The Marriage of Furt

Did you see last night's episode of Glee??? While it didn't stand up to last week's Gwyneth episode, for me, it was pretty fun. 

SPOILER ALERT!

The wedding music for Burt and Carol's wedding was awesome! I almost want to save it for my own wedding. I loved their ceremony -- cue the tears -- the entrance, their first dance and Finn's tribute to Kurt. It's hard to pick a favorite.

Speaking of Kurt, what a great job he did with the wedding design! I couldn't find many pictures online, but here's a picture of Lea Michelle in her bridesmaid dress.

The colors were perfect for a fall wedding! You can't see it, but she had an orange Gerbera in her hair, and the flower bouquets were in similar tones. I don't normally go for reds, but this shade was really pretty and flattering. The Glee girls all wore the same color but in different dress styles -- a trend I'm loving for weddings.

Love was floating all around in this episode, but I can't say it was overly cheesy... well, except maybe for the wedding of Sue and Sue.

And, with the exception of Kurt's issues with bullying at school. Props to the Glee dudes for sticking up for him, along with Burt. But it just wasn't enough, and the episode ended with Kurt announcing his transfer to a private prep school with a strict no harassment policy.

While Kurt is leaving the school, it doesn't seem like he'll completely leave the show, as his new school is competing in regionals. 

What did you think of "Furt?"

{Image via perezhilton.com}

Free holiday cards!

Whoa, I just realized it has been a month since my vacation, and I haven't shared ANY of it here! While I'm not going to share much right now (I'm still waiting for a lot of pictures from the couples we traveled with), I will give you a teaser.

I'm sharing these photos with you because I'm thinking of using them on holiday cards this year. I've never done photo Christmas cards before, but Shutterfly is offering a deal I can't pass up: They are giving 50 free holiday cards to bloggers who write a post about their favorite Shutterfly holiday cards! If you would like to get 50 free cards, go here, and go here to check out their holiday cards.

I have never used Shutterfly, but I have heard SO many good things about them: the free photo storage, great print quality, awesome photo books and, of course, wonderful holiday cards! I'm really excited to upload my pictures and start using their services. I always love receiving photo holiday cards.

Before I reveal the pictures, here are the card designs I'm thinking of using. I couldn't pick just one, so maybe you guys can help me pick a favorite. I wanted something simple that wouldn't detract from the photos since they are such vivid, vacation photos.

Happy Snowflake

I love blue and snowflakes, so I liked the text on this card. I also like how the photos stand on their own, framed in white.

 Sunny Christmas

I saw this one, and I almost made my mind up immediately. I mean, how perfect is this design for showcasing our vacation pictures?? I just wish my pictures came out as well as this family's!

Classic Black

This design is the ultimate in simplicity -- unfussy and classic, but not very merry. They also have it with a red background, but I thought that might clash with the beachy vaca pictures.

Funny, it looks like the same family is in all three designs I chose! Anywho, I want to do three pictures, I think -- two of me and Jed, and one of Morris. These are the pictures I'm thinking of...

Me and Jed parasailing in Cozumel

Jed and I geared up to parasail

Jed and I kissing a stingray in Grand Cayman

So what do you think? I need help! I still have to take some pictures of Morris because the most recent ones I have are from late summer, and he has a lot more hair now! 

Possibly the best episode of "Glee" ever!

I'm a couple days late with this, but I've been fighting a bad cold. I loved Tuesday's episode of Glee. It might be my favorite episode thus far.

Gwyneth Paltrow is my new favorite thing -- the next vocal star. She has a country music movie coming out, the title track of which she performed at this year's Country Music Awards. Now she's flexing her singing muscles on Glee. Incredible. We know she's a great actress, but now she's a great vocalist. I really hope she comes out with a country album because I'll totally buy it.

I freakin' loved all of her performances! And Will Schuster's Singing in the Rain dream scene with Mike Chang? Awesomeness. Singing in the Rain is one of my favorite musicals of all time. I loved the mashed-up, "modern" spin at the end with Paltrow.

Let's not leave out the Tuesday after-school special point on self-esteem and respecting yourself enough to speak up when the situation calls for it. As cheesy as it is, I think we all need reminders like that at times. When was the last time you bit your tongue because you held the unpopular viewpoint?

If you haven't seen this episode, find it and watch it. I guarantee you'll be entertained.

Sorry if this post is a little all over the place... it might be the drugs writing. :)

{Image via Google Images}

Completely unmotivated

Hey out there. I'm having a pretty tough time motivating myself lately. I'm not sure what's going on with me; sure, I always have tasks and projects I push off because I don't feel like doing them, but I am usually able to substitute something else I have to get done so I stay productive.

Lately, nothing. It's an internal war to do almost anything.

Including coming up with some interesting, unique content for this little space of mine. I didn't want to do these surveys anymore, but I just can't bring myself to do anything else for today.

I found Roots & Rings Ten on Tuesday through Doniree, and if you haven't read her, you must. It seemed fun, and a little different, so I'm going with it.

1. What is your favorite breakfast pastry?
I admit it, most of the time, I cannot resist a donut. My dad used to make fun of me for it all the time. I'm lucky I'm not shaped like a donut!

