A Random Assortment... Part II

It's crazy, I know, but I got another award! This time it came from the wonderful Legal Mist. This award is called "Premio Dardos".

"This award acknowledges the values that every Blogger displays in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values with each message they write. Awards like this have been created with the intention of promoting community among Bloggers. It's a way to show appreciation and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web."

Thanks Legal Mist, I'll definitely add it to my awards page! Oh, and if you want a to know everything you would ever want to know about this award, check out her page - she fully researched it like any good lawyer would.

I'm not exactly sure I "transmit" all of these wonderful things to earn this award in each of my posts, but hopefully you are all getting something out of all my random thoughts and rants.

I'm suppose to give this award to 15 other bloggers, but seeing as how that is half of my reader list, I'm going to be extra giving and award it to you all. So CONGRATS!

As promised, the answers to your questions are on the comments of my last post! Thanks to those of you who participated.

Also one of my awesome new followers at Pacing the Panic Room let me know about an AWESOME PHOTO ASSIGNMENT that I think you should all check out! Click here to get the details.

A Random Assortment...

The husband and I are in desperate need for a vacation. I can't wait until he gets off nights. I miss our normal, simple life. I have been longing for that perfect relaxing vacation pretty much ever since we got back from our honeymoon. We are hopefully going to be planning our anniversary trip next weekend. Until then, I can't get this picture out of my mind. Oh, how I miss Saint Lucia and the Sandals Resort. I would give anything to be there again.

Onto other news....I won another award! I so don't feel deserving of all of these lovely little trophies, but I definitely accept. Thanks Bella! I will gladly place this on my awards page.

Apparently there weren't any specific rules attached with this one, but Bella made up her own, so I will follow those. She decided to do a "Sexy Six Meme" which is apparently just 6 random facts and then pass it along to six lovely followers. Congratulations are in order to...

• Cheryl @ Confessions of a Twenty Something Year Old


• High-heel gal @ The High-Heel Diaries


• Sassy Britches @ Well okay, Sassy Britches!


• Rene @ Not The Rockefellers


• Shaken and Stirred @ Sarcastically Optimistic


• A Mess of a Dreamer

**Oh, and if you don't want to put the f-word on your blog, feel free to use my picture of St. Lucia because I think you guys are as fabulous as that!**

Now, for the Sexy Six Meme...which again is just going to be six random facts so I hope you're not too disappointed that they aren't sexy haha.

• I absolutely can not wait until we pick up our new puppy on Sunday!


• I love eating cookie dough with a spoon.


• I currently have 5 books that I have started reading and can't wait to finish.


• I have a terrible fear that I'm not going to be a good mom (even a good puppy mom).


• I love my Bare Minerals makeup!

So, I have been lucky enough to have several new followers! I want to welcome them all as well as do a little get to know me question and answer session. Cheryl did this on her blog and I thought it was a great idea. So I'd like you both old and new followers to comment on this post and tell me something about yourself (why you blog, your favorite product, favorite thing about yourself, best vacation spot...) and most importantly ask me a question. I'll answer them for you all tomorrow!

You Better Be Glad I'm A Nice Person

Dear previous resident,

First of all, I must say what poor choices you made when deciding to paint this house. I am confused as to why you decided it would be nice to live in a dark hole? The whole downstairs painted in Army Tank Green with the poopie brown accent color going up the hall did NOT compliment the 1980's style gold light fixtures. In fact, nothing does. The bathroom upstairs confuses me the most with it's Hollywood style lighting around the mirror and the tan (yes, I said tan) woodwork. Not only did you pick terrible colors, you also did a sloppy job. Thanks for painting ALL the hinges and the door knobs when you painted the trim. We just replaced them all, no biggie.

Don't even get me started on the mess you left us with in the downstairs bathroom. My husband will never speak to you again after the three layers of wallpaper and the mudding he had to do after the wallpaper removal ravaged the walls. And did you really get sad when we saw you in Home Depot a month or so after the move and told you we repainted the whole house? That solidifies the idea in my mind of what your next home must look like if that really was your taste.

