Trial By Sapphire

For those of you who haven't seen on Twitter or Instagram, I've been in San Diego since yesterday!  Let the wedding weekend begin!

I've felt completely disconnected.  However, what will I have to blog about if I don't live life?  So pardon my absence, but I'll be unplugged until Tuesday.  I'll be getting my party on with some lovely people every day until then! 

Side note: I can't explain why, but my right sidebar and footer have traded places.  It's almost unreasonable how much this is bothering me (#bloggerproblems), but what can I do?  Blogger will do what Blogger wants to do, right?  I'll have my new amazing design by the brilliant Bobbi up soon, anyway, so I'll just let it be until then.

I wish you a magnificent weekend full of fun and rest!

Jamie @ The Letter 4 is awesome.  She has an adorable daughter named Sabrina.

Fact: I want to be her singing nanny.  Like, Mary Poppins.  But in real life.  

Jamie told me that Sabrina loves Disney's TANGLED, so I did some research, hoping to win her over.  This is my audition video that I thought would be a good idea to record at 10pm.  Keep your fingers crossed that I get the job!  ;-)  

Sabrina, have your people call my people.

** I'm not a fashion blogger, so I have no idea why I added the credits.  But they're already there, so I'm not removing them.  Oh, well.  Deal with it.  ;-)

Do you love shopping?  Most would answer "yes".  But do you love shopping for jeans?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  I don't enjoy shopping for more than one hour, and I gravitate toward individual stores instead of scouring department stores or malls.  My one exception is Kohl's.  I can do Kohl's, because I know exactly which section/clothing line I'm going to.  I get so overwhelmed by department stores and malls!  When I find a strip mall with a LOFT, Gap, Old Navy, Target, NY&Co., or Express in it, it's like I struck gold.

I had to find jeans this weekend.  I am the queen of keeping clothing for as long as possible.  My current pair of jeans were a hand-me-down from my friend Angela when I visited her at UC Santa Barbara in 2006.  Who knows how long she had them before that.  I borrowed them, I loved them, she didn't want them anymore, and I got them hemmed.  (Please note that this is how much of my closet has been built.  My fashionable sister and mom give me things when they don't want them or they don't fit.  Oh, the joy of being the smallest one in the family!  It's been this way since always.)  I've put off buying new jeans because of the great frustration I experience every time.  This past winter, I decided that come fall, I would buy new jeans.  Until then, I wouldn't need them in Houston's heat.  Well, I looked up San Diego's 10-day forecast for my trip this week, and...

... high of 62 degrees with few showers?  I'm perpetually cold, so I'm going to need some jeans, especially after living in the 80s here in Houston.  Luckily, Sunday has the best weather!  My hunt for jeans lasted all weekend.  Shopping with Mr. TBS on Saturday, and I headed out for two more hours that night.  No success on both accounts.  Evidently, I'm too small to wear adult clothes, but all of the teen clothes are super low-rise and overly embellished with a menagerie of rips, fades, and weird whiskers around the crotch.  (What the what?!)  And anything labeled "short" not included a shorter inseam but wider waist and hips.  I don't know why that is.

I hit the mall on my own on Sunday, and after two hours, I found a pair!  The last pair in my size!  I guess I shouldn't pass up the department stores anymore.  (Thank you, Macy's!)


To all of my shopping addict friends out there, where do you buy your jeans?  Most importantly, if you are a "petite" (5'4" and under), where do you buy your jeans?  For reference, I am 5'2", and I weigh around 102-105 lbs.  After this weekend's research, I learned that I wear a 2P, 25 short/ankle, or 0 short.  I love a dark rinse, no embellishments, and a mid-rise.  I don't like my coin slot showing when I sit down.  ;-)

I bought the Esle Esme Bootcut in Dark Wash, but I love the look of the J. Crew Bootcut in Classic Rinse.

Fellow petites and others who wear "specialty sizing", where do you buy your jeans?

I've posted a few pictures of my mother recently, and you've left so many wonderful comments about how beautiful she is and how young she looks.  I know!  Thank you!  I got good genes!  *jumping for joy*  What you can't tell from photos is how great of a person she is.  I nominated my mom for the San Diego Union-Tribune's Mommy & Me Photo Contest.  While she's gorgeous, I was sure to include in my short blurb just how wonderful she is.  Please take 30 seconds to click on the link and read about her.  And if you have 60 more seconds, please register and vote!  And then you can vote every day until 11:59pm on May 10.  :-)

Click HERE to see my submission about her.

