Sunday, August 22, 2010

Cinderella

I'm feelling a bit like Cinderella right now. The time is drawing perilously close to Midnight and I don't have the allotted number of blogs in yet (still for my course…I know…I feel like I've been taking this thing forever). I hate being late for deadlines. It makes me a little nutty. It reminds me of this time in college when I had a huge paper due. I never pulled all nighters but this time I had to. I had no choice. My teacher was ruthless so I knew I had to get the paper in on time. I worked all night, finding obscure sources, making photocopies (I despise Kinkos) and trying to make the paper as flawless as possible. I finished the paper and rested my head for just a second. I would get up and get the paper in no problem.

Well, I think we all know where this is going. I fell fast asleep. I woke with a start and looked at the clock. I had 7 minutes to get from my off campus apartment to his office and it was at least a fifteen minute treck on a good day. I quickly threw on an oxford shirt and jumped in the car. I sped like a demon, weaving in and out of traffic and narrowly missing Freshman who were blissfully unaware of the pressures of senior year and what that will do to a person. I parked the car in an illegal spot and began hauling ass across campus. For four years, I had held very fast to my one cardinal rule: NEVER run on campus. You look like a dork and whatever you are running to has probably already started so chances are you're screwed anyways. No use committing social suicide by running like an idiot as well. But I RAN. I ran like I was the Johnson guy in the '96 Olympics with the pretentious gold shoes. I ran as if the hounds of hell themselves were chasing me.

And it was raining but I couldn't pay any attention to that. An umbrella would have slowed me down. So I reach the building and I'm breathless and exhausted and as my foot hits the inside marble floor of the building I began flailing about as if I'm some sort of Marionette and my puppetmaster is a cruel bastard. Every muscle in my body was trying to regain balance but with the weak mental state I was in and knowing I had missed the deadline, I succumbed to gravity as my paper flew about me in every direction. Luckily classes had begun so there were only a few stragglers left behind to witness my fall. They rushed to help me up and collect my papers, asking me if I was alright. Honestly, my leg could have been turned around backwards and I would have said yes and limped away to die in a corner. I was mortified and I was LATE. I took my papers and the little bit of dignity I had left and went up to my Professors office.

I softly knocked on his door. "Ummm Professor Moen, I'm sorry I'm late. I tried to get here time but…" my voice began to trail off.

He looked up from his desk and for a moment, I couldn't tell if he was going to eat me alive or if he felt pity for me. "Late? For what?"

"Our term paper. I know it was due at 9:00 AM and it's 9:05."

"Yes, you're correct. But it's due at 9:00 AM on Monday. Not today."

"Oh. Really?? Okay. Well, in that case…here you go." As I laid the soaking wet pieces of paper down on his desk. He looked over his glasses and pushed them back with his pen.

"Give them another look, will you? I have a feeling they may be…disheveled. See you on Monday morning" As I left, I could have sworn I heard him laughing.

I left his office and decided I would take the elevator down. No use risking falling down the stairs today too. I got home and as I passed by the mirror, I stepped quickly back. I looked like an utter crazy person. My oxford shirt was buttoned completely wrong resulting in an asymmetrical look and my hair was like a madwoman's. I had raccoon eyes and my pants were soaking wet. If he didn't know better, I might look like I had been on some four day bender. I was a wreck.

So I crawled into bed and slept for a majority of the day and then that night, treated myself to a nice long shower and a night out. Apparently this Cinderella turns back into a pumpkin at 9 not 12.


 

    

Blogging World

The more I think about this blogging thing, the funnier it become to me. We have the ability to read someone else's thoughts almost like we're reading their journal and yet we don't get chastised for it. Since I am definitely one who loves to snoop, this pseudo-voyeurism really appeals to me. I am constantly reading people's blogs and trying to get an idea of the direction I want to take mine. So I decide that I would give a shout out to those bloggers out there that I love to follow. Check them out when you have a chance!

www.ThePioneerWoman.com

The Holy Mecca of Blogs to me. This lady is a genius. Not to mention, she has a precious Basset Hound named Charlie who is really something else. I'm not kidding. He's great. This chick is cool. She lives on a working Cattle Ranch in the middle of Oklahoma and has four kids (whom she calls Punks) that she homeschools all the while writing a wildly successful cookbook and now her love story about how she fell in love with a rancher (and he's not too shabby himself) is now being made into a movie. Her site is great filled with funny stories, recipes, homeschooling tips, decorating tips and many other mindless wonderful things. She updates everyday. And she's hilarious.

