Disney Princess....Mean Girls

A friend sent this smart lil' clip to me. The Disney Princesses (Cinderella 4-eva!) acting as the main characters from Mean Girls. Huh-larious!!!

Formal Desires

Right now, I can count three formal events on my calendar for 2010. And, due to the nature of the events, I think I can get away with the same gown for each event (obviously accessorized differently! duh!). Besides, doing this will save me some serious cash, which I need right now.

So, I popped into Macy's on my way home from pilates today to see if they had what I was looking for. I walked in the store and start heading for the dress department. But, guess where I ended up? (Mom - Seriously. Take a second and guess. You'll probably get it right...) The coat department! Full of lovely coats with..... 75% off signs looking like glowing stars above them. I really think I heard angels singing as I happened upon this beautiful sight!

Quick backstory: I love outerwear. Pea coats. Dress coats. Puffy coats. Jackets. Fleeces. Scarves. Hats. Mittens. Etc. (gawsh - this is actually a POSITIVE to me living in Indiana!!! Hooray!!!) And, I'm drawn to them like a fly to a light.

Couple that with a sale and you probably already know the end to this story: I have a gorgeous, cream, Kenneth Cole coat hanging in my closet. And, I got it for a steal!

The dress? Well, their selection sucked. Which gave me even more reason to buy a coat tonight. I'll go dress shopping later...

FML

My Girl Scout cookies got delivered about a week and a half ago. A day after I finished off the last of the lemon creme cookies, this article shows up in the paper. I. Feel. Gross.

need to catch my breath

The past four days, I've unintentionally exhausted myself. Every. Single. Day. I go-go-go for about fourteen hours straight. Finally come home. And I become worthless. Today? I woke up at 4:30am. Was out the door by 6:30am. Got home at 8:30pm. And, I don't think I'll be able to get off this couch for three weeks. (Plus - my core muscles are killing me due to a great pilates class last night. Just another reason for me to not pry myself from horizontal position.) I need to slow down. Big time.

Oh, and, thinking about pilates... Last night, the instructor kept looking at me and saying "Relax your shoulders! Relax your shoulders!" It sounded familiar. My masseuse the last time I got a massage got on me for not being able to relax my shoulders either. As my mom said, "You get in naturally, honey. I wear my shoulders like a pair of earrings."

One of these days I'll learn the art of relaxation...

Geeked Out

Today, I accomplished something I fretted over for weeks. Today, I made a lot of people proud and happy, including myself. Today, I realized the beauty that lies behind the frustration of collaboration. Today, I was incredibly impressed by regular people doing really. awesome. things. for our better good.

Today was a good day.

Even the dinner celebration - that was just as much of a collaboration as the luncheon...

Rollercoaster...

Have you ever gone through those times where one day you're incredibly frustrated, the next day seems like the best! day! ever! and then the next day is all frustration and exhaustion??? Oh, 2010 - you've brought me so many emotions already! Thanks?

I started my New Year's Resolution early this year

People say that when you let other people know about a personal goal, you're more apt to accomplish it. So here's my 2010 New Year's Resolution (which I've been working on for a few weeks now):

I will learn to loosen up more and not get bogged down by details.

There. I have made this public. And, I'm really trying, much to the relief of my friends and family who must get totally exhausted by my over-scheduling and over-analyzing. Heck, it exhausts me!

But, last night my resolution hit a hiccup. How, must you ask, can this happen before the New Year even graces us with its presence?? Because, at 3am, in the dark, without my glasses on, I was making a list. A list that involved things like name tags, pencils and another list I needed to make when I got to work.

Sick.

Honestly, I feel like my subconscious is slyly working against me. I mean, it's waking me up in the middle of the night and encouraging me to make a list!!! Without my permission.

Dear Subconscious: I'm pissed at you. And, while we're at it, stop with the crazy dreams. I'm sick and tired of logging onto dreammoods.com every morning trying to decipher why I would dream about gerbils or tornadoes or swim lessons. Pissed.

I will continue to work on accomplishing my resolution. Baby steps. Itty, bitty baby steps. Until then, just bear with me...


Oh - one bright point?!?! My handwriting on the list that I wrote at 3am. In the dark. Without my glasses??? BEAUTIFUL!!! Seriously. The letter spacing is impeccable. I'm that good.

of Turkey Trots and DNR forms

How was your Thanksgiving? Full of football and turkey and funny family stories? That's sweet. No offense, but I bet your Thanksgiving can't hold a candle to my Turkey Day.

