Are you there, Blog? It's me, Beth

I am alive.

But,  I have had some writer's constipation, I guess. 

I have been busy most days at the store, and when I get home, I am filthy and exhausted.

It takes all the motivation I have to force my nasty self into the shower. 

Blogging is just not at the top of my list as of late, no offense to you.
You know how I feel about you. You brighten my day. You help me de-clutter my brain. You are like my online scrapbook. But, I don't want to write crappy posts here just to be hittin' 'publish'. 

Know what I'm sayin?

Since I've abandoned you a bit here lately, I will let you know a bit about what's been goin' on in my neck of the woods. The weather has been cray. We had sleet/freezing rain, and schools closing early. Then, two days later, temps in the 70s and I'm sweatin' in my rain boots. Last night, I was driving home, and it went from barely a sprinkle to pouring buckets and I could barely see five feet in front of my car. Lots of people turned their hazard lights on. I was doin' 40 mph in a 55 zone. It was scurry.

I did go to acupuncture because a nasty case of carpal tunnel seems to have surfaced. Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you are mostly to blame. She put some needles in, then turned on some electricity. Don't worry, it didn't hurt. I just felt a tiny twitching between my thumb and pointer finger, kind of like when you get an eye twitch. 

There is good news though: I can keep blogging all I want, but I need to get a gel wrist pad so that my wrist isn't mashed flat against the laptop, cutting off the circulation/nerve. Also, turns out I have been sitting totally wrong. Ideally, my wrists should stay flat with my forearm, and be lower than my elbow, not higher.

Oops. So, we can still be friends, we are just going to have to make some adjustments.

The rest of the good news is that she thinks it's totally reversible. Meanwhile, I had an emotional derailment where I swore that my diabetes was causing neuropathy that was screwing up my wrist. Whew! Glad I was wrong about that one. 

Now, if you will excuse me, I want to go read some of my bloggy friends' posts because I been virtually MIA for dayyyyyyyyssssss.

Much love,

Your author, Beth, aka ...

if you knew me ...

... you would know that i value family and relationships more than anything else (except Jesus)

... you would know that i am a very sensitive person, especially when i think someone else is hurting, but at the same time, i will make it real clear when i've had enough of your shiz.

... you would know that i love this creature that came into our lives as a surprise after me crying my eyes out, and that he makes my heart so full. i love him so, so, so much. the way we came to meet mr. bo bo is a reminder that God is in control, and He knows just what (who) to send us, and when. when i look at this picture, i desperately want to kiss bo bo on the sides of his little snout where his cheeks/lips {??} hang down.

... you would know that in the last 4 months i have been consumed by a fear of my own body, and how it's going to betray me. i also feel guilty about this almost constantly because i know that God gave me this body, and there are things out there that i can do to take care of it, and feeling sorry for myself isn't one of them.

... you would know that i can easily go all week without turning on the tv (even longer if i watch PLL online)

... you would know that my husband cooks more than i do. and he does a great job.

... you would know that i hate to read "books" on a piece of technology. i like to hold real paper, and turn real pages. i also love the way real books smell.

... you would know that the only two relationships i've ever had were both with guys who had the same name. thankfully, one of them went by a nickname. i married the other one.

... you would know that this combo is one of my favorite things on earth:

... you would know that my mind is filled day and night with thoughts of bein' a mama ... and that i sometimes can smell the baby in my dream.

... you would know that i literally look at my husband while he sleeps and wonder when i'm going to snap out of it. i cannot believe that it's real. that God actually picked this man to be MY husband!

... you would know that i've never broken a bone

... you would know that i've only tried yoga twice. and i liked it both times. i really think it's my kinda deal. i also finished both of those nights with chocolate. let's hope that part doesn't become an every time kinda thing.

... you would know that i thought of my friend ashley tonight when a man farted, twice, in yoga class. i felt sorry for him. i am terrified it's going to be me next time.

... you would know that i rip gray hairs out by the root, and dread the day that i actually have to pay someone to put color on my hair. on this same note, i hate it when people who have been coloring their hair for damn ever say, "oh, i don't have any grays." wellllll, sugar, i would hope not. i mean, damn, what is the point of hair color if you still got grays?!

