Sharpened Pencils

MacDonald Baby

2009-06-13T12:11:00.003-04:00

All blogging from this point forward will be done at macdonaldbaby.com Thanks for reading Sharpened Pencils!

Christmas Carols

2008-12-12T10:28:00.002-05:00

I've finally given in to listening to Christmas music on a regular basis now that Thanksgiving is long gone. In doing so, I've noticed songs that I really really like and those that I really really dislike. So here is my Top 5 Best and Worst songs of the Christmas season!

Top 5 Best Songs
1. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - I've liked it ever since the mannequin scene in Home Alone!
2. O Holy Night - I just think it's pretty and good to sing to when you're alone in the car.
3. Mr. Grinch - Cute and clever, a nice break from reality.
4. Baby its Cold Outside - Makes me want to cuddle up and drink hot chocolate with my hubby!
5. God Only Knows - Okay so technically not a Christmas song, but it plays at the end of my favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually, and I always, always, always cry. It's just perfect!

Top 5 Worst Songs
1. Christmas Shoes - Who wants to sing about shoes for their mom to die in? Debbie Downer!
2. Little Drummer Boy - This song has annoyed me ever since my brother had to sing it in our daycare Christmas concert.
3. All I Want For Christmas is You - I played Mariah's Christmas album non stop back in '94 but 14 years later, I'm way over it!
4. I don't know the name of the song but it started out "Christmas always comes this time of year" - No duh! Stupid.
5. Celebrate Me Home - I actually like the song but it always makes me miss my family big time around the holidays. It always seems to be on the radio on my way home from work and I end up crying and other drivers look at me like I'm crazy.

MacDonald Baby

2008-11-10T15:18:00.003-05:00

The word is out - I am pregnant! For whatever reason Brian wants our baby blog to be separate from my lovely personal blog. So, to read anything baby related, go to the MacDonald Baby website! I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to differentiate this from my regular life but we'll see how it goes!

Denver!

2008-10-30T16:46:00.004-04:00

Saturday I left for a business trip to Denver. I was pretty overwhelmed going into it because I was head of the Networking Committee for this 160 person conference. I kinda had a lot on my plate and some responsibility on Sunday. After that, my responsibility pretty much died down and I had ample free time network. Despite being quite friendly to the people I know, I am a huge wallflower with people I don't...I choose to hole up in my so-very-comfortable Westin Heavenly bed and read.

I had heard some buzz around the Twilight series so I thought that would be a good book to have while I was on my trip. Holy cow! I was not prepared to be totally blown away and become obsessed with vampires! I instantly fell in love with Twilight and devoured every single page within 48 hours. The day that I knew I'd finish it, I frantically searched Denver for a bookstore to buy the next one in the series, New Moon. I even posted a little bit about loving the book on Facebook and, boy, did I get a response! I am not the only vampire lover out there!

The weather in Denver was lovely and my last day there, instead of sightseeing after the conference sessions, I got comfy on my oversized patio (thanks, Westin!) and read, read, read! I took a 15 minute break to scarf down room service pizza and then continued to read until 11pm Denver time! That is super late for me given that I've been going to bed at 9pm EST! Oh yeah, I also took a break to go to borders.com and order the final two books of the series because I knew I was hooked! Of course, I finished New Moon that night.

Now I keep checking my Borders shipment tracking page every five seconds. I cannot wait to start the next one! I don't want to talk about the intimate details in the hopes that those of you who haven't read it will start and I don't want to ruin the fabulous-ness of it! I've also watched the trailers for the movie about 10 times, practically sitting on top of the screen taking in every little detail! Cedric Diggory playing Edward Cullen is a perfect match!! *sigh* I am just so in love with these books, I can't stand it! Five minutes have passed - perhaps my shipment is closer to Cincinnati now...

Shop Till You Drop!

2008-10-22T13:30:00.002-04:00

I knew it was going to be a good day when Brian said to me this morning, "Go to gap.com, fill up a shopping cart, then send me the log in information so I can add to it." It was music to my ears! I have been very good about my shopping recently and I think he's noticed! It probably helps that he also noticed that the Gap brands (Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic) were having a nice online sale as well!

I mentioned Brian's lovely quote to my friend at work who had indulged in the sale a day earlier but still wanted to get more. So the two of us went to "work" filling our shopping cart full of fabulous deals! Brian quickly added his items to the cart and turned it back over to me for payment.

It was like a magical game watching the discounts being applied to the 23 items that the 3 of us had put together! Almost $100 in savings!! In the end I walked away with:

1. Free shipping
2. 12 clothing items just for myself at $200 (that's quite the deal if you ask me)
3. 5 items for Brian that should last him about a month (since he wears button downs and khakis EVERY day *no joke*)
4. A few gap gift cards since I paid with my Gap Card
5. One less hour in my work day

A job well done! Hopefully this fiscal responsibility will be remembered when it comes time for my performance review!!

Follow Me!

2008-09-29T11:31:00.004-04:00

Wow, typing the word "Follow" really creeped me out...doesn't it just look weird sometimes? It's one of those words where if you think about it too much, it's just not right. ANYWAY, I added the Blogger "Following" widget (you should see it on the right). I look like a ginormo loser right now because I have ZERO followers. Apparently if you choose to follow me, you'll know when my blog is updated! I know you're all dying for this kind of information!! Apparently if you choose to do so publicly your picture (if you have a blogger profile) shows up on my page. So not only do you get to read my blog, but you can look at yourself too! Win-win-...win (The Office, anyone?). You can also follow me anonymously, which is cool too. Okay, I have to stop writing, the word 'follow' is getting the best of me!

So Fresh and So Clean

2008-09-24T18:09:00.003-04:00

I wasn't feeling so hot the other day and was just laying in bed after work. I hadn't even changed out of my work clothes so you know I couldn't be feeling good! Duke, my cat, came and joined me because he's the most awesome cat ever and loves people and me! We laid there for a long time then he started cleaning himself. I watched for awhile while he cleaned himself and was so amazed by it. I never really thought about it but he never smells funny (unlike my dog) and he's a tuxedo and his white parts stay SO white - even directly under his chin - how does he get there?! I have yet to see him clean the under the chin area, hopefully I'll catch him one day. My favorite move of his is when he licks his paw and then moves it over his ear and face. It's so cute. I stole that move for my "cat" action during a game of Thumper recently and it was a huge hit!!

Then he started licking my hand. Does he do this because he feels my hand is dirty? Or, does he do it as a way of expressing affection? Or does my hand taste good? It reminded me of how I would always lick my arm after swimming in pools when I was younger. Gotta love that chlorine taste!

Shiver Me Timbers!

