The Four Way Test

Hello internets! Sorry I haven't been very active lately. Busy, busy with preparing for Christmas and all.

Then there was the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day that I had last week. I can't say too much about it because of pending legal action. I'm sure I will have a giant post about it at some point.

I just want to share something I've picked up from Rotary Club called the four way test which is a wonderful assessment for ethical behavior. If only everyone in my life had known about and applied the four way test.

So, Merry Christmas! I give you The Four Way Test

Of the things we think, say or do
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Things done and to be done

I haven't been taking pictures of my outfits lately, so I haven't posted. I did steal this from Caroline over at Secondhand Shopper.

The ones in bold are the ones that I have done, and some of the others are ones I would like to do.

1. Started your own blog. Um, hello!
2. Slept under the stars. Yes, but not really my cup of tea.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (if cross stitching counts)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables. Do herbs count?
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice. But I have seen the gondolas in the Venitian in Las Vegas. ;)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language. Well, I did have professors, so I didn't really teach myself.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing...Thought I was going to die! People, I am not the most coordinated.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke (in Spanish...scary!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt SO AWESOME!
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight...Among other things, ahem.
46. Been transported in an ambulance...car accident and random kneecap popping out of place incident
47. Had your portrait painted...My mom painted a picture of my brother & I before she went in to have a brain tumor removed. She's still here, and my son recognized me in the portrait.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma...I'm bolding this even though they wouldn't take my blood since I'd been to Haiti. I tried and it was the thought that counts, right?
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp...On Spring Break once, I chose to get a tattoo instead of visit the Holocaust Museum in DC.
67. Bounced a check...Math, gah
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy...I am a packrat of epic proportion.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone My collarbone, in the first grade, on Christmas eve
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person another awesome site
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper...Only for good things. ;)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake...I marked this because I have BEEN to the Great Salt Lake. I think you would have to be off your rocker to swim in it. It had flies all over it and smelled horrible.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit...For the house we built but never lived in. Stupid contractor.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Warm Wednesday 11-19-2008

Warm Wednesday 11-19-2008
Originally uploaded by coreydyk

Here's my humpday outfit. I had a busy, busy day of waiting on hold with tech support and fiddling with my computer. I also went to the National Philanthropy Day luncheon with my favorite non-profit group. It really was great to be in a room full of people doing good for others.

I love these pants. They are grey and turquoise tweed from BCBG. The cami is from JCPenney, and the cardigan is from Casual Corner.

My jewelry was bought while on vacation in New Orleans. I am not sure if the boutique survived Hurricane Katrina or not. I sure hope so. The artist used Swaroski crystals strung on turquoise metal wires. I should take a close up for all the great detail. This jewelry is special to me because I bought it while I was pregnant, and just a couple of months before New Orleans was hit by Katrina. Lots of memories for me in this necklace!

11-1-07 repeated 11-13-08

11-1-07
Originally uploaded by coreydyk

I wore this same outfit today. I wore different shoes and jewelry, but I forgot to take a picture. I probably looked better in the old picture anyway because due to a horrible pain in my shoulder, I had dirty ponytail hair since I couldn't raise my hand up high enough to deal with my hair.

I did go this afternoon for a massage, so that helped the pain in the back some.

I was out late last night, so I'm looking forward to an early bedtime tonight. Well, 11 is late when you have a 3 year old who gets up before the chickens!

Angelina Jolie in Cloche Hat

Angelina Jolie in Cloche Hat
Originally uploaded by edieamber

I saw the movie "Changeling" this weekend while away on my girl's weekend. It was a good movie with fabulous costumes. I particularly loved the hats worn by Angelina Jolie.

Go check out the pictures on www.changelingmovie.net to see many of the great costumes.

I hope I can find a hat as gorgeous as this one. I'm on the hunt!

Brown Cow?

The first time I wore this sweater, I asked my husband if he liked it, and he said I looked like a brown cow. He didn't mean it to be as bad as it sounded. He was playing with our son at the time and the toy they were playing with repeated "brown cow" over and over. I'm positive he said it before thinking.

I'm not loving this outfit, but it was OK for a rainy, busy Monday mostly spent at my desk catching up on a week's worth of email. These pants aren't the best, but I'm currently in my "fat" pants. Sigh.

I do LOVE my green coat. I got it last year after Christmas at Banana Republic.

Election News

In case you didn't know, there was an election yesterday in the U. S. of A. We have a new president-elect, but that's not really what I'm hear to blog about.

