Archive | May, 2010

Let’s Fill Our Virtual Shopping Carts, Shall We?

By on May 7, 2010 in The Challenge

Alright.

I’m in a horribly funky gawd-awful mood right now, and I can find very little of anything to say that is nice or even witty at this point in time.  And I’m even more frustrated with myself because I think the reason I’m feeling this way is two-fold: Mother’s Day is worse than Christmas in my book because you don’t want to ask for anything, but then LORD ONLY KNOWS what you’re gonna end up with or end up doing and it’s just always .. anyway; and reason 2 is that I watched RHoNY this morning before work and the fight with Jill and Bethenny really has me so upset that I can’t see straight AND I DON’T KNOW THESE PEOPLE, WHY DO I CARE AT ALL?!

Also, the Countess makes me nauseous on almost every level, but I would kill for her closet.

MOVING ON.

Some Stuff that I’ve Bought Lately!

When I had a funeral to attend, I started sorting through my Little Black Dresses and realized that they were all inappropriate for a funeral.  They weren’t crazy low-cut, but when you’ve got the goods.. dude, I can make a turtleneck look low-cut, ya know?  So anyway, I put the question out on Twitter about where I could find a quick solution and I got a few responses to try out Merona’s new FitSolution line at Target.

I am nothing if not obedient (HA), so I visited our local Target and found that yes, I am indeed a fan of the new line of clothing with a built-in slimming liner.  And not just built-in ha-ha, like they so often tease with .. a shelf bra, really? what kind of crap IS that?.. but like a real, honest-to-goodness, Spanx-type suck you in liner.  I bought this dress in black and have LOVED it.

.. you’ll notice this is in purple.  I might have this one too.  As well as a brown one.  WHAT CAN I SAY, I’M A FAN.

Okay, I didn’t JUST buy this, but I use it daily and when I was doing my daily BootCamp recaps, everyone kept emailing me wanting to know what eye makeup I used.  First of all, I am CRAZY pale.  It should be noted that I use Bare Escentials Warmth as a blush because while to everyone else it’s just a step up from a normal skin tone, for me it’s dark enough to define my cheekbones.  So I’ve laid that groundwork, I think.

Benefit Creaseless Shadow/Liner is the BEST splurge I have in my makeup arsenal.  Granted, I got a teensy weensy pot as a sample awhile back .. come to think of it, I think it was one of the products I got when Tony was born and I was planning my hospital makeup routine (SHUT UP.) .. and I still am using the same little pot today.  You don’t need much at all, but a little dab of this in a great shade? (I use the shade “RSVP”, which is described as a sparkly champagne.) Dude, your eyes will pop for hours.  I love this stuff and keep meaning to go try new colors.. but yes, I use this every day and that’s why my eyes look well-rested.

Much like the last product, this was turned on to me by way of sample.  The weird thing about this sample is that it was mailed to my husband.  By Frederik Fekkai himself.  And my husband has no hair.

Regardless, I pushed my bitterness aside and promptly stole the sample.

Frederik Fekkai’s Glossing Creme is no new thing, but I just recently fell in love.  We’re moving into the humid months here in the south, and this has worked wonders in keeping my what-would-be Dallas-sized hair under control when it’s 89% humidity outside. (See also: any day that ends in “y” round these parts.) It is a VERY strong leave-in conditioner, so if you have fine or naturally straight hair, you may not need this.  And honestly, it’s too much for my hair if I apply it when my hair is dry.. but while it’s still damp BEFORE I dry it?  Oh, this is miracle potion.

Again, this is not a new purchase, but it’s SPRINGTIME!, which means it’s also time to pull out the spring perfumes.  While I find that most of the products in Bath & Body Works’ Wild Honeysuckle line smell too artificial and too cloying, the eau de toilette stays light and sweet, and it’s a great base for layering fragrances.  This with a little Baby Grace on top?  Dude, it’s MAGIC.

