My love letter to Oprah

I know that some of you out there may not be a big fan of the Big O, but I am. And quite frankly I am not ashamed of it. Who would not like a self made woman? Who would not like a woman who has literally inspired the world? She has done things that millions of people only dream of. She has made her voice known on SO many issues that affect so many people. She has single handedly brought the love of reading to the fore front. She is an amazing force who brings important issues to light. She shows her true emotions, even when it gets her in trouble, and in the face of so much loss and despair she shows us stories of love and strength.

I remember racing home to be able to make it there before 4 and watching her show while my little sister did homework at the dining room table (which I was also supposed to be doing). I remember so many episodes that touched my heart and made me weep. I think the FIRST show I really remember was a show she did on unknown song lyrics. That is where I learned that the words TIN ROOF RUSTED were used in the song Love Shack. This was obviously before the Internet and 10 million search engines.

Her show remained strong and always had a sense of class while all of the other talk shows of the 90's reduced themselves to baby daddy's and fighting.

She helped to teach me to love myself, no matter what my weight. If Oprah struggles with weight, it must be a pretty hard battle to face, and I shouldn't HATE myself if I lose every now and then.

When I went to college in IL I promised myself I would go see an Oprah show, and I never did. KICKING MYSELF!!!!

When I watched Oprah I felt grown up, I felt like even though I was not ready to watch the evening news (still not sure if I am) I wanted to hear what Oprah had to say.

Her FIRST book club book selection was in 1996 and was The Deep End Of The Ocean. I made my mom go out and but me this MASSIVE book, and I read it. It took time and it was about a mother losing her child to abduction but I read it. I was 12.

So as you can see this strong independent woman has been inspiring me for quite a long time. If young women don't have strong role models who are doing what they think they want to do in the world, they don't know if their dreams are possible. I want to raise my children in a world where they know that no matter their color, their sex, their sexual orientation, the size of their dreams or the size of their wallets, they KNOW that anything is possible. ANYTHING.

So that is my love letter to Ms. Winfrey. She did her job well, and because of that...

I have been changed for good.

She performed this on Oprah's surprise show... LOVE the message!

A REAL WEEKEND! FINALLY!

I have been looking forward to this weekend for a LONG time. Not only will it be my first real weekend in a LONG time, but MIKE'S FAMILY IS COMING!!!! Mom, Dad, Sister, and Grandma. They started driving from PA well over a week ago and they will be here in Pasco in about 2 hours. I am looking forward to not only seeing family but for Mike to see HIS family. He's a tough cookie sometimes, but I know how much he misses them. I talk to my mom almost everyday, where as Mike tries to call at least once a month. It's just the difference between males and females I suppose.

So tomorrow we are taking them around the Tri Cities and Saturday morning we are going to Seattle!!!

We haven't as much time in Seattle as we thought we would, but we both love that city. It's such a departure from the town we are in. It feels a little like home, and the places we are used to living because of the arts, and culture.

We know we are going to spend a lot of time at Pike Place Market.

It's such a neat place. Last time we were there we were hoping to see some fish fly (meaning the fish guys throw the fish from worker to worker, there are no winged fish) but we learned that they only throw fish when someone ORDERS a fish. And Mike and I had no intention of buying a huge friggin fish just to see it get thrown.

We don't know where else we NEED to go, maybe a boat ride, or a museum. Who cares really?! We will be in an amazing city with family. We could literally just sit on a bench downtown all weekend and I would be happy.

So no posts till at least Monday... I AM HAVING A WEEKEND!!!!!!

Finding Bliss

Sorry for my absence as of late. Lots goin on here! But this time has given me time to think so I am dedicating this post to...

BLISS

I have always loved the word bliss. It fills me with feelings of contentment, happiness, sunshine and smiles. I feel I have spent most of my life trying to to FIND my bliss and FOLLOW my bliss. It is easier said than done my friends. We all have a tendency to become complacent. We have a job, it pays ok, we don't really LIKE it, we love our friends there, and to be honest, it is HARD to search for jobs.

Over the last few months I have become very aware of where my bliss lies. And for me yesterday was a watershed moment.

I feel blessed to be able to KNOW what gets me up in the morning and what fills my heart with fire and determination. I have not been listening to the inner me lately, which is more than likely the reason I have felt so out of place. So I am saying here,

ELLIE IS GOING TO FOLLOW HER BLISS!!!!

It's scary, it's new and nothing is set in stone. But that is what bliss is about. It's there waiting for you. It knows you have ventured off the bliss path, but it still waits. Waits for you to turn the light on in you head and find it again.

