Happy New Year!!!!

Purple Pop Art New Year's Card

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Have a wonderful and safe new year!!

The Help

The Help is an amazing book written by Kathryn Stockett.  I love this book!

There are so many reasons why.  It is a book about women in Mississippi in the early 1960's.  Specifically, it is about white women and the black women that keep their homes and raise their children. 

I must be honest and say that I did not "read" this book, but listened to the audiobook.  What made the audiobook so special is that each character of the book was read by a different actor.  Therefore, you got to know each character more intimately, because you associate the woman with her voice (rate of speech, inflections, accents, etc.).

Each chapter is written from the perspective of a different character.  I love when authors do that.  I get more immersed in the book, because I get to know each character intimately.

The movie is being filmed (or already filmed) and will come out on the big screen in 2011.  The IMDB database lists the cast and a few pictures.  If it is even half as good as the book, I will love it!

If you haven't read the book, I highly suggest it.

Happy Anniversary to Lucy Liu!!

Top Left:  Our first day home Dec. 2008; Top Right: Valentine's Day 2009
Bottom Left: dog rescue event 2010; Bottom Right: Sept. 2010

Two years ago today, I brought home my first puppy, Lucy Liu.  I had been looking for a dog to adopt, but just couldn't pull the trigger.  I went to my Dad's for Christmas and went to the local pet supply store.  The owner owned Shih Tzu's as pets and had a little shih tzu puppy in a pen with two little chihuahua puppies. 

The little puppy was very quiet and when I picked her up, she put her head on my shoulder (like in the picture above) and it was all over.  I had to adopt her.  I wanted to think about it overnight, so I put a $20 deposit (no kidding) down to "hold" her. 

That night, I was torturing my sister with what to name her.  I wanted her name to have a Chinese reference.  After MUCH deliberation, I decided to name her Lucy Liu.  Why?  Because, let's face it, Lucy Liu is Chinese-American (like my shih-tzu) and a Bad Ass.  The next day, I picked up Lucy Liu and brought her home to Houston.

She is the greatest dog in the world.  I love that she is:

• very adaptable;
• easy-going, but at times, stubborn;
• has great confidence;
• loves to play;
• barks at ALL animals, cartoons (including the Mucinex phlegm-guy) and any kind of caveman (Capital One guys) on TV;
• loves little kids and any one else that wants to pet her
• PURE JOY

Fabric Wall-Mount Magazine/Mail Organizer

I am always trying to tackle the pile of mail that collects over the weeks.  I've tried keeping it in drawers, in the desk chair, counter-tops, etc.  I can never find a good "hiding" place.

Then, I saw this Fabric Wall-Mount Magazine/Mail Organizer. 

At the suggestion of the Container Store Associate, I used these Adhesive Utility Hooks to secure it to the inside of my laundry room door.  Each hook holds up to 3 lbs, so it should work.  Now the surfaces in my home are clean and my magazines and mail are tucked away.

This might be the best hiding place yet!

Almond Bark

I know that I am late to the Almond Bark craze, but better late than never.  I love "sweet and salty" treats.  I saw this blog post The Starnes Family recently and it stuck in my head.  Then the other day, I was in Walmart with my Dad and met a woman in the check out line.  She had the Almond Bark in her cart.  I, of course, couldn't keep my mouth shut and asked her about it.

This kind woman gave me the following recipe:

3 cups Rice Krispies
3 cups Peanut Butter Cap 'n Crunch
1 bag marshmallows
1 can mixed nuts (salted)
1 bag of Almond Bark

Here are the easy steps:

1. Melt the Almond Bark in a pan; 
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl;
3. Pour melted Almond Bark in bowl and stir;
4. Lay the mix flat in a casserole dish or on cookie sheet to set (about 20-30 min)
5. Break up the mix and enjoy

I bought a bag of pretzels and took another bag of almond bark and made candy-coated pretzels. Just melt the Almond Bark, pour over pretzels, and let them set.  I had some extra marshmallows, so I added them just to be festive.  Easy and idiot-proof!

Merry Christmas!!