Thank you so much for your support!

Happy Friday!  Oh, gosh.  Guys, I've got a problem.  It's Friday which means I'm linking up with Lauren to review my week's highlights.  Five of them, to be exact.  But I can't narrow it down to five!  I guess that's a good "problem" to have.  I'll take it!

Reese's Easter candy will be the death of me!  I just can't say no!

Source

I had a Google Hangout with Jamie &  Kim the other night!  So great to chat with them in real life, to see their precious kiddos in action, and to meet two of Jamie's sisters, Julianna & Janae!  I have also learned that when I become a mommy, I will develop what I now call "mommy A.D.D.", the ability to stop mid- sentence, walk away from a conversation to for minutes to be with your child, and then return like nothing happened.  I was so amused at how well Jamie and Kim did this!

I was sad that my Google Effects app wasn't working, because I couldn't add a cool mustache or hat!

I happened to check my Traffic Source "Search keyword" category yesterday, and this popped up to give me an instant smile:

I'm so glad someone came upon TBS through searching those words on the internet!  How cool!
Most likely, they came upon THIS post.

It's official!  I'm definitely going to my first NFL game next season.  The Green Bay Packers are coming to town to play the Houston Texans!  I am not a sports fanatic, but I am a Packer fan by marriage.  (That counts, right?)  Tickets are on sale yet, but we are going to that game!

Source

My LUSH order arrived!  It included: Trichomania shampoo, Jungle conditioner, Shampoo Bar Tin, None of Your Beeswax lip balm, and a sample of Sweetheart soap.  I'm so excited to use my new vegan stuff!

Bonus highlights:

I'll be in San Diego in one week!

Bobbi and I exchanged many a funny e-mail yesterday discussing my blog design, and I am so amped about working with her!  She's a true gem, and she is my favorite self-proclaimed awkward person in the world!

Houston had a few cool, brisk mornings this week which was a nice change!

I'm beginning to accept that my blog is slowly transitioning into a weird combination of modern tree-hugger blog and mommy blog.  I enthusiastically write posts like yesterday's Parental Intentions, and I seem to get more comments than usual -- lengthy ones, at that!  I love it!  I've also never used the hash tag #babyfever more than I did yesterday.

Life is good, people!  If you make my lemonade, it will be sweet too.  How was your week?

I have a running list of things I intend to do during my pregnancy and parenting time.  I know that kind of thought isn't supposed to kick in until I see a little plus sign on a white stick and start reading What To Expect When You're Expecting, but what's the harm in doing some of that planning now?  I'm just being efficient.

It seems that my "5 Things/Ways To..." posts are a hit with you beautiful people, so today I'm sharing 5 of my parental intentions.


Have a natural birth.  


As much as I love the thought of going to a birth center, I'll probably give birth in a hospital.  However, I'd like to complete Bradley Method or Hypnobabies classes beforehand.  I intend to have a natural birth, but I reserve the right to change my mind.  I'm hopeful that I'll have the determination that my mom did.  She gave birth naturally three times.  (round of applause)  It was her first gift to each of us kids!


Use cloth diapers. 
 

Yup.  I said it.  I want to cloth diaper my kid.  Lucky for me, I have friends who have successfully used cloth diapers for well over the first year.  Not only did they feel relieved about the money they saved, but they also felt so much better about all of the waste they didn't add to landfills.  I want both of those things!  A little extra effort goes a long way!  Save money, help the environment, avoid chemicals!  I've heard the good, the bad, and the ugly, but I still think it's worth it to try.  And I don't know if you've heard, but cloth diapers have advanced far past the old days of rags and safety pins.  Enter: bumGenuis (among many other great product lines!)  Yes, Mr. TBS has already been warned!  He is either on-board or humoring me.  I don't know for sure yet.


Breast feed.  (No photo required!)

I know it's not for everyone, and I know it can be difficult, but by golly.  I'm going to try!


Make homemade baby food.


My cousin did this, and I've planned on getting a Baby Bullet and doing the same for my kid ever since!  And since I'm a vegetarian, some people have already asked if I plan on raising a vegetarian or vegan child.  In a word, yes.  I think Caitlin explains it best HERE.


Use baby sign language.


