Seriously: I am 23 going on 75

I heart Craigslist

2011-11-16T14:31:00.001-07:00

I am in love with Craigslist right now.

On Friday, I got the stomach flu and was basically out of commission for the entire day. On Saturday, I was very weary of food, so I decided to take it easy and hook up my dvd player to my tv that I have had since college (it has a built in vhs player in it!) and watch season one of Gilmore Girls.

While watching tv, I decided to shred old bank statements, and tackle the huge Rubbermaid bins filled with god knows what.

Well, now that I have gone through said bins, I can tell you I have a bunch of stuff that I don't need anymore. I also found a few things I do need - namely, $100 gift card to Sears (from Christmas, oh, 4 years ago), a $10 gift card to Build-A-Bear, and $30 gift card to Target from two years ago. Score!

Anyways, some of the items I have posted on Craigslist include:

Hello Kitty Water Dispenser

I got this as a gift from a boy who knew my love of Hello Kitty. I actually brought this into work and used it for a month at my desk until I grew annoyed with refilling the water bottle twice a day. Thankfully, I just sold this yesterday to a woman whose daughter loves HK! I told her to give it to her for Christmas.

Knock off D&G purse

I bought this purse from Canal Street in New York City, on one of my many trips to the Big Apple. I remember I really wanted a cool purse and to feel stylish and hip and I bought this from someone off the street, basically. I used it twice before I realized that it's just too big for me. Thankfully, I sold it yesterday(!!) to a woman who loves purses!

Birthstone Teddy Bear

I received this birthstone teddy bear from an old boss. She got it for me when I graduated high school and before I left for college. I can't believe I've held onto it for so long. I am hoping this one will sell soon. I have had one person interested in it, but she hasn't called me back again. I definitely don't want it anymore. I hate my birthstone color - peridot.

Blonde Supermodel Wig

Two years ago I thought my friends and I would dress up for Halloween as the witches from Hocus Pocus. So I bought a Groupon for a local Halloween store, and bought a blonde wig. Turns out the whole dressing up thing didn't really happen, but I wore the wig anyways along with a sparkly black dress and high heels and called myself a Jersey girl. (I am very apathetic when it comes to Halloween and dressing up. I usually stay home and pass out candy) Since then, it's been sitting in my closet, untouched. I hope someone buys this because I really won't use it again. Lesson learned - don't buy Groupons for Halloween merchandise.

Amazing High Heels

I seriously love these shoes (probably because they are my favorite color!) but if I'm being honest with myself, I should have never bought them. They are a) too big for me and b) have too high of a heel for me to walk normal. Such a shame, but now I know, don't buy anything from Nine West unless it's in the kids department and actually fits. Or better yet, return the stuff if you can. But I have held onto them for awhile because I like to look at them and sometimes wear them around my house. I'm hoping someone buys them though, because they are a constant reminder that I have very small feet.

Cordless Phone Set

I know, who has landlines anymore? My uncle gifted me this plus another phone and base when I moved into my apartment a few years ago, when we actually had a landline. I know, times have changed, and I am definitely not getting one in my new place, so time to get rid of it.

Look, it's a koozie!

Last but not least, I found a brand new koozie in the bin o'stuff. I am pretty sure I got this for free somewhere from someone. I am definitely not a koozie type person. I don't think I have ever tailgated. To me, sports games are purely social hour. But given the whole popular Tebowing phenomena, I might have a chance of selling this.

All in all, I have more stuff to sell. I wish I could have a huge garage sale, but it's a) against my HOA rules, and b) my parents are lame and won't let me have it at their house. So, that leaves me uploading items individually on Craigslist, which is a bit of a pain. But it's kinda fun and addicting once you get interest in items you're selling. Here's to hoping I have more success!

Tell me, what have you either found recently or want to get rid of?

It's cookin' time!

2011-10-26T08:30:00.000-06:00

Things I want to make:

Carla's Pumpkin French Toast with Apple Cider Syrup and Spiced Pecans

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting


I won't be using coffee in the recipe, and I plan on topping them with Reese's! Tortilla Soup

I also have some bananas to use for banana bread, but I have yet to find a good go to recipe for it. Any ideas? I don't like nuts or anything strange in it, like pepitas. I want something straight forward and plain.

What are you planning on making this week?

Pay it forward

2011-10-25T15:36:00.000-06:00

Despite my current problems, i.e., a virus, malware, and now a dead monitor on my work computer, I have had a few random acts of kindness directed my way over the past few months.

#1: Most recently, I had a great experience at Target. I went into the store about 30 minutes before closing at 9 at night to redeem a coupon for a dozen eggs for free. Lucky for me, my mom received the same coupon in the mail and let me have hers. I remember looking at the coupons and swore they expired that night. Why else would I drive to the store for eggs at 9 p.m. at night? I even took extra time making sure I picked the right kind of egg--no eggwhites, no brown eggs, none could be extra large--and made sure the expiration date wasn't anytime soon.

Then I walked to the cashier, with two dozen eggs and my coupons in hand. She rang them up and I handed her the coupons. "These expired yesterday," she said. "I'm so sorry. This is what I get for going to the store at night to buy eggs. I mean, who does this? I'm soo sorry, but I don't want them then," I said. I gathered up my stuff to leave and watched her throw away the coupons. I was about to walk out of the store when she said, "Hey, get yo' eggs!" I turned around in disbelief but didn't hesitate. I grabbed my eggs and said thank you. Later, walking to the car, I wished I had seen her name tag or remembered the register she was on. I would have called the store and put in a good word for her.

#2: My coworker made me an apple cake for my birthday. Plus, she's been sharing her fresh produce from her garden with me and my family all summer.

#3: I went to Blockbuster to return a movie my parents had rented. I was walking back to my car when this lady approached me and asked me if I wanted a free movie rental. Apparently she never goes to Blockbuster and was not planning on using it. I happily accepted!

#4: When I moved my stuff out of storage, the guy on site not only cut off my lock for free (I had lost the key) but he also totally rearranged the direction it was facing for me, which took him an extra ten minutes to do. After this happened, I called customer service and made sure that his supervisor knew how much his going above and beyond meant to me. (I guess this might not have been random kindness but more or less doing his job, but still, it was pretty nice of him.)

#5: While walking my dog one night after work, I had a man driving on the other side of the road shout, "hey beautiful!" At the time I was conflicted-- I didn't know him so that was kinda creepy--but at the same time, it was nice to receive a compliment.

I guess now looking at my list, all of these aren't really random acts of kindness except for the top three. Oh well, I haven't blogged in awhile and I have been wanting to talk about this for awhile now.

Source

Plus, I think it's important to pay it forward! That is why I am planning on "spreading the wealth" so to speak by doing something kind for some of the special people in my life, but also for you blog readers! The first three people who comment will receive something from me! So spread the word, and don't forget to take note of the random acts of kindness in your life.

Emotions.

2011-09-16T11:16:00.000-06:00

Last night I had what I call, an emotional breakdown.

(Sometimes I exaggerate)

But it got me thinking about how others deal with their emotions.

For me, I tend to let my emotions build up and then I cry. A lot. Like the kind of cry that little kids do when they fall down or drop something important. The kind of cry that just seems, well, sad. I thought about all the stress I have in my life right now. Unfortunately I didn't think about all the positive things--I mean who does that while crying?--I just thought about how all the recent changes in my life feel like a major burden to me right now.

I tried to complain about my house and the stress of my new job to my mom but she wasn't having it. All she said was, "get over it." Which of course just made me cry even harder and say, "you are so insensitive!" Then I completely shut down and didn't want to talk with her about it at all. I mean, I want sympathy here. Or at least someone to listen without judgment.

Thankfully after my dramatic crying stint last night, complete with snot dropping from my nose, I felt better. I felt emotionally drained though, and tired. But I actually decided not to work on my house alone last night (I've been going there after work and painting every single day this week with the exception of Monday) and instead took a bubble bath and read my book.

I woke up with puffy eyes this morning and a very tired body, but I treated myself to breakfast and approached the day with a more positive attitude. I emailed my new boss with a revised outline for the project I'm working on and have even made a few personal appointments for tomorrow to get pamper myself. I need to listen to myself and my body's calling for some "me" time. Hopefully I the day to myself will help me feel refreshed. I might go get a massage or treat myself to froyo. Who knows. But the prospect of not having to do anything with or for anyone else excites me.

Do you ever have emotional breakdowns? How do you release your emotions?

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-09-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

I should have saved this post until next month for Halloween, but oh well.

About two weeks ago, I came home and let the dog out into the backyard. It was dark at this point, and so when I let her back in, I turned on the outside light.

Which is when I saw this:

At first I was really scared, because it looks like a mini tarantula to me. Plus, it's web was literally in the top right corner, right near our back door.

Once I let the dog in, I shut the door and just started to stare at it. And then of course grabbed my camera to take pictures of it. I took these from behind the door, which explains why it looks like this spider is floating in mid-air.

Since the initial spotting of this guy or girl, I have to admit--I have become fascinated with it. I mean, it's like the type of spiders they show on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. Now it's like a routine to come home and before bed, turn on the outside light to see the spider.

Last week when my mom threatened to kill it, I begged her not to, and then proceeded to search the internet. I even looked at pictures of creepy spiders before bed and didn't have any nightmares.

Turns out, this type of spider is what they call an orb web weaver. It totally builds its web in corners of doorways and can hang out in gardens. The cool part is that it spins a new web everyday and apparently it can put a special white part of the web to detract birds from running into it during the day. I haven't seen "our" spider do this though. Mainly it just hangs out in its web throughout the night hoping to catch something and during the day it crouches between two wooden slats near the door frame.

With the help of this article by a professor of Entomology at Cornell University, I learned that this type of spider is called a Cat-Face Spider and it's totally harmless. I might have my brother try to relocate it though. I am not sure how much longer my mom will allow it to be near the back door.

I guess I can kinda make out a cat face...

Secretly, this spider reminds me of Charlotte's Web, only I hope in this case it doesn't have a bunch of spiderlings. That would not be okay nor welcomed.

My favorite part of the spider is its huge butt.

Do you have a fascination with spiders? Or are you afraid of them? I think in this case my fascination outweighs my fear of them, but you won't see me touching it or anything else crazy like that.

Painting, painting, and more painting

2011-09-02T08:17:00.001-06:00

I have been neglecting my blog...the truth is, it's not for lack of time, or lack of things to say. I simply find it more appealing to refresh my google reader multiple times a day and read other blogger's entries instead of writing one of my own.

But here's an update. I start my new job in exactly 11 days. I still haven't moved into my place. I'm currently in a continuous state of spending money on home improvements--oh joy. I have been painting every weekend, and have started to include some weeknights.

Believe me, I always thought painting would be fun. But it definitely loses its appeal when you have to balance on a ladder to paint the trim, or use these big ass extension poles to paint ceilings. That, is not fun. But it's what I've been doing. However, I know it will all be worth it once I'm settled in. Plus, paint is supposed to last a long time, so I hopefully won't be doing this again anytime soon.

I have to paint the bathroom ceilings, plus my closet ceiling. Then I have to paint all the walls in all the rooms. Sounds easy enough, right? Ugh. It's a lot of work, but it will get done.


The infamous red wall, that has already taken two coats of paint--I predict it will need another two coats of paint before it looks right

What have you been up to?

Something dumb...

2011-09-01T16:17:00.000-06:00

Because I am procrastinating at work right now, I decided to write (and rant) about something I think is so dumb.

It's the new breast cancer awareness craze on Facebook. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well, if you are a male, you're not supposed to know this, but because I think this is really ridiculous, I'm spilling the beans.

"The idea is to choose the month you were born and the day you were born. Pass this on to the GIRLS ONLY and lets see how far it reaches around. The last one about the bra went round all over the world.
So you'll write... I'm (your birth month) weeks and I'm craving (your birth date)!!! as your status. Example: Feb 14th: I'm 2 weeks and craving Chocolate mints!!

January-1week, Febuary-2 weeks, March-3 weeks, April-4 weeks, May-8 weeks, June-9 weeks, July-10 weeks, August-12 weeks, September-13 weeks, October-14 weeks, November-16 weeks, December-18 weeks.

Days of the month: 1-Skittles, 2-Starburst, 3-Kit-Kat, 4-M&M's, 5-Galaxy, 6-Crunchie, 7-Dairy Milk, 8-Lollipop, 9-Peanut Butter Cups, 10-Meat Balls, 11-Twizzlers, 12-Bubble Gum, 13-Hershey's Kisses, 14-Chocolate Mints, 15-Twix, 16-Resse's Fastbreak, 17-Fudge, 18-Cherry Jello, 19-Milkyway, 20-Pickels, 21-Creme Eggs, 22-Skittles, 23-Gummy Bears, 24-Gummy Worms, 25-Strawberry Pop Tarts, 26-Starburst, 27-Mini Eggs, 28-Kit-Kat Chunky, 29-Double Chocolate Chip Crunchy Cookies, 30-Smarties, 31-Chocolate Cake"

Now, before I received this message from my Facebook friend, I saw her change her status to: I'm 8 weeks and craving Milkway, which automatically made me think she was expecting. And then the next thought I had was, "homewrecker!" because she already has 3 kids and is dating an old dude who has two kids.

But then a friend that just had a baby in July had a similar status, and I knew it must be one of those chain letter-esque things flying around the Internet. But, it's still dumb! I am certainly not participating. I don't want anyone to think I'm pregnant. I'd rather support breast cancer awareness by participating in the Susan G. Koman Walk for the Cure, or donate money to research.

What do you think? Are you going to participate?

What a month

2011-08-24T11:34:00.000-06:00

Hello, 27.

Today is my birthday. Normally I want to celebrate all week long and plan something cool to do with my friends like a picnic or fancy dinner with cake. But this year, it's different.

This year, I would say I've gotten the best birthday presents ever, and have celebrated little by little all month long.

I bought my first place the first week of August.

I accepted a new job yesterday with a better salary.

I found a washer and a dryer for $100, plus a microwave for $10.

Things are falling into place for me--all the things I've been wanting for the past two years, I finally have. And that my friends, is the best gift a girl could ask for. Not to mention, I'm extremely appreciative for my family, who have supported me.

Happy birthday to me.

I'm a Homeowner!

2011-08-04T16:09:00.000-06:00

I've been a homeowner for all of two days and yet I still can't wipe the perpetual grin off my face.

I'm happy because this is a goal I've accomplished. I mean, we all set goals, but how often are they actually achieved?

The day of closing my realtor and I did a final walkthrough. Luckily no major appliances went missing and everything was intact. Then we headed to the title office to sign a huge stack of papers.

I am all about nice pens, and the company did not disappoint. Plus, they gave us freshly baked cookies.

The seller and his agent showed up late, but were pretty friendly. I learned he had been a nurse in the Army and that his family owns a small island in the Caribbean. Apparently his ancestors were pirates and to keep their families safe they would put them on this island. It was pretty interesting.

After closing, the seller offered to show me around the place. I had questions for him such as where my mailbox is (because it just said mail key, nothing else) and how I receive packages.

Turns out my mailbox had been labeled with my unit # and if I have a package, they leave a specific package key in my box. Pretty easy.

Then we headed into my place, which the seller said he was going to miss. He warned me about the bad draft that I may get in the winter time due to the lack of weather stripping on the door. He told me he didn't have a key to the storage closet off of my balcony and how the door doesn't actually latch for some reason. However, he figured it out. All you have to is pull up on the door and it will slide into the latch. But I still can't lock anything in there because there's no key, so it looks like I'll need a new lock.

I noticed one window screen was missing and another halfway off. He offered to fix that for me but couldn't right then because he was wearing sandals. Apparently to pop the screen in, you need one person on the outside of the window (basically standing on the roof which is completely UNSAFE) and then another person to push on the other side. I think I'll just call maintenance....

It was after the window scenario that he asked me if I was single and then proceeded to tell me he'd be more than happy to come over and get rid of the old carpet, since some carpet guys don't like doing that part of the job. I politely told him that I had a carpet guy already in mind (my neighbor) and that I'm pretty sure he didn't mind that part of the job.

Then he suggested I take the carpet out first so I can paint the baseboards. The next minute I knew, he was actually ripping up the carpet--apparently he was curious to find out what was in a certain spot. Turns out it was just a piece of foam from the carpet pad.

Awkward.

Time to go. While we were leaving, he offered to help me move in. Apparently he lives with a bunch of other guys who would be willing to help as well. We exchanged numbers (because I won't really turn down free movers) and then he left. I waited till he was gone and then went back into my place and put the carpet back where it belongs.

Then yesterday I took both locks to Lowes to have them rekeyed. Turns out since the deadbolt had no key and wasn't a certain type of lock, I couldn't get it rekeyed. But thankfully, the new lock only cost $12.97 and the bottom lock was able to be rekeyed.

I even helped put the locks in. The only mistake I made was putting in the deadbolt latch upside down.

I have a feeling I have a lot to learn but I am ready for the challenge.

Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now!

2011-07-14T13:42:00.000-06:00

July will go down in my memory as a very grown-up month.

July 2: Attended a bbq with M's family, saw fireworks (randomly) and said goodbye...

July 3: My best friend since kindergarten had her first child, a boy, via natural birth.

July 4: Spent the day with newer friends but never once felt awkward or ignored. Saw fireworks too! M also left today to drive to Texas. She's moving to be closer to her boyfriend.

July 7: Found out the bank has accepted the offer I placed in May on a townhouse!

July 11: Had a home inspection done, to the tune of $275. Found out there's some water stains in the attic and storage closet due to some moisture issues. Have to replace the hot water heater too and do a major cleaning of the place.

July 12: Signed loan documents! AHHHH! Part of me is excited about the future yet still very cautious. I'll breathe a sigh of relief and get excited after I close and have the keys in my hands.

To be done:

Hear if my loan got approved.

Close on August 8th.

Get decorating ideas.

Pick out new carpet and paint.

Go through my storage unit - get rid of stuff if necessary.

Find a white over-the-cabinet microwave

Do a major deep clean!

Move in.

Another bites the dust

2011-06-30T17:14:00.000-06:00

Two weekends ago, I went to the Greek festival with catholic boy...

...and broke up with him.

In the weeks before "the talk" we had made some progress.

He had asked me to be in a relationship with him on Facebook, which I was totally not expecting and said, "can i think about that?" My response didn't sit well with him at all.

Then we had a heart to heart and basically didn't bring it up again. I thought about his question though, and as much as he is a nice guy, he isn't the right one for me. He had very strong feelings for me, including butterflies in his stomach, but I worried a lot that I would never be able to return said feelings.

A week later, we had a late-night discussion about friends. I was thinking that maybe if he met my friends I could tell whether or not he could hold his own. I thought that would make my decision to be or not be with him that much clearer and easier. But when I asked him if he would be comfortable meeting my friends, he wasn't enthused. And when I asked him if I could meet his friends, he straight out said, "you wouldn't like them. they aren't like you. they are atheist and vuglar." To which I replied, "you are so sweet, I can't imagine you hanging out with such people."

After we parted ways that night, I couldn't stop shaking my head. Something felt off. Something wasn't right. I still don't know exactly what it was, but I have learned from my past that I should always trust my gut, and in this situation, my gut was telling me to listen. So I did.

He had never been to the Greek festival before, so I thought, the best thing I can do is give him a good memory of it. We went to the liquor store beforehand where we bought shooters of various alcohol, and stopped at a nearby KFC to eat some fried chicken beforehand. After all, you ~~can~~ shouldn't eat on an empty stomach.

We listened to music, people watched, and drank. It was enjoyable. Then it was time to have "the talk." He noticed something wasn't right but I didn't want to have "the talk" in public. I wanted to do it alone, somewhere quiet.

So I told him it was time to leave and went to this church which had a lovely garden. It was near where I had parked. I told him that something felt off to me and that I think we would be better off as friends. He cried (a tear or two) and then went into a bout of self-pity. It was pretty sad to watch, but I tried to reassure him it wasn't anything specific that he had done, we just weren't the right fit.

We talked and he asked me if I wanted to be friends...to which I said, sure, let's give it a try. Only at the end of the conversation, in which he told me he is an atheist (yet he didn't even know what that word meant when I asked him so), he changed that to, can we be friends with benefits?

Um, what? I didn't expect that at all, although in hindsight I should've known. He is a boy after all.

Fast forward to this past weekend where we saw each other for the first time since the break up. I had actually 100% made up my mind that I only wanted to be friends. I even suggested he come over and play cards. He did come over but he definitely pressed for more than friends, to which I had to reject him. I felt good about my decision and he was respectful of it. We did end up cuddling on the couch though. And let me tell you, he is an amazing cuddler! But, I have made up my mind, I am not going to go into the friends with benefits zone.

We are set to watch fireworks on Sunday. Hopefully it isn't awkward.

