Confessions of a FAT Mommy!

Ok, on my outward appearance I'm not what most people consider "fat" or overweight.  But to me, fat is a state of mind.  And let me tell you folks I am FAT.  It's battle that I have to struggle with for the rest of my life.  I am fat in my heart and soul.  I love food.  I love it, I love it, I love it.  Unfortunately for me, I was never one of those people that can eat whatever I want.  In fact I am the exact OPPOSITE of those people.  Anything I eat "sticks" as they say.  So for me, keeping my weight in control is a part of my life that I have to deal with and struggle with.  Especially since I'm a teensy bit vein...OK ! (Yes I'll admit it)  But also since I want to live a healthy lifestyle.

Anyway, enough about that I'm sure I have enough material about my weight struggles for days and days.  (I used to keep a blog on MySpace)  Back to FAT is a state of mind and it determines how you will behave in certain situations.....like what I'm about to confess....

OK, so after stuffing my face for 4 days straight from Thursday to Sunday I decided that I've eaten enough and that I actually felt like a stuffed Turkey.  I had enough to eat.  I'm swollen from the sodium and looks like my waist size is expanding.  If you remember I said I was going to go on an extreme diet until Thanksgiving and well I didn't.  So I'm all resolved and stuff.  My sister told me about this 17 day diet plan that she's doing now and I figure it couldn't hurt.  Just a different spin on every other diet.  I have been through them all and once you know the basics of healthy eating, weight loss and your body, you can pretty much do any of them....or even make up your own.  So I started on Monday...like I said I'm resolved here!  I bought my yogurts, made sure I had fruits for the day, drank my Green tea. Side Bar - I HATE TEA! Maybe it's because Americans stink at making tea, but I hate it.  Back to it, so anyway like I said, I'm prepared and I start my day and I'm good, but when I got home I was HUNGRY.  What happened after that was not pretty.  I ate everything in sight.  It was nasty.  But it was oh so good.  I convinced myself at that moment that it would be ok, to eat those chips because they would be gone after that and I won't have to worry about them again.  I also convinced myself that the stuffed mushrooms won't be too bad to eat and it went on like that until I ate a piece of chocolate cake and then my stomach hurt.   It was a horrible act of gluttony, not to mention a total loss of will power. =(

Why do I confess this to you all...the simple fact is that this is the daily struggle for people like me.  A constant battle of will power goes on in my head from the moment I wake up.  If I didn't have that struggle I'd be a lot less healthy, let's just leave it at that.  Well today is Wednesday, I'm back on track for now, and hopefully I'll stay that way until the next big function.  The holidays are the worst for foodies like me because there is always a function or excuse to mess up.  All any of us can do is just take it one day at a time and do the best we can.  Now back to my salad!

Until next time.

Ciao,

Londi

xoxoxo

Even Superman gets tired! Right?

Sleeping Julian...Oops I mean Superman!

What's going on guys?  In my research about blogging, one of the number one rules to not losing your readers is to post consistently.  In fact I saw a posting the other day about not getting too overwhelmed with the holidays and make sure to keep up with your blog (wishing I could remember where I read it so I could link back).  I failed! I am so sorry, last night I was pooped and didn't come through.

Yes, I get tired.  I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open past 9 o'clock but my 9 year old son was STILL doing homework.  I had some deals that I wanted to check out, some shoes I wanted to buy, I wanted to finish yesterday's entry and what did I do?...I fell asleep. My son went to sleep without finishing his homework, there were dishes in the sink, and the tv stayed on all night.  I was supposed to be working on booking my Vegas trip and that didn't get done either and I may have missed out on an amazing deal.  SIGH......

I think I'm going to make a list of all of the things I need to get done over the next few weeks and try to start planning things out and checking off my list as I go.  The holiday's are usually a time when I really get overwhelmed and I need to organized so I don't lose myself.  I will let you all know how I do.  What do you all do to stay organized this time of year??

