Thankful for... inspirational women

Photo courtesy of deeplifequotes

This morning, what was supposed to be an early morning cup of coffee and a short chat turned into a three hour long conversation and a foundation for a new friendship built on respect and inspiration.  I just love it when that happens.  I love meeting people who inspire me, and I doubly love it when women gain inspiration from each other.

So often, women focus so much energy on tearing each other down, seeing each other as competition, and gathering satisfaction from another's misfortune.  While I love love pink puffy heart love social media, lately I have seen it as an outlet for judgement and ugliness.  I try hard to avoid those pitfalls, sometimes I succeed and sometimes I do not.  Luckily, my life is full, I mean bursting at the seams full, of incredibly inspirational women, and it seems that number grows by the day.

Of course the biggest source of female inspiration comes from the women in my family.  My mom, sister, and niece all inspire me in so many ways, helping me shape myself into the person I want to be.  And don't even get me started on my various circles of awesome friends.  Friendships that stretch back for years, childhood friends with whom I have reconnected, friendships gained from my husband's social circle, new friendships developed through social media.  Mothers.  Sisters.  Daughters. Wives.  Girlfriends.  Leaders.  Philanthropists.  Professionals.  Authors. Bloggers. Artists.  Each and every one of you inspires me, daily.  Most you you probably have no idea how much I cherish the wisdom, support, and inspiration you provide.  Heck most of you are probably unaware.

So today, I am thankful for all the wonderful, inspirational women in my life.  Thank you for helping me be the best woman I can be.

It Made my Day: Happy Feet

This morning, I woke up full of joy.  I have met a small goal that I set for myself several weeks ahead of schedule.  I am getting into the holiday spirit.  I have gotten to spend time with some great friends over the past few weeks, not to mention my family.  I have a job that I absolutely love, and work with incredibly caring people.  I have a husband who is more amazing that words can even allow, two adorable dogs, a cat that lovingly drives me bonkers, and as if all this were not enough, today is Friday!  Hubby is not a morning person, yet this morning, when he woke up, we had a tickle fest and it allowed me to see him start his day with a giant smile.  Today, I am full of joy, and I wanted everyone to know it.

As I dressed for work, I realized my outfit was very plain.  Grey dress, black tights, black cardigan.  Cute, and comfortable, but plain.  I needed people to see my joy.  I found the perfect solution.

 

Now everyone can see my joy, thanks to my happy feet. It totally made my day!

Going Rogue?

Any regular reader of this blog, or any of my friends and family members know that I am notorious for chancing my hair.  Often..Very often.  Sometimes the changes are subtle, like my last round of highlights, and some are drastic, like chopping off 6 inches of hair the day after my wedding (and dyeing it dark brown from bleached blond a few weeks later).  My brother in law says I change my hair more than anyone he knows.  What can I say, it keeps life interesting.

Sometimes, it keeps life a  little too interesting.  Last week, I was feeling bored with my hair, so I bought some dye.  Now, remember, I had bleached blond highlights.  Well, I was in a rush, and did not pay much attention to the color name on the box I chose, I only knew I liked the color.  Apparently, I chose a cool color, which is a no no when putting color over bleach.  I rushed home, colored my hair, and when I washed and dried it, I was dismayed to find that while the base color was a gorgeous chestnut, my blond highlights were now silver.

In a nutshell, I looked like Rogue from X Men

Picture Source

Since I have no mutant powers or energy stealing abilities, and there is no way this body is ever going to look good in a latex superhero suit, I decided this was probably not the best look for me.  I posted a Facebook status about it, and one of my friends told me how to fix it.

You can bet your sweet patootie I was up at 7 am the next day to go to Walmart and find a lovely shade of brown hair dye labeled as a warm color.  It is a bit darker than I originally wanted, but what the heck, fall is on its way.

Never a dull moment for me, I am telling you.  Next time, I know to check the shade.

Thankful for... a cooking disaster

Photo credit

I pride myself on being a pretty awesome cook.  I was raised by two parents who are both fantastic cooks, and at a young age I started watching and learning.  I still call my parents for cooking advice, and we often swap recipes.  I am one of those cooks who opens the cupboards, throws things together with no recipe, and creates a home cooked masterpiece.  Of course, I have setbacks or small mistakes here and there, but rarely do I have a full scale cooking disaster.  So when I had one Monday, I had to do some pretty fast thinking.

