Reader Questions Addressed

I am a little late in posting these comments/questions. But I did want to include them eventually - better late than never right?

First, I wanted to address a comment about the Cub (my ex bf if you are new to my blog, he was younger) that I got from one of my sweet readers. She asked something that I thought maybe some of you wondered as well.

"Did you call your boyfriend "the Cub" to his face? Did he read your blog & see he that he was being called that? If so, did he politely chuckle but not much more? I ask because if I was in his position & am trying to woo someone....to have a slightly oft-put nickname would be distracting & not help the cause. To me, it would be liking kicking someone while they are trying to rise up to the occasion. If that's the case - then the relationship can't flourish, it can only fail. I can't imagine he was telling his family & friends that you were "The Cougar" & referring to you by that title. I'm not trying to start trouble by bringing this up during a time when you are down yourself, but maybe this could have been a big factor in the demise. Just from an objective 3rd party point of view."

The answer is, The Cub named himself! :) We of course discussed the age difference amongst ourselves from the beginning, but the nicknames came from when we both starting watching Courtney Cox's show Cougar Town. We both loved and watched that show religiously, and he started calling me The Cougar. Then he said "I guess that makes me your Cub, huh?" He loved the names, and yes, even family and friends knew about it. It wasn't the names that were a problem. It was more the actual age difference. And the physical distance between us that broke us up eventually. We still talk every day, and he remains one of my closest friends.

Second question - love this one!

Hiya, I stumbled upon your blog today and wanted to ask a few questions! I live in LA currently but have been thinking for a few years about making a move. Dating here sucks-it's all guys that are focused on their careers and don't have time for dating or they are a bit obsessed with perfection so it's hard to find someone that actually wants to settle down. In your honest opinion, how is the dating scene say in Charleston for a girl who is a young-looking 30? I've been thinking to visit and make a decision about moving before the fall-either SC or Seattle. Any words of wisdom on what I might expect out there?

I told her that I thought Charleston was a great place to meet someone. But as with any city, it's great to get involved in some way, such as joining a club or volunteering, etc. There is always something going on in Charleston, and lots of amazing people there.

Do you have additional advice?

Thanks for reading, and happy Tuesday! :)

Get Ready!

One week from this Thursday...

It's baaack!!!

I will be in the stadium screaming my head off. But for those of you at home who wish to watch:

South Carolina vs. Southern Miss. Kickoff at 7:30 PM on ESPN

GO COCKS! GO COCKS! GO COCKS!

You know you’re from SC when…

You know you’re from SC when…(a lot of these can be applied to many southern states!)

✪ Sweet tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you’re two.

✪ You know that going “barefoot” is one of the great joys of life.

✪ Everyone from a bigger city has an accent.

✪ “Vacation” means going to Myrtle Beach. (for my family it was Charleston)

✪ You could care less about the temperature outside if it doesn’t factor in humidity.

✪ Out of state friends beg you to send them fireworks.

✪ You know at least three places to get great fried chicken.

✪ You’ve taken a road trip to South of the Border – and it wasn’t Mexico.

✪ You know someone who works at Hooters.

✪ You’ve ever had to switch from heat to air conditioning in the same day.

✪ You see a car running in a store parking lot with no one in it no matter what time of the year.

✪ All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.

✪ You install motion lights on your house and garage and leave the doors unlocked.

✪ Your think that the first day deer season is a national holiday.

✪ You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit “a little warm.”

✪ You know all four seasons: almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

✪ You can tell the locals apart from the tourists by the way they pronounce “Charleston” or “Greenville.”

✪ You know what okra is and you like to eat it. Fried of course.

✪ You think people who complain about the heat in their states are sissies.

✪ You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but by the availability of shade.

✪ Stores don’t have bags or shopping carts, they have sacks and buggies.

✪ You’ve seen people wear bib overalls at weddings and funerals.

✪ You know what’s so special about Darlington.

✪ Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date. *everyone knows if you plan your wedding on a Clemson or South Carolina home game (or better yet, THE Clemson/Carolina

game), no one is gonna be there.

✪ You aren’t surprised to find movie rental, ammunition, beer, and bait all in the same store.

✪ You know everything goes better with Ranch dressing.

✪ You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned how to multiply.

✪ Every girl you know has one of those “Carolina Girls” shirts.

✪ You at least know what the Carolina Shag is if you don’t know how to do it.

