More about Me

Current obsession- Catching up on all seasons of The Office
Weirdest obsession- tanning lotion

Wearing today- Cream/black/pink skirt with black sleeveless collard shirt and wedge black sandals

Favorite comfort food- Brownies/ice cream.
What would make today special- if someone brought me coffee from my favorite place!

You'd like to learn to: Play golf really well

Last thing you bought- Coach glasses.

Listening to right now- Coldplay "Sparks" -- such romance!!

Favorite weather- I love fall

Most challenging goal now- Financial freedom/saving. Also, being content.

One who tagged you- I actually picked it up from That is All!

Anywhere to live- Back in my home state of F-L-O-R-I-D-A

Want in your hands now- Plane ticket home.

Like to get rid of- 5 lbs.

Anywhere for an hour- The salon to get more hi-lights!

Language to learn- I am happy with English. haha.

Look for in a friend- Unshakable commitment

Meet in person- Palin

Favorite type of music- Country

Favorite clothing owned- I have allll types. Seriously.

Dream job- Marketing Director

$100 to spend on- Shopping money for my May beach trip

Pet peeve- Dirtiness. Hair on the bathroom counter or floor. EW. Do not get me started!!

Who do you admire- My boss -- she has accomplished so much!

Personal style- classy/dressy -- sometimes I have to ask my friends how to dress casually

Favorite beauty product- Clinique Moisturizing Gel (much lighter than the lotion).

I tag:

Queen B
From the land of Cotton
Small Town Girl
I Got This!

Money Makeover & New Scents!

I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday with one of my best friends, Jen. We go often and find ourselves spending 2 hours or more flipping through magazines, catching up on our week, talking about work, etc. I got there a little earlier than Jen did, so I decided to browse. I just recently renewed my B&N membership ($25 a year -- excellent savings for book-lovers. I highly recommend it!), so I was looking for a new book. Instead of the typical fiction female novels I typically buy, I decided to get something that would be beneficial to my time. I have heard lots of reviews about the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover, and have been very curious about the buzz. All it took was me flipping through it for a minute and I was at the register buying it. In my opinion, it has such practical tools at how to save, get out of debt, and helps with the general view of money. I spent about an hour last night before bed reading it, and I got half-way through! It kept my attention! What I am learning right now, basically, is that I need to take baby steps and cannot look at the big picture quite yet. Ramsey suggest building a $1,000 emergency fund so when unexpected medical bills or car repairs DO come up, you won't have to charge it and get further into debt. After the emergency fund is saved, then comes the debt snowball. I won't trail off into my financial plan that I developed until 1 a.m. (don't want to bore you), but needless to say, this book is already helping me make changes to a better future.

In other news, some of you true Victoria's Secret shoppers may have received a "secret savings coupon" in the mail that can be used during April and May. Well, I got mine in the mail and saw that I could potentially save $10,$20, $50, $100, or $500! Knowing my luck, I went into the store expecting to get only $10 (which still would have been nice), but when I went up to the register to make my purchase, they told me my secret savings coupon was worth $50! I was so excited, because I never win anything! So, I told them to hold my purchase for a moment, and I went to the front of the store where I smelled this delicious new limited-edition line earlier. It is the Layers of Love Spell-Warm Coconut. It is amazing!! Go smell it.

Earth Day? Missing grandparents. Also, bali?

This is a tri-post today! First off, let me rant. Earth Day -- what is all the fuss? How is this a celebration? Do people even celebrate? I hope I do not offend the earth-lovers who may read this blog, but, I do have some bad news. I hate the "Go Green" campaign. Don't get me wrong, I love the world and thank God daily for giving us this chance to enjoy His creation. (That will be the only reason I celebrate earth day.) I just do not get the concept of preserving the earth. It is all going to disappear eventually according to Revelation. I do have issues with those who trash the earth because I think it is our job to keep it beautiful, however, I do not understand those who go above and beyond by purchasing green everything! Green sheets, organic soap, green lights, green foods, earthy organic household items that conserve energy. I don't get the rave about em. But all in all, Happy Earth Day anyway!