This chore chart was too long in coming.  But it is now up and filled to the brim with things that lighten my load.  It’s great because it’s magnetic (it’s on our door leaving the house), it’s dry erase (so chores can vary from week to week), and it’s got magnetic “stars” to note that the chore was accomplished.  It even has a bottom portion for setting up a reward system if you so choose, but um, the reward in my house is that I let you live there.

Alrighty, your turn!  Anything new on your horizon that you are just in love with?  Or that I should steer clear from?  Spill the beans!

Comments { 5 }

Yearn for Grace

By on May 6, 2010 in The Unexplainable

I had to put myself in timeout today.

For the most part .. if not the entire part .. I have nothing to complain about.  I have a marriage that is stronger four years in than it was when it started.  I have two amazing children that bless my house.  Hell, even our pets are a blessing .. sometimes in disguise (FRIDAY).  I have a job that I love that allows me to grow every single day.  I have a boss who allows me to fail in the path to success.  I have friends who would walk through hell with me.

I have no complaints.

But there are times .. in any life, I would imagine .. where there is just too much.  Even the great animals sometimes leave little fecal presents for you (FRIDAY).  Even the best kids sometimes are just TWO.YEARS.OLD.  Even an amazing marriage gets bogged down in the minutia of daily autonomy.  It’s easy to just become embroiled in these momentary lapses of discontent.  Frustration.  Exhaustion.

About 1:45, amidst a pretty rough headache, I just hit one of those walls where it all just kind of smacks you in the face and talks badly about your mother.

I missed BootCamp this morning due to oversleeping, even thought it was a VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY and I SO needed to be there.  I will fix that.

I got knee-deep in some phone calls for business and missed a business networking lunch I had planned to attend.  There is just not enough of me to go around; no fix for that.

I can’t understand time zones, so I keep screwing up a publishing schedule for one of my online gigs.  I can’t fix stupid.

Then there were about four other things that hit right at once, so I took a deep breath and a really silly framed collage that my in-laws gave me caught my eye.  It’s truly a flea-market find, but it had butterflies, so it ended up being mine at some point over the last six years.  It’s the ABCs of Dare To-s, and I read it all the way down to “Y” where I stopped.

YEARN FOR GRACE.

Another deep breath.

Grace will find me.

Comments { 4 }

No Rest for the Weary

By on May 5, 2010 in The Unexplainable

Guys, my day has been slammed.  I really am trying to post once a day over here, but my brain is so scattered right now that I don’t have anything coherent to share with you.  Instead, I’ll link to my brand new Tumblr site, which is quickly becoming a really fun thing to create.  It takes NO time to update, and it’s a great conglomeration of posts I like, links I find, pictures that mean something to me, and quotes/conversations that make me giggle or think.  Go check it out.  And if you’ve got a Tumblr site, feel free to follow me and I’ll follow you back.  I don’t really know anybody outside of Kait who uses one, so I’d be curious to see how y’all utilize yours.

Also, this lady writes one of the FUNNIEST blogs I’ve read in a long time.  Please stop over and give her some love.  She also draws.

Until next time, I leave you with this pic that Bryan sent me awhile back and IT STILL MAKES ME GUFFAW.

Comments { 1 }

Bucket List? Mighty List? What Do We Call These Now?

By on May 4, 2010 in The Unexplainable

Amy wrote a great post the other day about what she calls her “bucket list”.. and I think she used the term correctly, as it pertains to her particular list .. and I got to thinking about mine. I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I was 25; my husband (whom I was dating at the time) made a concerted effort to help me knock a few of them off (“being kissed in the rain”, “random slow dance” were two I remember).  But then I also had some ridiculous ones that, looking back, totally called for me to be punched in the face.  “Ride a horse bareback”.  REALLY, 24 YEAR-OLD SARAH?

Anyway, my Big 3-0 is coming up this September, so I’m trying to figure out if there’s anything I’d like to make a to-do list with before I hit that mark.  And no, I’m not one of those people who fears the next decade; if anything, I think women in their 30s are dead sexy.. they have the wisdom of an older woman, but are still as spunky as most 18 year olds.  I also plan to be one of those women.

