"What I Want" -- The List

I took a long walk down memory lane today. I have mixed feelings about this walk. Part of me laughed out load at the notes between some of my best friends and myself during high school. The other part of me wanted to cry when I read an email from a dear friend who I would never see again. I also read a lot of things that I wrote during a very antsy and uncertain time of my life. It's like looking back at yourself 10 years ago and wanting to reach into that letter/email/IM and scream, "It will all turn out alright!" or "Don't date that guy, he's a jackass!" or "Cheer up, it's only PMS!!" It amazes me how much I angsted in my teens. It also amazes me that I'm exactly that same girl. I remember everything as if it happened yesterday. I remember the emotion attached to each letter, each scribble. Yup, I am that girl - just 10 years older and wiser.

I'm sure when I'm 40, I'm going to look back at myself now (age 27) and go, "Gee, I sure worried a lot." or "If only I knew then what I know now..."

In other news, I came across a list I created in my college years. It was hidden between pages in my Chem II notebook (i just threw up a little thinking about Chem II).

This list was simply titled, "What I Want."

I must have just gone through a break up with my high school love muffin, or gotten fed up with the Fratty boys I had dated. Whatever the reason, I decided to make a list of what I really wanted in a man. Here goes...

- someone I can be excited to start my life with

- someone I find very attractive, even on their ugly days

- ... who wants what I want in life

- ... I'd be proud to have kids with

- ... who could provide if I ever when I want to raise a family

- ... with passion about something

- ... who makes me feel hot

- ... who's genuinely happy

- ... who loves animals

- ... who makes me feel taken care of

- ... my parents LOVE

- ... who I can imagine giving a lot to and not always being selfish

- ... with excellent manners

- ... who makes me feel like a lady

- ... with amazing communication skills

- ... with a close relationship with their family

- Gotta be a Christian

I shared it with Happy Pants this evening. Funny how he meets all my "qualifications." I showed it to my mom too, and she said, God must have been reading that list over your shoulder. :)

Sometimes memory lane can lead to some neat findings. I also found a hilarious letter I wrote to my future self back in Junior High (in which my biggest crush, Matt, also added that I had a nice "toosh"), and a note from my mom when we were at a convention telling me that whatever happens, just be my wonderful, genuine self and no matter what, I was worth every penny that it cost to be there.

Twas fun. I only have the energy to walk memory lane once in a blue moon. It's pretty dang exhausting reliving your past, but I wouldn't trade any of it.

Meant to beeeeee

Sooo...my love (Happy Pants) and I have a few cute stories about times where we've either been "married" or "engaged" according to someone or something.

It's like the universe is trying to tell us something.

That or everyone is crazy.

That or we just look like an old married couple.

That or I have this giddy glow about me.

OR it's just in the cards that we're meant to be. (and I don't believe in cards, I believe in God, but I'm just sayin'...)

Anyhoo. The first time Happy Pants brought me home to his mom's was Christmas of 2008. It was too early by all my standards to be going to meet mom. And at Christmastime of all times! But I went anyway because I'm nuts. On Sunday morning at church, his grandfather (who already loved me, I just know it) announced to the whole church, "This is my grandson and his fiance." Granted, he was 78 at the time. He's allowed to have a brain fart. My boyfriend's brother turned to us and quietly joked, "When were you going to tell the rest of us?"

Recently, a magazine along with a few pamphlets showed up at my house from Sandals resorts. It was their wedding and honeymoon information. I don't know who or what caused these to arrive in my hands. I may or may not have thumbed through each of them. ;)

About a month ago, while in Arkansas for a wedding, my boyfriend and I were patiently waiting for an elevator in our hotel. While waiting, a charming little 8 or 9 year old with a huge grin on her face approached us. We smiled back at her and asked if she was going up. She just looked at both of us a little longer, analyzing. Then she finally spoke, "You've got a nice wife!" to which Happy Pants replied, "Thank you!" Then we got on the elevator (alone) and giggled at the little girl's odd remark. We didn't feel the need to explain to an 8 year old. Just go with the flow on that one.

And at work, there's my boss who constantly checks my ring finger and calls Happy Pants my "future husband to be."

Then you count the multiple people and multiple times Happy Pants has heard "When are you going to put a ring on her finger?" and "Never mind how the weekend went, did you propose?" Poor guy. He gets it from his co-workers too. Even ones I've never met. It's awesome.

I guess he doesn't need any pressure from this girl. He's got all the "hints" he could have ever asked for. Personally, I can't wait. Each weekend I spend with him I feel we grow closer.

I can, however, wait to plan a wedding [shudder]. Talk about stress.

A week of hard(ish) conversations

Remember I started that job that didn't pay well, but it was something in a time where I was desperate?

Well, my last day was Friday.

Pros:

No more waking up at 5:30

No more driving an hour in God-knows-what kind of traffic

No more wearing a suit every day

Cons:

No more paycheck (even if it was teensie weensie)

No, I didn't just up and quit. I thought long and hard about the thought of staying there. I also gained information that I wasn't given in my interview. Information that may have swayed my decision in ever starting. I was finally able to ask my questions and I got a highly disappointing answer. The day I found out that the chance of them paying what I needed was very low, I was completely bummed. Then I had to go to work every day pretending to care when, mentally, I had already checked out.

