RyRySays

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2011-02-02T17:24:00.003-05:00

So, for various reasons which I've already explained to most of you in person, I've decided to move this blog for my trip to Korea. I might add a post to this blog here and there, but I doubt it.

You can follow the new blog at this link: http://ryryinkorea.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Christmas Bells

2011-01-12T16:13:00.003-05:00

My brother has a history of giving me random presents for Christmas. One year he gave me a cordless drill. One year I got an index card with what I would actually be getting later, but the store closed before he could get it. He says that he doesn't like to get people things they put on Christmas lists because that means they really want it, and thus will eventually get it for themselves, whereas he likes to get people things they don't think they want, but really do. For some reason, I am generally the one who gets the random present, although sometimes someone else gets that honor. This year, I got a package addressed to Bulldog and this was what was inside:

It is a bell. The top label reads "The Bell House of Korean" and the bottom label reads "The Divine Bell of King Songdok the Great". Apparently it is a big deal in Korea. When I opened it, we were skyping with him and he said it was a prosperity bell and he got it for me because I've had a lousy couple of years. So even though it's bizarre, it was sweet at the same time.

I also got a pillow wrapped in a black garbage bag with the label "this is the wrapping" on it, which is better than the year he picked up used wrapping paper from another present, ran out of the room and wrapped it around my present and came back in.

The first day that I rang the bell (when I opened it and annoyed my sister's neighbors), my aunt gave me a bonus Christmas check. So apparently it works. Also, you can't say you're going to ring the bell and then not do it. My brother emailed me and asked how the bell was working out. I told him I was about to ring it because I had a dentist appointment later that day. I forgot to ring it and ended up needing a crown (although that probably had more to do with my soft teeth and lack of flossing, but still). So here's what it sounds like - although you can't quite get how loud it actually is:

Just Dance

2011-01-11T16:05:00.002-05:00

You never realize how long your driveway is until you have to shovel it.

The other night I made my mom play Just Dance with me and she hit the dog in the head by accident. I felt bad for about a second but it's the dog's own fault for getting up in it. Her face was so funny though. She's over it now and still barks when someone dances.

I wonder if the mail will come today; the first discs of "The Pacific" are supposed to get here today and I need a new series.

RyRy's movie review

2011-01-06T13:18:00.002-05:00

Here are some of the movies that I've seen in the last month and what I thought about them. These are only movies that I saw in the theater, not Netflix.

The King's Speech - One of the best movies I have seen in awhile. I liked it because it was based on something real, which I enjoy, plus it had heart. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were awesome. If you're going to watch a movie, this should be it. Unless you want to watch stuff get blown up.

The Fighter - Another good one. Again based on something real, with heart. Netflix actually created a category like this for me - sports movies based on real life - or something like that. This is kind of the Rudy of boxing, with a bit of a darker edge. Also Marky Mark and Donnie are looking more and more alike as they age, especially in profile.

True Grit - Good, but not as good as I was expecting. Jeff Bridges' weird speech impediment or whatever got on my nerves after awhile. The girl was very good. I haven't seen the John Wayne version yet, but apparently this was not a remake, but a new screen play based more on the novel, which I've never read. You can wait for DVD.

Black Swan - Weird. It was nothing like I expected, which was part of the problem. My mom and I saw this together (which I only recommend if you are comfortable enough with your mom to watch masturbation scenes, which was a bit awkward) and at the end we were both like, huh.

I'm sure there have been more that I just can't think of right now. I've seen these 4 in the last 3 weeks, so that's why they are up there.

NYR

2011-01-04T12:12:00.002-05:00

So I have decided my New Year's Resolution is to take better care of my teeth: namely, to floss more.

I have a dentist appointment set up for this week and am on my way to restock my floss sticks. So far, 4 days into the year, I have met my resolution.

Last year, it was to send all my family b-day cards. I did up until 2 on Dec. 26th and 27th. I did send them cards; they were just belated. Plus I was with them in person, so I think it still counts.

Conversation with Mom

2011-01-04T12:11:00.002-05:00

Mom: My trainer said that Justin Beaver lives in Johns Creek
Me: I have to call Roll now.
Mom: What? Isn't it Justin? I know it's something Beaver.
Me: Can't breathe...laughing too hard.
Mom: Beiber, I mean Justin Beiber.

Project

2010-12-21T01:27:00.002-05:00

Yea Yea Yea, I haven't posted in forever, sorrycakes.

I've said it before, but it's not intentional that I forget to update this thing. Sometimes I honestly don't have anything to say. Sometimes I wish I just had a twitter account because all I've got is a sentence, but it's a really good sentence, but I am too lazy to go in here and type it.

Anywhozit, I am writing now basically because I am making copies of a family video I made using songs we like and lots of family pictures. I need 16 DVDs (then I get to make another set with even more pictures - but just the jpeg files, not a sweet video) and I started this afternoon. Well this computer is a pos, the other 2 working (sort of) laptops don't have burners and my desktop is currently in the garage because I think it needs a new fan and won't start.

So...at least I figured out the "fast" way to burn these things - it only took a million (or 7) tries to get to that part. Then I tried to be all earth-friendly and save a cd I thought wasn't used. FAIL. I had to reopen the program which takes about 15 minutes longer to burn the disc. Oh well.

Let's see, what else is new? Still no job, still living with mom, still have a dog. So nothing. Off to family stuff later this week, so doubtful there will be another post unless I get bored tomorrow going through these damn pictures.

LABEL - names and dates people on your pictures. It will save you (or your kids) in the future.

I didn't even use my AK

2010-11-25T01:31:00.002-05:00

I meant to write this post on Monday (which was a good day), but instead I am writing it now so I will include Tuesday and Wednesday.

Monday was good day. Great weather, had somewhat of a plan. Got up early (for me), went to get a haircut (needed my bangs cut because I didn't cut them prior to Halloween). I had the same guy who cut my hair last time, who I liked, and had a coupon so the cut (including tip) was less than $10.

Then I went to the mall to pick up something my mom had ordered. I decided to go to Helzburg diamonds with this coupons we had gotten in the mail to get free earrings. I doubted they had any left, but I figured I'd give it shot. Turns out, they did have the earrings and it wasn't just 1 pair, but 3 pairs. Then I returned a whole bunch of stuff for my mom (and 1 thing of mine) with no problems.

Then I went to see Harry Potter 7 part 1 in the afternoon to avoid annoying kids. The theater was mostly empty and overall I really enjoyed the movie (more on that in another post). Then I went home and cooked dinner with my mom and we watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars and I voted for Kyle.

Tuesday I woke up at 4 am, tried to go back to sleep and ended up getting up at 5:30. I got dressed etc. and rode MARTA to the airport. I was expecting heavy traffic there so I left much earlier than my 9:30 flight just in case. I barely had to wait at all in security - 5 people in front of me in my line. Landed in BWI on time with no problems. My grandma was dropped off right in front of the airport and there was nobody in the Delta line at all, so we went right up and got her a wheelchair. We zipped through security (her bag got searched because she had some face wipes in there and the scanner couldn't read them) and got on that plane on time too. We were about 10 minutes late landing that one. Then we got on MARTA and got home 5 minutes before my sister did.

Side note - my dog is part camel. I let her out at 6:15 am and when I got home at 6:20 pm, I was informed by my mother that she had not gone out at all that day. I asked why and my mom said she forgot the dog was there because she didn't make any noise and never came to get her.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am blessed to have both my sister and grandmother (and mom) all together for a few days. Even though they occasionally get on my nerves, these are probably my 3 favorite women in the world (cousins and a few friends are close to the top too) and I love them with all my heart.

Why I shouldn't blog at night

2010-11-13T21:47:00.003-05:00

I have weird thoughts at night. I don't know if it's because I'm tired or what. Usually I forget these things, almost like dreams, but the other day I jotted down a reminder because I wonder...

Do you think the reason gangsters used to wear their pants with one leg rolled up is because a leader used to wear those pants with the zip off leg at the knee and one day he lost one of the bottom parts at the gym or the laundromat or something, but really liked the pants so he just kept wearing them and dared one of his minions to say something?

Or do you think maybe it was a girl who started the trend because she was shaving her legs one day and ran out of shaving cream after finishing one leg, so she didn't do the other and then it was hot the next day but she didn't want to show her leg hair?**

**Second scenario semi-based on true life: the other day I shaved one leg and not the other. It was pretty bad. Squirrels and deer and other woodland creatures had to move to the non-shaved forest leg. But luckily that only lasted 2 days...it was nice enough today to wear shorts.

Fly Away Home

2010-11-13T21:36:00.002-05:00

I was reading Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner (hee hee, weiner) the other day and I came across a passage that really hit me because I feel it describes me.

"She could admit, if only to herself, that she was bright but not terribly ambitious; that she lacked a certain something, aggression or tenacity or even just desire, that magical quality that would have lifted her from good to great."

I know I'm not stupid. I know I have some creativity. I know I am not diseased or broken. I am thankful for all of that. But at the same time, I've never been really good at anything. I'm good at lots of stuff (especially drinking diet coke and playing stupid board games). And I think it's more than I never really had a passion for something, rather than the not being great at something, that's always bothered me. I wish I knew what I wanted to be, who I want to be. I think that lack of passion is a big factor in why I am still looking for a job; I have no direction.

I feel like I'm at a crossroads, with tons of different paths to chose from and no desire to move at all. So I'm turning in a circle in the middle and getting glimpses of what could be, but never really making a move.

Eyes Wide Shut

2010-11-12T19:01:00.001-05:00

I don't think I wrote about this, but maybe I have and have just lost my mind. Oh well.

My mom called me a few months ago and asked if I sleep with my eyes opens. Apparently she had visited her eye doctor and he said that based on discolorations or something, he could tell that she didn't shut her eyes all the way when she slept. So now she has this gel stuff she puts under her eyes so they won't get dried out.

My brother is a known eye open sleeper. It's actually quite creepy. His can be almost halfway open at times. My dog's do that too sometimes but hers also wiggle around if she's dreaming which is double creepy.

I've never been told that I do that, but in the past few weeks, I've been noticing that my eyes aren't totally closed as I'm falling asleep. It's because if I squeeze them, or shut them more, it will get darker. So now I am paranoid that I am a creepy eye sleeper. Or am I just delusional before I go to bed and just think my eyes are open? Or are they open because I am thinking they are, but really they would be shut?

Conclusion: I need a sleeping mask.

Halloween

2010-11-03T14:24:00.009-04:00

Kind of complicated story, but I will shorten it. You all know I moved from NC to GA at the beginning of October. You know my brother is stationed in Korea, that a portion of my family lives in Raleigh and that others live in DE.

So. My cousin loves Halloween and wanted to host a big party at her some-what new (they've lived there a year now) house. She had invitations made and sent them to lots of people. Based on my living situation and lack of money situation, I had decided not to go. Same with my other cousin who lives in Memphis. Well...my Memphis cousin sort of got roped into going as a surprise for my DE cousin.

(Cupcakes made by Meghan)

Then, my brother and his boss scheduled a trip to DC for a conference the week before Halloween and he was able to take leave after the conference. So my mom and I decided to go to Raleigh and hang out with him since we have limited time to see him. My sister, meanwhile, would only be in Raleigh for a few days because she was leaving to go to a meeting in Berlin for 5 days - bitch.

So then, my DE cousin's parents decided to come down and see my brother/go to a football game and asked if I would ride back to DE with them to also surprise my cousin. That way I would only need a 1 way ticket back to GA.

I will tell you about the visit with my brother in another post - mainly b/c I need the pictures from my mother's camera, but I wanted to give you the background on why I was in DE for Halloween.

So my cousin, her husband and their friends decided to go as Wilma and Fred Flintstone and the Rubbles. We thought about going as Pebbles and Bam Bam until we looked at Bam Bam's outfit and decided against it. So then we got together with DE cousin's family and decided to be the Jetsons. My aunt was Rosie the maid. Her head is a carboard box covered in tin foil with pipe cleaners and pompoms. We made her neckpiece, hat and apron from left over felt. My uncle was Elroy and his son was George. My Memphis cousin was Judy and cut up an old bridesmaid dress. I was Jane and my top skirt was a quilting hoop and Christmas wreath covered in fabric with elastic suspenders.

We made an entrance to the Jetson's theme song and came in in order and surprised DE cousin. It was fun. Then we proceeded to have some drinks, play water pong and my new favorite Wii game - Just Dance.

(My cousin as Cindy Lou Hoo from The Grinch, me, DE cousin as Wilma, Memphis cousin, another cousin as a pirate. We are missing 3 girls - my sister who was in Berlin, one who didn't come, and one who was late but was dressed as a cupcake)

A bunch of my family was able to come and I think we all had a good time - I know I did.

(2 boyfriends as Gingy from Shrek and a hand-made pinata)

I was able to stay for the next couple of days and we played lots of Buzz mega quiz and Just Dance. I also scanned a few more pictures that we found at my grandfather's house and we shredded/burned 50 years of his old taxes and crap.

Sometimes I wish I was closer to my family (distance wise), and then I wonder if it's better that I only get to see them a few times a year because it makes it more special. Either way - great people!

Second conversation with Mom

2010-10-19T01:19:00.002-04:00

This one happened while we were watching Dancing with the Stars, when they showed the contestant profile on Rick Fox and he and Cheryl were standing in the Lakers practice gym.

