p.s. notice my color coordinated cat bed? sad, i know.

we know i love to shop especially with ms. patti.

we know i can fill a walk-in-closet the size of an office and then some.

now we have proof of where i got this habit/trait from…

check out mom’s closet and the amount of bags of clothes and shoes we purged and then donated!

by the way, this isn’t even all the bags we ended up with!

i feel validated now, as i my rule of shoe purchases – toss a pair when a new pair arrives – has kept my collection current, i.e. within the last quarter century. this is more than I can say for the closet above.

i do have to say though, we had quite a laugh (the peeing your pants type laughing) at some of the crap from 25+ years ago, the 12 pairs of pjs, and 18 identical white t-shirts (literally) – just to name a few.

thanks mom for your example and teaching me how to be a clothes horse. it has soothed my stress many a weekend!
xo

p.s. mom, don’t be dismayed as i thoroughly enjoy my weekend shopping and the fun of online purchases.

p.s. next up…the quilting room, oye!

i’ve been driving by this piece of land in shepherdstown, wv (near my mom’s house) on and off since 2001.

no joke.

how long can it possibly take to build a dq? i should have taken bets. i could be rich by now.

stop teasing my taste buds!

and guess where i’m headed?

yes, it’s true.
back to the great state of wisconsin
and home to green bay.

i know, crazy, huh?

nervous? yes.
wasn’t “planning” this quite yet for my life…
but that’s how it works sometimes, right?

excited? not quite yet.
it doesn’t feel quite real.
but there is a certain 10 year old who is thrilled
to be making a list of things we will be doing this summer.
not to mention i’ll be super close to my other family and friends across the state.
only being 4 hours from my other home, aka – mpls
and all the peeps there.
so the excitement is building.

so what’s the job?
i’ll be working for bellin health at bellin college 
serving as the vice president of academic affairs.

i start the first week of june.
it’s an amazing blessing and opportunity.
i started my “nursing” career at bellin hospital
first, as a volunteer with the cute little uniform
second, as a hospice volunteer
all in the span of my high school days.

amazing how the world comes full circle
and how freaking fast june is coming.

i think i’ll hit wi before memorial day
so i can avoid the traffic
celebrate my 36th year with a few fab people
and more importantly get settled back at home.

i do have to say that i’m sad to be leaving the east coast.
*understatement*

i’ll miss my mom and jim, TONS!!!
definitely more than i even know or they know.

i’ll miss the city and the sights…
especially driving to work  seeing them everyday.

i’ll miss my friends…mc, jodi-o and baby t.
and having so many people come visit!
i hope grb is just as exciting for them.

i’ll miss my retail therapy via georgetown and the kate spade outlet.
along with having cupcake shops on every corner…
*sigh*

i will be sad to be so far away from nyc.
boy, do i love that city.
 but mkb and i have a back up plan for the city that never sleeps.

so it’s onto a new adventure
and being back to news at 10pm!

how can you not resist petting his little head when his cute (declawed) paws are crossed so sweetly?

my mom believes this is his way of praying i get a job soon so he can leave the basement without a yapping dog chasing him.

xo
p.s. if you weren’t in the dc area or haven’t read or watched the news be sure to check out the space shuttle discovery flying over the skies today… watch this [video]!

too much? mom thinks i look like an easter egg. i <3 the blue the most.

you?
xo

ps - i use these all the time! brightens any color with a little glitter

pss – i wish i could find “navigate her”

it’s a must read even if you’re not in a relationship, just gotten out of one, etc – but if you just need to be reminded that something great can be right around the corner.

these amazing pictures are from the post on monday, april 2nd – don’t forget the tulips.

they definitely inspired me….

xo

Staying committed to healthy eating and exercise isn’t easy. That’s why we developed our GOLEAN® cereals, to be an easy part of your commitment to a healthier leaner you.

Kashi® GOLEAN® cereal is a lightly sweetened mix of crunchy fiber twigs, crispy soy protein grahams, and honey-toasted 7 Whole Grains and Sesame Puffs. You’ll feel great knowing that you are treating yourself right and enjoying it.

GOLEAN cereal helps you stay satisfied all morning* with more than twice the protein and fiber of the average of other cereals.** Just one serving supplies 40% of your daily fiber needs and 20% of your daily protein needs.

• 13g Protein
• 10g fiber
• Low in Fat—1g
• 8g of whole grains

i have a cup of the cereal in the morning with pomegranate greek yogurt – depending on what the grocery store has, i buy either chobani non-fat pomegranate or yoplait greek non-fat cherry/pomegranate yogurt. i do prefer the yoplait (they are not endorsing me) – i think it’s the pom seats in the bottom to give a bit more crunch!

this is a staple for your health diet (in my opinion and keeps me full until lunch). i often switch between this and the glucerna shakes i have blogged about previously.

xo

when i went home a few weeks ago, i had my black cat eye frames on (baby thomas happens to like these) – jasmine thought i looked funny. now that i think of it, baby thomas probably does too but his lack of communication skills prevents him from being honest.

no big deal right?

well, we were at dinner and jasmine asked me if i knew i had a times sign on the front left corner of my frames…

and that there was a division sign on the other side of my frames.

she giggled and started to laugh. she then told me that on each side of the frame had an equals sign!
i told her she was lying. she giggled some more which then proceeded to get my brother going in making fun of me.

apparently, i’m not to observant when it comes to my glasses which is ironic bc i need to see.
xo

so obviously, i needed to start drinking more h2o. got some low-cal crystal light and that’s been helping. but…i have this thing for carbonation. i know it’s not the best for you but it fills my stomach up and so i’m not hungry.

i found (thanks oprah) a new tool called the twist and sparkle by iSi. you can carbonate anything really (ok, not milk – yuck) but tons of stuff and all you need is the fizzier and co2 cartridges. i fizzed pom juice, grapefruit juice, and just plain h2o.

fizzer wand. insert the co2 cartridge inside and it’s ready to go.

put want on special bottle and twist. it should start to fizz!
just don’t over fill the beverage or it will be like that coke and mentos commercial.

once it has stopped fizzing you can remove the want, wash off and dry the wand by hand – no dishwasher.
then throw away the co2 cartridge.

a few hints (i’m no expert):

1. the iSi co2 cartridges are a bit pricey so i by the generic ones and have no problems.
2. i got a great deal by purchasing my iSi and co2 on amazon.
3. you have to hand wash the bottles. i’d buy two extra so you can keep two in the fridge with cold water before you fizz. obviously this is all up to you.

don’t forget to check out the demo video below or on their site:

love you BIGGER than big ben
xo

hope you enjoyed time with your peeps. i obviously did.

xo

i saw my brother, sister-in-law and the cutest 10 year in the world.
i went to nolan’s 4th birthday party (my dear friend amy and dave’s CUTE kido) at his parrrrty in the atrium at lambeau field.

of course i was the “dd” for several friends (or just one) who shall be unnamed.
i received beyond fascinating text messages – never in my life…wow. no one will ever see these – i don’t even have them.
i hit some of the really old hang outs to catch up with pulaski alum who i hadn’t seen in ages.
and i finally got to see my sweet friend amy who recently lost her husband (who was my brother’s age).

i do have to confess, it was the first time since my dad passed (13 years ago) that i didn’t nearly pass out from an anxiety attack just being in town. to be honest, i hadn’t been in green bay since 2008 (tony’s wedding). most of my trips home since then were to mke.

i was ready to face my fear (irrational, i know) that my dad wasn’t there. don’t ask why now, because i don’t even know myself. i guess my fear came from a unhealthy way of grieving – i had already moved out of the house and just graduated from college when he passed, so for me not to talk to him or see him daily wasn’t unusual – until i came back to pulaski where it was in my face that he wasn’t there – hence where my fear and heart ache came from.

i have lots and lots of memories of my dad and pictures over the 23 years i was alive during his 46 but the last picture we ever took and the last time i saw him was at thanksgiving in 1998. it’s a terrible pic but it’s mine.

it felt good, maybe even great being home.

strangely i had a lot of people ask why i was there…since i was there mid-week thru the weekend.
i’m not a good liar.
plus, a certain person who is like my brother told a few people so i couldn’t say i was just visiting.

it’s not a big deal, i know – i came home for a job interview (more later, i promise) – it’s no monumental announcement but if i don’t get the job, i didn’t want to be disappointed and then have everyone asking.

i think the funniest part was when people asked, i’d respond, and then watching them almost fall off their chairs.
the resounding question was, “why would you ever want to come back here?”

honestly, i loved growing up at home, i love the people, i love the thought of watching jasmine grow up…
i love that i could never, ever be who i am or learned what i have in the last 35 years without this town and the people who taught me and not just in the schools.
and because of that i had a distinct impression it was time for me to come home and give back to a place that gave me so much.

don’t get me wrong – i’m scared to death IF i get the job! nothing is ever the same no matter how long your gone. and i don’t expect it to me. no job is ever greener on the other side – just a different color or length.

and yes, i’ve been living the big city life for a while and some think i wont adjust back to…
i keep reminding them that’s the joy of being within driving distance to mke, mpls, and chi town.
plus, that handy tool called the internet will be very helpful.

xo
p.s. don’t forget to check out the pics!

no, i’m not moving back, so don’t worry or think i’ve lost my mind. i’m just using my time “not working” helping patti and phil drive from dc to provo.

phil is driving the moving truck with his mom and ms. patti is prego so we’re in her car telling stories, solving all of dc’s problems, reading about “the mayor for life” on wikipedia, and listen to music.

yesterday, we made it to dayton, o-hio-oooooo, where i looked for every bw3 i could see and thought of all the franklin’s.

today, we went left the buckeye state and are headed to omaha, ne. wish us luck that our butts don’t go too numb.

p.s., at this point, i believe i’ve officially traumatized my max. last night he was roaming mom’s house looking for me. likely because i’m a nomad as he’s been driven cross country twice, been left alone or at mom’s with two crazy dogs for weeks and several days at a time – i’m actually feel guilty. poor cat.

i know the last time i moved, i said it would be in the same place for two years but a lot has happened in the last 6 months.

1. i happened to get sick and had to take a significant time off work – including being hospitalized. we all know i hadn’t been at my job very long so…no sick or vacation time and my short term disability didn’t apply (future blog post).

2. there was a major transition of the leadership in our office, which is typical for politics, especially in dc. most places it only happens to the big wigs (which i don’t consider myself) but because my boss who headed the administration was let go and i was her chief of staff i went with her.

3. small severance, no vaca or sick due to #1 and so i had to get creative.

4. i sold everything (or at least tried to -the rest will be going next week) i didn’t need to survive. if you know me this was a GIANT ouch – especially when the pink chair went.

5. cashed out my savings and borrowed against my life insurance (sorry jasmine).

6. then of course i hated the fact i needed unemployment but it’s only temporary and my tax dollars went into it so…each week i get $300. if you know anything about dc – you can’t live on that. you can’t even pay rent. you can’t pay cobra insurance so any meds your on even generics are freakin expensive ($700+) – NO lie!.

7. i haven’t bought a shoe, a purse, a cupcake, or a piece of clothing mine the packer sweatshirt when i went home to WI for an interview only bc it was 80% off. give a girl a break.

8. very, very, very eating out if at all. i’ve been grocery shopping, which i hate.

9. i’ve applied, interviewed, applied, interviewed, applied, interviewed at least 40 times – no lie and haven’t found anything (wait for that blog post).

10. then their is the realization that i had to move bc $300/wk = $1200/mo and my rent is over that, not including utilities. i have not lived in my parents’ home since i was 18. i know it’s different bc it’s not the pulaski house but i have my clothes, a few shoes (yes more than 3), make-up, hair stuff and my handy computer. oh and of course max.

11. packing was PAINFUL. i hadn’t even been there a year. i was frustrated, irritated, and heartbroken.

but i did get all the shoes i did not take with me into 2 bins – a very significant miracle!

13. saturday i officially moved into my mom and jim’s basement in west virginia – freaking WEST VIRGINIA!
here are my new digs:

14. i am grateful that i have a place to stay, that will let my max bring his litter box with him. i only wish gas prices hadn’t spiked $.20 since saturday bc that surely puts a damper on my driving to dc.

15. the most important though is that i’ve been incredibly humbled to say the least. i know how blessed i was and still am for all i have. learning to embrace the trials of life is not always a piece of cake (or cupcake) but coming out (peeking right now) is worth it.

…stay tuned for the “job hunting” blog post and the “15 trips and 25 medications later to figure out what was wrong with me” blog post.

highly entertaining (now).

but be aware they will be spread a bit apart because i must admit, it’s been a challenge for me.

xo

thanks mrs. parrish!
but now it’s time for a trip.
and of course…
to find a home to unpack my kitchenaid
and cupcake wrappers (and this is exactly how i store mine!).

xo

the adults are at work – haha
the cutest 10yr old is at school – boo – but I have made a new friend…

bootsie is quite the lovie cat and he was keeping me warm all day. we both took a few cat naps together;)

xo