Anyway, today is another day and I get another chance so, hopefully I will make good going forward!

Thanks for sticking with me!  Stay tuned and hopefully you'll continue coming back.

Until next time....

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Black Friday!

Cousins playing Football

After slaving around the house for about two days, I must say it was worth it because we had such a fantastic Thanksgiving!  The food was excellent, the company was great and the drinks were good!

But here were are and it's the day after....Black Friday.  If you know me or have been reading my blog, you know that I love a good deal as much and frankly better than the next guy, but when you live in the Black Friday shopping Mecca.....well....you could care less.  See for me Black Friday has nothing to do with retail shopping. I hate it.  I hate the lines.  I hate the traffic and all of the tourists and crazy shoppers that crowd my area starting Thursday night.

But I do love this day.  Why? What is black Friday to me?  Well it's leftovers, getting to stay in pajamas all day!  Black Friday is relaxing on the couch watching TV and movies, eating turkey sandwiches, watching my kids and nephews play outside on a crisp, clear, autumn day.  Black Friday is family games, laughing, and enjoying one another.

Listen, I'm a working mom.  I'm constantly running around.  Days like this are rare and I'm not spending them shopping and fighting through crowded stores and backed up parking lots.  I'm spending the time where it counts.  (Maybe I'll do some shopping online! shhh)

That is all.  Happy Black Friday!

Until next time.

Ciao,

Londi

xoxoxo

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow! I am thankful.  I know probably everything that you read today will be similar, but I am thankful for my family, for my beautiful home, for my friends, for my health, the health of my children and husband, I'm thankful for the wonderful smells coming out of my kitchen right now.

This year though, I have something else to be thankful for.  I'm thankful for all of you.  I have been blogging for a little less than a month and you all have been faithfully reading, coming back and in less than a month you've done it about a THOUSAND times.  I know to bloggers who have been around for a while who get thousands of hits a day or more, but to me, I'm just thankful that you may have giggled when reading my posts or if I've given you some helpful tips, or if you've been able to relate to anything I'm saying and realized that you are not alone and that you are NOT crazy! I'm thankful for you guys allowing me to have a new outlet and to share my thoughts and ideas with you.

Thank you!  Listen,  If you like what you read on this blog then share it with someone.

Have a wonderful, blessed, and very Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time.

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Asking for a raise?

If you do a google search on  "Asking for a raise" you will come up with  pages and pages of search results.  Everyone has advice on how to do it. But how many of us actually do it?  I have a very hard time to do this in a very straight forward manner.  In fact, I have a very hard time doing this at all.   

Why do I bring this up?  Every year around this time the major activities of the year are completed or are about to wrap up.  I start thinking of all of the  things that my team and I have been able to accomplish and how successful we've been this year.  And as I sat there  late on a Monday afternoon going through a very boring training on a huge operational project that will take place starting now through the duration of next year...I know I deserve a raise.

I love where I work, I enjoy what I do, and gosh darn it, I am good at what I do!  That's why I'm here, that's why I've been here for so long, and that is why year after year I produce results.  I've tried to wait for the right time, bad economy, premium revenue losses, etc etc have held me back.  But when do I say enough is enough.  When do I actually say ok, this is the last time?  When is that time?  Back to the question at hand....How do I do it?

Have you asked your boss for a raise?  How did you do it?  I would love some feedback on this one.  Please leave comments.... (DEEP Sigh)

(By the way.....if you do happen to Google asking for a raise....most of the articles or blogs say that if its not during your annual review, most of the time the answer will be no! LOL!)

Until next time.....

Ciao,

Londi

xoxoxo

Weekend in Review

I had a busy weekend as usual.  This weekend included the usual busy, busy, busy.  Starting from a wake, to shopping, to soccer, to team pizza party, to cleaning out my rental property all the way to cooking my glazed ham with Rice and beans last night!

