Meaningful Mondays - Finding What You Seek

I think every Monday from now on I'm going to have a quote, piece of advice, or something else meaningful. So I will call these posts "Meaningful Mondays". :) I'll try to get these posted at the beginning of the day, not the end, but oh well. At least it's still Monday, right?

So here it is for this week.

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will".
~Abraham Lincoln

I love the simplicity of this statement. If you look for bad things in a person or in a situation you will doubtless find it. And conversely, if you look for good in a person or a situation, you will find that, too. So the idea is to look for positive things in people and situations even when the tendency is to see how bad someone or something might be. Sounds easy, right?

Not for most people.

It requires stepping back and looking at something from all angles before jumping to a negative conclusion, and giving someone another chance who has done wrong in the past. Challenging? Yes. Do-able....?

Absolutely!!!!

So good luck in seeking good this week!

Cigar Breath?

I'm super excited because tomorrow my sister and I are going to Daffodil Hill (a private farm about an hour away with acres of beautiful daffodils) and then driving around through sleepy little towns and picturesque wineries to let the creative photographers within us take over. I haven't done a "photography day" in a long time so I'm so excited that tomorrow will be dedicated to that!

At any rate, while researching some different wineries in the area to see which ones we might want to drive past or take pictures at (no, no wine tasting tomorrow - that's next weekend!) I came across this on one of the winery websites:

EVENTS!

Cigar Day: Join us at CBC for a big ol’ cigar on Sunday March 7th. Special discounts for anyone with Cigar Breath.

Cigar breath?? Really??? I know the event is already past so I wonder if they actually made people blow their nasty cigar breath in their face to determine if it was cigar-y enough to get a "special" discount? LOL. Or maybe it was just their way of being creative and basically anyone smoking qould qualify. Let's hope so. Needless to say I had to laugh when I read it. At least they have a sense of humor. ;)

Wish me luck on my photography excursion!!

Couture Trunk Show

I am so excited! I officially have my Trunk Show scheduled for April 10th! In addition to all of the racks and racks of fabulous designer clothes (all authentic!) I'll also have hors d'oeuvres and wine, and strawberries and champagne... mmm, what could be better than a night with my gal pals, amazing clothes, and champagne?? Terrfific excuse to invite everyone over!

The evite was sent out this afternoon and I already have 4 people coming. :) :) :) Small and intimate or big and loud, I don't care, I will have fun either way!

I'm having my friend come over extra early so I can try jeans on and hopefully choose a fabulous pair that I'm going to buy with my hostess discount... and will of course wear them to the party so I can be a walking advertisement. Now I just need to figure out what smashing top and sexy heels I'm going to wear! ;)

I'm Bringing Sexy Back

YEAH! Thanks to the ever-sexy-herself Polka Dotted Owl for granting me this coveted award!

Rules: List 5 things about me that I think are sexy, then pass it on.

1) Confidence is always sexy, as evidenced by little things like, walking tall, sitting up straight, making eye contact, and SMILING. I'm usually a very confident person and that's sexy.

2) Standing up for myself. Having my own own opinion and sticking with it instead of following others. (Wimpy and non-committal is not sexy).

3) I have to copy Polka Dotted Owl for this one... having a toned, fit body that I work hard for and am proud of. Taking care of yourself is totally sexy!

4) Ambition. I know what I want and I go after it, without tromping on other people to get ahead (not sexy!). I always admire people who have the drive and determination to go after their dreams.

5) Laughing at myself. I know I make mistakes and goof up from time to time or even act like a complete goober, and I always laugh at myself when I do. So sexy!

The girls I'm passing this on to are:
Erica
Sweet Melissa

Have a great night!!!

Hlaf-Marathon Progress

It' been a while since I've mentioned my training but it actually has been going well. So far I've actually spent all of my training indoors on the treadmill, mostly because that is where I am most comfortable. But I decided that I would have to get my butt outside pretty soon since, uh, the race takes place in the great outdoors.

So last weekend I hit the trail. I chose a partiularly hilly section because I figured that would be good preparation for me. I was SO proud of myself! I did much better than I thought I would do, away from the comfort of the ceiling fans blowing right on me, my water bottle secured in the cupholder, towel draped on the treadmill bar right in front of me, and, of course, the distraction of the TV and all of it's wonderfully mindless shows.

I ended up doing 7 1/2 miles and even did it faster than I would have had I been in the gym! I couldn't believe it! Now, I'm still really slow, too slow to call myself a runner (and I still have to alternate with speed walking - which I am totally fine with) but I don't care how slow I am, I'm just proud that being on the trail wasn't as mentally difficult as I thought it would be.