... you would know that sometimes i wish this blog was anonymous so i could really say what i think ... and that i would still probably feel guilty after hitting publish .... hmmm ... we'll see

... you would know that i function best on ten hours of sleep ... and i don't care if other people who function on 6 think that's a lot ... to each her own

have a magical monday, sugar lumps! 

and thanks, katie, for being my inspiration for this post, and to keep on tryin'. ;)

WOLFPACK IN THE HOUSE

"When you work on it and talk about it and you don’t do it… I’m not into moral victories guys and I’m not into this pansy kind of crap. We stunk ...

 I’m not very good in press conferences tonight guys. You can write what you want to write. It’s just a butt kicking.”

- Roy Williams

namaste, shug pies!

so, i got up the nerve to try yoga tonight.

let it be known that i HATE trying new workouts.

wait, i HATE working out.

i HATE the feeling of dread.

that i need to "drag" myself to the gym.

i hate the data collection - pounds lost/gained, calories burned, minutes i was on the treadmill, etc.

i already have to keep craploads of data because of my diabetes. that's enough.

but - 

i have to do something.

my flexibility, posture, muscle strength/tone, endurance ... they all SUCK.
i used to go for long, brisk walks on a regular basis.
then one day, i woke up, and realized that sitting in an office chair was ruining my spine and hip flexors. not to mention that my job was stressin' me the eff out! and where was i finding any joy?
hmmm... good question.

life is too short for that shit, y'all!

i found acupuncture and i have viewed my body and my health very differently than i ever did before.
eastern medicine and outlook on life is so different than the way western culture views it.

i thought yoga might be something i can get behind because it's about restoring your body and your mind. it's not a punishment for eating too much cake. it's utilizing your own body in your workout and journey to become a healthier you. i was listening as the instructor said things that i have heard before in acupuncture. 

"we are caught up in this guilt, this idea that we have to be busy and productive all the time. we don't know how to unwind {in a healthy way}. we just go, go, go. there should be no guilt found in doing nothing. in rest. in getting 9 hours of sleep if that's how much your body needs.

and, y'all know i love me some acupuncture!
{you can read posts about my AWESOME experiences in acupuncture here}

so, i got me a little yoga mat from target, showed up, walked in, expecting some tree huggin' and some size 0 chicks burnin' incense and shit.

nope.

it was cool.
the instructor was very calming, and friendly, and there were women of various ages and sizes.

i paid my money, and went into the studio {this was a small studio with only one room}, took off my shoes, socks and hoodie, and rolled out my mat.

the hardest thing i did all night?

getting started.

it hurts like a moFO for me to sit like this:

 

the instructor was trying to teach us how to maintain our breathing, and we were supposed to be focusing on our intent - why were we there, and what did we hope to accomplish?

all i was thinkin about was holy shit balls, my  hips hurt.

i asked, "umm, if we are in so much pain that we can't find our intent, should we switch to something more comfortable?" {i just wanted to make sure i wasn't defeating the purpose, Nahmean? Like in acupuncture, if the pressure or discomfort is so great that you can't relax, she takes the needle out because it's counterproductive.}

unfortunately, this is not how they roll in yoga - I just had to put a yoga block under my ass like a 90 year old so that I could get past the pain.

after that, i was fine.

of course, i couldn't do all of the poses fully.

but, i could do a lot more than i thought!

we did lots of things - with the focus being on the breathing, letting go of stress, and maintaining balance. it's almost like you are so focused on the breathing, that you don't worry that your arms are shaking from exertion.

here are a couple of the things we did: 

and this:

and these:

about 20 minutes in, i started to break a sweat. 

but i was enjoying it.

it was gettin' my muscle tone on, and it was just satisfying that i could do the poses without tipping over sideways.

i was feeling quite accomplished.

then, shit got a little more intense.

we did this sequence, and i ain't gone lie, y'all.

my heart rate was UP. and i was sweatin' like it was my job.

the instructor told me i was doing an awesome job.
i'm not sure how i looked, but i felt like this:



the best part was at the end, when we did our relaxation/cool down.
{i'm sure there's a more official name for this, but i don't know what it is.}
our instructor gave us each these awesome cold wet cloths that had been soaking in something that smelled heavenly to put over our eyes while we were relaxing.
{the instructor did come by during this part and push my feet closer to my crotch and told me that this would help open up my hips - the reason i can't sit indian style/criss cross applesauce, whatever you wanna call it}

 the whole workout, you continue to breath in the same pattern, and that was the part that took some getting used to. but it really keeps you focused, and you really feel like you are accomplishing something.
i loved that it felt like my whole body was getting a workout, and not just specific muscle groups.

