weigh out there!

how often do you weigh yourself? do you let the number on the scale have an effect on your daily decisions as to what to eat (umm, NOT to eat!?) and whether you workout/level of intensity of your workout? 

I weigh myself at least once a day. I don't typically care what the number says, as I gage my body based on how my clothes fit and how comfortably I can move around and of course, how I PERCEIVE how i look. i just think the number can provide a little guidance for me like, "oh, 134… and I am happy with how i feel/look/fit in jeans at 134…" or whatever. I have lost all of my weight i put on during my pregnancy (yay), however just because I actually weigh a little less now than i did a year ago (when I found out I was preg!), does not mean that I look the same naked/in a swim suit/in clothes. I may weigh less, however I have much less muscle than i did a year ago (sad!) and am not as "small" and firm as I was. have you ever seen the comparison pics of like, a pound of fat versus a pound of muscle? its an incredible difference!! I wish more people would realize that scales do NOT have to be their enemy - if they just understood the make up of their bodies a little better, they might end up feeling more confident in themselves. just a thought.

so it's friggin freezing still today, Mon. Feb 10… when will it start to warm up!? oy!! I am waiting! maybe if I had a vacation on my calendar to loo forward to, this dragging-on of frigid temps wouldn't annoy me so much?? not sure. don't get me wrong, I enjoy winter, LOVE snow, and don't mind the cold, but this year we really got hammered early in December with sub-zero temps and I feel like we haven't really ever recovered. Global Warming? yahhhhh. no thanks.

our kitchen is just about halfway through its ugly duckling/beautiful swan transformation. we have the sheetrock up, taped and mudded (is that really a word?) and dust ALL over the rest of our house, so that should all be a great sign, right? I still need to post some of our pukey "before" pics so I can drop all y'alls jaws with the after, SWAN pics! weeeee!

this weekend I was able to crush some sales at Old Navy (best little baby clothes! and they had a killer sale on women's diggs! and the cashier dude gave us an extra 30% off because he thought baby james was so offing cute!!! yowwwza!), Nordstrom Rack (both big James and me bought some great shoes, etc), and Columbia! I also finally had my favorite salad at Twin Cities Grill… yum, it was delicious. rarely do I crave takey-outy food nor do i generally like to go out to eat, but I am telling you, this salad is DELICIOUSNESS. weird to think that the food at Twin Cities Grill is as great as it is and it's a restaurant at a Mall (Mall of America)!! that seems weird to me. Anyway, it was a highlight of my weekend.

here are a few darling pics that are always the highlights of all of my days. and nights. and mornings at 4 AM… :) 

new baby Grace Luelle… 

boys ARE awesome, especially this one!

3 months apart, James and Gracie Lu!

Buy low! Sell high! I rule the WORLD!

I think i have posted some/all of those pics already but I do not care. why do i not care? because they are so cute and fun that I feel they must be shared with everyone. all the time. many times. and then shared again. and again! :)

so it's monday and my mind is everywhere and i think this post reflects my current state of scatterbrain. day is almost over. phewf!

here's to a warmer tomorrow!

"real" housewives of delusional county

so I saw Real Housewives of Orange County for the first time yesterday… WHAT the FRICK is wrong with those delusional women?! holy crap! I tried to pick out which lady was the "most normal" and even then, she was a complete whackjob! drugs? alcohol? i think they are all under some serious external chemical abuse as well as internal, mental chemical imbalance! I actually started to feel embarrassed for a couple of them - it really was a funny "reality check" for me and made me so much more thankful for my comparatively mundane life!! 

just had to share that bizarre awakening to the unrealistic reality tv. yuk!

so it snowed a bunch this morning. a few inches… note how everyone still made it to work. Atlanta, are you listening?!!? haha. it is nuts how quickly the ATL went on lockdown mode after a measly two inches of fluff dropped by to visit. YES i know they don't have legions of plow trucks like we have in Minnesota, but still… seems to me in a time of "sink or swim," ATL sank like an anchor. 

sidenote, I happen to love Atlanta!! just have to enjoy a little laugh when I can. silly Georgians. sure hope our fruit prices don't raise too much! :)

as i was heading back to my office 

after a quick run to Target this morning,

 I spotted my boss 

walking to work - yellow jacket! funny!

this weekend James will be gutting the kitchen from HE!!. HOORAY! it's about time… thank goodness we are finally able to get this show on the road. he recently ripped up the nasty, 40 year old linoleum floor and we are hoping to use the existing hardwood floors beneath as our 'new' floors. in a few weeks time we should be enjoying our sharkey gray cabinets, butcher block counter tops, subway tile backsplash, all new appliances, white apron sink, and overall improved kitchen atmosphere!! yes, yes, YES! things are getting better and better in our little house. James has had a huge influence on our home's improvements, and I am quite grateful for his leadership in this area of our life together.

i plan to post pictures of before/during/after the process, which will likely be in 2-3 weeks. stay tuned.

family album!

family portrait!

