sicky poo poo

Literally.

My dog Chloe, who is usually the daintiest, neatest, and sweetest of little pooches, has been on a poo poo parade for the last two days. As in, waking me up to go at 3am. Then going BY HERSELF in the library. Then getting poo poo on my duvet. That’s a no no.

I’m so exhausted I can’t even find the motivation to pull out the camera and take some poo poo pics for you. Suffice to say the last thing I wanted to do this morning was clean more poo poo from her hoo hoo. But you get the picture, right?

Enough poo poo.

I have some sort of flu thing. So I’m stricken with malaise and an inability to eat anything except scrambled eggs, mint tea, and brownie bites. Go figure. I also have some Emergen C that I’ve been shooting every once in a while, so hopefully that turns this ship around sooner rather than later.

Since I’m no good for much else, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and thought I’d share some of my recent finds with you.

Hubs actually bought this book for me on the recommendation of a co-worker, because I’m very interested in learning more about Sephardic Jewish culture. It was an excellent read! Romance, adventure, and a healthy dose of history — all the things I love in a book. Because it was so good, I also picked up another book by Naomi Ragen, Jepthe’s daughter, which was completely different, but equally intriguing.

I’m also writing again — did you know even I wrote to begin with? — and decided to do online installments of my book as I write, as a way of motivating myself and getting some helpful suggestions along the way. If you’re bored and want to check it out: www.emanuellamoon.com

Hopefully I will be back soon with pictures, something more interesting than scrambled eggs, and a better attitude with no poo poo!

 

The Make-up Post

Yes, this post is about relationships! But not with boys or girls.

This is about one of the loves of my life: cosmetics.

Throughout out the years my relationship with makeup has gone through many, many, many phases. I remember feeling at one point, I think it was during high school, that if I were ever stranded on a deserted island and could only bring ONE thing with me it would not be matches, potable water, or a freakin’ cell phone; nope, it’d be my eyeliner, because heaven FORBID anyone see my eyes – gasp! – naked. Thankfully that intense dependency/obsession/etc with makeup has mellowed in a more comfortable, give and take relationship. Oddly enough, I think it was being in a comfortable, give and take relationship that made me ease up on the face. I can clearly remember Hubs (then just boyfriend) tricking me into going out without my “face” by saying we were just making a quick hardware store run. I was in sweats and a bare face and the fool had the NERVE to pull into the mall parking lot and announce that we were going to brunch. I’m sure I looked at him like he had three heads. And I was absolutely certain that everyone looked at me like I have FIVE heads when I entered the mall looking like… well, I don’t know, me without makeup?

Amazingly, no one really cared. Except for me. I cared. But four mimosas helped me relax a little.

I digress.

My skin has not gotten better with age. I now how battle scars from various wars with acne and hormones, some won, some lost, but I definitely feel more confident in myself, confident enough to say good morning to the neighbors without concealer on and even make a grocery store run. But you know what? When I put on my “face”, as superficial as it may sound, I feel better. I feel good, and in a world full of un-good feelings, if a little blush and eyeliner boost the morale a bit, well, it’s certainly not hurting anyone.

Over the years I’ve gotten fairly adept at applying makeup, and even had the honor doing my cousin’s bridal makeup for her wedding. I also did my own wedding makeup, after two trials that left me looking like a scary clown bride. I like makeup to look natural — the goal is not to look like you’ve piled on an alternate personality, but instead to create a smooth complexion that looks real. The best compliment is for someone to say that your skin looks great — not that your foundation is really pulling its weight today, you know?

Smooth the complexion and emphasize your positives. And save the crazy colors and shimmery stuff for special occasions. That’s my motto! Since I’ve spent a small fortune on makeup (I’m a Sephora V.I.B. baby, aka click-happy internet shopper), I decided to show you guys my daily essential makeup items, in case you cared to know.

This is the all-star lineup that give me a natural, but polished everyday look. After much waffling and frivolous spending, I’ve decided that at least right now, my foundation of choice is MAC’s Studio Fix powder. It’s so easy, layers nicely, and it looks good in pictures. For concealer, I use Laura Mercier, and typically use the same Chanel Quad of eyeshadow every day, because I love it.

