Thirteen Things I've learned

1. to stop and pet the kitties
2. that I can save time in the morning by putting my makeup on at work
3. If something is causing me stress, then it's just not right
4. time to myself is a valuable commodity
5. weight watchers is actually fun
6. that you have to be nice to yourself, otherwise it's near impossible to be nice to anyone else
7. that Panera's chicken noodle soup is only 2 points
8. that a good man is hard to find, and once you find him you should hold onto him
9. it's ok to be a little bit messy
10. it's pointless to worry about things beyond my control
11. smiling it contagious
12. that things often end up being alot easier than I imagine
13. that I should never underestimate my ability to do great things

1. Do you wish on stars? What do you wish for? [Thanks Michelle!]
2. List 3 thoughts that are running around in your head
3. What was the last thing you took a picture of?
4. List 3 of your favorite places
5. What was the last thing you bought?
6. What are your plans for the weekend?

I haven't written much lately, have I? I admit I've been keeping to myself.

Sometimes it's just hard to express how I'm feeling in front of all these people. If I didn't know you all I wouldn't care so much. But I know alot of you people and I care what you all think of me. I just caught that. It just sunk in. I care. What my readers think of me. I'm not sure that's the best thing. It's not a bad thing, certainly, but when it affects what I put here on MY blog, well, that's kinda wrong.

So starting now I'm going to try not to care. Not to tiptoe around saying the wrong thing, or not expressing how I feel or trying not to piss people off. Because this is all catering to everyone else and not to me. I think it comes right down to caring too much what everyone else thinks and not enough about what I think.

So pbbbbtttttt. There!

Lala la la life. Life has been good. It's been quieter lately. I've been going out a bunch less, drinking a bunch less. Spending a lot more time with the kitties, snuggled up in front of dvr, working on web work, ya know, doing my own thing. It's good. Peaceful. And peaceful causes less stress and less stress causes less tension, and anxiety and emotional eating and being little miss cranky pants.

Tuesday was bonus day at work. I got a nice chunka change which went to equal parts savings and bills with a teeny bit going to the "treats for Megan" category. I took Jimbo out for dinner at Cobblestones and I had my first "real" restaurant meal in three weeks. Chicken Marsala. Yum!

Weight watchers is going. First week I was down 3.4lbs, 2nd week 0.4, this week 0.2. If I continue going this way I'll have gained next week. Blah. I'm going to get my but to the gym more often and try The Wendy Plan this week. Because I've been eating the right amount of points so there's really no reason that I shouldn't be losing.

This weekend we don't have many plans besides meeting up with Sky & Rich for dinner in Machvegas on Saturday night. I'm doing my weekly walk on Saturday at the mall with my pal Kristen and I'm taping the superbowl for work. Every year we have a creative session where we watch the superbowl commercials and talk about their effectivness. Fun, huh? These are the benefits I get from working in a super-duper marketing department.

Ya know, I never really liked LeSportSac bags, but I came across some at Macy's this week with some adorable patterns. I just had to get one. With hearts, of course.

Tagged by the lovely Pischina about 3 weeks ago ;)

4 Jobs You Have Had in Your Life?
dry cleaning clerk
jewelry salesperson
marketing assistant/coordinator/writer
web designer!

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over?
French Kiss
You're Got Mail
Amelie
Pretty Woman

4 Places You Have Lived?
Chelmsford, Lowell, Nashua, Dracut

4 TV Shows You Love To Watch?
Gilmore Girls
House
The Closer
Oprah

4 Places You Have Been on Vacation?
Vegas
Florida
Sanny Fran
Montreal

4 Websites You Visit Daily?
gmail
bloglines
weight watchers
my site

4 of Your Favorite Foods?
chocolate
eggplant parmesan
mushrooms
hot & sour soup

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
with jimbo

4 Bloggers You Are Tagging?
Everyone who hasn't done it already

Chugga, Chugga, Chugga, Choo-Chooo!

I'm chugging along. Last's Thursday's meeting with the evil scale sent me into operation "Get Megan Off Her Big Mashed Potato Butt!" which included FOUR consecutive days of lots and lots of exercise. Five, if you include today. Yay! Go me!

However, Saturday night was a very bad one for points. Oh the points. Dinner wasn't bad. I had soup and picked at the antipasti platter and had a big of veg and tuna and angelhair. The evil part came at the Wine Bar where we all partook in the chocolate fondue. I couldn't help myself and I didn't want to. Yumm!!! Yes, that day was over 50 points thanks to that fondue. But it was good times.

I had a good shopping weekend, too. I picked up a nice faaancy white and orange columbia winter jacket for next to nothing and a brand new pair of kicks!

Because I looooove spoiling others (and being spoiled!) I joined

It's a little project where we are assigned a secret pay and spoil them with gifts for three months! Yay!!!! But I don't know who has me and we keep it a secret until the end! Many thanks to Heather for the idea!

