What you look like blogging

McMommy and Elaine wondered "what do you look like when you blog?"

Usually, I look like this: PJs and a glass of wine

Sometimes I look like this: 80's punk from my friends birthday party.

Here are some more excerpts:
me and a birthday girl
KW (dressed as Carlton from the Fresh Prince) and me.
For the most part, I look like this:

What do you look like when you blog?

Super Penny!!! ***and elaboration

Able to leap large picnic baskets at a time!!!

*Ah the power of iphoto booth and higher reasoning skills to finally get a half decent shot of my dog after 1.5 years.
I bested you, Penelope Anne!!! and your fear of photography!!!

***contrary to popular belief, Krystyn and McMommy, Penny L-O-V-E Loves wearing things. The complete opposite of all my other dogs who just stand there when you put an outfit or costume on them...judging you and hating themselves a little bit, Penny eagerly puts her paws out for sweaters or coats, loves the clothes that my mom sends her (because KW flatly refuses to buy nonsense of all types for her--and I feel weird dressing her for the most part). So when I break down and put on things that people send her, she runs straight to our mirrored wall and looks at herself and prances around the apartment with pretty ears on and shaking her tail:

Georgia Game Day Shirt



Party Dress from Grandma-worn for her dog-friend's birthday party.

I take this opportunity to say: I don't dress her up for no reason, nor would I throw a dog birthday party...but if someone is having a party for dogs and I have a dog party dress--why not.

Christmas with TRS...part 2

After the kick butt cookie competition

We headed to Greenville for Christmas eve and morning with the in-laws


Here is K-dubs and his two sisters Val and Bev opening presents in the morning...I believe those are nail finishing tools. Sidenote: My SILs are a lot of fun, very silly, and always crazy. It is why we get along.


Actually, that is why we all get along and are family. Yup, that is the entire K-dubs clan. When I told them to be silly this is what I got. Please notice the small one in the front. His definition of "be silly" is to stick his butt out at the camera.


And this is Kdubs and his brother/best friend doing a prom style portrait. I love watching them regress to 7 year old boys together.


This is just a pic of the 6 kids and yes, my husband is sure showing why he is HOT.

With all of the families coming in and the going back and forth, I think we "celebrated" Christmas 5 times, which is exhausting to say the least. But we did have a great time getting to see everyone.

Themed Thursdays

There are lots of blog theme days: Works-for-me-Wednesdays, Not Me Mondays, Wordless Wednesdays, etc.

I thought it was time to bring a little theme to my real life.

Really, I wanted to have a reason to be silly with my office friend.

So we came up with our first theme day very fortuitously:

Office Friend: So, my idea for our first theme day is a little out there.
TRS: Oh, so is mine...I'm a little afraid to say it.
OF: Fine, I'll say mine...Prom Wednesday...big hair and makeup with work appropriate clothes?
TRS: Oh my goodness...mine was Beauty Queen Wednesday...big hair, makeup and sashes over work appropriate clothes.
OF: This is why we are friends, what about Prom Queen Wednesday?!?

And this is the product:

My sash (that she made for me) says "Lil Miss Southern Belle" hers says "Lil Miss Academic Support (her department)

This is us both holding back our laughter

And No, I don't know why we are both doing that ridiculous face in all three pictures. For some reason it we both thought Beauty Queen with that face.

The best was one of her co-workers walks by her office and simply says, "Queen for a day, huh? good deal."

***Update to answer Krystyn's comment...for us, that is obnoxious hair and makeup...OF would say, "LOOK AT LIPS THAT IS CRAZY LIPSTICK." And we are both wearing VERY fancy earrings (which I never wear, ever!).

Christmas with TRS...part 1

So you put up your Christmas tree and took your Jingle Bells CD out of the player? Well put them back on, throw on an ugly Christmas sweater and sit down to hear about what Christmas looks like with a Roaming Southerner.

First and foremost it means heading back south.