I am here to talk about Michelle Obama's dress for the election night. It was bad, and apparently, I am not the only one to think so. It did not flatter her figure and in some shots, even made her look poochy/pregnant. Watch out for the gossip rags spreading those rumors soon.

My husband said that the dress looked like she just slaughtered a pig without an apron before going on stage.

The dress was designed by Narciso Rodriguez. Here is a photo of what it originally looked like when walking down the runway this fall. I concede that the original is probably a bit too sexy for the first lady-elect's appearance on election night. But, I think that she could have done much better.

What happened to the pretty lady in the purple dress and pearls from the Democratic Convention?

I read that Ms. Obama does not wish to have a stylist. I totally understand and admire that. Dressing up is fun! Who wants someone else telling you what to wear? I will just hope that this dress was a temporary lapse in her fashion sense and hope that she can get back to her polished, pretty style ASAP.

Holy cow, I got an award.

Caroline, of Secondhand Shopper has bestowed me with the Honest Blogger Award. She's so sweet!

It's only taken me half a month to actually do my part!

So here are the rules: “When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional). List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. And then, pass it on.”

Here's who I award this to:

Barbie of I Heart 2 Girls
Nancy of Montrealaise en Californie

And here are my 10 honest things.

1. I only chose 2 people instead of 7 because I'm too shy to post on any of the other blogs that I read with an award/game like this. I'm blog shy I suppose. I have "known" Nancy & Barbie since 2005 and even met Barbie in person! Here's the proof:

2. I am an obsessive picker. I pick at scabs, pimples, dry skin, hangnails, etc. You get the picture. I had to use every ounce of my will power not to pick at my son's baby acne.

3. I am a horrible procrastinator. I often will not complete a task if there is no deadline. Sadly my motto is often: "If it weren't for the last minute, it wouldn't get done."

4. I often over-volunteer because I am a huge softie. I am on the board of directors of 2 local organizations. I am trying to coordinate several projects currently.

5. I am NOT a morning person. I love to sleep and do not like to get up. I once threatened my friends with death if they ever woke me with cheery song again.

6. I recycle at home and at the office. I fished bottles out of my newest employee's trash can because they could be recycled.

7. I love to read but don't make time for it. I have a problem because once I start reading something I tend to stay up all night and read it until I am done. This doesn't really work well with my love of sleeping.

8. I am not religious, but I try to live by the golden rule.

9. I feel like I actually look better in person than I photograph. Maybe I'm just vain or maybe I have some type of reverse body dysmorphic disorder. Or, perhaps I'm just overly critical of my own pictures.

10. I love to take really hot showers. I look like a lobster when I get out of the shower. Unfortunately, I have really dry skin and those hot showers don't do me any favors.

Happy Halloween!

Here I am with my little fire fighter!

Miss Fancy Pants is back in action

Miss Fancy Pants took a quick trip to Atlanta to get a little work done. A spa vacation, if you will. She was only gone Monday through Thursday, so I was a bit surprised to see her back so soon. Well done Lenovo peeps! And thanks to Phong for fixing my girl up right. She is right as rain and ready to talk to the internet. Hallelujah!

I'm down with NoImYoSeMo!

In case you didn't know, many bloggers participate in NoBloPoMo which is basically to post to your blog every day in November. (I think.) That seems like WAY too much pressure for me being the noob that I am. Thankfully, Slynnro has come up with an alternative for NoBloPoMo. She is suggesting NoImYoSeMo which stands for November Improve Yourself Month. I have been thinking about all the things that have been getting away from me and wanting to do better. Well, now I have a little motivation to give it a go.

I started today by taking my car in to get the oil changed and the tires rotated. I ran errands and then came home and made lunch. This afternoon, I started cleaning out my coupon pile and made a grocery list and meal plan for the week. I have a stack of coupon inserts that is literally a foot tall on top of my dresser. It is not cute with my decor people! I need to get rid of all of these coupons that are expired and just taking up space.

Here are some of my other goals for the month:

Clear the clutter from the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom.
Clean out my closet (Barbie or Nancy, want to come help? ;) )
Organize my bathroom and throw out old stuff I don't use.
Pack up G's clothes that are too small.
Clean out my car.

There are other things that I'm sure I'll add to the list, but this is what I've got on the brain at the moment.

The Saga of Miss Fancy Pants

Miss Fancy Pants is getting a trip to Atlanta! 

