Oh - it's a mish mash

Hurricane Irene: Part IV
Day four, still without power. Sir M has been canonized {made into a Saint} for providing me with lights, hot water, cold food, cable television the ability to do a load of wash. Seriously. My entire town is without power. My house is the only house on the street with a generator. I've thought about inviting the neighbors over for showers, etc but then I remembered that they have two very hateful little dogs that bark all day long. So yea, not so much going to be overly kind to them. I guess that's my 25% mean streak coming out. Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm only 75% sweetness and light. The other 25% is a scary combination of hormones, Medusa tendencies and road rage. {and it would be seriously cool to have a head full of snakes that would turn anyone I wanted into stone}

I also got to spend Monday & Tuesday home from work, as my office didn't have power.  I'm back to work now - got in at 8:30 to find we had lights and phones, but no computers.  They came back around 12. 

Some pictures of Hurricane Irene:



The view outside my kitchen window Sunday morning - right after the tree fell on our house!

The view from the left of our kitchen porch



The tree that is causing me to a) have no power and b) have to take the long way everywhere because this is laying across the road



After clean up on Tuesday - we used to have railings on the deck....




Did I mention the 2nd tree that fell on our unfinished shed?

 In other news, I've learned the following from Hurricane Irene:
*I kind of hate nature.
*I never ever ever ever ever want to go camping.  If I can't have hot running water when I want it and a real bed, I'm not interested.
*Apparently there are more bugs out right after a storm then during the ENTIRE summer.  No lie - I have more bug bites from this weekend then I've had all year.
*Apparently when traffic lights don't work {as in, they aren't even flashing - they're just off} it means that everyone just gets to go whenever they want.  No one has to stop.  Holy a-holes on the road...
*Riding on the back of a tractor isn't as fun as you might think.
*Spending three days hauling tree branches around isn't a lot of fun

And here's what I wore to work today...


I don't think this is so bad..
Dress: Thrifted/Cardi: Thrifted

 As a side note - I'm supposed to go on vacation starting Friday.  I'm not sure I'm going to get to go.  I don't think the beach house has any power, and my house doesn't have any power.  Waaaaaa!

Another side note - my boss is making us all use a personal day to cover one of the days that the office was closed.  He's being 'generous' and picking up the other day.  WTF.  HE CLOSED THE OFFICE.  Why should I be penalized for not being able to go to work because he told me not to?  Does anyone else run into this issue with their job?

Hurricane Irene: Update, Part III

Well, it is day three and my entire town still does not have power. But genius Sir M was up late last night wiring the diesel generator, so we are at about half power. He's going to wire the entire house to it today. I think I am never going to take my electricity for granted again. I also think that I never want to go camping.

I also have a second unexpected day off today as my office still does not have power. I'm supposed to be on vacation starting Friday, but at the rate we are going I'm going to get this week off too. Not that I'm complaining.

And as for the 21 Day Challenge, well another prompt has come and gone. I can't get my pictures onto my blog from my phone, while I'm using my phone to write these posts. Oh well. I'm a little bummed I'm out of the running for prizes now, but I'm sure I will get over it.

Today will be spent cleaning the yard with Sir. I think I can hear him singing now..... "dream, the impossible dream. To reach the unreachable goal....."

Hurricane Irene: Update, Part II

Hurricane Irene has left a lot of clean up here in lower New England. Yesterday Sir and I walked down to the end of the road and saw a tree that had been completely uprooted. Of course, it is blocking the road and resting on the power lines. So you have to take the long way to leave my house, and we have no power. I suspect we will not get main line power back until tomorrow, at the earlest.

But I have to give Sir a lot of credit. We are the only house on the street with a generator! Sir likes to tinker with mechanical things, so in reality we probably have about 6 generators. Anyway, it meant that we had hot water, some lights and a running refrigerator and deep chest freezer. There is a lot to be said for a hot shower in the morning.

Sir went in to work this morning, and will be back this afternoon to start the generator again. I got to stay home because my office has no power. Which makes me slightly annoyed because I will not be able to post my Sunday prompt for the 21 day challenge. Guess I will have to miss it. Damn. But, I will be able (I hope) to post tomorrow. So I'll combine todays prompt with tomorrows.

In the meantime, I'll be knitting, reading, and cleaning up Irene's mess. Have a great Monday everyone!!

(And I will try and post some hurricane pics tomorrow)

Hurricane Irene: Update

The hurricane has come to my little state.... her pouring rain and driving winds forcing everyone to seek shelter and safety. Last night Sir & I brought our cats down to the post office, since our driveway is lined by trees. We rode the mighty tractor back home. I have the bruises to prove it.