My absolute lover sweetie pie is this:

Bobbi Brown’s face touch up stick. If you have ANY blemishes or discolorations on your skin, this little angel will make you so happy. I apply it before the foundation to any spots that stand out, and once I’ve brushed my Studio Fix over it, it’s like magic! And a little tube lasts forever.

My other lover, which I don’t use every day, but always break out for special occasions — like when I’m in the mood to spend more than 5 minutes on my face — is this:

This stuff will transform any eyeshadow into an eyeliner that stays put. When I’m doing cat eyes or smokey eyes I like to use a brush, and this magic potion makes it so easy. It’s also great to add a little to a light shimmer shadow to create a long-lasting base for building color. I’ve had this one bottle for 2 years, so again, a little goes a long way.

In addition to the products above, I keep these handy:

For when the mood strikes. I’ve also got another stash of makeup in my closet, because I’m a junkie. And a girl’s gotta have options.

What about you? Any makeup lovers out there?

hibernation libation

So where’ve I been?

Hiding in my robe, of course.

It’s so COLD outside! My dogs won’t even stay out long enough to get any real exercise. In fact, Chloe will just quickly relieve herself and then wait for me in the garage with a look on her face. A look that says: Get your crazy human butt back in here so I can get back in my purse.

We know she’s weird. We also know she has good taste.

Around here we’ve been getting the house ready for Christmas and I’m starting to get super excited about hosting my very first holiday! I’m so glad it’s Christmas too because it is absolutely my all-time fave!

Some new additions:

I’m beginning to piece together my holiday menu as well. It’s a Desai & Sturgis event, which also means it’s a Vegetarian & Carnivore event, so the trick is to make delicious treats that everyone will enjoy. Luckily there’s one part of the menu that doesn’t need any substitutions: COCKTAILS!

After a little brainstorming and experimenting (aka… boozin’…) I am proud to present:

Sarah’s Christmas Cheer Martini

To make it you will  need:

• Sake (You could also use vodka, but Sake makes it soooo smooooooth)
• Pomegranate juice
• Canton Ginger Liqueur
• Ice and Shaker
• Green sugar (You can find this in the cake decorating section of your supermarket)

Mix 1 part Canton, 2 parts Pom juice and 2 parts Sake in a martini shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake vigorously. Rim a martini glass with the juice and pour!

It’s so delicious. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Reader Feedback — Any suggestions for delicious vegetarian Christmas fare?

 

in the weather

 

Today the weather was gross and so was I. I’ve been having some health issues lately and today things just didn’t align correctly, and I ended up feeling exactly like the weather: gross, foggy, rainy, and hostile. I’ve also barely got an appetite, which means something is definitely amiss — I mean, I still had an appetite when I had mono in high school and my darn throat was closed up! So anyway, in honor of my crappy day, I’ve decided to compile a list of things that make me feel better when I’m in the yucks. I don’t think they’re really in any particular order.

• My husband. I’d like to say that he is my panacea, but that’d be a flat out lie. Sometimes he makes me feel better when I’m feeling crappy. But other times he annoys the fluff out of me by refusing to anticipate my every need and whim. So. You know.
• My Samaliciousness. He is the best cuddler in the world and always know when I need some love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• A good book. Sometimes a smutty romance does the trick, other times an old favorite like Wuthering Heights or Rebecca. A good read is always fun!
• The Office and/or Southpark. Laugh therapy is the best therapy!
• My sis. We don’t chat on the phone really, but we’re pretty much chatting all day through some electronic means or other.
• My piano. Playing classical music is very soothing for me, and I’m soooo happy to finally have a piano again! Provided I’m feeling well enough to sit upright and focus, that’s always a nice thing to do.
• A new cocktail. I realize that boozing it up when you’re not well is probably not the BEST idea in the world, but I love experimenting with new cocktails. It makes me happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I think I’ll leave it at that. What things brighten your day when you’re blue?

 

decking the halls

Isn’t it crazy how Christmas seems to roll around earlier and earlier each year? Not that I mind — it happens to be my favorite holiday of the year!