I remembered during my interview, Holly asked me to be totally honest with her. If I ever got bored, or decided it wasn't for me, to tell her and she'd be happy to find me something else. So I called her on a Thursday right at 5:00 and spilled the beans. It would have been MUCH easier to just leave and never come back and assume they understood why. But I owed it to them to tell them it wasn't where I saw myself in a few years down the road, and that it would never pay me what I needed. I have never in my life sat down a boss and told them that it wasn't going to work. That was hard convo #1.

Once the owner got wind of my leaving, he scheduled a time to sit down and talk to me. So I gave him the same info that I gave Holly. And, bless him, he didn't beg me to stay. Sometimes I get caught up or put on the spot, and I'm too nice and I'll agree to almost anything. But thankfully, he could see that I just wasn't passionate about the company. He was very gracious, and so was I. But it was still hard to look him in the eye and tell him that HIS company, his blood, sweat, and tears, wasn't my calling. That was hard convo #2.

Some other night that week, on my long drive home, I was talking to my boyfriend. He is probably almost as stressed as I am about my lengthy and painful job search. So during the conversation, we both got really stressed out and started taking it out on each other. However, we finally decided to act like adults and share our feelings - stuff we've put off saying (because at times, there is no point in bringing it up when there's no solution). He feels very out of control of the whole situation, as do I. The situation being us having been together over a year, and never having lived in the same area code. He lives in Austin and I live in DFW. Does it make us not want to be together? No. We can't imagine not being together. He said if we have to continue doing this long-distance, then he's in it for the long haul. But wouldn't it be great to not have to schedule a week in advance to see each other? Wouldn't it be amazing to just have dinner together after work? Unwind with a glass of wine together? Cuddle up and watch a movie on a rainy day? HELL YES! We want that!!! So that was hard convo #3.

Now I start from square one tomorrow. I have a list of places I want to call/email/apply. Some in Austin, some here in DFW. My boyfriend was up visiting this weekend, and we had a wonderful weekend together. It really made all the craziness fade into the background. :)

I also want to add A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful sister, CJR. She turns the big 3-0 today. I just know that this year is going to be an amazing one for her and her new life with Lobster. Love you guys!

Christmas Shenanigans

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. I just so happened to have a great one. Here are a few tidbits of my fabulous last few days.

- Snow on Christmas Eve in Texas! Yup, that's right. We had a blizzard all day on the 24th. I have never seen snow blow completely horizontally. See below...

- Dreaming of a white Christmas? Snow was still on the ground Christmas morning. :)

- My baby drove up Christmas day to spend the next few days with me. I wish he could have been here for all our Christmas Eve traditions, but he had a family shindig. I am just happy to have him when I could. Compromise is something I'm still getting used to when it comes to holidays and families in three different cities.

- Catchphrase is the world's most AWESOME game. Playing sober is fun, but playing after a few drinks is UBER fun. I think we played for 6 hours. I have video on that too, but I don't want to embarrass/incriminate my loved ones in my blog. ;) I would never do such a thing.

- My biggest surprise gift this year had to be my Keurig K-cup coffee machine. I had a perfectly (cheap) basic Mr. Coffee pot and didn't expect anything coffee-related at all. But now that I have my Keurig, I don't see how I've survived 27 years without it! (Ok, only like 8 years of my coffee-drinking life). You plop in a K cup, press it down firmly, press the shiny blue button and BAM, you've got a perfect cup of coffee. Brilliant.

- My most-used gift was definitely my Flip video camera that my boyfriend bought me. I got snow/blizzard footage, church service footage, silly Catchphrase footage, future brother-in-law screaming like a girl while making a snow angel footage, etc.

- I made the infamous Monkey Bread for the first time. Turned out great! So did my broccoli cheese casserole on Christmas day. Score!

- I got sick on Dec. 23 for the second year in a row. I made my annual trip to the doctor and let him do another strep test. This year, it's not strep! Yay! But it was a bacterial thing. Boo! Not to worry though, I got me some amoxicillin.

- I made myself (and my mom) a deal that I wouldn't completely wig out about being unemployed over the holidays (since there is essentially nothing I can do over Christmas). I continued obsessively applying through the 23rd. Since that time, I have made a concerted effort to just relax. That's not to say that a few Eeyore moments haven't crept up on me, but I'm doing fairly well. I will likely (99% sure) get back on the obsessive-compulsive job hunt tomorrow.

- I thoroughly THOROUGHLY enjoyed having the whole family together. I'm so very blessed to have two amazing parents, my sister and her fiance, and my boyfriend all spend quality time together under one roof. I made sure to take lots of mental pictures (and flip videos).

Now that the company has all gone home and the house is quiet, I realize that New Year's Eve is only a few days away. So I must go rest up (I'm going to sleep like a rock) and recover from my tequila induced Catchphrase over-indulgence that was this weekend.

The Happy Award!

Thanks to CJR at Girl v. The World, I now have a new Shiny! A "Ten Things That Make Me Happy" Award!

Here are the rules of the award:

Copy the award image in your post.
List 10 things that make you happy, and try to do at least one of them today.
Then, tag 10 bloggers that make you happy!

For the 10 bloggers who get the award, link back to me and spread the happiness!

Here is my list:

1) I couldn't survive day-to-day without the amazing support and love from my mom, dad, and two beautiful (inside and out) sisters. My family makes me incredibly happy.

