Things I Love #3 Cardigans

I love to read fashion blogs. One of my favorites is CollegeFashion.net. Even though I'm not in college (darn), I love to hear what their contributors have to say about the season's cutest boots, winter coats, or even Halloween costumes.

Alot of the time, they talk about finding something that you think defines your personal style. I've watched enough What Not to Wear to know that there are certain things I should wear and things that I should avoid. One of my wardrobe staples has become the cardigan. I frickin' love them!

Seriously, they are awesome. They can be worn over dresses or a button down shirt, or completely buttoned up. They are also one of those pieces that transition from winter to summer really easily (depending on their material). I realize that some people think cardigans are boring (i.e Mister Rogers), but I think they are preppy and cool.

My favorite places right now to pick up my cardigan gems are Ann Taylor (dude, I shop at the outlet, so I'm not even going to link to their site) and NY and Company (they had awesome argyle ones around Christmas-LOVE LOVE LOVE). I love ones that are printed (so chic with a pair of dress pants or a cute skirt!) or that have detailed buttons.

Ah, cardigans. It's the little things, ya know? Do you have a fashion staple? Something you really love to wear?

About friends...

I've always been a good friend, in my opinion. I'm a good listener, overwhelmingly optimistic, and thoughtful. Oftentimes, I'm the "third" person in a best friend friendship. I remember in elementary school being drawn to people that already had best friends. It was pretty crappy because I would end up getting left out occasionally. Despite that, I managed to always try and be the best friend that I could be.

In high school, I mixed with pretty much every group in my high school, besides the uber popular kids. I had friends that were athletes and people I hung out with because we played softball. When I stopped playing softball, the theater kids accepted me with open arms and I made friends with a group of theater girls. I gained another group of friends when I started dating Ross. In college, I had a very tight knit group of friends who became my second family. They continue to be my very best friends, but most of them don't live close enough where we have the opportunity to grab dinner on a weekly basis and scheduling a weekend trip to see them is tough for everyone. My mom and sister also end up in that group of "best friends" and I get to see them alot, but I miss having a group to go out dancing with on a random Saturday night or meet up with for coffee during the week.

I'm not looking for people to replace my girls, for sure. I'm just looking to expand my social circle and make some quality "DC" friends. I've read that alot of people experience this in their twenties, so tell me: What's the best way to make friends in a big city? Have you had success on sites like Meetup.com? Do you have any advice for me?

January Goals Update #2

Is January really halfway over? Where the heck has this month gone?

I'm cruising along quite nicely with my goals. My water intake is still right around 60-64 oz each day. To help keep track of all my drinking, I purchased a fancy Camelback water bottle on Amazon for super cheap. It's 32 oz, so all I have to do is drink two of them a day and I'm golden. It's nonleeching and is also perfect to take to the gym with me.

I also finished my generic birthday card to send to my friends and family this year. All I need to do is get some adhesive to attach the photo to card stock. As you'll recall, I created a Google Calendar with all of the birthdays on there and have set up reminders for two weeks before the birthday to fill out the card and put it in the mail. Over the holidays, Ross and I stocked up on Forever stamps, so I have everything I need to be a birthday card queen.

How are your resolutions and goals coming along?

Christmas Vacation, Part 1

I had a seriously great Christmas vacation.

My workweek before Christmas was cut short because of the snowstorm that hit the East Coast. DC received enough snow that the Federal Government decided to shut down on Monday, so my office was closed. The night before, I reverted to my 12 year old ways and wore my PJs inside out and flushed ice down the toilet because like any disgruntled employee before the holiday, I love myself a snowday (or 12).

That amount of snow meant that I only had to work one day before Christmas. Which rocked, in case you were wondering. On Christmas Eve Eve, my sister and I Bolt-Bused up to NYC to see "White Christmas" on Broadway. That might not sound like a rocking good time to you, but if I had to be on a bus for 4+ hours with anyone, it would be sister (or George Clooney). And if I was going to spend all that time on the bus, it would have to be for a damn good Broadway show, like White Christmas (crap, I would probably do that to see ANY Broadway show), but whatever.

We took the bus and saw White Christmas and managed to fit in quite a bit of NYC Christmas-ness in a mere 8 hours, including dinner at some place called Fat Annie's Truck Stop (which made me not feel like a tourist because we were surrounded by actual New Yorkers heading to the Rangers game), almost getting trampled in Macy's, seeing the tree in Rockafeller Center, and experiencing the frigid December weather.

