. I'm glad he's coming home. Mostly because I missed him, but a lot because we're having everyone (and I do mean everyone - his mom, dad, brother, brother's dog, Kylie, my mom, dad and sister) here for Thanksgiving and we need to get ready. I'm only just a little neurotic and freaked out about the whole thing. Just a tad. First time I'm hosting Thanksgiving...no biggie. How hard can it be to have 6 extra people and 1 extra dog in your house and get them all entertained and fed? Cake.

Yeah right. I'd be delusional to think that. It'll be fine though, and I cannot wait to see everyone!! Ok, ok I also can't wait to show off my new house :) Now I'm really going to bed. I wore a semi-itchy sweater today and it's starting to morph into a majorly itchy sweater the longer I wear it. PJ's and Ghost Whisperer re-runs here I come!!

xoxo

using cliff notes is not cheating...

I don't even know where to start. I've been a bad, bad blogger. There has been soooo much going on lately! I barely have time to breathe. Then when I think about catching up on everything y'all have missed, my head feels like it's going to explode. Then I caught up with my blogging friend Angela on Facebook the other night and I began to miss this badly. I miss catching up on everyone's live and I miss writing about mine.

Angela is a doll and she made me some cliff notes of her life for the past month or so. It was so awesome! I love her for reasons just like that. But she inspired me, so now I present the cliff notes version of my life recently.

Last time I wrote I think TJ was in the first part of Ranger school. It's called PRC (Pre-Ranger Course). He was there for two weeks and we only talked a few times. Stupid. He was supposed to come home for a weekend after that and then leave directly for Ranger school. That's 2 months of absolutely no talking (minus two weekends that he has phone privileges). His class date ended up getting pushed back to January 4th, so he didn't have to leave.

During all that I was job hunting and house hunting. I found a house and made an offer. Shortly after it got accepted, TJ got back from PRC. We closed on our house on October 28th. We moved that weekend because TJ had to leave on Saturday (Halloween). He went to Las Vegas for a week. Before he left we got everything to the house. I worked on unpacking and organizing while he was gone.

He got back the following Saturday. He had a few days off and we spent them doing finishing touches on the house. Hanging stuff, setting up knick knacks, etc. We also went to a ball that Thursday. It was my first military formal! Ranger Ball was a BLAST! Good friends and food and drink :) Plus I got to wear a stunning dress that a friend was nice enough to let me borrow. I felt like a princess.

On the day of our closing, our mortgage guy offered me a job. I had to get all kinds of background checks and junk, so that took awhile. I just started the job this Monday. On day three, things are looking good. The people are sweet as can be and the job is pretty ok. It's a lot to learn since I could fit everything I know about mortgages on a post-it note. In big handwriting. I think it's going to be good though.

In miscellaneous news: we had mice in the house. I caught 3 while TJ was gone and when he got back we caught another in the garage. This was quite traumatizing for me because I think they're actually really cute. Here's the story of my first mouse-catching experience that I posted on Facebook:

i met the mouse. gosh but he was cute! i snared him in a little trap thing. it said it would kill him, so i get home, check the trap and the release is tripped. i picked it up. it didn't feel any heavier. i thought maybe it tripped itself cause it's touchy. so i slowly pulled down the hinge. mouse head! i screamed and dropped it. he got trapped by the squishy thing with his little head sticking out. we made eye contact. i thought "crap, i can't kill him now." he was just a tiny little thing. his head was all cute and furry. he kinda looked like a mini-hamster i had once.

he started squeaking. i grabbed the trap and ran to the car. i was barefoot and didn't take my purse because i was so worried that he was going to die if i didn't get him out of that thing stat. as i was backing out and closing the garage door i realized i left the door from the garage to the house hanging open. oh well. no time for that now. there was a life hanging in the balance.

so i drove him about 3 miles away, opened my car door, placed the trap on the ground while staying safely in my vehicle, and opened the trap door. he scuttled out into the grass. although i'm sure he has internal injuries and won't survive very long, i feel better since i set him free. my husband is going to kill me...

So yeah, there you have the mouse story. That's all the highlights I can think of at the moment. My brain is fried from being a grown-up working woman. It's been about a year since I worked, so I have to get back in the swing of things. I'm quite put out that I have to be somewhere at a certain time and I can't do whatever I want. I sound like a brat, but it's true. It'll be nice to have the extra cash money though. At least that's what I tell myself at 6:30am when my alarm goes off.

I don't know how much time I'll have to do Spoonfuls now. I'll do them when I can. I'm thinking of doing something more like a featured store/artist kinda thing. It'd be more detailed and involved on a particular artist, just less often. We'll see. I definitely don't have time to make tiled stuff anymore. That makes me infinitely sad. I can't express it. But I'm back to the real world now, and I just can't balance a full-time job (with a 25 mile one way commute) and my tiling. The process is much too involved and time consuming. I'll have time for some here and there, but not enough time to maintain a shop. It breaks my heart. I found a lot of myself in my work and I'm devastated that I can't focus on it as much anymore. But such is life, right?

Here are some links to my Facebook pictures, if you want to see the house and some other stuff.

Ranger Ball

House Pics

Updated House Pics

Ohio Visit

Okey dokey; the cliff notes of my life lately. Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear. Show me some love so I keep coming back :)

Missed you all massively!

xoxo

let the sugar be your guide

I grind my teeth at night. My mom says that she used to check on me at night when I was a kid, and I ground them so hard she could hear it from the hallway. I still do it, especially when I'm stressed. Lately I've been waking up with a pounding head, sore jaw, and aching temples. Sometimes it's hard to open my mouth in the morning. I've been battling a headache all day and it's really wearing me down. I can't rub the muscles because they either lock up or send sharp shooting pains down my face and neck.

I'm stompy and grumpy today. I'm lonely and stressed and I'm barely sleeping at night. I'm getting really frustrated about not being able to get a job. I feel like a deadbeat. I'm college educated, I have excellent references, and plenty of experience. The problem is that they make you apply only online anymore. They specifically say "don't call, don't fax, and don't come in". They just want your resume and/or cover letter in an email and that does it. I despise it. I can't look someone in the eye and convince them that I am an intelligent human being and I will do the required job and excel their expectations. I rock at the interview, and now it's virtually impossible to get to that point anymore. UGH!

I'm trying not to pig out. All I do is sit around and job hunt and house hunt on the Internet. Therefore I am hungry all the time. Because I have zero willpower where food is concerned, that means I eat all the time. Krispy Kreme will be my downfall. I'm just not very motivated to cook for one. It's so much easier to hit McDonald's. It happens to be the closest fast food restaurant to my house and I adore the double cheeseburgers. And fries. And apple pies. And Oreo McFlurries. And yes, I order that all in one trip and then eat it. To my credit, I drink water at home. No soda. Although that's like trying to plug the Hoover Dam with your pinky. Pointless.

