what's in a year?

Where does the time go? Another year ends tonight and it is amazing to me how fast it went by. Not to mention how fast a decade went by, it seems like only yesterday I was dressing up like a Y2K bug to ring in 2000. Ah, memories.

At first glance 2009 doesn't seem like it was really that monumental for me. I still have the exact same job, sitting in the same cubical. I live in the same apartment. I wear the same size jeans (not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.) I have the same boyfriend, K, who is still awesome, fun, smart and supportive. My family and friends are all still happy, healthy and for the most part in the same place

So here are some of the things that did happen this past year.

I...

-started a blog and "met" some wonderful, funny, witty and creative girls.

-saw co-workers and friends experience getting laid off and unemployment and worried about my own job security.

-discovered that I love visiting wineries.

-witnessed arson and saw several homes burn to the ground.

-visited Boston twice and vacationed at the beach.

-lost some weight.

-gained the weight back.

-had to deal with my car getting badly keyed.

-became a puppy parent. (definitely the best thing about 2009!)

-decided to become a teacher and applied to grad schools.



I am hoping 2010 brings some big changes my way! Happy New Year!

Wishful Wednesday: Santa

I wish Santa would have remembered that Reva flats were on my list!

To be honest I really only got a couple of things off of my list this year, but I was totally cool with that, because I loved all the "surprise presents" I got. I do want a pair of Revas at some point but don't want to spend the money on them when I will *hopefully* be a poor student soon!

Oh well. Someday Revas you will be mine!

the twilight zone

Another Christmas has come and gone and I hope it was wonderful for all of you! Mine was very good...lots of eating, drinking, sleeping and general relaxation. Oh, and getting presents is always nice too! I am definitely not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. I feel like the week between Christmas and New Years is kind of the twilight zone. Minus Edward. Hopefully when I become a teacher and get a winter break the week will still feel like a long holiday like it did when I was in school! Since I started working I have always had to work on New Years so I haven't done anything cool in a couple years but at least this year I will have a three day weekend!

twas the day before the night before Christmas...

Are you ready?

I finished my shopping last night, and all my wrapping is done.

On the agenda for today...get through work (yuck), Dad's birthday celebration at our favorite Mexican restaurant (margaritas), baking cookies with my family (should be fun post-margaritas.)

Tomorrow I have the day off which is hard to swing at my office (I saved up a personal day) so I will be spending the morning making an amazing Christmas tree shaped appetizer (I'll take pictures if it turns out well) and giving Hanna a bath. Then the Christmas festivities will begin!

Woot!

(can you tell I am excited?)

nothing says "happy birthday" like...

telling an embarrassing story about someone...or better yet...posting it on the Internet.

Since today is my dad's birthday here we go.

It needs to be said that my dad is slightly narcoleptic (undiagnosed except by me.) He falls asleep in really weird places and and at strange times. In fact several nights a week he falls asleep on my parents couch in all his clothes and shoes, with the tv on and blanket over his head and sleeps there all night. Just keep that mind for later in the story.

My mom, sister and I had gone out to a movie one summer evening. We got home pretty late and found my dad dead asleep in the family room. He was kneeling on the ground with his upper body flopped onto the couch. Almost like he was trying to get on the couch from the floor and couldn't quite make it.

Used to seeing him sleeping in weird positions (although none as weird as this) we: 1) made sure he wasn't dead. 2) laughed at him. 3) let him sleep...obviously he was tired.

This event conisidended with my parents and their friends minor obsession with the TGI Fridays Mudslide Mix. If you are not familar with it you take one cup of the mix and blend it with 3 cups of ice and there you go.

The morning after we found my dad he was eating breakfast with my mom this conversation occurred:

Dad: "That mudslide stuff is really good."

Mom: "Oh yea (not paying much attention)"

Dad: "I had three glasses last night"

Mom: "Did you wash the blender by hand? I didn't see it in the dishwasher?" (my mom is very particular about cleaning up the kitchen)

Dad: "Blender? I just poured it right in the glass."

At this point my mom told him how we found him the night before and the correct way to make the mudslide mix.

So while we went to the movies my dad got wasted on highly concentrated mudslide mix.

Happy Birthday Dad!

puppy in a winter wonderland

99 problems

Ok, not trying to be a Scrooge here but it is hard to be in the Christmas spirit with a horrible cold that kept me up all night. And on top of the lack of sleep the cold meds I took this morning have made me feel like the living dead. And not the hot Cullen variety either.

At least I will have plenty of time to sleep tomorrow when I am snowed in. Yes, we are expected to get 20 INCHES of snow tonight through tomorrow. And when Maryland gets that much snow life pretty much stops. As a state we are not prepared and people fly into a severe panic.

If I was going to be snowed in during the month of February I really wouldn't care...but I have Christmas shopping to do and this is going to force me to do it after work next week. Scary thought. It's supposed to be a "White Christmas" on Christmas...not a "White Before Christmas" for a reason. And that reason is that snow hinders shopping.

Anyways, sorry to whine. Bah Humbug.

Get to know you...Christmas Style!

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your blogger friends. I got this from Black Labs and Lilly and just had to do it...because if you haven't noticed, I love Christmas! Here's what you're supposed to do...copy this entire post and paste into a new post on your blog. Change all the answers so that they apply to you.This is not a Meme or a Tag. You simply play along if you wish to. Or just read the answers!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for sure! Spending time wrapping presents and picking out bow and ribbons really puts me in the holiday spirit! I don't mind bags for birthday presents but I always wrap for Christmas!

