Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. Actually it's me, Almay!

When I headed into my office this morning, I was greeted by grey skies, a force of wind, and a lot of white stuff dropping to the ground. All I could do was look up at the sky and ask, "Why?" There was a moment when the clouds started to dance and a glimmer of light found it's way to earth. Just moments before the clouds closed in again, I grabbed my camera to take this quick shot outside my office window. When I downloaded the picture, I was reminded of Judy Blume's book, "Are you there God, It's me Margaret." If you've read this great hilarious book about adolescence, the only difference between me and Margaret is that I'm not looking for answers in my training bra! I've come a long way Baby, from my size A cup days (not by much though!)

The way the sky was changing today, which is the last day of 2008 tells me that despite the housing issues, job losses, and slowing economy that there is still light behind those ugly grey clouds. I'm almost sure some of these forced situations have helped you learn more about yourself and how much we can all shine! I know it has for me!

"Are you there God? It's me, Almay! I want to thank you for a year filled with losses and surprises! I'm so glad that you gave me an opportunity to find my creative outlet which has allowed me to make new friends and reconnect with others! Thank you for the engineering projects you gave me this year that has paid for my love of paper supplies! Thank you for my trip overseas to see my grandfather before he left this earth to be with you. Since he loved journaling as I'm doing here, I thank you for giving him that gift which he then passed on to me. As oddly as this may sound, thank you for placing me in situations where all I can do is laugh and blog about it! A big fat thank you for blessing me with the best family and friends I could ask for! Most of all, thank you for being a listening ear when I'm babbling away."

You Bite It, You Write It

I have no idea how many journals I have and I have a stack of new ones that have not even been written in yet. My grandfather loved journaling so I’m sure I got it from him. I have journals that are diaries, wish lists, one for eating, etc. I have to admit it’s easier to write about your thoughts and dreams than it is to write about what you ate for lunch or at happy hour! I could easily start a blog about my trials & tribulations on how I lost 50 lbs, but guess what? I haven’t lost 50 lbs, so there goes that blog! The reason why I jot down what I’m eating is because I noticed a slower metabolism creeping up. Writing it down helps me figure out if I’m eating too much sugar, too many carbs, too much fat or just not eating (the “not eating” part doesn’t really exist). What I like about my food journal is that it puts me in my place (sometimes). Instead of eating 5 pieces of chocolate, I’ll eat one piece. I don’t like the idea of having to write the number of pieces I’ve eaten, so I’ll just eat one (I know for some of you, it would be difficult to stop at just one). There are definitely days where I break all the rules and my journal entry for the day reads like this, “ATE TOO MUCH!” C’mon people, I’m not a Foodie Goodie Two Shoes!

In case you were wondering, the cookie in the picture is a Snickerdoodle (thanks to Milk & Cookies Bakery in NYC). This delicious treat did end up in my journal as my afternoon snack today!

For my tri-athlete and marathon friends who are reading this posting, you can all stop laughing your skinny behinds off!!

Lost in Translation!

A few weeks ago I received a box of what was supposed to be bottles (because my day job consists of me playing with packaging and all sorts of fun stuff). When I opened the box from my Asian supplier, my bottles magically became a pair of waders. Yes, WADERS! I was laughing so hard because all I could think of is the guy who ordered his waders has now ended up receiving my plastic containers instead! When I called my US based contact to tell him what happened, I heard the phone drop and heard an uproarious laughter in the background. When he finally came to, he had no idea how the mix up happened because they don’t make waders! I’m sure now; I’ll be learning to fly fish or something!?! The only problem is that the waders are so large, that if were to wear them, I would definitely go missing. The moral of the story is that in some countries the words Bottles and Bottoms apparently rhyme.

Blogging or Clogging!

So I have finally decided to try this blogging thing out. I've been trying to pick out templates and colors for the last couple hours! I'm really not sure what's easier Blogging or Clogging? I think it might be easier to throw on the clogs and just step into it! No pun intended.