Stuff!

I've done some shopping over the past few weeks. CVS had some really pretty Essie polish. I've been told it chips quicker than OPI but I really liked the colors so I decided to try it. I got Pink Diamond & Watermelon.

Watermelon is the darker of the two. I've worn both colors & I really don't notice it chipping any quicker than OPI. China Glaze seems to last the longest on my nails. 

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Stella & Dot party at my friend Allison's house. I couldn't believe how fast my order came in.

 I have lots of costume jewelry & after losing weigh my rings are all too big so I actually needed  a ring! That's the watermelon polish. I'm just noticing how old my hands look. YUCK! Here's the necklace I got.

I love that it's a sterling chain & gold pendant. I have a bunch of both & like wearing it together. The chain is longer than I thought too.

TJ Maxx seems to be a favorite in the blog world. I rarely find anything there but I keep trying.  Now that I workout regularly I've figured out what I like & what I don't. I have a couple of Marika sports bras that I really like. I have a couple of Reebok bras that I like fine to run in but not for yoglates because of how the neckline is. Sounds weird I know. Academy no longer sells Marika so I got online. Well, I don't know what the deal is but those things are in the $40 range. I paid like $20. Imagine my excitement when I found these at TJ Maxx!!

Marika for $12.99 people!!! I was soooo excited!

This one is a tank/bra combo & it's so comfortable. $14.99!!

Having towels at Yoglates is a must. At least for me because you know I sweat like a man. I need one to lay on my mat & then a smaller one to towel off with. I bought Gaiam "Thirsty Towels" after using beach towels for awhile. They worked great. Then I bought a different brand because I wanted more than one set &  they were cheaper. I don't like the second set as much as the Gaiam. I decided I needed a third set because I try to go to Yoglates 3 times a week & it's just easier not having to wash clothes when I get home & remember to put the stuff in the dryer & then get it out to bring to work with me. I found these on Amazon.

2 towels in the sizes I want for $22. That's less than the price of the big towel when you buy them separately. I was a little worried that they were different than what I'd bought before since they were so cheap but they're not. Love them! You know on Amazon a ton of stuff qualifies for free shipping? Well, the towels were one of those things but you had to spend $25. This is where my "spaving" comes in. (Dean says it's spending to save). I spent $14 for a variety pack of K-cups for the Keurig. I don't remember how many cups I got but it was a deal. Plus I had an Amazon gift card so I think I was out $11 of my own money. I was a little surprised when everything came in. This is how the K cups were packaged.

Weird huh? Oh well. 

I've mentioned before how I buy clothes at Sam's. They always have cute stuff. These are Nine West.

They're shorter capri's in an off white color.

Yesterday, my hair dryer sorta died on me. I say sorta because it started to smell like it was burning & then it started making a weird noise. I turned it on last night just to see & it was still working. I ordered a new one from Amazon yesterday. I have a back up hair dryer that was Dean's & it's probably 25 years old. Hopefully, the two of them will hold me over until the new one comes in. 

Toodles!

Sunday Funday!

Dean & I went to Mass yesterday evening & then had dinner at Portobellos. I had eggplant parmesan & it was sooo good! I felt like a drink so I had a Skinny Cosmo.


It was really good. I think I liked it more than a regular Cosmo!

I got up this morning & ran. After breakfast I got in the pool & swam 30 laps. I keep seeing on blogs that I read how people that run do other workouts the same day that they run so I decided to swim laps. 30 laps in our pool is 300 meters. Unfortunately, I can't swim 30 straight. I do 10, rest a few minutes, do 10 more, rest & 10 more.

My mom, Lydia, Scott & Logan came over to swim.


He does so good posing for pics.


Dean cooked a great lunch of ribs & sausage & garlic bread.


Logan had little white donuts for dessert. He LOVES those things.

After lunch we played in the pool some more.


I think we're all worn out!


I tried my best to stay awake but I fell asleep on the sofa for a little bit.

Toodles!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A day off!

What a great day I had. Well, aside from the part where I woke up at 5:30. I got up & ran & then ate breakfast by the pool. I need to take time to do that more often. After breakfast I swam some laps. I really like morning workouts because it's done. After I got ready I did a little shopping. My first stop was Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I've been wanting a Tervis Tumbler for awhile. I ALWAYS have a drink & I cannot stand a sweaty cup. I also have to have lid because I've been known to spill. These things have a lifetime guarantee. Old Navy is next door. I haven't been there in awhile. I think I'm too old to shop there. I didn't really see much that I liked. I did get a $6.00 tank.

