12.31.2010

A Review of 2005

So crazy... but 2005 was the last time I did a year recap on Xanga. Which is kind of cool since 5 years ago was a very different time of my life.

And since my last post still seems to be a downer even though I still don't mean it to be... I thought this would be fun. And now I present a 2005 recap from 2005 (2010 edits in green):


2005
January
1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year? Um I think it was to use the word fester a lot. I can't even keep a simple resolution. <--- Weird much?
2.Who kissed you at midnight? No one...unless an intoxicated lindsay or steph did.
3. Does it snow where you live? Yes  which I will miss in Lux
4. Do you like hot chocolate? Yes...especially with peppermint schnapps <--- ewww. Try Bailey's
5. Have you ever been to times square to watch the ball drop? "No, and no desire to, either.  Think about it - a bunch of creepy people crammed into a park outside in the freezing cold and no booze on New Years?  Plus it's a prime terrorist target." - My little summed that up perfectly
February 
1. Who was your valentine in 2005? George (not real name)...we had a beautiful weekend in Cincy on the river and then we broke up. But he still owes me a carriage ride.  <--- Never did, but that is not a regret in life. Also in about 1 month from this original post, I will no longer ever want a carriage ride with him.
2. What did your valentine get you? A beautiful hotel room with a view, a teddy bear, gummies (he knows me too well), and a nice dinner.
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? Of course..even smelly kids need "Clarissa Explains it All" valentine cards
March
1. Are you Irish? Like 1/16???
2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? When I think about it.
3.What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2005? I partied it up with Sally while in Aruba
April
1. Do you like the rain? If I can stay inside and read- yes
2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year? Nah I'm too busy getting wasted while celebrating my birthday!!!! Wait..well unless you count me getting sick all over George's Yukon door a joke...
3. Do you get tons of candy on easter? Yeah but honestly I think I still have it all in my room somewhere...I'm not a huge candy fan except for Skittles and Nerds.
May1. What's your favorite kind of flower? Orchids..anything bright and exotic
2. Do you like the spring? YES
3. Finish the phrase: April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!!!!
4. What would you think of as a spring color? haha the same colors as when I think of the word Diagonal...my little pony colors...sorry inside joke
June 
1. What year did you graduate from school? 2003
2. Did you go on any vacations in June? Yep I was in Europe chaperoning High School students
July
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? I was in Vienna?? I think I went to bed early while my parents went bar hopping. I had to stay and watch the kids.
2. Do you go on any vacations during this month? See above
August
1. Did you do anything special to end off your summer? I hung out with all the people I love 
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05? Way too many..but one of the top had to be my picnic with George at Silver Creek
3. Do you go swimming a lot in the summer? Nope.. I was gone too much
4. Do you go to the beach a lot? Nope
September
1. Did you attend school/college in '05? Yep and I had a great semester in my amazing house
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher? Sobnosky. I love that man. <--- Still best teacher I ever had, but he was high school. I think the question was current best teacher.
3. Do you like fall better than summer? Yes..I love fall colors, Miami, the clothes
October 
1. What was your favorite halloween costume ever? mmm..My ariel from the little mermaid that my mom made me. But this year's slutty one was fun because I never slut it up.
2. What's your favorite candy? NERDS!!!! <-- ew. Give me chocolate!
3. What did you dress up like this year? Well it was SUPPOSED to be a 1920's ganster..but it ended up me being a slutty golddigger/secretary/whatever you want me to be thing.
November
1. Whose house do you usually go to for thanksgiving? My house
2. Do you love stuffing? not so much..my mom makes her german liver stuffing
3. What are you thankful for? That I am here alive, I have my family around me and true friends
December 
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Yes
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? Probably...
3. What do you want this year for Christmas? I just want my new camera already...my old one has been broken for forever
4. What's the best present you ever got for Christmas? My brother...but he showed up a week late <--- awww. I love that kid.
5. Do you like cold weather? Not right now...but I do like it once in awhile

Out with the Old, In with the New

In the past (good old Xanga), I would recap the last year month by month talking about the highlights and tough times I encountered.

This year I'm not.

