Blank Stare 9

It is Friday!  Even though this was a short week, it still seemed to drag on and on!  But, we can all rejoice now because the weekend it within grasp!

As you may have noticed, I've been a pretty crappy blogger this week.  For some reason I have absolutely no idea what to write about and I no motivation!  I've sat in front of my computer many times this week with my Summer Shandy in hand and gazed blankly at the screen...NOTHING!

It may be because my job is slowly draining the fun and the life out of me.  Or it could be that my mind is thinking about the backyard pool project.  I just don't know what to write about!

In lieu of this I will use my weekend to get my brain back and hopefully start fresh on Monday.


Have a great weekend all!

1985 Throwback 2

It has been a few days since I last blogged and a few weeks since I participated in "Throwback Thursday".  Since I haven't thrown it back in a while, mainly because I never know what to write about, here goes nothing...lets throw it WAY BACK to 1985!

This picture is one of my all time favorites.  It was taken at my grandparent's house in Florida.  My family, my grandparents, and my aunt and cousins would meet for a few weeks every summer.  

From left to right:  The baby is me, my sister Andrea, Ryan, Steven and my other sister Julie

My Mom and Aunt found this picture after my grandma passed away a few years ago.  
In her album under the picture it reads.  

"The loves of my life"

Love this picture and all the memories that go along with it!

The great debate - children! 8

When I first started blogging I wrote a post about the decision to have or not to have children.  Even though I've already gone through this subject something happened to me today at work that brought up the subject again.

I was in the break room and someone asked if I had children.  I instantly shook my head like I was a crazy person and said "ohhhh nooooo".  The next thing that happened is at least 3 people looked at me like I was indeed nuts!

"Oh my gosh, you don't have kids?"  
"When are you going to have them?"  
"How old are you?"
"How can you not have a family already?"  
"I can't believe you don't want kids, you're crazy!"  

And the questions kept coming......

So here it goes:

1.) No, Rams and I don't have kids and this has been a conscience decision.  We have never tried to start a family.

2.)  When are we going to have them?  At this point never.  Just because I'm married doesn't mean I must to procreate!

3.)  I'm 29 thanks.  What does this have to do with anything?  Just because I'm in my late 20's does not mean I need to have children.  It isn't a law!

4.)  I DO have a family.  I have my amazing husband, my dogs, my parents, in-laws,  sisters, nieces and nephew.  They are my family!  They are the most important things in the world to me...don't tell me I don't have a family just because I don't have children!

5.)  We are not crazy.  Ramesh and I have decided that right now we don't have any interest in having children.  This does not mean it doesn't cross my mind once every year or so, but we just don't have the desire to have children.  To be honest, we like having time to do what we want.  We like having our money to spend on each other   We enjoy not having the responsibility that a child requires.  We are selfish and yes, 6.5 years into our marriage we still enjoy spending time with just each other!


I am so sick of people judging me because I don't have or want kids.  This doesn't make me less of a person.  This doesn't make me less of a female.  This certainly doesn't make me less of a wife!

I am so thankful for the people that understand our decision.  I am so glad that I have a supportive family that doesn't judge us or force the issue on us.  THANK YOU for that!

There you have it.  If you want to check out my first post on this issue, here it is!

Happy Friday everyone!

The key to dressing for your "girls" 13

The other day I ventured into target to look for a Maxi dress.  For the past 3 years I have been on a hunt to find the PERFECT dress.  Usually they are too short, have spaghetti straps, are halter tops...the list can go on and on.  So I saw this dress (see below) at Target and thought it would be perfect.

I was wrong and I should have known.  This got me thinking...I need to write a blog post about what NOT to wear for certain body types.

The type of body I am talking about is one with LARGE girls, boobs, tatas, twins...whatever your word may be I've got a major do's and a few don'ts  for the world of finding the right clothes!

3 mistakes women make for a large chest

1.)  High Neck Line: The above dress was a huge mistake.  Not only does it have horizontal stripes, but the neck is high.  For those of you who are lucky enough not to have large boobs let me tell you what this means.  Usually the higher the neck,  the more pronounced your chest will look. I almost took a picture of myself in this dress to show all of you how horrific it really was!

