Briasmama
So I just came back to the doctor's office, for my oh so lovely "yearly exam" and when the doctor asked me "do you have any concerns christie" I replied, "well yes, it seems when the nurse weighed me on the way in I am 20 lbs. heavier then I've ever been in my life, I just turned 29, is this what I look forward to in my thirties". Of course she laughed, assured me that losing the 20 would be so simple and that my body doesn't want to carry that weight around...lol It's not that, my eyes don't want to see that weight anymore and my jeans are screaming at me, recently I feel like a stuffed sausage. She ended the visit with " well let's have some blood work done to make sure there's no issue with the sudden weight gain"  i though in my head... will the blood work show the baskin robbins I had last night? Oh the last year of my twenties.... this is the year you start to look back and think is there anything else I need to accomplish before I reach my thirties so I'm not looking over my shoulder next year thinking, why haven't I done such and such before I turned 30.  Let's see....1) graduated college 2) got married 3) moved to the other side of the country 4) got divorced 5) had a child 4) tried a few different career paths 5) got into law school and deferred 6) helped start a company 7) hate my job ( a pre-requisite for adulthood I think ) 8) done some moderate traveling.....I seem to have accomplished quite a bit and yet I feel like I'm where I was 10 years ago, just a hell of a lot more bitter and worn around the edges....this last year of my twenties I'm going to try to figure out what it is that I have to do to feel like I've "gotten there" whatever that means....
Briasmama
Please check out 2009 Holiday Giveaways: CSN Stores   The giveaway is for 15 of the glasses below, in any color choice, or mixture of colors that you would like!





Briasmama

Please go to Beautify My Blog  For a giveaway that redesigns your blog for you.  She has many examples of the blogs she has done, one of them I absolutely love NieNie Dialogues . Giveaway ends December 20th.
*****
Briasmama




We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive at where we started
And know the place for the first time.


- T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding



I began this walk knowing how horrible this disease is because I have witnessed what it can do up close. Opening Ceremony in Gilbert, AZ, I was filled with excitement and nervousness, ready to embark on this journey with my teammate, Tina. Through the cold nights camping, warm mobile showers, wonderful people, inspiring and unforgettable moments, these 3 days changed my life.

I ended this walk knowing that what we did for these 3 days echoed loudly between the mountains in Arizona of our commitment to finding a cure and stopping this disease. Walking through victory lane and onto closing ceremony holding my sneaker up with one arm for the survivors and holding my beautiful daughter in my other arm, I also walked for her. This is only the beginning of my journey to help find a cure for breast cancer. I will meet this challenge again crewing for the 2010 3- Day in San Diego, CA.

Thank you for your generous donation to Susan G Komen For The Cure. Your gift helped save lives and continue research for breast cancer; for at one time in our life it will effect someone we know.

This is what I put in my thank you notes to my donors....The 3 days were so amazing, I cannot put into words how it made me feel. It was so inspiring and made me want to do so much more...if you or anyone want to do the 3-day in San Diego in November 2010 and crew let me know! My teammate Tina and I have already signed up!


Briasmama

So because of today's blogger of note Erika Jean. A Self Titled Nonsense Blog I came across Post Crossing which is way cool which then lead me to Book Crossing which is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time, I was going to say "ever" but that's a little overdoing it. The idea is to register a book on their site and then leave it somewhere with the book id they give you and their site address and someone will read it and go on the site and let you know they have your book. You can also go "hunting" for books in your  area or wherever you travel to, I am leaving a book tomorrow in Chandler, AZ at Starbucks at Ray Rd. and the 101, I know silly, but I am very excited about my first bookcrossing moment. I will let you know how this goes as time goes on and how the postcrossing one goes, that one seems pretty cool as well. I have to find a cool postcard to send to my first address I got today. Erika Jean whoever you are, you rock!! Check out her blog!
Briasmama


