The Nail Files 7/27

Today I am linking up with Tara and Vicki for the Nail Files.

OPI "Kiss me on my tulips"

I am getting all of the pink in that I can now.  That means I have about another month for summer colors. Hard to believe isn't it? I start with fall colors come September. I do love my dark colors.

I just wish the spring/summer season was longer. I feel like I get more use out of my dark colors.

Fall does bring one of my favorite things. FOOTBALL. Training camp has begun! Yippee!

I am beyond excited!

I would gladly give up my summer colors to watch football year round. That's how much I love it!

Have a great weekend!

Its "OK" Thursday 7/26

I am linking up again with with Neely: A Complete Waste of Makeup and Amber: Brunch With

Amber Click the button above to visit and link up too!

Today just happens to be "Its OK" Thursdays one year anniversary! I feel like I should be lighting a candle or something while I am writing this. Thank you to Amber and Neely for hosting such a fun linkup!

"Its OK"

- That it looks like its going to pour.  I am still going on my walk today.

- That I have been walking the high school track. The first six laps are the worst. I feel like I want to stop. A spongy track and shape up sneakers make for sore shins. Once I get past the six laps, I could go forever. My butt better look good after all of this is all I am saying.

- That I found a great pedometer app.

- That when I got to the track, I texted my husband and told him there was a coyote and I couldn't walk it. He told me it was a decoy. I knew that I just wanted to see if he thought I was serious.


this thing is actually pretty creepy up close. It also looks like someone staked it "trueblood" style.

- That my daughters boyfriend was here over the weekend. I put a skirt in the car before going to the driving range. He was due to arrive while we were out.  I put the skirt on in the garage just before entering the house so that he would think I went to the driving range like that.  I knew he was probably thinking "is my girlfriends mother a nut?"(we all know the answer to that and its yes).  Everybody else was in on the joke.This went on for about 10 minutes and he wouldn't look directly at the skirt. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I asked him if he seriously thought I went out like that. He said he thought it was nice  It had sparkles and tulle, really? I had it on with sneakers and a tank top.  I really had to prod him. He is just too polite.


- That I sent my mother this picture of my daughters boyfriend. She is using it as her phone screen saver. That's right, not a  picture of her children, grand children or great grand children. My daughters boyfriend. Really mom?

- That I am so excited to see my favorite little princess. She arrives on Wednesday. We are going to have so much fun with her!

- That my daughter started her new job on Monday. She commutes to the city every day. We placed bets on when she would crash, not being able to nap and do what she wants. I won the bet. I said Tuesday. Tuesday I received this text from her.

- That although I realize my daughter is a young lady, I treated her like she was starting her first day of kindergarten in terms of getting her ready for her job. I took her to the grocery store to make sure she had snacks to bring to work. I made sure she had a sturdy bag to carry things back and forth. I went through my things to see what I could give her to wear in the corporate world. I am trying to get her to organize everything to make her life easier. 


- That this was the text I received on Wednesday from her She will get used to it eventually.

- That this is the second day in a row that I have the house to myself. It rarely happens. To bad I have to go to work later.

- That this is what I typically walk into at work. Full loads of laundry and plenty in the basket.  I actually don't mind doing it because I miss not having as much laundry to do at home. I tell all of the girls not to touch the laundry. Its mine.

- That we are having my daughters graduation party next weekend and I am still not ready for it.

- That my tomato plants are unbelievable this year. Its pretty sad that with all of the room I have to grow things that I am relegated to growing things on my deck. If the chipmunks are just waiting for my tomato's to ripen like they usually do, they are in for a rude awakening. I will string them up by their tails.

- That my talking scale no longer talks. Is it because it has no batteries or did I "accidentally" break it. You be the judge.

Happy Thursday!

Christmas in July



I recently took part in a blogger swap called Christmas in July. My friend Alyx, http://www.itsalyx.com/ was a co-host.

We were given the name and address of our swap partner and a list of what they like. My partner was Ashley at http://ohwellsinsteadofwhatifs.blogspot.de/. Not only did I get a swap partner, I found a great new blog to read.  Ashley is very inspiring and a great girl. I really lucked out getting her as my swap partner!

Ashley was so easy to buy for because she is so easy going. I enjoyed shopping for her as much as I enjoyed receiving the package from her. You can check out Ashley's blog to see what I sent to her.

Here is what I received:



How adorable is this mug? How did she know I had just broken my favorite mug? This is hands down my new favorite. I love personalized things!