2. Real tree or Artificial? This is the first year I got my own tree and it's fake. My parents have a fake tree as well but they have gotten real ones in the past. I like both but you can't beat the convenience of the fakes.

3. When do you put up the tree? No real specific time...this year we did it the weekend after Thanksgiving (my apartment tree and my parents were actually put up on the same day.) For many years our Jewish neighbors have helped us decorate my parents tree while we eat Chinese food. It's a lot of fun.

4. When do you take the tree down? It varies...since this is my first year with my own I'll probably take it down New Years weekend.

5. Do you like eggnog? I think I have made that clear! :)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I got a lot of awesome gifts but one that I remember being really excited about was when I got the "look like you" American Girl doll, I already had Samantha so I was surprised to get another.

7. Hardest person to buy for?My dad

8. Easiest person to buy for?My Sister

9. Do you have a nativity scene? My parents have a couple but I don't have my own. I really like one of my mom's that is wooden and people look like puzzles...it sounds weird but it actually looks good.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? It's a tie...when I was about 12 my aunt (dad's sister who is totally nuts) gave me and my sister these poofy dresses. They looked like something a 2 year old would wear but they were our size. We had a lot of fun taking weird pictures in them so it wasn't all that bad! The other would have to be a shirt from Abercrombie that one of my friends in high school gave me. It wasn't a bad shirt but she told me how she shoplifted it and I felt so strange having it. I'm a goody goody.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story...I basically have it memorized.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Mid-December normally.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope...but I am pretty sure once I got a recycled gift card from a relative.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sugar cookies with sprinkles.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white ones.

17. Favorite Christmas song? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" I know it's weird but I love it. As far as traditional songs I love "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "Oh Holy Night."

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?I guess now I technically travel 20 minutes to my parents but I think of it as staying home. Our extended family is really spread out so normally it's just us and my grandparents (who are not coming this year.) When I was very young we used to go to my grandparents house but as we got older us kids liked staying home so my grandparents would come to us.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes, but I call one Donner and K says it's really Donder. I like Donner better. (UPDATED: last night we googled this (I wrote this post yesterday) and I am right!)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? My parents have this really goofy angel who used to hold a star but the star part broke and now it's just the angel. She kind of looks like a cabbage patch doll. Weird, but tradition. For my tree I got a sparkly star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning...but we do open our PJs and ornament Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Traffic and crowds!

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? My parents give us an ornament every year so those are all really fun to look back and remember what event or activity prompted that ornament for that year. But my favorite ornaments are some of the ones my mom got when she lived in Germany...they all have little stories that go along with them.

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? We don't really have Christmas Dinner. My parents host a small a party on Christmas Eve with neighbors and friends, then we eat big breakfast Christmas morning. In past years my mom has made breakfast casserole and monkey bread but this year we are going to a diner and I think that will be fun too. For dinner we usually have something easy and that can be semi-made ahead so my mom can relax. We have had everything from crab cakes to lasagna to just eating leftovers from the night before!

25. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? The same thing I do every year!

26. Favorite Christmas tradition growing up? Christmas is the one holiday where my family has very set things we always do so I have a lot of favorite traditions...but one would be the Christmas pajamas. Every year my siblings and I get new Christmas pajamas on Christmas eve and basically wear them all day on Christmas while we hang around the house watching movies. Last year K got them too so my brother finally had someone to match with. This year I helped my mom pick them out and we got ones for my mom and dad too.

27. Favorite tradition now? Being the "elf." My mom always works very hard to "make Christmas happen" and last year everyone was asleep or going to sleep (including my dad) and I could hear her struggling to bring the presents up from their hiding spots and doing the stockings all alone so I went and helped her. I never thought I would want to do that (and ruin the surprise in the morning) but it's fun to make Christmas happen and now she calls me the elf!

28. Favorite Christmas Memory? This is hard because I have a lot, so I'll go with the completely non-traditional Christmas I had my senior year of college. My parents decided to take us on a cruise instead of giving us Christmas presents so we were at sea on Christmas Eve then in Honduras at the beach on Christmas. I wouldn't want to skip out on traditional Christmas every year but it was neat to do something different! The ship was all decorated for Christmas and they worked in a lot of holiday shows and activities.

Wishful Wednesday: Holiday Experience

I wish I could relive one particular holiday experience over and over again, and it would be the basketball incident!

When my siblings go to bed on Christmas eve we always say "Whoever wakes up first, wakes up the others." We still do this at 17, 21 and 24 years of age. Typically during my childhood Christmases, my sister or I would get up first then wake up the other one and go down and get our stockings. We would bring the stockings to one of our bedrooms and look at everything, then wake up my brother and take him to get his. Once stockings are done we are allowed to wake up our parents and open presents. We are not supposed to mess with any presents until then.

The year this happened (I was probably 12 or 13 and she was probably 9 or 10) my sister and I went to get the stockings and noticed that there was a stuffed basketball, unwrapped under the tree. There was a note in the "Santa handwriting" addressed to my sister that said "Look inside" taped to it. Even though we had never tried to open presents before we couldn't resist opening the basketball. It just seemed to strange to have a present inside a stuffed "animal."

Or should I say...trying to open the basketball. We looked for a zipper or Velcro to open it and couldn't find anything. We then tried to rip the thing open. Also no luck. We were about to get scissors when we realized that our parents probably would not be happy if they saw we had opened a present.

