Justified!

So as you all are fully aware...I subscribe to Self magazine and I write about A LOT of stuff from it. Well in the November 2010 issue it seems like Self was using my blog to get some of their ideas.

Look familiar? It should it was my Sept 18 post for a Christmas Gift Idea for my family.

Check here if you don't believe me...Shia said it FIRST!

Okay I know what you are thinking. So what white watches are in hence why Shia wants one and duh Christmas is coming up and they are giving out gift ideas...maybe it's just a coincidence.

How about this one....there is no denying that Shia did this first.....

Come on people you all know that I went on a closet organizing frenzy back in AUGUST!!! Hello...this closet is like seriously close to what happened in my very own closet. If you don't remember check it out here! All I have to say is....why the hell am I not writing for a magazine because even my OWN thoughts/actions wind up in the magazine anyway! I could have gotten PAID for something as simple as organizing my closet...OMG!!!!

My Blog is 1!

I can't believe it's only been a year.  

I feel like I have been writing this thing FOREVER!  

Well happy birthday blog...

here's too many MANY more posts!

What's that saying...

Don't piss on my leg and tell me that it is raining? This is exactly how I felt this morning when I heard on the radio that "studies" show that the oil spill in the Gulf isn't as bad as they thought it would be. Really?!? I'm supposed to believe that the Gulf spill wasn't "that bad"? Here's another saying...that is sooo funny I almost forgot to laugh!

This dear readers is why I hate the media. They will tell the public ANYTHING and most people JUST BELIEVE IT! I mean the NEWS said it so it's gotta be TRUE...right? Um NO! I'm no marine biologist but I'm pretty sure that tons of oil pumping into an ecosystem isn't GOOD no matter what!

When it rains it pours ....deux

So I originally wrote this post when I felt like a friend needed some encouragement. Well homegirl here needed some encouragement herself so I scrolled through and found it. Seriously it helped. I was like yes Shia you can overcome this crap that is currently festering in your life. So in case you missed it or need a refresher like myself ... check it out! 

Also I just want to say that when all is going wrong at work I get a phone call from a jeweler regarding some sapphires for my "custom" ring with encouraging news...what? sapphires don't cost more than diamonds...nooooo (pretty sure I was already aware of this...why weren't you).

What a waste...

So this morning I am walking to the elevator in the parking garage and this girl comes around the corner in this old grocery getter with a Harvard badge on the back. Wow Harvard impressive but um...you went to Harvard and ended up downtown in Jacksonville driving a beat up grocery getter....REALLY?!? Wow that totally sucks! I mean Harvard...you would think you would have more job opportunities than just Jacksonville. I mean come on if you just wanted to work in Jacksonville you could have just went to the University of Florida like the rest of us. I mean it is the "Harvard" of the South...yeah I couldn't even type that without laughing that's what they were constantly telling us while I was there and somehow I never quite believed it....oh well. But anywho .... I guess it's hard for Harvard grads to even find jobs!

It's a mad MAD world!

So is it me or is this world just full of douches?  I mean I feel like I'm confronted DAILY by tons of them.  Is this what society has come to?  I made this comment yesterday to Taller while we were running, how are we supposed to concentrate on saving the planet when most people aren't even civil to other people?  I mean think about it...think about all the douchey (yes it is a word...the act of being a douche) people that just do douchey things on a daily basis to piss you off....do you think that these people care enough to not throw their beer can in the river?  No!  Cuz that is precisely the reason that they are a douche in the first place.  Look I can't say that I love people.  I truly truly hate most people BUT I am not a douche and the people that I hate well they are douches!  I don't just stop in the middle of the flow of pedestrian traffic or talk on my speaker phone all day with personal calls or merge into lanes without checking or cut in line at stores or stand right on top of the person checking out or park on the street blocking someone's driveway or smoke right outside the building's exit or okay you get my point there are a lot of douchey people in this world.  I am all for saving the planet but perhaps we need to start smaller....saving a douche...S.A.D....do you know a douche?  Perhaps help the planet by telling them to stop being a douche!  

Writer's note:  If I have offended you with the word douche...STOP BEING A DOUCHE and get over it!

Honey?

So we all know that I gave up sweet and low. Yep, it's been a while my friends and I think I'm pretty solid on never drinking that stuff ever again. So I've been making a mint green tea at home and adding a little honey to it as a sweetener. Well I just read in Shape magazine that honey is an immunity boosting sweetener, which is also ric in cancer-fighting polypheols. Also, it says that if your supermarket offers varieties that you should opt for buckwheat version, which has more antioxidants than the lighter colored stuff in the bear-shaped bottle. So finally...a sweetener I can drink and not feel guilty about it. What's the chances of getting honey from Starbucks for my iced green tea?

Running running and running running...

So today was Day 1 of Taller and Shia running at lunch.  I didn't expect much return from Day 1 but I think I made a pretty good effort.  I think at this pace I'll be back in full force in no time.  Thanks Taller!