Now I really want McDonald's. And I'm in such a bad mood I'll probably go get it. Food makes me feel better. It makes me happy. That is a downward spiral. Food that's bad for you just tastes so much better too.

Anyway, I found our house. It's incredible. I am in love. But it's a "For Sale By Owner" place and the lady is way difficult. She doesn't want to deal with agents, but I don't know enough about this to do it myself. I have no clue what to look for or what to ask. I don't want to end up getting screwed because of my ignorance. So my agent is going to try to convince her to deal with him. If she won't...well then I guess there are other houses. It would be a huge let down though. I'm trying not to get my hopes up at all, but that's almost impossible. Let's just say I haven't stopped looking yet.

My Spoonful word for today is lantern. I saw some in the store the other day and had to drag myself out of the store without buying them. I have no idea what my deal with lanterns is, but I am incredibly fascinated.

Paper Lanterns from Foamy Wader, Magical Night from Like Deco, The Lantern from Escape Monotony, and Lantern from Tekstila.

The style of these hoop earrings is awesome. I love how the hoop goes all the way around back into itself. The beads are such beautiful colors. The wire wrapping is flawless; each bead is perfectly spaced. They're decorative and dainty. They have something going one without being too much. I think that's a fine line to walk.

These star shaped lanterns are handmade. HANDMADE! Can you believe that?? I have never seen anything so intricate and gorgeous! I think they're so incredible. How cool would these be in a baby's room? It would be like a mobile. Plenty for mommy and baby to look at and adore. Check out the other items in the shop and I swear you'll be amazed.

The green color on the building in this photograph is so gorgeous. I now have to duplicate that for my house. The amber lanterns really go well with it too. I've found a whole new color scheme! The lighting in the photo is perfect for the subject matter. It enhance the picture and doesn't distract or take away from it.

Pillows, pillows, pilllllllllows! I am in love! I already love pillows in general, but I saw this fabric and almost died. It is so gorgeous! I love the simplicity of the pattern. It's so different from anything I own. It's so trendy looking. There are other colors and sizes, and I must have them all! So, so, so cute!

I'm going to try to not eat McDonald's now. I walked the dog twice today and she's still sitting at the door begging. She is KILLING me!! I don't know what the heck she wants. I walked her, played with her, took her on a car ride, and filled her chewy ball with treats twice. It's never enough. Neeeeeeever enough.

xoxo

sugar and spice

I got my Real Simple magazine in the mail today. Oh wait...I got the COVER of my Real Simple magazine in the mail today. It had a note attached to it from the good ole USPS. It said that the rest of my magazine had been damaged in transit. I was so pissed! First of all, that's my favorite magazine ever and second, it's freaking expensive! Argh. Just so irritating. I ripped the cover up into little pieces. Stupid USPS.

That's how I'm dealing with my problems lately. Ripping them up into little pieces; figuratively and literally. I'm so bored and I feel like a deadbeat cause I don't have a job, but I go, go, go all day everyday job and house hunting and running other various errands. But I feel like stomping and yelling a lot lately. I'm stomping in my head right now just thinking about it.

I got my hair done today. I needed it bad. It was getting long in the back, so my super cool asymmetrical haircut was just starting to look uneven like a drunk person had cut it. So that was nice. I found someone I like here, but it's not the same as Laura. I miss her!! The lady that cut my hair today was asking who did my highlights because they were perfect and looked awesome. I almost cried :(

Tomorrow I'm getting my toes done. I need to do something besides looking at jobs and houses online and driving by houses. Otherwise, I will lose my mind. I might have lost it already. Hard to tell.

The apartment was smelling musty today, so I lit a candle. TJ and our roommate LB are surprisingly obsessed with candles. They burn them nonstop. Probably because it always smells like boy in here. Ugh. But anyway, I like the candle LB picked out and it inspired my Spoonful. The candle is cinnamon stick, and I really don't like it. It's a bit too heavy for me. I'm not a fan of the spicy smells. I like clean cotton and fruity stuff.

Anywho, it got me thinking about spices and then I was thinking about sugar and spice and then I realized that would be a cute title because I'm having trouble coming up with new ones. So, in case you haven't guessed, the word is spice.

Pumpkin Spice Pillow Cover from Nestables, Sugar and Spice Trinket Box from Fun Wall Art, Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino Solid Shampoo from In a Lather, and Spice Market Earrings from Wrist Candy Creations.

I'm really digging the orange thing lately. I think when we get our house, I'm going to do the office area in browns and oranges. Yum! This pillow cover is absolutely beautiful. The shade of orange is perfect and it's so simple. The pattern is awesome. I just love it!

I'm going to have to acquire some trinkets to put in this darling trinket box. Or one of the gazillion other ones in the shop! There is SUCH cool stuff in the store, you have to check it all out. There's something for every taste, and they're all adorable.

Ok, I know I said that I'm not into the spicy scents, but this shampoo bar sounds glorious! Maybe it's the cappuccino scent that grabs me. I think it would be an awesome combo. The rich smell of the cappuccino would balance out the pungent spicy scent. Plus it looks so smooth and soft. I want to touch it.

I loooooove me some earrings! These chandelier style earrings are so gorgeous! I love the detail on the actual hoops and the colors of the beads are a perfect match. I also really like how the actual earring part that attaches to the hoops has a little character with the ball on the tips.

Well, I have to get some pictures together to send to my personal jewelry designer. I'm feeling the urge for some more earrings and bracelets, and she always does such a fantastic job on my custom orders! Love you Dian!

xoxo

sweet lovelies

I learned something incredibly horrifying today. The dirtiest place in your bedroom is your pillow. *gag* I'm something of a pillow freak. I wash my pillowcases obsessively. I always buy like 4 sets so I always have a clean one on hand. I will not, WILL NOT, sleep on a dirty pillowcase.

The only things allowed to touch my pillow are my clean face and my clean hair. Period, the end. I do not lay on it with make-up on. If I happened to sweat that day, I wash my hair before I go to bed. Even when I'm falling-over, puking-my-guts-up drunk I wash my face before bed. My husband is not allowed to lay on my pillow. If the dog gets within a foot of it, forget it. Heaven forbid it should touch the floor.

So just now I was reading my Glamour magazine and it has a little article in it about how nasty pillows get. The actual pillow. This is what it says, "It hosts a miniature ecosystem of human skin cells and dust mites (microscopic bugs that eat those dead skin cells - yuck!), plus up to 47 different types of fungi." Oh. My. GAWD! Bugs that eat my skin cells. I'm on the verge of dry heaving. I went directly upstairs, grabbed our pillows, and put them in the washing machine. Hot wash, hot rinse. Extra soap. Lot's of bleach. Some baking soda for good measure. Probably 2 or 3 drying cycles, just to make sure those bugs have been sufficiently nuked. I'm washing TJ's too because I don't want any of his shit-nasty bugs jumping onto my pillow. *shudder*

The article also suggests that you get a zippered pillow cover to put under your pillowcase as an added layer of protection. Wal-Mart will be getting a visit from me later this evening. I'm actually wondering how many of those thingies I can put on my pillow and still have the pillowcase fit...

