New Blog Button

Do you like my new addition to the blog? Scroll down just a bit and look on the right side. It's just after the "About Me" section. Go ahead...don't be afraid.

If you can't find it then I'll make it easy on you:



Do you get it? What do the first letters of the first 4 words spell out? hehe

Found this little gem on a military wife's blog that I stumbled upon today. Click on the button and it will take you there.

Thanks for the great new button, Shay!

Random Rants

I'm bored at work today {which never happens} because my computer got confiscated so the IT department could upgrade it to Vista. What if I don't freaking want to be upgraded to Vista? "You don't have a choice." Fine. Take my freaking computer and I'll just play on a different computer all day since I can only access my files and work email from MY computer. My job pretty much relies on my computer so there's not much I can do today. Hence the blog updating and random ranting. Let's get started:

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Pandora Internet Radio is AWESOME! It's a free internet radio service that caters to your specific taste in music. And I love it.

Unfortunately, it's blocked on our computers at work {bastards}. I mean really, what harm does it do to allow your employees to listen to music on their computers?!? In fact, I would probably get MORE done if I was able to have music playing at my desk.

So a big EFF YOU to the IT peeps that decided it was okay to allow access to FACEBOOK but not to Pandora. Facebook is less distracting than harmless background music...REALLY?!?

Oh and P.S. don't even think about leaving any snarky comments about how I could listen to music on a radio {aka the old fashioned way} because my office is literally a closet that got transformed into an office so I can't get a lick of radio reception in there. And I don't own CD's anymore so that won't work. All my music is on my iPod but I'm not about to go out and spend money on an iPod docking station for my office that would be way too easy for someone to steal. So just stop thinking of alternatives and say it with me: shove it IT department!

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On another note, WTF is up with this whole Balloon Boy drama?! What kind of whack jobs do you have to be to think of such an elaborate {and stupid} plan and then be dumb enough to get CAUGHT. Idiots! Throw the parents into jail and get those kids some therapy STAT.

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The Biggest Loser is on tonight and I'm super excited about it!!! It's one of the only shows that I still get excited about watching. So inspiring and fascinating to watch them drop crazy amounts of weight every week.

{I really really really hope Tracy gets the boot tonight. What a crazy b!tch!}

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Wow this post sure did live up to it's "Random" title. haha.

Playing Dress Up

Last night I attended a Mary Kay party at my good friend Kate's house. It was lots of fun and I purchased some new makeup that I'm super excited about! While we were there, the Mary Kay consultant told us that the Mary Kay website has a feature where you can give yourself a virtual makeover.

So today, as I was avoiding edging the lawn {one of my most hated husband jobs}, I checked it out. And I got totally addicted! I have always loved playing dress up and apparently I'm still a little girl at heart. :)

All you have to do is upload a picture of your face and then you can go to town with hair, makeup, and even accessories. Here is one of my looks that I put together:
I was especially enjoying playing with the different hair styles since I've been debating on cutting my long hair lately. Hmmmm....still can't decide! What do you think? Should I cut my hair like that?

Oh and if you're interested, here's what I purchased:

Limited Edition Loose Eye Shadow in Lilac Lace

Creme Lipstick in Whipped Berries

Mineral Bronzing Powder in Desert Sun

Full Coverage Foundation in Ivory 200





Mineral Powder Foundation in Ivory 2




Concealer in Ivory 1 {this stuff is so much better than the drugstore concealer I had been using.}

Columbus Day To-Do List {ROUNDUP}

Wow!! This whole accountability thing really works! I got a ton of stuff done today. List items in green were accomplished, red were not accomplished.

Columbus Day To-Do List {ROUNDUP}:

-Do dishes and put away
-Wipe down countertops and sink
-Clean out fridge and wipe down (it's been a while) -- Only halfway did this one. Cleaned out old food and such but didn't get a chance to wipe it down.
-Sweep all floors (kitchen, living room, bathrooms)
-Mop all floors (kitchen, living room, bathrooms)
-Pick up bedroom clutter and put away
-Vacuum all carpet and rugs (kitchen, living room & bedroom)
-Do Laundry (wash, dry, fold & put away)
-Paint toe nails (they need it badly!!)
-Grocery shop -- Ran out of time for this but that's okay. It wont hurt me to have to eat out of my pantry for a day or two til I can make it.
-Work out at the gym for 1 hour -- I did a Body Pump class. My arm muscles are quivering as I type this.
-Mow lawn (it's been raining all weekend so I don't think the grass is going to dry out enough for me to get this one done but we will see!) -- The grass never dried out enough.

Here are some photos for your enjoyment. I should probably be embarrassed by some of these but I'm just keepin' it real here, people!

Before {look familiar?}

After

Before...embarrassing! {Excuse the lazy dog}

After...so zen. And the dog still hasn't moved...ha!



Before...holy clutter, Batman!


After

I hate folding laundry...but I did it. Go me!

