Starting the New Year off right

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful holiday! We had a nice relaxing day at Rett's dad's house with yummy food and watched Iron Man, which was surprisingly good. Tonight Rett and I are just going to rent a couple of movies (any suggestions are welcome!) and hang out together. We got very spoiled when he was only working until 5p, so now that he doesn't get home until 8p from work, we feel like we never see each other. It's nice to know that after 8 years together, he still gets upset when he doesn't get to see me a lot.

I thought I would include something a little different in my post today, since I found an interesting article on Delish.com. Our family usually gets together for a relaxed dinner on New Year's Day just to hang out, watch football and kind of end the season of big dinners. If you haven't planned what you're having tomorrow night, here are some ideas based on foods that different cultures believe to bring good luck in the New Year!

Noodles -- In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: You can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth.

Black-Eyed Peas -- A common good luck food in the southern United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, especially when served with collard greens. (I'll probably just play Fergie's CD since I'm not a fan of the Black-Eyed Peas in the food variety, just the music! ha ha ha)

Cabbage -- In Germany, Ireland, and parts of the United States, cabbage is associated with luck and fortune since it is green and resembles money. (One of our favorites has been to do an Irish dinner with corned beef, cabbage and red skin potatoes. Yum!)

Lentils -- Thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten throughout Italy for good fortune in the New Year.

Pomegranates -- Long associated with abundance and fertility, pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries for luck in the New Year.

Fish -- In North America, Asia, and Europe, people eat fish to celebrate the new year. In some countries, people associate fish with moving forward into the new year since fish swim forward. Other people think fish symbolize abundance since they swim in schools.

I hope everyone has a healthy & happy New Year! If you're going out tonight, please don't drink and drive. Be safe!

Happy Holidays!

As some of you know, I celebrate both Hannukah & Christmas. My dad is Jewish and my mom is Catholic, but they chose to raise my brother and I in Judaism. We've always celebrated both Jewish and Christian holidays though, since my mom wanted us to be aware of her beliefs as well. So in that spirit....


and

The lazy guide to holiday shopping

My holiday shopping was soooooo easy this year. How? I did everything site-to-store. I think Rett fell in love with me all over again, because shopping for my family and his took less than 2 hours. I ordered everything online, then we just had to go to customer service and pick it up. It's amazing how many places have it as an option! (I used Circuit City, Sears and Walmart, for example)

So that's my shopping tip of the year - don't go searching in the store, have them search for you and just go pick it up!

Winding down the year with a survey

I completely stole this poll from another blogger, but I saved the list and lost who I stole it from! So credit to someone for the list :-)

~ What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? I can't think of anything I did that was new.....
~ Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My generic resolution last year was to lose weight, which was an epic fail. Next year my only resolution is to be healthy, nothing specific on weight (since losing weight is an obvious part of being healthy.)
~ Did anyone close to you give birth? I had several friends have babies! :)
~ Did anyone close to you die? My grandpa :(
~ What countries did you spend time in this year? Just the good ole U.S. of A.
~ What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A house!!!
~ What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? I can't think of any specific dates off the top of my head.
~ What was your biggest achievement of the year? Learning how to be a better person and not hold grudges against others
~ What was your biggest failure? Not pushing myself harder to lose weight and keep the house neater.
~ Did you suffer any serious injury or illness? Not personally, knock on wood
~ What was the best thing you bought? New clothes from my part time job at Avenue - I needed them desparately.
~ Whose behaviour merited celebration? Rett, for always standing by me no matter what.
~ Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed? I can't think of anyone specific right now
~ Where did most of your money go? Darn bills
~ What did you get really, really, really excited about? Rett finally getting a job in November!
~ Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? little sadder
b) thinner or fatter? little fatter
c) richer or poorer? lot poorer
~ What do you wish you'd done more of? exercise
~ What do you wish you'd done less of? eat! lol
~How did you spend Christmas? This year will be pretty typical - Christmas Eve with my parents, Christmas day spent with Rett's family
~ Did you fall in love in 2008? Only more in love with Rett :)
~ What are the main websites you used? My chat board with my friends, Pogo games (I'm addicted!), my Google blog reader and Facebook
~ How many one-night stands? Heck no
~ What was your favorite TV program? I have too many! CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Chuck, Heroes, House, True Blood, and some more.
~ Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope
~ What was the best book you read? The Twilight Series!!!!! I fell in total and complete love with it.
~ What did you want and not get? A house and a baby in my belly
~ What was your favorite film of this year? Twilight. lol
~ What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I must be getting old, because I don't remember. I turned 26.
~ What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Rett not losing his job this summer.
~ How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Don't look like a slob
~ What kept you sane? Rett and my friends
~ What political issue stirred you the most? Not really any specific issue, but I found it really amazing how strongly everyone felt this year. It didn't seem like there were many people in the middle of the road, everyone
~ Who did you miss? My grandpa
~ Who was the best new person you met? I made several new friends :-) Sarah, Emily, Lindsay, Fara, Jeff, and some others.
~ Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Sometimes people hurt us, but the only way to really deal with it is to keep your head high and remember that you stayed true to yourself.
~ What sums up this year? (a word, a quote...?) Stressful!