I must say though that the highlight of my weekend was my son Jonah's soccer game on Saturday afternoon.  I was so very proud of him on Saturday because he put his all into his game and performed so well.  He was so proud of himself and just so happy!

Jonah got to play his favorite position to start the game as goalie and he was amazing.  If you don't know Jonah, he's small for his age and very skinny, but he's very fast and has been working hard to get faster and faster and not only that, he doesn't quit.  With that said, he is usually the smallest out there in soccer and Lacrosse as well so he has to work harder.  But let me tell you NOTHING WAS GETTING PAST THAT KID! He was all over that ball and protecting his goal.  Next quarter they bring him on the field and he dribbles the ball about 1/3 of the field with full control and he scores the only goal of the game to lead his team to victory!  It was so thrilling for him.  He fought his heart out for the entire game and got banged up in the process, but he was happy.

As a mom, when you see your kids happy, there is no more rewarding feeling.  To know that all of the running around and sacrifice and early morning practices and weekends with no rest....well its all worth it!  So yes I complain that I'm tired, yes I'm yelling when we're late.  Yes I give up my sleep and well, you've heard me gripe before...but I wouldn't trade that in for anything in the world.  

Until next time my dears...

Ciao,

Londi

xoxoxo

P.S. 6pm.com has a holiday blitz going on and a new item is drastically reduced every day.  So check in daily for the holiday blitz and of course you can access that on that little banner up there.

Shopping Review

I told you and I told you and I told you to check out the 11-11-11 sale on 6pm.com.  But did you listen?  Well, to be honest I'm not sure.  Anyway...I really made out.  I got 12 items, 9 of which were gifts which will really help my budget this year.  My total was $132 plus tax made it $140.32.  I could not be happier.  We are not talking about junk here.  I just got my box in last night and I was super excited, so much so that decided to brag today. 

Unfortunately, I will not write about everything I got because most of them are gifts like I said, but I will write about what I bought for myself.  

Ok, I bought two pair of Romantic Soles black pumps.  I was just cleaning out my closet the other day and told my husband (as if he cares)  "I NEED BLACK PUMPS!" Picture my delight when I saw these shoes for $11 a piece.  I got them in last night and I must say, they are not only beautiful, but the quality and fit are amazing. They feel very, very, very comfortable as well (as pumps go).  This is the first time I buy this brand but they now have a new customer for sure! I also picked up a great pair of O'Neill sunglasses, but those were like adding gravy to my delicious mashed potatoes.

The first pair are the "Emily" by Romantic Soles in black Microsuede. They are a pointed toe that has great space in the front  I bought them in a size 7.  These shoes usually retail for about $45 and are still available at 6pm.com at an amazing price. I love them so.  They are perfect for work because the heel has just the right amount of sexy without being inappropriate for the office.

The second pair are the "Emitate" by Romatic Soles.  They are black with a "snake" texture also a size 7. I love them!! They are beautiful.  The snake outer adds texture to any outfit and gives you a little edge.  They have a rounded toe and 1/2" platform which makes these 4 1/2" heels a little more comfortable.  These shoes retail for about $40 and are also still available and at a price that you must jump on!  You can never go wrong with a great pair of black pumps.  You can add them to almost any outfit to add some style,  sophistication, and well they are just plain sexy! ;)

I also picked up these fabulous sunglasses by O'Neill. They are the Tamarindo's in Green Tortoise/Black.  O'Neill is a surfer brand and they have some really cool shades.  The Tamarindo's usually retail for about $80.  They are actually still available on 6pm.com.  Not for $11, but of course significantly reduced. I love oversized shades.  They go with my round face.  I have to have shades that are big enough NOT to make my face look fatter. Which is what tends to happen when I don't have the right proportioned glasses for my shape face.  

Listen...if you want to buy ANYTHING ANYTIME from 6pm.com for your convenience I've added a banner to the top of my page.  Please click on that link and voila.....happy shopping!

Ok, I'm going to leave it at that for today, but next time take my advice! =P 

Until next time, have a great weekend.  Stay fabulous my friends!!

Ciao,

Londi

xoxoxo

Reflecting on a love story

Our love story is one that is still happening, but a day like today only helps me to remember how we started out.   Two kids, literally in High School. It was real love, and it's hard as we get older to understand that two kids can really be in love and understand what kids are going through but its true. It was powerful and it was real, it was Love.  

Back in 1993, I thought I knew it all.  He thought he was hot stuff. This was the kid that was taking trumpet lessons from my Dad for crying out loud.  I worked after school in my father's record shop and  my dad didn't want me working in the store all alone and he wanted someone there with me.  Apparently Gio wanted a part time job and so, being that my father knew and liked him he thought it would be a good idea.  Well, he was in for a surprise!  

Putting two kids together alone that are full of raging hormones for hours at a time day after day may not be such a good idea if you are not trying to make a love connection.  Well...it was there in that place in that record shop that it happened.  The songs from the store, still part of the soundtrack to my life.  When I hear those songs they bring me back to time when nothing else mattered.  

Fast forward......18 years later, 2 weddings, 4 kids........and so much life, bad times, good times, amazing fantabulous times....and so much love! Here we are.  Here we are looking forward to make more stories, our stories, our kids stories.

November 17,  1994

Confessions of a Potty Mouth =X

Ok, Ok, OK!!! S#%@  YES I ADMIT IT!!! I have a POTTY MOUTH!!

Goodness gracious already enough with the bad looks and yes, you over there I said it so close your mouth already.

I'm like a sailor.  Worse than a sailor, I'm like a drunk sailor.  I'm like a tractor trailer driver who was cut off by a bicyclist! I'm in with the likes of Gordon Ramsey and Yosemite Sam. Worse yet, I do it in front of my kids.  Yes, I said it.  I try not to, but it's almost like second nature.  I'm trying to use more fudge nuggets and cruds than well....but I have barely any self discipline with this.  F bombs are like second nature! God forbid my kids are in the car with me then all bets are off!  It's like "oooh Mom, you said a bad word!" And I'm all like "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it and don't you ever say that word!".  Talk about confusing your kids!

I totally blame my parents who were worse than I could ever be.  It's completely ugly and unattractive, it's almost like second nature.  I feel a little better for getting this off of my chest, but at the same time totally embarrassed.  Does this make me a bad parent?

My husband always asks if I have to curse so much and I hate it.  How do I change this ugly habit of mine?  When my kids get older they will blame Gio and I for their foul mouths as well.  Hopefully they will be a little better than I am because well, at least I try.  That has to count for something.  Doesn't it?

Well, I had to do some research and found this great article on momlogic.com, (please, please, please click this link and read it!) and you know what? It made my day! HA! So there after all is said and done....yeah, I SAID IT!

Until next time...this has been my Confessions of a Mad Mommy!

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Toothless Tuesday!

So, most of the time I write my entries the night before and then I review them, correct, and post them in morning. But last night my computer decided it was going to go on strike and I decided not to fight it. So when I got up this morning and started reading what I had written and adding to it, I got frustrated and scrapped the whole thing.  So  I had to start from scratch.  But I was hit with inspiration by something that made me smile just now.  You ready, here goes!

Jonah 6 years old!

Now doesn't that just make you smile? It makes me smile, but I could be prejudiced. Lol.  Anyway, I told my sister this story but thought you'd all appreciate it as well. So Jonah lost his tooth on Sunday. He's been waiting for that tooth to come out for the longest! So, on Sunday night he takes his tooth, puts it under his pillow and waits for the tooth fairy.  Well, Monday morning he wakes up and all I hear is screams coming from his bedroom.  When I go to check what happened, Jonah was yelling and said "Mom...it's Elijah!! He wanted money so he took my tooth and put it under his pillow!!!" Well something like that makes you want to just literally laugh out loud, but being the sensible mom that I am...I laughed quietly! I told Jonah, not to worry that the tooth fairy didn't take his tooth and give money to Elijah because she knows it's not his tooth and blah blah blah.  So I take the tooth and hide it until the evening comes.  When Jonah's ready to go to bed, I give him his tooth again and he puts it under the pillow and awaits the tooth fairy in his dreams.  Well she came.  And as I sat down here drinking my coffee, I heard a totally different sound.  I heard "Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally! Yes!" and then quiet.  All I could do was smile and my heart was swollen.

After all of the craziness day in and day out, those little things just make you feel like its all worth it.  That you know you're doing the right thing as a mom when you make your children HAPPY!

That is all for today.  Until next time....

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Saturday Morning!

The following was my FaceBook post on Saturday morning:

Sometimes when I'm in a rush or stressed out I get a little crazy. When I get a little crazy I start yelling, then forgetting things. I even start changing the times I'm supposed to be at places which leads to even greater hysteria when I start THINKING I have to be everywhere half an hour earlier! Good grief! I really need to relax a little!
And after all the craziness ur at ur destination early and the DAMN photographers are LATE! It's freezing at this field!

Second from the left in the back row is my little Julian

This will give you a good idea of how my Saturday morning started.   Let me give you a quick rundown of my madness!  First of all I don't know if you all remembered that I mentioned on Friday that I would be going to see SpiderMan Turn off the Dark on Broadway on Saturday.  The show was an afternoon show, I figured afternoon was good at the time I bought the tickets in September, but here we are in November and the kids STILL HAVE SOCCER.  Why do they still have soccer?  Well simple because of all of the cancellations due to rain and yes you said it even SNOW.  Not only was there soccer this Saturday, but they needed to be there for the team pictures. So I had to make it to two different fields for two different kids, between 9:30 am to 11:30 am. To make things more hectic their fields are twenty minutes apart and I had to get myself ready and beautiful to go and be on the road to the city by 12 pm. Yeah....you try that! 


Well, I did it.  So I head out to the Bronx to go pick up Gio (my husband) and I call to tell him that I'm around the corner and I find out that he's not there, that he was at his father's house.  Well thanks for telling me?? Anyway, he got a ride over and got to me pretty quickly and we head downtown.  We got downtown rather quickly and made good time but if you're from New York you should know that driving cross-town in midtown Manhattan is a nightmare on a Saturday.  We ended up parking the car a few blocks in between the theatre and where we planned on having dinner. We practically ran to the theatre and made it just in time for the show! It was pretty insane.   By the time 2pm came and we were comfortably in our seats with a nice Heineken and settled in to see the show, I had been running around for 8 hours!


I promised I would tell you about my date, but I've rambled on so much about my morning that I'll leave it at that for today.  We'll leave my date night for another day.   Also, I can't wait to show you guys what I bought from from the 6pm.com 11-11-11 sale!


Until next time loveys...thanks for coming along with me day after day.


Ciao,


Londi
xoxoo

Holiday Gift Ideas...

With the holidays approaching I thought it would be cool to start helping with gift ideas....(No, I haven't even gotten started with my Christmas shopping!!)  So, if you are anything like me or like the rest of the country for that matter, you are probably on a tight budget. You may also be pressed for time so it's hard to actually spend time going to the mall or multiple stores to shop around. With that in mind I'll be focusing on quality gifts at a great price and hopefully that will help you save some shopping time also!  Today is about the ladies...

EXPRESS...I recently got my EXPRESS Holiday Catalog in and I must say, I found these really cute wristlets for $15.90 in the catalog. They come in 5 different colors and are 30% off right now and are priced at a steal at $11.13!! There's a pretty decent assortment of all types of wristlets you can choose from  on EXPRESS.com ranging from $11.13 to $24.00.

Right now they have a really good sale going on at EXPRESS, including $15 off every $60 you spend.  If you have the catalog you get an even better deal with $30 off $75 and $40 off $120.



For the make-up artist in your life Ulta is the place to go.  They have a 73-pc eyes, lips, and face set for $24.99. This kit has everything you need and is good for someone looking to start up as well. I love the Cheetah box which is extremely trendy.  This is only around while supplies last so hurry up if you want it.  If you got this Sunday's paper there is a coupon for an additional $3.50 off any purchase of $10 or more.  If you are going to purchase online at Ulta.com...consider this a gift from me....use the coupon code 60303.  Also, if you are shopping online you can get FREE shipping for any purchase of $25 or more plus 10 FREE samples with a $25 online order as well!

Check out the 11-11-11 on 6pm.com, let me know if you get anything!

This Saturday I'm going on a hot date to see SpiderMan Turn off the Dark on Broadway...I'll let you know how my date went on Monday ;) Have a fantastic weekend and Happy Shopping!!!!

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Fashion Trends I'm feeling....

Earrings!!

I have two pairs in my collection that I'm really feeling and are in heavy rotation (so what!).

The first pair is totally on trend right now with the feathers.  I actually copped this pair of earrings for only $10 from a vendor at Oktoberfest Bear mountain.  No, you can't get yours at Oktoberfest anymore, but you shouldn't have any trouble finding a similar pair or a pair that you like that is with the whole feather trend that is very popular right now.  Why do I love these?  I can wear them with anything.  I love pieces that are versatile that I can dress up or down.  I can wear these with my hair slicked back and a hot LBD (little black dress for my male readers).  I can also wear them casually with some neutral earthy tones.  I think they are fly.

This second pair pictured here are my absolute FAVORITE right now.  They are on-trend...well, have been on trend for some time now, but I wasn't blogging when this trend started up again and I'm still rocking them so there! lol Anyway, these are trendy bamboo earrings with a hint of bling.  I bought 2 pairs of them (1 for back up) on bebe.com for $19.99.  I don't think these are available any longer but they do have some cute trendy pieces there right now.  Why do I love these?  Apart from the fact that I can wear them with anything and they are completely versatile....well bamboo earrings are trendy again!  I was wearing bamboo earrings back in the day when LL Cool J was rapping about them.  I stayed with at least 2 pair! To see them out again and rocked all over is nostalgic and it's nice to see such an urban look be so popular.  I feel like an around the way girl all over again!

Now go forth and be fabulous.....

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Confessions of a Sick Mommy....

Still feeling sick today.  Hopefully I can rest today because the kids have school.

Today's confession has to do with a day like today, I felt like crap. The difference was that I decided to haul tail to work even though I was sick.  On this occasion I went into the office and since I was sick, I must admit I didn't look my best.  Infact if I'm totally honest I looked like crud!

I went through the usual questions when I go in sick, "hey you feel ok?", "are you sick", "You don't look welll" blah, blah, blah! No I don't feel well OK!?! But I'm never rude, that reply only happens in my head. One of my staff comes into my office to ask me  a few work related questions and then it happens, she says "Londi, are you ok?" and I say "I'm sick" and then she goes on to say, "No offense, but you look  ugly today".  Ugly? Wow, I had never actually been told that.  I didn't feel offended, but I did feel like I was slapped figuratively speaking.  It just took me by shock, that word ugly.

I think this is what I looked like!

I must say that I really, really appreciated her brutal honesty.  It helped me reflect on myself.  The next day I did not feel my best, but I made sure that I went out the door looking as best I could.  From that day forward, I have made it my business to make sure that when I go out the door to work that I am happy with the way I look.

The next day, she came to the office apologizing because she went home and thought about what she said.  I told her that there was no need to apologize and that I honestly wasn't offended.  I will not mention her name in this blog, but if she reads which I know she does sometimes.  I want to THANK you for that comment.  Because from that day, you made me realize that I need to make sure that I go out to the world as the best me I can be (even though I may not feel like it!)

