I'd like to thank...

Colette over at Little Lion's Life for nominating me for the following award:

She has a great blog and always inspires me with her craftiness. I haven't met her IRL, but think we would be great friends. We have a lot of the same hobbies and interests in common. She is having a Twilight themed graduation party and I would love to be there, just hearing about all her preparations, I know it will be amazing! Don't think I'm a stalker Colette ; ) I'm getting up the nerve to attempt her yarn and felt wreath for our front door. I'll get to it. As part of this award, you have to mention seven things about yourself, so here I go:

~David & I did not live together before we got married.

~I took tap, ballet and jazz dance for 10 years. I loved it and am thinking about starting one of them up again.

~In high school I was on the track team and I HATE to run. I did shot put and discus, which if you knew me, you would know I have no upper body strength and am not built for those two activities. I think my coach let me stay on the team to amuse himself. Why did I do it? 1) I didn't have to try out and 2) knew my senior year I would get a varsity letter and at that time in my life, that's what I wanted.

~I love art and will work in any medium but hate drawing. That is my weakness in creating art myself. Clay is my favorite medium to work with.

~I am a picky eater, textures of some foods bother me. Two examples: all beans except for green beans disgust me and I can't stand mushy vegetables.

~I have never lived out of state or even out of the area I grew up in. I would love to move but family obligations will not allow that to happen now. I am jealous of people who have gone to school out of state or have moved.

~I have a passport and have never been anywhere to use it. My dream is to go to Italy. I have friends who go there at least once a year and have family over there. They have offered to host us but we have never done it. One day we will.

You are also supposed to tag seven bloggers, most of mine have been tagged already, but here are the ones I'd like to know more about:

Hyr @ a day in hyr life
Robin @ Since Everybody Else is Doing It
B @ R&R As Is
Megs@ Ramblings of a Designer

I did it!

I got a couple things accomplished in the past couple of days. The phone interview went great and I have an in-person interview Tuesday! Whoo hoo, one step closer to my dream job. The woman I spoke with also told me there were hundreds of applicants which I figured and they were narrowing it down to the Top 10 and then the Top 2. So if nothing else, I made it to the Top 10 which I am pretty proud of.

The other thing I accomplished is getting a pair of jeans that fit in the size I currently am. I went to Old Navy to look at some clothes for Ayden and figured why not look for jeans. I tried a couple pairs on and found a perfect fit length wise. I got their Flirt style and am happy with them. Hopefully they'll wash well and still fit the way they did in the store. It feels so nice to have a pair of jeans I like and fit well. Hopefully soon I will be back in my regular size and be able to fit in my favorite jeans.

It is almost the weekend ladies!

Procrastination...

Today I have a phone interview for my dream job, I should be preparing for it, but first I wanted to update my blog and maybe check some emails and see what is happening on Facebook, you get the idea. Procrastination is what I do best and my answer for when they ask "what is one of your weaknesses?" You would think after 20 some years I'd stop waiting until the last minute to do things and eliminate the panic that ensues, but no, not yet. When I was writing my thesis for grad school, I always waited until the last minute to begin writing. If a chapter was due Monday, I'd start on Sunday and usually something would go wrong and I would freak out that it wouldn't get done on time, but it always did (thank God). I did prepare some yesterday and I don't want to be over prepared, but this is MY DREAM JOB!!!!

Ever since I stayed at the children's hospital in our city, I knew I wanted to work there and help kids. Now I should of gone to school to be a nurse or some other position that would allow me to work there, but I didn't. I went to school to be an art therapist, which is an amazing profession, just not where I live. Rarely are there full time positions open and those that have them never leave. I think the last time this position was open was 2002. I applied for it then, but no luck. So for today, my goal is to get an in-person interview. At 2pm EST, please send some positive vibes my way!

On to other things. For two days now I have gotten up at 6am to walk on the treadmill. Let me tell you, I am not a morning person and when the alarm goes off, I just want to curl up under the covers and sleep for another hour. I also discovered while on the treadmill, that I am more out of shape than I thought. I used to be able to walk at a 3.5-3.7 pace. I am currently at a 3.3 pace and am out of breath when I am done. It feels great to have exercise out of the way, but I need to get back to where I was. I also only walk for 30 minutes and before I would go for at least 45 minutes if not an hour. So I will take it day by day and get back to where I need and want to be.