Not my best paint job ever but I was in a hurry to get to the other items on the list! {I just realized that my white skin and the dark toenails almost look like something out of a horror movie...lovely.}

I just have to share this comment that was left on my original to-do list post. It was from "anonymous" so whoever you are, thanks for the laugh!

Anonymous said...

Cleaning lady $60
Yard guy $25
Pedicure $30

Having all day to work out and stop at the grocery on the way home...priceless.

Columbus Day To-Do List

I have today off for Columbus Day...YAY! But unfortunately I have a LONG to do list since I've been slacking on housework lately. To keep myself accountable I'm going to post my list here and post at the end of the day how much I accomplished. This should be interesting!

Columbus Day To-Do List:
-Do dishes and put away
-Wipe down countertops and sink
-Clean out fridge and wipe down (it's been a while)
-Sweep all floors (kitchen, living room, bathrooms)
-Mop all floors (kitchen, living room, bathrooms)
-Pick up bedroom clutter and put away
-Vacuum all carpet and rugs (kitchen, living room & bedroom)
-Do Laundry (wash, dry, fold & put away)
-Paint toe nails (they need it badly!!)
-Grocery shop
-Work out at the gym for 1 hour
-Mow lawn (it's been raining all weekend so I don't think the grass is going to dry out enough for me to get this one done but we will see!)

See what I mean about it being a long list?? I seriously doubt I'll be able to get all of this done but at least I will have this accountability to get most of it done! We shall see...time to get to work!

Retail Therapy

I woke up today feeling much better after my pity party yesterday. Then, out of the blue I came across an AMAZING shoe sale at 6pm.com. Retail therapy is the BEST kind of therapy. {Massage therapy is a close, close second}

We're talking about such a good sale that I thought it was either a joke or a glitch when I saw the prices. A lot of shoes are marked down more than 95%! {The sale is still going on if you're interested, although I think they are sold out of a lot of sizes and such now.}

I was really wanting to spruce up my shoe collection with some chic high heels for work and such. Boy did I hit the jackpot!
I got these beauties for $7.95...no I'm not joking! The orignal MSRP on them is $121.00. ::::faints:::::


Aaaaand I'm back. How ferosh are these nude patent platform heels?PRETYY DAMN FEROSH! I also got these for $7.95 (MSRP $110.00).


These polka dot espadrille wedges will be perfect with a Spring or Summer dress {so I will have to wait a while to wear these}. These I got for $14.95, MSRP of $185.00 (they're Anne Klein New York).


These might be my favorite...white pumps with yellow heels. They cost me a whopping $7.95. MSRP is $91.00.


These last ones are a little "out there" for me but I love them and I've always wanted navy blue shoes. I hope they look good on me! These were $7.95. MSRP is $55.00.

So when you add it all up and include the shipping cost, I paid $53.80 for FIVE pairs of amazing high heels. I'm just hoping that they all fit okay and they aren't super duper uncomfortable. Luckily, they do have a return policy so I can return any that I don't like.

Are you jealous yet?? Well go snatch up the rest of what's left at 6pm.com and you'll feel MUCH better. :)

Over It

Images from Cafepress.com

That right there pretty much sums up my attitude today. I may seem like I am just gliding right through this deployment without many issues, but the truth is...DEPLOYMENTS SUCK!

For the most part I manage to keep myself busy enough to not get too caught up in wallowing in my own misery, but then...every now and then....it hits me like a ton of bricks. And it's usually the stupidest things that set me into a tail spin.

Take today for example, I was rushing to leave for work this morning and went to feed Libby. As I'm scooping her food I notice that there are ants EVERYWHERE. In the food, outside the bag, crawling along the shelf, etc. So I cuss under my breath but I have no choice but to do something about it....because I don't have a husband around to push jobs like that off on. So I grab my trusty can of Raid and start spraying. But then I have to figure out where to put the rest of the food so that the ants don't get into it again (I sort of have a problem with spending too much on my dog's food so I was concerned with salvaging the damn food!). So anyway I think I figured it out, but it was a pain.

Then later when my wonderful husband calls me from Iraq, I'm totally mean to him. Like blaming him for the stupid ant incident (wtf?!?), picking fights, bitching, and other generally inexcusable behavior. So our conversation ends badly and the moment I hang up the phone I start regretting acting like that. It's like a demon possessed my body...but it's too late because that was my one phone call that I get from him for the day....and I effed it up. Way to go, Ash.

As I was typing him an apology email I started thinking about where this crazy behavior was coming from. How did some stupid ANTS cause me to have a bitchy breakdown?!? Then I realized:

I'M JUST OVER IT. {it=deployment} I'm over having to mow the lawn, I'm over being lonely when I come home at night, I'm over not having my best friend to talk to whenever I want, I'm over not having a date to ANYTHING, I'm over having to make decisions without my better half, I'm over sleeping with the pistol in the nightstand and being terrified of ever having to use it, I'm over having to try and remember 24 hours (or more) worth of things to tell my husband and making it fit into a 10 minute conversation. I'M JUST OVER IT.
{I totally started crying as I was typing this paragraph...apparently I'm not quite ready to move on from "wallowing in my self pity" day.}

And I took my frustration out on the ONE person who I shouldn't have.


Well, crap.

Everything that I'd been bottling up just decided to come pouring out. All that strength, resolve, and positivity just got blasted away.....because of ANTS. haha It is really quite humorous when you put it that way.

All this to say, I may put up a good front as though I'm dealing so well with this deployment, but in reality I have my "freak out" and "self pity" moments. And I decided it's kind of okay. I'm living without my husband for a WHOLE YEAR of our lives....I think I deserve to have a few moments of pure insanity. No, I'm not proud of how I acted. But I realized what I did, made it right, and IT'S OKAY. Because you know what? Sometimes deployments just really suck.

Giddy for Goodwill

Along with my recent Dollar Tree obsession, I've also become enamoured with Goodwill. I just love love love it for awesome and cheap home decor items. I stop at Goodwill at least once a week and I almost never come away without making a purchase....which I don't feel the least bit guilty about because it's so CHEAP!

I also have a little secret about shopping at Goodwill that I believe helps me snag all the awesome stuff before other people. I actually debated on whether or not to share this "secret" for fear that giving away my secret would cause me some shopping competition...and as selfish as it is, I want first dibs on all the best stuff!!

But in the end I realized that one reason I write this blog is to try to help and inform people about cool stuff. So, I will share my secret. Are you ready? Here goes...

Shop Goodwill on Mondays. Most people bring their donations to Goodwill on the weekends, so shopping on Monday usually means you get first dibs on all the new stuff that came in over the weekend. I'm certainly not saying this is a foolproof plan but I have noticed a significant change in the quantity and quality of items when shopping on a Monday vs. say a Thursday.

So today I made my Monday stop at Goodwill and I found a couple things that I'm really excited about.

That's 5 antique-looking books and an adorable Santa Clause figurine! {Excuse the TV on in the background. Mondays not only mean Goodwill but also Dancing with the Stars which is a must-watch for me!}

Look at those yellowed pages and worn bindings. Swoon!!! I got the books for $1.99 each. Worth every penny.

I used a few of them to raise up a puny lamp on my side table. And that glass hurricane was a Goodwill find from a couple Mondays ago.

The other two found their home on the bottom shelf of this table. They look right at home there!

I think I inherited my mom's love of Santa figurines. This little baby was $2.99!! Score! Now I can't wait for Christmas season so I can display him.

More Halloween Decor :)

Today the weather around here looks like this:

A.K.A. Pouring rain. The perfect day to do some overdue blogging! {And yes I just love looking out my front door at the house across the street with 50 bajillion cars parked in their driveway and in front. That's not even the full extent of it! There are like 3 more cars parked along the street to the right of where this photo stops and they are there all.the.time. Klassy!}

I know you've been anxiously awaiting more Halloween decor and your wish is my demand! Yesterday at the grocery store I picked up these two beauties for my front porch:

The punks in my neighborhood better not even THINK about touching my pumpkins!! I also replaced my Aggie football wreath with this:

{It's driving me NUTS that this sign is sitting off center but everytime I try to fix it it just gets screwed up again as soon as I close the door. Grr!}

When I bought my large pumpkins at the grocery store, I also bought some baby ones that I am in love with! I used some of them to spruce up my table setting:

Love the pop of the orange on the black and white background of the plates! Here's a view of the whole dining table:

Cute! {If I do say so myself} I have a confession about this table setting...it's just for looks! I had some of my very best girl friends over last night for dinner and they all complimented me on my table setting...except we ate off of paper plates in the living room instead of using it. Hehe! What a great hostess I am!

This is a ribbon garland that I made last year {inspired by this post at Your Homebased Mom}:

{Please excuse the ugly navy blue valance that was here when we moved in...it's on my list of things to replace. Oh and the BRIGHT yellow walls...they are actually much brighter than they look in this photo. Oh the life of a renter!} Here's a closeup of the ribbon garland:

It was super easy! All you do is buy a bunch of Halloween-colored ribbon, cut it into equal length pieces, and then start tying it onto a long piece of cording or rope.

Here's another homemade Halloween decoration that I made last year {inspired by that same post at Your Homebased Mom}.

Thanks, Angie for reminding me about this banner...I had actually kind of forgotten about it! Also super easy to make. I think I'm going to do a tutorial later on how to make this one so I'll leave you in suspense for right now! {Not that it's difficult to figure out on your own} :)

Here's a glass hurricane that I picked up from Goodwill, filled with coffee beans, and one of the mini-pumpkins found it's home on top.

And a couple more Halloween touches:

And just for kicks, a picture of my Libbers:

I'm thinking she needs a Halloween bandana or something to match the rest of the house! She's clashing! :)