Mom: Is that Jerry Rice?
Me: No, that is Kobe Bryant.
Mom: Oh.
Me: I am posting this on Facebook.

10 seconds with Mom

2010-10-18T15:56:00.003-04:00

Mom (on the way upstairs to take a power nap): The Fresca spilled in your truck.
Me: How?
Mom: I spilled it.

Book Ends

2010-10-08T11:46:00.002-04:00

I would say I'm sorry about the time in between posts, but I've said it so much lately that it would just seem fake.

So yea. I moved back home to Georgia and moved in with my mom. Because that's every 30 year old's dream. I'm not sure if I am really ready to talk about my life in the last few months, or what my plans are, because I'm not really ready to think about them. I'm taking an ostrich approach right now, which I know isn't the best thing to do, but shove it, give me some time and I'll get back.

What I wanted to talk about was Sugarland. When I left Georgia in 2002, a bright college grad, and moved to D.C. Sugarland had just come out with their first CD - the non-signed version at that. "The Ride" was my song right at that moment - other than the guitar, this was me. It was scary and exciting and I was looking forward to being a grown-up and starting my life.

I said good-bye to Southern Pines and my apartment the last week in September. I went to Raleigh and stayed with my sister through the weekend, in part because I didn't want to leave, in part because we had concert tickets on Saturday - for Sugarland.

I don't remember every song they played. They didn't play "The Ride". There were a fair amount of songs from their new album which releases in 2 weeks. But I felt the same feelings I did 8 years ago. I stood in the crowd, my sister and her friends dancing around me, tears streaming down my cheeks when "Something More" and "Settlin'" were played. It felt a bit like closure, a bit like failure and a bit like hope.

I wish I'd had the new album to be my passenger on the way home, but instead I relied on random songs from the radio. The only time I teared up on the trip was when my regular radio station no longer came in - that's when I knew I was gone. It feels strange to be back home. But I needed a change and was forced to make a decision. I hope it was the right one. I guess only time will tell.

Devil Birds

2010-09-23T21:26:00.002-04:00

As usual sorry about the time in between posts, but I'm freaking busy over here. Not really, but it makes me look less like a lazy bum.

My dog makes this very annoying whining noise when people are outside or something moves or she wants a treat or she wants to bug me. It's very high pitched and makes me want to scream. Well the past few mornings I have heard the whining. I thought maybe she had to pee and went downstairs. She was fast asleep every time, or at best, waking up from hearing me walking down the steps.

Finally, around 4 in the morning the other day I heard it again, from outside. There are some birds living in a tree near my bedroom window which is right above my bed. They must be mocking birds or whining dogs birds because the noise is exactly the same. Makes me wish I was a hunter and that whining dog bird season was open. Stupid birds.

Another weird dream

2010-08-28T11:05:00.002-04:00

So I'm not going to make this a dream diary or anything, but I had another odd dream last night that I thought I would share.

So I was at a play and for some reason was sitting next to this group of girls who had just graduated from high school. When the play was done, we were all walking back to our cars when they asked if I wanted to go to a bookstore with them, and I did. Then, we were we again walking to cars, they asked if I wanted to go to this one girl's 21st b-day party (she was one of the group of girls who had apparently just graduated, yet she was turning 21 - I don't know). I was like, are you sure? She was like oh yea, we're having a small dinner with this group of girls and my dad, plus he has a special surprise for me, then we're going to a club. So I was like ok. Then, they got in their cars and drove away and for some reason I walked home (oh yea, it was daylight - why we were at a play in the middle of the day, again I don't know). So I walked home (and it was a specific road that I live near now, so I knew where I was and there is nowhere you could go see a play near there).

So then, instead of walking home, I just walked to the place where they were having dinner (and it's now night time). I must have gone home at some point though, because I had a present for this girl (which was a re-gifted stationary set). Then I got to the table and the girls were all excited that I was there. Then, the surprise from the girl's father was that Justin Bieber was going to have dinner with us. So he got there and everyone was like, cool. Then somehow, JB turned into the twins from Zach and Cody, but I thought they were both still Justin.

That's when I started rationalizing to myself in a semi-dream, semi-awake state. There is only 1 Justin, how can he be the Zach and Cody twins? This doesn't make sense. Then they sang a duet of Baby Baby Baby Oh at the table. That's when I woke up, so I guess we never made it to the club.

Please explain, thank you.

Itchy

2010-08-27T21:49:00.001-04:00

I had a dream last night where I was the guy in Ocean's 13 who rates the room and gets bitten by bedbugs. It was quite disturbing. I think it probably happened because my legs are covered in mosquito bites. Stupid, worthless bug.

Uncomfortable

2010-08-26T09:50:00.002-04:00

I know most people become uncomfortable when thinking about their parents and sex, me probably more so than others. It creeps me out. The reason I bring this up is because I am currently using my mother's computer and every time I look for a website under the favorites list, this product is at the top: The Stickmassage.

Tell me you didn't think it was something dirty. It turns out that the Stickmassage is actually a muscle recovery tool. Still, every time I see it, I cringe a teensy bit.

My trip to Raleigh

2010-08-20T17:36:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went to Raleigh to visit a friend. She needed some girl talk time and took a day off of work to de-stress. We chatted for a long time and decided to go to lunch. She bought a coupon book a few months ago that has coupons for local restaurants, coffee shops, etc. So we decided to try somewhere new. We went to Tossed. It was a bit over whelming when we walked in the door and the menu board took up a whole wall. I had the south western chicken pita with a side of hummus. It was very spicy and good.

After that we went shopping for a lamp at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I tried to return my ring to Kohl's, and we looked for furniture for her house. Then we decided to go for an afternoon snack. I narrowed it down to coffee or frozen yogurt and let her pick. So we went to Skinny Dip - another new place for both of us. It's a yogurt place that's a pay by the ounce bar. You put your own yogurt in a cup and they have a toppings bar, multiple sauces, and a wall bar of cereals and nuts etc. I got a small chocolate and peanut butter swirl with peanut butter sauce and peanut butter cup chunks. I like peanut butter.

By that time her husband got home and I was supposed to meet Roll for dinner. I got to her house and got the key from under her mat but she got stuck at work for her fantasy football draft longer than she thought she would, so I did a crossword and the Play 4 on Washington post's website. My friend gave me some other coupons for downtown restaurants and we decided to go to NoFo. The store was closed when we got there, but we had a very nice dinner. We split pork tenderloin and the duck pasta (which would have been better with chicken because I like it more, but was still good). Then we decided to go for dessert. Again I left the choice of coffee or fro-yo up to my dining partner. Again, she chose yogurt. This time we went to Local Yogurt. It was good as well, but much more hippie in the idea of the store. They only have 4 flavors and one is plain yogurt. They use cardboard cups and other stuff like that. This time I had chocolate with Reese's pieces. The chocolate was like cocoa chocolate (see aforementioned hippie reference). It was still good, but I prefer less cocoa.

After we got back to Roll's it was time for me to go home and let my dog pee etc. It started raining which is no fun. When I was about halfway home (just past Sanford and about 20 minutes from home) it down poured like I've never seen. At that point I thought to myself, "it would suck to hydroplane in this." For future reference, don't think things like that. Because no less than 5 minutes later, I did. My back tires slipped and I followed what you're supposed to do and took my foot off the gas, didn't slam on brakes and tried to just go with it. I spun in 2 complete circles on the 2 lane highway and went down into the center grass median. I was lucky as all get out - no other cars were around me when I spun, I didn't hit any trees, and the ditch wasn't cement or very deep. I went into a bit a shock at that point, but didn't cry or anything. I wasn't hurt and the truck seemed fine. I called AAA, went through an ordeal with them because they said I was a boy and tried to give me attitude while I was in a damn ditch, and was told it would be probably 55 minutes before a truck got there to pull me out. I tried to get the truck out myself and put it in 4 wheel drive, but I was a bit shaken up and apparently tried to go up the wrong side (i.e. the steeper side). At that point some pick ups arrived around me and 2 guys came down the ditch.

It was volunteer firefighters. Drivers who passed by must have called it in. They asked if I was ok, I said I was and they called off the ambulance and emergency workers. That was when I started to get embarrassed. They looked at the car and asked if I tried to get it out. I said I had, but that it felt stuck to me, but if they wanted to try, they were more than welcome. The 2 guys told me they weren't allowed to do that and that a truck would be there to winch me out. Then the big truck and some police cars with lights got there, which is when I got more embarrassed. Then one of the guys driving the big truck came down to look at mine and asked if I tried to get it out. I said yes again and gave him the offer to try. He took me up on it, backed up and went up the other side of the ditch. Which is when I got really embarrassed because I was surrounded by dudes and felt like a little girl who couldn't drive and that I was enforcing stereotypes. At least I wasn't crying. My truck was fine, they didn't write me any tickets or take my name of anything. I thanked everyone, told them I was sorry they had to come out and left.

I drove the rest of the way home under the speed limit and at around 40mph anytime it rained. But I made it without any other incidents. It was once of the scariest nights of my life. I know I'm not super into church or anything, but I do believe in a higher power and last night he was definitely watching over me.

Forgetful me

2010-08-10T09:58:00.003-04:00

Sorry as usual for not posting regularly. 2 weeks ago was our annual vacation to the Outer Banks. Then last week, my mom stayed at my house or we stayed at my sister's, and I babysat my cousins as a favor because their nanny was on vacation. This year we celebrated (sort of) my cousin Stacey's college graduation by having an 80s party. We had the 5th annual bocce tournament and I believe the 3rd annual baggo tournament. We also did the 2nd annual Family Feud. It was fun as always but the jellyfish sucked this year which was really the only downside. Here are some pics:

Top Shelf Cousins

Lil' brother at the bar. This was semi-new this year; we did a big switch from beer to liquor. Don't get me wrong, plenty of cases of Coors light were consumed, but liquor was a go-to for many.

Last day on the beach.

My family.

My family on 80s night. Mom and Roll were work out people. Lil' brother was George Michael and I was Punky Brewster.

New future husband

2010-07-16T13:03:00.002-04:00

Since Channing is married and Orlando is engaged, I've decided my new future husband is Sean Faris. I've seen 2 movies with him lately, both in one of my favorite genres: inspirational sports movies. He's like a young Tom Cruise with a better body, nicer teeth and less crazy. My questions is why have I not seen him before? I guess this means I have to start watching Vampire Diaries and I'm not excited about that.

Turkey leg

2010-07-01T17:51:00.002-04:00

As I'm still unemployed, I figured now would be a good time to drop about $1500 on my dog. She started limping about a month ago and I figured it had something to do with her foot because she'd done this before and it was because in between her toes was infected.

Unfortunately for both of us, she had torn her CCL (basically the dog version of an ACL). When I found out, I googled dog knees and read up on the different treatments. I didn't bother going for conservative management because I think she had already passed that point with her limping and I wasn't going to take her to a whirlpool everyday or anything.

I felt like a bad person when I asked my vet how much I could expect to spend, but I had to. They actually low-balled me by about $300 (or more because I still have to go back at least 1 if not 3 more times in the next 2 months). So Layla had traditional surgery where they put an implant in her knee to stabilize the joint. Apparently the rest of her knee looked pretty good and there weren't many sign of arthritis so that's something.

When I picked her up yesterday she looked pathetic. Her left leg is totally shaved with a big scar and stitches around the curvy part in front of her thigh. It looks like raw chicken with a slice in it. She looks weird too because there are bruises from the surgery but also her skin is slightly patchy so it looks even worse. There is also a small shaved part on her front leg where they put the morphine drip in. She's walking around pretty well though and seems to be feeling ok too.

The other thing that sucks is that she has to take an antibiotic that's huge and I can't hide it in cheese or anything because of its size, so instead I have to shove it in her mouth and get that sticky gross dog saliva all over my hand. The other pills are easier to hide in stuff so those aren't bad. Hopefully her recovery goes well. It should be interesting to say the least. I'll post a picture soon if I can find my camera.

Sort of bucket list

2010-06-28T18:52:00.003-04:00

I read a post called 56 things to do before I'm 25 and stole some of the ideas. While I am well past (does 5 years count as well past?) 25, there are still things I want to do that I think are important. Some of the things on Cassie's list I've already done, so I didn't include them; others are things I don't really want to do, or don't think really belong on my list, so I didn't include those either.

Ride in a hot air balloon
Buy a house
Take a new dance class
Go camping in a state on the west coast
Write a book…or maybe a nice article
Build something
Plant something
Take a road trip with friends (I have taken trips with friends, but not the kind I'm thinking of: a cross-country, stop at random stuff type trip)
Keep a journal for more than a month
Take a risk
Visit 10 landmarks across the US
Make a large purchase without panicking
Be fearless
Learn 10 new religions (or learn more about religion in general)
Fall in love
Change a tire alone instead of just helping
Ride in a horse drawn carriage in a romantic way
Invest in something
Make a decision without questioning myself
Be content
Take a graphic design course
Make a piece of jewelry
Milk a cow
Ride an elephant

I've adjusted some of the list to suit me better, but the only thing I'll add at this point in time is to have a kid, because while I love her lots, Layla is not a baby and I feel like a need a kid or 2 in my life.

Coversation with my brother

2010-06-17T14:06:00.003-04:00

Note - it is almost 3 am where he is.

