Sunday, January 29, 2012

Girls Night Out! (Pics)

Yesterday was my Girls Day/Night out! I've been looking forward to that for like a month....I got up at like 6am and got ready and left by 7:15am to make the hour and a half trip into SC to pick up my friend/buddy/FB bestie! We talk every day on FB and/or text, we met once a couple of weeks ago when Gi and I went down there to meet her and her kids. And we've hit it off really well. Some people find it extremely strange because she is my husband's ex-gf. His only ex! Lol! But my husband is an excellent judge of character and people and he really thought we'd like each other and sure enough, he was right!

We stopped by Starbucks to start the morning off right and had drinks and cheese danishes. Then went by the practically empty mall (apparently people don't go to the mall at 10am! lol!) and got her some new earrings and met this crazy guy working at Claire's who had just had vampire bite marks tattooed on his next the day before. Only they weren't done well and they looks like to giant black moles on his collar bone! We had a really hard time keeping a straight face when he showed us.....he said it was a spur of the moment decision. Mmm, hmm. After that we head back to the house - B was glad to see Holly again, it's been like 7 year since they last saw each other. I gave her a hair cut and we made, well tried to make, some cake pops. Those things are WAY harder than they look! After that we headed out to the tattoo shop.......


I went first and geez, it was way more painful than I remember! At first I was like there is no way I'm going to be able to get a second one tonight.....but my brain adjusted to the pain and I made it! (Like that face?! It was sincere.)



I had two done - he re-inked and prettied up my heart on my wrist. It was very badly done the first time and he really helped it a lot! Then I got an owl on my foot....

Holly getting ready for her first tattoo ever! I love being the one to take people for their first tats! Hopefully it'll be my hubby's turn next....

This was when he first got started. She made cute faces, I made hideous ones! Lol!


She laughed through most of it....the only time she started squirming was when he added the color at the very end.

Holly's tattoo - a breast cancer ribbon angel in honor of her mother who passed away....
So pretty and feminine and a very special meaning. A perfect first tattoo!

Before and After.......SO much better!

My little owl - love him! Named him Willard!

Love my ink!

It was such a fun day.....we ended it by eating pizza and reading crazy facts on Twitter from @UberFacts - we managed to stay up until 11:30pm. Yeah, we're old ladies/moms but we still try to be pretty darn cool!
Hols stayed the night and we took her half way to meet up with her boyfriend this morning.
I hated it had to end but we'll plan another one soon!



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Oh so truthful!


Kids are so darn truthful....well, most of the time. They usually choose to tell the truth
about things you wish they'd fudge on a bit more! Lol!

The other day Gianna and I were looking at old photos. She found one of me when I was about
sixteen years old. I had recently gotten hair extensions (only did that once, they looked great but felt horrible!) and my mom had taken some photos of me.
Gianna grabbed one and said, "Look how skinny you were!!! Oh, and I like what you did with your hair." Lol! Geez, kid, way to boost my self esteem!

We were sitting in the floor yesterday and I usually wait and shower after I work out in the afternoon. Being from a Lebanese background I tend to have fast growing hair so I shave my legs daily......Gianna rubbed my leg and snatched her hand back and said, "Gosh, it scratched me!"

While working out one night Gianna was working out "with" me, we were taking a break and I said, "Next we are going to work our butts!" And she promptly flopped in the floor and said, 'I quit." Lol!
Then she asked me, "Why do you work out?" I said, "Well, because we want to be fit and thin." to which she replied "You already are!" (good one!) then I said, "You work out to stay that way." She said, "Old people don't work out..." I said, "Some do." and she said "Grandma doesn't cause she's already fat, well, fluffy" (Note: Her Grandma constantly tells Gianna that's she fluffy not fat! Haha!)

Good Lord, kid.


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Currently.....

Currently......

Obsessing over: My fitness. Nothing new. I just feel blah lately. I can't seem to really get the motivation to eat right all the time. The working out is no problem but I don't see results without sticking to a good diet plan for like 30 days or more.....

Working on: Being a better wife and mom. Trying to be more open and caring with husband, being more sympathetic and patient with my daughter. Trying to be a good friend and no "stress" over making friendships last or "work."

Thinking about: Gianna's recent fear and anxiety issues. She's always been brave and outgoing. I've never really had issues with leaving her anywhere. Especially once she hit like four. She was eager to go and visit and play. But recently she's started crying every time I take her and leave her somewhere even places she goes all the time like church and school. It's disappointing and frustrating especially since no matter how I try to coax her or encourage her she can't give me a reason for it.....

Anticipating: Girl's Day/Night Out on Saturday! Had it planned for almost a month now and my best buddy is coming down to hang out and spend the night and I'm beyond excited! This week can not be over fast enough!

Listening to: Hayley Westenra's Celtic Treasures. It's an older album and she has one that's more recent but I just started listening to Celtic Treasures on Spotify and I'm in love! I have her first two albums and I just find her vocals breath taking and soothing. This album is just as good as her others!

Eating: Currently just drinking water. Back to eating clean tomorrow. Fruits & veggies!

Wishing: That my best bud lived closer so we could hang out more often and not just send hundreds of texts! Lol!

How about you? What are you up to today?



Chop chop!

I got my hair cut yesterday! FINALLY! I'm loving it although I miss having my long piece in the front to twirl when I'm bored or nervous. My hubby said thank God it's gone! Haha! I'm still adjusting to having bangs again and I think I want to cut more straight up bangs in but we'll see....I'm going to grow the front pieces out more so that it's got more of angle. That's what I usually do, I'll keep trimming the back up but let those front pieces grow till I get the angle I want! But overall I'm thrilled I cut it! And of course yesterday and today have been the worst weather for hair....rainy and foggy. Lovely!



So whatcha think?!



Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sunday Sunday

After church today - just chilling in the Jeep waiting to go meet my dad for lunch!

Me and my incredibly handsome hubby. I'm so insanely lucky!

Gianna and her new feather/charm clip from her aunt!

Saying goodbye to this hair style, or lack of, tomorrow! Can NOT wait!

Me and my girly napping - we never nap but today called for one!

I've worn these ALL day. Best Christmas gift, and the most used for sure!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Dialect Vlog!



Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught



And answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?







Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Guilt of a stay at home mom....

I may be the ONLY one who feels this way but I hope not.....I feel guilty about being at home. Especially now that Gianna is in school 5 days a week. We started our marriage out with two incomes. I worked 35 hours a week as a stylist and B worked 40 hours a week as a waiter. Between us both we made decent money. I mean, not rich by any means but we paid the bills and had plenty left over for having fun, eating out, buying stuff we wanted when we wanted. I bought new clothes and shoes weekly and never thought twice about it. Then we moved and our plan was exactly the same - we'll both get jobs, we'll live the same kinda life we did before. But then I got pregnant and super sick and we decided I just needed to stay home while I was pregnant and then stay home with the baby since it probably wouldn't be worth it to try and put her in daycare for me to have a minimum wage job. Not to mention we of course wanted our child to be raised by her parents. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with people who choose to work, honestly, but for us it just made more sense for me to be at home.

But living on one income, although it's a decent one, is still not easy. We pay our bills and we do get to enjoy eating out - mainly because it's just cheaper then trying to buy stuff to cook every night. But anything extra is well....just kinda difficult. And I tend to have a guilt complex. I feel guilty about everything - how I make people feel, saying no, and spending money. I don't contribute that much ( I make a very little bit helping my parents ministry out) and I know how much my husband hates working a 9-5 job and I just feel straight up guilty. I feel he could be doing what he loves (music) if he wasn't trying to pay bills for us. And I live with this day in and day out. I feel insanely guilty spending $5 on something. I get gas at the beginning of the week, usually just enough to be able to take Gianna back and forth to school and even though that's not even for me and a necessity I still feel awful.

I hate doing anything for myself unless I somehow come up with the money on my own which is a lot harder then it sounds. I can't seem to get my Etsy shop to do anything. I've sold a few things here and there but it's not consistent and I've been pretty much BEGGING people to buy stuff now and that's not even working so I'm giving up on that. It's not worth the time and effort I put into it. It seems like nothing is close by so it's always a ton of gas to go or do anything. Gianna's dr. and dentist are 35 minutes and an hour and 15 minutes away but we have to go to dr.'s and dentist that take her Medicaid insurance so we don't have a choice. The closest real "city" is 45 minutes away. So yeah, it's like everything constantly is just sucking money out of us when we don't have that much to begin with!

