Ramblings Archives - Page 2 of 9

Five things You Missed This Week…

August 22, 2014 by Susan 2 Comments

Oh hey Friday! It’s about time you got here! This has been one long as heck week. In addition to wedding planning, I work as an Independent Marketing Contractor during the week. One of my clients is going through a website rebranding and relaunch. I spent a couple days of this work week up in Northern Virginia at the corporate office… and the rest of my time clicking refresh as the new site was supposed to go live. {Fingers crossed, without any glitches.} But everyone in this online world knows - it’s rare for there to ever be a non-glitched-up launch or to have it perfect without one tweak necessary… Sigh. But hey, it’s Friday! Since the blog was a little bare in the middle {of the week} this week, let’s just do a completely random 5 today to catch you up! Oh, and thank you all so much for the kind words of encouragement with last week’s 5. Y’all rock. Thank you so much for your support.

PiYo! I was invited to join an {online} group of lovely ladies for 30 days of PiYo. You know, God seriously works in the most interesting and timely ways. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with social media. But when it comes to love - I whole-heartedly LOVE the people I have met {and some that I have only “met”} via social media. Through random #hashtag hopping, I somehow crossed paths with the lovely and amazing @sugaryjoy several months ago. She is one of the sweetest and down right gorgeous {inside and out!} people I think you could meet. Maybe she is catfishing us, but I highly doubt it.

Either way, I’m thankful for her. She is an encouraging and wonderful coach to have.

So I’ve jumped on board and have joined these women for 30 days of PiYo. If you have been following along for the past couple months {via my social media} you may have heard me ask about yoga recently. The timing of this Pilates and Yoga Combo exercise was perfect. Well, as perfect as exercising can be. {Why do I seriously hate it so much?!}

Today is day five and I am proud to say, that I even stuck with it and did my PiYo in the hotel this week! I have become “that girl” who travels with her hot pink yoga mat. And I’m okay with that. It’s a really fun exercise that can be modified for people {like me} who have struggled with knee problems and/or really just dislike anything that makes me sweat. I will keep y’all posted on what I think {and my results} as the 30 days progress!

Rebrand! I had a little teaser on IG this week showing the sneak peak of the 2 cats & chloe rebranding in process! Yup, it’s true. I’ve had this look for the past three years. It’s cute and all, but every time I look at my blog, I hate it more and more. I need something fresh and new! {Considering I re-arrange my house almost quarterly, I’m shocked my blog design has been the same for so many years!} I’m hoping to have it live next week! Stay tuned!

Oh, and to answer a lot of your insta-questions from the teaser post - YES I do my own blog design. I’m no expert but it is a great, creative outlet for me. If you are interested in me looking at your design, and possibly helping you tweak yours - let me know!

Shopping Spree! Shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone, but I took a couple hours to myself yesterday on my way home from working in Northern Virginia. It’s been FOREVER since I have gone out shopping for no particular reason. Considering everyone is in back-to-school mode, I expected the Williamsburg Prime Outlets to be quite a bit more hectic. Thankfully, it there was plenty of parking and no real lines. Probably because it was the hottest day ever and only crazy people shop outdoors, in unruly humidity and extreme heat. So what did I buy?

A pair of ankle boots. Birthday presents for my dad. A fall garden fall. A candle that smells like birthday cake {just because I can’t eat it doesn’t mean I can’t smell it right?!} And a new rustic “Home Sweet Home” box for us to put our shoes in. Oh, and I purchased my first Christmas present! It’s never too early to start shopping for Christmas right??

The Ice Bucket Challenge!

Crap. I was really hoping I would make it through this awesome, yet extremely trendy, social media fundraising blitz warm and dry. Last night I was alerted via facebook that I was tagged in a post. My immediate feeling was dread. BUT - who am I to turn down a challenge. Stay tuned…

Weekend Plans? We have none. Other than work: Client work. Contractor work. Website work. House work. Yard work. Blog work. Why is being a grown up so un-fun sometimes? That’s it from me for today. Have a lovely weekend my dears! If you are stopping by from the friday linkup, please leave a comment! I would love to say hello and get to know ya! Happy Weekend!

Two Truths and a Lie.

August 5, 2014 by Susan 4 Comments

Susan here, clocking in for the third hour of this seven-ish hour road trip to Charleston. In case you missed the news, I am heading to South Carolina for a spontaneous glamping trip! I’m currently fighting car-sickness in the back seat of my mom’s SUV, feet on the hump. Chloe has her dog bed taking up 2/3 of the seat while I’m squished against half of our bags and gear, with my laptop, paperwork and blanket piled on top of me.