So as the weekend was winding down and I put the little one to bed, I was doing wash and straightening up the house. I went for something in the fridge and just laughed when I saw my daughter's barbie sticking in the handle....why did she put it there?,  I don't know, but this is my life now....last week this exact barbie was behind the door in my bathroom, looks like she gets around. Is my two year old doing this on purpose? Again, I don't know, but this is my life now. I often think about how nice it would be to work out whenever I wanted to, travel, go out with friends, but when you have a two year old and you are a single mom, those things rarely happen because this is my life now, a two year old runs it, but I couldn't love it more, honestly I know you're supposed to say that...but seriously when we went to yard sales this weekend and she was walking down the sidewalk singing "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee, won't my mommy be so proud of me" I just smiled. Life just wouldn't be the same without her and in a bad way.  Yes I will admit, I do miss my freedom sometimes, but I wouldn't want that back if I had to trade it for her, she is wonderful. This is my life now.
Briasmama
This is just a short blurb about an ariticle I read today on the internet (I'm sure most of you caught it) about a guy who works (or should I say used to work) at The Associated Press and is traveling around the world via car (Land Crusier).  Trans World Expedition  I am sooooo jealous of his bravery!!! I so wish I could do that! But of course life gets in the way, but he didn't let life get in the way, he is living it and what an amazing journey it will be. I will be following his blog to see how this trip goes. Check it out!!!
Briasmama
Delighted that when I logged onto my blog today I had an award from one of my favorite bloggers. This is my first award :-) So thank you Nicole at The Young Mama Blog  (check her out she is a great new mommy)



Here's how this works:
1) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
2) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.
3) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.

10 Honest Things about Me (this might be scary)

1) I will never like or embrace where I live, (Arizona) and will always want to move back to the east coast, where I feel I belong.

2) Even though I have told most people that I quit smoking, I still sneak some, I know bad, but it's my only vice. At least I've cut down!!!

3) I really don't love my dog, I know that sounds mean but he is a terror, he destroys everything, every single weekend I clean up my yard of things torn up, plants gone that I bought and planted and the irrigation system i've had to work on b/c he destroyed it so it just makes me resent him.

4) I'm trying to save money and cut back on things but I go to Starbucks everyday. I have a $150 coffeemaker at home and I still go to Starbucks, oh the gluttony.

5) I don't like my job.  I own part of a company and I don't have much responsibility and make a good salary, but it's not fun, it's not challenging and most of all it's really uncomfortable, there's so much tension all the time and even though I'm a part owner, there's nothing I can do about it, b/c afterall you can't control other people.

6) I wish I could start over, I have so many regrets.

7) I love designer clothes, shoes, handbags, I can't make myself buy cheaper things.

8) I miss my Nanna more than I ever thought I would.

9) I'm addicted to ebay and craiglist.

10) I study in my spare time to re-take my LSAT and no one knows.

I'm passing along this award to 7 of my favorite bloggers (minus the person that gave this to me since she already received it). Check them out....

1) Beth @ Social Climbers

2) Jill @ Today I Saw




6) Stephanie @ NieNie Dialogues

Briasmama
This past weekend, Friday to be exact, I went to the Phoenix Suns game with some friends.  We decided to take the light rail (metro) into Phoenix rather than fight traffic. The ride to the game was pretty uneventful, with the exception of a mother leaving her kid on the metro as she got off at a stop and the the kid did not get off in time. A security guard appeared out of no where and took care of the situation.  We went to the game, had a few drinks after and then headed home.  We were joking around, taking pictures

You'll notice the kid next to us in his Suns gear, minding his business alone on the metro.  All of the sudden 3 guys from the train car in front of us, apparently very intoxicated, stumble into our train car and start yelling at this kid for no reason whatsoever.  The kid didn't even yell back, he just kept telling them everything was ok, he didn't want any trouble and gave them the "thumbs up" sign, well apparently in drunk trash world, that is not acceptable.  They started punching him, right where we were sitting so we got up and went to another part of the train. You will notice other passengers on the train in the background, they didn't do anything...I mean afterall I guess they could have had a gun, I called 911, so did the friend I was with, but I was so appalled how no one did anything...I kept thinking, what if that were me?
It was bad enough no one did anything on the train, 911 in Arizona is a joke, it's unfortunately not the first time I've had to call, but this was just ridiculous, I kept telling the person on the line what stop we were pulling up to, what streets we were crossing and she was asking me if I knew which city i was in...really? Don't you have google maps? Aren't you 911? I have GPS on my blackberry, and hello this metro is a year old, it isn't very big, if I say "I'm on Washington and Priest" that's very self explanatory to a fellow arizonian, especially someone trained to dispatch police to save people's lives.  Did I mention during all of this there was no metro security? The victim got off the train and then so did the 3 guys that jumped him at the same stop, then some security guard ( i won't describe how ill-equipped he was, I'm sure you get the picture by now) gets off to take statements. What a joke!!! The 911 operator was surprised I gave my name to her. Really?
What is this world coming to? Why wouldn't someone help? I understand being fearful of them having a gun, but giving a statement as a witness? They're not the mafia, what are they going to do if I say I saw what they did? People should stand up for what they believe in and not be such cowards, God forbid something should happen to me for speaking up, at least something will happen with me being brave and standing for what I believe in then being a coward and walking away......what if that was me?
Briasmama
So we got the halloween costume all figured out finally!! We didn't leave much time to spare, the pig part of the costume came in yesterday (she's being Olivia), and we tried on the striped tights and red jumper, I was amazed at how much the costume came together, and she stared running around the house oinking at the dog, hilarious, she was so cute!  I will post pictures after Halloween. She cannot wait to go trick or treating, it should be fun this year, last year she wasn't too sure about it and the year before she was only 8 months old so we just carried her around.  Going through a phase of projects....wanting to make a new headboard for my bed, have some crafting projects for Bria's X-mas presents and would like to finish the back yard if the dog will stop destroying everything I attempt to create. I really cannot wait until he grows out of this phase, the other night he ate the inside of Brianna's lunch pail, you know the embroidered pottery barn kids one that cost almost as much as the dog did! I forgot with my other dog how annoying and frustrating this phase was and how much stuff you lose! He's only 10 months old so I fear we have about another year left of this from what I can remember from my other dog. Not much going on this week just preparing for halloween and the breast cancer 3 day in two weeks!


