I probably should have written this post before I broadcasted my weight struggles on the world wide web. Silly me. I'm just curious just how big this blog world is...
I know of a lot of people who are avid blog readers, and I am sure there are thousands more out there who follow the blogs of people they've never met. Addie introduced me to one blog, the stretch marks blog, that she thought I'd be interested in and so far it is pretty fun to read. So if I'm reading the blog of some woman that lives somewhere that I don't even know of, how many other people are doing the same thing? And does my blog have the same sort of interested readers?
I don't see how it could - I don't find my own life that interesting that strangers would care to sit in daily (or every other day sometimes...) and read all about my crazy cat, my labor pains, and my whining about having to be at work. At one point I thought I had all of 4 people crazy enough to find my life that entertaining, but over the course of the past few months I've heard from other people who catch up on my mundane world via blogspot.com. So - it had me curious...if my friends are addicted to 5+ blogs belonging to people they don't know, and I know of people who read mine that I wouldn't have expected to, how many more followers do I have?
It was enough pressure to think I was offering a source of amusement and entertainment for 4 people to help them through their workdays. But to think there are countless others out there...makes me want to re-read my blogs before posting, re-consider some of the extremely boring things I talk about, and go out and find a unique new hobby so that I seem more exciting than I really am :)
But I don't like re-reading what I've written. I don't usually think long and hard about what I'm going to write for the day, with the exception of my "Feb 2, 2010" post. And to think that I actually have time to find a new hobby when I hardly have time to keep up the hobbies I already have is just silly. Plus, I hate to think I have more than 4 people out there who now know the progress and digressions of my weight over the last 7 years. While I do know of more than the original 4 readers, I'm going to pretend I don't just for my last post's sake. So, unless you wanna come out and tell me you enjoy reading my blog I'll just keep thinking there's a select few and that my blog-world is not nearly as large as that of Mrs. Stretch Marks blog. That's how close she and I are, I don't even know her first name!
Feel free to introduce me to other blogs you think I may enjoy, let me know that you enjoy mine, or tell me to step it up and start getting out of my lame same-old routine. Speaking of - I feel like I'm in boot camp with how regimented our days are. More on that next time...
May 26, 2010
May 25, 2010
Perspective
I know I've talked about how our minds can play tricks on us before and how different perspectives really shape our outlooks and views. Yet it always seems to surprise me when I discover that my perspective is clouding my vision, and this time "vision" is said literally.
I have struggled with my weight since my sophomore year of college. My freshman year I surprisingly only gained 5 pounds (beat that, freshman 15!) and according to my doctor I was at a healthier weight having gained the 5 pounds anyway. Looking back at pictures from the end of high school I'm not sure how my scrawny neck held my dome up anyway! My sophomore year, however, the weight started packing on and I was helpless to stop it. Part of it I would attribute to stress - the first semester of my sophomore year was stressful in my dating relationship, extremely stressful in my living situation, and I had a pretty heavy load of classes. At the end of that first semester I decided I needed to get control of my weight and for a month I was on a strict diet (south beach) and was doing heavy cardio 4-5 times per week. Yet at the end of one month I had gained more weight! I later found out that I had hypothyroidism and my weight gain and anxiety were attributed to the out of control thyroid hormones. From that point on I spent years trying to regulate my thyroid with my doctors and I don't think it got "under control" until maybe 2008. In the meantime, however, I never did get control of my weight.
At the beginning of 2007 I decided I had to do something because it had just really gotten away from me. I'm embarrassed to admit, but not too proud to admit, that when I weighed in before my first workout in January of 2007 I weighed 197. I was wearing size 14 clothes but I probably should have been wearing size 16. By the time my wedding came around in December I weighed in at 165 and was between a size 10 and 12 depending on the brand. I intended to continue my weight loss, but the next year proved to be especially trying. I worked insane hours, ate at my desk sometimes 2 meals every day (and rarely was it healthy) and found little time to workout. Austin was deployed which added extra stress and my thyroid was again all over the map. By the time Austin got home I weighed in at 184.
In January of 2009 we committed to living a healthier lifestyle. A coworker gave me a copy of her regimented diet plan called Slim 4 Life (now renamed as slimgenics if you're looking it up online) and I committed to working out 5-6 days per week. I had learned that if I tried to do it after work I would always find excuses, especially during busy times at work, so I made a habit of going to the gym before work which worked very well. After 3 months on the diet and 2 more months off the diet I had gotten down to 164. I had to stop dieting, though, because I then found out I was pregnant.
Fast forward 9 months and I was so very fortunate to lose my "baby weight" effortlessly and in a mere 2 weeks. I was back down to 164, however I certainly didn't look the same as I did before William was born. To say I had no abdominal strength would be an understatement. I still had about 10 pounds until my initial goal of 155, and wanted to be more toned, so Austin and I again decided to go all out with our Slim 4 Life program and workout schedule. (Austin had gained a little bit of "sympathy weight" which unfortunately doesn't just fall off at the hospital during delivery) When I came back to work I weighed 160 and was very pleased with my progress. Some coworkers asked if I'd want to do a weight-loss bet to see who could lose 10 pounds the fastest, so I moved my goal from 155 to 150. I have now surpassed my initial goal of 155 and am working on the 150, yet somehow I am unable to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Don't get me wrong, I do know the weight has come off. I am wearing size 8 pants which I haven't worn since that notable sophomore year of college, and some of those are even looser than they were a few weeks ago. So in my head I do know that the difference is notable. Yet when I look in the mirror I don't see it. How can one lose essentially 40 pounds (if we're talking about January 2007 to now) and not see it?
I am in a wedding this weekend for one of my oldest and best friends, Patty, and we ordered our bridesmaid dresses when I was 6 months pregnant. A bit of wisdom for you: do not allow someone to take a measuring tape to your body when you are 6 months pregnant. The woman at the bridal store recommended, based on my measurements at the time, that I order a size 18. She convinced me that I would gain plenty more weight before William was to be born and that some women really struggle with losing the weight. I was embarrassed enough to be standing next to beautiful Patty, her gorgeous size 4 sister and her super-cute and thin soon to be sister in law, so I was going to argue. Size 18 it is!
So you'd think I would have been THRILLED to walk into the tailor this morning and pick up what was at one time my size 18 dress and see the difference. She even told me she'd taken out 7 inches! However, when I put the dress on and looked in the mirror I saw the same flaws I saw in my bridesmaids dress in February of 2007: fat bulging over the top, a stomach pooching out in the middle, and hips wider than the grand canyon. How is it that I look the same to myself in 2 dresses that are obviously very different in size? I don't know what size my current dress is, but I know I was swimming in it when it was a size 18 and I'm guessing my bridesmaids dress for Jen's wedding was near that. So how can they seem the same?
I realize that it is my mind playing tricks on me. I know that people, especially women, never see themselves the way others do and that it is a struggle to learn to be happy with the way you look. To carry confidence in your appearance I think is one of the most attractive traits, yet one of the hardest to attain. And if I can't look and be pleased with the results of 40 pounds lost, will 5 more make any difference? I see, now, why people become addicted to losing weight and how easy it could be to fall into an unhealthy weight category without intending to. I don't plan to lose more than 5-10 pounds more, but I can see how simple it would be to keep lowering that goal in hopes of finally looking in the mirror and smiling.
I don't have a happy conclusion for this blog. I don't have the answer. I know I'm proud of myself for the work I've done, whether I can see it or not. And hopefully, with time, I can retrain my brain in looking in the mirror. Until then, I'll leave this one open ended in hopes that the answer is just beyond the horizon.
I have struggled with my weight since my sophomore year of college. My freshman year I surprisingly only gained 5 pounds (beat that, freshman 15!) and according to my doctor I was at a healthier weight having gained the 5 pounds anyway. Looking back at pictures from the end of high school I'm not sure how my scrawny neck held my dome up anyway! My sophomore year, however, the weight started packing on and I was helpless to stop it. Part of it I would attribute to stress - the first semester of my sophomore year was stressful in my dating relationship, extremely stressful in my living situation, and I had a pretty heavy load of classes. At the end of that first semester I decided I needed to get control of my weight and for a month I was on a strict diet (south beach) and was doing heavy cardio 4-5 times per week. Yet at the end of one month I had gained more weight! I later found out that I had hypothyroidism and my weight gain and anxiety were attributed to the out of control thyroid hormones. From that point on I spent years trying to regulate my thyroid with my doctors and I don't think it got "under control" until maybe 2008. In the meantime, however, I never did get control of my weight.
At the beginning of 2007 I decided I had to do something because it had just really gotten away from me. I'm embarrassed to admit, but not too proud to admit, that when I weighed in before my first workout in January of 2007 I weighed 197. I was wearing size 14 clothes but I probably should have been wearing size 16. By the time my wedding came around in December I weighed in at 165 and was between a size 10 and 12 depending on the brand. I intended to continue my weight loss, but the next year proved to be especially trying. I worked insane hours, ate at my desk sometimes 2 meals every day (and rarely was it healthy) and found little time to workout. Austin was deployed which added extra stress and my thyroid was again all over the map. By the time Austin got home I weighed in at 184.
In January of 2009 we committed to living a healthier lifestyle. A coworker gave me a copy of her regimented diet plan called Slim 4 Life (now renamed as slimgenics if you're looking it up online) and I committed to working out 5-6 days per week. I had learned that if I tried to do it after work I would always find excuses, especially during busy times at work, so I made a habit of going to the gym before work which worked very well. After 3 months on the diet and 2 more months off the diet I had gotten down to 164. I had to stop dieting, though, because I then found out I was pregnant.
Fast forward 9 months and I was so very fortunate to lose my "baby weight" effortlessly and in a mere 2 weeks. I was back down to 164, however I certainly didn't look the same as I did before William was born. To say I had no abdominal strength would be an understatement. I still had about 10 pounds until my initial goal of 155, and wanted to be more toned, so Austin and I again decided to go all out with our Slim 4 Life program and workout schedule. (Austin had gained a little bit of "sympathy weight" which unfortunately doesn't just fall off at the hospital during delivery) When I came back to work I weighed 160 and was very pleased with my progress. Some coworkers asked if I'd want to do a weight-loss bet to see who could lose 10 pounds the fastest, so I moved my goal from 155 to 150. I have now surpassed my initial goal of 155 and am working on the 150, yet somehow I am unable to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Don't get me wrong, I do know the weight has come off. I am wearing size 8 pants which I haven't worn since that notable sophomore year of college, and some of those are even looser than they were a few weeks ago. So in my head I do know that the difference is notable. Yet when I look in the mirror I don't see it. How can one lose essentially 40 pounds (if we're talking about January 2007 to now) and not see it?
I am in a wedding this weekend for one of my oldest and best friends, Patty, and we ordered our bridesmaid dresses when I was 6 months pregnant. A bit of wisdom for you: do not allow someone to take a measuring tape to your body when you are 6 months pregnant. The woman at the bridal store recommended, based on my measurements at the time, that I order a size 18. She convinced me that I would gain plenty more weight before William was to be born and that some women really struggle with losing the weight. I was embarrassed enough to be standing next to beautiful Patty, her gorgeous size 4 sister and her super-cute and thin soon to be sister in law, so I was going to argue. Size 18 it is!
So you'd think I would have been THRILLED to walk into the tailor this morning and pick up what was at one time my size 18 dress and see the difference. She even told me she'd taken out 7 inches! However, when I put the dress on and looked in the mirror I saw the same flaws I saw in my bridesmaids dress in February of 2007: fat bulging over the top, a stomach pooching out in the middle, and hips wider than the grand canyon. How is it that I look the same to myself in 2 dresses that are obviously very different in size? I don't know what size my current dress is, but I know I was swimming in it when it was a size 18 and I'm guessing my bridesmaids dress for Jen's wedding was near that. So how can they seem the same?
I realize that it is my mind playing tricks on me. I know that people, especially women, never see themselves the way others do and that it is a struggle to learn to be happy with the way you look. To carry confidence in your appearance I think is one of the most attractive traits, yet one of the hardest to attain. And if I can't look and be pleased with the results of 40 pounds lost, will 5 more make any difference? I see, now, why people become addicted to losing weight and how easy it could be to fall into an unhealthy weight category without intending to. I don't plan to lose more than 5-10 pounds more, but I can see how simple it would be to keep lowering that goal in hopes of finally looking in the mirror and smiling.
I don't have a happy conclusion for this blog. I don't have the answer. I know I'm proud of myself for the work I've done, whether I can see it or not. And hopefully, with time, I can retrain my brain in looking in the mirror. Until then, I'll leave this one open ended in hopes that the answer is just beyond the horizon.
May 24, 2010
Daycare Anxiety?
I had a horrible dream last night and no matter how many times I woke myself up, when I'd fall back to sleep I was right back in the middle of the dream. It was awful! I hadn't thought about why I was dreaming that, I was more just disturbed by the dream itself, but when I told people at work Rich said he thought maybe it was daycare anxieties? Your thoughts?
You'll need to know a few key players in the dream so let my introduce them first. Paula is my direct manager, Dana is her supervisor and who I report to more, and Rich is Dana's peer. Shawna is in the financial reporting department and she is on the senior accountant level. She had a baby boy 9 days after I had William, so we got to know each other throughout the pregnancies. Now, onto the dream!
I got to work in the morning when Dana and Paula let me know they needed to see me down in the basement. When we got into the basement they took me into this small area in the corner and showed me the scariest sight: they had killed Rich! They were telling me so that I could help them cover it up. They had wrapped him in plastic to suffocate him and they wanted me to pretend he was still working. The purpose of killing him was because Western Union was going to open an in-house day care for the children of employees, but Rich's daughter Catherine had taken the last summer spot and Paula had wanted that spot for her daughter Taylor. So why not kill Rich? Made sense to them! I was to do Rich's work and pretend Rich had done it, if anyone asked. I was also supposed to document exactly where Rich's body was located in our 2nd quarter provision file. A problem presented itself, though, when I was going over the 2nd quarter provision with the financial reporting department and they saw the instructions to Rich's body!
I covered it up as fast as possible and hoped they hadn't seen it. Just in case they had, I ran out and warned Paula and Dana to run away until the situation had died down a little bit. The financial reporting director had seen enough of the paper to assume I had killed RIch, so he called the police. The police were questioning me but I had already destroyed the document so there was no proof of anything. Dana and Paula were quick to throw me under the buss, though, and told the police that I had, in fact, killed Rich and left directions to his body in the provision file. Then I was told I was in trouble for breaking our Sarbanes-Oxley processes by shredding the document along with the murder charges! Meanwhile, Paula caught wind that Shawna was trying to fill the last spot with her baby Owen. Paula let Shawna know that she had killed Rich over daycare and was willing to kill her too.
There are a lot of insignificant details I'm leaving out here - the dream did last all night after all - but this was the basic premise. I don't THINK I'm apprehensive about taking William to daycare next week. When my mom was here we went to Goddard one day so she could see it and I was even more comfortable with it than I was before. William liked watching all the other little babies (except Diego...I think William's gonna take him out) and he really liked his teacher the first time she looked at him. She's the "baby whisperer" I think! So I FEEL like I'm more comfortable, but maybe subconsciously I'm not?
In any case, one week from tomorrow William becomes a big boy and goes to school!
You'll need to know a few key players in the dream so let my introduce them first. Paula is my direct manager, Dana is her supervisor and who I report to more, and Rich is Dana's peer. Shawna is in the financial reporting department and she is on the senior accountant level. She had a baby boy 9 days after I had William, so we got to know each other throughout the pregnancies. Now, onto the dream!
I got to work in the morning when Dana and Paula let me know they needed to see me down in the basement. When we got into the basement they took me into this small area in the corner and showed me the scariest sight: they had killed Rich! They were telling me so that I could help them cover it up. They had wrapped him in plastic to suffocate him and they wanted me to pretend he was still working. The purpose of killing him was because Western Union was going to open an in-house day care for the children of employees, but Rich's daughter Catherine had taken the last summer spot and Paula had wanted that spot for her daughter Taylor. So why not kill Rich? Made sense to them! I was to do Rich's work and pretend Rich had done it, if anyone asked. I was also supposed to document exactly where Rich's body was located in our 2nd quarter provision file. A problem presented itself, though, when I was going over the 2nd quarter provision with the financial reporting department and they saw the instructions to Rich's body!
I covered it up as fast as possible and hoped they hadn't seen it. Just in case they had, I ran out and warned Paula and Dana to run away until the situation had died down a little bit. The financial reporting director had seen enough of the paper to assume I had killed RIch, so he called the police. The police were questioning me but I had already destroyed the document so there was no proof of anything. Dana and Paula were quick to throw me under the buss, though, and told the police that I had, in fact, killed Rich and left directions to his body in the provision file. Then I was told I was in trouble for breaking our Sarbanes-Oxley processes by shredding the document along with the murder charges! Meanwhile, Paula caught wind that Shawna was trying to fill the last spot with her baby Owen. Paula let Shawna know that she had killed Rich over daycare and was willing to kill her too.
There are a lot of insignificant details I'm leaving out here - the dream did last all night after all - but this was the basic premise. I don't THINK I'm apprehensive about taking William to daycare next week. When my mom was here we went to Goddard one day so she could see it and I was even more comfortable with it than I was before. William liked watching all the other little babies (except Diego...I think William's gonna take him out) and he really liked his teacher the first time she looked at him. She's the "baby whisperer" I think! So I FEEL like I'm more comfortable, but maybe subconsciously I'm not?
In any case, one week from tomorrow William becomes a big boy and goes to school!
May 20, 2010
Hug Someone Today
It's amazing how God can use people and situations to keep things in perspective. Wednesday I was complaining because I walked around Target intending to spend money but couldn't find anything I needed. Then yesterday morning I got an email from a friend that reminded me how blessed I am to have the ability to decide to just go buy something on a whim, and that there are much more important things in my life than trip to Target anyway. Although Target does rank pretty high, keep in mind :)
My friend emailed me about a person she knows who doesn't even feel loved by the one person God created to love us unconditionally: his mother. He was abandoned at birth, and I can't even fathom! I think we are all built to want to please and impress our parents, and I was so fortunate to have 2 loving and encouraging parents who always supported me. So for me, pleasing my parents was a breeze. But how must it feel to want to please someone who doesn't even want you? My heart breaks for this sweet child of God when I think about what has been stolen from him. Never in my life did I think that it was a privilege to have good parents; I thought it was our right as human beings.
So I was completely put in my place as I quickly realized how big of a brat I was being for not finding anything to spend my money on in Target. I looked in the baby section but didn't get anything because William has been SHOWERED with gifts and needs nothing. I looked in the clothing section and didn't get anything because I was just fortunate enough to get new clothes on mother's day. I looked in the kitchen section and didn't get anything because our kitchen is overly-well stocked with a multitude of gadgets (in some cases multiple gadgets to do one job!). Had I been in a better mood, sure I could have found something. There's always SOMETHING at Target. But we need nothing, and I overlooked how much of a blessing that truly is. Beyond needing nothing to stockpile in our house, we are rich beyond measure with love which, sadly, isn't the case for everyone.
So go hug someone today. Hug your babies, hug your mommies, hug your cats or hug your dogs. Hug someone and shower them with all the love you have. It is not only their privilege to have your love, but it is your privilege to be able to spoil them rotten with it. Don't take that for granted for one second!
And after you've given out all the love you can, THEN go to Target and spoil yourself a little too :)
My friend emailed me about a person she knows who doesn't even feel loved by the one person God created to love us unconditionally: his mother. He was abandoned at birth, and I can't even fathom! I think we are all built to want to please and impress our parents, and I was so fortunate to have 2 loving and encouraging parents who always supported me. So for me, pleasing my parents was a breeze. But how must it feel to want to please someone who doesn't even want you? My heart breaks for this sweet child of God when I think about what has been stolen from him. Never in my life did I think that it was a privilege to have good parents; I thought it was our right as human beings.
So I was completely put in my place as I quickly realized how big of a brat I was being for not finding anything to spend my money on in Target. I looked in the baby section but didn't get anything because William has been SHOWERED with gifts and needs nothing. I looked in the clothing section and didn't get anything because I was just fortunate enough to get new clothes on mother's day. I looked in the kitchen section and didn't get anything because our kitchen is overly-well stocked with a multitude of gadgets (in some cases multiple gadgets to do one job!). Had I been in a better mood, sure I could have found something. There's always SOMETHING at Target. But we need nothing, and I overlooked how much of a blessing that truly is. Beyond needing nothing to stockpile in our house, we are rich beyond measure with love which, sadly, isn't the case for everyone.
So go hug someone today. Hug your babies, hug your mommies, hug your cats or hug your dogs. Hug someone and shower them with all the love you have. It is not only their privilege to have your love, but it is your privilege to be able to spoil them rotten with it. Don't take that for granted for one second!
And after you've given out all the love you can, THEN go to Target and spoil yourself a little too :)
May 19, 2010
You know its a Bad Day When...
You walk around Target in its entirety and do not find one single thing that you want to buy. Well, that's the sign of a bad day for me anyway. It hadn't ever happened before, but there's a first time for everything and today was just that.
I don't think I have an actual reason to be in a bad mood or to be having a bad day, but I am certainly Mrs Grumbles. I can list a million things that have annoyed me today but I think that on most days those things wouldn't even phase me. And they certainly wouldn't be enough to turn a day bad! It must just be one of those days when you need to just get back in bed and start all over.
