Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Weekend Recap :)

This weekend was great. The weather has been so wonderful, it was the perfect weekend to be outdoors.

The bf and I started by surprising my roommate Stefana at work (Red Robin) for lunch. She's one of those people that it's great to surprise because she is such a happy energetic person. She was so excited.
I, of course, got my standard BBQ chicken wrap. Yum. Just looking at this photo makes me hungry
We left and headed to the El Dorado Nature Center.
(I had to take a photo of the "No Jogging" sign because I don't think I've ever seen that before in my life. It made me laugh)

I've lived in the Long Beach area my whole life and I had never been, or even knew it existed but my boyfriend suggested it and so we went. It was so nice. Such a peaceful serene setting for an incredibly beautiful day.
We did the 1/4 mile trail and still wanted more so we also did the 1 mile trail also. The park is full of wildlife. We saw squirrels, lizards, ducks, and my favorite of the day, turtles. There were some teenie tiny ones and I was squealing with excitement. I asked Sam if he was embarrassed, he, of course, said no but he probably was. Haha.


We finished up and headed to the grocery store because we were planning on grilling out and having some friends over later that night. I love having an excuse to turn on my outside lights and use the beer pong table. It was great catching up with some old friends.
A late Saturday night of course leads to an early In-N-Out Burger run Sunday morning. Mmm, another photo that makes me hungry.
Sunday night my mom and I surprised my bf my visiting him at work. She jokingly said to me "Our waiter is cute, you should leave him your number" so I did! Haha. His boss said to him after we left "You sure perked up. All it takes is a couple girls, huh? I'm telling your girlfriend!". He, of course, responded with "That WAS my girlfriend! And her mom!" Haha.
Such a wonderful weekend. :)

Last night Sam and I finally got around to watching the movie "Drive". He had been telling me I needed to see it for awhile. As nice as it was to stare at Ryan Gosling for two hours, I didn't really care for the movie. Just so much blood and violence and evil. I'm one of those people who likes to feel better after watching a movie so, once it was over I made him watch "Peter Pan" with me. Haha. Not the cartoon but the 2003 live action "Peter Pan". I'm sure he hated it but it made me feel better about the world.

Tonight I'm gong to my favorite monthly comedy show, put on by my friend Ari Shaffir. He puts on a monthly storyteller show at the Improv and my friend Stefana and I are sure to never miss it. He keeps the price super low (only five bucks!) and never fails to have a GREAT lineup (He's had Joe Rogan, Bill Burr, John Caparulo, Joey Diaz, Ralphie May, and Steve Rannazzisi, just to name a few). Tonight he's having one of my very favorites Bobby Lee and the topic is "Shame". I'm so excited! If you're in the LA area tonight, I definitely recommend this show. It never disappoints.
(artwork by another very funny comedian Kevin Christy)

xoxo,
shea

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Eye Yuy EYE (part II)

So yesterday I went back to the NVISION center once again for my scratched cornea check-up. At my previous appointment the doctor had told me "So we'll see you back here on Wednesday" I informed him that I already had a post-op appointment set with my regular eye doctor on Thursday to which he replied "Iiiiii'd really like to see you again on Wednesday".

(Reminded me of the boss on "Office Space")
So I set the appointment, dreading coming back AGAIN from Long Beach to Newport Beach but told myself, better safe than sorry.

So yesterday I arrive at 9:30 for my 9:45 appointment. I'm usually early for everything, plus I wasn't sure how traffic would be, so I signed in, the girl behind the front desk was a lot nicer than usual which was refreshing. Then I took a seat. I waited probably a good half hour before hearing my "name" (She-uh) being called. The girl (who of course was a girl I hadn't seen before) was VERY nice and VERY apologetic for the long wait. I almost felt like they had seen my previous blog post and were making up for it. Everyone was being so nice! She complimented my outfit, asked if I wanted a coffee, got me a bottle of water, asked if I wanted to surf around on their iPad... Was I at the right place? I definitely wasn't used to this. She then tells me the doctor should be in soon. While I'm waiting, the door to the room is open and I can hear all the nurses talking. I can hear them saying how behind they are and a bunch of other things that I really have no business or interest hearing. The minutes tick by. What I assume to be a manager of some sort comes in "Hiiiiiiii. Sorry for the wait, the doctor should be right in". Ok. So I sit.... and sit... and sit. Finally, an hour after my appointment time the doctor comes in and no, if you were wondering it's NOT the doctor that I saw two days prior who said HE wanted to see me back on Wednesday, but of course, a doctor that I had spent no time with prior. She spent a minute or two looking at my eyes, told me they looked good and sent me on my way, but not before squeezing an extra $25 out of me for a new set of drops. I walked out excited, excited to be through with driving out here every other day and excited to stop being that nameless faceless patient.

