Halloween 2009

Trev and I have never really been into getting into costumes and the whole Halloween thing. Neither of us did it as kids and I have to say, I really don't get it. That said, this year for the first time in a long time we did make the effort. Our friends Aaron and Lyn who we met in Mexico were having a party and as it was Saturday night we decided we would go. We were told if we didn't dress up that they'd do it for us when we got there. Friday night we went up to the Halloween store, but I was shocked that every outfit was about $40 and that was without all the wigs, shoes and makeup. Rip off. Seriously.

During the day I was off shopping with a couple of friends and thought I had settled on dressing up as Trev as that was easy but then my friend Leslie, who's Scottish, suggested a St Trinian's school girl. I thought that was hilarious - especially as a) I wouldn't need to style my hair and b) stilettos, white shirt and makeup is all you really need. Trev was stuck too....but we found something:)

We had a great time, check out our pics below (here's a link to youtube if you need a St Trinian's explanation)

10-31-09 Halloween at Lyn and Aaron's

The best shortbread

Since Trev isn't working we've been experimenting with different recipes for cookies. Our challenge is that we make our treats, not buy them. Some have been good, some have been bad.... this is awesome:

Shortbread
This is actually a Barefoot Contessa recipe from foodtv.com - I didn't all the chocolate dipping stuff, and I made these with just regular cooking margarine. They were awesome. They freeze well (you can also eat straight from the freezer), and fresh they didn't go "off". Here's the quick version:

3 sticks cooking margarine at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt

1) Cream the marg and sugar until combined
2) Add the vanilla extract, flour and salt. Mix on low speed until dough is combined
3) Drop dough on worktop and pat together, wrap in clingfilm and refridgerate for 30mins
4) After the half hour, set oven to 350F to preheat
5) Take out dough, roll out to the depth you want (round disks about 1/3rd inch are good)
6) Use a cookie cutter to create the discs, keeping rolling out the dough til there's none left.
7) Put on an ungreased pan, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for about 15-20mins until edges are golden
8) Remove from oven, let cool to room temperature

Me - October 2009

So, I had to do it. In preparation for Mum and Dad coming to visit we're rearranging the spare bedroom and doing a bit of a clear out and in my needlework basket were a couple of pairs of pants that needed hemming. "Great!" thought I - I can take them up and add them to my limited wardrobe.... yeah well - that worked til I realized they were way way way too big.

How cool - almost 5 years to the day since I committed to being healthier and joined a gym in St Louis. October 14th was the day...... I've dropped 3 dress sizes, can bike and run and much as I need and can do a full 2 hour strength workout - and survive. What I love the most - is that I can completely overindulge (this past weekend being a good example!!! I'm on a detox week!) and still not feel like a failure.

For the first time in my life I truly feel like I could write a book about how to change your life - realistically!

First....our crappy weekend

It really doesn't matter how much you want to keep a smile on your face sometimes the world smacks you in the face! What a shitty weekend..... I keep telling myself "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

On Saturday afternoon after a rather taxing workout I went off to the shopping mall - when I got back Trev's bike had been stolen. I actually thought he'd gone out.....until I walked in the apartment. From our apartment garage - the door of the garage was left open for no more than 30 minutes. It was locked too - they jimmied it open, and left the lock on the floor right next to my bike.

Oh my - it was terrible. Poor Trev - talk about kicking someone in the nuts when he's down. He was completely distraught! It was awful.... then he cracked a tooth today.

Usually we'd find a new bike and replace it - just not quite so easy right now. Why couldn't the freaking thief just have taken my bike.......

Nevermind - it could be worse! Right?

Gotta love this cooking thing...

So since we're trying to cut costs we've stopped buying cookies and stuff - we are experimenting with making them instead....so each weekend we do something.

I'm pretty good at making oatmeal cookies - chucking in chopped apples is awesome. I'm also experimenting with what oatmeal to use (ie ideally the cheapest)....so the first week we used up all the old instant oatmeal which was great. Then I found a good website for cheap recipes.

But this cake..........awesome!

Preparing for Mrs. O'Shea

On November 14th Rachel and Mike get married in Chicago - it's been a fun run up to the wedding and I can't believe it's nearly here. Admittedly it's been more of a challenge with Trev not working but I'm really starting to look forward to seeing everyone soon.