Here is my plea to you lovelies; FIND AND FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!!!! Don't let anyone tell you that your version of bliss is not good enough, don't let fear keep you away from bliss, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE never settle for something less than your highest form of bliss.

As you can tell,

"something has changed within me, something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someones elses game."

Curly Girl

When I was growing up it was the 80's and big hair was IN. So my mother, the trendiest mom in all of Yankton (as far as I am concerned) followed the trend with her and her 2 daughters and permed our locks every chance she got. We also did the whole butterfly wings thing, you know pick up you hair right by your temple then spray it with, what can only be described as, spray GLUE. Yeah,we were quite the trio of curls.

So as I grew up (and went through "my time") my hair naturally turned curly curly, to my dismay and my moms jealousy. I have always been at war with my curls. My hair is THICK and when it gets to long it sits around my neck like some sort of fur muff. It is HOT and FRIZZY! That is until I found a MIRACLE.....

DEVA CURL!

No joke, this stuff is AMAZING! I have the gel (AnGel Firm), the spray (Set it free moisture lock), the NO POO cleanser, the conditioner, the towel,

AAAAAND the diffuser!

Yes, that is it. It looks like an alien.

This system has done WONDERS with my hair. It isn't crunchy, it has TONS of volume and best part, NO FRIZZ!!!!

My curls have always dictated everything from the way I cut my hair to how I wear it to the color it is... not anymore, I finally really like my hair and I LOVE to wear it curly. Plus I feel like it is so much healthier.

Since starting to use this system I have gotten so many compliments on my locks. It's AWESOME!!!!

I am still growing my hair out after a hack job that happened a year and a half ago, but I am crossing my fingers that I will have it to the length I want by the wedding and that day it will be down, and curly, not frizzy and totally me.

Once a curly girl, always a curly girl.

-Elz

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I wish I was in the club that celebrates Fridays. That would be cool. I could use the phrase "TGIF!" or I could grab drinks after work in celebration of the weekend. Then I could HAVE a weekend. Yeah, that would be cool.

Instead here I am trying to come up with excuses for NOT going into work. All I have right now is my toe hurts, which it does. Think I may just have to suck it up.

Since I have nothing of interest to fill this post with I will show you some of the jams I have been rockin out to as of late. These melodies shall get me through....

Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man

Chiddy Bang - Opposite Of Adults

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

You Have Found My Weakness

The last 2 weeks I have been listening to my logical, smart, thoughtful finace go crazy for this car he wants. This is the guy who can't make a decision on a pair of shoes without weighing all of the possible options. So out of nowhere he declares that he will be getting a Camero. Now you have to understand that this guy has a subscription to 2 car magazines, watches car shows which he thinks are not only awesome, but hilarious (they are not funny, I have tried watching them,ug). He loses his mind when given the chance to buy a car. He currently has a very sensible car, but now he is gettin a little crazy with this Camero thing. So we sat down, and I explained to him that we are not in a position right now to buy a sports car and EVENTUALLY we will be. When that time comes, he will be able to get that dream sports car, just not now. It was a hard convo to have since his face looked like I had killed his puppy, but we came to the conclusion that right now, sensible is best.

So that got me thinking, we all have weaknesses. He loses all of his senses with cars, which I do NOT understand. What do I lose my senses over? Let's see...

-The Cosmetic Miracle Fix

I have been dealing with some fierce skin issues as of late. A lot of it had to do with the birth control I was taking, which I switched, and have seen good results. But in the mean time I hear that a cosmetic can help my face and I SNATCH it up. Serum's, Lotions, Night Treatments, you name it. I go ga ga.

-SHOES

I have been trying to find the perfect pair of wedges for months. I do not know why my brain is telling me I NEEEED wedges but it is. I have yet to buy any. GO ME!

-Handbags

Coach, MK, Calvin Klein, shut up. I lose it. I do NOT have any nice handbags, but it does not mean that don't use the words I NEED when talking about any of my handbag desires.

-Shiny Things

aka jewelry. lose my shit. love it. If I could have a new engagement ring for everyday of the week, I would. I am weak.

So as we can see I have many more weaknesses than my amazing finace. It helps to put these topics and issues in MY terms. No, I do not understand the need or desire for a Camero, but I do understand the need for shoes, handbags etc. He has the right to be unreasonable, since when I am unreasonable, which is 80% of the time, he brings me back to Earth. I just needed to bring him back to earth.

Let Me Entertain You!

I love a gathering, a party, a shin dig, and I love being the hostess. There is just something about inviting people over and cooking for them and seeing their faces that I THRIVE ON! Currently we live in a one bedroom apartment, but yet we still manage to have people over.

