Mom: A Love Beyond Love

I never understood how much my mom loved me until I became a mom myself.  Now I know that probably sounds weird...and I've always known my mom loves me, but never really knew how much she loves me until I felt that love myself with my own baby girl.  Every mom out there knows exactly what I'm talking about.  It's that true unconditional love that you can't explain in words, that you've never felt before and now couldn't possibly imagine life without being consumed by that love every day.  I truly believe now that I've experienced this love with my own child that it has brought me even closer to my mom....and in a strange way has made me respect her in so many ways I never even knew to respect her! 

Often when I'm sitting there rocking Bradlie back to sleep in the wee hours of the night and I look down at her peacefully sleeping face and am consumed in love or when I'm nursing her and she looks up at me with those beautiful big eyes that melt my heart every time or when I'm playing with her and her face lights up with joy that brings a smile to my face instantly or when she "kisses" me with her adorable open-mouthed slobbery "kiss" that sends streaks of love through my entire body...I think of my mom and how she must have felt the same way about me when I was her baby girl.  And every single time it brings tears to my eyes and I just want to call my mom up to tell her I love her and to tell her thank you for loving me so much!  I sometimes even feel guilty for the times I acted out or made her mad as I was growing up just knowing that she loved me that much.  It's hard to know that I ever disappointed the woman who loved me more than life itself.  In some odd way I wish every child could start life knowing what I know now (and every mom, for that matter) and would be able to reflect back on that every time they wanted to act out against their parents.  Now wouldn't that be nice...for both sides of the story!!  Haha! 

 

So this post is dedicated to my wonderful, beautiful, ever-loving, kind-hearted, strong, intelligent, amazing mom!!!  Mom, I always knew I loved you and I always knew I'd love my own child, but I never knew that having a baby girl of my own would make me love you even more than I already did.   And with every passing day and every new milestone Bradlie hits, I love you even more!  I love that we have the friendship/relationship we do, but I love even more that in just 4 short days I will get to share all of this with you EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!  I am so ecstatic that you are moving here and am so grateful for the experience that we are about to embark on! 

 

Mom, I love you so much and love that I now know what it feels like to be a mom myself and love somebody as much as you love me!  Thank you for all of the sleepless nights I put you through.  Thank you for cuddling me when I was sick.  Thank you for all of the sacrifices you made to be my mom.  Thank you for all of the worry I put you through as your first baby and all of the unknown, scary things that come with that.  Thank you for teaching me all of my firsts.  Thank you for always doing your best.  And most of all thank you for always loving me so much and for being my mom!  I will always be your baby girl!

 I LOVE YOU!!!! 

 

 

Holy cow, I almost died!

True Story:  As I was getting ready for work this morning, I make a small wish that I hear my new favorite song "Angel Eyes" by Love and Theft on my way to work.  So you can imagine my excitement when it comes on the radio about half way into my commute today!!! 

So after a quick shout-out to The Man Upstairs for playing my song - and like any other totally normal person driving to work in the morning - I crank the volume and starting belting out the words at the top of my lungs.  Yes, I'm one of those people that jam out by themselves in the car while others drive by and laugh...but I don't care - I love this song!  

The only hiccup in my oh-so-exciting morning is that when the song came on I was mid-bite into my fiber bar (note: 2nd breakfast of the morning) and in the midst of all my excitement, I forgot that one cannot swallow food and start belting out lyrics at the same time.   Imagine my surprise!!  One minute I'm overly pumped that my song came on and the next I'm choking!  And we are talking serious choking - trying to cough, eyes watering, fists trying to punch your own back choking!  A gazillion thoughts are running through my head...first, I can't hear my song! Second, should I pull over?  OMG, can you do the heimlich maneuver on a pregnant lady?  Would anybody know how to do the heimlich on a pregnant lady?  Damn, fiber bar! My favorite part - I'm missing it!  How long can one go without breathing? Why is this happening?  And then.....AIR!!!!  I can breathe!  I don't have to pull over!!  I'm alive!!!!!  Shoot, I missed over half my song!!

Now that that was over - and I'm still here and able to type this (and super thankful) - I decided to award myself with a nonfat vanilla chai...I deserved one!  However, I was still bummed that I missed most of my favorite song....thank gosh for Youtube on my phone!  I played the song (singing just slightly above whisper the whole time since my phone's volume isn't quite as audible as the car's volume) another 3 1/4 times before I got to work...and I didn't choke once!   Ahhhh, the small things in life...    

The Sports Guy was Right...