I still need to go shopping for jeans and think I will attempt it this week. I hate jeans shopping. Anyone have any brands they love? I need tall and they seem harder and harder to find in a store. I don't want to order online because of the hassle to return them. We'll see what happens.

That's all for now, off to prepare for the interview, or do something else ; ) I hope you are all having a great day!

Happy Friday!

This week seems to be dragging, so I am glad it is Friday. We have no real plans this weekend either which is nice. I think my one friend is coming in to town and she hasn't met Ayden yet, so it will be nice to see her and catch up. Other than that, I hope to clean the house and do some laundry. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Being sick stinks!

I hate being sick. It is the worst. I caught a stomach bug on Monday and Thursday was the first day I felt 100%. So my plan of exercising consistently beginning this week was shot. I finally did the treadmill today and it felt great! I didn't realize how much I missed it. I did lose .4 pounds though. It is only a little bit but every little bit counts.

Favorite Christmas Gift

I asked for a Clarisonic for Christmas and got it from my Mom. She is the best and I love it! I've used it since January 1st and have noticed such an improvement to my skin. It feels cleaner and softer. David noticed how good my skin looks. I look forward to washing my face and haven't skipped a day. I'm glad I can use my cleanser with it too since my skin is so sensitive and breaks out at the slightest change in routine. Here's a couple pictures, I highly recommend this product!

Goals for the New Year

I'm a week late in posting this, but I figure now is as good a time as any. Here is what I hope to accomplish in 2011:

1. Be a better SAHW/M. This means cleaning up to my specifications. I let it go once Ayden came along but now that he naps for me, I can clean better and organize the house more. I also want to set a budget and stick to it.

2. Have more time with DH & focus on our relationship. 

3. Blog more. 

4. Lose this baby weight. I'm tired of clothes not fitting me and refuse to buy bigger size clothes. Although I think I need to buy a new pair of jeans. I bought a pair in the size I am now and thought they were long enough, they aren't and I feel self-conscious wearing them. I hate jean shopping though, ugh!

5. Make a home cooked meal once a week. I was afraid to cook. Then we hosted Christmas and it turned out great I just need more faith in myself.

6. Make exercise a priority. Starting next week 1/10, I will get up when David gets up for work and exercise. That will give me a good hour to hour and a half before Ayden gets up. I always thought I would exercise when he went down at night. By the time I get Ayden in bed, I'm tired and just want to chill, not exercise.

7. Make time for me. I always put everyone else first and don't take time for me. David even told me I need to do this, so one night a week, I will have me time and get out of the house and do what I want to do.

8. Start reading again and not just watch TV. I love to read and want to make that a priority again. I'll let you know what I'm reading too.

9. Travel.

10. Learn it is all right to say "no" to people. I am a people pleaser and hate disappointing people. So if someone asks me to do something I say yes even if I don't want to do it. I need to stop that. This will be the most challenging one.

There are many more things but I think these 10 will be good for now.

A Big Thank You!

Thanks so much to Amy over at Aprons and A-Lines for redesigning my blog. She was gracious enough to do it for me since I have no clue how to make changes. I just told her what I wanted and she created it for me! So thank you Amy, I really appreciate it!

Happy 2011!

I always love the beginning of the new year. It feels like a fresh start to me, full of possibilities. Last year was an amazing year with the addition of Little Man to our family. He is a joy to watch and see the world through his eyes. Always full of wonder and curiosity. The last week of 2010 and beginning of 2011 was filled with sickness in our house. First Little Man got a cold, then the hubs and then me. On Sunday, the hubs came down with a stomach bug. I knew he was really sick when he stayed home from work Monday and even called the doctor. So the last 2 weeks of the year in review, plus the beginning of this year:

The hubs was on vacation from Dec. 23-Jan 3. It was wonderful to have him home and our first 4 days together were filled with fun and family. We hosted Christmas dinner and it turned out fabulous. Little Man did really well with a house full of people. The Monday after Christmas was when we started getting sick. On NYE though we felt better and actually went to the art museum. We even made it to midnight! Saturday we had our traditional pork and sauerkraut at my mom's. Sunday we visited with the husband's family and the hubs got sick : (

Monday of this week, Little Man started gym & swim at the Y and loves it. He loved to pool and was splashing away. I didn't realize how involved the swim part actually was but you are teaching them swimming techniques. I didn't dunk him under at the end because I chickened out, but next week I will (I think). Happy New Year! Hope 2011 brings you everything you want & need.