Oh yeah, and thanks for not telling us that the water pipe on the back porch was busted. We found that out when the guy came to clean out the air conditioner and was using the hose. I can't tell you how happy I was to discover that when it flooded my kitchen cabinets. Can't wait to get that fixed. I'm sure it won't cost much. Oh and good job with painting the house so dark you couldn't tell how dirty the carpet was. Once we painted our downstairs a bright, sunny yellow, we discovered you must have had a pet even though you told us you didn't. No worries, we just replaced the carpet. And can I just tell you how unnecessary it is to hang a picture with a concrete anchor? We found those all over the house. Every time we ripped one out, it brought the drywall with it.

Now we get to the real problem and the reason you better be glad I'm a nice person. The mail. After we moved in we received tons of mail in your name. We were so nice to even call the realtor to let you know because it looked important (you know, bank statements, bills and the like). You didn't return our calls. I continued to keep it for you because I'm a nice person even though it was overtaking our coffee table. You know that time we saw you in Home Depot and you were sad about the paint. Well you also took down our number so you could come by and pick up the mail. You never came by so we threw it out.

Eventually it seemed like you did set up that handy dandy forwarding address because we stopped receiving most of you mail for sometime. It seems as though you weren't smart enough to actually let the important people know your new address. After awhile even the post office gets tired of taking care of your dirty work, because it has started showing up again.

I got your Christmas postcard from your friends with the 3 little blonde children. They're cute. They wished you happy holidays. In fact, I even let them hang out on my fridge for a little while because their smiling faces brought me joy. I've received your bank statements every month probably with your account numbers on them. Oh, and if your debit and credit cards aren't working, it's because your renewed ones more than likely came to our house. And just the other day, I think I received your W2's. I'm sure that probably has your social security number on it. Thinking about it now, I could really be you. I could take out loans in your name, use your credit card numbers and go on that trip to Europe my husband and I have been dreaming about.

No worries though, I am a nice person that believes stealing someone's identity is wrong. I threw everything out I received in your names. I even shredded the credit cards for you so the dumpster divers couldn't get it. Just a suggestion though, next time why don't you just change all of your information with the direct source? Let your bill collectors, your bank, your credit card companies, and your employer know where you are residing. The next people who move into your home might not be as nice.

Sincerely,

Your mail collector

***Disclaimer: My husband thought it would be wise of me to add that no actual mail was opened. Opening someone elses mail is a federal offense. I am basing my assumptions of the mail contents off the information on the envelope. ***

Sarcastic Wednesday

Ok just for fun, I decided to post a funny little You Tube video for your viewing pleasure.

Anyone else having to work this weekend? Pretty sure I'm going to have to. Yay!

What's Under Your Bed?

I have to be honest, I was at a loss for a blog topic for today. Actually I thought of a good one when I came home today and checked the mail, but turns out it fit perfectly for Mama Kat's writers workshop which is on Thursday so I thought I better save it. Anyways, I came across a website called Write Source that had a list of topics that teachers could use to get their students writing and I came across this prompt (see title) listed under Grade 1. Even though this topic might seem a bit young for me, it did get me thinking about what exactly was under my bed at different stages of my life.

When I was little I used to think there were Gremlins under my bed. Remember that movie? It actually came out the year I was born. My dad always had a habit of letting me and my sister watch scary movies when we were probably a bit too young for them. I feel like I first saw this movie when I was 5. Now I haven't seen it in forever, but if my memory serves me correctly they started out as cute little fuzzy creatures that lived under this kids bed, but when you fed them or put water on them (something to that effect) they turned into ugly, scary creatures. This explains why I used to run from the hallway and jump into bed at night.

A few years later, you could find a very large version of a caboodle underneath my bed that had all sorts of crafty goodness in it. I had pipe cleaners, googly eyes, beads, felt, and an Indian bead loom. You could also find a huge assortment of crayons all grouped in their specific color groups from darkest to lightest and my collection of stamps and rocks. My grandfather used to collect rocks and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I remember going to one of those Renaissance fairs and being able to buy a pouch of gemstones. It was awesome.

When I was a teenager, you could find notes from friends and boyfriends. For a short period of time you might have found a wire bound notebook that served as journal. I threw that out after a couple of months due to potentially incriminating information that I thought my nosey mother might find. I also used the space underneath my bed to hide my well saved money after my sister and her friend had left me with several I.O.U.'s when they found my stash of money in my jewelry box.