Every morning Boon reads this column on Grantland written by Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy.  I'm assuming most of his column focuses on sports (given the obvious), but every now and then he writes a few doozies that Boon shares with me.  Well, the other night when we were driving home from the grocery store, Boon mentioned that The Sports Guy has had this long running theory that Jennifer Love Hewitt was poison to the ears of women - basically, by just the mention of her name it would cause women to perk up and say "her neck is to tall" or "her boobs are too big" or whathaveyou.  Well, one of his readers recently found the woman who provokes the exact opposite reaction....Khloe Kardashian.  The reader's theory was that every time Khloe was mentioned in a negative way, that all women will come to her defense bellowing "she's NOT fat" or "she is the ONLY normal one", etc.  

JLH vs. Khloe ... what's your reaction?

Well, the reason I decided to bring this up today is because my reaction to Boon's story surprised me and even though I didn't think I fell into either one of the categorical reactions described above....I TOTALLY DO! 

First, my reaction to Jennifer Love Hewitt - which, mind you, I still don't think I have a "poison-like" reaction to, but I can't sit there and listen to Boon say how hot she is without throwing back a snide remark...even though I don't mean to!!  For example, I was attempting [note: keyword attempting] to contradict The Sports Guy's theory.....

Me:  "Well, I don't know if I agree with the Jennifer Love Hewitt [JLH from now on - her name is too long....and that doesn't count as snide!] theory because I can understand how guys think she is pretty, but really she is kind of mousey."

Boon: "I don't think so...she is HOT!"

Me: "Yeah, but also mousey.  Her face is kind of skinny and looks mousey. I mean she has great hair and I don't care that she has big boobs, but you have to admit she looks mousey."

Boon: "Nope, just hot."

Me: "Hot and...MOUSEY!"

Ok...so I think you get the point.  I didn't even realize what I was doing until we drove the rest of the way home in silence.  I never did admit The Sports Guy was right, but, in all honesty, I think there is no denying it.  Even if her name doesn't trigger a totally poisonous reaction in me, I couldn't say a nice thing about her without throwing in the mousey thing.  I guess point proven.

So, now let's talk about Khloe Kardashian.  At the first mention of any Kardashian, I, along with the majority (I'd assume), would agree that they are somewhat annoying and boring, are famous for nothing, are totally overrated, etc. etc., but at the end of the day I hate to admit it but I really do like them!  I watch all the Kardashian shows on E! - they somehow pull me in and are totally addicting...I'll even watch the gazillion reruns they show.  Thus, even though I would agree with all of the normal Kardashian-haters and wouldn't jump to the conclusion that I'd have any heavily weighted reaction to one of them in anyway, I really do think Khloe is my favorite.  First of all, Khloe is NOT fat and she really is the only normal one and the most fun, realistic one.   I always feel so bad for her when fans chant horrible things about her when Lamar is playing basketball and hate to watch her weight struggles on TV.  If I had to choose one Kardashian to be friends with, it would be Khloe...I actually think we'd have a lot of fun together.  And, just like any friend, I would defend her until the end!  Apparently this theory is also correct....and really I'm kind of starting to get a little fired up as I write this just thinking that people actually think she's fat.  SHE'S NOT FAT!!

So there you have it....looks like The Sports Guy knew what he was talking about.  Even when trying to resist the theories, I fell right into the trap...disliking JLH and loving Khloe.  What can you do?!?!

** National Princess Week **

At what age are you supposed to stop loving princesses?  Because I haven't yet, and therefore, in honor of the first annual National Princess Week, the inner-princess in me...who secretly loves this week [read: kinda-sorta-feels-in-a-tiny-wishful-ridiculous-slightly-imaginary way like I should be a part of it...haha!]...wanted to dedicate this post to just a few of my favorite princesses! 

#1:  Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Middleton

Big surprise, I know!   Of course, Kate is my #1 favorite princess and probably always will be.  I just love everything about her  (in particularly her fashion!) and am pretty sure, without a doubt, that if I was lucky enough to live in London (perhaps next door to Kensington Palace or something), we'd be good friends.  Haha!  So I know technically she isn't considered a Princess (yet) and the Queen has to actually bestow her with that title, but for all intents and purposes she is practically a Princess.  Besides, her official title, Her Royal Highness Duchess of Cambridge, just doesn't have the same ring to it and is rather cumbersome to say (and write)....so to me, Princess she is...and my favorite at that!!   

#2:  Belle

Although it was hard to choose just one favorite Disney Princess, I'm going to have to go with Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  First of all, she's obviously a beauty (and, ahem, brunette - just sayin')...I mean that is the title of the movie, right?  But more importantly, she is a sweet, loving princess who ends up seeing through the harsh exterior of the Beast and falling in love with the man inside (who just happens to end up being a gorgeous hunk of a man, but that's besides the point).  Also, who wouldn't love being able to talk to "everyday" household items who help you clean and organize and create the path to your perfect love story?  I could use a Chip and Cogsworth, even a Mrs. Potts (despite her tendency to be a bit bossy) to help around the house every now and then! 