And, that's really all I've got to say about that. Hopefully my next trip to Target will be more of a success - I'd hate to think our love affair is over! The only solution I can think of is to leave work now (30 minutes early), go home and eat an entire batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies, then crawl in bed so that tomorrow I can give Target another chance. I don't think I'll be doing the first 3, but I'll try to make it over to Target on my lunch break again :) Will certainly keep you posted!
I don't think I have an actual reason to be in a bad mood or to be having a bad day, but I am certainly Mrs Grumbles. I can list a million things that have annoyed me today but I think that on most days those things wouldn't even phase me. And they certainly wouldn't be enough to turn a day bad! It must just be one of those days when you need to just get back in bed and start all over.
And, that's really all I've got to say about that. Hopefully my next trip to Target will be more of a success - I'd hate to think our love affair is over! The only solution I can think of is to leave work now (30 minutes early), go home and eat an entire batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies, then crawl in bed so that tomorrow I can give Target another chance. I don't think I'll be doing the first 3, but I'll try to make it over to Target on my lunch break again :) Will certainly keep you posted!
May 18, 2010
Annnnnnd....
I wanna go home now :(
I was having a fairly productive day. We had a meeting this morning from 8-10:30 on what I found to be a surprisingly interesting topic. The meeting ran a little late, then I came up and got a few small things done at my desk before taking my lunch break and working out. So by 1:00 I felt highly productive! Was optimistic for a speedy and successful afternoon, but then....
Candace sent this picture to Austin and me.
I LOVE having William at home with family - first Austin, then YaYa, and now CeCe - because I get to have a little peek into his days. But look how big and proud he looks! I'm not sure if he's sitting up entirely on his own or if she has him propped against something, but he looks like SUCH a big boy. I just wanna run home and play with him before I blink my eyes and he's a really really big boy!
May 14, 2010
Sales People
During my lunch break on Tuesday I went to the mall to exchange the pj's that Candace sent me for mother's day. She had ordered pj's for one of her step-daughters and some for me, but she accidentally sent Nicole's to me and mine to Nicole. Problem is, Nicole and I aren't exactly the same size. If you haven't ever been to Soma Intimates, I definitely recommend it. I've never bought their pj's because I have trouble spending that much $ on pj's (or anything really, I'm not a big spender) but they are so comfortable! I was so excited to get a pair and couldn't wait to exchange them for a size that fit me.
I was irritated once I realized that they had been on promotion when Candace bought them, and the promotion was over, plus she used a coupon on top of the promotion. That wouldn't have irritated me, shopping sales is the way to go, except I would have had to pay more money to just exchange the pajamas for the EXACT same thing just in a different size. Makes no sense to me. If they did an even exchange, they'll still make the same profit on the pair I left them with as if the transaction had never taken place. Instead they made a profit on an even exchange, then will go make a bigger profit on the sale of the pair I returned. I ended up getting a different shirt that should have been cheaper but ended up being the same price...just irked me.
THEN the lady really made me mad. Ok, I wasn't REALLY mad, just irritated. I tried on a black and white dress that is advertised as being reversible. The name of the dress is actually "reversible....." Online they show pictures of a woman wearing the dress forwards and backwards, the only different being the way the straps appear. So I tried it on the "backwards" way and walked out of the fitting room. The saleswoman said "Oh that dress looks so cute on you, except you have it on backwards". She said it with such a demeaning attitude. I wanted to say "listen lady, first of all you need to learn your products because this dress was created to be worn two ways. Second of all, even if I had the tag sticking out of my throat because it WAS backwards, if I'm a paying customer you should be saying 'Oh what a creative way to wear that dress. It looks great!'. You're much more likely to make a sale that way"
I still love Soma, and am thrilled one finally opened in Denver so I don't have to wait until I go to Houston to get new bras/underwear. I just wish their sales worked differently and I wish the manager of the Denver location knew what she was trying to sell.
Another example of how much better the world would be if only I were in charge.
I was irritated once I realized that they had been on promotion when Candace bought them, and the promotion was over, plus she used a coupon on top of the promotion. That wouldn't have irritated me, shopping sales is the way to go, except I would have had to pay more money to just exchange the pajamas for the EXACT same thing just in a different size. Makes no sense to me. If they did an even exchange, they'll still make the same profit on the pair I left them with as if the transaction had never taken place. Instead they made a profit on an even exchange, then will go make a bigger profit on the sale of the pair I returned. I ended up getting a different shirt that should have been cheaper but ended up being the same price...just irked me.
THEN the lady really made me mad. Ok, I wasn't REALLY mad, just irritated. I tried on a black and white dress that is advertised as being reversible. The name of the dress is actually "reversible....." Online they show pictures of a woman wearing the dress forwards and backwards, the only different being the way the straps appear. So I tried it on the "backwards" way and walked out of the fitting room. The saleswoman said "Oh that dress looks so cute on you, except you have it on backwards". She said it with such a demeaning attitude. I wanted to say "listen lady, first of all you need to learn your products because this dress was created to be worn two ways. Second of all, even if I had the tag sticking out of my throat because it WAS backwards, if I'm a paying customer you should be saying 'Oh what a creative way to wear that dress. It looks great!'. You're much more likely to make a sale that way"
I still love Soma, and am thrilled one finally opened in Denver so I don't have to wait until I go to Houston to get new bras/underwear. I just wish their sales worked differently and I wish the manager of the Denver location knew what she was trying to sell.
Another example of how much better the world would be if only I were in charge.
May 13, 2010
Melted and Broken
It's interesting that when someone "melts" your heart it is a good thing, but when someone"breaks" your heart its a bad thing. Last night Austin did both - but ultimately it was a good thing overall.
We had to go to our monthly FRG meeting (family readiness group - a group for army families) and I don't think William likes the FRG. Last month he cried through the whole thing and Austin walked around with him, and last night he started screaming the second we got into the meeting room. Austin ended up leaving and taking him home to feed him and get his bath started, and throughout the meeting my mom kept asking if we needed to go home to take care of William. I kept thinking "Austin has him, he's fine" but it never occurred to me that my mom didn't know how involved Austin is.
When we got home after the meeting Austin was finishing William's bath and we carried on the rest of his bed time routine. I was rocking William and Austin was putting away some blankets when my mom said "Austin I was so proud of you tonight". Austin asked her why and she said "Because you just took William, brought him home, weren't uncomfortable and you just knew what to do". I added "Austin, not all dads are as involved in all aspects of raising babies". My mom explained that a lot of dads are detached from the every day care of their babies, don't do all the bedtime stuff or feeding stuff, etc. I think traditionally it fell on moms because moms always stayed home so they know better what the baby needs whereas traditionally dads were always away working. Now it is just "normal" for it to work that way. Austin responded, so matter-of-factly, "Well, I know what its like to never have a dad around and I don't want that for William".
It breaks my heart that Austin had to miss out on so many things that fathers can provide to their children, but it melted my heart to think of how wonderful a father he is and is going to be as a result of it. He used to worry that not having a dad would hinder his ability to be a good father, but I think its done the exact opposite. William is one lucky little baby!
We had to go to our monthly FRG meeting (family readiness group - a group for army families) and I don't think William likes the FRG. Last month he cried through the whole thing and Austin walked around with him, and last night he started screaming the second we got into the meeting room. Austin ended up leaving and taking him home to feed him and get his bath started, and throughout the meeting my mom kept asking if we needed to go home to take care of William. I kept thinking "Austin has him, he's fine" but it never occurred to me that my mom didn't know how involved Austin is.
When we got home after the meeting Austin was finishing William's bath and we carried on the rest of his bed time routine. I was rocking William and Austin was putting away some blankets when my mom said "Austin I was so proud of you tonight". Austin asked her why and she said "Because you just took William, brought him home, weren't uncomfortable and you just knew what to do". I added "Austin, not all dads are as involved in all aspects of raising babies". My mom explained that a lot of dads are detached from the every day care of their babies, don't do all the bedtime stuff or feeding stuff, etc. I think traditionally it fell on moms because moms always stayed home so they know better what the baby needs whereas traditionally dads were always away working. Now it is just "normal" for it to work that way. Austin responded, so matter-of-factly, "Well, I know what its like to never have a dad around and I don't want that for William".
It breaks my heart that Austin had to miss out on so many things that fathers can provide to their children, but it melted my heart to think of how wonderful a father he is and is going to be as a result of it. He used to worry that not having a dad would hinder his ability to be a good father, but I think its done the exact opposite. William is one lucky little baby!
May 12, 2010
P.S.
#1 Kathy has now broken our silence-spell. We spoke yesterday and apparently were long lost pals. So all is well? Everyone likes me again :)
#2 Here's a picture of William that my mom sent me today. First picture where I can somewhat kind of sort of maybe see that he remotely looks like he might possibly be my son. Yippee! 
I'm all for the Snow but....
IT'S MAY 12!!! What the heck is going on? I was so organized in William's clothing-department (because his closet may as well be a full clothing department at this point) and had summer clothes for size 3-6 months. As a result he only has 2 shirts that fit him right now that have long sleeves! That's ok, it means he's getting a lot of use out of his "mommy's little bear" shirt which happens to be one of my favorites.
Why is it one of my favorites you ask? Because we discovered we had it months after I started calling him my little bear. He's my hungry bear, my sleepy bear, my happy bear, occasionally my grumpy bear, my silly bear, my cuddly bear...you get the idea, he's my little bear. Then I went into his closet to pack up his 0-3 clothes and shift the rest around when I noticed the "little bear" shirt. LOVE IT :)
I realized as I was blogging yesterday that in my attempt to make my blog well rounded and not 100% about William (even though he consumes 98% of my thoughts) I had actually been omitting all of the William-updates. But at this age is a huge mistake because he's up to SO much! So - welcome to William's World. It's kind of like Elmo's World, except a much happier place for mommy!
William had his 3 month birthday last Sunday and yesterday was his 14 week birthday. Austin and I indulged in a yellow cake with chocolate icing in honor of his 3 month birthday, and I had a piece yesterday too. We can pretend it was for his14 week birthday, but really it was just because I wanted cake. On his 3 month birthday he weighed in at 13 pounds 10 ounces - my growing boy! He gained 2 pounds 4 ounces in the last month. No wonder his clothes quit fitting! I don't personally think the "percentiles" are worth anything, nor do I understand what the purpose of following them is, but because I like graphs I chart his weight on a graph every month. He is consistently following the 50th percentile for weight...good job? We'll say so, but I'm pretty sure I'd say that no matter what percentile he was in :)
William is learning so much right now, and its amazing to watch him as he absorbs and discovers new things. I have been whining a lot to Austin that it isn't fair that I had to come back to work right as all of the major development was starting. I'm missing it all! He has been giggling literally since the day I came back to work, and he just giggles more and more each day. It is absolutely the most precious sound my ears have ever heard. He has also recently learned that he has the ability to grasp items and shake his rattles. He amazes himself and I love to see the look in his eyes as he shakes his arms and hears the rattling. At first he would only grasp the rattle if placed in his hand, then he would grasp it if I held it right in front of his hand, and now he can grab it if it is sitting in front of him. I've only seen him do it once, and I'm pretending it was his "first" but I'm sure he'll nurture the skill and get very good very soon.
Another thing that William loves more and more each day is bath time. He has always been a pretty big fan, but lately he seems to like it even more. He kicks his feet, getting mommy all wet, slaps the water with his arms, and is so content to lay in the water. As part of his bedtime routine, which I vow helped teach him to sleep all night, we give him a bath every day. We can't wash him every day or his skin would get too dry, and we don't need to, but we get him in his tub, rub the water on him, and wash his face every night. He gets his full baths on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but on "small bath night" we usually let him just lay in the water for awhile because he's so happy. I can't wait until he's big enough to sit up in the tub and I can sit in there with him!
Last weekend we had planned to go over to a friend's house to play games (where Austin and I kicked butt in taboo!) so we tried to do William's normal bed time routine, after which we were going to walk 3 streets down to Corrine's house. Only problem: William was NOT ready for bed. He was wide awake, looking around, giggling and having a good ol' time. So we decided to just take him down there and hopefully he'd fall asleep in the car...again, no luck. Corrine asked if I'd like something to lay him on to entertain him/help him get to sleep and she brought out a play mat. I'd seen playmats before but had opted not to get one for a few reasons. But - those reasons may have just fallen by the wayside because William LOVED it. Her playmat played music and had a light show (which adds $ signs, of course) and he was just mesmerized by everything going on. It didn't put him to sleep, but he did have fun! He did eventually start to have his tired eyes so we put his playmat away, I swaddled him up and he was out in no time.
One thing that will take some getting-used-to on my part is his name. While I was pregnant people always asked me what we would call him, as if calling a child by their given name is unheard of. People still like to ask what his nickname is. Maybe because Brandon, Brian and I have always been Brandon, Brian and Amanda...and maybe because Gene and Austin were always Gene and Austin...the concept of changing a baby's given name or calling them a different name all together just seems kind of weird to us. If I wanted to call him Bill I would have named him Bill. To each his own I suppose. Anyway, I knew nicknames would come up naturally, and i knew his friends would probably shorten his name so its not like I'm not ok with it. Heck someday I may come up with some other name, you never know. It just wasn't planned. I don't mind what other people call him, within reason of course, I just didn't have any preset notions to call him another name. While I don't mind people calling him other names however, it always throws me for a loop when people call him "Will". And by "people" I mean nearly everyone. I guess its the common nickname for William now, whereas in my dad's day the common nickname was Bill. Its a nice enough name, except I don't think of my baby boy when someone says Will, I think of Will Hansen from high school! Nice guy, but when someone asks me "What's Will up to?" my initial reaction is "Man I have no idea, haven't talked to him since high school. Oh WILLIAM...well, he's grasping his hands and sticking out his tongue and having a wonderful day." So I guess I just need to remind myself periodically that my baby is also Will Wallis. Not nearly as masculine as William Wallis, but precious just the same.
Well, there's a smorgasbord of an update/blog for ya. Clearly my mind is not in one place today huh? Kind of all over the map! Weather, clothes, birthday, development, nicknames - you got it all. I'll try not to wait 3 months before I let you in on his development next time :)
Why is it one of my favorites you ask? Because we discovered we had it months after I started calling him my little bear. He's my hungry bear, my sleepy bear, my happy bear, occasionally my grumpy bear, my silly bear, my cuddly bear...you get the idea, he's my little bear. Then I went into his closet to pack up his 0-3 clothes and shift the rest around when I noticed the "little bear" shirt. LOVE IT :)
I realized as I was blogging yesterday that in my attempt to make my blog well rounded and not 100% about William (even though he consumes 98% of my thoughts) I had actually been omitting all of the William-updates. But at this age is a huge mistake because he's up to SO much! So - welcome to William's World. It's kind of like Elmo's World, except a much happier place for mommy!
