the kind of women i want to be.

I want to workout 3-4 times a week, and enjoy it.

I want to do yoga in my backyard under the sun and not be distracted by my own thoughts.

I want to eat the foods I like & enjoy, the kinds of foods that make me feel (and look) good, and not feel guilty that I am making others feel bad, or that I am not "one of the group" who is pigging out on pizza.

I want to stop judging women as harshly as I do. I can be pretty bad, and in the end I am only pointing out my own insecurities.

I want to find the "date" in every activity Tyler & I get to do together.

I want to stop worrying about the future, and to embrace & be excited about it.

I want to have more days like Sunday - where I balance doing nothing & getting things done.

I want to remember how good it feels to have the laundry done, the house clean, and soup simmering on the stove. Even if there are more fun things to do - at the end of the day, THIS always feels so good.

I want to read more books, and fill more bookcases. 

I want to start thinking those exciting (but scary) thoughts, and seeing where my imagination takes them.

I want to rediscover the performer in me, and start cherishing music again.

I want to stop looking to others for approval/guidance/inspiration, and to start looking INSIDE MYSELF.

I want to be the person that you can call for a laugh, an ear, a shoulder, or a drink.

I want to be the best wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter I can be. In that order. 

thanks to the wild & wily ways of a brunette bombshell

11 Things....

Here are the “rules”:

Write 11 random things about yourself.
Answer 11 questions.(well, someones gotta ASK ME first!)
Ask 11 questions.

Here we go…


11 random things about me:

1. I hate milk. I guess I drank it as a kid, but for as long as I can remember I have HATED milk. But I have it in cereal, coffee, I love yogurt, cheese, froyo.... but no milk. Not even chocolate.

2. I love Jane Austen & am certain that in another lifetime, I was one of her characters. I love her commentary on women in society, love, marriage, friendship & life (even tho some of it is so not P.C, I find it quaint.) And I'd love to drink tea and walk around gardens all day.
3. I always said I would never get married until I was 25. How funny is life that I met my husband at 19, but will be getting married at 25, without planning it that way.
4. I talk about poop all the time. Yeah, I have no filter, and talk about poop a lot. To anyone who will listen. I talk about how often I poop (a lot!), what it looks like, and I'm looking for that special someone that I could proudly send a pic of a really good one to. Just saying.
5. I have an obsession with tea. I find the art of boiling water, selecting a tea, brewing the tea all so calming. I have an entire cabinet at home (AND at work) with different kinds of tea. Green, black, white, you name it I love it. Thank GOD it's healthy!
6. I'm a pretty empathetic person. It is sometimes exhausting, but I find that I naturally try and put myself in other people's shoes a lot. I am not always right or spot on, but I think people appreciate it just the same. Then again, other times I am eerily accurate. I think it's an important exercise to do, and I value this trait in myself & others. 
7. I have a chicken pox scar on my face that I have a love/hate relationship with. It was the first pock, and it left a white scar above my lips. Sometimes people think I have something on my face and try to brush it away. But hey, it's just a tiny scar, and I don't know if I would recognize myself without it.
8. I totally believe that the moons affect our moods. Or I just like not being responsible for my atrocious bad moods/cranky pants. Either way.
9. I LOVE healthy foods. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, fish, you name it, I love it. Could absolutely live without bread (I know I know! Shocking!) and have had a spinach salad for lunch for the past 2 months and love it. BUT, my favorite junk foods are: twizzlers, diet dr. pepper, bbq chips, skittles, sour patch watermelons & charleston chews (vanilla). Omg yum.
10. I have been told that I have "lipstick lips". They have that little bow shaped upper lip thingy going on. If lipstick lips means that putting on lipstick is difficult because you can't just swipe it on (because you have this cute little dippy bow thing), then yes. Yes I do.
11. I am so over Facebook/pinterest, and blogging is getting there. Facebook is irritating (I either don't care what is going on in your life, or I want to tell people my news MYSELF, not on a newsfeed broadcast!), EVERYONE is on pinterest pinning the same stuff, and now all bloggers are looking the same. C'mon girls, stop wearing your hair in a high top knot bun with your big geeky glasses and bold colors. You aren't different anymore, you are all looking the same.