Briasmama
I'll be honest, I'm the typical American, I go about my usual day, wake up, make coffee (or have it waiting for me thanks to my Cuisinart Grind and Brew) get ready for work, get the tot ready for school, feed the dog, head out... on a daily basis I really don't give too much thought to global warming/climate change.  I mean I try to do my part, buy energy saving light bulbs, turn off the lights when I leave the room, recycle, and recently I decided to start a compost pile.  I saw this article about the Brazilian rain forest and how they plan to save it, really? It took us this long to realize we need to save it? Then I read another article about how the global warming is effecting wine production...what am I going to do without my monthly wine nights with the girls? It keeps me sane! No more ski vacations? Really? No more Island Getaways? Really? Are you getting the pattern here?
I don't think about global warming all the time because it hasn't effected me on a daily basis, but reading all the things that could change my life was horrifying! These foundations/ charities/ organizations need to dumb it down for people, make the average person realize how it's going to effect their daily life. I know that sounds selfish, but that's how people are, especially in the the western world....we're selfish, we want to know how is this going to effect me? Yes it's tragic to hear about how an animal is becoming extinct due to deforestation, believe me I wrote a whole paper on it in high school, but I dont' think about that everyday and I bet you don't either, unless it's your job to....the world, our political leaders really need to take action and realize how awful all the changes are and how fast it's effecting everything and they need to be "real" with people, dumb it down, let us know how it's going to effect our daily lives, I bet you would have a lot more people writing about this if they realized what's really going on with the environment. You would have a lot more people that care....

Briasmama
Rarely do I spend this much time on my blog, but i came across a great blog this morning (One Hungry Chef), in his post he mentioned that his Grandmother was very secretive about her recipes, always leaving out an ingredient when she shared them with friends so that hers would taste better....this kind of goes with my earlier post today about sharing....proof! As adults we don't share! I also am commenting about this because I feel the same way his grandmother did....at parties or get togethers people always ask me for my recipes for the food I make, whether it's a simple onion dip or my slow cooked pulled pork bbq, my chili (a passed down recipe from my dad) and I'm always reluctant to share.  I think to myself, well if they have my recipes then what will be so special about my food? The next party we go to they might make it and then people will rant an rave over their stuff. Food, decorating, stuff like that is what makes me, well me. I have a knack for it, I have a great eye for design and I'm a good cook (yes I know a bit cocky, but hey it's true!), if I share all my secrets, they will be taking little pieces of me....we can't have little pieces of Christie running around, that just won't work.  Some sing, write, make crafts, draw...I design, I cook that's just me and I'm not sharing!

