Brrr...

Brrr, It's cold in here! There must be some Toros in the atmosphere. I kid, I kid. This post is not about Bring It On. It's Fall and I'm cold. It was 75 on Friday and today it was 55.  Yowza! I had to put my flannel sheets on today. To be honest, I am actually pretty excited about about that fact. I LOVE flannel sheets! So soft and cozy and warm. But, it makes it increasingly difficult to get out bed, which is not good.

The leaves are really changing, which is always magical. I feel like so much is going to happen before the end of the year and I'm hoping it will all be positive. I am dominating Insanity and cannot wait to do a third round when I'm done with this round. Season's changing, mind changing. Loving life:)

Love for Life.

Whoa! So much to be thankful for this week! Let the randomness begin...

I am now officially a Team Beachbody Coach!! So excited to continue my fitness/health journey coaching others and motivating them to dominate at getting healthy!! I am on my second round of the aptly named INSANITY and loving it. Hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but worth the sweat and emotional breakdowns! I have never felt so strong in my life. I can run further and faster, jump higher, do more pushups and just feel so healthy and so much more in shape! I am kicking the rest of 2012 into high gear! Who's with me?! If you have a questions about Insanity/P90X/Turbo Fire or any other Beachbody program., I am your gal:) I will update later with my website information!

I am heading up-state for a three day weekend with my grandparents who just celebrated there 60th (yeah, you read that right!!) wedding anniversary on Thursday. I am so excited to get away and relax and enjoy my much needed time with the g-parents!

So excited that we are heading into Fall and cannot wait for the Fall foliage! Definitely my favorite time of year. The chill in the air, the leaves and I get to start wearing scarves:) Here's to LOVING life and the dominating the rest of 2012!!

Amanda Bynes... Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs!

What the beep happened to Amanda Bynes?! She is off her rocker if she thinks it is ok to "bump" into a parked car or do u-turns in the middle of the road everytime she drives. The kicker, "let me just put a blanket over my head while driving so noone can see me." Yeah... then you can't see that parked car you just hit. Bitch please! All of this is so disappointing because I used to love her. Have you seen She's The Man? Loved it way too much! Hillary, you know what I am talking about;) Our guilty pleasure was watching that movie over and over. I own it. There I said it. Amanda, get your shit together girl!

Biological Clock, Are You Real?!

It's scary, sometimes depressing and exciting (yeah, that many emotions...) when you see so many of your friends around you settling down and having babies, buying houses and having this great little family life. I am going to be 30 next year and I think I might be having a little bit of a panic attack about this elusive "biological clock" everyone talks about. I told my parents several years ago that I did not plan on having children and probably would not get married. They were not surprised and my mom said it was fine, she had plenty of grandchildren:) I thought I was in the clear! But, I have recently discovered that if I am going to have a child, I should probably at least think about the possibility over the next few years. I am terrified that I am even thinking this because it has never been what I wanted and maybe still don't want, but I have to give these thoughts a reasonable amount of weight and examine what I really feel, right?  I just feel like maybe my career and living on my own is not enough anymore? When do you decide to move on up to the big leagues? I know this is only something I can answer myself, but I am just putting it out there in the universe. I have friends that have the same thoughts as me, no marriage, no kids and I feel like I am betraying my own thoughts by considering a life I never wanted to dream about. Here is my question: Is the biological clock real or am I just an over-analytical, sensitive freak who needs to have a reality check? I think it is probably the latter. I love all my friends (and sisters) with little munchkins and adorable families that are kicking ass at being a mom and wife, props to you! But, is that really what I want?!

Reese and Jake...

 I mean, really... How cute can they be?!

Yes, I am still upset that Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal broke up, like 3 years ago. I understand she is happily married and preggers right now, but geez, her and Jake were just the cutest! I really thought they would go the distance! I love her, I love him: match made in Heaven? Guess not. Damn Hollywood, always playing tricks on me...

Isn't is Sunday?