We were staying in for the holiday weekend; most of our friends were out of town, so Hubby and I decided to do a cookout for just the two of us.  I had picked up some hot dogs, salad makings, and ground beef for hamburgers.  I noticed that ground turkey was on sale, and since I am trying to eat healthier, got some with the intention of making turkey burgers.

I should point out that I have never before cooked with fresh ground turkey, and was unaware how soft it could be, as well as the fact that turkey burgers needed and additive like breadcrumbs to make them keep their form.  I thought I could just shape patties like you do with beef and I would be good to go.  As I was shaping them, I noticed the soft, pliable texture, but figured it would be fine.  Five minutes into grilling, Hubby alerted me that the turkey burgers were falling apart and into the grill.

Unwilling to waste all that food, I grabbed a skillet and we carefully scraped as much of the ground turkey off of the grill racks as possible, and into the skillet.  I then went inside to brown the 3 pounds of ground turkey, since it was partially cooked.  As I was cooking it, I said to Hubby "what are we going to do with 3 pounds of browned ground turkey?  I hope you like turkey burritos".  At which point, Hubby got very excited.  He was ready to forget the whole cookout, and have me make turkey burritos immediately.  I convinced him to wait until Tuesday.

On Tuesday, I went to the store to get burrito ingredients.  I decided to pick up some extra canned tomatoes and some beans with the intention of also making turkey chili.  I personally do not like red chili much, so I really did not know how to make it.  I decided I would wing it.  That afternoon, I cooked up the chili, and put it in the fridge.  I hear chili is better the second day, so I made the burritos for Tuesday's dinner, with the chili being Wednesday's dinner.  Both recipes made enough for multiple meals, so my cooking for the week was done.

Much to my surprise, both recipes, which I winged my way through with no real recipe to follow, were delicious!  Since the burritos consisted of wheat tortillas, tomatoes, ground turkey, brown rice, fat free refried beans, and lowfat cheese, they were incredibly healthy as well.  Score!  And the turkey chili was also healthy, being full of fiber and protein.

I am really proud that I took one of the biggest cooking mistakes I have ever made and turned it into two delicious recipes that I am sure will become staple meals for us.  Best mistake I ever made!

April Showers

While I was getting pretty sick of all the rain we had last month, there was one shower with which I was positively enthralled- and that would be my friend Erin's bridal shower, which was held Saturday, April 30th.

Erin has contributed to the weddings and showers of so many of her friends, I was so excited to see what they would do for hers.  Nothing about the shower was revealed beforehand other than the theme being Paris (that is where they got engaged).  So, all of it was a surprise for Erin, and I have to tell you, her bridesmaids and family did a fantastic job making sure Erin had a beautiful day.

The place was decked out in lots of purple and pink, color of the wedding.

 And Eiffel Towers could be found everywhere.

 Personalized candies were on the tables.

And the breakfast food was delicious.

But my absolute favorite was the Eiffel Tower of cupcakes.

One of the bridesmaids made all the yummy cupcakes, while another one of the bridesmaids' boyfriend made the actual Eiffel Tower.

So many talented people helped make Erin's day so special.

Erin got so many wonderful gifts at her shower, it was exciting to watch her open them.

 And of course, her fiance' showed up to bring his love some lovely flowers.

 It just makes me indescribably happy to see my friends so in love.

Since I knew Erin's shower had a Parisian theme, I wanted to give her a Parisian themed gift as well. I got her several different Paris knick knacks, as well as some coffee and beignet mix rom Cafe du Monde. I decided to make a custom hat box to wrap it all in. So I used different Paris themed pictures, various scrapbook papers and doo dads, and this is how it turned out.

The day was a smashing success, and I really just feel very blessed to call Erin and Jason my friends, and am honored to be a part of this wonderful time in their lives.

Congratulations Erin and Jason, we love you very much!

If you would like to see all my pictures from the shower, feel free to view them here.