Thanks missy.

Until next time.

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Sick Day...

This is not Gio and this is not me either!
We sleep on opposite sides!

I'm trying to write about things that are helpful on Tuesdays.  But I don't know if I can do that today...I'm sick (AS USUALL!!) I'm just trying to unwind and relax so that hopefully I can get some rest and it always seems that if I'm trying to rest or if I'm not feeling well, my kids want to hang out in my room ON MY BED.  Why??  Do you know something? I never take naps.  The only time I get the luxury to take a nap is if I'm on vacation.  Do you know something else? Gio (my husband) takes naps quite frequently.  GRRRR...

Anyway, enough whining. Who is ready for Thanksgiving?  I'm not, I have to totally plan my menu and figure out who's coming for dinner.  Last year we went to the Thanksgiving Jets game so I cooked but it was small.  I will be including the usuals, but I usually like to add or switch up a few things from time to time.  This will be the first big Thanksgiving dinner in my new house.  Not to mention getting my house beautiful.

I usually have a love/hate relationship with the holidays.  I do have a confession to make, people offer me help all the time when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner.  But I always decline and insist on making everything myself.  Then I'm dead tired, but I feel some sort of sick satisfaction of having done it all myself.

Anyway, so what have I done today, I've whined, I've confessed and I've rambled.  That is all.

Until next time,

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

ME....

Being a MOM is not my entire identity.  I'm a woman.  There are many parts of my life and experiences that have made me who I am and that is Londi.  I've been reading blogs, and since I'm trying to find a niche here in the blogging community, I've been reading all sorts of what they call "Mommy" blogs.  What I've noticed is that so many women lose themselves and their identities of who they ARE and their lives revolve around well, just being a mom.  Well guess what....I don't feel that because I'm a mom that my entire existence and identity revolves around being a mom.  Yes, it's a HUGE part of my life and of my identity but it's not the only thing that makes me ME. I'm not sorry for it either.

Why should I lose myself because I have children.  Ladies, your husband/significant other didn't meet a mom when he met you and decided he wanted to marry you and have children.  He met you the woman. Don't lose that because you have children.  It's not to say that I don't make crazy sacrifices (like my sleep) to be at Lacrosse at 8 am on Saturday morning. Or do anything to make these kids happy.  Not to mention, the whole moving to suburbia.  I'm also not implying that having children doesn't or shouldn't change you. I'm just saying.... The last thing you want is for your kids to grow up and leave, and you and your husband have nothing to say to each other because your entire existence revolved around your kids.  Yes I'm imperfect, yes I am a Mom, and most importantly I'm me, I'm a woman who has a full, fun, mostly crazy, but blessed life.


Anyway, that's what was on my mind.  Have a fantastic day.

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

It's that time of year again....

It's  EATING season!! I'm not happy about that right now.  First of all, I'm not ready for the holidays, but I'm also not at what I consider a comfortable weight FOR ME (I've gained over 15 pounds since last year).  I'm a little heavier than I'd like right now.....how to come out of holiday season without gaining too much?   There was one holiday season 2 years ago where I was really obsessed with diet and fitness and I actually lost 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. Well, I'm not in that mode this year! What am I going to do?  I think I'm going to go on an extreme diet until Thanksgiving.

The other problem is that the office parties and "pot-lucks" will be starting really soon.  Oh well, maybe I can keep my mouth shut and will power up.  Not to mention that I need to take my behind to the gym. I am paying for a family membership and have gone maybe 3 times since I joined.  I used to be a work-out junkie.

If I do a little soul searching I think I need to be a little more organized and planful with my food and schedule. Ahhh!

Ok, well enough whining, time for action....Let's see I'll keep you posted.



How will you keep from going over the deep end this EATING season??


Until next time....

