Sorry, been busy!

Sorry I haven't updated this blog in a while! I've been busy transitioning jobs and also starting my own little marketing consultancy called Emage Consulting.
Check out the website, about to officially launch, at www.emageconsulting.com. If you're in Lexington or the surrounding areas and need marketing consulting services, let me know!

Today's breakfast:
tomato
cucumber
bell pepper
celery
radish
carrot

Um, not so good. Blech.

Monday Juice

pineapple
pear
apple

yum :)

Close to V8

4 tomatoes
4 stalks celery
1 radish
4 carrots

makes 2 large servings- would be great with a splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice!

Monday Juice

I made a lot because David wanted some also.
1/3 pineapple
4 apples
6 carrots
ginger

Sunday's juice

For breakfast this morning I did the following:
4 carrots
4 apples
1 pear
ginger

It was very, very good. The 1 pear probably didn't add anything much though- couldn't really taste it in the drink.

Also ate a carrot/bran no preservative muffin from Trader Joe's.

Juice

So, my sister did a 21 day juice fast before Christmas, which I thought was plain nuts. But after researching about raw foods and juicing, I decided to give it a go. I need to change my philosophy about what I eat, because clearly what I was eating was just making me bigger. I started Wednesday with a whole grain (no white stuff), high-fruit and veggie, somewhat raw, juice diet. Well, not a diet, just a way of eating. And I cut out alcohol and am now really trying hard to cut out my other vice- COFFEE!

I got my juicer yesterday and just love it! I'm going to start posting my juicing concoctions here for my own reference.

Last night's juice:
4 carrots
4 apples
Notes: It was my first pass at the juicer so I did something easy. And it was fantastic!

This Year's Tree

Here is the tree for this Christmas. As much as I grumble about putting all the limbs on individually, it always looks great!

Got the blog back

Been completely absent from this blog for a while. Nothing much going on with me, just forgot my login information!

Going Green

After changing jobs and now driving 90 miles to work every day, it turned out that the CR-V I bought in January wasn't the best choice. While it gets decent mileage for a SUV, the 20-22 I was getting plus the payment = way too much money.

So, without further ado, I show you my new ride!








Just driving it home normally from Cincinnati I got over 41MPG!

Out of the comfort zone

Hard restart is still in effect, although the results are not instantaneous and the gratification hasn't been realized yet.

I'm in Missoula, MT this week for work. I bitched out how boring Missoula would be. But you know, it is an incredibly beautiful city. The nature is great, people walk everywhere, and the weather is just fantastic. Unfortunatley, haven't taken many pictures, but here is one from dinner the other night on a patio overlooking the Clark Fork river. I'm not a nature person by any means. But this town has a small town feel with amenities of a bigger city, plus wonders such as Yellowstone National Park within it's reach. Families are riding bikes around tons of nature trails, dogs are running around in green parks, it's just great.




Today I did something I've never done before: eat at a restaurant by myself. Sounds totally minor right? Well, I am just an insecure person, but I wanted to enjoy my last night here. Other nights (and lunches), 2 other people attending the same meeting as I were kind enough to let me tag a long. It was so much appreciated and actually really fun. But tonight was different. I went to the hotel restaurant and sat on the patio overlooking the park while a band played at another nearby park in the background. Kids were laughing, dogs were running, it was just great. I sat by myself at a 5 person table and read a magazine and people-watched. I ordered a salad and salmon. And you know what? It was actually nice. I didn't have to worry about being engaged in conversation or being funny or witty (which most of the time, just comes out as sarcasm in my voice). I mentioned to the hostess that I'm from Kentucky, and low and behold, one of the bartenders was too, so he came over and we spoke at length about Keeneland and I rambled about the Dame being closed down for a hotel/condo development. It was great.

So, I survived eating dinner alone by myself at a restaurant. I don't really have a point, other than to realize that it's progress that I'm making- into just being more comfortable with what I have and who I am. :)

Hard Restart

So, just like you can hard reset your computer or your cell phone, I think I need to hard reset myself. I did it yesterday, and hopefully I can figure out what is holding me back. My weight is always a source of concern, so I re-started Atkins again yesterday. I'm also working on being a better worker, more creative, better wife (I'm a bitch a lot of the times, poor David, although he is so fantastic about it- can't ask for anything more), better friend, just more productive and happy.
And I'm going to take up hobbies, like selling on EBay and learning how to sew quilts and handbags (really, anything, since I don't know how to use a sewing machine).
Wish me luck!

Kindness is...

a security guard at Macys who found David's phone today, and then proceeded to call the number that said "mom." So sad that honesty seems to be a rarity these days.

Fresh Starts

Springtime is here. Bring on the warmer weather and hopefully more sun.
It's been a year since my mom died, and the year has flown by. I can't believe it's been that long. But then again, it feels like it's been forever since she really was the mom I want to remember.

Start a new job tomorrow, and with that comes new experiences and hopefully new friends. I was lucky enough to have made fantastic friends with very bright people at Alltech, and I have the same hopes for Bullard.

Lilly has been with us for nearly 1 year now, and wow how she's matured. We hired Petopia (www.experiencepetopia.com) to walk her the 3 weekdays that David and I are both working. Hopefully it will calm her down, give her more exercise, and hopefully the lovely dog walker doesn't quit! Lilly can be quite a lot to handle on a leash.