International Women's Day

Through various social media outlets, I have learned that today is International Women's Day, and not only that, it is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.  There was no way I was letting this go by unnoticed.

According to the International Women's Day website, the purpose of this day is to celebrate achievements of women, and the struggle for equality that women the world over face.  And I think that is wonderful, and helps give recognition where it is greatly due.  It also helps encourage young girls, or disenfranchised women in countries where equality does not exist.

I want to personally recognize all the women in my life, because you all have contributed to the woman I have become.

Family:  Well, here I have to start with my Mom, because, well, she literally made me :) and has shaped me every day since I was born.  The caring nature you see in me, and my propensity toward kindness is all thanks to my mother.  She helped instill that, as well as a tendency toward success and and high moral standards, in all 3 of us kids.  My grandmothers, who are both no longer with us, also shaped me.  Both struggled in their own ways to become the women they were, and that left a long lasting impression on me.  My sister inspires me every day, as a mother, and now, as a future educator.  And in my niece, I see so much of myself, that it warms my heart.  So, yes, my family is chock full of amazing women.  And this is just the immediate family, not to mention my amazing aunts and cousins!

Friends: I have several different circles of friends, those who live in my current town, those from high school and college, those I met through work, and those I have met through other friends.  What an amazing group of ladies these are.  Many are mommies, many work, and all support me in ways for which I can never even begin to thank them.

Professional contacts: Over the years I have had many women encourage me through more professional means.  A lot of my teachers over the years have been women, and they pushed me toward the excellence that I achieved.  Now that I am no longer a student, I still meet some wonderful women through social media.  Some of the bloggers and authors I meet are truly amazing and inspirational ladies.  I can only hope to make such an impact as they have.

So as you can see, I really have been blessed by a wonderful group of women in my life.  And to these ladies, including all you out there in the blogosphere reading this, I want to say that I love each and every one of you. Thank you for all you do, especially for all the things no one ever thinks to be thankful of.  Every dirty diaper, every home made meal, every difficult lesson plan, every soul baring biography, every charity helped, every friendly pep talk, just....everything.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Tell the women in your life how much you love and appreciate them, not only today, but every day.

I want to be like Claire

Image from Dover Publications
http://store.doverpublications.com/0486476073.html

Thanks to Netflix, both the dvd service and the streaming, I have been able to watch some of my favorite television shows from childhood.  Sure, some are a little dated, but I can't help but think two things: 1.  they do not make t.v. shows as good as they used to, and 2.  When I grow up, I want to be Claire Huxtable.

Claire seems to so easily balance a very successful job, parenting 5 kids, running a household, and dealing with a lovable but patience trying husband.  All while looking fierce by the fashion standards of her time.  I know Claire is a fictional character and all, but, I really strive to be more like her.

As a mother, Claire is patient with her children, but also a stern disciplinarian.  Her children are taught morals and values, but always with a calm, gentle voice.  She and Cliff rarely fought or disagreed on parenting standards.  The children respected her, but also felt a close bond with her, and could come to her with their problems.

As a wife, Claire contributed to the household not only as a breadwinner, but also displaying her domesticity. She was often found cleaning the house, doing the bills, and supporting her husband.  She knows how to take care of Cliff when he is sick, and is able to gently show him the occasional error of his ways.

As a woman, Claire respected her body, had fantastic fashion sense, and was a strong independent woman.  She took time for herself as a person, aside from her other roles within the family structure.

In short, Claire was pretty much perfect.  How can I ever try to attain that?

Well, for starters, I have my very own version of Cliff in my beloved Hubby.  He is proud of my achievements, and supports my ambitions.  He knows the perfect blend of seriousness and silliness to make each day bearable.  He shares household responsibilities with me without ever complaining.  He loves me with undying fervor and devotion, and is not afraid to romance me.

So, it would seem that with such a foundation, I can easily be like Claire.  And if I ever have kids, I do hope to channel a lot of her motherly skills.  An episode I watched today included her having a talk with a sad 5 year old Rudy, explaining that while 5 can be tough, it had it benefits too.  At the end, Rudy cheers not only for her self and her 5ness, but for her awesome Mommy as well.  Someday, I want my kids to cheer for me the same way.