Kdubs and I always take off as much time as possible for Christmas so we can split it with our families. They live just close enough (2 hours away) to visit on the same trip but just far enough (a state away) that it is obnoxious at times.

So after initial negotiations of whose family gets what day was put on hold while my mom went into the hospital (trust me, me and my brother both said, "Mom, if you wanted us to stay for Christmas Eve you didn't have to go to extreme measures."). Because K-Dubs' mother, Mrs. Dubs, claimed Christmas Eve, I had to move my traditional Christmas Eve plans with my family to the 23rd. And this is what we do:

My godmother, who is one of the best women I know, comes over with her family. They have done this since I was a baby to help me make cookies for Santa. 27 years later and only a few Christmases missed due to illness or an odd vacation on both sides parts. Now the festivities include my godmother (who we call She-that is a whole nother post), her son Ray,
her daughter Robin and Robin's husband, Tim and their two girls. Side note: if you want to know two of the most perfect girls on earth look no further to these two girls. I hope that my kids can be any where near as wonderful as them.
On to the festivities:

They include a cut throat cookie decorating competition:
This is Hope's cookie version of her, one of the Jonas brothers (I think the young one), and his body guard. Yeah, I'm not really sure why but she thinks it says Christmas because it is what she really wants: To hang out with Nick or whatever his name is.

I do my best work by cutting out cookie shapes and remaking them into something else. I made ballet shoes (for Emma, she is a ballet dancer) out of a deformed reindeer cutout.

This snail, I made from a defunct angel...the hat made it a Christmas Snail, duh

This is Emma's creepy jack in the box (she was a little sugar high when she made this).

And this was one of my favorites: a penguin wearing a hat and scarf that KW got me for Christmas. She was made from a cut out Hope made to be herself...it turned into a blog that looked like...well a penguin, in my opinion.

And this is my piece-du-resistance (no idea if that is french or correct)....My holly and berries that have dimension and texture...Martha, eat your heart out.
However, the judge: aka my dad. Did not think so.

He picked Robin's "Christmas appropriate tree.

Here is the winner gloating.

Robin and I have been battling this out since I was 6. And they let me win when I was a kid, but now, they say I can't win...it would be impolite. Even though mine is clearly better!!!!

I did what any good hostess does...I stomped and screamed and cried about the injustice happening upon me on a celebration of the Lord's birth...it was just not right...

And then the Chinese food came and I was happy again.

Chinese food: righting the injustices of the world since The Christmas Story.

Christmas Pics-They're a comin'

So, I am finally back in Michigan (have been for 2 weeks)
Back at work (have been for a week)
Not slammed at work (for the next 5 minutes)
and have my camera and camera cord in the same place (okay maybe that is the key!)

But pictures and stories of a Roaming Southerner Christmas is coming people...hold on to your britches.

*So I put this on Move Bug a few hours ago...and didn't realize that I misposted it until now...Oops! Way to be on top of things, TRS!

Point of it all

The beginning of the year has brought me to many realizations about my blog:

1.) I enjoy looking back at my year of blogging consecutively-I have blogged for a few years now but I usually let weeks/months lag between posts.

2.) I am STILL struggling with what is the POINT of this blog.

I am not a mom blog. I am not an angsty teen blog (okay, I'm angsty at times, I admit it).
I don't have cool obsessions like Happy Hour Sue. I can't take pictures of my dog every day like Dooce (stinking rescue dog and her fear of all things camera). I don't have the fashion prowess to talk about all things stylish like the Preppy Princess. I don't have the following or cash for magnificent giveaways like the Pioneer Woman.

3.) I am as lazy with my blog redesign as I am in real life. Wish I was better. I am like the interior decorator that lives in boxes and out dated styles. I love redesigning and organizing others lives but I can't carve out enough time to do my own.

4.) I am not a great writer but I am really going to work on that this year. The blog has helped so much, but writing is not my forte. My ADD-dyslexic-Tom-Cruise-crazy (okay not that crazy) mind just can NOT formulate beautiful sentences.

