Finish these sentences

1. If I could....
2. I wish....
3. I am....
4. Yesterday....
5. Once I...
6. This weekend I will....

I think it's Winter. Or Spring. Or the "end of winter, where the hell is Spring?" time of the year that just picks me up and shakes me and leaves me wondering where my ear is supposed to be. I'm pretty sure it is because I was feeling this very same way last year and I have a feeling that I talked about this very issue with my therapist last year.

Who needs an excuse? Screw it. I'm cranky and miserable and so be it. Tomorrow or next week or next month will be better. For now I be what I be.

Jimbo took me out on a date Wednesday night. What a doll! I needed the margarita and chips and blatant disregard for my diet. The scale said "told you so" with a pound and a half gain. I am not a fan of the ww@work lady. I whimpered when I saw the number and she didn't so much as pat me on the back and say it's going to be ok. Go eff yourself, lady. Do you know my name? Who is paying you money for your motivation and support. Yes, that's me. Show a little respect.

Suffice it to say that I was in even a worse mood when I came out of the excuse for a ww meeting. I was going to work late until I realized that I had a chiro appointment that I didn't want to go to. The only think that movitated me to get in the car and go was the audio book I'm listening to right now. Brilliant!

Of course the chiro made me feel better and when he rubbed my shoulders before he kicked me out I realized that I really needed a massage. So I scheduled myself for one tonight. Then I'm going to do nothing at all. Watch the closer, curl up with the chickens..... maybe shop a bit.

The receptionist at the chiro's office also cheered me up. Just by being her she can do that. She's so happy and optimistic and down to earth. She actually suggested getting together for martinis with our boys. What a doll.

That's about it. Knee-deep in mud. Poor Jimbo, he's such a doll, just wants to help me when there really is no helping me at this point.

Gah! Happy Friday!

Doing better. My massage on Friday was just what the Dr ordered. Then shopping and snugglies with the kitties. The weekend was nice and peaceful.... girls night out on Saturday then chill and web stuff on Sunday. Work is work, busy as I have ever been. I haven't even read my bloglines since Friday.

You can win too!

I opened the linen closet to find this - a Jimbo creation. I'm going to start calling him Martha!

I've always wanted to capture the peaceful sensuality of my bath. I think I've managed to do that while still leaving a decent amount to the imagination.

"The best reason to take your time is that this time is the only time you'll ever have. You must take it, or it will be taken from you. It is telling that the phrase "taking your time" is synonymous with slowing down. If we want to live life fully, we do best to slow down. I don't suggest that we turn back the clock, trying to retrieve a bygone era when life was slower. We couldn't, even if we wanted to. But I don't believe we should want to. We should revel in our electronically supercharged, unbounded world. But, to make the most out of this new world, to avoid feeling overbooked, overstretched, and about to snap, to make modern life become better than life has ever been, a person must learn how to do what matters most first. Otherwise, you will bulldose over life's best moments. You won't notice the little charms that adorn each day, nor will you ever transform the mundance into the extraordinary."

It's no secret that I'm spoiled. My brothers and sisters and even my parents have said it. Even Jimbo has to agree - I am spoiled. Rotten. Well, my friends, I have been spoiled again! My secret spoil-a-blogger pal has spoiled me real good.

I wasn't at home when they tried to deliver the package, but they left a note and promised they be back tomorrow to try again. Of course the minute I noticed the shipper was LUSH, I immediately called and arranged for pickup after work. A whole 24 hours I had to wait for my treat.

I picked it up right after work and let me tell you, I didn't even have to open the package to know it was LUSH - fully packed and taped up it still smelled divine! The kitties certainly couldn't get enough of the delightful smell, nor could I. And oh the treats!

Thank you, pal! You know me too well!

Click on the image for package contents

1. I am...
2. I feel...
3. I see...
4. I want...
5. I need...
6. I am proud of...
7. ...makes me smile
8. This weekend I am...

A teeny-tiny lull has hit at work and just in the nick of time! I've got three lovely days off next week! Two of which will be up in zee lovely Portsmouth area. And thus I have time for a bit of an update.

Yup, winter blahs in full effect, my friends, but I'm happy to say they've been more ups and downs than just downs which is definitely something to be happy about.

This week I went to Weight Watchers with my mom and sis instead of at work and I loved it. It was really nice to see mom & sis in the middle of the week and the class was huge and really motivating. I lost 1.6lbs this week and I feel like it's really starting to show, now. Yay!