After looking at our stockings we woke up our parents. Even though at that age we knew the truth about Santa, we always (still do this too) make a big show of what we got from Santa and what is in our stockings. So my sister told my parents about the basketball with a mysterious something inside. I told them we had tried to open it and couldn't.

My mom looked at us like we were crazy and told us to read the note again. In our frenzy we didn't notice that it said "Look outside" not "Look inside." If we had looked outside we would have seen the basketball hoop my sister had been wanting, set up in the driveway.

It's funny how sometimes it's a little thing that you remember. Even though this story is not about my most exciting Christmas or the best gift I ever got, thinking about the two of us in our matching Christmas pajamas trying to rip open a stuffed basketball with our bare hands always makes me laugh!

Happy 101 Blog Bling

Jenny DB from So Say I gave me the Happy 101 award. I also totally stole her term "blog bling" for these awards because it is just too cute. Thanks Jenny, and sorry this took me so long!

Here are the rules:

1) List 10 things that make you happy.

2) Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. (Only since you all brighten my day with your blogs and comments, I am breaking the rules and tagging anyone who want to play!...I am such a rebel)


Here we go:
1) The beach
2) New books
3) Singing, especially songs from musicals
4) Gossiping with my friends
5) Wineries
6) Free gifts with purchases
7) Good hair days
8) Baking Christmas cookies with my brother and sister
9) Eggnog (see my last post)
10) Waking up with my sweet boyfriend and cuddy puppy everyday

ode to eggnog

Yesterday my day was made when I read this quote from Nicole Richie: "I'm a big eggnog drinker. Not the kind with alcohol in it, but the regular kind. I thought that everyone drinks eggnog, but as I'm getting older, I'm learning that people actually think it's really gross, but I love it, so I will definitely have some eggnog!"

Finally, a kindred eggnog spirit. Except, she is far skinner then I am and I will never drink eggnog with her or even stand next to her because it will make me feel bad about myself. If I was ever somewhere with her I would eat plain lettuce leaves and give her all the eggnog...she needs it more.

But seriously, I think her quote summed me up perfectly. Every year when I notice that eggnog has appeared in the grocery store I know that Christmas is finally here.

In my opinion the only eggnog worth drinking is the canned kind. Although, I have never actually tried homemade, the thought of drinking something made by a random person in their kitchen with raw eggs makes me feel like I am going hurl. I have had it with booze mixed in, and like Nicole, I prefer it plain.

Also like Nicole, I always assumed everyone loves eggnog as much as I do...but they don't. No one ever drinks it but me. Why is that? It's amazing. I don't understand.

Do you drink eggnog?

done...done and done!

I feel like I keep saying this, but in advance, I am sorry if my blogging is sub-par this week. It's supposed to be crazy at work (this is our busy time of year) and I have a lot of shopping and Christmas stuff to do after work.

I had a productive and fun weekend at my parents. Saturday my mom and I spent the whole day shopping, it was kind of like sprinting from store to store grabbing stuff then moving on to the next store. I was exhausted when we got home. Mom got a lot of stuff she needed, but I still have a bunch of presents to buy.

Sunday we went out to breakfast, my parents have this new habit of going to this diner every Sunday morning and it is really delicious! We are actually going to go there after opening presents on Christmas morning this year. After breakfast I got to work on all of my applications and...here is the exciting news...I finished them all! And as of this morning all of the supplemental information is also in the mail! Yipee!

I am still waiting on if I will have to take any extra coursework but my mom asked a couple girls she knows from her school that are in the program (at my top choice school) and they said a lot of people do have to take something but it isn't a big deal.

So now the waiting game begins!

little silly thing for your Friday morning...

Attention Twilight fans! (I refuse to use the term Twi-hard) Or fans of cats!

If you haven't seen this yet...check it out.

It's seriously hilarious.

I will probably be pretty absent from blogging until Sunday or Monday. I am leaving work early today for this training thing then spending the weekend at my parents. K will be in New Jersey visiting his family and going to a Giants game so I am going to hang out with my mom, go Christmas shopping and finish my applications.

Hope you all have lovely weekends!

Christmas Wish List

Exactly two weeks from today it will be Christmas Eve eve, which for me is the absolute last possible shopping day. Going out on Christmas Eve scares me beyond reckoning. I seriously can not believe how close it is to Christmas, I still have a lot of shopping to do. But let's not talk about that...let's talk about what I want this year.

Since hopefully I will be poor and unemployed next year (never thought I would hope for that) I tried to be practical about the things I asked for...and I always like some surprises thrown in too. For some reason almost everything I want is black...Happy Adams Family Christmas. K is just getting me something small because the TV was our main present so this stuff is what I told my mom and Santa that I wanted.

Tory Burch Reva Flats (black with the silver logo)

Since I have bad luck with black flat wearing out I thought it might be time to invest in a quality pair. Reva owners...do they hold up well?

Longchamp “Le Pliage” Tote Bag in black .

I love my large Le Pliage blue tote but it is too big to use as a purse. I have been wanting a simple black purse for a long time.

The Glee CD.

Yes, I said CD. I have an Ipod but I never use it and I think it might have broken. This is just for me to listen to in the car.

New black leggings.

I have a couple pairs now and they are all getting worn out looking.

The 30 day Shred and some weights.

I really need to get on the fit/weight loss train again after Christmas.

