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.