Free Shoes for Life!!!

I got an email this morning from Famous Footwear and in tiny print at the bottom they had a contest/drawing thing listed and the title is Free Shoes for Life.

Well, with all the shoe love going on in the sisterhood, I HAD to share!!!

Good luck :)
http://www.famousfootwear.com/shoesforlife

Busy Beeeeee

Goodness, I feel like I've been gone for ages!

Last Friday and Saturday I went with my BFF to a knitting workshop to learn how to do a knitting technique called Entrelac. It was a lot of fun and I indeed did learn how to do Entrelac ;)  I also - and my knitting b0obs will appreciate this - learned how to knit/purl in both directions (i.e. no turning your work!). Man is that convenient!

Sunday, James and I went up to work and moved his computer and stuff to his new cube for him to start his new position on Monday. That was cool, there aren't a lot of people at our office on Sunday's so it sort of felt like being at school during the summer, ha! Then we went to yoga and back home to chill. The Walking Dead started back up with an amazing episode, if you like zombies you should check it out on AMC.

Yesterday I had work and then yoga. It was a great class! I have officially moved up to the intermediate level and am really enjoying it. And I'm not scared of the all levels classes anymore. I'm still getting acclimated to the heat in that room, but otherwise I feel like it is a good challenge when I want to kick it up a notch (BAM!).

Today was more work - which is a whole other drama situation I don't want to think about right now - and was supposed to be more yoga. But James and I were just exhausted. We intended to go, so after work we went to PetSmart to get some kitty food and then to eat some dinner at Baker Brothers (I had a wonderful Texas Cobb salad, yum) and then to Target to pick up a few things. We still had about an hour before class started so we went over to the VW dealership that is nearby to see about test driving one of the new Beetles. I've been thinking about getting one ever since they announced. I have a 2005 New Beetle right now and I love it, but the new 2012's have the option for a lot more bells and whistles that I really want. Anyhoo, after that we decided we were tuckered out and just went home.

So here I sit, getting caught up on reading and commenting on blogs from the past 5 days and then posting to all you wonderful peeps out there in blogland! I'm probably going to hit the hay early-ish tonight ... y'all sleep tight!

Texas mini-Bo0bs!

Hellooo!!!

As Beth said, I will be taking over the coordination of this outing for Saturday Nov 12th. We are planning on meeting in Waco for an extended lunch and who knows what!

Let me know if you are interested in coming so we can get all the deets figured out!

Yay!!

A thru Z of Me!

This has been done by several peeps .. and since I love these kinds of things, I am joining in!

1. Age - 40
2. Bed size - King
3. Chore you dislike - Cleaning the bathroom
4. Dogs - Currently we have 3 cats, but I have owned several Cocker Spaniels in my life. The next time I get a dog, I want a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel :)
5. Essential start to your day - Uhm … waking up? Other than that, I play it by ear.
6. Favorite color - Blue
7. Gold or silver - Silver
8. Height - 5' 7"
9. Instruments you play(ed) - Piano and Flute
10. Job title - Web Production Designer
11. Kids - Nope. On purpose thankyouverymuch.
12. Live - Fort Worth, Texas
13. Mom's name - Julie
14. Nicknames - deb, debbles, debidoodle, debster
15. Overnight hospital stays - Never had one, WLS was in and out home by 9:30am!
16. Pet peeves - when people interrupt me while I'm talking
17. Quote from a movie - "I feel like I'm taking CRAZY PILLS!" - Mugatu, from Zoolander
18. Righty or Lefty - Lefty all the way. And I'm quite offended that this is the "R" question and not the "L" question.
19. Siblings - 1 older brother, Scott. Then also 3 older step-sisters from my step-mother and 1 older step-brother, 1 older step-sister and 1 younger step-brother from my step-father.
20. Time you wake up - As late as possible in order to get where I have to be. OR whenever my cats wake me up.
21. Underwear - Yes.
22. Vegetables you don't like - Tomato. Although I like ketchup and salsa … go figure. Also mushrooms, olives and all kinds of peppers.
23. What makes you run late - Being awake
24. X-rays you've had - teeth and boobies!
25. Yummy food you make - Buttermilk Pie
26. Zoo animal favorites - Lions are my favorite, but I also like the Flamingos, Giraffes, Elephants and Monkeys. (Click the links to see pictures I've taken of those animals at the Fort Worth Zoo!)

First time for everything ...

I went and had my first unfill yesterday. It was very small but man the difference is crazy good!

Before Chicago I had started to notice that I was having a little heartburn here and there, but not anything that I thought I should be worried about. I thought it could be stress or that I was eating too much too fast. Well, wait ... let's back up a smidge. On Aug 29th I went in for a fill and ended up getting .4 and was OK with that. However, the tech said that my pouch looked a little bit stretched which had me semi-freaking out. Fast forward a couple of weeks and this is when I started noticing the heartburn.  But there was a lot going on and I thought it was me. So I figured I'd work on it and see how I felt after Chicago. While at Bo0bs2.O I was able to eat just fine - not too much, but plenty - and wasn't noticing the heartburn as much.