2.)  Thin Straps:   Most people with large chests need support...which means you HAVE to wear a bra in order to not look like you could throw those puppies around your neck and tie them in a bow.  Usually with a thin strap tank top you can't wear your most supportive bra and you may end up looking like Kim!  Who wants saggy boobs?!  Not me!

3.)  Never go without your bra.  I don't think I should have to explain this one, but sometimes I think I should.  If you are bra-less and your chest isn't perky, think twice!  Nobody wants to see it!

Best thing to do for a large chest

1.) Buy a good bra!  Go someplace that really knows what they are doing and get fitted!  It is amazing what a few band sizes up or down and a few cups sizes can really make a difference in how your girls look!  Don't hesitate to buy a minimizer - I promise they won't make you look like you have a uni-boob  but will just control those things.  

This image from www.divabras.com is perfect for a quick reference for all you bra novices!

There you have it, my rules for those with cursed  blessed with a large chest!

Dirt and Holes! 2

Well, as usual Rams and I did nothing exciting this weekend.  In lieu of a weekend shenanigans update I'll update you on the pool project!

So far all the excavation  re-bar, plumbing and electrical are all complete.  We had an inspector come last Thursday and said everything looked great...but he didn't like something with the spa wall.  
So instead of going to the next stage of the project last week, we have to wait another week for the issue to be fixed!  So for now we have a gigantic hole, trenches and everything else scattered in the backyard!

I never realized how many pipes and lines and holes are involved with building a pool! 

Other than the pool fiscal we were home most of the weekend.  Roscoe decided it would be a good idea to lay in the dirt and I decided it was a bath day :)  

And for good measure I have a ridiculously adorable picture of Grizzly Bear from yesterday to add to the bunch!

Friday's Letters 4

Friday is finally here!  I don't know about all of you, but this week seemed to take forever to complete!

  So happy it is almost the weekend!

Dear Pool Inspector:  I want to thank you and yell at you for not letting us move to the next stage of the pool.  Thank you for catching things we never would have, but I don't thank you for delaying the process!

Dear Husband:  I wish you didn't have to travel for your job.  It gets lonely.

Dear Nashville:  You are my favorite show and I can't handle that you will be finished next week.  I look forward to the drama and music all the time...what will I do without you?

Dear Nicole:  Thank you for being the best coworker ever.  You make me smile when people make me frown.  I love that your common sense is on the same level as mine and that you allow us to laugh our ridiculousness off together.

Dear Neighbors:  I know you like to party every so often, but please keep the karaoke to a minimum, or at least indoors.  I am looking forward to watching you party, but not listening to you while trying to sleep tonight!

Dear Word Jewels:  I am obsessed with you.  I want to thank you for occupying my time at night, it the morning and during my breaks.  

Dear Weekend:  Thank you for finally coming.  This week has been a bummer, so please have some sun and fun in the forecast!

Have a great weekend all!

Rules of Dressing for an Interview 3

My boss has been interviewing like crazy for a few open positions at our offices.  I sit directly in front of his office, so I have the pleasure of seeing what everyone decides to look like for an interview.

Yesterday after the 14th person walked by I realized that some people have no clue what is appropriate for a job interview.  

It amazes me what some think is ok to wear.  Let me break it down for you.

First of all it is not ok to wear printed and/or see-through legging with a short shirt to an interview.  I know, you may be itsy bitsy and can totally pull it off, or you think you still look good when you fill them out...but not now.  Save the leggings for the club and yoga...or actually never bringing them out again would be just fine with me!  

Next is the uber tight and extremely short party dress.  What makes you think this is ok?  Did your mom/dad, husband/boyfriend, wife/girlfriend or friend tell you it is great to wear when attempting to get a job?  If they did, you both need to go to the doctor because something is wrong with you!  This is not ok.  You are not going to meet a pimp or the owner of a strip joint!  Being a little conservative isn't going to hurt you, actually it will most likely help you in this situation!

Finally jeans.  While I love jeans and wish I could wear jeans - this is another interview don't!  If you pair heels with it, it is a bit more acceptable, but not for an interview.  What impression are you trying to give?  Apparently the impression of not wanting a real job because you sure don't look like you want one!

