The Princess is Back

Okay, so to move that disturbing picture of the man in overalls down and away from common sight. I thought I would share some pictures of my baby:

Penelope Ann

Yeah, she is a little rat like. That is why she is often referred to as the Rat Princess.

This is me trying to get her to look into the camera with pretty ears (she is doing pretty ears in the photoshopped picture below). Penny hates the camera, esp mine because it is loud. However, Buffalo Betty was able to get a few. Thanks, Betty!


Here is Pens with THE Buffalo Betty right before we went off to Maleless.
Two things are extraordinary with this picture (yes, Betty is gorgeous but this is about Penny, okay?):

1.) Penny's scary robot eyes. Even though they are a pretty shade of green. She looks like a robotic rat in this one.

2.) While I was at Maleless, my mother-in-law let Penny stay in the house. See! She is in the house in this picture. My MIL has vowed for no dog to enter her house. KW can't remember if she is allergic or scared or both. However, it was 98 degrees (not the band) in SC that weekend and the garage was too hot for the Princess and she volunteered to let her stay in the house!!!! this was huge. Now, Penny never left her crate while in the house, but she is a dog of leisure and was grateful for the A/C.

One day I hope to get more pictures of the pretty Penny. Until then I will just keep giving her nicknames and being a crazy dog mom. Hopefully a little less crazy than some (I don't dress her up...much--only for humor like the dog Wonder Woman costume for Halloween See! Hilarity!)

However, we do call her ridiculous sorts of nicknames (ala Hank Azaria's dog walking character in Mad About You): Pens, Penicillin, Penalynn Lott (Gilmore Girls reference for you), Penitentiary, Penn & Teller, Pennsylvania...you get the point.

We are ridiculous...oh..OK...Sorry, hon...I, I am ridiculous. KW just follows along.

Okay, I just realized that I don't have post about Penny and her origins...that is forthcoming!

Make me Laugh-Party Time, Excellent

Nothing says party like this outfit...

...or all-you-can-eat

Do you think he cut this out himself? Or did his wife do it for him?

"Oh honey, I want you to be comfortable tonight and it will be warm...I think I know how to help, my Stud Muffin."

KW's birthday is in 6 days...I know what I am getting him!

Usually, this would be linked to Absoluetely Bananas'Make Me Laugh Monday...but she is on hiatus. So I will just make you laugh, my three readers, and no one else. But you are the ones that deserve to laugh, dangit! (notice, the lack of cursing! KW has told me it is unlady like and since I am now a lady that writes beauty columns...I should act like one!)

Cause this is me now...calm, cool, with dog...sipping a diet coke.

Books: My Love

We have already explored my love of Diet Coke, my sweet mistress. But I have another addiction: books.

I love books. My parents perpetrated this addiction by buying me books by the boat load. Every Sunday, my family would go to Barnes & Noble and buy a few books PER PERSON! I read one book MANY TIMES. So it is more economical than it seems.

K-Dubs does not get it. He thinks you should read whatever the library has to offer. But what if they do not carry the book that is in your series or the book you really really want? "Too Bad," says K-Dubs, "Read this book on Ant farming with boogers pressed between the pages."

But I can't help it. I need books and I need to have them! When I hear, "Let us go forth and Serve the Lord....Amen," I feel this inexplicable urge to buy a book or eight.

I called my mom last Sunday to blame her for this problem, but instead of denying this enabling...she said, "Um...I'm in Barnes and Noble now...so I'll just go and act like we didn't have this conversation."

I always have a book in my purse for down times in my life or times that I just would rather be reading than working, playing, or living life. (K-dubs gets on to me about that too.) I also am always reading more than one book at a time. This is challenging because I run out of books to read quickly! I will read a good book that is 200-250 pages in one day...two if it is a heavy work day.

I am starting to plan my fall travels and will need a lot of books to read. So I need your help. What books do you love? What are you currently reading?

Here are some of my favs (If you see my sidebar you might see some repeats):

The BEST: Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Current Series: Mitford Series by Jan Karon

Great Historical Fiction Series: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation Series by Lauren Willig

Cause-I-love-my-Teen-Drama: Harry Potter and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer


***To answer my faithful friend and reader, Curtis: Yes, I still read while driving...it is why I like traffic jams. And drink the beer when I am at stoplights.

First Things First

So let's get this out of the way: I do have Shingles.

And my first doctor didn't diagnose it for some reason! My real doctor (the one who was out last week when I first went in) actually said, "how could he think this was folliculitis?" Not something you like to hear.

I did ask how communicable this thing was for a Once-and-for-all answer. She said: "If someone had not had chicken pox and handled your pox, then they might have a small chance of getting it." To which, I added, "So if they lick my neck...probably not good?" She didn't even laugh.

My doctor is not a comedienne...but she at least got the diagnosis right.

The only thing now is: my doctor is concerned cause she doesn't know WHY I got shingles!

People get shingles because they are stressed or old or immuno-suppressed.

I haven't been especially stressed...I'm not old in Shingles terms...so they are worried I have some immune system issues.

I think my body just wants to be just like McMommy. I hope my thyroid is okay.

So I had a lot of tests done today. The good thing: I feel okay minus the pain pox.

No real updates***yet, updated

Sorry, I don't have something wonderful to write about right now. I just really don't have the energy to expound all the wonderfulness that is going on in my world right now. Here is some fun in outline form, which will hopefully get me to post about these more fully in the future:
1.) Doctor's appt. tomorrow. I can't wait to get an answer about this thing and hopefully something to bring down some of the fun pain! I act like a Turret's patient. i don't think that my doctor is House though.
2.) Penny has been simply awesome lately. Her aunt gave her the first toy that she truly loves and loves to play with not just horde.
3.) Speaking of dogs...we have a new dog-mom on my bloggy block: Erin has welcomed her new baby, Luke to her brood!!! Congrats, Erin..I'm sorry this is so late.
4.) Maleless: simply awesome. Pictures and stories and more awesomeness to come.
5.) NBA finals. KW can't get enough and I can't get away. This is why my posting can not be more indepth...that and the spazing.
6.) The coolest present ever! from the coolest person ever! A definite post to come soon as soon as I can get a picture to do it justice!


