You guys, it’s Tuesday.

Why enlighten us, Captain Obvious.

Just thought you should know.

So, hubs has lived in our house almost three years and he did a few things to it when he first moved in, but since I moved in after the wedding, we’ve had so much fun doing little things here or there to make it feel like OUR house.

Well, one day, when I was washing dishes looking out the kitchen window onto our back deck, I got this sweet idea that I wanted to paint the flower planters YELLOW. Like, bright yellow!

Now, I know this is not a tutorial on how to build the planters or anything… maybe I’ll do that one day. But I wanted to keep it simple for now.

And so that weekend, we went to Home Depot, got a quart of BRIGHT yellow paint, and BOOM. Got to work.

[planters BEFORE]

[planters BEFORE]

[planters BEFORE]
[planters BEFORE]
[getting to work]

[tater was supervising]

[progress!]

[please forgive my old t-shirt and poor hairdo. i was helping... i just wanted to get this picture.]

[more progress]

[VOILA! i LOVE looking at these out the back kitchen window now.]

[i love the fun, bright, rustic look of them!!]

[YAY!!!]
whattya think? like? love? hate? i know this was such a simple project, but i just love the way it turned out. i think it makes our back deck a little livelier!

what projects have you done lately?

xoxo, all for now.

What You May Have Missed This Week on Still Being [Molly]:

• Sunday Scripture: With Everything
• My Attempt at Fashion: The Bottom Dilemma
• My Attempt at Fashion: The ASOS Skirt
• Home Decor Fabulousness at High Point Furniture Market 2012
• My Attempt at Fashion: Jewelmint
• 52 in 52: The Village Diner
• Friday High Fives!

My rAVe [Publications] Posts (aka: what I’m doing at work):

• My rAVe SMB Tip of the Week with Guest Lisa Sullivan: Tip 1 of the Top 5 Ways to Get Started in Social Media
• 19 Things I Remember as a Child of the Late 80s Early 90s
• In The Cloud(s)?
• Fuggedaboutit Friday: It’s Gonna Be May

Tell me, what did I miss this week that you did? Post a link in the comments!

xoxo, all for now.

You guys, remember how I told you I was gonna blog twice on Fridays? Well, this is me blogging twice on Fridays. WHAT?! I know.

Well, a lot of bloggers I follow do “High Five For Friday” posts. I decided to call my similar version of “High Five for Friday” just “Friday High Fives” to celebrate awesome stuff that happened during the week and or high five for things that are GOING to happen this weekend.

I dunno, I thought it would be fun.

[I’m linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk 

Anywho. This week’s HIGH FIVES:

I love these Instagrams I took at Furniture Market last weekend. I thought the Instagrams didn’t fit in the actual Market post, but thought they were fun, so I figured including them here would elicit at least ONE high-five.

HIGH FIVE FOR MARKET!

MY DAVE MATTHEWS TICKET CAME IN THE MAIL! Gah. I can’t wait for May 23rd!!!!!!

HIGH FIVE FOR DAVE!

Remember when JIMMY FALLON, BARACK OBAMA, and DAVE MATTHEWS came to UNC on Tuesday and did a show from Memorial Hall and it aired on TV complete with Jimmy saying “Duke Sucks” and wearing a CAROLINA sweatshirt? Yeah, me too. #GoHeels #GoAmerica

HIGH FIVE FOR FALLON!

Remember when WRAL REALLY paid attention and pulled this little talking point from Obama’s speech?

HIGH FIVE FOR CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!

You guys may not know this, but I love graffiti. Like, I LOVE graffiti. I think it’s beautiful. Now, there’s some UGLY graffiti, but I love graffiti. I love the art and self-expression of it and I think it gives personality to things like ugly doors. I’m just saying. I know it’s weird. But I do love it.

HIGH FIVE FOR THIS CRAY CRAY GRAFFITI IN CHAPEL HILL ALLEYWAYS!

Remember when I brought AN english muffin, AN egg, A jalapeno, and A slice of cheese to work to make this diddy for lunch? Me too!

HIGH FIVE FOR BEING OUT OF LUNCH MONEY AND WORKING WITH WHAT YOU GOT!

High fives all around! What are you high-fiving today? Do you do a high-five post on Fridays? Share your link in the comments!

Do you like this idea for these Friday posts? Feedback on this post? I’d love to hear what you think!

xoxo, all for now.

Cinco de Mayo | 1502 East Franklin Street | Chapel Hill, NC 27514

 | Phone: (919) 929-6566 | Website |

It’s no secret I love Mexican food.

Like, I love Mexican food. A lot. A lot. A lot.

So, I’m always on the hunt for the next favorite Mexican restaurant. And Cinco de Mayo in Chapel Hill does NOT disappoint. As far as Mexican restaurants in Chapel Hill go… it’s the best. It’s my favorite.