This year we finally get to host a Christmas at our home, and we have space for a tree. I absolutely went crazy at Michael’s… And Target…

We got a fake tree this year, which I’m not a huge fan of — but boy was it easy to set up! I think it may find a new home in the front of the house next year and we’ll get a real tree (can’t have too many x-mas trees!) but for now I think it looks good, no?

Someone thought so…

I also started getting the dining room ready. What do you think of this place setting?

The Buffet — don’t mind the tag, still deciding on the decor!

And of course, some outdoor lights… Which Hubs probably needs to fix up a bit…

I love coming downstairs in the morning to all the Christmas-ness! I really miss the smell of the real tree, but I’m doing my best to populate the area with pine-scented candles — Thank you, Glade!

Today though, I have to refocus myself and get the doggy daycare ready to rock and roll. A wall needs to be painted pink, a desk needs to be constructed, and I have a bunch of errands to run. I’m moving very slow, but since Hubs is gone for tonight, I can start late and finish late.

Have you started your holiday decorating yet? I’m amazed at the amount of people who bought their Christmas trees over the weekend here — we literally got the LAST one of this type at the store. Also, do you buy real or fake? I can already see the virtues of fake… No mess, easy set-up, easy take-down. But unless you fork over a lot of $$ they really aren’t as full and lovely as a real tree, I think.

Holidays in HotLanta

Greetings from Atlanta!

Hubs has left me for the evening to make a quick trip to Florida (he’ll be back tomorrow) so today was just me, the pups, and the in-laws. It’s been a slow, quiet, yet good kind of day. I got my workout on, got my nails done (finally) and had a delicious dinner made for me by someone else –namely, Momma Sturj. It was fantastic. Since the in-laws have hit the hay, I figured I’d take a moment to update you all on my travels, etc.

First of all, this was my first real roadtrip. I don’t recall ever being in the car for more than 4-5 hours at a time, and this trip from Maryland to Atlanta was a doozy — 11 hours! In preparation, I made us a bunch of sandwiches — egg&cheese for me and hamegg&cheese for the hubs, took a thermos of my chocolate nut milk, and basically packed up my entire kitchen.

I cooked two things:

A brand new batch of Pickle Soup and a tofu and mushroom concoction that tastes nice over brown rice.

The thought here was that a week being away from home is tough, and I can’t afford to gain another two pounds this week. Although I adore Momma Sturj’s cooking, I simply cannot survive a breakfast of fried potatoes, eggs, pancakes, and a slew of other goodies, for six mornings in a row. Bad news bears for Sarah! Instead, I piled all of my produce into the car as well, so that I could start the mornings here with a nice green juice (yes, I also brought my juicer!)

If I hadn’t been mad rushing to get out of the house in the morning, I would have thought to take a picture of the entire load of food stuff that I brought, but alas, Hubs and I decided to sleep late, as opposed to getting a jumpstart on that drive. Hey, gotta do whatcha gotta do. On the eating front, I’m pretty happy with myself. I’ve eaten a little more leniently that I would be at home (more peanut butter for sure), but I’ve hit the gym every day since we got here and plan to continue that trend, and I have definitely had my green juice each morning and skipped the big breakfast. It is success, as far as I’m concerned.

Anyway, the drive. What a doozy! Fortunately, I came armed with reading material.

Do you remember this book? Hubs mentioned that he read the three books back in high school, and that he had very fond memories of it. Since he’s not one to pick up a novel, I decided to gift him with the series — and lo and behold there are FIVE books, actually, not just three. So I figured this trip would be a good time to knock two of them out. I’d read first book many years ago, and barely remembered it, so I was excited to read it as well.

We finished the entire book! I read for about six hours straight I’m sure — and it definitely helped pass the time. I was surprised though, at the heavy religious subtext in the book — namely, heavy Christian. I didn’t have any recollection of that as a kid, but I guess there are some things you pick up later. Definitely a good read though. We’ll be hitting book 2 on the way back — but that’s not until Friday, and I’m definitely not going to think about it right now!

We saw beautiful scenery in Virginia, which I failed to catch except for this little gem:

Cows on a hill behind a truck stop under a Cracker Barrel sign. Tres chic, no? These guys were incredibly well-behaved, too:

I think they were happy they weren’t being left behind.

