10 Day you Challenge Day Six: Six Places

I have been looking forward to this one! Since Daniel and I have been married we have taken some really cool vacations, and seen a lot of cool things.  There is nothing like a road trip driving on the highway at 3am is amazing for me.   This is a list of places I have been and places that I want to go.  That being said my goal is to see ALL of the United States, and as much as a possibly can.

1) NYC: What's not to love? The food is amazing, home to a few of my favorite places to eat like Serendipity 3, and Crumbs Bakery.  Daniel and I are nerds so there are amazing places to tour and site see.  People watching is unbelievable you see so much.  I love the city life, the late nights always something to do and see.  The price and cost was not something that I love, but totally worth it.    

Picture I took from our Vaca in 2010

2) St. Thomas, Virgin Islands: We had the chance to go to St Thomas on our most recent cruise and I decided that I could live there too.  It was beautiful!  I have never been one for being hot, or vacationing somewhere near the beach but I loved it.  There is something about seeing water that pretty that makes you want to stay there forever.  

Our Vacation Jan 2011

3) The Outer Banks: Daniel and I have had the opportunity to vacation here several times too.  I love NC and its coast.  You have your typical USA beach where you can sit in the sand and play in the water and then you have places that are so far out that you can pull off in the side of the road at night and look up and see thousands of stars.  It is a amazing place that if you are lucky you can see wild horses running on the beach.  Do the tourist thing and go to the site of the lost colony of Roanoke.  Tons of places to eat, and just a amazing place to relax!

4) Salem Mass: I know I know.. this one is kinda weird.  When Daniel and I were married we a) are fat, b) hated the beach 3) were fat, hated the beach and didn't like to sweat... so we went north.  We picked Boston, Mass and the surrounding area.  That ended up being Salem.  This little town has so much history, and its beautiful.  We fell in love with it. One of the reasons I might hold it close to my heart is because of our honeymoon.  Last year Daniel and I got the chance to go back and revisit and I fell in love with it all over again. 

5) Louisville, Kentucky: How can one not love the place that they live? Louisville is the perfect blend of small city meets large city.  There is enough to do to keep you busy and our city has done so much as far as improving its look.  There are many great places to eat, the parks downtown are amazing and there is usually some kind of event that is going on.  Bardstown Rd is a personal favorite of mine.  

6) Ireland: This is my wish! Of all the places in this world that I would love to go it would be Ireland.  I tell Daniel from time to time, that the ONLY thing that could make him more attractive would be for him to speak with a Irish accent.  I want to kiss the Blarney Stone!

10 Day you Challenge Day Five: Five Foods

I have been looking forward to this post, and dreading it all the same.  How cruel is this one that while on a self imposed food restriction aka diet I get to talk about my favorite foods.  So here I sit and type while craving all the things that I can't have!  On a good note I will add that I am down almost 34 pounds! between Daniel and I we are at 75 pounds lost! He weighs in again on Thursday he has a goal in mind and I know that he's going to reach it!  I feel like I have done nothing but gain weight this week, I am not looking forward to seeing the scale in the AM.  Here we go!

1) Tacos!! I love them. They are quick and easy to make and totally yummy! Last summer Daniel and I started having my brother Marc and his girlfriend Amanda over on Thursdays and that turned into us cooking dinner and spending the evening together.  This is now something that I look forward to weekly.   Taco's have been a feature of the night more then once.  One of my favorite restaurants is Tumbleweed, anytime I get to pick where I want to go that is in my top 2.  They have amazing taco's covered in queso! and YUM Taco Bell!

2) My Mother In Law Sharon's Fried Chicken, Corn bread stuffing, and Veggie Casserole.  Daniel's mom is one of the best cooks over the years I have eaten at her house 100's of times and it never gets old.  I could list numerous dishes that she makes that are amazing.  Her burritos are wonderful too!  Daniel wants me to add in her Chili is amazing too.  

3) BBQ bacon cheeseburger... this I have been dreaming about every night when I am getting ready for work.  This will be the first thing that I eat when my "core" diet ends one day very soon!  I might throw it up, but it will be well worth it.  Tonight is a hard night usually when Daniel gets his hair cut he usually brings home Five Guys burgers... tonight I feast on Brussels Sprouts, and a baked potato.  

