Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Roid Rage

I know what you're thinking. Housewife, why are you pretending like you're the Barry Bonds of housewives? Well, here you go. I got a call from the nurse at my doctor's office after some routine blood work and it was discovered my thyroid is a little hypo; as in hypothyroidism. Lovely. I have an under-active gland issue. So what do I have to show for that you might ask? Hormone pills. Just what every woman wants, something that changes her hormone levels. Husbands run for the hills and don't look back. I told Turtle to just watch out because I could either be a puddle of tears or a raging bitch. He's hoping more tears and less bitch, obvi.

Less of this:

More like this:


So far things have been going well. (Pretend the Fairy Godmother is my pill bottle....transforming me into happiness and sparkles of energy.) The diagnosis makes sense now that I look back at the symptoms and some things I have been experiencing like daily fatigue and major cold sensitivity. The bad part is you have to take meds for the rest of your life and sometimes there is some trial and error to getting your dosage at the most appropriate level. I'm most excited for my energy levels to return. I've been having some horrible work outs and running even 4 miles feels extremely difficult. The other potential benefit of these pills is that they supposedly "increase" your metabolism. It can be difficult for hypo-thyroid people to lose weight. So maybe it will get these few stupid Holiday/twizzler bite addict pounds off, especially since I don't seem to have the energy level to get more done at the gym right now.

If you need me I'll be taking my white girl pills, eating twizzlers anyway and sewing instead of going to the gym (or cleaning my house).

The Housewife

Monday, January 30, 2012

Monday Obsessions

As someone with a truly obsessive personality I could probably write about obsessions I have every minute of every day of the week, but Monday seems like a great place to start.  I may make my this segment permanent on our blog {You. Are. Welcome.}.  

Garden and Gun Magazine

If you love the South you will love this mag! They have a cute little office in Charleston, SC and just launched their new and improved website.  Check them out here.  They are featuring some of the South's best bars in their current issue! 



2011 Taxes
I swear the government takes a lot from my paycheck as is, but I feel like my refund is a bit paltry this year.  And yes, I know that the ideal situation is that you neither get a refund nor should you have to pay so that you aren't giving the government an interest-free loan.  BUT -- it is still a little something to look forward to if I want to get a small present for myself and usually I put it in savings if possible.  Let's just say that I am starting to see the benefit of having children -- for deductions, of course. Not warm, fuzzy feelings. 

Side note -- can I please deduct Hogan's medical expenses????


Speaking of Hogan's medical expenses, I have been stalking the Atlanta Boxer Rescue page lately and I have been more than heartbroken over a story of an abused boxer that they have in their care right now.  I have already made a donation but would like to make another, larger one in the next few weeks {i have also linked his story if you click on "Atlanta Boxer Rescue above}.  I know all the sweet boxers with the organization need help but I have seriously been up at night thinking of Myles.  I am posting his photo and the link to his story below {note, this photo is harsh and heartbreaking}.  Perhaps I can also help him by sharing his story with other people.  I couldn't  bear for Hogan to be in a single ounce of the pain that Myles must be experiencing. 

Meet Myles.


Meet Myles, the newest addition to ABR. For only being 7 months old, this poor boy has certainly had a very rough start in life. His young body is covered in parasites, inside and out. On the outside, Myles has one of the worst cases of demodectic mange we have ever seen. Demodectic mange is a treatable skin disease caused by parasitic mites. When left untreated, it can cause secondary skin infections. Myles was obviously left untreated for a long time, because his skin infection is so bad that he has bleeding sores and scabs all over his face, neck and chest. And if that wasn’t enough, Myles is also extremely underweight and has intestinal parasites. Despite how uncomfortable he must be, he’s such a sweet boy with a heart of gold. The road ahead for Myles will be a long one, but he’s up for the fight. 


Love you. Mean it. 
~the single gal~

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Fifteen Months

The Single Gal has been keeping up this charade and I think she might murder me if I don't blog. I just haven't felt like doing much lately.....more on that later (maybe). This was a big month around here because #1 is 15 months old now and it's also the one year anniversary of me quitting the old ball and chain of what I used to call my job. Best.thing.ever. Except that I don't get to see the Single Gal everyday. Total sads there.



Obviously it hasn't been all picnics and peaches but still one of the best decisions I made. Each to their own but this is what works for us, for me and for this family. I am here for all of the giggles and hugs. I didn't miss first steps, rolling over or crawling. I don't have to drag her out of bed at a ridiculous time in the morning just for me to go to work. I get to cloth diaper.  AND I got to train for a marathon. I mean, whoa I was able to do something for myself.

