10 Things About Me

Here are 10 things about me that you don't know...and probably didn't want to know!

1. I can pretty much recite every word to the movie "The American President". I can also recite parts of episodes of "The West Wing". I guess I'm an Aaron Sorkin weirdo!

2. I have a major sweet tooth. I love pretty much all sweet things. I also love to bake. If I could, I would open up a bakery...but I don't have the patience or dedication for that!

3. I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fanatic. I usually start to get a twitch for baseball in December and then am in full on withdrawal by February. I can't wait for Jack to start playing little league. His first compound word was baseball...I think it's a sign!

4. I have an illness called Sjogren's Syndrome. It's an autoimmune disorder that affects the moisture producing glands of the body. Mine specifically seems to affect the salutatory glands and the tear ducts. My eyes are often dry and my mouth is dry sometimes. This also causes me to have a ridiculous number of cavities, no matter how much I brush my teeth, floss, etc. Honestly, if I had the money, I would get dental implants because my teeth will be a never ending battle and it would actually be cheaper to just do this. Unfortunately, because I am not independently wealthy, I usually have constant mouth pain that I try to ignore because there is always something going on in there that I can't afford to fix.

5.

New Year...New me

So, it's been almost two weeks since I started my diet. I'm hanging in there. My scale isn't necessarily showing me the great numbers that I hoped during my first couple weeks, but slow and steady wins the race, right? The number is lower than it was 11 days ago when I really started, so that's a good thing. Hopefully it will only continue to get lower. My fear is that I won't be able to stick with this. It truly is a change of lifestyle, not just in what I eat.

I have to really think about what I'm going to eat each day ahead of time. With a busy toddler, that is really hard. I'm probably not eating the best things that I could, but I'm eating things that are pretty easy for me to get ready and to prepare. It is working for now, so I will stick with it.

I'm going to tackle my biggest challenge...finding time to work out. I'm going to try to start working out during my lunch break next week a couple days and see how it goes. I'm worried that I will get really smelly and sweaty and that I won't be comfortable for the rest of the afternoon. Watch out afternoon meetings! You might smell me coming! Hopefully I will be able to come up with a system and stick with it. By the time I get off work, I just want to get home and spend a couple hours with Jack before he goes to bed. But, he doesn't go to bed until 8:30 or 9, so that's a little late to start a workout (I'm just exhausted by that time). So, I'm going to try the lunchtime thing. I'm going to start with two days a week next week and see how it goes!

I've made the decision to run a 5K at the end of April, so I'm going to be training for that. I've had the Couch to 5K program on my Ipod for months and months but just haven't done it. So, I'm going to start that now and get prepared. I really want to prove that I can do it! I've never been a runner...I've never enjoyed it. Even when I played field hockey in high school and had to run one or two miles a day at the start of practice, I never enjoyed it (and I was in much better shape back then!). So, we will see how it goes. I'm committing to run the 5K in April. If I hate it, I won't do another one. But, I'm going to prove that I can do it at least once!

More to come!

Writer's Block

I'm supposed to be working on an article right now...but clearly I am not! About five months ago I submitted a proposal for an article to my professional association. It was accepted and I pushed it aside. Well, my deadline is next week and I am no closer to starting in that I was five months ago! Ugh. I honestly hate the topic that I chose and just can't figure out where I want to go with it!

I really need to get my act together and work on it, but I somehow just can't make myself do it. It is the first week of the spring semester at my university, so it's quite busy! Once I finally get Jack into bed, I'm exhausted and don't want to do anything. I am really hoping for a snow day tomorrow so I can get my thoughts together during nap time and hopefully make some progress!

Procrastination is my middle name. What did I say all through grad school? I work best under pressure. Yeah right!

The Hardest Thing

Like many people, I started a diet at the first of the year. It's cliche, but I needed to do it. I look at my beautiful little boy and I know that I need to get healthy for him. Some friends of mine and I started an online support group on Facebook to help each other along. It's definitely been a great thing during this first week.

Losing weight is the hardest thing ever. I will say one thing...I've been the same weight for approximately five years, give or take 10 pounds. When I was pregnant with Jack, I gained 18 pounds, which was right on target. He was nearly eight pounds and I was back in my pre-pregnancy clothes a week after he was born. My problem is losing the weight. But, I need to do it, so I'm working on it.

This week has been rough. The first two days I was hungry ALL THE TIME. OH MY GAAAHH. Get in my belly food!! But, the past two days have been a little better. I decided to do Weight Watchers Online for a few months so I can get a handle on things. It's a lot of work. I plan meals and take lunch and snacks to work. But, it will be okay. I can have anything I want...just in moderation. I get my flex points every week that I can use to have some french fries if I want them...or a milk shake...or a big, juicy, cheeseburger (which is my current craving...hello Red Robin!).