2. Were you ever in a Thanksgiving or Christmas play?
Probably when I was really young, but I don't remember. I bet it wasn't very good, and I blocked it out as a result. :)

3. What is your favorite clothing accessory?
Jewelry. Classic, beautiful, simple jewelry.

4. What is your favorite item of clothing?
Jeans. I heart jeans. I don't really like shopping for jeans, but once I find my perfect pair, I could live in them.

5. What is your favorite color and why?
Blue. Any shade or tone. It's my color.

6. What is your favorite type of Christmas cookie?
Gingerbread, but they gotta be the chewy gingerbread, not that crisp stuff.

7. What is your favorite scent (food, perfume/lotion)
I love my Bermuda perfume sampler. I love vanilla. I love my man's cologne. I love coconut -- all beachy smells. Snow (yes, snow does smell) and summer rain.

8. What is your favorite household cleaner?
Endust. And Lysol wipes. I can't live without those.

9. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? And what did you actually grow up to be?
I'm realizing that I always wanted to be a mom. I've been pushing myself to be a professional, and I'm forgetting that it's ok if I'm just a mom in the future. As far as jobs, I wanted to be a professional dancer SO BAD (and unlike a lot of lil ballerinas, I worked for it taking lessons and competing for 16 years), and I wanted to be a writer. I got half of it right: I write. I miss the dancing though. For work, I do marketing communications.

10. What is the last song or album you bought?
I think it was the "Hope for Haiti" album off iTunes.

 Whoops! I meant to be pictures in here for you, but... yeah... 

C25K Check-In

Today I realized that I need to make running a habit. It needs to be a conscious decision that becomes a subconscious part of my day... like taking a shower.

Which, believe it or not, is the perfect segue into how I motivated myself to run today. LOL  I was just about to hop in the shower when I realized that I wanted to squeeze in a run today, and if I showered then, I'd only have to shower later after my run. But, wait a minute, what prevents me from squeezing in that run NOW, and then I can have my shower too?

The answer was absolutely nothing, so I went for a run. I followed the same one-mile loop I did Friday, using week one of C25K. Here's the stats and playlist:

Time: ~12:45

Black & White People -- Matchbox 20

Carnival Town -- Norah Jones

Always You -- Sophie Zelmani

She's Gotta Be -- Keith Urban

I was dreading today (I'm not a big fan of Mondays, but who really is?), and I was trying to find something to look forward to as I was falling asleep last night. This is what I have to look forward to: my runs. I've started focusing on the sensation of my feet hitting the ground, and it's... grounding. 

{Image via Real Simple}

Born to run?

Hardly, but I'm making an effort anyway. I have been less than motivated in keeping up with my Couch to 5K training, but I have a renewed sense of "get out there and pound pavement." To help keep me on track, I also have a virtual running buddy, Michelle of Oh Mishka! We've already started emailing each other to see how the other is doing with her running.

It is because of this accountability to Michelle that I bit the bullet and ran this morning. A coworker recommended me to MapMyRun, and I used it for the first time today. Basically this is a tool that enables you to enter your address (don't worry, it remains private) and then map out your neighborhood with whatever distances you want. There are a bunch of other features I've yet to discover, but this distance mapping is really the tool I was looking for.

I started easy and simple: a one-mile run following week one of C25K. This is a shorter route than the program recommends, but I don't want to discourage myself out of the gate again. I'll continue with week one next week, gradually building up to three miles. I hope to map out a few different three-mile loops around my neighborhood so I won't get bored with the scenery.

Since I only did a mile today, my playlist was super short:
Amazing -- Aerosmith
Hold It Now, Hit It -- Beastie Boys
Black & White People -- Matchbox 20

In total, I was out there for about 13 minutes today, plus my warm-up walk with Morris.


{Image via Real Simple}

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave...

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Ever since my grandfather died on September 11, 2002 -- the first anniversary of that dreaded day -- the last line of our National Anthem chokes me up every time I hear it. I think the reason behind it is stated perfectly in the reflection I chose for today from Elmer Davis: "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." My grandfather was brave, and he served in the name of freedom for this country he loved. His ship was one of the first to arrive in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing; he was one of the first to witness the devastation and the pain. That ship also issued his death sentence. He died from a form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos... from the ship he served on. I think of him today, and I think of all those who serve and have served our country in the armed forces. They define bravery for the rest of us, who often forget what it really means.

So many people are posting amazing things on Facebook today in observance of Veteran's Day. I wanted to share some of them.

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount of "up to and including my life." Freedom isn't free.

The soldier, not the reporter, gives you freedom of the press. The soldier, not the poet, gives you freedom of speech. The soldier, not the campus groups, allows you to protest. The soldier that salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped in the flag, allows protesters to burn the flag.

Today is not just a day off from work or school. Today is one day, that should be like every day, where you thank the people who have served this country with their courage and heart. Don't let today pass without thanking at least one of these brave souls.

God bless America and all those who protect her. 

How are you acknowledging Veteran's Day?

{Image via Guardian of the Redeemer}