Ok, I have to stop talking about it now. Blah, blah, blah. Change the subject. I used the word mammals in my post yesterday. Anytime I hear that word, I get that song (you and me baby ain't nothing but mammals...) stuck in my head for like 3 days.

Today my Spoonful word is lovely. I was watching House Hunters (doing my research, Ang!), and this British couple was looking for a house. They said lovely like every 3.5 seconds. Lovely this and lovely that. So it got stuck in my head. Here are my lovelies:

Josephine from Jasper Hilburn, Recycle Me Lovely from PixiSette Jewelry, Lovely Heart from The Wheel And I, and Lovely from Spa Goddess.

I am loving this necklace! The colors are awesome and the eclectic design gives it so much character. It would look awesome with a solid colored shirt. It's made to be a focal point in your outfit.

I adore the simplicity of this bracelet. It would go with anything. The glass beads are recycled, so they have a rough worn look that really give it a unique look. Read the description the seller wrote. It makes the bracelet feel very adventurous.

I can see this bowl on my kitchen counter filled with fresh fruit. Ok, ok I don't really buy fresh fruit so it would most likely hold candy or something equally as unhealthy. But it's a beautiful piece. I love the color. It looks like metal to me, but it's clay so I thought that was pretty neat.

Spa Goddess is one of my favorite bath product makers. I have purchase numerous products from the shop (bath salts, body scrubs, shower steamers - DIVINE!!!), and I have absolutely loved every single one. They always smell awesome and are the highest quality. The seller has answered a great many questions (many stupid) with patience and incredible knowledge. I guarantee you will love anything you get. I'm going to get this milk bath. It sounds just like the name - lovely. Creamy and soft and sweet. Yum!

I'm feeling random lately, so here you go:

Did you know that they have this new thing called Le Whif? It allows you to inhale chocolate mist. That way you get the taste of chocolate minus all the calories. You puff on this thing and it has like super concentrated chocolate junk in it. Weird. Talk about addicted to chocolate. I wonder if they can make a puffy thing that tastes like ravioli or cheeseburgers.

I hope everyone has a lovely night :)

xoxo

p.s. What do we know about short sales in real estate? I know what they are, but I'm not sure how open the bank is to negotiations, etc. Is anyone familiar???

crazy makes me crave sugar

I am crazy. Insane. Certifiable. Seriously. I'm buying a house while my husband is gone. For 3 months. Like gone gone. Incommunicado. No talkie. I know people buy houses everyday, but not Michelle. Michelle has never bought a house before. The pressure of picking a house that both of us will like is beginning to wear on me. We've never disagreed on anything in that area. We have the same taste and the same ideas and stuff. But I start second guessing and thinking about things too hard. I actually wondered today if the granite in this one kitchen would be too shiny for him. Like he would care. It's supposed to be shiny. Who worries about shiny granite? Me. I do. Because I'm losing my ever-loving mind.

This is what happens when I'm all alone. I have lots of time to think and research and look and get a whole bunch of details that do not matter. TJ is my sounding board. I bounce things off him and think out loud. He grounds me and calms me down. I'm what you might call high-strung. I get really worked up about things and then I get all obsessive.

But find a house I will because we're trying to take advantage of the tax breaks for first time home buyers. Seeing as how he won't be back until mid-December, that job falls to me. Not to mention the packing and moving and all that junk. It's all me. Luckily his being in the military gives me a wide range of boys to choose from to do my bidding. Rally the troops, if you will. And rally I will. I have no shame. And no way to lift the couches by myself.

I'm also looking for a job. I think that contributes a big chunk of crazy to my crazy.

So my days have been filled with job hunting and house hunting. I'm trying to do a drive-by on all the houses. That sounded really bad. I'm not shooting anyone. I'm just trying to make sure I like the area before I drag our agent out to look at a house. I'm trying to get familiar with a new area and decide where we want to live. I found the PERFECT house the other day. Then we went to look at it. I would be scared to walk the dog. Who puts brand new houses in places like that??? Someone does, cause there it was. Its perfectness mocking me. Do I want the perfect house or do I want to live through my first night in my perfect house? It's a toss up...

I've done my house recon for the day, so I'm taking a break. I'm not allowing myself to look at jobs or houses online for the rest of the night. I need a reprieve.

TJ left Sunday for Ranger school. Yippee. It's going to be 3 fantastic months with zero communication (minus 2 weekends when he can use the phone between phases). Well, you can write letters, but I doubt he'll have a chance to actually write me. He'll be too busy being in the suck. Must be a boy thing because you couldn't pay me enough money to do something like that. He's been gone before. Once for 8 months (which is nothing compared to the 15 months that some people have to deal with), but talking on the phone makes a huge difference. The silence is deafening over here. On the bright side, I have a General Power of Attorney, which means I can do just about anything I want to in his name. This kind of power gives me a little bit of comfort. I like being the boss.

Anyway, my Spoonful word for today is crazy. I was having a hard time finding anything I just loved until I came upon these cards. So today my Spoonful is 5 things from the same shop. It's the "Crazy Love Card" series from Up Up Creative.

These cards crack me up. The two big ones are my favorite. I'm going to be such an angry pregnant lady. I will be the lady in the delivery room cursing a blue streak and screaming, "Look what you did to me!" at my husband. Forget my ice cream and it would be over for you. And have you ever tried natural peanut butter? Cause that shit is nasty. Like really, really nasty. I have yet to figure out how peanuts can be so delicious and natural peanut butter can be so utterly disgusting.

I love them because that's how I talk. I'm not all sappy and weird like some cards. If you ask me, this gets the sentiment across a lot better. And anyone who really knows me (i.e. my husband) would be fighting back tears if I gave them one of these. They made me smile and laugh a little and I couldn't pick just one, so I thought I'd just use them all. Cause I'm the boss and I can do that.

And as an added bonus, the products are all eco-friendly!

A few random things before I go:

I saw a sign on base yesterday that said "Tank Crossing" and it had a picture of a tank. It was incredibly awesome. Next time I'm on that road I'll remember to slow down and take a picture.

Did you know that the human eye has more visible sclera (white part of your eye) than any other mammal? I had never really thought about it, but we so do. Most other mammals only have the colored part of their eye showing. Craziness. Really random, but I thought it was interesting.

Everyone must try Planters NUT-rition Energy Mix. It's got almonds, honey roasted sesame sticks, peanuts, dark chocolate covered soy nuts, walnuts, and pecans. The soy nuts are superb, but the whole mix is way yummy. I don't feel so bad when I eat the whole container of something healthy while I sit in front of the TV.

