Thursday, January 31, 2013

Instagram lately



This past week was a cold one. Ben had to put plastic around our windows to help keep the cold at bay. It did help, but we added sweaters, socks and long johns to our lounge ware. I also had to get a flu vaccine and was feeling sickly the day after (even though the nurse assured me that I wouldn't. Lies) so my instagram feed has been pretty mundane full of cats as always.




This is Tazo whom I'm pretty sure I've never introduced.

I'm really self-concious of taking pictures of just me. Every once in awhile I'll get one I like though.

Our mama cat, Boo. Without the kittens around anymore she's been a kinder, calmer cat that like snuggling with us at night.
Ben worked on Saturday and I ended up not doing much of anything, but playing Harvest Moon DS Cute which is one of the only games I have any sort of attention span for.

How has your week been so far?

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

No more sugar!



I have loved sugar for years. We've built an intimate relationship. It was with me in during the good times and especially the bad times. Lonely nights spent with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, party nights made better with mixed drinks and almost always a midnight snack. Pick me ups in the afternoons of busy days. 
Yes sugar has loved me and I have loved sugar, but I felt our relationship begin to sour last year when I was making a conscious effort at losing weight and realizing that the love sugar gave was not the best for me. It was downhill from there. I was still turning to sugar all the time, but I'd get more and more frustrated with it. Over the holidays I felt groggy, tired and sluggish and I knew it was directly connected to my sugar intake. Finally, in the beginning of this month I knew I had to do something drastic. I cut ties with sugar. 
It was a hard break-up. The first few days I was constantly irritable and dissasitfied. On day 3 I may have actually shed some tears for sugar. However day 4 things started to look up. I felt revitalized and sort of free like I didn't have to rely on sugar anymore. 
It lasted 5 and a half days, but sugar did not like being rejected. When I did come back to it it rejected me. This past week I have had zero energy, drive and a constant headache. By yesterday I knew that sugar and I would have to end for good. Not as enemies though, but as friendly acquaintances. I won't cut it out completely but I'm not relying on it anymore. It's hard but it'll be worth feeling normal again.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013


We have storms headed our way! I snapped this picture with my iphone at a stop light which probably wasn't safe, but the clouds were so dramatic that I couldn't pass it up. 
I'm hunkered down with the cats who have been super weird we've got our flash light and candles and a bathtub ready if we need to dive in it.
Hopefully, we'll be safe and nothing will happen but you never know!

Do you like when it storms?

Friday, January 18, 2013

More happy images!

Today is my fifth day without sugar. I'm trying to go seven days without despite having some weird withdrawals. Seriously, last night I got incredibly moody and sad and the only reason was I was craving sugar! It's crazy but I'm hoping by the end of day seven I won't be crazy or have crazy sugar cravings anymore. 
And keeping with my new year's resolution to be happy no matter what here are some things that have made me happy the past week or so.
'

This pug in a unicorn costume. I think I need the cat version.




Ben says it looks too cold, but I think this looks like the coziest bedroom ever.




I hope these have entertained you some and made your day happier.
(I know this post is a little weak-sauce, but it took me all week to put it together because all I can think about is cookies. Eating so many cookies.)




Thursday, January 17, 2013

Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance


Here's a fact about me- I love Tudor history. When I was younger I was all about 'The Royal Diaries: Elizabeth I' which gave me my first perception of Henry VIII. A supposed overly obese, sullen old man who sometimes didn't like his daughter. Then I happened on 'The Other Boleyn Girl' which gave me a look at young Henry VIII who was supposedly super charismatic and attractive. That spark my curiosity enough that I've read a couple of small biographers on Henry and the time. I'm really interested in Alison Weir's books which all seem to be about Tudor England.
Anyway...the review
The Boleyn Inheritance follows three women- Anne of Cleaves, Henry's fourth wife, Jane Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister-in-law whose testimony put Anne and her brother to death and Katherine Howard, Anne of Cleaves maid in waiting and Henry's fifth wife.
The book starts from Jane's perspective and I didn't like how it opened. It seemed at the time Gregory was making Jane out to be a misunderstood heroine when in The Other Boleyn Girl she made the character out to be a total creep, no joke. However, as the story progressed Gregory showed that Jane painted that picture of herself and that no one else really believed it.
The story overall was well done. She used Anne of Cleaves perspective to show what Henry was doing to the church and the burnings and hangings that happened from his paranoia. In the author's note Gregory stated that she wanted to dispel the myths of Anne of Cleaves being ugly and Katherine Howard being stupid. She painted Katherine as a young girl (she was 15 when she married the king) who only wanted pretty things and to have a romance.

