on New Years resolutions

on drinking our meal replacement shakes, "we can't have alcohol and you just made the perfect frozen mix for a Maui ever" (Maui= Malibu rum, it's very classy to smell and taste kind of like sun tan lotion)

before bed "I'm so tired, hungry, AND sober" P in the most pitiful voice ever

this morning "I already feel skinnier" P and his ridiculously fast way of losing weight, ugh I mean yay I'm so happy for you hubby.

Have a great day. Today is my last day off and I'm going to work on my fitness with a long, lost friend from high school.

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.



Magic Bullet

Ben and I used to watch infomercials constantly. It came to a point where we would know every word to certain ones, most importantly the Magic Bullet. Seriously, we would make fun of the "plot" and especially our friend Hazel, the quirky maid. (I don't know if she was supposed to be the maid... definitely had that blue collar thing going for her, I'm just trying throw the old girl a bone since she's perfectly okay running around her in gown and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Maybe the gown was some kind of maid's uniform? Just go with it)

Although at times I find infomercials really insulting because they show extremely basic, everyday tasks as way too difficult for anyone to easily accomplish. I am often frustrated because 99% of the time (I just made that statistic up) the commercials show women bumbling around like complete idiots finding back breaking tasks like putting on a blanket, chopping an onion or cooking a dinner for your family that has the same odd, half moon shape. All of these tasks and many more were way too difficult to manage without the aid of this completely plastic devise that somehow the world has functioned without until now.

But now we're on this New Years resolution kick (lifestyle change!) and needed a new blender. Obviously this was my chance to buy the coveted magic bullet. As much as I've made fun of these things, I've really wanted one. Today was my chance and I marched myself into Bed Bath and Beyond (with the rest of cool springs!) and bought one WITH  20% coupon. BAM! Of course I immediately took a picture and text Ben and received the hilarious text back (pictured above).

Literally the second I got home I dug into this bad boy (directions are for losers) and made a banana and strawberry smoothie that was delicious and nutritious (okay, promise to not watch the infomercial again, I'm even annoying myself).

The only downside is the lack of this free, never before seen on television bonus offer of a heart-shaped pancake mold that was first given for the first 100 callers back in the day. Seriously this almost sealed the deal for me so many times (how was it the first 100 callers for five years in a row?). I kept thinking oh how cute will heart-shaped pancakes be... (you know for the once every 5 years I make pancakes).

If this whole thing works out I am determined to become on the testimonials for the Magic Bullet. I strive to be the Southern representative that uses adverbs correctly, has all of her teeth, and never mentions anything of a dog or the hollar.

We shall see. For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

New Years Resolutions

Perhaps making this thing public will help me keep these little jerks.

1. Take more pictures. I took the photography class and almost got intimated by taking pictures. I feel like mine aren't good enough and so many people are somehow the best photographers ever. I got into it because it was fun and I should just keep thinking about it that way. No pressure, have fun and take some flipping pictures.

2. Get in shape with P. We have a plan but it would probably embarrass him to publish it so just know...we have a plan.

3. Step up my game for 30 before 30. I got Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and now have more respect for of course Julia Child and the blogger Julie who cooked something out of the cookbook every day. These recipes are no joke! I couldn't get over how intense these recipes are and how many steps. I can tell I have been addicted to Ina's cooking for so long and all of her amazing yet basic recipes. Julia means business and has entire chapters about spoons and casserole dishes.

4. Do stuff I don't necessarily want to do right when they come up and don't put stuff off. Sometimes I will put things off that stress me our or that I'm afraid of and then I end up thinking about them before bed and get more stressed out and the vicious cycle continues. I'm going to try to do those awful things right when they come up and then they will be done and I can move on!

5. Learn to say no. I love doing things for people and I often say yes to things at work too often and then have very limited time for P, family and friends. I'm going to attempt to think about decisions and commitments before I say yes to everything!

All I  want is good health, fun times and success for my family, friends and P. Is that so much to ask?