I went to Ulta & got a bottle of polish. I wanted something sort of nude that just had a hint of color. I got Essie's Topless & Barefoot.

Then I met Dean for lunch at Roberto's. You know, home of the best shrimp po boy ever?? They also have these really good sweet potato chips.

I don't think they're too bad for you because they're so thin & they are sweet potatoes. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Dean took off the rest of the afternoon. We thought about going to see a movie but there wasn't anything we were interested in seeing. So we went home. I ended up taking a long nap. It was great. We met the neighbors at Caliente for dinner.
That's Jackie next to me & then Cliff, Sheri & Dawn on the other side of the table. Sheri's birthday was last Sunday & Dennis' is this Sunday. The wait staff sang happy birthday.

One of the waiters shoved whipped cream up Sheri's nose.

After dinner we went back to Cliff & Sheri's & watched the Opening Ceremonies. That was one of the strangest things I've ever seen!

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Weigh In Wednesday

On Thursday again. I'm thinking of changing it to Thursday but it doesn't have the ring to it Weigh In Wednesday does & if I change it it could end up being Weigh In Friday. Regardless, I weighed & I gained. UGH! 1.6 lbs. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I ate lunch out every single day last week & rather than be thrilled that I didn't gain last week & settle down I continued the streak through the weekend. I ate out for lunch & dinner Friday & Saturday & then had leftovers on Sunday. Not my finest moment.  Not to mention I've already got plans for 2 meals out tomorrow.

Moving on. I've been to Yoglates twice this week. Good grief Monday was brutal. Tuesday wasn't great but it was better. This class is making me hate frogs & anything related. As I've explained before Yoglates is a combo of yoga & pilates but without any equipment. Well, sometimes we use a ball. Some of the stuff we do have the same names as in yoga. You know, plank, downward dog, etc. There are lots of things that have their own names, cheerleaders & other stuff I can't think of at the moment & then there are things that I have no clue if they're just for Yoglates or Yoga too, frogs, lily pads, etc. I don't like either. They hurt my knees. As I was trying to push through the pain Tuesday I was thinking that I'm not sure it's my knees that are actually hurting. It may just be the lower leg right above the knee.  Who knows but I don't like them. This weeks routine is really arm heavy. My shoulders are sore. It also doesn't burn as many calories. I've only been around 300 each class this week. Of course it's still better than if I were at home laying on the sofa which seems to be my favorite place these days. Yesterday, I ran & today I'll be back at Yoglates. I have the day off work tomorrow but I'll get up & run before it gets too hot. Which I guess means I'm getting up 5:00 am on my day off. sigh.

Toodles!

Quack!

The most random things happen to me. I guess happen isn't the right word. I see a lot of random things that other people don't see may be a better explanation. This morning I ran & as I passed a house I heard a "quack". I blew it off because I've been known to think ducks were outside my window when it was just frogs. I run the same "circle" over & over in the mornings so my next time around I hear "quack" again. This time I looked up & lo & behold it's a DUCK!!!

I know what you're thinking, at least people that live around here, one of those little mallards or whatever they're called that are dark colored & small & have pretty green feathers. If that's what you're thinking you'd be wrong. I'm talking about the chick & the duck from Friends kind of duck. I love FRIENDS! It's my all time favorite TV show & I've seen every episode a bazillion times & still laugh like I've never seen them. You may remember during Matthew Perry's addicted to pain killers so he was uber skinny phase, he & Joey had a chick & a duck for pets. That would be the duck & yes, that's the first thing that came to mind when I saw the duck. For those of you that have no clue as to what I'm talking about think Aflac. Yes, THAT duck!

My next time around, "quack". The duck is standing behind the people's gate looking & quacking at me. What's with these animals staring me down?

Where did the duck come from? Who knows. It almost looked like it was a pet but I mean seriously, in real life who has a duck for a pet? My best guess is that his home is the pond that is behind the people's property. That would be the same pond that had an alligator in it earlier in the year that Wildlife & Fisheries came & trapped.

Yes, I took a picture. I didn't want to stop in the middle of my run so I waited until the end & by that time he'd moved away from the gate.

I know it's not a good picture but at least you can kinda see that it is truly a duck. Actually, now that I'm looking at the pic it looks like Snoopy when he does his little dance in the air. Of course Snoopy isn't real so you know it's a duck.

I saw an armadillo, a cat & a duck on my run this morning. Living in Riverbend Lakes is an adventure!

Toodles!

A question???

I have a Lantana planted in my rock garden. It always does really good in this spot. Like REALLY good. Every spring I cut it back a lot & every summer it fills out quickly. This summer something happened.  I don't know what. I haven't done anything any differently than any other year. Normally, it gets out of control. This year I don't know how to describe it.

 Colossal maybe??

A view from the other side. These pictures really don't do it justice. I swear it's probably 5 ft. in circumference!  It's completely taken over everything else in the rock garden. I'm not concerned about that because everything else that's there grows like crazy & you can't get rid of it either. I just remember that when we bought the house this spot didn't have any grass because of the lab the people had. This was his spot. I wonder if he had some super duper "business" that fertilized the area really good??

That brings me to my question. Well, sort of. Would you rather have a raccoon on your patio or a snake? This is a serious question that I asked Dean yesterday. He didn't give me an answer. I can't figure it out but I'm leaning towards snake. The majority of the snakes I've seen always seem to be trying to get away from the humans whereas the raccoon sat there & looked at me. As my friend Allison would say he looked like he was asking "what's up? what'cha looking at?". The reason this came up is because Dean was outside cooking a brisket (that turned out totally amazeballs!!) on his Primo grill. He looked up just in time to see a snake slither into the rock garden. Yep, into the Lantana, which incidentally, is a FABULOUS hiding place. He wouldn't come out. We now have a shovel as a patio accessory just in case he comes out of hiding. Sidenote: If you're an animal lover or believe snakes are our slithery cousins (that's a direct quote from someone I know), DON'T TELL ME NOT TO KILL IT!!! When the raccoon made his appearance he too visited the Lantana.

I'd given some thought to cutting it back but I like all the blooms & truth be known I'm kinda curious to see how big it will get this summer. Now that I don't know what's inside I'll just wait. I just hope there aren't any eggs or baby something or others in there. I do seem to remember Dean saying something awhile back about the Lantana getting out of control & "it makes for a good hiding place". He's always right. Sigh.

Toodles!

The Weekend!

It's Sunday afternoon & I'm dreading the thought of going back to work tomorrow. It was a rough week at work & it was made rougher by a co-worker showing her true colors. What's that saying about believing people when they show you who they really are??

Anyway, Friday night we had dinner at Caliente, a new Mexican restaurant that we really like & it's close to home.

I'm not a big margarita drinker but I do like Sangria. For my meal I got the appetizer sampler.

It has nachos, jalapeno poppers, Mexican egg rolls, quesadillas, pico & guacamole. YUM! Dean got the Kabobs.

So pretty! He said they were good & there are leftovers in the fridge.

Saturday, I had my hair cut & hi-lighted. The scalp massage is the best. After my hair appt. we had lunch at Sammy's & then went to the movies. We saw Ted. Soooo not impressed. When I first saw the previews I wasn't the least bit interested in seeing it. I thought it was going to be stupid. A bunch of people told Dean how funny it was. In our opinions, I was right. Neither of us liked it. Stupid & not funny. Unless you're a 13 year old boy. Seriously, it was 2 hours & $15 that I'll never get back. Thankfully, we went during the day so it didn't cost us a fortune. Needless to say I give the movie 2 thumbs down.

After the movie we went to Mass & then had dinner at a pizza place.  It was good. I've eaten out every day for a week. I don't normally eat out for lunch but with all the work we were doing they provided lunch everyday. I'm kinda ready to get back to normal. Eating all that junk has made me realize how much better I feel when I eat good.

This morning I worked in the yard for a couple of hours. I love having my heart rate monitor because I can see how many calories I burn doing normal things. I burned 428 calories during that 2 hours. Next up? A NAP!!

Toodles!

4:30!!!

And I'm home!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! Y'all can probably hear me yelling from wherever you are. I was able to leave at 3:30 today & I don't have to work this weekend. It was definitely a rough week. There was a lot of this

And even this

I only had one of these & that was yesterday. I know it's only 4:30 but now I'm having this.

I didn't drink the whole bottle but I finished it off. It is Friday after all. It appears that more of the same is in my future but I'm not thinking about that now. I'm going to enjoy the fact that I don't have to spend my weekend at work.

Toodles!

Weigh In Wednesday

No change. No gain, no loss & I'm thrilled. We've been taking short lunches at work & the company has been ordering in for us. Let's just say it hasn't been the most healthy lunches. I've done well with my portions though.

Exercise is a little different. I haven't been to Yoglates since Saturday. I thought I was going to be able to go in to work a little later tomorrow so I could catch the early class but I got a call a little while ago & that's not happening. I ran Sunday, Tuesday & today. I've never run 2 days in a row but I did it & felt good.

So this is short & sweet because it's 8:30 & I feel like I'm going to pass out at any time. I woke up at 4:20 this morning & couldn't go back to sleep. I finally just got up around 4:30. It's been a long day.

Toodles!

Happy Monday!!

I can say that now because the work day is over! I had a lovely weekend. No working! YAY! I don't know if I can say the same for this weekend. We'll find out Friday. Regardless of what happens with work, I have a hair appt. that cannot or shall I say will not be changed! Aside from me starting to have roots, my Stylist called & said that July is the salon's anniversary month & all services are 50% off. No way am I going to miss out on that.

I worked a little late Friday & then we went with 3 other couples to dinner at Louisiana Lagniappe. It's always so good & Friday was no exception. Then we all went to The Wine Loft for a couple of drinks. I had something called a Ruby Mimosa. It was pineapple juice, champagne & chambord. Really, really good!

I got up early & went to Yoglates Saturday. I'm so glad I went. People always say you never regret a workout & that's really true. It was a tough one though. I met my friend Joni for lunch at Jimmy John's & I went to Mass.  Saturday night we went & visited Dean's cousin. He was transferred to a rehab facility. Then we had dinner at Applebee's. Have y'all ever had their club sandwich? SOOOOO GOOD!

Sunday morning I got up early & went for a 35 minute run. It was so humid. I got in the pool as soon as I got home. I even swam some laps. I don't know when I'll get to go to Yoglates this week with work being the way it is. I plan to run in the morning. Yesterday afternoon I went to Allison's for a Stella & Dot party. They have some really cute stuff. I just got an email saying my stuff shipped today. I can't wait to get it.
Did y'all have a good weekend?

Toodles!

Checking In

What a week! I'm behind on everything. Writing blogs, reading blogs & work. Even though I've been at work more than anyone should be I'm still behind. I see lots of long hours in my future the next few weeks.

I've only been to Yoglates once this week due to the long hours at work. I did manage a 35 minute run this morning. I've discovered that I really need to exercise. It helps with my stress.

Dean's cousin is doing good. He's still in the hospital but out of ICU. He's still in a lot of pain though. Little Maddie is doing ok. She saw a Neurologist & they're going to do some test but he said sometimes people will have a seizure & then never have another one & nobody knows why. Let's hope that's the case. Thanks for all of the prayers.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Toodles!

Prayers please!

Yesterday, Dean's cousin was in an accident at work. He works in a plant. A 40-50 lb. metal thing fell 40 ft. & hit him in the head. Thankfully, he was wearing his hard hat because he still managed to get a fractured skull, broken bone in his face, a broken shoulder & broken ribs. He's going to be ok but he's in for a long & painful recovery. He needs lots of prayers.

Maddie is Scott & Lydia's (my brother & sis-in-law) neighbor. I'm not sure exactly how old she is but in the 10-11 yr. range. Yesterday, in the car on the interstate she had a seizure. She's ok. Please pray that they can figure out what's going on with her & that it's not serious. I can't imagine how scared she must be. Poor baby.

In other news, there is no other news. I didn't feel good at all Saturday. The whole sinus, ear ache, headache thing was going on & I didn't leave the sofa. Sunday, my mom came over for a little while. We floated in the pool & then it rained & I returned to my spot on the sofa. It was a 2 nap day.

Toodles!

Happy Friday!

I saw both of these today on Facebook & they made me laugh!

And y'all know I love Snoop!!

Happy Friday!

Toodles!!!

Weigh In Thursday

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We spent the morning at home relaxing & the afternoon next door with all of our neighbors. It was a nice, relaxing day. I didn't eat too much either. That's always a good thing.  Dean made bread pudding & I made an ice cream sandwich cake. I completely forgot about taking any pictures. The ice cream sandwich cake is super easy. A layer of ice cream sandwiches, then cover with caramel, Hershey's chocolate syrup or hot fudge & cool whip, then add another layer of ice cream sandwiches, caramel, Hershey's & cool whip. You can put crushed candy or something as a topping but I didn't.  Put it in the freezer. That's it! My kind of recipe. It was good too. The only mishap I had was that I bought one box of sandwiches & I needed more than that for the 9x11 pan I used so I had to make a quick trip to the store yesterday morning.

This week I lost 0.6 pounds. I ran Monday, went to Yoglates Tuesday & did absolutely nothing yesterday. I have Yoglates today & I'll run in the morning. The weekend will probably consist of swimming laps. I'm not sure yet. I have a birthday party to go to Saturday & there are things I need to do around the house so pool time may be limited. I really need to run Sunday so I can keep to my schedule next week. I really like the Yoglates routine this week. Figures since I'm only going to make it to class twice. Oh well.

In other news, the raccoons have been spotted this week. Notice I say RACCOONS plural?? Thankfully, I haven't been witness to any of the coon shenanigans but I'm not happy to hear about it. Our neighbor that spotted one on his patio & walking on the fence between our houses saw 2 on his patio the other morning. They were just hanging out. He knocked on the window & they moseyed into some flowers. About that time a bigger coon came onto the patio from his carport. He knocked on the glass again & it went through the yard & met up with the other two & they proceeded to walk along the top of the fence & disappear. We've lived in our house 7 years & we've seen raccoons behind our lot & crossing the street at night before but never these broad daylight, on the patio, close to the house shenanigans. It's worrisome. I find myself looking on the patio numerous times a day & checking before I walk out the door to make sure they're not hanging out. Yesterday, while we were talking about it with the neighbors it was like I could feel them watching us, ready to pounce as soon as we went inside. I fully expect to find one swimming in the pool one day. sigh.

Toodles!

Here Lizard Lizard

I have a case of the blahs. Anyone else? My main problem is the beach & the fact that I'm not going. Everyone I know is either at the beach now, going to the beach soon or just got back from the beach. All except Dean & I. sigh. I pretty much have myself to blame for this. When Dean agreed to the granite we agreed that we wouldn't go on a summer vacation. This was my idea. What can I say? I wanted the granite. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the granite, I love the kitchen & I'm not at all sorry that we spent the money on it but I love the beach too & I'm very sad that I won't be visiting this summer. We are planning a trip to Vegas in October with our friends Allison & Joey but that's October & it's July so that really isn't making me feel a lot better.

In other news, we haven't laid eyes on the raccoon. Thank goodness! The only visitor we've had is a little lizard. I don't know about y'all but we seem to have an abundance of lizards this year. I can't go outside without seeing at least one. 3-4 weeks ago I'd gone to the laundry room before bed & there was a lizard on the wall. I just told him to stay on his side of the house, turned out the light & shut the door. Lizards don't bother me. Now, I'm not going to touch one or let it hang from my ears or anything but as long as he doesn't crawl on me we're good. Fast forward to a couple of days later when I was going to run one morning. I turned on the light in the foyer like I always do & I spotted the lizard by the door. I was impressed he found the door, although the back door was much closer to the laundry room but whatevs. The only problem is when I start to open the door he freaks out & takes off to the dining room. Every single morning that I've run since then he's sitting by the door & every single morning he takes off.  I really can't believe he's still alive.  Yesterday, I thought about it when I turned on the light. Poor little lizard thought he was hiding but I guess he forgot about his tail. His whole little body was hiding under the rug but that long tail was sticking out. I'm really feeling sorry for him because he's starting to look a little shriveled up. I managed to block his way to the dining room & open the door & shoo him out. YAY HE'S FREE!!! I hope he was able to get some food & water & not be eaten by something bigger than him or those crazy birds we have. Do birds eat lizards??

Toodles!

Hanging Out

This weekend was just a lot of hanging out & it was great! Friday night was an impromtu get together with the neighbors for drinks & grilling.

We had margarita's. I splurged & ate a mini cupcake. I couldn't resist. I thought it was ok since I didn't eat much dinner. Believe it or not we didn't go out to eat one time the entire weekend!

Saturday I hosted the ladies from the Worse Book Club Ever at my house. I cut some flowers from  the yard to use as a center piece.

Everyone brought something so we had a ton of great food.

We had such a great day. After we ate lunch we spent the rest of the day in the pool & we actually discussed books. That doesn't happen all the time. Fifty Shades of Grey was a hot topic. I haven't read it & I don't have any plans to. Have y'all read it?

We went to Mass this morning & did our grocery shopping for the week. At some point today I need to do some ironing but for now I'm going float & read!!

Toodles!