New Year's Resolutions

I thought I'd jot down a few things that I'm aiming for as New Year's resolutions.

1. Health-I'd like to be in the best physical shape of my life. I've never been a big athletic person but I've started exercising a lot and I'd like to be a better runner and in general a better athlete. I'm mainly healthy so maybe eating better will help with getting into shape. Drink less.

2. Finances- I'd like to save more than I normally do. I'd built up quite a nest egg but with the two mortgages it's slowly disappearing. Have to spend less and find ways to save money. I'd also like to sell or rent my house on Green Street.

3. Mentally-I would like to work out all my issues that have been bothering me and become a happier person. I'd like to be more positive also. Sometimes I can be a little negative.

4. Professionally- I would like to focus more on my job. The harder I work the more money I make. Need to be more organized and more efficient. Need to travel more and visit clients in Ms.

5. Relationships-I need to let some go and try to develop others. I need to learn to walk away from the ones that don't make me happy and cultivate the ones that do. I'm going to focus less on them and more on me.

6. Friendships-I'd like to spend more time with the friends I do have and maybe make new friendships via volunteer work.

7. Family- I need to spend more time with my family and plan trips to spend time with them. I need to plan trips to visit them during weekends when it's not a busy holiday vacation. Maybe some long weekends with them.

8. Travel-I'd like to go somewhere out of the country this year. I've been thinking about Europe particularly Spain for my next trip. It will depend on whether the house sells or rents but I really would like to take a fabulous trip this year. Although a trip to Argentina again would be really awesome.

9. Home-Would like to finish decorating and organizing my house. Need to finish putting stuff away and buying those last pieces of furniture I need. Also need to finish all those projects I have in the garage. Painting, sanding and arranging everything.


10. Jewelry- I need to find my muse and work on my jewelry again. Have a new craft desk and chair that should help me get there.

XOXO

My house in the newspaper

So my house was featured in the Times-Picayune on Saturday the 20th of this month. Check it out if you like. Here's the link. My house is the one on the far right and the white one is my neighbors.

http://blog.nola.com/stephaniestokes/2008/12/gentilly_terrace_is_dressed_fo.html

Christmas Wrapup

I'm back from my Christmas vacation in the Rio Grande Valley. It was a great break and I really enjoyed it this year except for feeling kind of icky the whole time I was down there. Don't know if I was fighting a bug but I felt pretty nauseous the whole time I was down there. Anyway got to see my nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters. This year we decided to have a traditional Mexican Christmas Eve dinner instead of the usual turkey/ham dinner. My mother made pozole & carne adobada, I made refried beans and my famous shrimp cocktail and Crissy made gorditas and picadillo. It was all good but I think everyone loved my mom's cooking the best. She hadn't made carne adobada in years and it was delicious to have it again. She also made me tamales. My boss has been asking for some for years now. She made real pork tamales. She didn't use the pork lard my grandma used because she said they would be too greasy. They are tamales aren't they supposed to be greasy. Anyway flew into Austin and drove to the Valley with my sister and my nephew Roman who is the smartest 2 1/2 year old. He is talking quite a lot and his favorite question is Why. Why? Why? Why? It used to be What happened but it's changed. Such a cutie. My niece Taylor made him pajamas for Xmas in her home ec class. They are amazing and by far one of the best presents of the year. Crissy did get some Tiffany earrings and Lucy did get another gun this year. The funny thing is that no one got me a present this year and I was ok with it. Normally my mom wraps up one of her home interior gifts at the last minute but not this year. I really don't need anything and I'm content watching the kids open their presents. Although Lucy did give me a tin of those white cookies with pecans. I think they are called wedding cookies and they are to die for. I'm almost done with the tin of them. I've given some away but I ate alot of them. Thank God I worked out a little during the break. We also had a piñata this year again. I filled it with candy and some Emergen-C for the adults. My brother added some cash. I'm just happy that this Christmas was stress free for me. We drove back to Austin on the 26st and we were supposed to go to the huge Outlet Mall but we bailed and ended up going to the smaller one on the 27th. I ended up getting home close to 1:00am on Saturday night b/c my flight was delayed. All in all it was a good vacation. I'm getting ready for the New Year break. Hector, my brother, and his family are supposedly coming in and I'm really excited. BTW, doesn't my hair look so shiny?

Thoughts

So the last two weeks have been really hard for me. I have had to walk away from a very important person in my life and it's been one of the most difficult things in my life. It doesn't help that it's the Holidays and you're supposed to be happy and cheerful. I have worked out like a mad woman and kept myself busy in order to block some of the pain with little success. I guess what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. This person has been in my life for the last three years. Through Christmas parties, birthdays, holidays, vacations and all types of events in my life this person has been there for me and I for them. I feel like I've lost one of my best friends and it makes me so sad. I've leaned on this person for emotional support for so long that it's difficult to think that I can never count on them again. I wish them luck and happiness because I will always love them and a piece of my heart will always belong to them. I will mourn their loss and one day I will look back on them and feel neither pain or sadness. I will feel nothing. So if I seem down or sad don't take it personal I'm just dealing with my own issues.

