Current Books: I've fallen a bit behind on my Daily Bible the last week, but I'm pretty proud of myself overall for staying on top of this 2010 resolution. One of my spiritual goals has been to learn more about God and develop a deeper faith and I really think that's happening - which I'm super proud of myself for accomplishing. I can't believe how many instances there's been mention of something from the Bible in my daily life (whether at church or in conversation with others) and I've actually know what it referred to. The craziest part is, I never really noticed being out of the loop before. It's a wonderful feeling to strengthen my faith and love for the Lord.
Also purchased Taking Charge of Your Fertility this month. I warned Andi when I ordered it from http://www.amazon.com/ that a book was arriving in the mail and he shouldn't have a heart attack when he saw the book title. "I'm only educating myself," I said, "don't worry!" Many eye rolls have ensued this month as I've read through the book but I've really enjoyed the content so far. I find the facts and overall information on reproductivity very interesting, but it's a little frustrating to read about charting your cycles without the use of birth control when I'm still on The Pill. I'm not at the point where I can implement what I'm learning. Self, have patience.
Current Playlist: I'm slow when it comes to music; I've mentioned this before and every month I'm reminded of this as I try to recount my current music playlist. I discovered the Avett Brothers recently which I really like. I also really like Michael Buble lately.
Current Guilty Pleasure: We've had these iced Valentine's cookies at work the last few weeks and they were really good! This month I was also really craving chocolate everything (which is sooo unlike me)!
Current Color: Always my fav, black.
Current Drink: I've been making my own iced coffee at home with Starbucks VIA. Pretty tasty :)
Current Food: I'm really proud of Andi and I for eating more organic foods. It's not so difficult to purchase those types of foods now that we're shopping in the right places. My favorite food lately? KIND bars
Current Favorite Shows: Loving Big Love, CSI, 48 Hours Mystery, and of course How I Met Your Mother
Current Wishlist: Good thoughts to surround a few of my nearest and dearest - friend Julie on bedrest, wishing relaxation and a growing, healthy baby inside of her. Also for my two cousins - fertility and one who's already expecting.
Current Needs: To lose a few pounds and look smokin' in my bikini!
Current Triumphs: The national Earth Week programming I've worked on the last few months. We're ready to roll it out this week and it'll be very rewarding to see all our thoughts, ideas and hard work come to fruition.
Current Bane Of My Existence: The weather. Ready for springtime to arrive.
Current Celebrity Crush: I've had hair envy lately -- all celebrities with long, flowing locks
Current Indulgence: I had a few weekends at home lately. It's been nice to spend time cleaning my house or painting my fingernails. I'll take more of that anytime :)
Current Blessing: I'm really proud of Andi's work with his new company. I never doubted him for a moment, but I'm impressed with how successful he's become so quickly. We're truly blessed with God's good graces and I only pray the good work will continue.
Current Slang: I don't know ... I veto this one!
Current Outfit: Sweatpants and a long-sleeve tee. My fav.
Current Excitement: Andi's parents bought us John Mayer concert tickets for our birthdays. The concert's coming up on March 2. Can't wait for this date night w/ JM!
Current Mood: A little overwhelmed. Lots of projects my plate at work right now. Just need time to plug through 'em.
Current Link: http://www.uncommongoods.com/ A neat store with lots of sustainable gift options and neat decorating stuff for home.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
7 Quick Takes - Florida Style
ONE Not that I'm complaining, but it would have been nice if it was a smidge bit warmer during my time in Florida this week. I thought 50 and sun was nice until I saw the weather report for this weekend -- 70's and sun sounds so much better.
TWO In other news, I had a great meeting with our sustainability manager today and our presentation went very well. Had a chance to tour around University of South Florida as well. Always nice to see other accounts and gain inspiration from other marketing managers. Tomorrow's another presentation, this time about marketing. I've given this presentation a few gazillion times so should be no sweat.
