Always, Alli

I am no longer pretty, but I am pink! Thanks to BenSpark for the video so quickly!

Technorati Tags: postiecon07, cake plow

I’m on day four of my Las Vegas adventures (and it feels like longer), and all the fun and revelry has been the stuff good memories are made of. Today is Postiecon and we are affectionately calling it “the day we get to sit around.”

All the walking has really taken a toll on our bodies, especially since I have sacrificed some comfort (no sneakers) for style. I want to give an air of confidence and I’m taking the saying “the clothes make the woman” and following through to the footwear. My precious boots were made for walking, but for only one night. I wore them at the club and will wear them again at Tao for the BCA’s.

Pain aside, I am still having a good time. Yesterday Jenn and I toured all the vendors on the Expo floor. Besides all the swag, I met some really cool people with awesome products (more on that later).

Last night the Posties had a meet up at the Bellagio for some gambling and a picture in front of the fountains. I look forward to going home and watching Ocean’s 11 just so I can point out where I have been and where the movie is wrong. I wish I spent some time in the art gallery, but I am sure someday I will return to Vegas and check it out then.

These few days have been a good beginner’s course in visiting Vegas. I hope I can come again when my attention isn’t divided between the city and a conference. But the pretty lights, noisy casinos, and fun people have really fulfilled the tourist in me.

The break at Postiecon is almost over. Time to pay attention, or at least look up from the computer every once in a while.

Technorati Tags: las vegas, postiecon07

In case you didn’t know… today is my birthday!

I’ve been planning for this day for quite some time. Or at least ever since I registered for Postiecon. When they scheduled it over my birthday, I took it as a sign that it was time to go somewhere. And here I am.

I rang in my birthday at the Carnaval Court, one of Harrah’s night clubs. It was where a lot of posties met up to end our night of revelry. I reached out beyond my small group of peeps and finally met others from the PayPerPost forums- Mr. Fab, Tricia, Heather, and Lisa. (Um… I have to find links for Tricia and Heather. Sorry! Bad postie!)

I throughly enjoyed myself, dancing and having one drink (not the only one of the night, but only one while I was at that club), and celebrating when the night turned to day at the stroke of midnight. As you can see from this carefully staged picture, Mr. Fab gave me the requisite spank. Colleen bought me a drink (well, technically it was her husband, but she was the one who sent him to the bar.)

We have a day of gawking planned, with some more Blog World Expo later (1 p.m. meet up to welcome Pete to Blog World). Tomorrow will be a full day of Postiecon, but I plan on sharing more later. Right now, my peppermint mocha is all gone and I am ready to see more of Vegas, lit by sunlight.

Happy Birthday to me!

Technorati Tags: postiecon07, birthday, las vegas

A few days ago my husband was reminded my birthday is this Friday. He asked me, “Do I have to get you anything?”

I responded I am going to Vegas, that is my birthday present. “So, I don’t have to get you anything?”

Well, he could get me something, if he wanted to. A card, candy,flowers… something is better than nothing. But really, I think of my trip to Las Vegas as as my birthday present.

I wonder how hard it would be for him to send me flowers for my birthday. I think the last time I got flowers was before we got married. I could be wrong though.

My parents once sent me flowers when they lived in Germany. It was before the age of the internet and calling in a flower order overseas was a bit impossible. So they ended up mailing money to a professor of mine (one of their old classmates) and he presented me with a nice arrangement in class one day.

Now I am quick to admit how much easier life is with the internet. Flora2000.com has an easy online ordering service and will deliver to about 150 countries. So, while it was cool to have my professor give me flowers from my parents, it would have been easier and quicker to do it online.

If I wanted to send flowers to someone overseas right now, I pick Brynne and Bo in Slovakia. They are experiencing their first “real Slovak” winter with lots of snow this morning. It would commemorate Marin’s first snow… which sounds a lot better than why I got my flowers from my parents (I finally understood the difference between active and passive voice).

Technorati Tags: flowers overseas, flower delivery, flower ordering

Recently I have been naturally waking up around 7:15- 7:30. The amazing thing is my son has been sleeping in until about 8 a.m. I think it is because it stays darker in the morning hours, but whatever the reason, I’ll take it.

What I usually do is go to the living room, sit on the couch, and turn on the t.v. It takes me a minute or twenty to wake up so I usually turn it onto something easy so I don’t really have to think. And this is how my new t.v. obsession came into being.

I am officially addicted to Clean House on Style. They show reruns of the show at 7 and sometimes 8 a.m.

I’m not really sure what the attraction is because the formula of the show is pretty consistent. Go into a messy house, tell the owner’s the house is a pit, argue with the owners over getting rid of their crap, sell the crap, give away crap that didn’t sell, send the owners away to a hotel, clean, redecorate, and reveal the changes.