the verdict:

i think i will actually stick to this because it's like a workout that's a reward instead of self-inflicted punishment.
{it's exactly how i feel about acupuncture - which totally changed my life!}
it doesn't tear your body up like a lot of impact sports and running.
it helps you sleep better.
it sort of rebuilds the foundation of "you".

i'm excited, y'all!!

i may have come home and enjoyed me a lil chocolate & diet coke.
but - the chocolate was dark, and the diet coke was caffeine free.
i'm choosing to celebrate the positive, and be proud of my baby steps. 

i can't think of $*&! to write about

sooooo
brain dump it is.
this is one of those posts where i need to de-clutter.

i've been doing some work at the store, cleaning/organizing/murdering dust bunnies, etc. i find this to be very rewarding, and worth the condition that my hand is in as a result.

i feel anxiety when i have a list of "errand type" calls/visits to make. today, i called the camera dude to check on my camera - he hasn't even looked at it yet.
i called medtronic to pay them almost a G, updated my insurance and ordered more supplies.
i called the yoga place and told them i am nervous as hell, and to ask what i need to bring. i'm not looking forward to the newness of this experience at all. and i hate trying any new physical stuff, because i don't know how it's going to affect my diabetes. ugh.
 y'all, my flexibility, back pain, upper body strength  ... TERRIBLE. TERR.IIIIIIIIIIII.ble

i do not feel anxiety about folding clothes and making potato salad. {makin traditional recipe today ... sometimes i do baked potato salad/greek yogurt way too}

some words that i have been lovin lately are: haphazard/haphazardly (thanks steph for reminding me) ... fantastic! (with the exclamation point)

i've eaten either sausage or pork bbq for three days in a row ... this is probably not a good thing

can we talk about PLL? i just wish they would give us one big chunk information, as like a snack to hold us over. WTF. i think toby got caught on purpose ... i think there's more to that than we know, duh. and meredith, is she part of any of the A stuff, or is she just a crazy ole bitch?

i am annoyed by bloggers who used to write and now give us every day updates on their kid. we get it, they are bigger today than the were yesterday.

i am ready to have a baby, but terrified to actually be pregnant after what happened. totally caught in my own head games.

i think that dogs are the cutest things on this earth. i've told y'all before that i like dogs better than most people, and find them to be cuter than human babies. i decided i am going to volunteer at the humane society. just the thought of spending time caring for dogs in need makes my heart feel full, and keeps my mind off of how i don't have a baby of my own. problem is, they only do orientation on the first saturday of every month, and i don't think i can go until march. :(

all of my jeans are painfully tight. not unflatteringly tight, but impossible to put on tight. like, all pairs except two of them. do  y'all think there's a correlation between this and the sausage and bbq? nah, probably not.

living in a world where mean people do not exist and everything is unicorns and rainbows would be awesome. however, this has never happened, and it ain't ever gonna happen. i'm sick of people's simple-minded solutions to the world's problems. i'm also sick of people who feel like they can personally identify with the president (current, or past) like they see him at church on sunday, or eat supper at his house. you don't know his ass any better than i do. it's his job not to look like a dick in front of millions of people.

today's post is dry and flat, because that's how i feel. maybe i need to smoke some of the shit that the unicorns and rainbows people are smokin.
off to make potato salad and fold clothes.

linking up with shanna.

weekend

Imagine my excitement when both of these came in the mail on the same day!

We got our pintos, onions & cornbread on.

McAlister's was had.

After my caffeine surge, I decided to organize our closet.
We'll see how many days this lasts.
 We can now stand on the actual floor while we're in the closet, rather than atop a big pile of shoes.



Y'all already know how much I love this movie, and how I decorate my planner like a high schooler.
Welp, I saw Truvy and Clairee in a magazine. Duh, I cut it out and put it ....
in my planner.
It was clearly meant to be.

Caught up on Banshee, part of which was filmed at the store .

