A New Chapter

I’ve been blogging elsewhere on my Weight Watchers blog because not everyone wants to read about that and I certainly don’t expect you to. I’ve been having a bit of a hard time deciding what to do here. Right now one of my main passions has been clothing. I discovered a new fashion line that has me investing in myself in a way I never have before. I’ve always been a beauty products junkie, but never ever invested in clothing. (Shoes and bags are another story). Now I am. I’ve also been doing Outfits of the Day and really enjoying feedback.

I think that is what my blogs main theme is going to be. A place for me to talk to you about my beauty and fashion obsessions with smatterings about my real life.

I can’t wait to share more with you!

100 Things About Me! Part Two.

Let us continue!

50. I almost want to not do this and change part one to just say 50 things about me.
51. I’m totally not a quitter.
52. I just started on Pinterest and I love it. (I am LostinSplendor!)
53. My favorite city in the world is Philadelphia, Pa.
54. My dream vacation would be a trip to Paris or Hawaii.
55. I heart Midtown Village in Philadelphia.
56. If you’re in town you need to visit my favorite store Duross & Langel.
57. Verde is amazing too.
58. I save candy for obnoxiously long periods of time and treat myself to a piece here and there.
59. The weirder the flavor of things the better to me.
60. I recently found out I’m allergic to berries, red wine, red grapes and honey. That blows.
61. I only watch football on Superbowl Sunday and I must be drunk.
62. I’ve been to one baseball game and it was WAY too long.
63. The only thing one of my brothers talks about is Baseball.
64. Oh yeah, I have two brothers and one sister. I am the youngest.
65. I collect Momiji Dolls!
66. I once got thrown off a horse in Mexico into poisonous Mexican brambles.
67. It was my first and last time ever on a horse.
68. I really do not like horses.
69. I am completely terrified of only two things needles and dying.
70. I have two tattoos and plans for many more.
71. I got my first one when I was 17 and my second when I was 22. I know what I want, but I like to take a few years to think out a design before I get it.
72. Whenever I have time alone I consider it “Femme Time” and I do things like watch Titanic, paint my nails and cry.
73. I cry a lot.
74. I even cry every single time I have really amazing sex. Lucky KC! It’s weird, right?
75. I love bunnies!!!
76. I have two. A little grey girl bunny named Penelope and a little black & white boy bunny named Giuseppe.
77. They have very separate cages. There will not be any baby bunnies.
78. I love to bake.
79. I’m very careful with people I put my trust in so I’m happy having very few close friends.
80. I have big brown eyes.
81. I use to have pink hair.
82. Usually it’s either blonde, brown or red though.
83. I got a tan 3 years ago and it still hasn’t gone away. I still have tan lines!
84. I went to prom with my best gay guy friend. Don’t we look cute?
85. I have an obsession with Chie Mihara shoes, but they are two expensive so I only have one pair.
86. I admit I have a problem seeing things beyond their brand.
87. I have personal issues with brands like Dooney & Burke and Nine West for no real reason. (Well…that would be a rant post).
89. I love trying new things especially different foods.
90. I’ll eat eel, but chicken on the bone grosses me out.
91. I like to go new places and taking a new way somewhere gets me very excited.
92. I’ve always wanted to move to Portland, OR.
93. I was at the March For Women’s Lives in Washington, DC in 2003.
94. My hair is very difficult and if I don’t spend at least 40 minutes on it I have to wear it up.
95. KC, of course, loves my long hair so long it stays (for now!).
96. I love looking at jewelry on Etsy.
97. I love to organize things.
98. Candles make me happy.
99. I tend to pick new hobbies to be obsessed with such as making origami paper cranes and knitting.
100. This list was much harder to make than I thought it would be. Shout out to KC for helping me!

 

 

100 Things About Me! Part One.

So it occurred to me that the blogosphere has changed quite a lot in 3 years and I might get some new readers. Hello! This will sort of be a little About Me post so you can find out a bit about who I am.

