Where, Oh Where Has My Willpower Gone?

My willpower seems to have vanished. Or maybe it's just buried in my closet, under the new clothes I shouldn't have bought this month. But let's face it; June just wasn't the month for me to forgo retail therapy. Most of the month was spent job searching, updating my resume, interviewing, and stressing about the three previous things. (Good news: I found a job! But more on that later.) So I should have actually revised my June goal when I found out I'd be conducting such fast-and-furious job searches, because shopping is my go-to stress reliever. And I did plenty of it last month.

I admitted halfway through the month that I bought a shirt that tells the world who my [fantasy] husband is. If you don't know by now that I'm talking about Serge Ibaka, Mr. Gorgeous himself, you're dead to me. Apparently this purchase was destined to be the start of many June shirt purchases---I bought six more shirts throughout the next two weeks.

I was a smart shopper, though, because four of those shirts came from Tarjay and cost me just six bucks each. They're simple V-neck shirts with a pocket (but not nerdy), and I got one in teal, pink, gray, and kelly green. They're versatile, comfortable, and were a steal. I couldn't in good conscience pass them up.
The other two shirts were from Old Navy and were just a couple items in a string of impulse buys on a shopping outing with the bestie.

Jennifer needed to go to the mall last Wednesday evening, so we decided to make a day of it. We went to the mall and did lots of damage while having too much fun to care. Along with a very nautical tank top and a deep green tee, I came home with a new pair of sunglasses, some fabulous pink nail polish, Wild Citrus Sunflower products from Bath & Body Works (semi-annual sale, ya know), and a new gay BFF---his words, not mine.

Jennifer and I met Dylan at Lush, and we bonded over the cookies I had just bought at the Nestle Toll House store. Hands on his hips, rose-pink faux hawk prominently displayed on his cocked head, he sassily told me I wasn't allowed in the store without offering him some of my cookies. I told him that if he gave me a discount on bath bombs and lotion bars, he could have 'em. He rejected my offer, I told him I was keepin' my cookies then, and a beautiful 30-minute friendship was born. I spent that half hour laughing off the calories I was consuming as I devoured my lemon crinkle cookie and chocolate chip walnut deliciousness.

These shopping trips helped me survive the month, as did my procurement of a job (but again, more on that later), so I'm okay with my failure. On to the next one, I say. Actually, I think that was Jay-Z, but whatev.

And the next one happens to be running three times a week. Seeing as how I've written seven posts [note: that's only a slight exaggeration] about "sticking with the whole running thing this time," I should probably just give it up now and start writing my admission of failure for your reading enjoyment in August. But I refuse. I haven't met my last two monthly goals, so it's high time I started putting more effort into achieving one.
I actually think I'll look forward to meeting July's goal because after I start my new job (guys, I'm serious--more on that later), I won't be able to go to the Tuesday and Wednesday aerobics classes I now attend. I'll need to do something to fight off those pesky calories in all the cookies I eat. Since I can't visit Dylan at Lush every day (that's a lotta gas...and I don't know his schedule), then running it is!

I'll keep you posted.

And also stay tuned for news about my career move!

Fabulous Friday # 16: Being an Aintie

You may be wondering just what an "aintie" is. Or, more likely, you're probably ready to call the editor out for misspelling the word "auntie" in the title of her post. I've been known to do that before, but I did not this time. An aintie is what I am.

My best friend, Jennifer, has a two-year-old son, Reed. Jennifer and I aren't biologically sisters, but we're sisters in every other sense of the word. So while I'm not Reed's actual Aunt Ashley (he does have an actual Aunt Ashley; Jennifer's real sister's name is Ashley. Confusing much?), I'm his Ain't Ashley.

I fell in love with this adorable boy the second I saw him, just minutes after he was born. Since then, he has been a big part of my life, and I couldn't enjoy being his aintie more.

Last night, I went over to Jennifer's, and we took a nice, long walk around her neighborhood. We got back just in time for the start of the Thunder game. While we were watching, Reed showed me his new trick of hopping and "ribbiting" like a frog, counted all the way to 4!, had me kiss his boo-boo, and climbed in my lap so we could read The Robot Book (I'm debating on counting it as one of my 52 for the year...). Snuggling up with the toddler who has stolen your heart is one of the best and most rewarding things ever. Seriously, you should try it sometime. When it was time for Reed to go to bed, I got kisses and "squeezy hugs," the best kind.

