Fine. Here it is. Don’t pee in your pants from excitement.

Do you know how many posts I have in the “draft” section of Windows Live Writer?  I have been writing them since January, but then never get around to adding pictures or finalizing them.  Oh well.  If I only had the time.  Here are some of my new favorites things (besides Emerson, of course!):

1.  Tricia Robinson.  I have written a blog post on the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival that I promise to post soon.  I promise!  Her art is my inspiration for changing a lot of things lately.  It reminds me not to take things so seriously.  If anyone wants to buy me a gift anytime soon…Please buy me some art…Just sayin’…

2.  Etsy.  My creative side’s eBay.  This was my first Etsy purchase (a bow holder if you haven’t figured it out yet).  Of course, it will say ‘Emerson’ once it’s made and I receive it.  So cute!  I already have so many sellers saved as “favorites” that it’s ridiculous.

3.  I’m Alive by Kenny Chesney.  A little song to remind me that some things in life just aren’t so important after all.  I downloaded it onto my iPod and find it to be a great way to wind down when stressed.  *If you want to watch the video, don’t hit play until it is completely downloaded (noted by the reddish line to the right of the play button) so you can watch the entire thing at once.  It’s a lot better that way! 

4.  Giving away all my clothes.  I know this is a  very odd “favorite”, but it means that I can start over.  I didn’t realize how attached I was to material items, especially clothes that I haven’t worn in years.  It’s been a great learning process.  And it helps that I started cleaning out my closet fat and then finished cleaning skinnier than I have been in a long while.

5.  Appliqué t-shirts.  Why can’t they make them in my size?  I want one too!  Emerson has the cutest clothes with all these appliqués.  Why does adult clothing have to be so serious?  (I love this one from Boden USA.)

5.  New dog.  Awesome.  His name is was Davis.  And now…It’s…Well, I don’t know yet.  But it will start with a ‘T’.  And it won’t be ‘Tavis’ either so don’t even bother to suggest such a silly thing.  Most likely “Toby” is the winner, but I am noncommittal about most everything so this isn’t any different. 

I have made some new resolutions in the recent weeks.  Sticking to them all the time is not my strong suit.  But I am working on that.  Here are just a few:

1.  Making lists.  It helps me keep organized and reminds me what’s left to do.  It’s a love-hate relationship. 

2.  At work means work.  No exceptions.  It’s a constant juggle, but nothing I can’t conquer.

3.  Emerson time means Emerson time.  She’s needy.  And she has a temper.  I’m afraid to make her mad. 

4.  I am refusing to buy anything black for a long while.  I own way too much of it!  Plus, in the midst of giving away all of my clothes to various people and organizations, I kept getting the same comment - “Wow.  You have a lot of black shirts.”  So no more black. 

5.  Wine.  And more of it.  Let me preface that with I am not a big drinker.  But a night or two per week with a small glass isn’t bad…right?  I run around like a crazy person all day and have found that I need my 20 minutes of relaxation and sanity too.  If you aren’t impressed by this resolution, then…move on to the next one and forget that I said that.

6.  Just taking a step back and letting go.  I cannot save the world.  I need to remember that.

My iPhone mishap…

So most of you know that this past Saturday, I “lost” my iPhone.  Distraught was an understatement.  This is how the story goes…

It was a girl’s day in Fairhope.  The weather was gorgeous and we somehow tricked the boys into working in the yard while we ran off to Fairhope for a little bit of shopping therapy.  The day was going great…UNTIL (bumbumbuuummm…) my phone disappeared.  And I mean just disappeared.  It was on the table and then it wasn’t on the table.  My mom and I stopped into a small corner coffee shop for a chance to just sit.  Almost immediately, I dropped my purse on the table, a shopping bag, and left the stroller pushed up against it.  I ran off to the bathroom with Emerson for a quick diaper change.  My mom stepped away about 3 feet from the table to order the coffee.  She even grabbed my purse to ensure its safety.  I returned shortly to find my mom sitting there with our 2 cups of coffee and clear table.  I then started looking for my addiction…I mean my iPhone.  And it was gone.  *panic*  My iPhone was gone.  OMG.  I am freaking out.  So although I know that I laid it on the table, I check all of my bags, check the bathroom, the stroller, the tables around me, the sidewalks that we took to get there.  It’s gone.  GONE!!!  We both talk to various staff in the coffee shop and connecting book store.  Nothing. 