Again, I want to reiterate, the surgery itself was just as explained to me, Dr.Lusby was great and I am very happy with my vision. Its just that, the center itself could use a little work. My friend Nick got the same surgery with the same surgeon but at the Fullerton office and says he had a good experience so, for those interested, there's a note to take from this.

I got the e-mail today including my post-surgery photo. The best part.... It's BLURRY! The first photo of me with CLEAR vision is BLURRY. That just about sums everything up right there...


xoxo,
shea

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Eye Yuy EYE!

**(This post is based solely on my own personal experience and opinions)**

This last Friday I took the plunge and got LASIK eye surgery FINALLY, after wearing glasses since the 3rd grade and contacts every day since the 8th grade.

It's something that I've been planning on doing for years but just put it off. I mean, after all, messing with your eyeballs is a pretty big deal and wearing contacts never really bothered me that much. I spent the better part of 15 years going to LensCrafters for no other reason besides I didn't know where else to go. Every time I had an appointment there I left swearing to myself I'd never go back. The service was horrible, and the prices pretty high. Finally, earlier this year, I talked with a friend of mine that I have known since grade school who I knew worked part time at an optometrist. She gave me the number and I, finally, after years of saying I would, scheduled an eye appointment NOT at LensCrafters. I set up an appointment with Dr.Takeda at Triangle Eye Care. She was wonderful and recommended I set up a free consultation at NVISION for LASIK eye surgery. She herself had had the surgery and recommended I go to the surgeon who preformed her surgery. I had thought about doing it for years and Dr.Takeda was so reassuring so I set up my appointment. It wasn't until I got the appointment confirmation phone call that it all sunk in. I could really be doing this. That's when the fear started. Of course, being me, and having my luck, my boyfriend and I decided to watch a scary movie days before my consultation appointment. We went with Final Destination 5. If you've seen it, I'm sure you're already shaking your head. If you haven't seen it, there is a scene where a girl dies during her laser eye surgery. The surgery itself isn't what killed her, if you've watched any of the previous movies you know that there are so many twists to each death but, nonetheless, it put more fear into me.


Consultation: January 19,2012

The day finally came for my consultation. The center was in a beautiful building in Newport Beach. If we were going to be judging books based on covers, this would be the book I'd grab. They called my name and took me back for a few tests to see if I was a good candidate. The girl was very nice and reassuring. She told me I was a perfect candidate and took me into her office and brought in a doctor to do one more test, she also told me that my eyes look great and ideal for LASIK. Then she cut to the chase to find out my level of seriousness for getting the surgery. "How soon would you want to do the surgery?" to which I replied "Do you mind if my mom comes back here?" Although it's minimally invasive this is a pretty serious procedure, one that both my mother and father have gotten and one that my parents would be gifting to me, so I definitely needed her input. She came into the office and then it became both of them asking me "are you ready for this?". It was in that moment that I remembered one of my very favorite memories. A few years ago my friend Haley and I took a trip to Australia. It was one of the best experiences of my life and one I'll never forget. The memory that I focused on though was the one where Haley and I went hiking through the rain forest, at the end of the hike was a gorgeous waterfall falling into a little natural swimming hole. There was a giant rock beside the swimming hole and our tour guide said, if anyone wants to jump in, feel free. Haley and I aren't real down and dirty girls but our motto on this trip was "Man up". We were probably only going to be here once and we had to make the most of it. As soon as the tour guide put it on the table we looked at each other, locked eyes, and knew it was time to "man up". We climbed our way onto the giant boulder, counted to three and jumped in. Somehow, sitting in that office that day I said to myself "it's time to man up" and I did. I made the appointment, I bought the pre-care drops and we were on our way.

Unfortunately once we got back and my mom checked her schedule she had a court appearance on the date we scheduled. This surgery requires having someone there to drive you home and, like most people, I couldn't imagine anyone there aside from my mother so, I rescheduled. If you know me you know that I have lots of weird quirks, one of which being that I believe in signs. I tried my best to brush this off and not think of it as a "sign" that I wasn't supposed to be getting the surgery.

February 2nd comes around (the day before what WOULD have been my surgery but was my moms scheduled court date instead) my mom receives a call that she won't be needing to show up in court. Seriously? Sign?

