The New Me!

The past 6 months have been... trying, to say the least. So much has changed and a lot of the time it has felt like things were spinning completely out of control. When I start to feel like I've lost control of my life I have a long standing habit of changing the one thing I have complete control of. My hair. Usually I just dye it, or cut it, but under the circumstances neither of those seemed like enough. SO, I chopped it all off and dyed it red.

What do you think?

Oh, and I've also started getting my nails done again. I always feel much more lady like when my nails are done.

What do you do when the world seems to be getting a little too chaotic?

Midnight Ramblings

Between the new kittens, and working over 92 hours this pay period, I am beyond exhausted and haven't been able to find much time to blog.

As it is, I am posting this on my iPad from my bed.

I miss my blog. I miss my followers. I miss reading the blogs I follow. I miss doing product and book reviews. I miss having the time to do any of this.

Starting a second blog was probably a little silly given the circumstances. I just didn't want to bombard people who don't like Disney with a lot of stuff they didn't care about.
I also didn't want to stray away from the general vibe of this blog.

I have been trying to keep up with Facebook and twitter. I am tweeting as @fromlazytolady as well as @ladynwonderland . Please be sure to follow both because my phone has me posting on one while my iPad has be posting on the other.
Facebook is http://Facebook.com/fromlazytolady and http://tinyurl.com/LadyInWonderlandFB ( I don't have enough likes on the second one to customize my URL yet.
I will be doing a Disney or Alice in Wonderland themed giveaway on my new blog http://ladyinwonderland.blogspot.com once the blog, twitter, and Facebook pages all have 100 followers. Please be sure to follow for your chance to win!

Speaking of Alice in Wonderland, the kittens are getting so big! Alice and Dinah have both figured out how to climb the baby gate and I am constantly finding them in the kitchen. This would be fine, except they cannot get back over the gate to get out of the kitchen. Silly kittens. Jasmine seems to be adjusting well, especially now that it seems her first heat is over. Jasmine and Dinah are the best of friends... Or each other's arch nemesis, I haven't figured it out yet.

I chopped my hair off again! I also bought two new shampoos that I cant wait to tell you about so be sure to stay tuned for pictures and product reviews!

I Used To Be Fat

Have any of you watched this show?

I watched several episodes tonight when I got home from work. I was so appalled by just how LAZY I really am less than halfway into the first episode.

I sit around and bitch about how fat I am, I talk about eating well, I try to go to the gym (I have gone once a week, every week for a month, I'm actually proud of that since it's more than I've gone in the past four months combined) but these kids, they work out 2 hours a day, every single day.
They suck it up and eat the salad and avoid the french fries.

Sure, I've lost a lot of weight since I started my weight loss journey. 30+ pounds in fact. BUT these people are losing 30 pounds in 3 months... it's taken me over three years. In fact, I have been within the same 10lb zone since I got married almost 3 years ago.

This is unacceptable. I am making a comitment to myself, to get healthy. Heart disease, and diabetes runs in my family. I already have high cholesterol and have since I was 25... what am I waiting for?

Support.
The other day at the gym, Lord Hill saw me struggling and giving up on a machine. He came over, and talked me through and counted out the last few reps with me. Honestly, if he wasn't there doing that, I would have given up. Support is essential when it comes to such a large lifestyle change.

That is why, I am asking you, my readers, my friends, my family, to help me with this. I need your support.

That is the difference between why the people on tv are succeeding and why I am failing. They have people holding them accountable for their actions. They have to step on a scale every few days in front of the world, and if they fail, the whole world knows it. If they don't reach their goals, the whole world knows it, but at the same time, if they need a little help, or a little push, they get it from knowing the whole world is watching.

I would love to hear about your struggles and your triumphs with your own weight loss, tips about dieting, recipes, work out routines. Any support you can offer. I'd also love to do the same for you. If you need support, let me know how I can help.

So, in the spirit of new beginnings, I need to lose 20lbs. I'd like to lose 10lbs by March 23rd. Wish me luck!

