Resolutions, Resolutions

Y'all know I did exactly 0.5% of my 2009 resolutions so, obviously, "resolutions" do not work for me. Mainly, because if you tell me to do something, there's a 95% chance I won't do it. Yeah, it's hard to motivate me (pretty shoes, cake and or shiny pink things? I'll do whatever you want). I'm stubborn, I'm aware of it.

But, ya know that commercial that's on TV right now for Special K about "you'll know when you're ready"? Well, after months of trying to lose weight and each week saying "I'll lose it before my birthday" (and then failing), I kind of had an "a ha" moment the other night. Yes, it took me a long time to lose the weight last year and it only took a few months to pack it back on. I'm not happy with me and that's what struck me the other night. I am ready. I'm ready.

Two days into my "new life" (this is what we are calling it since 'diet' makes me freak out) and I think things are looking up. I think just mentally being "ready" is a huge help. No idea why I wasn't "ready" between September-November, but, whatever. I'm "ready" now.

I fully intend to rock a cute swimsuit this summer. Mark my words kiddos, mark them.

Another "a ha" moment? I love to write. I've always known that, but, at this point in my life after lots of reflection and prayer, it's pretty much not only my childhood dream, but, what I am meant to do (besides run a ton of marathons next year and eventually be a mommy, obviously). So, SP=writing.

Can someone find me a job doing that everyday, please? K. Thanks.

Any 2010 resolutions? Any "a ha" moments?

I'm off to play in the snow! (I am so excited, I'm like a damn child)

loves!

I realized I'm the whitest person at my gym

For real. Like, hi, I'm a ghost. I was wearing black capris and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and whoa--it's not attractive. Need sunless tanner stat.

This California girl has lost her glow (and, she's petrified of skin cancer).

Sad times.

But, at least (hopefully) I won't have chunks of my skin and moles carved out of me--unlike my anti-sunscreen father who's had like a gillion pre cancerous spots removed. He will never learn (he's also super dark and I got my mom's Scottish whitey-ness).

Despite that little fun fact, I have happy news (I know, did you expect anything happy from me today? Probably not):

1. A great blogging friend will be at Catalina to cheer me on. I got all teary and misty about it (yes, overly emotional girl). I'm just so excited. She's such a great friend and she and her husband recently found out they are expecting a little boy! I cannot wait to meet her!

2. My dear friend of mine who struggled with infertility for years had a sweet baby boy earlier this year (I need to have a daughter so she can marry her son) and she and her husband got a Christmas surprise--they're expecting again! I'm so happy for her because she wasn't sure she'd ever have ONE baby, let alone two. YAY!

(a lot of talk about babies, huh? But, babies are sweet, we love babies)

3. Operation Jack starts on Friday! As always, feel free to donate (and spread the word!). Sam is doing something amazing, challenging, slightly crazy and really inspiring. Become a fan of their Facebook page and keep up with what he's going. It's a great cause.

That's all for today! Fingers crossed for snow!

I have a case of the Monday's

So, please, hang with me.

I survived Christmas and the husband and Rach somehow made it safely back to Dallas with the moving van of death (more on that later)--snowstorm and closed gas stations notwithstanding. Anyone want to take a stab at how much it costs to fill up a 50 gallon diesel tank on I-40? Yeah, me either.

We had a nice holiday. Got to spend time with our nephew (who told me I'm his favorite aunt--I firmly believe that this is because I control the airplane--my dad took him to the airport= I control the airplanes... I don't know, he's 3).

I'm glad to be home. Although, it's entirely possible that I will have to move back to California and beat the boys off my niece. I haven't seen her in two years and holy hell, my sister and I are both pissed at her because we never looked that good as a teenager--or now for that matter. Brat. She's gorgeous and I want to throw things at her. But, mostly protect her from boys.

I ran up a mountain with my dad. And when I say "ran" I mean I ran for 1 minute and then keeled over on the trail for 5 minutes repeating this cycle for 45 minutes until I had given up and turned around. Also, running down a mountain? Not smart. Not smart at all.

I forgot how hilly my hometown is. My 10 miler turned into a 7.3 miler because my IT band was about to explode. And, also, running longer distances in a small town is really hard--you have to loop the damn town--it was weird. And I got really bored running the same loop.

