Why I've Been MIA

I spent November writing and finishing my first novel.

And tonight, I finished.

Three days early.

The Honest Blogger Award

The beautiful Caroline over at Secondhand Shopper actually gave me an award. Baffled, I am. I stalk her blog all the time (not a big commenter), so I’m super-psyched. I feel like I should give a speech. But I will refrain, and instead proceed to nominate my own picks for brilliant blogs.

The rules are as follows: When you receive the price you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with “Honest Weblog.” Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional). List (if you can and/or dare) at least ten honest things about yourself. And then pass it on.

My seven:

Kasmira at What I Wore Today
Londyn at BlogFashion
Jane at Work That Wardrobe
Boutique Girl at Things a Boutique Owner Sees
La Bruja at La Bruja del Cuento
Sarah Dessen at her writer’s blog
Meghann at Thrifty Fashionista

Ten Honest Things About Me

1. To avoid looking into mirrors, I will walk into bathrooms backwards.

2. I am still surprised when sometimes I do look in the mirror and am not completely disgusted.

3. I hate working 9 to 5 and really am quite disappointed with myself that I have allowed it to come to this, and even more disappointed to find that I am quite good at what I do.

4. If it weren’t for my undying need for my parents’ approval, I would have married my boyfriend years ago and we would have already started a family.

5. Sometimes I just want to pack my bag, grab my dogs, and leave everything and everyone behind. I have a feeling a lot of people daydream about this, but I come pretty darn close to doing it about once a year.

6. I regret not traveling abroad during college. I sometimes resent my boyfriend for this but I know it’s not his fault. I have no one to blame but myself.

7. I stopped at a yard sale last weekend and the family was, to put it unkindly, typical white trash. I was only slightly dismayed to find that I was at my most comfortable talking to them. It seemed to be where I fit best. My mother would have a heartattack, seeing as how her whole family is a bunch of rednecks, and we moved 10 hours away to avoid the same fate. Some things are just there from birth, I suppose.

8. I suffer from people-phobia. I much prefer a quiet night at home with a good book, a good TV show, and my dogs, to a night out on the town.

9. I also suffer from severe anxiety. I worry so excessively about inane things like how I’m going to find parking when I go to work on Saturday, that I drive myself to tears. This is also why I am a blog stalker rather than a blog commenter, because after I comment, I fret for days about why I bothered to, figuratively speaking, open my big mouth.

10. I want to be a professional writer but I have a mental block – I have never been able to finish a book. Sometimes, I think I read to avoid writing. It’s easy to get great ideas or to admire someone else’s style. It is a completely different thing to do it yourself.

Cassidy

The Name Game

I lost weight! 1.2 pounds! I'm hoping this is a sign of good things to come, of my body finally relenting to my efforts. 1.2 pounds! I'm so psyched! I forgot how good it felt to go to a weighin and not leave pissed off and discouraged. YAY! If I could, I would sprinkle this feeling like fairy dust over everyone.

McCain and Obama, stop fighting, have some weightloss fairy dust happiness. Anyone else need some?

Name Game

1. Your rock star name (first pet, current car): Kelsey Tribute

2. Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Chocolate Orange Pumps

3. Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog (not entirely flattering, is it?)

4. Your soap opera name (your middle name, city where you were born): Lashbrooks Mishawaka (I don't think this has the effect they intended it to, considering the strangeness of both names)

5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Casta

6. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Black Cosmopolitan

7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers): William Noel

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Riviera Blue Whopper (don't think the irony of the fact that I'm fat and my last name would be Whopper is lost on me, hahaha!)

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Color Cincinnati

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Winter Lily

11.Cartoon name (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Apple Topsiders (I don't think I'd watch this cartoon)

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Bagel Dogwood (haha)

13.Movie star name (first pet, first street where you lived): Kelsey Efland (kinda like it!)

Cassidy

Ed

This is Ed (see last post) in his after-but-not-done-yet shot. Doesn't he look amazing compared to the bike picture? It can be done!

Last night, I had a close call with a deer. And by close, I mean I could see the features of his deer face charging at me. I had to go pick up bf at a shop on this little two-lane highway through the country. As I started driving I said, please God don't let me hit a deer. And no sooner had I said that then out of the corner of my eye, I saw this deer charging right at me, it's stupid blank eyes not seeing my car (a Mazda Tribute, fairly new, after a drunk driver totaled by ten-year-old Jeep in March). I braked (thinking, the slower I'm going, the lesser the damage) and braced myself for impact ... but miraculously, it ended up going behind me.

I need to start going to church.

Weightloss

Breakfast: elephant ear bread from the panaderia (I have no idea how many points this is but we'll go with my usual breakfast points) (7) and grapes (1) = 8

Lunch: Lean Pocket Mexican Fajita (7), apple (1), orange (1), granola bar (2) = 11

Dinner: Not sure yet but it's got to be something light considering I weigh in tomorrow. Maybe just a piece of bread (I effin love the elephant ear bread, irresistable).

My exercise for the day is going to be giving the apartment a serious scrub down. It's gotten to the point where I cringe just walking in. Dishes piled up in the sink. BF's hair stubble all over the bathroom counter. Dog hair lining the bedroom floor. Clean laundry crumpled up on the vanity waiting to be folded. Ugh. Blegh. Gah. And I am not even exaggerating.

Other News
BF and I are considering the M word - that's right, marriage. I'm not the kind of girl who has ever dreamed of a romantic proposal or a giant wedding, which I guess is good because BF is not exactly the get-down-on-one-knee kind of guy. A few years ago he gave me this cz ring in a real silver setting that I wear on a daily basis, but when people ask, I just tell them it's reserving a spot. So while I may not need the romance, I have become obsessed with wedding ring sets. I figure I'm saving him loads of money on a wedding, the least he can do is spend a couple (few) (several) hundred on some rings. Whenever we go anywhere, I drag him over to the jewelry cases and force him to tell me what he likes. Good boyfriend that he is, he likes whatever I tell him to :) .

