Seasons Change, and So does my mood!

Every year, in about September, when the weather has it's first cold-ish day, and the sky is all gray, I can't do it. I just don't function well! It's probably undiagnosed Seasonal Depression.
This year, it was a Friday. I went home from work, and just laid in bed. Ian got home and asked if we were going to our planned event.
I said, "Yes," but didn't get up. He laid there with me, and we didn't move for another hour before I could even fathom getting out of the bed and facing the world.
Everyone else is on the I LOVE FALL Train, but me, it just makes me sad and tired. 
I hate Fall.
I hate the leaves changing color.
I hate the weather change.
I hate my Fall Allergies.
I hate pumpkin.
I hate the cold.
I hate that it means Winter is coming.
I hate the weight gain.
Now, you're saying, Why don't you just move?! And I would, but my mom is still in Indiana. Ian's parents are still in Indiana. It's not that easy! We both need jobs with insurance. (I guess the insurance thing is getting better now.) I also have a group that I started and work very closely with. This is all in Indiana.
I was really hoping to take some kind of trip to somewhere warmer this Fall, but with Ian's new work schedule, we won't be able to do it this year.
I try not to show the thoughts, feelings, and depression that hits me every year at this time of year. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" 
Now, I'm not saying, Woah is me, or anything like that. I'm just saying, this is why I hate the Fall.
*All negativity in this blog post is just a "tongue and cheek" type of posting. It's not meant to be overly hateful or hurtful to those who do love ALL THINGS FALL and have a ticket on the FALL Train! Those who LOVE the Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING!
I write about this in case there are others out there that feel this way.
Others that feel the pure exhaustion.
Others that have the allergies.
Others that can't face another pumpkin spice item.
Others that know what it feels like when they step on the scale, and see it go up another pound, knowing that it's not going to go away!
To end on a happier note, here's a picture of me dancing with a dolphin! 

A "Halloween" Memory

I have this memory of elementary music class with Mrs. Troste at Klondike Elementary School. Every year, we would sing "H-A- Double L-O-W- Double E-N Spells Halloween!" to "Danse Macabre. We could also watch a video of Skeletons dancing to it.
I think it may have been this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CHqhsMP80E

I'm trying to figure out if this was something that she made up, or if it was related to an old music text book.

In doing my research, using the search terms "Skeleton Dance," I also found these two videos, also classics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h03QBNVwX8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXkQSiJG7fk
Competing companies with close to the same idea. The Disney Silly Symphony came out first.

Then, there's this newer one, basically, an updated version of the PBS 80's Video. This may be close to breaking the Copyright of the first video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0glOYQBlSA

I actually think about this memory a lot. I thought I would get it out on my blog. 

UPDATE: A little more research, and I found it!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDQB297DgQ0

The Debate on Shoulders

Lately, I feel like there's been a huge debate on shoulders and modesty. Now, this possibly could be mostly in my head because of buying a wedding dress and picking bridesmaid dresses. There are two sides of the debate: Modest is Hottest or Because Shoulders are Sexy.
I saw a blog where a mom was critiquing the teenage girls that her sons are following on social media with on how the teenage girls chose to portray themselves on their personal social media.  She did this by blaming those girls for what they were wearing and how they were posing in their "selfies." Now, with her blog post, she shared pictures of her children in swim suits.  The boys were all shirtless.  Her littlest, a daughter in a bathing suit.  I found this to be very hypercritical!  There's an article that shows the original pictures she had on there before she went and changed them all to pictures of her children clothed.
That was a bit of a tangent, so, I'll get back to my original point. Is showing a shoulder way to sexy?  One point of view is, why does it matter? Men and boys should be taught how to control themselves!  If I choose to where a sleeveless dress or shirt, that does not give someone the right to think they can hurt me! These women who think that other people's daughters need to learn how to dress less provocatively to protect themselves should look in the mirror.  They should learn to teach their sons how to treat woman and girls with respect!
Then, there's the part of me that grew up in the culture that showing a shoulder was immodest. Even now, I see women at certain kind of events and think, "Wow. They believe that's appropriate." That is pretty horrible and judgmental on my behalf! I really don't think it now as much as I used too.It's along the lines of, how old is she? Is that appropriate for her age? Is that appropriate for the work place? Questions like those. One time, my boss said, "Why don't you dress like (said coworker)? Wear shells and things like she does!" Well, she wore things without sleeves. I didn't think that they are appropriate for work for that reason.
Now, I get to my point. My wedding dress: It's amazing!!! I can't wait to wear it and walk down the aisle. I was having a discussion with a friend about my dress who is a member of the LDS church. She asked if the dress was sleeveless/strapless. I said, well, yes, it is! She said, aren't you going to get a shaw or something for it? You should, I mean, November is cold! Now, the wedding is inside. It will be very climate controlled.
Update 7/24/14:
LOL! I started writing this months ago! The wedding went off without a hitch! The dress was/is amazing! My bridesmaids wore strapless dresses. They looked amazing!
I can't believe I left this blog hanging for so long. The emphasis on "Modest attire" has been out of proportion. So what if your shoulders are showing! If you're comfortable, fine! In Indiana, where Summer temperatures usually run in the 90's, (This Summer has been a strange exception!) not being stifling hot is important!
Time to move on.

