Introducing...

I wanted to introduce you to my family.  Please note, these are not the best pictures.  I have to work with what I have on my iphone.  It's a process since I can't use my personal laptop to blog (the whole google issue).  Here's my happy family:

D & I; this picture was taken at the top of Harder Kulm in Interlaken, Switzerland when we were in Europe this summer.  Post-engagement also :)  We got engaged in Cinque Terre, Italy (the best place on Earth).  I'll post some of my fav pictures of that at another time.

This is Bailey.  He is my baby.  D got me Bailey as a gift after I realized the hard way that I was not responsible enough to raise a puppy (especially on the third floor of an apartment complex).  I raised him by myself so I have a special attachment with him.  He's the best cat ever.  He's needy and thrives on attention.  He's from the shelter (like all of our pets), but I think he's a Maine Coon cat.  I love him and am really scared of what I will do when he dies.

Stella; she was the puppy D and I picked out together after we moved in with each other.  We went for a kitten friend for Bailey and ended up with a puppy :)  She is the sweetest, most gentle dog.  She's our baby.  This picture really doesn't do her justice. 

Marlee; oh he is special.  D and I went to the shelter because I had found a dog, older and already trained, that I wanted to look at.  We ended up with a puppy.  Marlee is a special needs dog.  Even as a puppy, he ate his poop.  He's gotten better though.  He's not as hyper.  He's actually laying on the floor beside me being really sweet right now.  It's nice that Stella has a friend.

And finally, Harper.  We call her "little girl" because, compared to Bailey, she is tiny.  We got her when we went to the pet store on a Saturday (the WORST day to go) to buy pet food.  We ended up with a fourth pet.  On Saturdays, it's adoption day.  D fell in love with little girl.  And who am I to deny him an adorable kitten ;)  She's the polar opposite of Bailey...hates to be held and won't sleep in the bed with us.  But when she wants to be loved, she has to have it.  She'll smother you until you love her.

And there you have it.  Our very large family.  D and I agree, four pets is too many.  It's hard to travel and figure out what to do with the dogs.  We love them though.  Speaking of traveling, D and I are going to North Carolina this weekend for a beer something or other.  I'm taking Thursday and Friday off work, and I couldn't be more thrilled!  Also in good news, D is supposed to be finding out something about his new territory within a couple of weeks!  Yay!  In bad news, I've done terrible with working out/eating healthy this week.  Luckily, I have a running partner starting next week!  Yay for motivation!

Craving.

I have an obsession with all things clothes, shoes, fashion, and trends.  Although I don't believe by any means am I the trendiest, most fashionable.  Athens, being the college town that it is, is certainly not the best place for fashion.  With fall quickly sneaking up, I wanted to do an installment of a few of my fall craving trends. 

One of my favorite online shoping sites is shopbop, and I adore their "mini-boutiques" dedicated to individual styles.  I would characterize my style as casual chic.  Due to my job, I really don't have to dress up fancy in pencil skirts and suits daily.  There is an overall laid-back style in the whole atmosphere of social work jobs, in my opinion.  It's rare in my office for anyone to be wearing heels.  Back to the point, I like relaxed yet chic looks.  Unfortunately for me, my minimal social work salary doesn't support my fashion addiction, and it rarely provides the means to purchase from shopbop.  Nonetheless, I obsess over a few items and hope they don't get sold out before they go one sale.  So...on to the real point: my cravings:

Bop Basics Cashmere Sweater with Oversized Cowl Neck $264;  For the record, I'd like to note my opinion that I think $264 is actually reasonable for cashmere.  I mean, J Crew sells their cashmere for half this for a smaller amount of sweater.  Nonetheless, still unaffordable for me.  I love it though...it would be perfect with skinny jeans and some fab boots or cute heels.  I LOVE the off the shoulder aspect.  On the lookout for something similar and cheaper.

Twenty8Twelve, Theo Top $155;  I know this is the same color as the previous sweater.  My reasoning is that I am trying to move away from blacks.  The shirt also comes in what looks to be a dark charcoal grey, but I opted for the lighter.  I am in love with the zipper on this top.  Zippers are a current trend but this one is subtle.  I think this would be a top I could/would wear on a regular basis.  I like how they have it paired with some boyfriend/distressed jeans.  I'd love it with similar jeans and some short boots.

I'm not going to lie, piperlime is uping their game.  Unfortunately, the clothing selection they have added is also out of my price range for the most part.  I am loving the outfits they are putting together.  I am dying for a really cute boho top.  Here's a few that can be found at piperlime:

Joie, Joel $248

Corey Lynn Calter, Natalia $152

Tucker, The Blouse $264;  I actually hate this print but I am dying for this shirt in another print.  Tucker has a variety of prints depending on the season.  Love this top.

To end my cravings (because there are sooooo many), I want some cute booties for the season.  I have been weary of the booties prior, but I think I can rock them.  More from piperlime:

Marc by Marc Jacobs, 694932 $485; Never in my life could I afford these, but I LOVE them.  I like the slight ruffle touch.  Ideally I'm looking for black anyhow.  I just couldn't resist featuring these!

