Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Why not?

You know I've always screamed from the rooftops when I love a product? Well, I'm gonna start telling you about it and linking it on my blog. If I'm gonna advertise like I've always done, might as well monetize, right? So here goes...I'll tell you the stuff I love and why, and if you want to buy it, click my link. (And the stuff I hate, I'll still complain about, per usual...but I won't get paid for that) ;)

When I moved to my condo in June, the best purchase I made was my Roomba. I like a clean house, because of my OCD, but I have 2 cats in a 1200sq ft condo. Being alone, and working full-time, I had more housework to do, and less time to do it because, lets face it...I'm ALWAYS on the go. Always. So, I bought my little Roomba, (who I named Rosy) and she's been a lifesaver. My house is always clean, and all I ever do is empty her pan. I thought they seem like a cheesy thing to get, but seriously, it's my favorite thing. I never have the kitty hair tumbleweeds, it works SO well. I have tile, hard wood and carpet, and it works on all the surfaces equally. So there you go...it's a few of Holly's Favorite Things. Move over Oprah. ;)

I'm back

Hey guys, did you miss me? I missed you too. Ok so let's get this going, and fill you in on my life...it's a lot so I'll break it down in smaller pieces, and maybe over the course of several posts. I feel like I have lived 10 lifetimes since the old days of my blog and even WMBYS. (remember WMBYS? Yeah...me too)

Because I enjoy the flagrant use of bullet points, I'll give you a rundown on my major life events and why I've been away. I'll write in more detail about each one in an individual post. How's that sound? Good? Ok.

• My dear friend Ginny died in a car accident 7/19/11. She was a surrogate mother to me. As many of you know, my own mother isn't in my life. It was a hard loss.
• Matty and I took Washington DC by storm in August of 2011 to celebrate his 40th bday! We had so much fun and visited some amazing friends.
• Sweet Cooper, my ragdoll cat, had another embolism and died 9/6/11.
• I turned 40 in October 2011. My sweet, best friend on the planet, Matty flew here to celebrate with me. I'm so fortunate to have him, and I don't know what I'd do without him as my support system.
• Nick and I got divorced after 16 years of marriage. It's amicable, and we're still friendly, but we had been roommates for several years, and I couldn't settle for that any longer. I moved out of the suburbs to a condo downtown Minneapolis. I couldn't love living downtown more. It's much more me than the big house in the suburbs ever was. I'm finally coming into my own. I moved with the cats, and River. Nick kept the dogs.
• March 24, 2012 I lost my Grandpa. Many of you know he was my heart, and without the love of my Grandma and Grandpa, I'd have been a very lost little girl. They compensated for my parents in every way possible. It was a blow to my whole family, but particularly devestating to myself, as we were so close. I miss him every single day.
• May 5th, I did the Walk for Animals. It's been about 18 years that I've done it, and I'm always so grateful that I can use my voice to help animals in need. I love it.
• May 7th, my Dad died. We weren't close, but of my parents, he was the better one. He had an aneyruism, and died a few days after surgery.
• I ended up with my Dad's house in Texas, and I'm now a slumlord. ;) I took a roadtrip down there to see the house and meet the tenant who's renting it. I took in a Rangers game in Arlington, and it was 108 degrees. I nearly had a stroke it was so hot!
• I ran the Warrior Dash on September 8th, 2012 and I'm super proud of myself for it!
• I was laid off from my job. I've loved my time at Utopia Inc, but there will be something new on my horizon.

So, in a nutshell, this has been why I've been away. I've simply had too much going on to keep up with my blog, or WMBYS. I'm debating restarting both...and I guess the debate on the blog has been settled. I'm back. I'll fill in more things and more detail. I just wanted to pop in and say hi.

Thanks to everyone who's supported me over the years. Know that it has meant the world to me. Seriously.