2) Happy Pants (boyfriend). I'm insanely lucky to have a guy who not only adores me, but talks about the future with me without any fear in his voice, loves his family as much as I love mine, and automatically knows when something is on my mind. Couldn't have asked for a better man.

3) Christmas trees, Christmas music, Christmas gift-giving, Christmas lights, Christmas caroling, Christmas martinis. You see a pattern? I really like Christmas season (minus the annoying crowds).

4) Baking goodies for other people. This is a new love of mine. It's quite fun.

5) My dog. I love to make him happy. I love to see his little face looking up at me. I love waking up next to him. He makes me so happy and I'm not sure he realizes that I may need him more than he needs me.

6) Speaking of my dog - animals. They make me happy. I believe they are inherently good and pure.

7) My Squishy (aka my new SUV). I really love my car. Every time I climb in or see it in my driveway, I giggle. Is that really mine? Did I really buy that? Hehe.

8) A steaming cup of glorious coffee and big breakfast on a Saturday morning. How is that not appealing as heck?

9) Experiencing new things. When you get to feel like a kid again, seeing something for the first time, there's really no better feeling. Everyone should explore their inner child every now and then.

10) Cupcakes. I don't know what it is about them. It could taste like cardboard and I'm thrilled to be eating it!

Four Christmas (in one day)

I attended my 2nd annual "MoB" (mother of boyfriend) gathering. And when I say gathering, I don't use that term lightly. We're talking 25 people (at least) at each party. They all live within walking distance of each other. So when you go visit boyfriend's mom, expect to have dinner with 12-30 others, each arriving with a hefty platter of food. We are never under-fed. ;)

This Christmas I knew it would be a short and sweet visit. Not because I'm busy and employed, but because boyfriend is.

We arrived at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Wait, let me back up for a second. I ended up stopping at no other than Starbucks (my mecca) to grab some java, and quickly (ha!) change my clothes into more presentable attire. Once I finally get into the bathroom, I try to change so quickly that I end up twisting my ankle while maneuvering my way into my jeans. Who does that? (It was also brought up later, and I felt silly explaining how one twists one's ankle at Starbucks). But I digress...

So 12:30, and we are already late for par-tay #1. It was at some aunts (??) house. We're really just there to take up space and use up oxygen, as this party is mostly about the kiddos. So we eat dinner #1 (I pace myself) and the four of us (me, boyfriend, his brother, and brother's girlfriend) crack dirty jokes in the corner, laugh and amuse ourselves while 5-year-olds open gifts and squeal with delight.

End of par-tay #1. We then sneak - literally sneak, because I was told "leave now...or else" and realize that obligatory family pictures were being taken. We sneak (run) back over to mom's house and watch football (ugh) until par-tay #2.

Par-tay #2 starts around 2:00 p.m. This party holds a whole different large group of people. I am more familiar with these folks. There was Derek who told me last year, and I quote, "Knowing this guy, I may not see you next year." What??!!! Did he really say that? Everyone gasped. He meant it as a jab at boyfriend that I would surely dump him by next year, but it came out more like he would bring a different girl next year. So, as I greeted Derek on year #2, I made sure to give him the stink eye...and a whole lotta crap!

Let's not leave out gift time. We all sat around and did a gift exchange. Just pass and open. Nothing fancy, organized, or quiet. Pretty much as much chaos as you'd expect with a room full of infants and children and smart-alecky 20 and 30-somethings (who, us???). I open my gift from his Mimi and Papaw and realize it's an 8 x 10 picture of boyfriend during his pubescent years!! AHAHAHAHAHA! I have never seen that boy embarrassed, but I think he was. The second his brother and brother's girlfriend cracked some jokes at his expense, the girlfriend opened her own picture of boyf's brother in 8th grade!! AHAHAHAH! But the funniest part was that Mimi was completely serious. Giving us those pics was no joke for Mimi! I told boyfriend I would proudly place it right on my desk. ;)

Par-tay #3. Getting closer. We are presented with yet another dinner. This is a different group of adults and children. I remember the 4 cute little girls well from last year. I became friends with one this year. I let her be my white elephant gift exchange helper. She ate it up! Boyfriend said later that as he was watching us unwrap a gift together, he realized that she looks like she could be my daughter. I guess we DO have the same features. I would have had to have her at 20 though. Totally do-able. (awww, he thinks about me as a mom??!!!)

Anyhoo, I ended up with the SAME white elephant gift as I received at christmas #1. I got a santa holding decorative Christmas towels. Last year it was a reindeer holding decorative Christmas towels. What are the odds? And where will I put them?

Par-tay #4 took place late at night, around 11:00 p.m. with just boyfriend's family; a total of seven. Whew! I was deliriously tired from all previous par-tays, and a speedy trip to Walmart for chillable red wine, but I managed to stay awake. Lots of fab gifts were exchanged.

One thing I learned this Christmas that I will NEVER again forget is this: Never, ever leave the plans to boyfriend. He doesn't know what's going on. Either because he has gotten the wrong information, or because he doesn't bother to ask. I try to make it clear to him that I am a girl and I need details. Well, I could not have felt like a bigger ASS when his brother and brother's girlfriend got me gifts and I had NOTHING to give them in return. I had asked again and again and he said not to worry about it. But I shall try not to dwell on the negative..

All complaints aside, a great, whirl wind-y, four Christmases all in one day! I survived year #2 and Derek better look out when I show up for year #3!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

My Weekend In Numbers

I had a great weekend. My baby came to visit, I cooked for us (successfully) and there was much football. Had we done any Christmas shopping, then it may have just been the perfect weekend.

My weekend in numbers...

1.5 - number of hours it took me to make King Ranch Chicken. Turned out so good! I will totally make this again.

45 - number of minutes I allowed myself for a nap on Saturday.

10 - number of minutes I actually slept out of that 45 allowance.

4:30 - the time we arrived at the Cowboy's stadium to tailgate for the Big 12 Championship game.

25 - number of minutes I had to stand in line at the ONE port-o-potty near our tailgate. Miserable? Yes, considering it felt like ten degrees outside. And let's not discuss how disgusting the port-o-potty actually was. (shudder). Let's also not discuss how I dropped my glove on the nasty, E. coli covered floor (double shudder). And we may as well just leave out the fact that someone ahead of me went the big #2 and I had to endure it when my turn finally arrived (quadruple shudder!).

2 - number of hours that I froze my little butt off tailgating. I then sat in my car with my heater full blast and let my raw fingers thaw out. They started to itch like crazy (proof that I had minor frostbite as a child).

467 - number of ultimate nachos for $8.50. I ate about 7 of them. Then I had heartburn.

13/12 - final score of the Texas/Nebraska game! HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!

2:30 - time on Sunday that my man had to leave me. Wahh!!!

2:40 - time that he texted me, "Babe, I'm coming back for you. Pack up your stuff." I actually considered and let him know that I would not need much convincing. I could easily pack myself and my chihuahua. Might be fun. No? Then reality set in, and I don't have a job, which means I couldn't get a place of my own...so I guess that won't work.....

45 - number of degrees outside when I took a nice evening stroll - chihuahua wrapped up in my jacket and all. It was cold and misty, but at least I got my walk on.

Hope everyone else had an equally fab weekend.

Getting Older and Not-So-Much Wiser

Sooooo.... I want to talk about my birthday that I celebrated 2 weeks back. I turned the big 2-7. Ugh. I really would have been thrilled if we all just stopped counting after 25. 25 was just fine. Can't we just stick with what works?

Maybe part of my beef with turning 27 is the fact that I still easily pass for 19. That, in itself, annoys me to no end.

But I digress....

My boyfriend came up on a Friday night and I made us dinner. Spaghetti.

While I was cooking our spaghetti and waiting on him to arrive, I popped open a bottle of red and played some cheesy Italian music (you know the kind you find in your music channels on tv?). I had my second glass of wine with dinner. No harm done, right? Little did I know, he brought a bottle of tequila and we wanted to try it, so we toasted to my birthday. No, I didn't NEED a shot but I took one anyway. My birthday, dammit.

An hour after dinner, I had a splitting headache. I wrote it off as just being sleepy, so we went to bed. The next morning I unwilling got my butt out of bed and baked us some blueberry muffins, feeling like crap the whole time but trying not to be grumpy because I really like to be a good hostess when he's here.

Fast forward a few hours. I still feel like hell, but we have a big night planned for my birthday that night. He got us a hotel room downtown so that we could have a great time and not worry about driving home that night. A very nice surprise :) But instead of getting dolled up as I would normally do, I put on a track suit and dragged my disheveled and unshowered self out the door and he drove us downtown to our hotel.

20 minutes into our drive, I come THIS close to losing my muffins all over the car. But, I make it to the hotel and we check in and I sit on the bed holding my upset tummy. Fun date I am.

Fast forward an hour. My man goes on a wild goose chase to find me some Alka-Seltzer, which ended up being about a 3 block walk down the street from our hotel. I take the Alka-Seltzer and luckily it really helps. So then I finally get showered and dressed and hit my favorite outdoor bar. Whoo!

I promised myself I would have a good time no matter how I felt. So I had a few drinks at my favorite bar. Then more people started showing up and things got a bit more silly. Perfect! :) By then I've had about 4 drinks. Nothing crazy, nothing unusual, but enough to feel it. As people started leaving, he and I left with another couple who took us to 2 more bars, where (apparently) I had a Red Bull & vodka drink at each bar. No biggie. Nothing horribly unusual.

Next thing I know, I wake up in my hotel bed and have ZERO recollection of anything past the piano bar. Yikes. I'm ashamed to admit that because I don't think it's safe or normal. Thank God I was with my boyfriend, who I trust completely to take care of me. And he did.

(side note: I NEVER get sick after drinking. The worst I ever experience is a headache and/or dehydration.)

After my boyfriend explains to me what I "missed" last night, I roll my happy, hung-over butt out of bed and go throw up. I do that three more times in the hotel. Then we leave the hotel, and I throw up twice in my brand new car.

Awesome.

My parents had my cake and presents ready and awaiting my arrival and it was all I could do to not throw up on all of it. I put on a smile for b-day pictures, but in my head I was just repeating, "Please don't puke, please don't puke..." But I successfully blew out my candles and everyone gobbled up the world's yummiest cake. Everyone but me. (Waaahhh!!)

My point of this way-too-long story is that:

a) I am an idiot who drank too much on her 27th birthday, OR

b) I was already sick to begin with, and drinking didn't help, OR

c) All of the above

Happy 25th....er....27th to me! My goal for this year: Don't be an idiot ;)

Bragging Rights

I have to brag just a little on my boyfriend.