So anyway, we're thinking about doing this in February, and then embarking on the journey to starting a family. It's crazy to think of myself as an adult. CRAZY! Is that a sign that I'm not ready? Or perhaps a sign that I need to move on in life and start this next phase. *sigh* Adulthood, here we come.

Cassidy

Biggest Loser (Thursday) Update

Tuesday's BL was cut short because of the debate, so they did the eliminations last night.

I have to tell you, I am so tired of Coleen being at the bottom. I know I bitch about this every week but that's because she seems to work so hard and she can't get out of the slump. But the elimination of Ed was kind of sad, too, considering that his wife, Heba, lost 8 pounds! In ONE WEEK! But Ed lost 0. Which put them below the yellow line and having to choose between themselves as to who stays and who goes. They decided to have Heba stay because she needs to lose weight to have kids, which I so understand (hence my own weightloss journey). But Ed's 'transformation' preview is awesome. He looks freakin' amazing.

I know I've been saying this for a long time, but I really need to get back into the groove. And I'm going to. Starting today. Not tomorrow, not Monday. TODAY. I've got to watch what I eat, write it all down, and exercise. And I am going to hold myself accountable right here, on this blog.

Weightloss (total daily points: 29)
Breakfast: Because I ate a big dinner last night, I was going to try to control myself this morning, and I did alright, but ended up eating my snack for later in the car on the drive to work. Oops. Apple (1), Chewy LF granola bars (4) = 5 points

Morning Snack: I eat lunch late (around 2:00), so I need something to tide me over. Light string cheese (1) = 1 point

Lunch: Lean Pocket garlic chicken pizza (7), high fiber cottage cheese (1), grapes (1), apple (1), orange (1) = 11 points

Exercise: Gotta go to the gym for BodyJam tonight. = +4 points (1 point per 100 calories)

Dinner: Don't know yet. I've got 12 points left if I don't "eat" my activity points. BF is probably going to eat at his mother's so I'll be on my own (which is always an adventure). I'll probably go with ... pork fajitas with whole wheat tortillas. I'll have to figure out the points at home, but I think it will come out to 8 if I remember correctly. And for dessert, two pecan cookies (delish and totally worth the 4 points). = 12 points.

Writing
I also want to write more again. Nanowrimo starts soon so I will jump on that bandwagon, also, in November.

I may be behind the times on this one, but I have just discovered books on tape at the library. My daily commute is about one hour (total, not one way), and radio and music, to be honest, kind of bores me. So I picked up Janet Evanovich's One for the Money. I have read the entire Stephanie Plum series, but considering it's been fourteen books since I read the first one, it's like discovering a new one. And there are voices to go along with it. Granted, the woman reading it sounds more like a fifty year old than a thirty year old firecracker from New Jersey, and her man voices (except for dad's) sound like teenage boys - but still, it's entertaining. I also picked up Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever, which I have also read before, but think it will be interesting to have read to me on my daily commutes.

Fashion
I picked up some black zip-up ankle boots with four-inch heels at Ross' for twenty bucks this past weekend. Today is my first day wearing them. I love them. The heel is thick so they don't leave divets on the floor (boss' pet peeve numero uno). And they don't seem to hurt. Yet. But let me not speak too soon. They're called Picasso by Madeline Stuart but I'm guessing they're out of season so they're not on the website.

Okay, time to get to work. I just heard the boss' car pull in. Hasta luego!

Cassidy

Late Biggest Loser Update

So last week, Jerry went home. It was nailbiting for me, to say the least, since it was between him and Coleen (his daughter) and I have, since day 1, been rooting for her. But it's frustrating because of all the contestants, I think he was in the worst shape and probably needed to be there the most. But he looks great (this is his after shot) and hopefully he keeps it up, not like the yellow loser guy last time who didn't even go to the reunion (but Kelly was awesome!).

So last night was only a one-hour show, tbc tonight, thanks to the presidential debate. I tried to watch it, really, I did, but I am a very non-confrontational person and with them taking jabs at each other in the first few minutes, I popped in my Grey's Anatomy DVD instead. Now that's heartwrenching stuff right there.

Until tomorrow, when we talk about who is not the biggest loser (I would totally kick brown off if it were me).

Cassidy

Biggest Loser Wednesday Review

The gray team got eliminated last night. I was super glad that Coleen didn't go home. Right now, she's my pick for winning. One of the other contestants even said, if she doesn't get eliminated, she's going to be the biggets loser. But then they didn't vote for her. Don't know what's going on there.

I did think that it was really rotten that Heba and her hubby (from NC, orange) didn't vote for the yellow team after the gray team's vote kept them there last week. Very disappointed in you, Heba. I am also severely annoyed by the brown team. First, they "schemed" not to win the challenge so that they don't appear to be threats. Then, the dude, Brady, totally bit Phillip's (red team) head off for no apparent reason while trying to decide who to eliminate. Even if I am being played by the producers, they're doing a good job of it.

The challenge this week was sliding down the hill and running back up it in a time limit (Coleen did awesome since she had to go every round since her dad is too sick to do it!). How easy is it to sit on the couch and go, "I could do that." That actually crossed my mind and then I bit my tongue, thinking, "Yeah, I could do it, but it would be really hard and it would kick my ass just like it's doing to all the contestants."

BTW: "Faint, puke or die" has become my new mantra. Very inspiring stuff here!

Cassidy