Winter Survival Kit

Because it's I'm freezing right now, and because poor Mr. Ruby is so so sick...I decided to share with you my winter survival kit.

First and foremost and dedicated to my sick little Mr. Ruby - EmergenC. This stuff is an absolute miracle worker. In fact, if it were possible to be addicted to vitamins...then I have a problem. I take this stuff any time I'm getting ready to travel, or if I feel like I'm coming down with something. I'm not kidding...it cures all! It's perfect for those nasty winter colds.

Another winter essential for that crackly dry skin is Cetaphil. This is an absolute staple from November to March! It works better than any other overly expensive body/face lotion I've tried from Sephora.

Ok, so this one is actually an essential for EVERY season...but it feels oh-so-minty-fresh in the winter. I LOVE C.O. Bigelow's Mint Infused Lip Gloss. It gives you juicy kissable lips and minty fresh breath!

Another absolute essential is to turn up that thermostat! (Except when you're in the Ruby Household and you receive a $200.00 gas bill for a 900 sq. foot apartment. )YIKES!

And finally...if you're like us and have to keep the thermostat low in order to pay the bills...you can always get a SNUGGIE! Haha, has anyone seen the infomercial for these awful things? They are actually blankets with SLEEVES!

Never will I ever own a Snuggie.

Exciting Post...

I have something random to write about before my exciting news.

First, the weirdest thing happened to me yesterday. I was at Wal-Mart buying some basics. Laundry Detergent. Face Lotion. Toilet Paper. I was dazing off in my own world (where you can find me most often) when the cashier asked me, "Ma'am, you are over 18 years of age, right?" I snapped quickly out of my daze and said, "Excuse me?" She repeated herself. I chuckled under my breath and advised that yes, I am clearly over 18. Apparently she wanted to make sure I wasn't going to use the cough syrup I bought to bring back to my current meth lab.

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Now, for my exciting news. I received my VERY FIRST award...a huge shout out and thank you to Jill at Jaded Jill Speaks!!! Check out her blog sometime - it's super entertaining and she has the cutest golden ever!

The award states "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!

Now I'd like to pass this award onto the following lovely ladies:

Emily over at Living Our Own Fairy Tale - I adore her blog and she always entertains me with her Martha Stewart-like ways ;)

Lindsey at Sweet Simplicity - her blog is so upbeat and fun, and I feel like we have so much in common!

Amanda at Only The Good Stuff - She's so sweet and always has such great pictures and creative baking ideas

Thanks again to Jaded Jill! I hope you all have a fabulous week.

2008 Highlights

I can't believe it's already 2009! Time certainly does fly when you're having fun. 2008 was one of my most favorite years yet! I'd love to share my favorite 2008 moments with you...

1.)  It started with Mr. Ruby and I packing up our car, loading our dogs in the backs seat, and driving across the country from Dallas to Rhode Island. We made some wonderful stops along the way - Little Rock, Nashville, D.C. and Mansfield. Our pups were so well-behaved and didn't make a sound during our 4 day venture. In fact, after about 8 hours of driving, we realized that Samson wasn't there. After a few minutes of panic and wondering how in the world he jumped out of the car...we realized he was under Mr. Ruby's seat burrowed under some clothes. 

Stopping in the adorable city of Nashville

Hanging out with my favorite Nashvill-ians

2.)One of my main highlights for the year (and the reason for our adventuresome trek cross-country) was the major change in positions with my job. I took on new duties as a trainer and then ultimately became the recruiting coordinator for my company. I LOVE MY JOB!!! I get to travel all over the U.S. to various universities looking for entry-level managers. I'm basically a full time schmoozer...and I love it.

3.)I visited NYC for the first time in my life. I absolutely loved it. What a stunning city!

After our Broadway play

I HEART New York!!!

4.) I started reading again. I've always loved to read and have always been a  huge bookworm...but I've been too busy until this year to just pick up a book and start reading (for pleasure). The following are reads I simply could NOT put down!