- – – – – – – – – – -
 And my 11 my questions:
1. What was your favorite childhood TV show?
2. When is your birthday, how old are you, and how do you feel about it?
3. What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
4. Where did you go to college? Did you like it? Love it? Hate it?
5. If you could choose only one candy bar at the checkout line in the grocery store, which one would you choose?
6. Have you ever met someone famous?
7. Do you prefer dresses or pants?
8. Do you have any siblings? Older/younger? Are you close?
9. If you could go back to your younger years and relive one experience, what would you do again?
10. What do you wish you were more of? Less of?
11. What are you most excited about in your life, RIGHT NOW?

- – – – – – – – – – -

AWESOME. Wasn’t that fun. Also, I’m tagging everyone who reads this post. DO IT. You can answer my questions in the comments section, or write your own post! You’ll have a good time, I promise!

Love.

Start with Chapter One, read through Chapter Four.

http://itsahuntlife.blogspot.com/search/label/our%20story

I think it’s one of the sweetest love stories. I love that they are unconventional, that they were probably harshly judged for their relationship but I never get “defensive” from her. She is too happy to be defensive. 

Cheers to real love, cheers to finding it, cheers to having family & friends who know you, love you, & support you when you do.

<3

Things I've Learned

Please Excuse...

please excuse my crappy layout as i struggle to redesign this thing. i am so close to just purchasing a layout...

This is a test. Can I wake up earlier?

This has been on every goal list, wish list, to do list, new years resolution. I WANT TO WAKE UP EARLIER & HAVE A MORNING. I am going to try & wake up, walk my dog, cook & eat a hot breakfast WITH coffee, shower, dry my hair... etc. Maybe even throw in a workout. I want to be the kind of person who can do that. On the rare occasion that I have, I have had AMAZING, PRODUCTIVE days where I was less stressed, easy to get along with, and happy. I'm doing some research & trying to come up with a game plan so I can get this done.

http://www.howtowakeupearly.com/

1. No snooze
2. Set an alarm for bed time (or "get ready for bed" time)
3. It takes 3 weeks to make a habit
4. Do not rationalize
5. Reward yourself

ok - #1? Dangerous, but might work. I snooze A LOT. Like, I set my alarm for weird times because I factor in the snooze. Maybe just forcing myself to wake up to ONE alarm without giving an option for snooze will get me out of my bed...

#2 - this is a good idea in theory, but it might stress me out. I can just see 10pm coming with an alarm and feeling like I HAVE to get to bed and i HAVE to fall asleep RIGHT NOW... which sounds like it would actually keep me up.

#3 - I will give this project 3 weeks to see if I can actually make this a habit and not just a novelty "ok I will wake up today, but next Monday will be too rough & I will snooze." 3 weeks. Till end of March.

#4 - Hah - this is sooo me. "My hair is fine, I can wear it in a bun today, so I can sleep 15 more minutes..." "I'm not hungry, 10 more minutes & no breakfast..." "I can sleep in & snooze 20 more minutes because..."

#5 - With breakfast - yummy turkey bacon, eggs, english muffin. Special creamer. A new scarf. New earrings. New playlist on ipod.


A Typical Morning (Now)
Alarm. 7am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:05am. Snooze.  Alarm. 7:10am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:15am. Snooze.Alarm. 7:20am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:25am. Snooze.Alarm. 7:30am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:35am. Wakeup. Oh crap, snoozed too long. Grab outfit that isn't the cutest, put on just the basics makeup quickly, pretend my hair looks stylishly messy, yell at the dog to hurry up & pee outside, grab keys, phone, yogurt, coffee, brush teeth, out the door. 8:12am. Whew.

A Typical Morning (In Three Weeks)
Alarm. 6:15am. Open eyes. Get out of bed, make bed. Turn on TV to morning shows. Throw on sneakers & sweatshirt. Brisk walk with dog outside. Come back in, jump in shower. Wash hair, shave legs. Come out of shower, make & eat breakfast (mmm turkey bacon). Drink coffee while watching morning show. Get dressed, do makeup, blow dry hair. Brush teeth. Grab lunch, big lemon water, keys. Out the door at 8:05am. Sigh. Smile.