A few catch up items...

I've never been really good at having free time on my hands. I don't know what to do with myself and I just can't sit still. I always have to be doing something and at the same time multi-tasking. This week has been okay. We kicked the week off with the Christmas holidays. My younger brother, Brad, got Skye and I the Wii version of Guitar Hero lll. Now, we have had the Wii for over a year and I've never before "asked" to play a game. I've always just participated if it was a group activity and it was already in motion. I don't even know how to start up the darn thing. Well, that has changed now and I am addicted. I am still on the easy level, but I think I am in love. We even brought it along with us to Hilton Head to play while visiting the in-laws. I'm not sure they appreciate it as much, but I think I know what to do in my free time now.

Hmm...what else to report? Skye and I went to see National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets today and let me tell you "It was great!" I typically hate Nicolas Cage movies, but this was very, very good. I encourage you to see it.

Anyways, we head back home to Franklin tomorrow and I am so excited. I am ready to be in my own house again and to see my friends. I am also ready for January. I will write a New Year blog in the next few days. I also need to come up with a new header and design. So come back soon and bare with me.

"Love Came Down At Christmas"

Jars of Clay was a band I used to work with at Provident, but they transitioned over to their own label close to my departure. Tonight I was actually watching one of those trashy tabloid shows on E! and at the end, they gave props to the band and rolled the credits while showing the video below. Kudos to Nettwerk!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

They say that the anticipation of the actual day is worse and I agree. Today is what would have been my mom's birthday. All week I've been dreading it. I even planned on taking the day off so I would be able to deal with my feelings and do something special to honor her. So, it's the 20th. Her day. It's a day of celebrating her life and memory... the good times.

So, today I went out and got my nails done. Right now, this is an indulgence and special treat. But if there's one thing I remember about my mom is that she usually had her nails manicured and freshly polished. It was just her thing. I even did her nails while she was in the hospital. Therefore, I went to lunch at our favorite lunch spot at Merridee's and then got a manicure and pedicure. We would have done this together.

I'm not going to lie. Today also hurts. I have so much I want to share with her and talk to her about; advice I need, a hug. She would tell me that some of my concerns are lame, but also I'm sure in reality, she would make me stress in some ways too. Mothers tend to do that. At least I think the good ones do. They pay attention to details in your life and want to protect your future. They think of the stuff that you need to, but don't. Anyways, happy birthday, Mom! Your are still beautiful and I love you.

P.S. I ate a sweet treat for you.


The last picture taken of my mom and I together....ironically on her last birthday.

I love my Tivo...and The Biggest Loser.

I love my Tivo. Well, we don't really have the Tivo, we have the Direct TV digital recorder, but still, it's practically the same thing. It just doesn't do the cute fast forward noise. Why do I love this device? Because I finally got to catch up on The Biggest Loser finale last night. It's been a busy week, and all week I have had a hunch that Bill would win, but avoided all commercials and conversations about it. It drove me nuts. I didn't want it confirmed until I could watch it on the actual episode.

Now, this is the first season I've ever watched the show. I've had friends that have watched every season and have raved about it. I don't think I respected it until I started working out on my own with a personal trainer. Now, I know that the show goes to extremes, all the contestants have nothing to focus on except for their diet and exercise while they are ON the show, which makes it a bit easier. I would usually have my personal training session the day after the show aired and I would give her the update on what happened on the show. I would tell her that "Geez, they had that girl running on the treadmill at a speed of 12.0! Even with all that weight!" I typically run at a pace of like 4.0 or something. ( I am short and have little legs.) Her response..."That would be so dangerous! They also have a team of medical doctors standing right there waiting if something happens." She also said that she could easily be sued if she tried pulling something like that. Either way, the show is good inspiration for getting to the gym. I was actually more impressed with the contestants on the show that actually got kicked off and had to train at home under real-life conditions.

One of the final four is also from my hometown of Franklin. Rock on Isabeau! You did great and keep up the good work. They even said that she's been spotted at my gym. I think I would be in celebrity shock if I saw her.

Top 5 Reasons why I love The Biggest Loser:
1. Good motivation to get to the gym.
2. Jillian is kick-ass.
3. It's fun to point out all the intentional product promotion.
4. Bob, the trainer, is hot!
5. Watching guys get rid of their man-boobs...good for them!

Who's going to do the Million Pound Match up for next season?