Wow, that mid-week holiday was a doozie! Don't get me wrong, I will take any holiday when I can get it, but I was convinced all day Tuesday that it was Friday and all night last night that today was supposed to be Sunday. Yikes! That really does a number on you! But, the Fourth of July was super mellow and a little lonely, but that is fine. After running a few errands in the morning I laid in the hot hot humid sun for a couple hours and read my book. Let me clear something up. The main reason for my running errands was to be in the air conditioned grocery store and to drive with my AC on. No, I do not have air conditioning in my apartment and when it is humid, there is nothing that can help but AC, so I was a total bucket of sweat yesterday. Great visual, I know. over 90 degrees and almost 80% humidity. Awesome. I did a little laundry and watched 21 Jump Street (not worth the time, even with Channing Tatum...). My holiday was capped off by wonderful fireworks on the Hudson in Nyack. I really could have used a pool and a BBQ yesterday. I was really missing my family's annual July 4th hike through Archangel Valley in Alaska. Maybe next year:) I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!

Hugh, Fiona, Beck... What a Weekend!

TopFest in Bryant Park

Hugh Jackman on the Black Carpet

What a weekend! Enjoyed the Beautiful Saturday at TropFest which is the world's larget short film festival from Australia brought to New York for the first time and hosted by Aussie hottie, Hugh Jackman Such a beautiful, fun day watching great short films on the grass, with Hugh popping up on the stage every so often and best part, it was a free event! Yes please! I will definitely be going to this next year.



Fiona Apple blowing my mind!

Beck rocking the house!

Sunday was spent at Governors Ball Music Festival on Randall's Island (on the East River between Queens and Manhattan). What a day!! The venue was awesome, food vendors and food trucks all over the place and fabulous music! Starting with the Phantograms - who I had never heard before, but really liked, The Cults- they were fine, Devandra Banhart - LOVE him, Built to Spill - Fabulous!, Explosions in the Sky- they make beautiful music that I love, Cage the Elephant - fun! FIONA APPLE - finally!!! I have always loved her and her performance was everything and more I wanted, seriously so amazing! Modest Mouse - so great and surprising awesome live! Brought back many memories of my cousin Andrea. And finally... BECK! My longtime love finally in front of me singing every classic song I loved and ending the set with "Where It's At" my all time fave!

Such an amazing, fun filled first weekend of summer! Success! 

Yes, I watch this show...

I have always liked Jenny McCarthy, ever since she was the host on the 90s Singled Out. It also helps that she and my fave Chelsea Handler are BFFs. She is back at hosting another dating show, but this is more of an "adventure" dating show. Throw 7 guys and 7 ladies into the "wild" of the Dominican Republic and let them loose on wild adventures in hopes of finding their soul mate. The idea is fun because, let's face it, you can really see someones true personality under extreme situations. Some of these people are skankarific but some are alright. Here is the basic gist...the ladies chose their male partner in the first episode and go on some adventure through the jungle and the winning couple gets to stay in the Oasis (beautiful house) and the losers get to stay in the "worst conditions". I thought, ok, they must mean, on the ground, in the woods, under a tree with no tarp or anything and a single blanket. Apparently that is too rough for tv. haha. So, they get to stay under a lean to with sleeping bags and mosquito nets. That sounds pretty ok to me! Maybe that is just the Alaska girl in me. The rest of the singles are either in tents or cabins. Anyway, at the end of every show either the men or women get to stay with their partner or chose a new one. This is my new guilty pleasure of the summer and I'm loving every minute of it!

Mom

My Mom and Dad at Christmas:) My two favorite people.

Moms, they are the best. We all think "mine is better than yours". Well, I am here to tell you that my Mom is the best because she is MY Mom:) And, your mom is the best because she is YOUR Mom. So yes, all moms are the best for their children. But really, my mom and I are quite great together and we are very similar. We have roadtripped together, cried together, laughed together. We can talk for hours on end about life, celebrities, decorating, you name it! She is my confidant, my rock and the one who tells me to get a grip and get over it!