As I type this, from my cell phone, Sir is trying to figure out why the generator is not doing what it is supposed to do. Because we list power of course. And I was standing in front of our big kitchen window when some mighty wind sent a tree limb crashing down onto our house. It hit the sun room, deck, kitchen porch and main roof. Scariest thing I ever experienced!! But, that's what home owners insurance is for, right?

I hope to be able to do an outfit post for the 21 Day Challenge, but we will have to see what the clean up is going to involve.

Hope everyone is safe and dry. Are you experiencing a hurricane??

No More Mystery

Just thought I'd tell everyone I've given up calling myself Mysterious M.  I'm going to go by Maggie B. now, because that's who I am.

I'm not-so-much mysterious.  My name really is Maggie.  And I like it better.

So this was just an informational break in your regular reading...

21-13 {A Little Pop Of Color}

Day 13: Where I show the world my underwear.....

Remixing my 21-1 shirt (that's the 3rd time.  I'll try and squeeze it in once next week for an extra point!)

Pop of color: sports bra (out in public, no less!)
Shirt: Lane Bryant/Leggings:?/Sports Bra: Target/Shoes: Sketchers

I think his tractor's sexy....

So Hurricane Irene is on her way to my state.... in honor of her, we have parked our tractor in the front lawn in the event that we have to pull trees off the yard/car/house.  So I thought I'd do my pictures outside with the tractor.  What do you think?

Sorry that my pop of color is a sports bra... I seriously wouldn't normally leave the house with my underwear all hanging out  BUT, this shirt has such a wide neckline that it works wonderfully for off-the-shoulder.  Also, I spent the morning running errands: gas/post office/library/grocery store.  I didn't think anyone was going to care if I was flashing a little bra.

Some interesting observations about hurricanes:
*the grocery store was completely out of bread.  Out. Of. Bread.  So when a hurricane is coming, make sure you buy 12 loaves a week in advance.  Because when you don't have any power clearly the only thing you can eat is a sandwich....
*people worry about stuff they have no control over.  I live in the woods.  Surrounded by trees.  I'm not worried about a tree falling on my house.  That's what home-owners insurance is for.  Is it a hassle if it does happen?  You betcha.  Can I do a damn thing to stop it from happening?  Short of cutting down all the trees around me, nope. 
*everyone should own a generator.  We have several {of course, that could be because Sir M's favorite thing to do is to fix broken pieces of machinery...} and we can run basically our entire house off of it.  Nope, I won't be baking a casserole or doing any laundry with the generator on, but I can have lights/water/heat/etc and feed my family something other then sandwiches for a while. 
*the entire purpose of The Weather Channel is to invoke a sense of PANIC among people.  Because there's never been a hurricane before.  Ever.  It's a totally new thing.

21-12 {Dressin' Up Those Jeans}

Day 12: Where my casual pants get all gussied up!



Jeans: The Gap/T-shirt: Loft/Blazer: Lane Bryant/Scarf: Target/Wal-Mart


So this was as fancy as my jeans were getting today.  This blazer is a bit of a closet orphan too - I've owned it for several years, but it doesn't see the sun too much.  Not sure if I like it or not.

As for other news:
*boss not as pissed as me as I imagined he would be.  hooray
*hurricane irene - if she ruins my vacation plans i'm going to be really pissed
*and if a tree falls on my house i'll be pissed too
*heading to the beach tonight to board up the cottage - and pizza for dinner tonight!
*so so so glad this week is over
*i got to experience an earthquake for the first time - it was weird.  i think maybe i'd like to not experience that again.

Today {What began well seemed to end badly}

Today started off well.  I was in a good mood.  I had work to do.  Nothing especially exciting seemed to happen, so I figured I was in the clear.  And then... suddenly... a mini-series of varying bad things happened.

1. Clients came in and wanted coffee.  I had to make a fresh pot {no big deal}.  Of course, I completely forgot about the coffee until the clients had been in their meeting for about 45 minutes.  Since meetings generally run about an hour, I just dumped the coffee because I figured they were just about done.  Of course, then my boss comes out and wonders what is taking so long for the coffee.  So I made another pot and when it was done, I brought a fresh cup o' joe to the client.  *so that was bad, but kind of only mildly bad.