On yahoo chat:
J: hey, i'm going to call you because I have some news to tell you
Me: ok
J: 2 min
Me: ok

Bring Bring.

Me: Hello.
J: May I please speak with Ry
Me: Speaking. Why may I ask is calling.
J: Shut up.
Me: So what's your news?
J: I'll call you tomorrow.
Me: So your news is that you'll call me tomorrow?
J: Yes.
Me: You're not in trouble or anything are you?
J: No
Me: Didn't get in a fight?
J: No
Me: So really your news was that you'll call me tomorrow?
J: Yes. Goodnight.

Thoughts

2010-06-03T23:27:00.002-04:00

Sorry I've been away for so long. I went home, then to MD, then back to NC and now on to VA and DE. It's crazy I tell you. But also, it's been hot and humid and my computer has been randomly turning itself off (I think it's overheating and I need to get one of those cooling pad things), so that equals lack of posts. I do promise to try better. I think of things to say when I am away from the computer, then as soon as I sit in front of it, my mind goes blank.

I've been reading Kristen Hannah lately. I think I mentioned "True Colors" in an earlier post, and I've read 3 others since and have enjoyed them all. The latest one was called "Distant Shores" and while I didn't like it as much as some of the others, there was a quote that really spoke to me:

"Maybe it was a weakness in her, a fear of failure that made safety seem more important than fulfillment."

I think that's me. I am afraid to do some things because of a lack of security. I'm talking about big stuff - like moving without having a job because I already have an apartment here and what happens if I move and then get a job somewhere else; or putting myself out there on e-harmony because what if I find someone and they break my heart; or dropping everything and backpacking across Europe with the remaining $1k that I have instead of trying to be responsible. Things like that.

I've always held back from taking a really big leap-frog jump. Not so much because I'm scared of the jump itself, but more so the landing and what comes after. I've always been a planner, the person with the mom-van who has wet-naps and coozies and chapstick and an emergency $1, the one who reminds people of stuff they should know already. I don't regret being that person, and I'm comfortable with it, but I think I might have missed out on something that might have changed my life because of it.

Vanilla cake with Chocolate Frosting

2010-05-11T00:48:00.002-04:00

I got a chain email the other day from some family members. The email said to pick one of 8 desserts and scroll down to see what your personality is. This is what mine said:

Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

At first I thought it was way off. Then I read it again. Let's do a sentence by sentence analysis.

I would say I'm fun-loving and humorous. I would never describe myself as sassy. I think I am grounded in life though and very realistic - maybe to a fault. I agree that I'm indecisive - anyone who has ever tried to make me decide on a restaurant can attest to that. The lacking motivation is a tough one. There are times when I am totally focused on a project and give it my absolute all. There are other times when I'm like "f it". So I'll give that a 50%.

I hope people enjoy being around me, and while I am sarcastic, I wouldn't classify myself as a practical joker.

True. It doesn't happen often, but I can bring out the big guns when I get really mad.

I hope that's true. There are a few people who I consider my friends. I've had most of them for close to 10 years or more. I hope to keep them around for at least a little while longer :-)

So, while the first reading made me think the email was crap, upon further analysis, we come to find that I am vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. I can live with that.

CopyCat

2010-05-04T23:59:00.002-04:00

I got this idea from a friend's blog who got it from another blog and really, it's because I felt I should post something but didn't really want to think.

A. AREA CODE: 404, but I live in NC

B. BED SIZE: Queen but I would love a King (copycat again)

C. CHORE YOU HATE: all, but really dishes and vacuuming

D. DOG’S NAME: Layla

E. ESSENTIAL “START THE DAY” ITEM: Does peeing count? If not, then diet coke.

F. FAVORITE COLOR: Red, what can I saw, I look good in red.

G. GOLD OR SILVER: Silver (or white gold or platinum)

H. HEIGHT: 5’4″

I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: I took piano lessons as a kid and can play basic stuff

J. JOB: in transition

K. KIDS: None yet, but I want some

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: 3 bedroom townhouse where you can hear the neighbors (both next door and upstairs) which sometimes scares me, but in general is nice.

M. MOM’S NAME: Barb

N. NICKNAME: Ryry, Rain, BD

O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: None

P. PET PEEVE: Lots, but really when people (ahem mom) leave cabinet doors open

Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: "If you're rich, you don't have to be smart; that's the beauty of this country." Little Big League

R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty

S. SIBLINGS: Yes. 1 brother, 1 sister. Both younger.

T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: When I wake up...usually around 9:30-10

U. UNDERWEAR: Yes, I wear them.

V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: raw mushrooms

W. WAYS/REASONS WHY YOU ARE LATE: Snooze button

X. X-RAYS YOU HAVE HAD: Neck, face

Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Lasagna, peanut butter pie, cookies

Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: monkeys, otters, polar bears, penguins

Word Verification

2010-04-30T01:03:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure that the blogger people have dirty minds...or I do...or we both do. I'm commented on a few posts recently (and come to think about it, not on were on blogger run sites, so there goes that) and the word verifications always seem slightly inappropriate. There is nothing vulgar or an outright dirty word, but there is something that makes me go hmmm. For example, the one I just got said, "uperear". Now you tell me that's not dirty.

Competition

2010-04-26T10:34:00.002-04:00

I am not a huge fan of the NBA or the NHL, but during playoff season I like to watch some of the games and keep updated with what's happening. However, I'm still not a big enough fan to look up scores etc. For that reason, I wish that TV networks would show the series results along with the score board (e.g. Team 1 up 3 games to 2), or announce that stat more often, or show it as a bumper. Versus made me happy last night when not only did they announce the series results more than once, but also showed a graphic of all the series in the entire NHL playoffs.

Biggest Loser

2010-04-25T18:18:00.002-04:00

This year at Christmas my extended family decided to try an motivate each other to lose weight/get healthier. Being our family this naturally turned into a competition. We paired up into teams (I think at last count it was 8 teams, but I am not sure) for those who wanted to play or got guilted into it (ahem, me). We weighed in on New Year's (only your team mate had to know what you weighed) and we're going until the family beach trip in August. Some teams have bigger advantages than others, but the main purpose was to motivate each other. I have been slacking big time and I feel somewhat bad about it, but not that bad. One of my uncles, who didn't really need to lose any weight, has lost 25lbs! Bastard.

In the past week or so, I've been trying to at least do something. My sister gave me a Wii fit for Christmas and I've been pretty good about keep up with it. It sort of follows the same principles as Weight Watchers does - it gives you stamps for weighing in everyday and upgrades you after a certain number of tries. The "trainers" try to keep you motivated etc. I'm actually enjoying it so far and hope to keep it up. BTW, I am a hula hoop champion.

Got a little Cap'n in me

2010-04-21T13:05:00.002-04:00

I am a sleep shifter. I roll, I twist, I readjust pillows etc. I have been since I was little. But the other night I had an epiphany: the position that's the most comfortable for me to actually try to fall asleep in is the Captain Morgan pose. Just take this and push him on his face and that's how I sleep - except the hand on the thigh is more on my hip and the one with the sword is by my face...and without the sword.

Updated

2010-04-20T20:09:00.002-04:00

Today I finally joined the 21st century; I bought and installed a wireless router. "What," you may say, "you've never had a wireless router in your house before? Don't you know this is 2010?" Yes, I do. I just never really wanted one because I enjoyed having my computer be in my office. It forced me to do other stuff - like watch TV - without having internet distractions. I think I will probably leave my computer in my office (which is upstairs) even with the wireless. "Well then why did you get wireless?" you might ask. Because my sister got me a Wii for Christmas and I am finally connecting it to the network so that I can watch Netflix on my TV. So there you go.

Questions No One Asked

2010-04-20T00:36:00.002-04:00

So, I found this entry on a blog in an extremely roundabout way that I'm not going to post. Instead of making up my own questions, I'm stealing that Ryan's questions, which still fits the bill as no one has asked them of me.

What is the best movie you've seen lately?

American History X. I know, it's an older movie and it's kind of creepy. But it was very powerful. My Netflix list tends to be in groups. For example, I'm currently on my gangster type films. This happens because when I type in something I want to see and that "similar movies" list pops up, I click on stuff. That's how American History X came to be on my list. It came after Green Street Hooligans (which I've mentioned previously due to my new found love of this guy) and Scarface, which I actually found somewhat boring.

So what movies are on your all time favorites list?

Sandlot, Little Big League, Dodgeball, Elf, The Princess Bride, Harry Potter 1, The Godfather, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars (episodes 4-6), She's the Man, A Christmas Story

And many, many more.

What was the last book that you couldn't put down?

"True Colors" by Kristin Hannah. It's about 3 sisters and how they fight and are jealous of each other and how they deal with things in different ways, but under all that they're sisters first. It was pretty good. I also just finished "Wench" by Dolen Perkins- Valdez. It tells the story of a slave in the 1850s and was a different perspective than some other books similar in nature. The best part of that was googling 'wench' and seeing what popped up.

Before that I read the classics "Little Women", "Little Men", and "Jo's Boys" by Louisa May Alcott. It's a resolution of mine to try and read some classic novels I've never read before. I almost wrote a post about these books because LMA uses the word 'lover' a billion times and it makes me laugh because her context and mine are so totally different. Dating etc. was so chaste in that time period and 'lover' meant someone who you would potentially marry, not someone you were doinking. Plus, they barely even held hands - that wouldn't have been proper. There were some other quotes in there I wanted to post, but I had to return the book to the library and didn't have time to write them down.

My next classic is "Gone with the Wind" and good lordy that's a long-ass book. I've got 2 others to read (technically 3 because I have to finish the one I'm reading now) before I get to it. I'm guessing a renewal will be in order.

What is your favorite thing to do with friends or family?

Play games, especially board games. There is no comparison - I've been places with both, done cool stuff, done stupid stuff, but when it comes down to it, my absolute favorite thing is to be with friends or family (or both) with a couple of drinks and a stack of games, a deck of cards and some music. You learn more about people over a game of spades than you do at a concert. You laugh more over a Bud Light and a round of Taboo than you do at a movie. I haven't found anything that replaces games and I'm not sure I want to.

Did you get a new camera?

For Christmas 2 years ago. I don't know what kind it is and I don't use it nearly as much as I should.

Don't you just love wintertime?

Trick question. I love Christmas and my birthday is in January so I enjoy that part of winter. Snow is beautiful and I don't like 90+ degree weather. But there is a feeling of gloom during the winter - it's freaking cold, it gets dark early, everything outside is dead. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it comes around, but I'm kind of glad to see it go too.

Are you a Mac or PC?

PC. Our first computer in 1985 was an Apple 2E and I've never had an Apple since. Mac is not as user friendly as everyone says - stuff isn't where it should be. I will admit that they are pretty to look at and apparently don't break down as often, but they are too dang expensive for me.

Do you plan to get any more tattoos?

Yes. I planned on getting one for my 30th birthday but as I still didn't have a job, I couldn't really justify the expense. I still want to get that one (although my mom and my sister yelled at me about it), plus I figure I will get something when my future children are born. We'll see I guess.

What are you going to cook for the Pioneer Woman's website next?

Nothing. I don't even know what that is and I'm not sure if I want to. I am, however, making a pasta dish I saw on Rachel Ray last week. This brings up the point that I've been to 3 different grocery stores and none have fusili. I didn't think it was that uncommon of a pasta type. Strawberries were on sale for $1 though, so that made up for the lack of pasta choices.

Friends

2010-04-17T23:31:00.003-04:00

Last night I got some interesting texts from some of my favorite people which made me extremely happy and melancholy at the same time. I was planning on writing this post anyway, but the texts jump started it.

The other day I watched "Sex and the City: the Movie" for the first time. I figured I should watch it before the 2nd one comes out. I enjoyed the movie and cried at the end because I was jealous - of the fake people. This happens sometimes when I watch "Friends" episodes too. I so wish I had a group of people like that - those people that know all their is to know about each other and are there for everything. A tight knit unit.

Not that I don't have friends - I do. I have some of the best friends a person could ask for (you know who you are) not to mention family. But we're far apart from each other for one, and with the exception of a small group, we're not all friends with each other. I've got a person here, a person there and while they know about each other and may have met at one time, we're not a cohesive unit and that's what I feel like I'm missing.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my friends for anything, and I'm happy. I just always pictured myself in a group of close people, with game nights, who are all up in each other's business, etc. Who knows, maybe it will happen at some point, but I don't really keep up with anyone before college except through face book, so I'll never have that lifelong friendship. I suppose I could just work on getting all my friends to move here and meet each other. Although they are so different, which is one of the reasons why they are so great, that I don't know if I'd even really want that.

So I guess I'll put my "Friends" fantasy on hold and see how it all plays out. For now I'll just tell my peeps I love them and I'm glad they're my friends.

Subway

2010-04-15T16:09:00.002-04:00

Today Subway (at least in NC) is having customer appreciation day, meaning it's buy one foot long, get one free. I figured that, as someone on a budget, this would be a good idea: lunch and dinner for the price of 1. So I went to my nearest Subway all excited until I walked in the door (at 1:15 so as to avoid the lunch rush) and heard, "We're out of bread, all we have is salad." Huh, wha? How are you OUT OF BREAD? I understand that you probably used more than usual, but really? You either have bread in the back and are too lazy/dumb to make it or you're just dumb. How are you not prepared to have extra bread on a BOGO day? I mean it's refrigerated bread and you heat it up, so if you have some extra, no big deal, save it until tomorrow.

So, now I am annoyed and really want my subs, so I plug in my Garmin and get the phone number to the next Subway to make sure they have bread when I arrive. I get there, the line is longer than the one before, but guess what? They have bread! And kept making it while I was there, meaning my above analysis of the first Subway having stupid employees/managers was probably correct. So, I got my subs, and a coupon to use later, I just had to drive an extra 20 minutes. Oh well.

Devil Bird

2010-04-12T10:37:00.002-04:00

Don't birds know that they are supposed to sleep at night? While I sometimes get annoyed at chirping birds at 7am, I understand that it's light out and they are awake etc. But 3 am? No. It is dark; it is the middle of the night. You should be asleep bird.

Also, this bird made a variety of noises. It was the car alarm of birds. First tweet, tweet; then chirp, chirp; then TWEET chirp; then baby screaming, repeat for half an hour.

I'm not a hunter and don't really like guns, but I wanted to shoot that thing. Shoot it dead.

Shave and a haircut

2010-04-09T23:49:00.002-04:00

I'm sure I've said this before, but I like dudes. And I'm somewhat picky. I can like the looks of a guy one day and think he's butt ugly the next. Two people come to mind quickly when I say this: Brad Pitt and Ashton Kutcher. Depending on their haircut and facial hair status they are either beautiful creatures or hideous beasts.

Today I have found a third man to join their ranks. His name is Charlie Hunnam. I watched a movie called Green Street Hooligans and was introduced to my new current pretty boy. I imdb'd him and found out he is in the series Sons of Anarchy. He looks like 2 different people. Here is pretty Charlie. Here is hairy Charlie. Guess which version I prefer.

Good fences

2010-04-09T23:32:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago my landlord hired someone to cut down some old trees and brush near my mailbox and around the driveway. In some ways I was glad because branches kept falling every time there was a storm and I was just lucky none ever did damage to my car. There was a LOT of brush. It was piled in big bunches near the street and luckily was picked up within a few days. There are also random piles of firewood around my yard.

Well today they came back and removed more brush. This is annoying for 2 reasons. The first being that the trimmer hitting rocks is a god awful noise and ruined a perfectly good nap. The second, and longer lasting, is that this time, the brush removal left my neighbor's house in full view. We have a chicken wire fence separating us and the brush covered the fence and went up quite a long ways - 10 feet or so I'd say. They cut it all down except for a few trees, which they trimmed. Now I can see perfectly into my neighbor's backyard and vice versa. The reason this is a problem is because I often let the dog out in the morning sans pants. Now that someone can clearly see me, and more importantly that I can see them seeing me, I will have to put on pants. This angers me. I mean really, I've lived here for 3 years and this is the first time anyone's done this. I feel like they are trying to sell the house or something because it's added a ton of acreage to the yard. I just hope they put up a fence. A really tall fence.

New game

2010-04-02T10:18:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was in the car for 6 hours with my sister. She was on calls for a lot of that time because she was working. I decided to play a game. The game consisted of me listening to my Ipod and whenever a song came on that had a section with no words but voice sounds (e.g. "ahhh" or "oohh" or "nanana") I would sing just that section and she was supposed to guess what song it was. She did not care for this game.

Also, strawberry smoothies are awesome.

Sports Nation

2010-03-31T14:39:00.002-04:00

One thing I didn't add to my giant post last night is my new love for Sports Nation. I've never been a huge fan of sports TV. True, I "watch" a lot of sporting events (read: I fall asleep on the couch with them as background noise. Great napping!). I actually do really watch college football. I sometimes watch SportsCenter and I love ESPN commercials. But over Christmas, my cousin B. Martin was watching this show and I really liked it. So now I DVR it.

Oh yea, another big update. I got DVR. Because someone who is not making any money should be paying $10 more a month on cable. Whatev.

Back to sports. So every day I watch Colin and Michelle talk about sports, play games, and watch weird videos. It makes me want to learn how to do trick basketball shots.

Sorry

2010-03-30T23:17:00.007-04:00

So I haven't updated in, let's just say, awhile. Things have been going on that I wasn't prepared to deal with so the blog has suffered. Oh well. Here's what's happened since September...in brief:

I got fired...wait, asked to resign. For being nice. Seriously. The day before I left for my cousin's wedding.

My cousin Karen got married in Bermuda - yay Karen & Carter. Beautiful people + beautiful setting = beautiful wedding. The guys wore khakis and blue blazers with pink ties and the girls wore navy dresses. The pictures look like a J. Crew ad. I would add the link to see them all, but I am lazy and don't want to search through emails to find it. So you get these:

The first is Roll on this really cool beach with all these rocks. It was so nice. The cab driver said it was their bad season b/c of all the seaweed. I think there was 4 pieces.

The second picture is of my grandma, me & the Roll at the wedding.

My brother finished Airborne school and came home for 2 weeks. We played lots of Guitar Hero and Catan. Then went to Delaware for my cousin Ann's wedding. Congrats Ann & Joe! The cousins got together for the rehearsal dinner to do a remake of The Sound of Music's "So Long, Farewell" with wedding related & people specific words. It was a surprise to Ann (and everyone else) and was awesome. The wedding was lovely. My uncle Joe cried like a baby. My cousin Libby danced with me the entire reception and my arms hurt the next day from holding her (she's 3). Again, I am lazy and don't feel like looking for the link to all the pics, so here you go.

Here is the wedding party. 7 bridesmaids, a junior bridesmaid, 2 flower girls, 2 ushers + 7 groomsmen. Big wedding.
My family. I was a bridesmaid, my brother was a groomsman and my sister did a reading. I had to get my dress altered, and when I went for the final fitting, the seamstress said, "Well, you're going to be a bit busty, but there's nothing I can do about that". I called it boob-tastic. More than half of the wedding video involves my hiking up the dress while dancing. Trust me, at this wedding I did NOT "Jump Around".

They had a photo booth at the wedding for favors & fun. It printed out 4 pictures with the date etc. on it and you could take them home. It also accounted for stuff like this:

The day after the wedding, my brother left for Korea. I drove home by myself and cried every 15 minutes.

Went home for Thanksgiving. My cousin and her boyfriend (who are living in TN right now) came to our house because it's closer than PA. My brother was able to video chat with us for a large part of the weekend, including when we had Thanksgiving dinner. We sat the computer on the end of the table. That was when we were introduced to online Catan.

Went to MD, DE and back to MD for Christmas. Spent some quality time with my grandma and talked about old people farts. Got a Harry Potter sorting hat from the grab bag of random crap my brother sent for the cousins. I'm in Gryffindor by the way. My sister got me a Wii and we canoed and played sword fighting from Wii Resorts.

I can't remember what I did for New Year's, so it must not have been exciting.

I went home to ATL for a few days around MLK. Saw some good friends and was made a delicious cake (thanks KT & Sarah). Saw another good friend who gave me a fancy cupcake and went with me to an RHA reunion at UGA (thanks T-Dawg!). Hung out with my mom for a few days.

I turned 30. That part sucked. My family is awesome though and made it a great weekend. Two of my cousins flew to Raleigh on Thursday and we made dinner at home and played some board games. The top shelf cousins each got me a gift, then got me a group gift. The group gift was a diamond ring. The other presents were in bigger boxes surrounding the ring. We were able to video conference my brother, get one cousin on a phone and get 2 others on a conference call on another phone so that the whole top shelf was there (minus Scott). The next day we got pedicures and had lunch, then went for drinks and finally a fancy dinner at 18 Seaboard. There are pictures of that somewhere. That night, it snowed. A lot. Especially for Raleigh. The next day, we made plans to go bowling with my aunt & uncle and their 2 kids. We decided to pack bags and bring the dog in case it snowed again. Little did I know that it was a surprise party for me. A bunch of my cousins, aunts & uncles and my mom were all waiting inside the door when I walked in. They were dressed up like cowboys and southern belles because we had a murder mystery party - Murder at the Deadwood Saloon. I didn't really have an outfit because they figured it'd give it away if they told me to bring a hoop skirt.

We had a great time. It was slightly awkward because my sister didn't read character descriptions because she didn't want to cheat. So I was married to my uncle. My cousin was having an affair with her father. My mom and aunt were fighting over my 2 young cousins. But it was fairly hilarious. Had Clyde Cooper's bbq and a cake with a little me on the front. We played Things (fun game), had drinks, played some Wii and had a grand old time. As I said, my family is awesome. The next night we were back at my sister's and made tacos and played lots of Catan. It was sad going back home.

Babysat for my cousins a few times. Watched lots and lots of TV and Netflix. Fell in love with Stringer Bell from The Wire. Go the library at least once a week.

Still don't have a job.

Texts 4

2009-09-24T20:36:00.002-04:00

Here's 3 and here's the new stuff:

I know one thing - if this week doesn't cause me to start smoking crack - nothing will

Five way settlers of catan match asap.

Have you noticed that the black eyed peas are the ultimate balance of hip, diverse and unoffensive to play at every event now

Haha - good love not doodleup

No tickets. going hand at 2

He says you can't come up on a school night

Can you look up how to make a spicy bob?

So what's the story with Jeff's canoe?

mini whore

Heidi's preggers again?!

Or a slap

Yeah and they threw carrots down it

Yes, she is real pissed and shocked

Ooo, it's the Johnny Dakota episode

Should I buy mom the encyclopedia of cats?

Same size and same model tars?

What can I say? I know how to hold a grudge.

The things I do for you - like watch live TV

Like stop eating the paste special

She's like nice to meet ya can you knock me up real quick and puttin a ring on it would be awfully sweet

Jordan made me

Commies?

Good...they have bisexual musclemen orgy pool parties there

the nice florida smell

Conversation with my Brother

2009-09-21T15:41:00.002-04:00

Me: Are you watching this game?
Him: Yes. It's out of control.
Me: Yes it is. So what...
Him (interruption): Uhh.
Me: What??
Him: I was making microwave Hamburger Helper it what was apparently not a microwave safe bowl.
Me: Ha.
Him: Now there is Hamburger Helper all over the microwave. I'll have to call you back.

2 weddings

2009-08-17T23:07:00.003-04:00

Two of my friends from law school got married within the last few weeks. Kim got married first in Pinehurst at The Fair Barn and Jennifer got married next in Charlotte and her reception was at the botanical gardens. Here are a few limited pics from them as my camera is new and I am still trying to figure out how to work it thus everything is blurry (how did you like that sentence?)

Kim's wedding:

Jennifer's wedding:

Told you the pictures were random.

Beach week

2009-08-17T22:08:00.004-04:00

Sorry - I've been busy.

The last week in July was our annual vacation to the Outer Banks. This year we stayed in a 10 bedroom in Nags Head.

The sad part was that my brother couldn't be there, as he was in FL for swamp phase (fingers crossed!!!) Lots of fun was had by all. I got random sunburn (some in the shape of fingers - one looks like a pretzel). My uncle Joe and I won the baggo tourney.

My team won our own version of Family Feud (surveyed 25 Hackmans and Hackman wanna-bes).

Played a good couple of rounds of Cheers Governor - found out who Lamont Cranston is. Had a graduation party for the youngest Top Shelf member, Scott. It was a Rock Band party and people dressed appropriately. That turned into Dance Party.

Played a little American Gladiators and guitar hero. Ate sushi and DQ. Fried a turkey or 2.

Went out to celebrate a very delayed Happy 21st to Yecats.

All in all a good time with the fam.

Oops

2009-07-22T18:57:00.002-04:00

Ever have one of those days? First I hit myself in the face with a bungee cord (no damage done) (btw I got accident insurance the other day, but it doesn't kick in until 8-1 so I gots to be careful for a week). Then I noticed that I hadn't shaved my legs this morning. I didn't shave on purpose because I thought I had the night before in the tub, but I didn't because I was reading a book and forgot. So I went all day in a skirt with unshaven legs, you know, cause I'm classy like that. Luckily I had shaved them on Monday so they weren't too bad. I'm guessing that nobody really noticed because nobody said anything and the people I work with aren't shy about telling me that kind of stuff. Still. Oh, and I have a huge neck zit to add to that loveliness.

Cheese and Ads

2009-07-14T22:19:00.002-04:00

First, I don't like people that say ricotta like "ri coat a". It's "ra cot a". Screw you, guy on UnWrapped (not Mark Summers of Double Dare) who makes the cheese and pronounces it WRONG.

Also, I think it's hilarious that the side ad on e-harmony was for Nuva Ring. Assume much Dr. Phil?

Second ultrasound

2009-07-13T18:02:00.002-04:00

Today I had my second experience with the dildo cam. (To experience the first one, read this). This time, the lights were on when I walked in and they only turned them off once I was up on the dentist chair. They also stepped out of the room to let me change. Again I was asked if I was allergic to latex. The biggest difference this time (other than knowing what to expect) was that there were 2 people in the room. One lady was new at it and was learning. She didn't hurt me or anything, but it was awkward because the 2 techs were talking to each other about my lady parts as if I weren't there. Stuff like, "see I think her uterus is the wrong way" and "yup, you got the ovary" and "there's the cervix, see" and "trying turning it the other way and applying more pressure" was flying over my head while I was staring at a darkened light fixture.

