I love mail that's not asking me for money.

I received a great surprise in the mail over the weekend. Bubbles sent me a beautiful handmade Christmas card. Thank you so much Bubbles! It is sitting on my bookshelf right next to my singing Santa Claus.



Go check out more of her handmade cards!

 Would you like to see the Christmas tree I put up at work?


It's 9 feet tall, and I'm only 5'2'' so it was quite difficult to get that star up there! But I think it turned out really pretty!

I hope that you all are well and having a wonderful Holiday season!

Mean people suck

How many times have you complained about our younger generations and how they are pretty much disrespectful little devils? None? How many times have you heard someone complain about them, then?

I hear it all the time. The younger generations are mean, and they don't listen to their parents and blah blah blah blah. Well...I tend to agree most of the time.

Except for today.

Today I realized that every single one of the members of upper management in my office are freaking jerks and they are all at least 50 years old. They are mean, rude, disrespectful and down right selfish. When one of the managers approached me today,said, "You have to take on more contracts. I'm having corporate send them to you," and then walked the hell out, a light bulb went off.

Our younger generations suck because they suck. I'm certainly not talking about everyone here, some people go above and beyond just to be nice, but there are a least 6 people I associate with every day that are like this. And they have children. Probably really mean children.

"You have to run reports every Friday from now on."

"You are not allowed to take Fridays off from now on."

"You have to input all of this information into a database."

See how I didn't add their pleases and thank yous? That's because they're aren't any. Ever.

I don't know why it took me this long to realize that this is the most frustrating part of my job. I honestly like the contracts and don't mind taking them. But do not tell me that I have to do something. Please is an easy enough word to say. It's one syllable for crying out loud and it makes the person you are barking orders to feel less like a piece of crap.

FREAKING USE IT.

P.S. Thank yous never hurt either.

Award!

Two posts in one day?!? What?!?

Yeah, well I wanted to thank Ashley at She Who Will be Tamed for the awesome award she gave me...like a month ago. Sorry Ashley for the delay!

As with any award, come rules.

Share 7 random things about myself:

1.) I'm incredibly afraid of heights. Can't even stand on ladders. 2.) I think 11 is not only the coolest number, but the funnest word to say. 3.) I think Batman is cooler than Superman. 4.) I'd rather sit on my couch and kill Zombies than watch a chick flick 5.) I hate movies where men dress as women. 6.) I have very vivid dreams about tornados every time I'm sick 7.) I didn't go out for Halloween this year because I had 6 inches of snow on the ground and said "screw it."

Answer the following questions:

Fav. Color: Pink

Fav. Song: Right night its probably "There for you" by Flyleaf

Fav. Dessert: Cookies
Biggest Pet Peeve: When someone talks over me. I do not like being interrupted because I wait my turn to talk and feel I deserve it after listening to someone babble for the past 45 minutes.
When you are upset you: Probably call my dad to vent.

Fav. Pet: My doggy Bowen of course!
Black or white: Purple.
Biggest Fear: Being thrown in a pit of spiders
Best Feature: My eyes

Every attitude: Every attitude? What? I'm lost.
What is perfection?: What's that?
Guilty Pleasure: The Vampire Diaries. I'm truly obsessed. Damon! Yummy.

Give the award the 10 other bloggers:

1. Thinkellen over at Defenestrated Feet

2. Skippy Mom over at I Make Soap
 
3. Jo-Anne over at Jo-Anne's Ramblings
 
4. Mynx over at Dribble
 
5. Teresa at The Middle Side of Life
 
6. Twilight Gazing at As it is, As it Happens
 
7.Amber at Amber Lashell
 
8. Julie at My Crazy Life
 
9. Barb at This and That
 
10. Amy at Life's Journey with a Smile

Simply Awful

Hey guys! Remember me? Yeah, I'm still alive and I'm here to share with you something most disturbing.

Some of you have probably either already heard about this or have even seen the video, but I have to share it. As soon as I watched the video, I knew I had to blog about it, because I think everyone should be aware of this man.

JUDGE William Adams of Aransas County, Texas is caught on tape beating his 16 year old daughter for nearly eight minutes. With a belt. I nearly cried while I watched this, but I mostly wanted to vomit. And mostly wanted to kick this guy in the face. I hope this man is NEVER re-elected. EVER. How in the hell can someone be so cruel?

WARNING: VIDEO IS HARD TO WATCH! NOT FOR FAINT OF HEART.



If you'd rather not watch, which I can't blame you, here is what the daughter said when she posted the video. Yes. She posted it herself. Right on Hillary. Apparently after the video went viral, Judge Dipshit was put under a police investigation. Rot in prison asshole.

Aransas County Court-At-Law Judge William Adams took a belt to his own teenage daughter as punishment for using the internet to acquire music and games that were unavailable for legal purchase at the time. She has had ataxic cerebral palsy from birth that led her to a passion for technology, which was strictly forbidden by her father's backwards views. The judge's wife was emotionally abused herself and was severely manipulated into assisting the beating and should not be blamed for any content in this video. The judge's wife has since left the marriage due to the abuse, which continues to this day, and has sincerely apologized and repented for her part and for allowing such a thing, long before this video was even revealed to exist. Judge William Adams is not fit to be anywhere near the law system if he can't even exercise fit judgement as a parent himself. Do not allow this man to ever be re-elected again. His "judgement" is a giant farce. Signed, Hillary Adams, his daughter.

