Archive for November, 2008

And only because I’m sick of hearing about it, and I’m not 100% tired yet.  Granted, it’s a work night and I should be in bed, but I have to take my daughter to the doctor tomorrow as she’s developed a sudden rash which seems to be spreading.  TG no one else has it (yet), and she doesn’t have a fever or anything else.

Okay, so ready for my rant?  Hopefully you’re all as SICK AND TIRED of hearing about this whole Jennifer Aniston-Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt crap!  I swear, I’m on the verge of pulling my damned hair out!  Sheesh already!

First of all, that was a dead marriage before Brad started in with Angelina.  I mean, he wanted kids and she didn’t.  Enough said.  NOW suddenly Jennifer wants kids?  Puh-lease!  And if the marriage wasn’t already faltering, then Brad wouldn’t have strayed from Jennifer.

I don’t blame either of them if they did fall in love.  There are some things that cannot be helped, and falling in love is one of those things.  Granted, maybe they should’ve waited until Brad & Jen’s divorce was final, but still!

And why in the hell does Angelina have to be the homewrecker?!  Notice how Brad basically skates through this crap with his hands clean?  He’s just as guilty as Angelina, if not even moreso since he’s the one who cheated!  Don’t let him get away with this while everyone rakes Angelina though the coals and goes, “Oh poor Jennifer!”

I’m sorry, but this is just so maddening hearing about it EVERY time you turn around!  And I know I’m mentioning it too, but I want it stated for the record how I feel.  And to boot, I still don’t think we have the whole story anyway!  Has Brad really said anything about this whole ordeal?  I don’t recall, but if so, lead me to it!  I wanna read/see what he has to say.  

Just let it be people, just let it be!  Angelina & Brad are happy!  He looks WAY happier in pics with Angelina than I recall him ever looking in pics with Jennifer.  Besides, Jennifer has John Mayer now… Dunno what that’s all about, but whatever!  Just let it be!  Everyone’s happy now… Right?  At least Brad & Angelina are!

Man, this year feels like it’s just buzzed right on by!  Doesn’t it?  Seems only yesterday we were celebrating my youngest daughter’s 4th birthday!  Now we have Thanksgiving in like 2 weeks, and Christmas is only 42 days away!  42 days!  Sheesh!  Time to start getting wishlists in order!

It’s funny, because it seems to be November 1st on the dot that stores have their Christmas stuff out, and you hear Christmas songs in the stores.  Okay, maybe you see decorations before Halloween, but the music starts promptly on November 1st!

I remember I hated Christmas decorating growing up.  My mom made a HUGE deal out of the tree and the outside decorations.  Now, I miss it all.  I’d love to start doing things somewhat moreso like how my mom did.  And in a round-about way, I do.  I’m just not as fanatical about it as she was.  

So, are we ready people?  Ready to start spreading Holiday cheer?  I am… I most definitely am!  I just want to make it through Thanksgiving successfully since I have to make the turkey!  Eek!  I’ve only made two before, but they both tasted awesome, so I shouldn’t worry LOL!  Wish me luck anyway, just to be safe!!!

Nope, not mine!  I have a little over a year to go LOL!  Johnny Boy turns 30 in 7 minutes.  Of course he’s sleeping, so it doesn’t “count” yet.  

John used to be really bothered about turning 30, but as it got closer and closer this past year, it didn’t bother him as much.  Actually, it doesn’t bother him at all now.  Honestly, I’m looking forward to turning 30 myself, so I dunno why it even bothered him!  Hell, we’re all aging anyway, right?!

I’m making him his fave dinner, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.  His cake?  Dark Chocolate Fudge with Dark Chocolate Fudge icing… Can we say Cavity City?  But, it’s what he wants, so it’s what he gets!  I’m not personally a huge cake fan, especially not chocolate.  I love Red Velvet, Carrot, or Lemon Pound cake… OH!  Or cheesecake LOL!