As of late our downstairs neighbor (we call her Mrs. Heckles after my favorite show of all time, Friends) has taken to telling our apartment manager whenever our voices get above a whisper and she has some sort of handle device that she bangs on the ceiling with, she ALSO has a problem with the loudness of our toilet seat. This is the woman who has wooden cats MADE to look like Garfield and that black and white cat from the 50's cartoons attached to her porch railing. They have flippers for paws and when the wind blows it looks like they are supposed to be slapping each other with their flipper paws?! Point of order I have never seen the thing move and we have CRAZY wind storms out here, fail Mrs. Heckles, FAIL! Needless to say I have little respect for Mrs. Heckles.

Enough about HER, let's get on with this post...

WHEN we have people over we have a few select dishes we know we can make that are SIMPLE and will be a HUGE hit. So this is where I share them with you :)

FIRST: Buffalo Chicken Dip

I found this recipe last summer from the Hungry Girl cookbook. AMAZING cookbook with things that are YUMMY, easy, and health conscious! We love it with Frito's corn chips. YUM-O!

Second: Pepperoni Dip (we LOVE dips)

This one is so simple a monkey could do it. Every time I make it people FREAK and then I am required to bring it to EVERY gathering. So be careful, if you make this you will become the pepperoni dip person.

Third: Midwest Tacos (I have no link, since this one is my moms)

1lb ground beef (brown it)

After beef is brown add...

about one cup of ketchup

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 can bean with bacon soup (this is the Midwest part)

a few squirts to taste of taco sauce, I like Ortega but for SOME REASON Ortega is not sold here (keep in mind I live in a place that is 75% Hispanic... and they don't have my favorite taco sauce....odd, and RUDE!)

Stir...

Put on flour tortilla with sour cream, lettuce, and cheese.

I get odd cravings for these tacos and Mike is not a fan of them. They are soooo not Mexican, thus my obvious love for them.

Fourth: Skip and Go Nakeds!

This drink was introduced to me by my Aunt Barb who learned it from her 90 year old neighbor Martha.

WARNING: THESE WILL MESS YOU UP!!!!

They can be made with ANY kind of liquor, gin, maybe not so much. But Vodka, Whiskey, Tequila, go for it! They are simple, strong and EASY AS PIE!!!!

Mike and I have decided to make these our signature drink at the wedding, mostly because I want little signs that say "Go ahead, Skip and go naked!"

Easy, effective, and PERFECT for summer!

So there ya go! All my little favs for a perfect and easy little get together!

I am off to enjoy the sunshine!

Peace, Love, and Applesauce

-Elz

Ode To My Favorite Bridal Website

I am planning a wedding! We are almost to the the one year mark. YIKES! My fiance, Mike and I got engaged on July 4, 2010 and our wedding is June 23, 2012. We really thought a long engagement would be fun, but it is now looking like we were wrong. The more time I have the more IDEAS I have and thus the more money we are looking at. I am NOT good at editing, so it is proving hard. PLUS, we just want to be MARRIED already. We feel like we are married already, I would just really like to be on his insurance. Ok, that makes me sound heartless, but COME ON! It's true! My insurance may pay for like 25 cents of a doctors visit where as his covers everything, including vision. Never would I think I would become a girl drooling over insurance, but here I sit with a puddle of drool on the keyboard.

So, as we begin the epic journey into the wedding world, I have developed a love for all things bridal. I found my FAVORITE website from the suggestion of a friend and fellow bride to be, Kendra. Green Wedding Shoes is A.MAY.ZIIIING! I drool over the pictures and it has helped me to be confident in our decision to make our wedding COUNTRY CHIC! So as a bride to be, this website has been a GOD SEND! I love them. I know they are Southern Cali, but I say HECK, with pics like that, Southern Cali CAN and WILL be in the Black Hills!

So there ya have it, my 2 cents. I may have a few more cents to offer today. But for now... there ya have it :)

-Peace, Love, Applesauce

Elz

First...

As the title says, I am NOT a Real Housewife, but lord knows I try. The problem is I am a little too scattered, a little to bohemian, and not a wife yet.

So this will be my place to show off my latest creations, my current obsessions, and my trips and falls that I try to laugh at every time.

I am an on hold actress, a current beauty artist, a lover of Real Simple, an expert of all things midwest, a baseball fan, a loving fiancee, a future mom, a current daughter and sister, a random dancer, a car singer, a cat/hedgehog mom, a milk drinker, a sushi-aholic, a wine-o, a bride to be, and a contagious laugher.

So join me in this blog journey as I try VERY hard to not make it a diary and instead fill it with advice, stories, pictures, and all around general things that I myself would like to see.

WELCOME!

heeeeeeere we GOOOOO!