A Beautiful Storm

Will This Year Be Different

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:50:00 +0000

It's amazing how quickly the internet can suck ya in. Right now I am here blogging on my NEW MacBook Pro (LOVE IT) and CJ is using my old MacBook checking out my term life insurance quote because he swears he can find a better deal than what I currently have.

This is how we spent most of 2009 - in the same room on separate computers. We both have been able to make money online working as freelance writers and independent contractors, so the making money part is good but the spending time together yet separate is not so good.

Thanks to My LJ Friends

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:09:00 +0000

I have recently fond some very supportive and motivational communites on LiveJournal. It's nice to know I have a support system.

All sorts of weight loss 'trials' go through my head; appetite suppressants, slimming pills and even weight loss surgery - which I am not 'fat' enough for anyway...but I realize those things are all the easy way out.

Seriously, taking pills to not feel hungry or having your stomach shrunk so that you CAN'T eat is just not my idea of well, a good way to approach weight loss.

I have weighed the same since Miss. Independent was born. I have been in the same size for almost 7 years. I know what it's like to feel as though you're spinning your wheels. I also know that when you finally commit to losing weight you will.

Time For That Annual Exam

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Actually, I'm a month late...ugh - no, not late as in, possibly pregnant, late as in I was due to have my annual last month.

I just don't care for the whole exam rooms, manual exam tables and oh, let's not forget the 'instruments' - *shudder*

Funny, I never minded these exams when I was pregnant but now? I do not wanna go.

Goddess of All Trades

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:28:00 +0000

I was updating the bio information for my freelance writing job when I realized something - I have had a 'career' in so many different fields it's unreal!

I went to community college, then medical assistant training school and somehow I wound up a a vet assistant, then a call center rep for T-Mobile and on to a freelance writer and account manager for an SEO company.

I must say, I love my current job. I love being home and being able to work at my own pace BUT some days I really wish I could 'go' to work!

LiveJounal

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:10:00 +0000

I have had an online journal at LiveJournal.com for years - started in 2004 Living Dead Girl

If you have LJ, let me know,I'd love to be friends! That is where I am journaling about weight loss. om foods to eat, exercises to try and even different diets.

Recently I've been studying up on HCG weight loss and how to mix HCG, etc...not sure if I am going to go that route though. I'd love to hear from you if you've tried it!

Coming Up With Our Own Traditions

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:35:00 +0000

I usually hate the holidays - they are so rushed and I find myself doing what everyone else in my family wants me to do. Run here, run there, have dinner here, eat a meal there. BAH HUMBUG!

Last night The Man and I talked about how we NEED to have our own holiday traditions as a family. We both have fond memories of the holidays we shared with our families when we were growing up and we want to give that to our kids.

We'll start by picking a 'general' date for putting up our tree each year so we have that to look forward to. The kids can send out holiday cards to family members - that will be a fun project for them.

Since we are Pagan and celebrate Yule, we will focus on our holiday and then Christmas as a secondary type of celebration of sorts.

Who Needs Health Insurance

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:29:00 +0000

So The Ex and I had the whole insurance debate last night. I told him how when we got divorced I was without insurance for a while. I looked online for low cost health insurance; it was easy. Once I knew which company I wanted, I was able to look locally, all I needed was Google search. There really are so many insurance options out there - it's like car insurance shopping!

It's no fun being sick, believe me - I know! We've all already had the dreaded H1N1 flu (supposedly)

More Water, Please

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:10:00 +0000

On the quest to be healthy, The Man and I both know we need to drink more water. The problem is that I hate the thought of spending money to buy water and our water here is so loaded with chemicals, I hate putting it into our bodies! I have been looking at buying the MWF filter so our water not only tastes better but IS better.

Right now we drink a lot of iced tea - I brew it myself by boiling water on the stove - at least that way I can boil out the chemicals and control how much sugar is in it. Water is a much better option though, I know this!