Idiot of the year

I'm going to try to be nice - but I can't promise much since I'm totally flaming over this article.

MSN posted this story about a family who named their child after Adolf Hitler and is now mad that they're encountering prejudice against the name. To quote the SNL Weekend Update skit... "REALLY?" Really moron people, you didn't think that people might find it a bit off-putting that you named your child after one of the most evil men in history? You really think they need to "They need to accept a name. A name's a name" - because there are lots of deragatory names I can think of right now that you probably wouldn't just "accept" as a name. It's great that they say they're not teaching prejudice to their child, but they obviously didn't think about the struggle he is going to have once he is in school and learning about the Holocaust and everything that his namesake did to innocent people.

I need to cut this off now - before I say something completely inappropriate. Suffice it to say - these people do not need to have any more children, in my opinion.

I'm a sucker for good prices

Just as I was about to order one of the purses from Overstock, I decided to check eBay to see if there were any good deals. That's how I ended up with one of the purses I didn't even list yesterday! Check it out -- only $20 including shipping, which is $10 less than the Overstock price! :-)



Now, I ask you, who could pass up a deal like that?! Certainly not a stingy girl named Stephanie W (you might have heard of her.) I might try to convince Rett that it's okay for me to get another one though, since I did get such a good deal on this one. I see lots of eye batting and beggining in my future, LOL. The black & white one needs a happy home :-)

Opinions needed!

So I want to get a new purse, and I've decided I want a tote bag type. I found a style I like on Overstock - but now I can't decide which fabric pattern to get! I would get them all, but we know I don't have that kind of money

Here are the options, in no particular order:

1.


2.


3.


4.


Whatcha think? Which one should I pick? I'm not one of those girls that cares about matching shoe color and purses. I pick a purse I like and then carry it for 6-8 months until I get tired of it. Thanks in advance to anyone who responds!


*********************EDIT*********************
Now I found this one I like too! Arrrgh!!!

To sleep, perchance to dream...

Sleep is so under-rated. I love sleeping in, napping, cuddling in bed, warm blankets -- all that great stuff. Lately though, I haven't been able to sleep at all. I've had nights that I stay up all night, no matter what I do to fall asleep. I don't remember the last time I was in bed for midnight.

My main problem has been dreaming about my grandpa. Every night since he's passed (2 weeks ago today), I've had a dream about him. This weekend I had one that we went to the funeral home for the viewing and Grandpa was sittting there and asked why we left him there overnight, said he was hungry and wanted to go to dinner. The oddest thing about it was that we just acted like it was no big deal ("Sorry Grandpa, we didn't know. How does Bob Evan's sound?") I keep trying to tell myself that it's just my grandpa's way of letting me know he's okay and it's like nothing changed, he's happy, etc -- but geez I'm tired of dreaming that he's alive every night :-(

Trying to get back in the swing of blogging

Hi again, anyone who's still with me

It's been a rough couple of months in the Rett & Stephanie house. My grandpa passed away, my parents aren't sure if they'll be able to keep their house, Rett not being able to make sales because of the "wonderful" economy, etc. Sometimes still being afloat is all that we can ask. Rett finally got a job that he starts next week, and it seems like it'll be perfect for him. He's going to work for Safelite Auto Glass doing in-bound sales, but he's paid hourly not by commission

I'm starting a new chapter in my weight loss battles. I'm going to start checking out Ohio State's bariatric surgery program. Our insurance requires that we start with a 6 month diet and exercise program that's followed by their registered dieticians, so I'm hoping that it will be enough for me to really start with my dieting and getting where I need to be with my weight. My goal is to not need the surgery, but if I go through the 6 month program and can't lose 10% of my body weight, then it seems like surgery might be the best next option. I'm nervous since I've heard as many horror stories as I have good stories, but I'm just taking it one step at a time at this point.

