Re-inspired at last!

I know I've been pretty lazy with the blogging but I think I got caught in my usual winter rut that typically occurs around post-xmas time until the first scent of spring air. I hate this time of year the most...I think it is brought on by the hype up to xmas that ends abruptly at midnight on Dec 26th. That is when I am officially over the snow and freezing cold weather, am financially recovering from xmas all together, and overdone with cabin fever that it drives me to the brink of insanity. This year was a bit tougher, being that I am super confined to the indoors with the kiddies. As soon as warmer weather hits and the ground isn't muddy anymore, I will be able to take them outside to play and get a bit of fresh air myself so it'll be better. I also hate how freaking dark it is all of the time. By the time Em gets the kids (4-4:30ish) I only have about 30-45 minutes of daylight left. Its so damn depressing! I long to move somewhere warmer, but that is a whole other issue that me and Ant have been debating over for a long time now.

The last two months have just been the usual routine: babysitting, Outback, mommy & wife. I haven't been doing a whole lot of lia sophia stuff but that is quickly changing. Next month, I am signing two girls onto my team. One more girl and I am earning my trip to Cancun for 2010! Its very exciting stuff. One of my personal goals is to be promoted to a Unit Manager which I believe is very attainable over the next couple of months. This June, I will be attending my first conference for the company and I am SUPER pumped about our celebrity guest speakers. One of them is Bill Rancic, who I could care less about but he will be joined onstage by his wife Guilianna DePandi Rancic of E! news and I am flipping to see her! I love her! The next speaker is...drumroll...TIM FREAKING GUNN!!! You heard me right, project runway fans, I will be seeing him live in person! I absolutely adore him and both of his shows on Bravo. The conference is in Milwaukee and Ant is going to go with me for a little getaway. We will be flying into Cincinnati, Ohio, after it is over, to meet up with our friends who will be there for a wedding in northern Kentucky. We'll spend a few days there and drive back with our friends. I'm pretty stoked at the thought of a little vacation. And most of it will be a business write off! Gotta love it!

This Valentine's Day was alot of fun. Me and Ant were planning a little romantic dinner and movie but my mom called that morning and informed me of a last minute family gathering b/c Aunt Patty, Uncle Mike, and Breanne drove up for the Nascar 500 race. It was sooo much fun and I was so grateful to spend the night with my awesome fam. There was a ton of us there! I love seeing family that I don't get to see often. It was so nice to see Aunt Patty too. She shocked us with how amazing she looks! You'd never know she had been through several rounds of chemo/radiation. I swear she is going to be the miracle of the family(As well as Tricia and Joe, who we pray for every day as well)! She also has converted several of us to the "raw food" diet that she has been following. Em is pretty much 100% but I have been slowly adding elements of the diet to my lifestyle. It really is a fascinating lifestyle change that produces amazing results, although it does require an extreme amount of self control. I am trying to do breakfast, lunch, and snacks with a healthy dinner. I am motivated with the fact that bikini season will be here before we know it!

I was thinking the other day about the topic of "guilty pleasures" and although I have too many to list, one of them I must confess b/c its kind of cheesy but whatever. There are a plethora of girls out there who have these fashion/makeup/hair VLOGS (video-blogs) that they post on youtube and I cannot stop watching them. My favorite is this girl named DulceCandy87 who is this tiny little Mexican girl who lives in California and just got out of the army. She is sooo pretty and funny and looks exactly like Jessica Alba. But in all seriousness, I have learned so freaking much from her. She gives the greatest hair tutorials and I try out most of them on myself. I used to have two left thumbs when it came to doing my own hair but this girl has helped me out. I have even thought about doing my own little vlog, based mainly on fashion. I have always wanted to be a personal stylist/shopper but never really ventured into that field. I know it may sound crazy and maybe the cabin fever has really gotten to me but I think it'd be kind of fun and also act as a creative outlet for me to channel my stress into. lol. Whether people watched it or not, I think I might just give it a try. I will keep you posted on that for sure. What are your guilty pleasures? http://www.youtube.com/user/DulceCandy87

Well I think that is enough for now...this weekend should be fun. Tonight is going to be calm and relaxed, just me, Ant, and Sophia. I think we may finally watch "Step-Brothers" that I borrowed from my little bro. Tomorrow morning is my weekly clean-fest and tomorrow night we'll prob do something with the fam for Dan's bday. Sunday morning we'll prob do some laundry or just hang out and then I have to work Sunday night. Then its Monday all over again. Sigh. I wish weekends would last just a little bit longer sometimes...I hope you all enjoy yours as well! xoxoxox

Give me a huge pot of chocolate fondue!!!

