30 Days About Me (Day 4)

Favorite Book:




Finally an easy one!! I recently did a post about my favorite books so I will copy and paste that here now with a few revisions thrown in for good measure :) 

I tend to read books in waves. Sometimes turning hundreds of pages in a day for weeks, other times letting my books collect dust for quite a while. I guess it's like a marathon runner carb-loading before a big race. I let my pile of books built up until I am ready to jump in head first and devour them all.

It really surprises me that I enjoy reading as much as I do. As a child my mother couldn't get me to read anything except teeny bopper magazines like Teen Beat, BOP, and Seventeen. Oh, and the occasional comics strip from the newspaper. I had read a lot but had never really enjoyed my books. That is until I was in my early 20's. Not sure what changed, I think it may be that I had experienced enough about life at that point to connect with the characters I was reading about. 

Since it is one of my book devouring phases I thought I would share a few of my latest favorite reads:

The Fablehaven series (books 1 thru 5)

By: Brandon Mull

If you liked reading Harry Potter at all you will LOVE this series. It's awesome. True it's in the "young readers" section of the library, but this is no whimpy book!  

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen 

By: Syrie James

Even if you are not a Jane Austen fan you will like this book. This book is "kind of" fiction, meaning a lot is based on historical fact and the holes were filled in with the authors imagination of Jane's life. (Let's lump this book in with every Austen novel ever written)

The Passage 

By: Justin Cronin

Intense. Seriously this book had me hooked from page 1. Then half way through it throws you the biggest curve ball I have ever read in a book! It's technically a vampire book, but not like twilight at all. The "Vampires" are a military experiment gone wrong. 

There you have it, a few of my recent favorite reads. I jump around a bit in my page turning types. Keeps me on my toes, ha ha. I tend to always return to works about nineteenth century England though. I LOVE Austen inspired novels, so romantic! 

What have you been reading recently?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time... 

Books!

I tend to read books in waves. Sometimes turning hundreds of pages in a day for weeks, other times letting my books collect dust for quite a while. I guess it's like a marathon runner carb-loading before a big race. I let my pile of books built up until I am ready to jump in head first and devour them all.


It really surprises me that I enjoy reading as much as I do. As a child my mother couldn't get me to read anything except teeny bopper magazines like Teen Beat, BOP, and Seventeen. Oh, and the occasional comics strip from the newspaper. I had read a lot but had never really enjoyed my books. That is until I was in my early 20's. Not sure what changed, I think it may be that I had experienced enough about life at that point to connect with the characters I was reading about. 


Since it is one of my book devouring phases I thought I would share a few of my latest favorite reads:

Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture 

By: Shannon Hayes

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen 

By: Syrie James

The Passage 

By: Justin Cronin

There you have it, a few of my recent reads. I jump around a bit in my page turning types. Keeps me on my toes, ha ha. I tend to always return to works about nineteenth century England though. I LOVE Austen inspired novels, so romantic! 

What have you been reading recently?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time... 

A Beachy Kind of Weekend

Last week the kids and I shoved off for Myrtle Beach, SC. Both of them have been so good and doing so well at school i thought they deserved a special night with me at the beach. They had a great time exploring the aquarium:

The next day my parents came and picked the kiddies up for some fun at their home. Thus began my girls weekend away! And what do most ladies do when they are alone with out their hubby's or kids??? They go to Alligator parks of course :)

Well OK, there may have been a few fruity cocktails and mischief mixed in as well ;) One can not go to Myrtle Beach with out a stroll on the sand... (we even found sharks teeth!)

It was a a nice weekend away. We all had fun. Now I'm back to reality, my son is home sick... so am I :( Good thing I had a little mini-vacation to break it up a bit.

What is your favorite place to go for little mini-vacations?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Apprehension & Creativity

I used to be so creative in my younger days. I would paint any surface I could find. Making things with my own hands thrilled me to no end. Then I got older and life happened. Days of making art and not a care in the world came to an end. I had a job that needed my time, then I had a husband who needed my time, then dogs, then a home, then babies... Next thing I knew my creative side was gone. 