My hometown has a lot of mid 20 aged drifters. Again, weird. I saw more "kids" and by "kids" I mean 18-30 years old bumming around than I've ever seen in my life. Beach town, yes.

I managed to clean out my mom's storage unit. And now I'm having a full on panic attack about it and having a major case of regrets. Seriously was up all night panicking (which explains why I didn't run this morning--I don't function well on 3 hours of sleep...and it was 21 degrees out). This is a problem.

I did find my grandpa's WWII harmonica that he may or may not have taken from a Japanese soldier. We don't really know if that's true or not, but, in any event, I got it after he died and hadn't seen it in years. So glad to have that back with me.

Let's not forget that the one damn thing I really want are those damn onesies. Did I find them? No. Did I cry my eyes out about it last night and pray upon prayer that I'll find them when I sort through the boxes this weekend? Yes. Am I freaking out that I might have accidentally chucked them? Yes.

My pups are exhausted from a week at doggie day care and it's kind of nice to have them mellow. I'm exhausted from a week of holiday festivities.

When I flew home yesterday, the servicemen and women got upgraded to first class for free. I thought that was really nice. My dad flies first class a lot and he always gives his seat to someone in uniform if they're on the flight (and coming to and from Dallas, that's pretty common). I thought it was really nice that they got to get upgraded. I don't know if this is standard, but, it really should be.

Yesterday, my grandma fell and broke her hip. She broke her hip in May of this year as well. This is not the best.

My aunt got a speeding ticket driving in from Arizona. This is funny for several reasons: she was in a rental car and so my cousins couldn't help with the driving and because she is stubborn and wanted to make a specific time, she didn't want to stop, etc. On the last trip out, she whacked her side mirrors (yes, plural) off. I love my aunt, so, this isn't me being mean, this is just funny because it would happen to her (0r me).

My nephew (and by "nephew" I mean my mother in law) gave me a box of See's Candy for Christmas. Best.Gift.Ever.

I apparently am spawned from a group of vegetarians because guess who didn't get to go to In-N-Out Burger (again)? The anger I tell you, the anger. And for cryin' out loud, you can get a grilled cheese.

It's OK. I'll survive. Only a few months until Catalina. And if we don't go to one on that trip, I swear it's not going to be pretty.

My brother in law needs to hurry up and propose to his girlfriend so we can all go to the wedding in Hawaii. Yes, she's Hawaiian. And pretty awesome to boot. Is it bad that I saw a swim suit the other day that I really want to buy for this 500 years in the future wedding in Hawaii? Because if I'm going to Hawaii, I need a cute swimsuit.

Sad question, why on earth were there swimsuits at the store? It's supposed to snow here tomorrow. And I can't even try it on because I'm about 500 lbs beyond the point of even thinking about trying one on. Ugh.

But it was really cute. And not skanky. I can't stand skanky swimsuits. Plus, I don't want to traumatize other beachgoers.

We have no plans for New Years. Because we're boring old married people. Last year, we went on a weekend getaway to Austin, but, this year, because diesel is like $500/gallon, we have no $$$ and will probably do exactly nothing. Not that I'm really upset about that or anything, but, even after a week "away" it would be really nice just to go somewhere with my husband. Considering this whole jobless thing has him in a grrrreat mood, I think a little mini vacation would be perfection.

I got a bunch of books on writing for Christmas. Which is good because 500 years ago I started a book. And then I got a real job and a mortgage and decided I didn't have time to finish it. Even though my biggest dream in life is to be a published author. Seriously, bigger than my dream of being BFF with Baby Spice and trust me, that was a big dream.

I have new dreams now. Like publishing a book, being a mommy (specifically having a little girl to torment my nephew), running lots of marathons (maybe even BQ-ing one day in the far distant future) and having a nice little vacation home in the mountains to spend the holidays at.

We found a little lot in SE Oklahoma for not that much $$, but, the problem is, we'd have to build a little house and um, that costs lots of $$$$. Why doesn't Sears still sell houses in a box?

Pretty ambitious for a one income household, huh?

Anyways, I have the Mondays. I want to be at home in my home with my puppies. But, I get to spend the afternoon taking photos with my BFF.

Not a bad way to end the Monday.