So, while we may not be the Huxtables, and have their level of perfection...

we are the Harkleroads, and at being that, we are perfect in our own right.

Home Improvements- Part IV

I really do have the home improvement bug now!  The next project I tackled was the dining room.  For months now, really ever since our Ice Cream Social, my dining room, has been filled with clutter.  So I knew I needed to give it a really good cleaning before my family comes for Thanksgiving.  But I also wanted to liven it up a bit.  Nothing too major, because I really love the color of the walls already, and no need for new furniture or anything.  I want to get roman blinds for the whole house, but that is not in the budget right now.  However, with a little help of my creativity and a great sale at the Hobby Lobby, I was able to come up with an wonderful theme for my dining room, one that sums up Hubby and me pretty perfectly:  LOVE

I got tons of cute wall hangings that go with the theme, and reused a few I already had.

The one corner is really cute, and functional.  It is where we keep all the pet supplies, as well as a bookcase.  So I spruced it up quite nicely.

But my absolute favorite this was what I did over our little bar.  I got a great deal on one of those vinyl lettering sets.  I was so nervous to use it, but it was a breeze, and it looks amazing.  I added another wall hanging to set it off.

I even got some of those cool decorative balls to sit out, and used my awesome Pampered Chef trifle bowl to display them.

I am really proud of how it turned out.  I had everything done by the time Hubby got home from work, so he was totally surprised, and really impressed.  Of the things I bought to redo the room, I did not pay full price for a single thing.  Now that is some smart shopping!

Wonder what I will tackle next?

Dear 16 year old Tiffany

Right now, there is a topic trending on Twitter (say that 3 times fast) that encourages you to talk to your 16 year old self.  After a tweet or two, I realized I had a lot to say.  So, here goes.

Dear 16 year old me,

Why are you so hard on yourself?  First off, you are not fat.  Trust me, you will know what a fat you looks like, and honey child, this aint it.  You are a child, still growing and developing.  But believe me, you are beautiful.  In the future, you would give anything to look like this, so savor it!

Stop abusing your body.  You already did damage from cheerleading, do not add to it.  Make sure you stretch and exercise, and for the love of pete eat something now and then.  And wear your glasses, because you are only making your eyesight worse with all that squinting.

Nothing is going to keep you from being successful but you.  You love school, you know you do.  So stop talking about being something great, and be it.  Stop allowing yourself to slide by.  Apply to more colleges.  OUE was great, and you saved a ton of money, but see what else is out there too.

Do not be in such a hurry to fall in love.  You are going to get your heart broken for the next 16 years, before you meet the most amazing man.  He will be worth the wait, trust me.  But learn now that you deserve to be treated well, and should not settle.

Do not work at Rave.  It is not a terrible experience, but really not worth it.  And get your driver's license.  It is not as scary as you think, and it allows you more freedom, especially to get a better job.  But do work, it comes in handy your senior year.  Pictures, announcements, and formal dresses get expensive.

Do not get credit cards.  They are evil.  Open a checking account instead, and try to buy a car.  It is a much better way to establish a credit history.

Be a little more open minded and kind.  People are often not what they appear in high school.  Some of those people you do not talk to much will end up being great friends to you in a few years.  And spend more time with David.  You will miss him when he is gone.

Lighten up a little, and have some fun.  And goodness gracious stop worrying so much.

Tell your family you love them at every chance you get.  They are the ones who matter the most, and will always be there for you.  And go see Gram more.  You will regret it if you don't.

Oh, and that huge hair?  It's not cute.  Buy a flat iron as soon as they become popular, stop cutting your hair short, and whatever you do, do not dye it yourself, get it professionally done.  And wax your eyebrows.

Love,
Me

Ten Days

Ten days.  It will be approximately ten days until Hubby has to return to work.  He is on vacation.  We are planning on using the time to work on redecorating our bathroom, and prepare the house for my family's Thanksgiving visit.  I love spending time with Hubby, but he jokes that we will be sick of each other by the time these ten days are over.  Judging by how our dinner conversation went, he may be right.

I was relating to him how my nephew went to the Olive Garden with his girlfriend and her family to celebrate her birthday last night.  Hubby mentioned how he feels bad that the Olive Garden gets a bad rap.