I've got less than 6 weeks to go and right now I'm feeling pretty confidant that I'll be able to do it. *sigh* That's a good feeling. :)

Rude People

Okay, so these girls weren't exactly rude, but indirectly, I think they were.

Picture this....

Me, arms LOADED with bags of food and materials hanging off my shoulders, elbows, wrists, and yet more stuff in my hands that my fully loaded arms could barely wrap around. I'm not sure how I made it into my client's building with all that extra weight or how I managed to get through the door. But, I did. And as I entered their suite and approached the reception desk one of the precarious packages fell from my arms and to the floor, contents spilling everywhere. Out of the corner of my eye I see two ladies dressed nicely in business suits with folios in their hands, talking quietly to each other as they waited for what I assumed was their appointment.

After getting signed in, the packaged food items still lay on the floor where they fell because the two ladies behind me couldn't be bothered to take 2 and 1/2 steps forward to pick them up for me. So, not able to set down all my other stuff I laborously bent down to pick up what fell and almost toppled over at the awkward weight of the other bags. Still, no assistance from behind emerged. I finally managed to retrieve the fallen goods and the receptionist leaned out her window to kindly take what she could from me and escort me inside.

Is it just me, or were those two women standing there with their arms neatly folded around their precious leather folios very rude for not assisting me???

If the situation had been reversed I can say without a doubt that I would have stepped forward to help that person. It wouldn't even take much effort but a small, sincere gesture can make a big difference. A little kindness can go a long way... don't you think?

Designer Fashion at a Discount

Last night I went to a party for a new company owned and operated by a friend of mine called Couture Connection. Through her business she buys designer clothes at wholesale pricing and then re-sells them at a slightly higher price, but only at a fraction of the original cost. Most of what she has is denim and tops, but also sunglasses, belts, and other fun accessories. And with brands like True Religion, Rock & Republic, Miss Me, and Laguna Beach, she's got some really great stuff!

So last night was her launch party to get her business going. All of her merchandise will be sold online (website is up but not totally finished yet - I'll pass that on as soon as it is) but until she really gets her name out there she's doing Trunk Shows at the homes of people that want to host them. It was so much fun! She had racks and racks of designer clothes so all of us girls were sipping champagne while trying on hot stuff.

I fell in love with these darling jeans by Miss Me. It's hard to see in the picture but there are tiny sparkly rhinestones on the crosses of the pockets and the belt loops. SO cute! I'm all about fun pockets on jeans (you gotta make the butt look good... am I right, ladies?). ;)
And I also really like these ones (also with some rhinestones).

BUT, trying to be a good girl during these more difficult financial times, I agreed to do a Trunk Show at my house next month so I can get them at an even further discount. Yippee! I can't wait! I'm going on a trip the first week in May (I'll do another post about that to explain) and I'd love to have these jeans to take with me! Plus, it's a great excuse to have the girls over for a fun night. :)

Oh, and she also served snickerdoodle cookies so I got have my snickerdoodle with champagne. YUM! ;)

Spring Dreams

The weather lately has been absolutely gorgeous. Still cool, needing a chic wool coat in the morning and then just a sweater by lunchtime, but sunny, clear, and blue. It's gettting me ready for spring, even though I know it's not really here yet and we're going to have plenty more storms before it really arrives. Nevertheless, it's made me think about what I want to start wearing for when it actually gets warm enough for all of this.

So here we go:

Pretty, classic dresses.

Cool summer scarves.

Fun jewelry.

Light, feminine blouses for work.

Breezy tops, and pretty much anything in coral.

The classic tank.

Soft, flowy maxi dresses.

Did I mention I love maxi dresses? ;)

Casual metallic sandals.

I can't wait to start pulling this stuff out of my closet! Not that I have all of it, but variations, to be sure. And I'm sure I'll manage to find some great bargains along the way to add a few more pieces (yes, I had to write a few, which means that I will make a conscious effort to control my shopping, otherwise it'd be bags and bags of fun summer stuff!).

I could've kept going and going with this but I had to stop myself, otherwise I'd just end up wanting to go shopping even more! ;)

Butterscotch Magic Bars

I'm sure all of you have had some varition of Magic Bars at some time or another. Well let me share my recipe with you. It's totally easy - anyone could do it. And the best part is you can change it up to suit what you like most.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Melt one stick of butter in a 9x13 pan in the pre-heating oven while crushing graham crackers into crumbs until you have a full cup. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle in graham cracker crumbs and mix into butter until all the crumbs are moist. Pat down with back of spoon until you have an even layer across the bottom of the pan.

3) Spread out an entire bag of butterscotch chips on top of graham cracker crum crust. (Most recipes call for only a cup, or half of a bag. I like mine way more butterscrotchy so I use the whole bag).