I know it looks good, but you can't have the recipe....ok fine I didn't come up with it so I will share this one time.....Barefoot Contessa's Pan Fried Onion Dip and yes it's too die for, you will love it so much you will want to smear it all over your body...yes mom I quoted you!
Briasmama
How do you share a person? Especially if you grew her inside of you and now you're supposed to share her? How is that possible? I have joint custody of my 2 year old daughter, although I have her 90% of the time, I'm constantly afraid that one day her father will exercise his right to have her 50% of the time.  I don't know how I will handle that....recently he said he is going to finally buy her a bed at his house (he hasn't ever had one since she's been out of a crib ( a year ago) the rare times she has spent the night she sleeps with him, ugh!!!) so I assume that means he wants to start keeping her overnight now....I really don't know how to share...did my mom skip that Kindergarden lesson? Did I share my toys as a child? I don't think so, because now as an adult, I hate sharing! I'm trying to teach my two year old how to be nice and that we share, when i am 28 years old I hate sharing.  Can't I just tell her, "keep your stuff, don't share it, people always will want what you have, work for it, keep it" as an adult that's how we all live.  We may occasionally share a pizza, let someone borrow a pen, but do we like sharing? Do we have a sharing society? Ummm no! As adults we like to keep the things that we've worked hard for....so how am I supposed to share my daughter? How do I teach her that sharing is important as a child with your friends, but when you're an adult you will just resent it....
Briasmama

Love Love Love it, I can't express how great Dr. Weil's face wash is. (and no I am not getting paid to say this I promise!) I love his products, I buy them from Origins (a great store). Like most people I've used hundreds of different face products before I found the one that seemed to calm my skin, not dry it out and not make it oily. I have combination skin so it is nearly impossible to find something that doesn't dry it out too much or put too much moisturizer on it. This somehow compliments both skin types.
try it, love it!

Briasmama

Briasmama
When you have a child it is the greatest excuse to relive your own childhood. You not only get to act goofy, sing songs, and play games that you haven't played in years, you get to see it through a different set of eyes and relive some of those magical moments....
My daughter and I watched E.T. last night and I cannot begin to express enough how I thoroughly enjoyed watching her be totally captivated by this movie from beginning to end, never once leaving my bed for the whole 2 hours (pretty amazing for a 2 year old). No one has ever told me how fun it is to see your children love the things you loved as a child. I know people say it's fun to "act like a kid again" but, there is just something about seeing your little "mini-me" fall in love with things that you loved. Then she got up this morning and asked if we could watch it again....now that I have to say I was not prepared for, I have see Yo Gabba Gabba, Olivia, Elmo, Tinkerbell, Bolt, Thomas the train, just to name a few, about 100 times, I guess we will be adding E.T. to the list...
Yanna (bria's g-ma) also gave her Wizard of Oz over our summer vacation and that too has become a favorite of hers to watch over and over again. I can remember vividly sitting on my mom's bed while she was doing things around the house watching that movie. It's almost like having children is like coming full circle. Becoming a child again is such a great experience, especially seeing it through the eyes of my little Bria....
Briasmama
Your parents always tell you that "you'll understand when you have kids", and "I hope you have a child just like you so you know what I had to go through".....well I'm hear to tell you what you will never admit to them or maybe even to yourself, your parents were right....I have a two year old, she is the cutest thing, people stop me in public to tell me how beautiful she is, but she also has the attitude of a 15 year old. She knows she's cute, she uses it to her advantage and she'll tell you how it is and where to put it....lovely I know!
You're just reading this, I have to deal with it on a daily basis. I love her to death and I only have myself to thank for her witty replies to everything I ask her to do. See I too have quite the attitude (or so I've been told), I like to think of it as sarcasm, smarts, and wittiness, now that it's coming in my direction I can see that it may not be taken that way by others. When you ask your two year old to turn and look at you so you can take a picture of her and she says "In a minute, I'm busy", or you tell her you love her and she says "I don't want to say it, I'm busy". I ask her to carry something from the car and she tells me "no mom, my hands are full" and she's only holding her sippy cup. If you ask her to pick up her toys she tells you, yes you guessed it, "no mom, I can't I'm busy"...
Part of me laughs and the other part of me just sits and thinks if she's like this at two there's no way I will be able to handle her at 15. I love that she's independent, offering the ever so cute remark "no i do it myself mom" and I love how smart she is, when I told her that she needed to stop crying when she wanted something, now she shouts from her bedroom, when I think she's fast asleep, "Mom i need juice, more juice mom" and yells it over and over again until you go get her the juice. Well at least she's not crying right?
Everyday it gets better and she blows me away with how much stuff she picks up at her day care and from me. She's so smart and hilarious, but since when are two year olds too busy to say I love you? Yes mine is, and I only have myself to thank, because my parents were right, I got a little mini-me running around as great as that sounds in theory, not so great on paper. The sarcasm and wittiness and independence I pride myself on I think is a bit much in a two year old, but after all I really have my parents to thank because I am the mini-me version of them....