In college you could find plastic containers full of notebooks and books from previous semesters. You could also find drawing pads and a variety of pencils, along with canvases and paints. There were even some pretty interesting clothing options for sorority and fraternity date parties and mixers. Later on, you could find a small trunk that housed all the notes, dried flowers, and movie stubs from my then boyfriend, now husband.

Today you would just find a roll of extra carpet, some old sorority T-shirts that I can't seem to part with and a plastic container of gift wrap. It seems as though now that I have a house of my own, I have stopped keeping all my good stuff under then bed. All of my favorite things are now out in the open for everyone to see.

What do you or did you used to keep under your bed?

10 Things I Learned This Weekend

1. I've discovered that no matter who is coming over to my house for a weekend stay, I will always be panicky the day of and my husband will be suffering from my crazy need for everything to be perfect.

2. Friday nights are depressing to be alone. I need to find a project to keep me occupied immediately.

3. Homemade cakes ARE the best. Check out the recipe for Italian Cream Cake I made per Michael's request (okay well second request).

4. Apparently it's okay to serve cloudy water at a nice restaurant (and when I say cloudy, I mean you can't see through the other side of the glass). Also, it's okay to serve the bread after the entrees are delivered. Hence the reason I agree with this post by Bella.

5. Some people really love pantyhose.

6. You really shouldn't supress everything that bothers you because it makes your heart start to race and it's hard to breath. Also apparently this is not a heart attack and it can't be stopped by taking Bayer asprin.

7. Buying a puppy can initally be expensive. We have now spent more than we paid for the dog on all the stuff it "needs".

8. Last Chance Harvey isn't really worth paying to see in the movie theater.

9. My F.I.L. will always find something that we need to fix in our house and will constantly worry about our electric bill, but he only has the best of intentions.

10. It's a great idea to make sure you have all the ingredients you need for baking BEFORE you start making it. Also sometimes you do have to ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar.

The Pantyhose Woes

Pantyhose, pantyhose

Oh how wonderful you can be!
You hide my winter, white legs and keep them warm
But why, oh why do you have to cause me such woes?

Putting you on in the mornings can be such a disaster
You rip and you tear with the slightest snag

And it never fails,

You are always too long
Do I wear you at my hips or pull you up to my ribs?
The answer to that, I do not know

All day long you cause me pain
Cutting off my circulation

Rolling down when I sit

And falling down between my legs as I walk

In the thinnest of dresses you can not be worn
You show that squiggly little line that goes up the front
And create belly rolls that I simply do not have because of your tightness around my waist

And oh me, oh my!

How it kills me to see people wear you with open toe
Such a terrible fashion faux pas should be made known

I hate every version of you
The knee highs that are oh so unattractive

The thigh highs that fall down when it's cold

And the garter hoes - oh the garter hoes!

It must have been a man who invented those things
They are oh so impractical and only meant for play

Just the thought of a mans calloused hand causing snags makes me shiver
The cost of the attire and assembly time is ungodly
Who could imagine all the hooks that must be fastened

On that delicate, slippery fabric

Oh woe as me all the trouble you cause!

The Moment I Knew

It's Thursday, which means it's time for Mama Kat's Writing Workshop. Here is the prompt I chose this go around. Other than the birth of a child or your wedding, write about a joyous moment. Okay so mine is not about my wedding per say, but it does have to do with a very important even that leads up to it.


One of my most joyous moments was when I knew that my now husband was "the one". Michael and I went to the same high school, which wasn't really that large. I knew who he was, but I was two years older than him and really just stayed in my own bubble. I was content with my group of friends and very distracted with my own life like any typical teenager and didn't really bother noticing anything else going on around me that didn't really effect me.

The first time I ever really remember seeing him around was during lunch my senior year. I was in student council and had a leadership class during the lunch periods, so I was lucky and got to sit through every lunch rotation right outside the cafeteria so I could sell tickets for all the schools events. It was awesome. I can distinctly remember Michael coming to the table one day to buy a ticket and he was wearing his football jersey. I don't really remember any exchange of words taking place but that image has stuck in my mind.