What do you want this year?

my worst airport experience

(no this didn't happen to me)

Maybe the cure for writers block is simply writing about it because as soon as I posted it last week the creative juices started flowing (isn't that one of the grossest sounding expressions ever by the way? Something about it just seems nasty.)

That being said I really liked Jenny DB's suggestion to write about my worst airport experience ever. So here we go...although this story is more about getting to the airport.

Because my dad was in the army and we lived all over the place I spent a lot of time on plane, until I was around 9 and we moved back to the East Coast. From then on pretty much my only mode of transportation for trips was car. I have spent waaay too many hours of my life in the car with my family driving from Florida to Massachusetts and everywhere in between. But, that is another story...

I don't think I really had the opportunity or the need to fly again until I was in college. And this event happened one of those times.

My parents and brother were going to drive to Myrtle Beach and visit some relatives during his school spring break then driving to Massachusetts to see my grandparents (see, they love to drive) for Easter. My sister was in her freshman year at Boston College and I was in my senior year of college so I decided to fly up for Easter with them and spent a couple days with her in Boston beforehand.

The plan was for me to drive to the Philadelphia airport from school then fly to Boston and drive back to Philly with my parents after Easter and pick up my car. I had never driven myself to an airport before or even been to the Philly airport so printed out my little mapquest directions and left right after my class.

Everything is going fine until I get into Philly (or wherever the airport actually is.) First of all...there is traffic. My plane is scheduled to leave in like an hour and a half. Then somehow I am completely turned around...there are signs for the airport all around me, tons of those off-site independently run long term parking lots, and planes flying overhead but I can not find the airport.

I call my parents, trying not to panic and ask my dad if he knows his way around this airport at all. They are at a bar in Myrtle Beach...and not so helpful. My mom tells me to ask someone...but everyone wandering around the streets look a bit sketchy.

Somehow I find the airport and head for the long term parking lot...it's full. I had seen the off-site parking lots while lost and set off again to try and find my way back to them. The clock is ticking and I am certain I will miss my plane.

I get to a parking lot, grab my stuff and literally run to the shuttle which is about to pull out. I'm out of breath and about to cry but I have made it. Or so I think...

The check-in goes smoothly but the line for security is absolutely insane. It wraps around almost the whole airport.

Finally I get through and sprint to the gate. I have about 10 minutes before take off, I know I can make it. Then I get to the gate...

The flight was delayed...about 2 hours. Sigh. I get some overpriced food and settled into an uncomfortably airport chair.


While this definitely wasn't the worst thing I have heard of happening to someone at the airport for me I will always remember this day. It's one of those times when I really started to feel like an adult and realized that I could take care of myself.


What's your worst airport experience?

stressing

First of all...my apologies in advance if my commenting is a little sparse today/this week. Work has been crazy so far and I have overtime, then I have to go to a staff meeting at the place where I taught Broadway Babies (kinda awkward since I am not doing anything there at the moment) and I am going to attempt to squeeze in some Christmas shopping after that.

I am also going to get my applications done by this Sunday.

Which brings me to what I am stressing about...

On Saturday I braved the snow to attend an info session for school that is my top choice. It was a good session and I learned a lot as well as had a chance to talk one on one with the director of the program. Now all this time I have been assuming that my undergrad coursework is fine to get into these programs and I won't need to take any extra classes. But the way she was talking made me totally paranoid.

She was reviewing transcripts that day but I didn't have mine with me so I called this morning to see if I could get someone to review it asap. My official transcript is already there which is good but they told me it could take a couple weeks to review! Seriously? Weeks? When she was reviewing them for people that day.

I just am so worried about this...I think on Friday I am going to email her and try to see if I can speed things up.

The other school I attended an info session for said if you went to a liberal arts college and had "core" requirements (which I did) you are probably fine so I was assuming the same thing for every other school.

I could be fine. I just need to know so I can take extra classes asap. Not that I want to do that but I will if I have to.

Sorry if this is rambling and doesn't make sense. I just had to get out my frustration.

puppy's first Christmas

(please note the stunning new TV in the background)

I just like this one...she looks like she is up to no good. Plus it shows off her new-ish haircut. It has grown out a little since then so please don't judge for looking a bit rat-like.

writers block

I think I have blogging writers block. Every time I start a post it comes out lame and I delete it. So I am not sure if that is writers block or just a lack of creativity. Or maybe it is a lack of general excitement right now in my life prompting me to be creative?

My darling boyfriend told me yesterday that I have been "slacking" in my blogging lately (thanks K) so I didn't go home for lunch today in an effort to generate a worthwhile post. It didn't work. I think I am going to create my Christmas list instead to give my mom instead (yea, I still do that)...maybe I will post that?

Do you have an topics I could blog about or questions for me? How do you get ideas for your own blog?

conversations in my apartment

My normal evening routine this fall has been to start cooking dinner around 7 so it's ready when K gets home from class, then we eat in front of the TV (don't judge.)

However, now his classes are done for the semester and he just has a finals this Thursday night and next Thursday night so we are both home in the evening and can hang out, drink some wine and talk while I cook dinner.

This extra time together (and the wine) leads to some very deep conversations about truly fascinating subjects. Like this one...

Me: If Hanna were a Disney princess, which one would she be?

K: Xena, Warrior Princess. Because she is a little warrior girl.

Me: Xena isn't a Disney princess, so she can be Mulan, she was a warrior...although Mulan wasn't technically a princess.

