Where does the time go?

So today me and my team had to present our account plan for the upcoming year to our executive board. At the end of our presentation, my boss stands up and announces to the team that he would like to celebrate me...or rather my 15 year anniversary with my company. I actually had no idea he was going to do this or that I had reached 15 years with my current employer! Holy cow...where in the hell does the time go? I started with this company in 1992 and through several mergers  and a couple leaves to explore other career options, have apparently worked there for 15 of the last 18 years...I was a baby back then.

Here is what has happened to me since 1992

• met my still #1 BFF of 18 years at said company
• met my husband
• got married
• bought our first house
• graduated from college
• gave birth to my son
• met #2 and #3 BFF at said company
• learned that happy hour is actually plural and never ends in just an hour...LOL!
• sold our first house and bought our second house
• lost both my father-in-law and mother in the same year
• visited Ireland
• gave birth to my daughter
• got asked to come back to said company in the job I always wanted with a big fat pay raise
• lost my sister in law to breast cancer
• became a great aunt

Those are just the highlights, but in reading this list, I realize I have grown up at this company. They have been so good to me over the years. I have met so many people that I now consider my close friends and family. So while 15 years doesn't seem so exciting, I am so truly blessed that I have a job, that I love the job I have, and that I work for a company that takes time to recognize the contributions of its employees.

15 years....15 years! (said in the voice of Jeremy Piven in Grosse Point Blank) and if you haven't seen that movie, or know what I am talking about, stop what you are doing and rent it..NOW! Actually, that is a movie worth owning! Oh hell, throw the soundtrack in too. Just a little tip from me...you will love both! and if you don't, you have no taste...sorry, but it's true.

Traveling on a diet sucks!

I travel for my job. Once a month, I hop on a plane and fly to North Carolina to visit my customer. I hate to fly, but I love to travel. However, I must admit, traveling on a diet SUCKS!

I am a rockstar Weight Watchers follower. I prepare my food for the week every Sunday..I make my lunch and snacks for work every morning. I know exactly how many points are in my bag at any given time! I know that as long as I have 6-8 points left by the time I get home, I am good. It is going to be a successful day.

This has been my first trip since I started my journey this year and it was really tough for me. I know how to make good choices when eating out. It is just very difficult to make the right choices for ALL of your meals, EVERY day for 3 days without your measuring cups, spoons, and food scale, you know? . Airports aren't exactly crawling with healthy choices and it would be rude to ask my customer if it would be okay to just eat Subway for dinner...wouldn't it?

In the end,  I did not do that great this week. But I am back on the horse, wagon, whatever you want to call it. I have my next trip in two weeks and I have some time to do a little more research and prepare myself a little better the next time around.

If you have any helpful hints to share with me, I am all ears!

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. I don't know why, but something about this day makes me smile. I think it all started back in 2nd grade when we got to make mailboxes by sticking construction paper hearts to empty shoeboxes. The purpose of these mailboxes was of course to hold the hundreds of Valentine cards we were going to receive during our Valentine's Day party!

You know what I am talking about! You would come home with a decorated lunch bag filled with cards and candy. You would read EVERY card to see if the cute little boy with dark hair and sparkling blue eyes made the fatal mistake of signing his name to card with a heart on it! boy oh boy...jimmy what's his name loves me....ahhhh...the memories!

Or maybe it started with my dad. My beautiful dad. Every year that I can remember until the year I moved in with my husband, he would buy us a heart shaped box of candy from Sees. I don't remember if the candy even tasted good, all I know is I LOVED waking up and seeing that box on the table in the morning.  My dad set the bar a little too high for the future men in my life... and in turn, every guy I have ever dated on Valentine's Day has had serious pressure put upon them. Unbeknownst to them, their actions on this day would make or break them in our relationship. Good thing for me, and them, my expectations only required a card with my name on it and some sappy sentiment telling me that I am important. That's it...that's all...I don't require ridiculously expensive flowers, or candy, though both are very nice. I just want to know that the man in my life at the time loved me or at least cared enough about me to purchase a card and surprise me with it on Valentine's Day... The card is the best part! The flowers die and the candy makes me fat.

My poor husband....I know he dreads this time of year. And I want to apologize to him for all the years of unrealistic expectations and pressure (though I hope the new Sports Illustrated Swim Suit edition I gave him helps). And I want to thank him for hitting it out of the park this year!! Flowers, candy, a teddy bear, and jewelry....Man oh man...Ian what's his name loves me...and he is going to get some later!

Happy Valentine's Day!

OMG...I'm an Addict!

