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www.angielivesay.blogspot.com

I'm back :) but in a new way...

Until We Meet Again...

This will be my last blog post for a while.

I feel like I have lots of things I want to tackle right now, and blogging is just not really fitting in to that picture. It's a hard to explain type of feeling that basically boils down to the following statement: It's just not getting me where I want to be. Perhaps I'll make an appearance every now and then or maybe I'll be back blogging in a week. But for now, I guess this is goodbye. :) I will keep my blog open should I choose to resume writing in the future...because I really like the url... :)

I hope this finds you all well and no worries, dear friends, I shall keep up with you and your blogs. :) Until then...

Happy *LATE* Birthday, Val!

On Friday night, we celebrated Val's birthday. We had yummy Dewey's Pizza and listened to songs of yore and perhaps had a winterwear fashion show and dance performances. Our evenings never cease to be random, but very very fun! Here is the gift that I made Val. I put a note inside that said that I felt like the year before our wedding got lost in the details and became a big blur, so hopefully with this scrapbook/journal, that won't happen to her!

Here's the gift. I included a bag of embellishments and tags for her to use wherever she sees fit. :)

I've been a bad blogger.

I disappeared briefly.

Unlike others, I will make no promises that I will be back soon and post often. :) I've just not been feelin' it. I guess we all go through our spells.

I don't have much to say, but I will fill out this thing...

1. What is your occupation right now? Social Work

2. What color are your socks right now? White...AND, they match. That seriously never happens.

3. What are you listening to right now? The wisdom of Judge Greg Mathis

4. What was the last thing that you ate? a delicious but maybe a bit heavy on the spiciness burrito from chipotle.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? My jeep was a stick shift... I didn't know how to drive it off the lot. Katie had to do it for me :) And she then taught me everything I knew about driving a stick shift!

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My better half.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes and I think that a craft evening NEEDS to happen with said person! (and of course anyone else interested!)

8. How old are you today? 26 for about 2 more weeks- my birthday is on the same day as the superbowl, HOW FUN!

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Football by far :)

10. What is your favorite drink? Today: Sugar-Free Hawaiian Punch because it TASTES so sugary! But I also love a good fountain pepsi & shirley temples (which kind of makes me a 7 year old, and I'm ok with that).

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? On a regular basis and am in fact now due.

12. Favorite food? Sooooo depends. I really like most italian food and some mexican and well...most things.

13. What is the last movie you watched? Theatre- Role Models, very very funny! In our casa- The Strangers. ... And, well, not so much.

14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas, Thanksgiving & My Birthday!

15. How do you vent anger? Yell, cry, do things harshly ie walking with a stomp in my step.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My cabbage patch doll, I can't remember her name, but I like to think it was Brenda.

17. What is your favorite season? Fall, its so beautiful! But I'm kind of anxious for spring or at least a really great snowstorm that leaves us stuck in our house for a few days!

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Kind of pass on both, but if I'm being forcefed, cherries.
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? A simple blog post would do.

20. Who is the most likely to respond? I hate this question.

21. Who is least likely to respond? Ginger because she's already done it.

22. Living arrangements? With my husband in our house with our two little bundles of joy (aka Sugar and Biscuit).

23. When was the last time you cried? A few days ago, and there was definetely a hormonal influence.

24. What is on the floor of your closet? It's an abyss. I haven't seen the bottom of it since we moved in.

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Since there is no sending, I'll think of my readers, and that would probably be Mrs. Katie Evans or Ms. Laura Stoller.

26. What did you do last night ? Shopped for supplies for my boss' birthday, ate hamburgers that Scott cooked and unfortunately hated, watched one of my new fave shoes- studio 60 and then American Idol.

27. What are you most afraid of ? Snakes. It physically pains me to type that word, let alone post it on my blog.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Hamburgers in general = a good time.

30. Favorite day of the week? Agreed...Saturday, or Friday after 4:30 :), but I also love sweatpants Sundays minus the plaguing thought that the weekend is nearing its end.

31. How many states have you lived in? 2- Indiana and Ohio and I lived in Belize for 2 months :)

32. Diamonds or pearls? Agreed with Ginger. Diamonds (but I do think pearls look oh so classy!)

33. What is your favorite flower? Daisies and/or roses and my wedding bouquet that I wish I could've kept in its exact form for-e-ver.

Wedding Pictures Are In!

We got our pictures back yesterday and are so excited to share them!
Here are some of our favorites, lots more will be posted so keep checking in. :)

It's that time, again.

At risk of telling readers of my blog tmi...

Well, here goes.

I'm in the midst of "that time" again. For me, about 10-14 days before my period comes, I experience what I classify as "hell of the mind." For as long as I can remember, this time has been completely overwhelming to me in a very, very negative way. When I was younger, I would find myself extremely depressed/lonely/miserable to the point that I didn't understand why I was alive or why I should keep going. The mood now manifests itself as extreme irritability/depression/anxiety (and poor Scott definetely gets the brunt of it. After I start feeling better, I always am amazed by his patience with me during that "rocky" time of our lives together). It is such a weird feeling and I'm sure anyone who has experienced any sort of depression can agree with me that it just doesn't feel like I'm "me" during that time. I'm usually upbeat and happy but during those days, I feel like I enter a pitch-black cave. I've experienced these mood changes for a very, very long time. Just last year I finally mustered the courage to talk to my doctor about it after being on the brink of tears for days at a time once a month for years and years. He quickly diagnosed me with PMDD and the diagnosis, in my opinion, couldn't be more fitting.