THREE The 'healthy eating' notion went OK today. I didn't drink as much water I as I hoped (only 1 water bottle's worth) and had more caffeine than probably necessary but needed it to keep me energized throughout the presentation! Ate a piece of toast for breakfast and some fruit, a salad for lunch and a quesadilla for dinner. Could have done better; could have been worse. There's always tomorrow.
FOUR Thinking about starting to work out again (don't tell Andi!). Can't decide whether joining a gym would be beneficial (would I really go?). Maybe it'd be worth it just for yoga. Or maybe I'll just buy some sessions at a yoga studio and skip the gym all together. Too much processing ... a decision for another day.
FIVE Still not digging the Olympics (sorry Linds). Is it over yet? I feel like I'm left out of the secret that is the Olympics. That's all people are talking about; all that's in the newspapers, tv, etc. Did I just miss something? Can't catch the spirit of it all, I guess.
SIX Thank the Lord for my sweet-talkin' husband!! Found out today he's secured a free pontoon for us to use this summer. Now to find a cabin to rent for the summer months and we'll be set! Our last summer (hopefully!) without a kiddo will be one to remember. Mark your calendars now to come visit us in Minnesota!
SEVEN What are you giving up for Lent? I'm not Catholic, so I never really give up anything but always think it's interesting to see what pledges people decide to make. I saw on another blog today that someone was giving up blogging which suprised me. I've become pretty addicted to sharing my thoughts with all of you...not sure if I could do it. Anyone else giving up someting interesting?
TWO In other news, I had a great meeting with our sustainability manager today and our presentation went very well. Had a chance to tour around University of South Florida as well. Always nice to see other accounts and gain inspiration from other marketing managers. Tomorrow's another presentation, this time about marketing. I've given this presentation a few gazillion times so should be no sweat.
THREE The 'healthy eating' notion went OK today. I didn't drink as much water I as I hoped (only 1 water bottle's worth) and had more caffeine than probably necessary but needed it to keep me energized throughout the presentation! Ate a piece of toast for breakfast and some fruit, a salad for lunch and a quesadilla for dinner. Could have done better; could have been worse. There's always tomorrow.
FOUR Thinking about starting to work out again (don't tell Andi!). Can't decide whether joining a gym would be beneficial (would I really go?). Maybe it'd be worth it just for yoga. Or maybe I'll just buy some sessions at a yoga studio and skip the gym all together. Too much processing ... a decision for another day.
FIVE Still not digging the Olympics (sorry Linds). Is it over yet? I feel like I'm left out of the secret that is the Olympics. That's all people are talking about; all that's in the newspapers, tv, etc. Did I just miss something? Can't catch the spirit of it all, I guess.
SIX Thank the Lord for my sweet-talkin' husband!! Found out today he's secured a free pontoon for us to use this summer. Now to find a cabin to rent for the summer months and we'll be set! Our last summer (hopefully!) without a kiddo will be one to remember. Mark your calendars now to come visit us in Minnesota!
SEVEN What are you giving up for Lent? I'm not Catholic, so I never really give up anything but always think it's interesting to see what pledges people decide to make. I saw on another blog today that someone was giving up blogging which suprised me. I've become pretty addicted to sharing my thoughts with all of you...not sure if I could do it. Anyone else giving up someting interesting?
Monday, February 15, 2010
Today it begins
Why is it when you select a date on the calendar and remind yourself for days that on [INSERT DATE HERE], I will start eating healthy and lose those few pesky pounds that have been hanging around, and the day finally arrives (despite failed attempts of wishing that date never does come) you find yourself STARVING all day long and lingering on every last thought, aroma and feeling of food? Oh food, how you play mind games with me....