Eat Pray Love...but mostly eat

I finally saw Eat Pray Love last night. I enjoyed the book, even though I didn't relate to the main character Elizabeth. I found her, like many others, to be self-absorbing and unrealistic. I tried very hard when I first read the book to be sympathetic to her situation. But I just never warmed up to her.

Even though the movie didn't completely blow me out of the water, I enjoyed it. I was surprised that they didn't show several key moments in the book, such as when she finally finds herself able to grasp meditation and "in the palm of God." That seemed to be a pivotal "finding herself" moment in the book, and the movie didn't show that.

I LOVED the scenery, and of course all of the wonderful food! Can I please have some spaghetti, oh how about RIGHT NOW? And wine of course. Delicious, red wine. And when can we leave for Rome?? Beautiful places. Did I mention the food? Ahhh...










































































One thing is for sure though. Julia Roberts is as lovely as ever!

It's Monday so let's talk hair

But before we do, I wanted to let y'all know I had to turn on word and comment verification this morning, and will most likely leave it on for a while. I HATE word verification with a passion, but seeing as to how I woke up this morning to over 300 messages in my Gmail box saying I had been spammed by the Viagra man. Yes. Awesome. SO, having said that, it's a necessary evil now. Sorry :/

Moving on :) I am always on a mission to find a way to curl my hair that looks the best and the most natural. For a while I used the Remington hair dryer, and it worked pretty well. Especially on a hot, humid summer night. It was quick and easy, and the curls lasted forever. But they were a more "spirally" curl, and I was looking for more looser waves. I bought some hot rollers, but for whatever reason, the curl felt right out within an hour. Fail. I did not want to buy a new curling iron, because I knew I needed to get a good one (read: expensive) for it to work well enough. And my hot iron was going to need replacing probably within the next year, and I didn't want to buy both.

So about a year or so ago, I googled "how to curl your hair with a flat iron." You'll find a gazillion posts on it. You basically put a lock of hair in the flat iron, and twist the iron all the way around until your hair comes out the other side. Then you gently pull all the way down. When you let go, you are left with this:















Here is a quick and dirty version:



Here's a video of Danica from Chic Runner curling her hair with a flat iron:



For whatever reason, I decided to curl my hair last night even though I wasn't going anywhere. So I took pictures of it to show you all.















I slept on it this morning, and other than a few touchups, it stayed. My hair is thick but very, very fine. So this is a good way for me to manage frizzies.















I had already taken my makeup off in the above picture, so I cut my head off as to not scare you all. See? Always looking out for my readers :)

Let me know if you use this method, and whatever tips you may have! Figured this was a fun, easy post for a Monday. Hope you all have a great one!

Let's talk eyelashes

Here's the situation. I have the shortest thinnest eyelashes EVER. It's gotten a lot worse since I've entered my 30's. They have always been thin, but now, they are borderline non existent. When I apply mascara in the morning, I probably apply about 20 coats. No joke. And of course the more coats, the more clumping. It's a fun, messy process every morning.

I wanted to try latisse, but I hear it's something you have to reapply every so often. And it's expensive. I have also tried every mascara known to man - from high end to drug store brands. The amount of money I have spent on mascara would add up to a mortgage payment on my house probably. Some are darker, but clumpier. Some make my lashes longer, but still too light. Some are great, but impossible to get off your eyes at the end of the day. And I always end up losing even more lashes, thus, not a good idea. (Right now I'm using Falsies by Maybelline. It's not bad.)

A few years ago, a friend of mine suggested we buy false eyelashes and wear them out on the town. If I could find the picture I would post it for you, but suffice it to say, I looked like a tranny. I was a horrible, hot mess.

So this past weekend, I decided that DJ and I should try them out again. I really don't know why, but...why not? We were out of town. If they looked ridiculous, we would rip them off and just reapply mascara. They cost around 5 bucks, so not a big deal. The Target we went to did not have the Revlon lashes that I wanted to try, because they are self adhesive. So I bought the Ardell lashes that came with the glue.



















I don't think the ones above were the exact kind we bought, but close enough. But basically, it took me all of 2 minutes to apply mine and hers. I did not do a great job, as I was not anticipating them actually looking decent. So next time I will probably take a little more time, and apply them a little bit more carefully. But all in all, we were pleased.















