It's here!!!

It's my blogiversary y'all!!!

I definitely thought I would have way more fan fare surrounding my blogiversary but I am in such a sleep deprived stupor (maybe more on this later)- I just can't.

To celebrate, I thought about doing a new blog design, doing a giveaway, all sorts of things. But clearly none of that has panned out.

Anywhoo. If you haven't been here from the begining check out my very first post. Just as expected, I am almost a whole different person now.

So to celebrate I'm going to ask a few things of you- it's not manadatory or anything but it would be a nice gift-plus it would make me smile.

Can you network me?? Okay, I just made that up. But really can you like, follow, and follow me again? Thanks!

And because I just KNOW you will do all of those things for little 'ole me... I wanted share some birthday blogday blogbirth birthblog -eh, here's a slice of cake.

AND, because I know this was thee most random post ever- I hope to write something of substance soon. Love you for reading!

I've arrived.

This blog has been pinned! :)


http://pinterest.com/pin/107945722288015818/


I know some of you may think this is the silliest thing ever- but for some reason I think it's a big deal to 'pinned'. It means that you wrote/crafted/wore/cooked/baked/blogged about something that someone, somewhere felt a need to bookmark to reference later.

You also end up getting a TON of blog traffic. So if you are here from Pinterest "HI"!!!! Hope you stay awhile :)

As much as Pinterest can be good for blog/website promotion there is another side to this story. I came across a post about how Pinterest effects bloggers by way of one of my go to blogs (to hone in my dessert diva skills). If you are a blogger that posts photos of any sort, I would highly suggest that you read what she has to say. I don't have any "creative"/ "original" work that could necessarily be stolen but I do however have what I consider to be precious pictures of my little one. Remember in this post I shared a pinned of the cutest little guy with a quote to match his facial expression? Well, where did it come from? Does his mother know that he is one of the popular pins for that day? I've also seen the same picture with different (but not so noteworthy) quotes edited on it. Did she okay this?

The point of pinterest is to be able to 'bookmark' things you like all in one place- without cluttering up your favorite links on your browser. So once you click on a pin it is supposed to take you to the source webpage for that item. Example: you are surfing the web for St. Patrick's Day food to make and you come across a great recipe for corned beef and cabbage. You can 'pin' the accompanying picture for that recipe. When times comes and you need to make reference to the recipe then you click on the picture from your Pinterest account and it links you back to the webpage.

Problem is some people are misusing this. Like the picture of that little boy- when you click on the Pinterest pin it doesn't take you to a webpage. You just arrive at a bigger picture. See the problem? The original source is not being properly credited for the picture, nor does anyone know about the origin of the picture, the quote, the boy- nothing. this problem get way deeper than that for bloggers who feature original works, like crafts, recipes, etc.

So if this blog doesn't feature any original "you should do this" work, why am I concerned? Well, because that little boy could have been my little boy. With no reference to this blog, permission from me, or without my knowledge. while I am not necessarily concerned about blog traffic- I just wouldn't want him to be circulated around the internet haphazardly. I do take care to watermark pictures of him- especially where his face is prominently featured, however I am still concerned. I am sure most of the pinners don't mean any harm but you never know who could stumble upon something with ill intent.

So maybe I haven't arrived. I am not sure how I am proceeding from here. This makes me question how I choose to share my 365 day photo challenge. I have still taken a photo of him everyday. I will admit I have fallen behind in the editing because- right now I have no accountability (as in a weekly post). With the one year anniversary of my blog coming up I think I need to re-evaluate. Not only in the way I share pictures but also in the way in which I use it as well. I have in no way been compromised as Amy has but I wanted to re-evaluate any way. I'm sure it's going to be a long process, because nothing I do is easy, but I've been wanting to do that anyway.

******ETA******

I wanted to add to this but didn't want to do another full post on it. I found another great resource for anyone who is now questioning the likeness of Pinterest. I hope we get answers soon and straighten this out.

Hair update!

It's been a while since I've last blogged about my HHJ. But quite honestly there hasn't been much to blog about- mainly because I am a slacker.

So I'll take a brief look back at what I was supposed to be doing.