Me: I call shenanigans.  You always complain about having to eat at the Olive Garden.  You say, and I quote, no good meal is ever partaken at the Olive Garden.

Him: I have never said any such thing, I love the Olive Garden, it is my favorite.

Me: You are so full of it, you can take your Olive Garden and shove it up your olive behind.

Him:  I don't know what that means.

Me: Oh, you will.  Let's just say, there is a reason there are olives in a dirty martini.

Him: What are you talking about, you just made that term up, dirty martini, there is no such thing.

Me: Yes, it is a way of ordering a drink, haven't you ever heard someone order a martini extra dirty?

Him: What, like in a cartoon?.......TEN DAYS!

Lord help me.

I mean I love you Hubby!

The Plaid Shorts

I hate shorts.  It is pretty rare that I wear shorts, or pants of any sort, in the summer time.  Most of the time, in the summer, I can be found wearing dresses.  Usually light cotton sundresses, nothing fancy, just comfortable.  But, when preparing for my Ice Cream Social, I found the cutest blue and brown plaid shorts, so I got them, in the hopes I could wear them for the party.  Well, I hate to try on clothes, so I just got a size I hoped would fit, and brought them home.  The day before the party, which would have been the last day of July, I tried them on.  Bad news.  There was no way I could wear them.  I could not get them all the way on, much less buttoned and zipped.  I was so so sad.  I put them in my drawer, determined to be into them before the summer was over.

Yesterday, I wore those plaid shorts.  They fit me perfectly.  I was pretty stoked.  I am finally starting to see progress.  My first weight loss goal was to have lost 25 pounds by Labor Day.  I am confidant I will achieve that goal on time, if not early.  My biggest concern now is I know I am going to get to a point where I stop losing, but all I can do is keep trying.  And keep thinking about those plaid shorts.  Because the next time I go to put those things on, they had better be way too big for me.

Hot new hair

Anyone who knows me knows that I am constantly doing something to my hair.  Cutting, coloring, something.  So, the fact that my hair stayed pretty much the same all summer is miraculous.  I guess that is part of growing up.  Yesterday, I went to get it touched up, and was going to do the same exact thing, but at the last minute, I changed my mind, and told her to stick to mostly the red highlights instead, and only a few blonde highlights.  The results?

My hair looks like flames.  It is flipping awesome.  I look....like a superhero.

What should my super hero name be?

In other news, my quest for healthiness continues to go well, yesterday I did my weigh in and had lost another 3 pounds, bringing the total to 21.5 pounds lost!!! I hope I can keep this up, because I am finally starting to see the difference.

I am going to my first ever blogger event on Friday.  From what I understand it is a pretty low key event, but I am still pretty excited, and am wondering if I will look like a big dork if I wear my custom made I love Tiffany's Blogs t shirt.  Thoughts?

My summer reading challenge is winding down for my book review blog, so hopefully that means I will have a little more time to blog on a regular basis.  Here is hoping!

Grocery Store Epiphany

As you may remember from last week, I am on a path intended to help me lose weight and improve my overall health.  I am pleased to announce that I lost another 3.8 pounds since last Monday!  I really think this is going to work for me, because not only do I have amazing support from Hubby, my family, and my friends, I am able to eat whatever I want, I just have to face the consequences of it.  For example, tonight, I want pizza so so so bad.  And I could easily, without guilt, order pizza for our dinner.  The consequences of that would be that, first off, I would use a ton of WW points on, lets be honest here, more than one slice of pizza.  Secondly, I would feel disgusting afterward; I would be sluggish from processed carbs, and my tummy would not be happy about all that grease.  So, instead, I am making zucchini mini pizzas for dinner.  You take sliced zucchini, put a little olive oil on both sides, and broil each side for 2-4 minutes.  Then top with a little pizza sauce, 2% mozzarella, and on Hubby's I am including some mini pepperoni.  Broil again until cheese melts, but do not let it get brown.  Voila, a pizza dinner that will amount to 3 points.  3 tiny little points.  The consequence of my choice will be using less points and feeling better.  And, if I want a snack later, I will have the points left to do so (I have tons of healthy low point snacks on hand as well.)

