My two good friends Krissy and Miguel are getting married in March...in Mexico! I'm so excited to not only share in their love and joy, but to take my first trip to Mexico! However, this excitement quickly fades when I realize I have to get into a bikini. It's a common fear for girls, and the pressure is on! I have until March 3rd to get into some semblance of bikini shape!

My friends know that eating healthy and exercising regularly has never been easy for me. I'll get in a kick for about two weeks, and then I'll just get lazy and give up. The following week I'll be motivated and try it all over again, but it never sticks. The bottom picture is a constant reminder of how I looked at my heaviest, and then at my skinniest. And yes, sadly, the only picture I had of my skinniest was when I was in high school and on dance team. Lord knows I'll never be that skinny again, but I can always dream!


This wedding is a blessing and I'm so excited for my friends. Until the big day comes, it will be the biggest motivator to try and lose a little weight, and if I'm lucky, tone up? Let the journey begin. It's crunch time!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Project Runway and Tim Gunn. I recently read his book, Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work, and I think he made a lot of eloquent, often cheeky and funny points. Naturally, I had to share them in hopes that everyone will enjoy them as much as I did.

(One of my faves) "I also like having at least one person around who is widely disliked among your crowd of lovely people. You never know who's going to get along with whom, but you do know people need someone to gossip about later, and you don't want it to be you."

"When we look good, we feel better. That's true for everyone. You feel better able to tackle the world. It's not a good feeling leaving the house without having dressed to be around people. Just the way it never rains when you have an umbrella, you'll never run into people if you look fantastic. But go outside in pajamas, and you'll run into every ex you have."

"You can ask someone out by e-mail, but you can't break up with her." (Someone should have told my ex this; Facebook is even worse!)

"Context is everything-for clothes, for behavior, and for expectations. Truth telling is good, but you also have to accept the conditions as they are."

"When you're thinking of volunteering advice, you also need to ask yourself this question: Will revealing my feelings on this subject actually help?"

"That struggle to find out who you are is so hard. You have to keep eliminating things that you aren't and then see what's left over. Most important, you should never pretend. There's nothing harder than living life as someone you're not, even if being what you are is very hard."

"I think it's best never to lie, because when you tell lies, you have to remember them. It makes life really complicated."

As I'm sure everyone does, I have plenty of pet peeves that plague me on any given day (alliteration aside). While I will admit that some of these pet peeves arise from my own OCD, and may not bother others, some are pretty universal. Some people may not realize that they're guilty of these tiny annoyances, while others are blantantly obvious. Some people can just be rude, selfish, and just completely clueless. This is by no means an exhaustive list; it is merely the beginning. I will add more as I come across them and am reminded how much I hate them.

People who don't clear the microwave, especially in communal areas. This is admittedly one of my OCDs, and it may not bother everyone. But seriously, when I walk into the kitchen and see it flashing "Start" I have to clear it.

When someone asks the question "Do you understand what I'm saying?" I'm not a 5 year old. I understand you to the best of my ability, based off the incoherent jibberish you just told me. (Very prevalent with the people I get calls from at work.)

People who can't be bothered to use a blinker. Americans are lazy. I get it. I can maybe give leeway when the highways or city streets are fairly empty. Maybe. For the assholes who weave in and out of busy lanes on the highway, without so much as a single signal? I wish I could pull them to the side of the road and punch them in the throat. Not only is it a common courtesy to let other drivers know when you're turning/switching lanes, but it can probably prevent a lot of accidents. They would also prevent me from experiencing so much road rage.

People who talk loudly on their phones on public transportation. I ride the bus every day to and from work. While I occasionally have a conversation with my sister, I try to keep it quiet and brief. The other day, a man was shouting on his phone while speaking in a different language. Hey, more power to you if you're bilingual. Just know that this just increases the awkwardness for everyone else who has to unwillingly listen to your call. By far the biggest culprit of them all? Ditzy, 20-something girls. The ones who talk about boys, parties, and clothes while throwing in a lot of "likes" into the mix. Irritating to listen to.

People who complain they're fat, but don't do anything about it and/or make me feel bad that I am doing something about it. Case in point: my roommate. She logs a lot of couch time. I get it-she's on her feet 8-10 hours a day working retail. But if that's the case, don't complain to me how "fat" you are and how you wish you could lose weight. Don't make snarky comments because I go work out either. An example-she saw me in the fitness center in our complex when she came home from work. When I got back up to our apartment, she said "I saw you walking on the treadmill. That's ok. Walking is better than nothing." Uh, what? First, if it's better than nothing, why aren't you doing it? Second, what you didn't see is the half hour I already spent on the elliptical. Stop complaining and do something!


As I'm sure eyes have already glazed over while reading my ramblings, I'll stop for now. Expect another post soon about more pet peeves, as they are ever present.

I discovered The Civil Wars one morning when watching Vh1, and I'm so happy I did! This duo's chemistry, harmonies, and lyrics are absolutely amazing. If you haven't heard of them before, you must look them up! The amazingness doesn't stop at this song! But this is definitely one of my favorites from them:


My next favorite of the moment is from Adele. This isn't the official video, but it still demonstrates the power of this song. 21 is an incredible album, as I'm sure anyone with ears would recognize!

This last one has been a favorite of mine for quite sometime. I still thank Grey's Anatomy every day for introducing me to Ingrid Michaelson. This also isn't an official video, but I thought it was too cute not to post!

Let me know what your favorites are! I love learning of new music. :)