The Xanex Incident of 2013: Honeymoon Conclusion

For our Honeymoon, Ian and I went to Disney World. I'm a horrible flyer, so, when I fly now, I get a prescription for Xanex from my doctor. Having an anxiety attack on a plane is not fun.
During the week, I had been taking Xanex at the parks to help me feel less anxiety about getting on the rides. Having an anxiety attack in EPCOT isn't fun either, but that's another story.
The last day of our honeymoon, we were spending in Animal Kingdom. There was a ride called "Dinosaur" I really wanted to get on. On our past trip to Disney World, because of said anxiety attack I had in EPCOT, I did not ride Dinosaur. I also didn't ride a lot of other rides. So, with my lunch at the Flame tree BBQ, I took two .5's of Xanex.
I rode Dinosaur! It kind of felt like the ride was in slow motion, which was really strange! Then, we finished our day at Animal Kingdom and left for the airport. When we got to the airport, I took my usual dosage for flying of Xanex, two .5's, my second dosage of that in about 6 hours.
Well, the flight home, I was fine, just really sleepy. As soon as we got off the plane, I remember taking a picture of a model plane, and stating to Ian that I was hungry and NEEDED food! After that is when things start getting hazy.

Actual Picture taken while I was "on Xanex." 

On the way home from the airport, we stopped and got food at Steak 'n Shake. I ordered a Chili 5-Way. We got home, and I remember eating the food, handing the half empty container to my husband, and going to bed. 

Three days later, I asked Ian why we hadn't received our mail from the week before that we had held. He said, "We did." I said, No, we didn't! He said, "YES, WE DID!" I said, no, there's no way. He said, "You sat here on the couch the night we flew in and read mail and handed it to me to read!!!"  Only then, did I kind of remember doing that.
I had come home that night. We went through all of the mail right then, but I hadn't remembered any of that.
Be careful with how much Xanex you take!

Quick life update!

Things are good! Ian and I have been married since November 1st! We had a Disney Honeymoon, which was awesome! (Lot's of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!)

Do it Myself Bouquets

 Now, we are working on paying off debt this year. We did not go into anymore debt with our wedding. We held it at a nice, yet sensibly priced venue. I made our flower bouquets and boutineers. We got a discount on our cake from an awesome cake decorator. Had an awesome friend take pictures. Got a huge discount on our DJ because of the time of year we had our wedding. We made our wedding invitations from a Hobby Lobby kit that we got for half price. We did a lot of things to cut corners.

 The Dress I Splurged On

We had a few splurges. I spent more on my dress than we were planning on. It did get it off of the clearance rack at a designer store. We skipped the favors completely. (Sorry guests!) We splurged on our honeymoon! (Which was totally worth it!) But we had saved a lot of that money up ahead of time. We did have help from our family, which we appreciate!
This year, we are paying off more debt! Before the end of the year, we plan to have my credit card payed off completely, and that will be the end of credit cards for me!!! We are going to work on paying off our car. We also need to start thinking about replacing Ian's car. It's just starting to fall apart.
This is what Ian and I are working towards. 

Finding the Perfect Bra!

