Faves & Day 1

A few of my favorites sites.

www.picnik.com: For photo editing - read post.

www.mpix.com: For photo printing (I just ordered my first prints today but am excited after talking with a friend about her experience.)

www.retailmenot.com: Living in a smaller town means more online shopping. Before I place an order, I always check this website to see if there are any coupon codes to use. A few months ago, I got a coupon code for an extra $10 off of my GAP purchase and today I got an extra 15% off my mpix.com purchase. It is definitely worth a quick search to see if you can save a little moolah!

www.tastykitchen.com: I have had great results using recipes from here and it is always the first place I look.

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OPERATION HOT-BOD

Today was Day One of Operation Hot-Bod, which is what I have affectionately nicknamed my goal of getting in shape and healthy, again. Have you ever noticed that when your life is chaotic, it trickles down into all areas? To me, this is more than even just getting in shape. It is about getting back into a routine in all areas of my life.

So, I stepped on that scale for the first time in 9 months. I told Hubs my current weight of ###, and I know my goal of ###. Today I headed to the gym for my first real workout in weeks. I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical and felt so refreshed.

My plan for exercising is to head to the gym each day, straight from work, not even passing by our home - no need to tempt myself to sit on the couch or cuddle with the pups.

My plan for eating is simple. A good breakfast, a light snack, a good lunch, a light snack, and a good dinner. Portion sizes will be average, and most foods will be real, not packaged. Less fats, more good stuff.

I am excited to get back into this routine of exercising; I am even more excited about the prospect of my pooch shrinking and my thighs not touching. I'm counting on you to keep me accountable!

Anticipation

Two years ago, I fell in love again. Hubs and I took the vacation of our my dreams. We went to Hawaii.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. But I found that as much as I feel comforted with giant trees enclosing me all around and varying shades of green calming me against the brown bark and dirt of the forest, I also feel relaxed with the background noise of the ocean's roar and the tropical birds' songs while the light breeze drifts delicious scents around.

I often picture myself either in the woods or on the beach. During a rough day. When I am anxious. When I worry.

Vacations are a key component of my life. I love living for the next vacation. It makes me work harder. It gives me a goal. So, since Hubs and I have not gone away for a whole 9 months, I have been aching to plan a trip.

My one desire - warmth. The sun heating my cheeks. Palm trees would be nice. Plenty of things to do. And the verdict...

San Diego, California.

It's not in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but at least that beautiful ocean is right there to enjoy. There are palm trees and it should be sunny, in the 60s. I. Cannot. Wait. We'll be strolling the oceanside, visiting the zoo and Sea World. We may go whale watching or tour a aircraft carrier. It doesn't matter, though; we will be on vacation!

Maybe living in a boring place isn't such a bad thing. It makes me want to go away even more often!

Some Favorites

There is one thing I love to get at Starbucks besides coffee. A cranberry-orange scone. They are so incredibly delish. But I don't know that I will ever have to buy another scone at Starbucks. Why? because I've got the recipe.

Well, I doubt it is Starbucks's actual recipe, but it is just as good. Perhaps even better. It's easy. It's quick, And it costs less to make them myself! And this way, I can have them whenever I want! I've already made them - ahem - twice this week, and everyone that has had them, has said they were good. Success.

Click the picture below for the recipe!

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Hubs loves boysenberry syrup. I can't find it here in the middle of Kansas. So, he has had to treat himself to it on Wednesday mornings when he meets friends for breakfast. One morning he asked the waitress if they sold their syrup. She said no, but low and behold this morning she had a surprise for Hubs.

A GALLON of Boysenberry Pancake Syrup! It wasn't free, of course, but it was worth it to have this yummy syrup. I'm guessing we won't run out for a really, really, really long time.

Christmas Song #1

I love Christmas music. I love good Christmas music. And, most of my favorite songs are obscure that many of you may not have heard. So, over the next days until Christmas, I want to share them with you.

The first one is "One King." It's not only a beautiful duet, but it talks of the Savior's birth. One of the main lines reads, "There have been so many babies to become a king, but only one King became a baby."

If you click on the link below, it will take you to a different website, but the song should begin to play on its own. Enjoy!

Share One King by David Phelps

Reasons to love October

October. Octubre. Octobre. Oktober. However you say it; it is here! It is my favorite month of the year, and if for some crazy reason it isn’t also your favorite, I will give you reasons to love October.

Birthday Month. Who doesn’t love the entire month of their birthday? I’ve never thought that birthdays should be contained to a single day of celebration; I enjoy month-long excitement.

Trees. In other places, this is a very beautiful reason to love October. There are places - not in the middle of Kansas – where the trees turn beautiful shades of purple, red, orange, and yellow. And although the trees here have a tendency to turn straight from green to dead-brown, I can pretend in my mind that I live where giant, beautiful trees grow.

Weather. There is nothing like the comfort of jeans and a long sleeve shirt or hoodie. And October is the perfect time to start to be outside in my favorite clothes. The weather isn’t freezing yet, but it isn’t hot either. It is right in that perfect, cool climate.

Football. There is no sport I would rather watch while wearing my favorite clothes, than football. Add in a cup of hot chocolate and all is good.

