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.