Instead I'm going to just going to celebrate the difficult life changes and decisions I made it through in order to finally feel like an adult and get my life to a healthy place. This year was not the most difficult period of my life, but it was a long, tiring year that has brought me to a much better place in my life. I think it is important to acknowledge the hurdles in life and be thankful for the opportunities we have to grow from them. If this post seems depressing, it isn't meant to be. This year finally forced me to grow into a responsible person and that is something for which I will always be extremely grateful.

*The biggest, most challenging part of my year came from my work life. Last year at this time, I transitioned from my entry level position into holding my own territory in a large corporation. It was at this point I had a new manager who turned into what I hope will be the worst boss I will ever encounter in my career. He was sexist, a micro manager, and determined to have me quit/ be fired. It took me a long time, filing two HR grievances, counseling (thank you major corporation health insurance), and lots of talks with friends to realize that sometimes there is nothing you can do, some people will just not like you and you can't change that. I spent many months in fear of being fired after I learned that he had started a file cataloging every mistake I ever made (from day 1!!! Before I even had time to ever slight him in any way) and started using HR speak to "discipline me" with the door open in his office to make sure that every employee heard him. It took me 8 months before I was ready to really start looking for a new job.

This experience thought me two important lessons, the first being that companies look out for the company's interests and not for the employee's interests. I was incredibly naive and came into my first real job believing the opposite. This was a great lesson because it has taught me to look at situations objectively and identify what I want rather than what my sense of loyalty tells me I should do. 

The second lesson was that removing yourself from a bad situation isn't giving up, it is making a healthy decision for you. Giving up is staying in a situation, because change is scary. Even the worst situation is bearable if you know what to expect, the unknown is scary and takes courage to find out.

I changed careers, learned a new skill (sales!) and I started managing my career rather than having someone manage it for me. So I go into a new year in a better place in my professional life (yay!!!).

*Second major life change was moving states and moving in with James. If you have done either you know what a huge change that is. I'm still learning from this experience, but wow... patience was a virtue I'm getting to know quite well!

*Creating a budget was a lesson I learned last January and has forced me to manage my financial life rather than blindly guessing what I should do. This came incredibly helpful when it came time to move because I actually had savings to dip into instead of racking up credit card debt. It also helps when taking a major pay cut as I spend time building a book of business to earn commission.... not to mention wedding planning. Also the purchases I do make mean more to me than spending money whenever I feel like it.

*This year also made me grow up and learn to take care of others. Because my grandfather lives here in Florida, I have had to step up and help my family through the process of my grandmother dying and helping my grandfather. It has been difficult, but I am incredibly lucky that I have the means and ability to be there. My grandfather is such an amazing guy who has had a very difficult life and this time I spend with him is a blessing. I learned that the relationship I want to model my own after is the love that my grandparents had. Even in the darkest hours, my grandfather was there and willing do everything in his power to make my grandma happy. I look forward to growing my relationship with my grandfather even more in the next year.


This next year will be a major year for me and I have a feeling it is going to be amazing. I'm getting married(!!!), continuing to grow professionally, and saving for a down payment for a house. I'll be meeting new friends, learning a new city, and growing a strong foundation for my life with James. I wouldn't be ready to do any of these things if I hadn't experienced 2010. Which is why I am able to say I am grateful for these experiences.

Happy New Year Everyone

via Craftily Ever After
 

12.27.2010

I Love Christmas Sales

Today I hit Joann's during my lunch break and I stocked up on some fabulous sale items, gorge ribbons including the ribbon to finally finish my Halloween wreath*, and some beautiful fabric.

I'm seriously counting the minutes till Friday when I'll actually be able to go outside during the day and spray paint. I don't think anyone has ever been this excited to do something so simple.

In in even more SHOCKING news... I finished another craft tonight. Two in one week? What is happening to me? I'll post pictures tomorrow when I actually wear it.

But I'm off to bed early, I'm exhausted.


*Halloween wreath story... I came up with this amazing wreath idea and almost completed it. And then I ran out of ribbon. And it wasn't restocked until now, so I've had a 90% finished wreath sitting on my desk for two months. I'm finally going to finish it tomorrow :)

12.25.2010

Our First Christmas Alone

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Azurea
This year James and I couldn't afford to fly home to be with our families and even if we could,  I didn't have vacation days.

