Easily Distracted.....

I am so very easily distracted.  By what? Well let's see; shiny things, pretty colored things, good smelling things, cute things, ok ok the list could go on and on.  Recently I have become more aware of my distraction by these things - and have taken it one step further - taking pictures of the things that distract me!  So while at Costco this past weekend I saw pretty colored roses.......now, what was I saying?!?

What has Mama Done?!?

So most times I do really well with picking out EJ's clothes for the week on Sunday nights, that way the mornings go just a teeny bit smoother - EJ and I are both NOT morning people in the least bit.  So this morning I get her up, dressed, teeth and hair brushed and ready to walk out the door.  It's only then that I notice the dried snot on her nose (don't even get me started on the difficulty I have removing the stuff from her face, I mean you'd think I was trying to cut off a finger or something!), the relative shortness of her dress, her right shoe keeps falling off and the fact that though I brushed her hair it looks like she just rolled out of bed.  Oh my.  And too late at this point - gotta get out the door for school and work.  When I drop her off I apologize ridiculously to her teach Miss Debbie.  Thank heavens they are used to this kind of thing.  And I'm keeping my fingers crossed her dress covers her butt for at least most of the day and her cute silver shoe doesn't trip her.  Tomorrow is a new day!! * Since I ALWAYS have my phone somewhere on my person i DID snap a few pics to remember this morning.*  Although not the best with the outfit, shoes and hair all days should be remembered - good or bad! (If you look close you can see the dried boogies (YUM) and the look on her sweet little face just screams I HATE MORNINGS, and no I don't blame her one bit)!

And a quick positive note.  Had a piano lesson last night for the first time in a while (thanks to kid and Mommy illnesses). My biggest weakness is learning the names of the notes for the bass clef.  I've got the treble clef down.  So I created a little cheat sheet to help me get memorized.  And I'm so proud of myself - I taped it right on my work computer so I have no choice but to look at it all day and learn it!  Yep here's some proof! :)

  

Neeeeeew Yoooooork

I booked a very cheap plane ticket several months ago to visit Melissa in NYC.  It seemed like the weekend would never come – and yet now it’s already passed.   L  But I wanted to share a bit of what I did while there.  NYC never ceases to amaze me with all there is to offer and so much to do.  I’m always a bit overwhelmed and when I get back home I always think of things I should have done.  But ok here goes. 

I arrived Friday morning February 4 and of course was starving.   We walked to a small convenience store near Melissa place (in Corona, NY) and had a yummy sandwich on some seriously thick and wonderful bread.  Then once we had sustenance we headed out to enjoy the city.  Oh man was it cold!!!  I know I’m from Ohio and should be used to it but I’m not.  Walking around in the frigid air killed me.  Yes I’m getting soft now and can be considered more of a southerner I suppose. 

Our first stop – Doughnut Plant.  YUM-O!  All kinds of scrumptious and delicious, not so common, flavors of doughnuts.  Yes wait for it – here is a pic of the yummy ones we tried. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly, Crème Brulee, Simple Glazed and Blackout.  

Next stop – the new Dash store.  Much disappointment here.  Kind of simple, VERY expensive and not really at all what they had described the store to be on “Kourtney and Kim take NY” (yes I may have watched that show, once, maaaaaaybe twice).  A bottle of Kardashian water cost $10!!!  Now that’s some serious water!!

Ok on to a cute little French café called Fiat.  We stopped just to warm up and get a cup of coffee.  When we ordered coffee the waiter says “it’s American coffee, is that ok?”  Thinking well duh we tell him that’s fine and order the coffee and some yogurt with granola.  Well we get our “American coffee” and it’s not a thing like coffee you’d think of.  It’s SO MUCH BETTER.  So when I look into this more I find that it’s a Spanish coffee, more like espresso, with steamed milk.  Oh it’s my new favorite thing!!!  And yes I DID buy some while there.  Now I just need to get the espresso maker.  This little French café turned out to be oh so cute and just a little fancy.  Check out the not-so-simple granola and fancy way they serve water at this place.  So fun!