Here are some realizations that I have about life outside of blog land:
1.) I am scared to DEATH of moving again in 4.5 months

2.) I am petrified to leave the friends I have made and the job that I once loved and now tolerate.

3.) I live in a constant state of desire to have kids and a house of my own coupled with fear of what they mean: Do I want to be a suburban soccer mom? I can't take care of a 3 room apartment...how am I going to take care of a HOUSE!?! Can I really have and take care of kids, really?!?

4.) My crazy rat dog still makes me smile and laugh daily.

5.) I am really glad that I have not gained any weight during the holidays but I need to get with the getting on losing the last 10 lbs.

6.) This has probably been the best month of my entire marriage. I hope that I can continue saying that each month from now on. And know that when/if I can't, that this month will always be something that I look back on as the "best of times" to aspire to during the hard times.

Can I ask for some honest answers to this question? (this is evidently something I say a lot, according to K-dubs):
Any suggestions on what I should continue doing with the blog? Something else I should do that I don't? Anything?

Any body else going through craziness? I am sure I am the only one.

Santa: He Knows ME!!!

In case you guys didn't know, I'm kinda a big deal.

You know how I know?

Santa reads my blog.

Cause guess how many pairs of convertible gloves I got?



Four!!!!

Which (as Martha says) is a good thing, cause I was wearing out my cotton Gap ones like Woh.

Still feeling under the weather, chugging theraflu, but my wonderful admin asst. brought donuts today and was totally worth the splurge.

Update

Mom out of the hospital in time for Christmas Eve.
She is fine.

Christmas was crazy. Will write more later.

Finally back home in Michigan and my amazing internet access.

Very sick now.
Stinking adorable toddler niece and nephew and their germs.

Mom

I got a call this afternoon from my brother, Bo.
He said, "so mom is getting ready to go into surgery."

I had no idea what he was talking about. Our mom?

She said her back hurt when I talked to her yesterday...what happened, what is wrong, do I need to get home (all went through my head).

Bo had little info: He was called at midnight last night to come home because mom was going to the hospital for something with her leg (what!?! is it an aneurysm? OMG! she has a clot!)

He had no other info but said that middle brother, Chops, was on his way.

I called Chops and miraculously he answered his phone and said that mom was having a problem in her lady parts like a cyst (WHAT!?! Please tell me she isn't having an ovary taken out or worse a hysterectomy!?!?!)

He had no other info.

I was at work frantically calling and texting my dad.

He called and put my mom on, who was so out of it I didn't know what she was saying.

I panicked...she is delusional!!!!

Finally, dad got on the phone and said that she was drugged up for surgery. It is not life threatening as far as they know but very painful...it is some sort of abscess in her groin area that they will find and drain.

He then said, "i think."

Bo then called me saying, "She is out of surgery and they drained something and she is in recovery...we can't see her for awhile. They might keep her sometime."

I called Chops with no new info and finally I talked to Mom a minute ago. She is in her room for overnight. She does not remember our conversation before at all.

I am so happy she is okay, for what I know, but there are so many things going on in my head.

I HATE being so far away from my family in emergencies
All I want to do is take care of her
Boys are no good at details
but they are good at being calm under pressure
We need to have a Standard Operating Procedure on how to react to emergencies including chain of information command.
They think I am ridiculous for "over reacting"
I said, "if you were in the hospital this is how I would react over you...I love you you idiot!!! How should I act about OUR MOTHER!?!"

KW is killing me trying to get "work" done before we leave...I NEED to be in ATL NOW!!!!

Maybe I just won't leave that way I can take care of everyone like I like to do.

With this new development and the holidays, I have no idea when i will post next. Please keep my mom and my travels in your prayers if you can.

God, I love my mom.