Sure, sometimes the days are a little long.....but that's okay. Then you get to worry about noticing a house plant leaf which suspiciously looks like a little mouth took a bite of it. People don't keep poisonous house plants do they? This plant was K-Woww's and is almost as old as me. Guess I would have known by now? I'll leave you with exhibit A.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

PGBC

PGBC
{poor girls book club}

As soon as marathon training was over The Housewife and I got together with a few of our besties and decided that since we all love to read we might as well attempt to start a book club.  It's all part of our classy and fabulous life--aside from all the baby barf, dog barf, 40+ hour work weeks, and really just working hard to come up with any excuse to get together and drink wine. We will even Skype Little A since she is about 4 hours away {and she has probably already finished because she likes to make us all feel bad}.



The book we have selected this month is The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.  

{please note that while we are kind of far into January I haven't started yet due to my hang up with the Hunger Games series.  So, also note that The Single Gal already sucks at book club.}

I am not big for reviews and as I haven't even started the only information I can offer you is that it has 303 reviews on Amazon last time I checked and 4.5 stars out of 5.  Even though this isn't always a great indicator of a quality novel, let's just go with it for now. 

If any of you are also in a book club let us know what you are reading!  {Well, only if it's awesome.  We don't care about the crappy books you got stuck with.}  We are also taking wine recommendations as well -- also the kind of wine that costs less than $10 {and doesn't taste like crap, obvi}.  


Love you. Mean it. 
~the single gal~

Monday, January 16, 2012

Monday Obsessions: Home Edition

After living in my house for about two and a half years I am finally starting to see at least one room come together -- my downstairs living/kitchen area. I am a very timid decorator and actually wouldn't even have come as far as I have without some guidance from my bestie Em, Pammi, and all the people who have given me their hand-me-down home items. 

Lately I have really been jealous of my married friends. Not because they have someone and I don't, but because they get to register for stuff.  I feel that the closer I get to 30 it's pretty unacceptable for me to not have any nice dishes for my friends and family to eat on when they come over.  So, with any luck and a decent tax refund these lovelies from C Wonder will soon be mine. I have seriously been obsessing over them night and day since I found them on Pinterest.  The other bonus -- the aren't outrageously expensive. 

I love the navy, but they also come in other colors. 





In other home decorating news I was able to get two fabulous pillows from Homegoods to finally fill up some space on my couch. I also ordered a gray/white chevron print pillow from Joss and Main this week but who knows when it will ship!  I will try to get some semi-decent pictures up when the other pillow is delivered. 

One more thing -- I actually placed my first Etsy order this week. I was pretty excited about it. They have so many original, affordable items.  The stuff I ordered was actually for a gift, but I am currently stalking antlers for the living room on the site as well.  I am suddenly and inexplicably obsessed with antlers now, too.  



What are you obsessing over for your house?! Where do you find your inspiration? The Housewife and I are on serious decorating missions for 2012.  

Love you. Mean it.
~the single gal~

Thursday, January 12, 2012

"All the Single Ladies" {gals too!}

Since my last post probably seemed dull and hopeless, I thought that I would do a follow up post for all the Single Gals out there with some more concrete information on "singleness", society, social norms, and the future.  Except I am really just going to link an article that better articulates this and try to highlight some of the things I found completely fascinating. 

 {read: scientific explanations about why I am still single!}

One of my very best friends in the whole wide world is always coming across interesting articles, books, art, etc. that she chats to me about and I was especially interested for her to get me the link the this Kate Bolick article recently published in The Atlantic last November -- All the Single Ladies.  It's certainly not a short read, but I would highly recommend trying to peruse it at some point this weekend even if you aren't single, or even a woman for that matter. 

I thought there were a lot of great points in this article, but I was especially intrigued by the following information. Seriously.  Scientific proof that I am not a freak, or a crazy bitch that no one likes, or someone who isn't attractive enough....{I could go on, but I won't}.   

This article is long but one thing that really freaked me out was her mention of the Guttentag-Second theory which basically revolves around what Bolick highlights as what can occur during a "gender crisis".  The current gender crisis centers on two things -- first, large numbers of women are becoming more educated than their male counterparts and second, they are beginning to make more money as well {because we are awesome like that}.  The other complication is we also outnumber them.  This is a big problem for single gals looking to marry.  Basically this theory "holds that members of the gender in shorter supply are less dependent on their partners, because they have a greater number of alternative relationships available to them" (see page 3).  When women outnumber men, as with our current society, it actually doesn't foster a willingness in men to commit.  It's actually quite the opposite.  Because there are plenty of us around they can always move on to the next one.  So, men don't marry and then women find themselves without traditional roles which leads to our species beginning to dominate {like I mentioned above} by becoming more educated and edging men out of jobs by breaking through that pesky corporate glass ceiling.