PMDD symptoms begin sometime after the middle of a monthly cycle (after ovulation), usually get worse during the week before menses, and then usually disappear within a few days of the start of menses. The symptoms follow this pattern every month or almost every month.

Here are the symptoms that make up the diagnosis of PMDD. All of the symptoms do not need to be present, and they may vary from month to month. At least 5 are required to make the diagnosis, including at least one of the first four.*

Very depressed mood, feeling hopeless
Marked anxiety, tension, edginess
Sudden mood shifts (crying easily, extreme sensitivity)
Persistent, marked irritability, anger, increased conflicts
Loss of interest in usual activities (work, school, socializing, etc.)
Difficulty concentrating and staying focused
Fatigue, tiredness, loss of energy
Marked appetite change, overeating, food cravings
Insomnia (difficulty sleeping) or sleeping too much
Feeling out of control or overwhelmed
Physical symptoms such as weight gain, bloating, breast tenderness or swelling, headache, and muscle or joint aches and pains
*Adapted from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, 2000, with permission from the American Psychiatric Association

PMDD symptoms are not always present. Symptoms disappear during or by the end of menses, and return at about the same time during following cycles. If symptoms are present every day, then they are unlikely to be due to PMDD.

To be considered PMDD, symptoms must be severe enough to really disrupt a woman's life -- interfere with work, school, social activities or interpersonal relationships


I am so glad that I talked to my doctor about it and started taking medication for it (zoloft, which has done wonders). Scott will tell you that I still freak out every month because I don't want to take the medication (even though I know it will help me). I grew up in a family that didn't totally understand mental illness and even though psychology was my college major and I firmly believe that mental illness is caused (not always) by a chemical imbalance, I still find it hard to take medication because of the stigma associated with doing so. So I often just try to "make it through" on my own, but I always "fail" in doing so. I reach the point where I'm totally overwhelmed which is when I realize that my body and brain desperately need chemical stabilization. I take zoloft...and I feel immensely better. The other "saving grace" in my opinion is that I don't have to take the medication every day, just during the period when the mood change is taking place. I hate that this is a battle I have to fight, but I'm thankful that I only experience it once a month for a few days rather than on a daily basis. I'm thankful that modern medicene has come a long way and can treat me when I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Just thought I would share my run-in with this disorder.

Welcome, 2009

2008 has been an amazing year for me. This year has been full of so much joy. I'm kind of sad about seeing it go, but expect that 2009 will bring joys of its own. I am excited about what is to come in 2009- as of right now, I only have a couple of things on the schedule: 2 weddings in the late summer/early fall, my 27th birthday in February and our one year anniversary in October. :)

I gave up on resolutions, per se, years ago, but here are some things I would like to accomplish over the next year of my life:

1) Save money. We are getting pretty serious about this now. We have set a budget and are taking steps towards this goal. Perhaps in the new year, I will provide weekly tips on budgeting that I've learned (I've been researching a LOT) and an update on how its going for us. I will say that our first "major" step has been to lessen our grocery trips to 2-3 times a month instead of 5-6. That means that when I went to the grocery on Monday, my cart was overloaded and I spent a heck of a lot of money. BUT, I went with a list (at least a list in my head) of what we might eat over the next month. The fewer times we go to the grocery, the less likely we will "impulse" buy (how many times do you "run into the grocery to pick something up" and end up with a cart of 10+ items?) and we will also be much less likely to say "we have nothing to eat,let's get a pizza..." at least for a few weeks. :)

We are trying to save money because we want to be financially better off when we have kids. We want to build our savings to $5000. Right now, I will humbly tell you that our savings is $7.22. So, we have a long way to go and are therefore trying to get serious about money. I've heard it several times regarding money, "there's never a 'good' time to have kids." Our response: "there has to be a better time than right now."

2) Eat better and exercise more. The above-mentioned grocery shopping will help this! We will be less tempted to stop for fast food knowing that we have a boatload of groceries waiting for us at home. I'm hoping that I can figure out my schedule enough at work to get into a regular exercise routine. I'm hoping that my bff and I can begin having our own "weight-watcher" type meetings in the new year which we've done a couple of times in the past.

3)Not let my work schedule consume me. I bend over backwards a LOT at my job and I will tell you that making my schedule work for everyone else has taken a toll on me and made me feel very out of control of my life. The new year will bring new craziness to my job, but I'm going to attempt to get into a more regular schedule and be firm about sticking with these scheduled hours. Once I can get that under control again, I look forward to using that time to spend with friends, exercising, relaxing or balancing our budget. :)

I hope 2009 brings much joy to your life. Have a wonderful New Year's Eve and be safe because...people are crazy, especially tonight.