Hi! I’m AC . I’m a thirty-some native Arizonan living in a distant suburb of Phoenix. My primary directive in life is being a mother to two boys, Quentin & Gavin. They’re both under 3 years old (so yes, my patience is tested on an hourly basis). I used to work full-time as an Administrative Assistant for a manager I fondly referred to as “The Devil Wears Sag Harbor”. Oh alright, she wasn’t nearly as “challenging” as Miranda Priestly- but you get the basic idea.

I recently left the busy corporate world to stay at home with my children. Yup, no longer a cubicle monkey, now I’m a house elf to two equally demanding/crotchety little squirts. All you SAHMs – never let anyone tell you that you aren’t working (this is by far the hardest worst paying job I’ve ever had!). There are so many things I miss about going to the workplace everyday and an equal amount that I don’t miss! Making the decision to stay at home was a super tough one (in so many respects), but I know in the end my kids will be better for it.

I’m married to a younger guy (7 years younger – go me!) who’s as equally “quirky” as I am. As far as interests go, I like music (Dark 80’s, New Wave, Synth-pop), tinkering on my computer, shopping (aka: spending all my [husband's] money), and stealing hubby’s beer (when all the wine is gone). I also really enjoy getting all Martha Stewart with craft projects & such and I’m hoping to do more of that now that I’m at home.

As far as personality goes, I’m sarcastic, cynical, and often too serious for my own good. I’m also very organized and obsessive-compulsive about neatness & attention to detail. I’m pretty much your run-of-the-mill control freak/perfectionist. However, I’m also totally inconsistent and can be quite the laze at times (yeah I enjoy a good weekend camping out on the couch with the remote). Given enough liquid encouragement, I can also be quite fun, goofy, and overly-animated. Red wine is currently my weapon of choice, but the ol’ stand-by will always be a tasty vodka-tonic!

One of the main struggles I face in life is being overweight. I’ve struggled with weight issues my entire life. You see, the problem that I face is two-fold: I love to eat and I hate to exercise! I also have a pretty unhealthy relationship with food in the form of a coping mechanism. No matter what I weigh, I’ll always have issues with food. My brain is wired as a fat person.

After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting, I finally had a taste of the forbidden fruit. Several years ago I lost over 100 lbs.! Losing that drastic amount of weight had a dramatic effect on my entire life. Everything changed in more ways than I can explain. Some great, some not. That sweet taste of victory only lasted a short while – because guess what? Yup, I got pregnant! TWICE!

With two almost back-to-back pregnancies, I now have a closet full of skinny jeans that I can only fit one thigh in. I’m up against the carb & sugar monsters again. Even though I’ve kept some of the weight off, I now have a significant chunk to lose again! I can kiss my lowest weight good-bye though, it was impossible to maintain. I’m only interested in feeling healthy again and getting back into a size that doesn’t end in a “-teen”!

Of course there is a silver lining in every cloud! Even though I had to trade in those sweet size 6’s for a size that-must-not-be-mentioned, without the weight loss, I wouldn’t have been able to have children. I’ll probably forever lament the loss of a perfectly flat stomach- but when I watch my boys as they learn & grow, I know this journey has been worth it! Plus, now I get to “enjoy” the challenge of losing it all again. And blogging about it!

Thanks for reading this far, you totally deserve a cookie! I hope you join me as I experience the daily triumphs & tribulations of staying sane in the land of sippy cups and toddler meltdowns. Please don’t take me too seriously! I tend to squeeze in a twist of humorous sarcasm whenever I can. I might have perfectionist tendencies, but I’m truly “anything but perfect”! …