Day 14 of June Dresses; Could I Look More Exhausted?

But there's a good reason for this tired mug.  I got up at 5am so I could take Bucket to the hospital for lab work.  Then I worked all day with no lunch break to make up for being late to work today.  Then, Missy and I babysat two kids after work; one a 14 year old girl in a wheelchair, and the other a 4 year old girl who was all over the place.  Mr. R is home, so I made homemade manicotti, and now I am sitting on facebook and blogger, completely pooped and ready to fall asleep.

Target dress, Walmart pants, and JCPenney tank.  I've worn this outfit before.  No make up, no jewelry, no stamina.  I.AM.POOPED.

WHOA...hello gray hairs on the back of my  head.  Oh, and pardon the stack of amps.  Tiger had just had his music lesson.

This is what exhausted me.  I filled each one of these with a spoon!  It took forever.  But it was worth it, I think.

Half of this pan disappeared before I got to take a picture!

Day 3 of June Dresses; Tell Me That Again

I received no less than four compliments on my outfit today.  I don't know if it's because of the shoes:

Or the dress I bought for my birthday:

Avenue dress, bought May 2012, around $27.  Shoes are old, old, old; I'm thinking 2002.  They are brand name RSVP.  I call them my "Gwen Stefani" shoes.  No doubt!  They are pointy and hurt like the dickens.  And the python stretchy belt came with the dress.  I am wearing Lane Bryant hoops and a wooden stretchy bracelet.

I don't consider myself shallow, although perhaps taking pictures of myself clothing and posting it online may seem to contradict that.  I promise, I am perfectly comfy in a pair of sweats and tank top, I just don't take pictures of that.  I believe that in this casual world, that getting dressed up for church is a joy and a privilege.  Why wouldn't I want to honor Him and be respectful in a house of worship?  But even I was surprised at how many people came up to me to tell me how nice I looked.  And I'll be honest; I loved it.  I don't consider myself particularly pretty - average, at best.  But I believe in understanding your body, knowing the parts that you love (my feet, my legs, my shoulders, my rear, my blue eyes) and doing your best to camouflage the parts I am not crazy about (my stubby thighs, potbelly, flabby arms, spotty skin and double chin), to stand tall, smile, and just be glad to be alive.

It was a good day to wear heels.  A lot of people were on vacation so I didn't have any kids to work with today.  Instead, I sat on the floor and played with Baby Gigi who was playing in an exersaucer.  It was a riot watching her.  I wish I had brought my camera!

This dress is a keeper.  Thank you for the birthday coupon, Avenue!

In other interesting news:  my community is about to pass legislation allowing homeowners to keep chickens in their backyard.  Mr. R is totally on board; he grew up in a rural area and as a kid, went to the hen house to get eggs.  I grew up in Queens; I remember being shocked when I saw real chickens for the first time and realized that the chicken we bought in packages from the grocery store came from farms.  Farms are real places?  With barns and fields and apple trees with a swing?  Wow...I thought that was only in storybooks!

Leap Day Post, Not A Leap Day Picture

This was taken of me last week at the Whole Foods Market in Winter Park, FL.  Monthly, they hold a gluten free casein free (or GFCF) meeting.  I go, but we currently do not have Bucket on the GFCF diet.  I don't see it happening, either.  The foods are very expensive and they're mostly genetically modified.  They do have some tasty milkshake powder, which I may start him on, because he is now diagnosed with "failure to thrive" which means he is not eating properly (I knew that, the kid eats like crap.)  Bucket eats what we call the 5 Ps:  pizza, pasta, popcorn, parmesan cheese and Pepsi.  Instead of forcing veggies into him, these shakes have tons of minerals and vitamins, and they're chocolate.  Word.  I hope he likes it.  Oh, here's me:

Doing my best spokesperson pose...what?  Don't quit my day job?

That coconut milk was not half bad.  I put it in coffee.  I normally use only half and half in my coffee, but this was gluten and I believe casein free.  And I think I need a tooth whitening.  I didn't notice until I was wearing a white shirt that I definitely have coffee teeth going on.  Ahhh, camera.  Thank you for pointing out so many of my flaws.  Mwah.  Oh, and still haven't decided what to do with hair.  Right now, it's up in a bun, and I have about 1458 barrettes in my hair trying to keep it out of my face while I work.  I look like a deranged third grader.

Anyway, this is my first ever Leap Day Post.  I started my blog back in 2008, which was a leap year, but it was October.   Oh...and in more news?  I became a member of the Board of Directors for an autism ministry group!  I'll share more as I learn more, but I'm very excited about the whole thing.  I have no idea what a Board of Directors does, but I'm willing to learn!

I've Got Friends Who Can Fix Stuff

Ahhh, Doug.  You nerdy friend.  You fix my computer, I feed you this:

These are chicken and bacon meatballs.  I got the recipe off www.skinnyemmie.com.  They're ok...I may have to play with them a bit.  Definitely needed more flavor.  I found them kind of bland.  I had three of them and I was done.  But a good choice if you're wanting Atkins type fare.  There were no bread crumbs in them.  I think more onions would help, but I really, really like onions.  Oh, I served them with steamed green beans.  I love green beans!  I forgot to get a picture of them.


Recent photo of me:  another reminder that I should not ever, ever, shave my head.  Not that I would, but you know.  When I pull my hair back like this, it usually means three things.  1) I've been cleaning or working on the computer.  2) I'm sick.  3)  I need a haircut.  I can see very well, but it's not a good look for me.

Just a funny photo:  I took this photo in the parking lot of the camera repair shop.  The shop is located in the downtown Colonialtown area of Orlando, which has tons of amazing Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese restaurants.  My stomach GROWLED the entire time I was there, the entire area smells so yummy!

Yep.  This sign is awesome because I can't read half of it.

Sad news:  Just found out one of my middle school boyfriends died today of a heart attack.  He was 37.  Just became a daddy for the first time less than a year ago.  Life is too, too short.

Salsa

There is a lady who is the sister of a church member; she makes THE BEST SALSA EVER.  So good that I drove to a CVS in Sanford and met her in the parking lot to exchange money for salsa.  I have it bad, what can I say?

1)  The best salsa ever.  2) I use my fancy white tea cups to hold salsa.  3) I have a Hanukkah tablecloth.  

This is what I wore to church today:

I just bought this teal maxi skirt at Avenue on Wednesday for $19.99.  Before you say, Wow, that is awfully summer for December, it was 83 today.  And I wish Avenue had ten more of these in different colors because I'd buy every one of them.  My favorite part?  A built in slip in the same color which goes to the knees.  And an elastic waist so I can eat more salsa.  The top is something I picked up at Goodwill at least a year ago.  I'm wearing a teal tank under it because you can see my bra through the lace panel, and that's just no good at church!

The kitties decide to photobomb.  Nutmeg is the one staring at the camera; she is in heat right now and driving us crazy.  She has an appointment on 12/23 to get fixed.  Cohiba is the one mooning my readers right now.