Sunday, July 27, 2008

Weekend Recap

I was so freakin tired on Friday, that I came home and slept for an hour or so. It was M's birthday. While we had originally thought of going downtown and eating at P.F. Chang's with Kristen and Jake, and then going out dancing later, that didn't really work out. Instead, M, her sister Brooke, and I, went to dinner by our apt at P.F. Chang's. We had a really good meal, and I sneakily told the waitress it was her birthday so she got a surprise birthday shot for dessert. It was a shot glass filled with chocolate cake and raspberry sauce and frosting with a candle. After dinner, we came home and then watched some tv, and then decided to go outside and lay in the grass. It was windy, and we were tired, but it was still beautiful to look up and see the stars.

On Saturday, Kristen, S, Max, and I went to dinner at Noodles and then went to movies in the park and saw Transformers. It was a good movie; my favorite character was Optimus Prime. It was a lil chilly and I did get six mosquito bites, but it was definitely a good movie accompanied by good company.

Sunday, we went to Jazz in the park per usual. It kinda rained but overall it was pretty good. Kristen brought her friend Veronica, who's getting married next Fall. And S came. And we had a fun picnic. Good times.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

An Update of Sorts...

Don't fret--I'm alive. I just haven't felt like blogging or haven't had the time to do so.

It's been a crazy week. But it has gone by fast. Over the weekend I was in B's wedding. It was fabulous & lots of fun. We had a sleepover the night before, and then got our hair done and drank mimosas in the morning. B looked absolutely stunning her in her dress. I was so excited and happy for her! (This pic was taken before the wedding in our "dressing room" at the church. R to L: maid of honor, Shannon, myself, and we're missing another bridesmaid, Tam, who presumably was taking the picture.) Then Sunday, I went swimming with M, and then went to jazz with the crew. I was just so tired.

Monday, I didn't do much, just worked hard. The web filter is down so I took full advantage of listening to music on Pandora, going on Facebook, and checking LJ. On Tuesday, I met up with K, Ashley, John, baby Eliana, and Jackie and her bf. We went to Parry's which is owned by two guys originally from Syracuse. They even had a wall of SU stuff, and I totally wore my orange SU NCAA finals shirt. On purpose. I know--I'm a dork. The pizza was good; I had cheese with pineapple, and then once the guy knew we were all either associated with SU or Syracuse or Upstate NY, he made us pizza fretes, aka fried dough with sugar and cinnamon. SO freakin' good. It totally reminded me of the times when the dining hall would have special dinners and make fried dough. Yummy! I will totally go back; the downside is that it's clear out South, like far, far, away. Like in Englewood apparently.

Work has been crazy because we are in the midst of shipping, and the layouts have changed and i've had to cut, and then add, and then find images, and write stuff. Yea, it's been busy, but I've actually stayed till 5:30 all week, and it's kinda rewarding. Last night I came home from work excited to make a fancy dinner--spaghetti with meat sauce, a salad, garlic bread, and wine. Yay for fancy dinners! I haven't cooked in a long long time, so it felt good. M and I definitely enjoyed our din din.

We have an ice cream party tomorrow at work, so I'm going to make brownies with my mom and S tonight. Should be fun times. I just have been craving a good brownie all week.

Matilda is doing wonderfully!! I'm so happy. She's had a few brown leaves, but I've been checking to make sure her soil is nice and moist. I decided to cut a few of the droopy flowers, but I also realized that Matilda is blooming! Yes, she has two new flowers already and about 8 very small ones that will probably bloom in the weeks to come. I'm so excited that she's doing well! I must be doing something right! Yay!

Other than that, weekend plans include M's birthday which is tomorrow! Saturday involves a festival of sorts and seeing Transformers with S. Sunday= church, another festival, family party, and jazz. Should be a fun weekend!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Balance Part Two

In April, I was feeling overwhelmed with life and how to balance things. This is what I wrote then.

