*This giveaway is now closed*

I can’t believe I’ve done 100 posts. Mostly I just can’t believe that I’ve had that much to say. Or that you all have been willing to read what I’ve had to say! You all need to get out more!

So in celebration of my blog-wordiness (and your apparent willingness to read them you crazy people) I would like to offer a girly blogger appreciation giveaway. Can you tell I love giveaways?

And just so you know: I am doing this giveaway because I love philosophy products, this giveaway is not affiliated with the philosophy company, and I was not compensated in any way. I’ll definitely try to rectify that last part in future giveaways.

So anyway, I’m a big fan of philosophy products, especially their skincare. I was a 5+ year Clinique devotee, but found it wasn’t working when I changed job environments and birth control. I did some comparison shopping, and discovered philosophy! I use purity facewash religiously to remove makeup at night, as well as the microexfoliating wash and microexfoliating pads to keep my skin from being congested. I’ve discovered their body washes, they recently offered a gingerbread man sample and I’m in love! So to celebrate 100 posts, I’m giving away first snow, the fresh fallen snow inspired bath & body gift set- how perfect with all the snow we’re buried in up here in the Great Midwest!

Here’s how to win!

1. Comment and tell me your favorite post on the Honey B. blog, or something you’d like to see in the future! (required, 1 entry)

2. Be a follower of the Honey B. on Google Friend Connect! (1 entry)

3. Be a follower of the Honey B on Twitter, @thehoneyb (1 entry)

4. Tweet the following: Spreading some winter shimmer with the philosophy First Snow giveaway from @thehoneyb http://bit.ly/6ZsVyF Please RT! (1 entry, can tweet daily!)

5. Grab my blog button, and leave me a link to where you have it on your blog! (3 entries)

6. Blog about the giveaway, with a link back to the Honey B! (3 entries)

This giveaway will end on January 31st, 2010 at 11:59 CST, and the winner will be chosen by Random.org. 

Good luck!

There truly are no words for this. I think the last time my Mom had a drink was at my wedding in 2008, a gin and tonic. But she carries her knitting around in an Absolut Vodka bag. Huh.

When I was a little kid my Mom taught me the ABC’s, and the sounds (ah ah apple, ba ba ball), and I took it from there….I was reading by age 4, and by the time I was 12, I would take out 10-12 books a week from the Library. And read all of them. It was a big day in my life when I discovered the Adult Library on the 2nd Floor, I think I took 20 books from the Biography section alone on my first day! And I’m still the only person I know who ever got grounded from books as a kid- Honey, I don’t want to see a book in your hand until all your chores are done! Oh the misery. Which is why I consider some of the biggest perks of adulthood to be not getting grounded from books, and being able to stay up late and read.

I do have a bit of a book habit. As I was cleaning my office a few weekends ago, I started stacking up all the books I have, but haven’t read yet. By the time I got to the end, I had a huge stack of books! Like, I’m thinking at least $250 worth of books. And I was caught up on all my book reading when I started school in September, which means that my book collection has spawned in the depths of my office just in the last few months! But I love books, and so do the women in my family. We take turns buying a good book (the latest is The Help, by Kathryn Stockett) which then gets passed, actually making it worth buying it. The Help went through me, two sisters, my Mom, my Mother-in-Law, is currently with my MIL’s stepmother, and will be going to Marmot’s aunt before finally ending up on my bookshelf. That’s not a bad ride for a book- seven readers, four states- especially when I got it cheeeeep at Sam’s Club.

And of course, I can’t wait to read to my kids. My SIL posted a little video of my BIL reading to my four-month-old niece, and it melted my heart….and made me so excited to think about doing that for my kids!  My Dad (also a bookworm) would read a chapter from the Classics (Black Beauty, Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland) to my sisters and I growing up, and that was the beginning of my love affair with the written word. I have an Amazon Wish List for my Future Monkeys, with every book I read when I was a kid and can’t wait to read to them.

