Hi! I’m Angela . 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 4 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 quit the busy corporate world over a year ago 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 many respects), but I can tell you already that it has definitely paid off! I see so much growrth in my boys, both who have developmental issues…

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 getting better at it everyday.

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 so much. 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.

Thanks for reading this far, you totally deserve a cookie! I hope you join me as I experience the bends & twists of staying sane in the land of frugality 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”! …