I had expressed my want for balance over dinner back then with M, and she had suggested that I talk to my uncle, who seemed to have the whole balance thing down. I did that, and it kinda worked, but I also prayed about it. I asked God if he could help me figure this out, or bring someone into my life who could.

Well, flash forward to now. A couple weekends ago, M and I were talking about life. And I mentioned to her how content I am with my own and how I feel like I have this balance. You see, I had struggled with balance for awhile. Take for example, getting exercise. Before, I never wanted to go to the gym when I got home from work because I didn't want to miss out on eating dinner with my roommate. Of course she said I could go and do my own thing, but I just felt like I would be missing out on that time with her, and I dislike waking up in the morning, so I didn't go to the gym then either. Well, now, about three weeks ago, I decided to get my bike from my parents house and have been biking my way to the bus stop in the mornings, riding my bike on my lunch hour at work, and then biking myself home after work. In that way I have balance of exercise because I still get to eat with her and I don't even have to wake up early! Of course this is just one example.

Another example was with calling other people in general. For the longest time, I would sacrifice my sleep and listen to various people (usually boys) talk for hours, or even if I was half asleep I would say that I was awake so I could talk with them. Well, right when I got back from Paris, I took time for myself. I didn't talk to S and others for a week, and I didn't even let them know I was back because I wanted time for myself. Nowadays, I put myself first. I have a bedtime (usually) and go to bed when I want to. And if I don't want to talk because I'm tired, then I don't. And it feels good! It feels so good to just take time for myself. I have to admit that I was worried that taking time for myself could mean I was being selfish, but now I know that it doesn't mean that at all.

Now I feel like I have a balanced life; I have time to put myself first, I get the amount of sleep I want, I'm getting better at the freelance deadlines, and I still have managed to maintain those interpersonal relationships with family and friends.

What's funny is that I didn't even realize that a few months ago I had struggled with this until the other night when I was sharing with M how I felt balanced. M reminded me that I hadn't always felt this way. And so, I just have to say that I feel like God has helped me. My prayers were answered.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

TGFF

Thank God for friends. Seriously. I have noooo idea what my problem is today but I am just plain useless. I thought SD was San Diego, when anyone with half a brain knows it stands for South Dakota. Then, I kept overthinking plans for later with S. It's like not that harddddddd. Seriously. And then my mom asked me to babysit my brother who is freakin 19 this weekend. Of course this was the ONE weekend that I am BUSY, because I am in a WEDDING for my best friend Beth. On top of all that, I was asked to take over general emails at work, so I just finished going through about 6 pages worth of new emails. Add to that, my freelance article is due today, and surprise surprise, it's not finished. What's worse is that I make my own deadlines! I can't seem to get it together today.

L & M got me through today, and a co-worker brought in the best cookies ever. The best quote from today came from L when I was telling her how I could switch my mind and text S back and end up meeting up downtown. In which she replied: just say "630 is fine" and throw ur phone out the window so ur not tempted to text him again." HAHAHA. I love it. This is why I'm so lucky to have friends who put up with my whiny-ness. M even gave me some good advice and let me call her and vent to her about the whole situation. I seriously don't even know why I'm in such a weird funk today. I just want to go home, but I know my freelance article is still weighing heavily on my mind, which is what I should be doing at this exact moment instead of blogging. *sigh* Oy. But I know God is with me, and it will get done. It HAS to. End of story. Just had to write real quick, but now I'm off to write an additional 127 words and a conclusion. Hopefully the evening will be better than today has been.

One quick update: Matilda has not died, and in fact, she has a couple new flowers blooming! YAY!

Friday, July 11, 2008

tgif

Thank God it's Friday. Seriously, I musta jinxed myself when I posted earlier this week about how time is going by soooo fast and blah blah blah. Today has been going by sooo slow, although it is 3 now. wahoo! I rode my bike to the bus stop and then to work.