Moving forward... How did I not know about two new Vera patterns?! Bali Blue & Bali Gold are adorable! I thought VB already came out with their four spring/summer patterns, but clearly two more have been added since then to total six new patterns! I love the Bali Gold and asked Mom and Dad for the clutch wallet in this pattern for my birthday in June. I know June is two months away, but my mother plans ahead. (Maybe that is where I get that trait from?) I think both the blue and gold are darling, but I just find the yellow/pink/purple combo to be so different than past VB collections. In fact, they have not had a yellow pattern in a long while!

On a final note, I really miss my grandparents. I am blessed to still have three grandparents alive and they all live in the Atlanta, GA area. It is about a seven hour drive away, and I feel like I need to take advantage of the time they are alive to spend more time with them. I don't think seeing them at Christmas and maybe once in the summer is enough. Even though the drive is long and annoying, I need to suck it up and do it more often. I have been looking through my planner today to find the next best available weekend to visit. I have a lot going on in May and I just started a 2nd job working on the weekends a lot, but hopefully I can get a weekend off in May of June to go down. I will see one of them in July for our Alaskan cruise, so that will be nice.

Level 2 of 30 Day Shred is killer!

I started Level 2 of the 30 day Shred last night. I was not technically supposed to start level 2 until Thursday, but I got tired of the anticipation of wondering what Jillian was going to have me do! So, I think for the next 12 days, I will alternate between level 1 and 2, and then finish off with level 3 the last ten days. Good thing this is all happening right before the wedding weekend and beach week! I will be finished right on time. It is interesteing how I can do 45 minutes on the eliptical trainer, but never sweat or get winded as much as I do in this 20 min. session. It is difficult. I am still incorporating 20 extra minutes of running before the shred several times a week. I can already start to see results, especially in my arms.

On a second note, I start Job #2 tomorrow afternoon. It is just something extra on the side. I am saving for my 2010 goals: move into an apartment/townhome of my own and also trade in my car with a decent down payment. Also, continuing to chip away debt is super important, as well. Dave Ramsey is my new best friend.

**Also, remember my wreck I was telling you all about last month? This is hilarious, but I will now have $30 dedcuted from each paycheck until NOVEMBER to pay off my deductible back to my employer. I am over the frustration, and can only laugh about it now. Such as life!

Picture Deprived

I realized this weekend that I need to take more pictures! It is mid-April, and I have how many pictures to show for 2009? Like, 100. Sad.... ! Do you ever get in picture taking ruts? For example, last summer, I took pictures all the time, almost everyday. Now, I take them on occasion. I need to get back in the groove because I don't want memories to pass me by!

FanTannies

...Let's talk about tanning today. Yes, FanTannies is the name of a salon in my hometown. Figure it out -- I'm sure you can.

My town has about three big tanning names. One is the 'galleria' of tanning, one is the redneck tanning spot, and one is brand new. The galleria of tanning has been around my entire time during college. It was the premiere salon when we all came in freshman year. They have two salons in town, and they just think they are IT. However, I love how their prices keep climbing and climbing, and yet, they are the same beds, same bulbs, same service, same same same since I was a freshman in college! I am paying for the same thing. Why should I continue my business with you for going up $20 for a base bed unlimited fee? Well, I'm not going to -- they definitely lost my business.

The next salon, the redneck-ish one, is not as nice or premiere as the 'galleria tanning salon' in town. However, I would have months off and on where I would go there for a month because they had specials going on to gain more clientele. I will admit, that this salon had several perks going for themselves. They have almost twenty beds, they allow clients to share packages with friends, and their beds are one solid rate. You can use a super, standard, or the stand-up for one price. The beds are not as new as some I have experienced, but I still managed to get good color. Well, I went in there yesterday to buy a cheap month of tanning, and they went up $15 due to the spring. I started writing my name down, glanced over and saw that price adjustment, and walked right back out. They do not hold weight to charge that price -- especially for the area of town they are in and the way the salon looks.