Did you see my post about American Sign Language last month?  I professed my love for the language and my fascination of deaf culture.  Not only do I want to learn ASL, I intend to use baby sign language.  I've heard nothing but positive things from people I've talked to!


I intend to do so much.  It may not all be possible, but this is the time when I can dream that it will all come true.  Any helpful advice mommy friends?

I'm not sure about your city, but Houston is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from summertime!  We're up to the 80s these days, so it's about time Mr. TBS and I break out our homemade lemonade.  (This lemonade adds serious flair to our refrigerator since we only every has water and rice milk.)  If you plan on having lemonade at home, too, don't waste your money on the store-bought, chemical-laden kind.  This is much simpler.  I promise.

This recipe uses stevia, not sugar or artificial sweeteners.  Friends, can you please do me a favor and never use Splenda, Sweet 'N' Low, Equal, or NutraSweet ever again?  (And stop drinking all of those diet drinks that have aspartame!)  Use stevia as your sugar substitute.  You can learn more about stevia at Livestrong.com, NaturalNews.com, and Stevia.com.





Too easy, right?  Now go do it.  YUM!
Summertime, here we come!

I am so excited Monday is over.  It was one of those days!  It was a great day at work but very busy with a quiet rumbling of chaos.  Have you ever had one of those days?  I work in a corporate professional environment where things must always remain calm, collected, and smooth.  It's really hard to do that when my head is spinning, because we may have over-committed ourselves today!  Live and learn!  It's all trial by fire sapphire.  (Oh, it was too easy.)  After spending a day with my inner-chicken-with-its-head-cut-off, it was nice to go out to dinner with Mr. TBS.  Ahhhhh!  Much better.

Luckily, I had a really low-key weekend.  Remember how I said sleeping in too late felt like half the day was wasted?  Well, I slept in until 10:00am on Sunday.  That will teach me to say such things on my blog after going to bed at 1:00am all week.  Other than hibernating this weekend, I also Skyped with my sister who recently had surgery on her wrist for tendonitis... and then got hit by a biker just as she was starting a 10-mile run and fractured the other arm.  2012 has not been her year so far, BUT I have this theory that she was allotted a certain amount of crap, and she has hit her quota.  DONE.  Moving on up (after both arms heal)!  My only solution at the time was to engage my best little sister artistry in the form of teasing my hair and making silly faces.  It worked.

Mr. TBS and I made a trip to see the cows Saturday evening.  I wish I had cool pictures to show, but they were so far from the fence.  I was so disappointed!  "They're always here at 5:45pm.  Why are they way over there?!  They're always at the fence for that old man and those cute little girls!"  They were there on Friday.  They were there on Sunday.  But not Saturday.  But be warned, cows!  I will be back to visit you, and you will like it.

A few other notes:
1) I finally watched Bridesmaids!  Loved it!
2) I need to reinstate bedtime, because I'm not doing so well with "winging it".  Am I the only adult who needs a bedtime to stay on schedule?
3) TBS will have a new look soon!  'Tis the season, as so many of my favorite bloggers are getting custom designs (or have recently)!

Okay.  Time to breathe.  Time to watch Smash.  Time for bed.

My favorite day of the week has always been Friday.  Always, always, always!  The feeling of going home after work on a Friday feels extra refreshing, and it still has the promise of two full days of "freedom".  (There's nothing worse than sleeping in too late on a Saturday.  Does anyone else feel like you've missed half the day if you sleep in?)

Friday means linking up with the wonderful Lauren who has been an awesome help to me over the last week.  From My Grey Desk got a makeover this week which is why I've got a new snazzy H54F button today!


 Here are five of my highlights from the last week.

ONEWe went to the local farmers market & an awesome antique shop last weekend!  If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you probably saw these beauties: 

 TWOMy spontaneous post Before You Knew Me got a lot of sweet comments, and I loved checking out the links you left for me!  I read them all!   Emily at Hope Squared encouraged me to do a link-up for something similar.  Anyone interested in participating if I do that? THREEI told Mr. TBS that I wanted a free-standing mirror for our master bedroom, and this lovely piece showed up on Wednesday!  (Bought in Espresso on Amazon) 

 FOURMajor blogger love happened this week!And both events were unplanned.  What sweet surprises! I Skyped with my beloved Emily on Monday, and she is just as amazing as I had hoped!  We discussed all the normal Blog BFF things like online creepers, pregnancy/labor woes the magical experience of labor, ssssssnakes, and disturbing TV shows.  That's what you're supposed to talk about on a first blate (blogger date, for all you novices), right?