It's weird feeling so removed from the wedding preparations - Rach is so, so organized (a chip off the old block we think!) and has everything under control. It's been fun listening, watching, participating and watching it all come together. Being so far away it's hard to be useful, but we have our responsibilities - my last one is to design and print the programs for the church service. We've picked out the design (well, one or two to choose from) - all we have to do now is put it together and print it.

I've had my dress for months - in 2 sizes ... and I'm pleased to report it's in the smaller size. I think I'm still going to get Spanx.....need to look fab in the pics, right? What I don't have is shoes or a bag - and I really don't like the jacket I have.....but I'm going to have to find time to shop.....

Trev's losing too - he got a couple of inches off the shoulders, and recently is now showing 11lb of weightloss. We're both going to be terrific.

On the work front, Trev is making some great connections and at some point soon I'm sure he'll have something, just it's a bit tough going into the holidays .... but I tell myself that others have it much worse than us. It's been good for us to be focused on what we really want - and it's preparing us to put everything to good use.

I also had an MRI on my knee last week as it wasn't getting better - but brilliant news - there's no tears or rips, and while it's sore, there's no arthritis or anything. So, as I've taken up running (albeit slowly) I can continue that...

More updates here as things happen ...

Busy busy September

My world is flying by at such a pace I'm not getting any time to catch everyone up here - while I like my life full...I feel it may be running away from me. I did do a bunk on Friday and we went up to see our friend Melissa in Connecticut. It's only a couple of hours away, but it feels so different. Large spaces, dogs, cat, green grass and quiet. It was lovely.

Trevor drove while I caught up with some work, then after a quick brunch Melissa and I went off shopping while Trev rested and played with the dogs. Well....sounds boring for him, but he prefers it to going around stores. There are a few things that I need right now - first, shoes for Rachel's wedding. I thought I had the shoes, but when I tried them on they're way too big - my feet have shrunk. Weird eh? The other thing is that I need are tops. I spent the first half of the year buying pants as i kept dropping sizes, then it stabilized over the summer. Now my boobs have shrunk ... and my tops are all too big - to the point where my bra shows too much at work. Funny, but true. I've never looked forward to cold weather before - because right now I'd really rather not be buying too much.

Onto news....

Work - it's been CRAZY. I cannot say that enough. While I would be bored if there wasn't so much to do, it's been really hard to balance work and home life. it seems to be squaring away now, but this year has been one for the record books. I am involved in many projects - and the more I get involved in, the more I have to get involved in.

Trevor - he's still looking. He has good days and bad - but over the past 2 weeks he's been back in contact with people that we both used to work with. It's been a positive week for him, and that really helps. He's so talented and it's a shame that it's taking so long. I'm thankful that we are able to continue to live here without too much stress. Of course, if he's still not working by the new year, it'll be a different kettle of fish - but for now it's ok.

Car- we've decided to get rid of our car as we don't drive it. We actually thought we'd sold the lease really quickly - we signed the paperwork etc etc - and the little arsehole dropped out at the last minute. We were totally bummed. I'm still hoping that we get rid of it as it's a waste of several hundred dollars a month.

Health - we're both doing good. We're so fit these days it's kinda scary......i think we've both finally accepted we're not the lard-ass anymore....but it is very difficult to change your view of yourself. My ankle/knee is kinda crappy but I think we're about to finalize the therapy so that we can start a lawsuit! Hopefully that'll mean big bucks!!

Rachel's wedding - well, she has the dress, i have mine, we all look fab - so we're very excited that on November 14th Mike and her will be married. Mum, Dad and Tim are coming over and that'll be cool too. I just have to figure out how to get all my vacation time in before the end of the year:)

Rachel's Batchelorette Weekend

Two weeks ago we all went back to Iowa over Labor Day weekend. We had a blast. There are lots of photos - we got a lot done in the few days we were there.

09-05-09 Rachel's Batchelorette Weekend

Friday we met up with some friends, Saturday celebrations started with tailgating at 7am along with flippy cup and cheese puffs - I did pass on the football game, and we went off to meet BJ and Paul. That evening, a bar crawl - was pretty funny especially when playing "I never..." - reminded me of a time playing that game in Cedar Rapids when I learnt that a girlfriend of a friend of mine had actually been paid for sex. It takes a lot for Penny AND I to be surprised, but believe me - that did it.

It was awesome - just need to lose a few pounds to get in my fabulous dress!