Ok, that's all. I promise to be around more. Thanks to those of you who noticed I was gone and even more thanks to those who actually missed me :)

xoxo

here i am!

Oh how I love my Angela! She missed me :) I missed you too!! I'm back now. We were in Ohio for a few weeks. Now I'm back in Georgia and TJ leaves on Sunday for 3 months. So never fear, I will once again have no life and do nothing but shop online, play on Facebook, and post to my blog. I'm going to get a job, but this is a minor detail.

In other news, I'm sick. Ohio always makes me sick. I have no clue why, but I have yet to visit when I haven't gotten sick. It's unbelievable. I thought I was going to make it out ok, but yesterday (driving home day) I woke up feeling like butt. I had felt it coming on because I had a stuffy nose, cough, etc. for a few days before. I was just hoping I would get out of actually feeling sick. Not so much though. I'm propped up in my bed with my puppy and we're being lazy and mopey.

TJ has to work till like 11pm tonight. No really, it's cool. He's just leaving Sunday for 3 months. Oh and he's not allowed phone or Internet access, so the only way I can talk to him is by letter. If they decide to give him my letters and/or time to write me. But go ahead and have him come in to work until all hours of the night this week. I really didn't want to see him anyway. Stupid military. They make me real mad sometimes. Ugh.

But now I have to shower and deliver some stuff to base since he needs more junk for tonight. Yay.

xoxo

crabs are creepy and have weird beady eyes

I really, really don't need any more TV shows to be addicted to, and yet I have another. Oh Deadliest Catch, how I adore thee. There's something about men screaming curse words and getting injured that draws me in. TJ keeps saying he wants to be a skipper. Lord. I told him he only got one make-me-lose-sleep-at-night career per lifetime.

We're headed to Nashville tomorrow. I have yet to decide what we're going to do. We'll probably just end up wandering around and finding somewhere cool to eat. We have to drive to Ohio on Friday and get there in time to pick Kylie up from school, so that means that we have to get up at a decent time. That means I can't stay up too late. Well, actually I could since TJ is my chauffer. That's gonna be so nice. I had to drive myself freaking everywhere for the past 6 months. No thanks. So in theory I could sleep the whole time. That could be pretty awesome.

I'm bored out of my ever-loving mind. I need a job. Or at least a distraction. Tonight TJ was telling his mom about how crappy it was sharing a closet with me. She was saying that of course my wardrobe is bigger than his because he wears a uniform to work everyday (thanks Leta!!), and he was saying that I don't have a job right now. She said I did and I will, and I needed outfits for work. Any my smart-ass husband says, "Those aren't work clothes. Unless she's working a corner." TO HIS MOTHER! Thanks, hon. I'm feeling the love and respect. Ok, so I was actually laughing pretty hard, but the story is better when I make myself sound all scandalized and mad. Right now I'm watching him wash and fold my hooker clothes. That's what I'm talking about.

I was going to do a Spoonful, but now he's stomping around telling me it's bedtime and we need to go upstairs. Such a crybaby. It's probably a good thing he doesn't read this.

Anyway, I really do need to get in bed since we're being slackers and not packing till tomorrow morning. Sleep tight!

xoxo

sugar with a flourish

I finally got my closet organized today. I'm not used to sharing a closet with the hubs. I booted him into the guest room in our last house. But for the moment we only have one bedroom, which means one closet. I have a ton of clothing. Seriously. I had to purchase 150 hangers. I started out with 40, thinking that would surely be enough. HAHAHA. I am such an idiot. Then I had to buy extra shelves to put on the floor so I could fold the rest of my clothes on them. In my defense, I currently only have one drawer in the dresser and it's underwear and socks. But today I got my shelves put together (took me forever to find the right ones!!) and I got the rest of my clothes settled in. I'm rather proud of my closet organization skills. I done good.

TJ is laying next to me in bed reading. He's got a lot of tattoos. I was looking at them and he goes, "You can lick them. They're flavored." I rolled my eyes and punched him instead. He actually used to tell girls that his tattoos were flavored. Some of them believed him. I can just picture the ones who did...*shudder*. I told him I was writing that in my blog. He said he'd deny everything. Like that's gonna do him any good.

I'm on a bracelet kick. I just got the most gorgeous one EVER from my good friend Keirsten over at Lune Designs. Check this baby out...

How awesome is that?? The picture barely does it justice. It's incredible. I get so many compliments. And because she is so very wonderful and knows how much I love earrings, she included a matching set for me! LOVE HER! Plus it makes this awesome clinky sound when I move. I walk around twisting my wrist back and forth to make it clink. Anyway, just excited about that and wanted to send some love Keirsten's way. She has some gorgeous stuff over in her shop (Etsy and Artfire) so go check her out!

Anyway, tonight's Spoonful word is flourish. I'm excited about this word because I've been having trouble thinking of good words. Probably because my brain is fried with packing, moving, unpacking, and organizing thoughts. We're leaving for Nashville and Ohio on Thursday, so there's going to be more packing. Oh boy, oh boy. Just what I want to do. Again. Here are the picks:

Flourish from Ara 133 Photography, Green Flourish Magnetic Display Board from Sentimental Stones, Flourish Medallion Throw Pillow from Asmus Home Interiors, and Ginger Spice Sugarcude Body Scrub from Flourish Bath & Body.

Again with the tree prints. I can't help it. They call to me. This is just beautiful. The little pink flowers are awesome. This shop is a must-see! There are some incredible photographs. So much variety and color. I adore almost all of them. That's rare because usually I find one or two prints in a shop that I like, but this one is awesome. Such an eye for pictures.

I love this little magnet board. Green is one of my favorite colors and the design on the board is so classy and elegant. It would be awesome set up on a plate stand in your kitchen. A cute little place to keep reminders and photos.

I love pillows. I think that's been established. I probably need to branch out, but this is the kind of stuff that catches my eye. That blue is the color of my living room. I can't wait to have all my furniture back so I can decorate! The colors are awesome together and the pattern is noticeable, but not too busy.

Bath products. I'm so predictable. But how yummy do these little bath scrub cubes look?? I could eat them. I had so much trouble deciding which one to use for my Spoonful. The colors are so awesome. There are some unique scents too, so be sure to check it out.

Okey dokey...I need to go to sleep so I can start getting up at a decent hour. TJ is twitching violently in bed beside me. It's hysterical. I don't know how he gets any sleep. I'd wake up every time. I'm going to turn on our new 32" LCD HD TV :) It was our present to ourselves since our other bedroom TV passed on not too long ago. I don't do a TV-less bedroom. I adore it.