2008-09-19T17:56:00.003-04:00

Today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day. This is my best "Arggh!" pose showcasing my temporary pirate tattoo.
I have another pretty sweet one on my ankle! To celebrate the day, the FISH Committee (aka Fun Committee) at work, which I am a member of, ordered eye patches, mini pirate swords, and temporary pirate tattoos for everyone on staff! We also found a pirate name generator and replaced everyone's names outside their offices with their pirate name. Mine was Misty the Disgruntled! And of course we printed out a list of pirate terms so everyone could actually talk like a pirate. It was quite fun seeing how creative my co-workers could get when it came to locations for their temporary tattoo!!

Thankful

2008-09-08T15:31:00.002-04:00

I have never been more appreciative of my DVR than in this dreadful election season. The ads on TV have gotten completely out of control. Are voters actually swayed by these things?! They must be since they run NON STOP. How can the non-DVRer handle it? I take much pride in hitting the fast forward button three times (yes, I'm awesome at the DVR control) as quickly as I hear that dreadful voice mention how terrible Candidate X is and all of the horrible things they have done. Ewww!

Since the new fall TV season isn't totally underway just yet, I ran into the dilemma of nothing to watch on the DVR during my big unscheduled weekend (it was perfect, and LONG overdue!). So I switch to Animal Planet and snuggled in when I realized that my all time favorite episode of Animal Cops Detroit was on. It was the one where the guy hoards 247 cats in his small fecal matter and cat hair infested home. No joke about this episode - 247 cats!! I've probably seen it at least 4 times, it's an 'oldie but goodie' and has been around since I've been in college. I am amazed every time at the conditions this man lives in! Yes, it is sad because he does have some mental issues to deal with and they have to put all 247 cats down because they're all feral but I really do recommend watching if you ever catch it - really amazing stuff. BUT, this time the episode was ruined by political ads during the commercials. How do you find me on Animal Planet, mean Candidate X?? Leave me and my Animal Planet alone! Isn't anything sacred?!

The Block

2008-09-04T14:26:00.002-04:00

I am totally having a blogging block right now! I cannot think of anything interesting or exciting to share. Yikes!

NOLA

2008-08-22T14:57:00.000-04:00

I've been back from New Orleans for almost two weeks and it's taking me a while to blog about it. I've been trying to think of ways to give the experience the justice that it deserved and I finally realized that the trip will not fit into this little blog! I will try to summarize it as eloquently as I can. Here goes...

The People
To make sure that you didn't feel lost in this big group of 300, they broke everyone down into GO Groups of 10-12 peeps. I understood why Crossroads took this approach but I wasn't totally digging it because I was doing this trip with my husband and I selfishly wanted to experience it with just him. I can happily report that this plan of mine didn't stick for too long! After traveling everywhere with your GO Group and bus mates, working on homes together, and experiencing the same extreme emotions, the people really start to grow on you! I truly cherish the new relationships that we formed while on the trip - it was a very unexpected, yet welcome blessing! You can totally see Gods hand in forming these groups of people with all of the unique personalities and skill sets that come along with them. I have especially come to appreciate these relationships now that we're back in Cincinnati! No matter how hard I try to convey the awesomeness of this trip - it's not the same unless you were there. I like having 300 other people around who really get it!

AND, I finally made a strong karaoke debut! Word on the street is that this place was one of the best karaoke bars in the U.S.! My friend Mandy and I pulled off a stunning rendition of Ice Ice Baby to a packed house! We were a total hit! I can't wait to find a local place in Cincinnati to keep the tunes coming!!

The Mindset
Pre-trip we had a lot of preparation meetings. There was a lot of talk and excitement at these meetings and yes, I was "excited" to go. I thought we were going to do a good thing and aid in building a house and we'd feel good about it. And it was fun that Brian and I could go together and I'd always have a comfort zone buddy. For the bus ride and most of the first day, I was right on track. There were nice people and everything went smoothly and at the end of the day (Sunday) it was business as usual.

The Monday morning came and it rocked my world. We started at breakfast viewing a video of an older woman going back to her house for the first time after Katrina to find it absolutely destroyed. It was very emotional! The emotion continued as we embarked on our Katrina tour. We traveled for three hours around the ENTIRE city of New Orleans and almost ALL of it had severe flooding after the storm. From all of the pictures and video I'd seen on the news, I had no idea it was this bad and that the scope of the damage was SO large! You would just go by so many different neighborhoods that were completely abandoned without a person or car in sight! And even if someone was fortunate enough to get their home back, there weren't services around: grocery stores, fast food, doctors offices, target - none of that exists anymore!

It was at this point that I dropped all previously made judgements about the city and its leaders and realized that it just comes down to the people. People whose homes have been destroyed. People whose families have been torn apart. People who have lost the only life they've ever known. No one deserves to lose all of this. I had so much emotion in my heart for these people and I wanted to really make it better. This tour really set the tone for the rest of the week.

The Work

Tuesday through Friday the day pretty much looked like this:
5:30am: Wake up
6:00am: Breakfast and some singing
7:15am: Load buses
7:45am: Arrive at work site
8am-3:30pm: Work and sweat your butt off with a joyful heart!
4:00pm: Arrive back at hotel smelling so very very disgusting!
Seriously, I didn't think working on a house could be this fun or educational! Despite the crazy heat and total exhaustion, everyone worked like there was no tomorrow, and had the best time doing it - smiling, laughing faces all around! And I never thought I would learn so much about construction! I feel like I can put up siding on a house with the best of them!

We even had a soon-to-be home owner on the site behind us bring us a fantastically seasoned New Orleans style lunch! It was so touching to see these people who have lost so much (she, in fact, lost her sister) still have such a giving and gracious heart!

We really did kick butt working on our house! As we were packing up on our final day it was really hard to leave with so much work still needing to be done, not only on our house, but all over the city.

The Impact
I really want to bring back from this trip a sense of love for anyone and everyone. I feel that I have been given a servants heart and I want to be able to give whatever I can: a listening ear, friendship, service, love!

I really can't wait to return to New Orleans and continue the restoration effort! Thanks for sharing in my journey with me!

Happy Anniversary

2008-08-02T12:00:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday, Brian and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! Hooray! We were both bogged down at work trying to get ready to leave for vacation so this year we couldn't take the day off and get caught at the video store in our pjs and greasy hair for everyone to see on the local news. No, this time around we just went to dinner and watched a movie.

We went to Hugo for dinner. The food was supposed to be southern inspired so we thought it was appropriate since we are heading to New Orleans. I felt kinda uncomfortable at first because our table was the highest in the dining room and we were both seated facing out like we were the King and Queen looking out over our Court. I quickly got over it once I started eating because it was the most delicious meal EVER!

Course 1: Scallops in some wonderful sauce!
Course 2: Hugo Salad - it had goat cheese, need I say more?
Course 3: Duck in a white bean and tomato broth - perfection!

Skipped the dessert course because I had picked up our wedding cake from Bonbonerie. Not to float my boat, but we had the best wedding cake ever! It's dangerous that it is available pretty much every day and all I ever want to do is eat it.

Now we get to leave for New Orleans. We're hoping that since we're both so exhausted we'll sleep the entire 17 hour bus ride! While we're gone there will be people blogging about our trip at www.crossroads.net/goneworleans Check it out!