Week of February 6, 2012

A week before my surgery I had to stop wearing my contacts (which was a major pain) but it gave me an excuse to get one last wear out of all of the cute pairs of glasses I've purchased over the years (so long Ferragamo, Versace & Chanel). The center offered a credit payment option so I went on the site to take care of that before my surgery. Dr.Lusby, who was scheduled to do my appointment wasn't listed as a surgeon at the Newport Beach facility so I called over to my "patient counselor" to clarify. My call went straight to her voicemail box. She was on vacation until the 14th (my surgery was on the 17). I started to have a mini panic attack. She's gone? Why wasn't I told? *sign*

I took a deep breath and called the front desk to try to clear up the payment that way. The girl on the phone told me that my appointment was scheduled at the Fullerton location. What?! That's not what I had planned on and how was I ever going to know that if I hadn't called?? *sign*

I hung up the phone and told my mom that I was going to cancel my appointment. This is just too many blatant signs to overlook. My mom tried to talk me down and told me that everything is probably fine and I'm just overreacting. I e-mailed my patient counselor (yes, I know she was on vacation) to let her know how unsettling all of this was. She immediately responded and told me that the front desk was misinformed and that my appointment was in fact at the Newport Beach facility and that Dr. Lusby isn't listed but it's not a problem. I was a little reassured.

Pre-Op Appointment: February 14, 2012

I was told that the center was going to call my regular eye doctor to set up my pre-op appointment but, with all of this confusion I decided to just call and schedule myself. I went back to Dr.Takeda and she was actually a little concerned with how I had been treated and the fact that THEY didn't set up the appointment OR send over any paperwork *sign*.

Day of Surgery: February 17, 2012

I woke up the day of the surgery feeling good. I was so sick of wearing my glasses at this point that I just wanted to get the surgery over and done with. They told me that the surgery only took about 15 minutes in total but told me to expect to be in the office 2-3 hours. They test and re-test you to be certain that everything is perfect (which is reassuring). I sign in and the nerves set in. All I can think about is "when do I get the Xanax". A girl calls my name (incorrectly of course) and takes me to a desk with a man who deals with my payment. I go back out to the waiting area. Another guy comes out and calls my name (incorrectly of course) runs a couple of tests and puts me in a room and tells me the doctor will be right in. A doctor comes in (do I even need to say it... mispronounces my name) and retests my prescription. He leaves and ANOTHER girl (whom I will call the Xanax fairy) comes in, gives me my recovery kit which includes a lovely set of goggles. Her English is a little dicey and it takes everything in me to not yell "WHERES THE XANAX ALREADY?!" Finally, she walks me over to a dark room that I will refer to as "the Xanax lounge" where she (FINALLY) gave me the Xanax, put a surgery cap on me, put some drops and my eyes and left me to lay on the chaise lounge with the other two Xanax'ed patients. She asks if I want my mom to join me. I told her yes. She soon returns and tells me that my mom stepped out. I'm not too worried about it because I'm sure she'll be back in time. I can hear a "patient counselor" discussing the possibility of surgery to another girl. She takes her over to the glass window and explains in detail what is being done on the girl who is currently getting surgery. I keep telling myself to relax. While in the Xanax lounge I saw my "patient counselor" that I hadn't seen since the initial consultation and hadn't spoken to since the mix up. I thought it would have been nice of her to check on me, especially with my previous mix-up and concerns. Didn't happen though. Before long Dr. Lusby comes into the Xanax lounge and introduces himself, surprisingly enough, pronouncing my name correctly. He explains the surgery to me and before I know it, my name is being called. A young guy takes me into the surgery room. My mom still isn't there. It's surprisingly cold (they keep it temperature controlled for optimal results) He says "your last name is Maness?" (pronounced incorrectly) I correct him. "Your date of birth is 1-13-86" I respond with a "yes". "And we are preforming surgery on both eyes today" "Yes". He takes my glasses and puts a couple drops in each eye. I walk over to the surgery table. I lay down. He asks if I'd like a blanket. I reply "yes". My nerves are getting more and more intense. I ask if I can lay with my knees bent. They told me I can lay whatever what I want as long as I don't move from that position. Again he asks "your last name is Maness?" (pronouncing it incorrectly for the 2nd time) I correct him...again. "Your date of birth is 1-13-86" "Yes". "And we are preforming surgery on both eyes today" "Yes". A girl with a kind voice tells me "Shea, I'm going to be putting some drops in your eyes right now". Hearing someone not only use my name but pronounce it correctly was so comforting. The laser equipment gets lowered onto my head.

And then it happens...