Hope y'all had a great holiday and have recovered from the egg nog!

xoxox

In which I accidentally join another sorority

Let me explain, in high school I didn't even know what a sorority was (I mean, I did, but, well, whatever). No one I knew was Greek, I had no idea. Had noooo desire to be Greek. I was more of a "can't we all be friends" type (read: closet hippie). Plus, I was really scared of the idea of hazing.

Enter college. A college in the South(ish). A fancy snotty people college. OMG, OMG, OMG, I must be in a sorority. OMG, OMG, OMG. Must look cute every single day. Must make "friends" (since you weren't allowed to actually be friends) with every single sorority girl I see. OMG! I would have jumped off the Brooklyn bridge into a sea of fire if that's what these people wanted me to do. No joke.

And my roommate's cousin was a member of (enter most popular sorority of your choice here) and we were sooooo going to be pledge sisters together and I was already friends with a girl on my rowing team who was also in said sorority and OMG the girl I was with at the meet and greet is from California too (shocking, I know). Soooo meant to be.

Fast forward three months later, my mom died, I missed rush, had to be in a sorority sooo badly that I did spring extended bidding and I think we can all agree that was a mistake. Hated sorority life like you would not believe (although, I did meet my best most amazing friend thanks to it, hi love!).

So, at the end of the day, I'm not a sorority girl. Just not meant to be a group setting like that (also, why I'm scared to death of joining Junior League and my co-workers are driving me batty to join). Just not for me. And honestly, I'm a teensy bit jealous of people that had awesome sorority experiences and are still close with their sisters--I wish I'd had that. But, anyways.

Fast forward several years and I'm a married lady living in a respectable neighborhood with an optional HOA and everything. And I want to get to know my neighbors and have playdates with their kids (you know, when we get around to procreating and all) and bake cookies and the whole nine. I'm such a grown up. And there's even a women's club! Score! I'll get to meet people.

And then because I'm a commitment phobe, I never go to the meetings (even though they have my $50) and I never go to anything because I'm scared of everything and everyone and I never go. And I know exactly .05% of my neighbors (and refer to them by names such as 'angry man' and 'cute old guy with the dogs').

So, when I get an e-mail asking for co-hostesses for the holiday party I think "this is perfect! I can cook! I can party! I'll meet a lot of people at once and wow them with my awesome baking skills, and I'll be all friendly and co-hostessing". So I sign up. Because obviousy this is perfect.

And then there's a set menu. And because I don't check my e-mail 500 times a day or have a Crackberry, all the items I've ever even heard of on the menu are taken and I have to cook pickled shrimp.

It's like being initiated, I'm guessing. I passed, because everyone ate the shrimp (and my kitchen still smells like vinegar) and the main hostess is holding my Santa platter hostage which I can only assume is some sort of weird hazing ritual in which I must drive by everyone's house wearing only jeans and a bra and then the platter will be returned. Or something like that.

When I show up to the party, I'm wearing a black dress, black boots and fancy Anthro necklace--I think I look pretty darn fancy. I am wrong. I am a shlep. It's totally like rush. I'm getting the up and down from the other hostesses and I'm pretty sure I failed that test--considering my wedding ring is not 5.8 carats, I'm not blonde and I don't frequent a tanning salon.

Yet, I still think I'm "in" because everyone hugged me and told me they were glad to meet me at the end of the night (which was 11:35PM, by the way)--but maybe that was just the booze talking?

I'm still not sure what I've gotten myself into, but, hey, at least I know a few of the women who live in the neighborhood.

I guess I'll have to wait and see if I ever get that platter back....

I got nothin'

Nothing exciting to share--other than the fact that I can eat my body weight in chocolate these days. Which is saying a lot considering I'm just packing on the lbs like a damn bear going into hibernation (OK, smart asses, obviously, the chocolate eating explains the weight gain, I've figured that much out).

If you want to see the chocolate hoovering, it's best to pick a spot near the trail (but not on the trail, as I won't be running and eating...or running at all, but, that's neither here nor there) near my house and wait. The best shows are at 5:15PM or 2:30AM. Your pick. Either one is hilarious.

Other than that, my life has been filled with not running (I ran Tuesday)--I'm taking a break this week. Ish. I'll be chomping at the bit tomorrow, I know it. I've got a jam packed winter/spring race schedule, and I want to be in tip top runnin' shape--which includes not getting burned out (oh, and running 40 miles a week... yikes!). So, this week, I'm vegging. Ish.

