I heart my new shoes!

I just got these at Target for only $9.99!!! I love target and I LOVE my new shoes! They are pink and brown which I love and they are very comfy!! Target has all sorts of REALLY cute shoes on sale right now - if you are looking! They also still have lots of fun boots on sale which I imagine won't stay around too much longer b/c stores have to start selling spring items only a couple weeks into winter (a rant for a different blog).

And So It Is

So just a few moments ago Saddam Hussein was hung. I really can't think of anything to say about it, it just is what it is I guess.

Not So Much.......

So yesterday I decided that i needed a trim and since I had some spare time I thought it would be great to go run and get my hair cut. I went and said I wanted an inch or so cut off - to get rid of the dead ends and give myself a little shape. Easy enough - so I thought. But as the hair cut continued I noticed my head becoming lighter - a little too light. (she started on the back and my head was facing down so I couldn't see what she was doing) As I looked up it appeared as though the back was cut a little too short - for one reason I could barely feel hair touching my neck! WTF did she do??? Hasn't she heard of taking it slow....a little bit at a time! Rule one of hair cutting, you can always take more off but you can NEVER add it!! By this point it was a little too late to change what she was doing but the expression on my face and the response to her question is this too short - "um....it is different" was enough for her to realize she was not doing what I asked. UGH!!!

Yes I wanted it slightly shorter - but where she was going with this was horrible. I just sat there in the chair while she finished, not knowing what to say or how to feel. Just watching chunks of my hair fall to the ground while my stomach turned. I mean I have done many many things to my hair: cut my own horrible bangs, cut my own hair, colored it so it was orange and colored it so it was very black. But none bothered me as much as this. See, I can't hide this - I can barely pull it back into a pony-tail er.......pony-nub!

See I am very self conscious and have low self-esteem so my hair is a great thing for me to hide behind. I feel like I don't get noticed when my hair is longer and in my face. Even when it is pulled back (which is almost all the time) I feel better b/c I am plain and can't just blend in with the crowd. But with this hair mutilation I can't hide behind anything - I am out there for the world to see (and to see with a bad hair cut nonetheless)!!!!

I have been playing around with it and I am going for the Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex in the City Season 5 hair style, the short curly look. Of course I don't look cute like her (I am about as cute as a shaved cat) but that is the look I am so desperately trying to convince myself that I look like when I leave our house! She didn't even make it one length, she gave me these shorter layers that do nothing for my face! UGH again...just annoyed.

So did I do anything about it - no, I paid her and left unhappy. My own fault for not saying anything and my own fault going where I did - but what are they going to do, what's done is done. So hopefully it will grow back quickly over the next month to a length that is manageable....but until then I am going to be inside alot!

I'm Back Online!

It is a special moment b/c today (actually at 10:45 pm on Friday, December 29, 2006) i finally got my computer hooked up at the new place and I am officially back online at our new house! YAY! I was getting a little antsy not being online for so long - that is sad yes, but i don't care! It was a nice little break but I am ready to surf the web, go through (and mainly delete) 126 new messages in my inbox, write me some new blogs and even read some new ones my sister has finally posted!!!

I hope everyone had a GREAT christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Super Mario - We're Not Gonna Take It

I love this stuff!!!

So the picture didn't come out great but this is Cherry Blossom body lotion from Bath & Body Works and i LOVE it! I use the lotion, body spray and body wash - it smells beautiful! This is currently my favorite scent - nothing for me comes close to smelling as good! (So I am guessing b/c I like it B&BW will be getting rid of it in the next year...that's what they did with my Pearberry!)

Question of the Day?

Do you get your pets anything for christmas?

So we can't forget our pets during the holidays! I love to get our cats things for christmas but I have learned sometimes cheaper is better! The cats love paper bags so last year at the Discovery store we found these moving paper bags. It was a brown paper type bag (but was made with a material that was really strong but still made noise like a paper bag). It had a little moter inside that would make it move every so often. We thought this was going to be a great gift so at $16 each we bought two (one for Sebastian and his cousin Socrates). Well they got their gifts on christmas day and we quickly realized they hated the toy. Both of them were scared shitless out of the toy! We tried turning the motor off and just leaving the bag and they could really care less about it. *sigh* it is disappointing when someone doesn't like a gift you got them - but when it is a pet who normally plays with dust in the air and they don't like your gift you know you did a suck-ass job at picking out a gift! (Do you know how many brown paper bags from the dollar store we could have gotten for $30 - they would have loved that 10x better!!!)