Enzo Angiolini, Rachey $120;  More in my price range and pretty simple for a bootie.  I'd like to move away from the suede though for a bootie.

Lovely People, Piper $140; I actually love these.  The heel is totally wearable for work (which is often a problem for me...4 inch heels don't fare well at the office all day).  I love the ruffles.  I may consider them in brown if they have my size when they go on sale.

Dollhouse, Kim $70; WAY more in my price range.  Wish I could afford these now because I'd buy them.  The heel is a bit higher than I'd prefer, but I'd rock them.

Alright!  Enough cravings that I can't buy or even afford for now.  A girl can dream though ;) 

Weekend events.

This weekend I'm watching one of my sisters.  Highlights so far include: M's holiday inspired sundae (see above), swimming at the y, Ice Age 3 at the dollar theater, and lots of Nickelodeon and Disney tv.  Rainy Saturday inside but we've been enjoying it :)

I am sort of stressing.  Mid-way through Ice Age, I start thinking about everything I have going on Monday through Wednesday.  I'm frantically attempting to finish all my monthly visits for work (completely my fault for procrastinating but stressful nonetheless).  The world won't end if something goes wrong/doesn't get finished.  Trying to enjoy the weekend while it's here instead of swelling on next week!

Follow Up

So I got to thinking about a major pet peeve of mine after my previous post today.  I talk about trying to lose weight and the ongoing to struggle to work out.  I talk about these things regularly for a few reasons 1) it's a big part of my life because I am almost constantly counting or thinking about calories and attempting to fit in working out into my life, 2) I think it's a relatable subject.  Most people at some point in their life have struggled with weight, fitness, and/or health, and 3) to hold myself accountable.  To get to my point, I absolutely can not stand when people tell me "you don't need to lose weight."  Ok, I accept that maybe others who feel they have more weight to lose than me may feel bad if someone smaller than themselves mentions losing weight.  I can understand.  I certainly do not intentionally want to make anyone feel bad about themselves by mentioning weight and weight loss.  Others feelings aside, we all have our own reasons for wanting to lose weight.  I may be smaller but that doesn't mean that I am happy with the way I look.  It also doesn't mean that I can't make strides to be healthier.  Losing weight is about being at a healthy weight (which trust me I am on the higher end for my height) and being happy with yourself.  If losing weight helps me feel better and more confident about myself, there is nothing wrong with it.  If talking about my battle to lose weight makes you feel uncomfortable or bad about yourself, simply change the subject.  But stop telling me that I don't need to lose weight.  If you're saying this in an effort to make me feel better about myself, I appreciate it but instead just encourage me with my efforts.  And compliments always boost self-esteem :)

The ongoing battle

So I wanted to do a quick blog about weight.  I got inspired by the ex hotgirl to blog more about the battle.  I've been struggling to get down to a size that I am happier with for what...the past 2 years?  I mentioned before that I had lost 12 pound since about a year ago.  This is a great success, but realistically...1 pound per month?  Pathetic.  I can do better than that!  My motivation now comes from the fact that I want to look awesome in our elopement pictures and fit into a smaller dress!  And hello, I also want to have a better beach body for the trip itself.  After weighing myself this morning, I am back down to my pre-Europe weight (which luckily I only gained 3 pounds while in Europe).  I hope to be down another 10 pounds at least by March 2010.  I started training (again) for another 5k that I hope to do in December.  I'm going to make efforts to post at least weekly about the weight loss/journey to healthiness.  One day I'll get down to my goal weight.  I figure that once I get there, then it'll be more about maintaining.  I can maintain as long as I keep up with somewhat regular working out.  So...the journey begins again (bc it dissipated after/during Europe) to make working out and eating healthy a part of my lifestyle.

Craziness!

The past couple of weeks have been extremely crazy!  Well minus the weekend I guess.  Last week I went to an out of town conference/training for work in Augusta.  It was nice to be away from the office for a bit.  I had great intentions to do work in my off time while down there.  That didn't happen.  I instead took the time to watch lots of trash tv.  Best show watched while wasting time in Augusta:  True Life: I'm Polyamorous.  Not kidding.  I actually learned a lot!  Anyway...off the subject.  Needless to say, I didn't even take my computer out while I was down there.   Then I was supposed to go to a bachelorette  weekend in FL after the conference.  D and I decided, last minute, that it probably wouldn't be the best idea to drive 8 hours from Augusta on Friday and then drive 7 hours back on Sunday.  I am sad I didn't get to go enjoy the beach and fun time with friends, but I won't lie...I am not sad that I didn't have to "show off" how un-ready by body is for a swim suit right now.  But I did do some running while in Augusta.  I miss having a treadmill at home.  I honestly think I would run more if I had one.  Maybe I'll look into it again after we move.