As for the rest of the week, we’re just hanging out. Hubs gets back tomorrow and he said we’re going to have a date night in the city, so that should be fun, and we’ll be spending Thanksgiving at our in-law’s good friend’s house, which is always a fun time.

How do you stay even keel during the food festivities? This year, I’ve planned ahead and tried to stick to a particular game plan. I’m absolutely planning to enjoy myself with all the typical holiday fare on Thursday, and I’ll feel fine about because of all the gym time and healthy eats I’m logging in prior to it.

I’ll try and update before Thursday, but if I don’t – Have a Happy Holiday! And a safe one!

Chocolate Therapy

I know, I know — another post about chocolate?! What, like there could be one too many? Today’s off to a less than wonderful start. I don’t know about you, but when my emotions are compromised and I’m in the dumps, the day quickly finds its way into the crapper as well. I make bad eating decisions, I leave a trail of destruction behind me all over the house, and I don’t bother with hair and makeup — the logic could be: look as good as you feel? Who knows.

I took little Samster to the vet this morning because I thought he had a tick in his paw and I couldn’t extract it. Turns out, it was nothing more than a skin tag…

I’m so sorry, Sammy! I’m such a bad mommy. I totally spent time trying to remove that poor skin tag — thank goodness I didn’t try popping it or anything. The thought did cross my mind. Oy.

Anyway, I didn’t have any breakfast before I took him to the vet, because I slept in longer than I had planned. Thus, when I finally got home around 11am I was hungry and crabby and generally all “rawr.”

Then I thought of this:

It’s Kashi Heart 2 Heart and the chocolate milk from yesterday. Delicious. And a good combination of protein and carbs because of the nuts in the milk. I’m not a huge cereal person, probably due to the carb scare I went through in the mid 2000′s (i.e. they are the devil and instantly make you fat). However, I do enjoy a bowl here and there now, especially when I’m in a crunch. But I didn’t have my green juice, which I should have done. This brings me to what I was talking about earlier — Emotional Sabotage.

Hubs and I don’t have a relationship that gains anything fun or positive from drama. I’ve been in relationships before that were built on drama, and I did enjoy the occasional blow out because the after-blow out could be fun. Or passionate. Do you know what I mean? But because of Hubs’ personality and my personality, when we have a riff or row, we don’t allow ourselves to enter into that special little after-party reserved only for big fights. Instead, I pout and stew and throw around the house like a Viking pillaging a poor defenseless village. And he goes to the gym and is quiet until I get over it. The best part is, we get to hang out in the car together tomorrow for 10+ hours as we drive to his parent’s house in Georgia.

Can you say PAR-TAY?

Anyway, my point is that I have a lot of cleaning do around this house. In addition to laundry, cooking all the food we have here (for transport), packing, and giving my two rascals a spa treatment (can’t have them going to Grandma’s looking all frumpy!). And I wish I could just figure out a way to NOT sabotage myself when my emotions get compromised, because it would make life so much easier.

The End.

Chocolate Fiend

Today I was determined not to drink that powdered hot coco again. It really gave me a headache and kind of made me feel like I didn’t do too well on the eating front. So, this afternoon, when the chocolate cravings began to settle in, I hit the pantry to create this:

This was no Swiss Miss! Into the Vitamix went:

• Almonds
• Cashews
• Water
• 5 dates
• raw cacao powder
• vanilla
• dash cinnamon
• dash salt

Strain.

I think I’m going to invest in one of those cheese cloths so that my nut milk comes out extremely smooth. The strainer does work, but it’s still not 100% silky smooth, which I think would have made it even more delicious. It was still pretty good. I drank it hot, but it also tastes quite yummy chilled.

However, that alone was not enough to satisfy the chocolate monster. So I wandered on over to my friend Megan’s blog, crossing my fingers that I had all the ingredients necessary to make her delicious looking Peanut Butter Cups. I did

No cupcake liners... so I improvised with condiment bowls and wax paper

Even though they weren’t pretty like Megan’s, they were definitely delicious and I highly recommend you check out her recipe and give it a whirl. It actually took me less time to make these than it would have taken to drive to the store and buy a pack of Reese’s. And these are much less guilt inducing! Next time I will have the cupcake liners and make them pretty. I’ll also up the amount of nut butter. So delicious!