2. My boss gave me directions to set up a meeting between two folks and hisself.  I *think* he said he wanted it to be in the office, but I *think* I heard him say he wanted it to be a conference call.  So I called one of the people, and during the coarse of the conversation realized that I had no idea what was going on.  So I looked like an idiot.  So I told her that I would check with my boss and call her back tomorrow.  *sort of medium bad, made worse by the fact that I had to leave a voicemail about it to my boss because he was still in a client meeting.

3. I was working on some client paperwork this afternoon when I realized that I couldn't tell if something had been done.  I looked through the files and couldn't find the paperwork.  I looked in our TWO databases and couldn't see any notes/activities/mention that this particular bit of paperwork was done.  So I called the client {because I couldn't ask my boss b/c he was in a meeting} to inquire about this issue.  And she wigged out.  Seriously.  She complained that she had already given us this information, why can't we keep track of it, etc.  *pretty seriously bad, made worse by the fact that I had to leave a second voicemail for the boss about it.  {of course, I did find the paperwork half-way completed and submitted in the file after I hung up with the client.  But in my defense there were no notes or anything in the system, so how was I supposed to know if it had been done?  What if I didn't find the paperwork?}

4. I went to Wal-Mart after work today to pick up a few things.  Obviously my brain was on vacation because there is a HURRICANE bearing down on my state and everyone is out buying bread and water in case we all are going to die.  So my trip for toilet paper, cotton balls, hair spray, baby oil and milk took 45 minutes.

5. Committee meeting after work.  Which left me with 40 minutes to get home from Wal-Mart, feed and let the dogs out, get changed and eat something.  So I had a bowl of pita chips and a half-glass of milk for dinner.  I didn't get home from the committee meeting until after 9:30.  Shoot me now.

So what started off as a good day just seemed to end badly.  And I hate to use my blog to whine about my life.  But the thing I hate the most is that I feel so defeated right now.  I'm feeling like I just want to run away, and that won't solve anything.  And I hate hate hate that I'm letting myself get this worked up over my job.  I seriously had a mini-manic attack on the drive home today, thinking that my boss was going to leave me a scathing voicemail tomorrow about my inability to do my job.  I mean, he probably will be pissed and thing I'm incapable, but that's hardly news.  He's never interested in reasons why there was an error... he just cares that I screwed up.  Never mind that I was trying to do my job.

21-11 {Wear a Dress or a Skirt}

Day 11: Easiest prompt so far



Love love love this dress.  It's gets a lot of wear. :)




Dress: Lane Bryant/Cardi: Thrifted/Watch: Kohl's/Nail Polish: Army of One by ULTA
Different curls today: I used some hot rollers.  Love!

 This was the easiest prompt for me so far in the 21 Day Challenge.  I wear dresses and skirts a few times a week because I work in a nice office.  And I like them {skirts and dresses that is, not so much my office}.

But it wasn't always like this.  Oh no, when I was growing up {when my mother picked out my clothes} it was ALWAYS dresses/skirts for church and school.  Once I was able to dress myself more {read, actually pick out my own clothes} I shied away from anything other then pants.  So high school and college saw more pants then anything else.  Then I took a job as a traveling teacher - pants again.  When I finally landed this office job I think I was just plan tired of pants.  So skirts and dresses it was!  And I love them.  So flattering.  So easy.

But I do have to give some style props to my mom: when she used to work in an office she always looked FABULOUS.  Straight out of a Talbots or Coldwater Creek catalogue.  Jealous.  {I'll get there someday}.

Pros of wearing dresses/skirts:
*fun
*easy
*dresses are ready made outfits - just add shoes!
*cool in the summer
*more versatile then you might think
*flattering to every figure

Cons of dresses/skirts:
*panty hose {I like tights, but I loathe panty hose}
*a little cold in the winter {but hey, that's what long coats are for!}
*sometimes awkward in outdoor situations

21-10 {The Orphan}

Day 10: Should it stay or should it go?



The Shirt: Thrifted about a year ago.  Worn twice since then (with this being the 2nd time)




As you can see, it doesn't really fit. 




This is how I was really wearing it.  And then, of course, you can't see 3/4 of the shirt.  Lame
Details: Shirt-thrifted/Cardi-Lane Bryant/Pants - JCPenny/Necklace- vintage from my Grandmother

 I got this orange shirt from a thrift store about a year ago.  This is the second time I've worn it.  I bought the shirt because I love the color and the lace detail at the neckline and hem.  But it doesn't fit.  In fact, it makes my rather small-ish boobies look ever smaller.  {epic fail}.  But, instead of sending it back to the thrift store I'm going to wash it and give it a loving home with my coworker TR.  It'll look nicer on her.

