Freddy's Fab-U Friday

The snow keeps on coming and I'm not sad about it at all! I had a half day Wednesday and no work yesterday! Not only did I have off yesterday, but I got to shovel! Normally, I hate shoveling- but yesterday my shoveling earned me two extra ww points. So, I had me some chocolate ice cream while watching the Real Housewives of BH reunion followed by the Jersey Shore last night. I love those damn housewives and really can't get enough of the Jersey Shore. Sometimes I walk around the house with my hair in a pouf and tell the hubs "I'm Snookie."  I also did that on Skype with my mom... I know, I'm not normal. But its hysterical and it makes me laugh so who cares!!!



Snook's Pouf


So this weekends plans to go up to LI are tentatively foiled by the white stuff. I'm going to be here in Maryland and found some free stuff that you might enjoy too:

Free French Fries at Wendy's ( I will not partake in this because I need to get on a scale this Wednesday, but if you shoveled ALOT you might have earned it) so here's the link Free Fries at Wendy's

With V-Day coming up think about a gift for your lova!!! Half off at Godiva Seasonal Gift Sale thats 50% off all their items.

Rent two get the 3rd Free Blockbuster Kiosk:
with rental code RASC92
Click Here to find out how it all works- its like the Red Box Movies. You just need to create an account and they will probably give you some sort of coupon code when you logout!!! I'm thinking of renting something funny, i'm not a scary movie fan!

Free Dollar for you or our troops:
Go to http://www.millerhighlife.com/ and get sponsored. You basically read the below and fill out your information.When filling out your mailing info, you’ll have the option at the bottom of the page to either score a $1 check via snail mail or donate $1 to IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America). If you request a check, allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

You basically commit to the pledge below and its HYSTERICAL!
I, [STATE YOUR NAME], hereby commit to living the highest possible form of the High Life in any and all situations. I pledge never to willingly participate in non-High Life-like activities, including but not limited to: male bathing suit shopping, goatee dying, embroidered golf shirt collar popping, wallet-mirror carrying, denim pant leg rolling, unnecessary nail manicuring, or pet portrait painting. Most importantly, I will uphold my sense of common sense and use it authoritatively when called for to maintain my responsibility to unashamedly, undeniably, and unabashedly live the High Life.

Not a bad way to start off your weekend.

I hope you have a Fab-U Friday!!!

Love Fern

Back in 2002 I was given a house warming gift. I was living in a row home on York Road in Towson. And let me tell you, York Road in Towson is prime location for any college senior! So with me in my cool new digs, my boyfriend (now hubs) brought over an aloe plant as a housewarming gift. Little did he know I wasn't born with, nor did I ever aquire a green thumb.

So we all know this aloe plant is much more then just a housewarming gift. I, like any other 21 year old girl, believed it was some type of "symbol" of our relationship so I needed to do whatever it took to keep this plant alive!Picture "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and Kate Hudson's Love Fern. I did not want to be the one who killed the Love Fern!




“Andy: Look at our love fern! It's dead!
Ben: No it's only sleeping.”

 After graduation our Love Fern drove home with me in the back of my little Toyota Corolla. It lived in Oceanside, NY and loved the three season patio. My grandmother sang to our Love Fern and it grew, and grew, aaaaannnd GREW! We repotted the love fern in a small planter first , then the planter came with me when I moved from Long Island to Maryland and the hubs helped me switch planters and repot it in the planter it lives in now which is a bit bigger. Now the Love Fern has flourished and has actually taken over the entire living room. Some of its leaves actually block the TV depending on which part of the couch I sit on. Not that I have any anger toward this Love Fern, I just think its time to give some of that love away to others. Someone who's never had the opportunity to care for a Love Fern and watch it grow. The problem is that I have no idea how to unpot this plant to give parts of it to all of you! For now I'm thinking of ordering it a new outdoor planter that I can look at and laugh everytime, it comes in the shape of a cast stone sneaker and is completely redic looking! This site has so may planters if you're looking for planters by size, shape, color , material, it really helps you sort though the thousands of options. And they have lots of sale stuff. Bring on the spring!!!

But for now the Love Fern will sit in it's spot by the window, on the carpet, which has a round spot embedded into it that i'm sure will never fluff up ever again.

I'm so proud of our little (and by little I mean ginormous) Love Fern that is still a symbol of how much the hubs and I have grown with our plant- so cheesy but true.




<3 Fern



Three Scary Words

Maybe the three scariest words .....Back .... to.....SCHOOL!!!
Its always exciting and scary for little kids to go to school (think cheesy kindergarten picture of all the neighborhood kids at the bus stop that comes back to haunt you on facebook), and even after all this time, I have the back to school jitters because I'm going to be a student (again)!!!
I haven't taken a class since 2005 and I'm supposed to start up again this Wednesday.
I decided that while working at a University, I might as well take advantage of the perks and take classes since they're free. So, with all the free time I really don't have, I'll be taking classes part-time for the next SEVEN years in hopes of walking away with a Ph.D in Public Health. It's gonna be a long road but I'm determined to finish up so I can be a full-time professor (seriously, they have the life!!).