I have a full running schedule next week that includes runs along the beach and in the mountains (did that just totally blow your mind? Beach and mountains? Yes, yes, California is that cool) and am really looking forward to it.

Plus the fact that my dad has warned me that he intends on dropping me off on fire roads down the mountain and meeting me at the top. In his truck. Sure. He took "trail run" really, really literally.

So, it's OK to take a few days and relax. I'll be grateful for this descision later on.

Besides, it gives me time to ponder other things in life--like the fact that I've never played a video game--like one hooked up to a TV--like PlayStation and all that. Never. Is this weird? Am I missing something?

Hmmm... Another thing to ponder... Check out my tips for a happy and healthy holiday (yes, I have advice...occasionally).

Happy holidays y'all!

I ran the Rock

Well, not technically because the "rock" is technically the lake and the half course didn't take us to the lake--but, I run the damn lake pretty much every weekend, so, it still counts in my book.

Anyways, this last weekend was the White Rock Marathon. A race that holds a special place in my heart because my work is heavily involved in it, it's one of the premier Texas races (whoot!) and of course--Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. Those children just melt my heart. Yes, it's an expensive race, but, my heaven's, I'd pay more money for those little kiddos. There was a little boy who was running the last leg of the relay in his "running legs" that he received thanks to treatment at TSRH. Did I mention he was like 8 and running 6.2 miles? They call them Patient Champions and they really are.

OK, so, that's my sappy love post about kiddos and kiddo hospitals (if I could handle blood, and you know, didn't suck at math and chemistry, I would love to go back to school and be a pediatric nurse. Too bad I suck at all the courses needed for nursing school!).

White Rock is a big race--20,000 runners this year--every event reached capacity (yay!). Lil ol me does not fare well in crowds. Remember how I freaked out during the Too Hot? Yeah, this was 3x bigger than Tulsa.

We left the house in plenty of time but because every damn runner in Texas was there, we sat at the exit for 30 minutes. After having a mild panic attack, I (like most of the other runners) bailed out of the car and crossed the 6 lanes of traffic (no one was moving, it's not like we were playing chicken) and walked to the start. Somehow, my husband made it to the start with about 10 minutes to spare. Apparently, once the runners were out of the cars, traffic started moving. Obviously.

When I signed up for the race in August, I was working on increasing my speed and I input a faster time than what I really finished at--not like a freaky fast time, but, a time that in August, pre injury and mystery illness I thought I could achieve by December. It was corral starts and I'm thinking there was some sort of error in the auto-sort that they did on my time because I ended up in the first corral. Ummm, yeah, it was me and a bunch of Kenyans. There's no way that the time I provided should have put me in the first corral. No way.

Knowing that this was going to end badly for everyone involved, I begged the nice race officials to let me move back--even though there were strict rules against changing corrals. I think the race official understood that there was some sort of mistake and let me move back. Because obviously, I was not going to run a sub 5 minute mile. My legs are never going to move that quickly--ever. Even if a lion is chasing me.

I lined up with my goal pace and we headed out. Lots of elbows in the face and whatnot and lots of zig zagging through water stations because they were jam packed and of course starting out too fast. Have I not learned? Although, I will say that the pacer in Tulsa was dead on. These ladies weren't too fast--wasn't like that last half, but, it was fast enough that I was pushing a bit harder than I wanted to that early on. Bleh.

I lost them around mile 7 and had a little breakdown because I couldn't keep up with them and I tried to make peace with the fact that I wasn't going to PR, but, it was going to be OK because I'd been slacking since Tulsa and whatever. I was just going to run my race and not worry about it. As sucky as it was. After all, I hadn't just run my own race in quite some time and it is nice to just be there and do what you can regardless of friends or pacers.

I should also mention that I was total butterfingers and dropped my shot block at mile 9 which pissed me off because I was hungry, dropped the Gatorade there as well and around mile 11 dropped an orange that a volunteer handed me. Not to be totally obsessive, but, I'm sure that my stutter steps for the second orange took a few seconds. Sure. But I was really, really hungry!