Everything Else. From the pumpkins to the apple cider, I love everything about this month.

Suddenly, I have a craving for a pumpkin spice latte!

MIB - Missing In Blogging

It's been five days since my last post...that seems like a lifetime in Blogland. Life has become relatively calm and that will force me to get creative with my posts. For now, I'll give you a quick update.

After a fantastic, relaxing weekend with family, I came rejuvenated and ready to get back to normal life. I had been having frequent freak-out sessions which produced headaches and fatigue, but really accomplished nothing. It just does not work for me to live without a schedule, a purpose, and a goal. I had not purchased a planner yet for 2009 and everything in my head was weighing down on me. I would walk into walls, forget to turn off appliances, and just feel completely lost at all times. Of course, this all resulted in needless tears.

Now, my planner is with me at all times, I have a schedule and I make goals for myself each day. I'm still catching up from my weeks of chaos, but soon I should be back in a routine of working out, reading my Bible and preparing for Bible studies, and keeping our house in order. I am amazed at how much energy I already have after just a few days of being focused. It's also amazing at how much more fun I am - ask Hubs.

This isn't to say that we don't have spontaneity and that we aren't flexible. We are both of those things, but my overall, day-to-day life needs structure. My mom raised me that way, and it works.

Speaking of my mom, she is recovering and doing well. I say that now, though tomorrow will may be a different story after she tries moving it for the first time.

And, I went to purchase some of my favorite mugs from Starbucks today. I had a coupon for 10% off the entire order, but the cashier only took 10% off one item (my drink). It irks me because the coupon was the only reason I went to buy more mugs. I should have gotten about $1.90 off my purchase...I only got $.35. I want to march right back down there and get my rightful savings.

So, would you go back and ask them to re-run your transaction or just forget about the $1.55?

Customer Service

I got a package in the mail yesterday from The Limited which is one of the stores where I shop. Knowing I hadn't ordered anything, I was surprised to see the package. Inside was a square, silk-like black/white scarf as well as a letter with a 20% off coupon.

I don't have a Limited credit card. I just shop there once in a while, since they can have some great deals. So, I was quite surprised to get this gift in the mail. The letter said they were sorry about the frustrations I encountered while shopping at thelimited.com.

I had to think back. The only thing they could be referring to is an order I placed on Cyber Monday - a sweater and a cami. By that Friday, I still had not received an email informing me that the order was shipped. So, I called to make sure there wasn't a problem with my order. That's it.

Needless to say, I was very surprised and pleased to receive this little gift. I think the scarf retails at $19.99 and I will definitely enjoy using the 20% off coupon. I already really like this store, but this extra token made me even more of a fan.

We all have plenty of bad customer service experiences - plenty are popping in my head right now. And those keep us away from certain stores, for sure! But, do any of you have good experiences to share?

Oh, I ended up returning the sweater I ordered - didn't fit me right.

A New Favorite

I was introduced to a new coffee mug over Christmas by my brother, who happens to work at one of my favorite stores: Starbucks. This coffee mug, apparently, has not caught on to the majority of people, but Tim did a great job of selling them to his family this year.

Ta da!

Okay, I know they look a little boring, but they are amazing. Did you wonder about why there are no handles? They are double walled mugs so they do not get hot at all to the touch! Yes folks, you can now cradle your hot cuppa joe in your hands with ease. They come in brown, white, and red and are only $6.95, which is a great price for such cool mugs, dontcha think?

I received one as a gift and I purchased the other 2. When I took it to the counter to pay, the starbucks lady even mentioned that it was weird that they don't have a handle. I, the customer, had to tell her why they are so neat! I was hoping she would include an extra mug for the tip, but no such luck. I will have to wait until they go on sale to get more (yes, I'm cheap and haven't convinced Hubs that we need 3 more mugs to add to our already overflowing mug cabinet).

A long day ends in the best way.

Yesterday I left our home at 6:30am and returned at 8:30pm. That qualifies as a long day in my book. My entire body ached when I got home so I decided to unwind with a warm shower. I was in bed at 9:30. But that's not where the evening ends. I started out with such good intentions of a full nights' rest.

There is one movie that never gets old to me - Pride and Prejudice. I have seen it so many times and each time I watch I wonder if I will get tired of it. But I never do. it can't be just any version. It must be the A&E version. It must be the 6 hour long version. It must have Colin Firth in it. It is simply the best, mainly because it is almost word-for-word directly from the book.

I have asked for this movie for years, and for this past birthday, I finally received it (along with 30+ hours of other romantic DVDs). If you are a female; if you have a spot in your heart for romantic love stories; and if you have never seen this movie - have a girl night and watch it. You are sure to love it!

What, you ask, does this have to do with last night? Since I have discovered my new watch-movies-in-bed machine, I decided that I would watch part of this movie to "wind-down" and fall asleep. I had put it on the previous night while I was cleaning, so I knew exactly where I would start the movie back up and it happened to be one of the best parts (Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth - hilarious).

Before I knew it Hubs was coming to be and it was 11:30! I peeled myself away from the movie and went to bed, but today I am tortured. All I want to do is finish the movie!