In the grocery store today, I had a bit of an epiphany.  It is no wonder that we, as Americans, myself included, have so many weight problems.  We have, in our grocery stores, an entire aisle dedicated to potato chips.  We have another aisle dedicated to sugary sodas.  That is probably 2 or 3 times the amount of space we have dedicated to fresh fruits and vegetables.  And even foods that we think are healthy, when eaten in the gargantuan portions Americans are used to, are not healthy at all.  We go out to restaurants and think, I will be healthy, and get a salad.  Well, let's be honest here, when it is laden with fried chicken strips, cheese, french fries, and fat filled dressing, a salad is no longer a health food.

It is funny, but just two weeks into my plan to restructure my eating habits, and already, food tastes better to me.  I have been eating better than I have eaten in years.  The fact that it is summertime, and we can go to the Farmers Market for fresh produce, and cook a lot of things on our grill, well, that is really helping.  I am hoping that my new habits will be so ingrained that come those chilly autumnal days, I will long to cook squash and vegetable soup, instead of wanting steak hoagies and french fries.

As I walked around the grocery store, really thinking about the kind of relationship I had with food, versus the kind of relationship I wanted to have with food, I saw real improvements in my thinking and choices.  Foods that were staples due to their convenience were no longer in my cart.  The items in my cart were instead being chosen based on nutritional value and satiety.  And, I do not deny myself.  I know my weakness is sweets.  So, anyone looking in my cart today was going to see sweets.  But instead of Hershey bars, they were Weight Watcher candies, and instead of Ben and Jerry's, it was Skinny Cow ice cream products.

I left the store feeling energized, and for the first time in a long time, grocery shopping did not make me hungry.  I really think this is going to work for me.  At least, I really hope so.

Drama in a Bottle...or a Photo

So, Paul, my brother's partner, is an artist.  Like, an amazing artist.  And he is adventurous.  So, the first time I met him, 4 years ago, he suggested we do some glamour shot type photos, because at the time, I was still trying my hand at dating with little success.  The photo sessions with Paul have since become a theme in our relationship.  He loves that I am a willing subject, I love that he makes me look and feel beautiful.

Our first foray into the shots, we just went with what I was wearing at the time, and my own makeup.  Remember, this was four years and more than a few pounds ago.  Here is one of the shots that resulted from that session.

Yowza right?  Who knew I could look like this?

About a 7 months after that, I went through a really rough relationship and breakup, and I ran to Columbus to clear my head.  Denny, Paul, and I went to a haunted hotel for a night of ghost hunting, and he proposed a photo shoot in a cemetery.  I willingly agreed.  This time, he took care of hair, make up, and costume.  Here are some shots from this session:

Crazy awesome, right?  Well, another year or so later, they came to Pittsburgh to celebrate my 30th birthday with me.  This was right around the time Hubby and I were thinking of starting to date, so I needed an ego boost to prepare myself.  Once again, Paul to the rescue.  We were going for a modern take on a pin up, sort of inspired by Gewn Stefani.  This was the result.

Once again, he did the makeup and hair as well as took the photos.  Who knew I could look like this?

So, as we prepared for our trip to visit Denny and Paul, Paul told me to come ready for some glamour.  I kind of thought my days of glamour were over.  I am just a simple housewife, more than a little pudgy, and my clothes are now for comfort not fashion.  I never should have doubted Paul.

Again, he did my hair and makeup, at one point, while applying eyeliner, he called it Drama in a Bottle.  I decided to be brave, and suggested we do the photos without me knowing what I looked like.  Paul likes to use draggish amounts of make up, so this was a real leap of faith.  I even suggested we end the session in the rain outside.  I thought he was going to wet himself, he was so excited.  It makes me happy that I can bring that much joy to him, simply by letting him use me a play model.  Never did I think that this most recent session was going to have the results that it did.

These are some amazing and artistic shots, with some cool effects I added on some.  Paul even spent some time photoshopping me into cool backgrounds.

Who would have thought this simple housewife could look so lovely.  I seriously think Paul should do more photography, he certainly has a knack for it!  As for me, well, all those Sundays of watching America's Next Top Model clearly were worth it.