I’m also quite fascinated with what other people are reading, because its such an insight into their soul…not to mention being the #1 way I decide to add a book to my stack! In that light, I’m posting my book list, on a specific topic, for Friday’s Book List. I’d love to hear your comments about the books on my list,what you’re reading right now, any recommendations, and maybe you’ll see something you want to read too!

The best book I’ve ever read is My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Stunning writing, gripping story- I’ve given many many copies for gifts, but still haven’t seen the movie! What is your all-time favorite book?

Does it weird anyone out when someone you’re not close with starts talking about trying to get pregnant? Its like they’re announcing that they’re about to have a lot of unprotected sex. I’ll be honest. I blush to the roots of my hair, and start stuttering, even when its someone else. I’m embarrassed for them!

So a co-worker is pregnant, and then another one- and then another hides it until 6 months along- the office is all agog. And the speculation begins, who is next? People are looking at unsuspecting stomachs, wondering…..baby belly, or just a post-office potluck bloat? Is she hungover, or is this morning sickness that has her a little queasy over her coffee??

And no one is safe.

Last week I was at my desk, and all of a sudden I hear breathing in my ear. A co-worker about my Mom’s age was looking me in the eyes, very seriously.

Are you pregnant?

And she makes the brown-chicken-brown-cow sound, then turns and leaves my office. She is my Mom’s age, and she made the farm animal sound thing. Leaves me sitting there with mouth hanging open, my face on fire. Did she just ask if we were trying yet, and tell me we better get going?? OMG!

Michelle from {So Wonderful, So Marvelous} won the Going Green in 2010 Giveaway!

Thank you everyone for participating, and stay tuned for the next giveaway, to be announced soon!

I’m thinking something cute from Etsy….oh that place is trouble…..what is your latest favorite item? Mine changes by the day, but currently I’m in love with the Red Sea of Blossom Messenger bag….omg, so cute!!

This is my last one, for real….its the one I’ve been waiting for! Courtney from Judith Shakes Design put it all together for me, and she did a gorgeous job didn’t she??

Thank you Courtney, its beautiful!

I know that I have some readers who have never had to diet in their lives. But some of you are long-term dieters. You know the drill. You’ve lived through the grapefruit diet and have the abhorrence of citrus juice to prove it. You have the stretch marks from the fat days, and that one pair of jeans you cling to from the skinny days. You have pictures that make you marvel my god I had cheekbones? and pictures that make you want to heave as you think damn, I have a fat roll there?

So my thoughts may be familiar to you. That stunning kneejerk reaction of revulsion at your body when you’ve hit a new level of fat that you don’t remember having before. Not just the general I need to lose some weight thought, but the OH MY GOD moment when you realize you have a belly roll that touches your thigh when you sit down.

I have had one of these moments. Dieting will commence shortly. Stay tuned.

Do you ever just stop and think, wow….how did I get here?

I’m an RN. I moved into patient finance two years ago. It still shocks me that I’m here. What is an RN doing in finance? I feel a little like a poser, and that someone is going to bust me and send me back to the OR.

It hit me this afternoon, again, when I stepped out of a boardroom to answer my pager. And the CFO came around the corner. Holy. Crap. I’m being perfectly honest when I say in a very prestigious medical center, millions of square feet across our buildings, over 30,000 employees in just this site, billions of dollars in our annual revenue cycle, and I run into the CFO? It felt like a celebrity sighting. Aren’t there supposed to be body guards? It made me realize where I was. I was on his turf! I was in a boardroom with a lot of high-level leadership, arguing over details of a project that will potentially save the institution millions of dollars. With some decent authority, I might add. And in dress clothes, including my Salvation Army find, a most fabulous jacket (for $12- shhh!)

Who am I? What happened to the girl who was going to hide in the OR for the rest of my nursing career? I feel like I stepped into this corporate alternate reality, and I’m still not 100% sure what I’m doing here. I work long hours.  I have a stress level through the roof most of the time. I have a pager that drives me nuts, a corporate credit card, and an email inbox that never stops. But I have a job that I love. And huge potential to someday feel really comfortable (as opposed to tongue-tied) when I see the CFO.