William had his 3 month birthday last Sunday and yesterday was his 14 week birthday. Austin and I indulged in a yellow cake with chocolate icing in honor of his 3 month birthday, and I had a piece yesterday too. We can pretend it was for his14 week birthday, but really it was just because I wanted cake. On his 3 month birthday he weighed in at 13 pounds 10 ounces - my growing boy! He gained 2 pounds 4 ounces in the last month. No wonder his clothes quit fitting! I don't personally think the "percentiles" are worth anything, nor do I understand what the purpose of following them is, but because I like graphs I chart his weight on a graph every month. He is consistently following the 50th percentile for weight...good job? We'll say so, but I'm pretty sure I'd say that no matter what percentile he was in :)
William is learning so much right now, and its amazing to watch him as he absorbs and discovers new things. I have been whining a lot to Austin that it isn't fair that I had to come back to work right as all of the major development was starting. I'm missing it all! He has been giggling literally since the day I came back to work, and he just giggles more and more each day. It is absolutely the most precious sound my ears have ever heard. He has also recently learned that he has the ability to grasp items and shake his rattles. He amazes himself and I love to see the look in his eyes as he shakes his arms and hears the rattling. At first he would only grasp the rattle if placed in his hand, then he would grasp it if I held it right in front of his hand, and now he can grab it if it is sitting in front of him. I've only seen him do it once, and I'm pretending it was his "first" but I'm sure he'll nurture the skill and get very good very soon.
Another thing that William loves more and more each day is bath time. He has always been a pretty big fan, but lately he seems to like it even more. He kicks his feet, getting mommy all wet, slaps the water with his arms, and is so content to lay in the water. As part of his bedtime routine, which I vow helped teach him to sleep all night, we give him a bath every day. We can't wash him every day or his skin would get too dry, and we don't need to, but we get him in his tub, rub the water on him, and wash his face every night. He gets his full baths on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but on "small bath night" we usually let him just lay in the water for awhile because he's so happy. I can't wait until he's big enough to sit up in the tub and I can sit in there with him!
Last weekend we had planned to go over to a friend's house to play games (where Austin and I kicked butt in taboo!) so we tried to do William's normal bed time routine, after which we were going to walk 3 streets down to Corrine's house. Only problem: William was NOT ready for bed. He was wide awake, looking around, giggling and having a good ol' time. So we decided to just take him down there and hopefully he'd fall asleep in the car...again, no luck. Corrine asked if I'd like something to lay him on to entertain him/help him get to sleep and she brought out a play mat. I'd seen playmats before but had opted not to get one for a few reasons. But - those reasons may have just fallen by the wayside because William LOVED it. Her playmat played music and had a light show (which adds $ signs, of course) and he was just mesmerized by everything going on. It didn't put him to sleep, but he did have fun! He did eventually start to have his tired eyes so we put his playmat away, I swaddled him up and he was out in no time.
One thing that will take some getting-used-to on my part is his name. While I was pregnant people always asked me what we would call him, as if calling a child by their given name is unheard of. People still like to ask what his nickname is. Maybe because Brandon, Brian and I have always been Brandon, Brian and Amanda...and maybe because Gene and Austin were always Gene and Austin...the concept of changing a baby's given name or calling them a different name all together just seems kind of weird to us. If I wanted to call him Bill I would have named him Bill. To each his own I suppose. Anyway, I knew nicknames would come up naturally, and i knew his friends would probably shorten his name so its not like I'm not ok with it. Heck someday I may come up with some other name, you never know. It just wasn't planned. I don't mind what other people call him, within reason of course, I just didn't have any preset notions to call him another name. While I don't mind people calling him other names however, it always throws me for a loop when people call him "Will". And by "people" I mean nearly everyone. I guess its the common nickname for William now, whereas in my dad's day the common nickname was Bill. Its a nice enough name, except I don't think of my baby boy when someone says Will, I think of Will Hansen from high school! Nice guy, but when someone asks me "What's Will up to?" my initial reaction is "Man I have no idea, haven't talked to him since high school. Oh WILLIAM...well, he's grasping his hands and sticking out his tongue and having a wonderful day." So I guess I just need to remind myself periodically that my baby is also Will Wallis. Not nearly as masculine as William Wallis, but precious just the same.
Well, there's a smorgasbord of an update/blog for ya. Clearly my mind is not in one place today huh? Kind of all over the map! Weather, clothes, birthday, development, nicknames - you got it all. I'll try not to wait 3 months before I let you in on his development next time :)
May 11, 2010
My Cup Runneth Over...again
If you haven’t read my “warm fuzzy feeling” post from January 5, you should go back and read that one now. And a side note, if anyone knows how to insert hyperlinks to previous posts I’d love a lesson. I’m sure they teach that in computers 101, but I haven’t taken that course. J For those of you that already remember my “warm fuzzy feeling” post, I’ll carry on.
Brandon and Dana booked their flights after passing up on the cowboys game and they were planning to come March 10-March 15. We assumed William would be 3 weeks old when they booked their flights, but he ended up being 6 weeks which I think is a little more fun. I have loved William at all ages of course, but he was more alert at 6 weeks than 3. They were so excited to see him, but I have to note that Brandon’s excitement far exceeded Dana’s. He had already called dibs on sitting in the backseat by William’s car seat, and just like my mom he hardly recognized that I was even there at the airport to pick them up J
They flew in on a Wednesday afternoon, took skiing lessons Friday, went skiing with Austin Saturday, and spent the rest of their trip with William, me, and Austin when he wasn’t at work. I’m trying to remember the last time Brandon and I were together without my mom around and the only memory I can think of was in 2003. Brandon had moved into a rental house in the Heights and wanted me to come over to see it. That was a short 30 minute visit, though, and other than that I don’t think we had been together without my mom since before he graduated from high school. So I did have a little bit of apprehension leading up to their visit. I wasn’t concerned at whether or not we’d have fun, I just wasn’t sure what we’d do or what we’d talk about. But about an hour into their visit I knew I had nothing to worry about. We had a wonderful time. Wonderful doesn’t describe it, but I can’t think of a better word. Dana and I get along well, Austin and Brandon had a great time – and most importantly – Brandon and I had a great time. On their last day Brandon said they wanted to take us out to dinner to thank us for having them over and for feeding them for most of the trip, so we went out to eat at PF Changs (yuuummmm fried green beans). The entire meal I kept thinking “I wish this weekend didn’t have to end”. The next morning when I dropped them off at the airport I felt, for the first time, a tinge of pain wishing they could stay longer. I’ve loved every visit we’ve had with family and friends since we’ve been in Colorado, but generally when its time for them to go I’m ok with it. A couple more days would be nice, but its usually ok. This was different though. I wished they didn’t have to leave, and wished they’d just move a few miles away so we could see each other more often. Their trip was even more of a blessing than I had originally thought it would be.