My Mom has always been tough love, but I do believe that since having grandkids she has softened up a bit. She has always been that mom that will tell you to pick yourself up and brush yourself off, you are fine. I adore her and admire her strength and kindness to others. She really just makes my life and the life of my family and so many others so much more wonderful!

She can cook like a maniac and make a mean Beergarita, her signature drink! She pretty much dominates at everything Martha Stewart-ish. So creative, so inspired. She is the mother to 4 amazing kids, grandmother to 7 beautiful grandkids and the wife to one phenomenal husband:) Yep, that's my mom. So today Mom, on your birthday and every day, I miss you and wish you were here and love you more:)

Culture Popped

A little pop-culture awesomeness and annoyances...

New Direction and LMFAO need to get away from me and out of my head. This party is not rockin and yes, the girl knows she is beautiful, get over it.

The Hunger Games is dominating my life. I am finally almost finished with the third book, Mockingjay and at this point I just want to know how the damn trilogy ends! Such good books though. Next onto Fifty Shades of Grey which everyone and their mother (literally, moms read this too!) are reading. I am prepared to be scandalized!

The actress Jessica Chastain (The Help, etc.) really annoys me. She is beautiful, don't get me wrong, but she seems like a total snob and a half! Regardless of the fact that I did not like (or understand) The Tree of Life, she is just obnoxious to me.I have read some interviews with her and I am not impressed. Also, I wish she would walk the red carpet with someone every once and awhile, a sibling, a parent, anyone. Stop looking so lonely and snobby, lady!

Rent We Bought A Zoo. It is so unexpectedly precious! I really enjoyed it and the little girl, Rosie is just too adorable to participate!

Some non pop-culture awesomeness and just a reminder that Central Park is one of the greatest places on Earth as well as my town, Nyack. I am blessed to live where I do:)  Don't get me wrong, I always miss Alaska and the mountains!

Start Anew

I have started a second blog geared toward my passion for home decor, fashion and finding a great bargain. Of course there will be more in the blog than just those things, but those are my focus. I am really excited about this!! So, keep checking here as I will still post, but also start following my new blog Simply Sassy.

This is Why I Love Trader Joes!

The goods:
2 pounds ground Beef
1 pear
Tortillas
Dozen Eggs
1/2 gal. milk
Corn chips
Mushrooms
Sliced turkey
Pizza Dough
Horseradish Hummus
Crackers

All that for a grand total of $28!!! Seriously, I love this place! Such great food and great prices! If I were to go to my local, huge, chain supermarket this would have cost me at least $40. Booya for delicious and well priced food!

My First Love...Coffee

I feel like I could talk about coffee all day long. I know I could drink it all day. There is nothing more comforting to me that making a pot of coffee and drinking it all morning long, or taking my coffee to the park and watch the boats pass by on the Hudson. I am not normal until I have had my first cup in the morning. Coffee is glorious. Need I really say more?

Inspiration!!

Whoa, I am feeling overwhelmed with inspiration lately and loving it! I will admit that Pinterest has the majority of my attention in the inspiration department, but I am okay with that. So much to see, dream about creating and a lot of "I wish I had that or could have come up with that on my own"... Oh well, that is the idea of inspiration, right? Here is my continually growing list of inspirations:

• Crafts. I have always thought of myself as crafty, but not CRAFTY. My sister Kim is crafty with a capital C for sure, she continually inspires me with her gift to create amazingness! I basically just want to dominate everything craft-like and make my own everything at this point: clothes, curtains, artwork. I realize this is a little ambitious as I do not even own or know how to use a sewing machine. But, I want to take a class in the very near future and see where that takes me!
  