The truly scary part for single gals -- it all boils down to this us being able to fish from two different pools of available men.  The Deadbeats {dudes that make no money because we took their job} or The Players {the dudes who won't ever commit because there are so many of us}. 

And on that note I will dismiss science class.  Just don't forget to read the rest because Bolick, a single gal herself, also delves into her own personal freak-outs of still being single when she was 36, college hook-up culture, how the number of married households is on the decline, and the median age of people that get married is still rising.  She also takes a long hard look at other stigmas that surround single gals and what it means to be one in today's world.  The reason I linked this article is because it is seriously full of information and I can't even begin to cover it all in my already-too-long blog post.  

Most important is the part where she emphasizes the lasting and valuable relationships she has formed with other single women as good friends and some even like family.   So in the end, even if I never make it to the altar there's always the "consolation" prize of holding a great job, being educated, well-traveled, well-read and embarking on a path that's increasingly not the one that's "less traveled" anymore. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Don't Rain on My 2012 Parade

Ah, a new year.  Everyone feels fresh.  The air smells new. Optimism is abundant. 

But...some things never change. I had lunch with my parents last Monday and Big John (Dad) asked about my resolutions for the new year.  No big deal. This was expected.  I was even ready with an answer and just knew he beam and show his pride in me for being a focused and well-rounded individual.   

Except this is exactly how the conversation went: 

Big John: So, what are you resolutions for the new year? 

Single Gal: I am really going to work on my career in 2012.  I feel like there is more I can do at my current job. But I also want to make sure I am focusing on my networking and make sure my resume is up to par.  Maybe even get on Linked In. 

Big John: What about your love life? 





You know, because it would be the worst thing ever for me to remain single for yet another year.  Really?!  

It's gotten to the point where I can almost feel the pity coming off of them in waves every time I see them now.  If only I had spouted something off about the benefits of casual sex so I could make them equally as uncomfortable as I was.  But I didn't. Because I am lame {and still single in case anyone forgot}.  
He's probably going to be extra disappointed to hear that marriage isn't my ultimate goal in life {gasp!}.  But maybe I will save that for next Christmas while we are catching up over turkey and dressing.


Cheers to 2012 already starting with a sting bang!

~the single gal~

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Home wrecker. The Short kind.

Happy New Year! Has everyone recovered from the Holiday crazies yet? The Housewife household has. We are Fischer-Priced out. Exclamation point. Our living room looks like a cross between the children's section at Barnes and Noble and ToysRUs. This will hopefully be changed at some point in 2012 when we get our bonus room more functional. But that would require some built-ins or some expensive shelving options like these Cameron Bookcases from Pottery Barn Kids. I like the corner shelf and then you can add on additional shelving units to either side. The other pro of this would be that you can always move them to a different place whereas built-ins are well........built in. For-eva. I mean, where are the cheap solutions that look like they belong in House Beautiful?? Bueller, Bueller??

#1 is also completely obsessed with the damn TV buttons. Basically Turtle and I debate on just throwing out our older boxed flat screen TV because the armoire keeps it at excellent height for the little brat. Yes, that's right. We do not have a super expensive wall mounted flat screen TV in our living room. When we buy things you can be sure the next best super technology most awesome model will be out the next damn day. Turtle buys Kindle (old white version)= new sleek gray kindle comes out. Turtle gets iPad for Christmas= iPad 2 out in February. We are cool with our TV because it works and it has HD (duh....we're not that behind on the times.) We don't really need a new one. The problem is the TV weights 400 gazillion pounds.  My vote is to take that thing to Goodwill because I can write it off for more than you can sell it on craigslist. Tell the Single Gal to get a beefy boy toy so he can help us move all this stuff. The armoire is heavy too and that needs to move to the basement. What else can I add to the list.......hmmm the bar stools. #1 loves to re-arrange the furniture, I mean the furniture she's strong enough to push.

Which brings me to my next question. How do you discipline a 14 month old? I mean discipline in a very slight sense obvi. I know the rule is one minute per year of age blah blah blah. But you put her in a corner and she just smiles and waves and says "hiiiiiiiiiiii" to you over and over again. Put her in the pack n play in an other room and she does cry but not for a long time. Once you go in to get her out she tells YOU "no, no, no" and goes to sit down in the corner of it. I ordered this from Amazon and hope it helps. Otherwise the Turtle and I are embracing a Bohemian lifestyle with no television or sofas. Just pillows on the floor and music.


The Housewife