But this Christmas is turning into a wonderful, relaxing holiday.

My family tradition is to have Swiss style cheese fondue every year on Christmas Eve and I want to continue that tradition. So I bought my first fondue set and James and I had a romantic, quiet dinner. James even gave up his P90x diet in order to enjoy dinner.

James gave me my gift when I woke up (after a fun scavenger hunt through the apartment) and I got my toaster/egg cooker machine! Plus he had bought eggs, english muffins, cheese, and champagne for me to make my breakfast!
I gave him his presents at dinner. 

Afterwards we watched Christmas Vacation and relaxed on the couch. While we aren't with family, it was really nice.

Tonight we have a really nice, expensive dinner at Azurea the restaurant at One Ocean Hotel and Resort. I'm excited to get dressed up and not cook!

I hope everyone's Christmas is wonderful where ever they are.

Oh... and it's 67 degrees here right now :) 

German Glass Napkin Ring Tutorial

I actually completed a craft enough for me to post pictures... shocking I know. I have like 8 crafts sitting around just waiting for one more step before they are finished. So my goal with those is to finish them before the new year. Which means a trip to Joann's and Michael's in the near future!

But anyways, I made these last minute last night before James's and my first Christmas Eve dinner alone. I thought they turned out great for a quick 20 minute project. I plan to pick up more after napkin rings on sale and try a few different ideas.

Items Needed:

napkin rings
spray adhesive
paper
clear/white large grit German Glass
Sealer

I bought these napkin rings from Target knowing I would do something to fix them up. They were pretty plain and cheap looking and just asking for someone to take them home and save them. So I did.
First, I apologize for the photos in that it is really dark in my living room. I couldn't use natural light so I had to lighten the photos up for you to see them.

To keep the ring part of the napkin ring from getting glass on it, I used paper to protect it.
Then I used spray adhesive, removed the paper, and dipped the snowflake into the German Glass. After it dried, I put the napkin ring back in the paper and sprayed the sealant. Super easy and gave the napkin ring just enough shine to look special on the table.
I'm not sure if next time I want to spray paint the snowflakes with metallics and then German Glass them or use my Martha Stewart metallic glitter. Thoughts?

12.21.2010

The Tortuga Inn













If you are my friend IRL you probably know of my brand loyalty to Hilton. I am a devoted Hilton hotel consumer and have been for about 4 years. It started when I worked for the evil M---thon Oil Company and spent many, many nights out on the road. I quickly learned that as far as business class chains were concerned, Hampton Inns were pretty consistent in quality and I loved the packed to-go breakfast bags for a morning snack in the car. So I joined the Hilton Honors program (points never expire!) and became incredibly loyal. I even have the Hilton American Express Card. James and I got engaged in the Conrad Chicago... so yeah Hilton's are special to us.

So what did this super long/boring intro have to do with this post's title? Actually a lot. When it came time to find a place to stay on Anna Maria Island to see my grandpa, I was so excited to find out that there was a Hilton just slightly down the road (20 min) in Longboat Key. I was not excited when I found out that a room the size of a closet was $200+. So after one night, I decided to try elsewhere. And then came the Tortuga Inn.

I wasn't thrilled to spend the night in a place that wasn't a chain and that didn't give me points. But then I fell in love with this little oasis.

So... heads up. As Anna Maria is a destination for travel, no place on the island does hotel blocks for weddings. However, the amazing people at the Tortuga Inn are giving our wedding guests 10% off. I've stayed twice with them now and I can't get over the level of customer service, the beauty of the grounds, and the value of their suites. Our goal is to try to have all wedding guests stay at the Tortuga Inn or their sister property .25 mi down the road at the Tradewinds Resort. James and I suggest that if attending our wedding with another couple (or 2), that you book a two or three bedroom suite. If this is not your idea of fun, we suggest the individual cottages at the Tradewinds for just the two of you. Let me know if you are interested in booking and I'll give you the reservation code.

To show how nice the rooms are, I took photos of the two bedroom suite we had while we went back to the island for my grandma's funeral. My brother Chris stayed with us and he liked the place as well.
The second bedroom where Chris stayed. The beds can come as twin beds or if you give the Tortuga a heads up, they will move them together and put on a mattress pad that turns it into a king bed.

