Top 2 Tuesday ~ 2 Favorite Cities

This week's topic: Top 2 Favorite Cities.

I like this one!!!

One of my All-Time Favorite Cities is none other than Chi-Town!! I was just there over the Memorial Day holiday with my mom, sister and niece. There is so much to do and it was such a great girls weekend.

Number 2 is Fort Lauderdale. I told my husband that I would like to be independently wealthy and live on the intercoastal and go out in my back yard and hop into a yacht! Seriously, is it too much to ask???!!! I will, hopefully (fingers crossed) be in Fort Lauderdale in October.

If you want to play Top 2 Tuesday, go here and link up!

Have a great Tuesday!!

Six Word Saturday, A Day Late

Had Fun With Friends This Weekend!!!

Five Question Friday and Follow Me Chickadee!

1. How many pets do you have?

I just have one dog, Jackson Gepperheimer. He is the cutest dog ever! You can read all about him here.

2. If you could switch places with anyone in the world for one day, who would it be?

The first person that comes to mind is Jennifer Aniston. So strange, but first, I think she is gorgeous, and I would just like to be gorgeous for one day. Secondly, mmmmm, the money part would not be so bad either!

3. What is your favorite money saving tip?

Not eating out for lunch. Really not eating out at all, but that is sooo not realistic, LOL. But this week I started not eating lunch out and I can't believe it! I give myself $25 per week to spend, though when I was eating at the work cafeteria I was spending much more than that. It was pretty pathetic to look at my bank account online and see Aramark, Aramark, Aramark, wayyy too many times. Anywho, I don't think I have spent a dime all week. Not only do I have my weekly budget $$, but nothing out of the bank account either this week, except for when I filled up my tank. It is a goal to see how much I was spending eating out last month, versus what I saved this month by cutting way back on it. This little tip is also an added benefit for my weight loss efforts.

4. What do you want your kids to be when they grow up?

Well I only have 1, and truly I just want to do what makes him happy. This is a funny question for me because, when Travis went to college last year, he was pre-med. At the end of the year he changed his major to education. I was devastated! Not because I wanted a doctor in the family (Ohhh OK, I admit it, I wanted a doctor in the family), but more so, because they are laying off teachers right and left right now. I mean here in Central Ohio, there are NO teaching jobs. Sooooo I was thinking he may be wasting BooCoo $$$$$ to graduate and not have a job. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that you have to like what you are doing or you will never be successful at it. So I have come to terms with the whole education thing.

5. What is your favorite quote?

The answer is there are many! I love motivational quotes.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This is the quote that I had printed on Travis' graduation invitations.

Now on to Follow Me Chickadee........

Top 2 Tuesday ~ 2 Biggest Indulgences

What are your 2 biggest Indulgences?

I have to say my absolute biggest indulgence would be eating out. I eat out wayyyyy too much. I go through phases where I like to cook, but bigger phases where I would rather eat out.

My second biggest indulgence is that I get a pedicure once a month or every 6 weeks. It is so relaxing and they do such a great job. I love to look down and see pretty toes, so I just go for it!

If you want to join in on Top 2 Tuesday, hop on over to The Undomestic Momma and link up!

Have a great Tuesday!!

Miscellany Monday & Some Other Stuff

It's Miscellany Monday again. Click Here if you want to play too!

(1)

So if you saw my last post, you probably guessed that I went to see Wicked!!! I have wanted to see it for a long time! It was FAN-FREAKIN-TABULOUS!!! What is so awesome is the fact that my son shares my love for theater, so he was my date!! We went to dinner first at the Japanese Steak House and then headed on down to the Ohio Theater in Columbus. If you haven't seen it yet, we both highly recommend it! It was a wonderful night!!

(2)

On Saturday my baby turned 20. Where has the time gone? My gosh, wasn't it just a few years ago that I had him? I swear I blinked and opened my eyes and he is a man all of a sudden. Quite a handsome one I might add, but I'm biased! His birthdays are bittersweet really. Him getting older has taken our relationship to a completely different level. Although I think kids always need there mama's (I know I do), our relationship has transitioned into that of a more adult/adult relationship. Not that of mother/child. Now I drew the line when he asked me to buy him a drink at the play the other night, LOL. He was kidding.....I think.....

(3)

I took Travis back to college yesterday **sob**. He is now a sophomore at Miami University in Oxford Ohio. OK so he turns 20 and goes back to school all in the same day. How is a mom supposed to handle this I ask you? We got him settled in. He is living in the Frat house this year and he really wanted to handle getting his room together by himself. He is very organized in a kinda chaotic way. I hope you had a wonderful birthday back at school Trav!!