We had to take little miss Belle to the vet this week to have her red-gooey-eye looked at. We found out that she can meow but only when she's really, really scared. She did very well at the vet's and everyone just thought she was the prettiest thing ever (duh!) but when we got her home Buddy did nothing but hiss at her because, as we soon found out, she smelled foreign. The next day we rubbed a towel on them both to mix their scents and all was better again.

I'm officially back from vacation and feeling pretty darn good. Still busy at work and with web stuff and whatnot so haven't had time to recap the vacation. Maybe at lunch.

1. Hotels in the off-season and days-of-the-week (i.e. Sunday to Tuesday in the middle of March) really pays off - peace and quiet and the fancy hotel swimming pool and jacuzzi were all ours.
2. It pays to get a handicapped room. more square footage and windows.
3. There really are hotel lounge piano players that sing Al Green's "Let's Get it On" and play Charlie brown Christmas on request.
4. Room service for breakfast is so worth it.
5. So are fancy hotels - if just for the cozy beds with down pillows and luxurious bedding!
6. If money is ever no object I'm going to buy a house with heated tiles in the bathroom. Warmy!
7. Fun can be had even when the wearther stinks. Case in point: 5 1/2 hours at the Kittery Outlet where we transformed Mr. Jimbo into a fashinista and he really had FUN!
8. Jimbo can buy Megan diamonds and have no pressure whatsoever to propose ;)
9. One should always go to restaurants that friends suggest.
10. Grappa = fire water
11. One should breathe in before taking a sip of 100-year-old Grand Mariner
12. Entrees are optional - antipasti is the way to go!
13. If chocolate crepe cake is on the menu - go for it.
14. Megan and Jimbo can have lots of fun and loads of laughs even when the sun is on vacation.

• I can't believe...
• I am wearing...
• I am reading...
• I am celebrating St. Patrick's Day by...
  
• This weekend I will...

St. Patty's Day was a blast as well. Jimbo and I met up with our friends Malissa and Todd and Lisa (who will be hosting Lia Sophia Jewelry at my Sparkle and Pamper Party next month) and her husband at Maximillian's. Malissa's brother was playing in the band.

The weekend was great. Saturday I had my usual walk, then a nap and some work before heading to a coworker's birthday party which ended up being tons of fun. Jimbo and I stopped at Starbucks on the way home and got silly.

Sunday we did the gym thing and I worked all day on web stuff while he picked his bro up at the airport. I blew away all my flex points this weekend and the funny thing is that I feel thinner. How does that work? I've been so frustrated that I've only lost 6lbs and it's slow going. I decided that I needed to work on strength training since the cardio alone wasn't cutting it. I'm going to try to take a class on Wednesday before my weigh in.

I won on Blingo again today! My cousin joined when I won earlier this month and today we both won a free movie ticket. Yay! If you haven't joined yet, go do it now! What are you waiting for? Did you know today is the first day of Spring. It's really cold out, too.

It's like IKEA! No, it's like Crate & Barrel, only cheaper. I don't care that it's a total rip-off of IKEA, you can't get near that store anyway.

 
We're going to get these and make a smiley-face in the bathroom: 

• My next pet will be named... [thanks Maribeth]
• This weekend I plan to...
• Breakfast was...
• Last night at 8pm I was...
• I deal with stress by...
• I forgot...

I've been wanting to do it for a while now and I finally did it! I have successfully installed Wordpress. Not here though, I'm still running Movable Type on this blog.

I've been reading lots about Wordpress and how great and wonderful it is and I figured it was about time that I added it to the list of content management system for while I am have expertise.

So far I've realized:

• It's easier to install
• It's FREE - All the time! (As opposed to MT, who only offers a limited free version)
  
• Its got much easier to use and more stable plugins
• The themes are much, much nicer than MT's
• No more REBUILDING!!!
  

And I'm sure there's much more to come!

Fun fun! 

Ever since the launch of Webundance, I've been one busy little beaver. I'm really lucky to have some great clients who send many people my way. It's pretty darn amazing how fast it took off. In fact, I'm currently looking for additional designers to work with me.

If you - or anyone else you know - has any of the following skills and would like to make a little extra money doing web design, shoot me an email or leave a comment:

• Graphic Design
• Drawing
• Web Design
  
• HTML, CSS, PHP
• Above-average experience with Content Management Systems (Blogger, Typepad, Movable Type, Wordpress, etc.)
  
• Plug-ins
  

If this isn't the swankiest mouse & pad I've ever seen, I don't know what is!