Elevators and Vending Machines

As most of you know, work has been kicking my butt lately. BUT, sometimes, just sometimes, a day at the office is fun.

Friday, while minding my own business and riding in the elevator, I got to the second floor (no I'm not that lazy, our stairs are being carpeted) and the elevator doors wouldn't open. The damn bell kept dinging and dinging letting me know I've reached my destination, but there I was stuck in the tiny space, all alone. I pushed the alarm over and over again but no one came to my rescue. So I started calling people in the office and no one answered.

I was actually starting to panic a little bit. It was 4:00 in the evening and I thought for sure they wouldn't be able to get the elevator company/firemen out there and have me un-stuck by 5:00 which was quitting time. I did not want to stay after 5:00 on a Friday. Oh and of course, the whole being stuck in an elevator with no bathroom thing sucks, too.

Source

I hit the alarm a couple more times and then miraculously, the door opened. As it slid open, two laughing faces came into view. Two of my co-workers had pushed on the door hard enough to cause it to stay closed. They held it there until they couldn't anymore and then finally let go, freeing me from my prison. I punched them. Hard.

Over the weekend, I contemplated my revenge. I needed something good, but not expected. Shrink wrap all of the stuff in their offices? Good idea, but I didn't have time to do it. I had to act while they were on their lunch breaks. Fill their office with packing peanuts? That would have been hilarious if I had packing peanuts.

Then it hit me. Jim Halpert. Do you know where I'm going with this my fellow The Office fans? No, I did not put their staplers in Jell-O. However, I did take most of their belongings from their desks, including their  computer mice, planners, staplers, calculators and even eye glasses and I put them in the vending machine.

Dwight's (The Office) stuff in the vending machine

It took them a while to figure out what had happened to their stuff and they started blaming everyone! Even each other. Finally someone said to them, "You can get your stuff back if you have some change."

They went to the vending machine and saw all of their stuff for sale for 35 cents.

I finally admitted it was me, and now I fear for my life.

Hello Long Lost Friend!

What has two thumbs and is a sucky blogger?

This girl.

I sorry.

I'll give you three guesses as to what's been keeping me for my beloved blog but you'll probably only need one.

Work.

I wish I could say that I'm busy traveling, spending time with friends, or even wedding planning, but no. Work is taking over my life.

But I did want to update you guys on one BIG thing that is happening right now. Most you know that my little sister is pregnant and I'm going to be an aunt in February. Well we finally found out that IT'S A GIRL!

So excited! She wanted to name her Nevaeh, which is heaven backwards. It took me an entire weekend to learn how to pronounce it. Nuh-va-uh. I still mess it up and call her Nee-Vuh. Fiance suggested Nivvy for short, so now we're calling her Nivvy Pooh. I think this kid may just hate us.

I miss you guys and hope everyone is well! <3

Blogging Community Unites Once Again

Every single person that is the author of a blog has said it at least once.

The blogging community is AWESOME.

We are strangers, yet we are friends. We listen. We rant. We rave. We send virtual hugs.

I have proof that we're awesome.

Jen, at Cake Wrecks has an amazing story to tell about how her readers came together and did something incredible.

Go and read it and please, everyone, keep the east coast in your thoughts and prayers as Hurricane Irene makes her way  to shore.

You may have already heard....

I'm still alive everyone! And I have a story to share!

I was sitting at my desk today when all of a sudden my chair starting shaking. At first, I was just kind of like "What in the hell is that?" Then I stood up and the entire ground was shaking. My (fake) plant fell over and the windows were rattling. I thought the ceiling tiles were going to fall on me because of all the noise they were making.

I walked out into the foyer and looked outside, thinking maybe, just maybe someone drove their car into our BRICK building. Then I saw another woman run out of the building in front of us. I called my supervisor and asked her what was going on and she said, "Oh goodness, I thought I was going insane. You felt that, too?" I had to laugh. I walked back inside and another woman came into the foyer and said, "What was that?"

Well they are building a new interstate beside of my office as well as putting in wind farm a few miles away. So we assumed someone was doing some blasting and it caused the ground to shake.

We had a laugh and went back inside. As soon as I sat down, I got a text from my BFF asking if I felt the earthquake. Earthquake? On the East Coast? No way. As I'm texting her telling her that it was blasting, I realized that she works far away from me. Far enough away to not feel the blasting. Then my supervisor called and screamed, "IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE!"

Then I went into the lounge, flipped on CNN and saw that it was indeed an earthquake. And...they were evacuating most of D.C. Then my mom, who works at the college, said that they were being evacuated. Then the hospitals. Then pretty much everyone else.

Seriously.