The room James and I stayed in. It looks much smaller than it is.

The full sized, furnished kitchen that had everything you would need to cook a full meal if you wanted.

Full living room... and what you can't see off to the right is the tv that has a dvd player and VHS player. Not sure why you would want VHS... but it is an option. Also my nerdy heart loved the books in the book cases... real books to borrow while you lay out on the beach!

This was our private gate entrance that had a landscaped patio. It was amazing.

Other side of the patio... you can see our gate in the back.

And the large spacious bathroom.

So you can see why we think this place would be a great deal if two couples decided to bunk together. It would be a cost saver and allows you to have a nice two bedroom apartment.


A courtyard pool hidden between rooms. Not the main pool but it was really neat. My point and shoot camera at night does not do it justice.

Our courtyard with fountains and shrubs and trees. You can see our open gate to the right.









If you are attending we hope you'll agree that this a treasure and stay on property with us.

12.20.2010

Another Take on Foam Trees


One of the things I love most about crafting is that an idea can take hold over craft blogs and you can see all the personal changes that make each project different. This year I have noticed that foam trees take over every blog.

I already posted the gorge glitter trees on an earlier post, but now I am seeing pine cone trees, twine trees, sweater trees, and fabric trees. Even tissue paper trees!

I love them all. I just wish I had time to craft. Maybe I need to get my priorities in order...

12.19.2010

How Not to Wedding Dress Shop

This week I checked another major wedding milestone off my checklist... I bought a wedding dress.

But this isn't the story of how I bought my wedding dress (which I'm super excited about!)... this is the story of how I almost bought the wrong wedding dress. Thankfully I had a level headed friend along to help me make the right decision, but hopefully this story might save someone else.

Why did I buy my dress a year in advance? Well... in case you didn't know, December is the best month to buy a wedding dress.
Reason #1: Think of these dresses as cars. They are incredibly marked up like cars, you are expected to haggle, year end causes owners to want to reduce their inventory for tax purposes, and next year's models are coming in very shortly. So how do you reduce inventory? You reduce your prices!
Reason #2: Between Christmas and Valentines Day, more couples get engaged than any other time of year. What do excited engaged girls want to do almost immediately? Go dress shopping! Since guys are holding off proposing till Christmas, wedding stores are very empty between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This means more sales!

So I decided to do all dressing shopping in one week. This way I wouldn't overwhelm myself with choices, get a great deal, and get a major purchase out of the way. Win, win, win situation.

My mom was a little disappointed that she couldn't be with me until I reminded her of prom dress shopping. Let's just say that when it comes to shopping for me, my mom and I don't always see eye to eye. She then agreed it was best this way.



So.. back to my story. In Jacksonville there was a very expensive dress store that sold wedding dresses. Sharon Batten sold Vera Wangs, Oscar de la Renta, and other insanely overpriced dresses. Saturday at noon the store closed. So last Tuesday when I found out the store was closing, my boss sent me to shop during my lunch time. Store closing = insane deals.

And I found a sample dress that fit me perfectly. Normally a sample dress is HUGE and needs to be clipped in order for you to have of how it fits, but this would have needed almost no alterations.

Note that I look pissed because I was stressed and worried about time. This was a Vera Wang dress that was originally $5,500 but already marked down to $1,400. It also looks a hundred times better in person. And that light makes me look pregnant but I'm not. Also this was a camera phone picture so quality is even worse.

So it is Tuesday. The store is closing soon. This dress is beautiful and I have 15 minutes to make a decision on whether or not to buy this dress. If I don't buy it, there is a really good chance it wont be there even after work. I was freaking out. Luckily Christina had agreed to meet me last minute and was able to be a voice of reason. While the dress was beautiful, it was still out of my price range and I didn't LOVE it.

So my plan was to not buy it, go to a sample sale at White Magnolia on Thursday evening, and if I didn't find anything better, make an offer Friday morning for $700. I believed if it were meant to be, it would still be there.

Luckily White Magnolia was a much better experience and I was able to buy a dress I am in LOVE with for a great price and have no regrets. Story about that later.