So this year we are getting things we know they will like! Some more of those little mice with bells in them that they manage to always loose or hide, something with strings and maybe some kind of food treat!

I like seeing pets react to the holidays. Our dog Lady use to get SO excited about Christmas. She loved the tree and had a stocking that hung by the fire place and she would open her gifts when she got them! I don't think cats have the same reaction but it is still fun!!!

Tip of The Day!

I am a huge fan of creative table decorations and themed parties. Now that I have a house I am actually hoping to throw some and put my "event planning" skills to a fun use!!!

I am a big fan of taking everyday house hold items or going to the dollar store and using them to make awesome table decorations! There are so many things you can do that are inexpensive, easy and look beautiful! This year I am thinking about taking a glass vase and adding to it frozen peas and whole cranberries (add water on top) with a few fake flowers in it! (I will post a picture when I make it). I will also take my martini glasses and fill with holiday M&M’s and Hershey kisses. I also like creating different heights on tables (if you are throwing a cocktail party) by using pots, pans, books, whatever*and covering them with linens. The different heights add so much to your table!

Another idea (I saw on the Rachael Ray show) is to take large veggies (like a squash or eggplant) and carve out the center and put a tea light or some small flowers in the center! I think this is SO clever! Above is also cute and SO easy. Just take Christmas bulbs/ornaments and put them in a clear glass bowl or stack them on a plate. Maybe add some linens around or flowers to fill out the table!

I suggest trying to use what you have around the house as decorations first and try to use that stuff to think of neat ideas for decorations before spending the money to go buy stuff!!!!


Do you have any unique decoration ideas?

Gift Ideas!

So if you are like me and still have not gotten Christmas gifts for everyone on your list this year I have a few ideas that may help! I am not an expert, but these are things I have done in the past and/or my friends have done that seem to go over very well, don't take up too much time and are reasonably priced!! I know I am not saying anything new - but it is my blog and I want to put it down :-)



1. Gift Cards (two pretzels covered this one and I second gift cards as a choice for your friends and family!) There are VISA gift cards if you just want the person to pick out what they want, restaurant, clothing stores, GAS CARDS are great, the list goes on and on and on - it is awesome!!! You can make it a little more personalized by putting a restaurant gift card in those cute Chinese take out style boxes you can get at craft stores and include a take out menu so they know what is there before they go! Put a starbucks/coffee gift card in a personalized or picture mug (that tip to come below).

2. DotPhoto is great! I can't go into too much detail b/c a few of my family members may be getting stuff from here but two pretzels introduced me sometime ago to Dotphoto. It is a place where you can upload your digital photos for free and create albums for people to view. You can also purchase prints online for a very reasonable price. But the best part is the gifts dotphoto offers! They have wonderful mugs that are dishwasher safe and great quality, wine bottle labels, key tags, coasters, posters, calendars, TONS of stuff! It is all at a good price AND they are fast to ship out. I ordered stuff last week and got free standard shipping and I already have what I ordered. I highly recommend personalizing your gifts with dotphoto!

3. Themed gifts. (I do this!) Make a movie night basket that included a gift card to a movie store or a couple of their favorite movies, popcorn, pop, and their favorite candy. A relaxing gift bag can include a message gift card (or an offer to give that person one yourself ;-), add some candles, wine, a relaxing CD, lotions or even an offer to make or buy dinner.

4. Remote control car starter! I have one and LOVE it! You can usually find these for around $100 to buy and install. I use mine all year round and I think it is the best thing!

5. Bake cookies! For the people that have a sweet tooth bake some cookies or brownies and put them on a nice christmas plate (if you are from the Toledo area go to Libby's Glass downtown for that!!).



Any ideas you have for giving gifts? Please feel free to share!!