Since nothing screams road trip like car games… Let’s play Two Truths and a Lie. Not familiar with this game? Basically I will share three things with you about myself - two of them will be honest to god truths. The third will be a bunch of bologna. {In the comment section below, you tell me which one you think is the lie. I will have the answer in tomorrow’s blog post!}
// Number One // I bought my first piece of kid equipment yesterday. {there was actually a hint about this in yesterday’s post. I wanted to see if anyone actually read to the bottom of that post…!} No, I’m not pregnant. I’m just an insane dog-mom. Actually my mom has gone insane over her grandpuppy. She found a bike buggie for $35 on craigslist! Now, for our glamping trip, Chloe can bike along with us!

// Number Two // I finally caved and got my wrist tattoo! I’ve seriously been coveting so many tiny, but pretty tattoos on pinterest for quite some time. I figured, I’m 30. Who really cares what my folks think?! I’ve made it this far in my life, following all of their rules. It’s time to live it up! Surprisingly it didn’t hurt quite as badly as I thought it would… and my dad hasn’t even noticed it yet!
I have spent the last couple years trying to find just the right word for my wrist. I decided to go with “breathe.” It’s a calming word when things get crazy, but it’s also a reminder to breathe in the great moments and the gusts of adventure that are constantly breezing past me. And I absolutely love the watercolor touch! I just hope the color doesn’t fade too much. // Number Three // Guys! This was a first for me! I hired a cleaning lady! Well - I didn’t actually hire her… it was a LivingSocial deal. I thought the house could really use a good clean up, ya know? Between my full head of wild crazy hair, and Rockie and Chloe Fur, there’s a constant flock of tumble weeds bustling through the downstairs of our house. When I saw the LivingSocial deal {two cleanings for $80} I timidly purchased it. I feel like this is such an adult thing to do! But I can’t seem to keep up with my husband wearing his shoes through the house, the drips and drops in the microwave, and again, the fur. So the lady came this morning before we left. It was weird. I felt like Sheldon Cooper as I awkwardly greeted her and offered her a cup of hot tea. Which she quickly denied before she got right to work, while I stood there semi-befuddled. Do I watch her? Do I help her? Do I give her a tour of the house? Do I hide my purse? Seriously - someone please tell me what I was supposed to do! In the end, she didn’t do a very good job. Maybe because it was a LivingSocial deal? Or maybe because our house was too dirty? I wasn’t very impressed. And I probably will never hire a cleaner again. I mean, I thought she would’ve at least taken the rugs out and shaken them…. // // Don’t I sound like such an adult? Buying kid gear, getting a tattoo, and hiring a cleaning lady? I can barely recognize myself! Here’s to being 30 I suppose! Now it’s your turn - tell me, of my three “stories” above, which one is the lie? Leave your answer in the comment section. Come back tomorrow for the answer {and to make sure I survive this long as heck car ride with the ladies of my family.}

Who actually sleeps in hotels?

July 24, 2014 by Susan 4 Comments

So I spent my last couple of days in Nova {Northern Virginia for those of y’all that aren’t familiar with our stellar state slang.} The corporate office for my marketing job is based up there, so once a month I make the 3 hour commute to work. Now, I am pumped to be working from home most of the time. But every now and then it is great to put on something other than yoga pants, actually sport some makeup, and submerge myself in the corporate world. It rejuvenates me and I honestly enjoy co-workers that don’t hop on my desk, put my pen in their mouths, and run away with it.

But when your trainee is fired 2 hours into the 2 day training session you created for him, and drama ensues, being in the office had me speeding home early today, reminded why I like working from home, on my own little island so much. First thing I did when I got home: I hung up {read: threw on the floor} my business clothes and immediately put on my sports bra before getting back to work - while Ladies of London bickered in the background, of course.
As I briefly mentioned in yesterday’s post about Aunt Flo, I ended up almost hotel-less on Tuesday. I had reservations before I arrived. Reservations as in gut reservations. As in, I should’ve gone with my gut and called ahead. I did have real hotel reservations too. But apparently the hotel didn’t have my reservation. Have I used the word reservation enough yet? No? At least I wasn’t staying on an Indian Reservation. There. Now I’ve used it enough.
So I got to the hotel. I did what good wives do when they are checking into strange hotels without their spouses, I called the hubs to tell him I made it safe and sound. I even said “gosh I hope they still have my room, this parking lot is really full.” I shlepped all my belongings into the hotel lobby, and smiled pleasantly as I spell my new last name for them 4 times. And then I heard the dreaded “we’re so sorry but…” At which point I tuned out. {Seriously - what’s up with my reservations about reservations these days?}
Unlucky for me, there was something wild and crazy going on in Chantilly, Virginia on Tuesday night. I kid you not, every single room, in every single hotel was booked. And it’s not like we are in Mayberry! Friends, we are just outside of Washington DC. There are hundreds of hotels. {Apparently hundreds of overbooked hotels.} Due to the fact that THEY lost my reservation - THEY had to find me a new room. After about 35 minutes they found one, 2 cities over. So I was sent on my not-so-merry-way, 30 minutes {without traffic} from my office, to a strange hotel, in an area I was not familiar with.