My new favorite photo of me...

Taken at work, with my HTC EVO no flash.

New Year, New Me.

Everyone says that right?

Well, I really hope to accomplish it. Maybe not a "new" me, just a "better" me. lol That doesn't sound much better.

I started this blog as a place to show my journey from being lazy me, to being lady me. I don't think I've changed nearly as much as I would have liked, but I am proud of the changes I did make.

I am going to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone more this year... Whether it be with challenging myself at work, with my writing, with hobbies or my appearance... so without further ado... I present the new Lady Hill...

 

and just for fun... here's a "before" shot....

Blessed

It's so easy to sit around and feel sorry for yourself. To sit and say "oh my, I'm so tired, work is kicking my butt, I have no time for my friends, I have no time to cook, I have no time to go see my mom. Wah, whoa is me"

I would like to take a minute and say that I am truly blessed.
2010 was a really hard year for me. My mom's cancer, losing my job, losing Tango, family drama, dealing with fibromyalgia... you name it, it sucked.
I really let it get to me. I got to the point where I just couldn't take any more, had a major panic attack and almost ended up back in the hospital because of it.

2011 is going to be different. My mom still has cancer, I still miss Tango, and I'm still bitter about what happened at my last job. The difference will be with me, and how I respond and react to my life. 2011 is going to be about positive attitudes.

Thank God, I have a job.
Thank God, I have friends. Great friends. This might be the first time in my life when I can actually say that and mean it.
Thank God, I have food in my fridge and do not need to go hungry.
Thank God, my mom is still here. I am so grateful for every minute that God gives me with her.
Thank God, I have family that loves me. Drama or not, I never have to question whether I am loved.
Thank God for my daddy. He is my rock. 
Thank God for giving me the years I had with Tango. For letting me help him know what it felt like to be loved. For giving me a little ball of unconditional love in return. For teaching me patience. For bringing me to a point in my life where I would get Jasmine.
Thank God for Jasmine. Without her, I may never have gotten out of my funk last year. She has given me a reason to get out of bed every morning.
Thank God for Petey and Bella and McDuff. My children.  Fur, or feathers, paws, or claws, my loves.
Thank God, for Disney World. For at least 8 days a year I get to just be. I get to live in my fantasy land, and be the Princess I know I am, see the world, and be a kid again.

Thank God for my amazing husband, who can always make me laugh, and makes me feel like a princess every single day.

What are you thankful for? Do you think your attitude can impact your future?

Follow Friday! + An Award!

Kristin over at Kuppy Kakes by Kristin passed on this awesome award to me. I love this award b/c it's so lady like!

Now, it is my duty as a gracious award receiver, to pass this on to 9 other blogs as well as, tell you guys 7 things about me!

1. I love fishing but I hate the thought of hurting the fish.
2. Sometimes I cry when the hook gets stuck in a fish's mouth. I feel really guilty about hurting it.
3. I only eat fish I catch. I will only keep a fish if I will eat it. I think catch and release makes more sense than catch and give the extras to friends and family.
4. I am convinced that when we let the fish go all his fish friends think he's crazy when he tells them what happened. It's basically an alien abduction.
5. Because of my feelings as to how the other fish treat the fish we catch, I believe in aliens. They basically do to us what we do to wild animals all the time. Who are we to question what people claim to experience?
6. I appologize to the Freds every time I come home from fishing. 
7. I really am as crazy as I sound in these things...

9 blog to pass this on too?
Cheap Geeks Anonymous
The Very Best Housewife.
Color Me UnTypical
Salt says...
THE DAILY DOSE OF REALITY
☀ Sami by the Sea! ☀
After 'I Do'
Fourth Grade Nothing
Harriet and Friends

From Lazy to Lady...a picture is worth 1000 words

I was working on making a button for my blog when I realized that the program I need to use is on my laptop which is currently not working. BOOO. So I played around in photobucket instead. I think this mini slide show fits the theme of my blog pretty well don't you? The first photo was taken in December 2001 and the second was taken March 2008.