Cute Purse

A friend of mine recently sent me a belated birthday/Christmas present. It's this gorgeous purse. I took a picture of it but it doesn't do it justice. It's a black patent leather purse and it's the perfect size to go out with. I'll probably use it for my Christmas party tomorrow. Still haven't decided what to wear. I might pick out what I want to wear tonight if I have time. Have to go present shopping b/c I have to ship everything tomorrow since I leave Monday morning and I use our UPS account at the office. I pay for it in case you are wondering. It's just cheaper and more convenient to use our commercial account. The perks of working in a small company. On a brighter note, the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day and I'm feeling so much better. Been a total Debbie Downer lately.

De Todo Un Poco Show

So you guys know that every Tuesday night I help produce a live Spanish language show well this past Tuesday we recorded our Christmas show. I baked Red Velvet cupcakes and made guacamole and salsa for the nachos I served. Julio, the host, brought pupusas and cuban sandwiches. It was all yummy and the guys who work on the show really appreciated the effort. Anyway the show went on live without a hitch. Here's a picture of Tom and Adam working and one of Adam and his special creation. It's rather cute. It's always fun to work on the show because it breaks up my boring ass work week. I sit behind them and yell into the ear of the host.

Feeling Blue

It's so overcast today that it's putting me in a funk. I just got back from the French Quarter and being in the Qtr usually puts me in a good mood but I'm having no luck. I had to go purchase some gift baskets for our clients. I hate when it's cloudy with no sun because I get really down. Hope it clears up soon and the sun breaks through. I have the show tonight and I made Red Velvet cupcakes and I prepared all the stuff for Nachos for the crew. Hope they like because the guacamole is fresh.

Christmas Party

So my office Christmas party is this Friday and I'm trying to decide on what to wear. I'm usually late to the event because I can never figure out what I want to wear. This year I've decided to let you guys make the choice for me. I'm going to post a couple of different options for you to choose from. I might do it tonight or Wednesday since Tuesday nights are usually very busy for me. I'm going to try to stay away from the LBD but you never know.

Hornets Game

Went to the Hornets game last night. They were rocking some old ABA uniforms. Anyway the seats were pretty damn good. I got to take a picture with Hugo. Hey I'm a kid at heart you know. Kind of fuzzy but I think I look pretty good if I say so myself for just having come from the gym. Anyway you can see from one of the pictures how far we are from the courtside. It was raining and cold last night but I never would have expected the snow today.

Snowing in New Orleans

So I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday evening and he said it was snowing in Houston. I was kind of amazed because our weather is pretty much the same as theirs. Anyway I woke up this morning and I was walking into my bathroom and I look out my hallway window and snow is coming down hard. I was so amazed and so happy. When I was a little girl we used to play in the snow and build igloos all winter long. We had some good times. My dad and older brothers weren't such big fans of it since they had to do early morning shoveling sometimes to clear out the driveway. Anyway it's perfect hot cocoa and snuggling weather. I drove to work this morning and was having a bit of a difficult time because I couldn't figure out my whole defrost thing and my windshield kept fogging up. I finally got it worked out and now I'm at work. We are supposed to leave if it gets worse. Here's two pictures from the house this am. One is from the front and the other is from the back. So pretty! I'm supposed to go play in the snow with a friend but it looks like it's clearing up.

HORNETS

Guess who is going to the Hornets game tonight. ME! I got two tickets in the Club Level courtesy of Cliff my boss. I'm reaching into my grab bag of hos and picking the one that buys me dinner and drinks. Haha just joking. Cliff used to have tickets behind the Hornets bench as you can see by my blog picture but he's supposedly moved across the court to the other side where Duece McAlister sits. We saw him last year when a client gave me Club Level tickets on that side for one of the playoff games. If I see him this time I'm going to take a picture with him. Maybe he can be my baby's daddy. Just kidding again. Can't decide whether I want to wear my jersey I bought last summer right before they came out with the new ones or what I'm wearing to work today. I'm going to mull it over. Got to look cute you know.