Fast forward a few years later. I was a sophomore in college and had come home for my 20th birthday. I had family plans the night of my actual birthday, so two of my best guy friends decided to cook for me the night before. One of the guys, who was also Michael's age, was going to start UT in the fall and decided to invite his future roommate to come over as well. It happened to be Michael. We really hit it off chatting while my friends were busy cooking. We were all going to the movies afterwards and Michael bought my ticket as a birthday treat.

Once we got back from the movies, my friend tried to get me to hang out with him for awhile and I was kind of trying to find a way out. Michael saved me and offered to take me home (I was lucky back then - all of my guy friends drove me around everywhere - I was so spoilt haha). Anyways, I was ecstatic. He drove me home and offered to give me my last kiss as a teenager. I told him no, that he would have to wait and got out of the car with my heart almost leaping out of my chest.

That night, my mind kept replaying the events of the night. I had been through a seemingly long and rocky relationship that I just couldn't seem to get over and I realized that Michael was exactly what I had been waiting for. Someone trustworthy, someone who would open doors for me, and someone that could make my heart flutter again. I went back to college and had to wait 2 more months before we met again. But I knew. I knew he was the one from that very first night.

(Picture from fall 2005)

A Hope for Better Days Ahead

It seems like everyday I speak to someone who is laid off, lost their job, had their hours cut, or about to have one of those things happen to them. No matter what your political beliefs are, I know we are all waiting for better things to come and save us from these hard economic times.

I hope that relief will come soon. I hope that more jobs are saved than lost. I hope that we will see the end of the bright yellow liquidation signs on store front windows. I hope that people will find a way to keep their homes and the housing market is able to rebound. I hope people will find a way to get out from under their credit card debt. I hope that we all can see our 401K's increase instead of decrease.

In spite of all of these terrible things that have seemed to happen in 2008, I can't help but to try to look for the good in our troubles. There is always a silver lining. I believe this year has been a reality check. It has been a year that we found that we are going to have to start enjoying a simpler life.

It's not a big fancy house or a nice car that makes life worth living. It is the family and friends that surround us when the chips are down. It's the simple things in life like a family meal at a dinner table instead of a restaurant. It's realizing that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a good time. It's realizing that family will always be more important than work because they are the ones that will care about you in the end.

I feel like we have all been just a little spoiled and have taken the simple things for granted. Maybe 2008 and these economic times that still seem to plague us have happened for a reason. We all need to change the way we think about life and the importance that money seems to have in our culture. There are much more important things in life than the amount of money in your bank account and the car that you drive.

I wish good luck to President Obama and all Americans as we continue to try to sort this mess out. I also pray that we all learn something from this and these hard times aren't simply looked at as something that "just happened to us".

Another Candle on the Cake

Michael turned 23 over the weekend and it got me thinking about birthdays. There is just something about birthdays that make me sad. Not necessarily on other people's birthdays, but more on my own. I think as you get older, people start to pay less attention to them. You don't wake up with balloons on your bed or a big pile of presents. It all comes down to just one more candle on the cake, hopefully a few cards, and some calls from loved ones. So, in order to show my remembrance of a persons special day, I always try to do something special when I can and that almost always involves making a cake. Which brings me to my weekend hissy fit.

Me: (Handing Michael a magazine full of scrumptious cake recipes) Here honey, pick out any cake you want in there and I will make it for your birthday.

Michael: (Absently flipping through the pages) I think I want a Confetti Cake.

Me: A Confetti Cake? You mean an out of the box cake?

Michael: Yeah, that!

Me: (Handing him back the magazine) Well... don't you want to try one of these?

Michael: No, I want a Confetti Cake. It reminds me of home.

Me: Well, this is your home now and I don't make out of the box cakes, I make homemade cakes.

Michael: But, you asked me what I wanted?

Me: (Irritated that I don't get to try out a new recipe and a little hurt that he doesn't want one of my homemade cakes) Fine. You can have your confetti cake....AND your pre-made icing. (as if this is some kind of threat)

Michael: What? Don't get upset. You asked me what I wanted.

Me: Yeah, but....

Michael: Ok, I'll pick out a recipe...

