I know. I've let you down again. Blogging just hasn't had any appeal to me lately, despite the fact that many things have happened to blog about. We went to Portland and had a lovely little vaca. My sweet husband celebrated a birthday. I got (and still am) sick AGAIN. We visited my parents out in the boonies and actually had snow. A whole mess of happy, exciting things (minus the sickness part)! But somehow the inspiration and motivation to blog any of it has eluded me. Perhaps answering
Molly's personal tag will jump start me back into it.
10 years ago I was...Just starting work at my current job--and thinking it would be a "temporary stepping off point" to something else. Sigh.
5 things on my "to do" list today:1. grocery shopping
2. lunch meeting with a printer
3. 1 hour total on the treadmill (1/2 hour already done this morning!)
4. pour gallons of Liquid Plummer down the shower drain
5. going to bed early because I didn't get enough sleep last night and as a result I'm a Cranky McCrankerton
5 things I would do if I became a billionaire:1. Invest for ourselves and loved ones so that their material needs on this earth would always be met
2. Donate anonymously to various causes and individuals
3. Start a not-for-profit business of some kind so that I could invest energy into something I care about
4. Have one of those whole body scans done where they examine all your organs for traces of disease, so that I can stop obsessing about the tiniest ailments
5. Buy a quaint, moderately-sized house somewhere lovely and live a modest, quiet life
3 of my bad habits:1. Procrastinating
2. Worrying
3. Laziness
5 places I've lived:1. San Dimas, CA
2. Glendora, CA
3. Lake Arrowhead, CA
4. Waco, TX
5. Covina, CA
5 jobs I've had:1. Editor
2. Assistant to a successful and uber-rich yet mean, nasty, and hateful investment banker
3. Counselor at a boarding school for kids with emotional and behavioral problems
4. Barista
5. Assistant in a medical office
Things that most people don't know about me:1. I'm still madly in love with and terribly sentimental about my childhood stuffed animal, Teddy 2. I can't resist any WE or Lifetime tv movie--especially Christmas-themed ones
3. When I was in jr. high I was obsessed with reading fiction books about kids with cancer
4. I'm afraid of fish tanks
5. I once quit a job after my very first day of work (one word for you: retail)
Ok, first let's just address the title of this workout dvd, shall we? I find it somewhat offensive, but I can't place my finger on what it is exactly that ruffles my feathers. Is it the direct reference to and acknowledgment that I have fat? Is it that it's female fat, which automatically makes me think it has to do with girly parts? Maybe it's just that it's so direct and to the point: Females have fat and it needs to be shrunk. Except, of course, the females on this video. There are about five of them working out around Denise Austin, and all of their body fat combined would probably be about as much as what I'm carrying around in my left leg alone. But moving on...I picked this video to balance out my primarily walking-only workout regime because I read multiple reviews online that it was a great one for battling the dreaded tummy fat. [Boo, hiss.] I just did the full 40-minute workout for the first time, and while I thought about being totally honest and "keeping it real" by photographing my sweaty brow and drippy hair at the base of my neck and posting them here for you to see, I realized I was way too vain to let anyone see my hair sweat. Here's what I am willing to let you see: 
Oy, taking my shoes off at the end is my FAVORITE part of any workout. (That's my poor, abused balance ball off to the left. Pray for it.) What I liked most about this workout is that she's constantly switching from working the arms to the abs to the butt to the legs--never staying too long in one spot, so you don't get overly tired or jelly-muscled. She works it, moves to something else while those muscles get a rest, and then comes back to them. The first half uses hand weights and the second half uses the balance ball, which I like a lot. And I only fell off my ball once. Well, maybe twice. Unless you're in really fabulous shape, you will definitely feel like you're getting a workout with this--especially if you use weights appropriate for your fitness level. Mine are, uh, three pounds. Each! But, honestly, I could have handled heavier ones. The only downside, really, is that Denise Austin is possessed by Satan. As evidenced by this photo: 
Not convinced? Ok, this one. 
And this. 
But if you don't mind her demon eyes burning into your very soul and her constant demands that you "show [her] your smiling face!" then I'd recommend you give this poorly-named yet well-organized workout a go. By the way, if anyone out there has some favorite dvds to recommend, please mention them in the comments!
Maybe at some point people thought you were fashionable, but I think now is the appropriate time for me to be honest and tell you the truth: I never liked you. Sure, you provided a nice little breeze on a hot summer afternoon or when the oven was on. But how can I put this delicately? Hmm, I can't. Because the truth is you're butt ugly, and it was high time for you to go. 
Goodbye. Good riddance. Now....hello, lovely! 
Don't you want to come over and eat with us now?
I loved the simplicity of the flower, the muted and delicate colors, the bits of dew on the petals. But I knew it could be better. Here's how it looked after cropping and using some Photoshop tricks. 
Wow, huh? Mind you, I didn't add or enhance any colors at all--just tweaked the contrast. Here's another favorite of mine from the day, this one taken by 
Everyone get it out of your systems and let out a collective, "Awh." Ok, moving on. This is a fab picture, yes, because my husband is The Most Adorable Man on the Planet and the way my face is nestled into him you can't even see my second chin. (Sigh.) But it's a little gray and blah in the color department. Know what I mean? This is no reflection on Kelly's photography skills, which I think we'd all agree are admirable. The grayish cast is just something you have to deal with in digital photography, or so I've read. But looky what happens when you move on over to Photoshop and adjust the contrast, correct for skin tone, and add a cool burned edge effect. 
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have so much fun experimenting with this thing that if you have a beloved photo you'd like to have enhanced, send it on over and I'll give it a go! Come on, don't be shy. But no boudoir shots, please. You know who you are.
This little rose was up high on a bush, so I passed by it at first, thinking I couldn't get a good shot. Then Kelly came by and held it down for me so I could snap away happily. 
I got this one after changing my camera setting to "more vivid." I love the yellows it brought out in the foliage and the contrast it added to the bench. Thanks to Kelly's urging, I started a Flickr account to keep track of and share all these photos as I learn to use my camera. I haven't figured out yet how to add fancy slideshow links and whatnot to my blog, but if you're interested in seeing 30 or so of my other favorites from the day, 
I have my Uncle Matt and Auntie Denise (otherwise known as Ung and Nene) wrapped around my little finger on account of my being so cute and all. 
This weekend I was at their place, and Nene snapped a whole mess of pictures of me with her new camera (which she'll blog about later, I'm sure). She caught me doing some of my favorite things. Like loving on my bestest pal, Bling. 
And reading, of course, which is one of my all-time favorite things to do. 
I'm telling you, kids, I L-O-V-E love books, and I really get into them. 
Which is why Nene should have known better than to put me down for my morning nap while my crib was pushed right up against her bookshelf. When she came to get me, I'd pulled a bunch of them down to peruse and was deeply engrossed in this one: 
Did I mention that it was Easter Sunday morning? But for those of you out there who are judging me right now, thinking that I'm naughty, shouldn't the real question be why would my Nene keep such a book in a home where a toddler is present? For shame, people! For shame.
I have been a married woman for one year and one day. Lordy. In some ways it feels like this has been the fastest year of my life, and that the wedding and honeymoon and endless planning and phone calls and scheduling were all just two months ago. But on the other hand it also seems like another lifetime ago. And I can hardly remember what life was like before being married to Matt, which according to my mother-in-law, is a good sign. Indeed.
She also happens to have MS--was diagnosed two years ago--which sucks royally. Sunday, April 6, Matt and I are participating in the MS Walk at the Rose Bowl. Care to join our team and come walk with us? Or to make a donation to the cause? If so, 