Have you been friends with benefits with someone you've dated before? Did it have a happy ending?

Is this really happening?

2011-06-24T11:44:00.000-06:00

Remember this whole house drama?

Well turns out, it didn't go to auction after all.

My realtor found out the lender didn't even know it wasn't auctioned off.

Apparently they are THAT FAR BEHIND.

When he talked to the lady last week she said she would put my offer in the "expedited folder," and promised a "quick response."

Keep in mind now, the new auction date is set for July 13th.

Then I got an email on Tuesday from my realtor saying that we'd hear something on Wednesday. So of course all day Wednesday I am anxious....

...and I STILL HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING!

But, I got another email today from my realtor saying, "Hopefully things are going forward so it's time to get your loan started. Do you want to go with the person who did your approval or do you want another name or two?"

So now I am officially "shopping around for a lender."

This might actually be happening.

I'm so nervous! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Rant of the Day

2011-06-22T17:31:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I really don't like my coworkers.

Yesterday we were sitting around the table in the conference room, when the coworker who has stolen my food before sits down next to me and announces with a smirk, "I might have taken someone's raspberries."

I immediately ask her if she took some of the organic ones. "Yeah, are they yours?"

Yes. Yes. Yes. Why does this always happen to me?

She said she got confused and thought they were on her shelf of the fridge.

The sad part is that I hadn't even washed nor eaten any of them and had seriously just brought them in yesterday because I didn't want them to go bad at home.

She of course apologized and offered for me to take some of her "non-organic" ones. Which honestly were way mushier than mine--heck no do I want any of those!

And then today, my other coworker had the same exact flavor and brand of hummus...and all during lunch I kept thinking, WHY ME? DON'T STEAL MY FOOD! I didn't say anything, but after we were done eating I secretly checked the fridge. Turns out hers was on the inside door. (below)

WHEW. What a relief.

Have you had any lunch mishaps at work?

House? What House?

2011-06-08T16:52:00.002-06:00

Let me tell you all, house hunting sucks. SUCKS. And sadly, I've only been doing it for the past two months.

Why does it suck so badly you ask? Let me tell you why it is not my favorite thing to do right now.

A month ago, after seeing 12 places, after having a mini-meltdown and having my bff and uncle look at it with me (again), I put in an offer on a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse. The second-floor unit over looks the community pool, and has a fireplace and cathedral ceilings.

This unit is also a short sale.

What does that mean you ask? Well, here's what wikipedia says:

"Short sales are different from foreclosures in that a foreclosure is forced by a lender, whereas both lender and borrower consent to a short sale. However, this consent may be revoked at any time as short sales are entirely voluntary transactions for both parties. The borrower may decide to remain in the property and attempt a refinance or modification of their mortgage loan, or may refuse to cooperate with the lender's demand for financial documentation or a cash contribution, and thereby ensure foreclosure. Similarly, lenders can refuse to evaluate or approve a short sale offer, generally due to disapproval of either the buyer's offer amount or high closing costs, which reduces the lender's net proceeds. All short sale contracts should include a contingency clause specifying that the contract is contingent upon approval of the seller's lender(s)."

I put in the offer knowing that it could be auctioned off two days later. My realtor even forewarned me not to get emotionally attached to any place that I see or bid on.

I listened to him, but not fully apparently.

Since I made my offer over a month ago, I haven't heard a single thing.

But I have had the chance to tell friends and family about my potential place. And seeing them get excited and offer me decorating tips conversely made me have some positive outlook and hope that this might become reality.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I was ~~stalking~~ perusing the county assessor's site, and noticed that the mortgage company had put an initial bid of $96,000 on it. I was concerned, since previously, that box has been blank. I called my realtor and he called me back later in the day saying, he was disappointed and that the property was going to auction today.

I was a mix of emotions.

Frustrated- check.
Disappointed - Check.
Sad - Check.
Angry - Check.

I didn't understand why the bank never countered or at least said, hey, no thanks. Instead I HAD NO RESPONSE UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE THE AUCTION, cuz that's smart. *rolls eyes*

The thing that also made me angry was that they rejected my bid, which was almost 15K more than what the bank's initial bid was.

My realtor simply said they (the bank) found it easier to "pull the plug" on it and let it go to auction rather than take the time or manpower to counter my offer or at least respond to it. This boggles my mind. Seriously. I mean, you'd think that any bank who is owed money, would like to find a buyer for said property so they get their money repaid. DUH.

But apparently banks don't think logically.

So yesterday I spent all night upset, kinda crying, and really just not in the best of moods. At one point I even passed out on my bed with my head using my stuffed teddy bear as a pillow. Not pretty, my friends, not pretty.

What added insult to injury was my mother's pesky voice saying all these things. "If you had just bid what they were asking for, you probably would've gotten it..." and, "you know, if you can't handle offering more money next time, maybe you shouldn't buy. Maybe you should rent and get a roommate somewhere."

I WANT MY OWN PLACE DAMMIT!!

I would have never even started this process if I wasn't serious about it because the last thing I want to do is waste anyone's time.

That said, I do freak out about the money aspect of it. Not so much the mortgage part, because that's comparable to paying rent, but more or less the other parts of it. The HOA monthly fees, the utilities, and the mortgage/homeowners insurance I have to get.

Luckily, a family friend's daughter recently moved home and wants to move out. She's reached out to me already but I haven't discussed anything roommate-related yet because I don't have a place yet. Again, I'm logical.

So today I came into work feeling emotionally drained and just irritable.

Out of curiosity, I checked the county assessor's site again because I wanted to see if in fact, the property was sold for the $96,000 that the mortgage company offered....

...and you wouldn't believe what I saw.

IT DID NOT GO TO AUCTION TODAY, and the sale date has been postponed till July 13th.

Seriously? THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

As of now, I'm waiting to hear back from my realtor to see what the heck the deal is. I don't know if they received another (better) offer or if they just are behind on the paperwork. The listing agent did say that the lady who's working on this listing has 600 foreclosures sitting on her desk. That sounds like a miserable job, but at the same time, I'd be great if she would actually do her job.

I'm also taking every offer now with a grain of salt and am not going to become attached to another property...even though I saw a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit in the same complex this weekend and can completely imagine the third bedroom as my reading/comfy room.

Readers, I'll keep you posted, but in the mean time, share with me one of your frustrating stories. It'll help me feel better.

Rain & Music - They Go Together

2011-05-19T15:29:00.001-06:00

It's literally been raining on and off all week. This is not typical Colorado weather. Yes, "we need the moisture," but after day 4 of rain, I'd take a nice, sunny, dry day over moisture.

The good thing about all these rainy days is that I've been listening to a lot of music, which I don't always do.

Here are a few that I've been listening to on repeat this week:

Fashion of His Love by Lady Gaga

The Cave by Mumford & Sons

World At Large by Modest Mouse

Lisztomania by Phoenix

F***** Perfect by Pink

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Kids by MGMT

What songs have you been listening to this week?

Updates! Updates! Updates!

2011-05-18T11:02:00.000-06:00

Lately I haven't been posting because I've been reading all of your entries. I know, that's no excuse, but when things in my life change or there's important developments, I tend to go silent in the blogging world and take the time to deal with them in "real" life.

Since I last posted, I have some updates to share.

As you all know from my post a month ago, I went to Arizona to see a boy I've been talking with for five years. The trip itself was intense because there were ups and downs. Day one was intense for me because he sucked a lot of energy from me. Day two was much better because I felt balanced and we did some things that he wanted to do and some things I wanted to do too. Day three was horrible because all we did was argue and fight. We were supposed to have an amazing date night but it was the worst date I've never been on. We barely talked at dinner and then he took me home. Granted, now I realize that we probably had that bad day because this entire time we were around each other all day, minus the time when we were asleep in our own places. At least the trip ended on an okay note. We actually got to go to the pool and relax and were civil and nice to each other the last day. I do have to say, four days of non-stop boy time was too much. In the future, if I ever do something crazy like this again, I'm going to definitely schedule in "me" time and take a shorter trip.

Since the trip, we made the mutual decision to break things off. We are still friends and happen to still talk frequently, but I'm relieved we're no longer dating or trying to figure out if a relationship would have worked.

This leads me to introduce a new boy, whom I met from CatholicMatch.com. He is nice and patient and not at all like the Arizona boy. We've been going out for two months or so, and I have enjoyed my time hanging out with him. He has a job, but he also has some faults. Like...he can't drive because he has a hereditary condition with his eyesight which causes him to be unable to see contrasts. He also lives at home, which is fine, but recently while we were on a date, he spilled some green chile on his pants and immediately he said, "my mom's gonna be so mad at me," while he furiously tried to get rid of the stain. I couldn't believe his mom still does his laundry. I mean, he's 27! I live at home, but I would never have my mom do my laundry. It's MY responsibility. Talk about a turnoff.

And then there's the whole Catholic thing. I mean, I'm not a perfect Catholic, but I have to say over the past year or so, I've really grown a lot spiritually, and frankly, I want that in my future life partner someday. I've invited him to several church-type events and he's basically said no to all of them. And it's not like me to just be that person to keep nagging someone to go, so I haven't invited him to anything since.

Two weeks ago, the asshole treated me to frozen yogurt. I haven't seen him in awhile and I have no intention of dating him, but I did want to kiss him for comparison purposes only, which I disclosed to him before we even met that night. And I have to tell all of you, I felt more of a spark with him based off of those two kisses than I have with Catholic boy for the past two months.

Therefore, I've decided that I need to be honest with Catholic boy and tell him I think we should only be friends and that the spark just isn't there for me. I've been trying to do this for the past week and a half, but our schedules just haven't worked out, so hopefully by next weekend this hard conversation will be over with.

Surprisingly, I'm actually happy with not dating anyone right now. I'm sure there will be days when I'm envious of others or feeling lonely, but right now I think I'm where I'm supposed to be. It also doesn't hurt that I made an offer on a townhouse! The thought of moving on with my life is really exciting to me. I'm just waiting to hear if my offer has been accepted or not. So send me some positive vibes!

What's new with you?

Forks Over Knives

2011-05-17T10:08:00.000-06:00

Last night I was lucky enough to see an advanced screening of Forks over Knives. The doctors in the movie--Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn--argue that we would all be healthier if we follow a plant-based diet. This means eating mainly vegetables, fruits, legumes, and avoiding animal by-products such as meat, eggs, and dairy.

The narrator of the documentary went to a holistic doctor who ran a bunch of tests on him and concluded he was susceptible to a heart attack. He agreed to try a plant-based diet for 13 weeks. By the end of his trial, he was no longer reliant on caffeine, his cardiovascular health was in a normal range, and he had more energy.

In another instance, a lady who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes went on the same type of diet and over two years later, she has reversed her disease and has lost more than 40 pounds.

I think overall, the documentary was well-worth the conversations that it sparked between my friend and I, but I do wish some other points were addressed. For example, if we were to eat organic meat, would that be allowed? Or would these doctors still argue against it completely?

Personally, I do believe I could benefit from eating more vegetables and whole grains. However, if I want to eat a cheeseburger or have a glass of milk, I should be able to. I think the point is to figure out what type of diet works best for you and your lifestyle and go with that.

Have you seen this movie? If not, would you?

Things I....

2011-04-15T12:34:00.000-06:00

... want:

A bento box. Guess I'm feeling "green" again.

A smart phone ... but I'm too cheap right now to get one.

... that are exciting:


I got pre-approved for a mortgage! And I have a realtor! w00t

... I am obsessed with:

Greek yogurt with cranberry granola

I seriously can't eat just one of the these...I love the black sesame seeds in them!

Frozen yogurt

Cheeseburgers from the Cherry Cricket in Denver. SO.GOOD.

....What are you obsessed with or wanting? What's exciting?

I'm going.... to Arizona.

2011-04-02T00:04:00.000-06:00

Remember this?

Well, I'm going.

My flight leaves in 8 hours.

Stories and future blog posts to come.

It's a success!

2011-03-25T15:58:00.001-06:00

Thanks for all your kind thoughts and prayers regarding my mom and my aunt.

On Monday, my mom went into the hospital for the bone marrow transplant. They poked holes on the back of her pelvis bone, and used different sized needles to get the most of her bone marrow.

She stayed overnight and had a blood transfusion. Basically, once the doctors took the bone marrow, they only used the white blood cells from it for my aunt, and gave my mom her red cells back through the blood transfusion which took four hours.

Since then, my aunt has been feeling very good and has had a very positive attitude. My mom still has some swelling and definitely is still sore--she said it basically feels like she threw out of her back (ouch!)--but she is doing well.

It's one thing to read about a bone marrow transplant, but it's completely different to actually donate yours. I am so proud of her and so happy it went well.

I'm actually considering getting tested to see if I could be someone's potential match.

Would you ever donate your bone marrow or an organ?

A Scary Dream

2011-03-23T17:29:00.000-06:00

Last night we had a ridiculous amount of hurricane force winds. It was unreal.

After watching tv, I went to sleep.

And had a scary dream.

I had a dream that there was this white guy who went into our backyard. He climbed our house and looked inside the windows to my parents bedroom. My parents were asleep, and I was the one that had that strange feeling of being watched. I looked at him and he dropped down to the ground. I looked out the window and saw our dog looking up at me. I wondered why she didn't bark at him.

I ran to the phone and was going to dial 911, but I realized I really should call the local police department, but of course I didn't have the number, nor the time to look it up. So I hung up the phone, and ran to the other side of the bedroom to look out the window and saw he had moved to the side of the house where the driveway is.

I peered down at him from the window and he made eye contact with me. The neighbor's mosquito killing light was bright enough that I could see him clearly. He had a tall, husky build, with brown curly hair and facial hair. He had brown eyes and was wearing a hockey jersey.

At this point, I kept trying to yell at him to go away but he couldn't hear me. So I lifted the window up halfway and tried again. Still couldn't do anything. I was scared he would somehow say something or get in the room, so I quickly shut the window. Then I made eye contact with him again and flipped him off and pretended I was deaf and did random things with my hands (presumably my attempt to do sign language--I had watched Celebrity Apprentice last night before bed).

It was at this point that I thankfully woke up.

It was scary. And then I heard footsteps outside my door and freaked out. But I had the courage to open my door and saw it was our dog. She came into bed with me (more like hogged the entire bed) but she made me feel safe enough to go back to sleep. I did say a few prayers too. I was spooked!

Have you had any bad dreams lately?

A "fun" update

2011-03-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

Here's an update on my goal to have more fun this year:

So far I've done painting again...this time an African sunset.

Spent a weekend in the mountains...

Where I went snowshoeing for the first time.

And recently went to one of those paint your own pottery places, where I painted a pretty princess mug.

What types of fun things have you been up to?

Negative numbers are no fun

2011-02-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

They say that one of the top reasons why most marriages end in divorce is because of money.

After yesterday, I gotta agree with that statement.

Yesterday was stressful at work, but I stayed late to finish everything. While I was waiting to approve something, I logged into my bank account online. Now, being that it's the end of the month, I knew I'd be a little low on funds. This is because the majority of my bills are due at the end of the month--i.e. rent, student loan, and storage.

But I can tell you this. I did not expect to see -$700.54 as my balance.

I immediately tried to comprehend what the hell I could've spent that much money on. I sure as hell knew I didn't just go out on some shopping spree. But I think I was too panicked to really do the math. So I called my mom.

36 minutes later, we basically figured out I had made two mistakes. #1 was thinking I could transfer a substantial amount of money from checking to my other savings account without really checking to see if I had money in there. That basically messed up alot of it. And, I paid off my Discover credit card on which I had charged my new tires on. So that was a hefty payment--normally I'd have that extra $357 in my account. #2 It actually hurt me to have my automatic savings transaction this pay period. Had I canceled that, I would've had enough funds to cover all my bills.

When I got home from work, I got into bed and cried in the dark. I cried because I felt like a failure. I mean, I'm 26 years old, I should know how to manage money. Right? RIGHT. I was also angry because I WORK HARD for my money. How unfair is it that I work and yet I have none?

At one point when I was on the phone with my mom, she said, "You know if you had a mortgage payment right now, they could take away your loan because you don't have money in your account." This really made me upset because if I can't buy my own place--where the hell am I supposed to live? I can't live with my parents the rest of my life. And renting is just like throwing money out the window.

During my hysterical crying fit, I actually had the thought that since I didn't have a cent to my name (which obviously isn't true--I have more than enough in savings, but I don't want to borrow from savings because I'm afraid I'll never pay myself back) I would have to go to the food bank for groceries. And then I thought of next month when I'd have money to spend again and how everytime I'd go to the grocery store, I would set aside $12 or so for items to donate to the food bank so that I could help someone else.

Obviously, I can be (sorta) melodramatic. But I haven't overdrafted my account like that EVER. So you can imagine why it was such a big deal to me. Thank god I have overdraft protection. Plus, my parents owed me some money. So basically, all I owe the bank will be the amount my automatic savings withdrawal took earlier this month, which I have already scheduled to transfer tomorrow.

So everything will be okay.

Have you ever cried over money? How do you deal with the stress of it all and still maintain your sanity?

On the radio

2011-02-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

Last night on my way home, I was listening to the radio.

This guy had apparently given the radio station all these hints about a lucky lady who he wanted to propose to...some of the hints where what city she lived in and what restaurant they shared their first date at.

Well, the lucky lady called in because she had been getting tons of phone calls and texts from her friends who had been listening--they all thought it was her.

She called in and the djs asked her to confirm all the answers to the hints that they had given out throughout the day. She got them all right...and then her boyfriend got on the phone.

I had just pulled into my driveway when I got to this part, which always seems to happen. But I waited and listened to see what she was gonna say.

Well, she completely flipped out. And not in a good way. She said she never likes making a public spectacle of herself, so why would he call and propose to her ON NATIONAL RADIO? But the real kicker was when she said, "I can't marry someone who doesn't know me." And then she hung up.

What a disaster! That poor guy.

Today was telling my friend this story, and we both agreed that a radio proposal wouldn't be our choices. I mean, you can't even see his facial expression. I could see this working out if it was a long distance thing, but if you're in the same state/city, it makes no sense to me.

How do you want to be proposed to? In public? In private?
For those who are already engaged or married--how did he/she propose?

My Strange Addiction

2011-02-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh...has anyone seen the show on TLC called My Strange Addiction? It's like crazy.

A few weekends ago I hunkered down and watched a bunch of episodes. One featured a girl who ate laundry detergent and soap, another girl ate chalk, one had a shopping addiction, and another was a ventriloquist who took her puppets everywhere with her. Oh, and I can't forget about the (now single) mom who uses a hair dryer to go to bed. Not only did her addiction ruin her marriage, it also caused her physical harm. She had multiple scars on her arms from getting burnt by the hair dryer.

Another episode featured a mother who was addicted to eating Comet cleaning powder for more than 35 years. It showed her when she went to the dentist and took x-rays of her mouth. All of her teeth were rotten. Lucky for her, the dentist said she would replace her entire mouth with fake teeth for free. In return, she had to seek therapy and rid herself of her addiction.

It's definitely crazy to watch all these people having such strange addictions, but the bottom line is, they all really have psychological problems, which is sad.

Have you seen this show?

Drum Roll...

2011-02-01T11:21:00.001-07:00

Remember the giveaway I did last month? Well, my dog and I finally settled on a winner....TELLIE!

Hope & Faith

2011-01-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

A phone call.

Disbelief.

Panic.

What do all of these have in common?

Well, today at work I received a phone call from my mom telling me that my aunt, who has always treated me like the daughter she never had (she has a son, who is almost my age), has "acute leukemia."

Disbelief starts to set in. And a thousand questions. And the feeling of panic because I want so badly to do something--to fix it--to feed her and comfort her. I think to myself, I can learn how to sew and make her a quilt. I can fix her some of her favorite foods (because undoubtedly the hospital food will suck). I can give her a hug...

...But I can't.

The doctor said if she doesn't undergo intense treatment, she will only have 90 days left to live. She's going to spend a month in the hospital undergoing chemo and strong therapies to fight off the disease. She can't have visitors because her immune system is too weak--one person with a cold could kill her.

The only thing I can do now is pray for her, for my cousin and for my uncle and have hope that things will be okay.

Busy Busy Bee

2011-01-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

I love having time to hang out with friends, and basically do whatever I want now that my seasonal job at the mall is over.

Well, now I have a (good) dilemma, and I need your input.

Here's the situation. I basically have three invitations for the weekend of February 5 & 6.

Option #1: A women's retreat. I've gone to this retreat for two or three years now and each year I've had a great time. This retreat is only held once a year, and the reason why I like it so much is because I feel like I can just be myself. That, and it's in the mountains, and it's only $89 total, which includes meals and lodging for both days.