Me: Oh no, it's too late now - your getting your box cake. It's done!

I guess we both just feel comforted in different ways on our birthday. His mom made out of the box cakes for him when he was young, while my mom made homemade. There is nothing wrong with either of these options. I was more upset because I was looking forward to trying out a new recipe and having something to kill time doing while he was away at work on Saturday. I just feel like a homemade cake adds just a little something to someone's special day. I think it says - someone cared enough about me to take the time to make this cake.

Anyways, I made his out of box cake and he was completely thrilled with it. Of course, we also reached an agreement that when his parents came up to celebrate his birthday this weekend, I would be making another cake of his choice which couldn't involve a box. He picked an Italian Cream cake, which I have never made before.

I'm happy, he's happy. It was a good day.

Friendship Award

Blognut over at More Mindless Rambling has given me yet another award. I have been given so much love lately with awards that my next post will be an award page where I can keep them all. The sidebar is starting to get a little ridiculous. (Feel free to skip the next post).

Anyways on to the award....

This award is the Friendship Award: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Again I will be breaking the rules on this one. Not because I'm lazy (oh no!) merely because I can't choose just 8. If you are a follower of mine, consider yourself awarded. All followers are friends in my eyes!

Thanks blognut!

Clean House...Or Not

Today I planned to clean the house. Okay so I've been "planning" on doing a little bit everyday, but I've been in a funk and haven't felt like doing it. Instead I decided I needed to get out of the house today and make myself feel better. So I painted my nails, got my hair done, and did a little bit of depression shopping.

By the way I found an AWESOME deal on some Bandolino black boots ($100 off!!!).

As well as a couple of cute dresses at Francesca's (I have a thing for buying dresses) and some cute earrings (which I never buy).

Yeah, I know what you are thinking, they are summery. But who wouldn't be dreaming of summer when it's 20 degrees outside? In my defense I do have a long sleeve black shirt that I can wear under the second one...

Anyways, back to my point. I came in the house and turned on the TV fully intending to clean and guess what was on...Clean House. Gosh I love that show. It always makes me feel so much better about my own home. Maybe I don't really need to clean after all because my house looks 150% better than those peoples! Anyone else with me here?

The Blame Game

Isn't it funny how some people can never take responsibility for their actions? They always want to blame someone else.

• The credit card companies are taking advantage of me! I shouldn't have to payback all this money.
  
• But officer, I'm late to work! I don't deserve a ticket.


• I shouldn't have listened to so-and-so. They made me do it!


• So-and-so said I said what about you? I would have never said that!


• I don't know why God did this to me.
  

I think it's time for people to realize that some things ARE their own fault. Everyone makes mistakes, that's just part of life. People just want to make excuses and to blame someone else for their actions. Guess what though. Blaming someone else and making excuses doesn't solve problems.

Sometimes you have to say "I'm sorry, I screwed up". Sometimes you have to say "I got myself into this problem, now I have to figure a way to solve it". Sometimes you have to say "I was greedy and now it's time to pay for it".

I'm tired of hearing excuses. I'm tired of people blaming other people for the bad things in their life. It's time for people to take responsibility for their own actions and change the things that bother them in their lives.

You have choices on the actions you make and the things that you say. And I feel people should start taking responsibility for those choices and stop placing blame on others for the bad decisions they have made.

On the other hand, sometimes things do just happen to you. You are at the wrong place at the wrong time, you are born into something, something happens to you that is beyond your control. But we do have choices on how we react to it. I feel like those are the toughest choices to make, but if we focus on just what happened to us and ignore the choices we can make to make things better, then nothing gets fixed.

I guess my point is that everyone needs to stop and reassess things in their own lives. Take responsibility, own up to your mistakes, and stop blaming others for your own misfortunes.

A Letter to My Husband

It's Thursday, which means it's time for another one of Mama Kat's Writers Workshop. The prompt I picked for this week is "Describe your significant other's most attractive quality (on the inside)."

Michael,

You are such a wonderful husband. I know I'm not the easiest woman to deal with. I'm a control freak, needy, and happen to speak my mind more than I need. Even though things have been crazy practically ever since you have met me, you have always stayed by my side and constantly had my well-being in the forefront of your mind.

