Thursday, December 17, 2009

Officially vaccinated.

That's right. I just got my h1n1 vaccination here at work. I have been tossing around my decision since the first time they asked me if I wanted it. You see, we get the flu shot for free and now the h1n1 as well.

I had never ever had a flu shot in my life, until last year. My OBGYN recommeded getting one since I was preggo...so, I caved. My reasoning has nothing to do with all the arguments for and against vaccines, I honestly don't know much about them. I am just terrified of needles. And I mean, really, seriously, hyperventilating, holding back tears, terrified. Yes, I know, I am 26 years old and they don't hurt. I cannot explain my irrational fear of a needle plunging into my skin. I have just always been this way.

Anyway, I'm still a little scared about it. I have seen some youtube video about that cheerleader who had the awful side effect...I don't know if it is really true or not, but it is scary nonetheless. So, I guess we will see what happens!

(Oh, and my very lovely coworker let me cut in line so I could get the GOOD nurse. I can honestly say she is the best shot-giver I have ever experienced. I keep asking her if I can bring her with me to the other doctors...I am pretty sure she thinks I am kidding.)

Have a lovely day!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Time to get ugly!

I am spending my lunch hour today googling 'free Christmas applique designs'...why, you ask? I have been coridally invited by my good friend, Jaime (@fearfully and wonderfully made) to a First Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (I added the 1st Annual part, but if we are all still here next year, I will pressure her into making it an annual event!)

Well, there must be A.LOT. of UCSP's this year because Goodwill had Nada. They had many ugly sweaters, don't get me wrong. But, their Christmas selection was seriously lacking. I ended up with an OK combo for Jason (part of his outfit is Definitely from the women's section- but who cares, we aren't going for fashionable!) But, for myself, I was coming up empty. That is, until I decided to just grab a regular little sweater (cardi to be exact) and decided I will doctor it up into an UGLY Christmas sweater. Which is why I have been googling for appliques.

My MIL has been hard at work fixing up my BIL's old baby quilt and it has involved mucho-applique (Don't ask my why I'm so Spanglish today...no se!) Anyway, I figure it I find some good designs/patterns, she might be able to help me get 'er done!

Unforatunately for you (because I know you're on the edge of your seats with excitement...), I cannot reveal what my final decisions will be...it would ruin the surprise for my friends that read my blog and will also be in attendance of this blessed event.

But, I would like to get some opinions! So far I have designs for Christmas trees, a snowman, gloves, a gingerbread man, a moose/reindeer (the site says reindeer, I say moose) and ornaments. What do you think I should do?? All of them look fairly easy, so your opinoins need not be based on skill level (of which I have little....)

Oh, and Jaime, (hopefully you're reading this...maybe I'll send you a text to make sure...) are there prizes involved at our Annual bash? Jason keeps saying something about wanting to win. I dont' even know what type of prize we could give away, but it we could come up with something ugly and fitting, it might be funny. (O:

Alright ladies! Have a great day!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Write That Down

(I’m fairly certain I’ve used that title before, but if you don’t remember, neither will I…so let’s move on)

I want to tell you lovely ladies about the great time I had last night! Some of the girls in my small group and I had a Paper Party! Another girl from our church, Christina Watson, is a super talented graphic designer. (Check out her blog @Christina Studio Designs Right Now! OK, well, not RIGHT now…finish reading my post first and then check her out! If you love personalized stationary, you will not be disappointed!) Anyway, the first time I had the privilege of seeing Chrissy’s work was a little over a year ago when I coordinated her wedding. She created ALL her paper products- invitations, menus, place cards, etc. Amazing stuff! Then, about 6 months ago, I started following her blog, became a fan of her facebook page and <3'd her etsy site.

Let me just tell you that I Love. LOve. LOVE all things paper! I love post it notes, little cutie notebooks, note cards, greeting cards and the list goes on! So, when I approached my small group about having one of Chrissy' Paper Parties, I was super excited! Much to my surprise and definitely adding to my excitement- several of the ladies were just as in love with paper as me (or they just love us so much they still came and/or allowed the party to be held in their casa...thanks Erin!!)

Chrissy brought so many amazing products and really had countless options to offer! She does everything herself- draws everything out on the computer, prints all her own work and does all her cutting by hand! It's truly amazing what she does! I had a really hard time narrowing down what I wanted to order (of course I wanted everything she had!) Here are a couple of the items I ended up ordering...I cannot wait for them to be ready!! (O:

These are fabulous little note cards, perfect for a quick hello or special note. I love the whimsical design on the bottom and of course, I love the pink! I had her change the purple circle to green. (That's another awesome thing about Chrissy's work- everything is 100% customizeable!