In other news:
*went out to lunch with my dad today - steak and white cheddar sandwich from Panera.  Holy delicious!
*vacation in a little over a week!
*hope I make it to pilates class tonight....

No. 9

Mysterious M: Current 205, Goal 150, Ponds Lost 8, Left To Go 55 {down 3 from last week}
Sir M: Current 194, Goal 165, Pounds Lost 5, Left To Go 29 {down 3 from last week}

I'm slightly shocked to note that the scale is moving the right direction again.  Especially since dinner last night consisted of an entire sleeve of Pringles and a glass of milk.  Of course, that just left me with a wicked belly ache.  And it made me cry last night because I've been so discouraged.  I've missed so much gym time lately.  I'm still feeling slightly sick.  It makes me want to give up.

The last time I went to my GP she told me I was fat.  Then she lectured me about how she works out 2 times a day for 40 minutes each.  I wanted to slap her.  She's skinny, of course.  But the biggest problem for me right now is that I'm healthy.... my numbers are all in the ranges that they should be.  I don't have a history of diabetes or anything in my family.  While I *know* that carrying around an extra 60 lbs isn't a good idea, there's no real reason for me to loose it.  Except that logically I know that the extra weight is bad.  And that it'll likely cause me problems later in life.

But, I'm down 3 today.  That's a positive.  So while I really slightly like I'm going to puke this morning, I'll let that serve as a lesson to me for making BBQ flavored Pringles my dinner.  Never.  Again.  Ever.

21-9 {Go Monochrome or Go Home}

Day 9: Am I blue????

Dress: Dress Barn/Cardi: Target/Belt: Lane Bryant

I had to go with brown accessories.  I have blue necklaces, but I didn't want to go too crazy with this.



Tried something new with the eye liners.  Makeup: ULTA & CoverGirl

 I was going to go with Olive Green today, but the possibility of an extra point lured me to this.  In fact, I had to ransack my closet to come up with this.  And this dress could easily be considered a closet orphan - I bought it last year for a wedding and this is the 2nd time I've worn it.   It's proven to be a struggle for me, as I find this to be a fairly fancy dress.  So how would I made it work appropriate?  Throw a cardi over it, of course!  Don't know why I was afraid to that before now.

Look at that... the 21 Day Challenge is breaking down all kinds of fashion barriers!  Watch out world!

In other news:
*Today I have raging heartburn. Fail.
*My boss and I are twins.... he's wearing a blue polo shirt the same shade as my cardi.  At least he's not wearing a dress.
*I treated myself to Mexican last night after pilates.  And it was totally worth it.

21-8 {Mix up your Fancy with your Casual}

Day 8: When I got a little stumped



Shirt: Talbots/Cami: Ann Taylor/Pants: Lane Bryant



I got such good comments on these bracelets that I decided to stack them up again!



Here's my fancy/casual mix: Vintage gold and diamond necklace: Grandma's/Silver and hematite necklace: Gift

So I'll confess and say that today's prompt really stumped me.  I don't really have any 'fancy' clothes, and I work in an office so making things casual M-Th is a challenge.  But then the pictures went up for the prompt and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Jewelery.  I can totally do that! :)

So I did.  I decided to mix my grandmother's vintage heart necklace with a cheapie heart necklace that I got as a gift.  And I totally love the combination.  In fact, I love everything about this outfit.  The shirt!  The color!  The stacked bracelets!  The necklaces!  It's too bad you can't see my awesome suede pumps today....

Of course, this shirt is a little casual for the office too.... so I guess you could say I did this twice - once with my necklaces and once with the slacks/linen shirt combo.  That makes me feel extra fabulous.

Nothing much else is going on.  Had a great weekend - made a curtain for my bathroom, cleaned a bit, did a mountain of laundry and relaxed.  I need about three more days just like this.  But vacation is going to start soon - T minus 11 days and counting.

21-7 {Layer Your Accessories}

Day 7: I rocked it like I was a rock star

T-shirt & Dress: Lane Bryant/Bracelets: Gifts

Four bracelets!  I've never layered wrist jewelry before - I kind of love it.

First of all, I felt like a total rock star in this outfit.  Which is maybe less then appropriate since I was at church....

Second, I was able to remix my Day 1 item here - go me.  That's two down, two to go.

And now it's time for Awkward and Awesome: Weekend Edition

Awkward:
*Wearing a dress to a baseball game.  And I think I flashed first base a few times.  Oops.
*Having to listen to someone snore through church this morning.  Rude!
*Witnessing my evil teacher side come out during game time with the girls....