I love these earrings. I couldn't wait to wear them to work. I can only wear black, white or grey so how appropriate are these?



"Cajun Shrimp" by OPI. The only disappointing thing about this is that I had just returned from getting my mani/pedi and the package from Ashley had arrived while I was out. Now I have to wait a few weeks to use it! This is an oldie but goodie and I love it. I haven't used it in years.



I suffer from bad breath so these will definitely come in handy (I am totally kidding, at least I think I am, anybody?) No seriously, I love the name of these mints.



She also sent a beautiful hand written note (I  forgot to put one in the package I sent her and I regret it). Her note is still out on my windowsill where I put my cards.

Ashley did an amazing job with my package. It was like she knew me and knew exactly what I like.
I am so glad I got to know her through this swap. Thanks again Ashley!

OK who is hosting the next swap?

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Bitchiness is not flattering on anybody

Why is it that I feel like I know some people who I email back and forth with from the blog world? I have never met anybody in person but isn't it kind of funny that you can send maybe one or two emails and "click" with someone? I know just about everybody that blogs can relate.

I will admit over the years I have grown cynical. If you knew me maybe 15 years ago I was the most trusting person. Now....not so much. Many things have happened over the years that have made me the cynical person that I am.

I moved into a pretty nice neighborhood. I was in my late twenties. Some of the women in my neighborhood did not give me a chance at all. I am just going to come out and say it. They were absolute bitches. I was so naive back then. If I could go back in time, I would slap myself for "killing with kindness" people who did not deserve any of my attention or efforts.

We moved to this neighborhood when my oldest daughter was starting kindergarten. We still lived in our old house when school started. I would drive her to our new neighborhood to take the bus until our house was done being built. I would try to talk to these women at the bus stop and pretty much got the cold shoulder and was snubbed on many occasion. Mind you...these women did not know me at all. I was just being my friendly and chipper self.  Only when I offered to do them a favor did I get a favorable response from these women.

 In my profile I put Barbie living in her Barbie dream house for a reason. These women would say "Oh there is Barbie living in her Barbie dream house".  I cant help that  I went to the kids bus stop in high heels and lip gloss....that's just me. Just because these women had the same sweat suit on when they dropped their kids off in the morning and still had them on when they picked them up in the afternoon ....its not my fault. I have always been the way I am. Even if I was sick, I still got all dolled up. That was just me. Its just like the women in their sweat suits. That was just them. I would not judge them. They sure judged me. That totally sounded like I just judged them but trust me.....they were bitches. I could care less if they wore a sweat suit or a ball gown.

Its kind of funny that I always had all of the neighborhood kids here too. If they thought so poorly of me then why did they let their kids play here? Maybe they knew I wasn't a bad person and I made them feel inadequate? Maybe they were just lazy and didn't want to deal with their kids? If I had something to say about someone my kids sure wouldn't be playing at their house. A hypocrite I am not.

If I see a woman who makes an effort, I am in awe of them. I would never make someone feel uncomfortable for what they are. I would praise them. I will always compliment someone who makes an effort even to this day. I know how hard it is.  I personally do not judge a book by its cover. I try to live by the motto " do something nice for someone every day".  Even after dealing with the meanness that I did, I persevered.  I still stuck to my motto, even though I didn't want to. I still did me and didn't let these mean bitches get to me. (OK maybe they did a little because I am a little nastier than I used to be). I really do hate that they took my innocence away. I am still a girls girl to this day no matter how I was affected by my situation.

I was a little reluctant to write this post because I don't want to sound bitter or a vain. I am over it believe me. It all happened so long ago. It did affect me though and it shaped me into who I am today.
I am not whining about all of my neighbors because I found a very dear friend among them.
I guess what I want to say is, just because someone isn't like you, it doesn't mean you shouldn't give them a chance. You might be amazed at what you find. Give people a chance
.
In the blog world you aren't judged on sight. I feel a little more trusting each day. The only agenda most people have in the blog world is to grow their following.

For each and every one of you who I email with back and forth, you have no idea what it means to me. For those of you that I don't, I still appreciate you. I promise if you engage with me, I will respond. I have found some incredible people in this blog world.

Of course my husband wouldn't read my blog unless i mentioned him (ha ha). He is wayyy more cynical than I am. He has a reason to be, he has seen me duped many times.  I was almost embarrassed to admit to him that I participated in the Christmas in July Swap but I had to. I think he was pleasantly surprised.  I cant help but talk about the people who are like friends to me. He is getting to know all of you as well. I talk about some of you like I see you on a regular basis.