K: She can be Nala, she became the queen right?

Me: I'm not sure Nala normally is considered a princess either, because she is a lion. You know...she probably was actually Simba's sister and his wife. Mufasa was the only male lion at Pride Rock.

K: Yea, there is only one male lion who mates with all the females.

Me: Maybe her father was actually Scar?

K: Mufasa never should have let Scar stay around he should have kicked him out and prevented the fratricide.

At this point I started singing "Be Prepared," and went back to chopping up green peppers...

We are so weird.

and now I am not eating until Christmas

I'm back! Not that I went anywhere, I just took some time away from the computer over the long weekend...hopefully work will not be too busy today so I can catch up on all of your blogs! Even though it was only 4 days it felt like a much longer time off of work (amazing) and I also probably ate enough food to cover about 3 weeks. I feel like I gained 10 pounds but I am way to scared to get on the scale.

Here is a little recap of my weekend, as usual I didn't take any pictures...I'm thinking about making "take more pictures" my New Years resolution:

Wednesday: K and I went out and bought our NEW TV! (it was our Christmas present to each other) We ended up get the 46" Samsung LCD. Now that I have an HD TV it seems like I haven't even really been watching TV all these years. I would highly recommend Samsung, our TV was very easy to set up and works great.

Thursday: Thanksgiving! We (K and I) started off the day by going to a Thanksgiving wine tasting at this cute local wine store then we headed over to my parents house. It was just my parents, siblings, K, me and the pups so we had a relaxing day watching the parade, the dog show, some movies and of course eating!

Friday: My mom, sister and I opted to go to some wineries instead of shopping, so we spent most of the day doing that. Maryland has a lot of small cute wineries and several of them are pretty close to where I live.

Saturday: We all headed over to College Park for the University of Maryland vrs. Boston College (where my sister goes) football game. Even though I hate football and it was very windy/cold, it was still a lot of fun tailgating.

Sunday: In the morning, K and I went shopping for a fake tree and Christmas decorations, last year we didn't decorate our apartment at all which was a little sad. We got a great deal on a tree from Target that was labeled wrong and some other fun decorations. I spent the afternoon decorating while K studied for finals then we went back over to my parents for Chinese food and to help decorate their tree (which is where all my ornaments are.)


Whew...typing about all that made me tired, it was a jam packed weekend...I feel like I need a nap. Too bad I am back at work today :(

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have scrumptious Thanksgivings!

(I thought this was funny since I used to work at Sesame Street)

the weekend ended with a surprise

Saturday was a very nice day. K and I dropped Hanna off at my parents and headed over to movies to see "New Moon." I actually thought it was really good but I could see how if you didn't know the story it might be slow at times. It was also hilarious to hear 12 year olds scream every time Jacob Black appeared sans shirt.


Sunday my sister came home from college so I went to get her at the airport then hung out with my family during the day while K studied for finals. I was planning on staying for dinner but decided to head home to relax and clean up around the house a little bit.



That is when the surprise happened.



But first...a little back story.



As I mentioned last week, Friday was my friend L's last day at work as well as a couple of other people so there was this big happy hour at the Outback Steakhouse (classy, I know.) I was not planning on staying long but as I got there people were all buying L shots and she was talking about how she had to drive home (she lives about 35 minutes away and I live only about 2 minutes from the Outback.) As she was getting a bit tipsy I offered up sleeping over at my place as an option. She agreed and I figured that since I had to wait with her anyways...why not just keep drinking? Which is what we did...until about 11 pm when I called K to come rescue us.

We got home and K made up our futon in the office for L to sleep on...and she passed out in her work clothes. At around 6:30 she woke us up and asked if we could take her to go get her car. She did seem in a hurry to leave but I figured she was just concerned about her husband worrying and that she was uncomfortable from being in her work clothes all night.

That morning I noticed Hanna kept going in and playing around on the futon, she like to "dig" on blankets, so I didn't take the sheets off. We didn't notice anything strange in that room...in fact K did homework in there on Sunday. Then when I got home from my parents and we were cleaning up he went into the office to take off the sheets. All I heard him say was "Oh my God."

There was a huge dried pee stain on the futon. I guess that's why L was in such a hurry to leave and why Hanna was playing in there (gross puppy.)

Fortunately, the damage doesn't seem to be too bad but it is so awkward. She is not a close enough friend for me to call her out about it (nor do I anticipate seeing her much to ever in the future) but I wish she had told us right away so we could clean it while it was...fresh.

If you were in my place...would you tell her? She had to have noticed when she woke up. And why do people pee when they get drunk? I have never done that and I have been drunk many, many times. So nasty.

It's Friday...and here is what is going on with me

1) I am finally starting to prepare for Christmas and I ordered Christmas cards this week from Tiny Prints. I have been wanting to do a photo card with a picture of Hanna from K and I but was sort of worried people might think it is weird to send combined Christmas card since we are not married. But then I figured, who cares and ordered these. Super excited to see how they turn out!


2) Today is my friend L's last day at work. She was in my training class and probably the only person from work that legitimately became a real friend. Over the past year we haven't hung out as much because we have different work schedules, she moved further away and we are in different departments but I will miss having her around. I am very happy for her though, since she found a job doing something she really loves! (can't wait until that's me.)