It was an earthquake that hit in Virginia that most of the East Coast felt, BUT it wasn't that bad. Especially where I live. Now D.C. may have been worse, but where my mom works? No.  I don't even think there was much damage and I haven't heard of a single injury. THANK GOD. But really? I bet you the people on the West Coast are laughing their asses off at us over here. I don't mean to sound cavalier about an earthquake, but I think we may have panicked just a little bit. But then again, the East Coast isn't exactly accustomed to earthquakes.

Anyways...it was actually pretty neat and it was the first time I'd ever experienced one. I am truly happy that it wasn't any worse than it was.

Is the baby here yet?

I previously announced that I am going to be an aunt. My little sister is 11 weeks pregnant and let me tell you, I cannot wait until that baby gets here.

I've already been...window shopping.

Think I'll save this for when I have a baby:)
Etsy Shop

Etsy Shop

Etsy Shop

Etsy Shop

Etsy Shop


Etsy Shop

Etsy Shop

I will probably have the cutest niece or nephew in the whole entire world.

Thoughts and Prayers

I'm sure most of you have heard about what happened in Norway.

I was going to talk about it, but then I read what The Bloggess had to say and I couldn't have said it any better. So I'll let her do the talking. Click here to read her post.

My thoughts and prayers go out to each and every person affected by the tragedy.

Alice:Madness Returns

Source

I have finally done it. After squeezing in 30 minutes here and 15 minutes there, I have finally beat Alice:Madness Returns.

Now, Fiance is entirely too touchy about how I played the 2nd game before beating the 1st one, but I think he's just mad that I beat Madness Returns before he did.

I very rarely do video game reviews, but this game was so absolutely fantastic that I felt compelled to share it with you all.

Of course, most of you know that I love love love Alice in Wonderland. Pretty much everything about it. The old cartoon movie. The new movie with Johnny Depp as Mad Hatter. And if I remember correctly there was a TV series back in the day. Anyways, I love it all. Before Madness Returns came out, I didn't know that there was a part 1 to the game. But part 2 looked so amazing, I skipped part 1.

This game is dark. Alice is dark. The story is dark. I love it. I mean, look at her.

Source

She's freakin' creepy.

It was actually pretty easy too, but Fiance and I believe that I have a depth perception problem, and this game involves a lot of jumping onto platforms and such that I think are right in front of Alice when they are actually like 10 feet away. I fell....a lot. But other than that, not too bad. She carries around a knife for slicing, a hobbit horse for smashing, a pepper sprayer thingy for shooting and a tea pot for throwing hot bombs at her opponents.

I would get so angry when I had to put the game down. It pretty much hooked me from the beginning. If I had had the time, I would have probably played for hours.

I highly recommend the game to anyone...except maybe children. It is a little...bloody. And when Alice is almost dead, she goes into Hysteria mode and she cannot be hurt, but she looks like this...

Source

Again...creeeeepy.

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay inside, play some Alice and beat the heat! :)

Don't mess with me Mr. Painter Dude

I was sitting in my office today when the receptionist called to tell me that someone was there to see me.

I walked out to the lobby to see an older gentleman standing there. I shook his hand, introduced myself and he did the same. He was a painter that I had called to give me an estimate on some office renovations, because yeah, apparently I'm on the office renovation committee now. Seriously guys, we are still going through a merger and my new boss thinks that painting the office and shit is top priority. How do people get in these high positions?

Anyways, the guy then looks at me and says, "You're the person I need to talk to?"

Confused, I nodded. I waved for him to follow me to the foyer where the renovations would start. I explained to him that wall coverings had to come off and then painted. He smiled and started doing some calculations in his head and walking around the foyer.

Now, its pretty common knowledge, even in 2011, a woman should always take a man with her to a car dealership or a mechanic as to avoid being screwed over. Well apparently, the same goes for painters.

Am I an experience painter? By no means. Did I do my research? You bet. Did I already have two other painters quote the same area, the same walls? Damn right I did.

The guy looks at me and says, "I'll send you a typed up estimate on our letterhead, but you're looking at about 8,000 for the whole thing."

I kinda stared at him for a minute.

He continued with, "Well we not only have to strip the wall covering but we'll have to plaster the walls and then do a coat of primer."

Which I actually knew, because the previous two paint companies told me the same exact thing.

I smiled, stuck out my hand to shake his and said, "I appreciate you taking the time to come out here for me, but don't bother writing that estimate up. We're not interested."

His jaw kind of dropped a little and then he said, "Lady, that's a good price."

"Not for me it isn't. I had two companies come out here and quote it for half the price."

Then he did the shameful head shake and frown. "Ok, I'll estimate it at $4,000."

"That's quite alright, Sir. Thank you again for your time." I turned around and walked back to my office.

He could have probably went to $2,000 and I would have still said no.

Super Duper Excited!

I know every blogger says that they have the best readers, but I'm pretty sure mine are the best. When I got home today, there was a package waiting for me. I opened it up and saw this beauty.

It's a journal! And inside was a wonderful note that says,

Best Wishes for a Wonderful Life Together
                                                       Teresa

Thank you so much to Teresa from The Middle Side of Life. You have no idea how happy this gift made me, especially after the Monday I had!!

Tips for a fun weekend.

Jumble Mashers! Oh how I have missed you!!!