I recently read an article that said you are an "addictive" personality if you can easily name 5 things you cannot live without. Holy crap people, I am an addict! And no, I'm not talking about drugs or even alcohol.. but I am definitely an addict...an addictive personality...I am crazy about it sometimes. I rattled off way more than 5 things in the blink of an eye. I was sure that everyone sitting around me in the doctor's office could see me blushing and sinking lower in my chair. I was embarrassed by my own thoughts. Could it be? Am I this person described in the outdated "popular women's magazine" in the waiting room of a doctor's office? Should I be ashamed? Then I thought hell no! I am who I am, and the things I am addicted to are awesome! I'm not abnormal...and you know what, I'm not even going to apologize. Nope...not even close. Because once you read the list of things I am addicted to, you will probably have to agree that you are ALSO an addict!
here goes.. 10 things I am addicted to and pretty damn sure I cannot live without:

1. My iPhone- I cannot put it down. Anyone I talk to on a regular basis will tell you my service sucks ass,    but I don't care. I LOVE that phone. EVERYTHING is at my fingertips. It makes me happy just holding it.
2. Shoes- I don't care who you are. If you are a woman, you own at least 5 pairs of black shoes, and totally know why! My husband doesn't get this...never has, never will...and you know what? I don't care.. I love my pumps, stilettos, flip flops, peep toe pumps, and sexy strappy sandals...oh and my tall boots too!
3. iTunes/iPod- since receiving my favorite gift by my very thoughtful husband 3 years ago, I have spent countless hours and $$ on iTunes. I love my iPod. It is the one thing I cannot leave home without.  And when I do, it is like a missing child to me. Thank you mr. Apple for inventing it! I love you forever and ever amen.
4. Diet Coke- While this habit has certainly become much smaller, I am still addicted to Diet Coke. I used to drink up to 6 a day! But now that I am on a quest to be healthy, that is down to 1 a day. And it has to be Diet Coke. the ONLY time I will drink Diet Pepsi is at a restaurant with less than stellar taste in fountain drinks and even then I have to drink it with lemon. Diet Coke...you rock my world!
5. Make Up- in my family I am known as the "make-up whore" and it is meant as a compliment. I own more eye shadows and lipsticks than Tammy Fay Baker, I just don't wear them all at once, and I definitely blend...i love make up. It makes me feel pretty and I don't like to wear the same neutral colors every day.
6. Body Shop Mango Body Butter and Scrub- cannot live without either. They make my skin all glowy and soft. I slather them on everyday in the shower and out! and they smell yummy!
7. Soma Intimates Lingerie- I love the way they make me look and feel and they come in the most beautiful colors. I have thrown out all of my other bras and panties from Victoria's Secret...she is a hag that charges too much for her secrets that fall apart! Fredericks...I still love you too! every woman needs to feel sexy and this place delivers!
8. Baking- I love baking cakes, cookies, fudge, etc...I love making goody bags every holiday for my closest friends and family. I spend a ridiculous amount of money to make both my daughter and sons birthday cakes , but it so much fun and yes, the oohs aahs and  compliments are addicting!
9. TiVo- this little invention is a gift from God! I love TV. It is my way to unwind and chill. TiVo/DVR  has allowed me to relax knowing that all of my favorite shows will be there when I am ready to watch them WiTHOUT commercials. Yes, I LOVE my TiVo!
10. Dairy Queen Blizzard of the Month- Ice cream is my one downfall. I can go the rest of my life without eating bread, fried food, and potato chips, but I CANNOT go without ice cream and DQ is my favorite. They have recently introduced the blizzard of the month... for those of you who do not know what a blizzard is, it is a delicious dessert of ice cream whipped together with candy, cookies, etc. It is ridiculously good and makes you crave them daily!
11. honorary mention- Facebook- I had to add this one. I used to spend hours reading status', taking quizzes, tending a fake farm, looking at photos. It was a definite addiction. It is a great way to keep in touch with people and I LOVED it. It just took a bad turn for me recently and I realized I just didn't need to worry about what everyone was up to so often. It was hard to deactivate my account and I do miss it, but I am two weeks "sober" and have survived not knowing what my friends and long distance acquaintances are up to minute by minute. And you know what the funny thing is? Out of the almost 300 "friends" I had, only a fraction of them have even noticed my absence.

I am an addict...helloooo.....would I need to lose 40 pounds if I wasn't? Duh!

Oh and "popular women's magazine", you can kiss my iPhone carrying, iPod playing, sexy shoe wearing, Diet Coke drinking, make up wearing, sexy lingerie loving, ADDICTED ass! Smmmoooooch!

Progress Report

Yeah!! It is Saturday. I LOVE Saturday. Absolutely my favorite day of the week! It is the one day of the week that has endless possibilities of what to do with my time. I mean during the week, I have to work, not much of a choice there. And Sunday, well, Sunday is the day to catch up on what I didn't do during the week due to work. Sunday is laundry day, grocery shopping day, prepare food for the week day, get the kids ready for the week day...Sunday, yes, is probably my least favorite day of the week.

 

Okay, where am I going with this post?? Oh yes, the point of my post is to do a check up on the "list". The first month of this year flew by like a bird on crack...quick and blurry. I woke up this morning thinking how happy I was that it was Saturday and I have no plans today and what did I want to do on this my favorite day of the week?...and then I realized I had forgotten my list!!!! How in the hell did that happen? The whole point of this blog is the list.  So let's rip off the band-aid together and see if I have made ANY progress at all shall we? here goes....     