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

  • A Boudoir Shoot – I’m actually sad I didn’t make this a By 25 priority, cause I had a pretty kickin’ bod back then. Alas, we are where we are, and no time like the present.  So in total Sarah fashion, I’ve hit up my BFFs around town and we’re all going together.  I love that SO HARD.
  • Make a 5K in under 35 minutes – I’m not really trying very hard for this one, but Bootcamp has totally upped my endurance, so maybe I can manage this.
  • Meet some of my favorite bloggers – DUDE, BLOGHER IS GOING TO ROCK SO HARD IT’S RIDICULOUS.
  • Get a Wedding Ring – I’ve already talked about this before, and DUDE, AndreAnna’s new ring is pretty much EXACTLY what I want. (But in yellow or rose gold, STUPID ALLERGIES TO METAL.)
  • Spend a family day doing volunteer work – ’nuff said.  Just don’t know where to start, really.
  • Get a New Tattoo to Honor my Grandmother – although I’m still conflicted about where and what (fleur-de-lis on the nape of my neck?)(HALP ME.)
  • Cut a Demo CD – YES, I KNOW HOW STUPID THIS SOUNDS AS I AM NOT 12, BUT I JUST WANT TO, OKAY?  I USED TO SING, GAWDDAMNIT.

Alright.  Am I forgetting anything? Y’all know me better than I do.

Comments { 6 }

FlashBack and Leap Forward (Also: Cookies)

By on May 3, 2010 in The Coven, The Mommy

It was as simple as clockwork.  Every Saturday.

We would sleep until ten or so, then roll out to the couch and loveseat in the living room, covered with dogs and comforters, and we’d stretch out there, watching tv until our tummies told us to get moving.  We’d pile into her Montero sport, bra-less, shoe-less, and still in pjs, and drive thru Chick-Fil-A, making sure to get extra ketchup.  We’d drive back to the house, usually plowing through most of our fries before we pulled in the driveway.  We found our places again on the couch and loveseat, and pull the glass coffee table up to the furniture to function as a make-shift table.

We’d lazily spend the day doing nothing; assing off online, running to the mall, maybe doing laundry.  But we really had no agenda.

We’d both be showered and half-dressed by seven p.m. or so.  She’d be in her bedroom, doing her hair at her vanity; I’d be shopping in her closet to see what I wanted to wear.  We’d always be laughing.  Sometimes, we’d be singing duets to whatever Broadway show soundtrack got left at our house the weekend prior.  Hair-in-rollers, barely clothed, we were the epitome of what you thought girlie slumber parties looked like.

Because she so easily got carsick, she’d almost always drive.  We had a few places we haunted regularly, her with a glass of white wine and me with .. whatever I could get someone to buy me.  We would be joined by a staple handful of people, mostly men, and we’d hop from place to place.  Around midnight, the party would inevitably come back to our front porch, huge and always inviting.  I miss that front porch terribly.  People would stay until two or sometimes later; I remember often seeing the paperboy on his route while we were still on the porch, drinking and talking and laughing.

Then after everyone left, we’d retire to our “octagonal hallway” to gossip about the evening, usually over leftover bruscetta.

It was a time when we had nothing to schedule for, and we took everything at our own pace.  We laughed a lot.  Some tears were shed, too, but we almost always laughed.  People knew our door was always unlocked, and we very VERY rarely had that used against us.  Our neighbors loved us.  It was happy, happy home, despite it being jokingly nicknamed The Bitter House.

Now, Saturdays are scattered.  Mornings are always unknowns; children have no set alarm clock.  Breakfast is another unknown; children don’t have a predictable palette.  Nap times are a short respite for kids only; the time is used by adults for quick-fire cleaning and laundry and errands.  There are five days of left-over chores to cram into two days.  There is no porch, but we did secure a nice patio set for our backyard that is quickly becoming my retreat.

And yet?  There are moments where it all seems a worthy trade.

And I wonder if I’m the same girl from the Bitter House.. or if the Bitter House is who shaped the girl I am now.

Comments { 1 }
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