Awesome:
*Doing something I'm slightly uncomfortable with twice in a row - t-shirts over dresses!
*Home team won at the baseball game!
*Grocery shopping for $40.
*Sir M cleaning the ceiling fans - and they are BEYOND nasty.
*Zumba.  I'm in lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ve.

21-6 {Unexpected}

Day 6: I feel like an idiot

Polka Dot Maxi Dress: By me/T-shirt & Necklace: Old Navy/Cami: Kohls/Shoes: Target

can I get a hoot hoot?!?

It's a good thing I live out in the middle of nowhere.  Because I'm sure if I had neighbors they'd be looking at me funny.  Why yes, I did bring my mirror out to my front yard to take pictures of myself.

And you know what?  I kind of like how they turned out.

At any rate, todays' challenge was to where something in an unexpected way.  I feel like this entry might be a little lame, but but before I started really looking at fashion blogs it never would have occurred to me to wear a shirt over a dress.  So I did.

But I'm not planning on wearing the shirt all day.  I went out and had lunch with a friend of mine and look exactly as pictured.  When I came home I changed shoes and took the t-shirt off - it's weird enough to wear a dress to a baseball game.  I didn't want people to break their necks from giving me weird looks....

So this was an unexpected pairing of a dress and t-shirt.  And I kind of feel like this is a bit of an awkward post....

21-5 {Belt It}

Day 5: It's a sash!  It's a scarf!  No, it's a belt!



Jeans: Lane Bryant/Shirt: Thrifted/Cardi: Thrifted/Belt: Handmade/Necklace: flea market find (handmade)




Isn't this fabric great?  I love the Chinese Cranes. 



Makeup by Smashbox & ULTA

I made this 'belt'.  Really, it's a sash that came off a hand bag that I made.  Sometimes I wear it as a head wrap.  But I think it works as a belt too.

Also, I had originally planned a different outfit entirely today.  But push came to shove, and the other outfit works for tomorrow's prompt so I'll save it until then.

And in case you were wondering what else I've been up to lately:
*tonight is Girls-Night with MR & Company
*I'm going to a baseball game with my entire family tomorrow night
*my boss has been on vacation all this week, and it's been really quiet and nice.  Until this morning.  When all hell broke loose.  No joke.

Got big plans for the weekend? 

21-4 {Color Block}

Day 4: Today I made my inner 6 year old happy

Skirt: New York & Co/T-shirt: The Loft/Cardi: Thrifted/Necklace: Banana Republic

To be honest, I wasn't sure if this even qualified as color blocking, but I guess it does.  It's solid.  It's more then one color.  Done & Done. {I do this a lot and always think it looks weird.  But now it has an 'official name' so it's awesome and I'll always feel great about doing it!}

On the flip side, I had a semi-alarming conversation with my inner 6 year old this morning.  It went like this:

29 year old M: "I can't wear these colors together.  Pink and a different pink?  Weird.  Aren't they too close on the color wheel or something?" {clearly art wasn't my best subject in school...}
6 year old M: "Yea!  Pink shirt! Pink sweater!  If I had Pink pants I'd wear those too!"
29 year old M: "Ummm.... pink pants?  Holy yikes.  I'd have to kill us.  I can't wear all this pink.  It doesn't match!"
6: "It's pink.  Pink matches pink."
29: "What?!"
6: ".... just wear it.  Trust me.  It looks great!"

So I left for work today with a lot of confidence in myself.  You know why?  Because I do look good.  And I can totally ROCK pink on pink.  Damn straight.  High five younger self!

21-3 {Pattern Mixing}

Day 3: I promise I did this on purpose

Jeans&Cardi: Lane Bryant/T-shirt: Gap/Scarf: Walmart or Target



Extra close up of my 2 patterns
Makeup by UTLA




What? I added a 3rd pattern on the sly....
Shoes: Thrifted/Bag: Coach
Sorry about the peds peeking out....

Sir M really liked this outfit.  And I really liked it too.  In fact, I kind of feel pretty fabulous today.  When I left this house this morning Sir M & I had the following conversation:

Me: "Do you like my pattern mixing outfit today?"
Sir M: raised an eyebrow "Is that what it's called?  I like it!"
Me: "Thanks.  I've never done this on purpose before.  Not going to lie, I've looked like this before but it's because I got dressed in the dark..."

No. 8

Mysterious M: Current 208, Goal 150, Ponds Lost 5, Left To Go 56 {up two from last week}
Sir M: Current 197, Goal 165, Pounds Lost 2, Left To Go 32 {same as last week}
I am disgusted with myself.  The scale is going the wrong way! :(  But, to be honest, this is the first week that I've been back to tracking my food and trying to hit the gym.  I wish I knew why my schedule seems to have imploded lately, making it impossible for me to get to the gym.