www.Sixinthecity.com

This is another one that I love to read. This lady and her family moved from Colorado to an apartment in NYC after her husband got a job with a non-profit. Her adventures are great and she seems like a cool cat. Plus can you imagine living six people deep in an NYC apartment??? And no, she's not wealthy which makes this blog that much better and that much realer (is realer a word???)

www.nieniedialogues.com

Okay this lady fascinates me. She's been a blogger for a while and then was in a horrific plane crash that left her severely burned and fighting for her life. She blogs about the recovery and her struggles and she is really inspiring. Oh and not to mention, she's got four kids too. Wait, I just noticed all these women I'm reading about have tons of kids…

www.livetofeast.com

This is a friend's blog. He's a fun writer and covers one of my favorite topics : FOOD! He always goes to the newest coolest spots here in Atlanta so if you're local, take a look. Plus it's just a fun read anyway.


 

What are some of your favorite blogs? I read a ton more but I want to know what you like to read!

Fun Facts

I really love quizzes. Like really love them. So okay maybe this isn't a quiz but it's a list of things about myself that I thought might be fun to share with everyone. Some of you know some of this stuff, some of you don't but at any rate, it's always nice to take a moment and realize how strange you really are and then laugh and move on with it. I think like my favorite things list, I'm going to add a "Facts about me list" and as life changes and I change, I'll make additions and subtractions to this list. So Enjoy!

  1. If you touch your nose around me, I immediately think I have a bat in the cave and will freak out.
    2) Chicago is my favorite city in the US. I would live there in a heartbeat.
    3) I love to sing songs and incorporate my dog's name into them. For example: "I'm bringin' Turtle Back...yeah...them other Turtle's don't know how to act...yeah"
    4) Every time my sister comes in town, my dad, my sister and I have a yelling contest on our back deck. The goal is to see who can yell the word the loudest and get through it without laughing. The word is ALWATS "elephant." I have never won.
    5) I walked through the entire Kappa Kappa Gamma Tunnel during rush and no one picked me up.
    6) I used to have EXTREMELY short hair. boy short.
    7) I would be a food critic if I could just figure out how to do it.
    8) I once acted like I was my best friend's mom on the phone so she didn't have to go out on a date with a guy. I think he knew it was me the whole time.
    9) I hate dishes in the sink. Literally hate them.
    10) I LOOOOOOVEEEE Alvin and The Chipmunks. They always make me laugh
    11) I have had my car towed a total of 15 times.
    12) I love scrunchies and used to steal them all the time from Jessie. It was payback for all the socks of mine she stole.
    13) My friends and I used to enjoy riding around on Friday mornings hungover at college wearing a shrek mask and yelling at passerbys. Don't knock it until you've tried it.
    14) I used to leave Popcorn out for a fox I had nicknamed Mr. Bojangles at our apartment complex in college until my father warned me that it was probably rabid.
    15) I have broken both of my arms twice and once broke all the toes on my foot.
    16) I still sleep with my baby blanket and can not go to sleep without it.
    17) I once almost wrecked my car in order to get into Sonic because I saw they were serving Diet Dr. Pepper.
    18) On the subject of Sonic, one evening late night, I ate two foot long coneys from Sonic. That's two feet of hot dog folks.
    19) If I could wake up tomorrow and be anywhere, it would be Charleston SC. And I would got to the beach with my best friend and drink gallons of mimosas. It is the perfect day.
    20) I will watch/laugh at Friends anytime it's on TV. It's a great show.
    21) The best summer of my life was spent at Frontier Ranch in Colorado.
    22) I was a competitive cheerleader. That's right. I love spirit fingers.
    23) I love Cocky. I seriously have a crush on him.
    24) I drove through the fence at my grandmother's farm because my best friend told me a ridiculous joke and I started laughing too hard. My entire family (immediate and extended) was there to witness the event.
    25) I haven't eaten Chik-Fil-A in 2 years.

    26) I think the way my husband drinks out of a water bottle is so weird. Little sips. GET ON WITH IT already. I think now he does it to annoy me.

    27) I HATE folding clothes and putting them away. It is the bane of my existence and I would pay someone to do it for me.

    28) I really really really want to be a in a Country Music Video. I think it has to do with my love of boots.


     


     

    That's it for now. But I'll def. keep adding.