#3:  Dame Julie Andrews

Last, but not least, I have to include Julie Andrews.  Not only is she part-founder in National Princess Week (which makes her totally awesome!), but she is a HUGE part of my childhood...and really every child's childhood quite honestly!  Dominating two of the world's most classic films, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, who couldn't love Julie Andrews?! I mean a spoonful of sugar really does help the medicine go down and just like when we read we begin with ABC, when we sing we begin with do-re-mi!  (Yes, I've got a little dork in me, but come on - admit it, you actually sang those lyrics when you just read that!) 

So those are three of my favorite princesses.  I don't know if I'll ever grow out of loving princesses (and secretly wanting to be one), but I can't wait until the day that I have a little girl that I can share this love with....or at least "blame" all of our trips to Disney World on!  Who are some of your favorites?   

I'm on a boat?

The question surrounding (literally surrounding....like taking-over-every-thought-of-Boon's-being surrounding) us these days is whether or not we should take the plunge and buy a boat.  Your thoughts? 

So here are a few things to consider:

First, we both love the lake and really really really want a boat.  It would be a blast and I wouldn't mind sprucing up my wakeboarding skills a bit.  Plus, the summers here are brutal and I can't stand being outside when it is 100+ degrees [read: I'm a wuss! Fainting, dizziness, moodiness...I have them all when I get too hot.  Remember I'm from Wyoming - I have a good excuse] unless I'm in (or by) the water.  So all of that sounds good, but then money/logic set-in and now we also have to consider all of this....

Boats are super expensive - even used boats!  And considering I'm rather cheap and have the worst buyer's remorse ever, I just can't imagine throwing $30K in for "fun" - it seems like soooooo much money!  Also, I've heard that the best days of a boat-owner's life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat....so what are we missing here?  Maintenance? Gas? Storage? Insurance? Winterizing?  It all adds up so are the "really really really want a boat" and "can't stand the heat unless I'm in the water" excuses worth the expense?

Also, we THINK we will use it all the time, and therefore, get our money's worth, but every summer our weekends feel up faster than we even know it so I'm scared the boat will end up sitting in storage more than in the water.  Of course, I'd hope that isn't the case, but you hear a lot of people say that they just don't use their boat enough.  But then again summer in Texas is really like 9 months out of the year so our odds of using it more should be higher, right?!  I just don't know!

Next, we want to start a family soon so that can be looked at two ways.  (1) It seems like now or never (or at least not for quite a while) and then we could enjoy the fun with our family.  Why not do it now when we have the money? or (2) Is now a good/smart time for a boat if we want a family soon?  I mean won't our time be even more limited and money even tighter?  See our dilemma! 

And just so I don't leave you on a sour note before you throw out your opinions, remember how much fun and nice a boat would be when we have visitors!! 

So......what should we do????  Help us decide!!



We could watch the sunset from the boat!



U.P.D.A.T.E.S.

First of all, Happy Belated Easter!  We had a great day yesterday with Boon's family and it was nice to get out of town for a night.  I hope all of you had a very blessed Easter as well!

I wanted to give you a quick update on two of my earlier posts:

1)   Late February I posted a quick blurb on my possible heart defect (see Hypochondriac? Possibly.)  Well, good news - totally clean bill of health here!!  I went to the cardiologist last month, had my echocardiogram and just had a follow-up today - no hole for this girl!! 

And...

2)  Now that Lent is over I thought I'd give you my final tally on how all of my Lenten sacrifices panned out (see Goodbye, Vanilla Chai. Hello, Lent. for a recap).  Considering I was failing miserably when I first started out, I ended up finishing strong!

• Giving up swearing:   Besides a few minor slip-ups, I really improved in this area.  Now to keep the change permanent...that will be the true test!  I'm considering this one a success!   
  Tally: Lent 0, Failure 1     New Tally: Lent 1, Failure 0

• Giving up texting and checking facebook while driving:  I am proud to report that I ended up doing really good on this one!  It was hard and took true dedication, but I did it!!  Another success for me!!  (PS - This one I will keep doing...it makes me feel better about myself!)
  Tally: Lent 0, Failure 1     New Tally: Lent 2, Failure 0

• Giving up being negative at work:  Oops...I forgot about this one.  We won't talk about it....
  Tally: Lent 0, Failure 1     New Tally: Lent 2, Failure 1

• Giving up my all-so-cherished vanilla chai lattes from Starbucks:  I just want to remind you that this sacrifice was by far the hardest one for me, but....drum roll, please....I DID IT!!!!  Yep, that's right....go me....I'm a rockstar!!  (Overboard?  Nah!)
  Tally: Lent 0, Failure 1     New Tally: Lent 3, Failure 1

• Joining a bible study:  I just finished last week - great bible study!  Count this as another success! 
  Tally: Lent 0, Failure 1    New Tally: Lent 4, Failure 1

So, all in all, I consider this a pretty good update!  I feel a celebration is in order...if only it were Friday at 4:00...bummer!