3) I think we have decided on getting a Samsung TV, we scoped them out last Saturday and talked to a very helpful Best Buy worker. We also told her (the Besy Buy worker that is) how we were planning on going on Black Friday and she said unless we want to get a "doorbuster" (which is usually not as good of a model apparently) there was no point as they match sales the whole Thanksgiving week. We are going to go on Wednesday night. It is nice not to have to worry about getting K a big present this year since we are getting the TV (as our present to each other)...he is so hard to shop for!

Happy Friday Everyone!

sidenote: I have really been sucking at blog post titles lately. sorry.

I love awards! (and can't think of orginal titles)

The fabulous Jenny DB gave me the "Sugar Doll" award. Thanks Jenny, and I agree with you, these blog award names are super cheesy. The rules for this on are basically: list 10 tid-bits about yourself and then nominate 10 other bloggers.

So here are my 10 tid-bits:

1) I love Mexican food of all kinds and could totally eat it every day! Especially while drinking a margarita.

2) The History Channel is quickly becoming one my my favorite channels. I have been watching it a ton lately on the weekends. The documentary-type shows are really interesting.

3) Since getting my puppy, Hanna, in May I (with the help of K) have probably come up with 100 nicknames for her. I'm not sure she even knows what her real name is!

4) The heat in cars makes me feel really sick so I only keep in on for a few minutes until the car gets warm. Normally I have the air conditioner on in the winter but I turn my heated seat up to high to keep warm!

5) My favorite ride at Disney World is Splash Mountain. I once rode it 5 times in a row.

6) My favorite make up is Bare Minerals .

7) Until about 5 years ago the only Thanksgiving foods I would eat were mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and rolls. I was very picky. Now I eat everything...which is sort of the problem!

8) I don't really like cats, I am semi-allergic to them and the thought of having a litter box makes me want to vom...but every time I go to Petco and see the ones that they have up for adoption I want to bring one home.

9) Someday I really want to live near the beach, or at least have a beach house I can go to a lot.

10) I am the oldest child in my family; I have one sister who is 21 and one brother who is 17.

Here are the blogs I nominate, if you have already gotten this award feel free to ignore!:

Wishful Thinking

Llama Tales

Ladybug Blessings

The Perks

Pink Champagne

Martinis or Diaper Genies?

A Life More Exciting

Everyday Delights

Glamorous Newlywed

In Love With A Farm Boy

Wishful Wednesday: Movie Genre

I wish my life was a movie and I would want it to be an epic, fantasy, adventure!

Not sure if this is an official genre or not but it's definitely my favorite type of movie. And how awesome would it be to be sword fighting against amazing landscapes in an epic battle of good vrs. evil?

Similar to my absolute favorite movies... the Lord of Rings Trilogy.

Although I would probably want to be a little more glam than a hobbit.

Or perhaps I could be a young, witty witch, fighting evil in between classes at my magical school. A wand might also be easier to wield than a broad sword.

Don't worry if this was really me I would use magic and/or twilight makeup to fix my two tone skin.

{if anyone was looking for proof that I am nerd...here you go}

is it bad that I want to buy some of this?

Just when you thought Twilight mania couldn't get any more crazy...Twilight Beauty. For all your undead makeover needs. It's available in both Volturi and New Moon theme "Luna: styles.
Enrapture Lip Gloss in Arsenic($12.00)

Gleam Metallic Mascara in Panther ($22.00)


Labyrinth Loose Eyeshadow in Frost ($9.00)

Bella Color Palette ($28.00)

First Light Body Glow ($34.00)

They also have lip "venom" which seems to be the same as the DuWop lip venom lip plumper. I have used that before (in it's non-Twilight incarnation) and it actually works really well.

So would you buy Twilight themed makeup?

joined at the hip

This weekend I spent some time bonding with my DVR which included catching up on "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Without going too much into the show itself...as that is not the intention of my post...this season has a totally different feeling then the prior ones, and is almost a little bit sad to watch. They are all broke, and all seem to hate each other in a way that goes beyond the normal, entertaining, cattiness.

On last week's episode Tamra and Simon (who appears to have become evil) went to dinner with the new housewife, Alexis and her husband. For some some reason they got into this strange conversation about their relationships, how their husbands need to treat them, sneaking into closets to have sex, being soul mates, blah, blah, blah. The whole thing was pretty awkward and most likely staged.

During said conversation Alexis said how her and her husband are never away from each other and if she goes somewhere without him she feels sad and wishes he was there or wants to just go home. That really got to me. Personally, I hate it when people equate the level they are "in love" or that they are "soul mates" with how much time they spend together.

In college I had several friends who would NEVER do anything except hang out with their boyfriends and seemed to treat those who were not always with their boyfriends (like myself) as part of a lesser relationships.

Personally, I would much rather be in a relationship where each party has time by themselves and with friends and is not always with their significant other. Yes, it is very important to spend time as a couple, but at the end of the day you still are your own person. And your other relationships are important too, are they not?

Maybe I am way off base here...what do you think about people who only seem to spend time with their significant other? Are they just more in love or are they just co-dependent?

5 things I am loving right now

Coconut Margaritas

A nice mix up from my typical margarita (on the rocks with salt) and they remind me of being in the Caribbean.

Lady Gaga "Paparazzi"

The perfect song to belt out while driving.

Garlic Poached Shrimp

I saw this recipe over at BonBon Rose and it is so yummy! It also works very well with my low carb diet. Click on the link above for the recipe...I am going to make it (or should it be them?) again tonight.