Option #2:Celebrate a friend's birthday. I actually invited my friend Kristen to the women's retreat, and via text message, she told me that weekend is her birthday. Eeeks! I didn't know that. Obviously, I can celebrate with her on that Friday night before the retreat (if I go) or after the retreat, but if I didn't go on the retreat, I could take her out.

Option #3: Go to a baby shower. Yesterday I received an invitiation to a baby shower for another friend, whom I have known since I was 16. We aren't bffs, but we do see each other like twice a year. She's expecting her first child, and it'd be super awesome to be apart of her baby shower. I've been meaning to make plans with her, so this would be good timing.

If I don't attend, I could make plans to give her/the baby a gift, but I kinda hate to miss her baby shower. I've thought about going to the shower and coming to the retreat late, but I'd still miss most of the day, because the shower isn't till 1:30. Then let's say it lasts two hours...that's 3:30, plus an hour to drive to the mountains...that's already 4:30, and the retreat ends around noon I think on Sunday.

So, what should I do? What would you do? How do you handle it when you have too many invites?

2011: Bring on the fun!

2011-01-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

I don't do new year's resolutions because I think they are all a load of crap. Personally, for me, if I want to achieve or accomplish something, I call it a goal.

That being said, a few of my "goals" for the year include:

Gettin' crafty.
Watching what I spend (i.e., trying to eat more at home and not waste food)
Have fun!

I'm already off to a great start!

During the summer last year I had to attend a conference for work. Well, one of my sessions was canceled, so I walked to a B&N, and grabbed some magazines, one of which was Real Simple. I saw the coolest idea for organizing your jewelry. It was called a jewelry board. Ever since the summer, I've wanted to make one, and one the first day of the new year, I did just that.

Waaaala!


So pretty!

I'm really proud of how this turned out. My next project that I want to do is create a scrapbook. I'm still unsure if I want to do one devoted to my trip to China or one of college memories. It's a toss up, but I'm looking forward to it!

Speaking of having fun, I attended my first ever painting and wine class this week and had SO.MUCH.FUN. Seriously, I can't wait to go back. Here's my interpretation of a dandelion:

The first week of the year has certainly been off to a great start...happy new year!!

Why my family is crazy and another reason why I need to move out

2011-01-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here's reason #1,4562,165 why I need to move out of my parent's house.

Today was filled with laziness, productiveness, and a bit of fresh air.

It wasn't until an hour ago that things took a severe nosedive.

You see, my little brother, 10, stayed up way too late last night and didn't get enough sleep. Therefore, around dinner time he got grouchy. He was mad that he had to clean the dishes. Well, my other brother who is home for winter break from college, decided to egg him on and taunt him about the fact that he had to do his 4+ pages of homework after he cleaned the dishes.

The little brother didn't appreciate that and thought he would take a roll of sealed wrapping paper and try to hit my other brother. A 10 year-old versus a 21 year-old makes for a bad loss on my lil brothers end. Basically, my other brother decided to show him who was boss, and took him into a headlock while making him walk down the stairs. I watched the entire thing happen.

Obviously my little brother freaked out a bit, but once he did that, my other brother loosened his grip. They get down to the kitchen table, and we hear my little brother crying and yelling about being choked, but we don't think anything of it. I went upstairs and ate some chocolate.

Well, then we get a call. My dad looks at the caller id and it says "Adams." Who could that be? With an incredulous look upon her face, my mother reluctantly answers. I figured it was some call asking for donations. Um, yea, I was wrong.

Turns out it was the 911 dispatch center calling in response to an emergency call. Turns out my little brother called 911 and then hung up. Classic, I know. I remember when I did it was a little kid and my friend Michelle and I knew the cops were coming so we hid behind the washer/dryer. We got in big trouble.

Anyways, turns out they already dispatched a cop to come over, even though we insisted everything was fine. In the 15 to 20 minutes it took for the cop to arrive at our house, my mom started cleaning like a madwoman. She yelled at me to hang up all the coats and to put all the dirty laundry that was sitting on the landing upstairs into baskets. Seriously, makes no sense to me. I mean, who cares that we have laundry sitting around? We live here, duh!

After pacifying my mom with household chores, I kept looking out my bedroom window for the cop's car. I warned everyone when he pulled up to the house.

He knocks, but we didn't answer, so he just lets himself inside the house. I put the dog downstairs.

The officer asks why my brother called 911, to which he flat out says, "because my brother choked me." The cop looks to my mom for confirmation, and my mom says no. My brother says she's wrong. The officer basically ends up giving my brother a lecture about how 911 is for emergencies only, and to not call if he's not getting along with his brother and to only call if something is being stolen or if someone is hurt.

Thankfully, that's how it ended and the cop left.

But seriously, what a way to start off the new year....

Christmas is coming!

2010-12-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today is the first time this entire month that I have felt like excited about Christmas. CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Maybe this mood has to do with me listening to Pandora's White Christmas station, featuring some of my favorite songs by Mariah Carey, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, and other old people. (For the record, Mariah is not old)

In light of my spectacular mood, because Christmas is coming (!), and the fact that I don't work retail tonight and that I have most of my Christmas shopping done, I'm giving away something pretty awesome.

You can win this book that I picked up from the infamous STRAND store in Manhattan when I was in NYC a few months ago. The book is about this photojournalist named Alison Wright who has traveled the world. In particular, she loves Thailand and Laos (is that in Thailand?) and some other exotic countries. Oh, and she's personally talked with and met the Dalai Lama, which makes her even more awesome in my book.

The book is a super easy read and it definitely kept my attention. It centers around a horrific accident she was in and how meditation kept her alive. Then it chronicles her journey to recovery and how she dealt with everyday life. It's an amazing story, and I'm glad I happened to randomly buy it.

Anyone can win, even if you don't live in the U.S. Because I hate it when people say, "tweet this" or "facebook that" for more entries, I'm keeping it simple kids. All you gotta do is comment. It can be something about meditating, about Christmas, or about what you ate today. I could care less. Just comment. I'll have my dog choose the winner.

Provided I actually get comments, this giveaway will end at midnight on the first day of winter, aka December 21. So get crackin'!

Reality Check

2010-12-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

Figuratively, I've been hiding out lately. I've been in my own bubble of thoughts.

Basically, I've been interviewing my butt off, and still not getting any job offers. It's SO FRUSTRATING! I've even asked the hiring managers why I didn't get it, and they all basically say, "it's not you, it's me." That doesn't help. People keep telling me that the right job will come along...and I believe that for all of 2.5 seconds, before I think to myself, "yea right, you're not the one spending $100 on new 'interviewing clothes,' you're not the one requesting all these odd half-days off from work, you're not the one doing writing tests once a week and taking returning calls from potential employers while hiding out in your car for fear that a coworker might overhear. Basically, you have no idea what it's like" <---- that's what I want to say.

In the mean time, I've gotten a second job just for the holiday season at the mall. It's not the most glamorous but I'm hoping it'll be worth it. I haven't been sleeping well because I keep dreaming about the job and what I need to remember and how to work the cash register and how I can improve so I don't get fired. Oh, and I'm having trouble with anxiety of the job hunt and of the low low low balance of my savings account. I feel defeated that I'm never gonna be able to afford my own place.

I've also been whining about why I'm not in a relationship. Even people I don't even like have significant others and it's like, why don't I get what I want? Yes, I'm selfish or jealous or whatever. But at least I'm being honest. Even the not attractive looking girls that I work with at my other job have boyfriends and I'm wayyy cuter and sweeter than they are. Just sayin'. It's not fair.

So anyways, I've been keeping all these thoughts in my head. It wasn't until Monday night that I finally got a reality check. I had dinner with my best friend from grade school. She cooked me and her husband dinner. It was great. It was at dinner that I started on my rant about how I'm not getting a new job. She actually reminded me that a lot of people don't even have one job, much less two like I do. She reminded me that I'm thankful to be living at home and not homeless.

And then she shared some of her own news that she's expecting! I seriously was beyond thrilled for her and her husband. Seriously, I can't wait. They are going to be cute parents and the baby is going to be so cute, and they are going to have a cute family.

Ok, I'll stop saying cute now. But really, I was truly happy for her. I wasn't envious of the wonderful life she has. It was hearing this news that popped my inner bubble I was living in and made me see that there are other things out there to be thankful for. Since then, I have new perspective on the things that I'm going through. It doesn't hurt to have wonderful things to look forward to either.

How have you all been?

It's not Christmas yet!

2010-11-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what others think, I am a firm believer that the Christmas season doesn't begin until AFTER THANKSGIVING.

I went to the mall the other day to apply for store retail jobs for the holidays to make some extra moolah. And let me tell you, they had Christmas decorations up all over the place. Thankfully, I haven't heard any Christmas music on the radio yet.

While I was in Borders to see if they had a book I wanted, I saw this fake Christmas tree. Every year my family gets a real one, so I'd never do a fake one...but...if I had to, ya know, because of some apartment living rule or something...well, I'd actually like this one, but only because it's PINK!

Secondly, it feels more like the holiday season because we had a nutritionist stop by my office yesterday and tell us how not to gain 50 million pounds. She basically said that we should have a 1 plate limit, to eat a little something before going to the party with the huge buffet of food, and to not stress overeating. If we have a huge meal if fatty things, just balance it out with some fruits and veggies later. Sounds easy enough, right?

Lastly, two days ago we got our first dusting of snow. Of course everyone and their mother freaked out on the road, and traffic was terrible. But thankfully we haven't gotten anything real bad yet.

Does it feel like the holidays to you yet?

Acceptance & Rejection

2010-10-26T16:31:00.000-06:00

The past two weeks have seemed like months to me because I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Oh wait, that sounds gross. I mean...I've been like a goose trying to lay a golden egg. (Clearly a Willa Wonka & The Chocolate Factory reference).

That golden egg for me would be a new job. I obviously don't hate my current job. In fact, there are times that I downright--dare I say--love it. But the reality of my current position is that everyone in my office is old and will be here forever and that translates to me never getting a promotion with a hefty pay raise. That is, unless I want to be here forever too, which I don't, especially when I see that positions at other companies pay more.

It's obviously not all about the money either. But it's a definite perk. Having extra money in a paycheck every month would help with bills, but also aid in the process of me moving out of my parent's house so that I can have some semblance of a life.

It all started a few weeks ago when I received a LinkedIn request from someone I don't know in real life. I read her message saying her company had an opening in an office here, and would I like to talk with her? Sure, I had nothing to lose. I did a phone screen with her and that lead to an interview with an editor for a business-y publication.

I haven't interviewed for a job in like forever, so I had a lot of anxiety about it, but I did it. I thought it was alright. I didn't mess up per se but I also was nervous and could have been more aggressive. I didn't hear back from that one so I'm assuming I didn't get it.

I did that interview, then kinda just went back to normal life until I got another e-mail from the HR lady saying there was the same position open at another one of their publications, and would I like to talk with the editor of that one? Sure. That phone interview went well, and the editor said she'd e-mail me an editing test. Ya know, to see if I can actually prove I know proper grammar.

I looked at it, and not only was there an editing test but there was an assignment to write an article for their publication about this new bill and figure out who it will matter to and why. Let me remind you, for this publication, it's all about life insurance.

Um, it took me two freakin' days to figure what the hell an annuity was and why I care. Not to mention, I had to call and talk with people about this stuff and basically pretend like I know what an AMT (alternative minimum tax) is. In the midst of all this work I had to do for the article last week I met with the life insurance publication's group editor, whom I really loved. He was easy going and relaxed and just like awesome. I was super comfortable with him and I definitely know that I did my best in that interview as well.

After making my brain hurt all last week, I finally turned in the article and all the tests in this past Friday. Let me tell you, I was relieved that it was over. In some ways, I am glad I had to do all those things because I really made me realize I don't want to work in that industry. It's just not fun.

While all of this is happening, I've also had a phone interview with a different company for a position I actually want. I had my last face-to-face interview yesterday and I think it went well. I honestly can say I did my best and am just waiting to hear back now. My friend who works for that company said they really liked me and had nothing negative to say about my interview. She also forewarned me that the other candidate I'm up against has like double the experience I do (which is like um...why aren't you applying for OTHER JOBS YOU MORON).

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much but I honestly do want this one. It's hard to go through all of this work of prepping for the interview questions, figuring out what to wear, and taking random half days off of work to go to these interviews. It's all draining and exhausting and you feel like you're never gonna make it.

I obviously felt like I was on a high when I had all these people wanting me, but now that it's all over, I'm like good riddance. I feel like my confidence has taken a major hit because I just found out in a one line e-mail today that I didn't get the life insurance jobs. Obviously, I didn't want them, but even saying that doesn't make me feel better. It's still like shoot...bummer...crap. But, at the same time, I honestly don't think I would've jumped ship to a job that I wouldn't really enjoy. Not to mention that office was like hella far away from where I live, and I'd probably go insane dealing with all the traffic on the highway.

I know that things happen for a reason. I know that I had to apply to a bazillion jobs before I got this one. I know the job hunt will be worth it at some point. I definitely am job hunt happy right now, and even might be motivated to write a damn cover letter (which is like pulling teeth for me). I know I can ace interviews and have valuable skills and am pretty much awesome. Now I'm just waiting for the right job to come at the right time.

I love a deal.

2010-10-19T16:04:00.001-06:00

Hi my name is Wonderful and I have a confession to make. I've gotten really addicted to those daily deal websites. You know what I'm talking about--the Groupon and LivingSocial of our lives, if you will. These darn things are getting me to spend wayyyyy too much money lately.

I open my email and I'll see, "$10 for $20 worth of frozen yogurt," or "$20 for $60 worth the spa credit at this really cool spa that you couldn't otherwise afford," and I WANT WANT WANT IT. Over the past month, I've bought like four different deals.

I have an hour long hot stone massage, a shopping spree at the GAP, and food at a bbq restaurant to use. Heck, I'm even using a Groupon to buy my Halloween costume this year. I'm not sure if this is pathetic or really awesome.

Don't even get me started on those sites that have different deals each day of the week BUT allow you all week to purchase them. Those are way too tempting too. Although, in my humble opinion, they aren't as popular as the daily deal sites. Either that or I'm subscribing to the wrong ones.

What about you? Have you fallen into the daily deal craze?

Happiness, gratitude & value

2010-10-14T16:16:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend I heard a story about how many people are impatient because they have all these demands--from their employer, family, and friends. No one says thank you. No one appreciates all of their hard work. Essentially, they don't feel valued.

What I took from that story when I heard it on Sunday was that I should be more grateful for the people in my life. As I was putting dinner on the table for my dad and brother, I stopped to tell them that story. And then I proceeded to bring up how we never help my mom out with the dishes after she's cooked dinner for us, or how I never tell my dad thank you for working so hard, and how my brother never sets the table. Sure, these examples are pretty small, but the bigger lesson here is to be more aware of those around you.

While I've been mindful of the people around me and all that they do, I also had another theme arise in my thoughts: value.

When I think of value, I think of "the value of a dollar," or the "value of that product" or how that coupon saved me .77 cents, making it a "great value."

But I recently realized that there's another definition of value that I've been missing. Value in terms of work.

While I was meeting with my spritual director yesterday, I shared with him how in the past two weeks, I've been so happy. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY. That kind of happy. The kind of happy that makes me want to break out dancing and laugh like a fool. I told him how happy I am because of all the new job opportunities that have come my way, and how I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

I told him how I've imagined walking into my boss's office and telling her that I'm leaving to take a position at another company. I've pictured her reaction to my news and look of the shock on her face, and how happy I will feel to tell all of my coworkers that I'm leaving.

Two years ago, when I imagined leaving, I worried that I'd miss my coworkers. Now I could careless. I know it's time for a change. And frankly, it feels good to be wanted. It gives me validation of all my hard work in my current position.

When I told him all of this, he said, "I'm getting the sense that you don't feel valued at your job." AMEN BROTHA. Seriously, I've never thought of it that way, but he's right. I don't. I've gotten a ton of new work thrown at me, but never have had a positive comment saying, "thanks," or "I know you worked hard on that...it looks great." Nope. It's just expected, same 'ol shit, different day.

And frankly, knowing that I can be valued in other positions and situations, well, it gives me wings to fly so to speak. It gives me the motivation to work harder. It gives me the positive outlook I've been wanting to have for awhile. It makes me believe that I can do it. I can get a new job. I can move out of my parent's house and into my own place. I can be unstoppable.

What about you? Do you feel valued?

Travel Fridays

2010-10-08T09:50:00.000-06:00

via

Last month I got really excited about going to New Mexico. If you recall, there was a time when I was certain I wasn't going this year. But then I found cheap airfare (read: $98 roundtrip) and figured it was possible. That I could go.

Well, now I'm changing my mind again. I really would like to go, but even with the cheap airfare, I'd still have to come up with extra cash to stay at a hotel or a place. The cheapest rate I've found via this site is $55, which can add up since I was planning on staying 4 or 5 days.

*sigh* Maybe I can go again in the Spring or next Fall....or maybe someone will magically buy all of my amazon.com inventory so I can afford it.

Is there anywhere you want to go to but can't afford?

Happy.

2010-10-07T15:47:00.000-06:00

I've had a lot going on lately....

....my mom went to Spain for two weeks, leaving me in a house full of boys. Surprisingly, my dad has stepped up to the plate and has made dinner (courtesy of Costco) and even cleaned the kitchen!

....I magically was approached with a potential new job. This lady found me via one of my profiles online, and before you know it, I had a phone interview with her, followed by a real interview with the editor in chief of a magazine yesterday. I think the interview went well, minus the fact that he asked for my references and writing samples and I didn't have them. It's between me and two other people for the position and I don't have a clue what it pays, but it makes me feel good to be wanted (professionally).

....For the other job that I really want, I'm in the second round, waiting to hear if I made the third round. Apparently they aren't even looking at my writing sample until next week, so I won't know till the week after that if I made the cut. But, it makes me feel good that they only asked 10 people to submit a writing sample, and from there they are narrowing it down to 3-5 people to interview. So I'm crossing my fingers that I get an interview.

....I've been looking around for a second job. Obviously, if I get either of the new positions above, I probably won't need a second job...but I'm really far behind on my whole plan to move out and buy my own place. This girl needs to save more money for a downpayment, and a second job would be the best option. Plus, when it gets cold here, my social life drastically diminishes, so why not work instead?

....Over the weekend, I went shopping & bought a new dress at Forever 21 similar to this one and had a lovely outing with M to see the changing colors of the Aspen leaves. It still doesn't feel like Fall here yet, but once it does, I'm going to revel in all of its gloriousness because it's my favorite season of the year.

What makes you happy? Or, what's something that you'd like to share?

This totally made my day

2010-10-04T14:20:00.000-06:00

Hello You know who

Hello Kill Bill - The Bride

Hello KISSy PETER

Hello KISSy ACE

Hello KISSy PAUL

Hello KISSy GENE

Hello Flash

Hello Green Lantern

Hello TRON 2010

Hello Hitty

Hello UltraKitty

Hello DarthKitty

Hello Daft Punk GUY

Hello Daft Punk THOMAS

Hello H2K2

Hello Dark Knight

Hello Buster Kitty

Hello CyberKitty

Hello Venom

Hello Mr Fantastic Kitty

Hello Spidey

Hello Captain Amerikitty

Hell-o Kitty

Hello StaypuftKitty

Hello Kicky

Hello Smurfy Kitty

Hello Lucky Kitty

HALO Kitty

Hello Clockwork Orange Kitty

Hello Zombie Kitty

Hello rorschach

Hello DR MANHATTAN

Hello IronKitty

Hello Gangsta Kitty

Hello Kirk Kitty

Hello Spock Kitty

Hello Trek Kitty

Hello-ween Kitty

Hello Snow Kitty

Hello Kitty Boushh

Hello Boba Kitty

Hello Emperors Guard Kitty

Hello Scout Trooper Kitty

Hello Rebel Pilot Kitty

Hello c3po

Hello Storm Kitty

Hello x-Kitty

Hello BuzzKitty

Hello All Black Kitty

Hello RoboKitty

Hello Batty

Hello Kia Ora Kitty

Hello Jason

Source: flickr

An Indian Wedding

2010-09-21T15:47:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend, I attended my first Indian wedding. Just so we are clear, I mean the kinda Indian from like India--not the Native American kind. Anyways, I flew in to New York on Friday and proceeded to take the airtran, subway, and Long Island Railroad out to the hotel.

The first night's festivities included a huge buffet of all vegetarian food--tacos, pasta, vegetables, etc. Then the party started. Basically, it was a huge dance party all night, complete with an awesome dessert table filled with cheesecake, carrot cake, banana cream pie, chocolate torte, and this amazing lemon cake. It was awesome.

I didn't know the dances at all, but the family of the bride and groom helped teach the newbies. By the middle of the night, I was a dancing fool. It was so cool.

