I get real deep here... Just kidding. Its a post about boots.

I have been wanting a pair of tall, leather riding boots for a while now. There are a couple of things holding me back- 1) I am sort of cheap and the nice ones are expensive and cheap ones are uncomfortable. And 2) I have what I like to call "power calves." (some people call them athletic, some people call them fatty fat fat) Those two things make it difficult to own a pair of beautiful tall boots. 

Then came Christmas. My father-in-law gifted me with a very generous Nordstrom gift card. Then after Christmas Nordy's had a boot sale. See the graphic below to see how I felt about it.

After too much  Internet research (AKA reading almost every single book review) I found what I thought to be the perfect set of riding boots.

Nordstrom.com
Don't fall in love with them. They have a very limited selection of sizes left.

I anxiously awaited there arrival at my doorstep. The day they came in, I ripped open the shipping box pulled off the shoe box top and tried them on.

And almost cried. (Well, not really. But I was super bummed.)

They didn't fit over my stupid calves. The next day I took them to Nordstrom holding out hope that they might be able to stretch the calves. After learning that it wasn't really going to be an option, I reluctantly returned them. I also tried on several pairs of boots, but none of them lived up to the beauties you see above. (Nordstrom has a fantastic return policy if you don't know. They put all of it on my debit card instead of some on a gift card and some on my debit card.) I sadly left and went to Macy's to see what they had in stock. I was prepared to be disappointed.

A woman who also had power calves was trying on boots. She also happened to be my same shoe size. (How is that for coincidence?) I tried on a few of the pairs that she also had, and still none of them were what I wanted. And then I saw one last pair. It looked very similar to the pair I had returned, except for a little stretchy panel  It was the same pair I had just returned to to Nordstrom, but in the extended calf variety!!

Macys

The lady working there said it was the last pair that they had in stock, and it just happened to be in my size. It is a post-Christmas miracle. :)

Resolutions in Motion

At the first a of the year, I posted 13 goals I want to complete in 2013. You can call them resolutions if you want. It has been a week since I wrote them, and I haven't forgotten them, so that has got to be a bonus. I asked for you all to keep me accountable in these goals, and then I stumbled across this

It is a 6 week little linky to help keep people motivated/encouraged with a specific goal. Plus, there are prizes. I never win anything (except for my awesome Alaskan prize pack from Angi), but I like the idea of prizes. So... my goal that I will be working on this 6 weeks is...

The Mister and I moved into our house on Valentine's Day 2009. When we moved, many things were just put into the garage, and then we would go out and get boxes/unpack etc. WE NEVER FINISHED! Then we got married, and our generous family gifted us many new things. Our old things went into the garage. When my mom passed away, I inherited quite a bit of stuff from my child hood. Guess where it is? The garage.  I have taken things to Goodwill before, but I have never just taken care of the disaster that is the garage. I am hoping that this little link up will give me the motivation that I need to get my butt into gear, and get the garage emptied and organized. 

I can't believe I am about to show you these pictures. But I like to keep things real around here. Here is what my garage looks like today.

That is embarrassing. It looks like I belong on Hoarders or something. (there is no poop in bags. I promise you that) I hate opening my garage door when my neighbors are outside and now I am showing all of you the disaster that is my garage. We could play a fun little game of I Spy. 

So there you have it. That's what I am starting with, but I am hoping that in 6 weeks I will be able to hold a Zumba class in there. Or at least park my car in the garage. 

How have you been doing on your goals for the new year? 

Nail Files: When Sheer Petals meets a Diva

Today I went on a little gift card adventure. Santa brought me a gift card to Ulta becuase he heard I needed some new bare minerals and being that I had been good and all this year, he gave me my wish. Plus he heard that I liked nail polish so he made sure all of the Ulta brand polishes were on sale for $3 (instead of $6). Nicely done Santa, nicely done.

The base is 2 coats of Revlon Sheer Petal and topped off with a single coat of Ulta's Diva. I am such a fan of this little combo I put together. It is a neutral/light pink with just a little bit of sparkle. It's just a nice, dainty manicure.

One of the main reasons I paint my nails is that it helps me not bite my nails. It is such an icky habit and I have really been trying to stop. I find when my nails look nice, I don't bite. Do you have any other tips to stop nail biting?

13 in '13

I don't like resolutions. They are usually too big and too easy to fail at. Last year I made a list of goals for 2012. I think I made too many. And I kind of forgot about them. I wasn't going to do this, but I want to try it again. Keep me accountable??

Cute huh? Free clipart+PicMonkey= Cute little graphic
P.S. Snakes are not my favorite. But, it is the year of the snake.

1. Save $: This was on my goal list last year and I succeeded. 10% of each paycheck will be put into savings every month. Plus at least half of whatever is left in my checking at the end of the month.
2. Park in the garage: To do that, I will need to clean out the garage
3. Sell Mom's house: Being an executor of an estate sucks. The sooner we sell this bad boy, the sooner I am done.
4. Read: Last year I set a goal of 12 books. I read all 18 of the Janet Evanovich books by the end of spring break I think. This year I will go with 25.
5. Exercise: Bottom line, I feel better physically and emotionally when I am working out regularly. I will say at least 12 hours a month.
6. Run: Yes, it goes along with exercise, but I have never felt better about myself than when I was training for the marathon. I'm not saying I am doing another marathon, but I have to get back into the swing of things.
7. Sew More: I think I am going to try the Craftsy Block of the Month to try to learn how to quilt. I'd also like to sew something I can wear.
8. Volunteer:  Every volunteer activity I have done has been so positive for me. Why not make it a priority?
9. Reconnect: I want to make it a point to reconnect with my girlfriends. I can go for weeks at a time without hanging out with anyone (outside of work) other than my husband. While I love him, I need to make sure that I am having some girl time.
10. Purge: I have got to get rid of some stuff. This goes along with the garage, but the inside of the house has plenty of stuff in it too. Clothes, extra kitchen stuff, house decor etc. 
11. Can: I really want to learn how to do actually canning. I've done freezer jam and pickled jalapenos in the fridge, but I want to use a water bath. 
12. Travel: Take a vacation and explore 3 new places in Oregon.
13. Paint: Our bedroom still has the stencils in it from when we moved in. Yuck. The hall needs to be repainted as well.

How about you? Any goals for the year?