5.)We had several AWESOME visitors this year! We were so pleased to be able to show our guests the beauty of New  England. Our visitors included one of my best pals from college, my very best friend from Chi-Town, and my mom and stepdad. We're hoping to have even MORE visitors this upcoming year. Let me know if you're ever in the area. I LOVE being a hostess!!! :)

My bestie and I outside of Mike's Pastry in Boston

Mom and StepDad Ruby at the Newport Mansions

6.)I developed 5 new obsessions this year. These are the things I dream about on a pretty consistent basis:

DVF - Although I will never EVER be able to afford anything...I love all things Diane Von Furstenberg

Ok, so I admit it. I'm obsessed with the high school drama.

I love everything from C&B

Ostrich Handbags!!!

Jessica Simpson shoes - SO cute and SO comfy

7.)My absolute favorite highlight of 2008, thanks to our move to New England, includes the new activities we encountered. Mr. Ruby and I took up biking, hiking and kayaking. These are some of my new all-time favorite things to do! It helps that the scenery around is us oh-so-beautiful!

Camping in Killington,Vermont

Love my baby blue bike :)

Well, that sums up a wonderful year. Happy New Year everyone and may 2009 be a good one!

I made it!

Well, I officially made it home. Wait, I guess it's pseudo-home...considering I just left home to come back home. Does that make any sense? Ok, well I made it back from Kansas and am back to the grind in New England (which will never be home).

I accomplished EVERYTHING I wanted to while back in Oz. Saw a beautiful KS sunset. Spent every breathing moment with family. Ate my mother-in-law's sausage puffs. Sat in my p.j.'s with Mom chatting for hours about nothing. Ate Mr. Goodcents. Had some good laughs with Dad. Saw friends I've known since kindergarten. Stayed up all night spending New Years with college pals.

Successful trip ACCOMPLISHED! (Minus getting home at 2:00 a.m. after a very stressful taxi ride and then managing to wake up for work this morning). WARNING: Lots of pictures below.

Christmas Eve w/ Mr. Ruby

Christmas morning mimosas

Bowling (unwillingly) on Christmas

Me & My Lumberjack

Favorite College Pal 

Freshman Year College Roomies

My beautiful friends I've known for 20 years

Haha - My best friend. This sums us up.

 

NYE 2008 w/ college pals

Very successful New Years!!!

Not a normal Monday

It's been way too long. Sorry I haven't posted in a few days...I'm just twirling around in a state of bliss while I'm home in Kansas. :)

I'm happy to say that while most of America is headed back to work today, I'm still sitting in my p.j.'s at home. I don't go back to work until FRIDAY (yes, I know I'm crazy for taking two weeks off and then going back on a Friday). But I have loved every moment of being home. So much family time. Seeing good ol' friends I've known since kindy. Eating everything in sight. Relaxing. Going out to the old school hot spots. I'm not ready to leave.

However, all this excitement at home has COMPLETELY removed me from my routine. My healthy eating routine is completely shot. Working out? What a joke. Even my sleep patterns are so different. There is so much excitement all around us, Mr. Ruby and I have really only gotten a few hours of sleep every night since we've been here.

Well, I'm off to my next visit with family. And then more family friends after that. Pictures will be posted soon!

Everyone have a fabulous Monday!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all have a fabulous day spending time with family and friends!

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Literally. 

I travel a lot. I've experienced many traveling nightmares. But yesterday was by far one of the worst! (What intensified the pain was the fact that I just wanted to get HOME for Christmas!!!)

I'll spare you all the painful details, but we really did take every form of transportation you can possibly imagine to get home yesterday. And it was a NIGHTMARE! I had a feeling when I saw that our layover was in Chicago at O'Hare...this alone is a nightmare when it's snowing and it's Christmas Eve Eve. 

I will say that after a stressful flight from Boston we almost missed our connecting flight in Chicago. We were "those people" running through the airport - bags swinging everywhere and sweat dripping from our faces. Haha. We were a sight. Well, then we had to take a shuttle (in the blizzard) to our next terminal. We made our flight just in time...and then sat on the runway for 3 hours...on a tiny plane. I thought I was going to have a panic attack. 

However, we finally made it to Wichita by 2:00 a.m. We were greeted by our exhausted family...and no luggage. 

Oh well, at least we made it HOME SWEET HOME!

P.S. My mother in law is amazing and left us little gifts on our pillows. Mr. Ruby got cigars and I got a cute little ornament of Ruby Red Slippers!