Hello all...its been a while. Busy busy busy on my end. As much as I love the holidays, I was thankful for them to be over so that we can resume our normal routines. Our xmas was chaotic but very nice...Santa was very good to us and to Sophia. My favorite gift was my new palm pilot, it helps me stay more on the organized track. We also got Guitar Hero world tour for our ps3 and have been hosting "band night" quite a bit at our place with our friends. It is a blast...definitely helps me live out my long lost dreams of being a rock star. Our New Years was very quiet. I had to bartend that night until about 10:30 so I had plenty of time to get home in time for the ball drop. Sophia even stayed up this year. She was very excited to yell and toast everyone with her sippy cup.

This weekend I have an event for lia sophia in Atlantic City so me and Ant will be returning for the first time since our slumber party in the trunk of the Edge. We do have a hotel room this time around though, lol. I think we are even going to eat at The Melting Pot again, yummy. I just need some alone time with the Hub, something we do not get very often but are always grateful for. It helps us escape from our daily stresses and concentrate on "us" and how much we love each other.

Speaking of love, Ant called me Saturday and told me that he was getting me an early Valentine's Day gift...A New Kitten! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am such a cat freak, I've been begging for a new cat so this was such a good suprise. So we bundled up Sophia and went to pick up our new "son". There were 3 kittens to pick from and they were all so cute so we left the choosing up to her. She went straight for the only all-white kitty, and the only male. We are so in love with little "Mo" however, it is going to take a while to get Cleo, our other cat, used to him. She hisses and growls at him but I know in a matter of days it'll get better.

Other than that, not too much exciting stuff on my end. I think I am in a rut. If anyone knows how to break out of a rut, please share. Ciao! xoxo

Don't booze & cruise...just crash on your siblings floor!!!!

Hellooo all. Its Monday morning at Em's and I am sitting with the kiddies. The girls are laying down watching Go Diego Go, and Bub is playing in the corner with his toys. The moments that are calm like this are far and few between so I figured I'd recap the weekend before the stinky diaper hour hits. Usually they all poop around 10 so I just do a little assembly line and change them all one after another. lol. Anyhow...

This weekend was alot of fun. Friday evening and Saturday afternoon I had jewelry parties so that kept me busy. On Saturday night the whole fam went to Em & Kev's for pizza and wings. It was so much fun! We weren't all together for Thanksgiving this year so it's been a while since we've all hung out. All of the kids had a blast playing together. The boys had a nice, rowdy game of beer pong going in the basement so us girlies bundled up and drove up to Otisville to get us some of our own booze. Em & Lay got a bottle of Malibu and I got myself some of this pre-mixed margarita stuff. So, we sat and drank our concoctions while trying to calm down the kids for bed. Me & Ant ended up sleeping over due to the snow/alcohol consumption so it was a fun night. I always enjoy myself with my brothers and sisters.

On Sunday me and Ant both woke up with some hangover-ish symptoms so off we went to fight it the best way we know how-greasy ass diner food! Oh yes, we had a feast of potato skins, mozzerella sticks, chicken wings & fingers, fried mushrooms, diner fries and a greek salad for me. And what better to wash it down with then ice cold fountain coca cola!!! Yummy. I prob sound so gross but you know that feeling of having a slight hangover (major hangovers leave you doing nothing but puke and sleep the day after) and just sitting with a pile of grease and sugar in front of you. mmmmmmmmm. Too bad hangovers happen about twice a year for me nowadays, lol.

After our fatty fest, we made a quick stop at Rite Aid for some catfood and rushed home to catch the Giants game. Anyone who knows my husband, will tell you he's a crazy football fanatic so nothing gets in the way of his games, particularly the Jets. He is absolutely obsessed, we all have our Sunday "uniform" of jerseys that must be worn. So he watched his games and I cleaned the apartment to get ready for the workweek. After the games, we rearranged our living room furniture and got our apartment ready for the holidays with our tree and decor. I love this time of year so much. I always go through a depression right after the holidays are over. I love how cozy and festive our home always looks. Its like living in a party. Sophia actually was big enough to help this year so it was extra fun decorating as a little family. Christmas is going to be a blast. I am just as excited for her toys too, she is getting some really fun stuff this year. No more rattles or crazy baby einstein movies for her! lol. Bring on the good stuff!

This week is going to be a normal one, at least I think it is. Tonight I have a sales meeting, followed by having the girls over for our weekly viewing of The Hills. Tomorrow and Wednesday I bartend. Before you know it, the weekend will be here all over again! I hope everyone has a great week! Oh and in case ya didn't know already...XMAS IS IN 16 DAYS!!! xoxoxox

Happy Thanksgiving!

This isn't going to be a long post, my apologies for the lack of sharing lately. I've been doing some long overdue soul searching so I've been laying low. However-I would just like to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my loved ones and I hope you have a wonderful day! I would also like to say, in the spirit of giving thanks, that I am deeply grateful for all of the people that play such an enormous role in my life. From the fam & friends that I am lucky to see everyday to the people who live far but still remain close in my heart-not a moment goes by where I don't feel tremendously fortunate to have such amazing people to share my life with. I hate being depressingly sentimental but that is just where I am at with my life right now. Life is too short to take people for granted, especially the ones who count. I love you all! Don't eat too much! xoxoxo

Just squirrels trying to get a nut...