2 things I've learnt

1) Muscle Milk (ie protein shake) makes you stronger when you're working out

2) I'm allergic to hydrogenated soy bean oil

At the age of 42, it's kinda weird to actually learn stuff about yourself, right? By now, don't you know it all? Well.....as you know the past several months we've been strength training with Billy at home - which basically results in 1.5 to 2 hours of hardass strength training twice a week....it's a killer. What we were finding is that we couldn't eat enough (without feeling sick) to sustain our energy through that. Billy suggested that we try a protein shake.....and both Trev and I are big sceptics about this kind of thing....anyway, we're converted. Muscle Milk is the brand - it's just over $20 delivered for about 3lbs of powder that you make up with water. The banana flavour seems to be the favourite.....so that's what we're sticking with. It's cool.

The other thing that's driving me nuts is that I kept getting puffy, red and itchy eyes - for the past few years. I've always put it down to hairspray or moisturizer...until a colleague mentioned this "hydrogenated soy bean oil". I've been aware for a while and have steered clear of the stuff - but today, for the first time in freaking ages I had an outbreak. After working out this morning I was hungry - but rather than craving eggs like usual, I wanted something crappy - and the choice today was a boxed soup - noodle soup. Not even the one with chicken bits. i've eaten this for years, although not this particular store bought version - let's face it, it's about once a year I eat this kind of thing. Anyway, made it, got ready to head out to the hairdressers - and whaddaya know - in less than 10 mins I look like I've cried for a week, with big red itchy eyes. While at the hairdressers, my eyes got bigger and bigger......so I guess tonight it's going to be 2 Benadryl and go to bed - just so i can get rid of the itching.....

In other news, Trev's still looking for a job, we're off to Cedar Rapids next weekend for Rachel's batchelorette party - so we're sneaking in an old haunt the night before - I'm so excited to be going back to Muddy Waters.......old times are such fabulous memories!

Is Facebook taking over????

I didn't realize that it'd been over 6 weeks since I'd posted here - that's AWFUL. I feel terrible that the poor peeps that check in haven't had anything to read. So, while Trev is watching pre-season football (groan!) I figured I'd check in. This update is clearly going to take longer than I thought it would!

Now I realized that it was at the beginning of July I posted I'm trying to figure out why. I'm thinking that I'm blaming Facebook.... I check in daily, I have the app on my blackberry and can post comments easily. However, it's not the same as a long rant and rave about things here.

My quick catch up is as follows:

Our biggest news of the summer is that Trev was laid off in the middle of July and is searching for a position that a) keeps him local and b) he will enjoy. It'll be a few months before we get into crisis mode - although his mind is getting bored already.

For me - I've had a couple of very brief trips to England for work, but as it always seems I'm so busy I really don't feel that I'm using my vacation time well. I need to book some time....but I'm going to save it for when people are visiting. I'm really hoping to get back to the UK this year, but I'm not sure it'l lhappen.

Labour Day weekend we'll be in Iowa for Rachel batchelorette party....it should be fun. I"m so excited that laura and BJ are coming into town - and I'm also able to squeeze in on the Friday night a "Muddy Waters" night in Cedar Rapids with all the ex-APACers..... fun!

Recently my job has been awful - so stressful right now. Too many hours, not enough time and shitloads of stupid people!! At least I'm employed though, right? That's what I keep telling myself.

Anyway - I promise to update as things happen - and I'll get better at it!

June Update

So, I've been bad - I got totally out of whack of updating and, you know how it goes, it's so long that you just don't bother. Now i feel bad - I keep reading everyone else's blog....and even make comments on occasions, but I'm not organized enough to do mine.

I posted our Mexico trip separately....but then so much else has happened - so grab a cup of tea, a biscuit and happy viewing/reading:)

Work has taken up a lot of our time - especially as I had a business trip smack bang in the middle of the month to the UK....that's a whole other story, of which I'll write separately about that when I have enough time to be coherent. Seeing friends was awesome - work was not so fun!

So first, we went into NYC for dinner at the Blue Fin with our friend Carla and some of her her relatives from Toronto. The pics are below. Carla amazes me - she's so fit and skinny and gorgeous. And for 48 years old she looks incredible. These pics were not photoshopped at all....I'm sure it's because she eats almost nothing and permanently detoxes herself! We had a great time!