Sorry for leaving you guys hanging. I could give you a TON of excuses like my new boss is a psycho maniac and I am either going to take up drinking or beg a mental institute to find me a room with padded walls because of him. But no, I'm going to give you a list of things you absolutely should not do while drinking. Fiance and I had a little get together over July 4th weekend and for the first time in probably a year, we got a little too intoxicated. (I'll blame that on my psycho boss) The acts in blue were Fiance, the ones in green were the both of us and of course, the pink ones are all me.

1. Do not under any circumstances think that it's a good idea to vomit into a mesh clothes hamper. Trust me, the vomit will go all the way through and soak your floor along with all the clothes. 

2. Do not start playing a drinking game right after you just finished beer pong and lost. Getting really drunk on top of being really drunk will result in act #1.

3. Do not try to pee outside after act #2. There is a good chance that while you are trying to squat, you will fall. Walk your drunk ass the twenty yards to the house.

4. Don't tell one of your drunken guests that just two days prior to the outside party you are hosting, you saw a black bear near your house. They will either A) Freak out or B) Go looking for it.

5. Do not climb a tree with no shoes on....or with shoes on for that matter. Just don't do it.


6. Do not update your Facebook status. Especially if you are going to complain that all of your friends that didn't come to your party suck.

7. When your Fiance is "dropping it likes its hott" do not laugh at her when she falls and say, "It must not be that hott."

8. Do not "drop it like its hott."

9. Do not lean back in plastic chairs. Actually don't do this sober either.  The chair will either break causing you to tumble backwards or in your drunken state, you will just fall backwards on your own.

10. Do not walk around half naked in the wee hours of the morning after you've invited your guests to sleep over.

Now, with these tips, go enjoy your weekend!

Giggle, Wiggle and Jiggle

Morning Jumble Mashers! Welcome to another installment of Giggle, Wiggle, and Jiggle!

First, the poll results.

CDs took the win with 52% which surprised me. CD sales have cut in half in the 2000's. Ya'll must be downloading, huh? I listen to music the most at work and that's on my iPad.

So new poll for the week! What are your vacation plans? Poll is over there to your right!

On Tuesday, I asked the question, What is the number 1 selling commercial cookie in the USA and Dangerboy answered it correctly. It was Oreo. And I had oreo pie yesterday for lunch and it was AWESOME. Ah hem. Anyways, go click the Giggle Button!!

And last but not least, my recommendation this week is...

I Make Soap

Skippy Mom is absolutely awesome and I think she is just as excited for my wedding as I am! She always tells you what's on her mind and her blog is a very good read! Check her out!

This one is about cookies...kinda

Remember when I told you guys that an old friend and I reconnected and I was super excited about it?

Well, we made plans on Saturday to have a cookout at my house. I went out and bought all of the hot dogs and hamburgers, chips, pasta salad, alcohol, pop and even made Fiance cut some fire wood. They were scheduled to arrive at 7:00 so at 5:00 I started baking cookies. Lots of cookies. Snickerdoodle, Macadamia Nut, Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter.

By 6:00 I had a nice assorted tray of cookies.

At 6:10, she TEXTED and canceled.

Fiance and I ended up having our OWN cookout, which actually turned out to be quite nice. Piss on her. And we had tons of cookies that we just HAD to get rid of. Before they went bad. You know. The sacrifices!

Now for a relevant trivia question...

What is the number 1 selling commercial cookie in the USA?

First to answer gets to choose who will go on the Giggle Button this week!!

News, news and more news

First...it looks like I'm keep my job!! And it may be an even better job because my new boss wants to reorganize my job duties so I won't have so much work!

Second... I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!!! My little sister just found out that she is six weeks pregnant.

Third...I'm pretty certain that between my wedding and Lil Sis having a baby, we're going to put Dad in a nut house.

Giggle, Wiggle, and Jiggle

Good morning Jumble Mashers! This is this first Giggle, Wiggle, and Jiggle I've done in a while. Let's see if I remember how to do this!

We'll start with the Giggle Button winner. Lyndylou was the first to answer the question, What was the name of Morgan Freeman's character in the 2007 film Bucket List? It was indeed Carter Chambers. By the way, what did you guys think of that movie?

Lyndylou picked the next Giggle Button occupant. Go click and find out! I will tell you, that she didn't pick herself!

This week, I highly recommend to you Make Daddy a Sammich.





His blog name alone should let you know that he is one funny dude. And definitely not afraid to said what's on his mind. You've been warned :)
 
Now for the first poll in FOREVER!
 
Where does your music come from? I'm talking about the majority of your music. Do you love your Ipod or do you prefer CDs? Please vote! (Poll over on your right)

Wee Bit Wednesday

{one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?

I've been a bridesmaid once.

{two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?

Usually watch Family Guy until I fall asleep

{three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going?

Italy.

{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?

Camping. I love love love camping.

{five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?

I wanted to be a Zoo Keeper. Then a vet. And no, I'm sort of a paralegal. Big difference.

{six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?

A built in bookshelf in the living room, a laundry room next to the bedroom, and a super secret hidden room.

{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?

We're having salad, manicotti and garlic cheese bread.

{eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?

Playing video games with the Fiance with maybe a drink in hand.

{nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?

$20.00 or so

{ten} what do you do to relax?

I'm pretty much always relaxed but on stressful days, I take a hot bath and then get lost in a book, movie or video game.

It's baaaaaaack

I'm bringing Giggle, Wiggle, and Jiggle back. For all of you new Jumble Mashers, that means that every Tuesday I will ask you a trivia question. The first to answer it correctly, gets to pick who goes on the Giggle Button for a week. You can always choose yourself!

On Thursday, I will start a new poll, announce the Giggle Button winner AND do the weekly blog recommendation.

And I promise that I am going to try to keep up with it. As a lot of you know, the company I work for got bought out and we are in the middle of a merger. We are supposed to be completely done by the end of June, but we'll see. Also, I'm trying to plan a wedding, which is proving to take up a lot of time, but I do have a lot finished already.

Ok, so for the trivia question...

What was the name of Morgan Freeman's character in the 2007 film Bucket List?

Ready...set...GO!

If your life were a movie...

What would the soundtrack be?

Saw this floating around on the web and thought it would be fun!

So, here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool…

Opening Credits:

Come to My Window- Melissa Etheridge
LOL, Don't really know about that.

Waking Up:

Dragonfly-Shaman's Harvest
The first lyrics to this song are,

Maybe the sky's falling down around them babies
Maybe the world is gonna spin out of control
I don't care anymore
What if I quit today workin' for the man
And said I had enough

So I guess that would be cool to wake up to!

First Day At School:

Seether- Fine Again
Again, check out the opening...

It seems like every day's the same
And I'm left to discover on my own
It seems like everything is gray
And there's no color to behold

Falling In Love:

Inside Out- Eve 6
 Hmmmm. Not very romantic.

Fight Song:

February Stars- Foo Fighters
Well the band is called Foo Fighters, but this song? Not much for fighting.


Breaking Up:

Tiny Heart- Flyleaf
Ah, now that's pretty spot on


 Prom:

Caress Me Down- Sublime
 LMAO, depends on how you look at it and what your after prom plans are :)

Life:

Letters to You- Finch
Not so sure, more of a breakup song.

Mental Breakdown:

Because of You- Kelley Clarkson
Haha, sure?

Driving:

Bad Girlfriend- Theory of a Deadman
 I do like blasting this song in the car, but don't think it necessarily pertains to me.


Flashback:

What Would You Say- Dave Matthews Band
Love the song. Not very fitting.

Wedding:

Hey Mister- Pop Evil
 Ok this game is starting to suck. That's not a happy song. Maybe its my playlist.


Birth of Child:

Zoe Jane- Staind
 Another one that fits!! Check out the chorus.

I want to hold you

protect you from all of the
things I've already endured
I want to show you
show you all of the things
that this life has in store
for you
I'll always love you
the way that a father
should love his daughter

I mean, I'm not gonna be a father, but still. Good song.
Final Battle:

Hey Jealousy- Gin Blossom
I couldn't wait to see what this one was. I was disappointed.

Death Scene:

Blood on My Hands- The Used
Umm...ok.

Funeral Song:

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked- Cage the Elephant
Haha. That works.

End Credit:

Had Enough- Breaking Benjamin
Good ending, if I hadn't died and had a funeral already.


I don't even know if you are supposed to tag people in this, but if so, I tag anyone that wants to play along!

The One Where I Show Blogger What's What

I have about a fifteen minute window now-a-days to read and comment on all of your lovely blogs. So when that fifteen minute window came today, I was all "YAY ME!" and then BLOGGER decided that I am not worthy of commenting and would.not.let.me. But does that stop me? No. I'm a rebel.

The Onion- On your post about blaming everything on The Rapture, I was GONNA say...

I blame everything on someone or something. I may steal this idea.

Mrs. Hyde and Bruce- On Bruce's guest post... I was GONNA say...

I will be saying f*ck for the rest of the evening now.

Amy-On your post about what you've been up to...I was GONNA say...

I've missed you, but busy is good. And LOL about signing up for the wrong 401k. Hee Hee. **

Meg O.- On your post about your new living room...I was GONNA say...

I absolutely love the first pic and would totally move in with you if you were to ask. Just sayin'. Bowen and Dexter could be BFFs.

The Empress- On your post about pimping oneself and your anniversary...I was GONNA say...

I would love to pimp myself out BUT I CANNOT COMMENT!! Oh and btw, congrats!

Barb- On your post about your letter A

LOL that makes me giggle. I'm going to write my emails at work like that for the rest of the week. :)

And that's all the further I got. Stupid 15 minute window.

Off to meet with a potential DJ!

** Edit- Amy, I have no clue why I said 401k. Ok, yes I do, I was rushed. I know that you signed up for the wrong RUNNING group. Not retirement plan. :)

Ah, that feels nice.

I need to give you a little bit of background before I jump into this story.

Once upon a time I had a BFF (we'll call her Mary Lou Sue Who or Mary for short) whom I could talk to for hours and hours and hours and never run out of things to say. We just got each other. But we were so much alike, that we did bump heads every now again, but nothing serious. Eventually we became roommates and it was so much fun. At the beginning. Then started to drive each other nuts and would get angry with one another for using the last bit of shampoo or toothpaste or something else really stupid.

Mary eventually moved out and we completely stopped talking. I really can't even remember now what the actual demise was.

So I keep having this reoccurring dream that I ask her to be my bridesmaid. I haven't talked to her in 2 years. Nothing. We went from hanging out every day to just nothing.

Well finally, after having the dream about 5 times, I decided to email her. I was actually nervous writing the email because I wasn't sure how she'd react or if she'd even bother to email me back. I said something along the lines of, "I know I'm probably the last person you expected to hear from, but I just wanna say that I am sorry for everything that happened that lead us to not speaking and that I hope life is treating you well."

Ten minutes later, I get an email back. She was soooo excited to hear from me and said that she was debating on whether or not to congratulate me on my engagement (small town, remember? news travels) and that she missed talking to me and that she was sorry too.

Since then we've emailed each other like 10 times. Then we exchanged numbers with promises to call.

It feels good. Even if we never actually become BFFs again and start hanging out everyday, I feel very happy that we are on good terms.

Weird things kids do.

Remember in school when one person would buy something and then suddenly it was the cool thing to own until that person or someone else moved onto something else? You know, like Pokemon cards, Pogs, Walkmans, etc?


We had a temp in at work earlier this week and her name was Bianca. Every time I heard it, I thought of Binaca Breath Spray.

And I remembered when pretty much every girl in my class (like 8th grade) carried around Binaca like it was THE coolest thing in the world. Then of course, I got to thinking. What else did the girls in my class go coo-coo over?

1. Mint Strips. Nasty as hell, but we all had them in our pockets after the Binaca went out of style.

2. Tamagotchis. Do you all remember these things? You had to take care of them, like feed them and play with them, or they’d die (I think). Not sure what the appeal was.

3. Clear Lip Gloss. Every girl in our damn school looked like they were drooling at the mouth because they had layers and layers of clear lip gloss on. At any given time you could see a girl pull a tube out of her pocket and smear it on. I may or may not have had a large supply of clear lip gloss.

4. The Backpack Purse. To carry all that lip gloss of course.

5. Beaded Bracelets. This is a really sucky picture but it was the only one I could find with the very specific type of beaded bracelet. If you got any other kind, it wasn't cool.

6. Water Bottles. Yeaaaah. We would freeze water overnight, take it to school the next day and sip on it all day long as it melted. Don't ask, because I'm still unsure.

What were some odd fads when you were growing up?

Wee Bit Wednesdays

{one} what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?

A blind date with some dude that thought he should try to make out with me and squeeze my hand like it was going to leave my arm through the entire movie. And it was Avatar. Long movie.

{two} if you could be any other person for one day, who would it be?

Angelina Jolie just so I could see Brad Pitt naked. :)

{three} what is your favorite kind of cheese?

Provolone, but I pretty much love all cheese.

{four} do you remember your 1st grade teacher?

I remember what she looks like but I can't remember her name.

{five} who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?

My BFF. She's a good listener.

{six} were you ever in a school talent show?

Um, I don't think so.

{seven} who is your favorite fictional character?

Oh good one. Probably Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

{eight} can you open your eyes underwater?

As long as its not salt water.

{nine} do you look at the keyboard when you type?

Only when I need to type numbers.

{ten} when was the last time you took a nap?

Saturday for like 20 minutes.

Jumble Bells

With the help of Amy, my wedding blog, Jumble Bells, is now up and running!

So, for all of you that could care less about my wedding, you don't have to read it!

And for all of you that do care...come on over!

Saving Money

So, no wedding blog yet. Actually I still can't think of a title, but anyways. I have some exciting news to share with you guys.

I am really racking my brain trying to cut costs in every way I can. Weddings are freaking expensive in case you haven't heard.

My awesome dad is covering most of the costs, but the decorations, invitations, programs, and dress are up to me. So how do I save money on flowers?

Step 1.
Decide that fake flowers will be just as nice as real flowers, especially when you have an aunt that is crafty as hell and would absolutely LOVE to put together some nice flower arrangements for you.

Step 2.
Shop around local crafts stores and Wal Mart. Realize that paying $2.00 per FAKE rose is ridiculous and start feeling like a failure.

Step 3.
Call sister and complain. When she seems distracted and acts likes she doesn't care if you can't afford flowers for a wedding, hang up and pout.

Step 4.
Put on a determined face and turn to the interwebs.

Step 5.
Ebay.

Step 6.
Find a seller that is offering 252 red roses for $37.99 with FREE shipping.

Step 7.
Faint.

Step 8.
Realize that it's too good to be true and start researching.

Step 9.
Determine that the seller has tons of positive feedback and the flowers have a 60 day money back guarantee.

Step 10.
Then debate with yourself whether or not it is too early to buy flowers.

Step 11.
Tell self to shut the hell up and click Buy already.

Step 12.
Do a happy dance because you just saved $466.01.

Cha Ching.