Ok on to shopping.  Which is how we spent the rest of the afternoon until we met Moises at a cute little bar in Times Square and had a drink.  I feel so posh saying I had drinks in a bar in Times Square!  Hehe. It gets better though.  For dinner we went to Serendipity!!!  Yes the adorable little restaurant where they filmed the movie Serendipity.  The real live place!  So incredibly cute in there.  The food was delish however it’s the dessert, frozen hot chocolate, which makes this place famous.  Well that and all the stars that have eaten there.  We got to sit upstairs.  Because it was so close to Valentine’s Day this beautiful chandelier was hanging from the ceiling.  And check out the menu – yes HUGE.  When it was open I couldn’t fit the entire thing in the view of my camera – so here’s one of it closed.  The possibilities of food and desserts were endless on this thing!

                              Times Square - this blurry image just fits the theme of NYC so well!

Here comes confession time!  Haha.  Saturday afternoon Mel and I took a pole dancing class – yes you read right, a pole dancing class.  Boy was it fun and not at all what I expected.  Melissa found a great Groupon deal that we just couldn’t pass up with New York Pole Dancing.  This place is serious about pole dancing.  Not only do the instructors teach classes but they also compete nationally in pole dancing competitions.  And yes they are in pristine shape.  Amazing to watch what they can do with a pole.  (And no not in a dirty way!)  An excellent way to be in peak physical shape.  I thought Cross Fit was difficult – sheesh – I had NO idea! J  In our hour long class we did some stretching and learned and entire routine – complete with spinning AND climbing the pole!!  Oh yes, we climbed the pole!  Thank you Cross Fit for giving me the upper body strength to do so well with this.  But we laughed the entire time and when the class was over I really wanted to try to find a place to take more classes here in NC.  That was until the next day when my body hurt in places I didn’t know existed!! Haha – but maybe I’ll still look into a class around here.  Just to complement my Cross Fit! J   Now who wants to sign up with me?!?!  Come on…..don’t be shy!

So in between the things I mentioned above Melissa and I did lots of shopping.  Although it was hard not to buy many, many things I mostly did window shopping.  Which I’m pretty proud of myself for.  I tend to tell myself “oh I’m in NYC, just buy it” but this time I didn’t!  We went to H&M, Lord and Taylor, and lots of little specialty store.  One of these was called Dylan’s Candy Bar – which is Ralph Lauren’s daughter store.  And yes it’s what it sounds like – LOTS and LOTS of candy.  The picture below is some of the faux candy along the walls and ceiling inside the store.  This store could get me in trouble both financially and with my waistline!!!

Finally here's a few pictures of Grand Central Station, Radio City Music Hall and some sweet mimes who were down in the subway.  You couldn't help but stop and watch them! 

3 Weeks of C-R-A-Z-Y!

So I’ve had a slight blogging hiatus.  On February 3 Emma was diagnosed with her first ear infection (in her left ear) which left her out of daycare and me out of work a few days.  Friday February 4 I leave to visit my bestie, Melissa, in NYC (More info and pictures of the tip to come).  While in NYC I catch the flu.  Can’t get out of bed or function for 5 straight days.  Ugh.  Finally feel better February 11 and crawl out of bed, back to work.  And here I am!  Back to blogging!!

NEWSFLASH!!  AS many of you know we have been in limbo with the NC Dept. of Transportation basically since we bought our house back in 2007.  We knew the road was coming in – what we didn’t know was that we’d be stuck in our teeny tiny house for what has seemed like FOREVER!  Alas there is NEWS – GOOD NEWS – the clouds are parting!!  Last Friday, February 11, we met with a representative from the DOT and have begun the acquisition process of our house!!!!!  The next step is having the house appraised.    Of course in the meantime we need to get an idea of where we want to go.  We love Kernersville and will continue our search there as well as Davidson County, cheaper taxes and better schools.  As we progress I will keep you updated.  Keep praying for us that we can find a new house and we get top dollar for our house!!

While I’ve been dealing with ear infections, trips and the flu I haven’t been working out.  L  3 weeks and not one single WOD.  Eeek.  Yesterday was my first day back in it.  Although I’ve been diligent for 1 year with working out having a 3 week lull kicked my butt.  I could barely get out of bed today and my thighs and arms are killing me!!  Let me just say – NEVER again with this long between WOD’s – NEVER!