Killing Time and Brain Cells

Since I work at a law school, I am asked to proctor exams for finals. I generally like it. I get three hours to surf the internet, read a book, or catch up on my correspondence. Guess which one I did more of?

But this year it has been really fun. I am mainly proctoring 1Ls (first year students) and this is their first set of exams. I actually have gotten to proctor for the same group of 1Ls twice! So they know me and I know them. Makes things easier because the one constant thing with 1L finals is panic. It is slightly and sadistically funny to watch them panic and stress. But I also love trying to make them laugh a bit before the exam and put them at ease.

The whole point of proctoring is making sure they follow the rules, don't cheat, and to be a quiet witness of the exam taking process in the room. But that is what is hard for me...being quiet. Part of me wants to play music or videos to entertain myself, part of me wants to be purposefully obnoxious and do cardio step boxing in the corner, and part of me wants to cheer them on.

I will definitely be doing that on the one minute mark. Congratulating them on finishing their first last final of their first finals season.

On a side note, KW has not really gone into finals mode. He claims he "doesn't care anymore," which is so odd. He does everything 110% to the point of madness (on my part). At first I was concerned with this change of attitude but this morning he said, "it is nice putting some attention on you rather than my exams...you give it back!" Wow! never would have thought those words would come out of his mouth, esp. when he has one last final to go.

Need to pack and clean but hanging out with people is way more fun.

***Housekeeping Item***
Well I Do Declare, would please invite me to your oh-so-exclusive blog.

I got it on Etsy

Are you familiar with Etsy?

Etsy is an online shop to buy and sell all things handmade.

My soon to be sister-in-law sells her paintings on there, so I took a look at somethings and was blown away!

The people who have shops on here are really talented and sell some great things. So I decdided to do most of my Christmas shopping on Etsy.

I figured it was a great way to support some "local" artists and entreprenuers and have unique gifts for my family.

I will have to show you when I got after Christmas, because I don't want any nosey in-laws peeking!!!

However, I have also started browsing through Etsy in my spare time to see what is offered. Well I went into the Everything Else category and was blown away in a different sense. I saw things like inclusion rocks, dragon's blood oil, coffee cup sweaters and a dios del morte cross with realistic fake blood.
But here are somethings that are being sold on Etsy that I must share with you:

This is called a Prayer/Smudge Fan
This is a "Fan created using gray/brown peacock feathers as a base with accents of peacock eye feathers. Handle is cedar with hand stitched deer leather trimmed in badger fur." I'm not sure who wants a carcass fan or what is the smudge part about it. If it is gross, just let me be ignorant.

For the environmental jokester
handmade, organic poo. Claims to be a great stocking stuffer


This is a unique present for that special someone in your life who is impossible to buy for. I have been told it would be a great gift for military men either serving over seas or returning home (a welcome home gift). It is a pair of plush boobs in a patriotic themed bra, that can be attached to a steering wheel or the back of a chair (for lumbar support) with and adjustable elastic strap. Each boob is approximately the size of a standard CD.

Handmade bacon, just because he "had left over red and white yarn."

From weird to gross:
Yup, homemade tampons.

From gross to TRS's mind is in the Law & Order/24 gutter
What does this look like to you? You might say a rock, but when I first saw it, I thought it was a few lines of Coke (and not a-cola). But that is because it was above this:

Explosive Putty? no, it is peanut butter fudge. Stop trying to be Jack Bauer, TRS.

Now these are truly crazy, but I would recommend Etsy for some last minute gifts!

Buffalo Betty: Always Awesome, Now Famous

Anyone who knows me and my blog knows Buffalo Betty.

If you do not know about her, here is how to catch up:
Our history
The Birth of S-in-a-G
Just Random Betty Time

There is an instant attraction to Betty that everyone feels right away. Now, I am not talking just about boys and their below the belt type of attraction (although that is there too). I am talking about how everyone who meets her wants to know her better, wants to be her best friend, wants to get caught up in crazy fun-dance filled antics with her.