Festive Fabric Garland



I saw this amazing fabric garland in several magazines.  I read the instructions on how to make it and just new I had to do it.  Why?  It is basically fool-proof.

All you need it:

1. Twine--Make loops on each end of the twine, so you can hang it.
2. Scissors
3. Fabric--Choose several different texture, like cotton, felt and tulle.  Cut in 6 inch strips.  I bought 1/2 yard of each fabric.

Since I technically do not celebrate Christmas.  (I was raised Jewish.)  I decorated for the holidays this year in silver, turquoise and red.  Festive, but not too Christmas like.  The colors are bright and happy.  I love it.

You basically cut fabric strips and tie them around the twine.  Make the garland as long or short as you want.  I wanted mine to hang across my sliding-glass doors.  I hang holiday cards on mine.  Check it out!

Great Songs for Your Workout

A high school friend of mine, Casey, added a new feature to her blog from Playlist.  You can create your own playlists and share them.  I had to "steal" this idea.  (Thanks, Casey!) Because I teach Spinning classes, I get a lot of questions from people about my favorite songs to workout to.  So, I will start posting playlists to this blog.  The playlists will be featured at the bottom of the page.  Just scroll on down to listen to what I am currently working out to.

Check it out!

Getting Into a Groove

As I mentioned before, I have been traveling for work for the past three weeks.  I am suffering for it.  I long for a routine!  I go a little nutty, when I return from travel.  I sometimes have trouble finding my equilibrium or groove, so to speak.  Now with the Christmas/New Year's holidays in full-swing, I am afraid my "new normal" will take a few more weeks.

In the meantime, I am picking back up on my rituals.  I bought flowers again.  Loving the holiday selections....

How cool are the stick like branches on the left?  Not sure what they are, but knew they would be great next to my bathroom sink.  On my desk, I put some evergreen, berries, a hydrangea, and added a punch of white.  I took the rest of the white flowers and put them in my bedroom.  They are nice and clean looking. 

Now, I must admit that I purposely got these flowers, because they should last me over one week.  I will be away for a few days for X-mas and my father's birthday and wanted flowers that would last 10-14 days.

So, now back to routines.....The flowers and grocery shopping helped ground me a little. 

I've been consistently working out, but had to put the weight lifting with a trainer on the back-burner because of my travel schedule.  Every day I have been home this month, I have taught Spinning.  I couldn't handle another appointment (trainer).  It was too much to commit to.  I had to let it go, temporarily.

So, the cardio is in check, but the hard and toned upper body muscles are now soft.  I'm working out with a trainer on Friday!!!  I know it will ground me, even a little more. 

Now, the diet is BAD!!  Three weeks of catered meals eating out, just kills me.  I have little self-control in social situations and in catered buffet lines.  I love to try everything that I am offered.  No matter how much cardio I have done, it can't make up for the calories I have consumed.  I admit that it is hard to stop the negative self talk.  I know that I will make better decisions, once I am back in my routine, but it is hard for me to be patient and not beat myself up.  My clothes are a little tighter right now, and I hate myself for it.  But, I try to stop the inner dialogue and remind myself that this is temporary.

I must remind myself that the great thing is that I get to start over each day.  Every day I am trying to make better food choices---not graze on all the holiday treats at work all day, not over indulge at holiday parties, etc.  I try to remind myself of the little victories throughout the day and not focus on the few handfuls of chocolate covered popcorn I ate at the office.  (At least I didn't make the effort to go purchase it, right?  It was just sitting out where I couldn't resist!)

I know I need to work on not being so hard on myself, but it is hard.  Every day that I am home, I feel more like myself. 

We all try to keep balance in our lives.  Some times we cannot balance and some thing has to give.  I strive to give myself permission to live in the moment, even if it means I gain a few lbs., lose sleep, spend a little too much money, etc.  I have a feeling I will always struggle with this, but every day I have the gift of starting anew and trying again.

I'm Back.....

I've been traveling on business for the past three weeks.  I'm happy to be home.  When I'm gone, I sure miss these cute faces......

I love my dogs, Lucy Liu and Louis. 

I am thankful that I have great friends, Diana and Barry, to help me.