I was surprised to see that the store does make several appearances in the show.
{You can see the store @ about :11 in the trailer below - omg, get excited!}

In preparation for our two-hour viewing, I made myself my version of a wine spritzer.

And I made it in my redneck wine glass.

I tried to like wine for real, and straight up, but .... my taste buds just weren't a fan.

I should mention that we don't in fact have Cinemax,

so we watched the bootleg version.

Kids, this is called a VHS tape.

Our weekend also involved cheesy grits with bacon, eggs and yummy coffee with spray whip.

And apple raisin salad. Yumm.

We got our walk on.

Did a little catchin' up on some rest.

Watched some basketball/football & drank some bevies.

Had some delicious chicken parm ... even without the noodles, mine was delish!
Good job, Anj!

Hope your weekend was fantastic!!

Linking up with Sami.

Happy Monday, shugpies!

baked potato soup

It's been raining here for four days, y'all, with Thursday being the coldest one.

We had two bags of potatoes sitting around, so I figured, why not use some of em up making a delicious potato soup?

This soup is really a traditional potato soup ... the toppings that were added at the end are what give it a 'baked potato' taste ... to me, it was just as good if not better without the toppings, up to you.

Sorry. We still workin' wit cell phone pics up in heah, y'all!

Now, here's where I'm gonna get on y'all's nerves, because I didn't measure anything, but it's still really basic.

I probably used about:

8-10 medium potatoes

2 medium yellow onions

3 garlic cloves

64 oz. chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream

1/2 stick butter

(you can do some substitution among the broth, cream and milk, if you happen to have more of one than the other on hand ... just depends on how rich you want it - mine was mostly broth and it was still plenty rich)

toppings optional:

bacon

cheddar

sour cream

pepper

green onion

The Soup:

So, first thing in the morning, I peeled and diced the potatoes and left them to soak in water for 2 or 3 hours. {I only peel off the bad spots, and leave the rest of the skin on.}

{You don't have to do that, but it keeps all the starchy goo in the potatoes from being part of the soup. I then rinsed them before adding them to the soup later.}

Chop up yellow onions, cut up/mince garlic.

I used a dutch oven and got all the chicken broth hot, and then added the chopped potatoes, yellow onions, and garlic {I minced mine, but you could chop it as fine as you can get it}. 

If you don't have a dutch oven, a stock pot would work just fine, too.

I let these cook together for about an hour, and came back to taste. 

Added some salt. {My broth already had a good bit of salt in it because it was homemade broth from chicken I boiled earlier in the week ... so, just go by taste as far as how much salt to add.}

An hour later, based on taste, I added about a cup of heavy cream and the half stick of butter.

Toppings:

I just cooked some bacon and cut it up to sprinkle on, as well as chopped green onions, shredded cheddar, and Anj ate some sour cream on his, but I didn't.

Oh, and pepper. I added some black pepper. 

And that's it!


Oooooh Wheeee!

This is perfect for fillin' up your belly, so you can lay around in your NC State PJ pants, while readin' your Kindle, and havin' your wife nag the hell out of you so she can have a photo to finish her "blog post".

Enjoy!!

looks like two pigs fightin' under a blanket

I couldn't pick a favorite, but it is definitely a tie between these two.

{Steel Magnolias}

I've seen this movie so many times I lost count.
I love all of the characters so much, especially Ouiser - then, Drum and Clairee.



Have y'all ever seen the trailer?
I hadn't until I was lookin' for stuff for this post.

I found a video of some of the funniest parts, too.
I might even love Ouiser's facial expressions maybe a frog hair more than her commentary.

I love this movie because in my experience, it actually embodies how southern women really interact with each other.

My other favorite:

{Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood}

I've seen this one close to ten times, I'm sure.

Similar theme, southern chicks, friendship through the rough stuff, and it's hilarious.

I love their Ya Ya scrapbook, too!

This is my favorite scene:

And then of course, there's this movie ... what was it called?

The storyline was lackin'. But, it had some good parts.

What's your favorite movie?

know what's good on this random wednesday?

Y'all.

The other day, I was on Garden & Gun's blog, and I saw this tid bit about Elvis' peanut butter, jelly & bacon sandwich, and I swear, I was juuuuust thinkin' about makin' a pb & j, 

and of course, we had some bacon, so I had to try it.

It did not disappoint.