Today is exactly one month until our Maui trip. Today marks the day in which I MUST begin to lose the five or so pounds I've packed on this winter. I've been going through one of those periods in life where I feel like I MUST eat everything on my plate - even when I'm stuffed to the gils - because I somehow feel like I'll never eat anything as good as the meal in which I'm consuming (and it's not even that great but I still.keep.eating until I'm miserable). Do you ever have those times? It's like Old Man Winter telling you to fatten up because layers and layers of clothing will hide that extra buttermilk biscuit that tastes so damn good right about now.
And yet, my brain knows I need to fit into a bikini in 30 days. I'll kick myself for not losing those few measly pounds when I had the chance every single time I look at our Maui vacation photos. I must do better.
This week I'm traveling for work which will be hard for me to tame my appetite. Something about staying in hotels for work without my own means of transportation or control over my daily agenda gives me the same anxiety that I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'LL BE ABLE TO EAT AGAIN which never fails to trick my brain into stuffing myself silly at work dinners.
I tried to set myself up for success. I brought a water bottle along to refill instead of drinking so much Diet Coke. And I stuffed a few granola bars into my work bag to curve off hunger strikes. I can do this. At the end of these 30 days, I'll be laying on a sunny beach, in a bikini, with my love. It's all worth it to a woman.
Today is exactly one month until our Maui trip. Today marks the day in which I MUST begin to lose the five or so pounds I've packed on this winter. I've been going through one of those periods in life where I feel like I MUST eat everything on my plate - even when I'm stuffed to the gils - because I somehow feel like I'll never eat anything as good as the meal in which I'm consuming (and it's not even that great but I still.keep.eating until I'm miserable). Do you ever have those times? It's like Old Man Winter telling you to fatten up because layers and layers of clothing will hide that extra buttermilk biscuit that tastes so damn good right about now.
And yet, my brain knows I need to fit into a bikini in 30 days. I'll kick myself for not losing those few measly pounds when I had the chance every single time I look at our Maui vacation photos. I must do better.
This week I'm traveling for work which will be hard for me to tame my appetite. Something about staying in hotels for work without my own means of transportation or control over my daily agenda gives me the same anxiety that I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'LL BE ABLE TO EAT AGAIN which never fails to trick my brain into stuffing myself silly at work dinners.
I tried to set myself up for success. I brought a water bottle along to refill instead of drinking so much Diet Coke. And I stuffed a few granola bars into my work bag to curve off hunger strikes. I can do this. At the end of these 30 days, I'll be laying on a sunny beach, in a bikini, with my love. It's all worth it to a woman.
Sunny Florida ... here I come!
This?
Hallelujah! I'm heading to warmth!
I'm in Tampa for the week for work. 50's and sun. Yes please!
or this?
Hallelujah! I'm heading to warmth!
I'm in Tampa for the week for work. 50's and sun. Yes please!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Yesterday, while Andi and I were out celebrating my birthday, we saw someone selling 'Valintimes Day' gifts on top of their van in Minneapolis. It doesn't get much better than this.
What did we do exactly for my birthday / Valentine's Day celebration?
We woke up early and went to breakfast at Porter & Frye's Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. Then Andi treated us to massages and a morning of relaxation at Ivy Spa. I had the most amazing massage then we laid around the whirpool and read books and relaxed in the sauna.
As part of Valentine's Day, I wanted to take pictures of things around town that spell our last name and frame the letters. So we spent all afternoon walking around Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods taking photos of letters in street signs, theatre marquees and Minnesota landmarks. For lunch, we stopped into a neopolitan pizza shop in Northeast Minneapolis, then got ice cream on St. Paul's Grand Ave. We had a great day spending time together laughing, smiling, holding hands and celebrating my birthday.
When it started to get dark, we stopped by Mississippi Market to grab some fresh produce and came home to make a steak dinner. I opened my birthday gifts from Andi - he was (as always) so generous!
Keen winter boots
Warm socks
Mittens
... and stunning Oakley shades
Wonder what my birthday presents would be like if we live somewhere tropical???
I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration. A wonderful day with my husband = the perfect day to me. Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
29
Today is my 29th birthday!