My family is celebrating a 65th wedding anniversary party/family reunion in 2 weeks (that I failed to mention to boyfriend because it's so very far in the future). I decided to mention it to him yesterday because it dawned on me that he would be at a University of Texas football game and unable to come. Sigh...

This made me sad.

However, I would never have expected him to attend this party with me because:

a) He had already paid for his very first season tickets, and that would be like wasting money.

b) I knew this particular weekend was already off limits for doing much else. Damn football season..

So I had already written off the idea of him coming with me.

Until later.

He called me and said that if this was important to me, he would gladly give the tickets to someone else. And believe me, there are plenty of takers.

[He also said that had this been the weekend of the UT/Texas Tech game, then we may have an issue. But that's beside the point.]

I decided that this was important enough to me. How often do we get all these folks together? Not often enough. And how much longer will some of them be around? You never know.

I want him to meet the ladies so they can tell me, "He's dahling honey, just daahling!" and ask silly things like, "When's the wedding?" and "It'll be great to have another lawyer in the family." And I want the men to have the opportunity to grill him (in a lighthearted way, of course) and share war stories, and bond over football, discuss power tools, and toast to the beautiful and talented women who make them the men they are today...

Granted, it's only my dad's side of the family. We can work on the yankee half of my family later (when we plan that trip to Chicago that he doesn't know about yet.)

After our conversation about him coming, I had these warm fuzzy feelings running through my body, so I texted him something like, "You're so sweet. Thank you for doing that for me." And he replied with "You deserve it."

I love my man.

And I really do hope I deserve him.

iLove

Soooo....I recently decided to say farewell to a miserable cell phone service that has caused me to pull out my hair on multiple occasions, and switch to a provider who I believe is better (and sells the iphone). So long Blackberry. Helloooo iphone!

I must say - I'm completely loving it. My boyfriend and I planned it just right. We switched services together. This is important, you see, because he lives about 230 miles away and we depend on our phones as our main source of communication. And since we talk about 1600 minutes a month to each other alone, free mobile-to-mobile minutes is the ONLY way to go. So for the past week, because we decided to both get the iphone, our conversations have been going more like this:

"So what apps have you dowloaded?"

"Tap Tap revenge 2 is fun!!"

"Oooooh did you see how you can turn it sideways and get a wider screen?"

"Wow!! I'm actually getting service at my kitchen table/in bed/in the bathroom/on my back porch!"

"Wait - what will we do without blackberry messenger?" (<--still having withdrawals from this one. But still couldn't pay me to go back.)

Ok, that's enough iphone talk. For now.

My man and I had a good weekend together. He came up for a visit, and Friday night I decided to.........wait for it......cook him dinner. [insert dramatic music here].

So my day Friday went like this:

1) Wake up early (yawn) and go to my meeting. Nod, smile, politely chit chat, and haul ass out of there. Time is of the essence!

2) Go to the grocery store for 1 thing: chicken.

3) Proceed to spend $107 on groceries. (What???)

4) Get home, unpack, make coffee, clean everything on the planet.

5) May have downloaded an iphone app or two while cleaning.

6) Start cooking dinner, had to get on facebook and ask for help on how to cook my chicken.

7) Chicken boils over and makes scary burning noises.

8) Save chicken and cook the rest of the dinner.

9) Boyfriend pulls in at EXACTLY the moment the oven beeps (go me!!!)

10) Pour glass of favorite red wine and play some nice music.

11) Dinner turns out well (yay!) and he loved it.

In conclusion, I successfully made a dinner that didn't suck. I also did not start any small fires or melt any kitchen utensils. I consider that a success as well.

The rest of our weekend was fun too. We went out with some of my friends on Saturday night, had some dinner and went to a new bar that just opened. It was rather nice. Then we spent Sunday (today) being complete and total BLOBS on the couch, which we don't get to do nearly enough together. So we made it a point to be lazy today, but that wasn't until after we cooked a big and yummy breakfast. Then we sat and watched Travel channel and cuddled up with my dog (who always has to be right in the middle of us. The warmest and smallest space he can find).

He left today around 1:30 and it's always hard to say goodbye. But it's ok because I know that eventually we'll live in the same town. I don't know when and I don't know where, but it will all fall into place when it's supposed to. (Look at me and my positive thinking today! haha)

Drivin' Me Daisy!!!

I was just looking around the backyard and spotted a handful of cute, very happy-looking white daisies which reminded me of a story (story time?! Yay!!!!)

Many many moons ago, when my boyfriend and I first started dating (ok, so several months ago),when things were newly romantic and extra sweet. The days when goodnight phone calls averaged 3 hours (versus 30 minutes now).  Anyhoo, at that point in time during one of our marathon conversations, he said that if he had to pick a flower that reminded him of me, it would be the daisy.

I gotta admit, I was a little offended:  So.....I'm like a weed.   How common and boring. 

He, being a fresh law school graduate, argued his reasoning: "No, I think daisies are one of the most beautiful flowers..." he went on to explain how they were beautiful in an understated way. A flower that was not nearly as high maintenance as an over-rated exotic flower, and can fit in any garden (i.e., situation) perfectly.  A flower that looks happy and, in turn, makes people happy by looking at it. 

Hmm... I like it.  Although, I guess I would have liked to call myself a bright and cheerful tulip or an elegant calla lily (ha!) , but I'll go with it.

So after a while of playful arguing about why I couldn't possibly be a daisy, I realized that we had distinctly different visions of what a daisy looked like.  While I saw this....

He saw this...

It was then that I decided I loved his analogy and I was most definitely honored to be a daisy. His daisy. 

Unfortunately, by that time I had already kicked his compliment in the shins.  I guess I have a way to doing that. It's a wonder he puts up with me.

Now that I think about it, it could have gone much, much worse. At least he didn't liken me to a cactus. Dry and prickly.  

(disclaimer: I love even the so-called "boring" white daisies.  Perhaps I was PMSing when this conversation happened. Please refrain from judging me on the high-maintenance-exotic-flower day I was having.)

A Few Thoughts For A Thursday

Well, technically, I had thoughts to write this blog on Monday, but it would be ludicrous to call this Thursday blog "A Few Thoughts For A Monday."  Ya follow?  No?  Me either. 

Let me apologize in advance for the inner workings of my brain.  

A few things I'm lovin' right about now:

1)  So You Think You Can Dance (i.e., SYTYCD).  Who doesn't love this show?  It's the dance version of American Idol.  And who doesn't love that show?  Oh but don't get me started on AI. I loved Kris, but puh-leeze! Adam should have won! I have lost faith in my fellow AI voters. Never mind the fact that I never pick up the phone to vote. I just like to sit back and complain during the results shows, but that's completely beside the point. Back to SYTYCD - if you have never watched it, tune in next time and soak in all the dance-y goodness!

2) New Moon (i.e., Book #2 of the Twilight series).  Soo good.  I'm gonna start a countdown for the movie.  It comes out Nov. 20.   Ladies and gentleman, start your (old fixer-upper wobbly motorcycle) engines.   Hehe. 

3) Wine.  Yum.  Went to a wine tasting last night with some co-workers. Good company + good wine + beautiful rolling hills + slight buzz = great time.  We couldn't help but talk over the poor woman who was enthusiastically giving us (an unappreciated) history lesson in wine. We tend to talk over everyone, really. We're a loud bunch.  Anyhoo, one of the white wines was described as white flower and nectarine tasting.  What exactly does a white flower taste like?  I wonder how you get THAT job.  I wanna be a wine-maker-upper-of- flavors-and-aromas person.  My first wine will be likened to.......hamster and elderberry! (note: if you are not a Monty Python fan, you will not get that joke. You should be ashamed of yourself.)

4) My boyfriend. We crack me up.   For instance...

Him: You see that lawn chair over there? The red one?

Me: There is nothing red within ten miles of us right now. 

Him: Not the white one laying down in the yard, but past that one. The red one standing upright. 

Me: (long pause) Red???

Him: (getting obviously more irritated with me) Yes, the red one!!!

Me: It's not red!

Him: Ugghhhh!!

Me: (speaking softly now) It's more of a...terra cotta...

Him: Oh my gosh..

Me: So what about this so-called "red" chair?

Him: Nevermind.

And then today...

Me: I layed out by the pool today!

Him: Oh yeah? Which bathing suit did you decide to wear?

Me: The coral one.  [I should have known better]

Him: The strapless one?

Me: No, that strapless one is BROWN!

Him: I don't know what coral is!! The pink one??!!

Me:  (Sigh!) No, the coral one!

Aren't we just a bucket of fun?  :)  

I will have to sit him down one day with some paint swatches -- oh goodness -- how will things be when we paint our future house one day??!!!!  I can just see it now...

Me: Hey babe, I'm thinking we should do our master bath a pale canary.

Him: Hmm...I don't like purple.

Me: Lord help us. 

5) Facebook flair application.  How sweet is it to show off your "flair" in the form of super cute buttons?  Love wiener dogs? There's a button for that.  Have a thing for Chuck Norris? (weirdo). There's a button for that. Love all things Edward, Jacob, and Forks? There's flair for that too! It's so fun! What more can you ask from Facebook? 

6) Conan O'Brien.  L.O.V.E. him.  Sooooo glad he got an earlier time slot.  Number five (above) reminded me of why I love Conan so much (besides the fact that he's a crazy, hilarious, freakishly tall redhead).  Last night he said that in the year 3,000 the ever popular websites Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook would be joined to create one website called, YouTwitFace.  

HAHAHAHA!

Man, that guy is hilarious. I laughed all by myself for like 30 minutes. And then again today for about 15. 

That's all I can muster up for now.  But stay tuned sweet bloggers.  

Ciao!!

Bienvenidos a Miami!

Well hello everyone.  I had a fabulous trip to Miami last week.  It all began with little sleep the week before, very little sleep the night before, and then waking up at 5 a.m. to catch an early morning flight. But it was exciting! Boyfriend drove up here to fly with me, then we flew to Florida, went through the grueling process of renting a car and maneuvering around an airport (blah), but at least we were finally there.  Together.  Yay! 

And you know what's even better? My boy told me that he had a surprise for me on the first night 

there. He wasn't going to tell me until we got on the plane. So on the plane I asked him. He told me that we were going on "a nice little drive."  From previous conversations, I then realized that meant we were going to Key West!!  I was sooooo excited! And he totally pulled of surprising me with this part! I didn't have a clue. I might have guessed Disney World, but not Key West. The Keys win any day over Disney World.  Palm trees and amazing clear-blue water, or long lines and crowded, germ-filled rides?  Hmmmm... 