(4)

So how does a bummed-out mom who just dropped her kid off at college de-stress? At the campground! I came home, packed a bag, loaded Jackson in the car and off we went. John had driven to PA to pick up his truck, so Jack and I hung out and waited for him. There was a karaoke party going on so we took a walk over and checked it out. There are a lot of talented singers at our campground. Someone asked me to go sing with them, and seriously, I don't there there is enough alcohol in this world to loosen me up enough to sing Karaoke.

Lastly, I wanted to welcome new follower SimpleGirl from Inspirations by D. Be sure to check out her site. She makes some beautiful jewelry! Thanks for following!!

On to a new week. Have a great one everybody!

Guess Where I'll Be Tonight????

I'll give you a little hint.....

Tell you all about it this weekend!!

Top 2 Tuesday ~ Who Would You Be?

Who are the top 2 characters you would like to play on a TV Show or in a movie.

This actually required some thought on my part. I am a true reality TV Junkie. But, would I really want to play someone in a reality TV show?

Ohhh alright, lets be real! YES, I'm sure I would!!

1. I would love to play Bethenny Frankel from Real Housewives of New York. Love that girl. IMHO she is the most "real" housewife from any of the series. Don't get me wrong, I love Caroline and Jacqueline from New Jersey, but there is just no comparison to Bethenny.

Basically Bethenny rocks and I would love to be able to come up with her one-liners!! The things that come out of her mouth just crack me up!! She is beautiful with a small amount of 'ho mixed in. Besides, who would not want to look this cute in a bathing suit at 8 months pregnant.

2. The second person I would like to play is Jane from Drop Dead Diva.

I feel like I could easily hop right into this role. Firstly, the character is not built like a supermodel, and neither am I. I can dream all I want, but fact is, I am no size 0. The premise of this show is that an aspiring model is killed in a car crash but gets brought back to life as an overweight lawyer who is forced to find the meaning of inner beauty. If you haven't caught this show on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on Lifetime, you really should. Anyway, I can really relate to Jane and just about all of her issues. She would be a hoot to play.

If you want to join in on Top 2 Tuesday, hop on over to The Undomestic Momma
and link up!

Miscellany Monday

Welcome to my first Miscellany Monday!! I don't know why, but all of a sudden I'm into participating in meme's. Go figure! So here goes.....

1. Spending a weekend in solitude is great for the soul. Boy went to Philidelphia with his friend Austin on Friday morning, and the hubs went to Bloomberg? Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon for a foreign car swap meet. So I was on my own all-weekend-long. I loved it! No rushing home on Friday night. Nope. Stopped at my favorite consignment shop in Grandview. Then went over to LensCrafters and ordered my glasses. On Saturday I stayed in my jammies till 3 p.m. The plan was to go to the campground last night, but at 4:30 it started pouring. I mean coming down in buckets and it didn't stop for a good hour and a half. Though my garden was probably grateful, I was not. I mean I know we need the rain and all, but it did put the kabosh on my camping plans. I was really hoping to go. There is something intriguing to me about spending the weekend at the campground myself. Well and Jackson Gepperheimer. Though the good thing about him is he is quiet, LOL. Today I cleaned and caught up on laundry and hubs got home around 3ish. Boy won't be home until Tuesday sometime. Back to my whole point of solitude being good for the soul, I just want to say, I wouldn't want to be alone ALL the time, but I don't think I would complain about the occasional weekend!!

2. I'm looking forward to getting my glasses one night this week. OMG I had to get bifocals. That makes me sound very old. I don't like it! However, I have been struggling more and more to see at work. So I just had to just suck it up and go for it!

3. I have to say I have some of the cutest step-grandchildren in the world.

4. Chinese does not fit well with Weight Watchers. I'm looking forward to the day it does! Well I mean it could fit....but not the stuff I like....just sayin....

5. I'm not happy about the new paid time off plan at work. I have even been stressing over it a bit. On one hand, I have a job and that is a blessing. On the other hand, the program changed drastically. It is like I'm going to have to go a year without any vacation. Long story, but it sucks.

If you would like to participate in Miscellany Monday, feel free to hop over to Carissa's blog lowercase letters and join in the fun!

Six Word Saturday

Enjoying a peaceful weekend in solitude!!

Feel free to join Cate at Show my Face if you would like to participate as well!

Five Question Friday

Happy Friday!!! I think meme's can be kind of fun, so today I'm participating in Five Question Friday! Feel free to check it out and link up yourself to play! It is a great way to learn about others and make new friends in cyber space ;o)

1. Have you ever visited another country?

Sure have! My first husband was stationed in High Wycombe, England so we were stationed in England for 3 years. In fact, Travis was born there. I loved Great Britain! We were able to visit so many places over there, including Paris, Scotland, and Wales. I met wonderful friends there, both British and American. And you gotta love Facebook. I have been able to reconnect with alot of the people I had lost touch with through the years.