An evening spent with the bestie and Reed was just what the doctor ordered after a stressful week. I'm a lucky aintie.

And here's the man of the hour in the "woof woof" shirt I got him for his birthday. Too cute, right?

Shop Til Ya Drop...or Not

We're officially halfway through June, so I suppose it's high time I fess up about both May and June's goals. May's goal was to take Deuce for a walk every day. We started the month strong and walked a mile around the neighborhood every day for the first week and a half. Then I went to Tipton one weekend and it rained every day. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I'd melt in the rain, so I wasn't about to chance a walk on those days.

Then I suffered through the worst/most hectic few weeks of my professional life and certainly couldn't be bothered with little things like exercising and meeting a goal I had set for myself and just knew I'd accomplish with no problem. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), Deuce hasn't gotten a walk since May 10. Once things settle down in my professional life, I'm hoping to give the whole walking thing another go.

So now on to June. My goal for this month is to forgo retail therapy. I'm trying to save money this year, so I knew my shopping habit was going to suffer. When I set this goal back in January, I had no idea how difficult this month was going to be for me. When I'm suffocated with job stress, shopping is my go-to comfort. But I'm not supposed to do that this month. Except that I already did. Just once, though.

Friday, my friend Sabrina sent me a picture of a shirt and said "YOU NEED THIS SHIRT!" Indeed I did. So I bought it. Dying to know what shirt I just had to have, at the expense of June's goal?

I mean, how could I pass this up? If nothing else, maybe me wearing this will send a subconscious message to Serge and he'll soon propose.

A girl can dream, right?

No more shopping this month, though...at least not for me. Both of my brothers' birthdays are this month---Chance's is today, and Kendall's is Tuesday---so big sis has some other shopping obligations.

I guess I'll have to fill the shopping void with reality TV and ice cream.

April Book Reviews

You may recall that I promised reviews of the three books I actually read in April. This is sure to be a riveting post. That's not true. But I'm posting them anyway, so here you are:


1. The Fiery Cross, the fifth installment of Diana Gabaldon's excellent Outlander series, started out slow for me and took me a couple months to get through (whereas I've been able to finish the other books in the series in just a couple weeks), but once it finally picked up, a little over halfway through, I remained interested throughout and couldn't wait to start the sixth, which I'm currently reading. Gabaldon does a great job making each book stand alone yet seamlessly weaving in events and characters from previous books. Plus, I still love Jaime and Claire, even after five books and about 5,000 pages (seriously, each book is, like, 900 pages). I think I'd get tired of myself after that long, so point for Diana.

2. HeartSick is a riveting thriller about a beautiful female serial killer and her last victim, whom she kidnapped and tortured for ten days before turning herself in. My dear friend and fellow Criminal Minds lover Aubrey recommended this series to me, and I love it. I finished this book in two days. The main character (besides Gretchen, the serial killer), Archie, is seriously flawed (who wouldn't be, after being brutally tortured for a week and a half) and easy to relate to. I mean, I've never been kidnapped and tortured (knock on wood), but I understand the psychological issues he deals with as a result of his traumatic experience.

I've since finished the second and third books of the series. HeartSick remains my favorite, but Archie really grows throughout the next two books. My main complaint with the third book is that we don't see Archie's family---an ex-wife and two kids---at all. They were major players in the second book because Gretchen threatens them, so we got to see Archie as a family man, a man who still loves his ex-wife but won't allow himself to be with her anymore. But in the third book, they're just gone. We know where they are, but we don't really know how Archie feels about them being gone. Maybe we'll hear more about them in the fourth book, The Night Season. Mustang library doesn't have this book, though, which is why I haven't read it yet.

3. For those of you who don't know, Seriously...I'm Kidding is one of Ellen DeGeneres's books. For those of you who don't care, we can't be friends. I saw several bad reviews of the book on Goodreads, but I laughed out loud many times (just ask my brother)---and I think Ellen can do no wrong---so I gave the book four stars. This book was set up in much the same way Bossypants is organized, which is to say there was no real or clear organization. I could have done without some of the chapters (namely, the one in which she simply makes sounds like "mememememeeme" and "bwabwabwa" and the extremely short story about a woman who walks down the beach and sees waves). But I am sure these chapters were a hoot on the audio book. So I won't complain about them. They took, like, two seconds to read, so it's no skin off my back.