NOVEMBER- I'm scaling back my goals list for this month because... well there is no use setting myself up for failure...
○  Daily (or every other day) moisturizing. I found that this has help my hair tremendously. I did not know the importance of moisturized hair.
○  Protective styling. I'd like to maintain what I've done so far. I've even noticed some growth where I had the breakage.
○  Get back to taking my prenatal vitamins. This definitely helped with my growth- plus I love all the other perks it gives me (beautiful nails, dietary supplement because the new mommy diet sucks).

Hopefully November will prove to be much better in my journey.

___________________________________________________________
Last relaxer: 7/28/11            Last trim: 8/19/11
Next relaxer: 10/07/11        Current stretch: 10 weeks

Nope... none of that. It's pretty bad actually. I have no idea how my hair has survived the lack of attention. Trust me I'm counting my blessings. Then again maybe things aren't all THAT bad because clearly my hair was able to thrive a little, right?!

○ For most of the time since my last hair update I didn't moisturize daily. It was done mostly haphazardly. I know this is bad- especially because I've seen how my hair responds well to moisture.

○ It's been 17 weeks since my last relaxer. I don't like to go longer than 12 weeks. My hair kind of becomes unmanageable after a certain point- especially with the two different textures. But maybe this wasn't all such a bad idea. I think my hair was able to respond well to the break in chemical processing. So all isn't lost. I've read of some people going a year without relaxing just to gain back some thickness and health that chemical processing may take away. So maybe a 17 week stretch was beneficial.

○ It's been a LONG time since my last trim- nearly 6 months. My ends aren't raggedy but I do believe that growth (for me) can't be achieved without getting rid of the dead ends. I need to rectify this.
○  I'm pretty bad at protective styling. I'm bad at styling period. I know some ladies would argue that buns and ponytails is protective styling but I think that there is a such thing as too much of a good thing. I did try to vary the positions where I gathered my hair so I'm sure that helped to not cause breakage where the ponytail holder is but I still feel like I need more variety in hair styling.

○ I've been inconsistent with taking my PNV. Mainly because they are prescription strength and I often forget to order refills AND pay the bill which in turns stops them from sending it automatically (my employers prescription drug benefit plan makes us do mail order prescriptions). I know I could get OTC vitamins- but I am very (read:extremely) satisfied with what I currently have so if it isn't broke, I don't see a need to fix it. At my last appointment my doc sent another round of refills to the pharmacy so I have lots of months left on the script and I have no reason to not do this.

So despite ALL of the issues described above this is what my hair looked like this morning:

WHAT?!

It's got a little shine, thickness, and dare I say my ends aren't that straggely? Yes, straggely is a word. Thankyouverymuch. So maybe I'm being a little hard on myself? ECP did tell me so.
And do you see... I'm only a few inches from BSL (bra strap length). I'm not sure if I have a hair length goal- but knowing that my hair could possibly be BSL excites me :).

All that aside - the most disappointing part of it all is that I decided to do the 6 month roller set challenge that she is hosting and I didn't enter in January's check-in...augh! AND, I'm not sure if I could pull off February's check in.

Sadly, even after writing this post and seeing how amazing my hair is doing- I just don't feel motivated by it right now. Don't get me wrong- if I started to see things go downhill I'd be all over it. But I just don't feel hard core committed like I was a few months ago.

Plus, judging by that picture up there I need to get motivated about exercising! What do you guys think? Good progress? Inspiring words? Exercise more?

Our Love Story

I decided to join the 'Our love story' blog hop over at From Mrs. to Mama (funny, right?!). The day she posted this she had over 130 entries- sheesh! Clearly every other blogger in the world thought this was a cute idea- I am no different... so here goes!


1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Well this is a hard question (do I ever do anything easily?). We were mere acquaintances before we began dating. And when we began dating exclusively it kind of just happened- so I'm not sure when we officially became 'together'. If you ask my husband he would say 'the whole summer' so for the sake of just answering the question I am going to go with "met in 2001, dated in 2005, married in 2008".