More to come re: my awesome day with Andi. In the meantime ... one of my birthday presents. A video montage!
Heathers Birthday Video - 29 Years Old from Andi Dickson on Vimeo.
More to come re: my awesome day with Andi. In the meantime ... one of my birthday presents. A video montage!
Heathers Birthday Video - 29 Years Old from Andi Dickson on Vimeo.
Friday, February 12, 2010
WTF?!
Ahhh! So I finally got around to updating my passport with my new last name about a month ago. First, I was kinda peeved that I had to pay another $100 to get a completely new passport because my maiden name passport was over 1 year old. For the record, it was 1 year and 1 month old. And I still had to fork over $100 for a new one. Whatever.
After being nagged by Andi for months to update it (Hurry! What if we want to go on a last minute travel deal and we can't because you don't have a current passport!) I went to the Post Office to get a new photo taken and send off my old passport book. I was suprised when I arrived that I had to send in our original marriage license w/ the stamp on it into the National Passport Office but was promised it'd be returned to me along with my old passport (in case I wanted to collect my travel stamps, etc). Reluctantly, I handed the marriage license over to the USPS worker who violently STAPLED our marriage license to my old passport. I cringed. So much for preserving our marriage license's condition.
Cut to today when there's a USPS envelope in our mailbox. Oh good! My new passport arrived. I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paperwork. My new passport's in there and looks fine, but no marriage licenese or old passport book. WTF?!?! So I dialed the toll-free National Passport Office number on the paperwork enclosed. Ring, ring ... I'm sorry, your call could not be completed. WTF?!?!? I called about seventeen bazillion times more and same thing.
Now I'm panicking. I'm missing our marriage license, which I'm sure I can get a new one by paying for another one from someplace (courthouse?) but that'll cost me more money. And then there's the whole thing about driving downtown, finding a place to park, finding the office where I'm suppose to get the new marriage license, waiting in line for like 45 minutes, and then talking to some worker who is moving slow as mollases and barely speaks English. Sorry, but it's true. Then I get another marriage license (that I paid for twice now!) but it's not the original one we got married with; it's a duplicate which just plain sucks. For real, where do I even get a new marriage license? Anyone know?
Super angry at the National Passport Office right now. Fix your damn phone number so I can talk to live person. LIKE NOW.
After being nagged by Andi for months to update it (Hurry! What if we want to go on a last minute travel deal and we can't because you don't have a current passport!) I went to the Post Office to get a new photo taken and send off my old passport book. I was suprised when I arrived that I had to send in our original marriage license w/ the stamp on it into the National Passport Office but was promised it'd be returned to me along with my old passport (in case I wanted to collect my travel stamps, etc). Reluctantly, I handed the marriage license over to the USPS worker who violently STAPLED our marriage license to my old passport. I cringed. So much for preserving our marriage license's condition.
Cut to today when there's a USPS envelope in our mailbox. Oh good! My new passport arrived. I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paperwork. My new passport's in there and looks fine, but no marriage licenese or old passport book. WTF?!?! So I dialed the toll-free National Passport Office number on the paperwork enclosed. Ring, ring ... I'm sorry, your call could not be completed. WTF?!?!? I called about seventeen bazillion times more and same thing.
Now I'm panicking. I'm missing our marriage license, which I'm sure I can get a new one by paying for another one from someplace (courthouse?) but that'll cost me more money. And then there's the whole thing about driving downtown, finding a place to park, finding the office where I'm suppose to get the new marriage license, waiting in line for like 45 minutes, and then talking to some worker who is moving slow as mollases and barely speaks English. Sorry, but it's true. Then I get another marriage license (that I paid for twice now!) but it's not the original one we got married with; it's a duplicate which just plain sucks. For real, where do I even get a new marriage license? Anyone know?
Super angry at the National Passport Office right now. Fix your damn phone number so I can talk to live person. LIKE NOW.
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