Last night, when I was hunkering down in my 2-ish star hotel my brain started going a mile a minute. Do you know how many things you really shouldn’t think about if you want a good night’s sleep in a hotel?! So so many. Buckets and buckets of haunting things.
What do bloggers do when they can’t sleep? They think about blogging. So at 12:23AM I started compiling a list of things that you shouldn’t be thinking about if you want to successfully sleep in a hotel. I feel like it would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t share this sleepily written list with you. So let me do the honors and present the official Don’t-think-about-this-if-you-want-to-sleep-in-a-strange-hotel List:

1 // I wonder who has slept in this bed before me…
2 // I wonder who has touched this tv remote before. Wait where did that remote end up? Ew it’s in the sheets!
3 // Bugs bugs bugs! Maybe I should look under the headboard to make sure they aren’t hiding there.
4 // Did I wear shoes when I walked across the hotel room? Wait - should I be wearing my shoes when I shower here?
5 // Holy crap! Did I accidentally move the $9 handful of skittles or the $19 bottle of water in the pay-per-move mini fridge?
6 // I wonder if anyone famous has ever slept in this room before…
7 // Did I deactivate my room key when it touched my cell phone? What if there’s a fire alarm? What if the power goes out? What if someone knocks on my door and says “Houseeee Keepinggg” but they really aren’t the house keeper?
8 // What’s that noise? I bet it was a bug…
9 // I wonder how often they wash this top blanket? Do they even wash this top blanket? Okay, the top Booger Blanket is going on the floor. OMG it’s freezing in here!
10 // I’m hungry. How much were those 15 skittles again?
Hopefully, when you are laying in your next hotel room, you can reference this list and NOT think about all of the above. I’m just here to serve! {But you know what happens when someone tells you not to think about something…} Wink Wink.
What am I missing? What drives you crazy when you aren’t sleeping in your own bed?
Until next time… Sleep tight friends!

Hiding Behind My Selfie.

June 26, 2014 by Susan 12 Comments

I absolutely positively enjoy blogging. I enjoy the giveaways, the collaborations, and the linkups. I enjoy “meeting” new bloggers and building a community. I enjoy keeping my space in the blogosphere light and fun with recipes, projects, wedding deets, fashion, memories and pictures. I enjoy this as my happy, creative space. But I also want to keep it real. Real with you, and even more so, real with myself. I have built my businesses and blog around many social media outlets. I love them. But I hate them. I hate how, from time to time, this virtual world can make you feel like you’re just not good enough. No one publicly posts their struggles in their timeline updates. People just post every single thing ranging from semi-awesome to abs-a-stinkin-lutely awesome. No one posts negative thoughts or ugly images on facebook or instagram. Probably because no one wants to read about our bad days, our lack of business, our insecurities and need to feel like we are part of the “in crowd” even at 30 years old. And when people do virtually put it all out there, we I immediately think “seriously - why would he/she even post that crap here?”
Maybe because they have no one else to turn to. Maybe they simply just want someone to reach out and assure them that they’re not alone. Or maybe they just need to vent. Who knows. But who am I to judge. So here I am. The owner and creator of the almost-always-happy 2 cats and chloe. Here to open a can of worms, vent a little, and just get some emotions out. Here I am to let you know that I am real. I have a slew of good days and I have a ton of bad days. I have plenty of joys, but I also have plenty of struggles. In a world where we strive for the gold stars accrued by more “likes,” “friends” and “followers” - here I am to tell you what’s hiding behind my selfie.

I struggle with comparing my life to others’ lives. Even some of my closest friends. I constantly feel as if I just never make the cut. I feel like I am always watching all the cool kids and their buckets of success from a lunch table on the other side of the room. Whether it’s accurate or not, I struggle to fit into their world of luck and charm.

I struggle with all of my closest friends living hours, states, and continents away from me. Seriously, every time someone moves away or I have to say another goodbye, my heart breaks just a bit. I passionately hate not knowing when I will see my friends again. I struggle with feeling lonely. As my husband works crazy hours during the week, I spend our weekend time working weddings.