Vacation Recap

2008-08-02T09:29:00.006-04:00

I spent last week in Virginia Beach with my family. It was a great beach vacation with lots of sun, sand, and salt! I also learned a few lessons:

1. Skin cancer is bad. I'm not sure if the picture picks it up well (the iPhone cam doesn't zoom) but all this girl bought to the beach was a towel and a giant sized bottle of baby oil. She took the cap off and just poured it all over her. I mean she was slathering this stuff on like she was about to go down a slip n slide! So gross! Anyway, if you can make it out in the picture, that giant bottle of baby oil is almost empty.

2. Tattoo sleeves are fun! It's fun to pretend you're all tough and tatted up for awhile. But it's even more fun to take it off and have your nice clean arm back.

3. Don't fall asleep in the middle of the day. I will take a picture of you drooling all over yourself.

4. Buy trendy shades when they're cheap. $6.99. I call these my 'stunna shades'. They're one of the more trendier things I own and will probably never wear because they don't exactly go with my work polo that I wear everyday. Still, they're fun!

5. Enjoy time with your family. Yes, it did get stressful at times with all 6 of us in the same room but overall it was a great week of constant family time. And when you live 200 miles away from them, these times are few and far between.

Coolness

2008-07-28T09:35:00.003-04:00

So last night we had our final meeting before we leave for GO New Orleans! We went over the usual last minute details and what not, then just spent some time getting exciting for what we were about to experience. So our group of 320 peeps is sitting in the Crossroads auditorium (main stage) area and we bow our heads to pray and the lights lower. When we open our eyes, our group is surrounded by a circle of people holding little candles - the people we had chosen as our prayer partners for the trip! It was one of the neatest things ever and just a tad emotional! What great encouragement as we get ready to embark on this exciting journey! T-minus 4 days!!

Messy Peach

2008-07-19T07:12:00.003-04:00

So I found these gorgeous peaches at Bigg's and bought a bunch of them. They ripened and I took one into work for a delicious snack. Now, I have had a few peaches in my time and know that there can be some mess involved. I was prepared with a napkin, just in case. I really underestimated this peach in all of its giant wonder - it was the juiciest this around! With every bite, peach juice would splurt all over my desk and send giant drops onto my skirt! OMG! I mean seriously, it was so messy that I stopped eating it half way through despite how yummy it was! My hands and skirt were doused. My desk...well as you can see, the napkin was no match for Juicy McJuicerson!

And with that, I head off on vacation with my family! Have a good week!

It's a Doggie Dog World

2008-07-15T21:51:00.008-04:00

The dog party last night was a great success! I believe that humans and dogs alike left full of good food and exhausted from so much fun! I also received the same piece of advice that I heard earlier in the day: "You need to have a child!" Yikes!
The picture above shows the birthday boy wearing the nice scarf that I made him. AND if you unfold it a bit, it looks more like a cape! Not meant to be multi-functional, but turned out to be extra fun! Andy's friend, Frank, is also pictured - he just started taking fish oil for his skin and now he smells like pesticide! Neat!

All of the pups got a piece of the birthday bone. Well, except for Frank - he has stomach/allergy issues. Despite Andy's stomach issues, he didn't throw up overnight - it's a birthday miracle!

Andy opened up lots of gifts! He received a box of milkbones, a ball that flashes on impact, a frisbee (that's already destroyed from all of the birthday fun), and a bone that he cannot destroy within seconds! He now has three of these bones: orange, green, and blue, and will carry all three of them around then lay down with them and chew to his heart's content! I'll have to get a picture of that...

Andy even got a little love on his birthday from his dog friend Jerzey. They couldn't get enough of each other!!

It was a great party! Bow wow wow yippee yo yippe yay.

Birthday Dog

2008-07-15T08:06:00.002-04:00

This handsome boy turns 2 today! His birthday party is this evening and I made him a new dog scarf to wear being that he's the guest of honor! All of his presents are wrapped and there's even a dog 'Happy Birthday' cookie to share with his furry friends. I'll be sure to document the experience!

Beauty Hurts

2008-07-14T11:20:00.005-04:00

In my view, one of the greatest inventions EVER is the Biore Clear Pore Strip! My reasons:
1. You get to pretend you had a nose job (without the bruising) for 10 minutes of your day.
2. Analyzing the strip once it's removed.
3. Smooth skin!

Now some of you may balk at the "analyzing the strip" comment, but back off! Can you honestly tell me you don't get entertainment out of looking at all of the mess that was previously in your pores?! One my roommates in college, (the one who also likes the smell of the ear stuff that ends up on earrings), would demand to see the strip after my own analysis. She would spend at least a few minutes checking it out and determining whether or not it was a good strip.

Today's pore strip experience was not a happy one. I did get the joy out of pretending I had a nose job. But taking this sucker off - OMG did it hurt! Normally, they hurt a little and my eyes well up a bit, but today it was so many tears that I couldn't even see! It was even so bad that I kinda didn't want to proceed with taking it off. But I guess it would've been really weird to walk around with a half torn off pore strip all day! Surely, with all of that pain, it would be a good strip to analyze. Nope! From my analysis today, it was not a good strip. Perhaps it's due to the extreme humidity the Tri-State has been experiencing lately that I've sweat all of the mess right out, and there's nothing left. Even so, my nose does feel nice and smooth today and I keep touching it - probably filling up the pores with dirt for the next time...

Crab Apple

2008-07-09T08:22:00.004-04:00

Oh my gosh, am I crabby this morning! Yikes, I mean, I think I almost need to go home, get back in bed, then get up on the right side! I am generally not the most pleasant morning person and usually need a couple of hours to really wake up and be ready to interact with the human race. My college roommates learned very quickly that "Lisa doesn't talk in the morning". It was just one of those mornings when the alarm went off to work out and I convinced myself it was raining (even though it wasn't) and that'd I'd work out this afternoon - that never happens. So I reset the alarm. And reset the alarm. And ran through a million scenarios about why I shouldn't come to work today. Then I stretched (in bed) and that's when the heightened crabbiness began - my foot went through the duvet opening!

Arg! I really like the duvet we got for our wedding, it's great. But I have two major beefs.

1. This particular duvet is not reversible and the opening/buttons are on the inside (like the part you don't show to people) which happens to be down by our feet. It can be up by our heads but we have the same problem either way. I don't know if the button holes are too big or what but they constantly come undone leaving giant openings in the cover. Then I stick my feet through them and my whole body cringes! I don't know what it is, but I can't stand it when my feet go through the openings! It probably has something to do with my other fear of being constricted (too tight tshirt neck openings, being tucked in, etc.) Surely my feet are going to get caught in the duvet cover and I'm going to die.

2. This beef pertains to all duvet covers (well all three that we've ever used, at least.) No matter what, after a couple of nights, the actual comforter ends up sliding towards the end of the bed and all I'm left with around my neck is my blankie (sweet!) and duvet cover with no warmth or comfort. We constantly have to grab the other end and shake it out to move the comforter within back towards our heads - and with the ceiling fan going, this is a very scary process!