And that's what part of my April looked like. May is on track to be a bit more successful, as I'm currently reading three books, have finished three, and have another waiting on my coffee table. We'll see if I can finish these last four in approximately two weeks, though...

A Glance Back at April and a Peek into May

Wow, it's been a while, huh? If you didn't even notice, I'm hurt. If you did miss me, thanks for caring, and I'll try to be better about updating you on my glamorous life in the future. [Please note: my life isn't actually glamorous, despite what my posts about my adorable dog, gym time, and work (not to mention the fact that I just said it was) may lead you to believe.]

There's a reason my last post was written over a month ago. I've been ridiculously busy. I'm not talking "I work eight hours a day, hit up the gym occasionally, and spend the evening catching up on my shows" busy. I'm talking legit busy. Let me just break it down for you.

At the beginning of April, I started freelance blogging for three radio stations' websites. I kinda feel like I've been cheating on my faithful five (or so) readers, but trust me, you wouldn't care about what I've been blogging about (unless, of course, you're just so hungry for my writing that you'd be willing to read about what to do when your house is destroyed by a tornado, six educational and fun websites for kids, and my book reviews of books I haven't read and therefore BS'd my way through). I write about five posts a week, so that takes up a significant amount of my time.

I also started teaching another class at the gym, a hip-hop class. So when I'm not teaching on Monday and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, I'm either practicing (these moves don't come easy, folks) or taking other classes.

Oh yeah...and I also still work full time.

So as you can see, I've been quite the busy bee, as Randel would say. Now, I'm not bemoaning this fact or hoping you'll be super impressed with my ability to juggle all these things while still managing to find time to save the world. Oh wait...that's not me, that's Superman. But anyway. I simply say all this to justify for myself why I've been neglecting my own blog.

Another thing I neglected in April was my reading goal (I plan to read 52 books this year, not including the books I edit for work). I'm still ahead of my goal, at 21 books so far, but this is surprising because I only finished three books last month: The Fiery Cross (the fifth "Outlander" book), HeartSick, and Seriously...I'm Kidding. I've got more to say, though, so I'll save my reviews and recommendations for another post. I will tell you, though, that May is already shaping up to be more successful, book wise, than April was.

My April goal was to not eat out weekdays and weekends the entire month. I couldn't believe it myself, but I did it! I actually did even better than I thought I would, because the only time I ate out at all was with a friend on a Friday night, and it wasn't fast food. I haven't even been too tempted to eat out since then, with the exception of yesterday. A couple friends had been talking about how amazing the Doritos Locos taco at Taco Bell is, so I finally had to try it for myself. It did not disappoint. But I plan to continue with that goal this month, along with my actual May goal: take Deuce for a walk every day.

So far so good on that front. Deuce and I have walked a mile around our neighborhood every day this month. My hope is that daily walks will not only help me tone up and lose those few pounds I've wanted to rid myself of for months, but that Deuce will get the exercise he needs and the fun he deserves.

Okay, so this post ran rather long, so thank you for your patience. Stay tuned for book and dog-walking updates. It shouldn't take a month this time.

Another Month Has Come and Gone

I'm ashamed to say I failed horribly at my March goal: take a picture a day. I can't say if this is because I was lazy, uninspired, or forgetful. Likely it's a combination of all three. In any case, my attempt to spark some hidden creativity by taking pictures of specified things each day did not work. Apparently to find my creativity, I'd have to dig deeper than six-year-olds trying to dig to China do.

Some of my goals for later in the year focus on fostering my imagination, but I clearly do much better at sticking to more concrete, tangible goals. That's why I have high hopes for April's goal: no eating out on weekdays and weeknights. My menu for the month is set and will give me leftovers for lunches, so I know I can do it. Also, this ridiculous heat we've already been experiencing lessens my appetite, so that should help.

In addition, I found out today that my mortgage is going up an ungodly amount to cover my escrow shortage, so I'll likely be too broke even for McDonald's for the next year.

I may lose that stubborn ten pounds yet...

I didn't do so hot with my reading goal either---due in part to my vacation to Houston and my mom coming to visit me---but because of my fast and furious January/February reading, I'm still nine books ahead of schedule. Holla!