Anywho!  Sunday we’re going to good ol’ Brooks BBQ with his parents.  Other than that, nothing big is planned.  John’s a VERY low-key person when it comes to his birthday.  Christmas too.  And he never wants anything, which makes it sooooo hard to get him gifts!  Ugh!  He doesn’t want anything though since he got his present: 42″ HDTV 1080p Philips Flat-Panel!  That’s his birthday AND Christmas present IMHO.  Alas, I will get him something small.  Maybe a box or two of his fave candy – chocolate covered cherries!

OMFG!  I’m so super excited!  I’m gonna put myself out here on this one… WAY out there!

I was put back on Depo last November, and over the course of about 6 months, I gained 20 lbs.  EW!  Yeah, that’s not fun!  My doctor said I needed to switch birth control before I ballooned up to 200 lbs., which was quite a frightening thought.  So, I ended up switching to Mirena IUD (that’s another story in itself!) back in August.  Needless to say, the scale still fluctuates by about 5 lbs., and I haven’t truly lost any weight.

BUT!  It’s not the numbers that bother me.  It’s the excess here and there I have… Well… I might not has as much excess as I did have a few weeks ago.  For S&G I decided to try on a pair of pants I only wore once, and they fit like a damned glove back then.  How about they fit and were even ever so slightly loose!  Yes!

Of course this prompted me to try on other pants later on when I got home.  I mean, if those fit WAY better, then I wanted to know what else fit.  Let me tell you, I was on the verge of tears!  I was able to fit into my fave pants, as well as my khakis I had gotten this time last year.  Those lovely khakis only fit for about two months before the Depo started messing up my weight too!  

How exciting is that?!  Okay, it might not be as exciting for you as it is for me, but seriously!  I just added back like 4-5 pairs of pants to my wardrobe!  I have two pairs of pants I purchased from Chadwick’s that never fit, which are a tad closer to fitting… But, I still have a ways to go.  That’s the goal then… To fit those pants.  Weirdest part about this all?  I haven’t even really done much to try to lose any weight!  Now, I’m definitely motivated though!  YAY ME!!!

String me up by my toes upside down and flog me!  LOL!  So, while I do love the scent of B&BW Winter Candy Apple, I think the base note of musk is too much for my nose.  But let me tell you, those scents LAST!  I put some of the lotion on last night before bed, and I can’t even remember how many times I washed my hands since, but they still smelled like the lotion and I hadn’t even reapplied it!

So, why did I lie?  Well… I think I DO like the Vanilla Bean Noel more!  While it’s definitely a sugar cookie scent, it’s also a very comforting scent.  Oh!  I know!  It’s more like Snickerdoodles than sugar cookies!  And Snickerdoodles are a fave cookie of mine!  That does it!  VBN is now a keeper!  TG I can get the scent year-round from Mad City Sue… At least I hope so!  Time to check on that one…

So, I REALLY wanted OPI “Sheer” Your Toys from the new Holiday 2008 (Toyland) collection.  Alas, I didn’t feel like waiting on 8ty8Beauty to send it, and Head2ToeBeauty doesn’t have them yet.  Only one salon, ONE, in the entire Capital District carried them, and luckily they still had the color I wanted!  And to boot, I happened to have a 30% off coupon I received in the mail today!  How awesome is that?!  Oh, and they happened to be the SOLE SALON to carry NailTek too… WTF is up with this crap?!

Alas, I get to the store, and I almost got myself another color from the OPI France Collection, but I behaved and didn’t.  All I left with was the NailTek Foundation II Ridge Filler, OPI “Sheer” Your Toys, and Seche French Guides (strips to assist with homemade French manicures).

Then, since it’s my MIL’s birthday tomorrow, I used my coupon for $10 off a purchase of $30+ to get her a Moonlight Path gift set with shower gel, body lotion and body splash.  I needed $5 more to get to $30, so I bought myself a set of mini LE holiday body lotions (Twisted Peppermint, Winter Candy Apple & Vanilla Bean Noel).  Oh, and even better!  I happened to have a coupon for a free Signature Collection hand soap, so I got the LE Winter Candy Apple Moisturizing Hand Soap.  AWESOMENESS!  