06-12-09 Out with Carla

That same weekend I'd had enough of my humid hair....I'd had a terrible time in Mexico - it looks bad left alone, if I dried it etc etc etc.....so I went and saw my stylist and she nuked it. I'm now blond and beautiful and short.....it's awesome!! It's easy to manage and while it's not as straight as shown here it's much easier. I'm just waiting for humid weather to really try it out:)

06-14-09 New Hair

That same weekend we had a mammouth training session with Billy. As he now comes to our house our hourly sessions go on a bit. I am pleased to report that I can now do 60 pushups (proper ones, not the girly type!!) and then 250 sit ups in a row. WITHOUT STOPPING. I know - I'm even amazed at myself:)

After that I headed to the UK for about 10 days (weekend at home, working the week, another weekend at home, travel back the following Monday). These pics are a combination of home and work! The weather in England was almost perfect, it only rained a little bit and then it was sunshine the rest of the way. My goal for any remaining trip I have this year is to figure out how to get fitness into my routine when I'm away from home - I know I can do it....I just have to figure out how. Maybe my family should exercise....

06-18-09 Trip to UK

The month went by in a whirlwind and I can't believe it was over so fast! I feel like my ass never had a moment to sit and chill.

On a more sombre note, my knee is giving me grief - my medical insurance won't pay for physio and therefore they won't take me in....so while my ankle is pretty OK my left knee is not so good. I'm still trying to figure out what to do - but I feel a call to the lawyer is in order.

I promise to post our July 4th celebrations soon:)

May 30th - Nick and Jackie get married in Mexico

We left Memorial day for a trip to Mexico - and we had a great time. While it felt like a 6 day frat party it was a lot of fun. The hotel was awesome and the definition of "all inclusive" was incredible. Room service was even included. We ate too much, drank too much, sat in the sun too much etc etc and we had a blast - I did post the pics on Facebook, but just in case you didn't see them....here they are.

It was the first time i'd ever gone away with a big bunch of people - to be honest we didn't have too much in common with a lot of them - way too many fraternity and cheerleader types for us....but we did meet some nice people to hang out with, and really enjoyed it.

I didn't like the humidity and the crappy hair i had all week - but you'll see dresses are my thing this summer...I'm so excited! I can't stop shopping. it's a pretty good incentive to keep going!

Nick and Jackie's Wedding

Our 12th Wedding Anniversary

Wow! Where does time go? It only seems a little while ago that we moved to America, got married, headed to Disney, raised teenagers etc etc etc. And now look at us....

Trevor bought me a beautiful new ring to celebrate - so now my 3 stone ring is on my right hand and this new one replaces my wedding band. It's beautiful.

No-one ever said that marriage was easy but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I love you Trev - let's have many more years!

My first attempt at a spray tan;)

It's always so busy and I really feel like I'm out of the groove of writing. It's nuts. I started writing this post before we headed to Mexico, and managed to lose it all...so here's the precis! Just before we went friends convinced me that I should get a spray tan so I didn't look like the fat, white English one at the back. So, duly on the Thursday before we left I headed out and got sprayed. Now... I did what they told me and exfoliated like mad the day before and applied moisturizer but it still didn't turn out as planned.

We headed out on the Friday to celebrate our friend Sharon's birthday - see our pics below. You can check out my tan there. On the plus side, I really do think a tan makes you look thinner. It was also the first outing for the new camera.

05-22-09 Sharon's Birthday

New camera and new hair

Check out the pics... the ones off the balcony are zooming in and out of the Empire State......amazing. I love it. Then later on you'll see new hair!!!

New Camera and New Hair!

Busy busy busy....still

I feel like life is going by in a flash right now. Last weekend Trev organized a weekend in the city to celebrate Mother's day. It was great. We went and saw the new Star Trek movie which was AWESOME.....and I mean AWESOME, then we went off to the Joshua Tree for cocktails and dinner. The bar is great - it's all 80s music and lots of dancing. Was a lot of fun.


On Sunday we went out to the new "W" hotel where we live. Very swanky. Brunch was great too - and it's priced just right to keep out the skanks (if you know what I mean...). We met up with Rich, our neighbour for the afternoon.


Back at work time just flew. I had a colleague/friend over from the UK so Tuesday night we went out for drinks with some colleagues to a fabulous bar - http://230-fifth.com/ The views were stunning - right under the Empire State Building. Such a great place - it's an outside bar but if it's chilly there are both blankets and heaters. Very nice. Tuesday I also moved my desk - now I look at a wall and no-one can find me - it's PERFECT!!!!


