the accent vlog

sooo let's do something a little different

i'm bored in my hotel room, so i thought i would do a vlog - the accent vlog!  otherwise known as "count how many times i say "uhm"

please excuse the hair/lack of grooming - i woke up at 5:30 and didn't shower and i've been in a warehouse all day!

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught
And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

 so what do you think -do i have an accent? 

early morning wake up call

i'm so tired...

i left the office at 10 pm last night and was back up at 5:30 am this morning to come back in for inventory.

yesterday looked like this

i was inside staring at this :

and this

i was able to get out briefly to eat a bit of this:

veggie panini from a cute cafe in town

if i had known it would be my lunch and my dinner and have to hold me over until about 11 pm, i might have gotten some soup or a salad too.

today is the big day - inventory is being counted as i type, and i will be running variance reports in a few hours.

at least i got to start the morning off with

hotel breakfast.  luckily i have fruit in our snack bag.

2 more mornings here before i get to see this lovely face again

oh hi woodford and bill's knee

and this one too...

i hope i don't fall asleep in the conference room today!

on the road!

i'm holed up in a conference room waiting to get this inventory under way.

yesterday was spent pretty much airport hopping.

we flew into charlotte and then hopped a plane to wilkes-barre/scranton.

we got in around 6 and wouldn't you know it

they were all out of mid size car rentals.

so

we are stuck with this bute

big whitey is helping us roll around in style.

i cracked up laughing when the guy at the rental counter said all they had left was a van.

for one, my boss is a hot rod loving, classic car owning, piston head.

and has sworn vengeance if her husband ever bought a van.

and for two, i don't know the area- never been here - so naturally my boss would be driving.

she's like maybe 5' tall

we were pretty sure we needed to stop and get some phone books so she could see over the steering wheel

we've made it around safely so far, though

and i guess we're a few weeks early for the leaves to be changing, but the mountains/hills are really beautiful

so one day down

just 3 more mornings of hotel breakfast

 

i cannot wait to be back home!

peacockin'

Hi from the road!

I made it to Scranton, pa with ease.

I'll be in one of our plants tomorrow to help them get ready for a physical inventory this weekend.

I'm pretty bummed to be away from bill for this long - thank goodness for texting!

Bill is the best and just as impatient as I am when it comes to instant gratification.

After talking about paint colors bill decided to just go ahead and knock out our splash wall.

I came home to this

I tell you, there's not a lot of things sexier than this:

I really thought painting those tall ceilings would be harder than it actually was....I mean I didn't paint it, but bill made it look easy :)

I've tried to capture the true color of the wall which is sherwin Williams "peacock plume" but it's really hard to do...


You can see the paint swatch and it reflects a lot more green in person than the pictures are showing

i can't wait to start painting the rest of the living room and kitchen as well as the bathroom off the living room and spare bedroom

and since i'm by my lonesome i guess i can start researching colors.

goodnight ya'll!

Dunder mifflin here I come

It's a travel day :(

I'm zig zagging across the east coast today

I'll blog some tonight since I'll be all by my lonesome :(

This work trip will be the longest (4 days) that bill and I have been apart since we met.

Co-dependent much? :) I love him and wouldn't have it any other way.

And today is actually the anniversary of our first date 2 years ago

Do you celebrate anniversaries of certain firsts?

See ya in Scranton everybody!

i made it!

as promised

here's what i've been creating this week:

sunday night my painting looked like this

 

and after working on it last night, it now looks like this:

i know...it's not the finished socks.

i finished one and just haven't started on the second

i promise hopefully by the end of this week i'll have another "i made it" post with both socks to show you

i'll be traveling the rest of the week and flying is the perfect opportunity to knit!

anyways -the pumpkin painting -

my "style" of painting? is basically - slap some rough outline of image up on that canvas.

let it dry.

repaint over that image.

repaint again in desired color scheme

change direction and background color

paint sections white because that's easier to paint over top of

finally start to see something that resembles the image in head.

acrylics are so forgiving

i painted over the old lettering, re-did the stem, and then free-handed the new letters with a medium-thick flat paintbrush.

i like it.

bill wanted to know if i was going to outline the letters

no.  my hand is not steady enough to do that, but now all i can think is that it looks  messy un-outlined.

but for sanity's sake, i'm slapping some autumnal colored ribbon to this bad boy and putting it over my tv.

don't worry

i took the spring banner down.

like 3 weeks ago.

whoops.

i'm hoping the pumpkin painting looks cute suspended from the curtain rod

i also wrapped the rod with some fall garland from michaels.

i'll take a photo of the finished masterpiece tonight in between packing and laundry.

it's the perfect day to head back home and crawl in bed while laundry washes, too

it's hard to tell with all the fluorescent lights glaring, but it's quite dark outside and stormy

annnnnd

my baby boy went to the vet this morning

bless his little heart

he was over due for his yearly shots, and seeing as he will be boarded at least for a few days while we're out of town, we had to make sure we got him in to the vet.

he's happy and healthy - a portly 40 lbs.  i cannot believe!  he was only 25 lbs when we got him from animal control - of course he was only about 6 months old too.

bill sent me pictures of woodford, and i guess it's been a long morning

i don't blame him.

weekend update

happy monday

this week is a short office week for me

i'm headed to lovely scranton pa for a physical inventory at one of our plants.

i've never actually been to our scranton plant and there's no direct flights into the area so it's going to be a travel heavy week.

but let's back up and relive the glorious weekend.

bill and i really didn't do anything "fun" this weekend, but we did get some household chores accomplished.

while bill was at work i went to sherwin williams and narrowed down some new wall colors

conservative grey all over the kitchen and living room and peacock plume for an accent behind the tv.

i had picked up several grey/browns but when i brought them home i felt like they were blending too much with the couch - a current problem we have and i'm ready to rectify.

it's also really hard to pick the perfect blue.  i first felt this blue would be versatile, and then i read the name and i knew it was meant to be

i mean -

clearly.

bill was ready to get started saturday, but i told him we could  tackle it after the wedding. 

i kind of have a feeling we might paint the accent wall sooner though.

we spent sunday morning cleaning off the patio and getting rid of my tomato and pepper plants - so long summer!

and helllllloooo fall

these were the most gorgeous burnt orange color

we ran our errands (grocery shopped)

picked up much needed sushi snack from krogers

and headed home to watch the rest of the football games.

decorated the patio - i need to find a better home for my aloe/hens and chickens pot - woodford keeps eating the hens and chickens!  and i'm assuming the cold weather might hurt the aloe?  anyone know anything about that?

fall is so pretty.

and tasty.

edy's pumpkin slow churned is out in stores and it is delicious!  ate while watching new orleans lose - which meant i won my survivor league at work! (i had the bills this week).  bill also won his survivor league - which means extra spending money in key west!  whoop!

and then i started feeling all inspired.

actually i was inspired earlier in the day while out at michaels.  the need to find something fall-ish to hang from the over the tv curtain rod became a daunting task -

when bill finally said "just make something" - it was on!

mid- process - and drying - i went through a couple background changes....

to where we stand now.

i'm still not satisfied with the lettering...perhaps some googling will lead me to a better method.

and i need to touch up the stem, outline the pumpkin...and add some swirlies to the background.

annnnnd add some ribbon to hang from.

is it weird to display your own art in your home after the age of 10? - especially if it's bad?

whatever.  i'm going with the "homey" look.

high 5 friday

ok sorry about such a bummer long post yesterday

let's celebrate the fact that it's friday

!!!

1.  insurance! whoop whoop!  even though it's a pain in the a$$ to deal with, i'm lucky to have it for doctor visits.  and i'm lucky to have it and to have been in accident with someone who was insured

silver lining folks.

2.  winter squash at the grocery

butternut squash soup was made last night

topped with a giant grilled cheese crouton sandwich!

3. iphone update!  whoop!  i love new features.


4&5 casual friday + leopard sequined sperry's

 

happy friday ya'll!

feeling blue

(long medical post.  i understand if you just check back tomorrow)

i had alluded to some medical issues last week when i had went to the doctor.

every year for work i have to get blood work done for my insurance - i receive a discount for being healthy!

i had been feeling all around icky and was having some panic attacks regarding the ickyness, so instead of doing the normal blood work at work (they set up shop in our lunch room) i scheduled an appointment with my doctor to have it done there.

the blood work my doctor had ordered was more complete

i specifically wanted him to check out my thyroid levels.

i was feeling anxiety, depressed, i was crying at the drop of a hat.  watching anything dramatic on tv was out of the question.

i can't even begin to tell you how many times i've cried reading your blogs at the weirdest things.

i had also gained weight.  my clothes don't really fit right now, and i had no clue to how much weight i had gained until i had to step on the scale.

again i wanted to cry. 

if i had checked out for a year on eating and exercise i would understand.  but i've been training for a marathon for like 3 months and haven't lost anything.

i eat so dang healthy too!  i don't have to count calories because i typically know what's in each meal without thinking about it.  typically i try to stay around 500 calories a meal with a snack or two thrown in there depending on my running schedule.

i would totally understand gaining 10 lbs, but i've gained a lot more than that in about 8 months.

from self diagnosis and the interwebs i thought possibly it was my thyroid, and i wanted to talk to the doctor.

what i wasn't prepared for was the nurse handing me a self evaluation regarding depression.

yeah, i was sad, but depressed? 

after answering the self evaluation i realized maybe i did have some anxiety and was feeling sad more often than i realized.

the depression i was hoping was connected with my thyroid.

i wasn't prepared for the doctor to offer me to go on some anti depressants.  i wanted to laugh and i immediately felt self conscious. i mean, it's not like i'm a crazy person.  it's not like i have thoughts of suicide.  i just cry at leukemia fundraiser commercials, when rachel is alone in NYC on glee, and the thought of my non existent babies going to school.  completely normal right?....?

i decided against the drugs and wanted to wait until my blood work came back.  this past week i've really thought a lot about the anxiety and depression.  i have a lot going on right now.  i'm getting married in a month, i am constantly dealing with issues regarding my mom or rather her lack of involvement, being rear ended last friday, traveling for work and weddings (mine and juli's), and the list goes on - all of these things have caused a lot of anxiety.  to the point i've woken up gasping for air, swearing i'm choking when i'm trying to breathe.

i needed to decide what was right for me - in the case my thyroid came back normal.

i went to the doctor today.

i am 100% healthy.  aside from my weight gain my physical health is through the roof - which i think really attests to the fact that i eat healthy and work out regularly.

while this made me feel so relieved that nothing major was wrong, something was still off.  just two days ago i got upset at bill for not paying closer attention to driving.  i'm so high strung right now that everything makes me upset or feel like crying.  and realistically that's not the way i want to be.  i immediately feel guilty for being upset and that just makes me more emmotional.

i asked my doctor about medication and the length someone should be on anti depressants.  he told me he would want to see me on them for 6 months to a year or when i started feeling "normal" again.

i'm still pretty sensitive to the thought of taking anti depressants, but if someone else were to describe their symptoms as my own i would 100% support them in needing and wanting to opt for medication.

i think there's a stigma associated with depression and mental illness.  the thought that you can eat better, sleep more, exercise and you're going to wake up and feel better!  just isn't true. and at least for me, to do those things - it's been a struggle recently.

as someone who's prided herself as a health nut for several years now, it kind of makes me feel like a fraud for not living up to what i preach.  but i realize that some things just aren't completely in my hands...or my hands aren't big enough to juggle the stress and anxiety.

my short term plan is to take the medication for 6 months to a year.  i'm hoping the anxiety is temporary, but my doctor did tell me that for some people medication is a long term answer.

and since i'm being completely honest and open here, for anyone wondering i was prescribed wellbutrin xl.

i know we all don't go around telling each other about our recent trips to the doctor and what we discussed with him, but i think it's important to not feel alone, or judged, or broken.  that depression affects many people at varying degrees.

ok, so tmi?  :)  this post was probably more for me to get what i feeling out and on "paper"

feeling sad is normal, but feeling sad, anxious, and hopeless for weeks isn't and i would advise talking to a doctor.






 

arg me matey

happy talk like a pirate day!

many cheesy jokes have been texted back and forth this morning to celebrate.

my pirate name is Hobblin' Marcy Smythe (feel free to let me know your pirate name in the comments)

in other news, i'm pretty sure i've posted at length about the fantabulous cooler weather we're having right now.

and fall officially starts on saturday!  which makes the fact that we put out all of our halloween/fall decor a tad bit more acceptable.

i may be alone in this, but i am somewhat excited about the days getting shorter too.

there's something about coming home and the sun already setting that seems to make it perfectly acceptable to craft and watch glee.

i go through this every year.

i love knitting.

and i want to love and learn to sew on my beautiful machine.

this is about the most i've made on my sewing machine:

 x2 - pretty awesome for me, but still i've had this machine for like 3 years.

but as soon as it warms up in the spring i forget about those activities and choose to enjoy the outdoors.

which means i start about 5 different projects

and complete like 1.

last year i knit a very beautiful scarf for a coworker - who wore it all winter.

i was proud.

but my grand plan of knitting scarves for family members fell by the wayside.

but not this year.

i feel like i've got the crafting bug early.

i pulled out my stash - which i need to photograph

and decided to use up some small skeins of cotton

and so i guess i thought i'd knit some footie socks

my desk is MESSY

and i'm about to turn the heel.

probably the most intimidating part of sock knitting for me.

i'm a self taught knitter from online and youtube, so if you're interested in knitting or sock knitting i suggest you do the same

no fancy patterns for this footie - just straight forward toe up socks (toe up socks are great especially for using up yarn stash - that way you don't run out of yarn from knitting too long of a leg/ankle)

i think maybe twice a week i'll start showcasing my progress - and feel free to share with me your projects too!  i love seeing others' WIP's (work in processes) to get my creative juices flowing.

so, wednesday sept 19th we've got a sock WIP.

i'm hoping by the end of the month i can show you both socks as FP (finished products)

what are you working on/already finished?

Pregaming fall

Fact:

It's like 70 degrees out and rainy 

Fact:

If it were march I'd bust out my shorts and flip flops

But it's September and 70 degrees feels ALMOST chilly.

Sooo....

Too soon?

I'm setting the mood with "leaves"

And sock knitting

Not too bad for a monday

weekend roundup

so my weekend started out like this

i was rear ended during rush hour on my way home.  i thought this was the only damage but upon further inspection my bumper is unclipped - if that makes sense

there were 3 cars involved - luckily for me i was the front car and the middle car took most of the hit - all parties involved were fine.

so now the hassle of dealing with ordering a police report and contacting the responsible party's insurance.

ugh.  i hate being a grown up.

i think i mentioned last week that i was having some blood work done, and in the process i found out i had a UTI.

the medicine i was put on came with a strict warning for no excessive exercise since there was chance for torn tendons...???

which meant the 9 or 18 miler downtown doubler i was going to attempt on sunday was out of the question.

again, i was bummed, but not running meant i got to bring this guy along while we cheered on daddy!

it's very difficult to pose with a brittany

out the door at 6:30 am!

the race was pretty small.  the majority of the runners looked to be running with their college cross country team.

woodford and i posted up

at this moment the sun was coming out from the clouds and woodford growled AT THE SUN. 

and waited for daddy to finish up.

and how do you celebrate running a race?

 you go hang out a the bourbon festival in bardstown, ky!

it was a cute festival. 

all the distilleries were hawking their gear

and each one had a little store set up that looked like the actual distillery.

a nice stage was set up and a blues band was on while we were there

and i don't know about you, but it's really hard to go to these things without buying something.

like a barrel your own bourbon kit.  this is either going to be the coolest thing ever.  or really really gross.

we need to buy the "white dog" to add to the brew.  i'll let you know if this actually works out.

besides the actual festival, i drug bill into a couple of shops on the square

and i'm really sad this flamingo didn't come home with me.  i may be making a special trip to go get him.

how cute would he be out on my patio for thanksgiving?

and because it was sunday, we watched some football.

i'm actually in a survivor league at work, and if you watch football, i'm sure you know the patriots were favored to win big.  so over half of my league chose them to win.  and over half my league are now OUT since the pats lost!

yay.  i really wanna win that money!

annnnnd also because it was sunday (from snapshot sunday)

check out woodford over there on the left.

some wii.

i hope you had a car accident free weekend!  did you go to any festivals?  are there any upcoming festivals you're excited to check out?