Important to note is Brandon’s growth that I noticed while they were here. He was more confident than I’d seen him since he was in high school, more polite, more considerate, more caring…just like I said in my toast at their wedding: the old Brandon is back. And he blew me away yet again 3 weeks ago when he called me and told me to book a flight to Houston because he was going to pay for William and me to fly down and see Brian. If I thought my cup had runneth over when I first wrote about Brandon on January 5, then I need a new cliché phrase for how I felt when he called me. He said “I just want our whole family to be together. You’ve done so much for me, you loved me when I didn’t give two shits about you or anyone else, and I can’t ever repay that love. But I want to do what I can to show you what it means to me”. Brian had planned to fly to Denver to meet William, but it was so much better to be with our whole family. I’ll save that part for another post as I know I’m carrying on and on, I just thought I’d share the continuation of my warm fuzzy feeling.
In 2008 for Brandon’s birthday I wrote in his card: I have a feeling that this year is going to be your best year yet. The cynic in me wrote it thinking “It just HAS to be”. But I was right, and it has just been getting better and better since. I love you Brandon, and I am so very proud of you!
Brandon and Dana booked their flights after passing up on the cowboys game and they were planning to come March 10-March 15. We assumed William would be 3 weeks old when they booked their flights, but he ended up being 6 weeks which I think is a little more fun. I have loved William at all ages of course, but he was more alert at 6 weeks than 3. They were so excited to see him, but I have to note that Brandon’s excitement far exceeded Dana’s. He had already called dibs on sitting in the backseat by William’s car seat, and just like my mom he hardly recognized that I was even there at the airport to pick them up J
They flew in on a Wednesday afternoon, took skiing lessons Friday, went skiing with Austin Saturday, and spent the rest of their trip with William, me, and Austin when he wasn’t at work. I’m trying to remember the last time Brandon and I were together without my mom around and the only memory I can think of was in 2003. Brandon had moved into a rental house in the Heights and wanted me to come over to see it. That was a short 30 minute visit, though, and other than that I don’t think we had been together without my mom since before he graduated from high school. So I did have a little bit of apprehension leading up to their visit. I wasn’t concerned at whether or not we’d have fun, I just wasn’t sure what we’d do or what we’d talk about. But about an hour into their visit I knew I had nothing to worry about. We had a wonderful time. Wonderful doesn’t describe it, but I can’t think of a better word. Dana and I get along well, Austin and Brandon had a great time – and most importantly – Brandon and I had a great time. On their last day Brandon said they wanted to take us out to dinner to thank us for having them over and for feeding them for most of the trip, so we went out to eat at PF Changs (yuuummmm fried green beans). The entire meal I kept thinking “I wish this weekend didn’t have to end”. The next morning when I dropped them off at the airport I felt, for the first time, a tinge of pain wishing they could stay longer. I’ve loved every visit we’ve had with family and friends since we’ve been in Colorado, but generally when its time for them to go I’m ok with it. A couple more days would be nice, but its usually ok. This was different though. I wished they didn’t have to leave, and wished they’d just move a few miles away so we could see each other more often. Their trip was even more of a blessing than I had originally thought it would be.
Important to note is Brandon’s growth that I noticed while they were here. He was more confident than I’d seen him since he was in high school, more polite, more considerate, more caring…just like I said in my toast at their wedding: the old Brandon is back. And he blew me away yet again 3 weeks ago when he called me and told me to book a flight to Houston because he was going to pay for William and me to fly down and see Brian. If I thought my cup had runneth over when I first wrote about Brandon on January 5, then I need a new cliché phrase for how I felt when he called me. He said “I just want our whole family to be together. You’ve done so much for me, you loved me when I didn’t give two shits about you or anyone else, and I can’t ever repay that love. But I want to do what I can to show you what it means to me”. Brian had planned to fly to Denver to meet William, but it was so much better to be with our whole family. I’ll save that part for another post as I know I’m carrying on and on, I just thought I’d share the continuation of my warm fuzzy feeling.
In 2008 for Brandon’s birthday I wrote in his card: I have a feeling that this year is going to be your best year yet. The cynic in me wrote it thinking “It just HAS to be”. But I was right, and it has just been getting better and better since. I love you Brandon, and I am so very proud of you!
May 10, 2010
Happy Mother's Day To ME
It's a bizarre thing to switch to celebrating mothers day for myself after it being about other people for 25 years, but it was fun! It would have been fun no matter what we did - Sundays are always fun with William. But Austin, William and my mom made it extra special :)
William woke up at 6 like usual, but he wasn't really interested in having his normal play time like he normally does. After he drank his bottle he wanted to lay right on my chest and fall back asleep. No complaints here! We napped until about 8:30 when my phone rang. Then the 3 of us lounged around all morning until Austin got up the motivation to go to the grocery store to grab a few things. When he got home he made me a scrumptious breakfast: pigs in a blanket with grits. YUM! We made a huge mess of the kitchen because while he was making breakfast he was also making the marinades for our mother's day dinner and I was making my mom's mother's day Strawberry Tres Leches Trifle. After breakfast/lunch William and I were off to the airport to get my mom!
She was SO excited to see William, though I appreciated that she acknowledged me this time :) After we stopped by the house to drop off her bags and feed William we were off to the outlet mall. I needed to exchange something for William at Carters and my mom thought it'd be fun to go shopping for work clothes for me. I figured out the reason it was fun for her was because she was spending MY money rather than shopping for herself spending HER money :) She's the worst about buying clothes for herself, but she was trying to convince me to buy everything I tried on, but I snuck away with only spending $100. Plus she bought me a skirt for mothers day :) Now I just need this Colorado weather to figure out that it is in fact SPRINGTIME so I can wear my new clothes.
After shopping we went back home where Austin was already slaving away on our surf-n-turf dinner. Hold the surf for me, thanks ;) He grilled steaks and shrimp and made a grilled salad. Sounds weird, I know, but its something I saw on the food network and wanted to try. It was awesome! Poor Austin was sick all day (still is, he's at home sleeping) but he stayed up and out of bed all day to make sure me and my mom had happy tummies for mother's day :)
William and Austin gave me some new cricut toys for my first mother's day so now that I'm done making his baptism pages I can move on to making other scrapbook pages :) I also got lots of sweet texts, a card from Kaila, and a nice card with some pj's from Candace and Herb. What a spoiled mommy I am.
Hope everyone had a happy mothers day...whether you're a mommy, spent time with your mommy, or just spent the day by yourself. Here's to this week going as fast as last week did so I can be back at home with my baby and hubby on the weekend. The best time of the week :)
William woke up at 6 like usual, but he wasn't really interested in having his normal play time like he normally does. After he drank his bottle he wanted to lay right on my chest and fall back asleep. No complaints here! We napped until about 8:30 when my phone rang. Then the 3 of us lounged around all morning until Austin got up the motivation to go to the grocery store to grab a few things. When he got home he made me a scrumptious breakfast: pigs in a blanket with grits. YUM! We made a huge mess of the kitchen because while he was making breakfast he was also making the marinades for our mother's day dinner and I was making my mom's mother's day Strawberry Tres Leches Trifle. After breakfast/lunch William and I were off to the airport to get my mom!