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo

Mad Mommy Style Fashion Blogging

Every season I have my favorite pair of shoes, my "go-to" for almost any occasion.  This fall, those go-to's are my Type Z Arcadias suede boots. I ABSOLUTELY love them.  These boots can be worn with just about anything.  I've worn them with leggings, skinny jeans, dresses, skirts, everything.  They are extremely comfortable.  I wore them when I went trick-or-treating with the kids.  These bad boys will be coming with me to Vegas.  If you've ever been to Vegas you know how much walking you do!

I found these fabulous boots on one of my favorite websites 6pm.com.  The original retail price of these boots were $115.  I was able to scoop these up for a whopping......Wait for it....wait for it.....$35!!  

Unfortunately for YOU, they are no longer available, but you can still browse 6pm.com for amazing deals on great boots, shoes, bags, and even sunglasses.  

Happy Shopping.

Ciao,

Londi

                                                                   xoxoxoxo

Confession Time....

OK.  Today's confession is  a little embarrassing, but oh well here goes.  I AM A MAIL PILER!! I pile up the mail and pile up the mail, until it's everywhere and I have to start doing something about it.  What do I actually do about it you ask?  I start going through it and throw stuff out, I sort it, and then I put it in another pile to never get looked at again until I have to clean it up again.  It's really, really sick.  When I have to find mail that I really need, I have to sift through a ton of letters until I can actually get to the one that I need.  Sometimes when the mail pile gets too unsightly and I can't stand to see it, I put it in a bag and then it goes somewhere out of sight. And you know what they say, out of sight, out of mind! Well then it goes from a mail pile to a mail stash.

I beg my husband to go paperless for all of the bills, but for some reason, he LOVES his paper. Funny thing is that he pays them all online.   I have opted out of receiving paper for all of my bills. Ah well, the life of a mail piler.  (maybe the real term should be hoarder, but that sounds scarier)

Do we have any other secret mail pilers? What do you do with your mail?  Any tips for me? Is there a such thing as Mail Pilers Anonymous with a 12 step program?   I think I've just admitted to the world that I have a problem.  Don't be afraid, come clean.  It's therapeutic.

By the way, this image is my actual current mail pile!

Oh well, we can't be perfect.

Ciao 'til next time,

Londi
xoxoxo

Happy day AFTER Halloween! My 3 year old is holding out on breakfast in hopes that we'll actually let him have candy instead! It ain't happening buddy. My kids had a great time trick-or-treating and I thoroughly enjoyed taking them.
(In the photo from LtoR Jonah-6, Elijah-9, Julian-3, & Giovanni-16) Jonah and Julian were champs. Elijah who is 9 couldn't keep up with them (he's lazy). I loved seeing all of the kids out in their costumes. Ok, enough about Halloween! Lol





I wanted to talk about this really cool app that I started using called GeoQpons. It is available for Free for Android and iPhones. This app, has  moved to the top of the list as one of my favorites! Why I love this app, when you don't have a coupon for a retail store, you can check the app and see if there are any coupons available.  When there is, you go to the check out counter and present them the coupon straight from your phone and voila you end up saving when you probably didn't even anticipate it.  Let me explain.  The app uses your geographic location to find nearby retailers. You can look up by brands, look for local small businesses, or you can search for the retailer you're looking for.  There are some pretty cool Shopping tools, you can create a shopping list, wish list, there is a savings calculator and price checker...which uses the barcode app from your phone.  There are probably many more neat little features or tools that you can explore yourself.  I'll give you one little testimonial today, I went to buy the Halloween costumes at Party City.  I didn't have any coupons and when I got home checked GeoQpons out of curiosity.  I found a $30 off coupon!! You know I went back to Party City, returned the costumes and repurchased using the $30 off coupon.  Now if $30 didn't convince you to download a FREE app, then I don't know what can.

Have a great day!

Ciao,

Londi
xoxoxo