This one's for the ladies...

My best friend and I recently went to see the movie He's Just Not That Into You. The story is about finding love, and how we ladies like to fool ourselves about men. In one part of the movie, there is a whole montage of things we say to each other like "he probably lost your number" and "he was just intimidated by your success." The men, on the other hand, pretty much meant exactly what they said and just weren't that complicated. While I am light years away from the relationship drama depicted in this movie, I had to laugh anyway. Who can't relate?

However, this whole delusional chick thing is a large part of what makes female friendships so precious. Thank God my gals have said things like "no, really you ARE a great Mom" and "I don't know what you are talking about, you don't look like you've gained a pound." Don't get me wrong, they are willing to pull out a well timed "get over yourself" when absolutely necessary, but for the most part, I know they are in my corner, ready to talk me off a ledge. And I love them for it, even if we both know that what they are saying is almost true. I might not have had the courage to stand up to my family, or demand that promotion, or later start my own business, if I didn't have such a stellar support network.

xoxo to all my girlfriends...

Sigh

After four blissful days filled with marathon window shopping, endless coffee breaks, and a fantastic chick flick, plus too many glasses of wine and enough snacks to send my waistline over the edge - I'm back!

The kiddos and I are off to the Children's Museum today, so I am back in the swing of things. But after a few days with my best friend of 22 years, I'll have to remind myself how to be a grown up again...

Confession

In high school, a boyfriend of mine wrote me a song and had his friend sing and record it. The lyrics were cringe worthy and the friend was a terrible singer. The recording was made on a tape recorder and I'm pretty sure I was slightly embarassed for both of them. He recorded a bunch of other songs from the radio along with it so I listened to the tape anyway.

But there must be something about a song with your own name in it, because every once in a while, I catch myself singing it in my head.

See ya!

The time had come when I could no longer pretend that washing and then piling clean clothes on top of the dryer qualifies as "doing" the laundry. I stuck the little guy in front of Sesame Street and started folding a mountain of clean clothes. One would think that I might be able to accomplish such a simple undertaking without the aid of the Big Bird the babysitter, but the Little Guy takes special glee from grabbing the freshly folded clothes and slinging them to the floor. So, I plopped him on the couch for some quality time with Elmo and the gang. I am very careful about how much TV the kids watch, so I plan my day around the little breaks provided by children's programming. Anyway, it took a while. There were maybe five loads worth teetering precariously over the basket, but who's counting?

I started hearing plinky piano sounds coming from the TV and quickly realized my minutes were numbered. Elmo's World was coming on, and that signals the last fifteen minutes of Sesame Street, and that means I'd better get cracking. I dashed around the house, putting the laundry away and made it just in time to find the Little Guy scooting off of the couch as the credits were rolling. These days, much of my life is motivated by the sounds drifting from my set. There is a spot near the end of one of our Baby Einstein videos where a fiddle tune picks up and I know I'd better get off of facebook and get dinner on the table.

This weekend, I'll be humming a new tune though. I am visiting my bestie in Baltimore without my kids. Hubs is taking a few days off to stay at home with them (my hero) and I will be heading out all by myself early Thursday morning.

I am already packed.

The Subcompact - Month One

About a month ago my husband and I decided to start on a little experiment to see how much we could reduce our consumption by limiting our purchases and focusing on used items for the things we really need. I just finished the first month, so I thought I would post a little update.

For the first part of the month, sticking to our plan was easy. We had just finished Christmas and were still busy putting away the new junk we had accumulated. Since winter only lasts about three weeks in Phoenix and my kids grew like weeds over the holiday break, I quickly found myself needing a few new things for Girlie's wardrobe. I decided to try a few consignment shops and the first trip was fabulous. I picked up cute Mini Boden, Gymboree, Gap, and even Garnett Hill pieces for next to nothing. Feeling optimistic, I went back a few times but subsequent trips were not as successful. I tried a few thrift stores too, but the selections were mostly a little worn and depressing. I still try to dress her like a little girl, so the Hannah Montana hoochie skirts weren't doing it for me. I will probably fill in the rest of her spring stuff with a little Gymboree and Target. I have found that the Gymboree stuff in particular lasts forever and I like buying a variety of things that mix and match easily. I'll keep trolling the consignment stores too, but we did say we were not going to limit ourselves entirely when it comes to the kids.

As for me, I have not purchased a single new or used thing for myself or my house this month. As I mentioned, it was easier at first. The stores were still a desolate wasteland of holiday rejects and rumpled items looking suspiciously returned. Recently, I had to pick up a few sundries at Target and found myself lovingly gazing at the new goodies. I spotted a fabulous spring scarf that would distract the eye from my squishy tummy, and a few of the guest designer dresses had me at hello, but I resisted. When it came time to celebrate my husband's birthday, I got him an appointment for a massage and some yummy candy, both consumables that won't junk up our house or fill our trash bins with too much waste. Best of all, he got a little time to relax and we stuck to our plan.

Most shocking is the amount of extra money we seem to have this month. I paid off a lingering credit card bill that was hovering just over $1000 and it feels good to be debt free. I am sure some of it can be attributed to the season, the power and water bills are probably their lowest of the year during these months because of our mild winters. But I know a large part of it is due to the hard line I have drawn for myself. In some ways, it is easier to say no entirely instead of maybe just a little.

I still have five months to go, but getting into the rhythm so far feels pretty good. Who knows? Maybe will even extend it for the entire year.

I know, I know, that's crazy talk...