(Un)Lucky 13

aka: How to lose 7 lbs. in two days.

• Step 1: Rush to grab a bite at the crowded mall food court. Stand in line at busy Subway Sandwich kiosk.

• Step 2: Watch as server rapidly tears and smashes bread beyond recognition, then dumps on questionable ingredients with lightning speed to get caught up with her orders. Ignore gut instinct to find sustenance elsewhere; order the Y15 sandwich of the day.

• Step 3: Scarf down unappetizing sandwich; rush on to scheduled appointment.

• Step 4: Teach English small group for 2 hours. Return home with a headache.

• Play DS to unwind. Realize that game seems to be causing some nausea. Decide to watch old episodes of Friends instead.
  

• Never realized they ate so much on this show. Rachel is pregnant and having bad reactions to foods ("Does this have pickles?")... She runs to the bathroom to hurl... And I hurl with her.

Thus began my own (very un-enjoyable) personal rapid weight loss program. Even worse, it coincided with our 13-year wedding anniversary. Fancy, romantic plans, out the window. We spent our big day watching movies while I lay on the couch trying to stay hydrated. Fun times. But you know, even passed out sick on the couch, I was still the luckiest girl in the world, because I was with my guy. We've been through ups and downs, good times and bad, and in the end we're closer than ever. He's the love of my life, simple as that.




Here's to 13 more wonderful years!

(Oh, yeah, and the Subway Sandwich kiosk? Never again.)

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..."

Nine Days Till Christmas!

Just a little card I whipped up last night...


Card Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Merry & Bright Additions" (sentiment), Martha Stewart "Clear Holiday Accent Stamps (bird);" Ink: My Minds Eye; PP: Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses;" Accessories: Cuttlebug/Swiss Dots embossing folder, Cricut/Storybook cartridge, dimensionals, corner rounder punch, scallop scissors, white Signo gel pen.

Mmm, Sushi!

The other night I was noshing on some delectable convenience store sushi in front of my tv. As I was savoring the mayonnaisey - seafoody goodness, I realized the potential absurdity of the situation. I mean, imagine walking into your local gas station in America and saying to yourself, "I'm kind of hungry. Ooh, that $2 tray of shrink-wrapped sushi looks de-lish! And I snagged the last one - SCORE!" Um, yeah. I don't think so.

But for the record, it was some pretty good sushi.

Have You Seen This?

For the past several months I've been futilely searching for a replacement for my beloved Domino magazine (RIP). It's been especially hard since I'm living overseas, where the few English magazines I can find are uber-pricey (about $8-10 an issue), thus more of a luxury than a staple. Today I stumbled across a new online mag, Lonny Magazine, launched by the former editor of Domino. It's chock-full of decorating eye-candy, and the best part is it's FREE! And we're not talking a dinky little brochure, either. We're talking over 170 pages of stylish goodness. All I can say is WOW!

Nostalgia

When I was growing up, every year at Christmastime my maternal grandparents would get me an advent calendar like this one. Behind the little numbered flaps would be a small piece of chocolate and a Christmas image, or possibly part of the Christmas Story. It was such a fun way to count down the days till Christmas.



Imagine my excitement when I found an assortment of advent calendars last week at the import store! Of course one had to come home with me. Mine even plays a rousing rendition of "Morgen, Kinder, wird's was geben." Good times, good times.

Holiday Activity Countdown

Can you believe it's already December? I sure can't! This year I wanted a way to come up with fun little activities for dh and I to do each day of December up until Christmas. I found this adorable little cupcake stand at the market this summer, and I knew it would work perfectly for this project. I cut twenty-four 2x4" strips of holiday patterned paper and scored them to make 2x2" folded squares, then divided them between Seth and myself. We each secretly wrote down 12 activities we'd like to do, then placed them all inside the lid of the cupcake stand. Some of the activities are simple, like watch a Christmas movie or grab some Starbucks together; others are a little more elaborate. We draw one activity the night before (so that we have time to fit it into the next day's plans). It's a fun way for each person to get to do a little bit of what he or she would like around the holidays. I'm looking forward to seeing how the next few weeks unfold!