Follow Friday!

For those of you who are new to my blog from the hops and/or for those of you who never checked out my "About Me" page... here is some info all about me!

This blog details the journey of a young Lady who is trying to make her house a home after nearly 27 years of being treated like a princess.
That "princess" is me. You can call me Lady Hill.

I live at home in a small but busy town in suburban New York. I live with my husband and our furbabies (and a feathered one too).

The Story of how we met is one as old as time.
Once upon a time there was a Fair Skinned Princess and a Young Naive Knight. One day they met at a palace(Nassau Community College) dance(Dance Class). After that fateful day all the Young Knight could think of was the Princess. Her smile, her laugh, everything that she was clouded his thoughts. As time passed the Knight wondered if they were to ever see each other again. As any good fairy tale goes, they did. Brought together by Sir Bob of Einenkel(our acting teacher) the two’s connection grew stronger. But dark times arose in the form of a Black Knight from the North. It turns out that he had claimed the Princess as his betrothed and stole her away to his castle. The land met with despair and torment. The Young Knights spirits slowly withered. Not knowing what happened to his princess or if she would ever return he tried to go on without her, to his dismay.
After almost a year of separation Sir Bob of Einenkel approached the Knight with a proposal. It seemed that one of the squires could not perform his role in the upcoming palace production and asked the young knight to take his place. The Knight agreed. With only 8 days to prepare the Knight focused hard and studied his part. It was the night of dress rehearsal. The Young Knight was nervously prepairing himself when the Fair Princess came into the Theatre. It seemed that the Fair Princess was helping with the production. This was a shock for the Knight. Fate had brought them back together and the Knight wasn’t going to lose her again. The two quickly reconnected and became closer than ever. The Princess was able to break the Black Knights hold on her and ran off with the Young Knight. Ever since then the Princess and her Knight have been inseparable and are soon to be Wed.
On March 28th 2008 The Knight will be with his Princess forever.
The End

The Knight and his Princess were joined together in Holy Matrimony the twenty-eighth of March in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand Eight.

The Knight became a Lord and the Princess became a Lady on the twenty-eight of March in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand Nine.

Worrying vs. Praying

I just read a post by Julie over at Joy's Hope that was just perfect for how I am feeling right now.
I am a worrier. I always have been, I probably always will be. To prove just how extreme it can be...when I was a young child, elementary school age, I used to sneak out of my bedroom, into my parents' bedroom to check on them and make sure they were breathing. I would have done the same with my brothers but one was in the room next door and his snoring was loud enough to ensure he was alive and well and the other was in the basement. I still avoid the basement after dark.
I find myself doing this in the middle of the night now with Lord Hill and my furbabies.

I cannot shut my brain off. Not only am I a worrier, I am extremely anxious and prone to panic attacks. I'm sure all of this will come up at some point, and I'm all about honestly and they say "write what you know" and well, most of my blogging is about me trying to learn the things that I DON'T know, so in order to make up for that, this is a taste of me.

Anyway, I'm currently worrying about everything under the sun. My parents' health, my dog Diva's health (she stayed with my parents when I moved out) my job, money, whether the new teeth whitening system I'm using is harmful, an odd mole on my arm, the fact that my God daughter just turned 11, my niece will be 16 in a few weeks, whether or not one of the loud planes flying over head is going to land on my builiding... and lots of other things all of which I have no control over. (except for maybe the teeth whitening)

So, what's the point? Why waste all of this time and energy worrying about these things when I can spend some time praying to God and putting it all in His hands and thanking Him/focusing on all of the good that He has given me?

Of course it's all easier said than done. I already pray all the time. I pray and then I worry, and then I pray about the worrying... but for just a few seconds after reading Julie's post I felt at ease/peace and my brain shut up for a moment. It was nice.

Friday 5!

Today you get to learn something new about me. I am not just a blogger, animal enthusiast, and zombie hunter. I am also a crafter! I had a shop over at shopit.com for a while, maybe I'll open an etsy shop soon.
Here are a few of my favorite crafts that I have done recently.

1. An embroidered tea towel for Sara over at Who Bakes Cupcakes. It was for her birthday. She is also a zombie hunter/researcher.
   
   
   
2. A fleece blanket for Tango. He loves his blanket, he's not so fond of the modeling part.
   
   
   
   
   
3. This was the first watch I ever made. I make a LOT of jewelry/accesories and I think this is my favorite piece to date.
   
   
   
4. Domino earrings. My domino line was the thing that got me really motivated to keep making jewelry because I wore a bunch into the Villiage one day and every shop we went into wanted to purchase it from me.
   
   
   
5. A picture frame for my friend Ronnie. I wanted to give her something special and we're both big dorks so I hand embroidered the patch and then put pictures of us from my bachelorette party in the empty slots.
   
   
   

Are you a crafter? If so, what's your medium?

Friday 5!

Today we shall take a look at 5 different hair colors I have had since 2001. Please note that this is simply a selection of the many colors it has been. There are plenty more where this came from. Enjoy!

1. OMG is that my natural hair color?! It IS IT IS! at least the top part is anyway the rest of it is not dyed it's bleached from the sun. This was probably my first semester of college in 2001
   
   
   
2. This was 2003. I know b/c I have a lip ring and fabulous burgandy hair. You can't really tell that it's burgandy but how cool is my hat?
   
   
3.  This was somewhere around 2005 or 2006. I don't remember exactly when. I just know I was dating Lord Hill at the time and we had just gotten home from our first trip to 6 Flags. Yes, that's bright red. It You can't see the blue and purple that's also somewhere in there.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. This is my favorite hair color ever. Black with burgandy highlights. My cousin did it for me in her kitchen. I was being Snow White for Halloween that year and had worn a black wig at work every day and decided enough was enough I was going for it. I love it and no matter what I've done I can't seem to get it to look the same since.This was Halloween of 2006 I think.
   
   
   
5. This picture was taken the first week of April 2008. This was my "newlywed chop" I also really like this color but it's super hard to maintain.
   
   
   

So... what color do you think my hair is now?

Friday 5! Embarassing but Cherished Photos

Today's Friday 5 is a little late b/c it's technically Saturday but I haven't gone to bed yet so it's still Friday in my world. I thought I'd do all photos today. These are horrible photos of me that make me smile.

1. This is me and my dad at the Mets game this Weds. I look awful but my dad is smiling which he rarely does in photos. He's one of "those" guys haha. I LOVE this photo. It doesn't hurt at all that the Mets kicked butt at that game. We had scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning alone. Very exciting, very fun. It was the first time I'd been to the new stadium and the first time I'd been to a game with just my dad in forever.

2. This is me and my mom. Again, I don't look that good but she's smiling and I can't even begin to tell you how much that means to me. My mom had just had surgery for cancer and we were wig shopping. Hence us having the same hair style. I actually really like that style on me and almost bought the wig for myself.

3. This is me and my youngest niece on my birthday in 2008 I think. (side note, I'm currently wearing the same shirt that I'm wearing in this photo.) I just LOVE that we're both making similar faces. Apparently I'm incapable of taking a decent photo where I don't look awful. Oh well.

4. This is Lord Hill and I on the Nemo ride at Disney World. Please note the Mickey ears, pin lanyard, and velcro frog. I am super cool. Also, Lord Hill is wearing a "First Visit" button and while you can't see mine I am wearing an "Honorary Citizen" button because I have been to Disney World enough times to earn it. I'm a big of a Disney Junkie.

5. This was my bachelorette  party. I had it at the Awesome 80's Prom in NYC. For the record I do not know anyone in this photo other than myself. I have no idea where I got the bunny ears from or why this photo was taken. I'm a hot mess but don't I look like I was having a good time.

Do you have any photos like these? You know, the ones that you wouldn't normally show anyone (let alone the entire internet) but you can't bear to part with them because they just make you smile whenever you look at them? You don't have to show me the picture, but I'd love to hear the story behind it.