The day started off EARLY. Momma and I had this fun idea that we would run the Valpo Turkey Trot 5K on Thursday morning. I woke up. Got dressed. Looked out the window. Changed my outfit. It was raining. And sleeting. And snowing. Winter Mess Trifecta! But, we did it anyways. Oh, quick side note? I'm not a runner. Nor did a "train" to run a 5K. My gym routine consists of kickboxing, lifting weights and reading Health magazine on the elliptical. I didn't start the race running, but a half mile into the race, I had stepped in two huge puddles and the sleet was crusting around my eyelashes. So I ran. I ran just to get the thing over with. At the end of the race, my mom comes up to me and says, "Alane. You're a machine. I can't believe you ran that whole thing!" She failed to mention I was pale as a ghost and she was worried I was going to pass out.

(PS: For all you runners out there, I know that a 5K is practically nothing to you. Stop snickering. I had not physically or mentally prepared myself to run three miles when I woke up that morning. Get over yourself.)

Either way, after the race, I grabbed a granola bar, tripped all over my soaking wet pants, sloshed around in my wet socks and patiently waited for my mom to claim her medal for placing third in her age group. (You're welcome, Momma.)

But, we did it!

Okay, okay. So some of you might have run a similar race in your home town on Thanksgiving morning. You're probably thinking, "What? Why was her Turkey Day that special? I ran a race too."

Here it is: My 83 year old grandma had my family sign and witness her Do Not Resuscitate form on Thanksgiving. Yep. True story. It was awkward. And, it made our "Litany of Thanksgivings" around the table much more poignant this year. MUCH more.

Bless her heart. All she had to say about it was, "Well, I'd rather have you sign it at Thanksgiving as opposed to Christmas." Well, that, and jokingly accusing my brother of sending her to the grave early. But, that's why we love her!

Bring on the holidays!

schoolgirl crush

I was watching the Today Show this morning (Matt Laurer... Swoon...), and there were all. these. screaming. girls. there to catch a glimpse of one of the Twilight stars.

I admit it. I have not read any of the Twilight books. (However, I would like to! Anyone have a copy they can share?) I have also not seen the movie. (planning on renting it...)

But these girls! Nuts! And, some of them were not girls. Some were full-grown women with teenage daughters of their own literally falling over themselves to get a picture of a seventeen year old boy who plays a werewolf. Really?

Then, I remembered the time I got all "teenage girl" as an adult... New Kids on the Block concert. June 28, 2009. My 26th Birthday.

Oh. My. God.

Two words: Jordan Knight

Hottie -bo -bottie. For real.



PS: Anyone remember the New Kids on the Block cartoon???? Hey-o!!!!

It's a Confusing Time to Be a Woman!

Earlier this week, new guidelines were introduced in regards to breast cancer screenings. I've matured into a woman knowing that I'll need to get my first mammogram at age 40. The new guidelines are saying women can wait until they are 50 to get screened.

Then, this morning, it was reported that the American College of Obstetricians is advising women to wait until they are 21 until they get their first pap smear. Yeah... I got mine much earlier than that.

Whoa.

This is a lot of information. A lot of change. In one week. And, the response has been anything but passionate.

And, this should come as no surprise: I'm pretty passionate about this issue too. I know too many women who were diagnosed with breast cancer in their 20s, 30s and 40s. What if these women had not given themselves self exams or had a screening before they were 50? Would they be survivors today? Or victims?

And, let's be frank: I know and love A LOT of women who grappled with HPV in college. The majority of them being diagnosed with this before they were 21. If they had not been receiving annual pap smears since they were in high school, then what? Would they not have known they had HPV until they reached the legal drinking age? Would the HPV progressed into something not as easy to treat? Heck - at that point, some women would not even know who had infected them in the first place!

Yes, I know that it takes a lot of time for HPV to progress into cervical cancer, but there are a lot of benefits besides a cancer screening when it comes to your annual pap.

I'm a girl. I love and respect my girl parts. Both the top and the bottom. And, I know that the best way to keep me and my girl parts healthy is to be proactive and preventative. So, while I respect the new research, I'm sticking with the old guidelines. I'm still going to see my gyno every year. And, when I'm forty - my twins are going to be squished together between two metal plates.

These screenings are not fun. But, are they worth it? I'm sure of it.