How many people can say they are in their mid forties and still have had the same best friend since they were 8 years old? I can.
I know quality when I see it. I like to think I have pretty good intuition. For those of you who are my friends in the blog world...you are quality.
That means each and every one of you.

Its 6 am on Sunday Morning

Why am I up? Why cant I sleep in like normal people do?  I start thinking about what I want to do for the day and how I want a cup of coffee and I just have to get up. I also like my quiet time before everybody else gets up. It may also be because this has been one of the nicest weekends of the summer. It may also be because I have a new sense of well being.

I have been bitten by the walking bug. I don't know where the motivation came from but I am glad it finally came. I just simply could not get motivated at all. I have been so lazy lately. I went from doing cardio kickboxing and walking 6 days a week to doing absolutely nothing. I went from being in the best shape of my life to the worst. I am going to change that. I want to be able to eat what I want and not have to wear spanx. I am tired of complaining about it and doing nothing about it. I just want to be the best me I can be (and perhaps eat a bagel instead of broccoli and summer squash every once in awhile? Is that to much to ask?)

It is not so much of a weight issue for me as it is not being toned and zero energy. I don't want to just maintain my weight by watching what I eat.
I really don't have much stress but exercise is good for the body as well as the mind. I don't feel good about myself when I am lazy. I may not exercise every single day like before, but I am going to try my darnedest to fit it in as much as possible.  I will be adding crunches into my routine. Muffin tops only look good on muffins.

I am giving it about an hour or so before we go walk the lake again. I am walking with my husband and I am glad he is walking with me. The lake is about a 3 mile walk. I did not plan on walking the whole lake the first time out but once we started I wanted to keep going. I actually could have walked it twice no problem.

When we got home yesterday we contemplated walking the neighborhood too. There is what we call the big loop and the small loop. When I am motivated I will walk both. When I am not, I do one or the other. The big loop is about 2 and a half miles (a little more than a half if you want to be technical)  and the small loop is about a mile and a half.
Instead of walking again yesterday we decided to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. A note to everyone out there, do not go to a driving range that is also a dairy farm with ice cream. The stench will make you dizzy. I couldn't hit those balls fast enough! I could still smell those cows for hours after we got home. Yuck!  We will have to stick to our old boring driving range in the future.

After walking today we are going to go boating with my daughter and her boyfriend. Row, row, row your boat. This should be interesting. Wish me luck! If you don't hear from me by the end of the week it is probably because I am stuck out in the middle of the lake. Maybe we should bring a picnic of bagels?

Enjoy your Sunday!

My latest obsession

Today I am linking up with my dear friend Kathe for Youre gonna LOVE it! Tuesday. Well I certainly know I LOVE my latest obsession. I hope you do too! Join the link up! Anything goes.

My latest obsession is www.AlexandAni.com bracelets.
Alex and Ani, LLC is an Eco-friendly company that believes in re-using and recycling materials. All of their pieces are infused with the (+) positive energy symbol. All of the jewelry is made in the USA. They are actually a sponsor for the Olympics this year and have a beautiful collection just for the Olympics.

Alex and Ani's flagship store is located in Newport, RI where my daughter went to school.  http://www.golocalprov.com/lifestyle/forbes-names-newport-prettiest-town-in-america/. It is always crowded! I now know why.The Alex and Ani headquarters and factory are located in Cranston, RI.

I blame my latest obsession on my daughters wonderful boyfriend. He got my daughter these two adorable bracelets for graduation to commemorate her time in Newport. I just had to get some of my own.

A compass and an anchor. Very appropriate for living in a beach front town for her four years of school.

These bracelets make great gifts. They are a great way to start someone with a collection. I personally have to refrain from going out and buying 25 more for myself. I want to build my collection slowly and let my kids have the option of getting something special for me. Being older, I don't need another vase or nick knack. I have more than enough.
Personalized gifts are probably my favorite gifts. I also happen to love dangly and jangly jewelry. If you love stackable bracelets, you are going to love Alex and Ani.

My husband started my collection for me. I got my initial and my birthstone.

The bracelets are adjustable making for easy off and on.