So if you go dress shopping, don't go during your lunch break or any other time there is pressure for you to make a decision quickly. Don't let a label sway you to like something more than you would if it were from David's Bridal. Don't settle for like... you will know when the dress is right. And please make sure you bring along a levelheaded friend. Trust me.. that's the best accessory to have.

12.18.2010

New Obsession

One of the parts of photography that I didn't realize going in to it was the difficulty of deciding what lenses to buy. Lenses are expensive!

Luckily, there is a new website named LensHero. This website is built around helping you decided what lens to buy for your personal needs.

How it works is a simple three step process.

First you enter your camera and budget. I selected my camera (Canon EOS Rebel t2i) and then my budget. Sadly my budget is not that high with planning a wedding and saving for a house, so I picked $300. This part was simple and straight forward.

Second, you decided what type of lens you are interested in buying. The options available are macro, wide angle, telephoto, fisheye, tilt-shift, portrait, sports and action, landscape, low light, wild life, travel, and all lenses. I chose portrait.

Then you can choose a zoom option. This option wasn't as clear on what exactly you were choosing. Was this a range you were willing to accept? It had to have a zoom kit with those ranges? As a newbie to photography I was a little confused. But I left that section blank and it still worked.

Third, you hit go... and lenses with reviews appear. My suggestion was a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II which is the lens suggested for newbies like me by other sources.

Fabulous.

One suggestion I would like to make to the site is that they have a section that suggests lenses for newbies just getting into photography. Quality lenses that I can grow with as I learn.

As the site is still new, I expect changes will occur to continue to improve but it already is being added to my favorite sites as I decide what lenses to buy.

12.14.2010

Train of Thought- An Exercise in Tiredness

I need a house elf to come clean my place, do my laundry, and go to the grocery store.

OMG I want the gold tree on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen".

Has anyone watched Watch What Happens? It's like a high school girl... on coke... on myspace with better guests. How is this a show?

Why am I still watching this?

Iman's hair looks exactly like Barbie's hair. Only brown... so Barbie's friend Courtney? Is that right?

Twitter does not know me. It keeps suggesting I follow Ashley Tisdale and Mitt Romney.

Commercials keep getting better music. I'm obsessed with the "Snow Day" Starbucks commercial (Matt Pond PA) and the Advil commercial with the different faces (Chugjug by Family of the Year). Picking music for movies and commercials would be an amazing job, but incredibly stressful.

Ad Tunes is amazing.

Celebrity voiceovers on commercials just distract me from what the ad was really about. Does it actually increase sales?

Florida is literally freezing and it still doesn't feel like Christmas. I miss snow.

I totally want Bailey's and hot chocolate. This may be the only time in my life I can buy Bailey's and James won't finish it in two days.

P90x sounds awful... but wedding dress shopping is only second to swimsuit shopping in making you want to change your entire body. Plus can't have James look better than me :)

Andy's tree is so much better than the one I found online. If someone wants to buy me a metallic gold tree I'd love them forever.

And on that note I'm going to bed. Big day of delivering cookies and pitching prospects.

12.12.2010

It's Official (and has been for well over a week)


Sorry for the lack of updating, life got in the way as it sometimes does. James and I had an out of town funeral to attend and then there was lots of catching up to do at work.

Anyhooooooo.....

WE SET A DATE!!!!

Yes, it actually happened. The Earth did not stop spinning, pigs did not fly, and while the South has frozen over... hell has not. But it actually happened :)

So December 10, 2011 I will become Mrs. L Klein, which is exactly my MIL's name (Linda). Which I'm sure some psych major could have a field day with that coincidence, but at least I'll be able to stop spelling my last name 4 times over the phone every time I make a reservation.

So where is it happening?

The Sandbar Restaurant on Anna Maria Island, FL.

This is the restaurant that my family has been going to for 20-some years right on the beach by my grandfather's house. It is absolutely beautiful with white sand beach and the most gorgeous sunsets every night. So it has history for my family, an unbeatable view, and won't break the bank. The best part is that by having a complete destination wedding on the beach, I can throw out all traditions I don't like and make my own rules. So I am pumped :)

At the beginning of the post is a photo of the sunset on the beach (via Sandbar website)

And here is the pavilion where the reception will be held


11.25.2010

A Time to be Thankful


I'm incredibly thankful for so many things. My health, my family, James (the majority of the time), Smurf, and having a job in this economy.