Just Call Me Grace!

Seriously I am one of the most ungraceful and clumsy people out there! I don't know if we remember the Wipe out a couple months ago where I was covered in mud but this is just who I am.

So this weekend I was out shopping and I managed to knock over at michaels crafts store an entire row of decorative chinese take out boxes, at Bath and Body Works I dropped 3 bars of soap, and at a clothing store I knocked 5 shirts on the floor. UGH

So today....I went to a nice italian resteraunt and as I was walk in I slipped and fell ;( Luckily it wasn't too busy yet and only a couple people saw me but still - I hate that I am SO clumsy! Is there some kind of pill to take for this?!?!?!

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER!!

Congrats to my sister who just finished her first semester at college! I am SO very proud of you K.!!!!! Enjoy your time off before next semester begins - you deserve it!!!!

Also, Congrats to my friends Al & Laura who just had a baby girl a couple weeks ago!

Congrats to my friends Silvia and Chris who just found out they will be welcoming a baby into the world in 8 months! It is still early and our thoughts are with you!

Good luck to my friend Juan who has one semester left before he gets his nursing degree and graduates! He has worked SO hard and we are so proud of you! One semester left :-)

Finally, good luck to our friend K. who will be starting her new job in MI. I wish you the best of luck and happiness in your new journey!

Sorry!

I just wanted to say sorry for the lack of blogging....not that I was missed but it felt weird not blogging the past few days - is that bad?!?! haha

So anyways - more blogs to come! Alot has been going on so I will share! As for my other blog rennovations - TONS is going on and I will be updating that tomorrow!

Please.....Stop!

Fact: I get VERY annoyed when people chew, slurp, smack, talk or make any other overly loud and unnecessary noises when they are eating.

Fact: Celery is a very loud and crunchy food

Fact: When people eat big pieces of celery (even if they are trying to be polite) it still annoys me.

Solution: Don't eat celery except in the comfort of your own home or in small snack size pieces!
.........

Someone in my office (a few doors down) is eating a stalk of celery, yes, they grabbed a stalk and are taking big bites right off the stalk thus making a VERY loud and crunchy noise that is driving me crazy! I mean good for them for choosing a healthy snack but please for the sake of sanity, cut the celery into smaller less noisy pieces.


Final Thoughts: I know we can not control the crunch factor of celery but there are things we can do to decrease the annoyance of it! Please be aware and make changes as needed.

Thank you.


(Sorry, I have been really annoyed lately and my posts will reflect that. I will try to make happier posts...once someone puts down the damn celery!!!!)

Riddle Me This Batman......

How does someone get urine on the back of a toilet???? The very very back!!! What are you doing, hanging from the ceiling???


Once again it needs to be said - I hate public restrooms!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Scrubs - Knife Wrench!



LOL!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I LOVE this clip!!!!

(Knife wrench.....For Kids!)

Favorite Random Song!


So this is one of those strange songs I really like! It is Mr. Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra - that is ELO folks. I don't know why, it is just fun and I always feel in a good mood when I hear it. You may recognize from the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (great movie)!! Everytime I hear it I think of something from Monty Python or a funny british TV show! LOL! I LOVE IT :D

Enjoy!

Question of the Day - Pet Edition!

(Sebastian aka fatty aka Godzilla & Belle aka monkey aka hell raiser)

I just wanted to post some cute pics of our kitties!!! They have been snuggling more and more lately (maybe because it is cold out)! I think it is adorable, ecspecially b/c when we first got Belle as a kitten Sebastian wanted NOTHING to do with her! I think he has come around and they are going to be BFF!


So I wanted to post some cute pictures of our cats while I tell you about Belle's new trick! Her trick is this; knock over the rather large trash can, get inside, pull out the trash, and carry it around the apartment - thus making the apartment (and her) smell like trash! Now I know you are wondering how a cute, 5 pound, 8 1/2 month old kitten could do such a horrible thing?!?! Well that is because she is seriously the cat of the devil! As cute and quiet as she looks above, this little girl gets in more trouble than a puppy...or probably a kid! (ok, don't know about that - but she definatly knows how to get in trouble!) She has definatly reiterated the fact that I am not ready for or want kids at this moment in my life! We are hoping that at the new place she will have so much more room to run and play and she will wear herself out and be the cute little girl pictured above! (Other tricks include, but not limited too: climbing up the patio door curtains, taking food off our plates, hiding on top of the refrigerator, and nipping at our toes at night. Her and the water bottle know each other well!)