Come Closer...I Have Something to Show You

So...Fiance's best friend happens to go to art school and is an excellent photographer.

A week before our vacation/engagement he took our pictures.

I'm thinking....these could totally be engagement pictures. I only have a few of them back so far and I know I never ever share photos of myself, but hey, I love you guys and I think its about time you see us! And once I get them all back, maybe I'll hold a vote and you guys can pick which one(s) will go in the newspaper, save the dates and what not. Yeah? Yay!

And that's only 4 out of 120!

Also, I am thinking about starting a separate blog for wedding stuff in true Steph fashion so that people who could care less about my wedding don't have to read it! What do you guys think? I know...I know...I can barely keep up with Jumble Mash. Shush. :)

The Freebie Five

I'm linking up with Amy today to share with you my 5 Celebrity Freebies. The 5 celebrities that you can sleep with and not get in trouble! Here I go!

One.

Brad Pitt. Surprised? Yeah, I didn't think so. Ever since Meet Joe Black, I've been in love with Brad. I mean come on, he's gorgeous. Maybe not so much anymore...but that's Angelina's fault. Totally.

Two.

Have ALWAYS loved Ryan Reynolds, but it wasn't until he played Dead Pool that I added him to my list. *Swoon*

Three.

When I saw Gerard Butler in 300, I was all "HOT DAMN" but then he won my heart in P.S. I Love You.

Four.

John Krasinski is my dork. I absolutely adore him. You may know him as Jim Halpert.

Five.

Eric Dane. Aka McSteamy. Yummy. And I just noticed. I have a thing for dimples.

The Story

First: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE LOVELY MESSAGES!!!! They were seriously 20 times better than the messages my RL friends sent me. I was more excited to check the blog than to check my Facebook for comments! Imagine that!

Anyways....

Are you all anxious to hear my engagement story? No? Well too bad, cuz I'm gonna tell you anyway :)

We woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning on Friday  (Friday the 13th might I add) and decided we would check out the Maid of the Mist.

Source

We got very lucky with missing crowds the entire vacation and the Maid was no exception. We only waited ten minutes before we got on the boat and made our way to the falls. It was freezing and really windy and really wet but it was amazing. A site that cannot be explained with words.

Feeling pretty freaking giddy about the whole thing, we got off the boat, took some pictures of ourselves in our ponchos and determined that we were hungry.

From the very start of vacation planning, I insisted that we just HAD to check out the Top of the Falls Restaurant.

Right behind where I stood to take this photo was the waterfall. Amazing view.

To get to the restaurant, you have to walk across Goat Island which is beautiful. It has trails that lead you right down to the falls.

Looks like you are pretty much in the water! And that bridge you see in the background? That's the bridge to Canada. But we couldn't go across because we didn't have passports. Boo.

Anywho...so upon walking to the restaurant, we happen upon a little trail off of the path that led right down to the water that was getting ready to go over the falls.

That's Boyfriend Fiance (that's going to take some getting use to), checking out the rapids. BUT! He was actually plotting!

I turned around to look at the water and watch it rush passed us. Then I turned around and he was on one knee.

It took my breath and I stared at him. He smiled and said, "Will you marry me?"

And I said squealed, "Are you serious?"

He shook his head and then I started jumping up and down saying "Yes, Yes, Yes" over and over again.

Then we kissed. Then we hugged. And then we cried.

It was truly perfect.

Now, I am pretty certain that I am going to have a heart attack before the wedding planning is over. Everyone is shouting out ideas and telling me things I HAVE to get and what I should skip. Like, I had no idea there were SO MANY DETAILS.

I've only been to two weddings. Ever. And the first one, I was like 5.

So I'm kinda hoping I can afford a wedding planner. Anyone need a job? :)

News from Niagara Falls

I am engaged!!!!
Boyfriend Fiance took me to a little place off the beaten path that was right next to the water on a huge rock. I looked out at the water and when I turned around he was on one knee. We both cried. I asked him if he was messing with me. He said no. And then just like that...we are engaged.

Don't make me miss lunch

So a good friend of mine just recently got a new job which just HAPPENS to be next door to my office. We keep trying to get together and go to lunch, but he’s a real estate agent (no I haven’t told him about the phone calls) and out of the office a lot so it’s been difficult trying to get together.


Here is our last text conversation:

Him: Hey, white rain (he calls me white rain and I have no idea why), let’s go to lunch today.

Me: Ok, what time?

Him: Like 2?

Me: 2:00?? I will flippin starve by then. I was thinking more like 11:00. Noon at the latest.

Him: I won’t be in the office until around 2.

Me: Well, we will have to try again another day.

Him: Dammit. What if I bring you some cookies…will you wait til two then?

Me: Hmmm….

Him: Cookies with icing in the middle?

Me: Deal.

Drops me off cookies before he leaves

Yummy. (not the actual cookies, but similar)

 ....and then at 2:00…

Him: Can’t make it, still showing a house.

Me: You son of a bitch.

Him: Don’t hate me. We’ll go tomorrow.

Me: I will have died by then of malnutrition. You can come to my funeral tomorrow.

Him: If you died today, your funeral wouldn’t be tomorrow.