I can't wait to stuff myself on mashed potatoes and turkey, watch football, and craft.

And I can't wait to set a wedding date tomorrow!

11.19.2010

Happy Weekend

Have a great weekend everyone. Now if I can just get James to go to the zoo with me...


11.18.2010

Highlight of My Week

I have been battling a major sinus infection for a few weeks now. I don't have health insurance until January, so I have been trying to rid it in nonprescription ways.

Well Monday I had to go to Walgreens during the day to have the pharmacist help me out with some advice. Well as I left in my sinus headache/cold med haze, a homeless, 20-something hippie guy on a bike approaches me. He hits me up for some change and I turn him down. So end of conversation, right?

No. He then proceeds to tell me "You look nice today. Would you like to go out on a date sometime?"

Dude. You are on a bike and asked me for money. Obviously I'd have to drive, pay, and have you come back to my place. Besides the fact I'm engaged... just no.

*Guy in picture is not him. But it gives you an idea of what happened. Same dreads though.

A Feminist's Nightmare

James and I are sitting on the couch and this lovely exchange occurs:

*James grabs my leg*
Me: Stop that!
James: I own you, I can do whatever I want... I own you.
Me: EXCUUUUSE ME???
James: Good for you, asking your master to excuse you.
Me: Oh my gosh, I'm going to blog about this jerk.
James: Good for you... it's cute you have a little pet project... but shhhh... men are talking.

Why am I getting married again? le sigh.


But I'll get him back. I'll schedule two more dinner parties with people he doesn't know. I win.

11.13.2010

I'm Not Ready to Start Decorating Yet, But...


How freaking cute are these trees? I know I tend to say this a lot, but... I. AM. OBSESSED.

These Glitter Trees are courtesy of three sisters from the blog eighteen25 (which I immediately plan on following) via I heart naptime.

I plan on doing this with silver, gold, and bronze glitter. James will absolutely murder me for the amounts of glitter that will go everywhere, but so worth it. How gorge would this also look in turquoise and bronze in a living room? Love. Love. Love.

The best part is the excuse to go to the thrift store for candle sticks. I haven't been thrifting since I moved and this reminded me how much I need a fix soon


Christina, we need another wine and craft time ASAP so we can make these.

11.10.2010

Wedding Idea

So today I attended my 7th million networking event and I met the wife of executive chef and owner of Bistro Aix located in historic San Marco. I have only eaten once at Bistro Aix, but the food was seasonal and tasty, and the atmosphere was city chic. And then it hit me... I could have my wedding reception there. I never thought about having a wedding reception at a restaurant until I started reading the Broke Ass Bride website. The creators had their wedding at a cute restaurant and it was special, beautiful, and really reasonably priced. Plus, if things work out, I could even get married this coming spring and be finally done with all this stupid wedding stuff*. So the owner's wife and I will be in touch and it is on the list of places to check out.


*Weddings are not stupid. I'm just not a Bridezilla type and would rather spend the money on something more important like a house or retirement. A wedding is 4 hours, a marriage is a lifetime. I'd rather spend money on something that will last longer than an open bottle of champagne.

Also... and warning this is political... I strongly believe that the rights awarded to heterosexual married couples should be awarded to homosexual committed couples as well. I don't care if a religion wants to accept it or not, it is a legal contract that all consenting adults should have the right to enter if they so choose.


So anyways... restaurant reception... awesome or tacky?

11.08.2010

Mr. Smurfers, Boo-Boo, The Boo

James has reminded (a lot) lately that I have been bad at updating. So I decided to write a post about the second most important man in my life. No, not my dad, but Smurf. So heads up... this post will just be an excuse to gush about my baby and post pictures of him.

Smurf a.k.a. Mr Smurfers a.k.a. Boo-Boo a.k.a. The Boo is my chinchilla. What is a chinchilla you ask?


















Answer: The cutest freaking animal ever. Period. End of sentence.


And Smurf is the cutest chinchilla ever.


End of post.








Just Kidding. But only about it being the end of the post.