The only books I finished in March were:
1. Lincoln on Leadership - This is a great nonfiction read about the principles of modern leadership that Abraham Lincoln utilized in his day.

2. The Great Divorce - I read this for book club at work and wouldn't read it again. I've discovered that I'm not much of a C.S. Lewis fan, no matter how much I endeavored to be. Luckily this book was a quick read, but I didn't particularly enjoy the story of a man who gets to tour heaven and finds that most people don't actually want to stay there. I just can't wrap my brain around it.

3. The Future of Us - I thought this book was going to be great. I loved Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, but this book of Asher's and Carolyn Mackler's fell flat. The premise is that of a teenage boy and girl in 1996 who discover their Facebook profiles fifteen years in the future. They tried to change their futures in small ways, but they didn't try to do or change anything of substance. The female protagonist was disturbingly shallow and self-centered, leading me to wonder why the male lead was at all interested in her. I gave the book three stars because it was a fairly entertaining, quick read, but I was disappointed in the ending and found the characters' relationship confusing and a bit unrealistic.

Here's hoping my April books will be more remarkable.

Just Call Me the Energizer Bunny

Haven't been able to get ahold of me lately? (Don't worry; it's not just you.) Been missing me like crazy? (I don't blame you.) Wondering just how I handle my hectic schedule? (Me too.)
Here's what last week looked like for me:

Sunday: Randel and I went to a birthday dinner at our friend Lacey's parents' house and got to hang out with her and her husband, our other friends Joey and Ashley, and their adorable kids. We ate, laughed, and played Spoons. I hadn't played that game since my Upward Bound days in high school. I had forgotten how much fun it was.

Monday: work and then booty-shakin' fun at my 5:45 Zumba class.

Tuesday: mine and Randel's weeknight date night. It was my turn to go to him, and we had Swadley's for dinner and just watched TV.

Wednesday: I had a much-needed girly date with my bestie, Jennifer. I went to her house to spend a little time with her and little man (Reed) before we left for our date. When I pulled up, Reed was pointing at my car and grinning the most adorable grin, apparently saying, "Ashy!" according to Jennifer. He showed me his new tricks: flipping and dancing to the Target commercial with the song "Alouette." Afterward, Jennifer and I headed to dinner at Chili's and then on to the movies to see The Hunger Games. There are always many laughs when we get together. We had a fabulous time and planned our next girly date for next month: homemade egg rolls and Breaking Dawn Part 1. It's okay to be jealous.

Thursday: My friends Laura and Reese and I hung out and watched a couple episodes of "Downton Abbey," an excellent British drama about the Crawley family of Downton Abbey and their servants. Once you get used to their accents and how fast they talk (and learn all their names), you're hooked.

Friday: I went with some coworkers to watch The Hunger Games (and enjoyed it just as much the second time). That evening, Laura and I had dinner with our friend Briana, who moved to Tahlequah last year. We ate at Zio's, chatted at Starbucks for a while, and ended the evening at Briana's hotel lobby, catching up on life.

Saturday: I taught my 10:30 Zumba class, came home and showered, made a quick trip to Best Buy with Laura, went to a hypnotist show, then came home and got to read for pleasure.

Sunday: Today is mine and Randel's 18-month anniversary. We weren't actually planning on celebrating, but when we realized that the Thunder game Randel bought tickets to marked a year and a half for us, we figured it couldn't hurt to live it up. We got to Chesapeake Energy Arena about 10:45 for the Thunder/Bulls game. We walked around for a while then found our seats and spent about ten minutes trying to take a decent picture of ourselves. After the game (Thunder won!), we had a delicious late lunch/early dinner at Chelino's then booked it to Harkins for the 3:40 showing of none other than The Hunger Games. If you're not keeping track, this was my third time to see it, in nearly as many days. Randel gave me the choice to see something different, but because he's such a great guy and spoils me rotten (or maybe because I'm such a caring girlfriend), I agreed to see the movie again since he really wanted to see it. We have spent an amazing year and a half together, and I look forward to many more.

Whew...quite a week, huh? This week promises to be just as busy---lots of gym time, a Redhawks baseball game, and going to Tipton for Easter weekend.

I can't complain about my busy lifestyle, though. It just means I have friends and have fun. Added bonus: it gives me material to blog about.