4) Add half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, scattered evenly.

5) Sprinkle a handful of Heath toffee bits over butterscotch and chocolate.

6) Chop 1 cup of walnuts (or pecans), scatter over chips.

7) Sprinkle sweetened flake coconut over everything.

8) Open 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, pour evenly over all layers until everything is covered.

9) Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cool before cutting into it.

I made this last night because I was really craving it. Yum! Yum! Yum! As I mentioned above, you can change it up as you please, more chocolate and less butterscotch, or omit the butterscotch and use peanut butter chips (I haven't tried that one yet but I think I will next time). In fact, I think the original recipe doesn't even use butterscotch at all, that's just my favorite. Just use whatever you want. With tasty morsels like that on a bed of buttery graham crackers, you can't go wrong!

Not So Cute

I've been dragging my feet a little on this because it didn't seem like a very fun post... who wants to dwell on how un-cute they are?? But at least it made me feel better that it took me a while to come up with 10. I am, afer all, pretty darn close to perfect. Ha! ;)

Here goes:

1) I spot clean my house regularly but only thoroughly clean it if I know someone is coming over. Oh, and then it's only the rooms that I know they will be seeing.

2) I get irritated too easily sometimes (probably one of my biggest faults).

3) I don't like to wash my jeans because then it takes a day for them to fit right again... so I only wash them when they really need it.

4) Sometimes I reuse my running socks twice in a row before washing again because I don't have many pairs and I run more often than the laundry gets done!

5) I have naturally very fair skin, which looks beautiful on some people, like Anne Hathaway... but not me. And I'm scared of skin cancer so instead of fake n' baking I use tan lotion all over my entire body to give me a little glow. (Works well but, what a pain!)

6) I have very high maintenance hair. It doesn't dry beautifully straight or in lovely curls, I have to use product and flat irons and curling irons, etc. Takes way too much time and I wish I had the kind of hair that I could just wash and go. In it's natural state it's actually quite scary looking and very un-cute (but it always looks great when I'm done, though!) .

7) I can eat lots and lots and lots and I often do. (I'm not sure if that's un-cute, though, since I still use good manners when doing so...? Oh well).

8) Sometimes I judge people based on things they're wearing, like a diamond pendant that is obviously fake or a bag that is obviously fake. I don't judge if they're not wearing expensive things, just if they are pretending to and really aren't. That annoys me.

9) I'm on the thin side and so the bone in my chest sticks out and I really hate it. I think it's very unattractive and totally un-cute.

10) I don't do this anymore (thank goodness!) but when I was in high school a friend and I would burp while saying "Bart Simpson" and we called ourselves the Bart Simpson Burping Club. Totally lame, and totally un-cute!!

Okay, I'm not tagging anyone for this; if you want to do it, go for it!! :)

And Happy Friday everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back from San Diego!

Sorry that it took me a while to finally post this - after I got back things have been super busy. To sum up my weekend... it was fantastic! It was sunny and 80 degrees both days!! I was totally loving it. It's so beautiful down there anyway I just love visiting.

The retirement party was a huge success! We had plenty to do to get ready for it all day Saturday... my hubby and his one brother finished the slideshow presentation while the other brother and I put together the centerpieces.

If only you knew how much time and energy we put into these centerpieces over the course of the week and the idea we started out with, how it evolved, to what it ended up being on Saturday... well... I think you'd have been impressed with our finished product. We created floral arrangement in clear glass vases with "a beach on the bottom". We put a layer of sand, then some rocks, shells, and driftwood, then added and arranged all of the beautiful, fresh-cut flowers, then last added the water. Then around the base of each vase I arranged more shells and driftwood. Sounds simple, but, like I said, we originally started with something else and over the week we kept changing what we were going to do until we arrived at our beautiful creations. I have to say I was very proud of them and enjoyed all the many compliments we got. If only I had taken a picture of it!

Usually I'm the Camera Queen but for some reason, probably because I was helping out most of the night, I completely forgot to take out my camera so I did not snap ONE picture! I didn't even get one of me and husband! Not one of my super-cute dress that was a huge hit! (It worked perfect, by the way, and so did the shoes). ;) I guess that means I'll just have to wear that dress to something else, ha! :)

The food was great, the hall looked great (thanks to moi) ;), everyone had a great time, and, most importantly, my mother-in-law had an amazing retirement party she'll never forget. The slideshow was very sweet, as were the heartfelt toasts given by her husband and each of her three sons (my hubby included!). And she ended the evening doing something she especially loves - dancing! I even got a fun dance with my father-in-law who just recently started taking dance lessons. All in all the night was a huge success!

Now I want to go back again for another visit!!!!! :)