This might be a bit more fun version of Turret's...and maybe a little more reason to not go to work

I puffy heart Amy Poehler in this!

***I read this after posting as I typically do and realized that this could have been sarcastic and funny like my usual self. I was trying to be genuine in my hopefulness...but in case you miss the real me...

Some sarcastic awesomeness in my world:

1.) The way I feel: the nerves on and around my ear like to wig out at random times sending fun shivers down my timbers. I flinch and gasp and look like a bigger spaz than I thought possible. Can I also say that whenever I say what is wrong a person's first reaction is to act like I'm a leper that will infect them with typhoid? So much fun?!?!
2.) I don't love the NBA, husband does...guess why I am staying up late tonight?!?!
3.) I am feeling so beautiful right now: I can't do my hair or makeup properly without hurting myself. I look like a hot mess.

Long awaited update on Weight...06.17.08
The Good: Stayed within my WW points today! And got some new awesomely delicious recipes from WW. More on those coming!!!!
The Bad: Um, can we say Maleless?!?! I drank so much, ate so much, and did nothing aerobic! I loved every second of it. I hope that I won't gain too much when I weigh myself on Friday.
The Sweaty: nothing huge in terms of working out, but I am looking into some kickboxing classes when I get the okay from the doctor.

I have had a few people interested in linking up some weekly weight loss goals and some group moving down the weight scale, if you are interested in joining let me know and I can try and organize something for Fridays.

quick update

Back from Maleless...
Best thing EVER!

Think this thing may be shingles after all...
hurts like the dickens.

Need to clean

Love to all my bloggy friends, I have missed you!
Thanks for the encouragement

Confessions of an Ex Tomboy

I have mentioned before that I have changed a lot in more recent years. One of those changes has been shedding my tomboy ways.

Yes, that is right, peeps...I considered myself a tomboy until 4 or so years ago.
I wasn't the uber sport jock (way too klutzy for that) or gross-talking-and-smelling-tomboys. I just always hung out with guys:

I have two brothers and all of our family friends growing up had three boys the same age as us. NO GIRLS. So I learned at an early age to not be too girly as a matter of survival.

After that I just always enjoyed hanging around guys. I understood what they were saying and how to talk to them (in monosyllabic words and grunts-Never NEVER do the girly excitement voice to a guy unless you have been dating them for at least a month. Then it is endearing). I knew all the sports scores because I had to watch ESPN Sportscenter every morning with my brothers as we got ready for school. I knew how to talk sports (esp. college football) because if I didn't then no one would talk to me in the fall.

Worst of all, being around my brothers (who are younger) and caring what they thought (they really were my best friends), made me not want to make them notice the stuff that made them say, "EWWWWW."

What made them say, "EWWWWW" or openly mock me:
-Acting like I liked boys
-Makeup
-hair products
-dresses that had a hemline above the knee
-tank tops
-lots of pink

As you can see these are things that normal teenage girls get into...and I did not. I always liked them from a far but mocked them with the guys I hung out with. I told them that it seemed silly to me...as did a lot of things that teenagers did (drinking, smoking, disobeying your parents) and I wouldn't do them.

I would put on a little make up at school after my mom dropped us off. Not because my mom didn't allow it...so my brothers wouldn't make comments. My mom would beg me to wear more make up for dances and recitals, would try to get me girly dresses and jewelry. The damage was done. Those things were "too girly" and I was not going to be a girly girl, a princess, a diva. I didn't want them bedazzeled on my clothes and I didn't want to be called that.

I still don't. But slowly and surely, I have liked how different make up makes me look better (SHOCK!). I like playing with the colors and styles. I also have a minor obsession with obtaining the perfect-shampoo-commercial hair. Of course, I did this in my own nerdy way: Do research, experiment, analyze, and perfect.

You might be saying to yourself, "Alex, what's the point?" Well the point is that even though I was a tomboy, I have been accepted to write on the online magazine Blissfully Domestic. I will be mainly writing beauty pieces. So in the upcoming months, I will be picking your brains about what products you like, what issues I should explore, and what treatments you want to see an ex-tomboy try out. Because I will be doing this like I do everything else: research (read what the experts say), experiment (flub my klutzy ass through beauty procedures), analyze (criticize myself), and write (about my imperfect mess of a life trying to not be a tomboy).

So come check me out next week, when I start writing over there once a week. Wish me luck...this is more nerve wracking that guest blogging for McMommy.

This is the Song that Never Ends

I can't help myself. This song won't get out of my head.
And Yes, they do look a little like skeezy old men. Except Joey, I Puffy Heart Joey.

So, I'm curious what song is in your head right now? What song can you not get out of your head once you hear it?

Bumps, Lumps and Goiters***UPDATED***

So I have the pox.


Well, I'm not sure what I have really. But I have a series of bumps and lumps on the back of my head and neck. Here is what WebMD says I have:

acne
cysts
scoleraderma
alopecia (HAIR FALLS OUT-ACK, no thank you!)
shingles
THE POX-see video
or THE CANCER

Personally, I think I caught McMommy's Goiter when I was guest blogging over there...that's right her goiter has jumped ship and come to live on me...and make babies...on my hairline.

So besides feeling dead sexy, thinking I have caught the pox and might not be able to go on my treasured girl's weekend...I'm fine...how are you?

Go to 6:01

UPDATE: Went to the doctor...he was confused and confusing.
He thinks it is folliculitis but then said something about a staph infection that sounded not fun. So I'm off to read up about it more.
He also said it maybe the early signs of Shingles. That is right, I might be 86 years old! Bring on the Sizzlers and the Shingles, baby. The Sizzlers and the Shingles sounds like a geriatric gang war.

Maleless and Buffalo Betty

If any of you stalk my comments (and let's face it why would you that is my job!), you would have noticed a frequent commenter and non-blogger, Buffalo Betty.


This is Me and B.Betty in sophomore year, last year in DC, and at my graduation

Buffalo Betty is someone that must be talked about, praised, and revered.