Me inspire someone? I'm speechless!

My very talented friend, Bob (who I just love to pieces, btw), is teaching himself how to paint in photoshop and his very first attempt was inspired by my blog!  How cool is that?!?!  I feel so honored!!  It is also his one and only pin on Pinterest which makes me feel even more special than I did just by snagging his very first photoshop-painted art! 

And just so you don't think I'm making this up...Bob's exact words:  "I'm teaching myself how to paint in photoshop ... this is my first attempt and is inspired by highheelshardhats..."  (yay!!)

So it pretty much goes without saying that I had to share it on my blog....since I inspired it and all - in case you didn't catch that before!  (Sorry...I just don't think I've ever inspired anyone before so I'm going to eat this up!!)

And with no further ado....

 

Bob's art inspired by my blog!! 

Pretty great, right?  I love the pink hard hat too - I need to get me one of those for work ASAP.  (I know...shocker that I don't own one already!)  Awesome job, Bob - hard to believe this is your first attempt!  What it would be like to be so artistic, I will never know...

Thanks for making me feel so special, Bob!!!

Friday Addictions!

Happy Friday, everyone!  As usual, I'm super motivated this morning [inject sarcasm] and so I wanted to squeeze in a quick post to further distract myself from my super productive morning.  

If you remember, I gave up my oh-so-cherished vanilla chais for Lent...(see "Good bye, Vanilla Chai. Hello, Lent." post from March 1st).  So this morning as I was driving to work really really really craving one [note: this actually happens every single morning], I started thinking to myself just how many things I am addicted to at the moment.  Now, I use the words "addicted to" lightly...most of these things I could give up and only miss a few beats in my normally-upbeat ways, but others (like my vanilla chai, for example) would really dampen my spirits...like a LOT!

So, with that, my current addictions (in no particular order):

1. Of course, my oh-so-cherished vanilla chai...which, btw, I think Starbucks would be totally legit if they added those exact adjectives to the name!  Only 9 more days...

2.  Pinterest!  Why oh why do I love this site so much?  I seriously have 3 different DIY projects in progress at this very moment...this is becoming a very expensive addiction!

3. Fave REDs Starburst Jellybeans!  Oh my goodness, I can't even tell you how good these are!  You can only buy them around Easter and every year I get sucked into Target's "2 for $5" sale.  (I mean what a deal, right!?)  I accidentally polished off 5 bags (by myself) in about 2-ish weeks this year...and it isn't even Easter yet.  Oops! 

4.  Duchess of Cambridge!  I just **LOVE** Catherine Middleton's style!  I wish I had a brand new wardrobe so I could dress just like her everyday...crazy hats and all!!

5.  Facebook on my phone!  I don't know what it is, but I swear I have to check FB on my phone every free second I get...it's ridiculous! 

6.  Baby Nurseries!  NO...I am not pregnant (first of all), but I have this crazy desire [read: downright obsession, if we are being honest here] to search for baby nursery ideas so that the day it happens I will have it all planned out already and will be able to start decorating ASAP!  Maybe it's that Type-A thing people talk about...

7.  Country Music!  Last, but not least, I just can't get enough of Kris Gordon, Lee Brice, Blake Shelton, Easton Corbin, Joe Nichols and Jake Owen...just to name a few!

And those are a few of my addictions at the moment.  Maybe (hopefully?) some of you can relate and I'm not all alone here!  Now to get back to work and stop thinking about these... (sigh)

Attention all City-Drivers!



Yep, you....

This post goes out to all of the city-drivers out there that have completely forgotten (or possibly just disregarded) the normal-society-accepted-rules of polite driving.  I'm not sure when or how this happened, but given that I have a hard time believing anybody would be rude to another person on purpose and I want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I am going to assume city-drivers were never taught, simply forgot or are not even aware that they are and/or have become a city-driver.

Thus, I have listed a few of the normal-society-accepted-rules of polite driving below to save these poor individuals from their aggressive, bad-mannered or just plain rude way of driving. [Or, more likely, attempt to save the few polite drivers left their sanity from the city-drivers or becoming a city driver themselves!]

1. When another driver puts on their blinker to signal that they want to get over in your lane, do not speed up so they cannot get over.  Just simply let them in.   
2. When you are the driver that has just been "let in", wave to say thank you!
3. As other drivers are entering the highway, move over to the middle or left lane to let them in giving them time and space to accelerate to the appropriate speed.
4. If you are a slow driver (or at least driving slower than all of the other drivers around you), move over to the furthest right lane.
5. Along the same lines as #4, do not cut someone off and then drive 15 mph under the speed limit. 
6. In back-to-back traffic, if a driver is waiting to enter into your lane from an intersection and you are already moving at a snails-pace and/or are at a dead-stop, be polite and let them in.  [Driver that was just let in, refer back to Rule #2.]
7. When switching lanes always use your blinker.  It is not polite to weave in and out of traffic like a madman running from something.
8. Last, but not least, remember the golden rule your mom taught you - treat others like you would like to be treated....this goes for driving as well!