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve is always such a stressful situation. There is always such a huge expectation to have the funnest night of your life. I always think it doesn't matter but yesterday I was out with the crazies finding the perfect earrings and getting my nails done. My first conscience memory of knowing I should have a really fun New Years was when I was 6 years old. Our neighbor Ashley and all 3 of her sisters were wearing dresses and had real confetti to ring in the New Year. She said they were going to stay up to midnight (whoa...unheard of) and throw the glittery confetti. I came home a little jealous of their fabulous party plans. I told Mom and she quickly gave me some dress up dress and we tore up construction paper to make confetti. I think we stayed up and Ben kept yelling, "happy new near" and we had so much fun. Later I remember talking to neighbor Ashley and she didn't even stay up and ring in the new year. Lame. Perhaps that was her first introduction to an over hyped new year.

 Last year we moved into our house and had people over. Literally 20 minutes before the ball dropped P got the tv to work and we watched everyone celebrate in times square. Although we were so happy to be moved into our own house and had fun with our best friends this year we decided to get out of the house! After what seemed like a million ideas we decided to go to Puckett's of the square in Franklin, TN.

We had dinner and listened to a Beatles cover band called The Wanna Beatles. They were really cute and dinner was great but I have to say we were about 30 years below the average age. We thought we would get dressed up, there would be dancing, etc, and this was not the case. The girls arrived in style in the back of a friend's truck (no seriously we did). We were all excited, bubbly, (loud) and as we walked into the restaurant we realized...whoa, this is a bit more of a mature crowd that we anticipated.

Needless to say, we brought the party. The boys arrived by foot a bit later and we entertained the bartender and the fellow baby boomers. Somehow the band was unaware that the ball would drop thus bringing in the new year (uh humm the entire point of NYE) and was playing their little Beatles hearts out. Luckily we were stalking the Dick Clark special (omg, he is completely orange) and started the countdown for the entire bar. You're welcome.

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Natalie's News returns from the dark abyss lacking cable and Internet (insert scream). Wow, the first week of 2011 has been crazy and full of firsts and excitements.

In efforts to refrain from being too long winded I will create a little kid-esque picture book with short descriptions. So I know I said there were a lot of firsts but here is the only last...the LAST apartment. Although I was so happy to move I was a tad bit sad about leaving our first place back in Nashville, our first home after marriage, the place of many parties and exciting times...seems kind of sad...then I think of being stuck up on the huge hill during snow, and the gate.... the gate always being broken, our rent increasing to fix the constantly broken gate, people (actually several people, one time there was a 3 car pile up!) hitting the gate because it had been broken for 2 months creating a huge traffic jam...and them making it so difficult to buy out of our lease.. so, NO. Not really all that sad, at all. Any. None. First house pictured above. Yeah, I know it is obvious but it is still exciting. So exciting in fact that we are the crazies that had people over not once but two times right after moving in... and not for just any old night.. New Years Eve!!!

Above is the only New Years shot taken in our newly unpacked (kind of) New Years Party. Honestly it was a tame night with friends, fun and free cable! P being the ultimate handyman hooked up the tv and we were able to see the ball drop!

Our first Birthday Celebration! The Bognis came over and celebrated Sarah's' big day! We had our first birthday and first child in the house!

Seriously, could he get any cuter? The correct answer is no.

First (and ultimate) house guest.

First cat in a sink. Pappi accompanied Ms. Kelly so I guess the were co-first house guests.

First time meeting Reece!

First cook out. Did I mention we had people over twice?! The second night in our new house we had our first cook out for friends and family and honestly I could not have imagined it any other way!

This is so much work but fun work. I'm already so happy with the house and cannot wait to get more and more unpacked and settled. I hope everyone else had a fabulous New Year! For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