The good news is that I'm ok - no more cyst, no more icky lining. The bad news is that I'll probably have to take birth control to regulate it for a long time. That's not too big of a deal, so all in all I am thankful.

Tennis & bug bites

2009-07-06T22:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry it's been awhile, but you know, I get distracted.

The 4th was a decent weekend. I got Friday off and drove to Rocky Mount where I met up with my cousin and her friend from college. We went out on a boat, played on the tube, I got random circles of sunburn. On Saturday they had their first annual oyster fest (gross), which was fun. I actually ate a fried oyster (now I don't have to eat another one). Drank a fair amount, danced to satellite radio in front of a big-ass fan and my legs look like I have measles from all the giant mosquito bites I've got. Drove home early Sunday morning and napped in the rain. Missed my brother, but am glad he's almost done.

Here's the tennis part: Roger Federer is awesome, but I've never really wanted to jump him...until I saw this. Hells yea!

Texts 3

2009-06-26T06:40:00.002-04:00

Here's 2 and here's what new:

Getting a drink with our other brother

She just compared that girl to a poodle

Dude, Nigel wants to bone her (she's 29 and married) Looks damn good for 29...hell I'd bone her. Not really.

Wrong number big shot [best part, it was the right one]

But he likes it and his name is grampa john

I have one too...might just make banana bread...u think that's ok?

It happens. Sams at the movies. Slits is at work. Jeff is in the army. You're miles away.

I would like #9 better is his shirt was closed - I deduct points for that

So instead I offer you alcohol -it really is your friend

Even if everything else is Blah at least there is so you think you can dance :)

MTV awards...actually the hills...guilty

Yuuumm love tuna

In the butt with a penis

Roger. Remain calm.

Lame, we're gonna drink

Oh yea, shes also wearing her wig

Group therapy gets discounts

Yea. I played "I get knocked down"

Ok I'm sorry. He would love you if you accepted jesus

So its I second that emotion, not secondhand emotion?

Chicago and briefly Indiana

Why don't you take a survey of the guys tomorrow and see which is more gay, then we will decide

Just passed your neighborhood - I waved to your mom

Bacon spinach mac & cheese all the way

Unbelievable...if that's not unwanted contact I do not know what is

Cat Cora's pissed

Jeffrey would like it. The judge, not brother

I'm going to Vegas

They took the body wash

Who sings "this is loving adelaide"? [actual song is this year's love by david grey]

I would squat

Shes' whats holding me back. Her and having to pee sitting down.

It still has girl parts but is scheduled to have them changed next week.

No I'll change it everytime I fly somewhere. My apt is ballin

I googled your name (no real reason for that) - why didn't you tell me you were the son of a famous surfer? I feel our friendship is based on a lie

Now I must find a way to enforce joy

Who the f takes ice cream sandwiches on car trips

whores are out at all hours

Marky Mark

2009-06-23T22:13:00.003-04:00

So the last 3 movies I've seen at home (2 from Netflix and 1 I bought) all starred Mark Wahlberg (your welcome and haha at the same time, love the Donnie reference).

I enjoyed all 3 movies: Shooter, 4 Brothers and The Departed (which I'd seen before). The biggest problem I had, is that thanks to a guy I went to high school with, all I could hear was, "Hey donkey, how ya doin'? Say hi to your mother for me". Thanks Billy!!!

Punch

2009-06-22T20:32:00.001-04:00

Have you ever just wanted to smack someone in the face for no reason? I feel in a punchy kind of mood, maybe I will do some yoga.

Happy Graduation Bubba

2009-06-14T20:10:00.003-04:00

The youngest member of the Top Shelf graduated this Friday. I didn't make it up there for it, but I sent moral support via good vibes. I am very happy for him, but I am sure my aunt is already starting to feel empty nest syndrome - especially since her 2 daughters are basically living with boys now! So congrats Bubba and hope you get in where you want to go.

The rest of the weekend was pretty usual - went out with some co-workers on Friday, went to lunch with a friend on Saturday, watched 2 Netflix movies and that was about it. I am about to go mend some hems so that I have clothes to wear next week. Hope everyone else had more fun this weekend than I did! Actually, it's not that I didn't have fun, I guess I just hope something exciting happened for y'all.

Busy week so far

2009-06-09T20:44:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a dinner "meeting" at Elliott's. Very nice and places like that make me want to appreciate wine. I don't and I still think it tastes like drinking vinegar and instead I enjoyed the beautiful bouquet of diet Coke with my steak.

Tonight I had an appreciation dinner that made me feel guilty. I do some volunteer work with our local Teen Court and the rep took volunteers out for dinner. I got 2 "awards" and won a door prize. I felt guilty because while I did do everything he said I did, I don't feel like I did enough to merit an award, much less 2. We went to Russell's, which is a fish camp/pseudo-Golden Corral type place, so of course now I want to crawl in a hole. The hush puppies were worth it though.

Thursday night is a community watch dinner too. Wonder why I haven't gone shopping in a week. But, alas, I am out of cash for the week so I will have to find something to have for lunch tomorrow out of the random crap left in my fridge.

I ter us? No, uterus!

2009-06-08T17:50:00.003-04:00

Sorry about all the gross girlie-part posts lately, but that's the most interesting thing going on with me, so too bad.

Today was the review of my ultrasound with my doctor. My uterine lining is not good. I have to go on a round of pills that will hopefully get everything out. Then I will have a follow up ultrasound and see if I have to have surgery.

See, not that gross.

Overheard and also pseudo-spoiler

2009-06-07T15:56:00.004-04:00

I went to see Up this afternoon (very good and I second the comments from facebook friends when I say "Damn you Pixar!". I also highly recommend that you go see it). There was a family behind me, father and 2 sons, maybe 5 and 3. The 3 year old didn't say anything, his name was Matthew. Matthew's brother was a wee bit of a talker, but in a cute kid way, not an annoying kid way. We will call him MB.

*Here's the pseudo-spoiler* I say that because it really doesn't ruin the movie at all and come on, it's Disney. That's like "ruining" a Nicholas Sparks book by saying someone dies - duh.

Close to the beginning of the movie the wife passes away. And this is what I hear behind me:

MB - What happened to her?
Dad - She died.
MB - Why did she die?
Dad - Because she got very old and that happens to everyone.
MB - Am I going to die?
Dad - Not for a very very long time.

30 second pause.

MB - I don't want to die.
Dad - Don't worry about it. We'll talk about it when we get home.

30 second pause.

MB - Where's the popcorn?

Broke my heart I tell you. Until the popcorn bit.

Saturday

2009-06-06T17:19:00.002-04:00

I spent today with a friend of mine. First we went to the Harness Track for breakfast - coffee and blueberry short stack for me. Then we went on the usual route of thrift stores - I got a business card holder and a book. Then we drove around for a little bit and went to a new store - super cute, but like many stores, a wee bit pricey for me. Then we went to Fried Green Tomatoes for lunch and shared fried pickles. Then we went to the SCC gardens and walked around. In the succulent garden (which is like a little Mexican village) we sat and talked for like 2 hours. I decided I want wedding pictures taken in the English garden near the gate that looks like it was in the secret garden. It was fun. Now I need a nap.

Caught off guard and also somewhat of an overshare

2009-06-01T17:34:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I told you about the visit to my doctor a few weeks ago. What I didn't tell you was that part of the reason for making the appointment was that I had skipped my period for 3 months. Then, right after I made the appointment, I started again. And it last for 4 weeks. Not fun.

At the check up my doctor felt what was possibly a cyst on one of my ovaries. She said to monitor my start dates and let her know if I started again before June 5th, because if I did she wanted me to get an ultrasound. So, of course, last night I started cramping and bam, the damn thing is back already.

I called the doctor's office this morning to set up an appointment. The lady on the phone was like, how about noon (that's 3 hours away and I'm already at work). I guess you shouldn't turn things like that down, so I said ok. I was a bit freaked out because, as I am not regularly sleeping with someone, I didn't shave my legs this morning. And was wearing ugly underwear. Awesome.

So then I get there and the shaving part didn't really matter because you're pretty much covered up - um and I was wearing knee socks - it was a great look. BTW, it was odd getting changed because the tech was in the room. I'm behind a curtain, but still. Oh, and when my pants are halfway off, I hear, "Are you allergic to latex?". Always as good thing to hear when you're about to jump in the stirrups. So I'm up on the table and the tech whips out this thing and asks if I've ever had this done before. I say no, she tells me, this is the probe, we cover it with a condom and KY jelly and it only goes in this much (tiny little bit). It was a lie people. While I wasn't in extreme pain, it was definitely not the most comfortable way to spend a Monday morning.

I meet with the doctor next week to go over the results. The last thing I have to say is that a few baby wipes and a handful of Kleenex do not take care of that kind of mess. I have felt gross all day and am currently waiting for the lightning to stop so I can shower.

Ok, the real last thing I have to say is that while I am obviously somewhat ok with sharing some personal info, who puts up pictures of their pelvic ultrasounds? Apparently these people.

Heat

2009-05-31T16:18:00.001-04:00

Instead of turning on my air conditioner, I have decided to skip pants. Currently I am watching my Netflix instant queue in boy shorts and a tank top. You're welcome environment.

A-ok

2009-05-29T21:22:00.002-04:00

So I hadn't been to the doctor for like 3 years (minus a few trips to the doc-in-a-box for sinus infections and the ER for my broken face) and decided to make an appointment. I went, got felt up, got blood drawn (from both arms b/c she missed the first time - bruises on both - awesome), got complemented on my knowledge of my family medical history, and left.

Turns out, I'm dandy - decent blood pressure, cholesterol etc. I am supposed to check on/monitor my periods though because there is a possible glitch, but so far, everything is on track.

Next on the list - dermatologist!

Green

2009-05-28T22:17:00.002-04:00

I'll do more tree-hugging if it tastes as good as ben & jerry's. By the way, Elton John makes a damn good ice cream.

Weekend

2009-05-25T21:50:00.002-04:00

This weekend was basically like any other except an extra day.

Things I did:
Went thrift store shopping and ran errands with a friend.
Actually went to a cute little place in Aberdeen for lunch - Aberdeen Cafe (couldn't find a website) and then to the eastern bakery around the block (also no website). I've decided to try out more places for lunch than just Panera (although that place is damn good). I will definitely go back to the bakery because they sell pizza dough and I've been looking for some good stuff since I moved back to NC.
Had lunch with the same friend on Sunday too and ran a few more errands.
Layla had a haircut today; now she is naked.
Made a pie.
Read 2 books and started a 3rd.
Got a text from my sister saying that my mom made a comment about penises and that if she gets the job back here we will start group therapy to get the discount rate.
Watched "Brokeback Mountain" which I thought was awful.
Sent bills & b-day cards.
Cleaned the bathtub.

Things I did not do:
Laundry

Things that it's a problem that I did not do:
Laundry - I have no pants.

It has been hot & muggy these last few days and I haven't wanted to do much of anything. Part of the reason that this post is so long in coming is that I unplugged for awhile to read Midnight Sun, which depressed me in more ways than one. One way being that it's only partial and I wanted to read all of it. A second way being that I still hate myself a little bit for reading any of the Twilight series, much less the uncut version of a companion novel that you have to read online.

I will do my best to update more frequently, but no promises if it's still this hot and I'm still trying to go without AC.

TMI

2009-05-18T23:15:00.002-04:00

Text I sent to my sister this morning:

"I'm at the obgyn. Happy bday to you!"

Happy 23rd (god I'm old, how can small bread be 23?) Roll!

Toasty

2009-05-13T19:55:00.002-04:00

I do not like the new Quizno's commercials. It really creeps me out when the oven tells Scott to "put it in me". The oven now has ruined mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm toasty for me. $5 footlongs it is.

PS - I just got Netflix. I haven't even gotten a movie yet and I love it. I've spent 2 hours in front of the computer adding to my queue.

Itchy

2009-05-05T23:34:00.002-04:00

I am pretty sure I have poison ivy. I've had it before so I know what it looks & feels like. I've also had it in weird places (nowhere unmentionable although ouch & yuck at the same time) so this shouldn't be freaking me out.

It's on my middle finger of my right hand. Both sides and the top. Nowhere else.

The thing that's weird is I think it might be spreading, but only to more of my middle finger. Not to other digits or my hand or to the other hand.

It's creeping me out because I don't know where I got it. My backyard looks like a forest of weeds so there could be poison ivy out there. It very well could have transferred to my hand via the dog. But you'd think that it would then be on my whole hand.

Now I am WebMd'ing skin rashes. It could be stress induced eczema, or lots of other gross things. But, the blurb on poison ivy said it's normal for it to appear to spread, but in fact it's not. So we'll see. Also, do NOT google image poison ivy unless you're prepared to look at some pretty nasty stuff. Like blisters the size of pool balls. And I'm not exaggerating.

Why my neighbors probably hate me

2009-04-30T18:00:00.003-04:00

This is 2 minutes. This lasted about 20 minutes. And it happens about once a week. And I have thin walls. Thin enough that I heard my upstairs neighbors doing it (only once though). And yes, that's me in the background, encouraging her. Why? Because it's kind of fun.

Hairy Houdini

2009-04-26T18:39:00.003-04:00

I don't if I've ever told the story of how Layla came into my life, but basically she followed my cousin home one day and she's been with me for 4 or so years now.

She likes to run away.

A lot.