So, tomorrow is our first weigh in. We are weighing in every Friday. It's only been four days since I started, so I don't expect to lose much...but I'm afraid that I won't have lost anything and that I'm going to get frustrated. I'm hoping to have lost a half a pound at least. That would be a start.

My initial goal is to lose 10 pounds. It's attainable and I can see the light at the end of that tunnel. If I were to look at the total amount that I need to lose, it would be completely overwhelming. So, 10 pounds it is. And when I reach that, I will reward myself with a pedicure! And then I will look at another 10 pounds. I hope that by the time Jack's birthday rolls around in a little over five months (how is it possible that I will have a two year old in a little over five months???), I won't be ashamed of the photos that are taken. I don't know how much weight I will have lost by then, but I can guarantee I will at least weigh a little less than I do now!

My little weight loss group all shared photos of ourselves as a "before". So, here are mine...for posterity sake. All I can say is UGH!

2010 in review

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

I went on vacation with my ENTIRE family. It was the first time that my three siblings, our spouses, kids, and parents had ever all been on vacation together.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't think that I actually made new year's resolutions last year. I decided that I wouldn't. I'm sure that if I did, it would have been to lose weight and be more financially responsible. Um, those are both big fat failures, so we will just say that I didn't make any.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I know several people that had babies, but none of my family or close friends. My best friend is expecting a baby in April 2011 and I am SOOOO excited!!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My grandpa passed away in March. I wouldn't say that we were close (he is my step-dad's dad), but he was my grandpa nonetheless. However, I will say that the past few months have left me missing my maternal grandma and grandpa immensely. I think about them every day and wish that they were here.

5. What countries did you visit?

No foreign countries. I took a trip to Boston for work and then went to Alabama (which could technically count as a foreign country) with my family.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you didn’t have in 2010?

I would really like for my husband to get a decent paying full time job.

7. What dates from 2010 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

Probably May 19 because we celebrated Jack's first birthday. October 24 because it was my 29th birthday and I had a great time with ALL of my friends for the first time in quite a while.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

.I honestly can't think of anything great that I did. I guess professionally, we had a great academic year last year. We increased our attendance and the number of events we did.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not being more supportive of my husband when he lost his job and in the eight plus months since then.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My ipad. I shouldn't have purchased it, but I used the money I received from teaching a class and purchased it. There were absolutely more responsible things I could have done with that money, but I use it every day and my son loves it too!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My husband who took on the role of stay at home dad at the end of March. I would not have the patience to be home with our child every day for months on end. He has so much more patience then I could ever dream of having. I'm so thankful

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

There are quite a few people that I could list here, but I will just say that overall, I think people are good.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Paying bills...mortgage, car, insurance, student loans, etc.

15. What did you get really excited about?

My birthday...because all of my friends came to town to help me celebrate. And Christmas because Jack actually opened his presents this year.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

I can't think of one song that will represent this year...

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier: No. I'm working on it though
Thinner: I am the same
Richer: Absolutely not...my husband lost his job in March! Enough said!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Visiting with friends. Making time for myself.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Dwelling on all the things I don't have.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Running around to our families and enjoying time with them.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?

Still love my husband dearly.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Glee, Modern Family, anything on ABC Family (because I'm a 13 year old girl at heart), Grey's Anatomy, and I could go on and on and on. I like TV.

23. What was the best book you read?

I can tell you what it wasn't..."Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich. It's the required reader for the freshman seminar classes at my university. Since I taught a freshman seminar, I had to read it. And it was awful. I felt guilty making the kids read it.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I'm going to say that I love Bruno Mars right now. Tyrone Wells is still at the top of my list.

25. What did you want and get?

An ipad

26. What did you want and not get?

For my husband to get a job

27. What was your favorite film of 2010?

Harry Potter

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 29 this year and had a great time celebrating with a big group of friends. I loved it...but I did not love how I felt the next day.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

If my husband had gotten a job.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2010 ?

Oh please. Fashion is not my thing. I would love to be more fashionable, but I'm a mom on a very limited budget!

31. What kept you sane?

Emails from my best friend, my husband, my mom

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The repeal is a definite step in the right direction for equality.

33. Who did you miss?

My grandma and grandpa. They popped into my head almost every day over the past few months.

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

There are always going to be people that are worse off than you. You should be happy for all that you have and not dwell on what you don't have.

35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Just have a little patience....I really wanna start over again.

Grab the Tissue

Ever since I became a mother, I can't help but grieve for families dealing with terrible tragedies involving their children. I hear stories of babies with cancer or major illnesses and I cannot imagine dealing with that.

I was recently sent this video. I urge you to grab a tissue before you watch it. Little Dax Locke continues to touch lives!

'Tis The Season

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved Christmastime because I loved going to the mailbox every day and getting all of the Christmas cards from family and friends! It was always fun to see the pictures of our relatives from across the country that we rarely got to see (and in the pre-Facebook era, it was pretty much impossible to see photos of people unless they came via snail mail!). One family in particular always sent out a wonderfully hilarious Christmas letter each year. It was definitely the highlight of the Christmas cards. To this day, my mom will still call me when the letter comes and read it to me over the phone.

