Spanx and More

Howdy, Howdy! It's been 1 week and 1 day since my last post and my 1st post of the New Year, I know, I'm a slacker. I go through these periods of writer's block where I really don't have much to say. And I still don't have anything interesting to share, but you keep coming back so I'll take some time to bore you today. ;)

As you can see from my title, I would like to talk about Spanx. Have you heard of these? Do you wear them? I've heard Oprah, Whoopie, and a host (excuse the pun, LOL) of others talk about Spanx and how they don't leave the house without them on. So I had a S.A.M.E. luncheon on Monday (more on this later) and I needed to buy a new outfit. Unfortunately, I have "outgrown" all of my decent clothes. So I go buy a nice outfit to wear but was not too happy with the way it looked...obviously because I have outgrown everything, I do not like the way I look in anything. So I go buy some Spanx...I wanted to give them shot. I knew they wouldn't make me look thin but if they could suck in a little here and there and smooth things out a bit, I would be happy. There are many types of Spanx you can buy, which I didn't know going in. But I settled on the high waisted ones that go down to your knees. I was concerned about them rolling up on the legs and rolling down on the belly, but the lady said if you buy the right size and not squeeze into a smaller size, it should be fine. So I buy the "right" size, which I will not share, and they were still difficult to get on, but they really did a nice job. These suckers were $36 and I would say well worth the money. Even though they were tight, they were not uncomfortable. And they did just as I had hoped...sucked in here and there and smoothed everything out. So, what is our opinion of Spanx? Ally said she tried them and they rolled on her so she returned them. I suggested she buy the next size up and see what she thinks, but she might already be turned off. I'd love to hear your opinion and experience with these.

On Monday my Boss' Boss came into town to go to the monthly S.A.M.E. meeting/luncheon (Society of American Military Engineers for those of you who don't habla) and she wanted me to go with her since there was going to be a speaker from the Corps of Engineers discussing upcoming 2009 contracts. So we arrange to meet at the meeting, which is at the Petroleum Club n downtown Fort Worth, at about 11:00. Well, she ended up missing her flight and asked me to go ahead and go to save some seats, get our name tags, and get all paid up ($25 each) and she would be there about 30 minutes late. **YIKES** I have to go to this thing with a bunch of Engineers by MYSELF!?!?! Keep in mind, I work in my little office...AT HOME...all by myself, so having to be social in a professional environment is something I haven't had to do in a long time and certainly not by myself. But I am a grown up and I did it. It ended up being fine...I got there WAY too early and had to socialize with a few people that came up to me to introduce themselves. I'm such a shy person, but when it's necessary, I can be outgoing and act confident about my presence. Anyway, it was freezing that day and raining with wintry mix so my Boss ended up being real late and I was there for an hour and a half without her. But the food sure was good!

Addyson's 1st birthday is on Saturday. We're having a small gathering at our house to celebrate. I have soooo much to do. I did get the cake ordered today...that was a butt whoopin'! Apparently, all of the bakeries take time off right after the holidays to get a breather. Ally always has a problem getting a birthday cake for PeyPey and now I understand the problem. Luckily, they all started opening this week and I got one ordered. My usual place changed their pricing and they now charge you for very little aspect of the decorating. I couldn't believe how much they wanted to charge me for a dang cake! I placed the order and ended up cancelling it later after talking to another Bakery that Jessica uses all the time. It saved me like almost half the price! Thank goodness, Brian would have killed me if I would have spent that much on a cake! But it's her 1st birthday and I want to get her a big ol' round cake plus a matching smash cake. I'll keep you posted if the taste and decorations are up to par with my original Baker. I'm sure it will be fine; Jessica is very picky so if she likes them , I'm sure I will. My Mom said she liked them too. Anyway, I still have to clean and purchase everything.

Speaking of cleaning, my usual day landed on New Year's Day and Lorena (the cleaning lady) took off that day so I got skipped. She's not coming until my next regularly scheduled day...that means 4 weeks, people, between cleanings. UGH, what's a girl to do? I've already had to vacuum twice, change sheets more than I care to myself, and much, much more. I'm so spoiled with the cleaning. I don't like doing it, but I sure do like my clean house!

Here are some pics. These first three were from today, I was just messing around. I will try to get Addy's 1-year photos myself since I'm dirt poor, but these are rejects and just practice. I was by myself and that is just impossible with a near 1-year old!

Clapping with Excitement:




With her new Rocking Horse:



Um, Mommy, I've had enough (after only 5 minutes!)



These are from the 3rd when it was 84 degrees outside. Ashleigh Shea climbing her rock wall:



Addy testing out her new swing from Santa for the 1st time:

Strike a pose beautiful girl:

That's all I've got for now. Thanks for checking back in with us! I'll try to post again on Saturday for Addyson's birthday. Sleep tight!