(http://surisburnbook.tumblr.com/post/73317845435/sometimes-gisele-wants-you-think-shes-just-like)

...seriously… I can see myself in this picture. 

this one too… multitasking before I head off to work.

…..yah, a girl can dream!

I just love these pics from Gisele!

and please note - funniest celebrity website ever: http://surisburnbook.tumblr.com . the only thing you'll be sorry about is your new formed addiction to this site!

typical January day - and the cutest baby EVER! mine!!

So now that I have a child I have suddenly morphed into THAT lady who can't stop showing pictures of her "perfect" baby off to people who are within 50 feet of her and her camera phone. seriously, I have lost half of my mind! i am happy that at least I have taken the first step to coping with this glorious illness and i recognize my "addiction."

i am really sorry that I am NOT sorry about this…i have the worlds cutest baby (proven fact) and he is really worth bragging over, on a daily basis. (plus he is always, always on my mind!) let's look at a few examples of how he is SO adorable….

not even purposely posing! he's a natural.

candids? please… the camera loves me!

nothing to hide…letting all the cuteness hang out.

seriously you guys… these are just a FEW pics from the millions I have of him… every pic is perfection. sigh…. how can i be so fortunate? after making one post last year regarding how some people do NOT have cute babies, I thought I might be cursed (thanks to Karma) - but I suppose we really lucked out! I also used to roll my eyes/gag a little bit when people referred to their kid(s) as perfect… truth be told, I still have these reactions when people make such bold claims, but at least I am a little more understanding of WHY they are under the impression that they have birthed the GOLDEN CHILD. Fortunately for me (us), I know my baby has some delightful imperfections and I look forward to learning whatever they might be! I will let you know when we come across one. 

other things going on in my life right now are….hmmm… ummm…

just kidding. there's plenty going on!

Big James has learned how to down-hill ski and we've been enjoying "hitting the slopes" lately. YES it's only Afton Alps and not the mountains of the West, but we are still having a wonderful time out there and just trying to get better! Hopefully we will get a chance to visit out friends Kristin and Scott in CO this winter or next to try our skills on the big kid hills (ahem, mountains!!). Of course, all this really means for me is that I will get to check out a new chalet and maybe some yummy local brews on tap. :) I am a better "chaleter" than I am a skier! No shame! 

My sister, Jessica, is pregnant with Olivia's sister and due ANY MOMENT (Jan. 31st)!!! I am very eager to meet this new little girl and have another playmate for Sweet Baby James! I know she is going to be a fantastic addition to the Weller Family!! :) 

Today's forecast calls for freezing temps. I mean frigid temps. Wait, I mean temps so cold you don't wanna go outside! High of 0, with wind. :( super crappy out there. At least the sun is shining!! Days like this, I wonder if travelocity.com experiences an increase in "hits" on their "last minute vacations" and flights to ANYWHERE but here. 

well, that's enough for today. I am doubting anyone is even reading this - after seeing those darling bb pics I am sure no one noticed there are also WORDS on this page… just angelic photos of my sweet baby james. sigh...

look at the baby!

a few recent pics… just because I have about a zillion on my phone and need to SHARE THEM WITH THE WORRRLLLDDD!!! (mostly just of bb j!) I know you all want to see them. every.single.picture.

happy being happy

baby and the babysitter

happy new year!

Jilly Bean and me… pre dance party on NYE!

Happy New Year, New Post, New newssss

well its a new year. my resolution? i don't know. be on time. haha, how about be more realistic about things, starting with the fact that I will likely never be on time for anything. perhaps if i resolve to be EARLY, i will actually end up being ON time?? let's aim for that… be EARLY.

so there we have it… i shall resolve to be early.

2013 was quite the year for me and those close to me… let me explain: 

new dog, Nash

new job (same boss)

oops

new ring!

uh-ohh. poor nash

oopsies

new birthday lawn toy for James

oopsie poopsie

plans for a new kitchen (coming in 2014)

new James!

James Kenneth

10.30.2013

hunk

chunk

yay. finally used this spot (legitimately)

merry christmas

happy new year

stay warm!

so basically, 2013 was life changing in many ways. still not married, but I suppose it's always nice to have something to look forward to, right?!

happy new year and new loves!

Chicken FRIED Chicken? NOT my bag, baby!