The Story of Buffalo Betty
Buffalo Betty was the coolest girl on my freshman hall.
We all thought so.
She was the most outlandish, the most fun, the most silly
(well, I might have competed with the silly...I did run around the hall with an eater bunny costume more than necessary)
She is called Buffalo Betty because she decided the answer to "what is your major/what do you want to do with your life?" Warranted the answer, "Wildlife Psychologist...I'm going to commune with the Buffalo." And no her name is not Betty.
Buffalo Betty and I roomed together for one glorious year in sophomore year and then she left for cheaper, warmer pastures at University of Florida (Stupid Gators).

Despite distance and time, we have been great friends since. As has most of our freshman hall (well most of them anyway). We were a small hall (22 girls?) and the majority of us (12) still keep in contact.


This is us at orientation week (o-week for those in the know) competition

And this is our first football game! Notice Buffalo Betty in the center as always!
The reason may be because of Maleless:

The Story of Maleless
Maleless is a retreat that us girls formed in spring of our freshman year because we were all (for the most part) without boyfriends or just ticked at them and wanted to get away. Those who did have males in their lives complained that they didn't have Mail in their boxes...so they qualified for the retreat. We congregated at one girl's local house (Natalie Bebop's--no, not her real name either...I'm big on the nicknames), drank lots of liquor (they did, I didn't drink at the time...but I poured with a heavy hand), and talked about...well...boys. And we've gone back every year. Some years Maleless if forfeited for everyone to attend one of the girl's weddings, but it has been a great tool to see everyone. There is drinking, eating, swimming, skiing, drinking, eating, game playing, talking talking talking talking and drinking. It is a good time.

This is Me and Meep (another nickname) and a bunch of the girls from my wedding
Maleless is coming up this next weekend. And I can barely contain my excitement.

A sidenote: Look through the pictures...do you notice anything? Oh yeah, me rocking the jean jacket. No these pictures were not taken all at one time...I have loved, Love, and will continue to love my jean jacket. An Ode to Jean Jacket forthcoming.

The Magic of a Hair Cut

I'm back! Not that I left anywhere but a recuperative nap was needed after the exhaustive trek to Mommyville and back. Don't let the primary colors fool you, people, it is no scenic hike.

After returning from the estate of McMommy, your beloved Roaming Southerner noticed she was getting a little scraggly. Okay that was my first time to speak and third person...not sure if I like it. Sure McMommy can do it, she's Mcmommy. The Pioneer Woman often does...but I'm not sure I'm of the talk-in-third-person-caliber yet. I am of the hyphenate-it-while-you-got-it caliber.

But back to the scrags. I'll admit it. I have been letting my hair get to a pitiful state before getting it cut and colored....why? Cause it makes the not cheap cut and color seem more worthwhile, more dramatic and it stretches my hard earned hair budget dollar.

You wanna see a before and after? Do ya? Do ya? (okay I've been talking to my dog, Penny, too much lately...Can you tell? Can ya? Can ya?)... Okay on to Show and Tell.


Me Yesterday @ 4:00. Notice the faded color scrag.


Me This Morning @ 7:55. (Before work, Curtis). A few inches off, darker color, fewer layers. I like it! KW says it looks professional. I told him that no wife wants to be told by her "man" that she looks professional...she wants to be told she looks hot...he asked what if he meant professional-lady-of-the-night. I said, "no good, I don't want to be hooker either...try again next time!"

But I do see what he means...it is a cleaner look, I don't have the curled ends which give me the permanent bed head tousled look because I don't have 2 hours to devote to quality time with my straightener. The scrag I suspect was from my deep desire to have curly hair and my stick straight hair could only give me scrag....sad.

Well, in case you didn't notice the dress I'm wearing...I'll just stand up and let you take a better look at it.

This is my graduation dress. KW picked it out when I was graduating from MPA program. My mom hated it (which made me love it). I thought it was hilarious to be getting my graduate degree while looking like Donna Reed. FYI. I had gotten married 2 days before the start of my program, everyone in my program was single and thought I was crazy to get married so young, and made it very known that they thought I was some sort of conservative freak...this dress said it all to me.

Sorry for the long post about nothing. So what do you think of the hair? Is it time to go blond again? BLOND? Yes, that is right dear readers for many many moons I was a spunky blond: Me, Freshman Year in College.
well for this month anyways, I'm sticking with the brown.

I'm off to a wedding with the in-laws tomorrow (hence the reason for the hair makeover). I'm going to try and post something early early tomorrow and participate in POW, so I don't have to leave you alone for too long, dear blog of mine.

Diet update: Good: on Points, Bad: on Working Out, Sweaty: No working out but Michigan is finally starting to get warm...almost sweat worthy.

6 Reasons I Hate being a Non-Mom

YEA! Today I am guest blogging at McMommy's. Head over and see if I was able to rise above my pressure.

Because of my added pressure, I had KW read over my post for McMommy before I published it. He thought I was going in two directions and "encouraged" me to divide and conquer. Here is the left over of my old post. Please let me know what you think:

6 Things I Hate about being a Non-mom
6. No Distractions: Having a bad hair day? You moms deflect the eyes to bright eyes and chub cheeks of your little one. Made a bad joke or put your foot in your mouth? You scream, "Show them your newest trick, Toddler Tony!" I also can't get out of social obligations or conversations with a simple, "Oops Jumping Janey needs me...Toots!"
5. All the food in the apartment is mine to consume: There is no one around to eat the Halloween candy/cake/leftover junk. Your kid is disposal for junk food. You should use it to your advantage!
4. I’m the only one that throws tantrums in my house: And those tantrums are little more silly/ridiculous when there is no toddler's irrationality to compare it to.
3. Not being able to stop a man dead in his tracks with my boobs: Size As are not good at snaring a man's attention, but start breast feeding in public and everyone is checking you out! WOOT!
2. No one asks me WHY enough?: Why am I brushing my hair? No one cares. Why do I have to pay bills? Yawn. Why are we at the doctors again? No one notices. Why can't we eat ice cream at 8am? Oh, wait, I can.
1. Too many hours in the day/week available for non-sobriety: You moms can really only drink after you put the little ones down and most likely you or your spouse has to stay reasonably sober in case of emergencies. Sadly, not us, we can drink at 3pm. Both of us. As long as we're not driving. And we are encouraged to and sometimes expected to...that is a lot of extra calories and weight watcher points used.