The following questions are directed to the spoil-a-blogger who has been assigned to me:

What is your favorite color?
Yellow, with red and lime green tied for second place.

What is your favorite scent?
chocolate then vanilla

Where is your favorite place to vacation?
We had a great time in Sanny Fran last year.

Do you collect anything?
Hello Kitty, Chococat and Sanrio nonsense

Do you have a favorite tv show?
Gilmore Girls

Are you crafty? If so, how?
I do my discovery journal..

Do you have kids?
Nope.

Do you have pets?
Two wonderful kittens!

What kind of movies do you like?
My favorites are at the bottom of this page.

What kind of music do you listen to?
Check em out right here

What kind of books do you like to read?
Here, too!

Do you have a favorite magazine?
I subscribe to Real Simple, InStyle, Mary Engelbright's Home Companion, Cooking Light and Body & Soul.

What is your favorite weekend activity?
Sitting on me arse! Hiking! Shopping! Sunggling! Going out with friends!

What kind of work do you do?
I'm a marketing writer for a software company during the day
and a part-time web designer

What do you do for fun?
web design, play with the kitties, shop, read, blog.

After the Fondue Incident I wasn't really looking forward to my weigh-in this afternoon. But I bucked up and went. And then hooped and hollered when I saw the scale! I lost 1.4lbs this week, bringing my total to 6.2! I guess I did something right. It was a tough couple of days with no flex points, but I exercised everyday and look where I am!!! Wooo!

1. I've got to come up a better name for these "Friday Questions". Friday Five has already been done and I never have five questions. What's your suggestion?
2. What's for lunch today? If you work outside the home do you usually pack a lunch or buy?
3. How do you feel about Valentine's Day. What are your plans? If you're single, do you plan on doing something special for yourself?
4. What's your favorite fruit?
5. List five things you're grateful for.
6. Who was the last person you hugged?
7. What are your plans for the weekend?

The jewelry party last night was nice. It ended up being a small group with only three girls and the jewelry-girl but it was good times. Wine, brie and my friend's adorable little girl. I might have to have a party of my own. I was thinking about doing it the same night as Liz's Body Shop Party if that was cool.

Today I was up and at 'em early for another walk around the mall. Today it was less walk around the mall and more walk for a bit and get blisters because of my new kicks, go to Target and get insoles and bandaids then shop around and walk. It was good, though. I ended up staying a bit after Kristen went home and picked up a million things at Target.

My brain is going a million miles a minute today. There was so much I wanted to get done and didn't accomplish anything except snuggles with Jimbo.

We had plans to meet up with his cousin and bf in Quincy to do some Hello Kitty shopping and dinner but cancelled because of the impending snowstorm. We instead decided to join my cousins' poker game. Neither of us won, but we had a good time. We just got home and what do you know, no snow. We probably could have gone down to Quincy and not had any trouble with the snow. Oh well.

Tomorrow I want to stay in my jammies all day long, do laundry, put up my new cork board, watch DVR and maybe a movie or two and work on web stuff. Maybe I'll get a LUSH bath in, too!

Snow days are the best because it's an excuse to stay inside. I got lots accomplished.

• Fixed the windows time on my laptop
• Did lots and lots of laundry
• re-hung my tackboard so that the chickens wouldn't destroy it
• watched House
• watched Rory O'Shea Was Here (really good) *sob*
• watched Matthew McConaughey on Oprah *drool*
• watched Senator McCain on David Letterman
• watched Lost (the recap episode from a few weeks ago) for the first time ever.

Pick the five or six words that you think describe me the best. (You can set up your own Johari Window afterwards, if you like.)

Thanks Goofy Girl/a>

It's pretty darn scary how accurate my horoscope can be sometimes.

Has something got a hold on you, and you're not exactly happy about it? Stop and observe the nature of the problem before you try and escape its grasp. Struggling can actually increase the strength of its bond.

It's kind of like something I read in Simple Abundance once.

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves," the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke urges us. "Do not now seek the answers which cannot be given you becuase you would not be able to live them and the point is to live everything. Live the questions..."

The answers to your questions will come, but only after you know which ones are worth asking. Wait. Live your questions. Then ask. Become open to the changes that the answers will inevitably bring. This may take some time, but time is the New Year's bountiful blessing; three hundred sixty-five bright mornings and starlit evenings; fifty-two promising weeks; twleve transformatives months full of beautiful possibilities; and four splendid seasons. A simply abundance year to be savored"

Discontent. Sadness. Fear. These are all things we feel. Look inside oneself and ask what it is that is at the root of it all. Be patient. As the passage above says, the answers will not come immediately. It is the action of asking the question, living the questions, exploring the questions in which we find the answers.