4) Cupcakes I love them! When we were in NYC I fell in love with Crumbs a bakery I became addicted and even hauled 6 cupcakes via my car back from NYC.  Now that is how much I love them.  Here at home there is a good bakery called Gigi's its pretty good, gives me my fix when I need it.  I discovered a few months ago that you can go online and order cupcakes from crumbs.. I am hoping for my birthday this year I might get a surprise package in the mail that involves a  Cosmo cupcake from Crumbs or a Grasshopper one! (hint hint)

5) Last but not least Anti-pasta Salad from Buca Di Beppo I am a huge salad person I love them.  I discovered this salad in the last year and sometimes its all I think about!  Daniel and I usually get the small and it is enough for us to eat as our meal and take some home for later!     It seriously makes me happy! 

Now that I have discussed all these foods that I have gone without for the last 8 weeks and am craving them.. I am going to have to take my hungry self to bed!

Daniel's list gets to make it on here too, just because I am enjoying thinking and talking about food!

1) Chips Queso and fresh Salsa 

2) Mortons The Steakhouse involving Chicken Christopher, Wedge Salad, and Shrimp Alexander 

3)BBQ Bacon chicken pizza

4) Guacamole, Buffalo Blasts, Vanilla Bean Cheesecake from the Cheese Cake Factory.

5) Chili Burger and Frozen hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3

10 Day you Challenge Day Four: Four Books

Day Four: Books

This is another hard one for me, those who know me and know me well know how important books are to me.  I literally always have one on me, in my purse, or in hand.  I love the feel of a book in hand, the sound the pages make as you turn them, and NOTHING is better then the smell of a new book.  I could spend hours in the book store!  So lets get this list going!

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks: Nicholas Sparks is my favorite author hands down.  I love his writing style and his stories have so much heart and depth.  This is not one of his most well known books but it holds a place in my heart.  The main female leads name is Denise, whats not to love?   This is a book about a man who is scared of nothing, a firefighter used to saving and assisting others, a man who picks women that he feels needs him to help them and then he leaves.  This is a book about his rescue from himself, and his past that have held him hostage.  It is typical Nicholas Sparks .. and I love it!! All his books are amazing!

Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin: I can not list one with out the other.  So yes those are TWO different books and they are amazing!  I purchased these at the DAV for like $1 each, thinking that I wouldn't like them but there was nothing else to buy. I started reading Something Borrowed and fell in love with it, I finished reading it in four hours! I had them both done in a day.  I laughed, I cried, I hated characters, I loved them.  When I thought that I couldn't dislike a character anymore then I already did I fell back in love with them.  I know that they are adapting these for film and they should be out sometime this summer I am really looking forward to seeing how they bring the girls to life! Amazing books I have read them at least 10 times each!  I find myself wondering who I like more .. Darcy or Rachel?

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: This was yet another series I had no desire to read.  Daniel and I always look at books when we are out shopping, and I had picked up the first one several times and always put it back.  I am not a huge science fiction person.  One night I was working with my friend Angie and she was telling me about this amazing book that she had read.  That next day I decided I would give it a shot, and I bought it.   I was in LOVE by the second chapter and couldn't put it down.  That next day I went to the store and had purchased the other two and read them all in 2 days.  Great story, and I love the characters!! Written for a younger audience, but great storyline.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery: I can remember as a child my parents sending us upstairs for a hour of quiet time, no radio, no TV, no noise! So I would read.  After quiet time was over lights went out, then popped on my night light with the shield removed that sat between my headboard so that I could read until all hours of the night.  Anne of Green Gables was one of the books that would take me to another time and place.  I love almost all her books in this series, I have a thing for books that are in a series.  I can't stand getting to a end of one book and wondering what happened after.  The more information I can get the more resolved I feel when I close the book for the last time.  Prince Edward Island is on my list of places that I want to see before I die! ... I guess one of these days I will have to make a bucket list of things that I want to do mixed with things that I have done! 

My Brother in Law the Mouth Piece of America

This is just a few days in the life of being married into the Henderson family...

Wednesday

So Wednesday was unusual to start with! Lets go ahead and add on all of this.  I get a text while I am sleeping Wednesday that my Brother in law is going to be on ABC World News that evening talking about the possible Government shutdown.  Here is how it all started! Then the car accident happens (see previous post) and we end up watching the interview in the ER.  ABC Interview here!