Yeah, Go ahead and pity me.

The Pressure

Okay, so I am guest blogging at McMommy's tomorrow, while she channels Donna Reed to host her in laws (at her house for a 5 days...she is brave...maybe not military-in-Afghanistan-brave but definitely around the stick-your-hand-in-the-dark-sewer-hole kind of brave...you know, like when your dad would go and fetch the 18 balls that would roll down the street drain-so brave).

I am nervous about this blogging adventure...I'm also flattered and stunned that someone would trust THEIR blog to ME?!?! Wow, I mean I try to be mildly entertaining and funny on my blog for my three loyal lovely readers, but if I screw up here...I know you three aren't going anywhere. I know where you live!!!

No, seriously, my fragile blog-ego is easily crushed if I don't have comments and high tracker ratings. I try to be cool and just say, "oh whatever I don't do this blog for other people!" WHATEVER! I totally do it to connect with other people. If I wanted to do something just for me I would eat a big bowl of warm Rice Krispie treats and read another book...okay, I do that anyways.

So here is the pressure: WHAT IF MY POST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR MCMOMMY'S HIGH STANDARDS!?!? I don't think I can pad it with silly graphics or pictures of my toes like I would over here....I have to actually write cohesive thoughts otherwise McMommy might disown me. And I don't think I can handle that.

THE PRESSURE!!!!!!

No ::soothing breath:: I'll just have to suck it up and write it...and write it well damnit. Wish me luck.

Checking in 06.02.08
The Good: Didn't eat everything in front of me this weekend and ate a LOT of fruits and veggies. Went to my favorite restaurant up here, Cracker Barrel (the closest thing I can get to southern food), and didn't eat anything. I knew that even the green beans were going to be more points than I could handle and eating one thing would lead to the delicious corn bread and biscuits and that would be the end of me).
The Bad: I dipped into my flex points big time with my booze consumption. Stupid Margaritas! Why are you so delicious?
The Sweaty: I have started walking to home at lunch instead of driving (about a mile and a half each way). Yeah it is sweaty and not fun but that is some base movement throughout the day.

He Got What He Asked For: I'm a Brat

Less like this...

Oh I hate those dolls, don't even get me started

More like this...


There are times when I like to be contrary and a pain and fight and whine. And those times mostly involve my husband. He puts up with a LOT of crap from me, but that is what he asked for...(when we were dating we used to say to each other, "Am I frustrating you?!?!" and the other would respond "Yes, but I love when you frustrate me.")

Lately, we have been fighting about a lot of stupid stuff and some not as stupid. He's been picking fights (leading to me ask "When are you starting his period, Nancy?"--okay I didn't say that but I wanted to: see, I'm a BRAT!), I have been picking fights. But rest assured that these have been smaller tifts that we end up trying to make the other laugh out of. That has been the key: make the other one laugh out of the argument esp. when it is stupid. But through the whole thing, I kept thinking what causes us to pick the fights in the first place, and I came up with some theories:
Why K-dubs Picks Fights: 1.) Because he feels that I am not respecting what he wants or his decisions (ie. to be anti-social). 2.) Because he feels misunderstood
Why I Pick Fights: 1.) Because I can't get my point across to a distracted husband. 2.) Because I want a reaction from him.

Both reasonings are stupid, but it is our way to get each others attention when we feel we are being ignored for work, friends, or Top Chef. I just try to get him out of his work-aholic (in the best way, of course), introvert shell and he just tries to get me to focus on him (when he gets the time to).

After realizing this, I don't feel so bad about our fights. Our fights aren't awful name calling stuff (well, I do drop an F-bomb or two or ten which drives him crazy), and we end up fighting while holding hands or me sitting on him (I like to get in his face (in a nice way) to get his attention). I don't love fighting with him, but to paraphrase from Dermot Mulroney in the Wedding Date:
I'd rather fight with him than make nice with anyone else.

or what I say to him all the time:
You drive me crazy, but I enjoy the ride

But this is what the man gets when he proposed with: Will you frustrate me for the rest of my life? Yes....yes, I will. Yes, I do, and no I will not stop.

Why ask Why?

Amanda, CEO of Beans & Co., asked why I visit the mom blogs....
That is a very good question with a 3 pronged answer (as many things in life are 3 prongs):

1.) In reading your blogs, I hope I am less shocked by the things that will come my way as a mom. I do not think it will make me a smarter mom, hopefully just a little less frightened and a little less alone in the drama.

2.) I enjoy learning about people's lives and the way they do things. Knowing more options in child-rearing, marriage, birthing, etc. than what I was exposed to growing up, will only make my decision process better. Also, I truly love having "blog friends," and knowing your kids is knowing you. Plus, kids pictures make me smile...and we all need that in a work day. I do hope I get to meet some of you one day. There should be a tour of "Freak Alex Out: she babysits, we laugh" Tour. I get to meet you guys, you get free babysitting.

3.) It is just funny.

Carnies, Cabbage, and Babies

Are things that frighten me.
No, I am not one of those people who do not want babies cause they are "icky."

I want 'em despite their ickiness, but they are scary.

Because many of you (ahem, MCMOMMY!) are helping me cultivate that fear with your list of SCARY CRAP THAT BABIES DO AND PRODUCE, you are forcing me to show my hand and explain myself...so I don't seem like a nut.

There are three reasons that having a baby frightens the bejesus out of me:
1.) Having the baby: Pregnancy seemed beautiful and natural before I read some of the mom blogs...now it seems scary and gross (pooping in front of people?!?!?! Come on they should teach that to teenagers in sex-ed...that will scare them into abstinence).
2.)The things babies do. You know, the usual...projectile poop, say the darndest things, take your brain cells...the usual. I know I will come to love and laugh at all of these things in time, but to be honest it is not appealing without the good parts of the baby staring at you too reminding you it is worth it.
3.) The things that could happen to babies. I do not want to screw up my kids...now I'm not talking mentally (cause that is just going to happen)...I mean physically. I constantly start doing the what-ifs about what could happen to a kid...(I have tried to write them down, but they are not fun...so I refuse). They just freak me out cause it is such a. HUGE. RESPONSE. ABILITY! (I'm not a quick responder and I'm not sure I have the ability to cope.)