So I need to come up with clever solutions for both of these issues. I'm thinking about sewing snaps onto the comforter and the duvet to keep the comforter in place but I'm not too keen on sleeping with little metal pieces in my bed with the way I flail around. Any other ideas?

I'm now going to curl up with my coffee mug and work off this crabbiness. Wish me luck.

Thoughts of the Morning

2008-07-08T08:17:00.002-04:00

1. DeAnna chose the wrong guy. Boo.
2. I heart McDonald's breakfast.
3. Bri and I completed our GO New Orleans fundraising - YES!
4. Being on time is overrated.
5. 71 South smelled like Play Doh on the way to work.

That's all. Have a good day*

Sing A Song

2008-07-02T10:59:00.002-04:00

So my family vacation to Virginia Beach is coming up and I'm very excited for all of us to be back there together (and keeping my fingers crossed that Brian can find a way to come for a little bit)! I'm kinda beginning to panic because my family wants to go to one of our favorite restaurants, Jewish Mother, for karoke night and everyone has to sing! This has to be some sort of crazy idea my mother's come up with while beginning to enjoy her retirement.

Despite the countless hours I've spent in front of Randy, Paula, and Simon playing Karaoke Revolution:American Idol edition, I AM TERRIFIED! I have never really done this before (and being 19 and just discovering alcohol in Windsor does NOT count!)My go to songs in the shower are showtunes (and even though I have a killer On My Own, I'd look like a huge dork), and Part of Your World from the Little Mermaid (again, huge dork)!!

So I need some song suggestions. Something that I am familiar with and will be easy to pull off. My favorite on Karaoke Revolution is Put Your Records on by Corrine Bailey Rae but is it weird because I'm not black and she sings about afros? I was also thinking Sheryl Crow...All I Wanna Do...not exciting enough? I need suggestions, stat!

Toast

2008-07-02T08:34:00.008-04:00

I am officially addicted to sewing. I dove right in to my new project and it turned out pretty good. What was supposed to be small little purse/holder thing actually looks more like a piece of toast so I definitely need to work on my measuring and cutting. And the hand sewing - oi! Definitely need to perfect that skill. Overall, I'm really pleased with how this turned out and how quickly I whipped it up! I was so excited to be done that I sewed the entire bottom shut instead of just half before flipping it right side out! Needless to say, I am now really good with the stitch cutter tool (another bonus that was included in the hidden prize box within my sewing machine!)

Do you like my hand modeling skills?

Blood, Sweat, and Almost Tears

2008-07-01T10:34:00.004-04:00

My first sewing project is complete! Looking back, I would say that overall it was a pretty good experience! Sure, there were a few hiccups along the way, but I overcame them all and completed my wine bag in record time! I documented the whole experience for you to enjoy! I also was very tickled to find a secret compartment full of...sewing stuff!

Brian recommended that I practice a few lines and corners before starting my project and I obliged. He's my 'expert' because he took the home-ec sewing class in junior high twice due to moving. I, on the other hand, took the cooking part twice due to moving and missed out on sewing all together...unfortunately my cooking skills don't quite reflect this. Anyway, he gave me a practice challenge of sewing the legs of his boxers shut - piece of cake, right?

The bobbin. My expert informed me that you only need a bobbin if you don't have a spool of thread. I thought that was weird, but whatever, so I skipped that part in the instructions.

Threading. I have a nice numbered machine that shows me all of the steps and I thought I had what was supposed to be the hardest part nailed. So I was all ready to go and off I went. And terrible things happened. The needle got jammed up and my thread kept breaking. What the heck? I called my expert back in. Oh yeah, you do need a bobbin and it goes underneath. Okay, time to make a bobbin. For whatever reason the thread kept spinning on the thing underneath the bobbin. Big mess. Oh, and remember the perfect cloudy windy day that I chose to sew on...my machine was right in front of the window and sometimes the wind really ticked me off so I had to close the window - that's where the sweat came into play. Finally, I got the bobbin down and thought that I was back in the game.

Off I went and more disaster and broken thread. I watched a few online videos, and scoured the directions - surely I was doing this right! Then my heart started beating fast - what if I have a punk machine. Will Sears believe me and send me a new one without charge?! And what a hassle that my cute creations must be put off even further? Reluctantly, I called my very patient expert into the room and explained my failures thus far. This is where I almost started crying. Before I started this project I was sure that I'd pick it up in a snap and complete my wine bag all by myself in a couple of hours. By this point there had more problems than expected and I was really frustrated and HATED asking for help - I should be the domestic queen! I let my expert sit down at the machine (ugh, so embarrassed!) and turns out I was trying to wind the thread around places it just shouldn't have been. He showed me the correct way and let me go on my way.

Off I went again sewing mad stitches all over the boxers. And my first corner - 90 degrees of perfection! My confidence was back up and I quickly started work on the wine bag.

Overall, the bag wasn't too bad at all! I really didn't like the measuring and cutting of fabric - I'm going to need some professional tools to take this seriously! By the end I had perfected my pinning and even stitches were everywhere! Hooray! I definitely need to work on my hand sewing (that's where the blood was from poking myself - not on the fabric thankfully) but overall I am so pleased with the final product. And I finished just in time for the pizza to arrive and to settle into a movie (exhausted)!

I think it can only get better from here - my next project will be a little clutch bag and one of my co-workers has asked me to make a zillion half aprons to serve as her Christmas gifts this year! Stay tuned!!

Big Day

2008-06-29T14:55:00.004-04:00

Today's the day I'm going to attack sewing for the first time in my entire life. No joke, I have never once sewed a thing - by hand or with a machine! To indulge in my crafty phase I bought my first sewing machine (with pink case). This meant that I had to buy really cute fabric for the really cute things that I would create with the really cute sewing machine. Really cute fabric is expensive so I also had to buy sorta cute cheap fabric to practice with! Then there were all of the supplies I had to get. I must say that I really enjoyed the challenge of picking out the necessary thread to go along with my really cute and sorta cute fabric. With the thread had to come a thread organizer (since organization is my middle name: Lisa Marie Organization MacDonald). The organizer is pretty basic and doesn't get me too excited - even with the thread arranged by color. I am on the lookout for a cute thread holder, keep your eyes open!

So here I go. My first practice piece will be a wine bag - pillows are way too easy (I'm guessing). It's the perfect day to try: cloudy and breezy summer day - nothing on my agenda! I'm so excited!

Fresh

2008-06-26T21:29:00.006-04:00

My baby brother is coming in town this weekend for a wedding and I get to host him at my house! This also means that I get to meet his girlfriend for the first time which I am SO excited for! New girlfriend or not, when I host people I like to go all out - maybe I should run a B&B? I went to the grocery (as they say in the Nati) to stock up for my guests and along with buying my first set of ecofriendly Bigg's bags, I got a bunch of fruit to make fruit salad, duh.