I Hate Shopping

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:30:00 +0000

Yea, I said it, "I hate shopping!" Sound weird coming from a girl? I just despise wandering around looking at things. Even last year when The Man and I were looking at LCD tvs, I hated going from store to store to find the nicest one at the best price. I would much rather do all my browsing online. Is that lazy or practical?

That being said, The Man and I have all our Yule shopping DONE! All it took was some online browsing (told ya!) and one quick trip to Toys R Us and we are done. In fact, we've been done, since October!

T-minus 5 Months - well almost

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:15:00 +0000

Walt Disney World, here we come! I can't believe it's only about 5 months away! I think my first trip to Disney World was in 1982 - I know it was an anniversary year. We didn't stay on property that trip but we did stay at one of the nice orlando florida hotels that time. I think there was only one other time I went and stayed off property, my senior year in high school, that was a school trip.

Every visit since we've stayed on property. The Polynesian to be exact! Here is A cool Souvenir film called Vacation Kingdom at Walt Disney World, It is A Super 8mm Sound Film. Made in the late 1970s.

Quiet Weekend

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:50:00 +0000

The Man took off this weekend for some rest and relaxation. It was such a nice weekend. We adopted 2 kitties - a male and a female. They are older cats, around 2-3 years old and they sure do have fun personalities.

This year for Thanksgiving Miss. Independent will be with her dad. My mom is off so we will all be having Thanksgiving dinner at her place. I sure will miss having my little girl there. The 'joys' of being divorced. My mom has off the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday and she hinted around to going shopping.

HELL NO!

The only shopping I will be doing is online!

Missing My Daughter

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:21:00 +0000

I have been spoiled because over the last few weekends, Jeff, my ex, has been busy setting up data center services for the company he works for so I have had Miss. Independent more than I normally do.

Then, last week we were all sick - not sure I'd qualify that part as being lucky but I did get to have her from Monday straight through to the following Tuesday!

Sometimes when she's here it's really chaotic because she and Mr. Wildchild just fight, fight, fight! There are honestly some days I want to lock myself in my room! However, when she isn't here I really miss her! I always tell her I send angels to watch over her when she is not with me ;]

Blemishes

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Blemishes are ugly, especially acne! I was thinking about how I don't miss being a teenager and suddenly a pimple shows up!

Okay, it was ironically funny but still, like I want to deal with pimples again, I'm 36! I've been looking for some reputable sources that have information on salicylic acid because I heard it was good to use for acne. It supposedly causes the skin to exfoliate and that leave pores open.

Has anyone tried this?

5 Months and Counting!

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:29:00 +0000

My Disney dreams will be coming true in less than 6 months! I am so excited! I actually just made our dining reservation this morning!

We'll be driving down to Florida again - maybe we should invest in a motorhome and motorhome insurance since we will be going so often now! In fact, we are going twice next year! One in the spring and then again in October!

Do You Get Travel Insurance

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Now that we are Disney Vacation Club members we'll be traveling frequently. I've been thinking about getting travel insurance. Do you think it's worth it? I browsed online and I've already gotten one travel insurance quote but I don't know what is a good price and what isn't.

Often times this type of insurance is included when you book a trip but we really won't be king trips with travel agents anymore. If you travel a lot, do you have travel insurance?

In Love

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:55:00 +0000

I am in love - with The Man's car! Seriously, I am so jealous of him! He has a gorgeous 2006 Legend Lime Mustang and he's been doing some modifications to it lately. It's looking pretty sweet! It's amazing what a few auto accessories can do!

If you wanna see and read some 'transformation' stories, check out his blog:

Me and My Mustang

Work, Work, Work

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:42:00 +0000

I feel like my eyes are bugging out right now - too much time spent staring at the computer screen! Seems I am 'jack of all trades, master of none' because so many people come to me for all sorts of weird advice, especially when it comes to work related stuff.

I have been looking into insurance marketing for a friend who works in the field and needs more leads this month. Now that is a tough job!