The next day was the ceremony, complete with a fancy procession with more dancing. I also learned that Indians don't take the ceremonies seriously. They'll get up and go to the bathroom or get a drink from the bar, or just start talking. Or they will play scrabble on their iphone, like the guy next to me did.

The ceremony took place outside

It was beautiful

I, on the other hand, was like all into the ceremony. I think my inner anthropologist came out because I wanted to know the significance of everything that was happening. I even noticed that they skipped some of the parts that were listed in the wedding program.

After the ceremony, it was cocktail hour complete with an open bar and authentic Indian food appetizers. I had samosas, and these good wrap things with green chutney sauce in them. It was yummy. I also didn't think any of the food was too spicy, which surprised some of the people I was talking to at the wedding.

Until this weekend, I had never tried Indian food. It just always looked unappealing, but I was a brave foodie and tried everything. And I honestly loved it all. My favorite was the naan and some of the bean dishes. I don't remember names, I just remember what it all looked like.

This is where the bride & groom sat. The purple box is for cards and money. It's tradition to give them an amount of money ending in 1, i.e., $51, $101. It's supposed to bring good luck.

I loved how they had so many playful moments within the ceremony and at the reception. And they had more dancing, which was awesome. And the dessert bar was alright. I wasn't a fan of the desserts--they had this one that was like carrot cake that was super sweet, this one that my new friend called milky balls, which was cheese I guess, and mango ice cream.

The cake was awesome

After this weekend, I wish I had more Indian friends so I can go to more Indian weddings. And maybe next time I get invited to one, I'll even show up in a sari. ;)

Have you ever been to an Indian wedding?

This isn't high school, but it still feels like it

2010-09-13T17:32:00.000-06:00

Seriously, do you ever wonder why certain things happen?

You're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about. Well, in the past 48 hours I've run into two people I went to high school with. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. You see, I actively avoid talking with anyone I went to high school with except my close inner circle. I just feel like I've changed a lot since then, and according to most of their facebook profiles, they certainly haven't.

Incident #1 happened on Saturday night (or shall I say morning?) when I was at a country bar. Obviously I don't normally hang out at country bars, especially not dressed up in jeans and plaid shirts with my hair in pigtails. I was there because of a bachelorette party for a mutual friend.

At this point, the bachelorette was sufficiently drunk and was wandering off trying to get guys to sign her t-shirt. I was put in charge of keeping track of her. So I'm holding a huge blow up penis and watching her talk with some guys when I notice a guy staring at me out of the corner of my eye. At first glance, I think to myself "I have no idea who that is," and then approximately 30 seconds later, I do a double take and realize it's this guy Anthony who used to be super popular and played on the football team.

Anthony was always nice to me, but we never really had any classes together. I was usually in the honors or AP classes, and he wasn't. Anyways, at this point since we both know we've seen each other, I could not really walk away. So blow up penis in hand, I walked right up to him and said hi.

We ended up talking about what we've been up to since high school. Apparently he lost his sports scholarship his sophomore year of college in Wyoming and moved back here. Eight years later, he's got a degree in civil engineering and a full-time job. So here I am thinking, wow, at least he did something with himself, when he says "yea, other than working, I like to get in trouble with the ladies. It makes life interesting." Yea, obviously not the smartest cookie in the bunch.

After I told him what I've been up to--graduating from college & staying out of trouble--we parted ways with a hug. And then I maturely went over to my bff and told her EVERYTHING.

That was on Saturday. Fast forward to today when incident #2 occurred. I'm holding a container of artichoke and garlic hummus, a bag of carrots, a cup of applesauce, and a spoon, when I see a lady waiting by the elevators. I'm walking towards the entrance of our office, when all of a sudden that lady looks over right at me. And again, I did a double take.

Turns out it's one of the few girls I used to hang out with in high school. We were never bffs, but she was tolerable. We played volleyball together and were in a lot of the same classes. We stayed in touch after high school, but parted ways during my senior year of college. She came out to visit me and was a tool the entire time. Literally complaining about bringing the wrong shoes to complaining about walking everywhere to complaining about drinking to complaining about doing too little to complaining about doing too much. COMPLAIN. COMPLAIN. COMPLAIN.

After I sent her to the airport in a cab, I exhaled a sigh of relief and pretty much decided to not keep in touch with her anymore. In high school she was always negative too, but I think at that time I was naive enough to think that she just needed a friend and that if I was positive enough, it would rub off on her. That obviously didn't work.

Since then, we've friended each other on facebook. I have her on my limited profile list that I reserve for anyone that I don't want knowing about what I do. But obviously I'm in a bit of a pickle now, considering she freakin' works in the office RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL FROM MINE. She of course was like, "OMG we have to catch up!!" And I'm thinking to myself....oh great.

Have you ever had this happen to you? I don't wanna know if the universe is about to throw a third person from high school my way. Seriously. Don't. Want. To. Know.

Advice Needed & Appreciated

2010-09-09T20:41:00.000-06:00

The situation: It's about a boy. Obviously. That's pretty much the only time I care about advice. Anyways, said boy, lives in another state. Boy and I have daily phone conversations and have "known" each other for years. I say "known" because we've never actually met face to face. We've had video chats and written letter correspondance, facebook messages and IMs, but never the actual hang out time we've both been craving.

He currently lives at home too, so that has sort of hindered things. But here's the thing. I like him and he likes me. But I hate the distance. I want someone I can see every week and still have the hour long phone conversations. He's not moving here anytime soon, and I'm not moving where he is either. So I guess you could say that we aren't meant to be, and that things will never progress. But that's what I'm confused about.

Some days we have an amazing connection. Some days he brings out the best in me and vice versa. Of course there are other days when we both are stubborn and fight too. It's not all roses and fairy tales. Like last night, I asked him how his night was and he told me he spent it with his family at home. Only, toward the end of the conversation he admitted he went out on a date with the same girl he had met, oh, last week.

I was annoyed for two reasons, which I expressed to him clearly. First off he should have just been honest with me at the beginning of the conversation. How was I supposed to know he went out on a date? I can't always ask an exact question to figure out an answer. Secondly, how can he spend time talking with me everyday and then go out on a date with a girl? He said he did it because he was mad at me because the night before I told him I wasn't going to make a trip out there to see him.

We were discussing Frontier's fall sale, and he asked me to come see him. I told him I felt like we were dysfunctional and that I didn't want to book a trip and then regret coming out there. Basically, if I go see him, I want to be the center of attention. I demand to have it. Because to me, going out of state to see someone and spend time with them is serious. And, I don't want to look like a fool. I want to know he's serious about me and I don't want to have to worry that he's interested in anyone else.

He assured me that if I had told him in the first place that I would go see him, he never would've went out with that girl. He also told me if I come out to see him, it will be all about us. He claims that he cares about me and wants to spend time together. I asked him about where I'd stay. Part of me wants a hotel because then I'd have some down time alone. But then that's more money. He said I could potentially stay with him if his parents go out of town or he was thinking of asking a friend of his from his church if I could stay with her.

Obviously, I'm in the thick of this mess and can't see clearly so that's where you all come in. What should I do?

Pros: I'd finally get an answer to if me and him are even remotely compatible. And I'd get to go to a state with warmer weather.

Cons: I could go out there and realize he's completely not for me. And then what would I do for the rest of the weekend? I don't want to regret anything. I don't want to regret going but I also want a happy ending. I want it to go smoothly and have fun. It's one thing to go out there because I wanted to see something or attend another event and then meeting him would just be icing on the cake. But if I'm being honest with myself--if I went on this trip in October--it wouldn't be because I want to go to Arizona. It'd be for him.

Travel Fridays: Frisco, CO

2010-09-03T10:51:00.000-06:00

Photo Credit: Todd Powell Photography

My parents have been driving me crazy lately, and work has been crazy, and I finally made it to yoga last night because I was forced to because my Groupon was about to expire. Needless to say, I need some quality "me" time. Like, NEED IT NOW. So I just did something spontaneous. I whipped out my credit card, and booked myself a condo for this weekend. Granted, this weekend probably wasn't the best time to stay in the mountains since everyone in their mother will probably be headed up there, but when you need time away, you don't really care. Plus, because I booked it today, I got a last minute special deal.
The pictures online look great. The condo will have a queen bed, and TV. Awesome. I might even bring some movies along with me and some music. I am so excited. And apparently this weekend the town is celebrating Oktoberfest, so there will be plenty of stuff to do.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning and not coming back till Monday. And it will be everything I want it to be--relaxing, fun, and hopefully awesome. (I need to stop ~~saying~~ typing that word now, but you get the jist) I could end up watching tv or reading in bed all weekend, or I could go bike ride from Frisco to Breckenridge, or I could hike, or drink myself into a stupor with hot German men, or go shopping, or meet my future husband in a hot tub. The possibilities are endless.

How are you spending the long weekend?

Where I've been and more mundane details

2010-09-02T10:50:00.001-06:00

Life has completely taken over. That's a good excuse for not blogging, not commenting on other blogs, and basically just hiding in my own superficial cave, right? Right.

So I've been enjoying the last few weeks of summer. I finally made it to the annual peach festival. The past three years I've missed it. One year it was due to picking the wrong day and another year it was pouring rain and I abandoned the idea. But the peach festival was fun. Ironically enough, I didn't buy any peaches because I already had bought some with my mom from the farmers market the weekend before. But M got a really cool hat & I tried on one too. And we had delicious peach dessert pizza, peach cobbler with ice cream, and hot dogs. We also got our faces painted. It was awesome.

We also got our faces painted. It was awesome.

Then all last week I celebrated my birthday in style.

I baked fresh peach/raspberry crisp on Monday.

On Tuesday, I went out to dinner with my family and attended the Rockies game, where the guy right beside me almost caught a home run ball. It was both scary and exciting all at the same time.

Holding my cousin at the game. The tiara is compliments of my brother's dentist office--my mom got me that for my birthday complete with a star wand.

On Wednesday night, I went out for Italian food with some of my bffs. We totally had a great girls night out, complete with wine and dessert. Oh, and funny story, before dinner I totally locked my keys in my car. Deja vu, anyone?

The girls

Thursday and Friday were down time to run errands and basically catch up with life, and then Saturday was the main event: my birthday picnic. Sadly, I don't have any pictures from that day, but imagine 8 people sitting under trees on picnic blankets with a smorgishboard of food. We're talkin' cherry cheesecake for dessert, brownies, sweet tea vodka, beer, crossiant BLTA sandwiches, watermelon, chips...and the list could go on. It was a great time (albeit a bit stressful) but totally worth it. It was a great way to celebrate, that's for sure.

So now that you know what I've been up to, what's new with all of you?

Fear vs Freedom

2010-08-12T17:11:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week I attended a potluck at Floozy's house. See, I've belonged to this local media women's e-mail list serv for like three years, but have never made it to one of their monthly potlucks or weekly schmooze's. I just lurk online instead.

Of course I was the youngest person there, but I wasn't surprised by that. My other coworker had warned me already about that. I had no expectations going into it, and I have to say that I had a rather pleasant evening. Wow, I sound old. I mean, I had an evening without awkwardness.

The ladies were all nice and all of them couldn't believe that I had been at my current job for almost four years. I'm not sure if that was because I look really young, or because that's just a really long to stay at a job. Although, one of them made me feel better by telling me that she had stayed at her first job for seven years.

At one point I remarked how I want to try something else but I also don't want to jump from job to job to avoid being laid off. "Fear is a great motivator," said one lady. It got me to thinking about all of the things I'm fearful of.

I don't know when I began to let fear in, but I would like to lessen its current role. As a kid I lived without fear--I jumped off the diving board and risked it turning into a belly flop, or rolled down a hill without worrying that I'd hit my head on a rock.

I'd like to get back to that place of total freedom, but today I took a small step--I applied for three jobs. I didn't let my inner critic prevent me from submitting my cover letter, and I wasn't afraid to put down the magic number I want for my next salary. I just uploaded everything and hit the submit button. It felt good.

Life is hard

2010-08-11T16:07:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend I had a lot of ups and downs.

Ups: Spending quality time with friends, my 'lil bro, and getting free fro yo.

Downs: Having my little brother who is 10 leave my entire cd collection on top of my car and me driving away and having it be GONE FOREVER AND EVER. I literally had a temper tantrum when I got home, complete with crying hysterically and saying "it's not fair" over and over and over again.

I've been really touchy lately and sensitive and overall just a ball of hormones and it wasn't until I was driving home on Monday that I realized what this all is: STRESS.

Apparently my way of dealing with stress is to just cry. and cry. and cry. oh, and yell. and then stop crying. and then apologize for the yelling. Um, yea...not exactly the most healthy way to deal with it, huh?

So now my mission is to figure out why I'm stressed and figure out what de-stresses me. Is it cooking? Is it yoga? Is it kickboxing? Is it writing? I HAVE NO IDEA. But I do know something's gotta change because it's not fair to my family or my friends.

I was playing phone tag with my uncle all day on Monday, and of course getting frustrated as to why everytime I called him he was busy and vice versa. Finally he called me back while I was in the middle of making dinner. He asked me how I was doing and I immediately started venting about how much my life sucks and how my cd collection is gone and how I might lose my job and how my cell phone sucks. I basically used the word sucks like a billion times in the span of like, 15 minutes.

Then of course without even realizing it, he made me feel better. He commiserated with me about my expensive car repairs and offered to give me the names of people he knows to help me with getting my own place (someday) and a bunch of other stuff. I'd forgotten what a great person he is.

Finally he got around to telling me why he called me in the first place. Turns out he wants me to be his second son's godmother. SERIOUSLY. I'm gonna be a godmother! I don't even know what that means exactly, but it already makes me wanna spoil my cousin, who's only like five months old.

It's funny how life works out like this--just when I wanna give up and crawl into a cave and never come out again--something awesome happens.

Being single is awkward

2010-08-04T16:15:00.000-06:00

The aforementioned title of this blog post was my the status message I posted on Facebook over the weekend. Specifically on Friday night after I had consumed about six beers, which is totally unusual for me. It's probably because I was playing the role of "wing woman" for one of my close friends.

I'm not used to playing wing woman. And this particular friend had been with her significant other for almost two years until they recently called it quits. Now she's in her rebound phase, which she recognizes. Honestly, I have no problem with that at all because I benefit from it. I've gotten a single friend willing to go out on the weekend and someone to talk boytalk with.

She met this guy at the dog park and found out he's in a band and had a gig that night. He invited her to come by and of course she wasn't about to go alone, so she called me. After almost hitting a deer, we finally found the place. And let me tell you--this place screamed sketchy right from the start.

First off, the name of the bar is called "In the Zone." Make what you will with that. Then we walk in, and we literally were the youngest ones there. And overdressed might I add. My friend even threw on a button up shirt over her fancy top so she wouldn't attract attention.

We ordered drinks and then got a table near the stage and waited. Finally my friend saw her guy and said hi to him. I had my eye on the saxophone player but turns out he's married. My friend thought the keyboard player was cute until he came by our table and we noticed up close he wasn't so hot.

So of course to get through all the cover songs they played, I drank. Finally during a break, her guy came over and talked with us a bit--made the usual small talk and then left. I told my friend I don't think he's boyfriend material, and to "proceed with caution." I mean, this guy is 35, has roommates, and basically didn't really give her any sort of special attention that night, which I could tell she was wanting.

Her guy invited us to have a drink with the band after they were done playing for the night. At that point, I had already had my two tall beers and was thinking of switching to water, but my friend insisted that we should get one more drink and then we'd leave.

Well, I got my beer, and the band finished playing but then they had to break down the stage and equipment which was gonna take another 45 minutes. At this point, most of the people in the bar had left, and it wasn't even 1 a.m.

So my friend and I talked and killed some time. Here comes in the awkwardness. While we were talking with two single guys, this old guy wearing a red hat who had been staring at my friend throughout the night, came by our table, interrupted the conversation and said, "You're cute," to my friend. She replied, "I know I am," and he said, "Wow you're full of yourself," and walked away. AWKWARD!

Not only was that awkward, but right after the red hat guy left, my friend knocked over her beer, sending it all over our table and pretty much down the leg of my jeans. Awesome, right? The hammered dude came back with some napkins, while the blonde guy brought over a wet rag.

Turns out the blonde guy was totally a regular at that bar, which says a lot. And he admitted he's an "engi-nerd," which in some dorky way was cute. But he definitely was desperate. He kept saying "you've got to come back," and pretty much begging us to stay. We stayed long enough for him to replace my friend's split beer and then got the heck out of there.

The night definitely had its awkward moments, but it made for a great story.

A reason why I shouldn't use my debit card for everything

2010-07-28T12:10:00.000-06:00

You know one thing I hate about working in a corporate-type office? It's when a co-worker who really is just that--someone who works with you but not someone you'd actually give your cell phone number to--asks if you'd like to go in on a pizza together while in the middle of a meeting.

This happened an hour ago. I was with my boss, our intern, and Floozy when our web guy busted in and asked if we'd go in on a pizza with him. The intern gracefully bowed out saying he already brought stuff. Floozy said sure, pizza sounded better than the lunch she brought, and my boss was definitely "in," commenting that she was happy she didn't have to venture out to get lunch.

That left me. I sorta nodded, but never really said no. Part of me wants pizza because then I'd be included in something in my office. But part of me also wanted to say no, because I hate pepperoni and I promised myself I would eat healthy all week. (Minus the cookie and side of mac & cheese I ate yesterday)

Then came the next dilemma: I had no cash. This always happens to me! I swear! We continue on with our meeting but in the back of my head, all I can think about is how I only have $1 in my purse and how I should've used my other purse today, because I'm pretty sure I had a $20 bill stashed in the bottom of that one. Thankfully, after our meeting officially ended, I left to go to my desk so I could google where the nearest bank was so I could get some cash.

Turns out the nearest bank to me is 11 minutes away, or so Google says. But then I freaked out even more (silently, of course) because 11+11=22 minutes total, and what if the pizza came already while I was gone?

So I did what anyone else would do. I nonchalantly grabbed my purse and strode out of the office and ran like a batwoman to my car, where I drove 5 minutes away to the Walgreens down the street and bought a bottle of nail polish remover for $1.59. Then I hit debit, and got $10 in cash back, ran back to my car, and sped back to work.

Whew, I was only gone 15 minutes. During that time I already made up excuses of what to say, should anyone ask where I had gone. "I stepped out for a moment." "I had to take a personal call." "I had to grab my wallet from my car."

When I got back, no one asked where I had gone, and no pizza had arrived. A few minutes later the coworker who was collecting money came by my office. "How much?" asked Floozy. "Five bucks per person," he said. I handed my money over to him while Floozy was digging in her purse. "You know if you don't have it today, you can pay me back tomorrow."

OH THE IRONY!

The time gnats attacked me and my friends signed me up for online dating

2010-07-26T16:55:00.000-06:00

Normally I don't bore you with the details of my weekend, but these past few days require a blog post.

On Friday I got off of work early and headed to the pool, where I swam and played kid's games like tea party underwater. Then I headed to my friend's house for an all-girls sleepover! We played all 16 or 18 rounds of Scattergories, where I put down some random and made up things...like tiger bass. Turns out there's no such thing as a tiger bass. Either way, we had a blast while drinking beer I had brought that was brewed in Chippewa Falls, WI. It tasted like a lemony-beer. Oh, and I won at Scattergories.

We also ate brownies and lugged a loveseat from her cute neighbor's apartment. At one point M had stepped outside to talk with her boytoy, leaving me and my friend, who recently broke up with her boyfriend. Of course you know where this is going--we had boytalk. I told her how the next boy I do date, I want to be Catholic, and actually go to church, and be a gentleman, and be able to hold a good conversation but not be too stuck up and also have a sense of humor, and oh, be college educated.

At some point during that long description of my next boyfriend, I let it slip about an online dating website that my friend from highschool emailed me about in April. Apparently she met her current boyfriend on there and they are still dating. At the time though, I didn't want anything to do with dating, much less online dating, so I promptly chucked that e-mail into my trash bin.

Fast forward to M coming back into the room, and whattya know--my friends signed me up for an online dating site specifically for Catholics. Yea, and this was at like 1:30 a.m. We had to fill out an obnoxiously long profile, complete with questions such as, "How often do you attend mass?" "How many children do you want?" "What forms of prayer do you like most" "Any favorite saints?"

Yea. I have to admit I was mildly entertained by this whole thing, and promptly said to M, that this deserved a blog post. Once we jumped through all the hoops, we finally got to my "matches." We went through about 12 pages and only sent an "emotigram" to three or four boys, all of whom are local and fit my criteria.

Since then, I've had several view my profile, and two boys have sent me "emotigrams," both of whom I didn't like during my initial screening.