Happy, polite, safe driving to all!!  

Good bye, Vanilla Chai. Hello, Lent.

Well, it's that time of year again when most Catholics (practicing or not) and even some non-Catholics decide to give up their most valued obsessions or some habit of sin all for the Lenten season.   I'm not sure what got into me this year, but for some odd reason I decided to go all out....and, ahem, I'm totally failing. 

We are only a week into it and I've already broke all but one of my sacrifices...this is killing me! 

When I say "all out", I mean "ALL OUT"!   Call it growing up; call it guilt; call it I must really be in need of God's help; call it sucking up, but whatever you call it I obviously have overshot my abilities!  Let me describe... so for this year, my Lenten sacrifices include:

Giving up swearing:  Which I don't really do a whole lot or at least not on a consistently bad basis, but every now and then a poor-choice word slips out of my mouth.   I give this up every year though so I figured why not this year too!  If nothing else, "giving up" swearing at least makes me more aware of when I do swear so that has to be good, right?!  I mean, awareness is the first step in most healing processes...I think!   

Tally: Lent 0, Failure 1

Giving up texting and checking facebook while driving:  Ok...I hate to admit it, but totally do it and pretend that I don't.  My excuse (ahem, a really good one btw) is that I sit in traffic for over an hour round trip and so I get really bored!  Usually, I end up saying to myself that I'll just read/write a text or check facebook while I'm at a complete stop in the middle of the highway with 100% intentions to stop as soon as I start driving again.  BUT...then I'm usually smack dab in the middle of something and no matter how hard I try to wait to finish until I stop again, I just can't!  

Tally:  Lent 0, Failure 2

Giving up being negative at work:  Why I even attempted this one is beyond me!  The way things are going right now and the fact that everybody, literally everybody, is negative at work right now I seriously just set myself up for failure.

Tally:  Lent 0, Failure 3 

Giving up my all-so-cherished vanilla chai lattes from Starbucks:  Alright, this sacrifice is the one that is by far the hardest for me, but I am proud to say that it is also the one that I have not failed at!  Wahoo, go me!!!  But, that doesn't mean things have gone smoothly for me... 

First, this week I decided to make a very good effort to be to work on time (7:30 a.m.)...and by "I decided" I mean "my boss said we had to be to work on time this week"...and so I've been having to get out of my wonderfully, comfortable bed even earlier in the mornings which in turn means I'm even more tired than usual.  In fact, this morning I was so tired that despite that I've been shaving my legs for ohhhhh say 18 years or so of my life, I somehow happened to shave right over my finger and took a chunk out of my fingernail!  Ouch!

I'm only telling you this because any other time of year if I were this tired, I'd be all over a vanilla chai...even if it made me late to work to stop by Starbucks and grab one!  Not to mention, now my finger hurts and you never really realize how much you use one particular finger until you get a sharp shooting pain in it every time you use it....and just for that I think I deserve a vanilla chai for my pain and suffering!  Awe, Lent!

Second, playing off the fact that I'm getting up earlier, and therefore, extremely tired when I get to work at 7:30 a.m. with no vanilla chai to help me, I've ended up indulging in a cup of coffee every morning.  Yuck!!!  And not only do I NOT like coffee, the coffee at work is so strong I'm pretty sure you could get a caffeine-high just from smelling it so I'm sure you can only imagine how it tastes.  To try and mask this wonderful taste, I end up using 7-8 (sometimes more) of these little creamers:

Although these little creamers have been a lifesaver, I'm sure they can't be that healthy for you! So now not only have I picked up an even worse (read: more caffeinated, and therefore, probably more addicting) habit than drinking vanilla chai, but they are also probably way more fattening than my "nonfat" vanilla chai.

So to sum this sacrifice up - my success has definitely helped my tally some, but overall I've probably just made things worse for myself.  (We aren't going to count that though, so....)

Tally:  Lent 1, Failure 3

Joining a bible study:  Ok...and last, but not least...just to bump up the tally a little more...I also decided to take on one thing for Lent this year.  I decided to join a bible study. This one I also am doing!  So I guess that makes two of my "commitments"  (we will call them since this one doesn't qualify as a sacrifice) not yet broken!

Tally:  Lent 2, Failure 3

Only 5 weeks and 3 days to go.  Oh, gosh, wish me luck!

Hypochondriac? Possibly.

Call me a hypochondriac, but I may have a heart defect!  Ok...most likely not, but I'm not going to lie...I'm a little worried about it.  Don't laugh!  My entire life (or at least as far back as I can remember) I've suffered from migraines.  I've had this checked out multiple times [side story: In forth grade at one check-up, a doctor told me the MRI would check if weeds would start growing out of my ears and I seriously freaked out!], but nothing has ever come out of it and the cause is always chalked up to "it runs in the family."  Up until yesterday I had pretty much accepted that "diagnosis" and religiously have Excedrin Migraine with me at all times.  Not a big deal, right?   Well...that has all changed and now hypochondriasis has set in. 

The night before last my father-in-law had watched a news story covering migraines and so naturally thought of me - glad others are now associating me with migraines...that's awesome (but the whole thing is really quite sweet as well!)  Anyway, he had called Boon and asked him to find the story online to send to me, which he did and now I am partially convinced [read: kind-of-really convinced, but feel kind-of-stupid admitting it and don't actually want to sound like a hypochondriac.  Is there a term for being scared of being a hypochondriac?  I should look that up.  But anyway...] that I have a heart defect! 

The article is Migraines Could Signal Heart Defect.  In summary, it basically states research shows a link between people who get migraines and a common congenital heart condition called Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), which in lamens terms is a small hole in the heart.  It also states that "those patients have found to not only have a higher incidence of this hole, but actually in having the problems associated with this hole...whether it be a stroke, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmia, or shortness of breath."  Great...just great!!!!    Oh....but the good news is, once discovered, surgery to close the hole in the heart resolves this issue. 

So, naturally, I woke up with a piercing headache this morning so my first thought was "OMG...I'm going to have a stroke!"  Yeah, try falling back to sleep after that!  Needless to say (since I'm typing this) I did not have a stroke (thank gosh!) and my headache is completely gone thanks to my trusty Excedrin Migraine!  BUT...that doesn't change that now I'm wondering if I should make an appointment with the cardiologist.  I mean, the article did say that "anyone who has migraines really should see their cardiologist and ask to see if they have any evidence of this hole."  I guess the question is...if I actually make an appointment, am I being smart and proactive or am I a hypochondriac? 

For a normal person (not me) the answer to that question would be simple, but since I've had a past history of being laughed at by doctors for my "concerns" I'm a little hesitant.  But then again my track record for my "concerns" and being laughed at has been that I usually end up being right.   Take for example:  Last year when I went in for my physical, I had asked for a stress test and EKG because my heart rate skyrockets within 5 seconds of working out and my second cousin once removed died of a heart condition.  (That's serious stuff, right!?)  Well, when I went into get my results it turned out that I was just "out of shape" - yes, that was actually the diagnosis that the doctor repeated about 6 times, but anyway at that visit I also told the doctor that I think I have a thyroid problem to which he laughed at.  Seriously, he laughed at me and hit his hand on his knee - no joke.   I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I just had a stress test  and EKG for being out of shape.  He told me to come back in six months if I was still having symptoms.  RUDE!  Well, it turned out that five months later a different doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism.  Hmmmm....told him!  

So anyway, you can see my hesitation.  What to do?  What to do?

My "LIST"

On Superbowl Sunday,  Boon and one of his best friends were discussing their Top 100 List of all time.  Now, this isn't the first time I've heard them discuss their "lists" or even who they absolutely think is HOT right now, but what caught me off guard is that they have a Top ONE HUNDRED List!!  Come on!!!  Who has time to put together...or even remember for that matter...ONE HUNDRED beautiful woman of all time and actually rate them.  I mean, seriously, if these boys are that bored, I am sure I can find ONE HUNDRED other productive things for them to do...probably all from my to-do list alone!  [note: Yes, I realize the irony in that comment considering I'm blogging right now, but set that aside for now and concentrate on the sheer amazement of putting together and rating ONE HUNDRED women.]

Although I was caught off guard and thought it to be a complete waste of time, it did spring my curiosity....just a little bit.   So ever since Sunday, I've been racking my brain to come up with a list of 10 men....just 10...that I thought were super HOT and worth being on a "list."  Well, it's freakin' hard!  Yes, I'm not the best at remembering names of people or movies I've seen so that makes it a bit harder to remember who I thought was cute, but I seriously thought that over time a few that I couldn't argue against would come to mind.   They didn't.   Which makes me wonder a few things: (1) Am I really that picky? (2) Is my memory really that bad? (3) Are there just way more hot women than hot men?  (4) What's wrong with me?   With, of course, Question #4 being rhetorical...

However, since I don't like to give up, I still managed to put together a list of 10, but I'm going to throw it out there that this list is subject to change as: (1) I remember other HOT men, (2) I see more movies (and write down the cute actor's name), and (3) somebody reminds me of a HOT man that I didn't think of before writing this post.