Click Happy

Good morning!

I’ve been attempting to start my mornings in a more productive (healthwise!) fashion these days, as I’ve now got about twenty pounds to shed. I know I’ve said that before, but this time I actually mean, I’ve gained twenty pounds since my wedding (there is a story behind it, and I even posted about it, but then chickened out and deleted!!!) and would really love to be able to wear real pants again. And just feel sexy again. So I’m trying to give myself as much of a chance as possible. For me, if I start the day with a fresh veggie juice, I simply TRY harder for the rest of the day to live up to the divine nutrition that I put into my body first thing in the morning. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

This morning’s spread:

Apple, kale, romaine heart, carrots, lemon, ginger, and honeydew

Which turned into:

It was pretty good. And I was good and cleaned up the juicer prior to drinking my concoction:

I find that if I don’t clean the juicer immediately, it will sit there for … a long time, get crusty and take longer to clean. It honestly takes less than two minutes to clean the darn thing, so it’s ridiculous when I don’t.

Anyhow, I also discovered why I tend to sit in the kitchen to do my computing:

That’s the view from the kitchen table, and I love looking out there! So far, I’ve seen three bald eagles, a fox, geese (I know, big whoop), a Great Blue Heron, and these little black and white duck things that I haven’t identified yet. It’s cool. In the library/office, I have a good view of the driveway and the main road, but that’s not as cool. So I guess I’ll be splitting my time.

Yesterday, I was catching up on my blog reading — for which I’m shamefully behind — and a recipe caught my eye on one of my favorite blogs, Peas and Thank You. It was for Pickle Soup! Maybe it’s not for everyone, but I immediately had to have it and incredibly, had all the ingredients on hand. It doesn’t look as pretty as Mama Pea’s… but it was pretty darn tasty.

And I have plenty more to eat today, which is good because it is FREEZING over here!

Yesterday I also indulged in one of these:

Which seemed like a great idea, except for the fact that I can’t seem to stop myself from reapplying the whipped cream every time it gets low. That turned my 70 calorie treat into something more like… Well, if I’m being honest, probably 200. So it defeated the point. And it made me feel kind of sick. So I’ll attempt not to do that again today. But I just love hot coco!

On today’s agenda is a thorough house-cleaning, a workout, more Thank Yous, and working on finance stuff for Petite Paws.

Hope you all have a good one!

Did I make the deadline?

They say that you have exactly one year from the date of your wedding to send out Thank You cards. I’m getting dangerously close to that deadline. In fact, I’m sure some people have written me off as one of “those” people who just can’t be bothered to send out thank you cards or follow a simply wedding protocol. Since I’m already “that” person who never returns a phone call, this afternoon I decided to finally dig in.

First, I had to set up the scene:

Southpark. A big mug of tea. My Blackberry. And of course, my favorite pen, the classic Pilot Razor Point. It is quite nice to have a room called a library or study, where there’s a good amount of sunlight, bookshelves, and a desk with a comfy chair. I wonder why it took me this long to set up shop in here? I’ve been using the kitchen table for all of my computing needs since we moved here, but it’s WAY more awesome in here. Maybe I was tricked into thinking it wasn’t community space since Hubs keeps referring to it as HIS office. And because he’s always filing something in there. Who knows. Hubs, if you’re reading this, I have claimed day ownership of this domain! Rawr!

Anyway. The invites are sort of coming along. My current rate is 13 per hour. I’m not sure if that good or really horrible.

Chloe says it’s neither good nor bad. She thinks it’s a little boring. She wishes she’d had time to do her hair before this photo shoot as well.

Perhaps it’d be faster if I continued writing the Thank Yous instead of taking pictures of them.

For you married ladies out there, how long did it take you to get your notes out? Were you RIGHT on top of it? I know some people who were. They shamed me. Having their wedding a few months after mine and getting those Thank You cards out before I did. You know who you are.