More Daily Blogging Fun

I'm combining two days' posts into one because they're short.

December 9th: Best Album of the Year

Taylor Swift Fearless.  That is a no-brainer. 
At the beginning of the year, I wasn't much of a TS fan.  I thought all her songs were sung in minor keys, which isn't flattering to most voices, no matter how talented you are.  But then I really started listening to her music, and learning about how she's written all of these songs herself.  She plays her own instrument.  She has her own line of guitars.  Pretty much, Taylor gives off this vibe that if you could just meet her, you'd instantly be best friends.  So to all of those people out there who don't understand the draw to Taylor and her music...there you have it.  She is my best friend, she just doesn't know it yet. 


December 10th: Best Place of the Year

Normally, I would say Aruba, for obvious reasons (i.e. beach, sand, crystal clear blue water, friendly people, great weather, etc).  With the circumstances of the year, however, I have to say my favorite place is my house.  We put so much money time and money energy into the design, building and completion of our home, and this year it finally became a reality.  HALLELUJAH!  Now who wants to come over for drinks? :)

She's at it again

My good friend Marissa Jaret Winokur (referred to as MJK from now on, because that name is too damn long to type) is back with another awesome (and by that, I mean shit-tastic) blog. The article is absolutely ridiculous, but the accompanying photo alone is worth a look.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20294242,00.html

Sorry. It's a little hard to take you seriously in your FLOWER-COVERED CAMO. Dear Lord. She needs a visit to the Ridge, not boot camp. If that doesn't straighten her out, I don't know what will. Then again...the ridge rats pop meth like skittles, so given her track record with candy...she might be screwed.

Mickey Mouse Slaughterhouse

That's right, I murdered Mickey.

You may recall my very exciting stories about the mouse living in our house. He has been captured, along with his previously camouflaged friend - the gray mouse, all in a 24 hour period.

The first mouse, Mickey, the one we actually knew about, believe it or not was pretty cute. I felt bad. If I had to say a mouse was cute, this one would be the one.

We caught Mickey, and thought our mouse debacle was over. WRONG!

As I was typing my blog yesterday, I heard the spring/door stopper make that springy sound as if something had just hit it. Given that I was in the room alone (I thought) and Bella was asleep on the couch...I realized there had to be another furry creature living amongst us. Frickin great.

Mickey Jr. was sent to be slaughtered just after midnight last night.

Life is good.

I am an asshole.

I definitely got called out via facebook on some of my previous blog entries. When will I learn to self-edit? And when will I learn, if I must comment on something to be clear as to whether I am talking about a person or their actions? IDIOT!

My response was first, to take down the hurtful comments, and then say that my wonderful husband was a bit irritated with his mom and I earlier this year because we were being kind of catty and criticizing another woman (I don't remember who or about what). His mom and I both responded that women are just hard on other women and that's the way it is, and we didn't think anything more of it. HE was clearly the one with the issue, not us. End of discussion. The more I thought about it, the more I realized, I HATE being criticized, handle it way worse than most people, and given that I am far from perfect (shocker!) myself, I should probably make a much greater effort to STOP criticizing. Clearly, I have not done the best job with that so far.

You always hear about stay at home moms vs. working moms, for example (vs. as if it really is a battle!). Why can't all moms be doing the right thing, or sometimes the necessary thing, for their families? Why are both sides villified by the other? Are we all just born with the need to make ourselves feel better by tearing other people down? Women can be catty, myself included. Sometimes people need to be called out on it. Today was one time I was the person needing it. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the individual who did call me out this time. It was a strong, concise and definitely needed reminder that words CAN hurt, whether out loud, online, to your face or typed on a blog. And guess what, the person wasn't even catty about telling me that I was wrong! Proof to me that it can be done! Thank you!

South Beach, Day 1

201.6

TWO HUNDRED ONE POINT SIX POUNDS!

It seems a lot worse when you spell it out.

That is embarrassing.

Now, at the risk that I'm about to offend someone who weighs as much or more than me, let me add this disclaimer:
Any comments made about this number (my weight) are strictly in regards to ME, and should be regarded as such. ME. My height, frame, size, etc. ME. Not anyone else. Me. Ok. :)

Whew. Now I can "tell you how I really feel." Have I mentioned that I think that is one of the dumbest phrases I've ever heard? It annoys me just from a literal standpoint...because whenever someone says "tell me how you really feel," I usually just have. And yes, I get the sarcasm/irony and that that's why people say it. It's still stupid and redundant. Much like this blog some days... :)

So, here's how I really feel:
-Disgusted with myself
-Embarrassed that I let it go this far
-Curious about how long it will take to dump all this weight back off
-Shocked that I have gained 80 pounds since high school graduation. 80. EIGHTY. 8-0. Holy shit! (Granted, as anyone who knew me then can attest, I was so thin that several people thought I might have a problem...so I needed to gain a little weight...guess I took that a little too far, huh?)

I've never read The Secret, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking and "positive self-talk," so I'm done beating myself up about being a lazy fat ass now. :)

In some ways, I'm actually really fortunate that I used to be excruciatingly thin and can remember what it's like. I see so many women who have struggled with weight issues their entire lives, and they have no idea what it's like to have FUN shopping, because things actually fit you, and don't cling to your belly button. (Man does that suck. I am so fucking sick of seeing my belly button through all my shirts, I could scream! There are not enough spanx in the world to hold that sucker in.) Anyway, I imagine it would be extra hard to stay motivated when you have worked so hard for so long and gotten nowhere...especially having no real idea what it's like once you lose the weight. At least I KNOW how much better it will be and can use that to my advantage.

Talking about spanx reminds me...I read an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow after one of her children was born, and she was talking about how she looked so good after having a baby...she was wearing one spanx on top of the other...under EVERY outfit.

Let me reiterate...Gwyneth Paltrow, one of the thinnest women on Earth is wearing two sets of spanx with every outfit. And her photos get airbrushed before we see them. If that doesn't make you feel a little better about yourself, I don't know what will.

Day 2 is coming shortly, pray for me.

The Farmer Takes a Wife

So this is where we begin...

In the last year-ish, I:
-Married a farmer
-Moved out of the suburbs
-Became a member of rural America
-Got a puppy
-Quit my job
-Purchased my/our first house

And here I am.

If judging by nothing other than the sheer volume of questions I get regarding farm/rural life, this should be interesting. I hope.

Sooner or later I will have more updates, but it's been killing me that this blog has been sitting around unmanned. Feel free to send your questions/thoughts...just be sure to spell check them first! :)