I honestly don't feel like I deserve to ever spend money on myself, at least not until I have an actual job that helps contribute to the household. I know most people view me as lazy because after all I just "sit around" at home right? Now that Gianna's in school I'm just living the high life.....not so. I mean, yeah, I do have it "easy" I guess because I do basic cleaning up, some cooking and watch Gianna when she's home but I feel guilty for that. I really can't wait to move and get a job just so this enormous weight of guilt will be taken off of me or at least relieved a bit.

I am supposed to go get my hair cut Monday but I'm honestly thinking about canceling because I just can't justify driving the 45 minutes to my hair dresser and paying for the cut. It just seems like an unnecessary expense that I can't mentally justify.

Does anyone else deal with this or am I just weird and need to go see someone for help! Lol!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Is it Monday or Tuesday?!

It's sorta one of those mornings. Like not terribly bad but I'm just "off". And that's probably for a combination of reasons - you know that "lady reason", and I woke up in the night with an extremely sore throat and a stopped up nose....not to mention, B and I switched vehicles yesterday, I brought his back with over half a tank of gas. He brought mine back with barely enough for me to get Gi to school and I'm just PRAYING there is enough to get me the 10 miles into town to the nearest gas station. I am paranoid about running out of gas. It's my worse nightmare. And sadly, if I do run out of gas on the way into town I have pretty much NO one I can call to come help me. Lovely, huh?! I'm just begging God to get me there, begging.

Gianna is sick - bless her heart. I feel like since she's started school she barely has a week or two in between being sick again. This time it's a sore throat, crazy runny nose and I'm sure at some point it will turn into a hideous cough. She went to the dr. on Friday for a check up and she's 39 1/2 inches tall (10%) and 32 1/2 lbs. (15%). We've been trying the lactose free thing up until today and because I don't have the mountains of paperwork filled out from the dr. the school won't stop giving her gallons (slight exaggeration) of milk every day so I've told her to drink as little as possible today and she said "how much is a little?!" Lol! But she hasn't complained of tummy aches or anything for three days so that's a good start. I'm going to see how things go after she starts back drinking milk at school.

Yesterday Gianna and I made the hour and a half drive to visit a new friend of mine. We've been talking online via FB for awhile. It's someone my hubby has known for awhile so don't fear that I'm talking and going to visit some perfect stranger! She has three kids all around Gianna's age and we had a really good time! The day seemed to go by so fast and I'm really looking forward to the girl's night out we have planned at the end of the month!

Getting my hair cut Monday and I'm SO excited! I'm truly just over my hair at this point, it's so boring and I'm just ready for some spice! So yeah, I can't wait....Monday can't get here soon enough.

Gianna's had like three days out of school this month but they've all kinda been around the same time so it seems like a lot. I had to take her out of school Fri for her dr.'s appt., she was out of school yesterday, she's going to be out school Friday and Monday too.

So that was the most random post but I thought I'd catch you up a little!



Saturday, January 14, 2012

Sunday Confessional V.7


61. I have a shirt that I bought at a thrift store back in 2003. It's an old school 70's green t-shirt that says "Music" on the front. I dug it out of a "fill a bag for a $1" box! I can still wear it but it's so thin it's practically see through but for some reason I just can't part with it.

62. Most people think I'm part Italian or Spanish but I'm actually part Lebanese. My great grandmother came over from Lebanon when she was a young girl. Her name was Fahima Sod Butress and she was also known as Fanny and "Little Mama". Although part of me loves that my daughter looks just like my husband the other part of me really hoped she would get the Lebanese coloring. :-(

63. I used to chew my nails really bad. Like down to the quick bad. But one day when I was about 11 I was chewing on my nails and my dad said, "You know, no boy is going to be interested in a girl that chews her nails like you do...." He was only joking (I think!) but that totally got me and suddenly I stopped chewing my nails....but to compensate I started chewing the skin around my nails. So no matter how nice my nails look (which is rare because they are thin and tear easily) my fingers never do.

64. When Benjamin and I got back together it was a long distance relationship. I was in Bama at school and he was in NC. He didn't have a signal out at his house so he'd call my cell phone from his house. Even though I knew we talked a lot I didn't realize how much. My cell phone bill was about $25 a month at the time. I worked part time as a receptionist at a salon after school and barely made $200 a week. The first cell bill I got was $500 dollars!!!! It was the first time I ever felt myself start to black out! Lol! I knew my parents wouldn't help because a. they didn't want me with him anyway b. they were barely making ends meet with 4 kids still at home. So I called my sweet boyfriend! Little did I know he dipped into his engagement ring fund to pay it. Such a good man!