So we have a laugh because it was just the craziest thing to see J.T, Natalie and Tedi on TV.  Daniel and I leave the ER that night, and don't really think anything else about it getting caught up in more personal drama.  Later that night JT calls and tells us to turn on the TV that President Obama was giving a press conference and apparently had mentioned J.T by name several times.  I jumped online and look it up and sure enough there it was  Obama mentions JT click here!.  Daniel and I seriously sat and just laughed wondering did that really happen.  How strange was that? I know I listened to it 10 times just cracking up.  Daniel and I went to bed late that night talking to his brother a few times after that and went to sleep that night wondering where it was all going to lead if anywhere. 

Thursday

My phone alarms with a text message at 0650 saying that J.T would be on Good Morning America at 0700.  So Daniel and I jump up, well I jump up and  assisted Daniel up since the soreness from the car accident had started to kick in.  There J.T was on GMA, CRAZINESS!! GMA clip here!!.  That soon was followed by J.T being on a local radio show here in Louisville, him doing another phone interview with Laura Ingraham (interesting) Hear Interview here!.

MSNBC did a really nice Interview with photo's that I can't find it was by far my favorite!  Followed by two stories done by one of our local TV stations WHAS.  ONE OF THE WHAS Stories!

Daniel and I had a meeting that night for our weight loss program (we are down a total of 74 pounds!!) so on the way there we stopped by to see what all was going on and watched Tedi while ABC filmed another spot for Thursdays nightly news.  That was really interesting to see how it all happens, they pretty much brought a entire set to J.T and Nat's house to film the small clips that you saw on the news. Thursdays ABC Interview!

This photo is them setting up, and us getting ready to take Tedi outside!

It was a crazy 24 hours! Amazing, hilarious, eye opening as to how people judge things by only what they hear.  It really gave me a lot of respect for J.T more so then I did, he never wavered and didn't get lost in other issues.  His whole reason for speaking out and why he spoke out never changed no matter who or what attempted to steer him in other directions.

This is going to be one of the crazy stories when we get old that we can look back on and say "Remember when". 

10 Day you Challenge: Day Three Films

Day 3: Three Films

Empire Records: A total cult classic, and not a movie that one can just recommend to others with the expectations that they will love it.  Made around 1995 it follows a group of teenagers/young adults that work and run a record store on one crazy exceptional day.  I LOVE IT! Total reminder of what life in the 1990's was all about.  I love this movie so much that when Daniel and I took a tour in 2005 when we were in Wilmington, SC doing a movie tour (95% about Dawson's creek) the tour guide walked up to a building and I looked at Daniel and said "THAT is the building that they filmed Empire Records at", and I was right! It was the outside of the store!! The tour  guide was a little shocked because it wasn't something that people recognized on the tour!  I had no idea that the movie had been filmed there after that he showed me more sites that had to do with the movie it was awesome!!

The American President:  Comedy-drama about a widowed US president and a lobbyist who fall in love. It's all aboveboard, but "politics is perception" .  I love this movie! When I am sick or have that pull to watch something romantic this is what I watch.  I love Annette Bening, and Michael Douglas.  I love the characters they play in the movie, I could watch this movie all day every day.  

Newsies: When I was first talked into watching this movie I did NOT want to watch it.  I was at my cousins house in Ohio and the girl across the street LOVED this movie and informed me that I had to watch it.  That night as a pre-teen I fell in love with Christian Bale.  It is a musical based on the true story of the paper boy strike of 1899 in NYC.  I know all the songs by heart, and it is another cult classic that I love and hold dear to my heart.

10 Day you Challenge Day Two: Two Songs

Day 2: Two Songs

I love music so this one is really hard for me! I can remember as a child my mom working nights and when she would leave Dad would get out his records and spend hours with the TV off and lights low listening to his music.  Often times I would find myself standing on his feet as we danced around the dinning room in the house that we lived at in Illinois.  When I think music, those are the types of memories I have.  I place a song to almost every important event in my life.  


Send in the Clowns:  Is a song of regret from the musical A Little Night Music.  Sung by a woman who realizes then man that she is in love with has married another woman.  It's a song with self anger, and a lot of questions she asks herself. 

Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground,

You in mid-air. Send in the clowns.

Isn't it bliss? Don't you approve?