All of the fruit was like a field day for Stanley! It was probably the equivalent of going to The Melting Pot for me! He got to sample lots of fresh fruit. He's eating a piece of cantaloupe in this picture. When he grabbed it, he repeatedly said 'french fry' (his favorite food). I guess the color is close right?

In retrospect I should have chosen green grapes to spice up the color of the finished product, but I can't always be a Martha! Still, it ended up looking pretty delicious!!On the other end of the spectrum, I also bought Doritos Collisions with Zesty Taco and Chipotle Ranch flavor - they should be awesome!

The Anti Cat

2008-06-25T22:57:00.005-04:00

Whenever I try to fuss with my blog, Duke always appears and demands all of my attention. I thought I'd give him a little camera time...he was a bit reluctant...I think he hates the blog.

I'm Getting Old

2008-06-25T22:38:00.002-04:00

My friend Darcy recently completed her Master's Degree - she's now a teacher, hooray! To celebrate, we had a fabulous dinner at Teak that was so so tasty. Then we went on to Pavilion since they have lots of outdoor seating and we wanted to enjoy the night.

The bonus of Pavilion is that eventually they would have dancing and myself and the girls I was with LOVE to dance! Once the dancing began, I started to feel old. My dance moves, mind you, were still up to par, but the atmosphere started to get to me! First of all, some of the songs were just naughty! I literally stood still on the dance floor with a scrunched up frowning face as I listened to the lyrics - ewww! Who comes up with this stuff and why would I want to dance to it, let alone sing along? I was so torn because the next song (and probably most favorite part of my night) was Motown Philly by Boys II Men - awesome! Definitely sang along and busted out the roger rabbit (it's okay, everyone else reverted back to 90s dance moves too!)

I'm also torn about how I felt about the other guests on the dance floor. Like this guy - when is this ever okay?! (Brian says it's not good to put up pictures of people I don't know so instead I put up pictures of people I don't know with black squares on their faces.)

My final beef of the night was the bathroom attendant. I'm never more uncomfortable than when I interact with bathroom attendants. First of all, what's the point? I can see if a stall is open lady. Then when I come out of the stall (and I'm the only person in the bathroom at this point so it's super awkward) she has the water running for me (which was cold) - again, not necessary. As we were making random small talk about the weather I scanned the counter of all the random items they provide. Weird lotions and body sprays - is this all necessary? I can't think of a time when I've been in the bathroom at a bar and needed Bath and Body works to come to my rescue, or had the need to spray myself some cheap perfume to attract boys. Tampons, maybe, but I am a girl who plans ahead before I start my night and I just don't think any of it is necessary. Anyway, I turn off my cold water and she hands me a paper towel - this is where it gets awkward - the tip basket is sitting right in front of me. I mean, really none of these "services" were necessary and they were essentially forced upon me, what was I going to do, refuse her paper towel and grab my own? Even so, does the paper towel, cold water, and awkward conversation warrant $1? I understand this is her job and that's fine but just the idea of it is so random to me! Luckily, it was clear I did not have my purse on me nor did I have any pockets where money would be hiding so I just smiled and wished her a good night. I tried to hold my pee super long the rest of the evening to avoid a repeat incident. Luckily, when I did have to go again the bathroom was more crowded and young, drunk girls were pouring their hearts out to Miss Bathroom Attendant. I went unnoticed and turned on my own hot water.

Sunday Funday!

2008-06-23T10:39:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a fabulous day (by my standards)! I spent the whole beautiful day indoors with my hubby. Things I accomplished:
1. 6!! loads of laundry
2. Cleaned up the appearance of my blog!
3. Ordering Papa John's pizza for the first time to our house!
4. Reading many chapters in my book: The Friday Night Knitting Club
5. Raided the On Demand channels and watched 3 and a half movies:
-American Haunting (just ok)
-Notes on a Scandal (good)
-Children of Men (good)
-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (this was the movie that we joined half way thru - it's always good!)

Hiccups

2008-06-20T10:35:00.002-04:00

I woke up with hiccups this morning. Weird. Every time I get the hiccups I kinda start to panic inside that I'm going to turn into one of those people that has the hiccups for prolonged periods of time! Weeks! Months! Years! Seriously, I've seen the chick on the Today show, and who can forget the yellow snake at the Toledo Zoo with the permanent hiccups?

At what point do you realize you're going to be stuck with hiccups forever? It would be really convenient if they began in the fall. That way you could go to continuous haunted houses and after being that scared and they still don't go away, you know you're in trouble! If they first start in the spring you'd just have to have try holding your breath all day (and would probably end up passing out), or trying to drink liquids upside down and that just causes a big mess. Isn't there something about drinking water and chewing a pencil or something? I think I've got that one all wrong.

My hiccups have since gone away today but they'll rear their ugly head again soon and the panic will start all over.

PS I Love You

2008-06-12T08:47:00.003-04:00

I finally got around to watching PS I Love You after many good recommendations from friends. I pretty much cried throughout the whole thing and it was all really morbid because I kept imagining what I would do if Brian died. The movie itself was actually really good and I can only hope that I'd have that type of love and support if such a tragedy ever happened to me. The biggest sobbing part was when Holly's mom was talking about how hard it is to walk into a room by yourself - that you don't feel complete without him with you and how much it means when he gives you a look from across the room. Of course, the lines were much better in the movie but it was really cute and so true! I am so blessed to have someone that makes ME feel that special! Yay for love! If you haven't already - see this movie! It's super cute AND Denny Duket is in it - bonus!

Roll Over

2008-06-11T10:37:00.002-04:00

I finally ordered a yoga video that I could do in my home. All of the ones on the Exercise On Demand channel were only a half hour - I am serious! I need longer! So I went onto Amazon and searched for Ashtanga yoga. I ended up ordering the one that had the most positive user reviews. After like two weeks I finally got it in the mail and turns out that it probably had so many reviews because it looks like it's been around since the 1980s! The instructor looks like Kenny G. and teaches the class in jeans with his shirt off - it's super bizarre!

I decided to proceed. There were three levels of intensity so I was pumped that I could start at beginner and once I become awesome, move up. The DVD was kinda funky (probably because it was from the 80s) and the menu screen wasn't working like I'd liked but eventually a yoga routine was on the screen. It moved pretty fast and some of the moves didn't seem to be too beginner but I could still pull them off after my 5 or so classes that I took at work. The movements happened really fast and I was always a beat behind. When it came time to do the tripod (stand on your head with your legs resting on your elbows - another not beginner move) I was behind so I flung myself into it. I threw my legs up too quickly and totally fell over directly into the dresser in our bedroom - ouch! It made a terrible sound and Brian flew upstairs to make sure I hadn't died.

I kept going. About 15 minutes into it my arms were totally wobbly so I decided to quit and watch the rest to see how much more he'd make us do in this "beginner" round. It kept going and going and I got anxious (I really wanted to get downstairs to watch Legally Blonde - The Search for the Next Elle Woods). Then I realized that the time on the DVD player read that it was two hours and nineteen minutes into the DVD. I'm pretty sure that I had somehow skipped right to the the Advanced class and held my own - sorta - for 15 minutes. Go me! I didn't have the patience to try to figure out the menu screen to make sure it really was the highest level but next time I'll pay close attention!

Bright Eyes

2008-06-05T10:30:00.002-04:00

I have to thank my husband for pointing out this little gem. While Total Eclipse of the Heart is a fab song, the video is out of control. It starts out very 80s-esqe, but then takes a turn for crazy. Make sure you stick around till the end - it's like a downward spiral!

Additonal 'The Lake' Thought

2008-06-04T16:33:00.002-04:00

I wonder what people in Minnesota say about going to the lake. Surely, they have to use the awkward sentence and clarify which lake they're going to up front, right? I mean, in the land of 10,000 lakes that's way too many to play the "Which lake?" conversation. When they describe where it's located I wonder if they use adjacent lakes in their directions too? Interesting...

The Lake

2008-06-04T10:33:00.003-04:00

I think it's so funny that in the summer when one plans on taking a trip to some nearby lake everyone just says, "I'm going to the lake". This statement is fine on it's own if one is fortunate enough to have their own lake home that they regularly attend in the summer. But if you're like me and are just blessed with friends who have parents that are fortunate enough to have a lake home, there is always the follow up question: "Which lake?"

Despite being asked the follow up question many times, I continue to just say "I'm going to the lake this weekend." Perhaps I enjoy the follow up question...I usually always know it's coming. Wouldn't it just have been easier to say "I'm going to Apple Valley lake this weekend." No, that just sounds awkward. Like I'm trying too hard or something, right? I'm going to stand my ground and keep it simple, "I'm going to the lake." But what if people don't ask the follow up question? Surely they're dying inside to know which lake! Or jealous that they're not going to the lake. Most likely, it's that the world, in fact, doesn't revolve around me and it's really not that big of a deal. I guess.
So yes, I am going to the lake this weekend. Oh, what's that? What lake, you ask? I'm going to Apple Valley Lake. Where's that located? Just north east of Columbus, thanks for asking! It's going to be a great time!

Dr. Mario Returns!

2008-06-03T09:34:00.003-04:00

Last week I blogged about my new Wii Fit and how much I enjoyed it. Now, it appears that my after work schedule will be as follows:

5:30-6:00 Feed & Play with Andy
6:00-6:30 Wii Fit (update: the advanced step class makes me feel so uncoordinated!)
6:30-9:45 DR. MARIO RX!!! (with a small break for dinner)
9:45-11:00 Silly summer TV watching

Yes, that's right, there is now a Dr. Mario game for the Wii. My life is complete. This is my all time favorite video game! I'm not going to lie - I'm really good at it! In college we'd sit in our front living room and play for hours and hours! We coined the term "tinklebutts" to describe the blocks that are dropped on your opponent. The only complaint that I had prior to this version was that the computer was almost too easy to beat and some of my roommates just couldn't beat me. Sometimes they would only play against me if I promised not to "tinkle" on them. But now with the WiFi connection, I can play other players that really give me a run for my money - I was so pumped when I actually lost to someone! This game is super fun again!

And poor Brian. I am so excited about the game that I make him play against me for hours. I was on level 20, medium speed and Brian on level 3, slow speed for him to have a chance at beating me. Yes, that's my 84 viruses vs. his 16. What a good sport! Despite me kicking his butt he did offer me a playing tip on how to speed drop the pills. I was actually kinda embarrassed that I didn't pick up on this tip before! But now, I'm even more dangerous!

When we played it all the time in college, we used to dream about Dr. Mario and our strategy - everything we'd see, we would relate back to Dr. Mario game play. I can't wait for my mind to be invaded by this terrific game again!

Free Your Mind

2008-05-29T09:57:00.003-04:00

So lots of smart people recommend not doing any sort of physical or strenuous activity within a few hours of bedtime so that you can fall asleep quickly. The smart people also say that if you continue to use or challenge your brain you're less likely to develop Alzheimer's and dementia. That would lead me to believe that using your brain keeps you alert, right?

I view sudoku as combining the two points above - it's like a physical workout for the brain. And lately I've found myself doing a sudoku puzzle every night! The logic from the smart people suggests that I'd be kept awake by doing this - not so, not so! It puts me right to sleep. Sometimes I don't even get through a whole easy puzzle! See, I'm such a sudoku genius that an easy puzzle takes me under five minutes to complete so if I'm falling asleep before completion - that's fast!!

So what does this say about MY brain? Is it backwards? A lost cause? Not stimulated enough? Only time will tell, I suppose. If I'm still blogging when I'm 80 years old, we'll see how loony I've become!

Out of Shape

2008-05-27T09:47:00.003-04:00

We spent part of our beautiful Memorial Day weekend indoors playing video games. But, the difference is that this one kicked my butt. All of those side and lower ab muscles are very sore today, a good thing being that those are my "problem areas". It does have a high price tag but I'm quite pleased with the purchase after only one day of play! My favorite things about this game include:

1. When you step on the board the system goes "Oh!" making you feel like a huge fat butt.

2. If you're BMI is anything over a 22, your Mii's figure explodes - awesome.

3. Summer months = no shoes = kinda dirty feet + white board = dirty feet outline.

4. The ability to change my calendar color to pink!

5. The impossibleness of the beginner strength exercises. There was lots of yelling at the trainer yesterday!

6. Being named a yoga master. Yes, that's right!

7. The appearance of all our Mii's throughout random games. I especially like when George Bush is in the hula hoop game!

8. I hold the record for the ski jump - take that Padeline!

9. The flapping arms during the step game.

10. Having the option to view your trainer from behind. Hello!

Dog Crate Update (it rhymes!)

2008-05-23T12:21:00.001-04:00

I returned home yesterday to find my pup safely in his crate - nothing out of the ordinary. I must have been really out of it the other day and left it open - bonus for Andy!

Sly Dog

2008-05-22T12:18:00.004-04:00

My two little fur balls are just the cutest things ever - when they're behaving! At the recommendation of our trusted vet (sister-in-law) we keep Andy crated during the day so he doesn't play too rough with Duke and Stan. He really doesn't mind it because he sleeps all day curled up in a tiny little ball. Usually I come home and rush to turn the alarm off while Andy's yipping in his crate so excited that I'm home and that he gets to scarf down food within minutes.

I walked in the door yesterday and Andy was jumping around freaking out - just hanging out the kitchen like "What, lady, feed me already!" I was so dumbfounded. He was out of his crate. My initial thought was that Brian was home and somehow I didn't see his car in the garage. Nope. Then I dreaded walking through the rest of the house - were the other pets alive? Was the couch torn apart? Did he pee/poop/puke all over? Did he totally destroy his crate (I had just read about this in Marley and Me)? I walked around and everything was in perfect shape - I do keep my house in immaculate shape if I say so myself! I felt the couches where he would have been sleeping all day and they were cold leading me to think that he hadn't been sleeping there for 8 hours. I checked out his crate - nothing out of the ordinary there. Duke was hanging around looking a bit fishy - has he figured out how to let his buddy Andy out? Did Andy figure out how to get out...no way, right? Was I just totally off my rocker this morning and didn't put him in there?

I have no idea what happened yesterday but I was very aware to make sure that he was securely in his crate when I left this morning. I'm anxious to return home and see the latest turn of events in this story. Stay tuned!

It's a Mystery!

2008-05-21T10:28:00.002-04:00

My garbage can in my cubicle is different. Is it weird that I noticed this? I picked up on it yesterday and it continues to shock me each time I see it. How could this garbage can mix up occur? I'm not like married to my previous garbage can and I don't hate this new imposter - I'd just like to know the story behind it. We did get a new cleaning person in my building recently - are they trying to play games with me? My priority this week is to figure out where my old garbage can ended up. Was someone jealous of my gray garbage can and exchanged it with their ugly yellow one? I will get to the bottom of this!

What's Cleaner than Clean?

2008-05-16T15:59:00.003-04:00

July 30, 2007 was a special day. Yes, my first anniversary - lovely! Also, it was the day that we got a Dyson. Well I got it a big before that but it was Brian's anniversary gift so I couldn't use it till after he opened it and even then since it was his gift, I had to let him use it first - he likes to vacuum.

This thing is like nothing I've ever seen before. I had my doubts and perhaps some buyer remorse before we began to use it. The price tag is quite high and I mean, it's just a vacuum, right? Wrong. It's more than a vacuum, it's God's gift to dust and pet hair haters! The first time we used it I felt part joy, part vomit. The joy came from the fact that it looked like we had a brand new carpet. The vomit came from all of the stuff it picked up. We have a pretty small family room and this vacuum picked up a hole containers worth of grossness. How has all that stuff been living in our carpet?!?! We're not dirty people either - a lot of people are familiar with my cleaning obsession/anxiety and Brian's love of vacuuming. I am still amazed every time we use it all of the grossness it picks up! Even this last time, I tried to figure out if it's some sort of scam and creates the gross on its own - probably not but I'm open to conspiracy theories!

Aside from it's general awesomeness, it is bag less - sweet! And it has a million little handy parts, most of which fit on the vacuum already. It has this cord thing that stretches for like 15 feet - nice! And it's super light weight so I can carry it around pretty easily - but I still will claim that it's too heavy for me to lug around and vacuum the stairs.

We regularly rave about the Dyson to our family and friends and try to convince everyone to splurge on it - you seriously won't regret it! Finally, our good friends, The Maney's, got one as a gift for Christmas - I'm sure they would also write many paragraphs on how fantastic this vacuum is! So thank you black and white kinda creepy accent man who invented the Dyson with it's cyclone technology - you've made me a very happy girl!

Second Hand

2008-05-12T19:15:00.002-04:00

I'll never forget my senior year of college and preparing to move out of my beloved house, Boardwalk (at Miami they name the houses and since ours was on Beech St, well, you know). So nine lovely women...most were lovely...were trying to pack up our crap and everything that was really crap was put on the curb. Apparently, graduation weekend was a big deal in Oxford, not only for the students, but for the very resourceful people living in the vicinity. We'd place items at the curb and, out of nowhere, swarms of people would appear and start rummaging through our garbage and stockpiling. It was like nothing I've ever seen!

Some of it was good stuff: furniture we just didn't feel like bothering with, silverware we really didn't want, and really cute misc odds and ends we couldn't imagine having the need for after college. But some of it was just plain gross! In college, I may have let the laundry go a little too long and the towels and robe that I used all four years of college were really gross by the end. So I put them out and sure enough, someone snatched them up!! Ick! We'd put stuff out and just cozy up on the porch and watch people go to town. Good for them!

Now, four years later, feeling all domestic in my first "real house", it is happening again! I probably shouldn't be surprised - we chose a gorgeous old flipped home...but it was in Norwood. Norwood gets a bad rap overall, it's really not that bad: fantastic location, super nice people all up in your business, it's safe in my area, and now, I find, it's entertaining as well. It's Monday night, garbage night! Ever since it's gotten warm I've noticed trucks making the rounds on garbage night stoking out the goods and filling up! I really do find it interesting, part of me just wants to put something really good out and just watch and see the joy on someones face when they snatch it up! And a lot of the trucks go around like three or four times during the night just to make sure they don't miss out. So interesting! Way to go you resourceful people! I kinda want to hitch a ride with the next truck that goes around just to see what they can find! Ha!

The next Norwood phenomena to research: tow trucks as personal vehicles. Neat!

GO New Orleans!!

2008-05-10T11:08:00.002-04:00

Hooray! Brian and I are accompanying 298 other awesome people on a trip to New Orleans to build homes and love on people who have lost so much! I am so pumped! The trip will be the first week in August so it's a great way to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary and give back to others!! More to come...

Again with the wetness!

2008-05-09T07:55:00.002-04:00

To continue my issues with water, I really don't like taking a shower within like an hour of someone else. When someone else showers before me, it just opens up a million more opportunities for wetness to spread and for me to freak out about it. Here's what bugs me:

-when water somehow gets on the shower curtain, the curtain is meant to stay dry and only the liner be wet

-steamy mirrors

-musty smells (this can happen a lot in our house because we don't have a fan in our main bathroom and if the window or door isn't open - gross!)

-dripping of any sort on the carpet or floor - my annoyance with this is amplified if I happen to walk into the bathroom with socks on, sick!

-seeing a dripping person - It seriously makes my skin crawl if I view someone with water droplets on their back or legs, ack!

These issues don't just occur at my house, oh no, when I visit someone's house or am in a hotel I maintain the same water standards. And now, looking outside, it's rather damp from all of this rain which makes me think of another ick factor - when water seeps up your pant leg, gosh does that bug me!

Disclaimer: My water issues are in no way complaining about my husbands habits, he is perfect. I am the one that needs help!

Short Neck?

2008-05-07T09:07:00.003-04:00

I believe I need to start this story by saying that I have issues with water. In the right setting, like at the beach, I love water so much. But when water splashes out of the sink or shower, see ya! I must be totally dry before I get out of the shower, not a single drip can be left on my body and my hair (which is now two inches shorter!) must be tightly wrapped in a towel. I prefer to have my hair dry before putting on clothes - especially in the winter, wool sweaters and wet hair makes my skin crawl! Even if it's damp and I put on a wool sweater I feel so gross! The wet hair gets some leeway in the summer and I don't mind it as much but overall, water/wetness and I have some problems.