Look, I know that everything is in Gods plan, so #3 is really out of my hands...but that does not stop me from fretting. The other two on my list...they make me go like this:


Happy Friday!
------------------------------------------
Checking in: 05.29.08
The good: stayed so good on my points that I had some left over for wine
The bad: drank more wine than I was supposed to and ate a Slim-a-bear Klondike Bar. I know you are thinking, so what? well I only had some Flex points for it and figured might as well eat it now when I have some points than later when I might not: good logic, Alex.
The sweaty: Did the unthinkable: Got in a bathing suit and went swimming. Yup, scary. But I got some extra points for some extra wine and had fun with the KW.
Weighed in this morning (my scale is not digital so there are some fudging until I can get one): It looks like I lost around 3 lbs.

Less Than Wordless Wednesday

click for enlarged picture

People and Places

What is a girl to do with a camera around? TAKE PICTURES:

Here are some pictures of my peeps celebrating (Trying, I don't know if celebrating is the right term...please don't yell at me!) Memorial Day.


Mers, our hostess. She thinks she looks pissy, but I think she looks normal...what does that say? (She is my nearest: works, lives, and plays with me, so we treat each other like that, okay?)

(JCPF, a great friend, who hates his picture being taken...since I just did his engagement pictures, he is not terribly amused).

The Cita, JCPF's fiance....playing a board game next to me.

The Cita Bling

My main man...studly as usual.

These I took at the office. Why? oh, I'm so glad you asked?!?! Because I wanted to figure out the timer and I final cleaned my desk...yes that is clean, shut up.
Me, working hard for my money (unh-uh, uhn-uh)

Showing my love/addiction for the nectar of the gods.

Checking in-05.27.08
The Good-Stayed within my points while eating out (Breakfast at a cafe, Sushi for dinner and coldstone for dessert)
The Bad-skated on thin ice for those points.
The Sweaty-played with Wii Fit a bit with K-Ree and Tom but spent most of my time building KW's Mii. He is so cute even in digital form! (stupid Wii told me I have gained weight--but that was after Coldstone-Fatfree sweat cream and 1 oreo-4 pts.)

Changing: Growing Up or Will Power

Disclaimer: I'm going to get all "thinky" on you right now. So if you want a light, fun post (okay all my posts are light and fun but this is not trying to be!), go down to my SATC discussion.

I got to thinking this morning (I know, I don't usually do that without several cups of caffeine but I had to get up extra early for KW's new internship that started today...so I had to fill the time somehow). I started thinking about my personality and how it has changed over the years.

As a teenager, my main ambition in life was to blend in the walls, mainly because I was scared of doing something wrong. But how I wanted to be effortlessly cool and fun. To think, "I don't care if you don't like what I am doing" not the goth-angsty way...the fun, breezy, laugh-out-loud way. I wanted to have a lot of friends and have a full social calendar, but I was crippled by social fear. Maybe I was an extrovert trapped in an introvert's body.

When I got to college (the first night to be exact), I decided I was not going to be scared anymore. I have probably wrote about this before or talked about it in person-it was kinda a big deal for me. I jumped in literally (to a singing circle at a karaoke night-dancing like a fool). I have not really looked back.

I think most people would consider me pretty outgoing...I'm definitely silly. And I generally do not care if I make a fool of myself.

But here is the question: Did I decide to change myself to a different person or did I just grow up to become the person I was inside?

I have changed from a tom boy to a preppy girl in the past 7-8 years (i think that was a decision-type of change)AND I have become more easy going (I think that is growing up and living with KW).

But if I wanted to become a more jovial, happy-go-lucky person, could I decide to be more like that and just be that way (instead of my sarcastic humor ridden self) or would I look like a person acting like someone else? In an effort to "fake-it-till-you-make-it," would I look like Karen Walker's sarcastic-uppers-induced happy?

In a sense, I think I could, esp. if I was moving again. When I move, I always end up "tweaking" myself. Whether it is taking what I learned at my previous location and changing it to the new (ie. when I moved from DC and started dressing nicer) or making a decision to be someone new (ie. going to college and deciding to be more outgoing).

Does anyone else do this? Is it just me? Do you think I could change myself in the middle of being somewhere? I wonder if I will revert to my old self if I ever move back home?

Food for Thought...yum.

Plans for Sex and the City

My gal, McMommy, is talking about her plans for seeing the Sex and the City movie with the help of the awesomeness that is The Preppy Princess.

What are you planning?

My girl, KRee, and I are watching back issues of Sex and the City and then going with a bunch of our girls (and maybe some guys) to see the movie the first week of June.

My question to you? Should we dress up, ala McMommy?
And if so, who should I be...who would you be?

Checking In

So, How was this weekend so far?:

The Good: I have re embraced Weight Watchers and found some good low-points, tasty food:
1.) Egg white sandwich: 2 egg whites, 1 slice of lite wheat bread (grilled on a griddle with a tish of margarine)=.5 pts
2.) Veggie Wrap: Whole Wheat Tortilla, 1 slice of lite cheddar cheese, 2 tbs. of hummus, lots of onions, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, and some spritz of balsamic dressing=4 pts. For extra flavor and less points: sautee the onions and mushrooms and spinach and heat the tortilla w. cheese (which allows you to forgo the hummus)=2 pts.

The Bad: Ate a tasty sandwich at Hardees with yummy yummy fries. I seem to be eating bad but have been trying to make it up with the low point snacks and working out more.

The Sweaty: I had to do a lot of walking both Saturday and Sunday (2-3 hours) and have played tennis with Ken (btw. we play low-impact and very bad).

How is your memorial weekend shaping up?

Challenge Extended

Okay, so I noticed a lot of y'all are saying, "wow I should do this too!" Well, how about I challenge you to do it with me.

Now I'm not saying you need to Weight Watchers, but I challenge you to get your little weight loss ticker to your blog and report every day how you did. Now, do not fret your pretty heads, this is not turning into a weight loss blog. I would bore myself with that.