I know this because as soon as I met her freshman year in college I thought, "This girl is so cool...I have got to be friends with her!"

More proof comes from McMommy. When we had our big IRL-meeting the second thing she said to me (the first being something about shoes, of course) was "Can we call Buffalo Betty!?!"

Further and the most telling is this: a post from ANOTHER BLOG about Buffalo Betty and her awesomeness. Go read it. She is "the blonde probably the size of (the blogger's) pinky" and "the originator of the spontaneous activity" who he described as leggy.
(that is her on the far right)
This is so Betty.

First off, she comes up with an incredibly fun game on the spot (typical Betty), then she is having so much fun everyone wants to join (typical Betty), she then invites everyone to join in (very-typical Betty), and then she leaves all these guys in her wake calling her tiny and leggy and hilarious (extremely typical Betty).

You would think that it would be easy to be jealous being friends with someone as magnetic as Betty, but that is the beauty of Buffalo Betty: while everyone in the room is focused on her she makes every single person feel like her best friend. And that is a good reason to be friends with someone for 10 years while only living in the same state for one and half of those years.

I can safely say, I blogged about her first but I obviously will not be the only one!!!

New Office Friend

I mentioned on twitter a few days ago that I have made a new office friend.

She has been here for a few months, but with my travel we haven't really talked much. Then my friend (who works with her more closely) would have her talking in the hall and I would join them. Hilarity ensued.

Then I got the crazy idea to start visiting her office for a quick one liner or a chuckle...it was a bad idea because now I spend more time than I should "chewing the fat."

Let's just say that I see this a lot now:


It is a lot more fun than this:


but I look like this more now:


This is the cactus she inherited. I decorated it and named her Liza.


Here is some fun things about my new friend:
She is gigantic (even taller than me--which is RARE!)
She is one of three siblings (like me)
She is loud and expressive (completely different than me and my quiet, pensive self)
She is sarcastic (which, in case you didn't know, some people think I am as well)
She shares crazy fun stories about families (uh, my fav. thing to talk about)
She has great shoes
She drives a jeep
We both like Gilmore Girls, the Office, sports (she a bit more than me)

Needless to say I have a lot of fun hanging with her but I'm not sure if it is too soon to give her this:


But I did make her this:

and let me tell you...the idea to photoshop her cat wearing an eyepatch on her fake Christmas card came from her. And this, is why we get along.

Busy with HTML

As you can tell, I have been tinkering with the html code some more...so I have not had time to give you the gloriously funny post that you deserve.

I also have made a new friend at work, and I have been spending a lot of my time and snark making fun of things with her. It is glorious but very unproductive.

But I can tell you about the new gloves I got this week:


I have been eyeing fingerless gloves since we got to Michigan, and I can not believe I waited this long to get them.

Hands...warm...fingers...agile. EXCELLENT!

Style Fyle: Chunky Shoes

The Chunky Shoe. Friend of yours truly in her 1990's angsty teens. Oh I loved me some Doc Martens. But like many trends in the 90's, they just don't flatter. The only people who currently rock this trend are Bratz dolls...
...or hookers. But really aren't they one in the same?

Chunky shoes draw the eye downward, which really serves no purpose...unless you need a paper bag over your head and none of my beautiful readers need that.

If you suffer from chubby calf syndrome (CCS), such as myself, then a chunky shoe really does have the advantage of giving an hour glass shape ...to your lower legs. Aces! just what you wanted right?

No?

Well, if you do suffer from CCS here are some shoes dos and don't I've picked up:

Ankle straps
Unlike this lithe model, when you have some width to your calf, you want to avoid any ankle-strap because they shorten your leg and highlight the width (esp. with a knee length skirt)


Pointy Toes
Yes, they may help elongate your leg and detract from CCS, but if you have extra long feet (like me-size 10.5!) they just make you look extra long...and for some reason I like people to say, "wow, I didn't realize your feet could be used as water skis!?! So I try to detract from their gargantuanesss. Also severe pointed shoes like this one creep me out. Personal preference on that one.