And I did have a few epic feasts the tail end of last week, so I guess I shouldn't be shocked about gaining back the two pounds.  But I am.

Supposed to hit the gym today, but I'm going to have to skip it because I need to go take care of my cousins' horses.  Besides, shoveling horse poop burns some calories!  {too bad I'll be eating at the Chinese Buffet tonight...}

21-2 {Tuck It In}

Day 2: Going to the Circus?

Shirt & Jeans: Lane Bryant



Eyeshadow in "Flirty" & Black Gel Liner: ULTA

 There's something about the combination of this shirt and wide leg jeans that makes me feel like I should go going to the circus.  And by going to it, I mean I feel like a clown.  Or maybe it's just the really pink eye shadow?

I'm not typically a shirt-tucker.  I'll tuck tops into skirts, no problem.  But never ever ever jeans.  And, confession, I had a skirt on this morning.  But I didn't like how it looked.  So I swapped out the skirt for these jeans.  And I still don't like how it looks.

Oh well.  Tomorrow will be better... {I hope}

21-1 {Re-mix It}

Day 1: Love this shirt!



Shirt: Lane Bryant/Olive Pants: New York & Co

 

Silver Eye Shadow & Black Gel Liner: Ulta


I'm excited to remix this shirt at least 2 more times.  And I was super excited about going to ULTA yesterday.... is silver eye shadow too much??

Don't know about the 21 Day Challenge - I've got a button, so you can check it out... {to the right...}

Dear Monday....

Sometimes I seriously loathe you, Monday.  Why do you always have to go and ruin a perfectly lovely weekend?  Why do you always make me feel like I need to be super-extra prepared to start my week?  Why do you take away my extra hour of sleep?

You suck.

But you can't put any rain clouds over my weekend this time.... Mother Nature took care of that already.  All I can do is get my stuff together and say "whatever".  You want to know why?  Because the boss is on vacation this week and I don't have to be super-extra prepared for tomorrow.  So there.

What's your Monday going to look like?  What did you weekend look like?

Awkward:
*Loosing your voice for the weekend and realizing that you have to read a lesson and say an announcement at church. 
*Flashing everyone your panties during the church picnic.  Oh yes, I so did that.  {epic fail}
*Trying to plan tomorrow's outfit for the 21 Day Challenge, and realizing that my creative juices are all dried up.
*Realizing that I lost BOTH of my headlights yesterday, so I have to drive around at night with my high-beams on.  {Yes, I know.  It's annoying!}

Awesome:
*Bamboo and silk blended yarn.  {sooooo soft}
*Ulta stores.... so much fun!
*Pizza and a movie with my folks
*Boat rides on the lake

Besides the flashing bit and the headlight issue, I had a great weekend.  Hope you did too! :)

It's the end of the week already?

Whew.  What a week!  Seems like I'm not the only blogger out there that has had a bad week at work.  Maybe it's the phase of the moon?

At any rate, it's time for my weekly wrap up.  So here we go!

Monday:

Dress: DressBarn/Necklace: The Hoot/Belt: Target

I really like this dress.  I'd also really like to style this with red accessories.  Sadly, I don't have any red accessories. But I shall promptly put money aside to buy a pair of red shoes.  :)

This Monday was so far away, I don't really remember what happened during the day.  I did actually go to pilates, which was the 1st time in 2 weeks.  And I did make a yummy supper for me and Sir M. 

Tuesday:
No OOTD, because Sir M woke me up 30 minutes late!  That meant I had 30 minutes to shower, get dress, make my lunch and get the heck out of the house.  It wasn't pretty.  Just trust me on that. 

I went and took care of my cousins' horses on Tuesday, and made another yummy supper. 

Wednesday:

Pants: JCPenny/Pink Shirt: The Loft/Black Shirt: NY & CO/Necklace: ?

This was a safe and easy outfit.  Nothing special.  I was hoping to wear my hair sort of half down, but it looked too much like a tired 1980's rocker 'do.  Of course, this hair style just looks like an aging Anne of Green Gables....

Wednesday was a shit day at work.  So was Thursday.  :(

Thursday:


Dress & Cardigan: Target/Necklace: Old Navy

I love this dress. A lot.  It's easy and breezy.
My boss took us all out for lunch - I ate way too much.  My stomach was going to explode.... Sigourney Weaver "Alien" style.