I love my job, but I really will say that it scares me how fast I’m moving up. Two years ago, I had planned on staying at home with my kids, if possible. And now I feel like I’m moving up so fast, and I have so much potential in this job, that I can’t not keep going. I have the chance to excel in a job that I love, and go far higher up the corporate ladder than I ever dreamed possible. I love it.

But I’m petrified that if I choose work, or choose to stay home, that I’ll always regret my choice. And I worry that if I try to balance both, I’ll not do well at either. I’m starting to wonder if having kids is a good idea. Maybe I should be waiting? But I don’t want to wait. What do I do?

Those of you who have kids, did you make this choice- and how?? And if you don’t have kids, what are your plans? I look foward to hearing your thoughts, because this is starting to keep me up nights…!

So the Jersey Shore post got me thinking about my family. (And just so you all know, I do have my own trainwrecks that I can’t stop watching- I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant. Enough said.)

So I’m a second-generation Italian American, and yes, we are very stereotypical. We are a very close family, typically explosive during conflicts, have an unspoken patriarchy, we talk like it would win us money, deep respect for elders and the home country, and amazing homemade sausage and pasta. Ohh the pasta. I keep trying to convince Marmot that no my family is not affiliated with the Mob in anyway, and that a trucking business is perfectly legitimate, even if you’re Italian! This picture of my Gram and two of her nephews at the family reunion does not help my case.

My Gram was one of my closest friends in my teenage years (yes seriously, my teenage years) and even though she passed away five years ago, I miss her so much that it hurts. I was named after her, and being her only son’s firstborn, she spoiled me rotten. She was so proud of her heritage, and taught me to be proud as well. My wedding had a strong Italian touch, out of respect to Gram- including her wedding picture and a memory candle in her honor.

So many people laugh about the fact that I’m Italian and have such a food-focused family- and yet, I stumble around the kitchen like a bull in a china shop. But I have a secret, and that is that my Gram gave me all her recipes. And that means that if its Italian, I can make it and make it well. I stopped making her recipes after she died, and only recently my Dad and I pulled some of them out to see if we had the touch. Yep, we do- because if I took a bite and closed my eyes, I was in her kitchen again.

And because I feel like so often through my blog, I’m a taker- I talk about myself, and then you all comment- and you all don’t often ‘get’ anything from my blog. So here is a present, something very special to me- a true and authentic Italian spaghetti recipe. This recipe was perfected by my Gram’s Gram in Italy, and carried with her on her voyage and life in the US.

Italian Spaghetti – from the D’Addosio family of Bari, Italy

1 qt. Tomato puree
1 sm. can tomato paste and 2 or 3 cans of water
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tb grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced onion flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp sweet basil
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 beef bouillion cubes
1 tsp baking soda

The garlic, paprika, chili powder, and bouillion cubes are optional. She used a mortar and pestle for the spices.

Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Add browned meat balls and simmer for another hour. Serve over cooked spaghetti and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Buon appetito!

Alright, I did it. I watched Jersey Shore yesterday.

Why did it take me so long to watch it? Probably because EVERYone I know has asked me, what do yooooou think of Jersey Shore? I know the National Italian American Foundation is up in arms over the show, and supposedly the Mob is trying to yank some of the people on the show, and honestly, I didn’t watch it for a long time because everyone else kept asking me when I would. Call me a rebel.

So I did finally watch it today, and was unimpressed. Sorry to any fans. I told Marmot it was like the bastardization of my culture, seeing the Italian stereotypes exaggerated. And none of the good ones either! Not a single bowl of pasta in the whole show.

My disinterest in the show is more from dislike of Real World type shows, not because I’m Italian. I will say that the show is making it harder for me to get Marmot to quit saying fuggedaboutit. I did have to explain to Marmot that the term guido is funny when an Italian says it, but if he drops that word at the family reunion, he might get whacked. Just because you marry into it doesn’t mean you’re accepted- remember Connie’s husband Carlo from the Godfather?

I’m kidding about the whacking, seriously. But don’t tell Marmot.

*cue the Godfather theme*