What I am going to do is at the end of the day's post is to put 1 good thing I did for myself the past day (this could be drinking my 8-8oz of water, eating all my veggie allotments, etc.), the bad that I did succumb to (this will help me track patterns-hello, french fries), and the exercise I did (even the minutiae).

If you don't want to do weight watchers with the points (even the online tracker is cheaper than the full-go-into-meeting thing), I have found that if I drink 8-8oz of water, 4 veggies and 4 fruits in the day...I naturally eat a LOT less bad stuff. I don't have the stomach room for it.

Amber, does a weekly boot camp roundup at her blog. This will be just you and your blog. Letting us know that we have someone losing it with us. If you try it and you fail, no worries. At least you tried (that is one more day, meal, week, that you ate better). If you try for awhile, mess up, and do it again...even better.

I would love to have you all rolling through these punches together, share some fun stories about food arch-nemeses and foibles (why, cause it means we are not alone and not "losers for not losing"), and have y'all keep me accountable.

So let me know if you're willing to give it a try.

********05/22/08**********
The Good: I started it, I committed myself
The Bad: I ate a LOT of pizza and drank a LOT of beer (both at the office party and with my friend, KRee.
The Sweaty: KRee let me use her WiiFit before the pizza and beer...so this is one more tool to getting fit and keeping accountable. It was actually fun and not as worthless as I thought it would be...and my abs HURT!

The Decision Has Been Made

What decision you may ask?

TO LOSE MY BELOVED CHUNKY BUTT!

I did Weight Watchers and martial arts last summer and lost about 15 pounds. But I've gained it back, yea me!

I want to lose that back and more. However, I can not really afford to waste it.
So here is what I am doing:

1.) Use Weight Watchers online tools
2.) Use my handy weight lose ticker in side bar as meeting weigh-ins. This will be my accountability
3.) Sign up for kickboxing (which I really want to do but it is $$) after I show some dedication to my diet and other excersice (one month of being on WW and going to the gym 4 times a week or 10 lbs., whichever comes first).

The reasons I am kicking this into high gear are two fold:
1.) I'm feeling not so attractive which really effects everything I do (I don't feel cute in clothes, I'm not as chipper, and I have zippo energy)
2.) I want to be a good weight/in shape when I get pregnant. I feel if I prepare myself for pregnancy now, it will be better for my body and my baby later.

So, Watch Alex Shrink and Watch that Bug Move!

Things I Want My Daughter To Know #1: love

For this first post, on a series that I alluded to last week...okay, two weeks ago...I'm a bad blogger :commence with the slaps across the wrist, Sister Mary Clarence: ($1* to anyone who can tell me what movie that name is from!).

Focus, Alex, back to the reason for posting: what do you want to tell your daughter! Oh yeah, so I thought long and hard (yes, that is why it has taken me 2 weeks to post the first follow up to this series, I swear!), and I thought of one of the most memorable lessons my mom has taught me: Love.

Now I will go on at some point about how my mom taught me and my 2 younger brothers the importance of family love, parental love, and love for our community...but I distinctly remember my mom's first lesson on amorous love.

I was in 4th grade and was "dating" Scott Martin, who I found out in college (by a girl who I went to college with who went to high school with him) that he is gay-needless to say I know how to pick 'em. But Scott Martin was smart and funny in my 9 year old eyes, and we wrote frequent notes to each other back and forth throughout our time together. In one note my mom found in a pocket somewhere, Scott professed his love for me and evidently I had written back that I loved him too (on the same page-we were ecologically minded at a young age).

My mom was VERY UPSET. She told me that I shouldn't say I Love You to just anyone. Loving someone means something. She gave me this test to know whether I should say I love you to someone: Do you care about them as much as or MORE than your brothers. Now, she found my weak spot. I, being the oldest sister and mini-mom, loved my brothers like something crazy. I made up my mind then that I would only say I love you to my husband.

From then on, friends would casually say "I LOVE YOU" and I would casually deflect it. Even though it was not the same amorous love I didn't want my friends thinking that I loved them on the same level as my future husband. When I dated, I kept things casual (after hitting the 5 month mark, they usually fizzled by either time, distance (i was a fan of the long distance relationship), or lack of drama). I never got close to saying I love you. The few guys I came close to loving I never dated, they remained friends that I cared and still care a great deal about...almost like a brother.

While not saying I LOVE YOU did not keep me 100% innocent and pure...it kept a certain level of distance in my relationships. I am and was the type of girl that plays all or nothing. I'm not sure if I would express the severity of the love spectrum that my mom did, but I do think she gave me an invaluable lesson on what true love means at the most basic levels and how to tell it from lust or fancy or infatuation.

And yes, when I said I LOVE YOU for the first time, it was to my future husband. But, him being the love-happy-jump-the-gun type of guy he was, he said it very quickly in our relationship and I did not say it back immediately. He almost broke up with me (I found out later) because I waited so long to say it. But I said it and haven't stopped saying it with every breath of my body since.

Do you have any lessons of love? If you do and would like to post about what you want to teach your children about love (amorous, filial, paternal (some other Latin base phrase) or how you fell in love (first last or greatest), please link it up here (this is an informal linky...maybe I should formalize it with a graphic...what do you think?

*$1 of my love and devotion!

I'm a semi-finalist

So, over at Confessions of an Apron Queen, I am a finalist for her slogan contest about aprons...

Of course, mine was the risque one!

Click over to check it out!

This picture on her site was my inspiration!
Go and vote for me!
Although it is not probably in the spirit of the Apron Queen who would probably want this to be more organic...
because sending all three of my loyal readers would really tip the scales.
So, just go guess which one is mine!

Make Me Laugh Monday-Baby Fight Club

For all my mom bloggers out there...you don't know what happens when you go out for a girls night, do you? Why, cause the first rule of fight club....


For more good laughs head over to Absolutely Bananas:

Oh Yeah

I wasn't a fan before, but I might be now!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24664786#24664786

The Full Story

As way of background, I have many hats (theoretical and non) at the school. One of my "fun" jobs is posting pictures on the school bulletin board every two weeks. These usually are the pictures I have shot at the many different school functions I attend. It seems like a fun job, but it is a lot of editing, sorting, printing, cutting and pasting. But the students seem to enjoy it, so I do as well.