Goodies

I've been spending a great deal of time on the internet shopping lately. You see, I've started back on Weight Watchers (Big FAN!) and I'm going to the trainer 2-3 times a week. I don't want to have to do this but the fact remains that I have to, so I begrudgingly drag myself there and count my points like a good girl. Anyway, I've been doing a lot of online shopping because I love to think of the things I'm going to buy myself when I reach my goal.

I've found quite a few things I love so I thought I'd post them here for you all to see


I can not explain why I love these shoes so much. They look like some sort of Medieval torture device but I also think they look super fun and really out there. Maybe with some skinny grey jeans??

Next item:

Now this says it's a market tote but for $400 I can not imagine putting my bottle of Light Ranch in there to slosh around and possibly spill out all over the place…and believe me it would happen to me. Anyway, this company is so cute and I adore these bags so check them out:


Visit www.fleabg.com. They are each individually marked with a stamp and no two are alike. Precious but not for Publix. Unless by Market Tote, they mean Bergdorfs……

Lastly, my obsession are these Tory Burch Snake Skin Flats. I love the them. And I will have them. No, I'm not kidding. If all goes as planned….I will be the proud owner of these sweet babies. I'm ruthless on Ebay.



 

I have plenty more to show you but you must be patient J

Know your limits.

Being a wife can be kind of tough. I have a wonderful l husband who makes me laugh every single day, but sometimes….sometimes he does things that I cannot for the life of me understand. One of those things happens to be leaving dishes in the sink (he has to be allergic) while another is finding, shall I use the term "unique" in lieu of an expletive, places to put everyday items so I can not find them and become increasingly frustrated as the seconds tick by. He's a tidy fellow but will go on these beserk cleaning sprees and once threw out an entire bag of flour in the kitchen for really no good reason other than I think he had whipped himself up into a cleaning frenzy and was intoxicated by the scent of Lysol wipes and Pledge.

However the thing that really really gets me is how he refuses to believe he has limitations. I've already told you about the bike shorts (I shudder to think of the image) but now let me finish that little piece up with the follow up story.

Yesterday, I had a date with myself. I went and got some breakfast and a huge coffee; I went to Nordstroms (I really do love that place); I went to the Trainer (I do NOT love that place but alas I was not blessed with some weird Swedish Bathing Suit model genes so there I must be); and then I went and saw Eat, Pray, Love by myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie but I'm not sure the lady next to me did. She was literally snoring halfway through it. It was a fantastic day and I left the movie thinking I would go grab another coffee and head to the Barnes & Noble where I could browse the books for an hour or so and then go home to watch a DVD set of "Frasier" (do not ask, I love that show and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I also LOVE the show Reba. Van cracks me up). Well on my way out of the movie, I felt my phone vibrating and assumed it was my sister or someone calling me. My beloved wasn't set to come home until today so I knew it couldn't be him.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

I couldn't be sure but it sounded like my husband but a much more defeated version of his normally chipper self.

"Hey! How'd the race go??"

"I can't talk. I just need you to come home and bring me pedialyte."

Great. So there went my beautiful Saturday evening. Pedialyte is never a good sign. It either means you've had food poisoning, alcohol poisoning, or you've done something absolutely ridiculous like try to ride 50 miles in the sweltering Georgia heat.

"Ok. Be there in a sec"

I stopped by the local Walgreens, got the Pedialyte and headed home. Now as I've mentioned before, my husband is an extremely tidy person. So when I drove up to our apartment and saw the mound of crap that sat outside our door and my mind flashed back to him saying one time "I don't care if we are dirt poor, we are not going to have a bunch of trash sitting outside of our house", I knew this was bad.

I walked inside and there he was. Lying on the floor, a shell of a man. I got down on the floor next to him and asked him what happened. I won't bore you with the details but needless to say it involved a deluge of rain pouring down on him, a race he wasn't trained for and brakes that completely gave up on him. He feel asleep at 8 last night and didn't wake up until 10 this morning. We had a long talk about limitations and it has now been agreed that he will only sign up for these races when he's trained for them. I'm not sure I can take many more surprises that involve bike shorts.