Minus the 60

OMG isn't this clever and pretty?

Wedding Bee

Me?? CUSTOM?

So as you all can see from one of my last posts, Paul and I are shopping for my engagement ring. It's really not a big surprise I knew we would be getting engaged at Christmas this year but it's exciting that the moment is finally here. For two years I have been thinking about this moment where I would have to start making decisions as to the wedding, etc. and I guess I kept putting it off thinking...this is ridiculous I have PLENTY of time for all of that later. Well...it's a little daunting now that I'm approaching the engagement. There's SOOOO much to do and the craziest part is...I don't even want a big wedding. Seriously, I'm thinking like 10 guests with their plus ones and that's it and if that many. Yet, there is still this massive planning to do. Oye Vay! Let me also point out that because the word wedding is involved the prices for stuff go up and up. For example, my engagement ring, I just want a three stone two sapphires and the diamond in the middle and I'm told that this is CUSTOM! Custom? Seriously? And since it is CUSTOM, it's double....grrrr! I'm a simple girl. Nothing about me is "custom". I like things plain yet pretty...how I ask you is that custom? 

I realize that I think I'm starting to go through some of those things I read about in all of those bride magazines. I'm seriously having nightmares about my ring....like which one should I choose so maybe me helping to pick isn't the best idea...lol. Also, I (yes me Shia) am starting to doubt the whole yellow and black and white damask idea. Yes I just said that. Why? I really can't give you an actual sane answer to this...what I've come up with is...what if "this" looks better, what if "this" is easier, what if.... Yes folks, I'm starting to go bride crazy and that custom engagement ring isn't even on my finger yet.

Oh and you want to hear the craziest part? I thought at this point I would be freaking out more about the dress and my physical appearance...and? Nope. I feel like I have that pretty much under control. I've been making some pretty good progress and now Taller and I are stepping it up a notch tomorrow by running at lunch. So this is all good. No worries. Yet now, I am freaking out about everything else. 

First, all the books say to set a realistic budget. Hello what about wedding planning is realistic? As I've mentioned before just uttering the word engagement or wedding and the price doubles. So ... how I ask you can I budget realistically and also hello...realistically I want the budget to be like um I dunno....CHEAP! I mean don't get me wrong these 10 guests with their plus ones will get more than cheese and crackers...wait ... what if it's just fancier cheese and crackers...lol. My point is yes I want a pretty wedding but I really don't want to spend like a million dollars on flowers, a million dollars on food, a million dollars on a dress, etc. I want it to be special but I don't feel like I gotta pay for special. There aint nothing special about flowers whether they be for you living room or for a wedding. Flowers are flowers people so I shouldn't have to pay more just because they are for my wedding. 

Okay I have to stop this post...I'm getting a headache...lol. So, just know that my blogs might have a new topic....fretting over my big day...lol!

Falling in Love with Fall

So it finally seems like fall is right around the corner. As another year begins to wind down I would like to stop for a second and just enjoy the moment. Every year there seems to be highs and lows. The holidays wrap up and start the new year fresh. What's to stop us from just pausing for a moment and enjoying it now? 

When I think of fall, I think of cooler weather, cozy weekends and comfort foods. It's such a pleasant thought isn't it? I think Floridians really don't grasp the true essence of fall. Sure it's 80 out with a nice breeze and it doesn't feel like 150 when you go outside but I seriously miss those northern things that make you think of fall. The trees turning brilliant colors of yellow, orange and red. Apple cider being sold at the stores or on the road side. Man I miss the North!

So since we're in a cozy place think about what the last 9 months have brought. If you're someone (like me) who thinks in January what did I accomplish last year, start thinking about it now because hey if you don't think you've accomplished that much you still have three months to do it!

I think the whole new year vs. last year plagues me more because my birthday is in January. So not only is it a new year I'm also a whole year older. I think once you start ticking off those major boxes of your life years don't have to merit much more than happiness at the end. I think I had a quarter life crisis at 25. I remember just balling my eyes out all day. Thinking what have I done? Well now that I'm older I look back at that balling 25 year old and think...what were you crying about...you were moving in the right direction it just takes time silly. 

So this fall, think about your life. Are you in a good place or a bad place? If you're all good...congrats to you. But if you are in a bad place, step out of it and think....what can I do to make this better. Even if you can't fix the ultimate problem fixing other things in your life can feel just as good. Start with the little fixes and once you get all of them out of the way you'll realize that your bigger problems aren't so hard to conquer too. 

Let's say you just went through a huge change in your life and you're at the crossroads again. Instead of being like that balling 25 year old I once was thinking about what you should have done by now...stop and think...I can do whatever I want...what do I want? We're the ones that put limits on our lives whether it be time limits, expectations that we think others have of our lives, or expectations we had about our lives...there are really no limits. So break free from those limits and do what makes you happy.