Peyton Pep Talks

A while back ago, I was reading this book called Made To Stick. One discussion that came out of the book club conversation was about marketing and who has had some catchy ideas lately. We threw out a couple good examples such as Apple (Mac vs. PC) and the ATT (Where Do You Live Campaign).

Today I was watching the Titans game and found myself intrigued by the Master Card "Peyton Manning Pep Talks Commercial." I found myself laughing at him describing the male mini-van driver. Mostly because my girlfriends and I had just been talking about how these guys are the worst drivers on the streets...feeling like they have something to prove. Dangerous! Anyways, I got out my laptop and went to the website. You can get more interactive by typing in your name and choosing what is getting you down. It creates a special video for you or you can create one to forward to a friend. When I used to have a few marketing dollars to spend, I thought this stuff might be not worth the time, much less the little money I had, but I do have to say, when you can splurge, this stuff can be fun sometimes.


Go create a pep talk!

Holiday Baby Steps

This Christmas is weird. Once again, I am not getting out the tree. It's just too difficult. The last time we decorated, my mom helped me pick out the stockings and ornaments for the holidays. My family is starting to celebrate the holidays in baby steps. Last year, we avoided the holidays all together and went skiing in Jackson Hole, WY. This year, it is a challenge just to be in town. My mom used to put up two Christmas trees in her house. One in the main living room that was more formal and then one in the bonus room that had all the family traditional ornaments. This week, another baby step. We decorated the formal tree. It doesn't have as much sentimental value, but it did mean something to her. She was all about decorations. Each time I caught myself being lazy about putting the ribbon on just so, I could hear her saying "Now, go back and fix that. Make it right." And I did. I didn't want to do my mom's tree half-assed. (can I say that on here? There's probably a better way, but it's the truth.) And it is also probably the last time we will decorate that house for the holidays. I can picture my dad leaving that house soon.

Anyways, not having a job this Christmas is a double-edged sword. My close friends say, "Awesome. Take time off for the holidays and enjoy it." My mind keeps saying "What am I going to do?" The reality is that nobody is hiring right now. Everybody has checked out for the season. I probably would be...umm, if I still had a job. Not having a job means, tight Christmas. Not having a job means having more time than I know what to do with. I went to a job recruiting agency this morning. Let me tell you, two suggestions were thrown my way. One of which I had already scored an informal interview with last week and second, something completely off the scale. Me=identity theft protection company? Umm...I don't think so. But you know...what else did I have to do today? The quick answer...nothing.

So, when I got back home from my 30 min. outing, I decided to attempt another baby step. HOLIDAY BAKING! Could this be good for a girl that was just diagnosed as pre-diabetic? You would think NO! but you are wrong. I made so much gosh darn candy, I want to throw up and never eat sugar again. I made peanut butter balls, white peppermint bark, chocolate cookie peppermint bark and chocolate-covered pretzels. (My husband loves me right now.) I guess I got ambitious. Friends be prepared to eat. I am dispersing it all, since I can't have this stuff in my house.

Late afternoon I got a phone call. It was my good friends the D'Amicos. They invited me out on a holiday adventure. Why not one more baby step? I'm on a roll. We took at trip out to Twelve Pictures Gallery in Nashville to see Kris' artwork displayed. We then headed out to Opryland to see the lights. I haven't done this since maybe 1990? Geez, I am old because that would have been like 7th grade. I went to sing Michael W. Smith classics with my youth choir out in the atriums. Geez...he's old. Anyways, the lights were nice, people wore tacky Christmas sweaters and I have posted pics of Holland and one of the many light filled rooms.

Bragging on Marc

We checked out this new downtown Franklin restaurant SOL last night with our friends Marc and Christy. Food was good, but did not live up to my expectations and wasn't really worth the late reservation...but the company was great. These are two friends that we definitely don't get to see enough of, so every time it comes together to hang out it is awesome. So, right now I am going to brag on Marc because someone should.

Marc has been working in the music industry for a long time now and has written some very popular songs. Besides writing the corporate hits I am most familiar with, he has been able to keep up his passion for ambient stuff. It's a project called Hammock. They got some good exposure during the last winter Olympics, but just recently they played the art opening for Riceboy Sleeps. Anybody who is familiar with the group Sigur Ros should know what I am talking about. But even more recently, one of Hammock's songs was featured on the ABC television show Dirty Sexy Money. (They want to feature more once the writers strikes are over.) I've come from working at a record label who has a strategic department for this stuff (actually it's just one girl who works her butt off). Anyways, without major label support, Hammock has been able to secure placement right up there with those guys. Kudos to you Marc and Andrew! You have been working really hard and hopefully more and more people will continue to notice.