Us in 2005

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}
As if answering question #1, wasn't 'roundabout' enough- we were acquaintances first. But for the sake of our jobs (I'm sure it's a moot point now though) I am going to go with we met at a University :)

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}
3 years, 4 months, and 4 days. It's funny why this is so specific. But by time this post is published (yes it's been in my drafts since 2/7/12) I'm not sure if I would have told you the story of the 'not-so newlywed game' yet.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
I LOVED our wedding. The only thing that could have made it more perfect is it it were 40 hours in a day on 10.10.08. I still smile every time I think back. As much as I loved our wedding I still haven't properly documented the goings on. We have well over 1,000 pictures, a wedding album, 2 parent albums, a few more pictures books from generous friends who took pictures at our wedding and I haven't done my own scrapbook yet. But for the sake of answering the question: New Jersey, Big.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
We do! I'm not so sure if I should share though. He might get me for this but I call him poopie and he calls me pootie. I have no idea how these nicknames came about, but no, we do not call our son pookie.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
His personality.
His Charisma.
The way he loves me.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
On a horse and carriage ride in Central Park. It started with dinner at one of thee best restaurants I've ever been to. With the exception of last year we have gone back there every year on our engagement anniversary. It was amazing! He had asked my parents for my hand in marriage prior to then (how traditional!) so when we got back from dinner- my mom was standing in the kitchen screaming, lol! My dad had bottles of something (it may have been Verdi, it may have been champagne) and there was another get together in my Aunt's backyard. There we announced it to almost everyone in my family. My jaws hurt just thinking about how hard I was cheesing that night.

There was only one bad thing about the whole event. That morning I dropped my camera on the floor and broke it. At the end of our horse and carriage ride when I realized that I would have NO pictures from that day- I cried. In hindsight that's pretty lame- but pictures are important to me.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
It depends. Definitely no flowers- I'm allergic. My husband says that's why he married me. And...I don't drink (I know, I know!). I'm just not all that thrilled with the burning sensation you get in your throat from drinking alcohol. However my husband is an AMAZING cook. And he will cook me my favorite meal on V-day, my birthday, or just because I had a bad day. I'm a foodie so it means the WORLD to me when he does. I'm satisfied with that.

He has however given me a bouquet of flowers before. I still have about 4 of the first dozen roses he's ever given to me.

This picture was taken 1/14/2008 so I have no idea why I got these...

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
Both! I will spend Valentine's Day however we are in the mood. Quite honestly in recent months I have not been in the mood for crowds so a movie on the couch sounds like a good plan to me right now- especially if my hubby cooks. However, a dinner at sunset on the beach would be wonderful (see the beach in the background from our 2005 picture). We both love the beach and food. Unfortunately this year if we did either we would fall asleep after 10 minutes because quite honestly we are sleep deprived.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
We both have all sorts of travel plans- Germany, Italy, Spain. I don't think we could ever pick just one place.

Us in Paris, 2006. For whatever unknown reason this picture is EXTREMELY blurry so it's ok if you don't believe me

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
Getting a baby sitter (thanks Mom & Dad!) and taking a nap. Romantic right?

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
Nope, I never really do. I may mention something in passing but I don't really like gifts for Valentine's Day.

When I was in 7th grade 5 different boys bought me gifts. I had no idea they were even going to do this- it came out of the blue completely. I was 12 and according to my dad 12 year olds aren't supposed to know that boys exist- so how was I to show up at home with all of this stuff. I mean it was a lot of stuff- one guy bought me the world's hugest teddy bear- I think he got kicked out of homeroom for even having it. So, I gave it all away... Bad idea right? Well I was only 12! They all ended up hating me for it. And that started my dislike for Valentine's Day. I think I handled it the best way a 12 year old could. Over the years my hatred for Valentine's Day has died down a little- needless to say I hope that never happens again!

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Communicate! Please talk to the one you love. If the way he leaves his socks balled up in the wash bothers you- say it! If you bottle it up it will only blow up one day in a way that you did not intend for it to. Besides, he can't fix it if he doesn't know what to fix.

And because I suck at following directions... you should also learn to compromise. Give and take. If he finally fixes that shaky hand rail (even if it took 7 months) don't mention it when he uses up all the hot water- right when you get back from the gym.

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

As much as pictures are important to me- I don't think I have a picture that could accurately describe it.