Then after I got home I noticed I was a lot tighter and the heartburn was coming around every evening. At the end of last week it was becoming a big annoyance. I was having a hard time drinking anything more than water, which is bad since I take some medication in liquid form that is mixed in with orange juice. I could barely take a sip without it just sitting there, crazy. And I was starting to contemplate taking some Tums or something for the heartburn. That made me think that I should probably go to the doc.

I called yesterday morning to see when they could get me in. Fortunately they said I could come that day, at 2:30pm. The receptionist at the surgery center where I get my fills is just a grumpy lady in general I have decided. When I called I told her I thought I needed a small unfill because I was having some heartburn and having trouble with liquids esp in the mornings. Her comment - in a quite condescending tone - was "Well, are you able to keep anything down at all?" To which I repeated myself (which always thrills me) and she sighed and scheduled me to come in that afternoon. I'm tossing out a big 'ol WHAT.E.VER. to her. :)

I got there and went in to the fill room, both techs were awesome about the whole thing. They said that I absolutely did the right thing by coming in, that anytime you have heartburn it isn't a good sign and that that was the whole reason they were there and that I should never feel bad about coming in. That made me feel so much better. The funny thing is that they ended up taking out .4, which is the exact amount they put in at my last fill. So apparently I didn't really need it after all! But on a good note ... they said my pouch looked really good, no stretching anymore.  So whew for that!

+++

In other news, today has been sucky at work. I even sat here and cried at my desk for a while. It is mostly just frustration. They are pushing to up our work load and have hired several people to help out with that in a few other groups, but I don't get any help. So I'll have more things coming in to me to get done but I will still be doing my part of the job all alone. Pardon my little pity party, I'll get over it soon.

Tonight I am going to an all levels yoga class! Only the 2nd one I'll have ever tried. The last few beginners classes I've been to haven't been challenging enough for me. So I guess that means it is time to move on up to the east side ;) Wish me luck!

My Bo0bs Experience

It has taken me a few days to even begin to come out of the fantastic fog that was Chicago last weekend. I'm still not sure I will have the right words to describe what this trip meant to me.

First off, to my BBF Beth, you are amazingly incredible (even if you do think I'm slobby sometimes) and I love you so much! I am so very thankful that you got me into this whole hot mess of bUUbs!

Secondly, to my other pre-known B0OBs Dawnya and Ronnie, I am so glad we are in this together! Talking and texting and IM'ing with y'all is a true joy in my life.

And last-but-not-leastly, to all my new friends and sisters. I have never felt so welcomed into a group in my entire life. I have pretty much always felt a little bit left out where groups are concerned. I always had one or two friends to hang out with but never a group of people. I didn't get accepted into a sorority in college and in high school I was a band geek - and not even in with the "cool" band geeks!

Now while I love love loved meeting everyone and certainly didn't have enough time to spend with anyone, I have to mention a few people:

My roomies Justine and Krystal - y'all were great! I was nervous to room with people I'd never met but once I met both of you it was easy as pie. Thanks for being awesome!

The girlies I seemed to end up everywhere with! Brandi - my twin in more ways than one, Becky - my bundle of sunshine, Amanda - you are the cutest thing ever!, Ms. M - send me a pic when you get your new nose ring!, Stacey - you are full of quiet hilarity, thanks for sharing the shuttle. It wasn't the same going back without you (the driver was a crazy man)!

There were quite a few peeps I wish I'd been able to chat with more (that's what next year is for right?!). So watch out Maria, Shannon, Grace, Read, Angela, Fluffy, Jenny, Draz, LBG, Joey, Catherine, Carmen, and Liz :)

As for my activities …
I arrived Thursday evening at 7pm, met up with Stacey in baggage claim and we walked a billion miles to find our shuttle to the hotel. After we found it, all was right with the world and we made it to the hotel in no time. We promptly jumped out of the van when we saw Beth, Stephanie Joy and Brandi and yelled Booo0oooBS!!!!! Hahahaha! Ok, well maybe it was just me jumping out and yelling, I think Stacey just looked at me like I was nuts (which I kinda am). I got checked in and went to drop my stuff off in the room. The next bit of time was a blur but then I got dressed (in an actual dress thankyouverymuch) and we all headed off to the drag show. It was my first one and I loved it! I think we all had a great time and some angel took care of the bar tab at the end. Whoever that was, thank you so much! That was super duper nice of you! Afterwards, a few of us went on back to the hotel and just chilled out. I think I got to sleep before 2 that night.