Also, at mile 9, you're not "almost there". Don't tell me that. I'm not even at mile 10 yet. So not "almost there". But, the encouragement was still nice. :)

I decided that once I hit mile 10 I was just going to haul ass and go as fast as I could and not walk unless I was on death's doorstep. I had run a pretty speedy 3 miler last week, so, I figured I'd just channel that energy (or something like that!). So I ran. And ran. And saw numbers on my Garmin that I hadn't seen in months. And I zigged and zagged and ran and ran. I checked my time and figured that I could somehow manage to hit my previous half time, which would be fine all things considered.

Then, out of nowhere, I saw my pace group--I had caught up with them--what?! I ran with them for about 20 seconds and then decided to screw that and keep going as fast as I could--if I crashed and burned, I still knew I'd PR because I'd finish with this pace group and that was an automatic PR for me.

I passed mile 12, checked my time and realized that I was going to come in a few minutes under my goal. There wasn't a mile marker 13 and of course my Garmin was a little off from the course, so, when I hit 13 I was desperately looking for the 13 marker, but, there wasn't one. I just kept going because I knew I had to be close--the finish line totally snuck up on you from around a bend, so, just about the time I wanted to kill someone because where in the hell is mile 13 there was the finish line. I looked at my time again and the tears started coming. I managed to come back from a poor start to an awesome finish!

I crossed the finish line 5 minutes faster than my previous half marathon time. Sure, it's not like 10 minutes or anything, but, for me, those 5 minutes were amazing. It was really my best race (besides my first ever). I pushed myself the whole time and pushed myself harder at the end than I have in a long time. My legs hurt, my stomach hurt, my arms hurt, my brain hurt, but, I kicked this races ass and was so freaking proud of myself. I definitely cried when I crossed that finish line and putting that finishers medal around my neck I couldn't help but feel elated. I honestly felt very similar to how I felt at Tulsa. So proud. I was not expecting a half marathon time to hit me like that, but, it did and it was really a great moment for me. (end gloating....now)

Also, this made me rather loopy because once I found the husband and asked him to take my picture, I somehow asked him that 3 times throughout the next hour or so, not remembering that he'd already taken a picture. My brain was toast.

It was a great way to end the my first ever running season. I'm nervous about 2010 because I know I won't PR in Catalina, I mean, come on, but, hopefully I'll shave off some time in OKC and PR at The Cowtown Half. But, either way, I know I started my first year of racing off incredibly well and 2010 will only be better. Even if not loaded with PRs, 2010 will be a great year because I'll be running several big races for Jack. And that's really exciting to me.

I feel good and was ready to run this morning, but, it was 24 degrees and super windy. So, that idea went out the door. Treadmill after work. Vom. Which also means no Christmas shopping after work. Ooops.

White Rock was a great race. I'm so glad I decided to run it--and can't wait until next year.

View from the parking garage as we were leaving--parked on the 5th level. That was fun. Look, every runner in Texas is down there in that crowd. Pinky swear. (and this was after a majority of the half finishers had already gone home--the full finished on the other side of the AAC, so, I don't even know what their area looked like!)


The hubs and me. We didn't find each other until 20 minutes or so after I finished--there was a police line blocking admittance into the finishers area and he couldn't get to the finish line, so, we have no finishing photos of me, but, oh well. You can see here that we are in the finishers area. VIP passes and a runner help matters. We snuck back in to cheer on my boss who ran her first half.

Like the hair? It looked cute when I started, but, 13.1 miles of running plus you know, sweat and foggy mist make for two messy pigtails. (what's going on with my upper lip in these photos? It disappeared!)


Over and out!

Table for Pity, Party of One

So, today, I was having a bit of a pity party for myself (shocking, I know)--which is a little weird because I was on such a high yesterday after my freaking awesome finish (in which I cried) of the White Rock half yesterday (more on that later).

But, today, I just wasn't feelin' it. I am sick. Got sick Saturday night. Still sick right now. Was depressed about work (can I be a stay at home mom already, please?!?!?!). Was depressed about $$ (we are um, running low, and I'm pretty sure I just spent what we did have on XMas gifts for our family...One of which I did not receive a confirmation e-mail for which has spawned a crazy person the likes of which you've never seen).

So, I threw myself a little pity party and cried myself all the way to the mall.

Where I somehow ended up at my happy place (Anthropologie).

And somehow walked out of there with a new top and scarf (I'm the scarf lady, according to my boss). And, because it was only fair that I have a little luck, the entire purchase cost me nothing. Thanks to my Anthro bday coupon and a giftcard from the in laws.