So I went to the salon to get my hair done last night, overall it's a lovely experience. Good conversation, and someone playing with my hair - I love both of those things. But then we get to the part of washing my hair. This is where I get really conflicted because on one hand, I love getting my hair washed, it feels so good! On the other hand, the little bowl you put your head over causes me some stress. I don't know if I have a short neck or perhaps when I lean back for the bowl approach I don't do it right but somehow I do not feel comfortable with my position. And it's not like my neck hurts, I am uncomfortable because I always end up in the position where I know water is going to run down my neck and back and touch my clothes. I'm sure my hair person thinks I'm super uncooperative because when she tries to lift my head to shampoo and rinse the bottom of my hair line I resist it because I know what's coming - the water drip! The positive part is that before she has me sit up, she thoroughly dries out inside my ears to prohibit any water drips from running down my face. Some may think it's in invasive gesture, but I am so appreciative! She also is really good about placing a fresh towel around my neck before she starts cutting my hair - that abruptly ends the water drip stress at the salon and I can enjoy the cutting and styling.

My next hair issue to overcome: how to wear headbands so that they don't squeeze my head and cause me such pain! They're so cute but the space behind my ears end up sore for days!

OTC

2008-05-06T17:26:00.000-04:00

I have given up on waiting for the trees to stop blooming. The terrible itchy red eyes that force me into my glasses as soon as I get home must stop! The sporadic stuffiness and sore throat - goodbye! Sneezing a million times a day, oh and the worst - thinking I'm going to sneeze but then not being able to but the feeling still lingers a bit leading me to make weird faces and scrunch up my nose - see ya! I finally walked down to Walgreen's at lunch at bought the OTC Zyrtec. Gosh, it was expensive at $30 for 45 pills but I am SO looking forward to allergy relief! I am normally not one to be super sensitive to spring time but this year is the worst. I have probably severely damaged all of the super sensitive skin around my eyes and will be all wrinkly in a matter of weeks due to my intense rubbing. I popped the first pill at lunch and am feeling better already! Tomorrow, I will count the number of sneezes.

In other fun news, The Hills (heels) was renewed for a fourth season bringing on 19 new episodes! Hurray!

Buhlud!

2008-05-06T15:25:00.004-04:00

I just cannot get enough of this YouTube video. Everytime I watch it, I giggle. I'm just waiting for the next time I cut myself and I can freak out saying buhlud!

Reality Check

2008-05-06T09:37:00.002-04:00

So overall the Bachelor's Women Tell All episode wasn't too interesting. I did however get a meep reel which made my evening. The super drunk girl from episode one somewhat redeemed herself for seeming a tad normal but the giant undies sank that ship. And whoever the chick was that kept saying "If I was a dude" was pretty funny, although wasn't she the one who just pulled her shirt down when Matt told her he didn't really like her? Awkward! I'm just glad that Amanda is kinda happy again and dating Ellen's DJ, Striker! Oh yes, they make a cute couple!

On to The Hills. When Brian and I were on our honeymoon in Mexico, the MTV channel there was advertising the Hills but every time they said it, it sounded like "The Heels" so now whenever I think of The Hills, I say it the Mexican way in my head. Okay so when did Lo become so rude, I really liked her last week since she was so into Lauren and Stephen reuniting, but this week she was just mean! I like Audrina much more than Lo and actually feel bad for Audrina. At first I chalked the rudeness up to dramatic editing, but from Audrina's convo with J-Bob, it's clearly not just editing. I'm excited for next week (the finale, ah!) to see her and Lauren discuss these recent developments. I also have to remember to DVR the live after show for more juicy info!

Not in the reality realm, but super good anyway, I caught up on the last two episodes of Brothers & Sisters last night. Why don't Rebecca and Justin just hook up already? It would probably be awkward though being that they just broke up in real life, right? And I thought that Kevin's proposal to Scotty was the hottest proposal ever! Brian and I were wondering if they were both gay in real life...I don't think they are because, despite the super cute proposal talk, the proposal kiss wasn't so steamy.

Highlights for me tonight, this girl is continuing her trek back to being blond! And I just love it when someone else washes and dries my hair - so relaxing!

Reading & Watching

2008-05-05T13:18:00.002-04:00

Last night I finally finished reading Marley & Me. I started this book like a year ago and it's so fun and great but (and I don't think this is spoiling the ending because any story about an animal always ends with it dying) I knew what was coming at the end so I definitely put off finishing it. So I was laying in bed reading, Brian was very much asleep, and the ending comes and I'm sobbing, like loud noises sobbing - it even woke Brian up! Overall, it was a very good book and I'm looking forward to the movie coming out soon! Next book up is the Friday Night Knitting Club!

Yesterday we watched There Will Be Blood - eh. The beginning was good, I guess. The whole movie I was kinda ancy because it was gorgeous outside, definitely not a good movie day. The movie ended up being way too long, like over two and half hours and the end was really slow so it ended on a bad note for me. We've had August Rush for a few weeks now and I've heard really good things so I'm excited to watch it!

On the TV front, I finally watched the first episode of Brothers & Sisters since the strike. It's one of my favorite shows and I like to save it for the perfect time. Brian and the dog asleep on the couch allowed me the perfect time to watch. It's just such a good show and makes me want a ginourmous family. Of course, I cried (btw, I'm a crier if you didn't know) when Kitty and Nora were talking about needing each other and not moving away.

We also caught up on the latest episode of Lost. I was loving it with Kate and Jack getting engaged and being all cute with each other. Obviously at this point, it's not working out which I'm kinda happy about because my opinion on the love triangle is that Kate should end up with Sawyer. Jack does alright for himself and is very capable of finding another women, just not Juliette, I hope. Sawyer on the other hand only has Kate and I think there's something very special about their relationship. We'll see where it goes.

Tonight is the Bachelor with all of the crazy ladies back to "tell all". I really hope the silly girl who passed out the first night doesn't get too much attention, she was terrible! All I really want from the episode is a good "meep" reel of Amanda. And how cute does Matt look in the previews with a shaved head?

It has begun!

2008-05-05T12:03:00.000-04:00

As if I needed an additional distraction from my everyday job, I am starting to blog! I find my thoughts to be quite humorous and I thought it would be fun to share since I get a lot of joy out of reading other peoples everyday thoughts!

Happy Cinco de Mayo by the way! Perhaps I should look up Cinco de Mayo on Wikipedia to see what I'm actually celebrating. It has already been a very useful day for Wikipedia. Apparently, I didn't pay any attention to the news and missed out on the devastating cyclone to hit Myanmar. Then I got to wondering what a cyclone really was and if it differed from a tornado. Turns out it's actually more like a hurricane...I think. The terms used on Wikipedia were very technical but it was still useful and spurred many more questions which I eventually made my coworkers check out so I could write my first blog! ps-Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride after the Mexican army beat the French army.

Today is also an exciting day because my hair is now long enough that it covers the company name on my work polo. I don't really have a goal for the length of my hair but considering the thickness, it's much more manageable the longer it gets. I just keep looking down and admiring the coverage of the company name. It's nice.