The Weekend Before Snowmageddon

Happy Sunday! I can't believe it's already the end of the weekend. I plan on soaking up these last few hours before it's back to the grind- and "snowmageddon"- this week.

"Snowmageddon" is a frequent media term used around these parts for copious amounts of rain, sleet, ice and snow that causes mass chaos. And we're expected to have up to a foot of snow by Wednesday! Definite snowmageddon.

I had a wonderful weekend! An old friend came into town and we pretty much ate our way through the weekend. Dinner with college friends Friday night, enjoyed the beautiful weather Saturday (along with trying out lunch and dinner at two new places) and then breakfast this morning before he left.

I promptly put on my running shoes and hit the trail as soon as he pulled out of my driveway, as I'm sure I gained 10 pounds this weekend! But, sometimes it's worth it.

And Brady Tavern's mac & cheese is soooo worth it.

This week is my "catch up on life" week. Auctions are (temporarily) over and I plan on working on the variety show, catching up on a few big projects at work, and Thursday... the Pioneer Woman book signing at the Mayo Hotel!

Yes, my blog will be getting some much needed attention, too. :) Stay tuned for many, many updates!

I'm off to Borders for a new book and coffee before Snowmageddon begins...

Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday Inspirations

Happy Tuesday!

It's Tuesday, right? Whew. It could be Thursday. Or some imaginary day in between Tuesday and Wednesday that makes the week seem even longer.

The days are long. Yet they fly by. And in between auctions, I find time to browse my blogs. And this week, I've found TWO blogs I absolutely love. Love, love, love.

Lately, I'm drawn to blogs that showcase DIY projects or home decor. Duh, because I'm still decorating my house.

So, without further ado, here are my two current favorites:

I went to high school with Hannah Flora , and she has a great flair for interior design- which you can see on her cute blog. (Plus, she lives in NYC and finds cool stuff on the street that she takes turns into little gems! Sweet.)

She recently helped a friend redecorate her apartment. I have to say, I adore the use of a cute, functional desk as a sofa table.

And this bedroom- love. Especially the two side tables at the foot of the bed.

And then, there's Cape 27.

Sigh. I love this blog.

Since I'm obsessed with all things chalkboard, I just adore this chalkboard wall calendar. Where can I pull this off? My office, maybe?

A better look.

Although considering the goofballs in my life, it would take one hand swipe across the calendar to send me into a Type-A tizzy. Smeared chalk is one of my biggest pet peeves.

Ah, well. Inspiration! I love it. (Mom, aka interior decorater assistant, can we pull any of this off?)

I hope you all have an inspiring Wednesday!

Sunday Night

I'm always a bit shocked when Sunday night rolls around. The weeks seem to go soooo slowly, and the weekends fly by! Not fair. Especially when your week consists of 6 work days. But! I crammed a lot of fun into my "weekend." Dinner and a movie, coffee, shopping, groceries, laundry. Whew! I need a weekend from my weekend.

As you all know, sometimes my posts are light and fluffy and sometimes they're heavy and serious. Tonight's is a bit serious. I'm hormonal, ok?! And I always hesitate about whether to share some of the more serious ones so I'm not labeled the occasional "emo" blogger... but, honestly, I'm ok with it. Sometimes, certain things need to be given a voice.

Sunday night always makes me a bit contemplative. I'm sure many of you are the same way- going over your calendar for the week, check lists of things to do, meetings and appointments. But it also makes me think of what I was doing last Sunday. And the Sunday before that. And Sunday, six months ago. A year ago.

I do that a lot. My co-workers tease me because I'm constantly the one saying, "It's February 16th. Do you know what we were doing February 16th, 2009? We were on a plane to LA for the Grammy auction..." Yes, I'm that girl.

And Sunday nights are the same way to me. They used to be my "family" night. The little family I had built for myself here in Tulsa. And even though a lot has changed in six months- wow, has it been that long, since my world changed so much?- sometimes those Sunday night routines, those wonderful long dinners and cuddling on the couch and that whole life I had comes back to float around me.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it, and I wish I could tell you it's because I'm the girl who lives in the here and now.

But, I'm that girl who remembers what I was doing February 16th, 2009. And I'm the girl who remembers every detail of August 4th, 2010 and August 14th, 2010, and a million Sunday nights.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it because sometimes it still makes my heart hurt too much.

It's amazing, though, what time does. Because lately, I think of Sunday night and remember Cooper's birthday party a few weeks ago. I remember my first Sunday night in my brand new house. I remember Sunday nights over the past six months spent blogging and planning the variety show and dreaming of trips I'm going to take.

Sundays of the past are becoming less important, and Sundays of the now... those are the dates I'm committing to memory.

Kinda heavy, huh? That's ok. I think I can sum it up by saying... living in the present is so much more fulfilling than living in the past. So I'm going to go finish my glass of wine and Sex & The City on TV. Sounds like a perfect Sunday night to me. :)

Words

Whew, what a week! Since my "Map It" post on Sunday, I have been going non-stop and collapsing into a deep sleep every night. So much for taking my first full, non-sinus-infection week back to work easy!

Just so you can grasp the full extent of my busy-ness, here's some inside information: my bed has not been made this entire week. (TOTALLY against my nature.) My sink was full of dishes up until last night. (Gross.) And my DVR... it's full of unwatched everything.

I've worked 10-11 hour days every day, with little time for work-outs or quiet time. Two things I'm desperately going to find time in my schedule for next week.