Friday:

Jeans:Lane Bryant/Shirt:Old Navy/Cami:?/Cardigan:Target

I ate too much again today.  I'm waiting for the baby alien to come out.  Any time now.

In other news:
Monday starts the 21 Day Challenge.  Don't know about it?  Check it out here: You Know You Want To...
This weekend is the Parish Picnic for church and the Steeplechase - I have to man one of the rest stops in the morning.
And my boss is on vacation all week next week.  Amen! :)

Entitlement?

I am a little addicted to listening to NPR while I drive home from work.  I can't quite stomach it first thing in the morning, but it's alright once I'm driving home.  And I kinda/sorta listen to CNN all day at work.  {not so much by choice, but there you have it}  And my homepage for my work computer is set to Market Watch.  The Dow crashed another 500 points?  Yup, heard that already.  In fact, I think I heard my boss cry when it aired on the TV....

At any rate, the other day I was listening to a NPR program that was talking about Generation Y-ers {or millenniums, as they are sometimes referred to as} and the job market.  A Generation Y-er (GY) is a person that graduated high school no later then the year 2000.  So start at a high school graduation date and go through... what... the interview didn't say. Maybe 2010?  Who knows.

So the interviewer was asking if people in the GY bracket feel that they are entitled to certain work-place conditions.  And how the number of unemployed 20-somethings in the States is pretty high.  Is that because we are turning down job offers?  Or because there aren't any jobs to be had?  I didn't get to listen to the whole interview, but it was interesting.  For the record, the person being interviewed didn't say that he felt that GYers *feel* entitled, but that perhaps they expect a different sort of workplace condition.  No longer do people need to feel that they need to stay in a job because it's a job.  That people are willing to wait until the *right* job comes along.

So what's your right job?  If you could custom design a job for yourself, what would it be like?  What qualifications would you wish your boss had?  What kinds of tasks do you think to do?

Since I had a pretty shitty day at work today, I started thinking about this on the ride home.  {full disclosure, I was thinking about this most of the day and during the ride to my therapists office.  And then on the way home too.}

What if you could interview your boss?

My ideal boss would be:
*friendly *live in the same reality I do *not prone to gossip *fair *able to articulate their wants/needs clearly *not full of impossible expectations *and sensitive to the needs of his/her staff {there are lots of other things that would be nice, but I don't want to appear greedy}

My ideal job could include the following types of tasks and/or work place scenarios:
*organizing stuff *filing {yup, I kinda like it} *some outlet for creativity *some trust that I can handle tasks on my own *a steady flow of work to do *tasks that are difficult enough so that a trained monkey couldn't do them *NOT managing other people *running errands *making appointments *data entry {but please God, not all day}

Notice how those tasks *could* be included in my ideal job?  I don't know what my ideal job is yet.  I have a dream job {owning a used bookstore on the shore}, but since I haven't accomplished that yet I don't know if I'll even like it.  So I sometimes spend time thinking about what my ideal job might be like.  And everyday it changes.  I like cooking, sewing and playing my horn.  But do I want to do those things all day, every day?

I'd like to make $50/hour too, but that doesn't fit into my current reality.

No. 7

Mysterious M: Current 206, Goal 150, Ponds Lost 7, Left To Go 56 {up one from last week}
Sir M: Current 197, Goal 165, Pounds Lost 2, Left To Go 32 {same as last week}
Well, there you have it.  Monday was my first day back to the gym in 2 weeks.  At least I only gained 1 pound during all of that..... So while this is discouraging, I'm trying not to let it bring me down.  It is my fault, since I skipped the gym for two weeks.... well, as much my fault as meetings, appointments, and traveling for work are my fault.

But, on the flip side, my eating has been really good this week.  I'm cooking a lot and everything is healthy and delicious! 

Goodbye Sunday, Hello Monday

Another weekend has come and gone.  And now it's time for Awkward and Awesome Weekend Edition.  But first, a few OOTDs from this week.

Monday: Shirt-Ann Taylor/Pants-Lane Bryant
I love this shirt!  Love everything about it.  I paired it with a cranberry colored cardigan for the office.