I love the way you leave me notes just to tell me that you love me. I also love the fact that you know I am always running late for work and pack my lunch ahead of time so all I have to do is grab it and go. I love you for letting me overreact when I need to and also for letting me know when I am out of line.

Thank you for being patient with me when I don't want to get out of bed on Sundays to go to church even though I know how important it is to you that we go. Thank you for rubbing my head when I get too stressed and need to calm down. Thank you for reassuring me that everything is okay when I'm not quite so sure.

I appreciate the fact that you are able to give me space when I need it as well as know when I might need to get out of the house in order to escape my bad mood. I also thoroughly appreciate you letting me take the dead duck off the wall when we changed your study into the guest bedroom. I'm sure Woody will find a place in our future home with a man room. Most of all, I appreciate the fact that even though you know every flaw in me, you chose to overlook it and marry me anyways.

Love Always,
Laura

Life Made Easier

Have you ever just had one of those days where you feel like you need direction in your life? Today has been one of those days for me. It's not that I'm at a loss of who I am or anything to that effect. I just basically feel like I need a fresh start. Maybe it's because it's January and I didn't really make resolutions this year except to let things go, or maybe it's just because I feel like I have been stuck in the same routine and need a fresh start.

I'm on a quest to make my life easier and more effective. Ironically my new issue of Real Simple also came in the mail today to help me jump start my little expedition. I feel like I've become a lazy slob since Michael's gone on nights. I spend a lot of time reading blogs and watching pointless TV and sitting in my pajamas. It's time for things to change!

I plan on going to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier and not be so rushed to work. I need to learn to clean as I cook and be more organized on what part of the meals I cook and what Michael cooks (since we make dinner in shifts now). I'm going to try to find a little bit of time to work out everyday and put an end to procrastination. I plan on being more organized with our mail as well as my cleaning schedule (hopefully I'll clean a little everyday instead of once a week). And all the while I plan on keeping my resolution of being more laid back and letting things go. Sounds like a contradiction, but basically I'm going to try to not freak out every time something doesn't go as planned.

Anyone else out there have any other ideas on how make life just a little easier? I'd love to hear them!

Meet Lola

Michael and I both had the day off yesterday and had planned on going skiing. We have been looking for a puppy for quite some time now. We called about an ad in the paper on Friday for a cute little Westie puppy, but she unfortunately had been sold the day before. So we were quite sad. As we were getting ready to head off to our skiing adventure we got a call from the lady with the ad who was very excited to tell us that the people she had gotten her 2 West Highland Terriers from had just had a litter. Unfortunately they were 4 hours away, but after much jumping and dancing around in the kitchen, I convinced Michael that we should go immediately so we could have the pick of the litter.

Here is the cute little puppy we choose. Actually she was the fattest of the bunch.

She is only 4 weeks old right now, so we plan on picking her up at the end of January after she's had her first shots. This is what she will grow up to look like.

I have had the name Lola picked out for forever because I think it's both sassy and classy plus there's a catchy little song that has her name in it ("Lola" by The Kinks - totally weird but catchy). I absolutely can't wait for her to join our family. I'm sure we will have some lovely puppy blogs later on when she starts getting into trouble.

Give Me Strength

The title is deceiving - this is not a sad post today. Well actually it kinda is.

My husband's birthday is just about a week away and one of the things he's been wanting is a pair of 35 pound weights, well that and a Buck Roar (don't ask it's a deer hunting thing). So I go to Dick's Sporting Goods to fulfill his birthday wish and I find exactly what I'm looking for at an even lower price that I had found on the Internet.

They are on the bottom shelf so I bend down to pick them up.

They don't budge - not at all.

I squat in my high heels to try to get the good ole legs involved and try again. They move, but not much.

I get up and walk around to see if I can find someone to help. No one but other women in the store who don't look that much bigger than me.

I try to find a cart. Maybe, just maybe if I can do a quick power lift into the cart I can get them to the counter. But then, I would have to lift them out of the cart again to put them in the car...hmm, no cart in sight.

I said forget it. I called my husband and told him the story who got a wonderful laugh. He'll get to see the purchase of his own presents today. Maybe I do need to make a resolution to work out this year!