I say "I feel like I'm going to cry". They hesitantly tell me "It's ok" and I just start crying. It is NOT common for me to cry, even my closest friends have only seen me cry a handful of times, most of which have involved alcohol and, I mean, does that really even count? I immediately was so embarrassed and started saying "I'm so sorry I don't usually cry". They tell me that its ok and just to stay still and take some deep breaths. I'm worried that I'm crying out all of the drops they just put in. I ask "Can I have someone hold my hand?" I can sense the hesitation in the room "uuuuh... yeah... can we get someone please. we have a hand holder". A reassuring hand takes hold of mine. I really don't care that it belongs to a stranger, just knowing someone is there calms my nerves and I stop crying. Dr.Lusby begins the surgery on the right eye. First, cutting open the flap, then the laser reshaping my retina. He is great about explaining to me step-by-step exactly what is happening and exactly what I should be seeing. "Keep looking at the green dot. The green dot should be getting fuzzy. The green dot should be coming back" The green dot should be moving up and down". It was a constant reminder that everything was going well. The smell of the laser was pretty disgusting and all I could think about was that smell was my eyeball being lasered. Gross. But he was done with the right eye and onto the left, and, after the longest 15 minutes of my life, we were done. They sit me up, I apologized for crying and for the hand holding. They take the tape off of my forehead, I yell out a nice classy "oh shit!" as they do it and told them that was the worst part. They all laughed. Then Dr. Lusby sits down next to me for a photo. Seriously?! My vision is foggy, I probably have tape residue on my face and I was just CRYING... perfect timing for a photo-op wouldn't you say? I asked "where's the person who held my hand?" A guy in the corner raises his hand. I ask if I can take a photo with him, after all, I don't think I could have done it without him. It turns out he's a med student. Hah. Poor guy. I come out of the surgery room and the Xanax fairy tells me "We still don't know where Sandy is". She takes me back to the Xanax lounge, gives me another Xanax and sits me down. I sit there for a good 15-20 minutes. I start to worry. What if something happened to my mom? I'm not supposed to even look at my phone. Should I call her? Where could she be? After making myself crazy with "what-ifs" I quickly call her from my phone "Mom, where are you?" "I'm in the waiting room" "WHAT?! They told me they couldn't find you, I'm done" "Ok I'll come get you". From the front door of that building to the front door of my house felt like an eternity. I don't know if it was the Xanax or the surgery but I couldn't hold my eyes open. I got home and took the one last Xanax that they gave me and put my goggles on and went to bed (at 4pm). I was startled awake a little before midnight by my parents sneaking into my house. My mom got worried because she hadn't heard from me. Apparently (I say apparently because I have no recollection) I called my boyfriend (per my moms request to let him know I was ok) and told him that I was so pissed at my parents for coming and waking me up because now I "couldn't go back to sleep". Pretty sure the second I hung up with him I immediately fell back asleep. Haha.

Post-Op Appointment: February 18, 2012

I woke up Saturday morning looking a hot mess. Seriously. I took a photo that will probably never see the light of day but I had literally never seen myself look so bad and had to document it. Haha. I began my eye drop regimen.The post-op appointments can be made with your normal doctor but mine was out of town so I went back to the NVISION center. My vision was much clearer than the day before but still a little hazy and my right eye was red and a little painful. I go back to the center, sign in with a different desk girl than the previous time, get called back by yet another different person mispronouncing my name. He runs a couple tests. Tells me I'm already seeing better than 20/20 which is reassuring and lets me know the doctor will be right in. The doctor comes in and takes a look at my eyes and immediately I feel like a schoolchild being scolded for talking out of turn. She says to me "Your eyes are REALLY dry. Have you been using your drops??" I respond "Well, I was told that I wasn't supposed to begin my drops until today and I started them today like I was supposed to". She wheels her little chair away from me and begins writing. "It appears your eyelid fused to your cornea and scraped it so I'm going to be putting a contact lens in to act like a barrier. I'm also going to be injecting collagen into your tear ducts to help with the dryness" and before I knew it, boom, injections in my eyes and contact in. She hands me yet another product that I am to apply "every night before bed" and tells me she'll need to see me back on Monday to remove the contact. I make an appointment and leave shaking my head. Why was I scolded for the condition of my eyes like it was something that I had the power over? Why have I been to this facility 3 times and have not been seen by the same person more than once?! I'm starting to get very negative. This whole process is starting to feel very, as I described it to my mom, assembly line. Each person handles you for a minute before handing you off to the next person and never seeing you again. They don't bother to learn your name because, well, lets be honest, they really don't need to. After all, they're never going to see you again, why bother? I will admit, having the contact in really helped with the irritation and redness that I was experiencing. Still, I went home with a sour taste in my mouth. This really wasn't the personal experience that I had hoped for. I spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and getting pampered by my roommate and my boyfriend who bought me more of the lubricating drops that I only received five of the day of surgery. They told me to use them as needed and that I could use them every 5 minutes if I wanted. Given that my eyes were "REALLY dry" I had them pick up two of the 30 packs at 14 bucks a piece. Kind of strange that I didn't receive more for my "really dry" eyes.

