The Stingeries

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Trendsetter?!

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a trendsetter - in anything. Clothing, decorating, etc. However, I do have a passion for organization...

Last fall I saw a blog post from my Pi Phi sister Chelsea about her Erin Condren planner (read her post here). I fell in love with the planner, but was a little shell-shocked at its price tag - $50. This is where I will refute the comment that I am cheap. I am just fiscally conservative...

Then I got a Christmas gift early. One day in late October I saw a Plum District deal for $50 of merchandise for $25. On top of that I had a $10 off coupon for Plum District that I received as a Catalina from Kroger. (Don't know what a Catalina is? Read about them here and check out my blog post on couponing here.)

Score! I could now justify the sweet planner with its total price tag (including shipping) to be ~$23!

Here comes the trendsetter part... I showed my friend Nikki the planner on Erin Condren's website (click here) when I was trying to decide which one to purchase. In turn, Nikki, who is a trendsetter, purchased them as Christmas gifts for some of our mutual friends! My friend Brittney also ordered herself one and said her mom was going to order one too!

I am patting myself on the back since I know I will never have another moment like this - a moment where I, Darcy Stingerie, actually help start a trend in my circle of friends. Figures it would be with something organizationally-focused. :-)

And here's a snapshot of my own planner! (Sorry about the poor quality... iPhone 3. I'll update it with a better one later!)

Less Than a Week Away!

Next Sunday is the Houston Marathon! I cannot believe it's already here. Last July, when we started training, seems like forever ago and just like yesterday at the same time.

This year has been a particularly hard year to train. I think there was some allure in training for my first marathon that I didn't have this go-round. Instead I had a harder work schedule, harder travel schedule, harder physical ailments, and tougher weather.

Yet I am still here. And still ready to take on the marathon. I have my game plan worked out and plan to spend this week hydrating and cargo loading. On Sunday, January 15th I plan to run my second marathon!

If you are in the Houston area, PLEASE consider coming out and supporting the race. Seeing a familiar face makes an indescribable difference and energizes us more than you can imagine. The marathon website has numerous suggestion of places for spectators to go (click here).

I am blessed enough to already have several friends planning on coming out and supporting me - THANK YOU!

And a special thanks to my husband, Jason. He is my biggest fan, best friend, and without him I would not have the confidence to go out there and race my heart out. He supported me last year and plans to support me again this year. THANK YOU HUBBY!

If you would like to get updates on me as a runner, you can go to this website (click here) and search for my name. My bib number is 9292 (pretty good number I'd say!).

Monday, January 9, 2012

CeCe

Saturday Jason and I had a few errands to run - Best Buy, Lowe's, Hobby Lobby, Target. This last one was a game changer stop. Next door to Target was a Petco. And this weekend was an adoption event...

I skipped over just to look at the puppies and kittens and Jason warily followed me over asking what I was doing. When we walked in we were greeted by a group of large dogs and as we walked down the aisle a small, calico kitten was being held by its foster parent.

Jason and I had tossed around the idea of getting a pet awhile back and had visited a few shelters looking for cats. We like both cats and dogs, but with our current schedules, a cat would be easier. However, we just did not find one that we really loved and felt like would be a good pet.

It's at this point in this story that we made a crucial error - we held the kitten. And the more we held the kitten the more we fell in love with her - she cuddled, she played, she purred. We were sold. We had found our kitten!

We left Petco with a litter box, food, toys, and a new family member - little unnamed kitten. And she remained unnamed until we finally just started calling her CeCe. (Give us a break, we are two engineers!)

We love little CeCe and she's adapted well into our home already. We've learned in just one day that she has distinct modes of operation.

Investigation mode - which she entered as soon as we let her down in the house and she no longer had any interest in us whatsoever, just what room was next and what she could sniff.

Play mode - we learned you do not try and pet her during play mode. She wants to lightly bite and lick your fingers and can entertain herself for a long time with just a string.

Lastly, she showed us Cuddle mode - where she snuggles with you and will even push her little head against yours. She did this while watching TV last night and today during the Broncos game. (AMAZING victory over the Steelers!!!!!)

I have also learned that when Jason and I do finally have children, we are going to be THOSE people. The ones who take hundreds of pictures of their kids and talk about them all the time. We've had CeCe just over 24 hours and she already has close to 75 pictures...

Here are just a few! :-)

"Talk to the paw"