I was just talking with G aka Gwen about student loans. Man, they blow. Seriously, it's like why even bother going to school if you know that you're gonna have massive amounts of debt later? Or maybe I just chose the wrong profession? Who knows, I just feel like griping about it today.

I was semi productive in that I applied for two different freelance jobs today. I've decided that I've been to lax lately about freelance stuff, and that I need to just buckle down and get to it. And maybe that'll help me keep myself motivated too. I have another freelance article for the tech site due next week, so I will make time this weekend to work on it.

Speaking of this weekend, plans include possibly going up to Loveland tomorrow for Summerfest, some festival with booze and live music; breakfast with my Grandma at 9am tomorrow in the middle of nowhere; mass on Sunday; and Jazz at City Park again. I'm excited this week's theme is Italian, and Ashley, John, and baby Eliana are coming. YAY!

Oh, I had my final fitting for my bridesmaids dress on Wednesday, and it fits! and it's soooo cute! I can't wait for the wedding now!

Hope anyone who reads this has a great weekend~

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Hump Day

It's official. My "beautiful" plant is named Matilda. It just fits.

Today is Wednesday; part of me is excited as the week is almost over, but the other half of me doesn't want time to go by so fast. Before you know it, summer will be over. *sigh* I've had a very good day today--and it's almost over! I pitched my freelance editor some story ideas, and gave myself a deadline of next week. I figure the less time I have, the more motivated I will be. At least I hope.

Maybe part of the reason why time has flown by is because I took an almost two hour lunch today and went to Snarf's with Andrea. They were super busy per usual, but I felt like we took a long time to get our food. Perhaps it was because we went around lunch time? I'm not sure. Either way, I tried something new today--turkey and provolone. I usually get the chicken salad sandwich but I felt like something different, especially after yesterday's massive fancy salad (avocado, sliced grilled chicken breast, tomatoes, and diced celery). It was super yummy. On our way back to the office, we stopped at the Glacier cart. I got birthday cake ice cream with sprinkles in it, and she got the strawberry sorbet. I seriously felt as though I was eating a piece of cake with frosting on it. pure yumminess.

Since lunch, the day has flown by--I have my final fitting for my bridesmaids dress tonight. I'm nervous. I hope it fits! Keep your fingers crossed for me. After that, I'm planning on heading over to the fam's house and picking up my taxes, mail, and having King Ranch Chicken. I'm looking forward to going to bed early, as I was up way too late last night. Last night I hung out with S and we rode the light rail around Denver and surrounding areas. It was fun. I got home by 11, but then I wanted to think of story ideas for my freelance call today. And I had weird dreams again but I can't recall what exactly I dreamt about at the moment. Meh, either way I officially have an hour left and then I'm outta here!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Happy Monday

I was up entirely wayyyy too late last night chit chatting with people, so as you can imagine, I was totally dreading work this morning. I even hit the snooze button, and never, ever, ever, do that. I drove too because I just was in slow motion this morning.

But things perked up--I caught up with my boss, who got married a couple weeks ago, and I even was willing to talk to Floozy. Ya, that's how great of a mood I was in. Then on my lunch hour, I decided to get out of the office and go to Sunflower Market to pick up some healthy veggies and fruits. While I was there, I got the cutest plant ever. You see, I've been meaning to get a plant for my desk for awhile. I figure I'll give it a try and my office is sunny so you'd think I'd have a pretty decent chance of keeping said plant alive. But I never really found one I liked. Sure, flowers are pretty, but to have a plant on your desk, it needs to be something you actually like. Especially when you spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week looking at it.

While walking around the store, I saw some flowers that were on sale for $4.99. That's a good price, but they were okay--not great. I continued shopping, and then before I was checking out, I went back again to the flower display. And as luck would have it, I bent down and saw the perfect plant for me that was hidden underneath the sale sign. It's a pink gerber daisy plant with about 5 flowers on it, and they are dark pink and simply beautiful. The plant also has some healthy looking leaves. I was so excited to get it!

When I got back to the office, I showed it my co-worker Jennifer, whom also likes gerber daisies. Personally my fav flower are tulips, but anything pink makes me happy. I will most definitely post a picture of my "beautiful" plant when I get home, as the website is blocked due to our lovely new web filter. {insert eye roll here}

I told L about the new plant, and pix messaged S, M, J, SA and others about it. It's just so me! It's great. Anyways, L has two plants, both of which she has named. So logically, she asked me if I was going to name mine. I told her how I don't really name things but for curiosity's sake, I wanted to brainstorm some names. I told her how I wanted my plant's name to start with an M. For some reason a bunch of cute M names came to mind. Here's the current list of choices:
  1. Matilda
  2. Millie
  3. Maddie
  4. Makayla
  5. Mackenzie
  6. Mel-belle
  7. Mariah
  8. Missy
At this particular moment, I'm leaning towards Matilda. But, as L pointed out, I don't have to decide quite yet. I can let it sink in, and if I wanted to, I can try out different names each day till I find one that fits. Floozy just came by and commented on it and asked where I got it. She said she's gonna get one too--as long as I don't mind. Of course I don't! Who doesn't like flowers??

Sunday, July 6, 2008

yay for summer

I'm soooo excited that it's summer here. I am a total festival queen. I just love getting out doing something different. This weekend was awesome and reminds me how great summertime can be. Not only was it a 3 1/2 day weekend for me, but it was filled with good company, booze, and fireworks! How can you go wrong with fireworks?? Seriously.

I got out of work early on Thursday for the holiday, went to the pool for the first time this summer, and then M and I had happy hour next to the pool until some rowdy boys kept getting us wet.

On on the 4th, I slept in and went to the pool with the family. That was fun, then went and saw fireworks, skydivers, and live music in Thornton. And then went to Sonic and got a cranberry slushie. sooooo good.

On Saturday, I slept in till my brother called at 9am and woke me up. argh. then moised around the apt for awhile, and then left to get slushies for the fam at Sonic. I know, twice in a row...but they are so damn good! Anyways, went home, then met up with Kristin aka K. Then drove us downtown to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Walked around, took some pics, and then went to the Cherry Cricket for dinner and beers. Tried EZ Street, it was good. After dinner, went back to the festival to see Opie Gone Bad, a local band. After that, we saw fireworks to the theme of the Hook soundtrack. And then on the way back to the car, K and I saw more fireworks, presumably from Glendale. Good times.

On Sunday, I slept in, finished reading my book, went to church with M and the fam, and was going to go to the pool again but it rained. Ended up at Taco Bell, then went and got guacamole for our 7 layer dip creation. M and I made said dip, and then headed downtown to meet up with S, K, and her friend Josh. Listened to this latin jazz band--was very fun and upbeat. Ended up seeing my aunt, uncle, and baby benjamin. It was good times, and we had yummy mojitos, and great company. Can't wait to hang out with everyone again.

So all in all, I had a great weekend--it was relaxing, yet busy, yet seemingly effortless. I like it! Here's to hoping that the weekends to come are this much fun!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I'm a walking zombie

I am so tired. Even with about 8 hours of sleep both last night and the night before, I am still tired. This weekend took it out of me. I seriously feel like a walking zombie today and yesterday. I just want a nap. Perhaps I should make some tea, as I am not a fan of coffee. (However, on a side note, I tried a sample of Starbucks Mint Mocha Frappacino, and it was yummmmmy.)

On Friday I drove up to Breckenridge for my boss's wedding BBQ, as I couldn't make her wedding on Saturday. It only took me 1.5 hours, and the weather was nice. I met her friends and family, including her mom. The food and company was nice. I stayed for about 2.5 hours and then headed home before it was dark. I got home before 9 (yay!) and M still wasn't home, so I downloaded music by Ingrid Michaelson, Matt Nathanson, Melody Garody, and Raheem DeVaughn. Once I updated my ipod, I journaled until M came home. She had a nice time out in Boulder, and I had a nice time in just having some alone time.