Finally, I landed a winner. The new salon in town is A-Mazing. Their beds are the best in town and they have four levels of tanning to choose from. I was against this salon at first because they charged all of their clients a $50 joining fee (whatever that means), but I saw online they were running a special that clients could join with the fee waived. The catch is you have to sign up for six months. So, I figured I would probably tan these six months of the year due to it being spring and summer and then that would be all. I am tanning at this nice salon for $30 a month and it is nicer than all the others with newer beds that are only 12 minutes long.

How great is that?! It certainly did make me a happy tanner yesterday. I plan to go back during lunch today!

Easter at the beach

Hello all! I hope you had a good Easter weekend. I sure did/ and still am! I flew down to Birmingham, Alabama early Saturday morning, threw my Vera Bradley duffels in the car, and went down to Gulf Shores to be with the family. We are staying at a very nice condo and despite the rain and NO sun, we are still having a good time. Funny that I have not donned a single swimsuit yet due to the weather, though. I thought I would come back with a tan, but that is clearly not the case. I am getting whiter by the day!

Now, I am a preacher's child. PK for several generations. We go to church every Sunday. Always. However, my mother got the vacation weekend mixed up when she was booking the condo, and so.... yes, this was my first Easter not at church. I am almost and honestly embarrassed by admitting this, and I was also very upset I would be missing church (I love my home church). However, we still had our own Easter celebration at the beach with singing praises, reading the Bible, and reflecting on the fact that our Savior is alive. I think so many individuals put so much emphasis on Easter alone. To me, Easter is everyday. The Resurrection of Jesus should be praised everyday, in my opinion. 

Tomorrow, I am hoping for a few hours of sun and then, I am flying back home. I have missed my roomies very much! The week is filled with nightly activities. One of my best friends from college, who was also my roommate one year, is visiting all the way from Australia! She is getting married in June and wanted to make one final trip out to our town to visit everyone. I am so excited to see her! I will be sure to post pictures of the weekly happenings. 

Day 1 Question

I started Day 1 of the 30 day shred tape. It is an amazing workout! I combined it with a twenty minute run, and I feel great. I have a question though -- do you do the tape everyday? I know typically that you are supposed to have rest days to rest the muscles, but I am just a little confused. Do I do the tape everyday? Thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks, all!

No more gym

I have been looking through my budget a lot lately due to my recent car accident and unexpected medical bills. My goal tonight was to see where I could cut corners even more than I already have. Looking at my spreadsheet, it was obvious and it was staring straight at me. The gym. That $45 could really go toward a bill or savings. So, I will be doing something I have not done in literally 6 years: RUN outside and do workout videos. As a former step aerobic instructor, I never thought I would see this day coming where I wouldn't make a daily stop at the gym. I LOVE the gym -- the equipment -- weight machines -- classes -- all of it! However, I know a lot of friends who do not use a gym and they still look great! I guess it really doesn't matter 'where' you work out, as long as you are getting your heart rate up and toning muscle a few days a week, it is all the same.

I have been doing some research and have read great reviews about the "30 Day Shred" with Jillian Michaels. I found a great deal on Amazon, and am looking forward to starting this when it comes in! I am putting in my gym cancellation on Sunday, so I will still have access to it for the entire month of April. I guess I can tag-team my workouts between the gym and the video. I also need to start incorporating a running routine.



Also, lately, I have been in such a fashion rut!! I don't know if it is just the time of year or the yucky, rainy weather, or what, but I have seriously come home from work everyday and changed into sweats. Poor Ben... but he actually joins me in his sweats and we chill or go around town. However, I have a closet-full of cute clothing and they need to be worn!

I will keep you all updated on how the new workout routine goes. Maybe the change in routine will be a good thing!