 Yesterday, I met one of my favorite bloggers, Meg!  You can read yesterday's post for all the amazing details about how it happened and how we cheered up our dear Jessica!

FIVEI'm getting a new windshield today!  No more 24-inch crack for this girl.  :-)

I'm thinking this weekend will include the farmers market, an antique shop, swimming (in my backyard pool, y'all!), bike ride, QT with Mr. TBS and our kitties, and recording another vlog (for Jamie)!  
Singing may or may not be involved. 

 What are you doing this weekend?

Here's something you didn't know about me:



I've been writing TBS for 2.5 months, but I started blogging last summer when only friends and family populated my audience.  I didn't plan to blog today.  But I was inspired by to share a few old posts.  I really love reading Jenni's blog, Story of My Life, and I was curious to read some of her early posts.  You know, before she had 2,708 readers.  I love her post called The First Anniversary of the Worst Day of My Life!  She is such an authentic writer.  A sad but funny story!

I think my blog voice has changed over time, and I'd like to get back to my more personal and journal-like ways.  I feel like I'm gaining new readers every other day.  It's exciting to meet all of you!  Whether you've been a reader since February or yesterday, here are a few posts that you probably haven't read yet that will tell you a bit more about me:


If you wouldn't mind, I'd love for you to leave a comment with a few of your old posts that you think really reflect who YOU are!

I've heard this a number of times since high school.  I think it's both a compliment to my parents and to my sister, brother, and me.  My parents have always gone above and beyond the call of parental duty, and they still do -- no matter how old we are or where we live.  I'm not a mother yet, so I can only imagine how proud I would feel if someone said that to me.  However, I still felt proud hearing that!  I guess I'm not too shabby at this "makin' my parents proud" business!  The latest person to say such a thing about my parents?  My husband.  :-)

I know it will be helpful to write down all the things I observe and learn from my parents, but instead of writing them in a journal, I figured this blog would be just as good a place as any to keep those notes!

So here are five (of many) things I've learned about parenting from Mom & Dad:


1.  Keep the lines of communication open.  Make sure you're always on the same page and that everyone in the family feels encouraged and appreciated.  Communication was key in maintaining the family schedule which was always packed with dance classes, voice lessons, rehearsals, school activities, shows, sports, piano lessons, Eagle Scouts, etc.  It also kept our family grounded and in tune.  We always knew where everyone else was.  We supported each other's activities.  Even scolding came in the form of discussion rather than lecturing.  Which leads me to #2.


2.  Conversation works better than yelling.  I was never grounded, but it wasn't because I never disobeyed or broke a rule.  My parents perfected the art of making me see the error of my ways through discussion which always explicitly included: a) what I did wrong, b) why it upset them, c) what I should have done instead, and d) that they loved me.  It sounds like something unattainable out of a parenting book, but when approached genuinely, it totally works!  I NEED TO DO THIS!


3.  Your kids are never too old to be encouraged.  My dad is the master of encouragement.  My mom is equally supportive, but my dad always verbalizes it.  Notes like "Have a grrrreat day, beauty!  We're so proud of you!" are now sent in a text message instead of taped to my bathroom mirror.  I'm turning 28 this year, and I still love those "just because" e-mails, text messages, and phone calls.

True story: We have home video footage of me (age 5?) telling my cousin Sara, "You can do anything if you put your mind to it!"  Thanks, Dad!  I also learned how to spell "victory" at a young age:

"Victory, victory is our cry!  V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!"


4.  Be involved but not overbearing.  Everything was a family affair.  My parents didn't just show up and clap their hands for me.  My mom was PTA president, Area Coordinator for CYT, show choir parent booster club president, dance studio office assistant, and national trip tour guide (Hawai'i, Nashville, New York -- she now leads international trips).  My dad, who worked full-time, assisted my mom in all of those endeavors.  He would drive dinner to the theater on his way home from work when I had rehearsal until 11:00pm.  It wasn't enough for them to show up; they always got involved.  I think they found joy in being involved in my life that way, and let's be honest, it was a productive way of keeping their eye on me too.