relief

So last night I was at home watching one of my guilty pleasure television shows, "The Girls Next Store" and embarrassingly I felt a little jealous. These girls were having so much fun and wearing cute little outfits and looked amazingly happy. I was feeling a little sorry for myself, I have to get up so early and come and be a serious teacher all day long, and worst of all... I had a parent/teacher conference this morning. It's true teachers always claim that the door to communication is always open but that's a big ol' lie. The idea of having a parent conference scares me to death. Face to face talking is so intense, I would much rather communicate where I can make strange faces openly like with e-mail or phone calls. But this parent requested a for real conference and I was terrified. I think I am so against the parent/teacher conference because of my third grade teacher. I remember my mom having a conference with her and it scared me so much and I felt like I was in trouble the entire time. That same feeling surrounds my insides even though I am the teacher now...weird. Thousands of thoughts swept my mind of what I should say, what I should bring and most importantly, what should I wear? Since it is Friday, we can wear jeans and I look forward to this like we all look forward to payday, so there was no way a silly conference was going to make me miss feeling the greatness of jeans. But what to wear with jeans? I want to say, I'm nice but I can't be bullied with my clothes so I decided to go with this purple jacket my mom recently bought for me. Cute, but classy. I got to school, pumped myself up with loads of coffee AND diet coke (yeah New Years resolution... not really working so well) and went to my first period class. The conference was at 9 so I would have to teach then run down during my planning period. But today first period was unlike most days but today was report card day. Don't let any teacher fool you. Report card day is a step below Christmas because students are scared to breath fearing the dread of the report card. I love it. Anyway, after first period I made the long walk down to the conference room in the office and I was greeted with the best news I could ever dream... she's not coming! "What?!?!?" I questioned excitedly..."is she rescheduling?!?" The counselor quickly informed me that she was not! OH HAPPY DAY! The student was having problems with another student and they decided to work it out among themselves without ME. Thank the dear sweet Lord Jesus, the weekend is already starting out way better than I planned and my jealousy for the Hugh Hefner's girls quickly faded. (plus we all know they broke up anyway)

In other news brother Ben flies back tomorrow and we all await his safe return to the south! We all cannot wait to hear of his adventures and I am sure he took lots of pictures to remember this amazing trip....right.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

New years Resolution... Day 5

Happy New Years to all! Everyone here at Natalie's News wishes everyone a very happy 2009. I am going to detail all about the wonders in NYC but I would be shamed if I neglected to mention the wonders of the New Years Resolution. Each year I seem to make very broad resolutions that are not met but this year I am making very specific resolutions. Of course I have the generic goals of getting in better shape, blah blah.. but I have better ones I promise...I would share all of them on the blog but some I think might inhibit some potential career options so if you wish to know.. call the cell. BUT... if YOUR resolutions are open to share please do so in the comment section.. plus I hate it when I don't get comments, yeah I'm shallow.

In other news I SPENT NEW YEARS IN NEW YORK CITY. Yup, that's right, I was in Manhattan for New Years. After the trek to Harlem and Chinatown we came back to the apartment and chilled with Lindsay and Andrew for a while and by the grace of God Andrew saved New Year's by getting us into this awesome sushi place. After dinner we stopped by September Wines and got supplies ready for the night. At midnight we watched with the rest of America all of those crazies who braved the insane windchill of 2 degrees in time square. Honestly I have always dreamed of being in the midst of the craziness to actually see the ball drop, but maybe it's the maturity that has come with my 25 years, or maybe the windburn from previous days really changed my earlier desires. I was so happy to stay in and count down watching the big television with lots of champagne. Maybe it because I was in New York, or maybe it was because I did not feel forced to have fun but this really was the best New Years ever.

Day five began with of course EVERYONE sleeping in and me being annoying and waking everyone up. I do believe the entire apartment would have slept until noon or later if it were not for me walking around "politely" reminding everyone where we were and the plans we had previously made. Hungover or not, we are in New York and cold weather and too much alcohol will not prevent me or anyone else I know from getting out.. and that's final. Around 11:00 we walked half of a block to the famous Katz's Delicatessen (pictured left) and feasted on massive sandwiches. After lunch we took the subway to Macy's and then Lord and Taylor to shopped a while. Then we went to Central Park and saw the ice skating rink, pretty bridges, and the Alice and Wonderland statue. When finally the cold was too much for us we met back up with Lindsay and Andrew at Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street. Luckily for us they beat us there and the line was not too long. We got HUGE cupcakes to go and walked around the west village and enjoyed the adorable shops and houses. After an hour or so of walking around we went back to the apartment and hung out. Later we went to a Thai place called Sea (pictured right) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This was really great because we got to see where Linsday and Andrew used to live and go across the Williamsburg bridge which gave the great view of the city. Dinner was so amazing. For some reason the restaurant was totally posh but inexpensive. We had pomegranate mojitos, several appetizers, and amazing shrimp pad Thai, and other meals. Now we're back at the apartment and are enjoying our last night in the city. Tomorrow we are planning on going to the financial district to see Wall Street and walk over the Brooklyn bridge and finally to the Brooklyn promenade to see great views of the city. After that we are stopping back by Chinatown and Little Italy and will leave for the airport around 4:15. This really has been the best trip and we have been so lucky to see so much! The family will pick us up in Nashville tomorrow night and we will be forced to resume our regular lives on Monday...booo.....