• Blog 2.0. My second and most furious inspiration right now is starting a second blog. I have thought about this a lot and think it will be great. I want it to be more geared towards fashion, home design/decor and posts about the awesome deals I find shopping for my wardrobe and home! I am pretty excited about it and just want to get started, but I am waiting for the perfect name to jump out at me. I already picked several names which I thought were unique and they were taken. Boo. I have been seriously slacking with this blog (this one right here, yeah this one) lately, but have been reading some older posts and remember how much fun I have writing on here! I will still have this blog, just keep them separate I guess, that is the plan. We'll see how it goes, but for now, let's take it up a notch!

• The Gym. My third and constantly challenging inspiration is the gym. Since I have had pneumonia (and still recovering), it is has been really difficult for me to go back to the gym, physically. All I want to do is go back full force, but my lungs are not there yet, so yoga and pilates and walks for me for a while:) But, when I am there, I am so inspired at the gym, I feel like I can do anything! I do realize that alot of that inspiration can be mistaken for competition, but I am okay with that. If I have to compete with the girl next to me on the treadmill to get inspired, I'll do it! (And I will win that race, obviously)
  

• Yellow. I am currently OBSESSED with yellow. Up until about a year ago I would shy away from yellow as I found it drowned me out when I wore it and was just obnoxious. Wow, I was mistaken. Now I want all the pale yellow I can get my hands on! Yellow makes me want to smile and be way more crafty using anything yellow:) I am slowly redecorating my kitchen in pale yellow and find it much less angry than the red I have flowing now and I love yellow on me now, who knew?
  

• Color-blocking. Love everything about it! What is it you say? Example: bright blue pants, neon yellow top and bright pink shoes:) It inspires me to be super daring in my wardrobe! I love me some bright color, get it all out there!
  

Overall, life is just really inspiring right now and I am soaking it all in! Now, let me get off of here and go "pin":)

Just another Random Thursday...

A few random thoughts for this beautiful 75 degree Spring day:)

1. I love blogging. I need to get a grip and post more often!
2. I love that today is supposed to hit at least 75 degrees! Yay for March heat waves!
3. I have only seen one 1/2 of a Glee episode, but I found it highly annoying and I am confused as to the following. Maybe it is one of those, "you have to watch from the beginning" shows.
4. I wish I could hold my newest little niece in Alaska right now:(
5. "Drive" is amazing, why is Ryan Gosling so precious?
6. I think I am going to start a second blog...
7. I am craving summer activities: camping, hiking, Yankee games, road trips, the beach.
8. I need a damn haircut!

Bring on Summer!!

What is happening? Is this Winter?

Last year in New York we were pummeled with snow by 3 major back to back snow storms and this year it is January and not a flake on the ground. Although, we did have that random, unseasonably early October snow storm the scared everyone including the trees (which still had leaves on them so they were all broken all over the place... not good) and loss of power that led to me missing 2 days of work (I wasn't too disappointed). I guess I am just confused and mostly excited.

I love the snow. No, really, I do. I just don't like having to drudge through it everyday or shovel my car out or shovel at all, really. I mean, I get real tired of having the bottom of my pants tucked into boots or the "whoopsie, my pant legs fell out of my boots and now they are wet half way up my leg" anxiety. But, I would like to feel cozy. Snow is cozy. I am not sure why, but all I want to do is drink coffee, wine and hot cocoa all at the same time and sit in front of the fire place just thinking about how cozy I am in my jimmy jams and fuzzy slippers. Doesn't that sound delightful? Last week it was 60 degrees. Ok, I agree with you, that is ridiculous. But, I loved it and took full advantage of wearing a cute outfit that did not have to be hidden under my usual insanely adorable (but bulky) winter coat.

I would be alright with one more snowfall this "winter", but don't get ahead of yourself mother nature. I said ONE. A friend said to me last night, "you have New York skin now". I am pretty sure that is true seeing as I barely went outside when I was home in Alaska over Christmas and really wasn't jazzed about doing any outdoor activity. Alaska is in winter to the max right now and I am happy for those who love it, but I am happy I am not in the middle of it! Spring, is that you right around the corner?