Oh and real quick, I learned how to drive a stick shift tonight!! I knew how logically, but I've never been good at the execution part. So tonight we were on our way home from dinner with friends and I said, "Pull over, I want to learn to drive your car." So he did. TJ is a very patient teacher and it didn't take me too long to get the hang of it. I even drove the rest of the way home! I was very proud of myself. I only killed it once :)

Ok, off to bed! Sleep tight!

xoxo

found me a husband :)

I picked him up on Thursday afternoon!!!! He snuck up on me! He wasn't on the bus with the rest of his guys, so I was just standing there talking to my friend and all the sudden some guy's arms are wrapped around me from behind. Good for Amy, cause she didn't even bat an eye. I had no clue he was walking up. I thought everyone was going to mutiny because he got there ahead of everyone else. So we're having a happy reunion and they're all still waiting. Oops...

Anyway, I know I've been way not around, but I'll do better. Here in a few days :) In the meantime, here's a pic of our reunion. There were things in the background that aren't supposed to be photographed, so I cropped around our heads. It sucks, but I love this picture!

wild horses and rockin' plastic tubs

I'm trying to avoid eating. I really, really want some Froot Loops. Bad. They sound sooooo good. Ugh. Must stop talking and thinking about Froot Loops.

I got pretty much everything packed today. I have a shit ton of stuff. It's all sitting around in my rockin' matching plastic tubs. I look super duper organized. Pretty unsure about how I'm going to get it all in my car though...*sigh* Oh well. That's a problem for tomorrow.

You know what's really hard to pack?

Hangers. In retrospect, it wasn't a good plan to try to pack them. As my husband so kindly put it, "We can buy new hangers. Seriously. They're like 10 cents." Thanks for the observation, sweetheart. What he was thinking was, "Holy Mother Mary. What is wrong with this chick?? She's packing freaking hangers. Hangers! What did I do when I committed my life to her? I wonder if that's a reason to back out. Hanger packing. Hmm...sounds familiar. I'll have to look into that..." I really do feel bad for the kid though. I've been running around like a nutcase stressing about all this shit. He just keeps telling me to calm down and that I don't have to bring everything and that it'll all be ok. He's trying to be all Zen and I really just want to kick him in the shins real hard.

I had been packing for 4 hours straight and for some reason it seemed like a good idea to cram all my hangers into my suitcases. I have a lot of hangers. I then realized 2 things:

1. I didn't need to take my suitcases because we have like 8 at the apartment in Georgia and all my clothes are in rockin' matching plastic tubs. Basically I was going to transport 2 suitcases of hangers. I know. I'm an idiot.

2. I don't have room in my car for 2 suitcases full of hangers.

So I wrestled them back out. They were all tangled because I had zipped the suitcases partially closed and then just forcefully shoved them in. The whole thing probably took me 45 minutes. Such a waste.

I'm trying to pack only things I really need in like the next 2 months or so. After that I'll head back down to Texas for a few days and get whatever didn't fit the first time around. However, I have this strange compulsion with getting everything in one trip. We'll see how that goes, come loading time. I'm going to have to be really creative. Somehow, in my head, my car had a lot more cargo space than it did when I opened it up today. Oy vey.

Basically, I just want to throw everything out of a 12th story window and watch it crash to the ground. I have this fantasy of my rockin' matching plastic tubs bursting open and watching my clothes scatter everywhere. It would have to be in New York or something because there are a lot of people around watching and gasping in awe. There's even a soundtrack with an orchestra and when my stuff hits the ground there's like this huge crescendo with cymbals. Another fave is all my bins being lined up in front of a firing squad and then my crap exploding everywhere as they're riddled with bullets. There's a soundtrack for this one too. It starts with the song they play at the showdowns in the movies. There's also tumbleweeds involved. There's also the tried and true "trampled by wild horses" vision. Although this is usually one I reserve for people and not things. I'm making a special exception. This is where my mind goes...

Tomorrow is my last torturous packing day though. I'm on the road Monday morning. Then I get to unload all of it and find somewhere to put it. Oh goody. Maybe I'll just wait till TJ gets home and make him do it. "Here honey. Help me unload, unpack, and put away all my crap after your 18 hour, multiple flight trip. Missed you!" I really don't know precisely how long it takes to

get back from where he is. Although it feels like I should, since this is his 3rd trip. It's funny how you forget things like that. At the time it seems life changing as you count every hour. Now I can't even remember. Guess he's kind of old news at this point...Stop gasping and making tsk-tsk sounds. I'm kidding.

I was going to do a Spoonful, but the only words I can think of are stomp, packing, moving, kick, and cramps. You'd be surprised how little there is to work with when you type those things into the Etsy search window.

Well, after all that, I still want Froot Loops. Problem is, I kind of feel like I deserve them. Just like I felt like I deserved 812 Cheez-It's and that ice cream from Chick-Fil-A.

I'm going to do something mind-numbing and brainless. Have sweet dreams, everyone!

xoxo

p.s. The pictures represent about 1/3 of the stuff I'm hoping to fit into my car...Check back tomorrow, when I will go insane after attempting to load my car. It promises to be a good read.

real quick...

I have an article to write and more packing to do, but I just wanted to post this link so you can all go look at my feature in a really cool blog!! There's a giveaway too :)

http://otherhoodllc.blogspot.com/2009/08/tile-me-beautiful-review-giveaway.html

xoxo

lemon sugar sunshine

I know, I know. My titles are just getting downright stupid. I have this strange obsession with having something about sugar in them though. I can't help it. My fingers itch to type something less idiotic, but I can't do it.

Read a great blog post today...for any of you who buy bath and body stuff from sites like Etsy or Artfire, this is a must read. I never thought about the effects of essential oils on your body mostly because they're supposed to be "natural" and "natural" can't possibly be bad for you. It's natural, right?? Since I know absolutely nothing about all this stuff, this provided some really good information and made me stop and think.

I got absolutely nothing productive done today. However, I suppose that depends on who you ask. I got 3 perfect fitting bras. If you're a woman, you know what an accomplishment that is. I despise bras. I hate them so much that I hate spending money on them so I usually just get one that fits pretty ok from Target or something.

As we all know, the husband is coming home soon. It's been almost 6 months since I've seen him. So I decided I'd go to Victoria Secret and get something nice. I figured about $60 for a nice little set wouldn't kill me. So I go to the mall, pop into the store, browse a little, and head for the dressing room. I've never been into a dressing room at VS. I felt like a freaking rock star. It was a bit awkward at first since they measure and grope you, but it was oh so worth it.

So you walk up and they ask "what size bra you're wearing today". Not kidding. So I announced it in front of a roomful of strangers. The chick looked at me like I was crazy. Now, I'm not going to tell you my bra size. That borders on tacky. That's clearly info that only gets shared in the privacy of the VS fitting room. I will tell you that I was wearing a bra that was 2 sizes too big in the band and one cup size too small. Go figure. You know, you feel like a bleeding idiot when you find out how off you've been in that kind of thing. I mean, I'm 25. You'd think I'd know what size bra I wear.

