The Biggest Loser

Man, today was rough! I really just want a job!! There is only so much walking and tv a person can handle! I am, however, about to kick off a Sopranos marathon. I plan to watch the entire series within 2 weeks. I like to set goals I can accomplish.

Just me and the boys

This morning Mike and I got up at a productive 9am. Much to his dismay, we started our morning off with a 2 mile run. I told him he'd thank me later when our workout was out of the way and I could be in my happy place early on, as opposed to being crabby all day until I hit the gym. After our run we headed down to the Farmers Market. Normally we take Dixie, but today we decided to give Finn the benefit of the doubt and let him prove to us that he could go and not be an a$$hole.

Believe it or not he did a good job! There were a few shakey moments when other dogs made him a little skiddish, but other than that he was a good boy. People love him too, it gets a little old if you ask me, but Mike seems to enjoy all the compliments and attention Finn gets. O and even better, Finn took a huge dump right by the people who were protesting the Gay Pride Fest, hahah.

At the market we got delicious New Orleans style coffees again, I swear these are so good, they are half my motivation to get out of bed on Saturdays. Along with our coffees I ate two yummy gluten free blueberry muffins from my favorite booth and Mike had a iced cinnamon mini bread from his favorite booth. I bought a zucchini and we picked up some yummy organic dog treats for the babies. I plan to go back on Tuesday and stock up on more veggies! 3-6 if anyone would like to join me!

Somebody get me a quarter!

Another "to do" next week is figuring out where the heck we want to live. Our lease is up here in Iowa August 1. It is tempting to sign again for 6 months and continue riding out my unemployment while Mike does another semester here but I know that is not a wise decision. At this point, staying in Iowa really isn't an option if I want to get back on track as there are NO jobs in product development and very few in marketing.

The easiest thing for us would be to go back to Chicago. Our rent would stay about the same as here and Mike has already gone through the process of applying to the Social Work program at North Eastern. Mike and I love Chicago, but it does feel a little bit like taking steps backwards rather than moving forward. Then we start to think about other options like Nola or Austin, Texas or out east. This could be a great time for us to try something new and keep exploring.

We don't have too long to decide. I hate big decisions and when in doubt I have a method I use to determine what's next. Rather than agonizing over things Mike and I have been known to flip a coin, yes, it's true. We flip a coin and we go with it. I mean, really, what do we have to lose?

Week 2

This was week two of me being unemployed, although I can't really count the first week since I was getting my unemployment figured out, stressing about a pending severance package that fell through and trying to figure out a routine.

During week two I managed to accomplish one of my goals, to get in a new workout routine. As I told my family Sunday, I am either going to look great in two months or blow up. With so much extra time on my hands I feel like I really need to step up my workouts, but believe it or not, when you are unemployed it's hard to get motivated. This week I ran 2 miles Monday outside and almost died from the heat. Tuesday I ran 2 miles inside and did an hour Zumba class and some weights. Wednesday was my day off, Thursday I ran about 2 miles outside and did an hour of Zumba and today I did about 20 minutes on the bike. I took some meds that turned me into a zombie today so the gym was pointless.

I'm happy that my workouts are becoming regular again. Next week I am going to explore some hobbies. It's been so long since I've had time for hobbies! I will say that all this extra time is nice but I really miss working in a creative environment and interaction with people during the day. My last job turned very sour the last few months. All talking was frowned upon, which is awful for a marketer and I really was not allowed to exercise my talents. I can't wait to get back into a team environment where ideas are bounced off one another constantly and the creative energy is flowing. I do need that in my life.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Mike and I were planning on camping tomorrow night, but it looks like rain again, surprise, surprise!

adapting to my new lifestyle

i have to say that i am adapting to being unemployed quite well! i was a little worried at first because for many years work was my priority and what defined me. i mean, i worked hard so i could play hard, but the stress was overwhelming at times. this weekend was one of the best i've had in a long time. my mental lists of to do's was gone, there was no laundry that needed to be done, no cleaning, no squeezed in workouts, there was no need to get anything done before monday!!

i love my new found independance so much that it's really inspiring me to figure out creative ways to make money on my own without being a slave to the man. whether it's becoming a marketing consultant, a professional blogger, making something to sell..i'm not sure yet but the ideas are churning.

hope everyone had a great weekend! i am looking forward to a great workout tomorrow and some fun with my sis who is off!

O, and happy fathers day to all the dads out there

what is time?

Now that I am unemployed, well I take that back...now that I am employed by the government and snapping out of my funk, I'm realizing all the time I have on my hands. Today is the first day, since the ax fell last Friday, that I feel like myself again. I've got the lists going in my head of all the things I've wanted to do for years but not had time. After I catch up on some things I let go this week, laundry, cleaning, my workouts... I'll get to some of the fun stuff. Like, reading many, many books I've collected but had no time for. Catching up on some television series I've always wanted to watch..Sopranos. Lot's of new workouts, figuring out my sewing machine..finally!! And having some nice heart to hearts with myself about what I want to do with my life, lol.