Friday, August 20, 2010

When the Dog Bites…When the Bee Stings

OH my has this been a long week. I am completely ready for the weekend and could not be more excited about the following things:

  1. Eating a late European Style dinner with my dear friend at an incredible restaurant
  2. Watching nothing but re-runs of Rachel Zoe and Frasier all weekend and lounging
  3. A big workout with my trainer
  4. A Massage

Thank goodness this week is over…I mean, it's been a killer. Really. And I'm talking about the behind the curtain scary movie kind of killer. So in honor of the fact that I cannot think about the rest of this week without wanting to hide under my desk and suck my thumb, I will tell you a story that shook me to my very core and caused me to question the universe and my place in it. Without further ado, I give you "Bike Shorts"

Well ladies and gentlemen, an event occurred this week that I was certain I would never have to deal with. You say for better or worse in your vows but you really don't know the true meaning of that until WORSE comes along and slaps you across the face like the mean spiteful bitch that she is. I was making dinner the other night in my teeny-tiny kitchen ( a source of serious contempt), seething about how I swore it smelled like cigarette smoke from our new neighbors above, the Clompy McClompersons (seriously LOUDEST PEOPLE EVER), when out of the corner of my eye, I see my sweet husband walking towards me. Not really paying attention, I thought my beloved was simply passing through in his boxers to get some clothes out of the dryer. Then I noticed he stopped in the doorway. I glanced over at him and then quickly my head snapped back!

"WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!??!"

He stared back at me with a mixture of pride and delight. "My new bike shorts"

I gasped in disbelief. Here he stood in MY kitchen wearing THOSE things. Shiny, black, spandex bike shorts: the stuff Nightmares are made of. "You are going to be arrested. Those are indecent"

"No, No!" His excitement was palpable. Poor thing was unaware that he looked like Child Predator #1. "You see, these are going to help me during my bike race!"

"Excuse me you're what??!"

"My bike race."

"Oh okay. So Lance, when is this bike race taking place?"

"This weekend. 50 Miles. It's gonna be awesome"

Needless to say, I dropped the conversation after that and kindly asked him to remove himself and his pervy shorts from my kitchen. I'm certain it was some sort of health violation.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The House That Built Me

Today is my wonderful Dad's birthday! I am truly blessed to have the most wonderful father in the entire world. His example of what it is like to be a kind, compassionate, honest person is something I cherish every single day of my life. Not to mention the man is freaking hilarious and he is constantly making me laugh! His sense of humor is unlike anyone else's and he has the unique ability to laugh at the ridiculous and life and I like to think he passed that trait on to me J Happy Birthday Dad!! You are, have been and will always be my hero!

Last weekend I heard the song by Miranda Lambert called the House that Built Me and it really resonated with me. Having grown up in the house that my mother and father built over 30 years ago, I have a deep love and connection to my childhood home. My mom and dad joke about the things that are starting to show some wear and tear on the house but I can't help but feel a deep fondness to these little annoyances, not because I love annoyances (believe me I don't…I HATE to be annoyed) but because they remind me of the wonderful happy years I was privileged enough to grow up in such a home. Notice I said home…you see as I've grown older, I have really started to learn the value of a home versus a house. My parents built a beautiful house but more importantly they built a precious home for me and my sister. When I look back on my childhood I am reminded of how rare it really is in this day and time to have a home that was so filled with love.

So if I were to write the song, I would replace the word House with Home because I realize now that it was a home and the people that were in that home that made me who I am today. As I thought about this, I could connect every room with a defining moment in my life.

My Bedroom: The scene of many a back scratch and comforting moment; naps with my sister on Sunday afternoons and long talks with my sweet mother before I went to bed at night; the goodbye kiss my dad would come in and give me every single early morning that he was going out and working so hard to support his little family of four. In that bedroom I learned the value of telling each other that they are important and loved every single day of your life.

My Sister's Bedroom: The scene of many moments of hilarity and laughter and of sharing. Even when I was so little and would terrorize her prized Strawberry Shortcake House and its inhabitants, she was always so willing to share her things with me. I learned then that material things are material things and the act of sharing is an outward act of love and trust.

My Parents Bedroom: Always an open door and we were never turned away. Some of my favorite memories take place in their bedroom. Somehow we would all end up there at the end of the night talking and laughing and carrying on. Their bedroom was a place of solace for me and I still love to go nap there. It reminds me of being surrounded by everything you love in the world and being totally at peace. I pray I can make our bedroom like that for our children someday.

The Kitchen: Oh the kitchen. My favorite place. It reminds me of my mother's commitment to making sure we were fed not only physical food but emotional and spiritual food. We ate dinner as a family every night together and prayed together as a family in our kitchen. It is where we would greet our dad after a long day's work. The kitchen was an all purpose room. We were punished in the kitchen, we were praised in the kitchen, we were comforted in the kitchen and we were taught in the kitchen. The kitchen to me signifies the importance of a family unit and the bond that exists between people who loved you before they even knew you.