Obviously it's not just me, as she ran from whoever owned her first, but she's got it pretty good here so I don't get it. I think she just likes the freedom to run wherever she wants to. She used to run in Lillington and I wasn't as worried because she couldn't get into too much trouble as there was nothing there. She always came home in a few hours if I couldn't find her immediately.

Here, it makes me more nervous. There is much more traffic, people and trouble in general. It's not like I let her run by any means. I'm actually pretty careful based on her track record. However, she has pulled a leash out of my hands, eaten through a harness, broken a pincher collar, dug under multiple metal pens, doesn't really respond to an electric collar, squeezed through multiple fences and slipped out of collars. You can't leave her for more than 15 minutes or she's probably gone (as seen here).

Last Tuesday (the 21st) I put her outside at 10:30 pm. Not even a commercial break later I went to check on her. She had managed to get her collar stuck on my exhaust pipe. While I was on my way to pull her off, she slipped out of the collar, turned to look at me, and took off. I ran inside, grabbed my phone, keys and wallet and drove after her. I looked all around, in a wider radius then usual for 2 hours with no luck. I waited for about an hour and drive around again. Still nothing. This is when I started to freak out. She's not chipped and had no collar or tags. I "went to bed" and had all my windows open in case she came back and barked. I slept no more than an hour at a time for 4 hours, got up and drove around again. Called the police, vets, humane society and animal control. Nothing. Called the paper and put in an ad. Put up fliers.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

I got on call yesterday (Saturday - the 25th) at about 5 pm. Someone saw a flyer while at Springfest (our town's spring event). She was 2 blocks from my house!! I raced over and called her name. She was like, "hey, guess I've got to go home now" and jumped in my car. Then laid around on the floor all night like nothing had happened.

I am so thankful she's back! I didn't sleep well for the 4 nights she was gone. That also partly explains the lack of posts. I didn't want to write about it for fear that I'd break down.

Now, if anyone has any ideas about how to keep a slippery dog whose is determined to get out, in, please let me know. I've got an appointment to chip her. Idea one is multiple collars with tags so if she slips one, she's got another. Crazy mutt. But seriously, how can you not love this face:

Happy (very belated) Easter

2009-04-26T13:10:00.004-04:00

Sorry this post is so far from the last one, but I've been going through some stuff, which I will talk about in the next post.

A month or so ago, my family and I decided to get together for Easter. It started out with just my cousins, but then my mom added in because she didn't want to be alone for Easter while the rest of us were together, because, "You guys have left me out the last few Easters". Techincally that's true, but it wasn't intentional.

So I drove up on Thursday afternoon (thanks for taking the last trial PKD!) and on Friday I hung out with my cousin and got stuff together for Saturday, had lunch at Friendly's (peanut butter sauce!!!), took mock-ups at the playground for her wedding, picked up my mom at the airport, and headed to Philly. My cousin works for the 76ers organization and was able to get us tickets to the game that night against the Caveliers.

Here's a picture of Lebron James' butt as he made a free throw.

Here is my cousin doing her job.

Here is Ann & me at the game. Note how my face is almost injury free. Now it just looks like I have a zit on my nose.

It also happened to be my Aunt Beth's 50th birthday that Thursday (I think) so we added some more family and did a surprise b-day party too. Her oldest daughter came up with a French theme because her mom likes French food, wine etc. **Note, party stores do not have much in the way of French themes.

Of course my family goes all out with the theme.

It was a fun weekend and I love my crazy family. The thing that sucks about living so far away is this:

This was my drive home. It sucked. I had no traffic until after DC. Between where 95 connects right after DC through 295 at Richmond there were 6 fender-benders. It made the regular 7 hour drive 3 hours longer - yay! At least my IPod was working and it wasn't raining.

Good-byes

2009-04-06T22:33:00.002-04:00

My cousins' grandfather passed away over the weekend. I didn't really know him, but it brought me to thinking about my 2 remaining grandparents and how it will be weird when they're gone.

It also got me thinking about how difficult it is to console someone who loses a family member or friend. I am super close with these cousins and I don't even know what their grandfather really looks like. I don't know what to say to make them feel better. I will be here (5 1/2 hours away) for them. They can call when ever they need to, even if it's just to cry and for me to be silent. They know this. It's still hard to be on the phone and not be able to help, to ease that pain.

You try to help by saying that the person is no longer in pain, that they had a long, good life, but even as the words come out of your mouth, they sound cheesy. You know they know that, but what they need is something else. You just don't know what the something is and they can't tell you either. Your heart just bursts for them and you can't fix it. Rest in Peace UBD.

Thrift Stores

2009-04-05T16:56:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I woke up earlier than I do during the week to meet a co-worker. Why? So that I could buy discount flea medicine. Damn dog.

We also went to 4 or 5 thrift stores. I enjoy thrift stores and would go more often. The main problem I have with thrift stores, yard sales and antiquing is the morning factor. All these stores are generally only open in the mornings. Some are also only open on Saturdays, which compounds the issue.

See, I love sleep. It is my friend. I would marry it if I could. The whole "waking up early" thing does not go well for me. I wanted to go to bed at 9 pm yesterday. I texted my sister to see if it was acceptable. She said yes, which means she was very tired too, because it is not acceptable unless you are a baby or sick. I made it until 11 because I was watching Madagascar and pounding diet Coke.

I was fun sifting through mounds of crap to find a few treasures. I found a cool thing for a Christmas present for Roll (so did my co-worker, but for her boyfriend). I got a nice paperweight for the office, as well as a fruit basket and a clock. No furniture, which is what I was looking for, though. There were some nice pieces, but I am cheap. Yes, cheaper than a thrift store.

All in all it was a fun day. I don't think I will be doing this every weekend, in fact I know I won't because next weekend I will be in DE and the weekend after that in Raleigh, but I could see once a month or so. If only they would open at 10 instead of 8.

Prayers

2009-03-29T23:00:00.002-04:00

Holy fucking shit. My prayers go out to all the families who lost someone and to those recovering. Get well soon Justin.

And no matter your feelings on the 2nd Amendment, this couldn't have happened if all he had were sticks.

Rainy Saturday

2009-03-28T23:16:00.003-04:00

So I didn't do much today because it was pouring and because it felt like I had fallen down a flight of stairs (oh yea, I did). I watched TV, Harry Potter, and read.

This was by the far the best part of my day. (I've never posted a video before, so if it doesn't work, I'm sorry. Also, the background noise is Throwdown with Bobby Flay - ravioli.) It's a little long, so if you get bored, go to the last minute because watching her walk backwards was the funniest part to me.

My face and your mom

2009-03-25T13:18:00.002-04:00

So after my fight with the stairs yesterday, my boss told me to take today off. I'm glad she told me to, because I would have gone to work today otherwise. I needed the sleep (slept about 10 hours). I am pretty much ok - sore neck and bruises down my right side (big ones on the armpit (?), hip and shin. I've been icing my neck and can now turn it side-to-side without wincing. My face still looks a mess, but luckily it's not swelling. I am still picking dried blood out of my nose, so that's a treat.

Today has been productive though. I finished my taxes (feds already accepted- whoot!), read 2 magazines, got scrapbook stuff ready for a project with my cousin and contemplated doing laundry (well it's in the washer, but I have yet to add soap and water - baby steps). I thought about cleaning, but I don't want to lift anything too heavy.

Yesterday I emailed my mom with a recap of the stairs episode along with a picture. I had texted her and my sister from the ER because you're not supposed to use cell phones and I didn't want to get in trouble. My text was, "I fell, in the er, i'm ok". She read the email and thought I was joking until she saw the picture (it's really not that bad, but I am not posting it). My sister was like, I am glad you added the "i'm ok" part to your text because I was in a meeting and couldn't call and if that wasn't there I'd be freaking out.

This morning my mom forwarded me an email to one of my cousins. It was titled "your mom" and I thought it was a joke until I read it - we're doing a surprise of sorts. I emailed her back and was like, you might want to rethink some of your subject lines. Although it did make me laugh a little bit.

Ok, time for a nap, or a movie, or something where I can lie down with an ice pack.

Me v. Stairs

2009-03-24T12:36:00.002-04:00

So, work today was interesting. I was supposed to do juvenile court this morning. For juv. I carry a metal bucket with files and books etc. in it. We use those for superior court too, but not district. Well, as I was walking down the front steps (from now on my mortal enemy), my boot heel caught in my pants cuff. I was able to right myself, but on the next step I was not so lucky. Now, we have approx. 15-20 stairs. I caught myself on about number 4, so you do the math. I flew down the stairs - face first - landed and then bounced and tumbled a few more, all the while carrying the damn bucket. Oh, which I landed on. My face is not happy. A couple of people I work with yelled if I was ok, which I though I was until I felt blood coming down my face. So, someone called EMS. I went upstairs to the bathroom to wash off and stop the bleeding. The worst part is a cut above my lip and on my nose (neither of which required stitches). So I had my first trip to the ER - without shoes btw because my boot heel broke. I was in a neck collar, and X-rays and CT scan later, I'm fine. No broken face or neck! Yay! It looks like I got into a fight. My knuckles are bruised and cut. I have a huge scrape/bruise/rugburn on my chin and cheek and the aforementioned scratches on my nose. My boss drove my bar to my house and she and another co-worker sat with me at the ER and brought me home. They did have to cut off my earrings at the ER, which was sad. Also, I am pissed that my one pair of brown shoes is broken, then again the brown suit I have is also ruined since the knee went bye-bye on the fall. Conclusion - stairs and I are not friends. And hydrogen peroxide does get blood out of clothes.

Belated Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-21T16:00:00.003-04:00

This picture was actually taken on Monday so that I could post it on Tuesday, you know, the actual St. Patrick's Day. Then, well, I got lazy and didn't put it up here. This is also the result of about 20 minutes. Layla was fairly patient, but I tried to play with the settings on my camera so take out the creepy eye. I did get a good picture with black eyes, but then the words were fuzzy. Plus, I loved her ears too much here. I had just said "treat".

The Pinehurst St. Patrick's Day parade was postponed last weekend until today, so I figured that I'd take some pictures and post them too. Unfortunatley, the parade was supposed to last from 11-1 (at least that's what the paper and the website said). We got there at 11:20 and it was over. We saw the tail end of it with some girl scouts and an old-timey firetruck.

So, we went to lunch. Here. At least we kept with the theme. And I wore my Ireland t-shirt and the only orange thing I own, which is a Campbell sweatshirt, so I looked the part too. Oh well, maybe next year. Or next holiday...I will have to find something to put on the dog's head. She does have bunny ears.

Yahtzee

2009-03-15T22:25:00.002-04:00

I never knew Yahtzee was so fun. I always remembered it as a boring game, but this weekend I went to visit my brother and his roommates and we played a couple of games. Much more enjoyable than I thought. True it's not super drinking sorry, but it's still a fun game. Sadly enough we did not turn it into a drinking game because we only started it today and 2 of us had to drive places. we also played Rook, which sucks. I'd rather play spades or hearts or something else. Maybe if we had kept playing it would have gotten better, but I doubt it. We also played poker and I annoyed everyone by picking acey-deucey. Although I did learn how to play diablo and skank. That's all I really wanted to post about tonight. I might talk more about the rest of the weekend later, but I am sleepy.

Dinner

2009-03-11T20:45:00.002-04:00

I went to dinner tonight with a friend of mine. We went here. They've already started green beer (if you want it) and are having specials based on the week & country. This week is Welsh week. I enjoyed the food and the beer and the atmosphere (although I wouldn't have minded sitting in the bar area because it's more fun, but they have smoke there and I don't like that).

The thing that creeps me out about British food is organ meat. I am sure that kidneys and livers and all that stuff are lovely. But they squig me out! Steak and kidney pie was a special tonight. Ew. I know that English people eat the shit out of that stuff so it can't be horrible. I know my grandparents ate weird stuff like liver and onions (ugh). It's something about the word itself that brings to mind something slimy and it just grosses me out. I wish I was more adventurous, but I'm just not. I'd probably try a deep fried testicle if I ever went to Texas (prairie oyster anyone??) and I've tried some other types of food (Greek, Indian etc.) but I just can't do organs. Not yet at least, and I don't think any time soon.

Surprise

2009-03-10T22:15:00.002-04:00

I went to a surprise b-day party tonight for a sort-of-co-worker. It was really nice, had some drinks, talked, ate some cake. Two things came out of that party for me. First, I love living "downtown" and being able to walk home. That makes free beer so much better (by that I mean I can't get a DWI and/or lose my job). Second, I need to find a husband soon. See this party was thrown by the b-day boy's wife. It was a 40th party, and apparently his 30th was something to talk about. Which brought to mind the whole spouse thing. I need to marry someone damn quick so they can throw me a 30th. Oh well. I guess I can spend it with my cousins on a cruise boat or something.

Umm actually 4 things. Third being edamame hummus sounds kind of gross, even though I like both hummus and edamame, but it was actually really good. Forth being that even though black is often needed for cake decorating, black icing is not good for teeth - everyone looked pretty jacked up after the cake.

Spring Forward

2009-03-08T20:57:00.003-04:00

It has been beautiful here for the last couple of days. Last weekend it rained then snowed and was in the teens for the first half of the week. Then it turned sunny and the temp went to the 70s. Friday a co-worker and I went to a meeting that got out early so we hit up a bar with a patio and enjoyed the weather. I felt a wee bit like an alcoholic when the first bar we hit wasn't even open yet. But it ended up ok because the one we ended up at had some decent music and cheaper beer.