Velcro Rollers

My hair has always been kind of boring and I am horrible at doing anything with it. I used to use a straightener every day to smooth it out but that made it even flatter. After getting my hair done a couple weeks ago I was inspired to try and start putting in a bit more effort so I stopped with the straightener and started using Velcro rollers every morning. I am not an expert yet but I love how my hair has more va-va-voom!

The Twilight Saga

Why are the Twilight books so addicting? I seriously think there are little bits of crack in the pages that make you keep reading, and reading and reading. I read all 4 in about 3 days last year and decided to re-read again before going to see "New Moon" next weekend (and yes, I do have tickets already.) I assumed since I had read them already I wouldn't read them as fast or get as obsessed...yea, I was wrong.


What are you loving right now?

Wishful Wednesday: Chore

I wish I never had to do laundry again!

So for some laundry isn't really that bad. I mean you put it in, let it go, then put it into the dryer. It's not rocket science. I have no idea why I hate doing it so much. I always put it off as long as possible, which is basically until K tells me he has no more clean boxers.

I like folding (or at least I did until I got a puppy who likes to attack the clothes as I fold them) but the actual putting clothes in into the machine and taking it out annoys me. K offers to do it but I am very picky about what gets hung dry and what goes in the dryer and I don't trust him with the responsibility.

What I would give for a laundry fairy...sigh.

shout out

One of my first bloggy friends, Jessica, formerly of Jey Rey in SA, sadly decided to stop blogging a few months ago and I have really missed her!

Fortunately...she recently got engaged and decided to start and wedding planning blog! Yay! She is such a sweetie and who doesn't love reading about weddings?

Check it out!

grrrr...

Not only have I been waaay too busy at work during the day to blog, about half the blogs I normally visit will not load on my work computer. My blog included. No idea why. Normal websites work fine and they all load on my home computer.


It's super annoying.


(sorry for being so whiny lately but work is killing me...I mean come on...I am not supposed to actually have to do work while here. I promise this will be my last busy at work/no time to blog post!)

slacker

OK, I know I totally have been slacking on blogging lately. Last week was pretty crazy at work then I wasn't feeling well on Friday so I ended up going home early and sleeping most of the afternoon. So here are some highlights about what I have been up to:

• This evening I am going to an Open House/Info Session at one of the colleges I am applying to. If you go they will waive the application fee plus hopefully it will clarify some questions I have about how everything works. It's so different applying to grad school vrs. applying to college. I feel like now I am somewhat flying by the seat of my pants and in high school there was so much information and guides to the college application process. Hopefully I don't forget anything!
• What do you think of my mini-makeover? I figured it was time to move on from Halloween!
  
• K and I went to see "Paranormal Activity" last night, it definitely freaked me out but it wasn't as scary as I was expecting. Plus there was almost a brawl between some middle school kids and this trashy girl in the row behind us and in front of us there was a lady with a two/three year old little girl, (who brings a little kid to see "Paranormal Activity?") so that distracted me bit from the scary stuff.
• After 2 years of searching I finally found some brown boots that I love. They only arrived on Friday and I have already worn them twice! They are Steve Madden "Mantel" and very comfortable!
  

• We are planning on buying a new TV on Black Friday this year instead of getting each other big Christmas presents...does anyone have recommendations on brands or types? We don't want something super expensive but nothing cheap and crappy either.
  

I had every intention of doing Wishful Wednesday today but I am having an insanely hectic day, sorry! I promise to do it next week!

attack of the stage mom

The last day of my Broadway Babies class was on Halloween morning which meant we had "rehearsal" for half the class then our "show" for the second half.

The kiddos arrived in their Halloween costumes, are were all looking very cute and surprisingly behaved during the rehearsal. I was optimistic that the show would go off with out a hitch.

When the rehearsal was over my co-director and our counselor took the kids for a brief potty break/drink from the water fountain while I got the theater ready and started bringing in the parents.

Now this is when the issue happened. Little Billy* is one of the cutest kids in the class. He is well behaved, knows all the songs and dances and is straight up adorable. I guess his mom has something against water fountains (little does she know he has been drinking out of it every week) because when she saw him out there she freaked out. He started crying and whining about drinking out of the water fountain and had to be coaxed on stage for the show.

These kids are mostly 3 so they really can't handle much in terms of preforming, but Little Billy had always done so well. Until the show. He was still upset about the water fountain so he basically just stood there. At one point our counselor asked him why he wasn't singing and he said "my parents don't want me to." Meanwhile in the audience his mom was making this big deal about mouthing the words and doing the motions herself.

After the show the kids and their families were milling around so I went up to them all to say bye, good job etc... Instead of telling him good job, Little Billy's parents and grandparents were asking him why he didn't sing and giving him shit about it. When I told him good job they all made sarcastic comments.

Hello people...he is 3...and probably would have done great if Stage Mom didn't freak out 5 minutes before the show started. To be honest, it put a bit of a damper on the whole show experience for me. Poor little guy.


And if her treatment of her son wasn't bad enough...as she was leaving Stage Mom said "Well he really liked the bat song the best," in this really bitchy tone. That was a song on the CD that we listened to but didn't preform. Like the reason he didn't sing was because we didn't do that song! Get real, lady.





*Obviously name has been changed.

Halloween

How do you like my costume?

close encounters of the creepy kind

I love love love scary things. And I totally believe in all that supernatural nonsense. Especially around Halloween.

Sadly, I have never seen a ghost or any other "real" creepy thing firsthand. And that makes me mad.