Two Days after Post-Op: February 20, 2012

I returned to the center to get my scratched cornea looked at and my contact removed. The girl behind the desk was one I recognized but of course, I was called back by a girl I had never been seen by before. She ran a couple of tests and again I was told that I was seeing better than 20/20 and that the doctor would be right in. After more than 20 minutes waiting the doctor finally came in, it was someone I recognized! It was the doctor who did my re-test on surgery day. He mispronounces my name. Fail. I explain to him why I'm back. As he looks through my charts he must have recognized his own handwriting in there because he realizes that he had seen me before while flipping through the pages. He tells me that it looks like my eye is healing well and that he is going to take my contact out. He put a numbing drop in and it was surprisingly easy. He double checks that I'm taking all my drops which, of course, I am. And he informs me that he'd like me to up my dosage of Prednisolone, the milky drops that, once dissolved go through your sinuses and taste AWFUL. Lucky me. The best part is, he says he wants to see me back on Wednesday. I told him that I already have a post-op appointment with my normal doctor on Thursday. He says he'd still like to see me back on Wednesday. Five eye doctor appointments in less than a week. It's a good thing I work for my parents because I don't think most jobs would be too keen on the idea of me having so many "appointments". Haha.

Obviously, the gift of vision is something very precious and something that I am so thankful has been given to me, HOWEVER, I have not appreciated how assembly line this whole process has felt. I've felt like a faceless, nameless being, just another set of eyes, just another $5,000.

I can be very negative and I know that. It is a fault that I have, but one that I know I have and try to curb. Maybe I have been choosing to see the negative, but at this point I feel that the negative has outweighed the positive (in regards to this center as a whole, not necessarily the surgeon or surgery in general). I'm sure that weeks from now, possibly even days I'll have a different outlook but I wanted to share my raw, real emotions regarding the whole procedure while it was still fresh in my mind. In no way am I saying to not get LASIK eye surgery if you are, in fact, considering it. It has been great being able to go to bed without the hassle of taking out my contacts. It has been wonderful waking up without blurred vision, fumbling to find my glasses. The aim of this post was simply to document my own personal experience.


xoxo,
shea

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Be Mine.

"I love love. I love being in love. I don't care what it does to me"
-The Format

Well, its here... Valentine's Day.
The day that single people hate, that girls have ridiculous expectations for, and that boys dread.

To me, it's more than flowers and chocolates and hearts and red and pink and x's and o's.

It's a feeling.

It's the feeling you get when you're with the ones you care the most about.

The feeling of comfort you find laughing with friends, eating a home cooked meal with family, curled up watching a movie in your PJs with your sweetie.

That, to me, is what love is and what Valentine's Day represents.

It's not mass produced in a factory, it's not shoved down our throats as soon as the calender reads "February". It's every day. It's every minute. It's the good morning text that makes you smile. The inside joke tweet from your best friend that makes you laugh. The warmth you feel when you think of that someone special. To me, every day is Valentine's Day. Cliche yes, but true none the less. We need to spend every day loving the ones we love, not just that one day in the middle of February.
Here are just some of the people{and pets} that I {do my best to} spend every day loving...




 




With that I leave you with two of my favorite love quotes...

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous."
-Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City)

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around"
-Hugh Grant (Love Actually)

Have a happy day and try to spend every day loving as much as you're told to today...
xoxo,
shea

Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Random Eleven...

I have never done one of these but my friend the infamous ChicRunner tagged me so it seems I must too partake. So, here goes....

The Random Eleven

The Rules:
  • Post these rules
  • You must post 11 random things about yourself
  • Answer the questions set for you in their post
  • Tag 11 people (can't be the person who tagged you)
  • Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
  • Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them!