Now on to what is appropriate for an interview.  It isn't that hard people!  Professional, presentable, classy are all good words to think when dressing for an interview.  You want to impress them with you..not your boobs, butt or any other part of you that you think they will 'appreciate'!  

Good luck with those interviews...if you are wearing any of the first three items you'll need it!

Guilty Pleasures 6

Guilty Pleasures - to me these are the things you are a little too embarrassed to say you love for fear of judgment of those around you.

Today I'm going to share with you all my guilty pleasures.  

I am fully aware that some of these are incredibly nerdy, but please let us make this a judge free zone.

1.)  Danity Kane.  Yes, I said it...DK!  I loved them from the beginning when Diddy made them a band and love them just as much today.  Although Aubrey has turned into a bit of a floozy and the rest of the members are no where to be found, they are still fantastic.  When "Show Stopper" starts playing on my iPod, I turn it up and sing all the lyrics at the top of my lungs!

2.)  Antiques Road Show.  I swear I could watch this show for hours and never get bored.  I tend to let my mind wonder to what I could take to the show and find out how much it is worth.  I imagine that it would be worth millions and I'd be the one on the show be so dorky that they have to show me.  I will admit that I even have this set up in my DVR to record whenever it's on.  

3.)  The Carpenters.  I think this started because my Mom played their cassette tapes all the time growing up.  I can remember being at our families cabin, with the Carpenters playing and all of us singing along.  To this day whenever I miss home, or want to reminisce a bit I'll play my favorite Carpenters songs!

4.)  Crossroads:  This movie came out when I was a senior in High school   I never admitted it then, but as soon as the movie came to DVD, I bought it!  I watched it while backing to move away to college, I watched it while studying and I still watch it when I want to smile!  If you haven't seen it, you probably will hate it, but I thoroughly love this movie!

5.)  Gummy Worms.  I dare you to give me a bag and tell me that I have to save it.  This will not happen.  I love gummy worms and will not allow myself to buy them!  If you want to get on my good side, this is the way to go!

There you have it, some of my extremely guilty pleasures! 

Weekend Update! 3

Good morning all!

Today I'm going to tell you about our exciting weekend...

After 6 months of interviewing and meeting with contractors, 2 months of looking at designs and negotiating prices we finally pulled the trigger and put the pen to the paper and signed a contract!  We officially started our backyard pool on Friday!

The project should take 35 working days and here are the first two days progress!


At 7:00 Friday morning the workers showed up with the equipment and started demolishing our fence!

This is the end of day one.  They basically brought the bobcat into the backyard, grated the dirt, lined out the pool and started digging!  Griz and Roscoe didn't know what to do with themselves!

Saturday they worked as well.  They took out all the dirt, smoothed it out.  At this point you can kind of tell what is going on!

Nothing is happening today.  But tomorrow they plumb, run electricity and start putting the re-bar down!

Can't wait to give you all my next update!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Bursting my Bubble 7

Lately I've been excited that my blog followers have been increasing.  For some reason I keep waiting for the 100 follower mark.  After that is smooth sailing.  Yesterday I had 86...14 more to go!  


I was in my blog stats this morning and noticed something that deflated my bubble of happiness and hope...someone "unfollowed" me.  

I know what you are all thinking; who cares, it isn't that big of a deal, followers don't matter - it's the readers that matter.  And while I agree with this all of these statements, it still hurts a little bit to see your list of followers go down.

Why do people decide to unfollow your blog?  

I follow too many blogs, but I would never unfollow someone.  For starters, I wouldn't do this because I wouldn't want them to have the same reaction I did!  
What if I am interested in the post they did that day?  
What if I miss something amazing that they review or talk about?  
If I unfollow them I won't get the nice notification that they have a new post!


Have any of you ever "unfollowed" a blog?  If you have, what was your reason?  
I need some insight!


So now I have 85 followers and 15 more to go to 100!

Meet Alyssa 3

Tuesday is for tears and cheers.  I know, super corny, but so true!

Let me tell you about a girl named Alyssa.

Meet Alyssa!

Rams and I met Alyssa a few months after we moved to California.  We had taken the boys to the dog park and found a few adorable doodles wandering around.  I was playing with them when Alyssa came over.  

The doodles

Her sister, Brittney, was dog sitting the doodles and we all started chatting.  Awhile later I asked if they dog sat...they say yes...we exchange numbers and leave.
I know, this was a bit creepy, but they seemed nice, normal and loved dogs.