But! As far as work goes, it's been a highly successful week. There are some exciting projects on deck at my full-time job. And my other job- the variety show!- is well underway. Our next show is coming up- Friday, February 24th & Saturday, February 25th!

I write a ton of words every day. Agendas. Checklists. Scripts.

But my favorite words are ones I write are here, on my blog. Or privately, in my journal.

And this week- my favorite words have been sorely neglected.

It's Friday, and I'm itchy. I have a million blog posts floating in my head. So many words I want to write, to share with you all. So many words I want to write in the privacy of my journal, for only myself to see. Just words, words, words.

They'll slowly start trickling out in the form of blog posts and scripts and agendas and journal entries. Words always have a way of escaping.

So, until then, I'll leave you with a few "words" that describe me right now...

Blessed

Busy

Tired

Hopeful

Content

Thanks to all of you who read my words... and even those of you that just skim them. :)

And stay tuned... because I have a feeling more words are on the way!

Map It

I hope you had an amazing and restful weekend! I sure did. My mom & sister came up to visit, and it was so nice to have some company (and pampering!) after a week of being so sick. We ate, window shopped, ate some more, and did some more window shopping. And today, for the first time in a week, I ventured outside for my first walk without my lungs collapsing. Success!

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that I enjoy- no, love- traveling. Anywhere and everywhere. 2011 is a big year of travel for me; I already have one trip to San Diego booked for the fall, and I will be booking a trip to Denver this Spring.

And of course, the big momma- a trip to Germany in the fall! (Remember my resolution to travel more? I think we can go ahead and give that a big check mark!)

With a love of travel comes a love of maps. In fact, I'm obsessed with maps. And I've decided that my "inspiration wall" I've been struggling to find inspiration for will in fact now be one, giant map.

I love this map from World Market- I just wish it was a bit bigger! I love the colors and that it's magnetic chalkboard.

We walked through Restoration Hardware this weekend, and I immediately fell in love with this giant, roll-up chalkboard wall map. It might actually be too big! (And a bit out of my current budget!) Still... love it.

This DIY Cork Board Map can be found over at Design*Sponge. Precious.

And I love this cork board map from World Maps.

I can officially say the travel bug has bit me... and I need a map to track my upcoming journeys and my "wish list" cities, too!

Any map inspiration out there to share?

Baby, Baby

One of my greatest dreams in life is to be a mom. I think it's going to be such an amazing experience! It helps that I have such an incredible role model when it comes to being a mom- my mom.

Don't worry- I'm perfectly content waiting a few more years for that dream to come true. But, it's a dream, nontheless!

There is something so precious about watching a friend become a mom. And I'm already learning so much about motherhood by three of my closest girlfriends tackle the hardest job there is!

And, let's face it. I get the best of both worlds right now. I get my fill of "baby time"... then I get to hand 'em back to mom and go home! :)

Two years ago, the first baby-of-a-best-friend was born. Cooper will always have a special place in my heart- I love him to pieces!

I can't believe he turned TWO this week! My how time flies. Kind of like glow-in-the-dark rocket-pajamas your favorite Aunt buys you for your birthday. :)

And this handsome man! Another baby-of-a-best-friend. James is already such a stud- when he isn't busy barfing on my shirt! :)

Of course I can't forget Cooper's new little sister, Colbie- I just adore her. (And have no pictures with her yet!)

And just this week... yet another baby-of-a-best-friend was born! Rebecca will celebrate her birthday the day before Cooper.

Whew! That's a lot of Christmas/birthday presents at once for this doting Aunt!

Thanks, friends, for letting me share your babies for a while! It's one of my greatest joys.

And the best part is- I know you will have the same amount of joy when it's my turn. :)

Heart Healthy

It's Wednesday! Since my last post, I:

Got sick.

Lazed around on the couch all weekend.

Got better.

Attended a birthday party.

Showed my face at work on Monday.

Got even more sick.

Slept 20 hours.

Went to the doctor.

Cursed my sinus infection.

But I'd like to report that right now, at this moment, I am able to sit up, stay awake and I am on medication! Yippee!

Next up: a real meal. There's something about drowing in mucus that makes food very unappetizing.

Now that I've ruined your appetite- the real reason for this post.

I've always thought that there have been times in my life that God slows me down for a purpose. I tend to go, go, go- sometimes pushing myself further than I should without even realizing it. And it usually takes a nice bout with the flu or an all-consuming sinus infection to see the white flag of surrender. To know that I have to give up for a minute and focus on me.

And it's usually when I'm feeling pretty sick and lowly that I do some of my best contemplating.

This week started with a little bit of heartache. Honestly, I think I did a pretty good job keeping this sinus infection at bay all weekend long. But Monday rolled around, and my heart hurt, and I cried- and the sinus infection used that moment of weakness to take over.

But, like I said- God has a bigger plan than I do. And sometimes the slate needs to be wiped clean. Work meetings must be missed, variety show planning must be put on hold. The blog must go neglected, and the house must be... filled with Kleenex.

No, really... I just found Kleenex in between my couch cushions.

In all seriousness, I appreciate these moments of being stuck indoors, on the couch. It makes me re-prioritize a bit, get a grip on what's important, what must be accomplished before 5pm every day.

And the funny thing is- more than anything, I realize nothing has to be accomplished by 5pm every day. There are people I can count on to get things done. It's ok for me to let go.

It's ok for me to just focus on me.

And, that's a good message for me right now. Doing what's best for me when it comes to my health- and my heart.