The one bad thing about the weekend was daylight savings. See, I love sleep, and this jump up an hour does not work well with me. It gets sunnier in the morning, which makes it harder to stay in bed and hit the snooze. Oh well, I guess I'd rather have the 70s and sun in the morning than the teens and rain. Although I do love rainy weekends with nothing to do. Hope this weather sticks around and we don't get the frost that kills all the flowers!

To Do List

2009-03-02T21:54:00.002-05:00

What I need to do:

Laundry - running out of socks & shirts

Dishes - there is a load running now, but I won't put them away for a week

Vacuum stairs - dog + hard wood floors = messy

Clean bedroom - said dog has been sleeping in my clothes and has scattered them all over

Lose weight

Lower blood pressure

Buy house

What I am doing:

Playing on facebook

Watching Harry Potter

Wear a t-shirt, flannel pants and a scarf

Iming my sister stupid youtube clips of dogs

BBC Book List

2009-02-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read ENTIRELY
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien x+
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte *
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling x +
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee x
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte *
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell x
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens x
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott ?*
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy-x+
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller x
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (at some point *)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier x
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien x
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Sallinger x
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald x
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens x
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (it's long man)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (see 24)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck x
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll *
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame x
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy*
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis x+ (all 7)
34 Emma - Jane Austen x
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis x + (umm that's one of the chronicles - way to go BBC)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini *
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres *
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden x
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne x+
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell x*
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery x + (that whole series too)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood-x
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding x
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley x
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez *
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck x
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold x+
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding x
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (see 24 again)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker x
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett x
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath x
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens x
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker x
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert -x*
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White x+
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom-x
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle x (in the process of reading the complete set of short stories)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad x
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery x
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas x
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare x
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl - x*+
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo x

A bunch of these are the "girlie" long-winded romance novels - the Eyre sister type stuff. I'm not into those books. Too many details! The ideas are great, the movies are decent...the words...loooooong. I think I will try to read them again now, when I might appreciate them more (hopefully). I do like books lists like this though - I think I will try to return to a New Year's resolution of the past to check out 1 classic with 1 new book every time I go to the library.

Texts 2

2009-02-22T22:02:00.001-05:00

Here's Texts 1 and here are new ones since then:

True of false. Donald Duck is an only child.

Drugs are good.

When thou shalt decideth upon the hour of departure, whilst thou forward notification unto said inquirer?

It's officially the flu. They're giving me some weird ass inhaler.

In about...well now I am.

[In 3 texts, the entire dialogue from Monty Python regarding the Holy Hand Grenade]

Ike is the guy that Wyatt wants to make his head into a canoe

Shoes? For what?

Merry New Years

Your no good what is it?

The fact that I actually know what curling is scares me - I am losing my blackness - of to the hood I go

There is a raccoon behind my house. We are not friends

That girl ain't got shit on you

Nice. Lovely product of the weekend

Sorry. Been watching top model all day

I am sure someone dies since its sparks

I don't watch your face

Didn't see it. Can't remember reading it.

Mcdreamy is a mcdouche

Hells yea

Dr. Mary Minkin said 3

Does it go to kicks like soccer?

That 3d was giving me a headache

Teleflora is a roll co.

I am sitting on my couch and guess what I could use...snuggie

You You You

Game of Life

2009-02-22T16:58:00.002-05:00

I went to Raleigh this weekend, intending to visit my uncles and hang out with them, but instead staying at my brother's house with his roommate(s). I did see my uncles and aunts and we had fun, but Matt's my second brother and it's been a long time since we've had faux-family game night. We played Pictionary first and Sam and I kicked butt...his guess of my drawing for Nelson Mandela sealed the victory. Then we saw Gran Torino - good movie, I recommend.

Matt, JB and I played multiple games of Life. I never really enjoy Life as a kid - it always seemed kind of boring. As an adult, it was a little more fun. I don't know if the game has changed, but insurance and stocks and things like that are used now and we never used them as kids. The one thing that does suck about Life is that it basically always ends up better than your real life. I mean, in one game I was a doctor, making $100,000 each payday (and never landed on taxes, thank you), had a husband, a girl, then twin boys, had a Victorian mansion and a lake house, saw Mount Rushmore, donated money to charities, had a boat and art, invented a mouse trap, discovered a planet, won a Pulitzer and a Noble peace prize, retired in the Millionaires club and still had $2.5 million in cash. Currently, I rent, have no husband or children, don't own anything worth more than $1000 (probably actually less than that), and have a good amount of college loans to pay off. I do kick ass at Pictionary though, so that's something.

And I had a bad day

2009-02-18T17:51:00.003-05:00

It started off last night actually. I have a very sensitive gag reflex and I can't spit right. The combination is not good. It leads, on occasion, to vomiting. One of said occasions was last night. I am not a good puker; I'm full body, with nose, eyes, etc. involved. It's not pretty. I am also not sure if food poisoning was involved too because I ate salad with chicken (which should have been ok) and slightly questionable ranch. Either way, not a pleasant sight. Plus, lucky me, I missed the potty and hit the sink...which wasn't draining properly. So I used my coat hanger (aka home made toilet snake which I used to unclog my shower a few weeks ago) to open the drain wider. This led to cleaning the bathroom and re-brushing my teeth. And changing pjs.

This morning began with getting woken up an hour before my alarm with a combination of pacing, whining and barking from the dog. I ignored it for a few minutes, but I could tell that this was an emergency situation, so I got up.

Next was the rain. Normally rain doesn't bother me. The reason it's a problem right now is because the windshield wiper motor in my car is currently broken. Oddly enough, my appointment to get it fixed was today. So I drove, slowly, in the rain. It was ok because as long as I went under 40, I could see. I had to stop a couple of times to let people pass, but otherwise it was ok.

See aforementioned car appointment. My original "guesstimate" for all the things that need to be repaired was $500. The actual (or should I say closer guess) is more like $1000. So...they didn't fix anything! Luckily it was only misting on the way home. However, the wipers are stuck in the "up" position and I can't shove them back down. So now I get to decide on if I want to drop $1k on an old car, or try to get a "new" one.

Then, when I walked through the door, I got the unmistakable whiff of crap...dog shit! yay! There was only a small bit on the carpet, the rest was on the hardwood. It had been there awhile, judging by the fact that it was stuck on the floor and required scrubbing. So after scooping, hand cleaning, then mopping, the floor is done. Carpet is still going through its treatment process.

Then I think I am getting sick again (well actually I don't think I ever got over the sinus infection and now it's just bad again). Sinus pressure is awful, slight fever and my eyes are red, watery and killing me. Plus my stomach is still queesy from last night and the whole dog poop buisness did not help matters.

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Problem

2009-02-17T23:04:00.003-05:00

You know when you're little and you try to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time. It takes awhile, but you get the hang of it at some point. Try swishing mouth wash and blowing your nose. It's much harder...and messier if you screw it up.

My dog is better at yoga than I am

2009-02-12T17:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I decided it would be a good idea for me to do some yoga instead of taking a nap. I don't know why that thought came to me, but it did. I have a Yoga Zone DVD and popped it in. Now Layla always gets uneasy if I am standing in front of the TV, she thinks it's play time and if I am not playing with her than something is wrong. So I started the video and she watched from the side of the room, with a look that said really. As I attempted to do the correct version of table top she actually sighed, laid down and just gave me a look. Then, when we were doing up dog, hand to the sky, she came between me and the TV and did it. She stretched into up dog - back legs/hips down to the ground, push up on front arms and look to the sky...then she did downward dog and stretched the other way. I called her a bitch; she trotted out of the room. Then as I was doing cool down, she came back in and stuck her nose in my ear. Hopefully I will some day out perform my dog, but I seriously doubt it - I'm not stretchy.

No news

2009-02-11T17:53:00.003-05:00

There is not much going on these days. I should try to do something more interesting, not only so that I'll have something to blog about, but also that I am actually doing something.

Oh well. I got a collector's set of all the Harry Potter books for Christmas and just finished reading them again. Then I imdb'd the movies and am super excited that they decided to split the 7th movie into 2 parts - I wish they had done that for Goblet of Fire. Now I am debating about whether to read the Twilight series. I already read a bunch of "dorky" lit or teen lit, so the combo of vampires and 13 year old girls might push me over the edge on this one. But who knows, maybe I should read it. Then again I like to read everything in a series right in a row so maybe I should wait awhile and read them all together.

What else...Layla got her rabies shot last week and it took 30 seconds. The vet didn't charge a crazy amount or anything, but I was gone from work for like 1 1/2 hours for it and it made me wish that I could get do it myself, until I remember that's gross and I couldn't job the dog's back fat with a needle even though I know it doesn't hurt her. She also needs a haircut. That's about all that's new here. Maybe something interesting will happen soon.

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-01-29T23:04:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. It was a pretty good day - had a cake, got cards and some presents, lots of phone calls and texts. It was still sad. I think that it's mainly because I always figured by this point in my life things would be different - I'd be "successful" and married, with kids and a house. I'm not really sad that I don't have those things - I love my job and think it's pretty cool, my apartment is nice and downtown, and my dog is pretty sweet (except when she's being a butt). It's just...I don't know. It feels like there is now pressure for me to get some of those things within the year. Nobody is really putting that pressure on me, except for me (well and my mom...but only with the babies part - I want grandkids blah blah).

I think the other thing that made it sad was the lack of family members. This is the first birthday in probably a good 5 years (if not longer because when I was in college I went home or they came up) that I haven't spent my birthday (or at least the weekend preceding or following it) with some member of my family, especially my siblings. I really didn't expect to miss them so much. I guess I'd better get used to it because I don't think either of them are moving back here any time soon. And I'm not leaving for at least another 3 years.

Oh well. I guess I'd better start planning for the party for next year because I am going to have to do something big when I hit 30.

Judgment

2009-01-26T18:04:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but it always makes me feel good when I order Chinese food (albeit planning for leftovers, because really, that's the best) for me and they put in enough silverware and fortune cookies for 4. Stop judging me China Wok!

On a semi-related note, I had oatmeal for dinner last night and my entire house (upstairs too) still smells like maple syrup. This is good because syrup smells lovely. This is bad because my tummy is saying, "Screw you Chinese food, I want pancakes!"

Old

2009-01-25T18:56:00.000-05:00

You know you're getting old when your pharmacy sends you a birthday card.

2 Questions

2009-01-14T22:30:00.003-05:00

Why do I always think that the holes magically aren't there when I am washing a colander? I have sprayed myself many times with scalding water, and yet, never remember that water goes through holes in both directions.

Are these shoes cute? Are they too whorish for work?

Christmas and whatnot

2009-01-13T20:10:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to update this thing for the past couple of weeks. I knew there would be a week or so during and around the holidays where I wouldn't post, but I had no idea it was going to be this long. I planned to break this into multiple smaller posts, but I think at this point it's just going to have to be 1 big post, with little chunks.

Christmas

My family and I did Christmas as usual - half in DE and half in MD. On Christmas day we took my grandma to see Bolt, and it happened to be the 3D version (oh, by the way grandma has glaucoma, my brother had Lasik, I had Lasik and need a correction and my mom wears glasses). So that was fun. The first 20 minutes everything was screwed up, then the movie stopped and started over with correct 3D imaging and we all ended up ok. Dinner all around was good. We opened presents at my aunt Sue's house, which was a first. I got a camera, which I still don't know how to use. We did Hackman Christmas on the 27th at my aunt Mary's house, which was another first. That went well too. A bunch of gag presents were given out and everyone had a good time. The only downfall is that we stayed with an aunt & uncle who smoke, and everything smells like smoke and your eyes get all dry but you can't say anything because it's their house. I wish I had updated sooner because then I could tell you all about the American Jingle Toy and other random antics, but those stories will just have to wait until another time.

How My Mom Lost the Dog

My mom stayed at my house an extra night after we got back from the family before her drive back to Atlanta. She picked up the dog from the vet and brought her home while I went to work. I had taken a day off and was swamped. I got a call around 1 saying my mom had lost my dog. At first I didn't believe her. Layla has a tendency to slip out of her collar if it's not really tight. I know this and don't let her stay outside for more than 15 minutes at a time. My mom forgot, got busy on the computer doing work, and about 2 hours later went looking for her. Apparently Layla went to 2-3 shops and got cookies and other treats but none of the places actually held onto her. My mom put up lost dog posters, called the police, animal control and about 5 other places. We still couldn't find her. We went to get some dinner at Panera, when we got a call from the PD giving us the number of the person who found the dog. Turns out they had a golden and the 2 dogs spent the afternoon running around a backyard. My dog didn't even have the decency to look shameful. So after we took all the signs down, we went to see Marley & Me. I am so freaking glad that we found the dog first. I cried enough anyway!