A few months down the road Rams and I are in Mexico and Brittney stayed at our place with the boys.  This went great!  However, the next time we went out of town Brittney wasn't available so she gave us Alyssa info!

Alyssa came over to officially meet us before our next trip.  It was supposed to be a short visit but ended up being much longer...I knew from this moment on that Alyssa was amazing.

She has watched the boys and our house countless times and through these times we have gotten to know one another. 
I have heard the story of her boyfriend Konrad, her family and her relationship with God.  She had become like a family member to us!  


She even has the key to our house and knows our alarm codes...can't get much more family than that!

Alyssa with the boys

From the first time I met her she had been in a long distance relationship with a boy named Konrad.  He is incredibly caring and a follower of God as she is.  I could tell by the way she talked about him that he was the real deal...that she loved him more than anything.

Konrad and Alyssa - too cute for words.  Kind of sickening actually :)  They will make adorable babies!

The bad thing is he lives a few plane rides away!  
Rams and I always joked that when he proposes he better move to California because we can't live without Alyssa!

On Sunday our fears thoughts were confirmed!  I was browsing Facebook when all of a sudden I saw Alyssa and Konrad's relationship as ENGAGED!  I squealed like the typical girl who adores the person that just got engaged and loves wedding!  After the initial excitement I cried...NOOOOO!

I am so incredibly happy for her!  Her and Konrad couldn't be a better match!

Engaged!

But this means that she will move.  

We are so sad that we're losing one of the greatest people we know in California.  I am already planning on how we can clone her...or make her visit CA all the time! 

The wedding date or  moving date hasn't been set.  Until then I will celebrate the news and mourn our loss!  

I can't begin to say how happy I am for Alyssa!  Congratulations my friend!

Birthday Weekend update 2

Happy Monday!  Usually I wake up to a blue sky and sun so it isn't too tough getting out of bed.  SoCal it isn't sunny this morning!  We've got rain, rain and more rain.  

Here is to Monday!

1.)  I received a birthday on Thursday.  It came in this pretty box!

2.)  The note attached to the gift - the problem is there isn't a name!  So, if any of you know who sent this, I'd love to know!  Whoever they are, they know me well...two bottles of wine in this pretty little box! THANK YOU!

3.) WIND - we had 80 mph winds this weekend and they moved our shed!  See the dirty outline on the cement?  That is where it was! 

4.) The above winds ruined our hose faucet - $150 later and a hole in the side of the house it is fixed!

1.) Birthday dinner with a few close friends on Saturday.  Went to my favorite Thai place!

2.) Rams and me!

3.) One of my best friends in Southern California, Jamaal!

4.)Jamaal, Nicole (an amazing new coworker) and me!  Dinner was great and the company was better!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone, it was a great weekend!

My Birthday wish list 4

I was texting the other day with two of my favorite bloggers, Nadine and Stephanie, in search of some inspiration for blog posts. Lately I've been in a bit of a funk.  

Nadine suggested a wish list!  

Since my birthday is on Sunday, I thought it would be the perfect time to tell all of you what I'm hoping for..more like wishing for!

www.anthropologie.com

 I am wishing for these extremely overpriced heals!  These are pretty much AMAZING.  I've always wanted a pair of red heals, but all of the ones I see are too high!  Plus I love the bow on the back!  

www.anthropologie.com

I would also love these, they are adorable!  I don't know where I'd wear them, but I love them!

www.anthropologie.com

I really would love this dress, it is SO CUTE! I don't know where I would wear it, but does that matter? I especially love it with the polka-dot shoes!

 I also wish for a day with my BFF Carrie.  We don't get to see each other often, so I'd like it if she flew to LA for my birthday weekend!

Whityney at Keeping up with the Cyperts

Nadine at Life By Nadine Lynne

Steph at Drink On It.

I really want to meet these three lovely ladies in person!  They are three of my FAVORITE bloggers and I adore them!  Someday maybe we can make this with happen...right ladies?!

I wish for the Margaritaville Drink Maker as well.  Once our pool is completed this would be FANTASTIC in the backyard!

These are all super realistic, or at least I'll keep telling myself that!