I have been trying to claw my way back into making things for a while now. But every time I would get close (the canvas purchased, the paint ready) I would chicken out, fearing I wasn't good anymore. It had been too long, and I was too old to be "artsy" anymore. Well, no more! I have had it with my excuses on why I can't be or do what I want. Lizzie, quite complaining about not doing things when you don't even try!


I have done it, after years of saying I'm going to. I have gotten my hands dirty and cast my apprehension to the way side. I am making organic doggy soaps :) Welcome to Trois Amis Soaps! (French for Three Friends, because I have 3 dogs)

The web page is made, nothing is up on the site yet. (SOON SOON SOON!) I'm still trying to figure out all the business stuff. The soaps have been tested, (on my kids and i, yeah i know it sounds weird, but if i wouldn't use it on myself i don't want it on my dog!) and are wonderful. My kids think it's funny use "mommy's special dog soap". Plus, with all this testing my dogs smell so good! 


But as excited as I am, I am scared to death. This is a huge step for me, to create something of my own, to tell people about it and to follow through. I may fail, it may not turn out as I plan, I keep telling myself that is OK. I am making things with my hands, my kids are enjoying being my helpers. We are creating together, and for the first time in years I stopped just dreaming and am doing. 

Look, I've got a blog button over there ----------------->

I hope you'll stop by from time to time and see how my store is doing. Keep me accountable, and remind me not to be afraid. Thank you Bloggy friends for always being such a supportive, wonderful and safe group for me to work out my craziness.

And if there's anything you've been wanting to do, but have been scared to try, DO IT! I got your back :)


au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time... 

The Wee Hours, Revisited

*This is an old post I wrote a long time ago (When Kate and my mom were my only readers.) I thought it was an appropriate topic for today. Enjoy :)

I am not a morning person by any means. I am one of those "any excuse to stay in bed just a little longer" kind of people. Even though having children has forced me to wake up earlier then I would choose many times. But I found myself unable to stay in bed after Joe got up at 5am for work today. No kids were awake, not even the dogs. Just silence and me. So, I decided to sit on the back porch with a good book.

I am constantly amazed at how beautiful the early morning is, why don't I make an effort to get up early more often? (The bed is just TOO comfy, and I am just TOO grumpy first thing when I get up.) The sky was a beautiful sleepy blue with the sun just peaking over the trees, and then I saw the moon. It was so bright for the morning. I know, I know, the moon is often up still when the sun rises, but this was different. It seemed much brighter, as if to say "NO! I am not ready to just lay down quietly, I wanna be seen!"

I feel like that some days as a wife and mother. "NO! I want to be noticed for who I am, look at me, I am trying to get your attention!!" We as women sometimes lose our own individual voice and just become "mom." Not that there is anything wrong with that wonderful title, it is just important for us to not lose sight of who we are in the process.

Currently I have no clue who I am. I feel like a pre-teen trying to figure out where I fit in the world. I struggle with what I will do once my kids don't need me as much as they do now. The things I was once so passionate about now I find little interest in. My world truly revolves around my children (as it should) but, there is this little part of me that says "you can do so much more."

For now I will be like the bright early morning moon. Make my presence known "look at me! look at me!" and try finding myself through words in my blog, and then lay down during the day and let the sun (my children) shine all day long.

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

It's About Time!

I have been sitting pretty at 182 pounds for over a month now. Sure everyone hits weight loss plateaus, but come on! I'm at the gym at least 4 times a week, and eating well. I have kept a positive attitude on the outside. On the inside I have been screaming with frustration!

So this morning I step on the scale for my weekly weigh in...

178.4

YEAH, the last time I was in the 170's was before I had children. Yippy skippy! OK, I know some of you are thinking that is still a big number but for me it is a major milestone to get to pre-baby weight. I am thrilled. Bringing my grand total of pounds lost to 32 pounds. Which means I have officially past the half way mark to my ultimate goal.