Last year I saw an alarming trend...the e-Christmas card. I got two of these from friends and it made me really sad! I just didn't get the same feeling clicking open on my computer screen as I did when I ripped open an envelope. I vowed that I would always send out Christmas cards to my friends and family, no matter how busy I was that year.

Shutterfly has some AWESOME holiday card options this year. I am having a really hard time deciding!! Check out some of these awesome cards:

I love the traditional look of this one--but in a contemporary way

I'm a HUGE fan of chocolate brown, so this one really speaks to me
I love the use of black with bright colors on it. I have several rolls of wrapping paper that look like this


I have used Shutterfly for a number of things over the years. I have made four photo books chronicling the first 18 months of Jack's life. They are amazing! I have been able to completely customize the books with captions and all the photos that I want.

I have also created several photo calendars (most recently, one for my mom for Christmas). I love the new layouts that they created this year!!

I am not throwing any holiday parties this year, but I was, I would totally send out some of these invitations. They are fantastic!

I also love these photo cards for the holidays! I created this one for our family

Picture Joy Christmas

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I think that they are absolutely adorable! Again, you can see that I love the brown!

So, if you are looking for some great cards to send out this holiday season, make sure you check out Shutterfly!!

30 Before 30

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. As I enter the last year of my 20's, I decided to create a list of things I would like to do before my 30th birthday. Here we go...30 before 30.

1. Lose 20 pounds.
2. Have a weekend getaway with my husband...alone.
3. Pay off my remaining credit card debt.
4. Paint my living room.
5. Exercise three times a week.
6. Take Jack to the park as often as the weather allows.
7. Read to Jack every night before bed...as many books as he wants.
8. Be a better wife to my husband. Make sure he knows how wonderful he is every single day.
9. Cook more meals for my family.
10. Take a week off of work and don't check my email or voice mail the entire week.
11. Finally put all of the photos I have taken and printed of Jack into photo albums.
12. Get one evening with my friends each month.
13. Visit my best friend at her new house for a weekend.
14. Read one book a month for fun.
15. Clean my office at work and purge all of the old files that are cluttering my life!
16. Bake more tasty treats for my family and friends
17. Visit the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Science Center, and the Zoo.
18. Go to Chicago for a fun weekend of shopping and museums.
19. Go to at least two new restaurants in St. Louis.
20. Try a new food
21. Publish an article
22. Help Ryan get a job that he will love.
23. Run a 5K
24. Get my wisdom teeth taken out (no, this isn't fun...but it needs to be done!)
25. Spend more time with my mom and sister
26. Enroll Jack in day care two days a week so that he can socialize with other kids.
27. Be a better friend to the great people in my life
28. Drink more water every day
29. Make sure Jack feels unconditional love every day of his life
30. Find the perfect outfit to wear for my 30th birthday

Day 9: A Photo You Took

Well, I take a lot of photos, so this was hard.  I’m going to not post any pictures of Jack, because that would be too easy.

Let’s start with a funny one!  I encountered this van in downtown St. Louis a couple years ago.  The van literally has a window unit air conditioner.  It cracks me up to this day!!!

I took the next two pictures on my honeymoon.  The first is at the ruins at Chichen Itza.  I love this picture for whatever reason.  It was taken with a very basic point and shoot camera, but I love it!

This next picture is also from our Honeymoon and is of Ryan on the beach outside our hotel.  I love the beach and the aqua blue water.  And I love him, so it’s a picture full of love!

That’s all I am going to add for today!

A photo that makes you angry/sad

When I saw this on the list, I knew that there was only one photo I could post.

This is newborn Jack with my grandma.  This is the last photo ever taken of my grandma.  She passed away less than a week later.  She was so excited to meet her great grandson. 

I have such mixed emotions about this picture.  On one hand, I am so happy that we have it.  I’m so glad that grandma got to meet Jack and was able to hold him.  She loved babies to much and I know that she loved him from the moment I told her I was pregnant.  On the other hand, it makes me so sad because I miss her so much.  She was such a major part of my life and I still have a hard time believing that she is really gone.  It’s been over a year and I still reach for my phone to call her when something happens. 

When someone you love passes away, its strange how random things will make you think of them, or make you sad.  The thing that caught me completely off guard this year was Cardinals opening day.  My grandma was a die hard Cardinals fan.  She started collected the team sets of baseball cards for my two cousins, Matthew and Jonathan.  Every year, the first game I went to, I would buy her those sets of cards.  This year, I went to opening day and was in the team shop.  I thought, “oh, I’m going to ask if they have the team cards yet so I can pick them up for grandma”.  Yeah, I started crying in the team store. 

I know that grandma is watching over Jack everyday and keeping him safe.  I will always treasure this photo, even if it makes me sad to look at it right now.