I must say, I never understood the fanatical appeal of VBN, but after smelling it, it reminds me a lot of fresh sugar cookies!  Nice, but not something I think I could stand daily.  I do, however, enjoy this Winter Candy Apple!  I miss the good ol’ Country Apple scent B&BW carried, so this is nice.  I might have to stock up or something so I can make it through the year LOL!  I think the $10 tube of body lotion will do.  LOL!

So, my total savings for today?  A whopping $21.12 with the free soap, which retails for $5.  Ya know, I might need to get myself two of the Winter Candy Apple hand caddies with the soap and lotion since they’re $15 each, and I got another $10 off $30 coupon.  Lovin’ this!  Gotta love a good deal, right?!

Oh, and as for the polish… I’m seriously thinking I might use “Sheer” Your Toys as a French manicure with OPI Black Onyx!  I just tried it, and really liked it!

Well, today I had the realization I really should go to Nursing school.  I truly enjoy taking care of people, and I have a real sense of fulfillment in my job in knowing I’m helping people.  Even if I’m only registering them to take a childbirth or breastfeeding class, I’m helping them in a small way.  Now, I can only imagine how much more fulfilled I’d feel if I became a nurse knowing I’m truly helping others.  

So, I think I’m going to finish getting my paperwork in order and take the 3-4 classes I need to take in order to be accepted into the Ellis School of Nursing.  Luckily, we have wonderful tuition reimbursement through work, and it’ll be a lot less expensive than getting a Masters degree (like $15k cheaper)!  What do you think?  You think it’s a go?

While black is my fave color, I’ve REALLY like the whole brown/blue color themes a lot lately.  Thankfully, John could care less if the bedroom is floral or just a solid color!  Alas, I’m not big on a floral room, so no worries there even if he cared.

I give to you the Bancroft 8-pc. Bedroom Set… Love it!  So sleek and clean looking!  Silver hardware… Bingo!
 

And to complete the look, I think this lovely bedding ensemble would just about do it, no?
 

Obviously the master bathroom would have to be something similar… So, how about this?
 

(Sorry the pics of the bedroom gear are small… They don’t wanna cooperate and be bigger!)

So, if you’re anything like me, or you’re at least a dreamer, then you have an idea of what your dream home would look like.  Or maybe just a certain room.  As for me, I really would love a 5 bedroom 3 bathroom house complete with a formal dining room AND eat-in kitchen.  Less I forget, it must also have a home office, fitness room and a playroom for the kids.  A decent sized yard would be good, and a 4 car garage.  I know, I know!  Sounds extreme!  I can’t help it, which is why it’s called “dream living!”

All of my furniture would be from places like Ethan Allen, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.  I used to want a nice country themed house, but lately I’m really like a lot of the modern items I’m seeing for the house.  And in an effort to completely bore you, I figured I’d post some pics of things I’m really lovin’ ATM… In separate posts per room of course

Yes, my favorite color is black and I have to bring that color into play somewhere!  So, here is a PERFECT dinnerware set: Laura Gates Anna Dinnerware (available at Macy’s for $120 for a 16-piece set).  There’s also cute accessories to purchase along with the set, such as a 3-piece cannister set, rectangular platter and serving bowl.  

And given my love of black, my dining room set would be lovely if it looked something like this:
 

I’d obviously have a nice greyish-white granite countertop to set off white cabinets.  But not just any cabinets, I want open cabinets with glass doors.  I love the look!  Here’s an example of an almost perfect kitchen design for me.

Have you ever noticed as it gets colder people start eating earlier, and cooking heavier meals?  I know I do it myself, but for some inane reason my husband never noticed.  WTH is that?  I don’t make pot roast and beef stew in the middle of summer!  I make pasta salad LOL!  Men!  

But, I do think this is one of my fave times as far as meals go.  I get to make comfort foods… Although, I reckon I should be cautious so as to not gain a bazillion pounds from eating LOL!