Don't worry, I didn't celebrate by eating donuts. I decided to stay home, get on the treadmill while watching Rogers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific." Love that movie :)

What did I do different this week? The only thing I can think of is I drank a TON of coffee to keep up with my son's football schedule, ha ha.

Before (March 2009)

After... So Far (August 2009)

How did you do this week?

(also, want to appologize for not visiting your blogs as much this week, football, gym, dirty house... you get the picture!)

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

I Went To The Movies... Alone!

I have never been to a movie theater alone, but today I changed that. I have been waiting for "Julie & Julia" to come out and was so excited to see it this morning! Some girly movies I can talk my hubby into seeing. (If there's a kung fu fight scene in between the make out sessions *ugh*) But this movie I knew he would not go for. So off I went, and I am SO glad I did. I loved this movie!!

Meryl Streep's hilarious impersonation of The French Chef, Julia Child is amazing. And Amy Adams is as sweet as ever.

It's about Julie Powell's attempt to cook her way through Child's culture-changing cookbook in her Queens, New York tiny apartment. Then flashes back to Child's years in France struggling to learn French and write a cookbook that taught America "Bon appetit!"

I am not a very good cook, most days I don't even like to cook. But this movie made me want to come home put on an apron and whip up something extravagent! (OK... I came home and ate popcorn, almost the same. Right?)

One of the coolest things about this movie is it is the first major motion picture that started off as a blog. I loved that. This was a wonderful "feel good" flick. I'm glad I took my lame, lonely self to see it :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Oh and Bon appetit!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Blonde to Brunette

I get real bored with my hair, and due to this "hair boredom," drastic changes tend to happen when I go to the hair salon. This morning was no exception. I give you me as a Brunette!

I like it, it's different. But the more I think about it I am wondering if the puppy and I match too much now. What do you think? (oh and no, his ears are not like that. The kids were making him look like a mouse and I took a picture after I got done laughing.)


au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Austen Movies

It is no secret that I am a HUGE Jane Austen fan. I love her novels (in particular Persuasion, and Pride & Prejudice) I also love books inspired by her writing (like "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" by Laurie Viera Rigler & all the books by Elizabeth Aston.) When my mind is cluttered with doubt, or things are uncertain I know I can always open these books and feel peaceful.

Lately I haven't had the time to get my "Austen Therapy" that I so desperately have needed. Instead I have popped in a DVD to get my fix. True, it is not the same, but it still brings a smile to my face.

Here is a list of the Austen inspired movies I have seen. PLEASE feel free to tell me if there are any must-sees I have missed. And yes, if you haven't seen these you must :)

Not surprisingly either is the fact that ones made in England by British actors tend to be the best. Especially the BBC specials! I leave you with a short clip from Pride & Prejudice that always brightens my day. (and yes, I've posted this clip before... sorry, it's my favorite!)

be sure to pause the music @ right




au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

I'm a Hermit Crab

I have this habit during summer time. I wasn't sure it would follow me all the way across country when we moved. I have been super busy that I thought it wouldn't happen... well, it did and I am doing my old habit once again.

I turned into a hermit crab!

Let me explain a little. I do this thing (not on purpose, it just happens) were I disappear. The sun gets warm, school ends, I plan all these super cool summer activities to keep us all busy then out of nowhere... I crawl into my shell. I don't pick up the phone and call a girlfriend to chit chat, I come up with excuses to cancel appointments. I just want to stay home and enjoy my munchkins, no distractions, nothing that has to be done, just them and me.

Someone once said it might be seasonal depression. I don't know, I am not sad or down at all. I just don't want to go anywhere. I just want to be a Hermit Crab! Hard as I try to ignore this natural instinct of mine to crawl in my nice comfy safe place it still happens.

My girlfriends in South Carolina understand what I am talking about. For the last 4 summers I would get a phone call half way through "Where the heck have you been? Did you die? We miss you!" and I'd have to explain that I was fine, nothing exciting was going on, I was just at home playing with my kids. Well, I have a few new friends here in Arizona, but they have never seen me during the summer. I hope they don't drop me as a friend because I disappear for the summer.