From The Sarut Group as seen in Home Companion

Saturdays are always great. They always start at the mall before it opens with my friend Kristen. While the walk is good for us physically, I think we both benefit from the mental release as well. As women do, we talk throughout the entire hour-long walk and subsequent Target trip. It's better than therapy, I tell you. It feels really good.

Jimbo and I actually headed back to the mall after some puttering around the house to transfer his phone to a family plan and to transfer my number to his plan. We're suprised at how fast and easy it was to do and we save quite a large chunk o change in the process.

After dinner at Joe's we headed over to the theater to see V for Vendetta. We got there really early and chose our seats. The theater was pretty darn empty, so we were pretty put off when a couple decided to sit directly in front of us. When they sat down we got up and chose a seat a few rows down away from other people. After a few minutes there another couple sat in front of us, but we decided to stick it out until a couple sat right behind us and began having a very loud conversation about joining a gym. At that point we got up and moved to an empty section to the the very right of the theater. Not long after a group of very tall teenagers walked in and sat right in front of us. At this point we really thought that someone was playing a joke on us, but we sucked it up and finally went to a pair of seats at the very back of the theater and watched the movie.

Which was very good actually. We went to see it because it had received good reviews and I love Natalie Portman. We were not disappointed. I just thought the whole movie was brilliant. There were many political parallels between the movie and current events, which hopefully served to further open the country's eyes to the way that the government preys on our fears, and see that history does repeat itself and we are not immune to revolution or war.

I also got a nice little treat in the mail from my spoil-a-blogger. yay! I love it! Good job - she knows me so well!

For the love of God, what are they thinking?

Because we don't have enough annoyingly-loud-cell-phone-talkers in stores, restaurants, movie theaters, on the T, at work, in the car, at the beach, on hiking trails, and IN THE BATHROOM, let's just let them pollute the noise in planes as well. Because flying is so enjoyable as it is. Let's just make it worse.

A few weeks ago on vacation, I was pleasantly perusing the Life is Good section of Kittery Trading Post only to be interrupted by a woman talking very loudly on her cell phone. Not only did she stand right next to me and jabber on, she followed me when I tried to get away. I finally clucked and walked away when she said, "Oh my, Marsha, I've become that person I hate who talks on the phone in stores."

Did she stop? No. I saw her 15 minutes later still jabbering on.

A little while ago I was invited to be a presenter at the blogher conference. After my shock and giddiness I was struck with public speaking anxiety of the worst kind, which is why I haven't talked a lot about it. If I don't talk about it it's not real, and if I don't talk about it I can always back out.

Well there's no backing out now. My name is on the agenda, I've registered for the conference, made my hotel reservations, and today I just found out that I have a co-presenter. I was all worried that I'd be little ol' me up there for two-freaking-hours all by my lonesome and I can't tell you how happy I am to know that I will be collaborating with another blogger: Maura who will rescue me and together we will rock blogher like nobody's business.

Are you coming to Blogher? You know you want to! 

Last night we weren't allowed to peek at our weigh-in progress until the end of the class. Instead of talking about the numbers, we talked about how we felt - what we're doing differently and other non-quantitative successes and results. It really helped me because, like most people, I'm a little too obsessed with the numbers. So much so that I get so hard on myself. I always knew I was a perfectionist and over-achiever, but I never realized how much until I started this program. I am too hard on myself.

Last night I gained 0.4lbs which is nothing, but of course I beat myself up about it and got a little down about my progress. Of course the week before I lost 1.6 and while I was happy with that week's progress, I was still mad at myself for not progressing as fast as I would like. "Dude," I gotta say to myself, "go easy on yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither is this fine-ass bod, so give yourself a break. You didn't gain it all in three months, you won't lose it that fast, either. Now SNAP OUT OF IT!"

• Thin people favor bulky foods.
• Thin people watch portion sizes.
• Thin people can put themselves first.
• Thin people have thin parents.
• Thin people don’t skip meals.
• Thin people limit their options.
• Thin people live in Colorado.
• Thin people don’t sit still.
• Thin people weigh themselves.
• Thin people don’t skip breakfast.
• Thin people enjoy their food.
• Thin people practice early intervention.
• Thin people do what works.

1. When I grow up...
2. Dear Spring....
3. Thank you...
4. If I were a color I would be ... because...
5. I miss...
6. I don't need....
7. Dude, this weekend I'm....

It's days like these that I'm glad that we have a Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop right by work. It makes staying inside and working almost bearable!