10 Goals for 2009

I know, I know. People always make lame attempts to do completely unaccomplishable (is tyhat a word?) lists of New Years Resolutions. A family example:  I will stop smoking (ummm you said that every New Years for the last 10 years).


Normally I don't even partake since I know I "might" stick to them a month. Here are some of my good old stand bys:

• go to the gym (ummmm nope)
• loose weight (we all know how good I was at that)
• travel (does driving to Tenn. really constitute traveling?)

Do you see how vague my old resolutions were? I think that's why I never kept them. Cause technically I could go to the gym 1 time and I did my duty. I could loose 1 pound and I was done with that one. I could just go across state lines and that would mean I traveled.

So this year I have some detailed goals that I KNOW I can reach. And to show my commitment. It will be printed out on pretty paper and framed for all to see (picture to come).

In 2009 expect Madeline to:

1. Loose the last 20 pounds by March 1st (and for those who asked/were still wondering. I am down 50 pounds from my highest weight. I am 148. And only 2 more percentage points until I am at "normal" body fat percentage and 2 more point until my BMI is normal. WOOHOO!! I'm still shocked I am throwing my weight out there...but it REALLY holds me accountable. And did I mention how I had to donate 3/4 my wardrobe to Goodwill already?? Glad I bought clothes that I "wanted to fit into" but never could.)
2. IF you loose 20 by March 1st, you may pass go and directly book anniversary cruise the Mediterranean for April (yes, I am not above bribing myself haha)
3. Take 1 bubble bath a week (cheesy, but sometimes I need some relax time)
4. Take 1 yoga or Pilate's class a week (healthy mind and body is the concept I am going for in 2009)
5. I will finally go visit my friends WITH GEOFF in Texas in Spring (been trying to do that one since 2003)
6. Go back to California in spring for Colette's graduation (6.1) Will not be sad when I go back. Will be happy. Mom would have wanted it that way.
7. Get my teaching credential (did I shock you? A lot of change over here. Will do an entire post about that after Jan.10th)
8. Once a month, get in the garden and plant something new. Post what I plant (need the accountability)
9. Volunteer once a month with any organization (Humane Society, homeless shelter, church etc)

BIG FINISH NOW........

10. Eat at least 5 meals at home a week. (this is going to be the HARDEST one by far)

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy 2009!!

Truly blessed...

I'm back to my old non-blogging ways...between getting ready for our Christmas party on the 20th and doing all the last minute holiday errands/baking...I was a bad blogger :((had an AWESOME party by the way...and I am a huge loser that forgot to take pictures at her own party....sigh. I wish I had taken pictures of my friend Heather's car, full and bursting with presents for the foster girls she took care of. Our guests at our party and at our friends party the weekend before collected gifts for the little girls and what a WONDERFUL turnout!!)

Our Christmas was WONDERFUL. For the first time in 6 Christmas's together WE STAYED HOME!!!! No traveling, no chaos, strange beds....and the cherry on top...no boarding our pups. (ummm why didn't anyone tell us how relaxing Christmas at home could be???  Soo doing this again next year! But I have to admit...Christmas in Rome last year was a different kind of wonderful.  And listening to midnight mass at the Vatican...priceless.)

Vatican Christmas 2007

Christmas Eve we walked to church for the candle light service at 7 and then went to eat at The Olde Pink House for dinner. YUMMO. We also got both our meals comped since they were so slammed we had to wait a bit for our food. (Anyone who knows the quality of food at that place and the price knows we made out like bandits!! First time we ever got out of there paying less than $25 bucks for 2 drinks, 2 entrees, dessert)

We jumped the gun when we got back home and opened all of our gifts (except the stockings). 
Geoff deserves "husband of the year" for my gifts.  They were the most thoughtful, unexpected gifts.  How he managed to suprise me...still a mystery (yup, I was the kid that peaked at her gifts before Christmas...so sue me).

Louis Vuitton Palermo PM Tote

I am a purse whore.  I got that from my mom.  She always told me that a good, classic purse can be used for years.  I lusted for a Louis Vuitton for years...even bought some great knock off's in NewYork..haha. 

When my mother passed away, I was going through her things and I saw she had a vintage LV purse she was saving for me.  It was beautiful.  And I stupidly, put it in a moving box (with the rest of my nice purses and coats/leather jackets).  Of course, that was the one box the movers lost.  And even with the insurance...it didn't come close to covering the sentimental value, let alone the real value.