Ok...first the TOP FIVE...this part of the list was pretty easy for me.  These men are my all-time fave!!!!

1.  Ryan Reynolds

 2.  Josh Turner

3.  Josh Duhamel

4.  Gucci Cologne Model

5.  David Beckham

Now for the next five.  Brace yourself - I know some of these guys are complete tools, some of them can't act, some of them only look good some of the time, some of them have horrible accents, and some of them smell bad, but I went off pure looks only here!

6.  Paul Walker

7.  Brad Womack

8.  Bradley Cooper

9.  Chris Pine

10.  Matthew McConaughey

There you have it....My Top 10 List!!   What have I learned from all of this?  That it is pretty dang obvious that I like dark hair, chiseled faces, a five-o'clock shadow and one hell of a HOT MAN!!!   PS - by far the most fun post I've done to date!  :)  



Drowning In Food!!

Oh my gosh, I've never ate this much food nor been required to eat this much food in my life! 

A little history first:

Last September Boon and I joined the Body Upgrades Boot Camp basically because the first month was free and we had been meaning to do something (workout-related) for years, literally, and neither one of us had the self discipline to actually start and/or stick with anything on our own.  We figured, WTH, it's only a month...what do we have to lose?   Well, low and behold, at the end of the free month we both really liked it, were committed and were already noticing a difference in both our bodies and energy levels so we signed up and have been doing it ever since.  (BTW, Mike Johnson with Body Upgrades is great!  If you've never heard of him and want somebody to kick your butt (in a very nice way), he's your man.  Click "Body Upgrades" to check him out.  (I should get a free month for that right?!)) 

Now to the point:

At the beginning of the year Mike sent out a new meal plan for us to try.  I quickly glanced at it, but for those of you who know Boon, know that when it comes to food he "just knows what he likes" (read: picky eater, but don't tell him I said that!) and I'm not all that great about sticking to a "diet" (as I viewed it) either so I brushed it off.  But then one very unmotivated Monday at work, I happened to come across the meal plan in my inbox so I thought I'd do what I do best and make a spreadsheet of the different meal options for each day.  I wasn't sure if I'd even use it, but who cared...I got to make a spreadsheet!!!   Well, which I'm pretty sure you can tell from the title of this post, that by the Grace of God [disclaimer: not sure if Grace is supposed to be capitalized or not, but erring on the safe side I capitalized it] I talked Boon into giving it a try and the spreadsheet ended up getting used. 

So when we first looked at our "rules" and saw that it was very important to eat Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack and Evening Snack every day with each meal spaced no more than 3 1/2 hours apart, we thought we were going to starve!  I mean no dinner!  Who doesn't eat dinner?!  I even asked Mike at camp that day thinking he made a mistake and accidentally left it off.  Nope...he didn't make a mistake...no dinner.  I figured I was going to lose Boon at that, but he hung in there!  And, just like that we were on our way to a healthier lifestyle...at least for two weeks! 

The first step to our healthy lifestyle was to look up the definition for this word he kept referring to as "vegetables."  It is a scary word for both of us, but no worries, we are surviving!  Second step: head to the grocery story to purchase probably the most healthy cart full of food we have ever purchased in our 8 years together.  Third step: starting last Monday morning (because who starts a meal plan on any day other than Monday) dive into this new meal plan full force totally expecting to starve for the next two weeks. 

And that brings us back to my very first sentence - oh my gosh, I've never ate this much food nor been required to eat this much food in my life! 

So for the past week and a half we've been eating very healthy mini-meals...that aren't really that "mini" at all.  In fact, being me, I again assumed Mike had made a mistake and assigned us too much food to eat - that he really didn't expect one single person to eat this much food in one day so I asked him at camp that day.  Nope...no mistake...he wants us to eat that much food.  In fact, Boon is supposed to double the meal plan!  (I secretly laughed when Mike told us that and by secretly, I mean not-so secretly at all...out loud in fact, while pointing at Boon! Hehe - still laughing!  If I have to eat this much, then it only makes sense for him to eat more, right!?)  To give you an idea of one of our days, here is an example of the meals I eat - now remember Boon is supposed to eat twice this much:        

• Breakfast:  grapefruit; cheese; 2 whole eggs w/2 egg whites
• Snack:  1/2 c. 1% cottage cheese; 1 apple, 2 fish oil caps
• Lunch:  whole grain tortilla, 3 oz lean meat, 1/2 avocado, 1-3 oz veggies
• Snack:  1 cheese stick, 1 apple, 1 scoop protein mixed in water or unsweetened almond milk
• Evening Snack:  small salad w/3 egg whites or 3 oz lean meat with 1/4 avocado, low fat dressing, add non-starch veggie if want

YES, that is just in ONE day!!!   If it doesn't seem like a lot to you, let me give you an idea - 3 oz. of lean meat is 2 1/2 large slices of deli meat and 2 whole eggs w/2 egg whites scrambled is 1/2 a plate full of eggs!  Yikes!!!