1. Lose 40 pounds before I am 40- scale will read 135 or less on my last weigh in before 1/31/2011! I am down 8 lbs thus far!! 
2. See the Grand Canyon (I have lived in this state for over 30 years and NEVER seen it!) - This is planned for our family camping trip this summer either May or June.
3. Read Gone with the Wind- my all time favorite movie, I bet the book is just as amazing - In progress! I started reading it in January and will probably finish it on my next two business trips. 
4. Explore my faith- I am a spiritual person to my core, I am just very conflicted about religion - In progress. I bought the most interesting book on this topic. It is called Religions of America and it does a fair job of describing the backgrounds and beliefs of each religion.
5. Take an unplanned road trip with my family, just get in the car and drive somewhere we haven't been  
6. Spend alone time with my children individually each month- mommy and me dates if you will  
7. 30 days of sex in April- I told you my husband helped with this list...but honestly, this one will be fun!  
8. Take golf lessons  
9. Play 18 holes of golf  
10. Complete the WW Couch to 5K by March - I can run/walk 2 miles in 20 minutes...I am getting close
11. Go to a Suns game and sit in seats that don't make my nose bleed  
12. Go to a Cardinals game in the new stadium 
13. Upgrade to First Class on one of my monthly business trips...round trip!- I am traveling to NC in two weeks...i am hoping they upgrade me. If not, I am going to pay for it myself for my trip to Baltimore in March
14. Play craps in Vegas- Going in April baby!
15. Start and finish baby girls first year scrapbook 
16. Learn a new language- more than likely Spanish though Korean would be helpful when getting my pedicures... :)  
17. Learn to do tile backsplashes and do one in my kitchen and back bathroom  
18. Save enough $$ to buy a pair of Jimmy Choo black pumps- come on, I needed one shoe goal!  
19. Rub my husband once a week - I am doing okay on this one...though he may disagree
20. Schedule appreciation dates with each of my sisters individually  
21. Do not commit to plans with friends and bail at the last minute - So far so good on this one! Maria will keep me honest too!
22. Deactivate my Facebook account- this is going to be a tough one!  To my husbands absolute amazement, this one is DONE!!
23. Pick one room a month and toss out all of the useless crap I have accumulated over the years - I am starting on the den this weekend!
24. Do not purchase OR read any gossip magazines including People, US, Star, OK!- Hell, the money I save on that will help me check off goal #17. - NOT A ONE so far!!! Woo hoo!

Okay, so it isn't the greatest, but I AM making progress. Looking at the list reminds me of how much I still have to accomplish this year. And how much fun many of them are going to be!

Hope today is YOUR favorite day of this week!

Later peeps I am headed to Weight Watchers to weigh in this week...

The Power of Positive....EVERYTHING!

Today I had lunch with a friend I have known since 5th grade! Can you believe it? We have known each other for over 30 years. Like most people, we were friends through middle school, then joined different groups in high school and then lost touch after graduation. Thanks to Facebook which has made the world just about microscopic, we reconnected. Actually, he was my second FB friend. And when we get together, it is as if no time has passed at all.


There are so many things I enjoy about this person and one of them is the he is probably the most positive human being I have ever come in contact with! I would like to think I am a positive person, but let's be honest, it feels good to let yourself live in "woe is me" land for just a little bit. The problem is, I tend to get stuck there sometimes. Some people call that depression, I call it a rut. And I have been in a bit of a rut this week. We will get to that some other time...

Anyway, my friend has been diagnosed AND survived Pancreatic Cancer 3 times in the last 8 years! 3 TIMES!!! Do you know the odds of that? Let me tell you before you Google it...13% of people with pancreatic cancer survives beyond 12 months after diagnosis and only 2-3% beyond five years. He has beaten those INCREDIBLE odds 3 times. And I believe he did it because of his attitude. It is infectious. It is impossible NOT to feel good when you are around this person. He should bottle it and sell it to pay off the $300,000 in medical debt he has (gotta love the US Healthcare system...again, a topic for another time). Sadly, he was just diagnosed a 4th time. He started chemotherapy 2 weeks ago and will go through treatments for 9 more weeks before he finds out if he is in remission for a 4th time.

I am praying for my friend. I am hoping and praying that God is good to him for a 4th time...gives him a turkey if you will...All through lunch all I could think about it how grateful I am that I am just fat...that I don't have an incurable disease or one that requires them to pump poison into my veins every Tuesday and Thursday in hopes it kills everything including the cancer in my body. I can diet and exercise and be healthy...sounds much easier to me now than it did at 5:00 this morning when the alarm went off reminding me to get up and work out.

Perspective...it is sad what it takes to make you grateful for what you have isn't it?

Thank you my wonderful friend for making me take my head out of my ass to recognize my life is fucking amazing!