I often wonder if the producers of the show have to coerce the homeowners to “argue” with the show talent over specific items because it might bring some tension to the show that might not be there otherwise. I mean, I was shocked, SHOCKED! when I watched a woman try and argue keeping her body pillow. Body pillows are about $5. She can get a new one once the crew rolls out of her driveway.

The reveals are always my favorite part of Clean House. I love seeing the new stuff the family gets. A new couch here, a pretty stereo cabinet there… and Ikea stuff in every corner. I like seeing the episodes where Linda Koopersmith does her organization thing.

I think maybe the show provides me with a little inspiration to start my day… helping me conquer clutter and stay organized. It doesn’t always work, but I do get a morning boost.

Technorati Tags: Clean House, home organization, Linda Koopersmith

Therefore, today is October 1st!

The beginning of the month is pretty fun for me because I get my Text Link Ads payout and some other money rolls in from other sources. Today I realized I had enough money in my paypal account for a 16 gigabyte iPod Touch!

But! I am going to Las Vegas in about a month, so that money is already spoken for. (Someday, I will own an iPod touch. I just know it!)

Money aside, I’m glad October has arrived. I think since the calendar changed, my soul is now open to the possibility of the colors on the leaves changing. The cooler weather really says “Fall” to me, and I can open the house up to let the breezes swim around inside. We can buy a pumpkin. And I am comfortable wearing long pants again.

This month will be a slower month for our family, since the only traveling we will do is this weekend. The rest of the month I hope we get to tackle some projects (I have a front porch waiting to be painted!) and enjoy the outdoors more.

Are you glad it is October?

I took an unintentional blog break this week. Real life just kept me busy and I didn’t feel much like rehashing the seconds by blogging.

Blogging is a great way for me to record what has been happening and my thoughts on life around me, but I got a little lazy and decided to do other things instead.

I seem to be getting my “second wind” so I expect to be back to normal tomorrow.

Damon teases me about the water bottle collection I have. I prefer to drink water from bottles… it is easier to pick up and grab anywhere in the house or when I leave the house I can just take it with me. I think Damon’s teasing is unwarranted because I don’t have a lot of water bottles, I just keep replacing them. They usually fall a little short in some area- it gets moldy, leaks, or doesn’t fit into the drink holder in my car.

When I was in Florida my dad had his new water bottle in the car we drove around town the most. It was an interesting bottle, one I had not seen before. And once I used it, I knew I wanted one.

It is aCamelbak water bottle. It features the trademark Camelbak no-leak bite valve system and Daddy’s was a 1 liter bottle.

Today I went to Rock Creek Down Under and bought my own. They only had .75 liter bottles, but I would have purchased a .5 bottle if it meant I could have one. I had $5 in North Shore Bucks (similar to a $5 off coupon) and it only cost me $8. I threw away my old water bottle (it leaked!) and am now enjoying hydration with my new bottle. It still doesn’t fit in my drink holder in my car, but with the no leak valve, I am not that worried about placing it in the passenger seat when I drive.

I would recommend this bottle to anyone. It really works well.

Technorati Tags: Camelbak water bottle, water bottle, Camelbak

I’m on a bit of a high from how productive I was today. My prayer was answered and the cable guy came early. As Damon predicted, he didn’t come in the house, so I really didn’t have to worry about that. But soon after he left I hit the ground running and got things done. I went to the bank (love the drive thru!), the library (just to drop off books), and the recycling center (note to self- beer bottles may still hold beer). Two rooms had special alone time with the roomba. I procured a dog sitter for our trip. And I was able to clear clutter in the dining room and set up to work on a new laptop sleeve. Dinner was on the table (well, the kitchen island) when Damon got home!

In the category of good housekeeping, I give myself an A plus.

We will see how it goes tomorrow. I have a list… can I stick to it?

Technorati Tags: housekeeping, organization, schedule

I’ve been trying to get my head in a place where I am a bit happier with the state of things. Someone told me this past week I tend to see the problems and the bad things going on in our lives and it really struck a nerve.

It is so easy for me to fill up my life with things to do (replace the cabinet hardware, roomba the living room, move the clutter from one room to another) and places to go (Sam’s Club, Florida, Wal-Mart)… but what is it that is going well in my life?

I had to answer that our son is really a good thing right now. While he can be a pill at times, he is just a real light in our lives. So what if he doesn’t have a brother or sister yet? I truly believe one day he will be a big brother, so we should just really enjoy the one on one time we have now.

Fuller is learning more every day. His politeness astounds me. His laughter is contagious. My husband and I tend to get through the parenting stuff pretty well, without much stress.

Fuller is a good thing in our life right now.

What is going good in your life now?