I thoroughly enjoy it to be honest with you. It's like a vacation. No schedule, no appointments, nothing! Come this fall when school starts I'll crawl out, dust myself off and continue on with the crazy days I had left behind at the summer beginning. Am I nuts? does anyone else do this?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

End of a Long Summer Day

What do you do at the end of a long day?

Some soak in a bubbly tub (not me, kids would jump in with snorkel gear!) Some rest in a comfy chair with a book (nope, hubby would remind me of the pants he needs clean for work tomorrow!) Some would play a fun game of catch with their kids (i wish! The dogs always run in and steal the ball!)

So... what's this mom to do on a LONG summer day, when I have cleaned the house top to bottom, my munchkins have struck every nerve I have and the dogs keep barking at God knows what?!?

You pop open a bottle of Corona, add a lime, put on a kids movie (so they'll actually leave me alone for once today!!!) and catch up on some blog reading :)

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Sometimes I Question Myself...

Goodness, I complained about not getting any questions and you all delivered! I had a blast answering these :) Enjoy! There's a special treat at the end of this post!

Carrie @ Martin Manor Happenings: How would you spend a million dollars if you won it?
First make a "rainy day" fund in the event of an emergency, then pay off all our family's debt. Then fully fund both munchkins college funds, add a chunk to retirement. Then, I would travel (with my entire family; grandma, uncle, the works!) to the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island and drink a million fruity drinks with umbrellas!!

Melissa @ Spoiled Mommy: Whats your daily schedule?
It's summer know so there's less going on. I wake up, put on my gym clothes and head out with the munchkins. 2 hours of sweating my butt off then it's time to come home, have a snack and play with the kids. Then lunch time and maybe a trip up to the community pool or something. Then it's nap time! yes, even for my 6 year old. I am going to get a nap out of these kids as long as they go along with it :) While they sleep I clean the house for a few hours. Daddy comes home, we have dinner, watch some TV as a family and then have story time and off to bed!

Weakness, what's yours?
Geez, I don't know! On a positive I could say my hubby is my weakness, this man can get me to do anything, ha ha! See how crazy I am about him? On a negative my weakness would have to be the new found bugs I have to deal with since our move... Scorpions! They seriously freak me out!! Oh and kryptonite, of course.

Mimi @ He & Me + 3: What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas! It's such a great time of year, people stop what they're doing and really think about the baby boy born in a manger and seem to be nicer. I love doing the nativity calendar with my munchkins and sharing what happened on that magical night with them. I also love decorating the house, think Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation!


What camera do you shoot with?
Casio Exilim 7.2 mega pixels, from Target. Purchased while on vacation because I seem to always leave my camera at home, hey it's better than forgetting underwear.

Ever had an surgeries?
Um, yeah! Double hernia, Tonsillectomy, and a TON of mouth surgery after my jet ski accident (bad memories, let's not go there...) and I am sure I am leaving something out, oh well.

Lola @ Lola's Diner: If you could be any animal, what would you be?
Those who have been reading here for awhile might remember my plea to save the Gray Wolf HERE (howling to be heard) and HERE(good-bye dear wolf). I have always loved Wolves, so loyal and yet quite mysterious. They have families they look after and seem to never get the respect I think they deserve. For sure if I could be an animal it would be a Wolf.

Patty @ Photography: A Reflection and Refraction: What is your middle name?
Arlene, I was named after my grandmother :)

My Mom, Tina: I love what E @ Scottsville had to say! Can I be your "Fairy Blogmother"?
For sure Mom, you can always be my "fairy blogmother" or anything else you want to be for that matter :)

Leslie @ JAM's Own Reality: How did you meet your husband? Was it love at first sight?
I showed him my boobs one night at a bar. What? Isn't that how everyone meets the love of their life? And yes, we gazed into each others glossed over, blurry eyes and knew we were meant to be!

Do you think you would like to have more kids?
Some days I want another munchkins SO BADLY! Then I have days were the kids are driving me nuts, the puppy is peeing all over the house, the laundry is piled to the ceiling, and my hubby and I aren't getting along and I say "No way Jose!"

Stacey @ Mom Taxi: If you could travel back in time Where and When would you go?
I would travel to England in the early nineteenth century (specifically between 1810-1817.) To the time of Jane Austen, formal gatherings, courtship, Travels to Bath and Southampton, and amazing literature. Oh man, now I really wish I could do time travel!!

If you could be president for ONE day what would you do? What laws would you pass?
I would make full figured women be the standard first of all. And have all super skinny boney models thrown in jail. Shush, I can do that! I'm the president remember? Then I would pass a law that would make it incredibly hard to remove an animal from the endangered species list. And lastly I would take some of the governments power away. Let the states handle more of their problems and have "big brother" leave their nose out of it.

Alicia @ Yaya Stuff: If you could have a superpower what would it be, and what would your superhero name be? But most importantly, what would your superhero costume look like?
Oh this is great, the geek in me will get to shine :) I would for sure choose Power Mimicry as my superpower (the ability to copy or absorb another's powers or skills) Similar to Rogue from "xmen." My name would be... Hum, maybe chatter-girl! and my costume would look like this: (notice she has a cell phone in her hand? perfect!)


What's the best day of your life so far?
I could say my wedding day, but you know what? I was a nervous wreck! I could also say the day both my munchkins were born... The truth, yes it was amazing, but I was in pain people!!! So I am going to say my families vacation to Hilton Head Island last year. It was wonderful, everything went perfect. I will treasure that week for years and years to come.

You want more questions? OK, Is your favorite color orange?
Actually Orange is one of my favorite colors! We are HUGE Clemson Tiger fans around our house. Purple and Orange Baby! Often at least one member in the family is decked-out in orange to show our love of our old South Carolina stomping grounds.

Aimee @ Journey2Learn: If you had to choose the single most valuable thing you ever learned, what would it be?
Maybe that we need to live our life as if our kids are always watching. Be the example you want them to be. This is a tough question!

Anissa @ Our Chaotic Life: What is your favorite time of year and why?
I can tell ya I am not too fond of crazy hot desert summers! I love the other 3 seasons though! Winter(Christmas, my birthday, SNOW, skiing, snuggling to keep warm) Spring(new growth, sweet flower smells, cool breezes, outdoor activities) Fall(all the warm colors, leaf piles, getting ready for school to start)

If you could go any where in the world -- where would you go and why?
Well as mentioned above and in this post HERE I would love to stay at The Atlantis on Paradise Island! But since we are in the land of imaginary, let's get a little more exotic shall we. I would LOVE to visit Greece, like the places filmed in Mama Mia!

And as a special surprise I put all the names into a hat that asked a question and let my mini-munchkin pull out 1 name to win my coveted "I'm Cool" award and be this months featured blogger on my blog! The person selected was...

Stacey @ Mom Taxi! So Chick, take this awesome award and put it on your blog, I will be doing a feature on you this coming week!



au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

The Tank Top Photo Shoot

I was shocked that so many of you wanted to know what my cute new tank top looked like from my previous post! So I thought I'd do a little photo shoot to show off my 20 pounds lighter self in my new Harley shirt...

Take 1: Oops, my boobs squished the design.

Take 2: Hey, it's me! but you can't really see the shirt.



Take 3: It looks like my armpit is going to attack!



Take 4: How did I accidentally take a picture of my feet?
Taking pictures of yourself is harder than I expected.



Take 5: Hum, well... Here's a picture of my back. Not sure
how this helps you see the shirt though.

Take 6: Since we're goofing off now, let's try one of those sexy close up eye shots! Not quite what I expected, I look drunk.

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Take 7: Viola! I figured taking the shirt off would work better :) Here you go my dears, my new shirt. (and yes, I am standing in my living room with no shirt on with the blinds wide open, AAHHHHHHHH)

WOW, I'm exhausted! This photo shoot stuff is tough. It's a good thing I never pursued my modeling career, HA HA! Hope you had fun :) Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...