Well I need to get back to enjoying my last night in the big apple! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

New Years Eve...day 4

In my last report we were recovering from the long day of sightseeing. After a little rest we met Lindsay and Andrew at Rockefeller Center. We saw the beautiful tree, ice skating rink, swanky 5th ave. stores and St. Peter's Cathedral. Then we walked to the famous Parker Meridian hotel (pictured right) and ate dinner. One would think inside the luxurious Parker Meridian would produce a fancy smancy restaurant but not so. Behind this curtain is this regular burger joint with plastic plates and pitchers of beer. I usually don't eat big slabs of meat but hey we're on vacation. I attacked that burger like it was my last meal and it was glorious. After lots of fried goodness and 3 pitchers of beer we left and walked around time square. Since New Years is approaching, times square was more crazy than normal. We walked around in the human gridlock long enough to get some pictures and validate our decision to NOT go to times square for New Year's. Finally we decided to go back to the apartment because unlike us, Lindsay and Andrew had to work today. Blah.

In other News today was amazing. When awaking we were greeted with beautiful snow! We left around 11 and went to Harlem to eat at the world famous Silvia's restaurant (pictured left). Recently the Rev. Al Sharpton (nice rhyme) and Caroline Kennedy were seen eating there discussing her desire to be the replacement for Hilary Clinton so I had high hopes of seeing a celebrity. No so luck in the celebrity department BUT oh my gosh the food was insane. I dined on fried chicken and waffles which were so amazing. Luckily I am a huge fan of the Food Network and had recently learned of the glory of fried Chicken and waffles. Philip ate cat fish with mashed potatoes and baked macaroni and cheese. After Sylvia's we went to the largest cathedral in the world, also located in Harlem. Saint John the Divine Cathedral is so beautiful and has been under construction since 2001 and is finally finished. It was so beautiful and some orchestral group was there practicing for a performance so that was nice to see. Our original plans were to leave the Cathedral and go to Columbia University but it was snowing so hard and so cold that we cut out Columbia and came back to the apartment.. but of course we got another 24 ounce beer before we came back. I am really getting used to this afternoon drinking... :)

Tonight we are going to dinner and hanging out with friend we know in the city... I wish everyone a great and happy New Years! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Day 3

So we're back at the apartment on New Years Eve eve. Today was jam packed with new experiences and things that just make you wanna go hmmm. The day began with an all too much like getting up for work alarm time at 5:50 am...I get up earlier than that for work but we are on vacation! We left the apartment at 7 and were at Battery Park by 7:20 to hurry up and wait for the statue of liberty. I was so excited to see lady liberty but I was not prepared for the winds. If Michelle would have been here I am sure a "buck up and do" speech would have been ordered because I was struggling big time. Looking at the choppy waters and crammed packed boats I thought maybe the state of New York wanted to make visitors feel the conditions of the real immigrants coming to Ellis Island. If you have ever met me you know I am not the biggest fan of struggling and honestly many thoughts of running away or injuring myself on purpose flooded my mind, but I put my big girl pants on and kept my negative feelings to myself. Besides it was too cold to talk. After waiting an eternity we finally got on the ferry. The waters were so choppy I had already devised a plan of where I could puke and be seen by the least amount of people but surprisingly the ride was very smooth. We got off the boat and were greeted by howling winds. I know many may think I am a drama queen but honestly the wind was blowing my hair all about and was very overwhelming. I hope lady liberty was serious when she said she wanted the tired and oppressed because we were here. While feeling the "gentle" breezes at liberty island right when we got off the boat there was only one thing to do. Eat. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. We went to the cafeteria and got fried everything at 9:30am and some MUCH needed coffee. Honestly the food was pretty terrible but you would have thought it was manna by the way I ate it. After the reinforcements we braved the weather and went and saw the statue. Although I have complained a lot the statue really was incredible. I kept thinking of people coming over to America and seeing her and how they must have felt. Ahhh...