On Saturday, I slept in till almost 11, and then woke up and scrambled to find Beth a gift for her bachelorette party. I went to the mall, and ended up finding a cute sexy number at Dillard's. Victoria's Secret didn't have much selection as it was their semi annual sale. Once I found her gift, I went to Safeway to get a gift bag and some tissue paper. Then I went to Target to get her a card and to look for some face wash, which I didn't find. The card was cute though. Who knew they made cards for bachelorette parties? After that, I rushed home, changed, packed, and drove to King Soopers, bought some wild rice salad stuff that looked healthy, and then went home to get my mom's parking pass. Then I headed downtown to the hotel.

Now, mind you this entire time I wasn't feeling well. I just wanted to have some alone time and lay in bed. I didn't want to be rushing around, pretending to be excited for my first bachelorette party. But, somehow, after talking with the other girls, and after a few drinks, I changed my attitude. We ended up meeting some boys who were there for a bachelor party and staying in a suite above us. They were from all over--L.A., Chicago, New York, Iowa, and Nebraska. We talked with them for awhile, then kicked them out so we could get ready for the night. We changed, ate dinner, played pin the bow on the bachelor, and Beth opened her presents. She liked mine! I was so worried that she wouldn't like it, but I thought it was classy. Lemme tell ya, there's alot of really skanky or just plain ugly lingerie out there. It's amazing what people actually will wear or think looks good.

We finally made our way out to the bars downtown and went to the Rio first. I had downed half of a mojito before we left so I was in no way ready to drink an entire margarita. I opted for water and talked with the girls. We stayed at the Rio for about an hour, and then headed out to Jet. I have never been to Jet, but it always seemed like such a pretentious place. Usually the type of girls I would see going in there would would be half dressed with full on makeup. But, I have to admit, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. There of course were creepy guys there, but what bar doesn't have creepos? We stayed there for awhile because the boys from upstairs had bottle service there, and it was just nice to stay in one place for awhile. We danced, had rounds of shots, and had a pretty good time. We ended up losing a couple of the girls--one hated Jet and decided to go home, and the other was wayyyy too wasted and needed to go home.

Once we left Jet, we walked down to Sing Sing, but by the time we got there it was already 1:30am and they had done last call. Boo. So instead, we went to Fado's Irish Pub, heard a band singing this song "I'm an asshole..." I have fond memories of that song because Rick used to sing it to Jen and I at Fageans back in Cuse. Anyways, we did a couple more shots there, and then left, as the bars in Denver close at 2am. We walked to catch the Mall Ride, but turns out it was it's last run, and it stopped even further away from where we were. We talked to a security guard, and then started walking back to the hotel when we saw one of the boys from upstairs. He was sooo wasted and lost. So we took him back to the hotel with us, and then went up to their suite where we saw the other boys and some girls. I saw the guys doing weed, and snorting coke. Yea, for realz. It was like something out of a movie. Thankfully, we left not to long after that. We didn't get to bed till 4am.

After staying up all night, we checked out of the hotel at 11am, and then I went home to return the parking pass to my mom. Ended up staying at home for awhile. I got my bike and took it to the bike store to see if I needed a new tire. Turns out I just needed air in them. I bought a bike pump too just in case because I want to start riding my bike to the bus stop instead of driving. After that, I went home, changed, and met my parents, uncle, aunt, and baby cousin at the pool. Stayed at the pool for about two hours, then had M pick me up and we headed downtown for the free jazz concert at City Park. We met up with Kristin (Cuse buddy), her roommate, and a couple boys. We had a French themed picnic with fruit, brie, baguettes, and wine. It was great fun. We got home at like 9:30, then paid some bills, and talked and then I passed out for the night.

After that crazy weekend, no wonder I still haven't fully recovered...