I Give Up

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Seriously, unless I have help from diet pills, I might as well forget about ever losing weight. No matter what I do - exercise, don't exercise eat healthy eat crappy, fast, don't fast, etc..I am left with the same result - ME

Since I have had Miss. Independent (2003) I have weighed THE SAME - give or take 5 pounds here and there. Even after having my boys, I still got back down to the same weight - this is freaking ridiculous!

Time Is Running Out

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:07:00 +0000

Only 6 months and 16 days until our next trip to Walt Disney World and guess what? All that talk about weight loss and getting back to being healthy was just that...talk. I am such a lazy ass! I have even thought about checking out different fat burners to help me with this but I guess I need to actually DO something first!

On our next trip we'll be staying at Bay Lake Tower - this is our 'home' resort as we are officially Disney Vacation Club members! I am sooo excited!

Back to School

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:45:00 +0000

I gotta say, I am surprised my 'sister in law' is going back to school for nursing of all things! I guess that's the field to be in right now, with all the yuck and disease floating around more and more these days.

I'd probably stick with office work, if I was going to go back into the medical field. I'd start with some medical coding training courses and then go from there. I don't think I'd want to do anything 'hands on' at this point.

On My Death Bed

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:32:00 +0000

This last bout of illness I experienced literally made me feel like I was going to die. I started thinking about weird stuff, like the fact that I never made a will and that I need to make sure I have the best life insurance since The Man is my beneficiary. Seriously, I even started looking online for life insurance quotes and then I realized I was being a bit over dramatic, just a tad.

It's interesting though, the thoughts that go through one's mind when they feel things are taking a turn for the worst. I was thinking
of so much stuff, it was depressing - which probably made my immune system even lower.

Then everyone else got sick but we all had different things. Sinus infection, upper respiratory infections, ear infections and allergies. How horrible we all felt!

Thankfully everyone is on the mend. Screw the swine flu, we had all kinds of ickies here!

Vacations on the Agenda

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:17:00 +0000

The Man won an award at work and the awards ceremony is in Maui but we have decided to decline the Hawaii trip and he is just going to be recognized for the award and get $1,000 - not bad.

However, we will be going to Walt Disney World in April/May and then again in October! I am so excited for that. The Man has also been looking into various Las Vegas vacation packages as we may have an quick trip there, just him and I!

I Feel a Metamorphosis Beginning

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:38:00 +0000

I wrote about noticing some acne on my face and my sudden panicked urge to find THE best acne treatment when I realized, in just 2 days I'll be 36 years old and a metamorphosis is a comin'.

My body is just blah - stuck. I feel trapped, yet I'm too lazy to do anything about it. How's that for apathetic? Or, more like pathetic.

Something is going to give, I can feel it. This is going to be interesting.

Another Birthday Coming Up

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:59:00 +0000

My birthday is in 4 days - I'll be 36 years old. I feel older than that. I feel trapped in my life, in my body. I feel like I look old too.

All the time I have spent eating healthy, exercising, living a better lifestyle and I feel like I have nothing to show for it. I am still trying to lose belly fat from when I was pregnant the FIRST time.

I go through this every year but this year is different. I almost feel as if I am at the mid-way point for my life - yes, I know, that means I'll only live until I'm 70, but that is the feeling I have. I need to turn a new leaf and reach my goal this time.

The Magic Kingdom is Mine

abeautifulstorm@gmail.com (ABeautifulStorm) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:43:00 +0000

My life will be forever filled with Princes and Princesses and castles and beauties and beasts for we shall live in the kingdom of Disney - until at least 2060!

We bought 2 160 point contracts at Bay Lake Tower - a Walt Disney World resort and will be the proud owners for the next 50 years. Although I am sure we'll visit Disney World often, we are NOT limited to Disney - we can travel the world and use our DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points.

Wow - a lifetime of pools and beaches and beautiful places - I better find out what is the best fat burner because it seems I'll be in swimming suits and shorty shorts often! Hey - I am NOT interested in skiing and traveling to cold places, however, Disney Cruise Lines now have a cruise to Alaska! That might be something worth looking into!