So we drove 3 hours in our little rented Hyundai Sonata (that I sprayed down with my Coconut Lime Verbena body splash to mask the stinky feet smell from the lovely previous renter). Then we were off!  Part of the drive was normal highway stuff (except for the TALL palm trees lining every street. Love it!)  Then as we got into the Keys, the water became more clear blue and more amazing. All I could say for a full hour was "Wow."  I'm sure my boyfriend was amused by my amused-ness.  I have never seen water look like that. Even in Hawaii.  It's so many different depths - deep blue, then clear aqua blue, then a light clear blue in the shallow sandy parts. Simply magnificent! 

Three "wow"-filled hours later we arrived at our hotel. The Sheraton.  It couldn't be a cuter more beachy hotel.  Then the nice guy behind the desk upgraded our room so that we had a balcony view of our pool, which was really nice.  And the shower in this room was so great. It was huge, all marble, gorgeous, and would fit 4 people (not that I would want to shower with 4 people, but you see my point). 

Our 1 day and 1 night trip to the Keys was great! We went out on Duval street that night. That's where all the famous little place are, like Margaritaville. Good times!! 

And you know what's great about getting lost in "downtown" Key West at 1 a.m.? Everything!!!  We accidentally found mile marker zero and the big marker for the southernmost point of the continental U.S.  You could be no further south than we were at that moment.  Those pictures are some of my fave from this trip. Plus, I had a few drinks, which made running amok in a foreign island town super fun.   A few other highlights from Key West included Margaritaville (yum), eating famous Key Lime Pie from the Blond Giraffe (yum again), and the friendly pooch we met who lived on the beach with his bum owner (who I decided would now be known as "Island Puppy"), and an incredible Banyan tree that I happened to get a great picture of.   

Key West is fantastic.  I highly recommend it. 

Then we were off to our main destination for this trip: South Beach.  We drove right through Miami to get to our hotel. The good news was that I got to see beautiful downtown Miami and the water, cruise ships, celebrity mansions and yachts.  The bad news is that it was basically rush hour and Miami traffic sucks!!!! But we finally arrived! Even though this was a very nice hotel and right in the middle of all the action, we realized how very spoiled we were from our hotel in the Keys.  Oh well.   We settled in and rested from our long drive and finally took a walk around the place. We had dinner at our poolside bar where we met our bartender, Jean. Then we met the hotel Manager, who knew my boyfriend's friend who ended up getting us a good deal at this hotel.  So then we all had this common friend and from this point on, we got a 50% discount at this bar/restaurant. Sweet!!!  Then, my man and I proceeded to run around the moonlit beach and snap pictures in the dark (hey, I was determined to get pictures!).  I decided it would be a brilliant idea to make sand angels, although I'm not sure you could see the angel and I'm fairly certain that to any bystander, he and I just looked like drunken idiots flailing about on the sand.  Ha.

Here's my take on South beach and Miami as a whole - it's a lot of fun and there's plenty to do. However, if you aren't filthy rich, have a perfect body, or drive a $100,000 car, then you don't really stand out down there.  Don't get me wrong, it was definitely a worth-while trip, but after visiting Key West, he and I decided that we would have preferred 4 nights in KW and 1 night in SoBe.  Guess it all depends on your current mood: tropical getaway, or party on the beach. 

A few highlights from my SoBe experience: Again, the palm trees (I have a thing with trees), gorgeous blue water and light sand, good food and great poolside bar, Lincoln Road (great shopping, restaurants and people watching), very multi-cultural (lots of Europeans and Cubans), dining at Barton G. (minus the martini going down my dress, but that's a whole other blog), and my sweet boyfriend being a total lobster after not using my readily available sunscreen, and me being able to say "I told you so!!!"   

My boy and I did learn a few things about each other too. We learned that this was our first "grown-up" trip together. Meaning we had been on trips before, but usually with family of some sort. This was our first trip where we were 100% in control of our own schedule, which makes a world of difference.  We also learned that we spent 5 full days/nights together and were nowhere near tired of one another! Nice, huh?!   I think I may even miss his company more after that trip.  Interesting.

I managed to leave Florida with a few souvenirs too.  I got a tee shirt and shot glass from Margaritaville.  Oh, and let's not forget the 150 pictures I took to remember our trip.  I warned my boyfriend I would be a camera freak and I definitely kept my word on that. 

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work I . . . Go?

I realized the other day that I haven't posted a new blog in close to 2 months.  What kind of blogger am I? Not a good one, that's for sure. Certainly you all forgive me.  Right?

Here I sit on my couch, on my comfiest soft chocolate-y brown blankie, chihuahua curled up next to me (of course!), with Beauty and the Beast on in the background. Oh yes, and I'm sipping on hazelnut coffee while my laundry finishes.  And yesterday I went for a nice run, flipped through my People magazine while I layed out (must. get. tan.), showered, made quesadillas, wrapped a birthday gift for my sister, and went to a clogging class (I will explain this later).  I know the excitement must be overwhelming. ;) 

Well, here's the deal.  I have been out of work (I guess you could say that) for a few weeks now.  Since I'm in the oil & gas industry, things go up and down.  Needless to say, this has been a "down" time.  I wasn't worried until about a week ago. Not only was I worried about survival on beans and rice, but about my sanity as well.  I'm one of those people that doesn't like to sit still for too long. I get serious cabin fever. And it's hard not to feel worthless when you aren't working.  AND on top of that, when you have all this (gotta love it) free time, how do you NOT spend money??!!!!  What a predicament!