Friday morning Beth and I got up and met at 9am to go and see about getting massages but when we got there we found out it was pretty much by appointment only. So we called and made appointments for the next afternoon. Then we went and did some shopping! We found a really cool store called Arts & Artisans on Michigan Ave on the other side of the river that had all kinds of stuff that was not mass produced. Clothing, jewelry, scarves, wall art, clocks, you name it. I ended up getting a cool sweater/jacket thing and a scarf and Beth got 2 scarves, earrings and a super cute coat. We asked the sales associate for a suggestion for lunch and he told us about Sweetwater which was just a block down so we went and ate up some yummies. We split some divine Mac & Cheese and also some Chips & Guacamole. They were both delish. Then we went to get ready for the Good Times on Michigan Ave walking tour. That was pretty fun, but went on a smidge too long. 75-90 minutes would have done me just fine. But either way we got to see some fun things, take lots of pictures and I got to chat it up with a lot of super fun people! It was hungry time, so Beth and I called Krystal and we went to eat at an Italian place I found on UrbanSpoon called Coco Pazzo Cafe. We felt like old people since it was 4:30 but it was pretty tasty! Then it was time for a little rest and the Friday night meet & greet. I chose to go slobby :) It was fun to see everyone all together and I even won a door prize, woo hoo! I decided I should step it up a little bit and went to the room to shower and get ready before heading over to Second City for a comedy show. That was really fun, and I laughed a lot! Now I will be keeping an eye out for any of those performers in case they show up on SNL. It was another late night getting to bed at 2am.

Saturday I woke up bright and early and put on my workout clothes! I met Beth, Dawnya, Becky and Catherine in the lobby at 8:45 and we went to Jazzercise! It was my first experience with Jazzercise and it was a lot of fun. I think I did pretty good on keeping up with the steps. I only had a couple of times where I got my feet all mixed up and plenty of times I did things backwards from the way the teacher was doing it, but hey … I was at least doing it! Afterwards, we decided to walk back to the hotel and I think that was one of the funnest things of the whole weekend. We just laughed and chatted and walked and had the best time together :) When we got back I did a quick shower and then Beth, Krystal and I headed over to meet FitBy40 at Carmine's for lunch. The waitress was VERY zen and in no hurry to get anything done in a jiffy. We finally had to say something so we wouldn't be late to get our massages. The food was pretty good, although I enjoyed my lasagna at the place from yesterday more. Anyway, we finally got out of there and headed to the spa. We made it right in time and the massages were pretty good. I think they did a fantastic job on my back, neck and feet but everything else was just "ok". All in all it was worth it. We walked around and did a little more shopping after that, including a trip to Trader Joe's (which was cool, but I don't see what all the fuss is about). Then it was back to the hotel for a proper shower and to get ready for the fancy dinner with everyone. All the ladies looked so fantastic and there were camera's snapping at every turn of the head. I got to sit at a table with Beth, Stacey, Ronnie, Krystal and Brandi. We had a great time, especially with those yummy drinks they were pushing. Once all our bellies were full, we headed back to the hotel for the pajama party! That was super fun :) Carmen and I were sporting the same sock monkey pj bottoms, that girl has great taste! I even picked up a pair of jeans at the clothing swap. I think I actually made it to bed by 1am that night, hee hee!

Sunday was a sad day because we were all leaving (boooooooooo!). Beth, Brandi and I went and had quite the breakfast eggstravaganza at Eggsperience the restaurant. It was really eggstraordinary to be with these two hotties and we had an eggstra good time. We wandered back to the hotel where people were starting to pack up and go. I am not very good with goodbyes so I kindof just held up in my room for the rest of the morning. I had arranged a late checkout for myself and didn't have to be gone from my room until 2pm. Justine left super early and Krystal left with Beth and Brandi at around 10:30ish. I chilled out and caught up on things happening around the Internet and on TV. Then I showered and packed and left my bags at the bell stand downstairs at 2pm. The shuttle was coming for me at 3:25pm so I had some time and spent it walking around Michigan Ave and stuff. I did make it over to lululemon and picked up a pair of yoga pants for me and a yoga shirt for my husband, all while having a great conversation with the sales associate about how someone should invent an exercise class called "ElliptiDance", I think it sounds super fun! I wandered back to the hotel and got on the shuttle, made it to the airport with no problems. Checked in and got through security and moseyed to my gate. Then I had like 2 hours to wait until I could board the plane. So I got myself a Starbucks Grande Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (my 7th or 8th of the weekend), found a place to sit and watched some TV on my laptop until it was time to go. My flight home was uneventful, I actually was able to sleep a little bit. Got back to DFW and picked up my bag - so glad my luggage wasn't lost either coming or going, I'm terrified of that happening. My husband picked me up and we went home.

Next year I'm going to take Monday off of work to sleep and recover because I was completely useless all day! Live and learn, right.

I want to say a huge thank you to all the planners of this fantastic weekend. I know you worked so hard on every detail and it was very much appreciated. I can't imagine the weekend going any better, unless of course someone were to have given us a bag full of money with our swag ;)

I can't wait to do it all again next year!!!

Whirlwind of Fun

I'm sitting here in my room winding down and reflecting over this weekend. I had so much fun. I figured I would have a good time, but I never expected it to be like this. I have truly made some new life long friends and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Thanks for an unforgettable time to you all.

Now I need to pack ... Hah!