Hello all. I know its been a while but I have been a stressed little volcano ready to spew over and I didn't really want to unleash that beast on all of my readers. I know venting is a great stress reliever but there is a fine line between venting and sounding a tad psycho so I have stayed away. Now, my stressful situations still exist but I have been coping with them for a little while so I should be safe. Enough said.

Getting off that topic b/c that is NOT what I want to write about...I'll pick up where I left off when I left you last....The Wiggles Weekend. It was so fun and exciting that me and Em both cried when they came out. Yes, you heard me correct, we cried. Maybe its the fact that we watch them every single day of our lives and they have become somewhat of a celebrity to us too, but whatever it was, we were pretty moved. Plus we were so close to the stage that we could make out every drop of sweat on their faces. They put on quite a show too! The kids had a blast (poor Bub fell asleep on Ant during the show, sensory overload) and it was fun to see the ecstatic looks on their little faces. At the end of the show, me and Em grabbed the girl's & hauled ass to the stage to try and get a hand slap or something. No physical contact (they were prob scared of us pulling them off the stage) was made, but Murray did wave goodbye to us!!! Call us crazy "mom-groupies" but we had a blast and it was worth every cent (however, we did avoid the urge to buy an $18 light stick).

Last Monday, I attended our monthly lia sophia meeting and I received my first award! I got an award for top-selling advisor (in my region) during the month of October. That was def something to smile about. I was absolutely elated. I could tell Ellen (my advisor/mentor) was pretty proud of me, too. I was awarded a $25 jewelry certificate and $50 cash for holding a show that sold over $1000. I also won another $25 jewelry certificate from our raffles that we hold at the end of the meeting. It was a good night. Look out November!!!

In the lull of all the economy crap that is going on, I have decided to play a little game, if I may call it that. I am going to spend as little money as I can and blog about my frugal ways. This poses a challenge for me, I love to shop and drink my $5 lattes from Starbucks. But I just can't stand reading about "the crisis" anymore so I am going to make this shitty situation as fun as I possibly can make it. Not that me and Ant are broke or anything, I am just tired of feeling guilty about going out to eat and buying nice things when others are struggling. So I am going conservative!!! I would love to hear every one's input and suggestions for how they are dealing with the economy as well. What have YOU had to cut back on? How do YOU save money?

As far as my fundraiser went, I managed to raise $200 to give to the Gurliacci family. I will be sending them a check, as well as a little bracelet that I had bought for Natalee. Hopefully, the money will do them some good. It makes me feel good to know that I was able to help them in some way. I would like to say a very very big "thank you" to everyone who ordered. It is definitely appreciated.

Before I finish this post, I would just like everyone to ponder the meaning of the word, "GRATITUDE"....what does it mean to you? What are you gracious for? I think we live in a world where people can get so wrapped up in what is going wrong in their lives that they forget what is actually going wonderfully right. Every day when I wake up, I try to think of at least 10 things that I am so incredibly grateful for in my life. This morning when I looked at the cover of the newspaper, I saw a young couple with a little boy standing at the window of the Orange County DSS office. They were applying for public assistance. Inside the article, it tells us of how the young couple is sharing a studio apartment with the guy's father. Another story tells of a young couple with 3 children who are trying to live on a measly $300/wk income. Enough said. Count your blessings, folks. In the words of my brother, "we're all just squirrels trying to get a nut." lol. Gotta love the Patrick-isms. List your blessings and be grateful. We're all fighting our own battles in a way and we often forget the reasons for why we keep fighting rather than just giving up.

I hope everyone had a great week. Til next time. xoxox

Happy Halloweenie!!!

Well, Friday is back, and it also happens to be Halloween. I'm at Em's with the kids but Kev should be home soon, so off I will go to start the night's festivities. Sophia is going as a skunk, and a very cute one at that. We are having our friends, Dan & Samantha, over with their son, Trevor, who is one month older than Sophia. I bought a special Lia Sophia sign to stick in my yard to advertise to all the mommies bringing around their kids for trick-or-treating. I may sneak a business card or two into their little treat bags as well, always on the hunt for more money making opportunities (ha ha). As far as the week went, BUSY is the only word that sums it all-and the weekend is not going to let up either. Tomorrow, Me, Ant, Sophia, Em, Kev, Mia, & Bubba are off to Connecticut to see....drum roll please...THE WIGGLES!!! Yayy! Me & Em are practically wiggles groupies from watching them alllll the time, lol, so we are very very excited. As soon as we get home, I have to jet over to my friend, Eva's, to participate in a vendor "open house" night where I have already set up a Lia Sophia table. Hopefully I can rack in some business there. Then, on Sunday, I am doing a show at Aunt Nancy's and off to Outback to bar tend at 5. Whew! Just seeing it in words makes my head spin. I won't even go into how busy my week has been, I'm sure you can only imagine. But please do not mistake this for bitching or complaining, I am extremely grateful to be busy. Money is good, I'm doing what I love surrounded by people that I love even more. Burnt out-maybe, but, unhappy-definitely not! I am blessed....and I can sleep when I am dead. lol. Tuesday I get a day off from babysitting due to election day, but I will prob be catching up on my cleaning and laundry. The madness never ends!!! However, Em agreed to split up our week where she would alternate bringing the kids to my place and me coming here. That is a huge help, it will allow me to be home to get things done during the day that have been neglected as of late (ahem...laundry).

