Not Me! Monday

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me Monday, here is the gist: This fun game originated with Mckmama, while LittleSack introduced it to me. you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This is going to be more of a couple's edition, since we spent the weekend in Virginia watching IU (Indiana University Hoosiers) lose badly to Virginia. Mr. Potts definitely had a few, "Not Me!" moments.

• We didn't get up Saturday morning to begin tailgating by 11am. Not us! No way would our breakfast consist of fried chicken, macaroni & cheese and beer! No way!
  
• We didn't watch the Hoosiers hand the ball over to the other team & just watch as they ran by them. Uh uh - never happened. We definitely were not seated in a full Virginia section while sporting IU shirts. These guys across the field were quite entertaining, though.
• Mr. Potts and I did not decide 2 minutes before half-time that since IU hadn't scored & were losing 28-0, that we were going to leave the stadium & walk to a bar. Nope, no way we'd ever leave before a game was over just to have some beers!!
• We didn't then get bad directions from random people on the street who totally sent us WAY out of the way - causing us to walk for at least 30 minutes to get to a Buffalo Wild Wings. Uh uh - we would never go that far for an adult beverage.
• Mr. Potts didn't then proceed to commiserate with a fellow Hoosier about how badly they were losing. No way would we sit with people 10 years our junior & get inebriated. Uh uh.
• Mr. Potts did not walk out of said establishment & leave behind his favorite zip-up hoodie. No way would he be that out of it. He would not then proceed to pass out at the table of the restaurant we then went to with his head on his arms while everyone looked on. I did not walk him out to the van so he could lay down in the back seat. No way. Not us. We're way to grown up for that!
  

On Sunday we went with our friend for a tour of the Virginia campus. It was absolutely gorgeous - I have to say, however, that I would have loved to have spent the afternoon on our couch. Some pictures from our tour.What a gorgeous chapel on their campus!!

Looking behind us, you'll see Jefferson's Academical Village - students & professors live here!

All, in all, a great weekend!! What all did you NOT do this weekend?
If anyone has any suggestions where we can get a replacement hoodie for Mr. Potts, I'd greatly appreciate it! His was from Banana last year & was a navy material with a grey (super soft) material on the inside. He's heartbroken to have lost it.

Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday Everyone! It's here - another edition of Fabulous Friday! A highlight of all things fabulous that I've stumbled across over the course of this week (in no particular order, of course!).

Ya'll, I'm TIRED! I have been traveling for the past two weeks & while I used to consider myself a road warrior (and probably could still be considered one), I'm so super glad that I don't travel all the time for work now!

First things first on this edition of Fab Friday. Me! I'm going to toot my own horn. I've lost 10lbs!!! Whoo Hoo! I've been following Weight Watchers religiously & have done it! I still have more to lose, but I can definitely tell the difference already!!

The first blogger I'd like to highlight today is Kelsey from The Seattle Smith's. Kelsey host's Wishful Wednesday's every week & I've really enjoyed doing them. Not only does she pull together Wishful Wednesday's, but she has two super cute puppies! I also wanted to highlight Kelsey because this past Wednesday on one of her WW links, I came across the following blogger who is such an inspiration.

So, my second highlight for today is Kassandra of Not Your Typical, Average, Ordinary College Girl. Ya'll, this phenomenal girl has lost 149lbs simply by focusing on what she eats & exercise. She has completely turned her life around & I'll admit, when I opened up the newspaper article about her & read it, I cried (I'm SO emotional - I'm tearing up now thinking about it). She has taken what so many people would look at as a hopeless situation & changed it. I am so impressed by her & her determination that I knew she had to be featured today. Make sure you go tell her hello.

Seriously? Fall in New England is perfect. Last week I experienced beautiful views of the leaves changing colors and cooler weather that has me itching to put away all of my summer clothes. I even enjoyed my drive to Boston yesterday after a long day of facilitation. I saw trees with leaves like this
Fall in New England made me think of one of my new favorite fall t.v. shows - Eastwick. Has anyone been watching it? I think I'm so fond of it because of the quaint New England town it is based in. Plus, I love Rebecca Romjin & Lindsey price! If you're not already watching it, you should!

While it was chilly this week, it wasn't really all that cold & it had me thinking that a longer, sweater "coat" would be a nice addition to my closet. I like this one. And would it hurt a girl to smile in photos?

That's it for me for Fabulous Friday. We're heading to Richmond today after work to attend the IU/UVA game tomorrow. The weather is looking quite yucky & I have to admit, I'm so tired that I really wouldn't mind staying home & lounging on my couch. Hope you all will have a Fabulous Weekend!!

Wishful Wednesday

Welcome to another edition of Wishful Wednesday, brought to you by Kelsey over at The Seattle Smith's.

This week's Wishful Wednesday is, "I Wish...I could change one physical trait about myself & it would be..."

Haven't we all thought about this as women? When I was younger & before everyone seemed to become so body conscious, my answer would have been my nose. I always felt like it stood out of my face (well, duh, it does!). Since those days, however, I feel as if I've grown into my nose. Although sometimes during allergy weather, I'd like to be able to just chop it off. Mr. Potts assures me that he would still love me. Ha!

I used to think I'd like to be taller. You know, it's easier for taller women to carry a little extra weight. I mean, I look at a donut & my stomach bloats! Then, I met Mr. Potts and he is only an inch or two taller than me (which actually is pretty telling about when we met, but that's another conversation). I wouldn't wish to change my height anymore - although he is very self-confident & wouldn't care, I like leaning into his shoulder.

If I could do it, no pain involved, I'd zap these veins on my leg. They're the veins in my calves that I think are the result of years of standing on jobs (retail, food, etc) while younger. They also could be hereditary. Either way, I'd like to get rid of them. They're a pretty trivial thing, but I hate the way they look.
If you've ever had this done, any advice?

I have to note that I deliberately chose on my part not to pick any issues that things I'm personally working on. These things (slimming down, firming up, etc) are things that I can partially control & I can't wait for the day when I say, "I did it!!"

A glimpse of red

I saw these beauties last week & was able to snap a picture. I wish I could have pulled off on the side of the highway on my drive from Boston yesterday to take more pictures. The leaves here are changing & the reds and oranges and yellows are simply stunning.

I've been given a mission to bring back some leaves for my sweet niece to use for a leaf project for school. She is having such a hard time learning the simple things that most of the children in her class already know. Another instance of her MOTY (Mother Of The Year) doing her a huge disservice. My mom is working with her as much as possible & I do as well when I see her, but it just breaks my heart that she is having to work so hard when if any time had been spent on this a few years ago (when she was still with MOTY) she'd be showing flying colors.

Hope you'll have a beautiful day today. I'll be trying to comment more than last week, but it may still be less than usual due to being crazy busy & tired. Plus, I think I'm working on a chest cold. Fabulous.

Just another manic Monday

Ah Monday. I woke up this morning to a dreary, misty day. I'll be on a jet soon headed back to New England for another week. A week that will look something like this:A bit on the chilly side, no?

With the chilly weather comes the realization that I'll be eating quite a bit more Panera Bread soup this week for dinner. Should look something like this:
Monday - Low Fat Vegetarian Garden Vegetable Soup
Tuesday - Low Fat Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
Wednesday - Vegetarian Summer Corn Chowder

I am also proud to share with you all that so far in my Weight Watchers adventure, I've lost 7 pounds. This, after 3 weeks. It feels good to be able to say this and even better to have heard my mom tell me that she could see the difference. Mr. Potts is so proud of me and has told me how thrilled he is. He told me he could see the difference this is making in my self esteem.

Plus, on Saturday, I tried on my pair of James Jeans that have been too snug (fine, they wouldn't button) for too long. They fit. They fit! They're still a little tight, but they button! And I can get them up. Hello beauty, you soon will be perfect - or I'll be perfect for you again!I hope that you all had a great weekend & that your week will be filled with sunshine. And roses & rainbows & sprinkles too.

Fabulous Friday - A day late!

Better late than never, right? The last two days have been absolutely crazy! Thursday morning I was up at 4:50 and down to the hotel gym by 5am. I worked out for an hour, got ready, repacked, checked out & was on my way to deliver my Time Manag*ment session. Once done, I was on the road to Boston to fly home.