It's worked for me many times. I have a problem, a frustration, a feeling that I can't get to the root of. I am patient with myself. I ask the questions. Just because we have a question does not necessarily mean that we need to have the answer just yet. The exploration is the journey.

Thirteen Things about nothing

1. winter officially sucks
2. so does bloating and such on v-day week
3. weigh in today. damn you chocolate
4. i really really want to not go to work tomorrow
5. and lay in bed all day with the chickens
6. and watch the first season of lost
7. and eat nothing but ww ice cream sammiches
8. i bought black pants at Target for under $10
9. everyone in my group at work has been sick in the past few weeks. Except for me (knowck on wood)
10. i haven't had a martini in a while
11. we're going to Portsmouth next month
12. i miss ben & jerry
13. the sun is out

1. When you think about the next 10 years what are you most excited about?
2. Do you wear jewelry every day?? What kind?? [Thanks Liz!]
3. Do you prefer writing in pen or pencil? if ink, what color? [Thanks Liz!]
4. What's your skin regime? [Thanks Liz!]
5. What kind of shampoo do you use? [Thanks Liz!]
6. What's your favorite TV show? [Thanks Jim!]
7. What are your plans for the weekend?

That there is more bacteria on your phone than on a public toilet?

According to Ask Yahoo!, sitting on public toilet seats are safe!

So all that squating over ther toilet seat only succeeds in pissing off (ha! ha!) the next person who uses the toilet because you missed the bowl.

So quit it already!

It's nice to be missed. Thanks to everyone for reaching out.

The weekend was busy, I've barely been spending any time in front of the lappy. We spent the entire weekend working on the bathroom (which is looking great, by the way!) and when we weren't doing that we were watching House and the first season of Lost. Addiction.

I'm busy as a bee in work-land and I know I've got a bunch of webby stuff piling up. I'll get to it soon, I promise.

My calendar said this today:

"Always remember to be happy because you never know who's falling in love with your smile" - Anonymous.

It's true.

1. What your favorite movie that you've seen so far this year? [Thanks Bethany!]
2. Favorite new musical artist? [Thanks Bethany!]
3. Jennifer or Angelina? [Thanks Bethany!]
4. How often do you check your email? [Thanks Sky!]
5. What are your plans for the weekend?

It took two full weekends (and one holiday) to get it done, but get it done we did!

Before

We've been wanting to do something with the bathroom for a long time but never quite got around to it. We were daunted by the fearful task of taking down the wallpaper until one of his friends received a wallpaper remover or Christmas and was kind enough to lend it to us.

During

So the wallpaper removal wasn't bad, we finished that in a day. Then we had to spackle and sand before we could paint. We had both decided on a light sage green. Painting was fun. I actually really enoy painting, especially the leetle teeny details like the trim. We had to do three coats, so that took a while, a coat of primer then two coats of green, then the trim. Typing it all out right now it doesn't seem like we did all that much. Of course I didn't talk about the sixteen gazillion trips to home depot and all the little problems that cropped up.

After

We did replace the ugly old medicine cabinet with a fancy new one and installed a new light fixture. Of course most of the fun for me came from buying all new bath accessories and decorating. Thankfully it's all done.

Now I don't know what to do with myself. The kitties never have the problem, however.

Walking to the elevator with my work girls after going to the cafeteria

me: lalala lalala la la la la... (sees a hotty bo-ba-lotty armored car dude)
me: ooooh!

I drove through my old neighborhood yesterday on my way to the library and realized that I had dreamt that I was on that street the night before. I was contemplating the significance of this when I drove by a police car.

Of course I was speeding; 40 in a 30mph zone. And I could see that he knew that I was speeding and as he passed by me I saw in my rearview mirror that he had turned on his lights and was making a u-turn. My first instinct was to slow down and wait for him to come after me, but he seemed to be taking an awful long time. I watched as he finally turned around and was coming after me. At this point I slowed down and pulled over. I knew he was after me.

I turned off the radio, opened my window and then gathered my license and registration as the officer came up to my window. When he finally reached the window I saw that something was amiss - he was wearing a smile.

Copper: Did you see that?
Me: Uh, no, what?
Copper: I totally slipped on the ice and almost off the side of the road, it was f&ckin' crazy!
Me: Oh, no, I noticed you taking some time, but I didn't see you slip.
Copper: Yeah, after I got my bearings I looked up and expected you to be gone. I said to myself, that girl just earned herself a warning.

Sweet! I was pretty thrilled. I knew that I was going to fast and told him so. He said that it's always the local ones.

While he was in his cruiser taking down my information my thoughts drifted back to the dream I had the night before and vaguely remember my sister and I on that very street. I think that the police had been following someone (not us) and had captured them right where we were. Weird.

He came back to the car and mentioned that he recognized my name and asked if I had older siblings. Turns out he went to high school with my brother. It's a small world.

I couldn't wait to get home to tell Jimbo my story. He said he would have driven away. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. What would you have done?