The service is SO good – it’s fast! The wait staff is kind, knowledgeable, and on point (especially with the rate at which I down Diet Cokes, they are IMPRESSIVE with the refills). They have TVs around the restaurant, LIVE salsa dancing on Wednesday nights (AND salsa dancing lessons!!), and their patio has GREAT outdoor seating.

Chips + Salsa, FTW!!

Arroz Con Pollo (no vegetables – vegetables ruin this dish. keep it simple. chicken. cheese. sour cream. hot sauce. YUM.)

Their lunch specials are the bomb and their dinner specials are always reasonable. Now, of course, it’s a similar Mexican restaurants to MOST Mexican restaurants. However, their food is FRESH. The plates aren’t boiling hot when they come out because they aren’t just tossing pre-made plates in the microwave. Every meal is prepared fresh on location rather than pre-prepared in some regional warehouse and shipped out to restaurants in the area.

Seriously. Try Cinco de Mayo. Tell me how much you love it.

Now I want queso dip.

Drat. I’m a monster.

Any restaurants you’ve been to this week? Comment below with your recommendations or awesome culinary finds!

So, remember how I told you guys there’s a lot going on? And that big stuff is happening? Well, everything is starting to finally fall into place.

Here’s a little background: one Sunday this past October, Pastor Benji showed a slideshow of a mission trip that New Hope had taken that Summer to Kiria, Kenya. Kiria is a small village located at the base of the Aberdare Mountains, which is approximately 40 miles northeast of Nairobi and approximately 100 miles south of the equator. New Hope has sort of “adopted” this village and continues to support it financially throughout the year. Just looking at the pictures of the trip and hearing about the relationships that were created, the service work that was done, and just the amazing things that the church was doing, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that.

I have always wanted to go on a service trip. In college I remember trying to get an “alternative Spring Break” mission trip together a couple times, but just couldn’t gather the money and resources to make it happen. I was looking for the right opportunity and the right place to go.

I have a passion for loving on and helping people, learning about and experiencing other cultures, and sharing in my faith. It’s not about going into someone else’s culture and imposing rich American philosophies – it’s about immersing yourself in their culture, learning, listening, and really opening your eyes to something different. It’s also about being there as a resource and helping hand.

So, when I heard that New Hope was going back to the village this Summer, I knew that I was being called to go.

From July 28th – August 6th (that’s THIS SUMMER!) I’ll be going. The deposit is paid, the commitment form is in, and I am going.

What am I going to be doing there? Well, in addition to fellowshipping and doing life with the Kenyans, a majority of our time will be spent digging trenches for water distribution lines, building and repairing roads, constructing a concrete pad for water tanks, building and fixing church and school furniture, assisting in the teaching of school classes, and providing medical services where needed.

Okay, so some of you are probably thinking, “Molly is going on a mission trip? THIS summer?” I could probably come up with a list of reasons why I shouldn’t go (life/work/time/money). There’s a myriad of excuses I could use to not go. However, the truth is, I keep coming back to the one reason why I should and ultimately want to go – God loves people and so do I. Going wasn’t a hard decision. When it comes down to it, Jesus laid out a pretty simple religion for us: Love God, love others, and love ourselves. My point exactly. Deciding to go is easy. Paying for it however, is the real challenge.

To be totally honest, I don’t have $3,500 just sitting in my bank account. So here’s where I do something I never do: I ask for money. I would love it and be so appreciative if you could support my mission trip with a donation. A little, a lot, really anything is helpful.

The other thing you can do to help is to pray. As much as God and the church love mission trips, not everyone else does. And there are definitely going to be challenges along the way. So your thoughts and prayers are really appreciated. If you’d like to know more about the trip, I’d be happy to tell you more about it. Just let me know. I’d love to talk about it.

I will, of course, be blogging about my experiences before and after the trip. I would say that I would be blogging during the trip, but the odds of having a solid and/or reliable internet connection in the small village of Kiria, Kenya are not high.

I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Thank you guys for everything.

All for now.

 

That’s right. I said it. I’m a LOSER. A loser of WEIGHT, that is.

In getting back to my old blogging habits, I try to write about things that are on my mind, things that I’m working on, things that I’m going through at this particular moment, etc… because A) It helps me to organize my thoughts, B) If I’m struggling with something, it helps me to work through it, and C) There’s a part of me that hopes someone else who just so happens to come across this little blog can identify with whatever I’m writing about and learn something / gain something / or even add their own two cents in the comments.

before the Shamrock N' Run 5K in Feb. 2011

My weight has always been something that I have struggled with and been self-conscious about. Do I think I’m fat? No. Do I wish I were a size 6? Yes. I’m short, I have wide hips, and those (infamous?) genetic “Buckley Buns”. I have been a size 10 since high school – again, it’s those darned hips of mine. I digress.