(source)

Anne of Cleave portrait sort of dispels the myth of her being ugly and Gregory's reasoning for that rumor was the king didn't like her because she rejected him when he first met her disguised and a homeless man.
I admire Philippa Gregory as a historical fiction writer because the truth is, we won't really know why things happened in the past; and she does a commendable job making the pieces all fit together in an engaging way

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Simply Saturday






1 & 2. The cats enjoying the semi open window in my office going crazy of the bird calls. =)
3. Ben in our garage finishing painting our t.v. stand that's supposed to be the same color as the stool behind him. I don't think it's quite that color, but it's still pretty. Our neighbor keeps telling him he needs to refinish furniture for a living like the amish? Ben keeps telling him he only likes it as a hobby.
4. Sugar. My plan is to give it up for one week starting Monday. A friend of my did this the first week of the year and says it helped greatly deplete her sugar cravings. Since I have fiendish sugar cravings especially at night I need to do this type a cleanse for sure. (photo source)

    Tonight I work my last shift at Target. It's a 7-hour cashier shift which I would rather not do, but I'm a strong advocate of finishing things on a good note, so in I go to ring up people's purchases while they watch me. I've never noticed that until I started cashiering, but people really do watch you as though they were waiting for you to mess up or something. Now that I'm conscious of it I hope I never do that to another cashier haha.
    Monday, I start at the hospital full time so I have to get myself on a real schedule again. I'm finally excited about the hospital; up till today I've just mostly been afraid of giving up my steady income and finally my fear has subsided. I know this is where I'm meant to be and I know that God takes care of me, so I'm leaving the rest up to him and being freaked out about it isn't going to change a thing. Saying that and believing it are two different things of course but I think I can do both now. Ben and I have spent our Saturday cleaning and finishing up a couple of things we've wanted to do. We also started watching 'Psycho' since we want to see the movie 'Hitchcock' we figured it would be nice to actually know what movie this movie is talking about. We didn't finish it today the warm weather has made us restless.
And! I hope by the beginning of the week to have a new book review up!

Has everyone else had a good Saturday?

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Morning snapshots


The High Road by Broken Bells on Grooveshark





1. My daily coffee. In the winter I could not make it through the day without it, and I have a giant bottle of peppermint mocha creamer which makes it all the better.
2. Big Boy, the last of the kittens that we found in September. His as big as his mother already and I know Ben and I both would love to keep him, but 4 cats is too many cats even for this lady.
3.Alfalfa sprouts! Ben and I really enjoy sprouts so we got our own grower. Tuna and sprout sandwich? Yes, please!
4.I've finished organizing my new "office" space and I love hanging out in here and so does everyone else! 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Just some happy things

 To go along with my resolution to be happy I've decided to share some of my favorite images that I've been hoarding on my laptop.

This looks like the coziest place in the whole world and I love it.

This!


I used to hate the beach, but since going last June when we went I miss it and it's become my new happy place.


I've never thought of it that way but it's true!
This is adorable and I love it.

I hope I've made your day a little happier! I'm working an eight hour shift today so I'll probably need to come home and dwell on this post! Happy Thursday!

A Resolution


I know I'm two days late, but it's been a busy two days. January 1st I turned in my two week's notice at Target and today I finalized things at the hospital and will start work on the 11th. So so far it's been a good year!

I've done resolutions for the past two year on my other blog and actually carried them out. In 2011 I resolved to quit my job at Starbucks which I did that March and in 2012 I wanted to grow my massage business which I've now done with the hospital.
In 2013 I want to learn to be happy regardless of my circumstance.
New Year's Eve was one of the lowest days for me. I wasn't feeling well and Ben got called into work which is what happened the year before so I spent another NYE alone. I let it get to me and I spent the whole evening in a low, low place. That's when I decided I'm going to work on taking whatever circumstance I've been given and to be happy in it and not get upset over the fact that I can't change it.
The next couple of months will be interesting with this new job which I genuinely hope will be something. I'm a worrier though and I know I'm going to be worried about things like the cars and rent especially since I don't have guaranteed income and I need to learn to have faith that we're walking down the right path.
What are your new year's resolutions? Are you good at sticking with them?