11 Random Facts About Me:
  • I'm a natural redhead and growing up I HATED it. Women would always tell me how lucky I was and how beautiful my hair was and how they spent years trying to achieve the color that I had. As soon as I was old enough I started coloring it and it wasn't until recently that I finally started to embrace it. Ginger power! Haha.
  • I have a lot of weird OCD things that I do in my daily life. I eat small candies like M&M's and Tic-Tac's in even numbers only. When I pump my gas I have to make sure that the final digit in both the price amount and the gallon amount is an even number. I like things done perfectly or not at all. When turning up or down the volume it always has to land on an even number. I don't like odd numbers in general and yet my favorite number is 9. (I warned you it was weird)
  • Because of my adoption (and the movie Parent Trap) I was absolutely positive that I had a twin sister who lived in England that I was going to meet at camp and so I spent most of my childhood practicing an English accent (which I have to admit, isn't too shabby).
  • I admit that I am spoiled but I'm not a spoiled brat. To me, there is a huge difference. Being spoiled means that, yes you are well taken care of, and are blessed enough to get things that a lot of others don't. A spoiled brat on the other hand feels that they deserve the things they get. That being said, one Christmas, my brother and I got the most cliche spoiled kid gift ever. We actually got a pony. My grandparents live on a ranch so it's not that far fetched but, obviously, saying that always takes people aback.  
  • I am one of the girliest girls there is. My friend Danica always mentions it because she is more of a tomboy and whenever she embraces her girly side she usually says that she channeled me. However, growing up, I was a HUGE tomboy. Every day at recess I played kickball, soccer, dodgeball and war (an epic game of dodgeball). Team captains would choose me for their teams before they would choose most of the boys. Who knew that once puberty hit I would lose all athletic ability that I ever possessed.
  • When I was little I rented the movie "My Girl" probably over 100 times. My mom would always take my brother and I to this little mom and pop movie rental and I would rent it EVERY time. My mom would always get so upset (she's the type that can only watch a movie one time). She would always say "You know every line in that movie, don't you want to get something different?". She could have saved a lot of money if she had just bought me the movie. Haha.
  • I love maps. Haha. Typing that I feel like Brick from "Anchorman" ("I love lamp"). Maps fascinate me. When I was young my brother had an agent and we (he, my mom and I ) would always spend our evenings after school driving out to LA for auditions (and this was before mapquest and googlemaps) and I was always in charge of the Thomas Guide and getting us from point A to point B. I don't know if that's when my love of maps developed or if my love of maps was the reason I was put in charge but either way, I love them!
  • I have a birthmark right above my right knee. Growing up I HATED it and was so embarrassed by it. When I look at it now I really don't understand why I hated it so much. It's really not that noticeable AND it's kind of cool! Something that makes me special :)
  • It's no surprise that I love crafting. It is something that I have done since I was little. I would make (and sell) friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss or beads. I sewed my own scrunchies. I even took a sewing class through the city. Some people can play music, some can play sports, my thing is being crafty.
  • Before I was adopted my birth mother had another daughter. Growing up I always wished I had an older sister because my mom and I weren't that close (we're so close now, as cliche as it sounds, she's one of my very best friends). Maybe one day I'll find her and will literally have the sister I never had.
  • I have a crooked right pinky. It was something that I noticed several years back and at a family holiday function I brought it up and my grandma holds up her hands and sure enough... so does she! haha
11 Questions from ChicRunner:
  • What’s your favorite article of clothing? Gosh this is hard. I don't think I have a favorite article of clothing. I almost ALWAYS wear a tank of some sort under everything I wear so I guess that's my favorite.
  • Morning person or night owl? Hands down, night owl. Always have been, always will be (one reason I am SO scared to have kids)
  • How many glasses of water do you drink a day? I try to get in the recommended 8 glasses. I have a Voss water bottle at home and at work. I try to fill it once in the morning, once in the afternoon and then once in the evening. I did the math and it is the recommended amount and an easy way to track it! (much easier than counting out 8 glasses)
  • What is your biggest fear? I'm sure its caught somewhere between spiders and clowns. I have a pretty unhealthy fear of both. Probably because of the traumatizing time I watched the horror movie "It" as a kid.
  • Starbucks or Coffee Bean? I'm not a big coffee person. The only reason I really drink it is to kill time at work haha. So I'm going to have to go with neither.
  • What was the best gift you’ve ever gotten? Oh goodness, I've gotten some wonderful gifts over the years between my pony for Christmas, my Barbie car, my BMW for college graduation but I think that the best gifts have been the ones from the heart. Most recently for my birthday my friend Stefana gave me a gift that made me cry. We had gone to the fabric store for our stocking making party and under my breath I said "I really need to come back and buy some solids" because whenever I go to the fabric store I always buy the fun prints and forget that I need basic solids as well. She went back and got me a half a yard of EVERY solid fabric, new sewing scissors AND two new white and black threads. If you know anything about sewing you know how thoughtful this gift is. She had to go back. Fill her cart with every bolt of fabric and go get all of them cut. Such a thoughtful gift. It still makes me smile to think about.
  • What is your favorite color? I love so many colors but as of right now my favorite is definitely somewhere between blue and green. Teal or Turquoise.
  • Would you rather get a phone call every hour  from a stranger or not have a cell phone for a year? Phone call every hour definitely. I couldn't go a day without a phone. Not something I'm proud of but it's a fact of life. Haha.
  • MLB or NBA? MLB MLB MLB! Born and raised an Angel fan. There's nothing better than having a cold beer, a hot dog and cheering on the Angels. My dads company has had season tickets since before I was born and this season he's ALSO a partner for a suite. I can't even BEGIN to express just how excited I am for this. SO ready for baseball season! Go Angels!
  • Do you use a daily planner? YES! I LOVE LOVE LOVE office supplies. Growing up, whenever I went to the grocery store with my mom, I didn't want to go to the candy aisle, or the toy aisle, I went straight to the "school supply aisle" as I called it. I love a new year and getting a new planner. I don't use mine as religiously as I once did (back when I had two jobs, was taking six classes, was in sorority and was on the Panhellenic council) but I still love having it :)
  • What’s one thing on your ‘bucket list?’ After I graduated college I went on a life changing trip to Australia. It was incredible and one of the many incredible things that I did while I was there was snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. It was then that I said that I would love to experience the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Now, some of these lists vary depending on who you talk to but I would love to see:                            
People I’m taggin’ and the random 11 questions I’m asking you! :)
(If you don't do it, I really won't be offended)