Geoff knew I was so sad that I lost that purse...for him to even consider replacing it (since he knew I would never go on my own and get one) made me cry.  Then the tears turned to laughter when I imagined him in that store...way out of his comfort zone...haha!  But he was so proud when he told me why he picked that one.  He knew I liked classic look, he wanted a zipper so stuff wouldn't fall out  and a big strap in case I wanted to have my hands free. Good job Geoff!!

This this was in my stocking....with a honey house t-shirt!!

and from the pups...

Then for Christmas dinner we drove to Hilton Head (did I mention it was in the 80's???) and ate here

The food was AMAZING...

And our veiw for the meal...

Hope everyone had a Happy Holiday and here's to wonderful 2009!!

These are a few of my favorite things....

And in no particular order....

Savannah Bee Company Honey 

This stuff if AWESOME (can you tell by the 1/2 empty bottle)! And those that don't like honey...give it a try.  Geoff never liked honey, but when the owner of the company asked him to sample some... he became a honey lover too! I have the worst sweet tooth :(  I take 1 tablespoon of this stuff (at 45 calories) and I am all set :)  It's great on anything (especially in tea).  And their beauty products are too die for :)

Banana Republic Jacket

This has to be the softest jacket I have ever owned!!!  And the best part...THE PRICE!  This jacket was originally $198 (ouch) and it was 50% off (the cashier told me she thinks there was an error on why those jackets were put on sale since they just got them in, but corporate sent them a fax telling them all jackets were on sale).  Then I had an extra 15% off and some rewards dollars.  Total out the door $40 bucks (including tax).  LOVE IT!

Christmas Cookies

I made these for book club yesterday.  I LOVE Christmas cookies and these are South American cookies called Alfajores.  They are almond flavored shortbread cookies with caramel in-between (and boy did I learn making homemade caramel is a LONG process...sheesh).

Iron and Wine 

Follow the link to hear an acoustic version of Flightless Bird American Mouth

LOVE THIS SONG.  Or just go to their website  .And yes, it was on the Twilight soundtrack (bonus points if you can tell me where it was played...haha).  But seriously, glad I saw the movie if it made me find out about this group!! They were also on the soundtracks for Garden State and In Good Company)

One of the many reasons I love the Holidays...

See...I'm already getting better at posting in a timely manner!  And I promise I will go through my blog reader and see everyone's updates and comment on them!!!

In the mean time....enjoy!

Our front entry....I tried something new and didn't go for the traditional wreath on the front door (since wreaths were going to be everywhere else).  It's "Joy to the World" in the shape for a Christmas Tree with a star on top.  And notice the bows...totally forgot those in my count!  I think I missed some more in the house and I really did 15 total.

Told ya there were wreaths everywhere :)

The reason I moved all the furniture....

The real reason I should have posted last week

I will start off this post with a "Don't Judge Me". Yes, I could have started posting last week. But that was before I started reading what I vowed I would never read.

Twilight

I was so against reading that book. I am not a sci-fi /fantasy reader...AT ALL. Make believe stuff in books puts me TO SLEEP. But...I was curious to why even the "book snobbiest" of all my friends read it and loved it. (Mind you, she was in the "closest" about it and gave me the whole "Don't judge me" speech too...hahahahaha)

I said at my last bookclub, I was going to give it a try. Some scoffed, as I did, at the thought of reading a teeny bopper book. While others told me to tell them how it went. I had bought the book and vowed to start after Thanksgiving.

Then, I saw my best friend immersed in it at Thanksgiving. Laura knows I love her to death, but books are one thing we do not have in common. She was CRAZY about Harry Potter books and I could care less. Needless to say, this made me VERY apprehensive about trying to read the book.

I waited for a few weeks....and then 2 weeks ago on a Sunday, around 12:15 am I could not go to bed. I put my book light on and cracked open Twilight (which being fantasy should put me to sleep in a chapter or two right?).

SO WRONG

This damn book had me sooooo caught up...I stayed up until 6:15am to read all 545 pages in one sitting. I had to get up at 7:30am that morning (and lasted all day on 1 hour and 15 minutes of sleep).

I took the Twilight drug and was hooked. To the point that I wanted to run out to the bookstore and get the rest of the series. But I knew I had A TON of gifts to wrap and send out...so I ordered online...hoping it would buy me some time. I lent the book to one of my friends that week and she was just as hooked as I was (sorry Kristy)!