I definitely have to say that while this is random--having your friends sign you up for an online dating site in the middle of the night--it fits my life. You can't make this stuff up.

Speaking of making stuff up, you also won't believe what happened to me yesterday.

Yesterday I argued with my mom all day about the money she owes me, but wouldn't give to me, unless I cleaned the house. So I did laundry, organized stuff, and basically sweat off a lot of calories. During said cleaning spree, my brother complained about a zit on his back. Of course my mom and I took a look, and it was definitely not a zit.

Queue my mother taking him to the Urgent Care place near our house, where they suspected it might be a black widow. Queue my mother calling me at home asking me to look for said spider. Queue me finding nothing. Queue my mother calling again to say that the Urgent Care place can't do anything for him--he has to go to the ER, and did they want an ambulance? Um no. Brother went to the ER with my parents where he got some IV filled with stuff to flush out the "venom," and a double dose of Valium for the pain.

Finally my brother gets home, and he's high as a kite on those drugs. He's not making any sense at all. It was really entertaining. Oh and they basically concluded that he has an "insect bite," but definitely not a black widow bite, although my brother is now telling all his friends on facebook that he almost died because he got bit by a brown recluse spider.

After all that craziness, fast forward to 11:30p.m. when I'm about to go to sleep for the night when I notice there's all these little black bugs on my ceiling. Of course I blame my mother for opening my window, and wake her up. She comes into my room and tells me they are just "gnats," and to "vacuum them up."

*So I was that crazy cat lady only with bugs, standing on my bed with the vacuum hose in one hand and the other hand on the ceiling for balance, sucking up all the bugs. At 11:30 at night. WHO DOES THIS??

Welcome to my life.

*So funny story, or not, but three years ago M and I were hosting a sleepover and before our friend came over, we had an invasion of these huge flies in our apartment. Naturally, I thought we should just vacuum them up, only that failed the next day when we realized that a) they were still alive and b) they were flying out of the hose.

Guest Post

2010-07-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

Hey guys, I'm guest posting over at Lost in Singledom today about my recent encounter with an actual decent guy...apparently they DO exist. Who knew? Anyways, read it & add your two cents!

No, I'm not a lesbian

2010-07-14T14:08:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I went to Lilith Fair and man what a day it was.

I arrived with a few friends around 2, after getting lost a bazillion times. But that's just how I roll.

We got through security, and then hit up all the white tents for some free swag. We came away with a bunch of OB tampons, Stayfree pads, some scented cooling towels, and how could we forget the misting tent complete with a photo booth? Pretty awesome. We also got a bunch of samples of cooling mist by Degree and a free tote bag from the Chevrolet booth.

After winning some lemon lip balm from the Luna bar tent, we sat down and listened to Anya Marina and Rosie Thomas play. Both were great, but Rosie was seriously hilarious. She kept talking about how many gin and tonics she had had and her voice reminded me of someone who was high on helium. Very entertaining to say the least.

After roasting in the sun for too long we headed over to grab a seat on the lawn, where we observed many lesbians wearing plaid shorts. We listened to Anjulie, who had a bunch of energy on stage, and Metric, who sang really loudly.

Then there was my favorite of the night, Ingrid Michaelson, who was full of sass and sarcasm! I loved her last song by Britney Spears. Her entire band danced and sang. It was awesome.

Emmylou Harris (who's that?) performed next. I had no idea who she was, but she sang country songs. While she was good--she definitely was a pro on stage in her glittery pants and platform heels--she should've performed earlier in the day because her voice just about lulled me to sleep.

But I stayed awake for the best act of the night--Sarah McLachlan, who helped start Lilith about 10 years ago. She was freakin' awesome. She played a ton of her old songs, but also some of the songs off her new album, which took her seven years to make. She was simply fabulous and her encore was seriously the best of the day.

Even though by the end of the day I was sweaty, tired, and a bit tanned, it was worth my $10 ticket and the memories that were made with my friends.

Just a quick update: my mom is out of the hospital! Surgery went well and now she is at home recovering. Thanks for all the sincere comments!

Oh Charlie Brown

2010-07-12T09:50:00.012-06:00

It's Monday, I'm worried about my mom's surgery, and I need more tea.

So, let's start the complaining.

#1. My cell phone. I know I should be over this by now, but I'm not. A week ago, the touch screen on my pink LG Venus just stopped working. I took it into Verizon thinking it might just be a software problem, but they were morons and totally unhelpful. Since then I've been without the ability to read any of my text messages, and I have to use the voice command option when dialing anyone. Can you say annoying? YES.

Now you're probably saying to yourself, why doesn't she just get a new phone? Duh! Well, that's not possible because right now I'm on a family plan and in order to get a new phone we'd have to renew our contract for another two years, which is totally not happening because my dad wants to switch to AT&T so he can get the new iphone.

I could probably get my own plan, but it wouldn't be with Verizon, because they are too expensive. What sucks the most about this situation is that my type-A-planner-self totally planned for this. I saved the last two phones and chargers I've had specifically in case this happened. The only failure to this plan, is that all of those phones are in my storage unit, which has a gazillion boxes, most of which I didn't label because I hate packing.

So, now I've gotten desperate enough to bid on ebay, check craiglist, consider going to a refurbished cell phone dealer, and might have bribed my brother's friend with alcohol if he will sell me his old phone.

#2. Junk mail. Seriously, I don't even think me using my reusable water bottle and bag everywhere will help save the trees and the ink that we are literally wasting by printing junk mail. I'm averaging two credit card offers a day lately, and let me just tell you, a) I have no desire to get another credit card. Hello! If I wanted to spend ridiculous amounts of money, I would just use the ones I already have. b) What about this economic depression we've hit? I'm not stupid, I know nothing is free, and frankly, there aren't enough perks for me to consider going through the process of opening another account. It's just not worth it.

#3. The radio. Out of eight different stations, I somehow keep hearing the same songs being played, over and over, and over, and over, and over, and OVER again. I'm so sick of the radio. I'm sick of hearing California Girls by Katy Perry or Your Love is My Drug by Ke$ha. It's like, there has got to be other artists out there. It's times like these that I wish my ipod still worked.

What do you want to complain about? I'm listening.

Help

2010-07-09T12:47:00.000-06:00

So, I have a favor to ask of you all.

On Monday, my mom has to undergo major surgery. Even though she won't admit it, I know she's terrified inside.

That's where you come in: just send your positive thoughts or prayers to the big man up there.

Her recovery time is supposed to be 2 weeks, during which my family all might go crazy or it might be a time that brings us all together.

Either way, on Monday my fingers will be crossed for her.

I've lost my mojo

2010-06-25T11:42:00.000-06:00

Has this ever happened to you?

The Scene:

Me telling all my friends: I want to go on vacation to ___ place and I'm so excited and I can't wait to go and plan things and book my trip.

(Fast forward two months)

Friend: Are you going to New Mexico?
Me: Meh. I dunno. Probably not this year.
Friend: But you were so excited two months ago.
Me: I know. I've lost my mojo.

I don't know why I'm not excited to plan a trip to New Mexico anymore. But it's also this funk in general. I don't really want to travel anywhere right now. I'm content with being in sunny Colorado. I don't want to deal with researching airfare and hotels and everything else that comes along with planning a trip. Not to mention the actual budgeting of said adventure.

Has this ever happened to you when you've been excited to go somewhere and then the longer you wait, the more you change your mind? Should I still go with it and maybe somewhere in the midst of things I'll get excited about it and be happy that I went? Or should I just skip it and wait until I am excited?

Wordless Wednesday: Greek Festival

2010-06-23T21:52:00.000-06:00

This year's group

Sword fighting

The legendary ouzo shot. OPA!

I love the library

2010-06-21T17:02:00.000-06:00

I know, I've already confessed to being a book worm, but this weekend when I returned my library books on time (yay!) I popped into grab a few more books and came out with six new ones--all of which I love love love. I mean, don't you just love it when you randomly see books on the shelves that you meant to read, but forgot about? That's what happened to me.

I got the second book in the series A Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. So far this book has had its sad moments but I feel so close with the characters that I have to keep reading. I want to know if Dakota gets to go to Italy, and if Anita will plan her version of a perfect wedding or if she'll elope with Marty.

Then I picked up two more books by Sarah Mlynowski. I just finished reading Milkrun and I have to say I actually want to buy that book. Probably because I could relate to it--the main character is a 20-something girl who works as an editor in Boston and is single but wants a boyfriend. But I'd definitely recommend you read it, because it's so funny! I hope these ones are funny too.

Then randomly I saw this book on display. I know, my guilty pleasure is now known by all my readers. Oh well. I didn't think her first book was terrible, so I'm willing to read this one too.

Finally, on my way out, I grabbed this one off one of the display stands. It might have potential.

Do you love the library as much as I do?

You don't eat meat? That's okay, I make lamb

2010-06-18T19:50:00.002-06:00

This weekend is the Greek Festival. I am a big festival type person and Denver seems to have a ton of them during the summers. I believe this might be my third year going, but every year it's guaranteed to be a good time. I still have yet to actually attend Greek church, but I will someday. My plan is to meet a handsome, single, Greek boy and live happily ever after. What?

Anyways, usually my friends and I drink a shot or two of ouzo, which tastes like black licorice which I hate, but somehow the thought of having ouzo is just worth it. After all, it's the once-a-year Greek Festival, how can I say no??

Opa!

Greek beer

In addition to the ouzo, there's usually Greek beer and wine to be drunk, and the meeting of random men.

The man in the middle was actually with his wife, but they still bought us wine and dessert

What I haven't experienced thus far is actually meeting a real Greek man nor have I won the raffle for a trip for two to Greece. But...but...maybe this is my year!

And who can forget about the live entertainment aka my time to scope out the hot Greek men? Apparently last year at the end of the night, M got onto the stage and danced. But I have no recollection of that (perhaps I might have had too much ouzo) but this year, I am determined to document this and possibly join her on stage.

They are so flexible...and hot...and Greek...and did I mention hot?

And it never fails that there is baklava, spanakopita, and gyros to be eaten. Not to mention, in our drunken states, we always are tempted to buy one of these:

Not sure if I'd ever really wear this but it's so appealing when you've been drinking.

What are you all up to this weekend? Doing anything fun?

Rant of the Day

2010-06-17T17:24:00.000-06:00

My coworker and i were at lunch in the conference room. I sit down, and notice she has a granola bar, yogurt and some sort of coleslaw.

We start talking and i stared at her food. and she looks down just as she's about to open her yogurt and says ya this was in the fridge or something similar and i look at her and i say "oh that's mine." CUZ IT WAS MY KEY LIME YOGURT. and she's like oh, and she tried to close it even tho she just opened it and i'm like oh no, go ahead and eat it.

it's like i don't want it now. and i go, "just do you know, all the original kinds in there are mine, including the strawberry one." and she goes, "oh i hate strawberry." and she's like i'll bring you one from home. except all of hers that she buys are light yoplait or custard kinds, both of which i hate. so i'm like oh no worries. and she's like i have this one i don't want, it's red velvet cake do you want that one too? and i'm like NO i hate red velvet cake.

so i'm annoyed. i realize it's trivial and i feel better after my walk but seriously WHO DOES THIS?

I'm a book worm

2010-06-15T17:14:00.000-06:00

I love to read. I can read anywhere--in the car, on an airplane, in bed--you get the point. Not surprisingly, I've had a library card ever since I was in grade school. Over the years I have acquired new barcodes, but still have my original card with my second grade signature on it.

What's surprising though, is that as much as I frequent the library and check out bunches of books, I often return them late. I just forget when they are due. While I was at my old office in Boulder, I was never late returning naything because their system notifies you by e-mail three days before your items are due, which is awesome. U

Unfortunately, I'm not near that library anymore, and so I've been going to my local library, which doesn't send out any sort of courtesy reminder. *thumbs down* Therefore, as you can surmise, I've recently had to pay a lot of library fines...like...$12 worth. I know, I know, I should be more responsible. But what got me this time was the new book section. Those books you can only check out for like seven days, and when they are like 300 pages, I need more time to read them! Or at least that's my excuse.

I recently read the Bag Lady Papers, about a woman living in New York City who lost her entire life savings due to the Madoff scandal. It was a quick read, but most of all, it actually motivated me to start looking for a second job, because this lady did all sorts of different jobs, including working for a fish market, and still managed to write. Obviously I am not writing freelance now, but I could do it.

The book I literally could not stop reading yesterday but finally finished, was Laura and Lisa Ling's book. I don't normally read serious books because they tend to bother me, but prior to reading this book I had seen their interview on Oprah, so I knew a bit about the story. I just wanted the details. I personally could've done without Lisa's side of the story, but I can see why they wrote this book together. They are close sisters after all, and it ends happily with Lisa expecting a child. The only thing I never read in the book was about Laura eating rocks--I swear she told Oprah that some of the rice they fed her had rocks in it, but there was no mention of it in the book.

Last night I started reading this book, but honestly, I don't know if I'm going to read it after all. It's all so depressing and negative and who knew there's a 12-step program for weight loss? In all fairness, I didn't read the author's first book about her 188-pound weight loss, so maybe I'm missing out on something.

What are you currently reading? Any suggestions for me?

Travel Fridays: The Concrete Jungle

2010-06-11T07:40:00.000-06:00

When I traveled to New York for my bff's wedding a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I am such an anxious traveler. Like, I immediately start stressing about what I'm going to do, and how I'm getting there, and what I need a week before the trip. But it always happens the day before the trip or the day of, I randomly take forever to pack. Literally, I have clothes and shoes strewn all around my room. And even once I get to the airport, I mentally check off my "to-do" list. And then I worry about getting through security okay. But once I'm on the plane, I'm fine and then I get excited about wherever I'm going.

Luckily this trip, I didn't have any layovers. I had a redeye flight on Jetblue, which I haven't flown with in a long time. I enjoyed the extra legroom and the low calorie snacks. I was bummed that they charge $7 now for a pillow and a blanket set, but I thought ahead and brought my own anyways. The only thing I did forget was my headphones, but since it was literally nighttime, I slept most of the flight.

My trip was short but sweet. I stayed in Brooklyn, went upstate for the wedding on Saturday, and then went into Manhattan on Sunday by myself. For some reason, it doesn't feel like New York to me unless I see Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, or the Brooklyn Bridge. While in Manhattan, I ate my favorite thai place, walked around Union Square, took the subway to Chinatown where I did a bit of shopping, walked down to Little Italy (by mistake), and then headed uptown to eat lunch at the famous Shake Shack, which had a ridiculously long line that I waited through.

All in all, it was the perfect amount of time to see old friends, enjoy summer in the city, and get away for the weekend. Are you traveling anywhere this summer? I might have to go back to the city in September for another wedding, but besides random trips around Colorado, I won't be flying anywhere else this summer.

I want cute things

2010-06-10T15:30:00.001-06:00

While I was in New York City two weeks ago, I saw a lady who had a really cute reusable bag. I'm pretty sure it said Whole Foods on it, which wasn't ironic at all because we were literally across the street from their store in Union Square. But I remember I liked it because it had a bit of Manhattan flair to it. On the side of the bag it listed the different areas of Manhattan, including Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen. Ever since then, I've wanted one. I can't seem to find it online, but my bff offered to send me one if she sees what I'm talking about.

Then we got to talking about cute reusable bags. She has two from Pathmark--one has a squirrel holding an acorn, and another one has a polar bear on it. Those sound cute too. So now I want to add to my reusable bag collection, which currently consists of one black bag from Sports Authority, another black bag that says Colorado Rockies on it, and one mini shopping bag with fruit on it. My mom has colorful ones at home from Vitamin Cottage, but I want some of my own that are cute.

I found this website that sells really colorful ones (read: lots of pink and floral designs) but I'm not sure if I want to spend $16 on a reusable bag. Although, their buy 3 get one 1 free promotion might be a good deal if I can round up some friends to buy some too.

Flip & Tumble's bags have simple designs but lots of color. Perpetual Kid has this simple shopper bag that won't break the bank. Outlush's bag reminds me of France for some reason and Bright and Bold's merlot bag makes me want to drink wine in a palace. I'm sure I could keep googling this, but I'd rather hear from you. You guys make my life easier. So tell me, do you guys use reusable bags? Where does your favorite one look like & where did you get it?

Wordless Wednesdays: Being a Kid

2010-06-09T09:50:00.004-06:00

Another day at the park

Edible Arrangements is clearly awesome

No Boys Allowed

2010-06-08T17:12:00.000-06:00

Exactly six months ago, I decided since it was a new year, it was going to be my year of not making the same mistakes again. Specifically with boys.

Now, we all know how I made the mistake of going to Vermont to spend a weekend with Special Agent man. I thought it was going to be a you+me kind of weekend, but it turned out to be a my-flight-got-in-late-and-you-invited-your-best-gay-friend-to-hang-out-with-us-all-weekend-so-I'm-going-to-leave-you-and-hang-out-with-my-bff-in-NH-instead kind of weekend.

Since then, I haven't really talked with Special Agent man. I don't hold any ill will towards him, but I'm over the whole flirting with him game. At one point after our trip, he said he might come home to attend his sister's wedding. He talked about taking me on a possible impromptu road trip, and gave me compliments about how much he missed my company. I'll admit, I was secretly hoping for the road trip part. But of course when he texted me last week, he confirmed that he wasn't coming home for the wedding, but that he "might be home in October." (OR NOT. #justsayin) So I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Then there's Alex, who used to literally work a block away from me. We never went out or anything, but we used to occasionally email each other or randomly talk on the bus. And again, I wasn't interested in him at all, he just was too old for me--I think he's like 30-something.

Last month during one weekend, I happened to be on Facebook and he was on there. We started chatting, and basically he told me that all this time he's been wanting to ask me out on a date, which honestly, my intuition told me that he might have more interest than friends, but I was always quick to say that I had some plans for that night or weekend, because I didn't feel comfortable going anywhere with him. I just told him that I wasn't interested in dating anyone right now, to which he replied, "I wish I could go out with you and spend more time with you. You never know, you might fall in love." UM, WHAT? I negatively answered that I don't fall in love with anyone, but by the end of our conversation, he still seemed to hold out hope that once I actually started to date, he'd be the first one on my list. (NO.)

Now here's the boy that I really was intending this post to talk about--the Asshole. Basically, I was that girl. The girl that flirted with him, went out with him, actually dated, then broke up with, and then hooked up with, and then decided we-are-just-friends with. The last time I saw him was the first week of January. I mistakenly thought that we could be capable of being just friends. I really believed that we could just grab dinner together and catch up and then I would go home and everything would be great.

Well, of course he didn't think of it that way, and of course we didn't just have dinner. I remember at the time when we were hooking up that night that I really was over him. I didn't have any doubts, and I wasn't even attracted to him anymore. I remember being so bored that I was trying to talk about where we should eat while he was all over me. Basically I promised myself that I could never go back to him. That I was over him and done making the same mistakes over and over and over again.

And that mentality has gotten me pretty far this year. I haven't seen him since that day almost six months ago. I have talked with him on Facebook chat or replied to his texts, but I've never implied that I want to anything besides have a friend to go hiking or to dinner with. I've made it clear that I don't like him that way anymore. And I really thought he got the point. Until this week. All this week, he's been texting me and Facebooking me to come over.

Saying no to him is the easy part. The part that is hard is my self-doubt that seems to be creeping up on me. For some reason, for every time I say no to him, another thought comes into my head that says, "say yes. You haven't kissed anyone in six months, and look how far it's gotten you. What's your reward for being so 'good?'" To which myself responds, "well, I haven't dated or kissed anyone in six months because I have higher standards now. I'm not gonna make the same mistakes anymore. I know I won't find fulfillment by kissing a random dude at a club. I'm over it, and if I have to wait another six months until a boy worth my time shows up, then so be it."

Yea, my internal dialogue can be quite lengthy. But you get my point. I know the Asshole is bad news. I know it, but it's hard to be optimistic all the time. Seriously, for the past six months, I haven't had any desire to go on a date, much less make out with anyone. I've been content with myself.

But the reason why I might be having this pity party for myself is because two weeks ago when I was on my flight to New York, I met someone. A boy, who obviously is black (because that's all I attract). Anyways, we talked for a bit. I learned he went to school about an hour away from me, and that he was coming back on the same flight as me that weekend.

Well, turns out our return flight was delayed. I had already drank a glass of red wine to kill the time, but we ended up running into each other by the gate. We talked for an hour about our families, our music tastes, and about Facebook. He gave me his email address so I could friend him, and we said our goodbyes. Well, I ended up friending him. He wrote on my wall saying thanks for adding me. Flash forward to a few comments back and forth--he asked me to lunch.

At first I thought, oh sure, that's fine, because honestly I just thought of him as a friend. But then the more I thought about it, the more I felt like he was wanting more than friends, and that's definitely something I don't want with him because he's too young for me (21) and I know we wouldn't make it long term. But when I asked a couple of my guy friends what I should do, they said I should say yes and then cancel on him at the last minute so "he knows he's not important." I personally thought that was mean. I'd rather be honest.

What I ended up doing was saying yes via Facebook, but secretly hoping he wouldn't follow up. And he didn't. Which makes me relieved. And if he does end up apologizing and asking me out again, this time I'm going to invite him to one of my many summer festival plans I have with my friends or I won't respond at all. I figure if he really just wants to be my friend, he'll be fine hanging out with my friends, and if he says no, then I know he really wasn't looking for friendship after all.

So, make me feel better. Tell me the good guys do exist. Or that you can relate. Or pretty much anything.

Happy happy joy joy

2010-06-03T15:50:00.000-06:00

Things that make me happy today:

Getting an extra egg roll at lunch without asking for it (I hate those cream cheese wontons)
Having Bethanny from the Real Housewives RT and answer my question on Twitter
Staring at my beautiful manicure and pedicure from last night
Having my sunburn start to turn into a tan

What are you happy about today?

Wordless Wednesdays: NYC

2010-06-02T15:03:00.000-06:00

Shopping in Chinatown

At the park

A wedding

Eating

Oh pigeons

A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down...

2010-05-26T14:28:00.000-06:00

Wanna know the weirdest thing that's happened to me today?

I've gotten hiccups twice! *And I haven't even been drinking.

What's strange is that the hiccups are intense. Like my entire upper body is struggling to contain them.

But even stranger is that the hiccups I just had--they seriously only lasted 60 seconds.

I wonder if they'll come back again.

Things do come in three's right? Or does only apply to death?

*Funny story. In college whenever I'd have too much to drink, I'd get the hiccups. And one time I was in a house full of frat brothers with my friends when the hiccups attacked. And I couldn't get rid of them to save my life. Except my bff at the time, Joe, he saved my life by going through the frat brother's kitchen cabinets and giving me a spoonful of sugar. Literally. Mary Poppins knows her shit, because it worked. And I've used that cure ever since. Too bad I'm at work and no sugar is to be found. I should text Joe.

2010-05-25T15:23:00.001-06:00

Writer's Block: 1

Me: 0

Bake or Broil?

2010-05-18T16:03:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I listened to my Self Absorbed friend talk about how she made Funfetti cookies and oh my gosh, they were so good, and you have to make some, and I can't eat them all, I'll get so fat...blah blah blah blah. But somewhere in the middle of her ranting about getting fat, I actually went to Walmart after work and bought Funfetti cake mix and chocolate fudge frosting. Now, normally I'm a vanilla frosting type of girl with Funfetti cake. To me it just tastes better, but yesterday I wanted chocolate.

Fast forward to about 8:30 p.m. last night. My little brother offers to help me make the cupcakes (mainly because he wanted to eat them). I think it's so cute that he wants to help for once. I let him measure out the ingredients, and even crack the eggs! He even mixes the whole thing together. Then I do the hard part, and spoon all the stuff into two muffin tins. Now, I read the directions carefully, to only fill 1/3 of the way full. But I had so much left over, and I didn't want to dirty another pan, and so I just topped them off.

Meanwhile, I asked my brother to set the oven to 350 degrees. He proceeds to tell me he doesn't know how to do that, and I help him with that. I also ask him to put it on bake. I go on my way, put the cupcakes in the oven, set the timer, and go upstairs to lounge in my comfy bed and read Confessions of a Shopaholic. I'm about halfway through the chapter, when my brother runs upstairs and interrupts my reading time, saying "I think something's burning!"

I roll my eyes and hop out of bed, and check on the timer. It still says it has 13 minutes to go. So, I open the oven and look at them. The ones on the top rack are browned at the top, but the ones on the bottom look like dough. Then I realized what all the burning smell was about. My brother set the oven to BROIL, not bake.

I was really tempted to google "help, I broiled the cupcakes!" but I didn't want him to feel bad. After all, I rarely ever get his help in the kitchen. I just turned the browned cupcakes around, set the oven to bake, and reset the timer.

The broiled cupcakes were still moist in the middle, but were more or less crunchy on the top and the bottom, which actually makes for a tasty cupcake sandwich. I didn't bring them into work today because I didn't want people thinking I don't know how to make Funfetti cupcakes out of a box!

What's your worst kitchen mishap?

I'm such a rebel

2010-05-17T16:35:00.001-06:00

I have been listening to the most inappropriate songs lately while I've been at work. Luckily I always listen to my headphones, but in my small office of older ladies, I don't think they'd appreciate my "taste" in music.

Example #1

Apparently I've had alot of pent up anger or something...but I felt better listening to it. I don't know why, but I feel so bad when I cuss on purpose or listen to rap music really loud that has cussing in it or bad words.

Example #2

I first heard this song on the radio while driving on my way to work. But today I took it one step further and not only watched this video, but I actually wikipedia'd the young rapper...what's his name? Oh, Bobby Brackins. Honestly, the kid looks like a teenager, even tho he's like 22. Not to mention, he's not even hot. In fact, I think he's creepy! But Ray J is hot, so it all makes up for it.

Example #3

Again, I must have anger issues. But it really does have a good message. And I usually hate Eminem.

Any songs stuck in your head?

Wordless Wednesdays: When Will Spring Come?

2010-05-12T11:14:00.002-06:00

Hey there social butterfly...

2010-05-10T15:35:00.000-06:00

This weekend, I was abnormally social. On Friday I went to a bachelorette party for M's coworker, whom I've met like twice. We made a jungle juice concoction, took funny pictures, and waited for her friends to show up. The party got started when her friends showed up complete with inappropriate nametags, a wedding veil covered with blinking penises, pink tiaras, and a pinata in a phallic shape with the words "beat it."

Once we were all decked out in our party gear, we headed down to a very naughty place where the bride was the center of attention. Needless to say, there are no pictures of that part of the night.

Then we headed downtown to dance the night away. And it was fun. I got talked into dancing with the bride to be on the stage where the dj was playing music, and M joined us. The night ended there, and I was miraculously sober. Guess I figured since I hadn't really drank in awhile, I'd take it easy.

I spent the night at M's, and then on Saturday we went to lunch at Tony's Meat Market downtown. It was a nice day out. Then I went home and lazied around the house before getting ready for bachelorette party #2, which ended up being drama central.

First of all, this party was making me anxious all week because plans kept changing, and the bride to be insisted we wear all black. So I ended up borrowing a black dress to wear. The girls who were planning this shindig, Desiree, and Elisa, had originally planned for us to go to an optional dinner with the bride at the cheesecake factory. Well, the day before the event, I get a text from Desiree saying that dinner isn't there anymore and it's at this other restaurant. Then she texts me again later on saying that not enough girls are staying at a hotel, so would I mind staying with her? I didn't mind. I wasn't sure if I would be sober or not, and I didn't want to take any chances, so I told her I'd stay with her.

So I get to her apartment, all ready for a night out. Only I notice that she's not dressed up. She had jeans and a t-shirt on, and had packed what looked like an overnight bag. I asked her if I was still staying with her and she said yes. Well, I ride downtown with her and this girl Amber. But the car ride was so awkward. First off, Desiree called the bride to be a bridezilla and complained about planning this whole party. Then she proceeds to talk about all of the three men she's currently sleeping with. AWKWARD. I was thankful I was sitting in the backseat.

I had assumed that Desiree would be attending dinner since she helped plan the entire thing. But nope. Amber dropped me off, saying that they needed "to check into the hotel and get ready." Then Desiree tells me to tell all the girls at dinner to meet at the hotel. This is the same hotel that not enough people wanted to stay at. So I get to dinner early, but eventually everyone shows up. I got to sit next to the bride to be, which was awesome. I even ordered her one of her favorite drinks, with Malibu rum and pineapple juice.

Then somehow, it comes out that Desiree told one of the bride's coworkers that she's a bridezilla. And I of course had to tell her about what she said in the car on the way down, and ended up telling her about the hotel. And of course she got upset because Desiree apparently told her that she CANCELLED the hotel. Turns out she didn't, and then wanted her to pay for it! I couldn't believe that.

So by the end of dinner, all 12 girls that were there decide that we need to do our own thing, and not listen to Desiree's original plans of which clubs to go to. So we end up going to the first club, which was kinda fancy, but it wasn't crowded at all because at this point it was only 9 p.m. The bride danced with Desiree and Amber and a few others. But a group of girls decided to run out to another bar nearby and get cheaper drinks, so I followed them. We went to the bar and got two shots each, and then ran back to the club.

After awhile, we decided to go to the next venue, another fancy club. We got there and noticed that Desiree and Amber weren't there. But I ended up seeing them in the bathroom, and the first thing out of Desiree's mouth is "Oh hey, there's my girl. You're totally staying with us tonight!"

Yeah, that's not reassuring at all. I got myself a $10 drink, and tried to dance and have fun, but I was so worried about where I was staying that night and about my stuff that was at Desiree's. And I was kicking myself for not checking with the bride first, because I should've known there was drama and sketchiness happening all around.

But I did dance until my feet hurt so bad from my stupid high heels, and my camera battery died. But the bride had so much fun. But most of the night Desiree and Amber were no where to be seen, which I didn't mind too much except I didn't know what the plan was for the end of the night. I tried to text Desiree but her phone "died" but I got Amber's number.

So I finish my expensive drink, and it's a bit after midnight, when all of a sudden, I just worry about being left behind and not getting my stuff and I just want to go home. Only then I freaked out because even my car and my keys are at Desiree's and I kept thinking, if everyone hates her and she's a liar, and she's irresponsible (she lost her i.d.) and she's been drinking, how am I gonna get home?? How am I gonna get my stuff?? And then I started to cry. In the middle of the dance floor. I became THAT girl.

I of course tried to wipe my tears away and put on a happy face--because I didn't want the bride's night to be ruined. But one of the other girls, who had too much to drink, looks over at me and asks me if I'm crying, to which I said no, but continued to cry. And then soon enough she's like screaming, WHY ARE YOU CRYING? I was so embarrassed. I didn't want the attention. I just wanted to go home.

Well, the bride ended up finding out about how I was upset about my stuff and everything, and she found Desiree and asked her for her key. Desiree didn't want to give us her key, because it was in Amber's car. Meanwhile, Amber's making out with some dude. Desiree's complaining about how she "does this all the time!" Seriously, not two minutes later, the guy was making out with BOTH of them. At the same time.

We ended up convincing Desiree and Amber to drive back to Desiree's place and either meet us there or leave a key under the doormat. The sober bride to be drove me over there. I didn't see anyone, but she suggested we look for the key. Turns out the DOOR WAS UNLOCKED. Which makes me think that it was like that the entire night. But honestly, I was just happy to get my stuff back and go home.

Now I know why I stay away from drama.

Travel Fridays

2010-05-07T16:37:00.000-06:00

My most recent obsession has been this blog which has amazing pictures of Paris. Most of the places in those pictures, I've been to, even if it was two or three years ago. Seriously, if I could just figure out a way to live in France for a bit, I totally would. I was thinking maybe I could go to grad school there, or just go there on a whim and hide out for awhile, or get a job there and work and eat baguettes while I stroll along the Champs-Elysees. Ahh...that'd be amazing!

What are you obsessed with this week?

Free me baby...

2010-05-03T16:29:00.000-06:00

This entire weekend I did something liberating.

I didn't wear my watch.

Now, I know most of you are thinking to yourselves, "so, whatever, that's not liberating." But to me it is. You see, I wear this silver and gold Fossil watch, and I literally never take it off--unless I'm getting some sort of massage. I've worn it while swimming, in the shower, doing yardwork...you name it, I've probably had it on my wrist. But this weekend, while I took my second bikham yoga class ever in my life, I removed it. And I didn't put it back on. Even as I type this, I'm not wearing it. And I feel so free. Sure, there's a part of me that wonders what time it is, but that's why I have my cell phone.

What makes you feel liberated? Is it going a day without showering? Wearing sweats to the store? Or maybe letting go of your inner critic?

Travel Fridays

2010-04-30T15:54:00.006-06:00

Welcome to another installment of Travel Fridays! Remember if you have any ideas, send them on over to seriouslywonderful (at) gmail (dot) com!

While M and I were on a hike a few weeks ago, it dawned on me that I've never been camping, even though I was in girl scouts at one point and I did stay in a log cabin and use an outhouse. By the end of our hike, M had me convinced that we should go camping--you know, complete with a tent, sleeping bag, and food necessities. I imagined gathering sticks for a fire, roasting marshmallows, and seeing shining stars at night.

A week ago, over beers, M and I got to talking about camping again. Only this time she shared with me what not to do. Years ago, she went camping for the first time with her sister and dad on a whim near some sand dunes. It was in the middle of summer, and ridiculously hot during the day, so they didn't plan the drastic drop in temperature, like you could just about see your breath freezing, when the sun set. Not to mention, they had sand coating every surface of their bodies and quite a bit in their ears. They had hot dogs and granola bars. They couldn't make a fire though, so they huddled under one blanket and shivered 'till they fell asleep. Needless to say, it was a couple years before they tried camping again.

Lessons learned: Bring extra, warm clothes to wear at night, plan on eating more than a granola bar, and don't camp by any sand dunes. Now all I have to do is find out where I put my sleeping bag.

Have you been camping? Any advice to share?

Don't be a fake friend

2010-04-27T10:55:00.006-06:00

Remember when I blogged about my "friend" and former coworker? You all pretty much agreed with me that she's not really putting our friendship first. Well, she's back again. I randomly got an IM from her on Facebook yesterday asking if I was at work. I didn't respond. Then she texted me asking me the same thing. Again, I didn't respond. And then she sent this email...to which I didn't respond to.

What U been up to? Its been a while since we talked. I was thinking about going to Boulder sometime this week to try and have lunch with DJ and I thought it would be cool to go to the mall, maybe hang out on your break or something? Have you's moved to a new office yet?

Anyway....I was wondering if you could do me a favor? I found this PERFECT opportunity for me in Boulder. The ____ is looking for a Production Manager. I saw their ad here on Craigslist and emailed the editor my resume and cover letter on the day they posted it (4/12) but I haven't heard anything yet (its on their website here too...they are looking for Freelance Designers too!) . This would be sooo perfect...their office is literally right across the street from where DJ works! And I know I can do it...I was the production manager at the American Classifieds/Thrifty Nickel in Denver before I started working with ___.

I don't have you down as a reference but I would like you to be seeing as though the references I am using now, only 1 is really reachable seems....anyway....I was wondering if you can maybe call (if you thinks its a good idea) and see if they are still accepting applications for the position because you have a friend and former colleague that you think would fit this position perfectly (as if you dont know I have applied for it already)....you know its been 3 weeks since posting it and would like to professionally recommend me for the position? Perhaps...I dont know if its a good I idea but I do know that its REALLY competitive out there and maybe a pro recommendation might increase my odd? I really want this job. The say the Pay is negotiable but I dont know what their lowest is...i hope I can get at LEAST what I was making at ___....but I would love this job......the number to the paper is 303-494-5511. The editor's extension is #162.

Think its a good idea? Could it hurt? I dont know...All i know is this is the most PERFECT opportunity that I have been able to find and if I can at least get an interview....i'd be happy.....sort of....lol....

Working at home is really hard with a little one...who is not so little anymore? Auggie will be walking soon....another reason I want to meet up with you, cuz you havent seen him since Keri's Baby Shower. He is teething really bad this week...top 4 teeth are coming out...its been rough! Anyway.....let me know what u think. K... miss ya!

Sincerely,

Fake Friend

Clearly, she only will talk to me when she wants something--in this case it appears to be a reference. And second of all, who does that? I mean who asks someone to call a potential employer and basically name drop? Um, not me! My mom of course thought I was being rash, but I take my friendships seriously, and in the past I've gotten taken advantage of because I'm too nice. In this case, I feel justified for not responding to her.

What do you think? What would you do?

Travel Fridays

2010-04-23T16:13:00.000-06:00

*Welcome to Travel Fridays! If you have an idea for Travel Fridays, email me at seriouslywonderful (at) gmail (dot) com!*

I am so happy it's Friday! This week has seemed ridiculously long for me, between office politics, lack of sleep, and overall drama--which is why I wish I was on vacation.

In my free time, I have my own radio show where I read about travel for a local organization. About a month ago during one of my recording sessions I came across this article from Sunset magazine describing 10 unique vacation rentals.

Let me just say, I loved all of their ideas, but the one that really intrigued me was the first one on their list: a treehouse. How freakin' cool would that be to sleep in one?? Not to mention, I've love to set up a hammock and curl up with a great book, or journal. I've always wanted a tree house, and this would be like the best of both worlds for me. First, I'd be outside in the middle of nowhere so it'd be quiet and peaceful. Secondly, treehouses remind me of being a kid, and as we all know, I love doing anything that makes me feel like one. And lastly, I can only imagine how breathtaking the stars would look like in the nighttime sky.

Which one was your favorite on their list?

Meet my imaginary bff: Hello Kitty

2010-04-20T11:07:00.001-06:00

Even though I maybe considered an "adult" by societal standards, I still feel like a kid sometimes. Case in point: my ~~obsession~~ fascination with Hello Kitty. All of my close friends know about this. In my old apartment I used my old Hello Kitty calendar for decorations in my bathroom. A former boy crush bought me this for my birthday, and I actually brought it to work for awhile. M started a trend when she got me a Hello Kitty planner for my birthday two years ago. Since then, I've been finding them on my own. In my opinion, this year's isn't as pretty as last year's was, but I still need it. It's Hello Kitty. Duh!

I liked this one!

This one was cute too!

This year's is ok...

So I have Hello Kitty planners...no big deal, right? Well, I've had this on my wish list. And while I never saw this house when I was in China, I did see glimpses of HK and I got to go to an entire portrait studio, where you could have pictures taken with Hello Kitty dolls, on HK couches, and themed rooms. It was really intense, but I'm glad I got some Hello Kitty time in during my time there. I should visit Japan next--they have tons of HK stuff.

HK at McDonalds in China

Hello Kitty Studio

Hello Kitty greets you at the door!

I was in heaven....

Now I have an even better excuse to further my ~~obsession~~ love with HK--they are coming out with a line of wines! Like alcohol! Now I can justify being an adult and acting like a kid. Apparently the wines aren't available till May 1st, according to the official website.

But not only are the wines cute and stylish, some even come with HK charms! (I'm not much of a charm person, but it's a cute touch).

Would you buy Hello Kitty wine? Or is that going too far?

Oh, and I had to link to this site too--it's for all the HK haters out there. I even visit it sometimes because it's funny to see how ridiculous people can be.

Travel Fridays

2010-04-16T15:39:00.001-06:00

***Welcome to Travel Fridays, a weekly series finding cool deals, getaways, and a place to share your own travel experiences. Remember if you have any ideas, email me at seriouslywonderful (at) gmail (dot) com!***

Rocky Mountain State Park

Sometimes I find myself on Fridays without any plans for the weekend. If this happens to be you this week, I have a great idea for you. Starting tomorrow, and continuing all week, you can get into all national parks for free! If you're like me and love free things or great deals, this should be right up your alley.

In fact, I'm planning on going for a hike tomorrow. I'm lucky enough to live in Colorado, so I'm not far from some of the best national parks in the state. So grab a friend, hit the trails, and enjoy the fresh air!

Five Things: Easy Ways to Help the Planet

2010-04-14T09:09:00.002-06:00

Nobody's asking you to turn into a full-on hippie and renounce all your worldly possessions. But there's usually a better way to do the things you every day so that we can all have a less negative impact on the environment.

1.) Small Changes Add Up.
Making a few changes that you can sustain everyday will have a bigger impact than trying to make HUGE lifestyle changes only to drop them when everyday life steps in a makes things stressful. Don't think of it as "being green" or "saving the planet" so much as just doing what makes sense.

2.) It's called "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" for a reason.
If you try to make changes in that order, you'll have a higher impact than just recycling. Reducing the number of goods you use, or the packaging on those goods, or the distance those goods need to travel to get to you eliminates waste beyond the scope of just that one package.

3.) Plastic Bags never die!
Those little plastic bags we all get at the grocery store, the drug store, the convenience store, the department store... They're fairly ubiquitous with modern life, and millions of years from now when people are studying our society, those bags will still be there. One easy way to combat this is the take re-usable bags to the store with you, but as a dude-on-the-go, I really never do this unless my GF is with me and has one in her purse. But what I do always do is make sure I reuse those bags I have to accept. Stash your used plastic bags and reuse them when you need them. Even if you only use them one extra time (like for taking out the trash), that's one less other bag you'd need, and in the end, buying less bags leads to producing less bags.