Next time, I'll get a better pic with my eyes open. The lighting in our bathroom was awful. But if you try them out, let me know what you think! I'm going out this weekend for a birthday celebration, and I might try them out again! This time I'm going to get the Revlon brand. I'll keep you posted. (Ew just noticed I have makeup in my eye creases. Nice! Please ignore.)

Oh, and the bruise on the side of my chin? It was actually worse looking, but it's covered in makeup above. I had just come out of a clothing store (tax free weekend, score!) and was running to the car because it had started monsooning. I was in a hurry to get the door open because my bags were flopping around and I was getting drenched. So I slung the car door open and I clocked myself in the chin. So hard I saw stars. And got in the car praying there was no missing teeth or blood. Classy! I can't make this stuff up. :)

Road Trippin' to Charleston

One of my dear friends was able to score us a free night at gorgeous hotel in downtown Charleston this past weekend. So we left early Saturday morning and let me tell you. We had so much fun! Highlight of the trip was when we decided to be tourists and take the Charleston Harbor Cruise. It was a roasting hot day, but by the time we got on the boat and got our drinks (of course), there was a great breeze. We laughed the whole time! I don't even remember half of what the boat captain said. Later that evening, we to dinner at 39 Rue de Jean. Their salmon is TDF. Delicious.




















Don't judge the hair. It was SO hot. And windy!

Dolphin!

This was us before heading to dinner. Stereotypical bathroom mirror shot. Ha!

Only one crazy thing that happened - the AC went out in our hotel around 3 AM! Woke up to DJ calling the front desk, only to find out all they could do is offer us a fan. Phew! Charleston in August + no AC = miserable! So we checked out Sunday morning after breakfast and headed to the Isle of Palms. It was a beautiful day.

Great weekend with a wonderful friend! Hope you are all having a great week.

Another loss. Sigh...

About a year ago, the sweetest black cat started showing up outside where I live. I couldn't take her in, because I already am borderline the crazy cat lady with the ones that I have. So my neighbor and I started feeding her and basically adopted her as our outdoor kitty. She greeted me every day and every evening when I came home. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to take her in! I nicknamed her Jingles, because the collar I bought for her had a bell on it. And every time she ran to me, she "jingled." She was adorable. Even my other neighbors who don't really like cats that much grew to love Jingles. She was just that sweet and friendly.

Friday, I noticed I hadn't seen Jingles in a day or so. That was very odd to me. Her food had not been eaten either. I got a text from my neighbor the next morning that Jingles had been found. She had passed away. We think a pack of dogs may have gotten to her. I can't believe I'm mourning the loss of another cat. It really REALLY sucks. So in the meantime, I kissing and hugging my other furbabies. And trying not to think about that sweet face that I'm going to miss seeing so much. =(

Rest in peace, sweet girl.















Next post will be cheerful. Pictures from a quick trip to Charleston this weekend. It was much needed.

Shred Update

I've been updating my Shred and weight loss progress over at my new blog Diary of a Fat Cheerleader, but I thought I'd give an update here about once every 2 weeks or so.

Last night I completed Workout #10 of the Shred. This week I had to take 2 nights off, because I was afraid I had pulled a muscle in my arm. So instead, I went swimming with my mom. But last night, my arm felt 100% better and I was full steam ahead. I can really feel a difference! I'm definitely toning up.

And good news on the scale! I'm down 6 pounds as of this morning. Hopefully I'll keep this up. I'm heading to Charleston this weekend, but the friend that is going with me is very health conscious and will help keep me on track. We are even planning on taking the Shred with us, and doing it in the hotel room! We'll see ;)

TGIF! Have a happy and safe weekend. I'll leave you with a pic: my cat Elliott, "working out" with me. He does this EVERY time I turn on the Shred.

Hello Monday!

Other than having dinner with a good friend Friday, I did absolutely nothing this weekend. And it really felt glorious! Over the past few months, I've been on the GO and it felt nice to sit in my PJs and watch a movie. (speaking of -the Time Traveler's Wife? No bueno) I also did a million loads of laundry.

I'm also reading Pat Conroy's The Great Santini. I am a big fan of his, and the first book I read of his was The Lords of Discipline. I can't wait to read South of Broad next. Many of his books are based somewhat on the details of his life growing up with his abusive father.

That's it for now. Pretty boring! This is my "I'm trying to fake myself out and think it's Friday" smile. So far it's not working. More caffeine please!

PS Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post! My Big Fat Blog Family, I heart you all.