In the middle of all this, I am desperately calling my phone from my mom’s phone.  And also sending texts - “REWARD!  Call XXX-XXXX!!!”  Nothing.  I even call Phillip in a panic asking him to sign on to Google Latitude and track my location via my iPhone.  He makes it back to his laptop about 45 minutes after its disappeared to tell me that it hasn’t updated and says I am on Cottage Hill Road in Mobile.  Ughhh.  That really helps when you are in a completely different town!

So a great day turns to misery as I come to the conclusion that my iPhone has been stolen and I will never see it again PLUS I get to spend $300 to buy a new one.  Frustrated beyond belief.  Emerson is in the middle of a meltdown.  I guess she didn’t care that I lost my phone, only that she was missing her nap.  So home we went.

On the way back to Mobile, I thought and said a few things that I probably shouldn’t have.  My facebook status pretty much sums up my feelings at that point:

“…wants to give a BIG thank you to the loser who stole my iPhone in Fairhope today. You better be selling it to feed your starving children or I hope lightning strikes you down dead. FYI - Please don't text or call me until I get it replaced.”

We arrive at my parents’ house and I immediately logon to my Google account to try and see if I can track my phone’s location again.  Nothing.  It still says Cottage Hill Road.  Arghhh…Annoying.  So Phillip picks me up and we head home.  I went from denial (no way someone would steal it…check everywhere!), anger (note fb post), bargaining (hence reward texts), depression (almost crying all the while saying that I will never have a phone again), and acceptance.  My acceptance came in the form of people are generally crappy and I will never have a phone again that houses my entire life.  I finally just say that I can’t talk about it anymore and we sit down to watch a movie.  A few minutes later, we receive a phone call…FROM MY CELL PHONE!  It was an older woman that said that her aunt had found a phone and brought it to her because “she didn’t know what else to do with it.”  I totally freaked.  I explained to the woman that I was in Mobile, but had only been in Fairhope for the day.  She said that her aunt was also in Mobile so the phone was only a few miles away! 

I jumped in the car about as fast as I could and off we went.  We pulled up to a store on Cottage Hill Road (sound familiar?) and retrieved my phone.  Here’s my new fb status at this point: 

“…has my phone back! Thanks little old lady for picking it up off the table we were occupying because you thought it was "lost". Then you couldn't figure out how to use it so you put it in your big old lady bag and left it there unable to hear it ringing and ringing and ringing. It took several hours for you to locate your niece in order to call someone. The good thing: You live in Mobile and so do I so thanks for bringing my phone 95% of the way home.”

The little old lady tells me this, “I saw this phone on a table.  I didn’t know who it belonged to so I picked it up and put it in my purse.  I left Fairhope and went to lunch with my friend.  We didn’t know how to make it work.  And I couldn’t hear it ringing because my hearing isn’t that good these days and it was in my purse.”  [Sweet.  Thanks for kidnapping my phone just so your purse could have some company.]

The story continues that the woman originally thought that the phone belonged to the people upstairs.  When I say “upstairs”, I mean the offices that sit over the store on Cottage Hill Road not in Fairhope.  [So…No one in the rest of the entire world has an iPhone except for the 5 people who work in a teeny tiny office upstairs of your itty bitty shop?  Riiggghhhhttttt…  BTW, how can you watch tv these days and not see an iPhone commercial?]  She was told otherwise by the people upstairs.  [Imagine that?!?!!! And in addition, she didn’t really pick it up because it was “lost”, but because she thought she knew the owner.]  So none of the women could even figure out how to use it so “the [most likely imaginary] people upstairs” had to help them “make it work” [aka ‘slide to unlock’ the phone which is clearly stated after pressing the button] in order to call someone.  I am then asked several questions about the cute baby on the phone [so obviously you got far enough to press the button but couldn’t read ‘slide to unlock'] which leads the conversation into discussing the little old lady’s house fire that happened over 60 years ago destroying all baby pictures of her children because they didn’t have “little black tv boxes with pictures on them that fit into your purse” [Yes, but this phone belongs in my purse, not your purse, please remember that when you find another “little black tv box” (aka cell phone) that makes and RECEIVES phone calls if someone would pick it up and answer!] in 1950 [My parents weren’t even alive at this point so we are talking about something completely foreign.  What is this 1950 she speaks of?].  As I am about to walk out the door, the little old lady tells me that she even dropped it a few times and almost stepped on it at least once.  [Thanks.  FYI: Next time – Don’t tell someone that after you “rescue” their electronic lifeline from the big bad iPhone theft ring roaming Fairhope, Alabama.]