One who keeps tearing around,

One who can't move.

Where are the clowns?

Send in the clowns.

Just when I'd stopped opening doors,

Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,

Making my entrance again with my usual flair,

Sure of my lines,

No one is there.

Don't you love farce?

My fault I fear.

I thought that you'd want what I want.

Sorry, my dear.

But where are the clowns?

Quick, send in the clowns.

Don't bother, they're here.

Isn't it rich? Isn't it queer,

Losing my timing this late

In my career?

And where are the clowns?

There ought to be clowns.

Well, maybe next year.

Clowns throughout history were always sent in as a distraction, at the circus when there was an accident they sent out the clowns to get everyones attention off the matters at hand so that it could be cleaned up and disposed of so that the show could go on.  Clowns are also seen as "fools" and or foolish.  See once you start thinking about this song it's pretty deep!!

There have been many moments in my life when I have thought to myself  just "send in the clowns".  Send in the distraction so no one see's ME!   Only to realize like the singer did in the song... the the clown (me) was already there.

I can't come up with another ONE song... I have been sitting here thinking, and I can't do it!  The first tape (yes I bought a cassette tape) was the Weezer Blue Album.   Since then  I have purchased it on two tapes, 4 Cd's and now have it downloaded on iTunes.  Now WHY did I buy it so many times? I listened to it so many times over the years I wore each of them out.  I LOVE IT!! I was lucky enough to see them in concert last summer, it was amazing! I have been in love with those guys since 1995.  Some of their other Cd's weren't has good .. but that one is a all time classic!  I listen to it at least once a week still!

10 Day you Challenge Day One: One Picture of me!

Day One: Denise

This picture was taken June 2010 from our hotel room in Jersey City, looking into downtown NYC.  Daniel and I have a goal of one day moving to NYC it is our dream!

I love this picture of me!

Cars...

I dislike driving!  If you know me well and have been around long enough to hear me tell a story  it has prob had something to do with driving.  Spring break my senior year in HS, I lost a good friend in a car accident.   To this day, that is one of the worst weeks of my life.

After that, I was scared to death to drive I was 18 and in my second semester of college when I was forced to get my drivers license after my parents who had been taking me to college daily put their foot down and made me.  I reluctantly took my drivers test, failing it the first time being told by the tester  "You are the worst driver I have ever seen and I would feel like I am dangering society if I passed you".  I returned two weeks later and aced my test with a handful of others that had tested the first time the same day I did and received the same speech.

I am a back seat driver, I am the girl that gets car sick if you take a turn to fast, I am that girl with the foot that is always in the passenger seat hitting the break pedal.  I can't help it, there are a few people that I can ride with and it not bother me, but usually I am the first one to offer to drive.  

Two funny stories about me driving! 

2001 when I was in college mom and dad had a huge blue Mini van.  They were working on me driving so in the morning I would drive to IUS, with dad and my brothers.  So dad doing a great job instructing me on how to drive asked me while I was going 65 on the highway to put the car in Overdrive.  SO doing exactly as I am told.. while not slowing down I shift the car OVER drive, which happens to be PARK.  So instantly the van start's bouncing, and making horrible noises.  My dad cussing, yells at me to pull over, and me being the safe driver I am informed him that there was NO place for me to pull off to.  The wheel gets jerked out of my hand he pulls the van over into the emergency lane.. I will end this story here, its cleaner that way!!

2005 Daniel and I go on vacation to the Outer Banks, NC.  We are on this stretch of road two lanes and there are sand dunes on both sides for MILES, I am talking 30-40 miles. There are cars pulled off into the sand on both sides where people have parked and climbed over the sand hills to go to the beach.  So Daniel and I decided that we wanted to pull over so that we could walk on over and see the water.  So I find spot, and pull over into the sand doing about 45ish.  I have never pulled over into sand before, and wasn't expecting the sand cloud that POOF'd up as I hit the sand .. nor was I expecting the car to dig into the sand as it did.  Daniel actually yelled at me as this happened.  We get out of the car, which was really hard to do .. since the car was buried in sand.  Somehow because ONLY one of my story's could end this way.  Two Wrestlers on the way to the gym happened to pass us .. pulled over and between the two of them picked (YES PICKED) our car up with their bare hands .. and placed it back on the road.  Telling us they would take no money, and that we needed to continue to do God's work, as they had done for us.