Here's to hopin' Nita Nikon is on her way to recovery so we can get back to decent food pics

Know what else is good?

Goat cheese grits cooked in chicken broth {I used leftover broth from the chicken salad I made yesterday) ... with just a dab of butter and pepper.

Omygyahh.

And, did y'all see PLL last night? I am so mad at me for gettin hooked on this madness.
I want to smack Mona. And Toby. What is he doin?!? And Paige, she gets on my nerves.
And whattup with Aria's creepy ass dad?
The thing that makes me whack is that they never answer any questions before creating more freakin questions.

Do you watch the show?

What's your theory?

And that's about it on this random-as-hell Wednesday. 

Linking up with Shanna for random Wednesday.

let's cut some shiz out and glue it on!!

When I was in high school, me and my girls were all about makin' some collages.
You know, random, inside jokes, shit that is super hilarious when you are 16.
I'm glad I saved some of these because they crack me up.
WTH were we thinkin?
PS - we did not smoke weed,
and we were not sluts, despite the hilarity we found in giving sexual meaning to almost anything found in a magazine.

There was also our nicknames.
Mine was Qween Bee. Yes, Queen with a "w" because I was unique, duh.
I loved me some Lil Kim. #notagoodrolemodel

Yep, half of my memories of high school center around the collages and notes we'd make for each other almost every single night instead of doing our homework.
That's what the parkin' lot in the mornin' was for.

Anyhoo, I got my Lilly planner in, and I am pretty much in love.
However - I had to put my own twist on it because I hate things that are pre-decorated.
Also, it was a smiiiiiidge heavy on the pink and prissy and 'lifestyles of the elite' for my taste.
Soooo, I got my collage on.



Do y'all do this? Decorate your planner?
What's that? No, because you're not fourteen?
Well, you are missin' out.

Here's the cover:

This is the inside of the front
{back of the cover, and the folder}



This is the page where they tell us all about Lilly's life at the juice stand and how she got started:

It was also irritatin' the piss out of me that there were five months included
that have already come and gone.
So, I ripped them shits out.
Not sure what I'll do with those pages yet.
I hate waste.



So, there was the back of  the "August 2012" page left over,
so I decorated that up too.



Most of this went down last night around 1am because I'd had a tad too much DMD.
So, I got my Pandora on and went to collagin' up my planner.

 

I'm almost donnnnne!!

What do y'all think?
Are you a planner/notebook/binder/office accessory decorator?

Dude, 1983 was THIRTY years ago!

Saturday night, hubs & I went to Greensboro to celebrate his friend Frank's 30th,
which had an 80's theme!

I headed to Target and quickly realized that 80's fashion is what the modern middle schooler wears -
complete with acid washed skinnies, boxy cropped t-shirts, neon colored sunglasses & watches, and bright flats.
Hell,  even the graphic tee's were straight out of the 80's

I just got a men's vintage tee in a size too big, youtubed a video to help me cut off the sleeves, neck, and bottom, and tied one of the shoulders into a knot.

I totally plan to wear these faded leopard skinnies and those aqua flats again.
Already had the jewelry.

Annnnd, hubs already had that bomb ass red & white {of NC State} Adidas track suit.
{Got it in college.}

The birthday boy loves him some Yuengling and Muppets, so Yuengling was in the keg and muppets were part of the decor.

There were leg warmers, crimped hair, neon flip glasses, colorful heels, and 80's hairband members.

There were awesome set ups all over the house of 80's memorabilia - Rubix cubes, slinkies, 80's board games & cards, necklaces, and candy.

Operation. And, more muppets on the cupcakes.

Glow necklaces and Chris Sabos.

There was quite the spread, including some out-of-this-world Sausage-Spinach dip, {Liz, can you send me that recipe? Omygyahh, it was so good!}, mini corn dogs, Totino's Pizza Rolls, Doritos, chicken wings, 7-layer dip, meatballs, popcorn, Pringles, KFC Chicken, Ruffles & Dip, mini subs, oreos, and on and on and on. Yummation.



80's movies were showing on rotation during the party.



The Karate Kid even made an appearance!
{He made that design on the back himself, using Sharpies!!}



And, of course - there was a photo booth. Whoop! Whoop!

Happy Birthday, Frank!

I hope you had an awesome time! I know we did!