So lesson learned.  I need to find an iPhone Anonymous meeting and attend.

One small side effect…

I have been “dieting” for a almost 7 weeks now.  It went like this…Week 1 - First 2 days completely fine, but remaining 5 days completely sucks.  Second week – Better, but still sucks.  Third week – Fine.  Week 4 to 6 – It’s becoming more natural and having little to no problems making the right choices and understanding “treats” not cheats (YES – There is a difference!). 

But I didn’t foresee one small side effect.  For the first 4 weeks, I was completely exhausted.  I get it…I have a very active 8/9 month old.  Exhaustion is an understatement.  But slowly after Week 5, waking up was easier.  And in Week 6, I noticed that I wasn’t doing everything possible just to keep my eyes open until 10pm.  Plus, waking up at 6ish each morning was even easier.  So as I started Week 7, I found that I had more energy all day…I accomplished more at home and work, I had more energy to just carry on a lengthy conversation, and going to bed late and getting up early wasn’t an issue at all.  On Saturday, I woke up at least 45 minutes before Emerson (shocker!) and just laid in bed, eyes wide open.  And this wasn’t the first time either.  As my mind starting racing, going over all of the things that we need to accomplish today, I realized that something was definitely different.  My attitude is better…I am generally more positive about the possibilities versus focusing on the “somehow I just have to get it all done” attitude.  I have been so focused on losing weight, that I didn’t realize that I would gain a sense of composure due to finally feeling like I have enough energy and sleep. 

So yea to diet changes!  Regardless of whatever makes you finally do it, I say do it!  I hope that this is something that will stay with me forever.  There is no way for me to explain the energy difference in a mere 6 weeks.  Like I said before, I will keep you updated. 

Several people have asked me to write down what I am doing, as it is starting to become noticeable that I have lost weight in a somewhat short period of time.  If you want to know the “rules” that I am following then leave me a comment or an email.  I promise to respond quickly.  I have finally found something that really seems to work for me and I want to know if it works for all of you out there as well!

2010 BCS National Championship

We were 3 of the lucky 90,000 to attend the 2010 BCS National Championship in Pasadena, California, this past January.  We had 3 tickets so all 3 of us went.  (Yes, Emerson had to have her own ticket.)  Emerson was great!  No lie!  It was her very first football game and such a memorable game to go to.  Not many can say they were there, much less, say it was their first football game.  Here are a few pictures from our travels…

Day 1:  Full day of travel. 

Emerson at 7 months on her fifth airplane ride.  She’s becoming a pro.

Day 2:  Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

Santa Monica Beach…

Santa Monica Pier…

Check out the scenery… Route 66…

Ice cream, please.  Sunset at Venice Beach.

Day 3:  Game Day!!!  Roll Tide Roll!

Dressed for the game and ready to go! Bevo (Texas mascot) arrives…Tailgating.  It’s hot and we are already tired, but Emerson gave me a hand.The Rose Bowl! Emerson is strapped on and ready to head in to the stadium. Almost kickoff! Game time!  Roll Tide!

One of us had to eat instead of watch the game… And one of us got cold… And then one of us got sleepy… But we won anyway!  Roll Tide! Roll Tide Roll!Day 4:  Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame)

What is it with men’s Chuck Norris obsession?

Tom Hanks is a perfect fit!

Apparently, I would make Judy Garland look like munchkin.

A quick stop at a soda shop…

Among Alabama, Emerson had to stop at Walt Disney and Elvis.

Long day…Need sippy cup…

And a nap…

Day 5:  Beverly Hills (including Rodeo Drive)

Lunch on Rodeo Drive with mimosa, yes please. We even saw Santa… And then had a famous Sprinkles cupcake for a bedtime dessert.

Day 6:  Another really long travel day.  Apparently, I forgot to take pictures.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  It took me a while just to download them from my camera and then it took me even longer just to post them.  The trip was a dream come true.  I never thought I would get to go to a National Championship game at the Rose Bowl no less!  I will remember it forever!

In addition to my mind, I have also lost…

WEIGHT!  It’s true.  I have officially lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks as of today.  (Actually, it’s 21 pounds, but who’s bragging?)

I bought a scale.  GASP!  I wish I had seen this one before I bought the traditional poundage one.  Your weight is given to you in the form of an animal (no numbers).  In second thought, I am not sure I want to know which animal I most closely weigh.  There is also a celebrity version which could be very funny…or just depressing.