Since I didn't do the bachelorette thing, I ended up lounging and watching lots of Law & Order episodes.  I also worked out, so I wasn't completely worthless for the weekend.  The massive amounts of rain gave me a good excuse to just chill out for the weekend.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The busy-ness/stress that is this week.  I had an amazing accomplishment at work on Monday.  I can't get into too many details, but I have a case involving a large sibling group.  I am really attached to this case.  I had a major breakthrough and am even closer to getting these kids adopted.  It was probably my best day at DFCS in the year and a half that I've been there. The rest of the week has been consumed with lots of stress due to work and personal stuff going on in my life.  I'm trying to cope and deal appropriately.  I had a crying breakdown yesterday, which did make me feel better.

One more person has officially quit here at DFCS.  We have had three? people quit within the last six months (four counting the next person) and two people going on maternity leave.  It's frustrating.  The hiring freezes won't allow us to hire so work keeps piling up on everyone.  Morale is down as well due to the furloughs.  It's tough.  Everyone here is trying to have a positive attitude I think (as they all search for other jobs probably...haha).  I'm trying to stay motivated myself.  Speaking of new jobs...D is getting closer to actually finding out where he is going to be moved.  Yay!  I've been waiting for that decision for...a year?  Not quite but it feels that way.  I have some hopeful stuff on the horizon too :)

At a later date, I want to post about elopement, party planning, and moving :)  Soon!

Monday Monday...

The weekends go by way too quickly especially with football season back in swing.  Not the most exciting weekend.  Friday I FINALLY got a break to just relax, make dinner, and watch some TV.  D and I progressed through the third season of Lost this weekend.  We also started the Bourne movies again.  Neither of us have seen the last one and I couldn't even begin to remember what the first one was about.  I have to say, it was entertaining.  Saturday was the first official football day.  We tailgated with parents of some friends that used to live here but have relocated to Florida.  D and I agreed, it wasn't the same without them.  I wasn't feeling the best throughout the day or the game...(D blames it on the sketchy blueberries I insisted on having in my pancakes).  I think that Athens was lacking the crowd it usually brings in for game days.  That's speculation though.

In other uninteresting news, I'm proud of myself for eating a salad for lunch today.  Let me note, this salad has been sitting in the refrigerator at work since last Thursday (although I promise it was still good!).  After a stressful week last week, I couldn't bring myself to eat it.  I normally hate salads.  There is just something about plain lettuce and just a dressing.  It doesn't make it that much better.  I'm working on getting more vegetables in me though.  I am having a salad and cantaloupe.  Speaking of eating, I've been reading The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter.

I began reading this because I wanted to better educate myself on my food choices and where my food comes from.  For the longest time, I just went on ignorance.  They say ignorance is bliss, right?  Well ignorance just makes you stupid.  I don't want to be uneducated and stupid.  I'm only in the second part of the book now, so I can't give a full recommendation.  One thing that I found appealing when I was searching for books was that blurbs stated that the authors understand that not everyone can or would want to become vegetarian.  My understanding is that they gives tips on how to make better, more ethical, food choices.  I can't state officially what their recommendations are like since I haven't read that far.  I've read about the farming and raising of cows, pigs, and chickens.  I have to say that one thing I was particularly struck by was how smart all of these animals are.  Cows have the ability to make friends and even hold grudges towards other cows for years.  Pigs and chickens are similar.  I'm trying to shift my efforts to start eating less meat in general and picking the right meat when I do eat it.  I think the most difficult thing will be the money it costs to start making the shift.  Vegetarianism isn't really something I am interested in though.  I know there is no way I could ever get D to be a vegetarian, and who am I kidding?  I can't live without bacon for our regular breakfasts on the weekends :)  I'll keep updated on the progress and final thoughts on the book.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make my blog more exciting.  Since I can't get on blogger from my personal laptop, it makes it difficult to be able to post pictures.  I'm still brainstorming that idea.  I have some exciting stuff coming up at the end of September so I will try and stay up to date with life changes!  I am going away for a work conference in Augusta Wed-Friday.  I'm sort of dreading it now.  I just feel like I have so much to do here.  Then I'm off to Florida on Friday afternoon for T's bachelorette weekend.  I'll try and post pictures.  

Ps. I'm SUPER EXCITED about Gossip Girl premiere tonight!  And lost 12 pounds since my last annual checkup :)

Here goes nothing...

So what will this be...my third attempt at keeping up with a blog?  Well here is goes again.  I wanted to start up since I do really enjoying putting time into blogging, but at the same time, I had gotten to a low point where all I could focus on was the future.  Now I think I can start fresh!  To give a brief blurb of what I plan to blog about...I'm pretty simple and to the point.  I like the basics in life (in no particular order)...reading, eating, beer, friends, celeb gossip, tv, and travelling.  I want to just chronicle what's going on in my life:  planning my life with my fiance', career changing, moving, etc.  To note, my home computer is on the fritz and won't allow me to open any google related pages...so my blogging will have to be done on my work lunch break, my iphone, or D's computer.  You'll have to bear with me...I'm working on figuring out how to make my page look better.  I'm looking forward to attempting to focus on the positive and chronicle big life changes that are coming.