2. What is the strangest place you have ever been?

Jeez, this one is tough. I can't think of anywhere strange right now.

3. What is your favorite season?

Fall, hands down. Love the leaves changing, the chill in the air, and college football!

4. What one song will always cheer you up?

Soul Sister by Train, although extremely overplayed, will cheer me up in 2 seconds because it brings back wonderful memories of me and my son at Moms Weekend at the Frat house. That was the BEST weekend! Anything 80's is pretty fun too!

5. Which Disney character do you resemble most?

Sadly, I think physically I resemble Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast! That was one of my favorite Disney movies though!!

Ohhhh I Went......

Weight Watchers Day 1. I went. I weighed in. I was actually down 2 pounds, LOL. Is it wrong that it kinda bummed me out because I'm thinking my first weigh-in won't be that much then? I know I'm not quite right. Seriously, I do. But I'm just sayin.....

Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the meeting. I never advocate that. There is statistical proof that people lose more weight when they attend the meetings regularly. I had a good enough reason though. My parents are here visiting and I wanted to cut out of work early, so I didn't really take a lunch. Just quickly ran over to get weighed and then down to the cafeteria to grab a small salad and crusty bread.

How cute is my mom? She brought stuffed peppers with her. OMG soooo delish.

So tomorrow, with the parents here, I took the day off and we are going shopping at Easton. Easton is a great place for shopping here in Columbus Ohio. Looking forward to spending the day with them. It is an all about Travis shopping trip though. New computer for him and I wanted to pick him up some new clothes for the start of school. Which, by the way, is in 2 weeks. O.M.G. This summer just flew by.

Must go hang with the family. I'll be back soon.

New Start

Well tomorrow is a new start for me. Back in May when I was forced to switch jobs (no, I'm not bitter about it or anything, LOL), moving to our headquarters downtown actually afforded me a lot of opportunities that I didn't get at the other facility. For example, there is a fitness center, a credit union, a dry cleaners and a cafeteria all right there in the facility. Pretty cool right? Unfortunately, I have not really taken advantage of these perks. However, tomorrow that is all going to change when I start Weight Watchers at work. How cool is that. Every Tuesday on our lunch we will go and weigh in and have a short meeting. Serious convenience.

I have done WW a zillion times, ok maybe not a zillion, but I am definitely a seasoned Weight Watcher. I even worked for them before as a weigher. When I work the program, it works for me. The thing is, I haven't been working the program. However, historically, I have to hit a certain point, and only THEN will I make the commitment to work at it. Unfortunately I have not hit that point, where the bottom falls out, where I just can't stand another second for a long while.

Well tomorrow is that day. I hit bottom last week. I'm actually really looking forward to starting. I haven't been feeling that great, and I know it is because I'm carrying extra weight around. I will be writing about my weight loss here.

Things I'm looking forward to with weight loss:

1. Without stating the obvious, I would like to look better. Just sayin....

2. I would like to be able to bend over comfortably. I know this is terrible, but putting on socks and painting toenails just about sucks right now!! It is not comfortable to bend over at all!

3. Improved balance. I just feel like I'm off balance all the time and this may or may not be related to weight, but I don't really have another explanation so I'm going to go with it being related to weight.

4. I'm flying to Florida in October. Again, without stating the obvious, I would like to be comfortable while I'm there. Another thing is the plane. The seats are so small, or I am so big, or both. I want to feel better about myself by the time I go.

5. Being able to walk without gasping for air. Funny enough my old boss suggested we made me go up 4 flights of stairs at work. I - was - DYING!!!! Seriously, when I say I did not think I was going to live through the last flight, I meant it. I was bent over gasping for air. And I'm not kidding. GASPING! Not too cool when your boss is a medical professional!! Whatever.....

Those are my immediate desires for weight loss. I'm sure more will come along the way though.

So....Tomorrow...

1. Weight Watchers meeting at lunchtime.
2. Will take the weigh in and not cry. LOL, I seriously would not cry...maybe, but it is time to face the music so I shall embrace what the scale says and then vow to never see that number again. EVER!
3. Will do 1/2 hour of Wii.

This is it! I'm on it!! I will be posting my progress so look forward to at least weekly updates!!

Also, on a side note....HAPPINESS....my parents are coming tomorrow. I can't wait to see their little selves! Taking Wednesday off to spend the day with them, shopping. Also, my mom informed me that she made us stuffed peppers for dinner tomorrow. O.M.G. I D.I.E.!! How is that for SWEET???!!!

I'll let ya know how it goes!!