I have been following a few diet rules these past 6 weeks.  I was very very very strict (still an understatement) the first 2 weeks.  And then purposely gave myself a bit of freedom.  Basically, this is how it all started…I looked at my current fatty diet at the time.  I noted my personal diet weaknesses: eating out, Cokes, Starbucks, bread, etc.  No need to for me to focus on things that aren’t really problems for me anyway, right?  So all those things were completely cut out immediately on day 1…no weaning.  After that, I was able to make some additional “rules” that I picked up from years of reading diet and nutritional information.  So out went the sugary foods (sweets, drinks, desserts, even some fruits and vegetables for the short-term) and high carb items (white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc.).  Plus, drinking lots and lots and lots of water. 

So, in order, to actually facilitate this, I gave up eating out completely for the first 2 weeks.  It allowed me to really control what I ate and also forced me to figure out how to cook…I mean, prepare meals that I liked.  It was extremely hard.  The hardest part was when I was just tired from a full day of work and Emerson (imagine that?) and could just eat about anything (previously that would have meant going out to dinner or a giant bowl of Cheerios).  But failure would be eminent if I resorted to the same old ways.  So usually it was grilled or baked chicken and some steamed vegetables (usually the frozen kind in a bag).  It doesn’t sound all that bad until you have had that same meal several days in a row…But soon you are forced to start getting creative with low-fat sauces, seasonings, turning it into stir-fry, etc.  See below for my baked eggplant and stuffed tomatoes.  Phillip might not always like my “cooking”, but at least I am doing it!  (Huhummm…Phillip.)

I think the first week was the absolute hardest.  Breaking bad habits of just reaching for something in the pantry or rationalizing something by “just this once” or “I did so good so far I deserve a treat”.  But again, that was the whole point. 

At the end of the 2 weeks, I had my first meal out.   A salad. (From Mellow Mushroom…yummm!)  It wasn’t as good as I remember.  And I found that I got annoyed with the entire restaurant process as well.  I waited another full week before we went out again.  It’s a strange thing.  For someone who ate out almost everyday, I didn’t really love it like I thought I did previously.  I guess it was just more routine and out of convenience.  And since, I have had “treats” (although always erring on the side of healthy), and then found almost immediately that it wasn’t really worth it in the end.  Don’t get me wrong…Those 2 or 3 bites of a mouth-watering dessert are completely worth it.  But eating half of the entire thing wasn’t.

Since, we have had much more going on in our lives (out of town, visitors, etc.), eating out has been progressively occurring more often.  But our travelling is over and the month of March looks to be a lot calmer, so back to eating at home for the most part is the plan.  I hope to be another 10 pounds lighter by April 1st.  I will give you an update then!

The world on my shoulders…

Not that anyone is probably reading this…But I have been one busy girl these last few weeks. Lately, I find myself with an aching pain in my neck that runs down into my shoulders and then down my back. I literally feel like I am carrying the weight of the world. Although I have been making huge strides in certain aspects of my life, I find that all the others are holding me back. My never ending to-do list is only getting longer and I find less and less time to accomplish the simplest of tasks. It’s extremely hard to juggle all that we have going on right now when all I want to do is crawl in bed and take a nap.

So let me start with a quick “what’s been going on” update…We hopped on a plane to LA with baby in hand. We spent a few days exploring and one big fun-filled day at the BCS National Championship game. Roll Tide! Then I came home to a crazy busy pile of work. All those things that I probably should have started before we left, but ran out of time. And then Mardi Gras, and then baby dedication, and then in-laws. Anyway, I will devote a blog post to the biggies as I find time to write them…but I promise…SOON! And with pictures!

I was driving down the road (by myself! which doesn’t happen often anymore) and thinking about updating my blog after Emerson went to bed tonight. I was thinking through everything that has been going on lately (as in the last 2 months) and what I needed to include in the post). I realized that the post I was writing in my head was really negative and focused on all the things that I was completely failing at. So I stopped and thought about my “accomplishments”.

1. I lost weight! (And still losing…) Such a feat. More to come on that in a bit.

2. I finished my filing at work 100%. I think there was actually more to be filed than actually in the filing cabinet.

3. I gave away over half of my wardrobe (nice stuff to a friend and other things to a good organization). It was really hard, but at the same time very freeing.

In conclusion…I have been a very bad blogger. But I promise to do better. Seriously, I promise.