She was SO excited to see William, though I appreciated that she acknowledged me this time :) After we stopped by the house to drop off her bags and feed William we were off to the outlet mall. I needed to exchange something for William at Carters and my mom thought it'd be fun to go shopping for work clothes for me. I figured out the reason it was fun for her was because she was spending MY money rather than shopping for herself spending HER money :) She's the worst about buying clothes for herself, but she was trying to convince me to buy everything I tried on, but I snuck away with only spending $100. Plus she bought me a skirt for mothers day :) Now I just need this Colorado weather to figure out that it is in fact SPRINGTIME so I can wear my new clothes.
After shopping we went back home where Austin was already slaving away on our surf-n-turf dinner. Hold the surf for me, thanks ;) He grilled steaks and shrimp and made a grilled salad. Sounds weird, I know, but its something I saw on the food network and wanted to try. It was awesome! Poor Austin was sick all day (still is, he's at home sleeping) but he stayed up and out of bed all day to make sure me and my mom had happy tummies for mother's day :)
William and Austin gave me some new cricut toys for my first mother's day so now that I'm done making his baptism pages I can move on to making other scrapbook pages :) I also got lots of sweet texts, a card from Kaila, and a nice card with some pj's from Candace and Herb. What a spoiled mommy I am.
Hope everyone had a happy mothers day...whether you're a mommy, spent time with your mommy, or just spent the day by yourself. Here's to this week going as fast as last week did so I can be back at home with my baby and hubby on the weekend. The best time of the week :)
May 5, 2010
Whiny Butt
I debated titling this post "whiny baby" but then I figured you would all assume I was talking about William, and I'm not. I'm talking about me. I realize that I am throwing a major pity party here, so consider this your official invitation. If you don't want to come, please don't feel obligated. Just click the little red "x" at the top right hand corner of your screen (or the little bitty red circle at the top left hand side for the rest of you mac-lovers out there) But, if you want to have sympathy for me, or just have a good laugh at my ridiculous complaints, read on!
People like me. They do, I can't help it. Alexis used to get so frustrated in high school because she said adults just liked me and I didn't have to do anything. She'd try and try to make friends' or boyfriends' parents like her, but generally they just liked me more. I'm sorry, I don't do it on purpose. I credit it to my ability to hide my "nasty" side until people know me too well to dislike me. Before I know people very well I refrain from too much gossip, don't cuss, I am polite, can attempt to carry on a one-on-one conversation with people, I inquire as to how other people are doing...I don't know, I just figured out one day how to be "liked". Teachers always loved me (with the mean, mean except of Mrs. Gonzales...grrrrrr), parents liked me...........lets face it, I am just a likable kind of girl. So when someone weird comes along who doesn't like me I don't know how to swallow it. The VP of compliance here at Western Union is one of those people.
I think at some point I must have done something to piss Kathy off. She hasn't always disliked me, but I can't pinpoint exactly when it started. I do know that the last time she said one word to me was in January when I was put on bed rest and she had to come to my house to pick up my laptop. She didn't say "hi" when I answered the door and she didn't say "bye" when she left. All the said was "I hope everything gets better". I was back at work for 2 days in February and had a baby shower here at the office. She didn't say anything either of those days and she didn't even say "you're welcome" when I thanked her for William's presents. She isn't the biggest social butterfly to begin with, but she did at least talk to other people. Not me!
I have now been back for a week and she hasn't acknowledged my presence. Yesterday she stopped by my coworker's cube to see how she was feeling because she had been out sick on Monday, but she still did not say anything to me. I'm not sure what I did to make her so angry, but I sure wish I knew...and I hope it was something good!
My coworkers say that I am better off for it because she is so moody and weird. But I just can't shake it. Maybe I'm being a baby and just think everyone should like me. Can you think of why someone shouldn't? (you better be saying no) But in all honesty, I don't expect EVERYONE to like me - not everyone is as wise as you are - but be professional. She is the VP of my section of the department, how about we grow up and put our big girl panties on. If you dislike me, fine. But can't you be adult enough to dislike me behind closed doors?
As I'm writing this my mind is seeing the parallels between Kathy and Mrs Gonzales. They look similar, their hair is similar, they are both a little quirky, neither are very social...I'm not sure what this means, but its an odd revelation. I didn't have an answer to Mrs Gonzales' disdain for me, so it was a good thing that you only have teachers for one hour a day in high school and you move on after 9 months. Unfortunately I work for Kathy 8 hours a day, and it won't be a short 9 months. Doesn't make me any more excited about leaving William every morning, but it does make me that much more excited to go home to him every night!
I guess I'm done whining for now. Someone doesn't like me. Blah blah blah. I guess if I think Kathy needs to put her big girl panties on and get over whatever I did to her, I should put mine on too. Consider it done.
People like me. They do, I can't help it. Alexis used to get so frustrated in high school because she said adults just liked me and I didn't have to do anything. She'd try and try to make friends' or boyfriends' parents like her, but generally they just liked me more. I'm sorry, I don't do it on purpose. I credit it to my ability to hide my "nasty" side until people know me too well to dislike me. Before I know people very well I refrain from too much gossip, don't cuss, I am polite, can attempt to carry on a one-on-one conversation with people, I inquire as to how other people are doing...I don't know, I just figured out one day how to be "liked". Teachers always loved me (with the mean, mean except of Mrs. Gonzales...grrrrrr), parents liked me...........lets face it, I am just a likable kind of girl. So when someone weird comes along who doesn't like me I don't know how to swallow it. The VP of compliance here at Western Union is one of those people.
I think at some point I must have done something to piss Kathy off. She hasn't always disliked me, but I can't pinpoint exactly when it started. I do know that the last time she said one word to me was in January when I was put on bed rest and she had to come to my house to pick up my laptop. She didn't say "hi" when I answered the door and she didn't say "bye" when she left. All the said was "I hope everything gets better". I was back at work for 2 days in February and had a baby shower here at the office. She didn't say anything either of those days and she didn't even say "you're welcome" when I thanked her for William's presents. She isn't the biggest social butterfly to begin with, but she did at least talk to other people. Not me!
I have now been back for a week and she hasn't acknowledged my presence. Yesterday she stopped by my coworker's cube to see how she was feeling because she had been out sick on Monday, but she still did not say anything to me. I'm not sure what I did to make her so angry, but I sure wish I knew...and I hope it was something good!
My coworkers say that I am better off for it because she is so moody and weird. But I just can't shake it. Maybe I'm being a baby and just think everyone should like me. Can you think of why someone shouldn't? (you better be saying no) But in all honesty, I don't expect EVERYONE to like me - not everyone is as wise as you are - but be professional. She is the VP of my section of the department, how about we grow up and put our big girl panties on. If you dislike me, fine. But can't you be adult enough to dislike me behind closed doors?
As I'm writing this my mind is seeing the parallels between Kathy and Mrs Gonzales. They look similar, their hair is similar, they are both a little quirky, neither are very social...I'm not sure what this means, but its an odd revelation. I didn't have an answer to Mrs Gonzales' disdain for me, so it was a good thing that you only have teachers for one hour a day in high school and you move on after 9 months. Unfortunately I work for Kathy 8 hours a day, and it won't be a short 9 months. Doesn't make me any more excited about leaving William every morning, but it does make me that much more excited to go home to him every night!
I guess I'm done whining for now. Someone doesn't like me. Blah blah blah. I guess if I think Kathy needs to put her big girl panties on and get over whatever I did to her, I should put mine on too. Consider it done.
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