Now, I can't wait for it to be next week so I can where this fun ensemble (don't think I can pull the look off in the office--boo!). Workday clothes are getting so monotonous.

Retail therapy. Works every time....Maybe this is why we're running low on funds....?

(for the record, I'm not trying to be a whiney, I actually found it odd that I was in such a fowl mood because usually a good run or race puts my grumpiness in check for a few days. And, as y'all know, sometimes I'm just Grinchy around the holidays...Y'all know I just tell it like it is. Pity parties and all.)

Operation Jack Holiday Treats Bake Sale--YUM!

This week is the White Rock Marathon. I'm running the half. Which means, I'm taking Saturday off (yay!) and baking. All.Day.Long. (hopefully). This is where you come in--I want to bake holiday goodies, because I loooove them, but, my waistline does not. Solution? Bake sale!

I will bake goodies and send them to you--with all proceeds of this bake sale to benefit OperationJack and Train4Autism and y'all know how important this cause is to me.

Here's how it works:

Below I will list items for you to chose from and the prices of each item--I will only make a certain number of each (which will be listed by the item), so, if it says 3 dozen of a certain cookie and three people have already commented that they want a dozen, that cookie is sold out.

Leave a comment stating what you want and the quantity so that others can see what's goin' on.

Then, send me an e-mail (on my sidebar-- shabby.sadie@gmail.com) with what you want and how many including your shipping info--then, make a donation for OperationJack on my donation page (click here) in the amount specified below (or based on your quantities)--I'll be alerted via e-mail of your donation and viola, I'll whip up the goodies and they'll be on your way.

I will close the bake sale at 4:30 PM CENTRAL time today (Thursday).

I'll try to keep it updated with side notes next to the items if they get sold out, but, it might not be perfect, so, please bear with me.

Make sense?

I'm hoping to knock these all out over the weekend, so, please, donate away! (I mean come on, homemade holiday treats--does it get better? No, it does not. And, you'll be donating to a good cause! Eating cookies really will make the world a better place.)

Cookies:
3 dozen oatmeal and festive M&M: $10/dozen
2 dozen chunky monkey (peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips & oatmeal): $10/dozen
4 dozen chocolate chip cookies: $10/dozen
2 dozen chocolate chocolate chip cookies with candy cane icing: $10/dozen
1 dozen sugar cookies with Hershey kisses (caramel, regular, mint, etc--you pick!): $10/dozen
3 dozen holiday confetti cookies: $10/dozen

Treats & Such:
(2) peppermint bark: $12/per "sheet" (full cookie sheet sized before being crumbled)
(3) festive chocolate dipped pretzels: $5/per 12 pretzel rods
(3) festive monkey munch/puppy chow/muddy buddies: $5/per one 6 cup serving
1 batch of chocolate chip "sugar plum" (gumdrop) bars: $12 batch (about 12 bars)
1 batch of peppermint brownies (with Andes mints) (about 18 brownies): $12/batch
1 batch Rice Krispie treats with M&Ms: $12/batch (about 12 krispies)

Whew, I better get to baking!

Here's to a yummy weekend.

Pre race carb loading at it's finest I tell you.

Things I learned in Arizona

That my dad has no ability to maintain a constant speed when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle (sorry dad, I do love you).

That In-N-Out (or any other fast food restaurant for that matter) can't be bothered to be open on Thanksgiving. Which is a real pain in the bum when "dinner" isn't until 7:30. Are you kidding me? This led to a very hungry SP devouring a cheese roll and artichoke dip in about 5 minutes. And possibly why she has been sick since then. Awesome.

The city of Sedona does not believe in traffic lights. No, no, instead they believe in semi retarded roundabouts. Which are stupid. Because they're two lanes--and no one seems to be in control of their lane. Nary a stop sign or light--just lil roundabouts.

(can you see a stoplight down there, because I certainly don't)

Red clay is a bitch to get off clothes. See that dirt under Bambi there, yeah, it stains. Also, Hi Bambi! This was outside our hotel room in Sedona.

I'm still scared of heights--it's a miracle anyone got me to hike.

Birthday hike. See, proof--I hiked.


I'm a sea level wuss. Altitude kicked my butt.

