Trinkets of Thought

Facebook Brouhaha

February 8, 2010 by Maren Leave a Comment

If you watched the Super Bowl, my absolute favorite commercial was the Google commercial. This morning, I tried to find it online and post it to my facebook account. However, the one I googled and subsequently posted had been edited, unbeknownst to me! Instead of this creative little romantic commercial that told a love story, it had been tweaked. The last line, which was once “How to assemble a crib,” was now “How to hire a divorce attorney.” What a good way to start a Facebook brouhaha! OOPS. Better luck next time, Maren.

The Real Google Commercial

The One I Posted. haahah!

Reality Check

February 5, 2010 by Maren 8 Comments

We are having a blast this weekend in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel. There’s something about staying in an upscale hotel that just makes one feel… well, rich. I love crawling into a bed with sheets that you don’t have to wash, towels that can be chucked on the floor, and any place where a messy room is permissible. It’s fun being able to splurge every now and then and enjoy some of the finer things in life.

Today and tomorrow, I’m enjoying learning at a conference for blogging. Though I’m nobody in the blogging world and fully recognize how measly I compare with other bloggers here, it sure has been fun and a great learning opportunity. I tell people I’ve met that I’m just a podunk blogger–just little ole’ me in this giant blog world. While I’ve been listening to speakers like this guy, musicians like this guy and Food Network hosts like this guy,

Here’s what MY little guy has been doing…

…checking out waterfalls…

“reading…”

swimming…

Loving on his momma…

I could sure get used to this luxurious life. But then, I come back to dinner in the hotel room and I’m reminded of our reality!

Even when we’re living large, we still try to find ways to cut corners. We’re living on less today, so tomorrow there will be more!!! And that truly is just the way I love it!

***Huge thanks and props to Michael for making it all possible!***

Resolution Rehash

February 3, 2010 by Maren Leave a Comment

Resolution Rehash

Here’s my FAIL PROOF EXERCISE PLAN that worked wonders for me last month!!!

My mom was my accountability partner.
We set a goal to exercise every day with 3 skips.
If one of us missed after our allotted skips, we had to drop $5 bucks in the mail to the other person, no questions asked. Being EL CHEAPO, I wasn’t about to have to give up my moolah!!!

It worked perfectly! We’re modifying it again for the month of February, though this time we’re adding some eating goals, too. It’s discouraging to exercise all month and not see results… cough…cough…because one eats as if all food on earth is expected to suddenly vanish. Been there. Done that.

Resolutions Revisited:	How Am I Doing?
1. Set monthly goals (and reach them)	See below.
2. Be a more organized person (by making lots and lots of lists).	I make great lists, but I’m working on follow-through.
3. Love on my family (through words and demonstration).	Work in Progress.
4. Be grateful for the blessings I’ve been given (write notes & express gratitude).	In January, I didn’t fail completely, but lots of work to go.
5. Be grateful for the blessings I’ve been given (write notes & express gratitude)	Work in Progress.

January’s Goals Revisited:	How Am I Doing?
1. Exercise every day (only 3 skips allowed).	I made it!!
2. Journal/blog at least twice each week..	Check!
3. LKeep a cleaner cubicle (at work).	Check!
4. PURGE more clutter!.	Check! One donation run & another is in the works.
5. Make smarter food choices.	Need to do better. I’ll be tweaking my February goals to reflect this.
Make one craft-y/decorative item.	Work in progress. I’ll be working towards its completion this month.

The Smartest, Dumbest Idea

February 1, 2010 by Maren 6 Comments

About a month and a half ago, I embarked on an adventure. One I thought just may be the most brilliant thing anyone has ever done. I wanted to prove all the naysayers in my life wrong. Bottom line: It was ME who was wrong.

I hate to clothes shop. Partially because I’m never satisfied how I look. I could collect buckets (GALLON BUCKETS) of the tears I’ve cried in dressing rooms over the years. Really. I HATE TRYING ON CLOTHES. It’s depressing. My life story of trying to find clothes goes like this:

#1 I go into the dressing room thinking I’m going to look like an ad in VOGUE.
#2 I come out feeling more like a hippo trying to cram all its fat rolls into a size zero.

So, right before Christmas, I had saved up a month+ of clothing budget money, and decided I was going to do something brilliant–something non-traditional in the clothes buying realm. I bought a huge (40 piece) CUSTOM lot of ‘trendy’ clothes on Ebay. I sent the seller all my sizes and she went to town getting my custom lot together. I was so excited. Again, the false sense of VOGUE illusionment crept into my mind.

The package arrived in the mail; HOUSTON, was there ever a problem. Many of the clothes were so tight that if I posted them, I’d get reported to human decency gurus. Really. I tried to get the courage to post one…but settled on this one (this was one outfit that the seller put together): One modest enough to post, but one that I could hardly envision someone seriously wearing out in public!!!

Now, to the seller’s credit, it wasn’t a total wash. Of the 40 items I bought, 10 were doable & wearable. I really like about 5 pieces of clothes and 2 of the necklaces. As I type this, I have on an Ann Taylor Loft sweater from the lot. I also wear a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans often. There are a few items I really do enjoy.

Mom, you were right. I won’t be doing that again. That was the Smartest, Dumbest idea I’ve had in a while. But at the same time, I don’t regret it. I had the money in my budget to spend, and if I hadn’t gone on my little shopping spree adventure, I’d have always wondered if ebay was the solution to all my dressing room woes. I’ll cross that off my ‘great idea’ list and settle, once again, for the more traditional approach. Anyone have any gallon buckets I could borrow?

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