65. Benjamin took me to my very first movie ever at a movie theater when I was 18! I wasn't allowed to go to the movies growing up and I still remember I was so nervous and excited. We went and saw the movie "Hitch" with Will Smith and Eva Mendes. It was so fun and I've been in love with the movie theater ever since!

66. Every time I go into a bathroom (including my own) that has a shower with a closed shower curtain I have to open it and look.....just to make sure nothing is hiding in there! Lol!

67. I absolutely refuse to go into a Yankee Candle store. Although I love their candles their stores make me absolutely sick.....all those strong smells all together. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. Gag.

68. I was 13 when I first got my ears pierced. I was 18 when I finally got a second ear piercing and that was only because I moved out of my parents house. It wasn't allowed while I lived there. Funny thing is now my mom has four in one ear and a nose ring. Hmmmm. I got my nose pierced in early 2008. I'm positive there are no other piercings I would ever get. They sorta freak me out....punching holes where there aren't supposed to be holes! Lol! Although I like the way Monroe piercings look, a friend of mine has one, but there is no way you could even pay me to get it done!

69. I can't wear socks to sleep in....even if I start out in socks I always remove them even if I don't remember doing it. I always find them next to the bed in the floor in the morning.

70. I'm claustrophobic in a serious way. Just the thought of being in a small space makes my heart race and I can't breathe. One time I was in the very back seat of an SVU PACKED with people, everyone was bundled up and the heat was on. I literally thought I was going to suffocate. When we finally stopped I literally shoved my grandmother out the door just so I could get out and get air! Sometimes even the weight of my husband's arm over me at night can cause me to panic....I have to force myself to stop and take deep breaths.


Friday, January 13, 2012

Saying hello to lactose free?

Gianna had to have her yearly check up for school today. Her teacher checked her shot record yesterday and told me she was up to date on all her shots and we wouldn't need any. I made sure to tell Gianna this because she is TERRIFIED of the doctor's office. The moment we walk in she is a boo-hooing hysterical mess. She is petrified of shots. So today she was good because "no shots" but I forgot they'd check her hemoglobin which in her mind is a shot even though it's just a tiny pin prick. So she was in a hysterical mess after that. I finally got her calmed down and told her NO more, that's it! I apologized because I forgot about that but that it was a shot, etc. etc. Then the nurse comes in and Gianna's sitting in her little gown waiting, still scared. And the nurse announces "She needs four shots today!" Gianna immediately freaks the heck out! Great. I said, over my wailing child, "Are you sure? She's had her four year shots, she shouldn't need anymore for awhile." Nurse: "No, she needs these....here's information on the shots" and leaves. I'm looking at the paperwork and I KNOW she's had these shots already like 6 months ago. So I'm getting ready to raise a stink and I'm sending B texts with maybe a cuss word or two in them! Gianna is still flipping out and I'm trying to comfort her and the nurse comes back in and says "Oh no, she's up to date, I hadn't checked her shot records yet....." WHAT?! You came in and announced that before you even checked?! Idiot.

Gianna calms down and the dr. comes in. Gianna was amused her name was Mrs. McDonald. I know Gi had to be thinking her husband was Ronald. She listened to Gi's heart, looked at her eyes, etc. Then I brought up something that has been concerning me and B. Gianna is tiny and fairly "long" for how thin she is. But she generally has a pot belly. But it's more then that - it's a bloated belly. Sometimes it's worse than others and occasionally it looks fairly "normal". But it just didn't look right. I asked Gianna if it hurt but she said no. But it looked painful. And this has been going on for over a year at least. We assumed to begin with that it had to do with her constipation issues. But after being put on Miralax those have gone away and she's fairly regular but the bloated belly continues. She complains of tummy aches fairly often as well. I mentioned this to a few other mommies and one mentioned possible malnutrition which sounds silly since Gianna does eat but it's small portions and fairly picky so I thought it might be a possibility that she wasn't getting what she needed. Another mom mentioned that her daughter was allergic to gluten and that she thought her daughter's was a reaction to gluten in her diet.