4.) Eat Local
When you buy produce at the grocery store, you're getting food that's come from halfway around the world, and was picked well before it ever ripened. When you eat food that has been produced within 100 miles of your home, you are eating food that is picked at it's peak, and doesn't need paints, dyes or chemicals to keep it fresh-looking. You also help the planet because that means less trucks on the road having to drive food from Venezuela or Chile or Madagascar to reach your plate.

5.) Support Local Businesses
Shopping local restaurants and businesses keeps your local economy strong, and reduces the number of chain stores & restaurants that open up nearby. Yes, we all love shopping at Target and eating at Applebee's (well, cheap drinks at Applebee's at least), but putting your dollars towards locally owned business who themselves deal with local suppliers makes sure your money stays in your community. And in the long run, having vibrant local businesses cuts down on the number of times you have to drive to big-box retailers, eliminating that extra pollution from the air. Doing that just once a week and remove tons of carbon-dioxide annually.

Ryan usually writes for originalname.wordpress.com, check it out if you're a fan of random chatter wrapped in good intentions.

Travel Fridays

2010-04-09T14:08:00.000-06:00

*Welcome to Travel Fridays! If you have an idea for Travel Fridays, email me at seriouslywonderful (at) gmail (dot) com!*

Today's question is:

"If you could go anywhere next month, if money and time were not obstacles, where would you go and why?"

I think with this burst of warm weather, I'd want to go somewhere with a beach. Like Fiji. Actually, I have no idea where Fiji even is. But I'd go somewhere warm, where I could get a tan and read and get massages on the beach. I would swim and maybe snorkel. So maybe the Caribbean? I've never been on a cruise, so I don't know how I would get there. But it'd be better than being in my cold office right now.

Where would you go?

TMI Thursday: Blame it on the dog

2010-04-08T15:26:00.002-06:00

***Alright, folks, you know the rules. Join us all in humiliating the crap out of yourself every Thursday by sharing some completely tasteless, wholly unclassy, “how many readers can I estrange THIS week??” TMI story about your life. Or hell, about someone else’s!***

This happened about a year or two ago to my bff. She was dating a boy named Jeffrey, who worshiped his dog named Jack like none other. Seriously, she'd go over to his place, and before they could get it on, he'd have to play fetch with Jack. She would usually sit on the couch and look around the room or daydream about what she could be doing or think about how freakin' bored she was.

Well, this particular time, was different because it was her birthday. They met at a park downtown and had a lovely picnic, eating Subway sandwiches, laying out in the sun, and watching Jack go crazy barking at squirrels. He even surprised her with chocolate cupcakes for dessert.

The entire day was going well. After their picnic, he asked if she wanted to come over.

"Do you have wine?" she jokingly asked. She was a huge wine fiend back in the day, especially with whites.

"No, but there's a liquor store down the street. I'll buy you whatever you want."

Now, how's a girl to pass that up? It was her birthday celebration. She loves wine. And she wouldn't have to pay for it. WIN.

She followed him to the liquor store where she picked out her favorite wine at the time, Barefoot's Chardonnay. She was looking for the smallest bottle, but Jeffery insisted that he wanted to buy her the big bottle. You know, the one that isn't made for one person to drink alone? Yeah. She assured him that was too much, but that he could have some for later.

They got to his place, and instead of chilling the wine, he brought her a frozen beer mug and filled it up all the way to the top with wine. Classy. She figured she would just take her time drinking it, and they'd watch a movie or play with Jack. Only, Jeffrey was impatient. "Drink faster!" he said. She didn't want to.

But then he challenged her to a chugging contest. Now, she didn't normally chug anything, because her stomach usually hates that, but for some reason, she thought that was a good idea. But here's an important detail you must know--Jeffrey didn't drink. He would keep alcohol around for when he had friends over. So his glass was filled with water--hers was filled with wine. She chugged almost half of her mug.

She also learned that she's a lightweight. It didn't take long for her to start feeling really buzzed and horny. And she moved things from the living room to the bedroom. At one point she started feeling pressure down there to pee, but she ignored it because she was in the moment--he was fingering her and it felt so good. She figured she would just go later after they were finished. Meanwhile, Jeffrey kept saying "you're really wet...like really, really, wet." Which she took as a compliment, because often times she couldn't get wet with him. And he seemed to be enjoying it.

But then she felt herself pee...all over his bed. "I have to go..." she said, as she started to get off the bed. "But, why? We were having a good time," he said. She asked to use his bathroom, where she tried her best to wipe up all the pee. He was in the bathroom when she got back, and she saw the pee spot on his comforter, so she did the only thing she could think of: she flipped the comforter down to where the sheets were to cover up the spot, and got dressed as fast as she could.

He walked her to her car, where he asked her when she could see him again. She lied and said next week. Weeks later they hooked up again, but he never said a word about it. He just thought she was "wet."

Happy TMIT!

The things I do for family...

2010-04-07T13:53:00.007-06:00

Since my office for work is moving, I've been working from home this week. Which is great, unless your dad works from home and is constantly tying up the phone line, or unless your little brother is home as well, which is what the case was on Monday. Apparently he had no school due to "Easter break." Um, what? No fair.

He can only watch so much tv. I let him watch Spy Kids 3, while I worked and got alot of stuff done. After that, he begged me to put in the password (my mom locks everything around this house, including the tv) and I told him no. I thought he didn't need to watch anymore tv for the day. "Go outside, or draw or something," I said. But if course he didn't want to do that. And I couldn't do any of those things with him, because I actually had work to get done.

So naturally, a fight ensued. He ran upstairs to my parents bedroom to watch tv (which doesn't have any locks on it). I kicked him out of their room, but not without him pushing me into their dresser and me tackling him on their bed. I finally threw him into his room, where I maturely shut the door and held it so he couldn't get out. All this took place while he was throwing things at the closed door and at one point he threatened to jump out the window, to which I replied "Don't break any bones."

The above scene was in motion when my dad got home. After he lectured him, he let him watch tv. Which basically ruined all the hard work I had just done. But after work, and after he apologized to me for being a jerk, I decided we should spend some quality time together. I played basketball with him, we chased after the dog in the backyard, and played Go Fish and Crazy 8's.

Then we decided to color. We drew pictures to send my brother with the wrong school mascot colors and even signed them by people he dislikes--i.e. his ex-girlfriend. We're classy like that. And then I decided we should each draw a picture to give to our dog.

His picture:

This is of a baseball diamond, and the gray part is a tornado coming. My brother is terrified of tornadoes. And clearly the yellow part that is labeled Hailey is an accurate depiction of our dog.

My picture:

So, a long time ago when I was laying down with my brother to get him to sleep, I told him a story about our dog and during the story, he decided she needed to have a boyfriend. So he named her boyfriend Prancer (inspired by one of Santa's reindeers. Obviously). That's who's shown in this picture. He's woofing at Hailey (our dog) because Hailey is escaping in a hot air balloon because she has just found out that Prancer has a new girlfriend. The inside of the basket is full of doggie bones for her journey. The volcano is about to erupt, and there's a tornado (courtesy of my brother) chasing the new girlfriend.

Bon Voyage!

No Reservations

2010-04-02T09:46:00.000-06:00

Today's spotlight for my Travel Fridays series is Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations.

I have found memories of watching this show with M on our comfy green couch. While we could never quite keep up with all the episodes on our dvr, we did make a healthy dent in them. But it doesn't matter that we didn't finish watching all of them because each episode takes you on a different adventure. And for me, that's what draws me in. I'm all for adventure, and travel while watching Anthony swear, eat massive amounts of food, while boozing it up, doesn't hurt at all.

If you haven't watched this show before, I strongly encourage you to do so. After every episode I watch, I find myself getting pinched by the travel bug and day dreaming about my next adventure.

Here's a snippet of an episode where Anthony went to DC to eat some fish n chips. Enjoy!

The Importance of Locks

2010-04-01T16:27:00.005-06:00

How do you say....

2010-03-31T13:37:00.001-06:00

I've always been somewhat of a grammar nerd. I loved doing my vocabulary and spelling homework in school. And there was this one time when I was in 8th grade, that I corrected my uncle's friend. He kept saying "ain't" and it was beginning to drive me nuts. So while we were all outside in front of his house, I looked at him dead in the eye and said, "Ain't isn't a word. It's improper English." Suffice it to say, my uncle took my side and told his friend, "You just got schooled by an 8th grader." And then proceeded to laugh at him.

To this day, I'm still that person. I hate it when people can't spell things correctly. It drives me nuts. Not to mention that the other day while I was downtown, an apartment complex on a very busy street actually hung a banner saying "Quite apartments! Inquire within!" Um. Quite? Really? No way I'd rent at a place where they can't spell quiet. That's like English 101. I bet my nine-year-old brother even knows what the difference between the words are. And why didn't they make the printer correct this error?

Stuff like that boggles my mind.

But I do have a confession to make.

While I may apart of the grammar police, I do not have the best pronunciation skills. Like, sure, I was voted best public speaker in 8th grade, and speak clearly and concisely, but when it comes to actually pronouncing words, I tend to make up my own.

Example 1: When I was at my friend's house for a sleepover, we got to talking about the Greek festival. Besides thinking of baklava, I remembered this. Normal people pronounce this "span-ah-co-pa-tah" but in my world, I say it like this: "spank-o-pedia."

Example 2: When I was in high school, I applied for this local scholarship from the Boettcher Foundation. The entire time I heard of this, I always thought to myself, it's called "Bo-cheddar," you know, like the cheese. Turns out it's called "Bech-ur." Clearly I was way off.

Example 3: There might have been this one time when I was with my family eating out at a restaurant and we had a really hot waiter. And I might have been flustered, and instead of saying I wanted the "guiltless chicken sandwich," I might have said "gutless."

I think I've embarrassed myself enough. Anyone else have this problem?

Life is fragile

2010-03-26T14:38:00.001-06:00

Where have I been?

I'll tell you where I've been.

At the hospital. On and off since Wednesday.

I wasn't the one taken to the ER room. My mom was. She was poked and prodded, IVed up, cried, laughed, and sorta of slept. Oh, and she got like four units of O positive blood.

The hospital is not a happy place. Although our nurse Sarah was a delight. She was positive and caring and just overall had very nice bedside manners.

But it's pretty depressing to be in the hospital. The unknown is scary. Not mention that unless you're in the baby wing, there's really not a lot of people that are healthy. In fact, I bet a lot of people are dying.

Thankfully my mom is at home now, where I've been caring for her because no one else in my family is around. There's a lot of decisions that have to be made in the coming days, but I am thankful for my life.

Life is fragile.

Free Pastries & Ice Cream Tomorrow...

2010-03-22T16:59:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow's gonna be a good day when you can get free ice cream through Ben & Jerry's Cone Day, and a free pastry in the morning at Starbucks with a purchase of a beverage. Enjoy!

Today's post brought to you by the letter "M"

2010-03-22T09:16:00.006-06:00

***Work is taking over my life today, so enjoy this guest post by my bff--M.***

Sooo, when Wonderful invited me to guest post the other day, I doubt that this was what she had in mind, but what I want to talk about this week are the people I’ve run across this week that need to be smacked.

1st – Lady who was in front of my sister and I at the entrance of Benny’s – a great Mexican food place in Denver. This place is pretty much always busy and you kinda just have to live with the fact that there might be a little bit of a line leading up to the counter where you talk to someone who seats you. That’s fine. What is not fine is when there is a drunken woman who is talking to somebody about their bill and the fact that they just love this place, and the servers are so great, and blah dee freakin blah blah blah. For like 5 minutes. Seriously lady! Go tell the bartender or your server or somebody who cares! Or put it on a comment card. Don’t tell the seating people. Even the people at the desk were starting to look twitchy by the end of it, because while its nice to get compliments, um, their line was getting long. The medium sized group of frat boys that came in behind my sister and I might have had something to do with it to. I dunno. But seriously. I really wanted to smack a bitch.

2nd – My dad. Freakin’ man is over 50, and while his youthful exuberance (read: ADHD) has its positives sometimes, mostly its just annoying. And the fact that he can’t do his own taxes at this point and is getting my mom (who by the way, divorced him like 10 years ago) and my sister to do them for him. And thinks he needs to micromanage. Um. If you wanted control, dad, shoulda just manned up in the first place and got ‘er done. Smack.

3rd – Frickin’ engineers. Okay. I am a geek. I know many geeks. I date a geek. I love geeks. I would love to know all the things they know. I’d love to even understand a little bit all of the things some of them know! But omg. I would like to line up every engineer I know (and I have relatives, friends, and co-workers who are engineers, so this would be a line to rival the one at benny’s the other day) and get a good running start and go down the line and do some smackage because they are so picky. And lately I have been the target of the pickiness of more than a few of them. Just cause they're smart in one area, they think they know damn near everything. Sorry – no. And engineer co-worker-who-shall-remain-nameless, I do not appreciate you rearranging the dishwasher at work the other day after I loaded it! The plates will get clean enough if they are not spaced exactly evenly. Shit bro!

4th – I'd like to smack everyone in Washington D.C. right now.

I'm Irish...

2010-03-17T12:13:00.001-06:00

Today is St. Patrick's Day.

I forgot. Work has been kicking my butt all week, thus the lack of posting here. But, I did find some green shamrock beads that an old coworker gave me to wear today so I won't get pinched.

Even though I'm Irish, I hate cabbage, and corned beef. GROOOOOOSNESS. I realize that's not a real word, but it is in my world. But I am a potato person.

Anyways, I have no real plans tonight, because I'm feeling like i'm 25 going on 77 right now. Someone should drink some green beer for me tonight.

How's your week going? Are you celebrating St. Patty's Day tonight? Or are you old like me?

Travel Fridays

2010-03-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've decided since I love talking about traveling so much, that I'm going to start something called Travel Fridays, where I post interesting links, questions, or stories about my own experiences about travel or something I've read online.

So, for my first official Travel Fridays post, I want to ask you guys this....What's your worst travel related story? It could be that time you missed your connecting flight, had a baby kick the back of your seat the entire flight, or took the wrong plane.

Before I answer this question, allow me to give you a bit of my background. Prior to 2008, I hadn't really been out of the country. Sure, I had been to Cabo San Lucas, where I almost drowned in the ocean, and to Canada, where I had my picture taken next to a street sign that's the same as my name. And of course, I've traveled all over the U.S. But going international is entirely different.

It all started with my bff LC. She was going to Paris with her sister that year, and wanted to get other people to go. I ended up talking M into going, and we were all set. I WAS GOING TO PARIS. Ya, know to FRANCE, the world of cheeses and fashion and sexy French men! I was beyond excited, but still nervous.

We all decided that we should just bring carry on bags with us, so we could avoid losing our luggage, so I promptly filled my suitcase with clothes, and all that other stuff. But I also had two guide books in there, because clearly I'm a dork and had to visit certain places recommended in the guide, because I researched all day. M and I even made an Excel spreadsheet on which places we wanted to go, complete with prices of admission, hours of operation, how to get there, and other details.

We had everything with us, got to the airport on time. Our itinerary was Denver to Cincinnati, where we had a layover, and then on to JFK Airport in NYC. We flew Delta from Denver to Cincinnati and landed on time. Prior to deboarding, the staff assured everyone that who was going to NYC, could leave their stuff on the plane. They just asked you put a placecard on your seat, so they knew someone was sitting there. M and I figured that we should do that, since we didn't want to lug around our suitcases unless we absolutely had to. M had her backpack, and I think had I had my purse, which had my passport and stuff in it, but that was it.

It was there that everything fell apart. M and I were just sitting around the food court, eating our food, when all of a sudden we hear our names coming over the loudspeaker. We both looked at each other with wide eyes and panicked, and ran to the gate. We gave them our tickets, and were the last people to board the flight. But as we walked onto the plane, we realized, this isn't the same plane. We got to our seats, and immediately started freaking out. There was no placecard, there was no luggage in the overhead bin. There was NOTHING of ours.

We immediately flagged down a flight attendant, and told them in hurried voices, that this wasn't our plane. That we were told we could leave our stuff on the plane. Of course the lady we talked to said in a stern voice, "Oh I've been working for Delta for years. We never, ever, tell people to leave their stuff." But we persisted that we were supposed to be on that flight. "Well, we're about to take off, you can either deplane and go to customer service and talk with them, or you can stay on the flight," she said. But we had no choice. If we had stayed behind, we would have missed our connecting flight that night that left from NYC to London, and onto Paris. Not to mention, that we were supposed to meet up with LC and her sister in NYC to catch that flight.

We took deep breaths, and stayed on the plane. I pretty much wanted to cry, and was clearly upset. M was freaking out too but she was really positive. And we talked with another flight attendant during the flight and told him our story and he tried to make us laugh. "Do you have your passports?" Yes. "Do you have money?" Yes. "Do you have your parent's credit cards?" No. "Well, too bad, you could've gone on a shopping spree!" At the time, I didn't find it funny, but in hindsight, I know he was just trying to bring a smile to our somber faces. And he was right, we did have our necessities.

We made it to NYC on time, and told LC and her sister all about our troubles, and laughed at the fact that our carry on baggage wasn't supposed to be lost. And we called our parents and told them what happened and also put in a claim with Delta. We boarded our flight on British Airways from NYC to London, where we had a short layover, and then onto Paris, and we made it all without any more troubles.

I was still upset when we arrived in Paris because all of my stuff was gone. But after our first full day of sightseeing in Paris, we came back to a message on our hotel room phone from my mom. I used the hotel phone to call home, where I found out M's mom had gotten in touch with Delta's customer service in Paris, and that they found our bags, and that they'd be arriving on the next non-stop flight the next day. I was so happy I cried. And the next day, we did get our stuff.

But they lost our bags again on our way back, because this time we decided not to risk it, and to check in our bags. Plus we had a ton of stuff we bought and didn't want to lose it. Yeah, we must just have bad luck or something, but FedEx delivered them within a week, with everything intact. Well, sort of. M's bag was all wet, but thankfully her expensive leather purse wasn't ruined.

TMI Thursday: I have to pee

2010-03-11T08:21:00.006-07:00

get out already

haha

LC: lol
u only have one toilet?
me: well, the other one has this raised seat for floozy but u can move it

and i was in there

and moved it

and then saw there was pee drops on the seat and decided it wasn't worth it

so i put it back

groooosness

i could use the public restrooms by us but that's still kinda gross too

ohhh i could walk to the library and use their bathroom

that might work

i feel like going to the library anyways to get some books

LC: that is soooooooooooooooooooo disgusting

pee on the seat

me: yeah it was so gross

and it was like fresh pee

it wasn't like dried on

LC: public restrooms are bad too, esp library ones, at least by us, cuz the homeless use them

YUCK

well if it makes u feel better, 1 out of 3 times i go in the bathroom the whiff of poop hits me

me: yuckkkkk

well the library ones are usually nice, cuz u have to walk all the way to the back to use them

where as the other ones by me are really by the homeless and hippies

so i never use them

LC: ew

me: but idk, the person who was in there might be doing damage to the bathroom right now so i might not wanna wait anyways

LC: so gross haha

me: seriously

LC: it's the same thing when u wait at a restaurant forever

me: i swear either someone has been in there for 5 min or else they forgot to stop the fan

LC: then u def. don't want to go in tehre

ohhh

me: yeah

LC: u could knock on the door

me: ehhhh

it'd probably make things easier if i was going out to lunch, then i could use a bathroom there

but i'm not.

boo

LC: boo indeed

me: it's def not helping that i'm sitting here haha
there's a nice hotel across the street from us but idk if they have bathrooms in the lobby

LC: yeah...maybe u could ask as a last resort

me: yeah maybe

ay ay ay i need to figure this out haha

LC: hahaha

me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

so, i went to open the door, and turns out NO ONE WAS IN THERE THIS ENTIRE TIME

we're all idiots

hahahahaha

so i snuck in there

and i did turn off the fan in case someone really needs to use it so they don't think someone is in there

LC: are u kidding

hahahaha

me: hahahahahah

LC: that's great

me: so funny right

LC: u should post this convo in ur blog

me: hahahahahahaha

i should!

when?

LC: for tmi thursday... it's hilarious

Come on and fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away...

2010-03-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Yessssss, it's finally Friday, it's finally the weekend!!!

Since it's such a fun day, I have a fun question to ask you.

If you could go anywhere for a day, where would you go and why?

Personally, I'd want to go to Philly, just because I want a really philly cheesesteak with whiz. (TWSS.)

Have a good weekend!

Do you love or hate social media?

2010-03-04T10:06:00.001-07:00

I recently took the Pew Research's "How Millennial Are You?" quiz, and scored in the 70s. The survey asked a handful of questions, based on texting, how many hours of tv you watch, internet usage, video games, and if you read the newspaper. I had other friends that scored in the 20s, and some in the 30s.