Ok...so on the upside...we are doing it! Go us!!  Also, on the upside, I actually feel better and have learned that eating healthy isn't as bland as I thought it would be.   Thank you, Mike!!  On the downside...all.I.do.is.eat....all day long...which sounds great, but really it is very time consuming!

Now, I must go...it's time to eat again.  Thanks for letting me vent...I feel better!  (And on a serious note, I really do appreciate Mike...he is absolutely great at what he does!) 

My First Post!

Hi!!  Well, this is my very first post on my almost-very first blog...I am so excited!!  [insider note: I say "almost-very first blog" because I created a mini-blog for my mom when she was fighting her breast cancer to keep all her family and friends up-to-date.  So technically, I've had a blog before and didn't want to lie, but logistically this will be MY first blog about yours truly.] 

Let's see - where to start?!  When I told my husband and sisters I was going to start a blog, I was asked "Why?", "What are you going to blog about?", "Who's going to read it?"...so I suppose I will start with answering those questions. 

Why? - I have NO IDEA!  I just think it would be fun - I see people's blogs posted on FB all the time and they are too cute so I figured, why can't I?  I'm not really sure what I'm doing or how long it will even last since I'm not a huge writer (and I don't really enjoy it all that much either), but I promise, I will do my best to keep up with it and to keep it interesting!  Who knows...maybe most of my posts will end up as pictures, but let's be honest, would that really be that bad?!   Needless to say, I'm super excited and I hope you enjoy it!

What are you going to blog about? - Again, I have NO IDEA!  Does anybody know exactly what they are going to blog about when they set one up?  Well, unless of course, you set a blog up for a very specific purpose (i.e. kids, medical updates, you blog as your job, etc.), but I think it would be safe to bet that most people with personal blogs don't know what they are going to blog about.  At least, that is what I'm going with because it makes me feel better!  :) 

Who's going to read it? - Surprise...I have NO IDEA!  I guess this one isn't really up to me, but I am going to be safe and say my husband (Boon), my two sisters (Holly and Kelsie), my mom (Melinda), my step-mom (Cheryl) and possibly my dad (Kenton (but most likely Cheryl will just give him updates)) because they are my family and isn't your family supposed to support you all the time?!  So the way I see it is that with any luck that is already 5-6 potential followers which is super exciting and anybody else will just add to that excitement! 

Ok - now that we are all on the same page, let me describe myself a bit.  I'm assuming if you are reading this you pretty much know all the stats about me (name, age, birthday, married, kidless, etc.) so I won't bore you with the obvious.  Instead I'll share a few things that you may or may not already know about me...

First, my blog title: High Heels and Hard Hats is very fitting and I think describes me to a 'T'.  High Heels because I am very girly and love all things girly (manicures, pedicures, fashion, hair, romance comedies, puppies, babies, pink, spas, etc.) and dislike all things non-girly (bugs, dirt, cooking (ok - some may say cooking is girly, but I don't think it is...raw chicken, cleaning a turkey, raw hamburger...ugh, definitely not girly), bugs, garbage, bugs, etc.).......but I also absolutely love.... construction; hence, Hard Hats!   I've been told by more than one person that I am "prissy" and I actually don't mind that, but at the end of the day I think I'm the most happiest when I'm on a construction site or doing a home-improvement project.  I just LOVE that stuff!  I would love to own a development company...residential to be specific, but if it grew into more I'd be ay-oh-kay with that!  [More to come on that topic - stay tuned!]  And thus, High Heels and Hard Hats was born. 

Second, I grew up in Wyoming and although I couldn't wait to get the heck out of there when I was a kid, I actually miss it now.  Well, maybe not so much Wyoming exactly, but I miss the snow, the seasons, the mountains, the smell, the gorgeous views....all of the stuff I took for granted when I was little.  I'm in Austin, TX now which is a great place to live [necessary addition: if you have to live in Texas] and there are a lot of fun things to do here, great people, love the southern-hospitality, great night life (not that we go out all that much anymore, but if we wanted to there would be a great night life), and we are close to a lot of lakes, but I still miss the north.  I really do hope to move back someday...Denver, to be specific...and I just hope I can get my husband on board!  Even better if his family got on board too...then we could all move and be close to both families!  How great would that be?!?!   Ok...so I'm also a big dreamer.  [2nd close for blog title: Whoa, Dream Big!]  It's just that family means the world to me and we are all so dang spread out right now it makes it hard to see each other a lot.  In my ideal world - we'd all be living in Denver by the year 2017.  That's not too much to ask, is it?

Home Is Where the Heart Is!      

 

Ok - well, I think that's a wrap for my first post!  This is it -  no going back now!