1. I am 27 years old.
2. When you ask me my age I already have to think about it.
3. I am a Cancer and I completely identify with my sign.
4. I don’t really believe in that stuff though.
5. I live in New Jersey in the Trenton area.
6. I find it’s a very good idea not to read the area newspapers.
7. I live with KC who is my girlfriend.
8. We have been together since July 23, 2007.
9. We have no plans to get married anytime soon, but we are very happy together.
10. I think the older you get the more pointed people’s questions get about your marriage status.
11. I am obsessed with all things feminine and lovely.
12. I used to want to be a make-up artist because I love makeup so much.
13. That was before I had a “real” job.
14. I love my current job!
15. I work at a non-profit agency and work with adults with developmental disabilities.
16. Did I mention I’m on Twitter? (@LostinSplendor)
17. It’s private because I want to keep that job that I love so much.
18. Request to follow me though! I’m friendly and I will let you & I’ll follow back if you interact with me.
19. I have a terrible obsession with Chanel Nail Polish.
20. My favorite scents are lilac and lavender.
21. My favorite perfume is Tom Ford Violet Blonde.
22. I cannot stand the scent of gardenias.
23. There were many years of my life where I probably spent $150 on clothing in one year.
24. I think it’s due to body issues and not being able to buy things that I felt suited my personal style.
25. That all changed with Eloquii from The Limited.
26. I started pretty much from scratch with my wardrobe and I’m feeling so great about the clothing I wear now.
27. You will probably see some OOTD posts in the future.
28. I enjoy doing FOTD type posts too!
29. My goal is to do 1-3 posts a week. Stick with me while I build up to it.
30. My eyes are bad so I can’t read well anymore.
31. I joined Audible.com while I was commuting and really enjoy audiobooks.
32. I’m hoping this will help as I start working out. I get tired of music fast.
33. I’m planning on joining Weight Watchers soon (on Saturday).
34. While I will probably talk about my journey with getting healthy this will never be a weight loss blog.
35. I might share how much I lose at some point (if I even do), but that is not my objective.
36. I want to lose weight because I am extremely overweight right now and it is starting to prevent me from doing things I want to do.
37. Such as run a 5K…
38. And have sex in weirder positions.
39. Okay, yeah I’ll be honest it’s mainly about the sex positions.
40. I am body positive and I’ll always be body positive.
41. Before my current relationship I was in a relationship for over 6 years.
42. I bring that up because I’m sure I’ll be mentioning it from time to time.
43. I will refer to her as The Ex.
44. My favorite colors to wear are black, grey, purple, yellow and navy.
45. I never wear brown. I find it impossible to work in my wardrobe.
46. I have a hard time staying up late. If I could go to bed at 8:00pm every night I would.
47. It’s past my bedtime.
48. My favorite TV show is Grey’s Anatomy. I have a love/hate relationship with it.
49. I can’t cook, but I’m really excited to learn how to cook healthy.
50. I have a ridiculous Starbucks habit that needs to be stopped. I heart espresso!

I’m back!

I’m pretty sure when you stop blogging for 3 entire years people pretty much forget about you and you’re permanently off of their radar.

Let’s do my history. I began blogging in 2003 at sparkliesunshine.net. I always hated the .net part and in (I think) 2007 I switched to lostinplendor.com. I had just ended a long term relationship and a change felt right.

Unfortunately for me and my blog I lost my office job in 2008. This led to me spending absolutely no time online for days at a time and I just couldn’t blog anymore.

When I got working again I had two part time jobs that both equaled out to 50-70 hours a week (for very little money). It was such a difficult time for me. My girlfriend KC and I had also moved into a house with 3 college aged girls who were often throwing parties…let’s just say it wasn’t a fun time.

Here is where it gets a bit confusing…

During that time I interviewed for a job that was a little over an hour away. The main office however, was 2 and a half hours away and that’s where I needed to go for the interview. I decided to make the trip and go for it.

I got the job! I was elated. I got training and everything was set in motion. I soon found out that the company had lost funding for the program I was hired for. They offered me another position, but it was at their

KC and I did a lot of talking and we decided I should accept. This led to 7 months of my life commuting a total of 5 hours every day. I got through a lot of audiobooks including all of Roots. Funding returned for the other position and with a bit of a raise I couldn’t say no to more money and less driving.

You guys, I ended up hating the other position. I was completely miserable. I stayed for 6 months and was at my breaking point. I was about to quit when I found out the person who used to supervise my old position was no longer with the company.

I jumped at the chance to apply! I got the interview and soon learned that I got the job!!! The only downside was since I was transferring I was locked into my old position until they filled it. This led to one of the most miserable months I can remember. Finally by January 2011 I was set in my new position.

Everything was looking up except for one huge issue, KC. KC had been at her position at a university for 2 years. It was a union position with good benefits. Not something you just throw away. She had been looking since I got hired, but now that I was back on the long commute it was more crucial than ever.

We both started applying as much as we possibly could to every university within an hour drive from my job. Amazingly we got a call back from a university that was 15 minutes from my job. By March 2011 she was in a new job at a new university right next to my job.

I thought things would be rosy and bright from that point on, but we just got the commute out of the way. With no savings and plenty of regular bills already we weren’t able to get an apartment right away.

We still commuted for a while, but soon realized with the waste of money and 3:45am wake up calls we couldn’t keep going like that.

Eventually we worked out a way to leave my parent’s house on Monday and return on Friday staying in our car for the nights in between. We learned important lessons like set an alarm to turn the car on in the night so you don’t wake up freezing and free gym trials are a great way to take a shower.

I’m not ashamed of that time because I know it made us stronger.

Finally by JUNE we were able to get our apartment. Yes we did many, many happy dances. (mostly to the Tarzan soundtrack*)

Slowly, but surely we’ve been getting furniture and supplies for our little home. Most recently a bed! (We’ve been sharing an air mattress for well over a year now).

At this very moment in my life I am feeling so blessed and thankful for the life I have right now. I have a job I absolutely love. I have a place to call home. I have a bed to sleep on at night. I have a girlfriend who supports me. That’s why I decided it was the right time to start blogging again because right now? At this point in my life?

I am splendid.

*The Broadway one, not the movie one.