Kristy

Lauren

Corey

Megan

Kristin

Heather

Shea

Marisa

Wilma Rose

Cathy

Amy

  • Do you have any tattoos? If so, what? If not, want any? What would it be?
  • What is your favorite birthday memory?
  • Broken any bones or gotten stitches? If so, how?
  • What song would you say best describes you? Why?
  • What is your go-to candy?
  • What's your favorite job you've ever had?
  • When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  • What is the first thing you would save in a fire?
  • Where is your dream vacation spot?
  • What is your vice?
  • Who was your childhood celebrity "crush"?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Weekend Recap

Well, this weekend wasn't quite as productive as my last but it was fun.

Friday night I had an impromptu dinner date with one of my college sorority sisters (which was so surprising because it's usually SO hard for us to plan anything because we have such different schedules). I'm not a huge salad fan but SOMETHING about the way she makes salads makes my mouth water. I told her that I had been trying to diet and was wondering if she would mind staying in and she could maybe make one of her yummy salads.  She loves to cook and entertain and was nice enough to spoil me with one of her salads. yum!
It was just simply arugula but she has a perfect mix of balsamic vinegar and oil that I have attempted and failed more times than I'd like to admit. She showed me how this time though, I'll have to try it out sometime soon. She grilled up some chicken and we threw it on top (and yes, true to form, I threw a little bit of cheese in as well). It was so delicious and surprisingly filling. We spent the evening giggling, catching up and watching our favorite, "Friends". I started to head home just in time to catch the beau just as he was getting off work. *WARNING: Cheesy line ahead* I love ending my week cuddled up next to him :)

We spent Saturday running errands (every weekend should include a trip to Target, right?) and then he had to go to work. So Danica and I decided to treat ourselves to a cheat meal, after all, we had worked out REALLY hard Friday morning (I was sore all weekend). With coupons and gift cards in hand, we headed to our favorite spot: Chic-Fil-A :)
Even though I felt like I earned the meal, I felt guilty after and decided to do a little home workout to end my Saturday night (wild I know, haha).
Sunday morning I let myself sleep in and snuggle with these two little guys. I know I'm partial but are they not the two cutest dogs you've ever seen? They make me melt.
Then it was Super Bowl party time! No surprise, I'm not a huge football fan but who doesn't like a good Super Bowl party!
We got a call before we headed over that the party host "forgot to pick up the burgers, dogs and buns" while he was at the store. Is that not the most important part?? Haha. So we picked them up on the way over. Then, what do you know, Sam somehow became responsible for cooking the hot dogs too! Sheesh, we might as well just thrown the party ourselves! We had fun though and saw some old friends.
This morning Danica and I got another early morning workout in (I must say, I'm pretty surprised that I haven't given up on this whole thing yet and while, yes, it's been less than a week, I'm still pretty proud of myself). The best part about getting in an early morning workout is that it gives me so much time to myself in the mornings. I get to really pick out my outfits and really do my hair, as opposed to my old way of hitting snooze until the last second possible and throwing on whatever I can grab and throwing my hair up. Yet another of the early morning workout perks. Surprisingly enough the perks have outweighed the negatives.
Tonight Sam and I are cooking dinner together which is always fun.
Monday's aren't as bad as everyone says they are after all...

xoxo,
shea

Friday, February 3, 2012

Foto Friday

If you follow me on twitter and/or instagram this blog might be kind of pointless bc it's basically just all the photos from there but, here goes:

This week was a week of expHAIRiments
French Braided Pony
Size French Braid/Messy Bun
Side Part Turned Conan O'Brein. Haha.
 