Kristy and I went and saw the movie that next Sunday night (ummm...did I mention that day I finished the book...I saw the movie online....hanging my head in shame...). People had knocked the movie, but I went into it knowing that the book was going to be a thousand times better. And that my dear, wonderful, Edward Cullen would never be as wonderful as he was in my head. I was shocked by how each time I see Robert Pattison play Edward...he grows on me :)

Last Monday...the next 3 books came in. I waited until Tuesday to read New Moon...again in one sitting. This time I finished all 563 pages by 4:30 am. I was getting better! (The book light was replaced with the lamp...last time I struggled to see the print...now I could read much faster...just like my high school days).

I went to lunch the next day with Kristy and did the passing of the books. I had also downloaded the soundtrack from Itunes. (again, don't judge me) I know it was not my usual style...but for some odd reason...I liked it. (Geoff made me take the test "Even if it wasn't from the Twilight movie, would you would have liked the songs!" and I said "Yes" I LOVE Iron & Wine now)

Thursday afternoon I finished Eclipse at 629 pages...and that evening I HAD TO FINISH Breaking Dawn. Poor Geoff...he made me eat dinner...and then I was into my own world until 3:30 am...all 756 pages (I started at 8:00pm and rested for an hour to eat and watch The Office). And then it ended.

I was in a funk all Friday...it was BAD. What the heck was I going to do without these books? Thank goodness my husband is a trooper, and wanted to see what the big "deal" was with these books I was so enthralled with. (I mean, I read 2,492 pages in 22.5 hours). He went and saw Twilight with me (I have seen it 4 times in 1 week now...it's a sickness I know).

Here's the big question....Why so obsessed Madeline? It's make believe. It's vampires and teenagers in love. Seriously? Why? These, are questions I ask myself CONSTANTLY. My favorite books are classics. The Count of Monte Cristo, Withering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird....and now Twilight. (quit shouting blasphemy)

Yes, I know this isn't a literary masterpiece. But for me...I can't remember how long it has been that a character has been stuck in my mind and SO REAL that I kept turning page after page to find out what was happening. This book was not about vampires for me...but about love and relationships. When these characters were happy, I was. When they were angry...I was...when they hurt...I did. I honestly, have never felt these emotions so raw in a book (let alone one aimed at teens).

I know Edward Cullen is not real...but in my mind...he was real. I was able to be caught up in a make believe world that was described so perfectly, I literally "was there" for those 22.5 hours. The downside....now that the series has ended...all I have is 244 pages of an online draft of another book that might or might not be published and waiting for the next movies to come out possibly in 2009 or 2010. Ughh

My name is Madeline. I am 28 years old. And I am in "literary love" with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

Top 5 Reasons I couldn't Blog this Past Month

Wow...I felt so loved to have people email and ask if I was OK after not posting in so long :)

Life has been so busy....

Instead of trying to remember all the details of the last month (wow, has it been that long) and make a new post for each event, you will get a Top 5 list... (warning... this will be one picture heavy post)

5.) Hosted my First Thanksgiving
Highlights: Yes folks, Madeline the "non cooker" finally has left the building! Geoff and I were lucky to host our friends Laura and Jared. Jared's 3 sisters also came from Washington, add a couple of neighbors and 1 mother and you have dinner for 10 people! It was a smashing success and the turkey was so tender.

Lowlights: Realizing our table could not seat 10 people and having to buy a table for 10 the day before Thanksgiving. (And when I have time, I need to devout a post to my beautiful table. I LOVE IT) Having to buy 2 more china settings...and they ended up sending the WRONG ONES. Having to rush deliver the new ones that arrived...all together now....the day before Thanksgiving.

Stress factor: I thought I was going to be a wreck. I actually was stress free!!!(helped that I made bought a turkey the week before and practiced my "technique" on it...hahaha) It was fun to cook while others toured Savannah (and I had an awesome helper, Laura). And when the worst was over (the turkey of course), I was able to take a shower while everyone else helped with the side dishes. I would totally host again!