 

 

These bracelets to me are the modern take on the charm bracelet. Did I mention the quality is exceptional and the prices are very reasonable? I don't know how many of these bracelets I can own but I will not limit myself. I can always mix and match right? I haven't figured out how many I will wear at a time but I will worry about that when the time comes. Right now I am thinking I need a few of their beaded ones to break up the look. The possibilities are endless.

A note to my children, if you are reading this (I know you are) I will give you my name and password so that you can see the ridiculous amount of bracelets I have on my wish list. My birthday is coming up after all.

*This is not a sponsored post. I am just sharing my love of Alex and Ani Jewelry.

Its "OK" Thursday 7/12

I am linking up again with with Neely: A Complete Waste of Makeup and Amber: Brunch With

Amber Click the button above to visit and link up too!

"Its OK"

-That  I am not on the Fourth of July Committee anymore but they still call me to help out. I had to help coordinate the carriage/bike/dog contest in town. Our town population is 14,892. Why wont anyone else step up to the plate?  Its OK because I actually enjoy doing it but still.....Its always the same volunteers for evertyhing that goes on in town..

-That I am seriously only dieting so that when football season starts I can eat my weight in queso.

-That my curling iron died (R.I.P) and I was to uncoordinated to use my daughters newfangled one. Hello straight hair.

-That for the next 3 weeks I am not only working Monday, I am also working on Thursday. I will need a vacation after.

-That my daughter landed a job on the first real interview she went on. Yeah G!

-That I am a little sad that we wont have as much time to hang out because of said job.

-That my favorite grand baby will be coming to visit in a few weeks. Yeah!

-That I found the picture that goes with my marinade post so here it is

-That I am so excited that Big Brother starts tonight. It is not summer without Big Brother.

-That as much as I like Emily from the bachelorette, I couldn't help but notice on the last episode I watched (I am a week behind) that she picked the men from first to last according to how much money they had. Was it subliminal on her part?

-That I am obsessed with the sister wives blog http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/

-That it is 11:00 am on Thursday and I am finishing my blog at work because my daughter tweeted me and asked me where my Its "OK" Thursday post is.

-That while on my way to work I make two stops. One to play the lottery and one to get coffee. When I stopped at the store to play my lottery , the woman ran my tickets through the machine then looked at me and said "are you in a rush?" I said "not really". She asked me if I would watch the store so she could run to the ladies room. She was waiting for someone to come in that she trusted.. I guess she picked me because I am a regular gambler customer and I look trustworthy. We always have nice chit chat when I go in,  I obviously watched the store for her. It was uneventful.

-That the ice cream man in our neighborhood needs to get new music and a new player for his music. He plays slow Christmas music and other weird un-ice cream truck like  music that almost sounds warped. His lifetime movie title would be "The ice cream truck killer". The music sounds that creepy. If I were a kid, I would stay away.

-That I am loving this Soft Soap Vineyard Escape body wash. Now I can bring happy hour into the shower with me. We all know how much I love my happy hours. You can bet I will be having happy hour today.

Happy Thursday and enjoy the rest of your week!

A simple marinade

Today I am linking up with my very talented friend Kathe for You're gonna LOVE it! Tuesday. Join in. Anything goes. She is nice like that.

Seeing that I am in summer vacation mode, I figured it was only fitting that I share a quick and easy steak marinade recipe. I have been doing a whole lot of nothing and keeping busy.  I don't know about everyone else but I feel like once July 4th passes, summer is almost over. I am trying to soak up every ray of sunshine that I can before being cooped up in the house for 6 months.

My husband is the grill master. The man has 3 grills on the deck. He is a really great cook. He makes sure everything coming off of the grill has cross grill hash marks. The food usually looks like it came out of a magazine ad. He is at his happiest when he has a barbecue brush in his hand. He looks forward to entertaining and parties where he is the chef.

 I love summer because I know I get a break from the kitchen. I barely cook. My husband wants to cook every day. That's fine with me. I will have plenty of time to cook in the winter.

 

Here is his recipe for steak tip marinade. Unfortunately I do not have a picture. I went through all 700 pictures on my phone twice. I swore I had one....

You will need:

4lbs of Sirloin Tips
6-8oz Wishbone Italian Dressing
6-8oz Heinz 57 Sauce
3 TBS brown sugar
fresh cracked pepper

Let it marinate in your refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

That's it! I told you it is very simple. Our biggest dilemma when making steak tips is to leave them plain or to use this marinade. It is that good. I think I will be going to go get some steak tips today.

Barbecue while you can and enjoy this beautiful week!