Continuting with the #FEBphotoaday
2. (my favorite) words
3. hands
This week I also got my order from stickygram.com! You choose nine of your Instagram photos and they make nine little magnets for you. I LOVE them!

Welp, here's hoping that I am as productive this weekend as I was last weekend. I even made a new curtain for the kitchen last weekend!


xoxo,
shea

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Thrifty Thrusday!

This post I did the other day really got me to thinking...

Like most twenty-somethings these days, I live on a bit of a budget.

I have no shame in saying that I often times find myself perusing the shelves and racks of my local Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx or Home Goods store. It's an especially great way to find home decor, purses, accessories and best of all... SHOES! This holiday season, it is actually at these stores that I did most of my shopping. You would really be surprised the things you can find. I bought two beautiful Michael Kors handbags for my mother and I for the price of one!

I thought I'd share some of the wonderful finds I have found while being thrifty :)

My mom and I have this thing where we usually go shopping for each others gifts together so that we know the other person will like what they're getting. On a random trip to Ross I came across this gorgeous watch that I have seen for as much as $519!
At Ross, my mom and I found it for $169!

For Christmas, my parents surprised me and got me a new iPad 2! Such an unexpected surprise! I was scared to even touch it without having a case on it, and so, the search began.

While looking around with Danica at our local Marshall's she came across this beautiful Michael Kors iPad case.  
Last year for my birthday my mom got my this awesome Michael Kors iPhone case/wristlet.  
The iPad case was like the mommy sized version! I was instantly in love. The case was priced at $69.99 (which, by the way is cheaper than the iPhone case was, that my mom purchased directly from the apple store). I, of course, bought the case and went home and did the research. They sell the same case on michaelkors.com for $129.95. I got the case for almost HALF PRICE! Don't you just LOVE a good deal? I know I do, especially on designer duds!

Knowing that you've saved money is such a rewarding experience. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and find some deals of your own! :)

xoxo,
shea

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Fat 2 Fit February!

today was the begging of what I have decided to refer to as:


(First I want to start by saying, I'm in the process of amping up my blog and making it more visually appealing, hence the neat banner that I created. I got the banner template FREE from "oh my! handmade goodness" here. And used two of my favorite fonts from urbanfonts.com "Sketch Rockwell" and "Marquee" and voila! My lovely "Fit 2 Fat February" banner! Ok, now onto the good stuff...)

Over the last several years I have have put on more than several pounds.

    (skinny minnie me in 2007)       (me now)
                (size 0)                  (size  4-5)

Not something I am proud of but, something that happens to the best of us. With a busy schedule and an office job eating right can be a chore and working out? Forget about it. I've never been one to work out. I'd say the last time I was really active was high school when I was on cheer. I've had gym memberships over the years but really don't have the motivation. I also don't like the feeling I get of being watched at the gym. It's probably all in my head and there is probably no one watching me but the feeling alone is enough to not want to be there. So this month I've decided it was time for a change. And what do you know? My best friend Danica was on board! She stays much healthier than me, she even runs marathons but everyone can always do more. So this morning, it was on!

We got up bright and early (took some horrifying "before" photos hoping to eventually see some progress) and we headed to the park for a good forty minute workout. We both mainly wanted to focus today's workout on abs so we did lots of interval ab work outs. By the end we were feeling good. Overall it was a great workout. If you don't know me you don't know that I am the biggest sleepyhead EVER. As a kid I would even sleep in on Christmas, just to give you an idea. haha. I got up at 5:45 this morning and it was surprisingly easy.

I know that exercise isn't the only part of getting fit. They say that diet is the most important part. That being said, I am completely changing my diet, cutting out soda, and trying to cut out eating out all together.

Last night I made myself a smoothie and put in in the freezer for today. I took it out before our workout and by the time I was ready to leave for work it was perfect consistency. Last night I also grilled up some chicken (for lunch today) and hard boiled some eggs (for a healthy snack). I'm really excited for this journey and (fingers crossed) the progress that is going to be made. :)

And lastly, today was the beginning of something else I've been looking forward to:
Here is a photo (no filter) of my "view today" during our early morning workout. Catching the sunrise is a definite perk to being up early :)

xoxo,
shea
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