The bike will not defeat me

Oh my goodness. I really needed a break today, but did I get it? Um, no. I started the day off fighting with my husband. (Indeed, the worst part it all and sorry details will not be disclosed.) All I can say is that there are certain added pressures I feel now that I have lost my job. A pressure of adding extra income, pressure of being optimistic and in a good mood, and still the pressure of getting healthy again and losing weight. 

After reconciling with him, I was off to the mall. Why? Because I have an informal interview this afternoon. Yes, informal, but still encouraging. I knew that my old work attire consisting of jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt would not seal the deal. I NEED TO GO SHOPPING. Geez, I hadn't done this a long time. Mainly because I have not liked my current body type and "I refuse to invest in this weight!" (My trainer loves it that I use this line.) I actually find a decent outfit and meet a former co-worker for lunch today. Yum, Baja Fresh. Things could be looking up. Wrong.

Next stop, the bank. Nobody really tells you how much work it is when you lose your job. There are many things that keep reminding you that YOU ARE NOW UNEMPLOYED! It's like a little kid making a squishy face and screaming "nanny nanny boo boo!" You go through the first step of cleaning out your office. Second step, applying for unemployment. Now, the third step has two parts. The first part is hearing from old co-workers that feel confused and sad your are gone. The second part is wondering why you haven't heard from other certain co-workers. Try figuring that one out. The fourth step is finally determining what your 401k was all about and rolling it over to a new IRA, which was todays bank adventure... and I might add still isn't complete. Now, the fifth step is tricky. It is actually figuring out where to send out your fancy, updated resume. Do you aim for something completely different or do you feel confident in your skill set and go with something safe? Today, I had an interview with something I felt could be a good mix of both worlds. 

So, time crunch. The bank took longer than expected and I need to get home. I need to get dressed in my new duds and print out my resume to take with me. #1 piece of advice, never show up to an interview without a copy. They may not have printed if off or might have misplaced it and you always want to be prepared. So, along with the theme of today's events, I have 10 minutes before I have to go "sell myself." But WHAT? the printer doesn't work? YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Okay, it's set up again. Thank goodness my husband does this for a job. WHAT? NO PRINTER INK? (cuss words have been edited at this point) Luckily, I make a mad dash to a friend's house down the street, printed it off and raced to the interview. (Insert "Night Rider" theme song here. I know you can hear it.) I made it in time, hopefully scored some points and got invited back to the next round, maybe in January.

 I get home, but what do I need now? I need the bike. This day has built up some frustrations that seriously needed to be let out. I put on my exercise gear and head out the door. It was a good class and I got the release I needed, not to mention, burned a lot of calories. As the teacher pumped out tunes like "Ayo Technology" and "Ridin' Dirty" I kept finding my focal point in the room and saying to myself "I am not going to let this job situation defeat me. I will not let my new diabetes diagnosis defeat me. My mom had it a lot tougher... and she may have not defeated it, but for now her cancer will not defeat me. Meaning, if she could go through all that she did, I can get through 45 minutes of intense cardio. Tomorrow is a new day and lets see what it will bring. Say hello to my new best friend, pictured below.

Good Recipe

I wanted to point a little traffic to my friend Kris' blog. Last week, I found out that I have to eat a "diabetic lifestyle," so he pulled together this recipe for me on a really tough day. It was very good and very filling and worth trying, even if you aren't diabetic.

Naughty or Nice?

I have a little more free time to watch television during the day. I found myself watching a segment today on CNN and their headline news. They did a poll on E-Online with 1,100 kids between the ages of 12-17 voting on which celebs should be on Santa's "Naughty or Nice" list. Kids said that "Being a snob and being mean gets you on the list." Some choices are pretty obvious, but they were giving the kids kudos for "knowing better."

Naughty List:

Britney Spears

Paris Hilton

Lindsey Lohen

the Grinch

Darth Vader

Swiper (From Dora the Explorer)

Beyonce

Nice:

Hannah Montana

Angelina Jolie