In Bruges is a freaking hilarious movie--hilarious and sad and disturbing. Yes, it can be all those things. And the husband and I have been quoting it since Saturday. I do not see this stopping anytime soon.

Hot stone massages are pretty much the greatest thing ever. Best.Birthday/Post Marathon gift.Ever. (well, the lovely new bag I'm carrying from the husband is pretty damn good too!)
Post massage--don't we look relaxed?



Per my marketing course, there is a lot of overpriced art out there. About 90% of it resides in Sedona. In that vain, the little sis and I tried some art of our own: shadow photography. We're going to sell these at local galleries(kidding of course). Sedona really does have some gorgeous art as well.
That "it's illegal" is not the same as "you can't do it". Just ask my dad. In an effort to avoid 1/4 mile of cars backed up along a Phoenix freeway, my super intelligent padre, spying the exit we needed just up ahead, decided the quickest thing to do, would be to hop onto the shoulder of the road, and just mosey on down to the exit. As I'm frantically reminding him that this is in fact, illegal. Until of course a cop pulled out of the line of traffic to block us. Unsuccessfully I might add. And thus we took of onto the exit onto the next freeway only to see the cop two lanes over--presumably looking for us. How do we solve this situation? We hide behind a semi truck--Smoky and the Bandit style. I kid you not. For about 25 minutes.

Trust me when I say that I am not nearly creative enough to make this up. This actually happened. Eventually, we lost the cop and all was well. However, my dad was still unable to maintain a normal speed.


Basically, we're just a gang of criminals--my stepmom is now also a jewel thief (kidding!)--she accidentally left a gallery wearing a piece of jewelry she hadn't paid for. Of course, being the honest citizen she is, she dashed back during lunch and paid. She was horrified.


Birthday cake pretty much makes everything better. (ok, so, it's not a picture of my birthday cake, but, it is a picture of my birthday hot chocolate--which is basically the same thing)


And that eating too much will lead to getting sick. Obviously.
Our last day in Sedona. I'm rocking the Maverick sunglasses and looking rather pregnant. I'm not!!! I'm not--I just look like it. And that sweater wasn't helping matters.

Just heard from my aunt that they're all snowed in up in Arizona--crazy! We had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well.

Don't forget, I'm hosting a bake sale on my blog tomorrow (Thursday) and all proceeds will benefit OperationJack and Train4Autism. You know you want some homemade holiday goodies that will benefit a good cause. You know you do.

Holiday Cheer

Houston, we have a problem.

A really, really big one.

Candy Cane Hersey's Kisses.

(gulp)

For someone who doesn't generally like Hersey's Kisses (what? I just don't--they don't taste like real chocolate and they're gone before you can really enjoy them and, and... I just, bleh. They don't do it for me) this is huge.

I accidentally picked some up (yeah, just like I accidentally ended up with chocolate Chex Mix) on Saturday in effort to put something festive in my Christmas candy bowl that had until Saturday, been sorely neglected. I wanted something minty (because in my mind, Christmas=candy canes) but, wasn't sure what I would find.

Low and behold, Candy Cane Hersey's Kisses. We're talking white chocolate, with little teeny bits of candy cane. Does it get better? No my friends, no it does not.

I only bought one bag (also, anyone else notice that candy companies are getting stingy on the amount of goodies in a bag?), and it's dwindling. Fast.

This is not good for my "diet" (and who are we kidding, I just keep getting fatter--I've got more chins now than I've ever had in my life--icccck!). Or my self esteem. Or that fact that I'm only supposed to eat "limited" amounts of sugar. Obviously, I'm blinded by the minty goodness.

But.Oh.So.Good.

Sigh....

Oh, and just because--so, SlimFast got recalled. Guess who has an entire trunk full of SlimFast? Yep, that's right. Of course.

If you buy something in my holiday bake sale that will be held on Thursday I might even send a Candy Cane Kiss along with your purchase.

Remember, I'm making homemade holiday treats for you and all proceeds will go to OperationJack. So, start hitting the gym now because I don't bake low fat. Your tastebuds will thank me.

Now, spread the word: Bake sale. Thursday. Be here.

So dear friends, what are your favorite holiday goodies?

The Road Less Traveled

Sometimes (ok, um, quite often if we're being honest here--which we always are) I wonder about the choices I've made in life. Obviously, I've made some stupid ones (rebellious teenager + checking account + bff getting a tattoo=mistake), I've made some good ones (marrying my honey) and then there are the few that I'm not really sure about.