Smurf came into my life during my sophomore year of college. It was the weekend of my 20th birthday and my roommate and I ventured to Jack's Pets in Cincy to play with the puppies. And all alone, in a cage, was Smurf looking basically like this:













How could you say no to a face like this?

And I couldn't say no. So I began to make a series of bad choices that somehow ended up okay. But please, learn from my mistakes.

Bad Decision #1 - Don't buy an animal on impulse.

I decided that without knowing how to take care of a chinchilla, what his needs were, or if I could take care of him, that it would be a great idea to buy him and learn everything I needed to know from the thin, white book at the pet store. Surprisingly, Smurf is still alive and healthy after all our mishaps.

These mishaps included not realizing chinchillas are social animals who should be in pairs and can not easily be introduced to each other (if male) later in life, that temperatures over 75 degrees are EXTREMELY dangerous to chinchillas due to their coats, and that pet store wheels can really hurt a chinchillas back.

Bad Decision #2 - Don't buy an animal with your roommate.

Do I really need to explain why this is a bad idea? Thankfully my roommate got bored with Smurf like the majority of other things in her life.... oooooooh buuuuurn. Yep. Went there. Anyways...

During the summer between junior year and senior year, old roommate had Smurf live with her at school in the upstairs hallway of an old off campus house. The house did not have air conditioning and being upstairs in a hallway, he didn't have a window to have a breeze. Now the day I picked Smurf up to come live with me in my fab house with AC it was 94 degrees outside. Indoors it was hotter. If you notice in bad decision number one, temperatures over 75 degrees is the danger zone. 70 degrees is the upper end of okay and 75 is bad. It was 94 degrees on that one day. So yeah, not sure how I still have Smurf alive, but I am thankful for his guardian angel.

Bad Decision # 3 - Don't buy an animal unless you know their life span.

Smurf will live with me, if something doesn't happen, until he is 15-20 years old. So I might have him when I'm 40. That is a commitment. Thankfully I love him to pieces, but what if James hadn't liked him? What if I had found out chinchillas suck the souls out of babies? I had no idea. So thankfully again, I'm lucky I love the boo, but it could have been bad. He will live with me longer than my children will. Scary.

But like I said... luckily... I love the critter.

How could I not?















And yes I know this post fizzled at the end, but I am le tired. I don't feel like editing or saving and revising tomorrow. So enjoy pictures of The Boo and go back and reread the part where I insulted my old roommate.

10.31.2010

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

I just finished a long week of work, networking, and entertaining a house guest. Becky was our first house guest since moving in together and it was a blast. But now I'm tired and looking at a full week of work. So I'll just put up pictures of the Florida/ Georgia game.

I took Becky to the Landing to experience the madness. I could tell stories of the day... but those really aren't my stories to share.

Starting the day out right

Double Long Islands

The Landing

Rocking the Black and Red




Finishing up the night

I'm exhausted again just looking at the photos.

10.21.2010

Just Another Day on the Job



10.20.2010

I Used to Have Free Time


Lately life has been a blur of work, networking, sleep, and unpacking. I have so much going on I don't have the time to do the things I need to (laundry, dishes, unpacking) let alone the things I want to do (crafts, more sleep, decorating, cooking.) I know things will slow down once I'm in a routine and not working so hard to meet people/get contacts for work. It will also be great once James is able to pick up half the chores as well. Oh well, soon enough. Could be worse and I could be sitting at home bored!

So I had lunch today with a really kick ass woman I met earlier this month at the art walk. It was great to meet someone I had a real connection with and the conversation was so easy. We made plans to intro the boys, so hopefully the couple thing works out :)

Anyways, during lunch I kept mentioning how I really miss the leaves changing and I brought up my trip a few years ago to SC to visit Amanda and Mike during my last fall break at Miami. The trip was amazing, seeing the leaves progressively change was amazing, and Amanda's hospitality is always amazing. Amanda always makes me want to step up my homemaking skills because my cooking seriously lacks compared to hers. Plus she loves to get creative in the kitchen and forces me to do things out of my comfort zone (ie microwavable dinners). So I thought I'd post a few photos of the fun we had in the kitchen and the time I wish I had to get crafty like this :)


Those are chocolate and caramel covered apples. The lumps are choc covered raisins I used as spiders on my spiderwebs.