The Music Room: All I can say is patience. Patience listening to a young child try over and over again and messing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" up more times than she got it right; patience for sitting with her for hours while she tried desperately to read music; patience for driving back and forth, week after week, year after year to the lessons . I learned that Patience is not only a virtue but it is a gift we all deserve to give each other.

The Den: This is where we relaxed with each other and let the day slip away from us. This room taught me how to just "be" with the people you care about and that sometimes your presence is the only thing that matters.

I am grateful every single day for my home. I am grateful that I was given such loving, supportive parents that fought for my childhood and helped me grow into the adult that I am. I'm grateful for their parents that did the very same thing for them and it is my sincere prayer that I continue this pattern in my home because at the end of the day, a house is just four walls but the people who breathe life into it make it a home.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!! And thank you for the home that built me!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Let’s Start Fresh, Shall We?

The other day my friend got on to me because I had not been updating my blog and she was right. Although this started off as a class project, I have started taking it personally. A few weeks ago, in typical jump the gun fashion, I made a big announcement about the structure of my blog. Well, immediately after that I got in a funk (also very typical). I was only doing that because I felt like I had to reach certain benchmarks of what makes a good blog according to some articles and guidelines that were given to me. Although I know these guidelines were meant to help me find a cohesive string throughout my blog, they only served to make me feel like I was stuck inside a very small tight box. The more I thought about it over the last week and a half, the more I realized that the cohesive string in my blog was Me. That even though my blog wasn't mainly about one subject or another, the glue that was holding all of the pieces together was none other than yours truly. I thought really hard about the blogs that I loved to read and they were so vastly different. Some are very structured while others are loosey goosey; some were family friendly while others were a little more ridiculous but all of them so beautifully resonated with the authors' unique voice. All of this to say, I've decided to scrap my rigid schedule (I've never really like schedules anyway) and go on about writing my blog in the way I originally intended it to be: 100% Me and 100% inspiration. Some days I may rant on and on about the dishes my husband refuses to clean out of the sink (it's like he's allergic to the dishwasher) or I may share with you about the heinous Puggle that lives in the apartment above me that may or may not be possessed by a demon or I might even share with you some wonderful little find that I came across in my countless hours of shopping (I have a problem…), but I can assure you that every time I post it will be from My heart and from My head. I would never want you to come on here and read something that seemed flat and lifeless just because it fit into the pre-determined schedule. We have enough of that in our lives as it is (can we all say Monday Morning Staff Meetings??). Of course, this blog is an experiment and I hope that as I learn more and more about what it is I want to write about, this will change and grow in ways that I can't foresee just at this moment.

In celebration of a new fresh start, I thought I'd do something kind of fun. I started doing this a few years ago and I love looking back over it every now and then to see how I've changed. I think we spend a lot of time thinking about the things in life that we wish we could alter or the things that we don't like and we neglect to focus on the stuff that we really love about life. Today I'm going to share with you a few things that I love. Some are profound, others are silly, and some are just plain bizarre but either way, they are the things that make me happy and give me a fresh start when I'm feeling boxed in.

  1. Jesus
  2. My Husband
  3. My Parents and Sister (even if she is my toughest critic ;-) )
  4. Basset Hounds
  5. Strawberry Ice Cream with real Strawberries
  6. Cowboy boots
  7. Alvin and The Chipmunks Great Adventure
  8. Miller Lite on the Beach
  9. Death at a Funeral (the original, British version…the other is just garbage…sorry Danny Glover)
  10. Pickled Okra
  11. Louis Armstrong
  12. Clean Sheets
  13. My wedding pictures
  14. A good solid cry
  15. Cheeseburger with Mustard, Ketchup, Pickles Only
  16. A short, cotton robe
  17. Korean Tacos
  18. A grande non-fat latte
  19. A book so good that you wish you could read it again for the first time because reading it for the second time will just never be as good
  20. A cool fall day
  21. Listening to my husband laugh
  22. Talking on the phone with my best friend about nothing and everything
  23. Chicago
  24. Charleston
  25. My garlic peeler ( I told you some things were weird)
  26. New calendars
  27. Rainy afternoons
  28. New haircuts
  29. Zedonks
  30. Sunday Night Dinners


     

    I'll keep adding to this list as I make a mental note of all of the things that I love in life and that make me, me. Hope you're as excited as I am about this new revelation!

Quotes

 

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