As I've said before, this year has been hard. And I mean hard. I mean kick you when you're down, cry your eyes out hard. It would be divine if there was light at the end of the tunnel, but, I'm just not sure where it is. It'll appear at some point--it always does. This I know.

I know I'm blessed. And I don't say that to be bratty, I say that to be humble. Because even though it's been hard, it could have been harder--I'm grateful it hasn't been (::knocks on wood::).

I often wonder about my job--about my future, about choices.

And then in moments of self doubt, I have little gems that remind me that sometimes it's not always the 'best' but it often leads to the 'best' moments in life.

If I wasn't at this job, I highly doubt I would have run a marathon. After all, it was my failed relay team attempt last year that got me back into running. I would never have signed up had I not been at this job. And that's honest to goodness fact.

I wouldn't be taking a marketing class and made a dear friend (Hi, Jeana!).

If I hadn't been struggling with failing friendships, I would have never started a blog and 'met' so many wonderful friends (including several blog friends turned real life friends).

If we hadn't taken the leap and purchased our house, we wouldn't have enough room for my sis in law to live with us--and I'm so glad she does (if she leaves I will have a full on meltdown--you've been warned).

While I don't know what lessons and opportunities will come out of this trial, I know that I will look back with a grateful heart. Grateful for the lessons. And the blessings still to come.

(wow, a little deep for a Monday, eh? This is what happens when my People magazine reading time is cut short by nurse practitioners who are just sooo excited to get you into yet another waiting room--sans magazine)

PS. This week, I will host a blog bake sale for OperationJack. All items will be made over the weekend and shipped on Monday. Spread the word and check back on Thursday for a rundown of the goodies.

Holiday Treat Bake Sale

I might have mentioned it before, but, at my office, Friday is sweet treat day--we all take turns bringing in goodies. In honor of that, I decided that I would make today a sweet treat blog bake sale day--all proceeds to benefit OperationJack and Train4Autism.

Here's how it works:

Below I will list items for you to chose from and the prices of each item--I will only make a certain number of each (which will be listed by the item), so, if it says 3 dozen of a certain cookie and three people have already commented that they want a dozen, that cookie is sold out--that said, if this is successful, I will do this again next week, so, you can always come back and buy something then. However, if you do make a purchase and want more of something, please let me know and I'll try to make arrangements (and the donation price should be adjusted as such).

Leave a comment stating what you want and the quantity.


Then, send me an e-mail (on my sidebar-- shabby.sadie@gmail.com) with what you want and how many including your shipping info--then, make a donation for OperationJack on my donation page (click here) in the amount specified below (or based on your quantities)--I'll be alerted via e-mail of your donation and viola, I'll whip up the goodies and they'll be on your way.

I will close the bake sale at 4:30 PM CENTRAL time today. However, as stated before, if this is successful, be on the lookout for another bake sale next week!

I'll try to keep it updated with side notes next to the items if they get sold out, but, it might not be perfect, so, please bear with me.

Make sense?

I'm hoping to knock these all out over the weekend, so, please, donate away!

Cookies:
3 dozen oatmeal and festive M&M: $10/dozen
2 dozen chunky monkey (peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips & oatmeal): $10/dozen
4 dozen chocolate chip cookies: $10/dozen
2 dozen pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies: $10/dozen
2 dozen chocolate chocolate chip cookies with candy cane icing: $10/dozen
1 dozen sugar cookies with Hershey kisses (caramel, regular, mint, etc--you pick!): $10/dozen
3 dozen holiday confetti cookies: $10/dozen

Treats & Such:
(2) peppermint bark: $12/per "sheet" (full cookie sheet sized before being crumbled)
(3) festive chocolate dipped pretzels: $5/per 12 pretzel rods
(3) festive monkey munch/puppy chow/muddy buddies: $5/per one 6 cup serving
1 batch of chocolate chip "sugar plum" (gumdrop) bars: $12 batch (about 12 bars)
1 batch of peppermint brownies (with Andes mints) (about 18 brownies): $12/batch
1 batch Rice Krispie treats with M&Ms: $12/batch (about 12 krispies)

Whew, I better get to baking!

Here's to a yummy weekend!