Me: Yes it would. I have the right to a speedy funeral.

Him: I think that’s speedy trial.

Me: Fine, I’ll take you to court for neglecting me. You can get in trouble for that, ya know?

Him: Only if I’m your guardian.

Me: I can create fake documents that will say I’m underage and that you are my legal guardian. Then I’ll tell everyone that you don’t feed me.

Him: I’ll pay for lunch tomorrow.

Me: Ok. Have a good day and I hope you find a buyer!



So I’ve come to the conclusion that people can get away with a lot of things if they bribe me with food

Allow me to vent?

There is so much speculation going around my office this week that I am about to buy a pair of noise canceling ear phones so I don't hear them anymore.

Apparently, those here that survived the last merger (10 years ago) think they have a pretty good idea of how it's going to go down. We will all be re-interviewed and will have to list all of our job duties and what not. Then most of the senior management will be moved, fired, or asked to retire early. A couple people in our office have already started packing up their things. SCARY. Me? I'm business as usual until they kick me out. Actually, I've been working harder. In the words of Jim Halpert, "I only slack off when things are good."

We heart it

My boss thinks that all of our files will be internally audited. And that really sucks considering I have four SEPERATE filing systems.

It took me eight hours to reorganize one of them. Three more to go.

My biggest worry though, besides losing my job of course, is the change in benefits. Right now, our benefits are company paid. Will that remain? Because having to pay for my benefits will take a HUGE chunk out of my paycheck if I want them to be as good as they are now. Not to mention, I get tuition reimbursement now. Will that continue?

Will we still get all of our vacation? Will we get sick days? Will we get an opportunity to speak with someone and let them know our career and promotion goals? Who will my boss be?

We heart it

So many unanswered questions and you know what the new company has told us? Not a damn thing.

But you know what? I'm going on vacation next week and I've decided, that from this point on, I'm not worrying about it until I get back. Maybe not even then. Worrying changes nothing.

Niagara Falls..here I come.

We heart it

Thank you guys so much for listening. I know I've been a crappy blogger lately, and haven't been commenting on all of your blogs, but I am still reading, I am keeping up as much as I can. I love you all and all of your support!

Wee Bits

{one} when was the last time you used a pay phone (if ever)?

Like 5 years ago. Where I lived before didnt have cell phone towers and when my car ran outta gas, I had to walk to a pay phone.

{two} did you ever fail a subject in school?

Nope.

{three} where do you go to get your favorite hamburger/cheeseburger?

I don't eat hamburger...so nowhere!

{four} have you ever served jury duty?

Nope, thank God.

{five} how old were you when you moved out of your parents’ house?

It was like 5 months after my 18th birthday.

{six} what is your favorite color to wear?

Red, probably.

{seven} do you have a pair of shoes that you wear all the time?

Yes, I have had a pair of flip flops for like 10 years that I refuse to give up. They are so worn out that just about everyone comments on them (not kindly) but they are so perfectly formed to my feet. I can't get rid of them.

{eight} do you enjoy talk radio?

I listen to in the mornings on my drive to work, but that's about it.

{nine} if you could turn one unhealthy food into a healthy one, what food would it be?

Wow. Good question. Probably pizza.

{ten} who is the best speaker you’ve ever heard in person?

Erm, I don't think I've ever heard a public speaker to be honest.

Wow.

What a day.

Of course, most of you have probably heard about the death of Osama Bin Laden. If not, just go to yahoo.com and its all.over.the.place.

I never really thought about what would happen after he died, let alone if he died from a Navy Seal's bullet, but I never expected this.




Yeah, that is my town. I expected it in NYC, but here? Not so much.

So about an hour into work this morning, everyone gathered in the kitchen talking about Bin Laden, we get an announcement to meet in the conference room.

We sit down, our boss walks in and says, "We have been bought out. Blah Coal Company will take over in 45 days."

Wow.

In 45 days....I may not have a job. BUT I'm keeping an open mind and hoping that it will be a good thing. The take over will make us the second largest coal producer in the country. Hopefully that's good enough to keep our jobs.

We'll see.

Batman Bookshelf

This post is long overdue.

A few weeks ago (a month maybe?) Dad came to visit me and we got to talking about me wanting a new bookshelf. Well being the awesome man that he is, asked me some questions, I ended up drawing a picture on a post it note and then a week later, he told me to come to his house with old clothes on because I needed to paint. He also told me to bring something for the top of the bookshelf to make a pretty design.

So I walked into Dad's woodshop to find this...

It looked WAY better than my post it note blue print.

Then I showed him what I brought to make a design for the top.

 Hey! It was all I had! And once he stopped laughing at me...he got to creating the top.

 See....it turned out awesome!

 Oh and I painted while he did the cutting. I had more paint on me than I did the shelf.

 We ran out of paint, so Dad had to put the second coat on the next day.

And the finished product...

The best part are the little holes he drilled in the top two outside shelves.

No wires!

As you can see, I've already almost filled it up so the two little cubbies with the turtles may have to turn into book storage as well.

And next up his sleeve is a coffee table with a sliding top so that we can hide all of our controllers in it. Can't wait.