New Year's with Brother

I didn't exactly know what my New Year's plans were going to be, but I definitely didn't plan what happened. My brother called around 2 on NYE and said I'm on my way to your house, make sure you're there to let me in. I was able to leave work a few minutes early and we decided to go to dinner and see what happened from there. Around 7:30 we decided to go check to see if the liquor store was opened (it was- and it's within walking distance from my house, which is awesome). So loaded down with paper bags, we walked back to my house and proceeded to make pitchers of random beverages and play super drinking board games. We actually got super juvenile and played Operation and Memory and let me tell you, SD Memory will get you drunk. As it got closer to midnight we made Cham-Chams (aka Chambord & Champagne and side note again, did you know Chambord has it's own website?...third side note, I love Chambord in part because of the bottle). The annoying part was that my brother kept saying Cham-Chams. Then he asked my if I had plastic bags and bleach. That disturbed me. So he proceeded to tell me how he has just gotten the small pox vaccine and that you have to dispose of the band-aid in bleach and double plastic bags and how they get a lecture on not hitting people in there injection sites to stop the spread of the disease and how you get poked with a fork in order to get it. Then a few days later I got this in an email:

That's the small pox...and pus. It should end up looking like a regular scar. He said it looked like a weird nipple, which prompted my mom to respond that she doesn't like the word nipple. Gotta love my family.

Sinus Infection or The Reason Why My Christmas Tree is Still Up

Two weekends ago I got a fever. I thought I was catching my sister's cold. Then it went away. I was planning on cleaning my house and putting away all my decorations his past weekend when I got another fever. It lasted from Friday night until Monday morning. That's when I decided to go to the doctor's. I have a sinus infection. Yea. I'm on drugs now. My house still isn't clean though because I slept all weekend and haven't felt like doing anything the rest of the week (thus no updates). I do have to clean somewhat before this weekend because I am going back to DE to help my cousin with wedding stuff and someone is watching my dog. The Christmas stuff will still be all over, but the rest will be clean.

100 foods

2008-12-17T19:47:00.002-05:00

I stole this from T-Dawg, who also stole it.

1- Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2- Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3- Cross out any item that you would never consider eating. (I italized them because it was easier).

4- Optional extra – post a comment linking your results.

The VGT Omniovore’s Hundred:

1- Venison

2- Nettle tea

3- Huevos rancheros

4- Steak Tartare

5- Crocodile (technically no, but I’ve eaten alligator)

6- Black pudding

7- Cheese fondue

8- Carp

9- Borscht

10- Baba ghanoush

11- Calamari

12- Pho

13- PB&J sandwich

14- Aloo gobi

15- Hotdog from a street cart

16- Epoisses

17- Black truffle

18- Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19- Steamed pork buns

20- Pistachio ice cream

21- Heirloom tomatoes

22- Fresh wild berries

23- Foie gras

24- Rice and beans

25- Brawn, or head cheese (it sounds gross, but I’d probably eat it if nobody told me what it was)

26- Raw scotch bonnet pepper

27- Dulce de leche

28- Oysters

29- Baklava

30- Bagna cauda

31- Wasabi peas

32- Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33- Salted lassi

34- Sauerkraut

35- Root beer float

36- Cognac with a fat cigar (never had them together)

37- Clotted cream tea

38- Vodka jelly/Jell-o

39- Gumbo

40- Oxtail

41- Curried goat

42- Whole insects

43- Phaal (not sure if I’d eaten this, but I’ve had some kind of Indian curry dishes before)

44- Goat’s milk

45- Malt whiskey from a bottle worth $120 or more (thanks Pop-Pop, however, yuck.)

46- Fugu

47- Chicken tikka masala

48- Eel

49- Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (hells yea. Hot ones too)

50- Sea urchin

51- Prickly pear

52- Umeboshi (but the girls on America’s Next Top Model did)

53- Abalone

54- Paneer

55- McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56- Spaetzle

57- Dirty gin martini (I don’t like olives, but I’ve tried one)

58- Beer above 8% ABV

59- Poutine

60- Carob chips

61- S’mores

62- Sweetbreads

63- Kaolin (everything I read says it’s clay, which I haven’t eaten, but that it’s also in toothpaste and it’s a food additive, so I’m saying yes)

64- Currywurst

65- Durian

66- Frogs’ legs

67- Beignets, churros, elephants ears or funnel cake (yes to all)

68- Haggis

69- Fried plantain

70- Chitterlings or andouillette

71- Gazpacho

72- Caviar and blini (it’s gross, and I had it on crackers not blini)

73- Louche absinthe

74- Gjetost or brunost

75- Roadkill

76- Baijiu

77- Hostess fruit pie

78- Snail (tried one – bleh)

79- Lapsang souchong

80- Bellini

81- Tom yum

82- Eggs Benedict

83- Pocky

84- Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (I don’t do tasting menus, I eat)

85- Kobe beef (don’t think so, but maybe)

86- Hare (on a pizza, no less)

87- Goulash

88- Flowers (in salads)

89- Horse

90- Criollo chocolate

91- Spam

92- Soft shell crab

93- Rose harissa

94- Catfish

95- Mole poblano

96- Bagel and lox (no fish!)

97- Lobster thermidor

98- Polenta

99- Jamaican blue mountain coffee

100- Snake

I thought I had a pretty good mix of stuff I’ve tried and stuff I would try. If you look at it, just about all of my “no’s” are fish related. And things coming out of the ocean are gross. Although I’ve eaten sushi on occasion…and I like calamari.

Science: The Cocoa Experiment

2008-12-15T23:06:00.002-05:00

The last few times I have gone shopping (at either Walmart or the regular grocery store), hot chocolate has been on sale. I buy things on sale. Plus it's been cold here (although today it was in the upper 60s - weirdo weather), and I enjoy a nice cup of something warm in the evenings, preferably laced with something (e.g. rum, Kahlua, or creme de menthe). So I decided to experiment and see which hot chocolate I preferred.

Controls: All were the same price and all were Swiss Miss Brand. I tried 5 types (apparently my stores don't have the other 31 available cocoa flavors). I also used water heated via coffeemaker and not milk.

Sensible Sweets, Diet (25 cal) - didn't mix up too well, but over all decent flavor and the fact that it's 25 cal means adding the aforementioned alcohol isn't a super calorie fest. Yay drinking!

Mini Marshmallow (120 cal) - the marshmallows melted super fast. Then it tasted the same as the diet cocoa. Not worth it. Buy the diet and add your own marshmallows (or alcohol), or whipped cream.

Milk Chocolate (120 cal) - this one was actually a bit richer than the diet. A slightly darker flavor. It mixed up better too although I've found if you swirl your cup every so often it catches up most of the sediment.

Sensible Sweets, No Sugar Added (60 cal) - tasted exactly the same as the diet to me. And had a gram of fat where the diet has none. I have no idea why someone would drink this instead of the diet.

Indulgent Collection, French Vanilla (110) - quite tasty. Almost like one of the international foods coffees. Then again, it wasn't that much better than the diet. It had a definite vanilla flavor though, but that just interfered with the rum...I mean chocolate.

Overall, I say stick with the diet cocoa. You can add other stuff to it to suit your taste. I have never had a problem with sweetener flavor, so I might be totally tongue biased. I will hopefully find the other flavors and add to the cocoa experiment...but only if they are on sale.

Next foray into science - taste testing fast food honey mustards.

It's been awhile

2008-12-11T21:08:00.003-05:00

I've got nothing to say really.

The weather here has been weird.

I've been playing so much Rock Band/Guitar Hero in the last 4 days that my left hand hurts. My pinkie barely can move. Also, the song Vaseline is my downfall - it took me forever to get through it. Once I get all the songs on medium level I will switch over to drums. And that's about all that's new here.

I've got my tree up, and some other decorations. Our office at work is now decorated.

I made sweet & sour chicken with rice & edamame yesterday - it was pretty good. I just felt I needed to update. I will do something substantial (and by that I mean that the post will hopefully have a point) this weekend.

Thanksgiving Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

2008-12-03T19:33:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was like the usual. Mom picked up Roll & me on Wednesday night and drove like a psycho. Then she got J on Thursday morning while Roll and I peeled and chopped turnips, potatoes and apples. We had family cooking time in the kitchen. J made apple pie with lattice top and crumbles because he wanted 2nd crust and Roll wanted crumbles so their compromise was both. Mom & Roll worked on stuffing and I was general helper.

Then we played a rousing game of Where in the USA is Carmen San Diego?, and J & I created a new version of Battleship. Then we drank champagne (at noon) and instead of OJ, I used guava juice - good stuff. We had normal dinner, then played Apples to Apples with my mom's sorta boyfriend.

On Friday Blake came over and I had lunch with these people, and this girl. It had been a long long time since I've seen any of these GA/DC people and it was nice getting to see everyone. I wish we had more time. I'm glad that all of us seem to be happy. That night mom, Roll & I saw 4 Christmases.

Saturday was football day and it was f-ing miserable to watch Tech beat UGA. I still blame my brother for changing the channels. We then played Scat and Phase 10, where I just have to say Roll is a poor loser AND a poor winner.

Sunday our neighbors came over. One of them took the obligatory family picture, which did not come out as good as last year's. Here's one of the family, and one of the 3 kids.

All 3 of us had our flights delayed. There was bad weather up and down the east coast. I got in to RDU at about 9:30 and was home close to midnight. I loved being home and can't wait to see everyone in a month.

As an added bonus, my mom emailed the pictures. I had to help her download the ones she had one her camera. So included in the Thanksgiving pictures were ones from my brother's ceremony and other pictures she had. Here's one where my mom and I are pinning my brother.

Once J got assigned a unit, the first place he went for training was Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA. He stopped off at home for a few days before he went to camp and apparently stained the back porch. Here is his "first day of school" type picture as he left home and went to camp.

Hope everyone had a good holiday. Good luck on finals KT, hope you don't get any more crappy weekend phone calls Sarah.

Thanksgiving: Part 1- plane etiquette

2008-12-03T18:58:00.002-05:00

I went home to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. I flew because my mom found a good deal on a flight. My brother & sister flew too. Early on Wednesday evening, I parked at the Park & Ride at RDU and called my mom. The little bus came and I told her I'd call her later. No more than 15 minutes later, this conversation happened:

Me - "hey mom, remember when I called you and told you I was getting on the bus?"
Mom - "yes"
Me - "guess where I am now"
Mom - "Still on the bus?"
Me - "At the gate."
Mom - "What? That's crazy! All 32 security lines are open in Atl"
Me - "All...both, are open here".

People, I love me some RDU. I had to get my boarding pass too! The "wait" for security was like 2 minutes and I had to go back through the metal detector because I had my cell in my pocket (whoops). The one bad thing is the lack of places to eat. I did have a nice burger and huge beer at the sports bar there, but if you get stuck at night, the only thing open is Popeye's chicken, which eww.

The flight down was uneventful. But Internet, let me give you a hypothetical:

You're on a plane. It's 2 seats, aisle, 3 seats. You are in the middle seat on the 3 side. There is a person next to you by the window, thus leaving the aisle seat open. What do you do?

If you didn't say MOVE OVER then you must be the lady that sat next to me. I mean come on! It's an open seat. I'm not exactly a skinny person either, so you must have enjoyed the fact that my thigh touched yours for the majority of the flight. Seriously people, if the opportunity comes to give yourself and other people some more room - do it. Even if it's just an hour flight. I'm not saying you should move 4 rows up or anything, but sliding over 1 seat isn't that complicated.

Weekend

2008-11-23T17:53:00.003-05:00

This weekend I went to Raleigh. My brother is between duty stations (he has to report to VA on Monday) and I haven't seen him in a long time. The whole point was that I was going to help him arrange/pack some of his stuff so that when March comes around his move out will be super fast. That didn't happen. On Saturday I got there and he had "made a pile" of stuff that was trash, stuff for good will and stuff he wanted to take with him to VA. That was it. And that's all we did. I got his Playstation and a set of golf clubs to bring to my house. Then we went to my aunt & uncle's house to watch the UNC/NC State game (go Pack!). We had an outdoor fire and grilled a beer butt chicken on the grill. We also played about 4 games of Candyland and did various other activities with my youngest cousins. That night we went back to the boys' house and had an indoor fire (they don't turn their heat on - only the fire in the living room and portable heaters in bedrooms - it was 45 degrees on Saturday morning - inside).

Sunday the boys and I went to Golden Corral. There were quite a few interesting people there, including a Mexican cowboy, a young Conan O'Brien (who got potatoes everywhere and M&S sang the Conan theme song whenever he went by), an old lady who sat in my seat, a waiter who had he sleeves rolled up James Dean style, a group of 10 guys in camo who had clearly gone hunting that morning, an old man with the CAT trucker hat, and a bunch of Navy guys (it was Navy eats free day). I'll tell you something, those boys can make me laugh. I wasn't prepared for the Corral though and took like a 3 hour nap when I got home. Overall, good weekend.

** I forgot the part that I originally intended to be the "point' of this post. Today, I smell like a dude. Partly due to all the wood fires and the fact that I am wearing the same jeans 2 days in a row so that I smell like I've been camping. Partly due to the fact that I forgot deodorant and thus am wearing the new Old Spice.

Jeopardy

2008-11-20T19:15:00.003-05:00

This week is Jeopardy's Teen Challenge. There was one question in the pop culture (or something similar) category last night that was just sad.

Approx: "She was the host of Nickelodeon's Teen Choice Awards and took home awards for female singer and TV actress/comedy"

I couldn't decide which depressed me more - the fact that none of the 3 contestants knew the answer (nerds) or the fact that I did (hello, Miley Cyrus - duh).