Want more love stories...head on over to from mrs. to mama' there are even question/posts for/from single ladies! I hope you enjoyed ours :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

I really feel like these two day weekends aren’t sufficient- especially when they are jam packed with things to do.

I consider the start of the weekend on Friday as soon as you get to your car at your place of work. I use that rationale in hopes that adding those few extra hours sometimes will help to make the weekend seem longer. But alas! It usually doesn’t L

I got up on Saturday morning to bake some confectionery treats. My current project is cake pops. I’m practicing these because I have a few events coming up in which a dessert table may be involved and considering my love of baking, I’d rather do the dessert table myself than pay a baker to do it. I was able to do the batter and put the cake in the oven. After it was done I set it aside to cool. We then took the baby to see his Grandma (hubby’s mom). She hasn’t seen him since Christmas so she was very, very excited. Once we got home my parents came over and hung out for a little bit so my baby boy was on grandparent overload. That evening I was able to attempt to finish the process. Problem is something went terribly wrong. Actually the cake itself was pretty good (according to my husband and parents) it’s the decorating that gets me every time. I didn’t document my progress in pictures (on purpose) but here is the finished product:

I’m not exactly happy with the finished product. So basically, I know what went wrong (the shaping of the balls and the stupid candy melts). Essentially I need to keep practicing. My hubby took the defects to work (why must he torture me) so I’m sure they will have some sort of feedback. I’m also going to force them down my family’s throat this weekend. So more practice for me! At first I wanted to give up and just pay the baker to do it for these upcoming events but then I would be seething the whole time declaring ‘I just know I could have done this myself!’

On Sunday, we started our day at church. I had bought my handy dandy little notebook to take notes about this week’s lesson. My Sunday school class is the best- and we always have a good lesson that I usually have intentions of sharing with you all. It’s really sad but I usually can’t remember too deep into the lesson which is partly why I want to start writing it down. I can tell you that we are currently studying Galatians though. My church celebrates Black History Month… hard. We have an African American Heritage committee that puts together events for the month. Yesterday was Youth Sunday. One of the young (18 years) men gave the sermon. With so many of our young boys going to jail instead of college this was so refreshing to see. It was also dress down Sunday. My church is very big on come as you are- no church hats and suits needed. So we have dress down Sunday several times to make everyone feel comfortable. That “I don’t have anything to wear” excuse doesn’t fly with us. After church they hosted the ‘Not so Newlywed’ game. Guess who were contestants #4… Yep! Me and the hubby!!!

Let me tell you … I was so nervous about this. First, I am a little competitive. I feel like sometimes it’s my downfall too. I’m constantly having these imaginary competitions against myself- for no reason at all! Second, my hubby and I were married the least. We were competing against the Pastor and the ‘first fella’ (yup, we have a female pastor- and I love her do much!). They have been married for 53 years!!! OMG! PRESSURE! The other two couples were married 23 years and 15 years. Hubby and I have 3 years, 4 months and 3 days under our belt. And… My husband would tease me incessantly if I didn’t know the answer to a simple question about him. He often claims that he knows me better than I know him. So, once we were asked to participate. I started grilling him on things that I thought were potential questions…

‘What’s my favorite Bible verse?’

‘What’s my favorite color?’

‘What’s my favorite food?’

I went on and on with these questions for a few days. Then I sort of fizzled out. Then we had a meeting about the game. We went over rules, answered some basic questions like how long have you been married, and were assured that nothing sexual would be bought into the game. Well during this meeting they gave us an example question of ‘what’s the color of your spouse’s toothbrush?’ and oh goodness I did not know the answer. NOW… it’s a whole different ball game. How was I going to “study” questions like these?!

The game was played like the traditional Newlywed game where the wives were escorted out the room while the husband’s answered questions. Then we were bought back in. Then we swapped and did it again. After two rounds, a bonus question, and lots of pressure….

We won!!!!

And our grand prize:

This is a highly coveted cake in my church. Seriously, best.pound.cake.ever. I really wish you could taste a piece.

And I must say he got 2 of my predictions wrong (although one of those were a mere technicality) and I got all of his predictions right J so now we know who knows who better. And I will take all of my shoes, put them in the living room so he can count them- and then make him put it back!