I struggle with the fact that I work from home, and my cat and chloe are my “co-workers.” I run my own business and I work as an independent contractor. As the saying goes: There’s no “I” in “team.” There’s also no “team” in “I”… But given the opportunity to work in an office, I would probably go crazy. I struggle with the fact that I worked my ass off (well more so my belly) the first half of the year to lose 20 pounds, only to run into a handful of health issues, and gain every single ounce back. I dread wearing a swimsuit. I dread simply looking in the mirror. I struggle with guilt when I’m not working. If I’m not working, I’m not making money. Even on holidays. Even on sick days. When I’m not working one of my jobs, I should be working one of the other 2… Not watching tv and eating lunch for 20 minutes. I struggle with the fact that I have no time for creative craft projects. Because I’m always working or sleeping. These projects used to act as a mental release for me. I need to not feel shame because I have the desire and need to create. I struggle with the dark feeling that I am never a good enough wife, daughter, sister or friend. I struggle with the need to satisfy my shopaholic cravings, yet I feel terrible when I spend $6.99 on Trader Joes’ Almond Butter and other clean-eats. The point of this post isn’t to depress you, or to make you feel bad for me. The point is to show you that we all have struggles hiding behind our perfectly posed, cameras-raised-up-high-enough-that-you-don’t-see-our-double-chin selfies. Maybe I am alone in this feeling of “everyone else just looks so darn happy all the time.” Or maybe I’m not? Maybe my selfies are part of the problem, leading others to believe my life is absolutely peachy 100% of the time. Maybe I need to just focus on ME and get off of facebook. And then I sit back and thank God that all of my struggles are beyond a doubt, first world problems. I’m blessed to have a roof over my head. A husband that loves me. A family that protects and cares for me. Food in my pantry. A car to get me where I need to be. And numerous jobs that provide multiple (yet small) incomes. Do you have struggles hiding behind your selfies? Give me your thoughts in the comment section below.

Hi, My name is Susan, and I’m a Personifier.

June 4, 2014 by Susan 5 Comments

Let me preface this post by saying that names were not changed to protect the identity of my belongings.

You see, here’s my problem. I personify just about everything I own. As a kid, I named each and every single one of my bazillion stuffed animals. And if you put me in a room with them (or in my parents’ attic with them) I’ll bet you money that I can recall all of their first and last names. And their back stories. And their favorite hobbies. I blame my attention to detail and my love for creativity. It’s pathetic and it’s a problem.

I name just about everything that I own:

My house = The Big GreenHouse

My iMac = Pearl

My MacBookPro = Oyster

My Jeep = Lorelai

My Prius = Pretty Prius Penelope

The stuffed bear that I’ve had since 11th grade = Booger

My DSLR = Snaps

Our blender = Katrina

Our toaster oven = Frank

My husband’s car = Mr Accordian

No seriously. As an adult who is about to turn 30, I see this as a huge problem. And probably the reason I am on the verge of becoming a TLC reality show special. As it seems, once I name something, it becomes part of the family. Which is why, yes, at the age of 29 years and 357 days old, I’m ashamed to announce that I still sleep with Booger. The problem is that when I give something a name, I am also giving it a personality. And then it breaks my heart to part with him or her. {Not so much the toaster or the blender though… those were just used for blog-exaggeration purposes. However, they do prefer to go by Katrina and Frank. Kiddddding.}

Ramblings aside, I’m getting to my point: Pretty Prius Penelope has to find a new home. A new home that can fix her issues. Given the option, I would send Frank or Katrina packing. Lucky for them, neither have repair costs in the multi-thousand dollar range.

So I’m afraid that it’s time for my beloved, bright red, hybrid car to go to CarMax. I bought her used about a year and a half ago. I’m the kind of person who gets a car and keeps it forever. Which only makes this situation even more unhappy. Despite her needed repairs - she’s been a perfect car. But the hubs has already threatened that I will never, ever, ever own another hybrid. Even if she gives me 54 mpg, I never have to have her key out of my purse to drive her, and the back of her lays completely flat making her the perfect vehicle for chloe and all my wedding gear.

We are picking her back up at the dealership tomorrow to take her home, clean out all my junk in her trunk, and take her to her CarMax appointment on Friday. Go ahead, call me crazy. I seriously don’t know why I attach myself to inanimate objects like this. (Although I do remember my mom saying goodbye to “Vanny” when it was time to trade him in…) I keep telling myself ~~she~~ it is just a car. ~~She~~ It does not have any feelings. ~~She~~ It will find a new, good home. Goodness! Can you imagine how I’m going to react when it comes time for Chloe or Rockie to leave me?!

By the spare chance that you actually care, I will keep you posted. But unless she magically fixes her issues or the dealership figures out how to fix her for less than the cost of a 3 week trip to Europe - I’m afraid it’s time to say goodbye.

So now that you think I’m absolutely cray… it’s time you confess. Have you named your vehicle? Do you become attached to your car? Or are you ~~a weirdo~~ like me, someone who has named random things around her house? Is this normal or should I be booking my summer vacay at an institution?

For the love of all 428 of named, childhood stuffed animals and my sick Pretty Prius!

Until next time… xxoo

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