All of that meant that my sister and I arrived back in DC at 2am on Christmas Eve for a few hours of shut eye before we hit the trail, with my husband and pup in tow, to head south on 95. This was only the beginning folks. We had several days of driving and Christmas-ing ahead of us. Check in tomorrow to hear about how we handled the holidays while managing to spend time with everyone, and being in two places at once!

January 2010: The Goals

Yesterday's post was about the 101 List and my recommitment to the project. Let's start, shall we?

January's goals include:

6. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day for a month (start date January 4th-estimated completion date February 4th)
16. Visit New York City (trip planned for the end of the month to actually stay the night, as opposed to being nuts and going up and back in the same day)
58. Create a birthday calendar for everyone in my family

The 101 Things List

Since last May, I've steadily been working my way through my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. I first heard about this project over at Allison's blog and then did more research about the Day Zero project. Some people have "Bucket Lists", I have this project. I thought it sounded like a really fun idea and I thought for quite awhile about the things that I really wanted to accomplish. Some of the things on my list are not going to be feasible, especially not in the amount of time that I have left. Like paying back my student loans, or reading a book every month. I've also done a pretty terrible job at remembering to document my progress.

Like many others, I'm trying to recommit in 2010. I'm going to tackle several goals a month to try and make a bigger dent in my list. I may not see my European destinations this year, but gosh darn it, I will create a birthday calendar and try to get birthday cards out to everyone in my family.

What will January's goals be? Check in tomorrow to find out...

Thinking...

1. How is it that I haven't posted in over a week? I have alot of things to say, but not alot of time to write them down.

2. Christmas is in nine days. I feel like I just got home from Montana. That was in July. Where does the time go?

3. I am obsessed with the song "Last Christmas" by WHAM. I'm not sure why, but I find it to be incredibly catchy.

4. In exactly one week, my little sister and I will be in New York for the day to see "White Christmas", our favorite movie, on Broadway. It will be a marathon day but I have a feeling it will be very awesome.

5. My current blood sugar is 196 mg/dl. With a straight line east.

6. I don't like potluck lunches very much.

What I want to be when I grow up...#3

Today we'll continue to investigate some of my career options (well, I'm not sure any of these things are options right now) and figure out what I really want to do with my life.

When I grow up, I want to be a teacher. I sort of thought about teaching when I was in high school but never thought about it again until I was confined to a cubicle everyday this summer. I'd love to have a summer vacation and to help young people. I think I would like to teach high school English and maybe help with the theater department (secret confession: I am a theater kid deep down inside. I think about performing more than normal people, yet I never tried out for anything in college because I was BLOWN AWAY by the talented kids I saw. I am sure now I should have maybe atleast auditioned for something since I did act in high school). I feel like high school is a pretty amazing time for kids (I always told my sister that it was only the beginning and that she would have amazing opportunities, post high school) and they really have the chance to set themselves up for something really great.

I've looked at programs here in VA, but it would probably mean going back to school for atleast a year. And there's alot of extra work you put into teaching like lesson planning, workdays, and not to mention the added parent/teacher stress. And would I even be good at teaching?

Pretty good hours, interaction with people and not the internet all day, summer vacay, and SCHOOL LUNCH? I might need to do more research....

American Diabetes Month...and my diabetes

November is American Diabetes Month, as you may have seen in the diabetes-world already. Many organizations are busy arranging events to promote awareness and many diabetes bloggers are jumping at the chance to give back.

Many organizations have rolled out new campaigns. The American Diabetes Association launched their "Stop Diabetes" movement. My favorite piece of the campaign is this PSA. I love the little boxes that pop up with the messages (the one with the mother checking the daughter's blood sugar is especially relevant after the I read about Burger King incident a few weeks ago on Shmae's blog).

I started my American Diabetes Month with a trip to my endo. We discussed how my new exercise routine is affecting my diabetes and how wearing my CGM really helps me to understand how my body reacts to insulin (looks like a sensor is going on tonight!). I'm working to send numbers to the office more often, so I feel accountable and maybe get some of my rates more fine tuned. As I work to improve my diabetes this month, I hope others work to improve their knowledge of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, realize their risk for type 2 diabetes, and make changes to improve their lives.

Spook-tacular Weekend

Happy Early Halloween from Count Tuckula


The baddest vampire since Edward Cullen

Wordless Wednesday #8 Revealed

Yesterday's picture was one I took in Boston of the Paul Revere statue and the Old North Church.

One if by land, two if by sea. Got it?

Wordless Wednesday #8

5 things

1. Why is it that I watch certain movies every single time they come on HBO? Current choices include Juno, Baby Mama, The Women, and 27 Dresses. I watched Juno last night simply because I didn't want to watch Jon and Kate Plus 8. My life is pathetic.