I'm a year older, but luckily 27 is not a trauma-inducing number, so I'm doing good. Went hog-wild at MAC and got all new makeup. I'm also giving up tanning beds out of fear of getting "old skin."

Vote for my wedding!

Please vote for my wedding! Click here

Dear Lady at McDonalds

Dear Lady at McDonald's drive-thru on 2/21 at 12:38pm,
Thank you so much for letting me cut in front of you- you were turning right into the notoriously busy Tates Creek Center McDonald's and I was turning left. Even though you clearly had been waiting longer than I to get into the ever-congested drive-thru, you were kind enough to let me get out of the turn lane. As we both waited about 10 minutes to get through the line, I wanted to thank you for your favor. When I approached the window to pay for my food, I asked the teller to let me pay for yours also. I got the crazy eye. I explained that you let me cut in front of you and I just wanted to pay for your order as a "thank you" for your kindness showed. I got another crazy eye, and a "I don't trust you." (She literally said that, then looked at my credit card as it was fraudulent) and "We don't do that here."
So, I apologize that not only did I not get to pay for your food, but that you had to sit behind the discussion for 3 minutes extra. I tried to call the store manager to ask if this was common policy, but no one will answer the phone. In turn, I've submitted a comment on McDonald's website seeking clarification of this "policy."
Sincerely,
The girl in the Honda CR-V

Positive Energy and Shameless Promotion

I think I've asked everyone I know for positive energy and good thoughts and it really seems to be doing a number on me- a good one, that is! So thank you to those friends who whether through prayers or just good thoughts, help provide me with positive feedback and the energy I need to make it through this little rough patch.

I had an interview last week for a promising position. Probably won't hear back about that one until next week. This week I have a very exciting interview for a position that I really want, with a company that I find extremely admirable in their promotion from within, team atmosphere and overall friendliness of employees. I had interviewed for an entry level position prior to taking my previous job, and withdrew from consideration at the very end to take what ended up to be a more challenging position. The position I'm interviewing for now though, I know I wouldn't have been called for without this past year of experience I've had, so for that, I'm thankful.

I'm also thankful for Mr. Jim Host, who, after learning I was no longer with my former company, offered a kind word and permission to use him as a reference. It's funny to think I actually did a presentation with him to a large group of people. Didn't seem odd at the time, but now it does. He's a legend!


And then, on the topic of public speaking- I was on my way to Zumba with Kathy (my sister-in-law) who then reminded me that I ALSO spoke at my MBA graduation with one of the Vice Presidents of the company I'm interviewing for this week!


So, I'm feeling the positivity, and now have 2 points of promotion so far this week- and it's only Tuesday :)

Relaunched Website

Check out my newly redesigned website!

New car!

David's car kicked the bucket last week. We're donating it to charity (Habitat for Humanity Cars for Homes) as it actually could probably be fixed relatively easily, however he doesn't want to put any more money into that red beast (1993 Olds Cutlass Supreme- blech.)

So, he took my Accord and I got what I wanted, a 2008 CRV EX-L with leather, heated seats, satellite radio, moonroof, power everything, 4WD- I'm very excited about the car, not excited about the monthly payments, but they're within our budget. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, but this is the stock photo with the color I got:

Wedding pics

So, the wedding pics have expired from Natalie's website (my photographer) but I Have them online here:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/97182630@N00/ttm818

A few of my favorites:

Merry Christmas

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I've thought about it several times, but honestly there hasn't been anything to say (or ramble about). Just been busy with buying a house, getting married, starting a new job, decorating said house, and now Christmas. This year has been an absolute tornado of good and bad things in my life, and I can honestly say I don't think any more could have happened in 2007 than did.

Synopsis: Got engaged, mother died, graduated with my MBA, got a new job, bought a house, got a dog, got married, renovated house.

Thanksgiving without my mom was hard- I don't think Christmas will be as bad. I just distinctly remembered my last Thanksgiving with my mom because I cooked a big dinner and took it to her at the nursing home. She wasn't feeling well, but tried to be happy anyway. David and his mom joined us, as did Kelly Anne, who gave her a lighted house to put in her room, which I now have in my living room for Christmas.

Christmas last year was different because my dad was in town. He, Lauren and I went to see her, and upon his shock of realizing she didn't have a TV, we went to Target and he got her a flatpanel TV. I hung it for her before school started back in January. I hope she enjoyed it- I think she was happy to have something nice like that.

This is the first Christmas in about 7 years that my dad hasn't been in town visiting, so it is interesting for David and I to start establishing our own traditions, even though it seems like we've been together forever.

I put a lot into my Christmas tree this year. My mom was great at trees, so I gave it a shot this year and know I won't want to take it down.



Many thanks to my friends and family for helping me come through this year armed with support, strength and confidence. I hope one day I can return all of the favors that have been paid to me this year.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. (and Lilly wants to show you her Christmas sweater!)

Professional Wedding Pictures

I love Natalie, my photographer! The pro pics are online now, and they're fabulous!
Go to www.nataliehagen.com and at the bottom of the page, enter event ID hagen_sandford

:)

I'm still alive, and married!!!

I know I haven't posted in a while, but as anyone who reads this probably knows, I've been busy with work and house buying and wedding planning- no to mention the actual "getting married" thing.

A few pics:

Flowers with my mom's necklace on them:


After the wedding:


Honeymoon in Mexico: