Oh, It is just you Monday.

Sigh.

Monday morning was rough. If it hadn't been for the new dress I was saving to wear for one of "those" days, I might have stayed slid down to the floor and laid like a starfish sprawled out, hoping the day wouldn't start. Luckily, I had picked this up after work one day when I was engaging in some retail therapy with Ashley.

 

 

I still need to get a belt for it, but I love it. It is no fuss, light weight and grown up all at the same time.

 

Regardless of the dress, which kept the gloom at bay. This is what really kept me going on Monday:

 

Source unknown- sent to me by a co-worker

 

Ok. Sorry SORRY for all those sensitive eyes out there. Perhaps a little inappropriate, but it has been a doozy of a few weeks at work and I am really in need of a one way plane ticket, a poodle, bottle of wine, and tropical island where no one speaks English.

 

Alas, I highly doubt anyone is showing up with a giant check and whisking me away.

 

Now on to more fun, less, boo-hoo updates.

 

I made my first Hazel & Olive purchase tonight. Molly has really sold this as an awesome store, and I have been eying this dress and finally just couldn't tear my eyes away. (Molly also has her own adorable store, Molly Suzanne that you should check out). 

 

 

via

 

I guess we can say Happy early Birthday to me? Yes, it is true. Birthday month is upon me. Eeek. I can't even think about it yet. I'm getting old people! OLD! I also just dropped my first 10 pounds on Weight Watchers. As I am sure some of you remember, I started WW last year in January and it was kind of a flop. I lost a little over five pounds, and then I just dropped off the wagon. I do have to say...you have to want it, and be ready to make changes. I think the last time I did it, I wasn't ready or prepared to plan, improvise, and invest the time and money health eating can require. So far I feel a lot more motivated this time around. I try my best to keep fruits and veggies stocked and front and center as part of my eating plan. Portion control has been huge, and I know I am slowly making steady changes that seem to be sticking.

 

So while work is wearing me down. Hopefully I will be wearing some pretty cute dresses these next few weeks.

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, grandmas, and soon to be moms! I wasn't lucky enough to spend the day with two of the best moms that I know- my own mother and my sister, but I am so fortunate to have such wonderful examples of strong, compassionate, and loving moms in my life.

Like Grandma- Like Granddaughter with the fuzzy hats!

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom and Sister! I love you both so so very much!

Creamy Avocado Whole Wheat Pasta with Shrimp

How will I tie a cooking adventure to Jenni's day three prompt? Well....something that makes me uncomfortable is cooking seafood. Shrimp, clams, some fish, crab, etc.. One, it is expensive (usually). Two, I don't really know what I am doing. Steak, chicken, pork---cook till done. Fish. Seafood. Who the heck knows! Three, it can make your apartment smell.

Not being exactly the best cook in the world. I survive, but am certainly not the person you want in your kitchen cooking dinner. Baking you cupcakes, absolutely. Cooking shrimp. Nope, wrong girl.

Well yesterday I saw a post over at Kevin and Amanda for a pasta dish that used avocado as the sauce. It reminded me that I had bookmarked a similar recipe MONTHS ago, and had yet to try it. With a free evening last night, I decided to give Amanda's recipe a try.  

Amazingly, it was a HUGE success. It was delish! I am so proud of my cooking skills! The shrimp were....dare I say it?....good. REALLY good.

 

Now I know this isn't the normal response to something that makes one uncomfortable, but it was a good link between my dinner adventure and my blog every day challenge! I say it is a win!

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

Being told you are bad at something. Doubting yourself. Believing them, despite knowing that their intentions had nothing to do with making you better, but rather tearing you down.

Then you hear that you aren't bad at that thing. You actually are pretty good.

The it dawns on you. That person, the person who said you weren't really good at something, was really just jealous of everything you had going for you.

Too bad I let it get to me, and had a chip in my ego for a few years over something that was false. Moving on.

___________________________________________________

I wrote that above awhile ago now. The realization that no matter what, there are just going to be people that aren't there to build you up. Maybe it is jealousy, maybe it is malicious, maybe it is their own securities, but whatever it is, their words can dig deep. I had some thoughts so deeply ingrained in my head, that it never even occurred to me to get a second opinion.

Someone told me that I was bad at writing. While I will be the first to admit that I could be better....much much better, that comment made me lose so much confidence in my ability to do ANY writing. I started shying away from writing here, writing emails at work, keeping a journal, doing anything where I felt someone could point out the fact that I was stupid and was a bad writer. Just like anyone else, I have a lot of room for improvement. On this blog, I could stand to edit, revise and re-read before I publish. However, I never started this to be an amazing writer. I started this to track my own life (and to say "Hi Mom, Hi Dad! I promise I am eating more than cereal for dinner!") and to do it because I enjoy it. It is sad I let someone take that away from me.

At work, I can always use a second set of eyes, but the comment dug so deep...I forgot that needing improvement was a far cry from being "bad".

One day fairly recently, someone told me that something I had written was good. Then it was followed up with another written item that got me some pretty important conversations.

The moment after someone told me that I really wasn't a failure at writing, I almost started crying. It was a mix of relief and sadness.

So while I know that I am not a world class writer, and there is a hell of a lot of room for improvement, I also write this knowing that I am bigger than what that person said to me in attempt to make me feel bad about myself.

For day two of the blog everyday this month, I couldn't easily write about something I was good at, or knew a lot about. Instead, this came to mind and seemed fitting for the subject.

Blog Every...Errr Almost Every Day Challenge

It seems to be a trend that people are trying this whole "blog every day for a month" deal. Or going the complete other direction and doing a whole month without the connections via blogging, facebook, instagram, etc.. Jenni over at Story of My Life is doing a month long challenge to blog every. single. day. this. month. Yikes! The only thing that made me possibly thing I could also follow her lead? She provided prompts. So possibly I can stick to it if I don't have to think of a topic for everyday (because let's be real...that is so  much pressure!). So here we go May. A month of blogging. Can I do it?

Jenni's first challenge. Your life story in 250 words or less. This is normally something I would agonize over! Notice how I have never created an "about me" section on the blog? Partially it is because I am so paralyzed by the idea of trying to sum myself up! So big deep breaths...here we go.

I am a West Coast Gal who has landed in an accidental DC life. A lover of poodles, baking, stripes, creative outlets, royal family news, and skiing. I frequently feel out of place and am constantly contemplating if life is supposed to "be like this". (Which I have slowly started to answer with: "Who the heck knows").

Having grown up in the remote state of Idaho (ok not that remote!) I have a deep appreciation for skiing, nature in my backyard, and the luxury of a nice slow pace of life. I have a wonderful family and love being a daughter, sister and aunt.

I spent my college years in Seattle, making friends that I will carry with me my whole life (oh...and picking up my degree). After school I followed a guy to DC, where we both grew up, defined ourselves, and found that we were not exactly meant to spend the rest of our lives together. Having life take a twist I didn't expect, I stayed in DC. Have attempted to carve out a life for myself here and have ultimately found love, bigkid life, and a whole lot of stories to tell. Deep down I know my heart is always going to be on the West Coast and hope that the next chapters of my life happen to take place on the right side of the country.