Anyway, hopefully this will mark my return to blogging, as I see where life leads us next!

Blogging hiatus

This will probably be my last post for a while. We're kind of going through a rough spot with money & sanity, so I'm going to be trying to focus on my marriage and myself for a little while.

If anyone actually reads my blog, hopefully you'll keep reading it when I start back up in a few months :-)

Some good news and some expensive news

Rett is finally getting to go out on the road and start doing his own closes for the appointments he sets. The person they have doing it right now is really not as good as Rett thought she would be at first, so at least now he has total control of the sale. Even better, since he'll still set his own appointments, he'll get commission for setting the appointment and for closing the sale! He starts training next week, so I'm crossing my fingers some money starts rolling in soon.

Speaking of money, we had the honor this week of parting with $400 to the local Dodge dealership. After 90,000 miles, my Durango actually needed some real work - can you believe it! lol There was apparently something wrong with the wheel bearing, that would make my front left tire pop off at any random time. Not a big deal of course, but we thought it might be worth fixing


I'm really really really x10 excited for this weekend - I have a group of girlfriends coming in for a girls weekend! We're still kind of 'new' friends, I was introduced to their chat board by my darling Jannypie in July. They're incredibly nice women and I already feel like I've known them for a heck of a lot longer than 3 months! It's going to be a great weekend

Two posts in one day?!

I know I already posted something today, but I just have to share this story. It's from the Pioneer Woman blog and it's a story about her brother - click here. This is one of the sweetest stories I've ever read; I seriously started crying at work while reading it.

Sometimes we just need to take a moment and think about those less fortunate. Helping them will make our own lives better then we could ever imagine.

The end of sanity is near

***warning -- extremely whiny post!*** :-)

Past experience has shown me that I can only handle working 2 jobs (like I am now) for about 5-6 months. I've been at Avenue since the end of April and I'm definitely at the edge of losing my sanity. Working at Ohio State Univ. Medical Center 40 hours a week and then Avenue 15-20 hours a week creates a messy house and a stressed marriage.

Rett's still working his sales job, but there haven't been any closed deals in about 3 weeks, which means no money for us. The person who does the meetings (Rett's job is just to set up the meetings) keeps telling him that she "thinks so and so will close" but then it doesn't happen. "Thinking" a sale will close doesn't pay our rent :-(

Hopefully the sales will start picking up or he can find another job, because I'm past ready to quit Avenue and only work 40 hours a week.

AAAAHHHHHHH! Brad Pitt!!!!!!

That's right! My boyfriend, Brad Pitt, is in a new movie!!!! I'm definitely going to have to convince Rett to take me on a movie date this weekend. It's called Burn After Reading and it looks really funny.


I've loved Brad ever since Interview with a Vampire.....

Legends of the Fall....

(apparently I like long hair Brad)

Fight Club....

Ocean's 11, 12 & 13 - he's got cute friends in these, too.

and we all know that's just a few of them

And, I love how he and Angelina adopt kids from poorer countries, it's such a good thing to do. They're so generous with so many causes. Even though it started out as a relationship breaking up a marriage - they're still good in my book since they do so much more that other Hollywood people to help out others.

Alright, that's enough gushing. I'll shut up now. I'm just gonna drool over Brad by myself

Friday took way too long

Explain this to me -- how is it that short weeks feel longer then regular weeks? It's only a 4 day week but it's been sooooooo long! When I woke up yesterday I could have sworn it was Friday :-( All I have to say today is --



Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

not tonight, i have a headache.

Tell me why, if I'm so excited to try to get pregnant, am I afraid to actually do the deed to get started? I'm fully aware that it's not "gee, let's have a baby! okay, we're pregnant!" but I can't help but be nervous about getting pregnant the first month of trying and feeling totally unprepared. It would be a blessing, of course, but geez that makes me nervous!

Speaking of headaches, I'm finally going to the doctor tomorrow. I've had a headache pretty much every day for about 10 days now. I think it's a combo of TMJ, stress and lack of sleep, so I'm hoping to get something to help with at least one of those and get rid of these @&($@! headaches.

I look good with an afro!

I was introduced to a great website -- yearbook yourself -- where you can add your picture to old yearbook photos to see what you would have looked like in the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. Here are some of my favorites ~

1994 ---> <--- look at those bangs!

1984 --->

1978 ---> <--- gotta love a good 'fro! LOL

1972 --->

1964 --->

1956 ---> <--- this looks EXACTLY like my mom in her high school pics :-)