Perhaps inspired by the statue of liberty and the contribution of immigrants from everywhere to our American culture we decided to go to Chinatown. We had picture requests of fake designer bags that we were determined to find. Getting off the subway at Canal Street I was greeted by, "you want Prada? Louis Vuitton? watch?" etc. We said sure, and the small lady instructed us to follow her while she communicated with someone on her nextel phone. This was crazy. I have been to Chinatown before and bought fake bags but things have really changed, even since May. Previously I have gone in the back of stores or downstairs to find the good stuff but no stores would do this now. Everyone selling the top bags were wearing black, long, North face jackets and all communicated with nextel. One person would ask what you wanted and bring to someone else. We followed this one woman to a corner and showed her the picture of the bag we wanted. She disappeared into a van and brought us back the bag in a black plastic bag. She quickly said, "look at it. you like?" and walked away. I opened the bag and it was not what we were looking for. Someone else came up expecting to collect money. I realized that buying crack would probably be less shady and wanted out asap. Quickly we gave the bag back and got out of dodge. For sure one of the strangest experiences of my life. I knew any minute Barbara Walters or Lisa Ling was going to jump out of a window with some investigative reporting demanding to know why I was breaking the law. It could happen.

Tonight we are off to eat dinner around Rockefeller Center and see all the pretty decorations of that area! I hope everyone is doing well! For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.

Day 2

Today is the second day of our New York estravagnaza, and oh what an exciting day it was! The day began with a wonderful meal at Sara Beth's restaurant. Philip thought it was a little girly but was a good sport about it... I promised to eat a hotdog later so we're even. Anyway even though my papa would probably disapprove I dined on salmon eggs benedict and LOVED it. After Sara Beth's we went to The Museum of Natural History and had a great time! After taking the subway back downtown we bought 24 ounce beers at a pharmacy and are enjoying them now. Classy. Later we are going to a comedy club and will enjoy 6 comedian featured on VH1's Best Week Ever and NBC's Last comic Standing.

I hope everyone is doing so well; miss you! For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

Dave Shapelle

Yesterday we saw Dave Shapelle walking down 5th avenue. Sadly I said, "oh look there's Chris Rock". I guess they're both funny men, just a little embarrassing though. Please don't tell my students...gotta keep my street cred. For Natalie's News this has been Natalie Corinne.

NEW YORK CITY

So deep down we all have them...little life goals that we all wish to fulfill but somehow think they will never happen. This week I'm crossing off life goal number five.

SPEND NEW YEARS IN NEW YORK CITY. Life goal number five.. check! I'll be in NYC and out of blogging commission from today until January 2nd. Feel jealous...very jealous! :) Happy New Years everyone!

In other news... I guess I should back up. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was lucky enough to celebrate Christmas for almost a week long. There were soooo many parties leading up to the actual day. Christmas with the family was a blast. We never changed out of our pajamas and hung out all day...glorious. Two short days later the Kemper crew invaded Nashville for the extended family Christmas. The main chef of the family changed up the menu this year and prepared a wonderful Spanish pot roast that was excellent. We also feasted on beautiful roasted chicken (thanks Ina) and the Bacurin legacy..the cheese ball. Honestly the best part of the day was Sam showing up in an Ole Miss Rebels t-shirt. Before this display of glory I was worried about the little chap but his wisdom with supporting the best school ever in American or the entire world for that matter gave me hope for Sam's future.. and the future of the world. Yeah, it's that important.

Well I'm in super important and trendy Manhattan and need to go do something fabulous. Loving to hate me yet? For Natalie's News this has been Natalie Corinne.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN...da na na na...

JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW...

3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK...(FREE AT LAST)

9 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

11 DAYS UNTIL KEMPER CHRISTMAS

12 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR NEW YORK CITY

15 DAYS UNTIL THE NEW YEAR

16 DAYS UNTIL A HARD CORE BIKINI BODY DIET

JUST KEEPING MY READERS IN THE KNOW... FOR NATALIE'S NEWS THIS HAS BEEN, NATALIE-CORINNE.