I posted this on my Facebook page on September 14th, 2013:
This is brought to you by WTMI, so, if you don't want to know, stop reading now! I like a certain kind of bra (Freya) because it fits me properly. I actually went to Barbara's New Beginnings at Keystone at the Crossing to get fitted a couple years ago, and it's the brand that fit best. I know I can get this bra at Nordstroms for about ten dollars cheaper. I ALWAYS look at Nordstrom Rack to see if they have them, and for the last 2 years, they haven't had any. Tonight, I went and they not only had one but TWO in my size! They were HALF the price that they are at Barbara's, so, I bought them both! Woohoo for a properly fitting bra, and an on sale one at that!
And for all of you women out there that haven't been fitted for the perfect bra, I definitely suggest going to Barbara's New Beginnings to get it done! They are the experts! Even if you only buy one from them after the fitting, at least you'll know what your real size is afterward!

Here's another bra story for you. Jockey started selling bras that contains a completely different fitting system. I was very intrigued by this whole thing. I had been telling Ian every since the new fitting system came out that I wanted to try the new bra! We had gone to Edinburg Outlet Mall and there have a Jockey store. I immediately drug Ian in there to see this new system. An employee took me into the fitting room. She began to explain to me the new fitting system. It involves a cup size fitting, which involves these plastic cups in sizes from 1-10 and a band size. After she explained it to me, she disappeared, or just left the room. However you want to look at that. While she explained to me how the measuring system worked, she said, "Most woman wear the wrong size, and this is too get them in the right size!" I looked at her, and responded with, "I DON'T! I go get sized at least once a year by a bra sizing professional!" She seamed a little upset when I responded this way.  She was so set in her ways with her bras speal. 
So, I began doing the measurements for myself. I measured the cup size, which I was all the way up to the size 10 on the plastic cups, and I felt like it didn't even really fit right. There was even a video screen in the room to watch a video on how to do the sizing properly, but I never turned it on, even though I should have. Then, the lady helping me asked my size. I asked her for a 38 /10.   She got the size for me and came back. She had me put it on myself. I said that I didn't think it fit right. She came in and looked at me and said, "Yes, the band is too big. Let's grab a 36." I agreed and she came back with a 36/10. After putting it on, I showed her that my side boob was coming over the sides of the cup. She said that it was fine! (I've never been told this before.) She said to go ahead and put my blouse on over it to see how it looked. Well, it looked fine. I went ahead and bought the $60 bra. The Jockey Employee even said, "Go ahead and wear it the rest of the day!"
Now, I have a few thoughts on this situation.
My first thought, maybe I should have put up more of a fight about the sizing with this Jockey employee. I know my real size is bigger than a Double DD, and I have a feeling that these cups went up to about that.When I said, "I normally wear this size!" She laughed and said, "We don't do cup sizes, and that doesn't matter!" I have a feeling she really just wanted to make a sale and wasn't listening to me. If she would have listened, she could have said something to the effect of, "Oh, well, our size 10 cup is comparable to a (DD?), and we'll try to see if it fits!" I feel like she was really working me to get the sell! 
My second thought on this is, yes, the bra is extremely comfortable. If it really fit me like it's supposed to, sans side boob over flowing, it would be an awesome bra! I have a really hard time with sales people that don't listen to the customer. (I know I've been guilty of this, but I'm working really hard not to be that person.) I used to buy my bras at Victoria Secret before they stopped selling my size, and I gained weight. I think a lot of those sales woman (not all) were just trying to get the sale. They didn't care if that bra fit you right or not. They also didn't do a proper fitting. I don't know if they all were like this, but a lot of the time, they measured me over my clothing. When a person is already wearing a bra which may be padded and a shirt and sometimes a sweater of that, they are not going to be the right fit. 
I felt like the person at Jockey doing the fitting was not very helpful, especially since she told me I had done my size wrong. She should have stayed in the room and done the fitting with me. I know some people have modesty issues. This is not the time to worry about them! I properly fitting bra is so important!  
For a proper bra fitting, I go to Barbara's New Beginnings or Macy's. Both places, the sales people are trained to deal with all sizes and builds of women. They know that a lot of women have qualms with modesty, which is O.K! There are also trained to deal with women that have different needs, whether that's because of religion, ailment, all of those necessities!
Please women: GET FITTED PROPERLY!