Married almost 3 years and it's the 1st time we used all of our China

Right before the big meal

Our group at dessert

My first Bell and Evans Turkey...if it's good enough for the White House for the past 50 + years...it's good enough for us.  (For a girl who HATES touching raw meat, I had to call Fresh Market and ask for the most organic "happy" turkey, who played on a farm and was fed a wonderful diet and had a good life. When I had to put all the herbs inside of it...I had to give my myslef a pep talk, thanking the turkey for it's sacrifice. And I wore gloves.  ) 

4.)  Madonna in Atlanta

When, my friend Brianne told me that Madonna was coming to Atlanta and if we wanted to get tickets...well I was in HEAVEN. We bought them way back in the summer. And finally the Monday before Thanksgiving, Brianne and I drove to Hotlanta (which was actually cold and rainy) in a record 3 hours (thank you very much) and stayed at a quirky/cute hotel in downtown. We took the Marta to Philips Area and were pretty happy with our seats. (Floor seats were a HECK of a alot more). We saw everything and didn't have tall people in our way! These pictures from my cellphone do not even show justice to how much we could see. And I can't upload the video for the life of me :(

Highlights: MADONNA MADONNA MADONNA. It was an AWESOME concert!! And the DJ that plays before the show starts was fabulous!

Lowlights: Madonna being an hour and a half late to start. Taking FOREVER to get out of the arena and missing the first Marta back to the hotel.

Seats were not too shabby

Our funky hotel (Indigo, near Fox Theater)

Trust me....somewhere on that stage is Madonna...darn cell phone!

3.) More Home Improments from Hell: 

There is not enough hatred I hold for this object...

That my friends, is the water heater from hell in my 1/2 basement (it's TINY and the ac/furnace takes up most of it). And yes, I am one of the few older homes in Savannah to have a basement because we are almost at sea level and flooding is a problem. Thank goodness we don't have that problem!!

Well this MONSTER of a water heater is at least....wait for it....50 years old and STILL FUNCTIONING!! The last year we could find it was made was 1962. Can you imagine all the sediment that was been accumulating in that thing???!!! GROSS!

Highlight: Getting a tank less water water system. Using gas now instead electricity!! (Yup, that huge thing was electric and was constantly on to keep it hot)

Lowlight: Finding out the steps in the basement were put in AFTER the water heater was put in. 4 men not being able to move it AT ALL, even after taking out water for 3 hours. Having to saw that sucker in 1/2 and see all the sediment that had been causing our hard water...EWWWW!

And it's gone folks!!!  (That's were it used to sit...I can now store stuff under the stairs.  And after it was moved...everything was painted, cleaned and organized...that post is for another time)

2.) Parties Parties Parties: 

 I swear people in Savannah love parties! Every weekend since before Thanksgiving we have had at least 1 if not 2 events to go too. This past month I had my first "real" super fancy pants party!  (I have been to a lot of really nice, fancy parties. But this one was over the top) It was at one of the beautiful mansions (it's now a museum) on the squares downtown.  I felt like we were in a chapter out of  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  You read about these parties all the time...never thought I'd go to one.  I loved getting all dressed up:) 

Found this fun top and great shoes at Black Market White House.

Highlight: Open bar...haha.  Just being invited!  Oooo...and we later found out that a certain politicial running for GA govner was there too (and a bunch of big wigs in the Savannah political scence). 

Lowlight:  We were the youngest people there HANDSDOWN (So happy our neighboors were there too).  Not too much to talk about with the old Savannah money in the room :)

Champion-McAlpin-Fowlkes House

1.) Decorating the House for Christmas (add sending out Christmas cards/wrapping gifts and shipping them as part of the work...no pictures of that...haha)

Wayyyy to much to do. Last year out landscaping was completely different than this years. All the lights we bought last year were the nets for the huge bushes we had. Couldn't use them for tiny new ones! It was alot of work but I think the outside looks great! Why would it take up so much time? You'll see when I post the outside pictures tonight.

Highlights: Well....here they are (and I am sorry for the crummy pictures...I got a new point and shoot camera to take out when I don't want to take the SLR out...the trade off is picture quality).

 

The foyer...gold was the theme at our house.

My first bow! I was so proud...and then I was really over it after making 10 of them.

A really bad picture of the tree.  We still used the shell theme from last year...but added gold in the tree.  And I moved all the furniture to put the tree in the bay window.  Please excuse the scattered pillows and chairs.  The evil eyes in the background are the reason why!!

                                       I used my machine to embroider all our names on our stockings

Our mini tree that has our special ornaments that we get from travels and milestones (engagement, first house, wedding, pups etc)

Even the kitchen gets some fun decorating :)

Lowlights: Attaching string of light after light...to find out that the outlets were not going to fit.  Making huge bows for 8 wreaths and 2 trees.  Trying to coordinate 3 timers to work....let alone go on around the same time!