How would you describe me?

I am doing another one of Mama Kat's writing assignments. Click here to check her blog out - she does this every week! This time the prompt I choose was: "Ask a loved one to use 6 descriptive words to describe you and report your findings. How well do they know you?" So, of course I turned to my husband who came up with these six words.

Organized
I am pretty organized. I keep my whole life in my Franklin Covey planner that my stepsister gave to me one Christmas. It's pretty much my Bible, with all my vital info in it. I like to plan ahead and know exactly when things are going to happen. I would probably refer to myself more as a planner than organized though because sometimes I do tend to be messy. But I always have good intentions of being and staying organized if that counts.

Sarcastic
Guilty as charged. And I come by this honestly from my dad's side of the family. I guess I think it's funny, sometimes it's not though. Some people are not able to deal with my sarcasticness, but I think it's just because they can't handle the truth. As I've mentioned before, not everyone cares what I think so I do try to watch it.

Honest
Yep, he's got me there too. I'll admit to my faults even if sometimes it takes me a bit to see the light. I can not stand people who lie! It's ridiculous and no matter what, someone always finds out the truth so why do it. I think they do it to make life easier on themselves or to make their life seem more interesting - either way I can't stand it. You learn so much more from being honest.

Pragmatic
Ok so practicing my honesty here, I had to look this one up. Here is what was listed under synonyms: practical, realistic, hard-headed, sensible, matter of fact, no nonsense, down to earth. All of these apply - no further explanation needed.

Private
I do like my alone time. I like to live in my own thoughts sometimes without interruptions. I enjoy my reflection time and it's necessary for my well being. Thankfully my husband has learned sometimes it's just better to give me my space and I love him for that.

Authentic
I prefer genuine. I believe they pretty much mean the same thing but the word authentic seems like it's part of some marketing campaign. But yes, I am what I am. You get what you see!

He also included that he thought I was quick witted, intelligent, and beautiful. How very husbandy of him! And of course, I think that those descriptions fit me in his eyes - those are some of the reasons he married me right? As far as what others think about those descriptions...it really doesn't matter to me.

I Feel Loved!

I just can't believe it - another one of my awesome blogger friends has given me an award! Chloie over at Orchestrated Destiny awarded me the Lemonade Award. She has some really great posts....two of my favorite recent posts include The One Who Got Away and Time Heals All Wounds. Check them out! Thanks Chloie and I look forward to reading more of your great work in the future.

On to the award rules...there's just two: First, you should give link love to the person who gave you the award. Secondly, nominate ten of your favorite bloggers to receive the Lemonade Award!

Ok so I've already done the first one so now onto the nominations. There wasn't a particular description of what types of blogs should receive this award so I'm going to show gratitude to some other followers of mine who I wasn't able to give the last award to. Also I'm breaking the rules and just doing as many as I feel like, which is going to be less nominees because I've either already given them an award or they have already received this award (apparently most of us all run in the same circle)...so here are my picks!

Mulled Vine at Diary of an Old Fart: I look forward to his posts everyday about the simple life of an older man.

Bodaat at Bodaat...blogging one day at a time: She just got engaged - stop by and congratulate her!

Expat at That Damn Expat: Check out my favorite post - We Will Always Have Paris...Unfortunately

Tova Darling at Secret Life of Tova Darling: A new friend who I enjoy reading, especially on Totally Akward Tuesdays

Yay! Enjoy your awards and pass on the love!

What Happened?

As you all know I have limited my TV watching (click here for the past post). One of the few shows I try to keep up with on a weekly basis is Jon and Kate plus 8. I watch this show because I just love the kids and it's interesting to watch all the craziness that can occur when a family has 8 small children. Lately however I have been thoroughly disappointed. Last night really put it over the top when the preview for the show was Kate announcing to the kids that they were moving. They only advertised this scene at least 20 times before the show. I was sadly disappointed to see that the main part of the show was about Kate making soup and the only part they showed about them moving was the exact scene they had been advertising. Us faithful viewers have been waiting for this moment for a very long time and that is all you have to give us?!?!