So this brings us to 2011, and Wednesday.  Daniel calls me after work and tells me he is on his way home.  So I start dinner and start getting ready for work.  About 10 minutes later Daniel calls me back and tells me he was in a automobile accident about 2 blocks from our house.  I will post more on this later!!  He is home and well now, on pain med's and muscle relaxers a few days off from work and he should be back to normal .. our poor car might be another story!  Did I mention last week Daniel and I hit a deer in the other car?? 

I still dream of Cheeseburgers

Diet!  Oh how I loathe that word.  I have never attempted a full diet before.  I have watched my mom off and on again over the years start one and then a week later slip back into old habits.  I decided after watching her that if she couldn't make it work I never would either, so I never tried.  For the most part have been content and okay with my weight.  YES, I would have my fat days... but I also have gotten to the point where I don't and didn't look in mirrors.  I actually only have ONE mirror in my entire house, and it is in the bathroom.  Out of sight, out of mind.

Daniel is another story since I have known him he has always worried and hated that he is overweight.  He has dieted off and on over the years, exercised until he couldn't anymore after hurting himself, and so on.   I always verbally supported him while eating my Taco Bell.  In January D decided that he was "over being fat", and looked into a program at one of the local hospitals.  We have known several people to have done this diet and had great results.  So I made a decision to do it along side Daniel so that maybe it would stick this time and be something that he would succeed at because it is so important to him.  I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

We are now in week 7 Daniel is down 35 pounds, and I am down around 30.  I am no longer ONLY shopping in the plus sized section in stores which I haven't been able to do so in a long time.  When I look at myself in the mirror I still see heavy me. But I get encouraged when I try on clothing and they fall off me.  I know that I have a LONG way to go, and I know that I will never be skinny.  But I proved to myself that I can do it! I have supported my husband in something I know is important to him.  As I am typing this he came out in a pair of shorts that are 40's and to large.  So down to a 38 he goes!! 

We decided when we started this that it was going to be more a lifestyle change then a diet and I have tried to keep looking at it that way.  Yes there are days when I would kill a man for a cheeseburger, but I have learned so much about me and who I am.  I have learned that it is easy to say NO!  I have also learned that I  don't have to eat to be happy, I don't have to eat when there is nothing else to do.  I have learned that I actually do like Brussels Sprouts, and many other veggies I once hated.  

I may continue to lose weight once I am out of this "core" program that I am in, I will more then likely gain some and or most back over time.  But I have learned that I can do something when I put my mind to it, even if it is hard, and it has been hard! But I know at the end of the day when Daniel and I are in bed laughing at all the extra room that we didn't have 7 weeks ago it is something that we did/are doing together and that is why I have been so successful.

Have I mentioned that I am proud of him??

What I should have said...

Those who know me know that I am nosy.  I love to know what is going on, usually if I come back into work after being off a few days the first thing that I ask is "what did I miss".  I can't help it, not that I run off an repeat EVERYTHING that I hear, usually I just keep it to myself, you would be surprised at what I do know and how much I know sometimes. I just hate being the last to know something!!  That being said, this is something that I have tried to work on.  I mean do I really need to know everything that is going on?  Short answer in my mind is YES, but reality is no.  

I had a dear friend come to me not so long ago and told me "I need you"... my response to her  "what happened." She told through tears and I did my best to support her love her and give her the best advice that I could.  I felt good about myself!! I gave great advice, I helped sooth a situation for two people I love, and totally righted all the wrongs that were in my world for that moment.  Why then a few hours later did I feel so bad? 

Then I realized what I did.   My friend came to me with a problem and I asked the wrong questions.  Instead of filling her needs I filled mine and got the gossip first.  Not that I did this intentional, but I did.  I made her rehash something that was deeply personal and hurt her.  My question should have been "how can I help".  Did it really matter to me what happened?  Or was it that she came to me with a need and asked for my help?    So in helping her she really helped me, I learned that I need to be a better listener to my friends ... I need to fill their needs, not mine. I have learned in my life that in giving to others I receive the most in return.  I just need to remember this and apply it to all areas of my life!!  Thanks for reading my first blog, hope that I didn't bore you to death!

God never asks us -- "What happened?"

He says: "I love you -- I am your friend"