However, every so often, some student will take it upon themselves to take down a picture or deface a picture. This irks me to no end. I spend my time putting it up there, and they have the nerve to take it down without telling me. This bothers me for two reasons:
1.) I put the time in to do it...respect my work
2.) When they mess with it (even taking it down), it makes my work look bad (see: respect my work).

I know to you law students, this is a stupid job that you can just treat as if it is sweeping the floor but to me it is not.

Evidence of this treatment:

Last night, I took down the old board, which had the exam schedule on it. I took it down because graduation is Saturday and I did a 3L retrospective. Figuring most people would know when and where their last exam was, I did not think much of taking the schedule down (it usually is not put there to begin with...I was filling up space, to be honest and thought it would be nice).

I walked in this morning and noticed that someone had scribbled: WHERE IS OUR EXAM SCHEDULE?


Why they wrote that down on the board is beyond me?
Are they 2 years old and do not know the difference between paper on the wall and paper in their hand?
Are they a moron who doesn't know the difference between asking someone and asking a piece of paper?
Did they expect the wall to give them an answer or the exam schedule back? This is not Hogwarts, people. Inanimate objects do not have the ability to help you here.
Or is the likely case, that they are immature, lazy, and disrespectful? (I think we have a winner, Bob)

I was so irate (mainly, because I just got some good news-more about that later, was running to tell KW in the library, and saw this...talk about a crash). I immediately envisioned administering a Charlie's Angel butt-whooping to the culprit. My 4 in. heel would pin the idiot's trachea to my board...that would make me feel vindicated for the extra hour of work I would have to redo. I was so angry that I vented to...well...a lot of people. But my office soul mate understood my heel-inflicted-pain-plan, and made me this to put up on the board:
That is a shoe in the throat, fyi. Isn't she awesome, btw?

Some people thought it was crazy...I thought it crazy funny.
I did not put it on the board, instead I wrote an email to the students dripping with southern sarcasm. The final line read:

Thank you for continuing to treat the law school and the work of others with respect.

I think my mom would be proud.

Due To The Serious Lack of Comments

Due to the serious lack of comments coming forth lately, I have decided not to post! Just Kidding, between getting KW done with finals, trying to get stuff at work ironed out, and planning things for the summer...I just haven't had anything really inspirational or hilarious to right about on the blog this week...until now...stay tuned!

How to Spot a Non-Mom Blog

As some of you know, I go on the hunt for blogs. It is part of my search for GREAT BLOGS OF THE UNIVERSE. Yeah, I know I need to post a new segment of my searches, but my searches have been so much fun that I haven't had time to organize them. I'm being swamped in the mire of all the good (and sometimes weird) blogginess. Maybe, I should do another section of WEIRD BLOGS OF THE UNIVERSE, but I like to laugh at other peoples follies (ala. Elizabeth Bennett) so I might end up laughing at someone instead of with...so I'll stay away from that for now.

Anyways, I thought I would pass on a trick of the blog search trade: How to spot a Non-Mom Blog.

Now some of you guys are thinking this is obvious...does the blog have odes to Minivans, scanned crayon drawings, and a jam-flavored-stickiness on the screen? Then it is a mom blog. But you are wrong: some clever minxes don't wear their mom-ness on their blog sleeve. Or, gasp, they have a non-mom blog and a mom blog elsewhere. So here are some tricks to deciphering a non-mom blog:
1.) Are their pictures of kids in the header or pleas for sanity masking as slogans? Then your at a mom blog.
2.) Do they have a glossary of their kids names in a side bar? Some mombloggers are great at keeping their kids identity safe and give them fake names to hide them from those "to catch a predator" stalkers. Mom Blog.
3.) Can you scroll down more than 3 posts without a picture of a kid? Not a mom blog!

DISCLAIMER! You are probably asking your self: "Self, why is Alex so concerned with this?" or "Self, does Alex not like Mom blogs as much as non-mom blogs?" First, I am concerned because I don't want to forward blogs that are those strict "to connect my family with my kids" blogs out for the world to love. Secondly, I love mom blogs and learn so much from them. Sometimes, though, when I am going through the "I WANT A BABY MODE" it is best to stay clear of mom blogs so my uterus does not feel inferior. Ultimately, this classification system helps me categorize my blog searches in two ways: 1.) Can I learn for my future Mom-i-tude? 2.) Can I relate to this person in a "we don't have kids yet" way?

So, put these rules in your trusty fanny pack next time you go out searching for great blogs...and let me know any of your tricks when searching blogs?
(shhhh, I'll give you one of my secrets...I use my blog-regular's blogroll to start my search).

Lord Knows Why #2: Daughters

Lord knows why I keep thinking about this, but I do know why I started thinking about it: what do I want to teach my daughter as she grows up (if I ever have one).

When I was 15 or so, I saw that a mother who was dying of cancer video tapped herself recording life lessons for her 2 year old daughter. I thought that was a great idea. And thought if something like that would happen to me I would record several tapings to be aired when my daughter was an appropriate age....bras at 12, shaving at 13, boys at 14, etc. (btw. can you tell I have no idea what age does what?)

yes, yes, I know that is morbid, but I am a boy scout in many ways: Always Prepared. Not in the perfectionist-Bre Van DeKamp/Hodges way, just wanting to be emotionally ready for what life throws at me so it won't be as hard (yeah, you can tell I've had it easy so far).

Since 15, I would think about this a lot...and ponder what things I want to tell my daughter to do or not to do or what I did or wished I did when she gets older. And let me tell you, it has helped me make some decisions when peer pressure came calling. Not to say I was an angel, but I always wanted to tell my daughter that I was able to wait till I was 21 till I drank, so she can too. That picking at your zits will make your face worse. That you can always say your sorry but you can never really take it back.

A lot of this really just means, in my head, what are the things that I hope that my daughter (or son) learn from me. What can I tell them? Whether they take this information and use it is up to them...I just hope that they can learn from it.