And finally, the reason we are here: Chunky Heels. These were more popular in the 90's, but now most large square heeled-high heels look dated and again draw attention to the calf.



Here is my ideal Maryjane!!!

No, not that!!!! That is Bratz territory. Speaking of, did you hear the good news: No more Bratz! I guess Happy Hour Sue is going to need to get honeys for Bathroom Gangsta some place else.


Now, for shoe perfection:


Nice heel, low strap, limited point!!! Love me some Piperlime!

Why I am the Way I am

Someone asked me the other day:

"TRS, Why are you so silly, so crazy, so out going, so...you know?"

The funny thing is that I am not. I was not this way for the majority of my life. I have always been quiet...thoughtful....pensive...nervous..

Tonight, I thought of an answer of why I am different: K-dubs.

He is the reason I feel so secure to be the crazy silly and truly me.

and he drives me bananas.

I just thought you should know.

Style Fyle: Fashion Potholes

Tonight, my friend and I are playing "What not to Wear" with her closet. We are going to clean out her closet of things that don't fit well, are out of style or just aren't necessary. And then make a list of things that she should start looking for.

In preparation for the big event, I have been thinking about what are my crucial pieces of wardrobe.

Any good pop culture-diva worth her salt knows about Tim Gunn and his Essential List. So I am not going to over extol the virtues of black pants, white button down shirt, and black boots: you need 'em, get 'em, go quality if you can.

However, I do think it is a good thing to find a style that suits you. That make up your sense of style.
***I want to preface this by saying that only a few years ago my style was jeans and t-shirts. But thankfully I am the only girl to a mother who loves to play dress up, so I benefit from her hand me downs or shopping sprees. It is only within the last few years that I have been really finding what I like to/should wear***

So even if your style is casual and comfortable, I find that it is best to get pieces that flatter you and getting dressed in the morning is easier and faster (which means more sleep time!). If you know the majority of the things that you have look good on you, then it is harder to look bad. Now, that being said, it is easy to fall into certain potholes. I am hoping to explore in future posts certain potholes that everyone falls into fashion-wise. I know some that come to mind: Chunky shoes, being too matchy-match, ill-fitting clothes, following a trend that does your body shape no good. I have done these all and I am sure to fall into many more fashion potholes...

What are some fashion trends or potholes you would tell someone to steer clear of? or ones that you have fallen into yourself? If you have pictures, please share! Just know that I have many pictures documenting my fashion falls, but I delete almost all pictures of me as soon as I see them! It is a habit I picked up of my mother. I come by my neurosis honestly.

Extreme Blog Makeover: Audience Participation Edition

Leave it to McMommy to give me a great idea.
In the comments of the construction post, she started making "furniture requests." And since I am indecisive at best and lazy at worse, I would love to hear what you all would recommend for my old blog.

Think of it as watching HGTV and the people actually doing what you are yelling at them!

Although I worked my ass off on the banner (and learned a lot of new fun tricks!), K-dubs thought it wasn't as good as the one before. It is different, but I think it is his love of black and white photography and his hatred of change that makes him rebel against the new header.

So here are some "theme and color" (name that movie) ideas:

-Traveling/moving (we are getting ready to move again in 6 months)
-vintage ads (I love them and have them all over my house and office)
-and I am thinking of some old TV show amalgam (I may mock up something by the end of the day and have you all see what I am talking about).

I am open to ideas and would love to hear them. Do you have an application that you love (like Twitter, Shelfari, etc)? Do you see things on this blog or others that you hate!?!

Hard Hats Required

Okay, So I was trying to jazz up my design piece by piece and bit by bit.
So not to overwhelm you with awesomeness.

Well, now I have screwed up my old template beyond repair. So the old stand by template is going to have to do until I can figure out how to put old Humpty back together again....with sparkles.

Sorry about my mess.