My next project is to figure out how to rent a textbook.
Back in the day... and by back in the day I mean like 5 years ago, we just went to the bookstore on campus to by a new book or a used book if you could find one to save you some money. Now the newest way to get your books is to rent them. There are a bunch of different websites that ship directly to your house and you return the book after 130 days!!! This is unreal! If anyone has ever done this, please let me know about  it. And sticking to my New Years resolution of being techno-savvy, I vow to rent and not to walk over to the bookstore (which I pass daily) and buy my textbook!
I'm looking at renting from Chegg. They have the best price for my book and they're eco-friendly. Their website says everytime you rent from them, they actually plant a tree so in turn I'm saving money and helping the Earth! Score :)

Freddy's Back

Freddy's Fab-U Friday Finds!

Many people are saying TGIF while I am going to be saying TGIS. Yes, I have to work tomorrow! Normally I dread going to work on the weekends, but tomorrow I'm kind of excited about (nerdy? I know!).
I get to see my kids. I have 130 of them!!!
My kids (not by birth) who I supervise at work, are all coming back from winter break to start their spring semester and tomorrow we get to spend a lovely 5 hours together training. For me its a training session, for them its more of a social gathering. I love the first day they come back to school because they are actually excited to be here.

While I'm working, hopefully you can take advantage of scoring some great weekend deals:

Bath and Body is giving away a FREE 2 oz. lotion today through Sunday!! You can never have enough lotion in the winter!!!
http://bbw.imageg.net/graphics/media/bbw/2010/fb/fb_CA_exclusive_1.1.pdf

Saturday, January 22nd is Yoga Day USA
I love, love, love Yoga and many studios are offering FREE classes for you to try out this Saturday.
I'm not so much a fan of the Hot Yoga, but a beginner yoga class for those of you who never tried it before is def. the way to go!  For those of you on LI theres a spot that is advertising free classes all day Saturday and you can find them at Yoga for Life, Setauket NY. http://www.yogaforlifeohm.com/home.html
Not many classes are being advertised in my local area so I'll have to do some more research and try to snag a free hour of Yoga before work tomorrow!!

Sunday, January 23rd is National Pie Day! Get off the couch and bake a pie to bring to work on Monday or if that's too much work, maybe take your other half out and split a piece of pie for dessert (hopefully after the Jet's beat the Steeler's- it could be a double celebration!!) I would go for some Pecan Pie or Key Lime Pie, better yet just take me to Cheesecake Factory (does that count as pie??) Good thing WW starts next week!!

I hope you have a Fab-U Friday!!!

 

LI and LBS

Since the holidays, there have been various trips from Maryland to Long Island. These trips have cut into my daily workout schedule, not that I actually workout everyday like I write in my planner, but at least I attempt getting into the gym, the pool, or a fitness class. Oh btw, I WORK at the rec center so really there is no excuse to sit there all day while everyone around you works out.
The food that I eat while I'm in NY doesn't help the scale situation either, but I just can't resist!
Some of my absolute must-haves are NY bagels and pizza, yeah carbo-loading!
For those of you not well-versed in the LI gourmet, the bagels are sort-of like and Einstein Bagelx4!

A slice of pizza is bought from a loud, crowded, PARLA (parlor)! There's usually long lines of Jersey-Shore-esque look alikes and at least 30 differnt options of pizza (not just cheese). You need to speak up in your outside voice to yell at the man behind the counter so he hears your order. One of my absolute fav slices is the Buffalo Chicken Slice from Pizzaiola in Oceanside-yuuuuumy! It has regular cheese, blue cheese, and chunks of chicken in hot sauce- are you salavating at your desk or what???



Holy Delish!

Now that I'm back in Maryland and not around the holy grail of carbs, I plan to sign back up for WW. I heard the new Points Plus program is worth a try. The goal is to lose 10 LBS before the big 3-0!! Yup, ten weeks till my 30th Birthday!!!  

Not to worry, I hear 30 is the new 20!

Freddy's Fab-u Friday Finds aka: My Obsession of a name within a name

So I have minor obsessions I think are hysterically funny, but not everyone around me agrees on the funniness of the situation. One of the more recent obsessions is a name within a name. So the first name of said person is also found in their last name. Follow me on this one and think Sully Sullenberger, Neil McNeil etc...Since getting married and becoming a Freedman, I have an obsession with naming something Freddy. Freddy Freedman!!! Everytime I think about it, it makes me laugh. What a great name for a pet Freddy Freedman. Well since our lease doesn't allow us to have pets I have noting to name Freddy. This is where the blog comes swooping in to save me of my obsession.

