Pinterest

I found a new site that I can see myself wasting LOTS of time on.  It is a site that allows you to store all your favorite products, design inspirations, fashion, recipes, pictures, and DIY projects all in one place.  Each user is allowed to create personalized boards based on their interests.  Once they create a board they can “pin” items from anywhere on the web to those boards.  For example I have a board called Product I Love and I pinned some fabulous home accessories from The Loft website.  You can follow other users to see their favorites and if you love them as well you can repin them to one of your own boards.  It basically the concept of circling catalogs with sharpie and digitizes it.  Ask Kyle I love saving favorites from magazines and now this site takes all the paperwork out of the picture.  I am still getting used to all the features but I absolutely love the site so far.  My Pinterest user name is DJones168 if you would like to follow my boards.  It is a web and craft/design junkie’s dream!

My Failed Shake Weight Experiment

Well I suppose I owe you guys a follow up on my shake weight experiment.  I had every intention of using it every day for 5-10 minutes for 6 weeks.  What actually happened is I used it every day for about a week and since then it has been used as a dust gatherer under my nightstand.  Due to my inability to complete the trial period my results are inconclusive.  There is one evident truth that infomercials are both convincing and generally inaccurate because they do not factor in human nature.  If anyone is interesting in trying out the shake weight you are welcome to use mine since as I mentioned previously it is not getting much use at our house. 

Bye Bye Blackberry

I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new phone.  I decided to upgrade from a blackberry to an android powered super smart phone.    My MyTouch 4G Slide should arrive in the mail sometime next week and I’m really excited about it.  I have heard Android phones take a little getting used to at first but I’m up for it plus I’ve used Kyle’s phone enough that I should be up to speed in no time.  I can’t wait to be able to get Android apps since the Blackberry App World leaves a lot to be desired.  Here are a few of the applications I want to get: Pocketbooth, iFitness, Retro Camera, and DropBox

AJA

For those of you who love sushi as much as I do, you simply have to try the food at AJA.  First off I love the interior.  They have a gold giant statue and everything else is black and a deep red in tone.  We got their cute corner booth which was very romantic and a nice change from eating on our couch at the loft.  On Mondays they have an amazing deal on sushi, their rolls are only $5 each from 4-9 on Monday.     Here are the 3 rolls we tried last night; the best by far was the surf and turf roll (formerly called the emperor).  It’s usually $12 so you should definitely try it out on Monday night when it’s only $5 and it has crab and filet mignon in it, you can’t beat it!  If you go as a couple I’d suggest only ordering 2 or 3 rolls to split since each has 8 pieces.  I rated each one with stars so you could see which ones we liked.  I’ve also had their rainbow roll in the past and it’s very good if you like have several different types of fish with 1 roll.

****Dragon - shrimp tempura, crab, eel, avocado, teriyaki

***Volcano - tuna tartar, cucumber topped with tuna, mango, avocado, jimmy’s sauce, teriyaki

*****Surf & Turf - tempura lobster, asparagus, seared filet mignon, jimmy sauce, teriyaki sauce

• “Hello Beautiful” Jimmy’s Gone Wild on Monday $1 Nigiri & $5 Sushi Rolls 4-9 p.m. 

Canvas By U

Last Wednesday night I took a break from my crazy week at work and went to Canvas by U with Megan and her sister.  Canvas by U used to be called Sips N Strokes but still looks the exact same on the inside.  Megan picked a beautiful beach painting that she wanted to make to give to her boyfriend who is overseas on an assignment for work.  We had a great time drinking wine, painting, and catching up.  It is amazing how relaxing it can be to be artistic and to enjoy good company.  Here is my finished piece:

Drop Like It’s Hot

I know it’s a cheesy title for a blog entry but I’m tired, it’s Monday morning, and based on that combination the title just seemed to fit.  I have managed to stay extremely motivated over the last week.  I have been eating healthy and I have increased my exercise level.  I am feeling more energetic and in general more satisfied about my level of commitment to being healthier.  I have also dropped a couple pounds which is always a good feeling.  I would still like to kick my exercise level up another notch but at least I’m heading in the right direction again.  My goal for this week is to take a group fitness class at least 3-4 times this week, wish me luck!

Tipping the Scales

So I will be the first to admit that lately I have not been diligent about working out.  I have been working up the motivation to get back on track and back into my workout routine (yoga, kickboxing, and dance) but lately dance on Saturday is the only class I have been going to.  I realized I needed some help with the motivation factor so I decided to hop on the scale and weigh myself to get a reality check.  I was so upset when I saw the number but I finally have the kick in the butt I needed to get serious about making healthier choices.  Please send very disciplined and healthy thoughts my way.  I have one month until Miami so I’m going to show that scale and my stubborn body fat who is boss!

Me Time

Kyle is away at football camp so I was home alone this week but I packed my time full of fun, girly, and relaxing things in order to keep me from missing him too much.  I can’t wait for him to get home but at least this weekend I was able to catch up on a lot of my to do items and enjoy some quality me time. 

·         Rhinestone the centerpieces for the shower next weekend

·         Print the letters to go out for a special surprise for someone

·         Dance Class on Saturday morning

·         Day Trip to Athens with Dory

·         Wrapped Stephanie’s shower gift

·         Cleaned up my closet

·         Set aside some clothes to donate to Goodwill

·         Got a massage

·         Met with my friend Liz for coffee who was in town from Connecticut

·         Ate dinner with my parents, great aunt, and uncle

·         Cleaned out our fridge

·         Caught up on my blogging

It’s amazing how productive I am when I’m trying not to be lonely!  I’m super thankful that Kyle will be home today since I’m exhausted from all that.

Tagxedo

I found this incredible site that takes words and turns them into pictures.  You can modify the type of image, orientation, font, and colors.  I used it to create one for my blog and I really like how it turned out!  The website is www.tagxedo.com.  I hope you guys enjoy using it as much as I have so far and thanks to Kyle for showing me the site.

12 Mile, Indiana

We had an amazing trip!  It was such a great group that went with us this year and we had some quality bonding time and relaxation.  Our trip included bocce ball, reading, eating, drinking, lawn mower races, soaking in the hot tub, beer pong, acoustic guitar jam session, shuffleboard, fireworks, and chilling by the bonfire.    Time seems to slow down when we are there, we manage to unplug from our crazy lives and just simply enjoy being outside and spending time with wonderful friends and family.  Paul and Deborah are absolutely incredible hosts.  They made sure everyone was happy and extremely well taken care of.  They not only welcome us every year for our annual pilgrimage but welcome all the friends who have also come to love 12 mile as much as we do.  It is hard to imagine why so many twenty somethings from the city would love being in such a small town but it is a perfect escape from our hectic schedules and urban lifestyles.  Of course within four hours of being back at work I was stressed out again but for four wonderful days I was completely relaxed!