So do you have pets? Any fun "pets getting into trouble" stories?

DAMN YOU EBAY BIDDER!!!

So I am trying to bid on something for T. on ebay and I keep getting outbid! UGH! We have four days left and this person keeps running up the bid. I am not placing another bid until Sunday...SO annoying! Why can't these people just let me have it! Ebay is great, but it can also be annoying when you REALLY want a particular item! I know what my max. bid will be so I will just let the two other people fight it out for now and I will try to take it later! It is all about strategy folks ;-)


(P.S. I can't tell you what it is in the VERY slim case my husband reads this blog! Let's just say it is very sci-fi so I am probably betting against some scfi-fi nerds like my husband - they are relentless! UGH!)

No Gunn???

Story:
http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1567349_3_0_,00.html

So apparently Tim Gunn has not yet signed his contract for season 4 of Project Runway! Now this doesn't mean they will not work something out but in the article it says that his first priority is to Parson's..."it pays his bills". I actually think that is very responsible, it IS his job and I respect him more for being loyal to his job and not the fame of a hit TV show!

However, I would say that if they could not reach a comprimise to filming around his job and he didn't come back I don't think I would watch it. I really don't like Nina or Michael that much and it wouldn't be the same without Tim!

I am not here to worry anyone, because I am sure it will work out...it HAS to work out (they will MAKE IT WORK!)

Interesting Story...

Apparently two parents are being charged with kidnapping their 21 year old daughter the day before her wedding to prevent her from marrying a man they didn’t approve of. The situation happened in August and the girl testified yesterday. Apparently the, what seems like very religious parents, did not agree with the man she wanted to marry and the parents took their daughter and drove her away so she wouldn’t marry the guy. The wedding ended up going on without the parents and now the parents are being charged with kidnapping. Full Story.

So this whole story is a little weird to me. One part is I defiantly think the parents are wrong in the way they handled the situation but I don’t know if I agree that they should be charged with kidnapping! Who makes that decision….the daughter must of told police or something. It seems like the story doesn’t have a lot of details to it but it is an interesting situation and brings up a good topic.

How far would you go to stop your son/daughter from marrying someone you did not approve of? Or would you say anything to even a good friend or a brother/sister if you do not like the person they are going to marry?

When do you draw the line and let others live their own life? Now obviously age of the people marrying, abuse, criminal records, drugs, ect if involved in your scenario can change the answer. But what if you just don’t like the person, get a bad vibe, don’t like the way your daughter/son/friend is with this new person, they have different beliefs, I could keep going…but all played apart in WHY you didn’t think two people should wed. Would you say anything? If so, (as I said before) how far would you go to stop a marriage from taking place? And what about this, does the harder one push to stop a marriage push the two people closer together and separate you more?

I honestly don’t know what I would do. I hope as a parent I would be close enough to my kids that we could talk about it before it escalated to what was above. Which makes me wonder what words were said before between the parents and their daughter? Has this been a constant battle or did they keep it all in until the day before the wedding? Is it all the parents fault?

Any thoughts???

For all you Fans!

So if you haven't checked out the NBC website for the best TV show ever - Heroes - then you are missing out!! I had gone to the message boards before and looked through the site, but I never noticed the comic books they have! Check out the link below to see comic books from each of the episodes....plus one that may give insight to what happened with Eiden!

http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/novels/

I clicked on the printable versions and read those! It was pretty cool! It was like "watching" the deleted scenes of a movie....just a little more insight/back story into the characters! There are also other things to explore on the website with the show! I enjoy it!!

Refreshing!

Sometimes there really is nothing better than a big glass of ice water!!!

What To Do?!?!

First - I have to say that I think these gloves are SO cute! I love the color and the style!


So here is my dilemma that I need some help with. If you happen to wear rings what do you do about gloves? I currently am wearing knit gloves that are fingerless with a full glove underneath. (I like fingerless gloves but not useful when bitter cold like yesterday!) The knit gloves are nice b/c my hands don't get too sweaty but they get caught on the prongs of my ring and I don't want to ruin my ring. Also, with the knit gloves, my ring is starting to push through the knitting and riuning the gloves. I have also tried a leather pair from last year and they are too tight around the ring. I have been looking and trying gloves on and haven't found a style that works when wearing a ring like mine!

I know there has to be an easy solution, but I guess I am not seeing it! I just need a light material to keep my hands warm that will not ruin my ring! Do I just keep trying on gloves until I find the right one, is there a certain fabric I should look for, do I just deal with it........Any suggestions?

Not For Me!

I absolutely HATE being late! To me late is 10 minutes early....lateness (in most cases) is unexceptable! I think it is rude and disrespectful to people when you are late!

I hate that where I work people seem to not even bother getting ready to leave for a meeting UNTIL the time of the meeting! Ridiculous! If the meeting starts at 10:30 that means 10:30 NOT at 10:32, 10:36, 10:45!!! And over the past (nearly 3 years) it has begin to program on me to show up at the very last minute - not late - just not early. I hate that!! It is so incredibly frustrating!

What I hate more than me being late to a meeting (on very very rare cases) or people coming late to a meeting I am at is when someone else makes ME late for a meeting! If you want to be late then that is how you choose to represent yourself but do not make me late because that looks bad on me! UGH!

People, be respectful - don't be late!


(I believe others have vented before about this - I just had to say it again!)

My Favorite....

This is my favorite chapstick EVER! Mint flavored ChapStick brand lip balm - AWESOME! I think this stuff taste greats, goes on smooth, leaves my lips soft and is just overall fan-FREAK'N-tastic!!!

I have no less than four of these open and strategically placed and ready for use at one time. Currently I have one in my desk at work, two in my purse, and one in my nightstand by my bed! I pile this stuff on my lips before I go to bed and fall asleep with a pleasant mint taste on my lips and nicely coated and smooth lips! For me there is nothing better!

Any brands you prefer?

I Love Mushrooms!

Yes, this is 100% true – I love and adore mushrooms…all kinds! I think they are awesome and I could eat them all the time!

I had two really good food items that had mushrooms this weekend which made me just fall in love with them again! The first was at a restaurant in Columbus called Martinis and I had Pasta Rosa, a penne pasta with grilled chicken, baby portabella mushrooms, spinach all in a light red pepper cream sauce! OMG – delicious! Probably the best pasta dish I have ever had! Click the link above to see their menu – I strongly recommend it! And then we had dinner at a Steakhouse called Woody’s in Upper Sandusky. We had for an appetizer grilled portabella mushrooms – once again SO GOOD!

Life is better with mushrooms!

(I know there will be some mushroom haters out there, but nothing you can say will make me love mushrooms less!)

Renovation - My New Blog!

So I have created a new blog Renovation to go through the exciting and sometimes frustrating parts of renovating a new home! As a first time home buyer, I have a lot of questions about the home improvement process as well as a strong excitement to share what we are doing!!! So enter a new blog :D

I will be posting pictures (later this evening) of our new home and in the future of the different stages of remodeling! I will also post tips and would like everyone to feel free to comment your own tips/tricks, past experiences, favorite home improvement stores & websites!

It's Official!

T & I have officially entered the world of home ownership!!!

We are SO excited! We will be painting over the next couple weeks while we stay at our apt. and then should be living in our new place before christmas! YAY!

It was very weird walking through the place knowing this is OUR place now and that we will live here and OWN it!! It is crazy and exciting!!

I will take pictures of the place and before/after shots and post them on my blog in the next couple weeks!

P.S. - We had to sign a paper verifying that the signiture we were using to sign all these documents was in fact OUR signiture and that the signiture was being signed the same way on all documents! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What the heck is that about? I had to verify I was signing my own signiture...once again HAHAHAHA!