10.18.2010

Lotsa Random

I haven't posted for awhile because my camera battery has died. And I can't find my charger. And I have more boxes to unpack. And I have laundry to do... and I really have no excuses. I slacked... sorry. I also have no excuse for the non-sequiturs that will follow. Please, if you know what's good for you, stop reading. There is no point to this post.

But in exciting news, I have my first "follower". Thank you Mike!

I actually got to craft Friday night and hopefully soon I'll have photos up of it. It turned out so much better than I hoped. It's a Halloween wreath.

Congrats to Amuse Bouche for her making it into the top 100. While she didn't make it onto the next round, she did amazing for being such a new blogger.

I've decided that absolutely anyone can release a hit single. Thank you autotune. Exhibit A : Willow Smith. Yes... Will Smith's daughter. Check out "Whip My Hair." Seriously. You'll probably be singing along in the car before you know it. It will be in your iTunes playlist right after "Bedroom Intruder" and "Don't Be Tardy for the Party."

So I haven't watched the Real Housewives franchises... until the other night. Holy cow. If those are the people you have to hang out with when you become fabulously wealthy... no thank you.

I'm obsessed with the Android app Grocery IQ. It sorts my list, finds me coupons, and... when you use up something, you just scan the barcode and it adds it to your list for you!!! I was out of Target in record time.

I bought fixings for green monster smoothies. My goal is to replace my morning caffeine with a healthy energy shake. I will probably gross out everyone in the office with my shake, but hey I'll be so much healthier. I even bought the hippie additives ground flax seed and chlorella.

I can't wait for election season to be over.

Are you still here reading? Why? What's wrong with you?

10.11.2010

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

One bad habit I've developed while waiting for James to come home every night is web surfing randomly. This always leads to me finding things that I didn't know existed, but I now desperately needed.

So these are a few of the items I am coveting right now. So if you need x-mas present ideas...






























This is a gorge camera bag by Jo Totes. How stunning and un-camera bag-ish is it?

























Love love love this faux vintage necklace on Etsy.



























No words. And sold out on ModCloth :(

As James likes to say "Good to have goals."

10.04.2010

I Have a Serious Dilemma

Today I joined a political party that I didn't know existed. How did this happen? I went to the DMV. Completely reasonable, right? Let me back up and explain how this happened and then ask for your help.

In Florida, you can register to vote when you are at the DMV. Being a civic minded individual, I registered... and then the delightful (sarcasm) public servant asked what political party I would like to join.

I replied "Independent".

Apparently one should not do so in Florida because you will find yourself, not independent, but a member of the Independence Party of Florida. See I was trying to be all cool and anti-establishment... and then I found myself part of a group. Sigh.

So you'd think "Hmm, Independence Party? They must believe in something cool, like succeeding from the Union." Well, you'd be wrong. They believe in something boring like fiscal responsibility. All the party platforms are about holding the government responsible, both fiscally and through measures such as term limits. So my dreams of being part of an unintentionally funny political party were dashed.

Now I'm stuck. Do I stay part of the Independence Party of Florida, do I register as unaffiliated, ......... or ........... do I purposely join a really cool political party like the American Aristocrats Political Party. Option C right? Well now I have two problems:


2. Do I still join if the parties listed (except for Prohibition Party and Surfers Party) are most likely scams all started by a man named Josue Larose? See this and that.


So now I'm torn. What should I do?





Also, there is still the Super Secret Option D(? I lost count): start my own political party. According to the Free Republic,

"In Florida, if someone names a chairman and treasurer, and files quarterly financial reports with the Secretary of State’s office, they’re official; there are no fees, and there seems to be no standing regulation on party names or purpose, much less on good taste."

Is it bad I want to do this? I'm thinking of The Party Party. We will build on our pro-party platform. Obviously we will not be joining forces with the Prohibition Party, but I'm thinking the Surfers might be up for it.

So please help me and tell me what you think. Leave me your suggestions in the comments.

10.03.2010

Happy Birthday James



Happy Birthday Baby, you do look like a monkey (and smell like one too)... but I still love you.