Last weekend was alot of fun, our Friday night dinner was a success and the food turned out great (thanks to my awesome hubby who cooked and cleaned for the occasion). Then on Saturday, I ran some errands until Ant got home and we headed over to my parent's for dinner. Seeing everyone was nice...not something I get to do often anymore. My new niece, Taylor, is a peanut and sooo beautiful. I love holding a brand new baby again...made me reminisce of Sophia as a newborn. I def miss those days....maybe one day soon I will have some good news for everyone (no that is not a pregnancy announcement). Sunday was just a day to relax...made breakfast for Ant & I(bacon and eggs), and we went out & bought Sophia some new fall/winter clothes from Kohl's as well as new sneakers for the hub. Then he headed off to his parent's house with Sophia to watch the Jets and I had a few hours alone until I had to work. Of course I watched "Atonement" again, for the 100th time, and then headed off to make some more bacon (not the kind we ate for breakfast,lol) .

I must share with everyone, before I go, my favorite TV show. Private Practice has got to be the most addicting, emotional, tear-jerking show ever. Every week I am left choked up and blubbering like a baby. Definitely watch it!! It is on every Wednesday night at 9 on ABC and full episodes are available to watch online.

Well that is all that I have for now...I hope everyone has a fabulously, spooky Halloween! And no teepeeing the neighborhood! xoxoxox

TGIF!!!

Ahhh...the end of another week and boy am I glad to know that tomorrow is Saturday, and I have zero plans! Never have I been a person who would be happy about nothing to do, but life has been busy, therefore, the opportunity to do nothing is quite rare! Tonight we are having Ant's parents, his cousin, her hubby, and their kids over for dinner. We try and get together at a different person's home once a month and tonight it is our turn to host. We'll be making a big tossed salad, our re-creation of Outback's "Alice Spring's Chicken", and some garlic mashed potatoes. I have plenty of leftover wine from our wedding, so some Bud for my father-in-law and we'll be set! As busy as things have become, we always try to schedule in family and friend time. It is definitely something that I have learned I need in my life. Balance is absolutely essential for me to function, I have to have my alone time, social time with others, time with just my hubby, and time alone with my hubby & daughter. Otherwise I feel like I am lacking something and I get grouchy. Grouchy is never fun.

On another note...this week I did very well financially so I caved and bought the Ugg boots that I have been lusting over. Anyone who knows me, knows that I worship my Uggs and basically live in them through fall & winter. I have two pairs that I received as a gift for my 21st bday and neither one has shown a bit of wear & tear. Of course they need a good cleaning but they have no strings or stitches sticking out and the soles are like new. And they keep my feet nice & toasty all day long. I do not care who says they are "UGG-ly", haha, or out of style...I love them and I will not be giving them up anytime soon. So, as of right now, my new black, crochet Uggs are on their way...come to mama!

On Sunday, I had gotten a free night off from work due to a faulty fire alarm issue, and Ant had gone to his parents to get Sophia after our night in Atlantic City. So I took advantage of the few hours alone, and watched one of the greatest movies ever made, "Atonement". It was on HBO on Demand, so if you have HBO I strongly suggest watching it. If not, it is a surefire bet at the video store! I can't tell you too much without ruining it, but it is full of twisted, tragic love and deceit. The cinematography is amazing and the scenes are so beautiful your heart will ache. Keira Knightly and James McAvoy make the most extraordinary on-screen couple and they carry the movie the whole way through. The rest of the cast is good, but those two make the movie come alive. I love finding good movies, especially ones this good. Atonement has definitely earned a mark on my 'favorite movies of all time' list. (Saving Private Ryan, Baz Lurhmann's Romeo & Juliet, Marie Antoinette, Atonement, Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3, All Harry Potter movies, Amelie) There is nothing like snuggling in and escaping into a different world for a few hours. Maybe after our guests leave later, I will be able to coax Anthony into watching Atonement too.

I hope everyone had a great week and has an even better weekend! xoxox