Over the last few years, I’ve found myself in this new era of “Molly wanting to get healthy and exercise.” I was never a runner – in fact, I was a terrible runner, sort of still am. But I set out to become a runner, and I’ve half-way accomplished that. I ran the Tar Heel 10-miler for my first race, the New Jersey Long Branch Half-Marathon, and a couple of 5Ks posting relatively okay times. I’m not ever going to be the speediest, but trust me, if I can run, so can you. I’m signed up to run the Tar Heel 10-miler again this year, but right now a bit of a knee injury is standing in my way. GAH. Again, I digress.

I started running to accomplish a goal, but mostly I hoped that running would help me shed those pounds I have so desperately wanted to lose. There was a point last year in which I was running 20-30 miles a week, yet I wasn’t losing weight. I was feeling better, but I hated what the scale said. Then I got injured and stopped running. Working at a desk all day doesn’t really allow for much exercise and frankly, I hate scales, so I stopped weighing myself. To be completely honest, I noticed I had gained weight, but didn’t think much of it.

Then I received my wake-up call. I was hanging out at my friend Laura’s house one night right after the 1st of the year. Went to the bathroom and noticed she had a scale in her bathroom – so I thought, hmm, I wonder… I got on the scale and saw a number I never in a million years would have thought I would see. [Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not going to tell you what that number was. It was that bad.]

I immediately knew that I had to get my act together.

Rejoined the YMCA the next day and re-evaluated my situation. Where had I gone wrong? What could I do to fix this? This needs to be a lifestyle change, not some fad-New-Years-Resolution.

Since then, I have been working out 6, sometimes 7 days a week, I quit drinking Diet Coke (which is HUGE for me, if you know me at all), and stopped eating after 8pm (with a few exceptions here or there). I’m not on a “diet.” I’m simply more aware of what I’m putting into my body. Since January, I have lost 16.2 pounds total. I had actually lost closer to 17/18 but I’ve hit that dreaded plateau period right now. I still have at least another 10-15 pounds to go to get to a place I’d be comfortable with, but I’d really like to lose another 15-20.

I have a couple things to thank for my progress so far. One, my BF . He’s such a workout fiend that it’s been nice to have him to motivate me to go to the gym. On days he doesn’t want to go to the gym, I do, so I make him. On days I don’t want to go to the gym, he does, so he makes me. We don’t really workout together, but to have someone else there to keep you honest really helps. I can’t emphasize that enough.

This is my calorie intake for the last week.

The other is LoseIt.com. I actually had discovered the iPhone App FIRST before I discovered the website. I can’t speak highly enough about it. It’s a FREE app, and 100% worth it. Don’t worry, if you don’t have an iPhone, you can sign up for free on their website, too. I’ll be honest, it takes a few days of getting into the habit of using it, but once you get comfortable, that’s exactly what it becomes: habit. Basically it’s a place to fill in all of your “vitals” and set up your goals and weight loss plan – it then gives you the tools and resources you need. You log all of your food and exercise and it calculates your daily calories. It even has restaurants and supermarket food loaded in there for you to search – and yes, it even has Chipotle. You’d be surprised as to how many calories some things are.

I haven’t stopped eating things I love, I’ve just learned that it’s all about balance and moderation. Plus, I get a free pass with fruits and veggies – those calories don’t count. I mean, who ever got fat from eating too many tomatoes or too many celery sticks? NO ONE. Anywho, If I go over my calorie intake one day, then I make sure I’m under the next. (It also factors in your exercise as negative calories).

The LoseIt.com website also has message boards / forums where you can make friends and get advice on recipes, exercises, and general weight loss. The people on there are super supportive and really help you along the way.

I know, I’ve entered my own nerdy weight loss world, but it’s okay. This is the exact type of thing someone like myself needs. OH, and you can even set up motivators to remind yourself throughout the day to log your food.

Anyway, I share all of this extremely personal stuff because I know that this isn’t something only I struggle with. I’m really not in this for the temporary, drop 10 pounds gain back 30 deal… I really want to finally achieve that goal I have so longed for. I’ve accepted that I’m never going to be a size 6 and look like Heidi Klum, but I know that I can feel better about the way that I look.

I will be blogging periodically about my progress – mainly for the purposes of keeping myself honest. But will you guys help to keep me honest? I do have to say, seeing that line go down makes me very happy…

my LoseIt.com weight chart where I can track my progress

Also, if any of you out there have gone through / are going through / thinking about going through something similar, I’d love some advice. I’d love to hear your struggles, challenges, and triumphs. Share your stories. Share your tips.

Love you guys.

All for now.