5.  Document everything!  There are collections of home videos and photo albums... and then there's my family.  We have a library of memories.  My mom made scrapbooks of all of our shows.  Our family photo albums are coded (A-Z, AA-ZZ, AAA-ZZZ) and are approaching the quadruple digits (AAAA-ZZZZ).  Our home videos span from 1987 to now -- complete with my dad's amateur cinematic skills of fading in and out and setting the scene with narration before capturing footage.  We love nothing more than watching those videos (now transferred to DVD).  And we three kids have memories to laugh about even though we were too young to actually remember them.

My skin is crawling.

I am sitting in our charming little den with a charming vaulted ceiling with nothing but charming candlelight and the cloak of night... and my skin is tingling with fear, all because of that first line.

I've always known that I didn't like snakes.  I would state it with the same displeasure as "I don't like the smell of Freesia" or "I hate it when toilet paper rolls out from the back of the roll."  While I love animals, snakes have always seemed unpredictable.  They're speed and power are not to be tested.  Exactly one week ago, I learned exactly how much I do not like snakes.  Scratch that.  Exactly how terrified I am of snakes.

Leading up to our move last weekend, I had gone to our place to drop off some things.  On both occasions, our landlords/neighbors were there completing landscaping, so I was able to chat with them about the property and the town.  I'd spent over an hour with them during both visits, because I wanted to get to know them.  While talking to Chris last Thursday, I remembered something that Mr. TBS and I had wondered about.

"Is there anything we need to know about in terms of bugs or critters?  Obviously, there are a lot of mosquitoes in Houston, but do we need to worry about ticks or anything?"

She explained that there would be more mosquitoes than in the city, because there is a creek nearby.  She said not to worry about ticks at all.  "Just wear bug spray if you're going to be outside all day."  And then she said, "But we do have copper heads."  Seeing my unaffected expression, "Do you know what copper heads are?"

"No."  I was expecting her to describe flying beetles.

"Snakes."


And this is where everything started to kick in.  I'm talkin' rising body temperature, a ball of heat dropping from my head to my feet and climbing again.  My impulse was to pull in all limbs like a tightly wound ball of yarn, but my legs wouldn't move.  My mind started playing tricks on me.  I felt the urge to move my feet, as if there were snakes on the ground to escape from, but my legs still wouldn't move.

Chris, who happens to love snakes, continued on to say that she has only seen one in the twenty years she has lived here.  That disappointed her, because "they have such a beautiful pattern!"  Vision started taking on a soft black frame.  "If you ever see one on a rock, just take one of the rakes and push it off.  You'll want it to know not to come back."  Tunnel vision starting.  Visualizing myself willingly approaching a snake, I could feel my heart screaming.  She continued to assure me that it wasn't anything to worry about but that she wanted me to know just in case I was lucky enough to see one.  Reality blurred by images of Fear Factor.  

As this conversation took place, I grew increasingly sweaty, and every hair on my arms reached for high Heaven.  I gave my best attempt at apathy to the matter, but I couldn't even muster a fake smile.  And flashes of black started swishing in front of my eyes.   

Wave your hand back and forth in front of your face.  That is what I was seeing.

I officially discovered how scared I am of snakes.

Even while telling Mr. TBS about the conversation that night, I felt like I wanted to cry.  Calm tears, mostly from feeling completely out of control.  Being proactive, Mr. TBS Google'd "copper head snake" to see what they looked like.  My feet were immediately tucked under me on the couch, and I only looked at the thumbnails from a distance.  Again, glazed eyes.

It's been five days since we moved here.  I know that the longer we live here, the more I'll get used to the idea that I might see a snake one day.  While everyone else in this neighborhood walks through grass and bushes without a care, I'm prepared to buy galoshes and an astronaut suit.  But then I started worrying that a snake might crawl in a boot even if I keep them in the house.  It's an endless cycle!

I love animals.  I don't want snakes to be killed.  But I don't want them within my line of sight.  Not even toy snakes.  Because I will scream and then cry.

I finally have some pictures to share with you from the H-town Blogger meet-up on March 25!  It was fun to meet some bloggers I've followed and to meet new blog friends!  Most of us seemed to be fairly new, so it was a great opportunity to share advice.  Very helpful!  I was told that the meet-ups are typically more conducive to mingling which will be helpful the next time around.  I feel like I barely talked to the girls at the other end of the table.  But next time!

If you know of a blogger meet-up in your area, I highly recommend attending.  Get out from behind those computers and get to know other bloggers in real life!  Who knows?  It may lead to joint blog ventures or really great friendships.  You'll never know if you don't attend!