So this is why I'm a bum, sitting around in my comfy clothes, doing laundry and watching Disney movies.  Whatareyagonnado? (Not to worry, folks. I start back up at work on the 19th. Thank God.)

Now let's talk about this clogging thing. I desperately want to tap or clog or step or SOMETHING! I love rhythm stuff - stepping, stomping, whatever.  I just think it's fantastic!  Ballet isn't really my thing; I've been known to trip over my own feet. Swing dancing looks fun, but I'd 

need a partner. I can't really see my other half taking dance classes with me (although he IS a good sport...hmmmm).  Ballroom dancing in general is too slow for my liking...and what's with the weird head turning thing?  I love dance as a whole, but I don't love ME doing most dances.  

So anyway, I heard of a friend of a friend who takes clogging nearby, so I decided to check it out. Turns out, I think I would really love it.  Still don't have a clue how it's different from tap, but who cares?  And what a fun way to workout?  

In other more exciting news (what!? clogging wasn't exciting enough for you?)...

I'M GOING TO MIAMI IN JUST A FEW DAYS!!!!!  The boyfriend and I have made all the arrangements and we're so very ready to go!  This is why I have been diligent about working out.  I must be in decent bikini shape while I'm there, especially because we're staying in South Beach, and that place is notorious for famous and/or beautiful people. I wouldn't want to offend them with my white-ness or out-of-shape-ness.  Haha!

Ummmkay, don't I have something better to do?  Oh yeah, that's right...

 

Thoughts About March

Good morning fellow bloggers! I have nothing profound to say today, but actually have a semi working laptop and a decent wireless connection, so figured I should entertain myself.

I have decided to write on the pros and cons about March.

Pros:

1) It's FINALLY spring! (Isn't it? I'm not sure what the groundhog decided, but I have decided it is spring). Spring is my faaavorite season. Not too cold, not too hot. The fantastic spring clothing starts coming out, such as tank tops, flip flops, and bathing suits. I love that stuff. And the colors and patterns are so cute too! I love spring...

2) Back in the good ole days, March meant Spring Break. But now that I'm old and boring and responsible, I guess I don't get a spring break. Wait...this should have gone in the cons section.

3) March also means St. Patty's Day. St. Patty's Day means green beer. Need I say more?

4) Boyfriend's birthday is in March. If he would give me the slightest clue as to what he wants for his birthday, I would be a happy camper. :)

5) After a long wait, I finally get my first paycheck from my new job this month. Heck yeah! And can you guess what I could buy with this money? A cute bathing suit, green beer, and boyfriend's bday gift! Works out well doesn't it?

Cons:

1) I guess I should mention not getting Spring Break anymore. (Wahh!)

2) I was told today that March was said to be the most windy of all months. As if the daily hurricane force winds where I live isn't enough? This bugs me. It is already inevitable that when I open my car door, important paperwork gets sucked out by the vacuum suction I have unintentionally created by opening my door, then my hair gets blown into my face, blocking my vision and eliminating any chance of catching the important paperwork, now traveling away from me at 50 miles per hour. Sigh... I guess all you smart readers are going, "Freakin' secure your 'important' paperwork before opening your door in a wind tunnel, idiot!!" And I don't blame you for thinking that. But my days wouldn't be nearly as interesting if I took your advice. ;)

3) March is 9 long months away from my favorite holiday. Christmas! Ok, so that was a stretch. I felt that I needed to have just one more con. ;)

Dear...

Hello fellow bloggers and/or blog readers! I have not written in some time and decided a new blog was well overdue. I had many thoughts in the car while driving to work this morning. And they went something like this...


Dear coffee,

You complete me. I love you.



Dear Money Stealers (i.e., taxes and insurance companies),

I don't like you. We are not friends. Quit taking all my money.



Dear God,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for my new job. I love it. I'm so blessed to have stumbled upon this opportunity. Please let me keep it.



Dear Boyfriend,

I can't wait to see you this weekend. Also, I neeeed to know what you want for your birthday. I want to buy you a Wii but quite frankly, I don't have the money right now. Crap.
Also, please see below..



Dear brain of mine,

What the heck is wrong with you? You forget EVERYTHING Boyfriend ever tells you. On top of that, you forget EVERYTHING you ever tell Boyfriend and end up repeating yourself 5 or 6 times. Why?!?! And when did this start? Either you have 20-something Alzheimer's or adult onset ADD. Seriously....when did this happen. You used to be so sharp. :(



Dear Taylor Swift,

Shut. Up.

Sorry that was a bit mean. But seriously, shut it.



Dear February,

I love you. I really do. But can you please figure out whether you want it to be winter or spring? When will you make up your mind? One day it's nearly 80 degrees and the next day it's 40! What IS that? People are getting sick left and right and I really don't want to catch their germs right now.



Dear everyone who is older than me,

I am not 19. I am 26. Yes, I understand I might look 19, but again, I am 26. I have not only graduated high school, but college too! Can you believe it? ;) So please, please, please treat me with a little respect. I'm freakin' 4 years away from being thirty.. Oh goodness. I'm a little bothered by that...

Your truly,
~C