Taking this quiz made me think about social media. You know what I'm talking about--the Facebook, the Twitter, the Tumblr, the Digg, the Myspace...and the list goes on and on and on. I consider myself to be somewhat in the middle with the social media game. In my office, I am like the Queen Bee of social media, mainly because my coworkers don't get how to use it, much less how to save attachments from e-mails, but that's another story for another day.

In my group of friends, I am pretty much the connected one. I have some friends on LinkedIn, and definitely most everyone I know is on Facebook. But I also know some people in their 20s that want nothing to do with Twitter. Those people are the same people that don't have internet on their phones* and aren't regular e-mail checkers.

But while I love my Twittering, and blogging, and Facebooking, I also don't become obsessed with it. I mean, sure it's part of my job to do it, and I like the community that's created with social media. I like that people can read my thoughts and respond to them, and I can feel like my voice is being heard. But in the big scheme of things, I don't consider myself a social media lover per se. When I get on Twitter and start to see all these tweets about social media conferences, and what's the future of the web, etc etc., I lose interest. I become bored, and willingly mark those tweets as read and erase them. I don't have the passion for social media that some people my age do. But I at least have the smarts to try it all out so I can at least know what's going on out there.

What about you? Are you a social media lover or a hater?

*I don't have internet on my phone either but that's mainly because I think it'd be a waste of my time and it's easier to check stuff on a real computer, not to mention I don't want to pay for a data plan.

Weekend Recap

2010-02-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

I seriously don't think I've laughed nearly as much as I have this weekend. On Friday, after work I went to Costco to pick up this amazing cake that I've been craving for months.You see, literally about 4 months ago my uncle had a party and had Costco cake there and let's just say that I ate two pieces that night plus asked for a couple more to go. It was that good. So ever since, I've been craving it. Well, I picked it up on time, but I seriously forgot just how big everything is at Costco.

This cake is 152 oz and almost 10 pounds. Seriously, that's a lot of cake. It's white with vanilla cheesecake filling. So sugary, sweet, but delish.

After finally making it to the birthday girl's place, we raced to Best Buy. The plan was to see the movie Valentine's Day, but we just ran out of time, and we didn't look up times for the late show, and it turned out the birthday girl had already seen it, so we ditched that idea and got take out at Pei Wei for dinner. After eating, we had cake, and then settled in for the night.

The present & dinner

M and I bought the bday girl Scattagories and she lovedddd it. And so it was fitting that we played oh, 12 rounds of it. I told stories and we laughed and drank and had a blast before doing a coloring activity where we had to draw a rosebush and then answer questions about it. (The bday girl is in grad school for counseling). We finally went to bed around 1 a.m. and slept like angels.

On Saturday we woke up and made crepes and watched My Girl and lounged on the couch for a long time. We finally decided to get outside and go run errands, with stops at Target, Walmart, and Best Buy. Then we took the bday girl to Red Robin for lunch and made sure to tell our server that it was her birthday (even if it was earlier this month) so that she would get sung to and free dessert. It was a success!

After taking her dog to the dog park, we divvied up the leftover cake (there was no way I was taking 9 pounds of cake home--my mom would've killed me) we parted ways. I love my friends and our sleepover memories. It's the best!

There's a lot of cake left at this point

After making a pit stop at my uncle's to give him some cake, I came home and relaxed for awhile before I learned that my little cousins were coming over. Let me just say that I was tired, and in no mood to play babysitter, so I made plans with a friend to go to the mall, and to dinner. We ended up eating at C.B. Potts, where I ordered a mini quesadilla and side salad. I didn't get home till close to 10 p.m., and literally fell asleep about 10 minutes later. I was so tired.

Today I woke up early--like 8 a.m.--because I wanted to get a massage with the birthday girl, only by the time we got there, they were already at a 2 hour wait. That's what I get for being cheap and going to the massage clinic where I could get an hour massage for $12.50 a person. But we took it in stride, and went to Einstein's for breakfast and planned to get one next weekend, only this time we're going to get there right when it opens.

After breakfast, I parked my lazy butt on the couch for a few hours and watched the ridiculous shows that are Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Leave it to Lamas, and Millionaire Matchmaker. I don't normally watch these shows, but they just seemed fitting of my mood to just space out and not think. I lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was time to help my mom make dinner. We made a pot pie with cauliflower, celery, carrots, chicken, and onion. It was good, and then I went to church, where a cute boy sat next to me.

All in all, I'd say it was a great weekend. I actually got out of the house, laughed off all the calories I consumed, and spent quality time with the people that matter in my life.

How was your weekend? I hope it was as fun as mine!

Money, money, money

2010-02-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

A former co-worker of mine (turned friend) got laid off oh, last summer. At the time she was about six months pregnant and seemed confident that she would find another job or start working for herself. Since she had the baby, I've seen her a few times--mainly going over to her house and drinking tea and eating cookies and catching up. Well, when her unemployment wasn't cutting it, she joined some health company, where basically the more people she gets to buy the product, the more money she makes. And I was supportive of that, since she has a family and all. The key word here is was.

Since then, she and I haven't hung out at all. Yet I constantly get Myspace invites, Facebook messages, and IMs from her asking me if I would like to "get free lunch and learn how XXX company can help me save money!" Um. No. Thanks. I don't have any desire to go to any of those things. At the beginning, I would just politely RSVP "no." Then she began with the Facebook chats, begging me to come. I told her I understand where she's coming from, but I have no interest in it. But here's the thing. All of these invites have not stopped. Like, seriously, NO means NO.

So the latest IM from her came on Monday. Only this time she admitted she knew I wouldn't go, but would "love it if you told your family and they came." And I told her, honestly, my family better things to do, and they definitely won't go. And then, THEN she started in on my current co-workers, asking what our office number was, and their extensions. I ended up giving them to her but not without telling her that no one would be interested, especially my co-worker that is disabled. And of course she took that opportunity to pitch more of the product she sells and that's exactly why said co-worker should come, and yadda yadda yadda.

I've told her outright that I'm not interested. But we used to be friends. Before she turned into this crazy marketing person. I'm not sure what to do. Do I just ditch her as a friend? Do I ignore her until she gets a real job again? Or do I confront her and flat out tell her how offensive it is that she keeps asking me and that I can't deal with her anymore?

Here's my other situation. One of my best friends in college, recently started selling Mary Kay. Since she and her hubby moved back to Texas, she's been staying at home watching their kid, while he's been substitute teaching and applying for Phd programs. She used to work full-time when they lived in New York, so I think part of her is bored being at home all the time. Plus, the extra income could help them afford trips (to see me) and other things.

She's not as bad as my old co-worker. She told me about it the last time we talked, and this week I received emails from her saying she was selling it now and stuff. But here's the thing. I don't buy Mary Kay products. Heck, the last time I bought makeup was probably circa 1990. Just kidding. It was probably more like 2 years ago, minus the regular upkeep of mascaras and nail polish. So, I understand why she's doing it, but I don't want to buy anything. I don't need it. But at the same time, I don't want her to take my lack of interest as not supportive of her. But I also don't want to feel pressured into buying anything either.

*sigh* When did friendships become complicated?

The adventures of taking public transportation...

2010-02-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Why I am so grumpy today??? I have no idea. But I do know that lately I've been forgetting things. Like important stuff. Take for example yesterday, when I left work 15 minutes early to catch the AB bus. Now, prior to leaving the office, I checked both the AB and the DD bus schedules, because they literally leave a minute apart. But I swear, from the schedule I looked at, the AB bus would get to my stop 3 minutes earlier, so of course I couldn't wait another 3 minutes and got that bus. Oh and I had ashes on my forehead from going to church and everyone gave me weird looks, but no one said anything. But that's neither here nor there.

So I'm on the bus, madly reading this new book about a hot hockey player who falls in love with a tv show personality who knits, and it's getting to the good part(s). So I may or may not have been paying attention. Anyways, I looked up, saw it wasn't my stop, (my stop was the next one) and continued speed reading. Then I looked up again and pulled the cord to stop. Only, as I did that, I saw the bus I was on, speeding past my stop. Yes, it really did happen. I slightly panicked, but then figured that I could just take the bus one stop in the other direction. Luckily the bus I needed came within 5 minutes. But I still felt so dumb, and pissed off and just like ugh. Because I swore to myself that it went to my stop. Well, when I finally got home, I looked at the schedule online and saw that it in fact, does not, nor ever did, go to my stop. So apparently I'm just an idiot.

Now, I take the bus all the time to and from work, and even around Boulder so I can get out of the office and go spend money on useless stuff at Target or something. So I know what I'm doing. I've taken countless buses on different routes. But again today, I apparently messed up again. I took the bus to my radio show, which I do on my lunch hour every Thursday. That was fine. It was after I was finished that I ran into a problem. Again, I swore that the bus came at like 12:35 or so. So I waited, and waited, and waited. And then I freaked out that I was going to be late going back to the office, and told myself how I could NOT ever take a long lunch and how it's not my fault the bus was late. I even called the bus schedule and the next times it gave me were starting at 1 p.m. "There's no way in hell I'm waiting till 1 to get the bus, forget that," I muttered to myself. Plus, I was super cold because it started to snow and of course I didn't know that because I never pay attention to the weather so I was cold. So, I determinedly started walking.

And then the bus I needed drove by me. Yea, I apparently have that kind of luck. But that just fueled my anger/annoyance, so I power walked all the way to the main road so I could catch a different bus. And then I remembered that I was so hungry and it was already like 1 o'clock and I hadn't eaten lunch yet. And then I decided that I wanted lunch. Specifically broccoli cheddar soup and an apple fuji salad from Panera. So I got off on the right stop, walked quickly to Panera, only to discover that there was a massive line. Seriously people, just eat later, is what I wanted to say. But apparently the line was caused by the registers having a problem or something. Idk, I just ordered it to go, said no to the receipt and stole some butter. When I finally got my lunch, I ran across the street to catch yet another bus to get me back to work, and of course it was just pulling away from the curb. But, this gentleman was nice and stopped for me.

I got on the bus and decided that I wanted food. Right now. So I took out my warm baguette and opened my stolen butter and slathered that baby in yummy goodness. And then I sat there and ate it. Luckily, I did make it back to the office without my boss noticing (at least I hope she didn't). Oh and also, I just checked the bus schedule, and I WAS RIGHT. He was late. Even if it was only by two minutes. SO THERE.

Anyone else have issues with public transportation?

I feel the love, do you?

2010-02-16T15:44:00.001-07:00

Can't every weekend be three days long? I definitely made the most of my long weekend.

On Friday after work I just relaxed and hung out with my family. Then I slept in on Saturday. I love love love sleeping in. It's the best thing. After breakfast, I hung out with family and talked with friends. Then I went to the outdoor mall with my brother and got some exercise. Later that night I was invited to an anti-valentine's day party. I'm glad that I went because it was so much fun to a) get out of the house and b) to laugh and enjoy people's company. We had girl talk, a homemade dinner complete with lasagna, spinach salad and cheesecake for dessert, and we watched He's Just Not That Into You. It was definitely fun. Not to mention that a girl at the party offered to look over my cover letter. Turns out she's in communications too! So I'm excited about that potential networking opportunity!

On Sunday I slept in again and had really bizarre dreams. Then I talked with friends, hung out with family, and went to church. I even received a valentine from a college friend. I realized that while Valentine's Day might be a huge thing to some, to me, it was just a day to spend it with the people I actually like being around. I don't think I've ever had this perspective before, but I hope to keep it for many more v-days. Later that night, as a family, we watched the premiere of the Amazing Race and Undercover Boss. I had never seen Undercover Boss before but I'm not sure if I liked it enough to watch it again. This week's episode followed the CEO of Hooters. I couldn't believe he said that he'd let his girls work at Hooters someday. But I guess to each their own, right? After all that TV watching, I watched pair figure skating while I painted my nails. I really had this urge to paint them dark blue, but I didn't have any dark colors. Apparently I like pink. A lot.

I also was lucky enough to have yesterday off and I would say I definitely made the most of it. I slept till 11, grabbed Qdoba for lunch (I had a buy one, get one free coupon), and lounged around the house. I was originally supposed to have lunch with my cousin but a last minute death in the family caused us to reschedule. My 'lil brother and I played Twister in which I learned that I just can't bend the way that I used to. We took the dog for a walk, and then I made him a deal. I told him I would take him bowling if we walked there and back. I google mapped it, and it was only a mile each way. Plus, after being lazy all weekend, I really wanted to get in my steps. He obviously agreed, and we made it there alive.

Let me just tell you that we both suck at bowling. Like, I have no form whatsoever. I just try not get gutter balls. I think our first game we had a score of like 130 combined. I also thought it would be hilarious to put in secret joke names as our titles on the scoreboard when my brother wasn't looking. Yes, I am like 9. We have this insider joke that started one day when I was probably talking to the dog. But needless to say, now I always say to my brother, "Love your face!" whenever I'm leaving the house, and he thought it would be funny to say to me, "Love your butt!" Yeah, we're reallllly mature, can't you tell?

Anyways, the funniest part about bowling yesterday was our nicknames. Oh, and of course, this old guy helping us out. He saw my brother throwing the ball wrong, and was explaining to him how to do it correctly. Apparently he had gotten like 7 strikes that day. And yes, he was in a league. But at one point he looked at the screen and said, I couldn't call ya'll that! It was really funny and only mildly embarrassing. And my brother's technique (if you can call it that) improved. We only played two games, which took us an hour, but the manager did give us a bunch of buy one game, get one game free coupons. Guess we'll just have to go back.

On the way back home we laughed and chased each other and ate an apple. It was good times, and I got in a bunch of steps, like 10,000+. Yeah, it was awesome. I felt so accomplished. We ate dinner and then I had the urge to go buy blue nail polish at Ulta. I didn't really want to pay $8.50 for the OPI color I wanted, so I went with a $1 glittery polish by N.Y.C., and this dark blue insta-dry color by Sally Hansen. I'm excited to paint them dark for once. And I joked to my dad that this is my way of acting out--by not having my normal pink nails, but instead a very dark and moody color. He thought it was funny and called me goth.

All in all, it was a great weekend. How was yours?

Singin' in the Rain

2010-02-12T21:04:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I went into work early via the bus of course and so of course I didn't really do anything to my hair let alone my clothes. It always happens on days like those that I get invited out to do something before I can change and make myself presentable. But it was worth it. I got an impromptu invite to go see Singin' In The Rain at the Boulder Dinner Theater with my cousin and my aunt and uncle. I have actually never been to a dinner theater at all but have heard some great things about them.

My view of the stage

The only thing I knew about the play was the actual chorus to the song, Singin' in the Rain. We arrived on time, were seated on the second level but had a great view of the stage. For dinner my cousin and I ordered the chicken cordon bleu that came with a tossed side salad, fresh bread, and veggies. It was decent, but not my favorite thing. My aunt and uncle ordered the beef pot pie, which was really like a beef stew topped with a puff pastry. For dessert we split the apple cake ala mode style, but by that time, I was so stuffed. The portions of food, especially the desserts, are HUGE.

One of the main characters in the play--she was hilarious!

A scene from the first act

Apparently I wasn't supposed to take any photos, but I did anyways without the flash of course. It was funny because during the scene when the main character actually sings in the rain, the guests seated right by the stage get to wear complimentary rain jackets. I tried to get a picture of someone wearing one but it didn't come out well enough to post.

Singin' in the Rain

It was a great evening out, and I had a blast. I really should see plays more often. As for this weekend, I am going to hang out with some friends tomorrow night and play board games and be super cool like that. And then on Sunday, I am going to hopefully treat myself to a massage, relax, and go to church. Should be a great weekend, especially since I get Monday off!! Yea, I'm pretty excited.

What are your weekend plans?

Wordless Wednesdays: Women's Retreat

2010-02-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

(Click here for more WW)

I remember...

2010-02-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend was exactly what I needed. On Friday, I was in the worst mood ever, which I would like to blame on my hormones. I was upset because I had gotten to work early specifically so I could help my practically disabled coworker into the office, only she didn't show up until like 9 a.m. I had waited half an hour for her to call, and didn't even eat my instant oatmeal because I was waiting on her. And, by the time she did call, my coworker who normally helps her, was already here. I was so frustrated that I basically wasted my time by coming in early, and I was grouchy because I didn't eat. I was so angry the entire morning that I made myself go to church on my lunch hour so I could calm down because I was afraid my anger would ruin my soul. Church did help, and crying. Don't ask me why I cried. I don't even know, but it felt good. Thankfully by the time I went to bed that night, I wasn't angry anymore.

On Saturday I drove up to Lyons, where I went on a women's retreat with M and our friend Theresa. I don't go to the church who sponsors it--I just go to their annual retreat. This was my second year going. Last year all I did was cry because a lot of changes were going on in my life--my roomie and I weren't living together anymore and my dad had just left for China. Anyways, Saturday went by really fast. I read a book, went for a mini hike up the mountain with M and others to a chapel, played in the snow, watched a couple of men ice fish, and went hot tubbing. It was definitely a good night but at that point, I felt like the weekend was going by too fast, and the retreat was too short. We stayed up late talking and laughing.

Sunday morning came way too fast. I was so tired. But after breakfast, we all rested for almost an hour and that helped. We did a silent meditation and read some prayers. Then we did a drumming circle. Yes, like with actual drums from like Africa and stuff. It was so much fun. I felt like a kid again. And, it's really cathartic. Like, if you have any stress at all, all that banging with your hands can take it out of you. I loved it. After those activities, I felt like my spiritual and emotional meter was full again. It was awesome. We left after lunch because I had to get back in time for a superbowl party. And of course as we're leaving, it started to snow, just like it did on the last retreat I went on. But it was pretty, and I made it safely down the mountain.

When I got home, I rushed to change out of my sweats and into jeans and looked up directions, and then hit the road again. As I was driving, I had flashbacks of a year ago. I definitely didn't have many readers back then, so let me give you a quick recap.

Last year I went to the same superbowl party, after crying all weekend at the retreat. Only, I had way too much to drink. I lost count of the cranberry vodkas I made myself because I was talking with a girl named Jessica, who later introduced me to a book club. I did eat, but I didn't drink nearly enough water, and by the time I had stopped drinking, everyone was leaving and the game was over. So, knowing I was buzzed, I left, because I didn't want to admit that I had drank too much. I figured since everyone else was leaving, I should too. So I put on my sober face and got in my car. I remember calling a friend of mine that lived in Jersey at the time, telling him I had drank too much and that I didn't know how to get home. (It was dark, and I was having trouble seeing my GPS). I remember him telling me I shouldn't drive, to go back into my friend's house.

But of course I didn't listen. I told him I would be fine and started my car. I drove out of her neighborhood, and was turning left, when I ran into the curb. I told myself to be more careful and thought nothing of it. (Later it turned out that I lost my hub cap) I squinted in the dark, driving, listening to my GPS tell me where to go. At one point, I was on a two-lane road that was very dark. I remember that all the cars behind me were going so fast and that I couldn't drive that fast. I think I was going like 30, because I was too paranoid that I'd get pulled over. Finally, I couldn't do it anymore. I had no idea where I was, because I was surrounded by trees. I called my brother who was in college at the time in Oklahoma, and told him that I drank too much and that I was lost and that I didn't know what to do and that he should definitely NOT tell mom. I cried. He told me to take deep breathes and said that I shouldn't drive and that he was calling mom. I was so mad. I didn't want to be in trouble.

While I waited for my mom to call, I decided to keep driving. Finally I made it into civilization. The first store I saw was a Walgreens. I made it safely into the parking lot and told my mom I was there. While I waited for her to pick me up, I went inside because I had to pee like no other. I remember asking the girl at the cash register where the bathrooms were and her asking me if I was okay. Turns out my entire face was all red from drinking and my mascara had smeared in the midst of my crying jag earlier. After doing my business, I went to my car. My mom showed up and told me to get into the car. She was angry but I thought it was funny, so I laughed. Then I got in the car. (Apparently she then went into the store and told the lady at the register that I was drunk and asked if it would be okay to leave my car there overnight, but I have no recollection of that happening) My little brother asked me if I was drunk and of course I said no. But he didn't believe me. Oh, and my mom told me I reeked of alcohol. Nice one, Wonderful.

We made it home safely, I changed out of my jeans, drank some water, and then threw up in the middle of the night. I was so hungover the next day, it wasn't even funny. But my mom never gave me the lecture I thought she would. She simply told me that she loved me and was glad that I didn't drive. I definitely learned my lesson.

So, this year driving on the same road as last year, I could actually tell where I was for one. For another, I realized how far I have come in a year. This year I talked the whole time to Jessica and other people at the party, and I ate my weight in cupcakes, but I only had one beer. I drove home sober. I didn't get lost. I am proud of myself.

All I can say is, what a difference a year makes.