I promise that I won't be posting countless pictures of my animals, now that they are who I spend the majority of my time with... but I have figured out their daily routine and think it's kind of funny. I'm not sure they are setting the best example for their mommy.


Kira likes to eat, and sits by her food most of the day, well when she's not napping.



Finn gets plenty of beauty sleep, can't you tell? He pretty much plants himself where ever I am, unless I put him outside for his naps. He loves the sun.



Dixie sticks to the futon in the office. This used to be my couch when I lived alone and she was a puppy. She prefers it to anything else in the house.



And my new routine is some variety in my diet! Look at this yummy, healthy breakfast. Eggwhites, a veggie sausage, whole wheat toast and some fresh strawberries!

solace in a song

give it a listen ;)

the good, the bad, the ugly and the whole sha-bang

I've been mia from my blog for a few days. Some major life changing events have taken place in my world. I was let go from my company on Friday. For those of you who don't remember or didn't follow my blog, last August the hubs and I relocated to Iowa from Chicago for my new job and for him to attend school.

Right now I'm absorbing everything and keeping in good spirits! I see this as an opportunity to take a little time to think about my next move. This is quite a shift for me as I have been employed since I was 16...and full time since I graduated college in 2000.

Once I get a new routine going I'll be posting some more again.

Hey, I didn't name this blog "The Adventuresome Road To Where?" for nothing!!! I've got the adventuresome part down, now I just need to figure out where!

Is it wrong to laugh?

Probably, but that's never stopped me before. This "article" was posted on the local paper's website today:

Missing East Moline man found alive

Times staff | Posted: Thursday, June 11, 2009 2:45 pm | 1 Comment

A man reported missing by his family has been found alive.

Danny Gobin, 51, of East Moline was found in Rockford, Ill., police said. His family reported him missing Tuesday after they found a note saying he was taking a walk for the rest of his life. He left without his medications and with only a few other items.

East Moline officials confirmed Gobin was found shortly after 12:30 p.m. today.




A walk for the rest of my life sounds pretty nice right about now. I have to say though, if my walk ended in Rockford, I'd be pretty bummed.

The World Is Officially My Oyster!

At least when it comes to being a fangbanging vampire lover! For those of you who are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, I am referring to the vampire phenomenon that's possessed the world. Now, I have been living this phenomenon since I was in my early teens. I read a book called 'Lost Souls' by Poppy Z Brite which led me down the road of vampire fiction and eventually to non-fiction. Many of these books still grace my bookshelves to this day. Vampires Among Us, Piercing the Darkness, Personal Darkness...just to name a few.



I obsessed with this culture throughout my teenage years. I wrote short stories about a young woman meeting her vampire lover. While lying in bed my vampire soulmate would sneak through my window, his name was Andrew, we'd run off together into the night and live a life filled with love and darkness. Sound familiar? Imagine how pissed I was when, years later, these Twilight books started flying off the shelves. Apparently my teenage fantasy was not that different from others.

Despite my bitterness I managed to watch the movie several months after it was released and, well, loved it! So much so that I am now hooked on the series. Even better than Twilight though, the HBO series True Blood. Seriously, this show was made for me, a modern day vampire story based in Louisiana? Jackpot! When I first began watching this show I thought, please, please, please catch on. I must have multiple seasons of this! Once I heard it was created by Alan Ball, he also created Six Feet Under, I knew my show was safe!

This Sunday the second season of True Blood will debut and I, for one, cannot wait! To further the vampire marketing craze, I read today that BMW/Mini Cooper has an ad campaign hitting billboards nation wide that target faux vamps. Several other products have jumped on the bandwagon as well! Harley-Davidson, Gillette, Monster.com, and Geico. Unbelievable! I will say this stings a little, I grew up feeling like a freak and turns out my ideas could have made me millions. Had I only known, sigh.



On the otherhand, maybe all this public acceptance means vampires will start coming out of the closet...that fantasy of mine might still come true afterall!

overly tired and under nourished

last night i ran about 3 miles, tonight i did zumba class after a loooong day. tomorrow night i will be drinking to make up for lost time.

a while back, while working for recycled paper greetings, i was doing some research for a new line of cards. i stumbled across these "rejected" Love Is comics. for those of you not familar with Love Is, it is an extremely cute comic that run in papers across the US. now, normally they look something like this:




the rejects, well they speak for themselves and to this day, they still crack me up! some of these are a little vulgar, so if you are sensitive to these matters then don't click on the link:



O, the wonderful world of alternative greeting cards...it was fun while it lasted!

It's a love/hate kinda day.