Wednesday Trev and I were out supporting Rich. He was taking part in a bachelor auction in town on behalf of a charity (it's where guys get up on stage and people bid for them and their prizes). We went to Splash (http://www.splashbar.com/) where the event was taking place. Rich was worried that no-one would vote for him.....so he gave us money to make sure that we bidded for him. Needless to say it was a gay bar so there were some hunky topless guys serving drinks, the host for the evening was Hedda Lettuce (http://heddalettuce.com/), a famous drag queen. Was a lot of fun - we won our auction along with a "bag of booze" and a 90 minute massage. AWESOME.

On the following weekend we tried to rest - saw Angels and Demons, very disappointing. I'll re-read the book while in Mexico. From what I remember the book was far better than Davinci Code....not so with the movie. Weird.

Only a week or so til Mexico. Hopefully my health will keep the pigs away. On the fitness front I've been doing really well - I can now do 200 situps and 50 pushups (not one after the other!)......how cool is that. I actually feel pretty darn good!

Work work work work work and work

I'm starting to get realistic. At the beginning the year I thought this mayhem would last a month, maybe 2. It's May....and nothing has changed. It's crazy.


I have managed to hire someone to help me out - and when I first started working with her she took ownership and like projects. I'm beginning to think it's me. She was a consultant, now she's hired (since Apr 13th). Just stupid stuff like I've asked her to set her PC up to work remotely and get a Blackberry. Why is it on May 8th this is not done? Why is it that I've told her for 3 months to get our performance reports out a week after month end and it's still not done? I really think I'm the problem. I've tried setting goals and saying "it needs to be done"....but it doesn't. WTF - my boss is already pissed I'm not as productive (esp with double the headcount!!!!).


I have to take this weekend to figure out how to set objectives and expectations and not interfere. This month I'm wrestling, while sitting here Friday night having worked until 7pm (when getting to work at 7.15am), with whether I check what she did today or I just ignore it and send people to her with questions. She has to learn that I can't carry her and ME. I think I'm sending people to her -and I'll do the one report my boss looks at. That way, I've got both bases covered.


Enough about work. Tonight I have zero energy to go out -I'm watching Biggest Loser (I'm a geek, what can I say), drinking a cocktail and catching up with you all.


Last week Pia visited and I had so much fun. She worked out with Billy alongside me - and he was soooo great with her. She's getting married in July and wants to lose weight. Being Italian she eats so much pasta so I'm convincing her to try my diet. In 18months I've lost 35lb.....and I feel (and look) so different. I love it. She did really well - Billy was great, she was so enthusiastic, but I did feel bad when she couldn't sit in the afternoon.....and worse when HER BOSS messaged me to say she was raving about us and her legs still hurt several days later. I've never seen myself as a diet and exercise guru....or that anyone would listen to me in this regard....I guess because I'd not seen Pia since last summer there was such a difference.

And on rain.....we're on our 7th straight day of rain. Fed up to say the least - it's like England in summer. Not fair - c'mon, bring the sun!

Pia visits

My friend Maria Pia came to New York last week and we had a blast! She was here for work, but we got some socializing in....! First we walked around Soho, then made our way to China Town for dinner. Then, on Friday she came to our town, we had drinks and dinner at Sushi Lounge. On Saturday Pia worked out with Billy and I and after she'd recovered we went off shopping....what a blast!

04-30-08 With Pia in NYC

Trip to Chicago

Trev and I had a great weekend in Chicago - we spent time doing some wedding planning and then socializing. Check out the pics.

04-24-09 Trip to Chicago

On Friday we visited Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs (baseball team) and the restaurant is where the wedding reception is going to be held. It's sooo "them". It's a lovely place and we'll probably be able to go out of the field for pictures. Very cool.

Then, Trev, Rach and I headed downtown so that we could check out what the Chicago skyline would look like in their wedding photos. The plan is for them to have a photo right at sunset - we tested by the water, up on the grass, halfway down the grass etc etc. We decided we liked down by the water the best.

After that we headed out to dinner. Following day Mike and Trev stayed in the bar while Rach and I went to check out linens for the reception. Didn't take too long, and then that was all decided which was great.

That afternoon we rested well and then headed out to dinner with Paul and BJ (who'd come up from St Louis) and Denise, Mike's Mum. Had a great time.

Today we're hanging out before taking a late afternoon flight home. We had a great time, and it was really nice relaxing with them both and seeing all the plans they've made. The wedding plans are so under control which is awesome.

Back to work tomorrow....

I'm a Great Aunt!

Welcome to Abbie Janet Wilson, born April 20th at 1.42pm weighing 8lb 2oz. This is the most beautiful pic of Liz and Abbie - Colin took it. Liz is Trevor's niece.