Unfortunately, she is traveling via DHL and not with me. Her wireless card is kaput. That means she refuses to talk to the internet without a direct connection. Who knows why she came to me so unwilling to talk wirelessly. I guess she really wanted a trip to Atlanta.

I should send her off tomorrow and then have her back within a couple of weeks.

So, posting is still quite slow. I bet you're glad I told you that since you probably hadn't noticed. ;)

This post is quite boring and I must go before I fall asleep on my keyboard. 

Perspective

I am still in computer hell, so I wanted to apologize for not updating any recently. The new computer, which I named MissFancyPants, was working right as rain for a little while, but then she refused to connect to the internet. I hope the geeks at Best Buy can convince her to talk to the interwebs because if not, I think I'll have to ship her back to China!

I haven't been taking pictures of my outfits lately because 1) I've been really swamped with work and life. and 2) I have no idea how to upload them to this computer. (the husband's MacBook). Seriously, I ordered the XP downgrade on MissFancyPants because I just don't have the time or energy right now to learn a new operating system! I do believe I'll be one of those little old ladies who never can figure out how to program her VCR (or equivalent electronic device). I am quite resistant to change because I'd rather spend my time doing more entertaining things than learning new gadgets.

The reason for the title "perspective" is that I have been all down in the dumps about a lot of things lately. I have a cash flow problem, but honestly, that should resolve itself in a few months. The thing that really put things into perspective for me was volunteering on Tuesday for a local organization that helps needy families get gifts for their children for Christmas. It is similar to the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. I went to help take applications from a gigantic line of people. I took an application from one man who had 8 children! He had recently lost his job due to an injury, and his wife works only part time at a daycare. Their total monthly gross earnings are only $1760.00! FOR TEN PEOPLE! All this to say that even though I may be "broke" right now, I am not anywhere near the situation that many people in my community find themselves. So, whenever I try to get my pity party going, I just remember that I actually have quite a nice life, and a temporary squeeze is nothing like many people deal with on an ongoing basis. 

So, I'm off to Best Buy now. Cross your fingers that MissFancyPants will cooperate and talk to you, lovely internet!

Two Not so Pretty Pictures

I'll just lump these two together to get the ugly all out at once. 

The first is from Friday, 9/25/08.

I was all fired up to wear my new scarf. A score from Old Navy for $1.99! I got the top at Ann Taylor for $9 and the jeans I bought over 3 years ago when I was pregnant with my son. I've never worn them, but they were on sale when I bought them. I gained a bit of weight when I was sick because of the steroid packs so many of my pants are a bit too tight. :( The shoes are George.

My pendant is lapis. My mother brought it to me as a gift from her trip to Peru. It is beautiful, and I should try to wear it more often. I have bought several blue tops this fall, so I think this pendant will get a lot of wear this winter.

The only picture I took last week was from 10/2/08. I was totally stressed out all week and this picture shows it. ICK!

The sweater is so old. I bought it in college! It is from Express, and I think it is time to replace it. It didn't really give me the look I wanted. The top is from Banana Republic, and the pants are from Ann Taylor Loft. The shoes are the best part of the outfit and are Hype brand.

I hear hubs coming for his computer, so I'd better sign off.

I'm just about to finalize an order for a new laptop! 

Could you let me know whether you prefer the large photos or the smaller ones. I promise to pick a size and stick with it. I just wanted to play around a bit to see which was better.

Casual Wednesday (9/24/08)

I think this is the best photo I've taken for this little project! 

I was traveling half the day today to get to a meeting on Thursday, so I decided I could wear jeans to work on a Wednesday.  I just love that my boss is so easy on me!  For those of you who may not know me, I am my own boss and own my own insurance agency. 

Anyway, the outfit...I was concerned I might look like a Christmas package since I was wearing the red jacket (Sele from Dillard's) with a green tank (AT Loft), but I got lots of complements throughout the day. I think the splash of yellow on my Naughty Monkey shoes and my Big Buddha bag helped keep me from looking like an early Christmas. The jeans are from Banana Republic. I absolutely adore them because they are the trouser cut that looks a bit more polished than just a regular old pair of jeans.

I was so proud of myself because this tank top had a self belt that was really located in a weird location. It was too low for an empire waist and too high for my natural waist. Strange. So, I just took it off and tied it around my head! Voila! Instant headband. My mom wanted to know where I got a headband that matched my shirt exactly. I must admit, I got the idea from Kasmira's blog. 