Anyway, back to feeling like a rock star. The girl measured me and put me in a dressing room with my name on the outside on a little pink card. Then she starts bringing me all these bras in my size. Then she checks them all for the perfect fit. And I'll be danged if she wasn't absolutely right. It was like a rebirth for me. A bra that fit. I went insane. I got out of there for under $300...barely. I told TJ that I spent "kind of a lot of money". He didn't ask how much. He even actually said something along the lines of "oh that's fine". Funny how accommodating they are when you're buying VS lingerie.

Anyway, that was like the highlight of my year. If you've never been properly fitted (don't I sound fancy??), you should take care of that. It's a whole new outlook on life.

I'm sure you all feel very enlightened now. I'm getting sleepy and TJ will be calling to tuck me in soon, so I'm gonna do my Spoonful now. It's lemon-themed.

Metal Kitchen Sign with Lemons from In Him Designs, Summer Sunshine from Bagatelles & Co., Lemons Anyone from Faith Works 4 You, and Lemon Creme Body Sugar Cubes from Naiad.

I love, love, love this little sign! It makes me want to have a sunny yellow kitchen. At this point, I really just want my own kitchen. Soon. Soon. But I do have yellow dishes...I'm halfway there!

I don't know why I have this thing for lemons all the sudden. I'm so ready for autumn and winter, but I pick this bright summer yellow. I kinda want to carry this little clutch with a little black dress, but then I'm afraid I'd look like a bumble bee. But the purse is so stinking gorgeous. Not only do I adore the color, but the style is incredible. Very classy and elegant.

Is it just me or is this like the most precious little girl in the whole wide world? How cute is she in her little model pose with her big blue eyes and lemon dress?? The dress itself is darling too; with ruffled sleeves and a bow at the waist.

I love bath stuff. Especially salts and scrubs. This is a super cool scrub in cube form. And it smells like lemon creme! How yummy and decadent! I love lemon cookies. I'd smell like a lemon cookie all day. Then I'd be hungry all day. But I would smell delicious! And I'd be silky smooth.

And now I have to go downstairs and have some lemon cookies because all this lemon talk had given way to a craving. Not that it takes a whole lot to make me hungry.

Don't let the bed bugs bites!

xoxo

sugared rose petals

More packing today. Ugh. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I'm starting to realize just how much crap I have all over this house though. I got out a big box and threw a bunch of it away today. Do I really need the last 5 1/2 months of People magazine? Noooooope. Gone. There was a lot of other stuff that just kind of had me shaking my head. At what point did I decide that some of this junk was worth keeping? Clearly it's not good enough to pack up and move.

Last night TJ called after I had taken my sleeping pill. Which, by the way, I find completely unfair. I agree to things that I would never agree to when not under the influence. Like, "So I'm going to get a whole new set of golf clubs, cool?" or "I was thinking we could get a gigantic flat screen TV instead of eating for the next 8 months. Does that sound like a plan?"

Mary knows what else he talks to me about. I've probably agreed to name my first child something stupid like Mickey (don't ask...). Anyway, when I woke up this morning, I seemed to remember him saying he bought me the first 3 seasons of 30 Rock. DVD's are incredibly cheap over there. He got Kylie like 500 cartoons for $40 or something. I also remembered him telling me we could go to Nashville when he got back.

Two very random things, but two true things. So I will now be caught up on all of my 30 Rock's and I will be headed to Nashville shortly! Does anyone know what we should do while we're there???

Tomorrow Jers has to get all her shots and I have to get my oil changed. That means I actually have to get up, get dressed, and put on make-up tomorrow. Gawd. I know I keep saying this, but I really don't know what I'm going to do when I have to get a job again.

Ok, ok I won't stall anymore. I know you're bored out of your mind and you're only reading this because you have a burning desire to know what the 4th and final universally flattering color is. That is, if you haven't already Googled it.

The 4th color is rose. Apparently it compliments the natural blush of all skin tones. Plus it makes you look way tan :)

Baie Rose Eyeshadow from Orglamix, Magnolia Pleated Bag from Sweetgum Handbags, Camille Necklace from Kande, and Florah Skirt from Stuff by Kate.

I wish I felt confident wearing eyeshadow. I feel retarded when I do. I just can't get used to it. I am in love with this gorgeous pink shade though. It's pink without being gaudy and the sparkle is just right. Might even make a girl change her mind about eyeshadow...

I love bags. We all know this. But I'm really loving all the pleated bags that are popping up lately. This one has some really pretty, yet casual fabric, but the pleats make it look fancy and sophisticated. I love the combo of those two and the simplicity of the design.

This necklace is to die for! The round piece used to be a buckle! How cool is that? I love the pearls too. So delicate and the perfect offset for the silver of the necklace.

I could never pull this skirt off. I don't have precious tan legs. But it's so fun and flirty and perfect for summer. I don't know why, but I keep seeing someone wear it to a baseball game with a little white tank. We'll never know why I think the things I do. I love the lace around the waistband!

Well, that wraps up my 4 universally flattering colors series. Kind of sad...I like having a little mini-theme to post about. I'd appreciate suggestions...Hope you enjoyed the info! Here's the link to the article where I got the info.

Have sweet, rose colored dreams!

xoxo

drops of teal sweetness

I hate moving. It just bites. I don't even actually have much of anything to move at this point and I still want to burn everything I own so I don't have to transport it. I got some space bags today to pack my winter stuff and jeans in. I'm only taking my car, so I have to be conservative with space. They work ok. Not as flat or fantastically small as I had hoped, but it'll still will take up about 50% of the room as it would have. I also got a bunch of those under the bed plastic organization boxes. I'm trying to do this as neatly and as organized as possible. This means all my stuff has to be in matching boxes. I'm not sure why that makes me feel more efficient, but it does.

But I got all of my closet (hanging clothes and shelved clothes) and all my jeans into 6 of the large bags. If you knew how many items of clothing I have, you'd be amazed. Vacuuming out the air was fun. Except I got a pillowcase caught in the vacuum and now my room smells like burning rubber. It's making me nauseous.

I need to get stuff done though. This week is going to be all packing, sorting, and loading. I'm leaving next Sunday or Monday probably. I can't believe how soon TJ will be home! I'm so stinking excited! I'm not excited about packing, driving 11 hours to Georgia, and having to unpack when I get there. Buuuuut it will be the last time for awhile hopefully.

I went to Target to get all my stuff today and when I got back TJ called and asked if I spent a fortune. So I asked what he considered a fortune. The conversation unfolded as follows...

TJ: Well, I'd say about $175.

Me: Oh, ok. Then no.

TJ: I know you spent more than $100 though. You have a $100 minimum at Target. (He then transitioned into his Michelle voice which is high and squeaky and not at all representative of the way I speak.) If I don't have $100 worth of stuff in my cart, I just start scraping packs of gum off the shelves.

Me: Whatever. I do not.

TJ: (Still in the Michelle voice) But I start at the purses. You can never have too many purses. If I don't find enough there, I head to the clothes. You always need more shirts. Next comes shoes and then housewares. If I get really desperate I'll buy something for my husband.

Me: You suck. Shut up. I'm never buying you anything ever again.

TJ: Aw baby. I'm actually really glad to have the Target addiction back.

Me: Could you say that again please? I need to turn on the tape recorder.

TJ: I said I'm just glad to have you back. And if the Target addiction comes with it, then that's fine.

Me: Nope. You said you loooooved the Target addiction. Said it gave you a reason to get up in the morning.

TJ: You can prove nothing.

Anyway, that was all random and really for no good reason other than that I love my husband and we have a blast together. Plus I'm getting all giddy to see him.

The 3rd color in the universally flattering color list is Indian teal. I wasn't really sure what the difference was between that and regular teal, but it seems that Indian teal is more blue and a little darker than the light greenish-blue-turquoise that I think of when I think teal. I tried to find things that were the right shade, but it's rather difficult. I think I did well though.

Teal Satin Flower Hair Pins from Nomsa , The Weekender from Kelly Hillis, Lolita Earrings from Rose Marie's Bijouterie, and Teal and White Peonies Tunic from Harrilu.

I know, I know. Again with the satin flower things. I can't help it. They're so gorgeous! And these were the perfect color teal. It was fate. They called to me.

I've been looking for a weekender bag for awhile now. I want something huge that I can put enough stuff in for a few days and not have to pack a suitcase. Since this was the perfect color teal too, I choose to think it was fate as well. I love that it zips close too!

Lolita is fun to say. It sounds saucy and sexy. Kind of like these earrings. How fun are they?? They make me want to have long dark hair and dance the salsa.

I love the tunic style shirts. They're kind of flattering on every shape. They're very forgiving and are baggy in all the right places. A universally flattering shirt in a universally flattering color...does it get better than that? No. It doesn't.

Well, TJ is getting irritated because I'm typing on here and not talking to him so I'm going to go before he pulls the Target addiction funding. This would be disastrous. We do not want that to happen.

xoxo

sweet red wine

I know you're all anxiously waiting to see what the next color on the universally flattering list is. In case you missed the title...it's "true red". Like red red. Fire engine, firecracker, cherry red. I'm way tired, so this is gonna be short and sweet.

The Spoonful...

Henrietta Bag from Sew Mo', Butterfly Corsage Jacket from Dark Pony Designs, Love is Red from T8 Designs, and EcoCollar from Greenbelts.

I'm loving this bag. It sold today after I had it picked out! I was too lazy to re-do my picture collage and I adore it, so it stayed. There are other colors, so go check them out!

I think this jacket is absolutely darling! The sleeves are the perfect length and the fit is sublime. The buttons are really cute too. Plus I love anything that's cropped like that too.

I don't usually like gold jewelry, but this bracelet is too cool. I love the multiple chains and the toggle clasp. I also love how the beads are randomly clustered. It has this messy, sexy look to it.

The last one is a little something for your doggie. I couldn't resist. They're eco-friendly and freaking adorable! It's fancy without being all prissy dog.

Sorry I'm so boring tonight. I picked some really good stuff to make up for it though!

xoxo

IMG00145.jpg

Jers and her new frisbee. She actually fetches it! This is rare for my dog. She loves her frisbee though :) It's indestructable too!

a spoonful of eggplant

I smell like grease. It's embedded deep in my hair. Every time I move my head I smell it. That always happens when I eat at a Mexican food place. My friend is going into the Coast Guard next week and we had a going away dinner for her tonight. Yummy food, nasty after-smell. I'm going to have to shower before I lay on my pillow. Otherwise it will be tainted.

Anyway, according to Real Simple magazine, there are 4 colors that flatter everyone; regardless of coloring and skin tone. I'm not sure if there's some kind of scientific reason behind this or if someone just decided that everyone looked pretty cool in these 4 colors. Either way I found the info pretty interesting. So I'm basing my next 4 Spoonfuls around it. Each one will be a little ensemble of one of the most flattering colors.

The first color on the list is eggplant. I think eggplants are really pretty. I always want to buy them in the store even though I know I'll never eat them. Plum and eggplant seem to be pretty big colors for the fall (don't I sound all fashion savvy??).

Tillie from Fussed, Weekend Scarf from Lush, Eggplant Shasta Slouchy Top from Circular Accessories, and Eggplant Earrings from Jure's Wire Jewellry.

I absolutely adore the fabric on that coin purse. I think it's so gorgeous. I'd love to do my comforter in that fabric. Yum! And the flower is gorgeous. I love the flowers like that.

I've never lived somewhere where I actually needed a scarf, but I've always thought they looked terribly sophisticated and stylish. Especially with a pea coat. A white coat would look especially cute with this scarf. I love the chunky knit look of this one. So cozy looking!

I've never thought about pairing eggplant with yellow, but I can't get enough of the color combo on this shirt! Plus I love the slouchy style. It's sexy and *ahem* forgiving at the same time. I look trendy and I don't have to suck in. Doesn't get much better than that.

How cool are those earrings?!? I can't imagine how long it would take to twist the wire into the beautiful intricate pattern. I also love how the bead is slightly off center. The perfect eggplant earrings!

Well, it's time for me to put on my PJ's and have a date with my DVR. It missed me while I was gone. Gotta catch up on the quality time. Hopefully my hubby calls soon. When he calls too late we don't get to talk for very long. Buuuuuut we did get to talk on the webcam today!! :) His always freezes and is really blurry so I don't get to see him really well, but it's so nice all the same. Plus he tells me how gorgeous I am the whole time. Can't beat that with a stick.

xoxo

p.s. Love the multivitamins I got at GNC! They're coated in a yummy sugary flavor so they don't taste like ass. Big plus. The pink pills make me a little jittery and kind of hurt my stomach. Supposedly I'll get used to it. We'll see. I'll give it a few more days.

testing...1, 2, 3...

My sleepy road trip partner :) I'm testing out my new mobile blogging thing...

the sweetness that is google

Google is my hero. Want to know what song you just heard on the radio? Only remember 6 words and 3 of them are "it", "the", and "can"? Not a problem. Google will find it.

Have no clue what the hell a Catahoula is and need to find a picture? Bring. It. On.

Want a true-to-size ruler on your screen? Google will get you one.

Are you in desperate need of a new Spam recipe? Google will suggest them before you even have to ask.

Got a blind date? Google his name. No surprises.

Experiencing severe depression and/or anger issues? Google will offer something better than Prozac.

Want to chat with your husband right through your email? Google is there for ya, babe.

Whether it's tracking the visits to your website, blogging, financial advice, satellite pictures of your house, photo editing, a map, a translation, or even someplace to organize and store your medical records, Google will never fail you.

Is there anything Google can't do? Probably not. Because today I found out something exceptional. You can send a text to "Google" on your cell with the name of something, a city, and state and Google will promptly text you back with all area locations and addresses. Ho-lee crap.

My sister taught me that today. Am I the only person who didn't know about this? And am I the only person who thinks that is it the absolute coolest thing EVER? GPS? 411? Who needs that when Google will freaking text you back! Blows my mind.

So in case you couldn't tell by all my subtle lead-in's, my Spoonful word for tonight is "google". Feast your eyes...

"Google It Sign" from Sawdust & Stitches, "Google Eyed Headband" from Wenopia, "I Will Not Google My Ex-Husband" from Mister Hannah's Sponge, "Google Eyed Watch" from Unstrung Sisters.

I believe that the "Google It" sign says it all. This will grace my entry way. It will say to all who enter, "Don't ask me stupid questions; ask Google." And there are a lot of other fun signs in the shop as well. Another fave: "Sarcasm: Just One More Service I Provide".

How fun is that headband? Seriously. It made me smile when I saw it. Plus whoever is modeling it has super fantastic hair of which I am insanely jealous.

For those of you who have faithfully read my blog, you know how "me" the next sign is. I know I'm no longer headed down the ex road, but the sentiment still makes me smile. I think I heard TJ roll his eyes on the phone when I told him about it. Husbands never understand things like that.

I love bracelet watches. They're cute and functional. Plus I like dangly things on my wrist. But this is like classy google eyes. I love that. The colors are just gorgeous too.

Anyway, travelling always makes me sick. I think I just get so exhausted. But it never fails. I always get sick. I had such an awesome time seeing everyone. I have the best family ever. I'm lucky to have been raised to be so close to them all. I'm so glad I got the chance to spend time with them all before I head back to Georgia.

But I'm tired and I feel icky, so I'm gonna call it a night. Sweet dreams!

xoxo

sh-sh-sh-shopping!!!

I'm going shopping today! With my sissy! I'm excited. Shopping and my sissy are my favorites!

I recorded this new show, "Southland", and I'm watching it right now. Ir's really weird and random and jumps around all over the place. I haven't decided if there's a point yet. I don't think I like it.

I applied for a job in Georgia as an academic advisor at my alma mater. Everyone cross your fingers that I get it! I want, want, want it! Plus I hate job searching, so it would be so awesome if I got the one I wanted most right off the bat. We'll see if I'm actually that lucky. Send good luck vibes my way!

So I went to GNC yesterday. I take their little VitaPack things and I really like them. They just came out with a new line of products especially for women, and I wanted to try them out. So I go in and look at them and they're all on sale and special and stuff. So I get this box of VitaPacks and it's called "Be Hot". Let's hope so. Plus the pills are pink and shiny orange and pretty gold. I like to look at them. People like me are their prime targets. "Let's make these things fun colors and then some sucker will buy them just because of that." Yeah. That's me.

Anyway, if you bought a box of the VitaPacks, you got $5 off the matching multivitamins. Now, most of the VitaPacks have the multivitamin in them, but the one I bought was more of a workout enhancer thing. So I needed a separate vitamin. I was just going to get them at Wal-Mart or something because they're so expensive at GNC. But I'm like, what the hell. I get $5 off a 2 month supply and the price wasn't too bad. So I grab those too. Then I get to the front and the lady says, "If you buy one multivitamin you get one free." So I got my VitaPacks and a 4 month supply of multivitamins for way cheap. It was like the highlight of my week.

But the pink pills make me crazy ravenous. They're energy and metabolism boosters and they slammed my metabolism into overdrive. It's crazy. I think I'm going to like this. I'll let you know how they work out.

That was all so random, but I've been neglecting my blog lately. Not really my fault since I've been having Internet issues. However, I need to do better. Spoonful later tonight!

xoxo

p.s. Ang - Jersey is a Lab/Pointer mix, or so they tell us. I've thought about doing that blood test to see what breeds she has in her. But that's my best guess.

the road trip chronicles are coming to a close

Well I've got a whole bunch of pictures for you that I haven't gotten a chance to upload yet. So here they are, in no certain order. I tried to put them in chronological order, but blogger kept sticking them in random places and I don't have the energy to fight anymore.

This is Jers swimming in my cousin's pool in Fort Worth, TX.

Woo hoo!!! Welcome home, where people are at least semi-normal!

I looked at this and just thought, "Well crap." I almost didn't make it to a gas station because I was in BFE, Kansas and the exits with actual stuff at them were like 25-30 miles apart. I was cheering my car on the whole time. When I filled up, I put 15.9 gallons of gas in my car. My tank only holds 16 gallons...Note to self, fill up at about 1/4 tank.

This is Winnie the Schnauzer floating around my aunt and uncle's pool like a princess. It was hysterical. She got on it all by herself when I floated by.

Since you guys don't know my Grandma Ruby I will use a visual to tell her story. The picture pretty much sums it up. She labels everything, so I just thought it was cute. Then my aunt told me that there is a "big boy" dish and a "little boy" dish because the little boy's bites are sliced smaller for their smaller mouths. This is my grandma in a nutshell. Everyone in my family grew up thinking that watermelon came seedless and pre-sliced.

This would be a Dairy Queen Crunch Cone Blizzard; a.k.a. the best dessert known to mankind. They only serve them in Lyons, KS and I have no clue exactly what it is. Crunchy peanut butter things, sprinkles, nuts, and other delectable mysteries.

If my previous story didn't tip you off about Rube, then this one will help fill in the blanks. I love, love, love pumpkin pie!! Except I don't like the crust with it. I eat the crust on other pies, but it just seems to ruin pumpkin. So I usually just use my spoon or fork to scrape the pie off the crust. Usually works really well. Anywho, Grammie always makes me a separate one in a mini-casserole dish so I can have just the pumpkin and not have to deal with the crust :)

This yard and tree are some of my first and best memories. There used to be rope swings on the tree and bunches of kids in the grass. It was quiet this time around, although Jers did enjoy it.

This, my dears, is the bell tower. We call it such because at Christmas they decorate it in red lights and make it into a bell shape. You can always see it as you drive into town. Gotta love the Lyons water tower...

Haha, yay! Amish buggy! I've always wanted to see one in real life. I tried not to slow down and gawk, but I so wanted to see. I only slowed down a little!

Tid bit windy...my car was all over the road.

Welcome to Kansas everyone. Enjoy your stay, but don't stay long.

I was so excited as I watched my temperature gauge go down. It was the bet thing ever!!

Jers is being princess of the car. She has to sit with her paw on the console so she looks like a person.

The Oklahoma hills! It actually is really pretty through most of the state. And I was born in Tulsa, so duh it rocks. We lived in a place called "Broken Arrow". Dad always called it "Busted Stick" and it freaking cracked me up.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. I still have to drive back to Houston later, but only from the Dallas area and it won't take me long! Ready to be home......

xoxo