1. Most loved foods: currently avocados
2. Most loved persons: dixie, mike, trulie, the blood
3. Most loved job: my next one
4. Most loved cities: New Orleans, somewhere out east, Newport I think
5. Most loved band: Depeche Mode
6. Most loved web site: fmylife.com
7. Most loved TV program: True Blood
8. Most loved movie: Reality Bites
9. Most loved artist:Stephen Kasner
10. Most loved book: Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite (original Twilight but way better)
11. Most loved shop: the head shop
12. Most loved organization: VA
13. Most loved historical event: Salem Witch Trials
14. Most loved sport: bocce ball
15. Most loved piece of technology: internet
16. Most loved annual event: Nola Trip
17. Most loved daily task: Coffee and blog reading
18. Most loved comedian(s): Chelsea Handler, Rhonda Shear, Kathy Griffin, Dave Attell

Here's what I'm hatin' on:
1. Most hated food: yogurt(non-frozen)
2. Most hated person: George W.
3. Most hated job: anything that requires me to punch a time clock is not high on my list
4. Most hated city: Gurnee, IL
5. Most hated band: anything with Phil Collins
6. Most hated web site: usbank.com
7. Most hated TV program: Dancing With the Stars
8. Most hated British politician: Tony Blair
9. Most hated artist: Thomas Kinkade
10. Most hated book: several that i never finished
11. Most hated shop: WALMART
12. Most hated organization: Prop 8 supporters, do they have a name? o, ya assholes(IMO)
13. Most hated historical event: The current wars of terror on Iraq and Afghanistan.
14. Most hated sport: Golf, only becuase it's boring to watch and I can't play
15. Most hated piece of technology: Hummers, time clocks, tracking devices
16. Most hated annual event: New Years Day = hangover
17. Most hated daily task: waking up, OMG it is rough these days!!
18. Most hated comedian(s): Adam Sandler

Say What?

This morning I was listening to NPR on my way to work. There was an interesting narrative entitled "Woe Is My Car Industry" by P.J O'Rourke. I usually take what he says with a grain of salt. His opinions are vastly different from mine but I always enjoy other peoples perspectives on things. The gist on the narrative was that facebook and feminism killed the car. In O'Rourke's opinion cars were used to get the girl. Men strived to buy the best car that they could, spent hours detailing it, cruised the strip picking up ladies at the local burger joint and eventually took their dates up to make out mountain and wooed them with their smooth moves and sweet ride. Really? Were women ever really that easy? And how does facebook come into all this? Well, there may still be a few men cruising the strip for hot babes but those babes are few and far between. According to O'Rourke these ladies are waiting online to be IM'd, tweeted or winked at depending on your social networking site of choice.

One would think that car sales would grow with feminism and the working woman. No longer does a woman need to wait for her husband to buy her a car, she can buy one herself. Also, with more households bringing in dual incomes doesn't that create a demand for more vehilces when both husband and wife need a car to get to work? After listening to this I didn't know if I should be offended or laugh. After it sunk in I chuckled to myself. Take a read and decide for yourself!

Baffled By The White Man

Being in the marketing and product development profession I spend a lot of time visiting company websites, reading over their mission statements, strategies and checking out their product offerings. I know the blood, sweat and tears that goes into launching a new product or brand and find it inspiring to keep in touch with what other people/companies are doing. One thing that blows my mind over and over again is the mystery of the middle aged white man.

Time and time again I look at the "executive team" or "leadership team" section on these sites and time and time again I see the same faces over and over again. It could be a car part company, a jewelry company, cleaning products, tampons, greeting cards doesn't seem to matter! The board consists of middle age white men, sprinkled with a token woman HR Director or Director General Council Secretary.

What happened to breaking through the "glass ceiling"? Does that end at middle management? Companies have their diversity statements, their equal opportunity employer disclosure, but what does that really mean? Is it all for show? Being a woman who has worked in the corporate world for ten years now I often find myself very discouraged. I see men come into meetings and throw their d*ck on the table. I witness others swoon over this barbaric behavior. I've seen men talk down to women simply because their management styles are different and the ego believes his is the best. I see others shake their heads an nod at the ego's ideas and strategies feeding it even more, then walk out of a meeting and say "what a load of crap, this is how we are going to get this done!" So, why do we, as women, continue to play this game?

I can only assume it's the fear. I myself live and experience it daily. If I speak my mind will I become a target? If I offer advice based on years of experience will it be taken the wrong way? If I stand my ground will I be considered insubordinate? Why is it that when a man displays these characteristics he is seen as a leader, a go getter, great potential? I've yet to understand this old school mentality myself.

All I can hope is that as some of these "old schoolers" head off to their homes in Florida while collecting their pensions, that I will never see, things start to change. They say we've broken through the glass ceiling, but I think we still have a long ways to go.


(I'd like to thank Mr.Forsee CEO of SprintNextel for allowing me to use his image for this post)