For my meeting on Thursday, I wore the most awesome pink suit but was too chicken to get anyone to take my picture. Don't fret, I have a picture from last year. I call this my Elle Woods suit. I love it, but I was way too hot. This is a wool suit!

The suit is Etcetera brand and the shoes are BCBG Girls.

Not a Maternity Dress! (9/24/08)

 Wow that is big and blurry!  We do rush to take these photos because my office is located on a busy street.  People yell at us and honk their horns.  We feel like real idiots out there.  My assistant threatens to start a blog about all my little crazy things.  Too bad I've already beaten her too it. 

Anyway, she told me that she thought my new dress looked like a maternity dress! I was appalled. I thought it was cute. I got it at Ann Taylor Loft on sale + a 20% off coupon from my InStyle magazine. I love the colors! The bag is Big Buddha and the shoes are some crazy brand called Summer Rio. The reason I say the brand is crazy is because of the sizing. I usually wear a 9, but these shoes are size 7.5! My earrings were handmade by my awesome friend Vanessa. 

Here is a close up of the shoes: 

The Unexpected

This post is brought to you by the letters M. A. & C.  What does that mean, right? It means that my computer has bitten the dust. Waaaa! I am begrudgingly using my husband's snazzy MacBook, but I really don't care for it. I am in the process of ordering a new laptop since I actually need it for work. Yes, I have a job! I don't just take pictures of outfits and complain about my son.

I am considering a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 or a Dell Latitude 630 or 6400 if you have any advice. 

He seems to be hovering closer to his lovely computer, so I'll make this quick. 

I do have some pictures to share from the past couple of weeks, but I need to go. It is so sad to not have my computer.

Lazy Monday

My mom was in town for an appointment with our financial guy, so my only appointment of the day was her. That meant I didn't have to dress up as much and could wear my flip flops. I took full advantage of the situation as well as the beautiful weather. Here is one of my favorite bargain buys of the summer. I got the dress at Wal-Mart for only $5! It is by George.

Please excuse our deck. We are washing it in preparation to seal it.

I cooked in the crockpot today. I felt a bit like some 1950's wife when I got home and was tending to dinner in my dress. I'm still wearing it and will be doing some ironing in it a bit later. It is so comfy that I didn't feel the need to rush home and change into my pyjamas like I normally do!

It's been a very long week!

I only thought I was over the plague. I got home from work every day this week exhausted and wishing for my bed. I guess this probably wasn't the best time to start up a blog with thoughts of posting every day.


Oh well, not the end of the world.


I didn't take a picture on Monday, but here are the rest of the week's outfits.

Tuesday:

The dress is by Molly. I got it at my favorite boutique which has sadly gone out of business. The blouse is from New York and Company, and the shoes are Stuart Weitzman. They are from the same local swanky shoe shop as the multicolored ones from last Friday. These were on sale, but they were still my splurge from my spring bonus at work.

Wednesday:

I don't know why these pictures are so much smaller than the others besides the fact that I cropped out much of my ugly office background. I'm pretty dense when it comes to these things.

The red jacket and black pencil skirt are from the same local boutique that recently closed. Can you tell that I'll be quite sad without this shop? The shoes are Mossimo from Target, and the grey top is from New York and Company. I wore the jacket in the morning because it was a bit chilly out. I took it off in the afternoon when the temperature was up to 80!

Thursday:

I'm sorry for the goofy picture, but this was the best of the bunch. I was laughing because a truck was honking at us while driving by. I have my assistant take my pictures for now. Eventually, I will get a tripod, so I can take as many as I like until I don't hate the picture. This dress is by MaxandCleo, the shoes are from Target, and the cami is from CABI. My jewelry is cat's eye and was gifted to me by my best friend in college from South Africa, Hanlie. This jewelry is quite special to me because my friend passed away from cancer of her reproductive organs while we were quite young. It was a very sad time indeed. So, ladies be sure to get your annual girly doctor checkup, even though it is not the most pleasant thing.

FINALLY FRIDAY!

I really don't like this photo because I think I looked better in person. I get all goofy in front of a camera. The top is from White House Black Market (or something like that...I call it the Black & White store). The jeans are from Casual Corner, and the purple satin flats are by Vera Wang for Kohl's. I'm just a bit bummed because I scuffed the toe on one today on a curb. BOO!

So, I'll try to do better next week with posting. Hopefully I'll fully recover this weekend!