I have considered before that Gianna might possibly be lactose intolerant. She was as baby and couldn't drink any milk based formula and was instead put on a soy formula. And her constipation issues really picked up after weaning her off soy and putting her back on milk. But no one, not even the dr. has ever mentioned that might be the case and I've brushed it off. But I've really started thinking this might be a problem. All they serve at school is milk - she gets milk three times a day while she's there plus milk she drinks at home and her favorite foods include Mac N Cheese and yogurt. So of course my dairy loving girl would be lactose intolerant (possibly). So the dr. has suggested we try a lactose free diet for a couple of weeks and she said that should tell us. If that doesn't work she's going to send her to see a gastroenterologist and see if she's possibly got something else with a really long name that effects the throat and can cause gas and nasal/snoring issues. So we'll see.

I'm starting tomorrow taking her off main dairy stuff like milk, cheese and yogurt. But once she goes back to school Tuesday, until I can get a load of paperwork filled out by a doctor and returned (and our dr is 35 mins away!), she'll be back to drinking milk all day. So I'm hoping by a week from Monday we'll have it squared away and she'll be off it for a good two weeks to see if that works. But I already feel bad. I'm thinking about all the dairy/cheese stuff she eats that I'm going to have to restrict and limit. I feel bad for her that I'm limiting things she enjoys. I'm also really concerned about her being on a lactose free diet at school. I don't know how different that will be from the other kids menu but I don't want her to feel singled out or "weird" because she can't drink milk with the other kids or eat Mac N Cheese for lunch....

Here are my questions:

1. Do you have a child that is lactose intolerant? If so, how did you figure it out?

2. Besides obvious dairy stuff what else do I have to restrict or limit?

3. What are good alternatives for things she loves like Mac N Cheese and yogurt if she is lactose intolerant?

We're going to be using Rice milk instead of soy. I've heard some negative things about soy and little girls so I'm being a little cautious. We might mix it in later on if we find milk is the problem. I tend to like the taste of Rice milk better myself but she might like Soy or Almond better. Luckily, she's drank these before because it's all my dad uses although he isn't lactose intolerant, he does it for diet purposes. But what about cheese? Is there a lactose free kind that's good? (I have no idea how you'd make cheese lactose free! Lol!)

I need some help figuring this all out, people!



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Vloggin' Vednesdays - Blogger Cribs!

Couldn't for the life of me get my video to upload on here so go HERE and watch it on Youtube! This vlog Wednesday is all about touring our homes so check it out!



Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Five Things.....ok, maybe 6!

(Can't wait to get this mop CUT!!!)

1. First let me say, "ROLL TIDE, Y'all!" Yup. We are the BCS National Champions again. And I don't wanna hear "that wasn't even a game" or anything like that. The truth is we're the best and we OWNED LSU. 21-0! We're thrilled and proud and our boys are a class act! My sis and father in law came over to watch the game and we ordered pizza and wings. Papa John's had this awesome deal where if you ordered online you could get 50% off your entire order! So we ordered 20 wings and got home and they had sent us home with 40 wings! What?! Yeppers!

2. We said bye-bye to ballet yesterday. To honest I'm really sad. It nearly broke my heart to actually say we're done and we aren't going back. Yesterday was our first day back after the long holiday break. But the two dance classes before that we had meltdowns. Which is SO unlike Gianna. She's fine at school, fine at church, fine anywhere. And she's been fine at dance up until those past couple of times. She goes in happy and by the mid hour break she's in hysterical tears and hyperventilating. I've talked to the teacher and she says nothing happens Gianna just starts crying and keeps it up until she's so distraught. We even have a video monitor in the waiting room so we can watch and nothing happens, she just breaks down. I've talked and talked to her trying to figure out what's wrong? She'll give me feeble little excuses that I know aren't the issue...finally yesterday after another meltdown and us leaving half way through class I asked her if she was crying because she just doesn't want to do dance anymore. She looked really guilty for a moment then nodded. I was so bummed. Bummed that she couldn't just tell me to begin with and bummed that she's really done. I love dance and she did too and I was so excited she loved ballet so much....but I guess we are moving on. But here's a question. Yesterday I paid tuition for the whole month of January and we were there for 30 minutes of the hour long class yesterday. The month before (Dec.) I paid for a full month tuition but we were out on holiday for half the month. I should get my January tuition back, right? And what about the $20 deposit I put down for her costume? I mean, she won't be getting the costume now so I should get that back, right? I'm just wondering. I've never dealt with this kinda thing before I'm just wondering what I should "demand" back or just view as a loss.

3. This morning on the radio they were talking about the "perfect" man. Obviously no one is perfect but they did a poll on a bunch of women and the average woman rates her man 69% perfect. Then they listed the top five issues women have with their men. I can't remember them all but leaving the bathroom messy was one, spending too much time on sports, not liking any of their family members, being rude in public (farting, burping, etc.). And this is totally not to brag (ok, maybe it is!) but I can honestly say if I gave B a percentage on being "perfect" I'd say he's close to 85% at least. The top things most women have an issue with are not even an issue with us. In fact, I'm probably much farther from the "perfect" woman then he is from the "perfect" man! I guess I'm just extremely lucky!

4. So this past week I've been really pushing hard in my work out's. Working out usually around 70-75 minutes. I watched my eating really closely until Saturday night. :-( I just can't seem to stick with it like I want. So my "solution" to that problem is to just work out even harder and longer. I'm hoping that at some point I'll just work out more then I eat! Lol! I doubt that'll happen but I'm trying to get with it. I must say though, lately I just feel happier - and that always helps me lose. Stress really keeps the pounds on me and the past couple of months I've just felt tense and on edge but lately I'm feeling much more relaxed and happy so I'm hoping that translates on the scales as well!

5. I've got a "Girl's Night" out planned at the end of the month and I'm totally thrilled! I've recently kinda made a new online friend and we're going to get to meet at the end of the month. It's actually my husband's ex-girlfriend and I know it sounds strange to even me. Especially because I've kinda had a hard time with the idea of her for a LONG time. She was the only other girl he dated besides me and they lived together for awhile and I just had a hard time with it all. But several months ago we started talking on Facebook and I've started to really like her - she's funny, outgoing, and we have a lot in common. It's a bummer she lives an hour and a half away but we're planning to meet up at the end of the month and have some fun girl time! I'm so excited! Really looking forward to it.....

6. I hate to beg, and I'm a horrible sales person because I hate feeling like I'm "pushing" people to buy something but I really really need some sales in my Etsy shop. I'd like to clear out what's in there before I start adding new stuff.....would you guys check it out? Maybe even make my day and make a purchase?!!!! And maybe pass along my shop link?! Thank you so much. This is my only way of making "extra" money and that's not very extra right now. So every little bit helps! Click HERE to go check out my shop!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sunday Confessional V.6


51. I pretty much like anything that is mint/chocolate! Ice cream, fudge, candy, hot chocolate, whatever!

52. I'm deathly afraid of heights but I love flying...something about airports and airplanes are so fun!

53. My family are huge Bama fans. So two of our biggest rivalries are Auburn and Tennessee. Both which have orange as one of their team colors. Thus I hate orange and I especially hate the orange and blue combo. Gag.

54. I have never played any kind of sport in my life. I'm very much a girly girl. When Benjamin tries to throw a football too me I usually duck! Lol!

55. I have an obsession with keeping my toenails painted. In fact they are kinda stained from where I keep nail polish on them at all times.

56. I absolutely LOVE the beach but I won't go more then ankle deep into the water. It freaks me out that there are all sorts of creatures living in it and the salt really irritates the skin on my legs and end up making them red and then they burn! But I'll lay out and cook in the sun till I'm a lobster!

57. Speaking of laying out I've never ever been to a tanning bed in my life. I thought about going this past summer but it seemed like a waste of time, gas and money when I could go lay out by the pool in my backyard.

58. Even though I've been trying to grow my hair out for like 8 months now I'm totally bored with it and I'm going to cut it off again. And I'll tell you a secret....my hair was the longest at my fattest, it was short and cute at my skinniest. So when my hair starts getting long I automatically start seeing a fatter face in the mirror. I know, it's all in my head, but I think that's part of the reason I just don't like my hair long right now....

59. My ultimate dream car is a Range Rover but until then I'd like a Honda Accord. No joke. They are the greatest little cars. The first car I bought with my very own savings back in 2004 was an '89 baby blue Honda Accord. An elderly lady had purchased it new and drove it to like church and the grocery store once a week so it only had about 85,000 miles on even though it was 15 years old. I LOVED that car! It took me back and forth to Cosmetology school and work 6 days a week for a year. Then some stupid lady hit me from behind while I was stopped at a light and completely totaled it. I was broken hearted. After that I bought a lemon of a Ford Taurus from my boss who swore it was THE best car. It had a "ghost" and we spent almost $1,000 trying to fix it to no avail. So I basically gave it away just trying to get rid of it!