It seems as though the show has simply turned into just the Jon and Kate show. This season has mostly been about their fame with the new book as well as all the shows they do on the side to promote their own show. As cool as that is for them, it's not so interesting to watch - it just turns them into every other celebrity out there. The most appealing thing about the show was that they were a normal family who just happened to have a bunch of kids. I miss the old days where they just showed mostly the kids and the poor parents frustrations of just trying to keep it all together. What happened to that show?

Book Review Times Two

This time you guys are really in for a treat. I finished two books over the weekend and enjoyed them both (well for the most part). I do have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the first book: The Road by Cormac McCarthy. After the first 30 pages I thought there was no way I could ever finish it. This book has hardly any dialogue, no chapters, and is very descriptive. The characters don't even have names, they are simply referred to as Boy and Man. In the end, I was glad I finished it. It actually picked up after the first 30 pages and became pretty interesting. The road is dark and filled with questionable characters. Mostly the focus of the story is the relationship between father and son and how they survive the harsh trip down the road. With the harshness of the world around them, I did have to wonder why they even wanted to survive. If it were me I'd rather just be put out of my misery, but I guess there wouldn't be a story if I had my way. My husband LOVED this book and has since bought The Border Trilogy consisting of All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. If your husband likes to read, I would recommend it to him. I think it is a good story for the boys!





The second book I finished this weekend was Animal Farm by George Orwell. I'm sure a lot of you have probably read this one, but if you haven't I definitely recommend you picking it up. It is actually subtitled A Fairy Story and it does in fact remind me of a fairy tale. The tale is about a group of farm animals that are striving for utopia and a world where "All animals are created equal." They rebel against farmer Jones and take over the farm. Their leader is a pig named Napoleon who basically takes on the ideology of Stalin and communism. In the end they discover that "All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others." It really is a great read and actually reminds me a lot of Aldous Huxley's - A Brave New World.

My next read will be a long one, but I do look forward to it. I will be reading The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher. I ordered it along with Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg and they should get here sometime this week! Yay for winter reading!

Meet Rascal...

First of all I want you all to know it took A LOT of picture taking to get one decent picture in which this cat did not look mad. Maybe the reason for his unhappy eyes was the annoying flash of my camera, but even after I turned it off he was still anticipating it every time I tried to get him to look at me.


In the end, this was my favorite shot. Meet Rascal - the neighbor cat.


This cat is my pretend pet because he really lives next door. He comes to visit every once in awhile and sometimes thinks our house is his. The best part of having a pretend pet is that I get to avoid all the annoying pet owner tasks such as taking him to the vet or feeding him.

He usually sleeps under our bay window and will greet us with a nice friendly roll and his lion like yawn as we get out of the car. Don't be fooled though - he might show you the oh so furry pet me belly, but as soon as you reach to give it a rub - he will bite. See, Rascal is the typical temperamental cat. You kind of have to walk on egg shells around him. You just never know what kind of mood he might be in.

One thing for sure is that he never wants to play. Unlike any cat I have ever met, he is completely devoid of any interest in string. So sad. He only wants lovin' and lots of it. He will come in for a quick visit to get a good rub down, then he will head for the door. He also has a way of making sure you notice him. If I sit on the couch to check the mail he will knock it out of my hand to make himself a spot on my lap to be rubbed.

I don't know what it is about him, but every time I see him when I go to the car I just have to stop and talk to him and give him a quick pet no matter how late I may be. I just can't help thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have the life of a cat?

New Years Day Recap

My New Year's was great (thanks for asking). We celebrated with friends by cooking a wonderful dinner together and just hanging out on the couch. The next day we started of the morning...uhhh...I mean afternoon with breakfast at Cracker Barrel then pretty much laid in bed all day. It was great - so far so good on my resolutions for 2009.

We also partook of the ritual eats of New Years day - hog jowl and black eyed peas. I have to say that we only ate about one spoonful a piece of the peas. They were terrible! A little too gritty for my taste. As you can see, the hog jowl ended up being mostly fat but we did get a few good pieces. You have to do what you have to do for good luck though!

My husband also informed me that he took pictures of his cooking for me to post on my blog haha. He included a picture of himself so you can all see he did the cooking. Isn't he cute and supportive!

Hope you all had a great start to your new year!