The other night I thought it would be fun to make a little surprise dinner for dear James. What is a surprise dinner? although some people who know me may think that means that I finally made him a real dinner, it actually does NOT. I make him dinner most nights a week - give me some credit! And if I don't make something, I at least buy something and try to pawn it off as my own. hehe. Not every meal I make (or serve) is extremely healthy, however I make a decent effort to serve mostly healthy foods and prepare everything in the healthiest way I know how. One of James favorite foods happens to be one of my arch nemesis: FRIED chicken. EWWWW. first of all, FRIED. Yes I like FRIED onion rings and french FRIES, even the occasional fried buffalo chicken (very, very rare), but that's different to me… why? because I said so. THAT is why. 

back to friggin fried chicken… the bones are still in the chicken! GROSS! I hate eating meat off the bones and having those leftovers on your plate. gross. No offense, but its definitely not my favorite thing. And I don't know if all fried chicken is this way, but some friend chicken still has the skin on. that's another WHAMMY of unhealthy raunchiness. Unnecessary! I mean, listen to those words - the SKIN is still ON the meat. If meat doesn't gross you out as is (sometimes it does for me, the recovering vegetarian), then doesn't the fact that you're CHEWING on SKIN make you wanna HURL!? blah.

ok, shutting down the rant…. Deary James loves fried chicken (thats how much i love him I guess… i tolerate this nastiness!) and I've never had it for him for din din…until last week. I didn't tell him that was what dinner would be, but i did tell him that I made him (aka BOUGHT and warmed up) a surprise for dinner. Along with the meat I also made brussel sprouts and yukon gold potatoes tossed in lemon and rosemary and pumpkin brownies. I was definitely most looking forward to the sprouts & taters, and was so happy with the lovely aroma of rosemary left in my kitchen! I baked the brownies first so the smell was eliminated because of the rosemary, so my kitchen, in my opinion, smelled fresh and lovely all night. Picturing this? take a deep breath!

now let me set the scene: Brownies are done and cooling on the stove. the rosemary sprouts and potatoes are just warming (done baking) in the oven and the fried chicken is also just warming in the oven… I am enjoying the house smelling of fresh rosemary, and in walks james. After being anxiously and lovingly attacked (greeted) by Nash, James came over to me in the living room to say hello. But instead of hello, all i got was "FRIED CHICKEN! Is that the surprise!?" 

WHAT THE FRAGGLEROCK! I didn't know what to say! How could his snout pick out the FRIED CHICKEN, from all those other scents in the kitchen? I could NOT smell it! heck, I don't even think Nash could smell it! But James picked it up in a nanosecond!!! Am I marrying a redneck? Should I be worried? It was pretty hilarious - maybe you had to be there. I was simply amazed at his ability to smell the friend chicken over everything else!! BINGO, he nailed it! And I think he liked it too, which counts as a small victory for me! I wish i had a pic to post, but obviously the entree went pretty quickly and all that was left were a pile of bones - and I don't have room for those pics on my phone, thankyouverymuch. 

We have been staying quite busy lately both at work and at home, which is why i haven't posted. i know, i always have an excuse… but who really cares what I do anyway? 

James has been coaching the Carleton Knights to a 2-1 season thus far, and i have been staying busy with work and trying to stay on top of home chores. yippee skippy for me. Oh, I guess I've been going overboard lately with pampering myself, too. I have been getting pedicures every 2 or 3 weeks (ok ok, more like every 2 weeks!) and i have gel polish on my fingernails again, which i love (until i have to take them off, for good). I also have gotten 2 massages in the last 6 weeks, which is pretty unheard of for me. The last one, I must admit, felt nice, however the nice massage girl wouldn't stop talking and having conversation. that was a disappointment. I felt like it really took away from the relaxation aspect of the massage, but at least she was really sweet and whatever her hands were doing, I couldn't complain.

I am looking forward to another weekend of college football (James' team and NCAA) and maybe even raking the yard. IF i am feeling really ambitious. BIG fat IF on that one. :)

OK, and i must comment on these... I don't typically find candy that I don't like or speak poorly about, however this candy, my precious M&M's, has set a new precedent. These Pumpkin Spice M&M's were terrible! :( I know Autumn is the season of pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, but just not M&M's please!! yukky! I ate 4 I think, and couldn't get the nasty taste out of my mouth ALL day long! seriously, please save your money.

Now if you want a surprisingly tasty fall-themed treat, I DO recommend Starburst brand and flavor Candy Corn! Yes it's true! I know it sounds really weird and nearly gross, but trust me, they are delicious! They are very fruity like regular Starbursts, but are just disguised as candy corn. I thought they'd be too thick and almost creamy, but they were pretty light and fresh tasting. Definitely recommend! 

Happy Hump Day (so goes the trend these days!)!!