60. My favorite scent is Bath & Body Works Moonlight Path. The smells reminds me of dating Benjamin and I just find it warm & sexy. I need to go buy some.....


Saturday, January 7, 2012

To cut or not to cut?!!!

(Me with short hair....I loved this length. Shaggy, edgy and it made me feel cute!)

(Ideas. I like the first cut and the brunette's cut the best....)

So I'm seriously contemplating cutting my hair again soon. I'm really really bored with my hair right now. I do like being able to pull it into a ponytail when need be and part of me would be sad to part with it. But other then that when I have long(ish) hair I do nothing with it. I see all these pretty and cute hair styles but I can't ever seem to do them on my own hair (that's really great for a cosmetologist to say! Lol! I can do your hair but not my own!). So needless to say I straighten it every day and it's just boring. Not to mention my hair is fairly thin and the longer it gets the thinner and flatter it looks......

I've been growing my bangs out as well, I usually always have some kind of side fringe or bang and part of me likes being able to totally pull them out of my eyes especially when I work out but then again....it feels boring for me. I'm ready for something sassy and cute again.

What do you think? Should I leave it and continue growing it out in the same way I am. Or go bold and cut it short with a fringe/bang? Or maybe compromise and leave it long(ish) but get some bangs cut? I'm torn, people, torn!!! Lol!


Friday, January 6, 2012

When we disagree....


It's just a fact of life that people disagree. Married people disagree. There isn't anything wrong with disagreeing, it's how you solve that disagreement in the end. I feel like people think that if they admit they sometimes disagree or even "fight" with their spouse that it means they aren't happy and that's not true at all. My husband and I are VERY happy with each other but we are two different people with two different hearts and minds and that's going to clash occasionally. I never think less of a couple because they admit they don't get along occasionally. But if they never resolve those issues then things can get messy. I think B and I have learned, over the past 6 1/2 years, how to better solve out arguments and how to argue better. I know that sounds crazy but instead of blowing up and flipping out (which occasionally still happens!) we do our best to think logically and really talk things out....which is easier said then done for me a lot of times!

I've come to the realization that B is the stricter parent. There always is one. I discipline Gianna but I am much more lax on what I expect of her or press her to do. I don't think either one of us is "wrong" necessarily but sometimes we clash on how we want to deal with her. It's hard because you don't want to send a mixed message so some how you have to come to an compromise. And I can't say I have that down just yet! Lol!

Tonight we had a bit of a "disagreement" at dinner time. I made pot roast. Growing up pot roast was the ONLY way I'd eat cooked carrots. I'd eat them raw with ranch dressing but cooked.....gag! The only way Gianna will eat cooked carrots is if they are the sweet Japanese style carrots. Gianna eats very lightly - she nibbles and then she has a few things she really likes and veggies aren't one of them. She'll eat salad when she's in the mood, she'll eat raw spinach with ranch and she'll eat broccoli if I stir fry it with chicken. To be honest I don't think most kids like or eat many veggies. I honestly don't like any of the veggies I was forced to "try" growing up. And eating one bite or two isn't giving them that much nutrition anyway.

So tonight I gave Gianna a dinner roll and left it at that. I know I should make her try the pot roast, potatoes and carrots. But I'll be straight up honest, I hate the fight. I really do. I want to enjoy my dinner not sit with her crying, snotting, gagging and choking. I hate telling her over and over "take a bite, take another bite, eat the rest of that....." I hate the conflict so I avoid it. But B wanted her to eat some of everything. And instead of simply stating that I felt like he kinda "jumped" on me about. He probably doesn't feel that way and that's ok, we see things differently sometimes. But I reacted to that and got kinda upset. I did my best to hold my tongue and simple ate dinner while he coached Gianna through her crying, snotting and the fact that she can chew a mushy bite of carrot for 5 minutes (no joke). But he made her do it and in the end she was fine.

And I think we are both over the "issue" now. But honestly, I hate disagreeing with him. I do. And a lot of the time he's right but I just don't want to feel guilty of being the "slacker" parent.

So here's a few questions for you -
1. How do you handle disagreements with your spouse or significant other?
2. What are your feelings on making kids try or eat foods they don't like?
3. Who is the strict parent in your house?