Friday: Shirt-Target/Jeans-Lane Bryant/Necklace-The Hoot
I scored this shirt for about $5.00.  I love it.  It was a little less then modest for the office, but oh well. :)

Awesome:
-New black shoes from DSW  {Hi, my name is M, an I have a shopping problem...}
-Two new nail polish colors that will be perfect for the Fall
-Getting to finish a book and 3/4 of another book
-Volunteering at the local non-profit.  Getting any opportunity to see what the poverty level is like just 10 minutes from where I live.  I'd always known it was there, but seeing it is different.  Everything this places gives out {clothes, housewares, diapers, sheets and blankets, toys, etc} is free.  Free.  But you know what the sad thing is?  They don't have enough to go around.  Parents are getting 8 diapers per child.  8.  That's barely a days worth of diapers.  When people ask for pots and pans, there aren't enough for people to have more then 1.  But, I do have a bag of bath towels, wash clothes, and diapers in my car waiting to get delivered.
-Sir M spending 2+ hours cleaning the inside of my car.  It looks brand new now!
-Making curtains for my kitchen, buying material to make curtains for the bathroom, and realizing that I have some awesome fabric for curtains for my craft room!

Awkward:
-Telling everyone you are skipping church to hit the farmers market, only to wake up to a monsoon.  Fail.
-Having your mother call you up in a relative panic about another family member.  It's a complicated story, but the short of it is that I'm not as affected as she is.  It's not that I don't care, it's just that I know I can't help and that my offers will be refused.  I sent a card.  I keep him in my prayers.  But I feel like a heinous bitch for not caring more.


That about sums up my weekend.  Was yours nice?  Did you do anything special?  Let me ask you this, are you ever faced with a situation that you react to, and then realize that you just kind of hate the person you are while reacting to that situation?

Friday?! Thank God!

So very very very glad today is Friday.  Glad that the work week is over.  'Cause it was intense!

What went down {will happen later} this week:
1. Spent two days in training, far away from home {120 miles round trip} to learn about the stuff on the BIG TEST.  Only to find out, half way through, that while I was expecting to take the BIG TEST within the next few weeks, I can't.  Lame. 

2. Headaches every day while driving to/from work.  And the eye doctor can't see me until, like, October.  Double Lame.

3. No gym dates this week.  At all.  Missed every single one of them.  Again.  {triple lame??}

4. Dinner Date with AS tonight - really looking forward to some Mexican food.

5. Shopping for fabric after the dinner date.  Hooray!

6. Spending several hours Saturday morning doing some volunteer work for a local non-profit that offers lots of services for folks well below the poverty line.  {that's a few credits in the karma department, right?}

7. Skipping church {gasp} to hit up a local farmer's market and get some tremendous local produce and such.  Quick, call the truancy officer....

Guess that doesn't sound all that intense really, huh?  Work was, just, work.  The classes I had to take were extremely long but helpful.  I'm just peeved that I can't take the test when I was expecting to.  But I'll count this as divine intervention - God's little way of telling me that I need to study some more.  Thanks G.

Besides the volunteering and the farmers' market, I need to get to the library, do the grocery shopping, and clean my house this weekend.  And try and sleep past 7.  That would be ideal.  I hope to have some good stuff for my awesome/awkward weekend post on Sunday....

How was your week? 

No. 6

Short and sweet today, as I have to leave soon.  I'll be out of town today and tomorrow for a class on how to take the BIG TEST for work.  Ick.

Mysterious M: Current 205, Goal 150, Ponds Lost 8, Left To Go 55 {same as last week, bummer}
Sir M: Current 197, Goal 165, Pounds Lost 2, Left To Go 32 {up two from last week, double bummer}

Clearly my missed gym days and too much fast food as caught up with me and Sir M.  Back to the grind, but probably not until next week.  Damn.

On a side note, I'm working hard on using my grocery dollars more effectively.  I try to do the grocery shopping only 2 times a month {with pick-up trips in between for produce/milk/eggs} and spend around $300 a month.  But mostly I don't have a good plan when I shop, so I fill my cart with yummy things but nothing that will make meals.  So I hope to plan out 2 weeks worth of meals and build my shopping around that.  What do you do to stretch those grocery dollars {yen, euro, rubbles, etc}....?

Bits & Pieces

A quick shout out to Sir M for fixing my laptop charger!

You should check out http://wegottaeat.com and look at all the awesome recipes therein!

I'm seriously in love with the book "Bake Until Bubbly" by Clifford A. Wright - all casseroles, all the time.

You should check out the 21 Day Challenge (I have a button!) and participate with you.  You might win cool stuff.  You might realized you love the clothes in your closet!  You might go to work with an extra spring in your step!

I had to skip Pilates today (boo hiss) because when I came home from work my doggies were going CRAZY - damn thunder storms.

I have a plan for August - spend my grocery dollars smarter.  I hope to be able to plan out weekly meals so that when I leave the grocery store I have ingredients for meals, instead of just fruit, greens and laundry detergent.

How's your Monday?