Have I ever told you that I've developed some sensitivity to oysters? Can't eat them. Well, I can eat them, but I just can't, um...retain them. Le sigh - and I used to LOVE them! It seems that I've managed to develop this sensitivity to lobster. I wasn't completely sure until Thursday when in Logan I had a cup of lobster bisque. Bad move on my part. I felt it coming on as soon as I had eaten 4 bites. No more lobster for me - and it was so good too!The worst part of my airport dining experience? The man next to me who decided he needed to be on the phone the entire time, speaking super loudly even after his steamed clams were delivered. Which smelled awful. Which made me hurry up and leave to get to my gate. Where I proceeded to fall asleep to the grumblings of my stomach. Finally aboard the plane, I got settled into my seat & prayed for an uneventful flight. Yeah, not so lucky. The stomach was twisting and turning, my ears were awful (I've been congested & flying is never fun when you're like this) and the pilot decided to very, very slowly descend - pain on ears. Finally home, I collapsed in bed, exhausted.

In the office yesterday I was slammed - getting ready for next week's trip to New England. I had every intention of doing Fabulous Friday, but never had a chance! So, without further ado, a shortened version of Fabulous Friday.

Amber over at Life As We Know It gave me the Splash Award. Thank you Amber! If you haven't been to her blog yet, you simply must! She is a Tiger fan - GEAUX Tigers! She's also absolutely beautiful.

The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive, and inspiring blogs.

I like to think that I'm all of these things, but like most women, I'm not so sure. Thanks Amber for the much needed self confidence boost!

When you receive this award, you must:

• Put the logo on your blog/post.
• Nominate & link up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
• Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
• Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash Award.

In following along with the rules, I'm passing this on to the following bloggers:

• Megan - In this wonderful life
• Lindsey - Learning to be a Wife
• Annie - Chapters of Our Life
• Tara - Jimmy Choos & Tennis Shoes
• b.e.g. - Brown Eyed Girl
• Brittany - Notes From the Grove
• Heather - Live.Love.Laugh.
• Kimmie - Full Circle
• Kelly - Part of Life is Having a Good Ponytail

I'm highlighting this as part of Fabulous Friday since I think all of these women are fabulous & I adore Amber for passing this on to me!

Sarah of It might seem crazy but we call it Life was my swap partner recently. She is totally on the ball & my scarf was waiting for me when I got home from New England! Sarah, yours will be in the mail this week - I didn't have a chance to get out while I was away. She sent me a simply wonderful teal blue scarf & included a tube of her favorite lip gloss. I can't tell you what her's will be, but I hope she'll love it!

So for this late edition of Fabulous Friday (on a Saturday) I'm highlighting fabulous bloggers. Make sure you pop over to each of these women's blogs - they're simply FABULOUS!!

PS: I apologize for my lessened commenting - I was just slammed last week.

Wishful Wednesday - Pets

Kelsey at The Seattle Smith's began a Wishful Wednesday weekly post to help everyone get over the hump day. I thought it was a great idea and smiled when I saw this week's topic - "I wish my pet could talk because I've been dying to know ____."

This was a great one to come up because I've often wondered just what my animals think.

ETA: Pepe is an orange cat who was a rescue from the snow. He weighed 4lbs & the vet said he was only 4 months old. You could feel every single bone (almost not kidding - you could feel his jaw bone & see each of his ribs) in his body. Hayden is a goofy Yellow Lab. Hayden & Pepe are both 7 years old. Maddy was my Great Dane. We had to put her to sleep last year at the ripe, old age of 9.

So, if Pepe Cat could speak, I would have to ask him why he speaks with a French accent. I imagine his reply would be something like this (think French), "Vell cherie, it iz very simple. Ju named me Pepe le Pew - how could I NOT speak in dis accent?"Very well put, Pepe Cat. I can understand that. My next question would be why he sits at the bottom of the stairs gazing around & then jets up to the top so quickly you wonder if he was even there. Maybe something to do with the ghosts of girlfriends past?

To Hayden I would turn and ask her what she does exactly all day. What is involved in a dog's (especially this dog's) life? Does she move from ottoman to big chair? That, my dear puppy, will be changing the minute our new furniture arrives! Do you go to the door when you hear odd noises? Do you bark - the only time I've heard this dog bark is when the garage door opens & when she's at the front door to go out.
Lately, though, I've had a heavy heart - I miss my Maddy more than anything and still cry over losing her. I have the best memories of her - she walked beside me through so much change and heartbreak in my life - and I smile often when I think of her. I wish that I could speak to Maddy just once to ask if she was happy with me. I would ask her if she is at peace now. I'd make sure she knew how much I loved her and I'd tell her that I loved every single day I had with her.

What would you wish for? Head on over to The Seattle Smiths & participate in the fun.