What would the internet be without boob pictures?

I won't bother you with outfit pictures for the weekend. I wouldn't want to scare you off so soon. Since it was raining all weekend, I just stayed in pyjamas all weekend anyway. Nothing even glamorous...tee shirts and PJ pants. I'm uber-sexy like that.

I know, you're wondering why I'm teasing you about boob pictures and want me to shut up about pyjamas. Well, you should know that I have a 2 year old son. I'll call him G since that's what he calls himself anyway. Normally, he is so adorable that I'd worry you'd be some internet wackadoo who'd stalk us and steal my baby. However, you may want to think twice after I share the little story that happened this weekend.

I was wrestling around with him on Saturday because he loves it. We were having a great time. He was laughing. I was laughing. I don't know what happened. All of a sudden, I had this piercing pain in my left breast. Oh my. It hurt like hell. That little fucker bit me, and it broke the skin! I couldn't believe it. He used to bite when he was getting his teeth, but we have been past that stage for over a year now. This was completely out of the blue. I yelled at him while fighting off tears. I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy getting bitten on the boob. I put him in time out because he refused to apologize. Even after the time out, he wouldn't apologize. I put him down for his nap and may have dozed a bit on the couch myself. Finally, after his nap, he decided to apologize. I don't know what happened to him when he bit me, but good grief, I hope it doesn't happen again.

So there you can see the evidence of the torture that is motherhood. Oh, maybe this does count as an outfit shot. Do you like my Grinch tee shirt?

Here's the little biter now. This is his "mean" face.Be on the lookout for this one. His teeth are sharp!

Besides being maimed by my own child, I cooked! I made 2 recipes from the year of crockpotting blog this weekend. I made her crockpot bacon & cheese chicken recipe and A-1 and Dijon steak recipe. The bacon and cheese chicken recipe was edible but not something I'll probably make again. The A-1 steak recipe was super easy and very tasty. I'm sure that it will become a staple in our menu in time. I served the steak and sauce over rice. I almost can't wait for lunch tomorrow when I can enjoy the leftovers.

I survived the plague!

I was finally able to get back to work today. I came in on Wednesday but was only able to spend a couple of hours in the office before retiring to my bed for another day and a half. I know you are all just dying to know what I wore today, right? Right. Ok, so let me see if I can get these pictures loaded up for you. A small warning, this is not the best picture of me, but I pay my assistant for customer service and clerical work, not her photography skills. Note to self: steal tripod from husband so I can take pictures of myself without ridicule from my office staff!

My shirt and jeans are both from Banana Republic. I think I got the jeans from the outlet and the shirt on huge discount during a sale. I love to find great deals on things.

For example, check out my shoes. My pretty, pretty shoes! These are by Naughty Monkey, and I got them at the swankiest shoe store in town for only $25! This is a store selling $300 Tory Burch flats. $300 for flats!?! I think not. Anyway, a good friend and fellow bargain hunter told me that this swanky boutique was having their annual "back room" sale where everything was on sale for the best prices. I got these sassy shoes as well as another pair that I'm sure you'll be seeing soon enough.

Oh, you wanted a close up of the shoes? Sure thing!

Now people, please don't fret over the length of my jeans in this shot. I was pulling them up so you could see my pretty shoes! I had pulled them up even higher, but my assistant warned me that I might blind my readers with my pale skin. Ha ha. It really is a good thing I am able to laugh at myself too. You should hear the things this girl says to her boss!

So there you have it, my outfit for today. Maybe not the most glamorous thing in the world, but hey, it didn't have to be ironed!

Hello internet! I'm over here.

I am jumping on the blog bandwagon! I love keeping up with many of my internet friends through their blogs as well as finding gossip, how-tos, fashion, entertainment, and random information all over the internet. I thought a lot about what my angle should be for a blog because I enjoy overanalyzing every bit of life. I decided I'm pretty much just good at random thought, so there you go.

This first post is being brought to you compliments of an almost 2 week stint in bed with some killer bronchitis. I suffer a lot from respiratory infections and ironically, had to cancel my first appointment with the allergist because of this bronchitis. Boo germs! Hopefully, my rescheduled appointment at the end of the month will yield some results, and I can get off the sick train.

I have all these thoughts rushing around in my brain just waiting to get out of my fingertips and into my computer, so I'm excited to try out all the bells and whistles of blogging. Or, maybe it's just the cough syrup.