2. Last week, I had 4 grilled cheese sandwiches since I was by myself most of the week. I have vowed to not eat ANY grilled cheese sandwiches even though Ross is traveling this week, again. I spent my whole day Sunday cooking so I wouldn't have to eat grilled cheese. I made a pot roast, chicken noodle soup, cinnamon buns, and chocolate chip cookies. Please refer to me hereafter as Betty Crocker.

3. I apologized to someone who I ran into yesterday at the grocery store, even though they walked in through the wrong door. As soon as I apologized, I realized it wasn't my fault and that the person should have apologized. Instead, she just pushed by me.

4. I think it's weird when people bring up something I've posted on Facebook or Twitter in real life, even though it shouldn't since I posted it there. Someone brought up something I posted on Twitter yesterday and it took me a minute to realize that he was referring to something I said.

5. I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up and I'm not having very good luck. Should you like anything that you see here and want to hire me to do something awesome, feel free to leave a comment and I will send you my e-mail address.

What I want to be when I grow up...

Last night, as I talked to my mom, I realized that I want to be alot of things when I grow up. You might say "You are already grown up, Allison. You are married. You have a job. And insurance. And a car payment. And financial responsibilities. And heck, you have a dog and that's pretty much the closest thing to having a kid, without having one, so you are an adult and a grown up. So shut up, press on, and be happy." (And if you said all those things, I would think you were full of moxie and like you since I've been thinking those things for weeks- no, months- no, the last year, and needed someone to say it again.)

But I don't really know what I would do if I had the choice. Over the next few weeks, we'll explore my career options (or simply things that pop into my mind that I think "YES! I could do that" and then swiftly convince myself I cannot do). Maybe at the end of this exploration, you (my faithful two readers- Hi Mom, Hi Beck!) can vote on what I should do. I realize that pretty much everything on "The List of Possible Careers" is something that would require further education (my undergraduate degree is in Sociology, the quintessential football player major, and my minor is in Nonprofit Studies. You will see from those two things, I am destined to be poor.) and I'm down with that.

So, firstly- When I grow up, I want to be a graphic designer. Why? Because I like art. I actually wrote a paper in 8th grade about how I wanted to be a graphic designer and I took portfolio art all through high school in hopes that maybe I'd go to art school. But, I decided to head to a liberal arts college as an English major and my art was something that I practiced through scrapbooking and acrylic on canvas. Graphic design is something that I just do for fun-like logos for my sister and her friends (see an example above and to the left)-but I think I would enjoy actually doing that for a living.

Do you think I have what it takes?

La Dolce Vita

This morning has started off kind of rocky (I may or may not have broken into big 'ole alligator tears at my desk). Trying to hold myself together and simply make it to 5pm when I can go home and go on a long walk with Tucker, I thought I would share something big that I did this weekend.

In the past 12 months, honestly, I've pretty much gotten everything that I've ever wanted and done some things I've always wanted to do. Sometimes when I'm in my kitchen or walking my dog, it hits me like a ton of bricks that I have to be one of the luckiest and most blessed people in the entire would. My Nana Hazel says that I'm spoiled, but I feel like alot of the things in my life are things that I've worked hard for. I worked hard to have the relationship I have with my husband and I work hard at doing my best at my job. Overall, I'm really living a very sweet life.

This past weekend, my sister (aside: I am completely obsessed with my little sister. When you spend 3 years throwing a penny into a wishing well at the Great Falls, Montana mall, wishing for a baby sister, you would be as thankful as I am for such an amazing person in your life. Seriously. She's wise beyond her 18 years and I'm not sure you could be more proud of a person, than I am of her) and I decided that we were going to get tattoos. I've always wanted a tattoo but have struggled with what to get (people don't think you're very smart or serious about it when you say you would want a miny Olive Oyl from Popeye on your hip) for several years. Two weeks ago, I decided as a graduation present for my sister, I would pay for us to get tattoos.

You probably are asking "why" and here it is: Everyday, I put something on my body that I don't really have a choice about. (Yes, I could take insulin shots instead of wearing an insulin pump and I could not wear a CGMS, but my control would be awful) And with a tattoo, I got to make the decision. I got to choose what it would look like and what color it would be and the size of it.

We decided against matching ones, because both Beck (that's my sister) and I were attached to different phrases. But we marched in with our family (my mom, husband, and Beck's best friend in tow). Determined to not be a wimp in front of everyone, I went first and then tightly held onto a hand I've been holding onto for the past 18 years as Beck got "Carpe Diem" etched onto her skin.

Me? I got "La Dolce Vita" because at that moment and even right now, when all things are said and done, my life is incredibly sweet.