GET WORDY, y’all. This is a new segment of my blog (hooray for new segments!). Since I was an English major in college and I taught high school English for two years, I love vocabulary. In school, I looked forward to making a gazillion vocab flashcards. Honestly, I LOVE words. So, I’ve decided to call this segment GET WORDY where I feature a word of the day/week/month/year that I am currently using, want to start using, or have made up. Yes, I like to make up words, too. I’m an improviser, making stuff up is what I do.

Today’s Word: Brobdingnagian

THIS is a brobdingnagian cow. For reals.

Main Entry: Brob·ding·nag·ian
Pronunciation: \ˌbräb-diŋ-ˈna-gē-ən, -dig-ˈna-\ [brah-b-din-nag-ian]
Function: adjective
Etymology: Brobdingnag, imaginary land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift
Date: 1728
1 : marked by tremendous size
— Brobdingnagian noun

This is such a fun word. I wish it were easier to say or else I would use it all the time. As you can see in the etymology of the word, it actually came from the mythical land of Brobdingnag – or the land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels. Wikipedia actually sums it up better than I can:

Brobdingnag is a fictional land in Jonathan Swift‘s satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels occupied by giants. Lemuel Gulliver visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off course and he is separated from a party exploring the unknown land. More plot details can be found under A Voyage to Brobdingnag. The adjective Brobdingnagian has come to describe anything of colossal size.

Say it with me: BRAH-B-DIG-NAG-IAN. Brobdingnagian. Say THAT three times fast. Although it may be a tough word to say, it’s definition is fairly simple. It can be used to describe ANYTHING that is large, enormous, humungous, or of colossal size.

I remember reading Gulliver’s Travels in high school and the word brobdingnag being probably the only thing I enjoyed and/or learned from that book. (I went back and read Swift’s tale when I was older and appreciated the story a lot more, but for some reason was NOT a fan when I was in high school). And there was a span of time in which I tried to use the word brobdingnagian in a sentence a lot and people judged me. Well, that time is no more. I want to bring it back and bring it in to every day vocabulary and writing. WHO’S WITH ME?

I mean, for example, let’s use it in a sentence:

• One day, I hope to have a brobdingnagian bank account. [AM I RIGHT?!]
• That brobdingnagian building sure looks poorly constructed.
• I remember before I lost all that weight, I was brobdingnagian.
• The size of this Chipotle burrito is brobdingnagian. YUM!

See how versatile of a word it is?

Can YOU come up with a creative sentence to use the word brobdingnagian in? Try me!

Word. Literally.

photo credit: the current affairs

I was at the Wootini Gallery Holiday Show opening on Friday night and was doing a healthy combination of working and schmoozing. I was talking with one of the artists, David Lanham (@dlanham), an artist I had actually interviewed a couple weeks ago. As we got to talking he showed me his newest work… and I geeked out.

David is the designer and mastermind behind OLLIE the Twitterrific bird/mascot. He works for Iconfactory in Greensboro, NC and they have developed a vinyl figure of Ollie. Ollie hasn’t been released yet, but he will be soon. I’m going to try and get some and hook you guys up. Because Ollie is SAWEEET. He was even featured as a great holiday gift for techies on @Mashable!

Admittedly, getting so excited about meeting David and seeing Ollie in person was TOTALLY my geek moment of the week… and maybe the year. But I’m not ashamed. It is totally fine to have those little things you geek out over. Right?! Right.

I want to know: What do YOU geek out over? It can be totally silly or totally serious. I don’t judge.

Word.

Me with Ollie the bird.

David Lanham with both versions of Ollie!

Some of you know that I write for a local news parody, Weekend Update style, show called DSI Witness News. In addition to writing for our own live shows at the DSI Comedy Theater, we write for a daily segment on a local station, WCHL 1360AM (every morning at 8:20AM and again at 5:55PM).

Well, some of you have probably seen these crazy Facebook phishing scams and viruses going around. “Test your IQ,” ‘I found pics of you,” and the newest, “Your friend’s booty looks GRRRREAT in the video.” Well, the booty virus hit local politicians and we were lucky enough to have THE Mayor of Carrboro himself, Mark Chilton, join us for a HILARIOUS episode on Tuesday.

(Click here if you can’t see the video. And click here if you want just the audio.)

Hilarious, right? Ahhh gotta love elected officials on Facebook. Thanks, Mayor Chilton for being awesome.

Question: Do YOU have a booty virus?

Word.

Considering this video has over 7.5 million views on YouTube, most of you have probably already seen it. However, I wanted to share it anyway because I think it’s incredible. It is really humbling to think how small we are in the scheme of things. It puts things in perspective.

DISCLAIMER: AND it was researched and remixed by a good friend of mine and hilarious improviser, Jeff Brenman of Apollo Ideas.

What do YOU think?

Word.