My own mom was great at this. She loved talking to me about everything. We talked about sex at a young age and throughout my life (she was a big advocate of not making it a mystery...there are a lot of stories on that one...remind me to tell you later). She taught me the importance of saying I love you to the right people and meaning it. How to be a good friend. How to be sweet and strong and creative and different and loving. These are things that I want to be able to share with my kids. I am not going to fluffy coat things and say my mom and I were always best pals. We fought like cats 90% of the time from age 13-20. But she never stopped teaching me what was what. And I would like to think I helped her figure out things from a different perspective too. We still have our cat moments, but they are fewer between (thank Gawd!), and I hope with all my heart that we continue on the path of being great friends.

So on today, Mother's Day, I am contemplating starting a series of posts about "What I want to teach my kids." If nothing else, it puts it down on "paper" so I can look back and remember all the ideas I had...and your thoughts about them too. What do you want teach your kids? Or what did you teach them? Or wish you did?

I'll leave you today with a pic of me and my mom from my friends wedding this past Thanksgiving. She's pretty neat, huh?

Maybe I'll do a post tomorrow....extolling all the cool things about my mom, so you Internet peeps can start to get how cool she really is.

McParty Over Here (hey)...McParty Over There (ho!)

So McMommy is celebrating the day of her birth, and I am celebrating with her. I am so excited to celebrate...of course, it doesn't hurt that she let me design some of her graphics!

Right now she is asking for recipes for the digital party!

So here are two of my favorite appetizers that are so easy and yummy!


This is my mom's classic Pillsbury-Crescent-Roll-Pizza-circa-1990.
I know it is not terribly fancy or chic, but I did not put on my fancy pants today.

Here is my take on the recipe

2 pkgs. crescent dinner rolls
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese
2/3 c. horseradish sauce (some use mayo...I like the kick)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper
Chopped and Shredded veggies: like mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes and onions, desired amount of each
Press crescent rolls onto pizza pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees until brown. Let cool. Mix next 5 ingredients together. Spread on cooled crust then sprinkle shredded vegetables as desired. Cool for 2 minutes, cut and serve.

Here is the other


Pepper Jelly/Cream Cheese dip

Get ready people...it is tough to do.

Unwrap cream cheese package
pour jar of pepper jelly (green or red or both for Christmas) over cream cheese
Dip with Club crackers....

ooooh so yummy.

So grab some food and head over to McMommy's party...
oh and vote for my shoes at the party!

Lord Knows Why #1: Supposed To

I figured I would start a new series of posts called: Lord Knows Why (I do the things I do). These will be my opportunity for me to explain some nuances and quirks about myself...and boy, do I have them.

The first "Lord Knows Why" is about my hatred of the phrase: supposed to.

Meaning: "Aren't you supposed to be going to class?" "Aren't you supposed to be wearing a dress?" "Why aren't you doing THIS?" "Shouldn't you be doing THAT?"

I think I finally figured out why I dislike it. When someone says, Supposed To...they are really saying, "I thought you were going to do THIS, why aren't you?"

I hate A.) not living up to people's expectations and B.) doing what I'm told when I'm told how I'm told to do it.

I would never work in the military life, obviously.

For some reason this phrase just drives me crazy...I just feel bad about myself but worse...I react badly. I just want to bite the person's head off...and say, "YOU DON"T KNOW ME!" "YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Yup, that's right...I am a two year old.

*UPDATED: Even Lea acknowledges that blogs are used to blow things out of proportions in entertaining ways...I don't know if this was entertaining but at least I know it is blown out of proportions.

Saving Lives, being a Super Hero and Super Model

Yup, that's right...me, saving lives! Kinda reluctantly.

So the people at the Red Cross have found me again. I have gone into the platelet relocation program, but those Red Crossers can smell blood from miles away.

The full, true story:
I started my saga of donating blood when I was 18, but the story starts months before my first trip to the Red Cross. (actually, it started with my childhood love of Clara Barton, who was my inspiration for many a book, history, and science report).

During my senior year in high school I had some awful abdomen pains and the doctors could not figure out what it was...Appendicitis, NOPE; Stomach problems, no; bad tuna salad, neicht; Uterarian troubles, nada...they later explained it away that my ovary likes to "wig out" (his highly professional and expensive term-thank you 8 years of medical training!) when I ovulate. (TMI? sorry) Throughout this time I was subjected to a battery of tests (MRI, barium chugging, x-rays, lots and lots of poking with needles). This is when I first learned that I have thin willowy veins...my limbs and ass...no, my veins, yes. The nurse (who I found out later was very very new to the job) spent 18 times and 18 places trying to get my IV in...fun times! I looked like a druggie later. It took the senior nurse 3 times. So needless to say...it is not easy to get to my veins.

Well, this did not send me running to the Red Cross Blood Bank. However, when I was working on a political campaign, we hosted a blood drive with the Congressman. They asked all of us to give blood and pretty much said if I didn't I would contribute to our candidate losing. Being 20 and gullible...I became susceptible to peer pressure and Just Did It. It took the technician several times, but he got it out of me.

This was the beginning of the end. A few weeks later, the lovely ladies of the Red Cross hotline called to tell me that I have "a very rare blood type and the only type of blood available for baby transfusions...and don't you want to give more blood for the babies." Well, how could I say no to that?

I can't...I don't...Since then I give blood anywhere from 3-8 times a year or try to. When I was in DC, it was harder to get the blood bank...but the blood bank here found me and they want me...so I must go.

Now this is not to say that I don't love going...I do. The people are usually really nice, it doesn't hurt too much, you get to save a life or two, and you get free cookies (I have my priorities straight, people). I don't love having to get stuck three or four times while trying to coax out my Kate Moss-like veins.

The reason why I am going today...the lady from the blood bank called me this weekend and kept saying, "So, superhero, when are you coming in?"....ME! a Superhero! I could get used to that. Being nice and giving blood...sure those are good things...but being called superhero stroked my skittish-fragile-vein-ego.

Besides...this is a good time for me to plug the Red Cross. If you can give blood, you should. Even if you are scared, even if you think it is yucky or hurts...it makes you feel good and really does make a difference in the day to day operations of saving lives. Click here to learn more!



Oh, and the supermodel part...My hair has been supermodel-rific lately...Getting that Tyra inspired breeze through it as I walk around school. Mainly, I've been saying it to myself because I've put back on a few pounds since this fall and am trying to think thin while I work out. Yeah, let's see that work!