My second unaffiliated obsession is sales. Like sale prices, great finds, clearence items, and freebies. Sometimes I shop and buy things on sale just because the price is slashed. When I know I need an item I will not purchase it unless I find a coupon or find it on sale. Is that thrifty or what??? Maybe the latter of the two!I am THAT girl!

So combining my two favorites Freddy + sale item = Freddy's Fab-u Friday Finds.

This week I bring to you the first of Freddy's Fab-u Friday Finds:

For those of us that have winter cabin fever and really want to get in some outdoor acitivity between the NFL playoff games: 
Free Entrance Days in National Parks this weekend (Saturday-Monday). See the site below for more info and also for links to parks in your state.
http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm

For others that need retail therapy and want to shop (because who doesn't want to shop)
Old Navy Clearance Sale now through Monday at 9pm. Items are up to 80% off including clearance items. And a side note for the coupon queens, if you go to facebook and "Barkers Bones" Old Navy is giving away coupons like $10 off $50. Imagine the amount of clothes you could score at this sale!

Don't for get that Monday is MLK Day and its always good to do a day of service or a deed of serivce.
I always like to donate clothes or coats in wintertime. It helps me clean out my closet and make more room for the new clothes I'll buy at Old Navy!
If you need an idea of what to do for your Day of Service theres a webiste that you just type your zipcode into and lots of community service options come up.
http://mlkday.gov/

I hope you have a FAB-U FRIDAY!

I plan on having a relaxing holiday weekend on where else but Long Island. I will take in the smell of the ocean, the crazy New York accent (that,  to this day, I don't believe that I have) and maybe I'll have a peach for old time sake. I promise to update you with some of my L.I. faves so stay tuned....

My Very First Blog Post EVER!

So I'm pretty new to this whole blog-nation. I have friends that blog, I read them. I never "followed" becuase to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of new technology. Staying true to my New Years Resolution I am trying to embrace technology and expand my horizons. I bet your thinking that's a pretty broad resolution- yup! I like to keep them that way because I'm more apt to succeed at accomplishing my new years goal. Ok so maybe your thinking this girl is wack-o-la. Well, maybe I am. I have so many random thoughts that I believe will make this world a better, errr I mean at least you have something to read while you sit aimlessley at your desk figuring how how much you make an hour and how much you are actually "getting paid" right now to read this post. It's a long one so sit tight and enjoy the ride!

About me, I'm a New Yorker. I wonder what most people envision when you say New York-er? Probably Sex-In-The-Cityesque Carrie Bradshaw out galavanting in a barely there outfit even though its the middle of winter. That is not typical New York and I'm not your typical New York City girl.

 I grew up on Long Island-very different from NYC. Some people don't know what or where Long Island is. Let me help you out. Long Island is a LONG skinny ISLAND thats east of New York City. Some just unknowingly call it "The Hamptons." While the Hamptons are on the very eastern tip of this LONG Island, there is much more to it than that.

I grew up on the North Shore of Eastern Long Island- think farm land, winding one-lane roads, three miles to the nearest rocky beach, views of the southern Connecticut shoreline, the kind of small town where everyone knows your business type of deal. I actually grew up on a peach farm. I ate so many peaches growing up that I couldn't eat peaches for a few years. Now we're back to being OK with the peaches.
So literally speaking my life begins with LI.

I loved growing up on the Island but really couldn't wait for my high school graduation, to go off to a BIG college, a place where not everyone knew your name and your business. My college search landed me in the good old state of Maryland (Towson to be exact). Maylanders will proudly tell you that "Crabcakes and Football is what Maryland does!" Towson was the place where I spent the best four years of my life, made my lifelong friends, and met my future husband.

After college graduation it was definately, and I mean WITH OUT A DOUBT, matter of fact that I was going to move back to my Island except that there was no way I was moving HOME, under my parents roof, following their rules. And I did just that. This time I moved to the South Shore of Western Long Island, a whole different ballgame... think houses close together, stores within walking distance, still three miles to the nearest most sandy beautiful beach with endless water views where the ocean meets the sky. Life was perfect, oh except for the love of my life living in Mayland. So we did the dreaded long-distance relationship for four years. My friends started to get married and moved on with their lives -so I did the unimaginable. I applied to jobs in Maryland to be closer to "the one". And that my new friends, is how I became a transplant from Long Island, NY to the DC metro area. I have been here for three and a half years and can say that I made the right choice because I am happily-ever-after married.
I visit my roots frequently and have massive homesickness from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Did I mention the closest beach is not three miles anymore, it's actually three HOURS, Ocean City, Maryland. And the kicker, I've never even been there!!! When we go to the beach the hubs and I drive the extra hour to make the treck up to Long Island to go to the beach. What can I say, it's in my blood! I need the Long Island fix.

Are you thinking, this is redic?! It so is! I know it and I'm not afraid to admit it!
I have lots of random thoughts and hope that you all will leave me yor comments, especially if you are half as crazy as I am. I'm so excited for my blog-venture with you. So here's to 2011-drink up!