Not that I think I even have much chance of ever seeing a ghost, I met a guy who was a paranormal investigator and (no lie) a "lay exorcist" he had only actually seen a ghost once. Lame, in my opinion.

So I have to live vicariously.

And that being said...leave me a comment telling me about your favorite creepy encounter. It doesn't have to be something that happened to you, but if it didn't happen to you directly it has to be something you heard directly from the person who it actually happened to.

Then I will pick my favorites and feature them tomorrow!

Hit me with your best shot.

Wishful Wednesday:Costume

I wish .... I was six years old and going trick or treating, and my costume would be a bunch of grapes!

I once saw a very similar costume to this after I was past trick or treating age and always wished I had done it. I like the idea of making your costume and doing something really silly.

Not that I didn't have some awesome costumes as a kid, but a lot of them were very girly rather then goofy. For example I was Catwoman (complete with these black boots that went over my shoes), a "harem girl" (it was kind of a Jasmine type outfit...yes, I realize it was slightly questionable that my mom called me a harem girl) and a cowgirl (also with some sweet boots.)

I also won a costume contest when I was 2 or 3 and my mom dressed up me and one of my little boyfriends as Raggedy Anne and Andy.

But now, if I was a little 6 year old again I would totally be a bunch of grapes.

P.S. In honor of Halloween I am devoting my posts this week towards all things creepy and Halloween-y...get ready!

a puppy in fall

sick day

K and I both have cold so we called out sick today. I'm feeling better today then I was over the weekend but who couldn't use a day off now and then?

I'm trying to use this day off to actually be productive and do some work on my applications for school! Wish me luck!

annoyed

Do you know when you wake up and you just feel a mild sense of annoyance with the whole world? That's how I feel today. Kind of like I want to punch something or someone.

It's Friday and I should be in a good mood, but little things are bothering me.

Things like:

• People who put "read receipts" on every...single...email they send at work. I'm going to read your email and respond...why do you need proof?
• Stupid tattoos. If you are going to get a tattoo get a good one. Don't get the outline of Mickey Mouse behind your ear.
• Hangers left on random doors. K always puts his empty hangers after getting dressed in the morning on the doorknobs of either his closet, our "laundry room," or our bedroom. I just don't get why the hangers need to come out of the closet at all let alone why they get left on the doors.
• People who key cars. This happened to me this summer and one of my coworker's car was also keyed recently. Who does that?
• Pee on toilet seats. First of all, I don't get how this is even possible to do as an adult female. And second, why wouldn't you wipe it off?

Here's hoping my mood improves and thanks for letting me bitch, blog friends. What is annoying you?

Wishful Wednesday:Vacation

I wish...I was going on vacation tomorrow to Australia and New Zealand!

This is both a depressing and fun Wishful Wednesday. Depressing because I probably won't be going on any cool vacations for a while and fun because there are so many places I really want to travel to. Ever since I read the book "The Thorn Birds" (which is one of my favorites) I have been obsessed with going to Australia. Then when I saw and fell in love with "The Lord of the Rings" movies I added New Zealand to my list as well.

I figure to really be able to make the most of this vacation I would need about 3 weeks. I would want to see Sydney, hit up the beaches and go to the deserts of Australia then go over to New Zealand and go on some of the Lord of the Rings tours (yes, I am a nerd.) And I am sure whenever I do plan this trip I would figure out even more things to do in each country.

With K being in law school and me planning on going back to school I know we won't be going on this trip in the next couple years...but someday I promise I will be there!

{found here}

{found here}

{found here}

clean out the food week

I have declared this week "clean out the food week," at least in my apartment...but if you would like to join in please feel free. I am waiting on official approval from whoever it is who declares days, weeks and months different things.

What this means is that I am trying to use up all of the random food that has compiled in my pantry and freezer before I go out and continue to buy more food items and let older things sit there. It's also sort of like I am a contestant on Top Chef because I have to invent things with whatever I can find. Don't judge me, I take what small elements of fun I can during my mundane evenings. If only Tom and Padma were there to hang out.

Last night I decided for night 1 of "clean out the food week" I would take the easy way out and make this Safeway frozen skillet meal (chicken Alfredo with portobello mushrooms.) Now I did buy that meal when I moved into my apartment (in May of 2008) but I figured it has been frozen...it has to be ok. I once ate a piece of my grandparents frozen 50th anniversary cake on their 55th anniversary...and it was good! But, I was wrong.

As it cooked I began to lose faith in the water-y, off-white mass of gummy noodles and chicken in my skillet. There were two mushrooms. Maybe I could heat up some soup? K was on his way home and he eats anything so maybe I could feed it to him and pretend that I ate already?

Too late...he arrived home and the grossed out look on my face couldn't fool him. I told him I wasn't sure I wanted to eat it but he could have some. He took a sniff and declared that it smelled both acrid and sweet...like vomit. I held back from barfing in the kitchen sink.

It went into the garbage disposal. Then K looked at the bag it had come out of and noticed that it had a use by date...of April 2009. Yes, I can read, I really thought frozen food was good forever.

Thank God, Chik-fil-A is right down the street.

back in blonde

I got my hair done this weekend.


It really needed it. And yes, I do wear my high school cheerleading sweatshirt.


After two years of trying get back to "normal" after dying my hair auburn. It's nice to finally be back in blonde.

(The self portraits were due to the fact that K was gone this weekend, I covered my face in the first one becuase I was looking pretty nasty.)