Christmas Tree

So I worked on my tree last night and Isabel came by to give me a hand and it's almost done. I ran out of ornament holders aka paper clips. Isabel made fun of them but I swear I bought them and they came in a package that said they were ornament hangers. Oh well, it was too late to run out and buy some so I used the ones I had. I'm goind to go out and buy one really nice ornament for this year. Something real fancy. Of course the cats were curious to see what was going on but they mostly stayed away. I'm going to finish it up in the next couple of days and I'll post a picture for you guys. I'm going to try to decorate outside with some simple white lights and a wreath. My neighbors across the street ruined their perfect tree with a fugly wreath and these huge lighted reindeer. Obviously they didn't get the less is more. I really need some Christmas music to get me into the swing of things. I'm also debating whether I should take a holiday picture with the cats and put it in the Christmas cards I send out. What do you think? I also want to plan a holiday party and my beach getaway for the New Year. I so need a tan. Oh I also have to do Christmas shopping for my nieces and nephews. I've got 10 and two on the way.

Weight Loss

Just to let everyone know, I have successfully lost 10lbs in the last two months. I've been working out with my trainer twice a week but I have also been doing aerobics at my gym about five times a week. I think doing some type of aerobic workout has helped me sculpt my body since I've already got muscles with the help of Noel. I always go to the gym even if I can only get in 30 minutes instead of my normal hour routine. I like to alternate between mornings and evenings depending on how I feel. It keeps my mind right and keeps the pounds off. I'd like to lose an additional five pounds off the hips but I'm not going to stress about it. It helps that the machines all have tvs on them so I get to watch TV. I love to watch MSNBC in the evenings when I get to watch Keith Oberlmann and Rachel Maddow. I think I have a girl crush on her. She's awesome. Anyway with the holidays coming up I hope I can keep losing weight. Also have to keep it off because I've just altered a whole bunch of my clothes. Cheers!

Christmas Spirit

Hey everyone. I'm back to writing posts. This Saturday couple of friends and I went to buy Christmas trees and have some hot chocolate. We first went to one of those lot places but they wanted over a $100.00 for noble fir trees. I wanted a fuchsia flocked one but they wanted close to $200.00 and it was scary up close and it didn't smell. We headed over to Home Depot to buy some and I got a killer deal on my tree. It's nice and tall and not to round. It's perfect. I love the noble fir trees because of the skinny little branches that are spaced out. I like to put 2-3" ribbon in between the branches to give it a nice department store look. I'm going to decorate with all silver decorations and white lights. I'm very peculiar when it comes to decorating. I've been collecting silver, crystal and white decorations for years. I do have some red and green ones but I use them sparingly. Haven't been into Christmas the last three years but this year I put up my tree(haven't decorated yet) and put up some stockings and I'm ready. I used to be really into Christmas years ago but I've been kind of turned off by it. I'm thinking about having a Christmas party this year and kind of make it a house warming party. Have to think about it. I also have to try and compete with my neighbors across the street who are trying to outdo me. They've got a beautiful retro white tree up with few ornaments on it. It's gorgeous. My tree gives off the best smell and it reminds me of the holidays and all the old happy times in my life. Now all I have to worry about is Gato and MiuMiu drinking the water from the Christmas stand. They refuse to drink out of their bowl. They are quite finicky like that. Anyway, I'm going to try to get it decorated in the next couple of nights time permitting. Happy Holidays!

Disappointment

I struggled whether to put this post up but I figure this is my blog and it's about what I'm feeling and what's going on in my life. I didn't post it initially when I wrote it because I thought it was a bit caustic but I saved it anyway. I think that after having a couple of days to think about it I'd post it. It's not like it isn't the truth.

Have you ever been in love with someone and forgiven or seen past all their faults yet it's never enough for them. They think that because you love them they can walk all over you over and over. One day you wake up and realize it doesn't matter what you do or say this person will always disappoint you because no matter how much they talk about improving deep down they don't really think they need to. They see themselves as perfect because if you feel in love with them than they must be some hot shit and someone else will want them. They seem to have this inflated even if it's fake self esteem. They seem to believe that everyone else that they've hurt have wronged them not vice versa. They'll go to therapy and tell their therapist half truths and lies because they don't want the therapist to tell them the truth. That they are full of shit. The truth hurts. It's painful to face reality that you are a fucked up dysfunctional asshole who is so self centered they can't look past the fun he's going to have that night or weekend. Therapy only works if you realize you have emotional issues that you want to resolve. It doesn't work if you want reassurances that you aren't a manipulative pathological liar that you are. And of course when they wake up and realize that they are all alone and it sucks not having the best thing in their life they try coming back sniffling and crying crocodile tears asking for forgiveness. I'm tired of being disapppointed.

Hornets Game

Last night I got to go to Hornets game. A client of mine gave me two tickets to his Suite and I invited my friend Beth. We actually got to go down to the court side and sit for the last quarter. It was lots of fun. I wasn't feeling my best since I'm trying to kick this head cold I've been fighting. It's great to sit up in the Suite with food and booze at your disposal. It was fancy. I know this post sucks but I am sick.