I fell in LOVE with these cards the first time I saw them! What better way to encourage a girl friend than with these lovelies!! (O: (I had mine customized to hot pink bras and green accents. YAY! Is it bad to say I'm anxious for someone to have something sad happen so I can send one?? I don't want anything major...even just a bad day would do!) OK, that is a little mean...so someone just lie to me and say you had a bad day and you can be the first recipient of one of these awesome cards!! (O:(O:


This is another item I have been drooling over for months now! (I even put it on my Christmas list!) (O: I didn't order it last night, in the HIGH (and probably unrealistic) hopes that one of my family members ordered it for me...but, I will know in only a few short weeks...at which time, if it is not already in my possession, I will be chatting Chrissy up to get one in the works! Of course I want pink instead of navy blue and I think there are a couple of the tabs that I want to see about changing, but that's the beauty! She is willing and able to do whatever anyone might want! (O:


Thanks again Chrissy for a fantastic evening! You did such a great job and we all had a blast! Now, my dear friends, go check her out for yourselves! (O:

Friday, December 4, 2009

The time has come!

That's right, Ladies and Gentlemen! The time is now here- the time for me to become a real 5k runner! I can't believe it has been 9 weeks since I decided to give the Couch to 5K Training a whirl. Looking back, I have definitely come a long way and I am very proud of myself. I actually stuck with it and made it to the end! While I'm not actually running 3 miles yet, I AM running 30 minutes straight. That is how I did my training. In hindsight, I wish I would have trained for mileage intead of minutes. But, I am still proud of myself and I am looking forward to tomorrow's run.

Last night I met up with Jaime for a trial run of the course. We did pretty good, if I do say so myself. We decided to cut part of the course out, seeing as it was 5:30 p.m. and already Very dark out. She picked up mace on her way to meet me, but even still, we didn't want to risk it. Overall, even with skipping part of the course, I think we feel better about the whole thing. I feel better prepared for what tomorrow holds and I am far less nervous. I think because we took the time to check it out before race day, all our nerves and insecurities were wiped away. Now we know what to expect and we also know that (for the most part) we can do this! I can actually look forward to tomorrow instead of dreading it. And I am so excited!!

I will make sure to let you know how it goes....if I survive. ;-)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

This is the frist time...

I haven't been excited about having lunch catered in. I couldn't believe it myself. I mean, HOW could I not be drooling at the mouth over twice baked potatoes, extra cheesy macaroni and caesar salad??

Well, I am glad you asked. The whole Warren family has decided to start Weight Watchers together. Our official start day was this past Monday. So, I'm only on day 3 and I feel like I am actually getting the hang of it. I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 5 pounds!! (Yes, I know this isn't completely accurate- I know my weight fluctuates daily and I also know there is no way I dropped 5 pounds in 3 days.) But, it was Super DUPER awesome be under 190, even if it was just for today. I've been sitting hard at 193 (eeek, I hate that I just admitted to this, again) and today the scale said 188!! I did a double and Triple check, I was so shocked.

That brings me to my distain for today's fabulously catered meal. I have been doing great again today, light breakfast, mostly water to drink, no snacking. I even passed by the world's best Friendship Bread and an ooey gooey pecan pie from Cracker Barrel. I didn't even really hesitate. I just said to myself, it's not worth the points and kept walking. (Look at me go!)

When the food was delivered, the aroma filled my entire office instantly (Doesn't take long when the kitchen is literally outside my door)...I went to investigate and found ribs, twice baked potatoes, extra cheesy mac n cheese, beans, caesar salad and garlic bread. I think it is very rude not to eat whatever a rep brings in, so sticking to a turkey sandwich and green beans was out of the question. I reluctantly went through the line, skipped the ribs, took a potato and a small spoonful of mac n cheese. I made a small salad and skipped the bread. I didn't even ENJOY the food. The mac n cheese made me mad at myself. (If you know me at all, you know that I practically LIVE for mac n cheese, so this was not only upsetting, but also very disturbing).

With each bite, I kept thinking, what a waste...and I don't even know how many points I just used up. I didn't even finish all the food on my plate. It's not that I am beating myself up for 'giving in'- I am actually angry that I had to eat that junk. I had no healthy options to choose from. But, I guess that is the price I pay for being polite. I will just really watch my supper choices.

All of that being said- Can you believe it?? Who would have thought it would only take 3 days to get me to WANT to eat better?! It's like each wise choice is a little victory and I always feel good about writing down what I have eaten because it is (for the most part) healthy. I am definitely goal oriented and this program seems to be for me. My goal is to stay under my 26 points, or at least not to go over, and it makes it like a little challenge each day. My secret, selfish hope is that after a few months of this once I start shedding some actual pounds, I will run into someone I haven't seen in a while and they will say, "WOW, you look great!" That and fitting into my old jeans. I would really love that. All my favorite pairs are too small right now and I can't wait until I can slide back into them! (O: