Talk Less, Say More

7 Quick Takes Friday

2010-11-19T11:34:00.000-05:00

#1-7:

Estimated Due Date: June 1, 2011.

In which I climb on my soapbox...

2010-11-15T16:44:00.002-05:00

I subscribe to the Fairfax County Crime News Alerts on my RSS feed. This is partly because I'm nosey, partly because I'm paranoid and partly because I like staying informed about my neighborhood and where sirens are going.

However, this morning they have put out two releases about trying to find the mother of a newborn left at a church. I have issues with this. They say the baby was not born in a hospital, which means that the mother is likely scared perhaps young and perhaps not in the best situation. She does not want to be found. At the same time, she did not kill the baby, nor did she flush it down a toilet, throw it in a dumpster, leave it in a gutter, or in the cold woods knowing no one would find it. She put it in a duffel bag filled with towels, wrapped up and left it on a church's steps on a Sunday morning knowing that someone would be by shortly and find it. She knew it would have a safe haven there and that it would be taken care of.

Sure the police may be "concerned about her health" but I doubt it, I think they just want to know who it was and possibly punish her for her actions. If she has problems she'll go to the hospital and questions will be asked then, otherwise it is my opinion that she did great and without knowing her situation I think it unwise for anyone to delve deeper into it. The more we as a collective people stay out of situations like this, the more likely young and/or terrified girls will make sure to place their babies where they will be taken care of instead of killing them and throwing them in dumpsters.

Yes, she could have gone to a hospital or a firehouse, however keep in mind that she may not be of driving age. She may be from an abusive, controlling situation where a short walk is all she could manage. It's quite possible that she lives near that church and it was the best thing she could think of to do. Thanks to that thinking, her son will get a good home and is in good health. So, police, please leave her alone and spend your time doing something that helps.

30 Days of Me, Day #2

2010-10-25T23:47:00.000-04:00

Many apologies, I had a migraine and was down for the count Thursday and Friday.

Day 02- The meaning behind your Blog name
As anyone who actually attempts to follow my blog, you'll realize I'm not the best at writing consistently. I originally started blogging in 2002 and was a great deal more frequent, honest, open, etc. I was also going through a lot of changes in my life and I got really tired of anyone reading my blog thinking that I was clinically depressed and feeling the need to talk to me about it. So I stopped writing about my feelings. Then people started trying to give me needless advice such as getting career counselling (I graduated right after Sept 11, so sue me if I didn't jump straight into a stable career. Not surprisingly, there wasn't a whole lot of options out there) so I stopped talking about most things in my life. Then people started trying to read between the lines to figure out what was going on in my life like I had some uber secret underbelly, and that annoyed me. The editing of myself continued. Last, I had a little stalker issue for a bit and I completely shut down the old blog and disappeared out of safety concerns.

The problem with this, is when you start editing so much there really isn't too much left to write about. So I had two other blog areas that stopped and started a couple times and were so freaking boring I wanted to gouge my own eyes out reading them, so I restarted with this one thinking I may have new stuff to talk about through the wedding and first few years of marriage. "Talk Less, Say More" was the idea that you don't have to write everyday and minimize substance. It's also a line from one of my favorite quotes:

Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours.

I love that quote because I think truer words have never been spoken. When you focus on the negatives in life, negative things will only come out of it. If only because you are incapable of seeing the good and how is that truly living?

30 Days of Me, Day #1

2010-10-19T11:48:00.000-04:00

I thought this idea was brilliant since I am in a major blogging rut, and Angela at Craving Cupcakes is doing it too (which is exciting! cause I love learning things about her) so I'm going to jump in. I probably won't skip any days, even if the day is boring because that's how I do things. Either all in, or don't bother. Also, by the end of 30 Days I will have plenty of things to blog about... but for now they stay a secret.

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

This is from about 2 months ago when I dyed my hair. It's not quite this dark anymore (stubborn blond always, always pokes through) and it's longer.

1) I lived in Thailand for the first 3 years of my life.
2) I met one of my best friends as soon as I came back, in preschool, at age 3.
3) The best friend I mention most on this blog is Alaina whom I have lived with for 6 years. All 4 years of college and 2 post college.
4) My husband and I dated for less than a year before we got engaged. He was one of my shortest dating relationships.
5) I was named after an actress; Kim Hunter. My mother pushed for me to be given the full first name Kimberly, my dad actually wanted my name to be Kim Hunter. That's it.
6) During high school I played volleyball, ran track, was on the swim team and rowed crew. I also was a member of the Marching Band, regular band, and all the pit orchestras for the musicals. This may have been because I tried to stay out of my house as much as possible by joining everything I could.
7) I have seen over 20 different musicals performed on stage. I've seen many of them more than once.
8) I used to play the flute and piccolo. I was weirdly good at the piccolo because I had really tight embouchure so I could actually play the highest notes on the piccolo softly. "Tight embouchure" kind of sounds dirty.
9) I went to Virginia Tech, if you meet me randomly it's likely that's one of the first things you'll know about me. I love Va Tech, I think it's the best college in the world. I also love Hokie Football to the point of near obsession.
10) I am an only child. I do not have many stereotypical tendencies from being such.
11) I am a really fast reader. I could read an average novel in 4 hours if I was completely undistracted.
12) I majored in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. My current profession is in the Accounting/Finance field.
13) I seriously considered going to the Naval Academy for college. I even got the Senator's recommendation and everything to submit. I decided not to go because I didn't want to carry/touch/learn how to shoot a gun.
14) I have zero face recognition skills. It's likely I'll have to meet you in person 20 times before I'll actually remember who you are. Please don't take it personally.
15) My feet keep shrinking the older I get. In high school I wore a 8.5. In college I wore a 8. After college I wore a 7.5. Now my 7.5's keep falling off my feet.

Ten on Tuesday, It's Almost October!

2010-09-28T07:45:00.001-04:00

1. Growing up, what was one favorite item that you had to have with you at all times?
I had a care bear (nighttime bear, with the moon and stars on his belly) I named PJ that I carried everywhere and slept with every night.

2. Being an adult, what is one favorite item that you have to have with you at all times, and what happens if you do not have it with you? Do you lose your sanity or just go back home to get it?
Now that I have an Iphone it's probably that. I used to be really lazy about cell phones and mine was either dead or left somewhere all the time, but Iphone's have games ;-) and the internetz!

3. Where is your favorite place to be to just hide away from everything and breathe for a moment?

The shower. It's perfect since I love extreme warmth and the sound of the water is soothing. I do my best thinking in there.

4. What is your favorite thing about your partner? (If you don’t have a partner, then someone who is very close and will always be in your life)
He's funny and can always make me laugh even if I'm in a horrible mood.

5. What is your favorite thing about your job? (If you don’t have a job, then what is your favorite thing that you do during your day?)
I love the actual job function. I like numbers. It's the extra stuff around the job itself that I don't really enjoy all the time. That's why I'd love to just do it from home. That way I keep the actual job and scrap the rest of it.

6. What is your favorite lesson that your parents taught you growing up? Looking back, is it something that you want to use to teach your children when they reach that age?
Seriously the only things (that stuck anyway) my mom would lecture about were 1) sex, as in you do it and you'll go to hell and 2) "don't trust anybody except yourself, everyone else will disappoint you"

I think both did more harm then good honestly. Who wants to raise a kid who's completely petrified/hung up about sex and has massive trust issues? After all that kid/teenager will eventually become an adult. I think honestly she just thought about the moment with the sex thing and was trying to terrify me into listening to her and the other thing was her own issues she was passing down. So no, neither is something I'd teach my kids.
At least not that way.

7. What is your favorite song, that will always bring a smile to your face and make you think of something happy?
I have a few of those. I love Sweet Home Alabama and Walking in Memphis, both never fail to make me happy and I start singing along. I also really love All Summer Long by Kid Rock and Hot and Cold by Katy Perry.

8. What is your favorite things about being an American? (If you not American, what are you proud of in regards to your country)
The freedom to criticize whatever/whomever we want without getting thrown in jail for treason. Alaina and I were talking last night about how it's nice that we can eat cheese without being terrified that it will kill us. As in food is regulated enough that generally you don't have to worry much. Unlike cheese in, say, France. While yummy it can be dangerous. My cousin got an illness (parasite maybe?) from it that was really, really bad.

9. What is your favorite meal that reminds you of being a child?
Boxed macaroni and cheese. Honestly, what kids didn't eat that by the truckful?

10. Name 3 things that other people would say are their favorite thing about you.
Some people think I'm funny. I will always be there for you and help you with anything you may need. I'm also really loyal and put in the work to maintain friendships. I'm not one of those girls who ditches all her friends anytime something more interesting comes along. I've had my friends for 12+ years and I'll have them from 12+ more no matter what happens.

Weekend Wrap-Up

2010-09-20T17:47:00.001-04:00

Va Tech finally pulled out their first win of the season. I chose to think that the season just started, that way I can fully ignore the embarrasing loss to a I-AA school just a week ago. Egads!
The first half still looked rough, but the defense got two interceptions in the 2nd half and held the Pirates to just 80 yards and 3 points. That's looking up!
I have a friend who is obsessed with Pirates. I'm shocked she didn't go to ECU purely for the mascot.
We had a gathering of people on Saturday. It can't really be counted as a party because it wasn't really one. But it was nice to sit around and chat nonetheless.
Bill and I went out on a date Friday night. We went to a nice restaurant and even dressed up! It's fun to do that once in awhile.
I am battling a wicked cold right now. Colds are pesky because you feel like a huge baby for complaining about them, but they are still bothersome.
In related news, my throat hurts.

The No (Sham)poo method

2010-09-16T12:05:00.002-04:00

As I briefly mentioned in my list on Monday, I had a horrible reaction to the hair dye I just used to dye my hair brown. It may be a new developed allergy on my part, it may have been a minor chemical burn, we really can’t tell- all I know is that my scalp is not happy which means that I am not happy.

I quickly learned that when my head started itching I should just get my hair wet. To me, and most of us, wetting our hair means taking a shower, which means washing your hair. So for a few days I was washing my hair twice a day in hopes to keep the itching/irritation under control. This worked until it didn’t. I started looking online for some other things I could do until this passed and started reading about shampoo. As with many things we use mindlessly, it’s really not good for you. If you are just putting it on hair, which is dead anyway, it isn’t really a big deal but think about what goes on in your shower.

You grab the bottle, dump some on your head and start lathering. The shampoo/conditioner sits on your scalp which is porous. Maybe you leave it on your head while you soap up the rest of your body or shave, more chemicals are being soaked into your body. Then you rinse it off, during which the shampoo runs all the way down your body’s skin (also known as the largest organ you have). Do you honestly believe that in all that contact all those chemicals on the back of the bottle don’t seep through into your system at all?

The kicker about this is, the chemicals actually don’t do anything for the condition of your hair. You aren’t gaining anything from them and their potential danger. Sodium Lauryl Sufate/Laureth Sulfate is put in solely for the lather affect, because people think that unless it lathers and creates lots of bubbles, they aren’t getting clean. Also, this and other chemical cleaning agents are also found in other household cleaning supplies. If it cleans off the baked on grease from your pans, is it really right for your hair?

Lets assume for a minute, that the chemicals at the levels we absorb them don’t create endocrine, reproductive, skin irritation and eye problems the fact is they are just too harsh to use everyday. The act of these cleaning agents strips all of your hair’s natural oils and your hair follicles go into oil production overdrive to survive. Then you start shampooing more frequently because your hair is unmanageable if you don’t- which repeats the cycle. Your scalp starts freaking out, your hair is limp/dry, split ends form and then we pile more products into our hair to get more life into it. Not only is all that true, but many of us are allergic to the chemicals in shampoo without even realizing it. The signs of the allergy could be itching, dry scalp, flakes, and hair loss. Anyone who has skin sensitivities to detergents or has issues like eczema are likely allergic to most shampoo. I’m allergic to everything, including apparently hair dye, so quite frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if I was allergic to shampoo too, and I’ve had all the symptoms above. (sorry for the TMI)

Through all of this, I realized that my excessive shampooing due to my scalp issue was actually irritating me more, and I found a chemical free, natural, no animal products/testing shampoo which had great reviews. I promptly ordered it, the only issue now was that it would take time to be processed and shipped, so what do I do until then?

In my searches, I stumbled upon this fringe underground community who practice the no ‘poo method as they call it. Yes, I realize I’m late to the party since NPR did a story on this movement two years ago but no one I know has ever mentioned it, nor have any blogs I’ve been to. There seem to be three distinct groups who practice this method:

the hard core environmentalists, for whom even natural shampoo is too damaging to the environment due to the packaging
people with tons of allergies
health-nuts who refuse to consume anything they cannot pronounce; not by eating, cosmetics, drinking, nothing

The interesting thing that some people found is that after a period of gross, greasy hair that one associates with not washing your hair their hair is actually in much better condition then before. People who thought their hair was stick straight had natural curl/waves, people with fine/thin hair had thicker hair with incredible body with no products nor styling, people with curly hair had the defined, bouncy, beautiful curls of their dreams with no frizz. The thing was, that after a specific amount of time- your hair will take care of itself. Your oil production goes down because you aren’t stripping away all of your natural oils, your hair is stronger, healthier, shinier and full of life.

The issue many people have is that they can’t get past that initial greasy hump. For me though, I don’t care what my hair looks like. As long as it doesn’t smell, get itchy, or anything gross like that I could really care less. Secondly, I just dyed my hair brown. Darker colors are much more forgiving of greasiness since you can pull it back and hide it whereas blonde hair actually changes colors when greasy like a flashing beacon that you skipped your hair wash that day. So I decided to try a little mini no ‘poo experiment until my new natural, vegan shampoo gets here.

There are two separate methods of going no poo:

washing your hair a few times a week with baking soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar
the water only method

The first method is out for me for a few reasons; one, baking soda strips can strip hair dye color out of hair. I went through a lot of pain and suffering for this hair color so no thank you. Two, I could just imagine how that conversation would go over in my house when I try to explain why there are cooking items in the bathroom. I prefer to avoid that. I’m mocked by my conservative “global warming is mythical liberal propaganda” republican husband for even walking in a Trader Joe’s.

So I’ve decided to go the water only method route. The idea is that you do “wash” your hair when you shower but with nothing but water and your own fingers. First, turn up the water almost as hot as you can stand it (helpful since that’s the temp I take all my showers with) and with your fingers massage/scrub your entire head taking more time at your crown area since more oil collects there. Interestingly, you can actually feel your hair get cleaner- I’m not sure how to explain it more than that, but you can. You can’t rush this step: and bonus! scalp massage stimulates your hair follicles so your hair grows faster/better. Then take a wet washcloth and stroke it down each side of your hair (I’ve heard it’s 100 times each side, but I have short hair and I don’t have the time for that so I do maybe 10). This moves the oil down your hair shaft.

Then rinse with cool water to close the hair shaft. I then spray on a couple spritzes of leave in conditioner because my hair tangles a lot. I’ve heard that some people put some gentle conditioner on the ends of their hair after the water cleaning step but before the spurt of cool water step.

My observations so far (I’m on day 3): When I woke up this morning, instead of being limp, flat and greaseball-looking my hair looked clean and surprisingly had more body then normal. I water washed and then came to work:

This is what my hair looks like right now. Keep in mind that normally, my hair would be so greasy that I would have to pull it back or it would just hang in lifeless limp strips around my head.

Yes, my hair normally looks like that. I have zero body, and have the thinnest hair imaginable. That's why I keep cutting it so short. To prove that it's not body-less due to oiliness here's a picture of my scalp.

The one mistake I have made is that I used a dallop of conditioner on the ends because I was afraid that I was really tangled. I lost a lot of the body I had when I woke up due to that. I also don't think it was really necessary.

Maybe there’s something to this no ‘poo thing. I don’t think I’ll continue it once my new allergy-free (I hope!) shampoo gets here, but maybe it will help me extend the time between washes which would save me money in the long run. Maybe my hair would like it too. Though I do have to admit, I'm mildly curious to figure out how long I could go without washing it without any type of soap.

If you are curious how your hair/skin/makeup products stand up:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

DayMan, defeater of the NightMan.

2010-09-14T11:26:00.006-04:00

I’ve seen this topic brought up quite a few times lately and it’s made me wonder myself- are there really natural morning people and night people? Or are night people just lazy and have bad habits which lead to their schedules? I examined this issue from a few different angles:

I asked my husband who says its laziness and bad habits, which I actually find rather amusing because he’s exactly the type who, when on leave, stays up until 4 or 5 am and doesn’t wake up until mid afternoon. Granted he’s playing video games usually so an argument could be made that it’s a bad habit but at the same time I’ve met plenty of people who literally could not do that. They would fall asleep on their keyboard/game controller/whatever and/or they’d wake up at 6am even if they only got an hour or two of sleep. Furthermore, he claims that my need for 8+ hours of sleep a night is not real and that I need to train myself to exist on 6 hours, because that’s all I should need.
I thought back to my college years when my roommate was what I would define as a morning person and I was a night person. Granted in my later years, I was up really late because of reasons that were not school nor productive in the least bit, but freshman year before all that started, I stayed up hours and hours after she did. She scheduled her classes to start at 8am. I scheduled mine for noon. The one class I was forced to take at 8am, there was no other option, I went to in my pajamas and slept in the back row.
Some people love eating breakfast, some people never eat breakfast. I’ve found that tends to correlate with if they are an early riser or not. This may be antidotal since obviously you would be hungry in the morning if you woke up at 5 or 6 and you would not if you wake up at 10 or later. If you are forcibly awoken, you would be less hungry and more cranky.
When people tell stories about their children and/or when they were children it seems that children love getting up early. Their parents have many methods of making them keep to themselves until the sun comes up, including watching Saturday morning cartoons. I did not watch Saturday morning cartoons, I was asleep. I also did not wake up early on Christmas because I was asleep. My mother would have to wake me up at 10am begging me to get up so we could open presents. True story.
Also, as a baby, I slept through the night the first night I was home. Obviously this is not supposed to occur since babies need to eat frequently. My mom used to have to put ice cubes on my feet to wake me up to eat. I blame that for why I’m such a bear to wake up now. She also says that I would be awake and moving around in utero at night but not during the day, at one point she had to go in for her ultrasound at midnight because they were worried that I never moved during her regular appointments.
If you think about history, it would make sense that some people would be predisposed to night productivity and some would be predisposed to day. When we lived in small villages, you’d need people to serve all job functions including night watchmen for safety. Someone who falls asleep at sundown (before coffee was widely available) clearly would not be fit for that job. That is, unless you like being eaten by wild beasts and your village pillaged by criminals.
In the working world many people talk about waking up at 5:30am. I am not aware there is even a 5:30am, so this does not compute. I think having to wake up at 5:30am every morning would be akin to having all of my teeth pulled out one by one with pliers without Novocaine. These same people leave the building by 3 or 4 every day and they think having to work late is similar torture to what I described above.
If I were being completely honest with myself, I do not reach productive levels until noon or 1pm. Obviously, I try to force myself to work earlier and leave earlier but that’s because I’m lazy and I hate working. If I had my way I’d work from noon to 4 everyday and that’s it.
There are people who get up and exercise in the morning. I prefer to exercise at 8pm. Those who exercise in the morning would find my statement crazy talk. Once again, at times I try to force myself to exercise in the morning but that’s also due to laziness and a desire to sit on the couch and watch tv all night.
If left to my own devices I will never wake up earlier than 9am. If I happen to go to bed the night before at 7pm and wake up at 4am, sometimes Bill and I will get breakfast and then I’ll go back to sleep until noon. That’s the closest glimpse I will ever get to a sunrise.
**in full disclosure, this would never normally occur. If it does, it's wholely due to my being excited about something else like a huge blizzard bearing down on us or a hurricane hit. See also: Kim is a weather nerd.**

My highly-scientific conclusion: I am not a morning person. I require a lot of sleep. This may mean that I am indeed lazy or it may just mean that I’m built that way. I think in order to test this properly we should force society to “opposite week” during which we all live on a schedule more conducive to night peoples’. Then when the morning people are asleep on their desks we can call them lazy.

Ten on Tuesday, Travelling edition

2010-09-14T07:40:00.001-04:00

1. Favorite way to travel (plane, train, automobile, etc.)

Plane. I am way too impatient for the other modes.

My limit on car trips is 4.5 hours. (which coincidentally is exactly the time it takes to get from my house to Virginia Tech’s campus). Beyond that point I get fidgety, whiny and if I’m driving my leg starts cramping up.

After my last train ride, the only way I will EVER get on a train again is if I am knocked unconscious and stuffed into a duffel bag. Except for maybe a commuter train if we end up moving to Maryland or further south or west in Virginia and it’s necessary.

2. Where’s your favorite place to travel to that you’ve been to?
I haven’t been to a whole lot of places, so I’d have to say the resort we went to in Cancun for our honeymoon. It was all inclusive, everyone was very helpful, it was away from the party areas, quiet and during the off season so we didn’t have to wait for anything.

3. Where’s the place that you want to go but have never been?
Greece and Ireland.

4. Do you deal with traffic well?
No. I am not a patient person. (understatement of the year) Actually, correction- I AM a patient person with other people unless they are causing it to take more time for me to do something then I planned for. Thus the traffic issue.

In my mind I calculate the time it should take me to do all things. Drive to so and so, go to the grocery store, get something at target, pick up take out. If it takes even 5 minutes above that time smoke starts coming out of my ears, my toes start tapping, I start sighing and if it takes too long I start contemplating hitting people with my car purposely. I haven’t done it yet.

5. Ever had an emergency while traveling?
No, not by the true definition of emergency.

6. Do you have a passport? What countries have you been to?
I do, although it’s not valid. I think one of the stupidest things about waiting to get your passport until you need it for your honeymoon is that you go through all the steps to get your passport only to have it immediately become invalid because once you get back your name change paperwork goes through.

Just Mexico.

7. Are you’ve light packer or do you pack everything but the kitchen sink?
I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I make a list of everything I could possibly need and try to account for all possible situations. So I’ll have outfits for every day, but then a couple in case it gets cold suddenly, extra socks and undies just in case, an extra pair of shoes just in case I fall into a river and lose one, etc.

The limit comes because I refuse to take more than one bag anywhere. So I tend to look like a much more efficient packer on long trips then short ones. ;-)

8. Do you take the fastest route or the road less traveled?
Fastest.

9. Do any activities on the road? (like road games, reading, sleeping, etc. )
I am usually the one driving, but if I’m not I’ll never go to sleep if I’m the only passenger because I feel guilty. I usually just jabber, I could talk to a fencepost.

10. Use a paper map or GPS?
GPS now that I have an Iphone.

Hello, again!

2010-09-13T10:38:00.002-04:00

I’m back!

In the time I’ve been gone:

I took a train from Alexandria, VA to Salt Lake City, UT.
I then got a refund for the return trip and booked a flight home instead.
I learned that Amtrak is stuck in 1980 since they not only have no Wi-fi on their trains, some of them don’t even have OUTLETS.
I learned what FMLA leave is.
I spent some time as a visitor in a hospital.
I learned why all nurses are woefully underpaid no matter what their salary; their jobs are not something most of us have the patience for, nor want to do.
Virginia Tech has their first 0-2 start since 1995.
I went to a football game.
We learned how to hook up our computer to our tv, now I can play Farmville on a 42 inch screen!
Alaina and I FINALLY had our second training session. It was hard.
I’ve learned a ton about assisted living.
I’ve also learned a ton about memory disorders.
I watched the VMA’s and was disappointed in the current state of music.
I’ve eaten some sort of fast food for dinner for at least 12 of the last 14 days.
I started the fall semester of school.
I learned that Alloy.com has the worst speed of shipping in the world. I just want my one off white sweater that no one else has!
I dyed my hair brown.
I learned that I am allergic to hair dye.
I will never dye my hair brown again.
I realized that I’m actually probably allergic to my shampoo too.
I ordered vegan shampoo, making me feel like I’m supposed to start growing dreads. ;-)
I watched a lot of football.
I fell in love with waist-cinching belts.
I did abysmally in my NFL pick them week 1.
The weather patterns changed and now it feels like Fall.
I added a ton of new shows to my Hulu subscription list.
I became reannoyed that the CW and CBS do not post their shows on Hulu.

What have you been up to?

Hiatus-

2010-08-24T13:49:00.002-04:00

Due to a family emergency I am on hiatus until further notice. For those who pray, keep us in your prayers please.

Ten on Tuesday, college edition

2010-08-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

1. Where did you go to college?

Virginia Tech. Go Hokies! #6 in Pre-season polls... booyah!

2. What did you study?
Biology. With a minor in Chemistry. I also was trying to double major in Psychology but then I had a semester long meltdown and I got too behind to complete the double major without taking another year.

3. Was college really all that it was cracked up to be?
Depends. It got me away from my mother which I desperately needed. It was where I matured, figured out who I was as a person and learned necessary skills for adulthood. Like how to keep personal feelings out of the workplace. However, I also came to the conclusion that college is a really expensive way to get a piece of paper that tells people to hire you (or if they would have hired you anyway, to pay you a higher starting salary), many times for a job that has nothing to do with what you studied at all.

4. How far were you from home?
4.5 hours. There was no direct trains there and since my mom didn't drive and the Greyhound took about 18 hours to get there she could never show up unannounced. It was perfect.

5. Did you have the same roomate all four years?
Yes, the frequently mentioned Alaina. One year we tried to add two others to our housing situation and like most things we try to add others to, it did not go well.

6. Where did you order food from at 2am?
Gumbys Pizza. They gave you ranch dip to put your crusts in and made possibly the worst pizza on earth. However, it was cheap and tasted delicious when drunk or up doing the paper you procrastinated for two months and now have to write in 4 hours, which is really all that college requires.

7. Did you date in college or were you tied down?
Both, sort of. Technically I had a boyfriend for the last two years (I met a senior at the end of my sophomore year). But he lived in DC and I lived there, we saw each other maybe once every few months and I was a massive flirt and immature. Honestly, in retrospect, we probably wouldn't have been together for as long as we were if we lived in the same location.

Historically, I didn't do well when I feel neglected. I didn't cheat on people per se, I just tended to start looking around and getting affection elsewhere. (not affection in a dirty way- I just mean someone to talk to, hang out with, hold hands with, cuddle with, flirt with, that kind of stuff- just wanted to make that clear)

I grew up enough to learn to say "hey you, you are neglecting me and this relationship"or to break up with them instead of just finding someone else to fulfill my need for attention while staying with the original person for way too long. Not fair to either person.

8. Funniest drunk college moment?
I went through a phase where I would drink like half a wine cooler and dump vodka into the bottle to fill it back up (yeah, nasty- right?). Well one night I had a few of those, someone picked me up to carry me into the apartment and I kicked my ex boyfriend in the head while we were walking past him and he was exactly at foot level. It wasn't hard or assault charge worthy or anything, but it became the running joke for the rest of the time we were there. "Hey remember, that time that Kim kicked Avi in the head? Hahaha!"

Then I fell asleep on their kitchen rug.

9. Did you make it to class on time?
When I went to class, I was always on time. In my defense, in a college of my size and in some of my classes it wasn't really necessary to go to class. Some professors would just talk about their research the entire time instead of anything that would actually BE on the test. I'd teach myself the stuff from the textbook and just show up to take tests. I had one class that took attendance but he did nothing but talk about his research, so I used to do the Washington Post crossword puzzle.

I do wish I tried a lot harder in school though. That is a huge regret of mine. I was intelligent enough to get As, but I was lazy and more interested in the social aspects.

(Note to parents: This is what happens when you hold your children down with an iron fist their entire lives, never let them make any decisions for themselves nor show them one iota of respect as a person. They go completely insane at the first whiff of freedom.)

10. What was your favorite class in college?
Calculus and Analytical Chemistry (also heavily math based). Two way tie. Crazy, right? A bio major who preferred math?

I think the one thing I'll tell my kids when they are making those sort of decisions is that you don't always have to go with what you need to work really hard at to do. Go with your strengths.

Math just makes sense to me, it always has. I didn't really even have to try to get A's, once something would be explained to me once everything would click into place and I'd never forget it. That easy. Whereas in some of my other courses I could study for hours and never quite get it. I think I thought you were supposed to have to try super duper hard or you were taking the easy way out, or something.

The other issue was that at Va Tech, you apply for a particular major, so you pick your major as a senior in high school. In my high school we had a superb biology teacher, so it's not surprising that that's what I picked. By the time I realized that I actually wasn't as interested as I first thought, I had already finished the first two years, which is all major involved classes. It wasn't practical, nor financially feasible to start over with something I really wanted to do.

At liberal arts colleges, you do your core requirements first so you can kind of figure out what you are interested in before you pick a major. For someone like me, that may have been better. However, I can't imagine having gone to any other school.

Read more here.

Party excuses

2010-08-11T09:47:00.005-04:00

Someone over on my other site (if you haven't visited yet, why not? Go now! Go!) requested that I do a blog post on our excuses to have parties. Here are the ones so far:

Guitar Hero World Tour
Dance Dance Revolution
4th of July
Beginning of Summer
End of Summer
Misc BBQs thrown in during the warmer months
Come Sit on our Deck
"Pre-Thanksgiving"
Gingerbread
Christmas (with White Elephant Gift exchange)
New Year's Eve
Halloween
Super Bowl
March Birthdays
April Birthdays
June Birthdays
Melanie's Birthday (she's the only one with her own month)
Dinner club- a theme potluck night once a month for just the girls. Ones we've done so far: Fondue night, Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican. Next up is Chinese

It generally works out that we have a party of some sort every 2 or 3 weeks. In our area it's really pricey to go out, so it's just more fun and a ton easier to just go to someone's house.

I would love to do theme parties where people dress up or like a murder mystery thing but my friends have nixed that idea over and over. Boo! I love costumes and I love dressing up.

Ten on Tuesday, August 10th

2010-08-10T08:05:00.000-04:00

1. Do you have an innie or an outie?

A deformed innie. I had an umbilical hernia as a baby and had surgery done on my belly button so it's scarred.

2. What kind of milkshake do you order?
Chocolate and banana if they have it. Or chocolate and peanut butter.

3. How often do you repeat outfits at work?
Usually not more than once every 3 or 4 weeks. I'll wear the same items but paired with different things. Like I have two pairs of black pants but I'll pair them each time with different shirts/sweater combos. I have a lot of clothes.

4. What are your feelings about thank you notes?
I think they are important to do. However, in practice I'm horrible about it. I never sent out thank you notes for our wedding presents. Yes, I realize that makes me a terrible person.

I just find thank you notes awkward- I never know what to write on them, they are time consuming and I just never seem to get around to writing/addressing/mailing them.

5. Do you like spicy food?
Love it. I think I actually seared off all my taste buds and the only ones left are my spice receptors.

6. How many toilet paper squares do you use?
I use enough to get the job done.

7. Were you in Girl Scouts?
Yep. I got the Silver Leadership Award and then quit sometime after that. I had other stuff to do, plus once you are at the Senior Level no one is in Girl Scouts anymore. It's not like Eagle Scouts.

8. Notebooks/Journals: College ruled? Wide Ruled? No lines? Spiral Bound? Plain front? Decorative?
Wide Ruled, Spiral bound and usually decorative. That's just for my to-do lists and shopping lists though. I don't keep a journal.

9. Do you snack throughout the day? What do you pack for snacks?
Yes. Well more specifically I graze eat. It's not really snacking when there aren't defined meals. I have a fridge in my office so I actually grocery shop for work. Right now I have bread, peanut butter, honey, granola bars, yogurt, blueberries, tuna salad packets, V-8 juice cans, Skinny Water, Instant Oatmeal packets, Microwave popcorn (cheese flavored), Wheat thins, Laughing Cow cheese wedges, Weight Watchers brand ice cream cups, and frozen veggies (steam in the package).

I eat combos of that food throughout the day.

10. What is your favorite month? Why?
October. Fall is my favorite season, Halloween is my favorite holiday and it's the month we got married.

How I Spent my Sunday

2010-08-09T12:37:00.003-04:00

You know how I said that we had no damage done to our property by the storms that moved through? While that was true, we are house-watching for our friends/neighbors that live 2 streets away and go back to their hometown every year for the months of August and December. They seriously have the worst luck with their trip timing. Last December they left immediately before we were hit with Snowstorm #1 and their neighbor slammed into the car they left parked in front of their house. This time they leave and this is what happens to their yard.

Yes, that is a tree. Well, not a whole tree, a lot of very large branches that fell taking out a section of the side fence and landing on top of their cable line (you can see the black line to the right side of the picture). Luckily it was not an electric line or we wouldn't have been able to do much on our own.

The winds also took out a portion of their back fence.

You can see it on the back right, that is not an intentional opening or gate. You can also see another fallen branch.

Bill went over to borrow their saw to cut up the branch that fell into our yard and this was what he found. (in our house-watching defense, we did go over after the storm to check the place out but didn't go into the back yard. Just made sure there wasn't a tree on the roof or on their car or anything big like that) Obviously we couldn't leave it like it was for them to come home to in a month so this was our Sunday afternoon activity.

It took awhile, it was hot, and I discovered that I am not very good with saws but a few hours later the mess of the yard became this:

With a neat brush pile in the back corner and a pile of new logs for them to use in their fire pit once they return. (their log pile is hidden behind the tree to the left) We pushed the back fence back up before we left but didn't do much to repair it, maybe we'll head back to do that this week.

Yes, that's my husband. I didn't realize I got him half in the picture until I was uploading.

We have always been a bit jealous of their shaded backyard, now we have been cured of that. We'll take our hot, sun filled area over tree limbs falling and taking out fencing.

7 Quick Takes: August 6, 2010

2010-08-06T12:57:00.002-04:00

1) Tonight we are having a Guitar Hero World Tour night, otherwise known as our latest excuse to have a party. We make a lot of excuses to have parties.

2) We got a line of wickedly bad storms through our area yesterday. Click here for some photos via The Washington Post. The cats were so freaked out by the time I got home that they were edging around the very center of the house to get around instead of lounging in their normal by windows spots.

I was at work when the storms occurred but if the wind and rain was anywhere near what we witnessed from our office windows I'm sure they were terrified. Probably thought the house was going to blow over.

This has been a crazy year of weather for us.

3) Speaking of photos; I've started a new site "Snapshots From My Day." Please go over and check it out. The idea is that I will post pictures throughout my days; some days will get multiple posts, others only one, depending on what is going on. I'm also accepting submissions if anyone else wants to post a snapshot from their own day.

4) Alaina and I took a BodyJam class at our new gym on Wednesday night. The description of the class is "the cardio workout where you can enjoy the sensation of dance. An addictive fusion of the latest dance styles and hottest new sounds puts the emphasis as much on having fun as breaking a sweat. Funky instructors teach you to move with attitude."

Now, I'm not sure anything can teach me to "move with attitude" but it's a really fun way to burn around 600 calories in an hour.

5) We originally were going to try to go to Aquaerobics but we got there late, then we went up to the workout machine level where we got bored in 20 minutes. Then we wandered back down to see what classes were going on and ran into the BodyJam group and instructor. I'm glad we did :-) I'm also glad that it seems that this gym is good for just getting there when you get there and still being able to find SOMETHING to do. There's a ton of options!

6) I made a quick and easy corn salad/salsa last night when realizing that I was in need of a vegetable to go with my enchiladas because all my salad stuff froze in our old decrepit fridge.

In a medium saute pan heat up about 2 tbs of olive oil with 1 tb of butter (you can skip the butter if you want but mixing the oil and butter keeps down steam) over medium heat. Dice 1/2 of an onion. I used Vidalia because that's what I had but red would work great. Add to pan and cook until onions soften (about 5 minutes). Add one bag of frozen corn and a few jalapenos diced finely. You can add more or less depending on your desired spiciness. Cover and cook until the corn is heated through stirring a few times.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once everything is cooked through, let cool for a few minutes and then add cherry tomatoes cut into fourths. If you realize it's a bit spicier then you meant it to be, adding more tomatoes will help.

7) Has anyone tried Skinny Water? The Acai Grape Blueberry is pretty good but the Goji Berry Fruit Punch is rather nasty. I'm not sure if it's just me or if Goji Berry is something that takes a bit of getting used to.

Speaking along the veins of flavored water drinks- did you see the news about Vitaminwater? Corporations amaze me with their greed and stupidity.

Most true valedictorian speech ever given:

2010-08-04T17:38:00.001-04:00

...I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contend that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, "We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness – curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don't do that." Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt...

Read the rest here.

Brava to her. This is exactly how I feel about the educational system of this country. My defining moment? When I turned in a thought out, well written paper only to have it returned with a F-grade because my english teacher thought I interpreted the book in question "wrong." My fault? "you responded from the female perspective whereas the book was written and should be read from the male perspective." The paper read out loud in class and lauded as an example of an assignment well done? One spliced together from her parents "help" and cliff's notes. There was not one iota of original thought contained within, but therein was the point. He didn't want MY interpretation, he wanted me to write out the same old recycled drivel that everyone else thinks.

In that moment I decided that school was a complete waste of my and everyone else's time. It's only purpose was to ensure that one did not have to work as a fry cook for the rest of their life.

Dear English teacher,

in·ter·pre·ta·tion /ɪnˌtɜrprɪˈteɪʃən/ [in-tur-pri-tey-shuhn]

–noun

1. the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication: This writer's work demands interpretation.
2. an explanation of the meaning of another's artistic or creative work; an elucidation: an interpretation of a poem.
3. a conception of another's behavior: a charitable interpretation of his tactlessness.
4. a way of interpreting.
5. the rendering of a dramatic part, music, etc., so as to bring out the meaning, or to indicate one's particular conception of it.
6. oral translation.

No love,
Kim

Ten on Tuesday, August 3rd

2010-08-03T07:27:00.001-04:00

1. What is your current favorite television show?
Current as in showing new episodes right now? Havoc on the Sci Fi channel. Check it out on Hulu, it's entertaining.

During regular programming my favorite is Glee, hands down. They are doing a Britney Spears episode this season which has me in fits of excitement.

2. Apple juice or orange juice?
Apple. I'm allergic to orange, I think. Or am sensitive to it. At risk of oversharing, if I drink more than a minimal amount of orange juice I vomit within 15 minutes. Even if it's mixed into something else. Damn you tequila sunrises! I just can't digest it.

3. It’s Shark Week on Discover Channel. Do you watch? Why or why not?
No. I've just never been interested in sharks.

4. What are the non-blog websites that you visit regularly?
Washington Post, Cooking Light, Faith and Family Live!, Facebook, Twitter.

5. What is your favorite way to prepare green beans? Asparagus? Potatoes? Carrots?
Green Beans and Asparagus with salt, pepper an a bit of olive oil. Stick in oven at 450 degrees and roast about 10 minutes.

Potatoes, roasted with whole heads of garlic a la Pioneer Women.

Carrots- raw, dipped in ranch or hummus. I hate cooked carrots, the texture just seems off.

6. What is your favorite flower?
I'm allergic to flowers so my favorite is silk. Or a picture of a flower taken somewhere far, far away.

7. How do you feel about handkerchiefs?
They seem germy and gross to me. As someone who does all the laundry in my house, I wouldn't like having to wash them. I can barely handle picking up used kleenex.

8. If you could only shop at 3 stores for the rest of your life, what would they be? (You probably should include a grocery store.)
Target
Giant Food
JC Penney

I think that covers all the neccessities; food, clothing, pet stuff, furniture, cookware, etc.

9. If you could only use wine for one purpose for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To cook with or to drink?
Drink. Just use chicken broth for white wine or cranberry juice for red.

10. What’s your bedtime?
I am trying to get better about that. currently it's approx 30 minutes after Bill finally shows up at home which is anywhere between 10-12:30am some days.

It should be no later than 10-11pm to get a full 8 hours of sleep before I should wake up in the morning.

They have towel service!!!

2010-08-02T12:53:00.006-04:00

Alaina and I have this problem. We have a bad habit of looking at "high-end" stuff (even though we know better) and then it completely destroys everything under it in our minds.

For example, we found a neighborhood that we thought was cute so we went into the sales office to see the prices. While we knew they would be high we never expected exactly what the interiors were... nor what the resultant price tag would be. Now, to expect us to be able to ever go into a normal townhouse and think it's cool would be nearly impossible. However, if we had just not gone in we could have lived in a state of blissful oblivion.

This past weekend, we went to check out a gym. Not just any gym but this gym. You should know that we are currently members of Bally Total Fitness; not because we really want to be, but because they send us cheap "renewal" offers. Since we fulfilled our original soul sucking contract entered into 6 years ago, we get yearly offers that breaks out to about $10 a month which is way cheaper than any other gym or class or anything else you could sign up for.

It's like the buy one get one free paradox. Yes, you would get something for free but if you didn't actually need the first item in the first place, buying it is actually costing you the price you didn't plan for. No one thinks of that in the moment though, you just get dazzled by the word free and nearly subconsciously the debit card falls out of your wallet and you are headed home with two of "such a fabulous deal!!"

Yes, $10 a month is a great deal! Except that Ballys sucks so hard that I never go. You can never find machines, their locker rooms are icky, half their machines are constantly broken in some way, the temperature of the place is always wonky, their receptionists are snotty, their Personal Trainers are unprofessional and their classes.... oh their classes! You have to sign in at least a half hour ahead of time, still the classes are overcrowded, they keep cutting down the times they are offered making them even more crowded, and anything that you want to take? Pilates? Zumba? You pay extra. AND they let non members come in for them (they just have to pay a bit more than you)

At one of the Ballys locations here, the line for Zumba actually goes up the stairs and out the door. If you aren't there at least an hour ahead, you'll never get in. To add insult to injury, non members will get in but you won't because your monthly fee means nothing to them. Seriously.

/rant over

This is going somewhere, I promise.

So, Alaina and I decided that we should start lap swimming. One, it's fun. Two, it seems like a great activity in the hottest summer of recent memory. Three, it burns like 3-4 times the calories as walking and jogging. One of the Ballys locations has a lap pool. We could use it for free since we're already members. However, there was this other gym and they have a cool looking pool! The plan was made to check out new gym then compare it to Ballys pool and then decide.

Bad plan.

Bad.

We should have seen it from a mile away. This plan should have been stopped as soon as it was hatched.

Once we walked in the -beautiful, clean, wide open, new equipment, 3 floors, towel service, salt water lap pool- gym we were never going to leave. Ballys didn't stand a chance.

ETA: if you are wondering why I am so enamored with towel service- before my wedding I got a personal trainer from Ballys in an attempt to lose weight. I did not lose any weight, nor inches, however I did learn that when working out at a time that requires showering afterwards (or, swimming) you have nothing to do with a damp towel. I would lay it out on the surface of my hatchback trunk so it could get sun and dry though stuck in my car. I ended up having to drive around in a musty smelling car for 3 months. To not lose any weight. Did I mention that part?

7 Quick Takes, last of July

2010-07-30T14:10:00.000-04:00

1. Woot! My student loan interest was reduced. I have a feeling the "oppressive socialist government" is to blame for this. Thank you socialists! I love you!

2. It's about to be reduced even more because starting in the fall I'll be enrolled back in school more than half time. Here's the story of my school journey (in powerpoint form in homage to business degree):

Click to make it larger.

3. This is quite possibly the most amusing (and true!) thing I've ever read.

...But a few times a year, I spontaneously decide that I'm ready to be a real adult. I don't know why I decide this; it always ends terribly for me. But I do it anyway. I sit myself down and tell myself how I'm going to start cleaning the house every day and paying my bills on time and replying to emails before my inbox reaches quadruple digits. Schedules are drafted. Day-planners are purchased. I stock up on fancy food because I'm also planning on morphing into a master chef and actually cooking instead of just eating nachos for dinner every night. I prepare for my new life as an adult like some people prepare for the apocalypse.

Click the link. You want to click it, trust me. My favorite line is "...leaving me almost completely useless for anything other than consuming nachos and surfing the internet like an attention-deficient squirrel on PCP. " The picture with it is priceless. It's me! The picture even has blonde hair.

4. I am moving to a new work schedule next week. Suffice it to say, I've been a bit overwhelmed and my hopes are that this will help that out a bit. However, shifting schedules around is always difficult so pray for anyone seeing me next week since I'm sure to be cranky.

5. My lightbulb went out in one of my office lamps this morning and I discovered that I did not have any more in my supply drawer so I've had to use my overhead lights. If I had any doubt that overhead lights DO give me headaches, they are now squashed because I have a headache. Stupid flourescents!

6. I am going to try out Bikram (aka hot) yoga this Saturday. Pray for me on that one. Hope I don't die!

7. I honestly am at a loss to fill 7 slots today. Sorry, I'm apparently boring. Hope you have a great weekend. Mine will (hopefully) consist of movie rentals, a couch and not much else.

It's getting hot in here...

2010-07-29T12:31:00.003-04:00

Man, am I ever tired of this heat. Normally the DC area only gets really bad in August but for some reason this year we've been hovering around 100 since early June and every time we think we're getting a break the temps shoot back up. It's like the heat version of our extreme snow winter. DC weather fail.

Reasons I hate the heat:

1) I went running outside and had a brief moment of panic thinking I was going to pass out and no one would know. Then I'd die and mutant creatures from the nasty Potomac River would eat my face off. Then realized, hey! this weather is probably the perfect moment to try hot yoga since my two options are to run outside in 105 degree weather where I can only get water when I pass my car or to do yoga in a 105 degree room where there are witnesses if I pass out and die and I can drink as much water as I want. Within those perimeters the choice seems clear.

2) I can only wear each article of clothing once before washing it because of the sheer amount of sweat I'm producing. I do not blame my deodorant, there is only so much it can do before crying uncle. This fact is tripling my laundry load.

3) Our office building A/C was lowered even more than normal meaning that in order to stay warm even with my space heater and pashima I have to wear a certain amount of clothing. That amount of clothing when going outside for even 5 minutes is unbearable. Plus the shock to the system of freezing, HOT, freezing, HOT is giving me constant mini colds. Not cool.

4) Our house A/C sucks under normal conditions and REALLY cannot keep up with these temps. This means that the upstairs of our house (where the bedroom is) can only be kept cool if we set the temp to about 40 which will then freeze my BIL who is currently sleeping in the basement and anyone who may venture to the main floor. Not to mention, the ridiculous electric costs keeping it this cool would create. It's just not feasible. Thus...

5) I woke up this morning and was completely swollen. I think I had been swelling little by little as the temperature raises and my ring finger was actually discolored and going numb. I had to coat my finger in soap and keep it under running water to finally wretch my rings off. Then my finger was revealed to look like this:

Pictures don't really do the grossness justice, I have raised welts all the way around as well as a bunch of bumps and patches of rough skin.

Now, I'm really not too sure what caused this. Maybe it's the irritation caused as my finger swelled. Maybe I should remember to take off my rings once in awhile since I do everything with them on including swim, do dishes, shower, cut meat, etc.

Needless to say, I won't be wearing them for awhile- not that I could get them back on anyway due to the aforementioned swelling of my extremities.

Open Letter to Urban Outfitters

2010-07-28T13:28:00.001-04:00

I like your clothes, I like your furnishings. I have spent days upon days on your site and browsing through your store but now? I will not do so anymore. Why you ask?

Because of this:

This shirt should never have been made. It promotes an all too common idea that women are not supposed to eat and are supposed to be as thin as possible. However, what's even worse is the model you chose to put it on. The image that projects is that the girl shown, who is a size 0 after eating a couple burritos from Chipotle, needs to eat less. What does that say to the millions of healthy women out there who do not look like that? Who have real thighs and breasts? Who don't look like they are about to fall over in need of a hamburger?

Oh, my bad. That's not popular. Anorexia is much better. I love weakening my heart, losing bone density and ending up in a hospital being force fed via tube. It's tres chic.

From the women of America- F- you Urban Outfitters.

Double middle fingers up, no love,

Kim

Ten on Tuesday, July's almost over?!?

2010-07-27T07:00:00.016-04:00

1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you’re splurging?
Strong, with enough milk to make it a tan color. Sometimes I'll add a half packet of Splenda.

Splurging? Lately I've been obsessed with the Mocha Iced Coffee at 7-11. It's so much cheaper than Starbucks and tasty. It's not a splurge due to price, it's a splurge due to calories. A small has 140 calories in it, and who can have just a small?!?

2. What is your genre of books to read?
Fiction. I love escapist books that don't require a lot of thinking. Thus a lot of chick lit, Jodi Pinoult and light hearted mysteries. Reading is an indulgence, I'm not going to make it seem like work.

3. Where do you want to retire, if you could go anywhere?
Somewhere near a beach where I can see/hear the water. Hurricane evacuations are totally worth it.

4. The 17-year-old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked?
Probably music or a random biology topic.

5. What word describes you best?
Hard working. I rarely do anything half heartedly regardless of what it is.

6. What is the next “event” that you are looking forward to? (ex.: vacation, moving, date, job change, etc)
We are going to try to go on vacation somewhere fun in October for our first anniversary. We don't get to spend a ton of time just relaxing and having fun so that's always a treat.

7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those types of conversations?
I can heatedly argue with the best of them, but I generally avoid. Two reasons for that: 1) I married into a family with opposite political beliefs then my own so it keeps the peace and 2) sometimes things like that can destroy otherwise great friendships. Why risk it?

8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day, or add 1 extra day to the week?
4 free hours to the day. If we added an extra day to the week I'm sure my company would just make me work it. No thanks.

9. If you created a sports team; what would your colors and mascot be?
Why create one when there's a perfect one already in existence? Maroon and orange, hoke bird.

10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach?
Biology or math.

Vacation is wonderful... even when you only get 3 days.

2010-07-26T07:00:00.005-04:00

We left at about 1:30 on Monday and halfway there Alaina realized she forgot her suit. Yes, we were headed to a resort for the express purpose of swimming/sunbathing/etc and she forgot something most needed- so we took a bit of a detour at a mall to purchase the needed item (plus a few extras for each of us). We didn't end up getting to the hotel until about 5.

We checked in, explored the hotel and then went to the club suite and took some free snacks and wine out to the balcony to enjoy this view:

Not a bad way to start out- eh?

Then we settled into our room. Opening the windows we were greeted with this:

The pool complex lit up. In the background you can see some lights from the marina so that's where the bay was.

We spent a LOT of time at the pool. Entire days, enjoying some drinks and food served to our chairs poolside:

Floating:

Playing around:

And taking pics to post on our facebook walls in order to make our stuck at work friends jealous:

Does that make us evil?

Nah, this face isn't evil:

What better way to wrap up our last night then toasting our trip with mudslides?

I don't like to share my drinks.

So, maybe I'm a little evil.

Hope you had as great of a last week as I did!

Even if now it's back to a full work week grind, chores, and schedules. It was a nice way to recharge.

7 Quick Takes

2010-07-16T11:55:00.004-04:00

1. Yesterday while in the grocery store line I saw a tabloid with the headline "FINALLY, a baby for Jessica!" (referring to Jessica Simpson) According to IMDB, she was born July 10, 1980 making her 3 months younger then me. Basically the tabloid called me an old barren maid. Thanks tabloid.

2. This was after I had lunch with my mother on Wed and at the end of lunch she said, "I was hoping you asked me to go to lunch to tell me that you were pregnant." Ouch. One two old barren maid punch.

3. Alaina and I are doing a last minute trip to a resort in Maryland next week. We usually go to the beach but I can't take off a full week this year due to work reasons and when going for just a couple days, we get more lying in the sun time if we go somewhere closer. Thus, we are only making it to the Bay, not the ocean.

4. Take a look and get jealous. We are getting a water view room which should be gorgeous. See, being an old barren maid comes in handy sometimes in that you are old enough to have a good job to pay for nice hotels, you can take last minute trips on a whim and you have disposable income. Booyah! Take that tabloid and mother!

5. I got mad at Lizzy this morning because I thought she had randomly decided that breakfast time was at 5am. She kept meowing and headbutting me, then jumping up and off the bed and meowing some more. I locked her out of the bedroom. Now I feel bad, because apparently it was the exact time that we had an earthquake this morning. Too small for us to consciously feel but I bet she did and that's what woke her up.

Awhile back, I just happened to work in an office that had one of those huge file rooms just full of file cabinets. I was in that room when we got another one of this area's small earthquakes but that time I noticed because it made all the file cabinets rattle against each other.

6. When I was a teenager, I lived literally on top of a fault line up in the Rocky Mountains. The high school was also on the fault line and we had to do earthquake drills in addition to fire drills. They were ridiculous. An alarm would sound and then they'd play earthquake noises over the loudspeaker while we covered our heads and climbed under our desks or stood in door frames.

The one thing I did take away from that time was to never, ever hang anything over your bed. If you do and an earthquake hits in the middle of the night, it will likely fall off the wall and land on you potentially knocking you unconscious or worse depending on the weight of the item. I cringe every time I see bedrooms with large, heavy frames hung right over people's heads. I'm sure this tidbit was just mentioned as a side note in a much longer lecture and that's the only thing I can remember. Just another manifestation of my neuroses.

7. I ran/walked 5.5 km yesterday. It has been hovering near 100 degrees here since June. I don't think I have ever sweat that much in my life. I think I also pulled a groin muscle.

Dropped out!

2010-07-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

I am a Weight Watchers drop out. Did I mention that earlier? I may have, I don't really remember. Since dropping out in May, I've been plodding along with my habits gaining and losing the same 5 lbs that I did while in the program and then... I started Pilates.

This is not a wow! after one class I had abs! story because let's face it, I would need about a year of 5 times a week Pilates to give me abs PLUS a ton of cardio. This is a my goodness all the extra weight around my waist is beyond uncomfortable while crunching up into pilates positions story. Also- staring at yourself in a mirror for 50 minutes isn't pleasant either. Every fat bulge starts to look larger and larger. Add to that the recent pictures of me at the picnic and you end up with my going- my lord, I'm fat*, this really needs to be taken care of. Some may say, this was the rock bottom of my food addiction.

Enter my current program. I keep a food journal. I literally write down every single morsel that crosses my lips. I don't eat sugar, I don't eat processed foods. I cut out soda cold turkey. All soda (diet is bad for you). I am drinking water, I am eating veggies. I'm taking the one a day metabolism booster vitamin. If I crave something sweet, I eat fruit. Now, I am always hungry. I do not take this fact to mean that I am being overzealous about this and can never maintain it, I'm not. I think the "you'll never feel hungry" is one of the biggest lies these "I'm going to be nice and easy for you" programs do. You are retraining your body. Of course you are going to think you are hungry. You aren't. It's because your body is used to constant snacking and large portion sizes so you are being lied to by your brain. Usually drinking some water and/or eating a 0 calorie snack will do the trick.

Throw out all the gimmicks, points, Smart Ones meals, fake sugar free diet food crap, weight loss pills. Stop paying people to tell you what to do. It's not the way to go about it. Losing weight is simple- you put in less calories then you use. A deficit of approx. 500 calories a day will make you lose 1 lb a week. A deficit of 1000 calories a day will make you lose 2 lbs a week. That is well within healthy range.

Figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). This is how many calories you burn on a given day based on a formula that uses your height, weight, age and gender. (http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-How-Many-Calories-You-Need-to-Eat-to-Lose-Weight)

Then you account for your activity level.

The number you end up with is the number of calories you would eat if you wanted to remain the exact weight you are at the moment. Follow the above guideline for weight loss. If you hate to exercise, technically you can just subtract out the calories and eat less but keep in mind that it's unhealthy to drop below 1200 a day for women (plus it may lead to weight gain since your body will go into starvation mode clinging to it's own fat stores for survival). A much easier way is to try to hit that 500 or 1000 calories is through a combination of exercise and cutting food. Here's a great calorie calculator for pretty much any exercise you can think of (http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc). And here's a database to look up the calorie amounts in foods/drinks (http://www.calorielookup.com/).

If you are someone with a faster or slower metabolism then the norm, this will become obvious after a few weeks. Either you gain weight or you lose too fast. You can adjust the numbers accordingly until you find the trigger point.

See how I know all this, but yet just didn't care? That's laziness defined right there.

I WILL lose 30 lbs. This isn't a "I'm going to try to" it's a I WILL. I'm done with the excuses. I'm done with being asked constantly if I'm pregnant. I'm done with hating the way I look in clothes because I'm lumpy. I'm done with feeling uncomfortable when I exercise due to the extra weight. I'm just done.

My starting weight was 160lbs. My goal is 130lbs. But even more, my goal is to fit into clothes better, to slim down my face, to firm up my arms and for my thighs to not rub against each other anymore.

The way I'm going about this is:

My BMR is 1665 calories a day. I am trying to lose 2 lbs a week so I would hit my weight goal by mid October (just in time for Halloween costumes!). I need a deficit of 7000 calories a week (or 1000 a day).
I have a journal in which I write down everything I eat and everything I do. 20 minutes of housework? Goes in the activity log. Everything counts, no matter how small. Writing down everything you eat makes you pause and second guess what you are eating. Yes, it's a pain but I point out to myself that I won't do it forever. It's about retraining my body to be able to make healthy choices for itself.
I am trying to drink water constantly. At work I have a 24 oz bottle that I refill and leave on my desk. I find having it there makes me subconsciously drink more water then I ever thought I would. At home, I try to get up and drink a glass of water every hour. Not a large glass, just 8oz. Sometimes when we think we're hungry, we're just thirsty. This combats that. Plus, it makes you feel full.
I hate salad. Really, I hate lettuce. Weird- right? So I will never be someone that eats a salad for dinner and that's it. Instead we are eating from Cooking Light's recipes. They put all the recipes from each issue on line and they are tasty. I am trying to cut out as much eating out as possible (our household has a fast food/Chipotle addiction) and I refuse to eat extra and tell myself I'll work out later. I never do. It's just another lie I tell to myself. I work out first and THEN eat something extra. Everything that isn't processed or sugar is allowed, I didn't cut out carbs or bread or anything like that. Those are gimmicky and completely unsustainable. The key is moderation and going for the healthier options. Homemade is better than processed. Fruit and veggies is better than chips and french fries. Water/juice/milk is better than soda. Common sense really.
I hate the gym, so I will never be a gym rat. I hate everything about the gym; the time it takes out of my day, having a plan in my head and then not being able to do it because someone else is on the machine, the culture, the smell, the temperature they keep it, the guys who stare inappropriately at you, the monotony of being on a machine. I hate it all. My plan instead is to sign up for things like my Pilates workshop, some dance classes in the fall, maybe a Yoga package, continuing to do 5/10Ks which force me to prepare for them, Sunday morning walks with Alaina. Things that are fun, I look forward to, with concrete goals and end points.

I'll let you know how it goes.

*Please bear in mind that fat means different things to every one. To some of you I may appear thin, or completely fine. I am also not saying that because I view myself as fat I think anyone who is larger than me is obese. I think an overall goal is just to be comfortable in our own skin. To have bodies that are proportional, that we feel healthy with and that does not equal a specific number or weight across the board. It's different for everyone.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 24

2010-07-13T10:13:00.015-04:00

1. What is the worst movie you have ever seen?
Battlefield Earth, hands down.

Coming in second is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time which if you are my twitter friend you've heard my thoughts on before. If you aren't my twitter friend? Why not? Click my link on the right.

2. Do you have a favorite Disney/Pixar film?
Finding Nemo.

3. Do you have a favorite movie from the 80′s?
The Breakfast Club.

4. Are there any movies you saw more than once in the theater?
I saw Ever After 4 times in 3 days. In the theater. Purely because that was back when I was living in my mom's house and I would never say no to anything people asked me to do. I was that desperate to be out of the house as much as possible.

Also, back in my dating days I saw quite a few of the popular movies twice because I would date a few guys at the same time and they would both would want to see the same movie. (Disclaimer: I would not be serious with more than one guy at the same time or anything, I mean like early stage casual we're hanging out trying to figure out how much we actually like the other.)

5. What is one city/area of the US (or country you live if you do not live in the US) that you have not seen but would like to see?
I would love to see Texas. I know so many people who live there or used to live there and I've never seen any part of the state except for the San Antonio airport. It is a common stop for Utah bound persons to get stuck while travelling in the winter and SLC is delayed or closed due to snow.
6. What are your favorite toppings on an Ice Cream Sundae?
Hot fudge and bananas.

7. How many proms did you go to? What color was your prom dress? If you went to multiple proms, what color was your favorite prom dress?
Two, one junior year with my best guy friend and one senior year with my on again, off again high school boyfriend. I think my senior year one was the best because it was a princess dress. It was just fun to wear.

It was a light blue color. You can't really tell in the picture.

8. Is there a sport or extra-curricular activity that you didn’t get to try as a child that you wish you would have? (e.g. gymnastics, piano lessons, ballet, etc.)
I loved gymnastics and always, always wanted to do it. All my friends took gymnastics, but for two reasons I never could. 1) there was no where to take them that was on a bus line and we didn't have a car and 2) my mom was neurotic and determined I'd hurt myself.
I went through a phase as a kid when I told everyone that I was a gymnast training for the Olympics. I was a big old liar, liar.
9. How many siblings do you have? Are you the oldest, middle, or youngest?
Zero. I have two stepsisters but I was a big snot to them back when one was really trying to befriend me. Now I regret it because family is important and you can never have too much of it but I wouldn't even know where to start trying to find them.
Actually, technically I have three stepsisters but the first one is so much older than the rest of us that it would never have been practical for any of the three of us to be close to her. she came to a bday party of mine when I was like 8 I think. She was married with a kid who was barely younger than me. See what I mean?
If I count all of us (from my dad's three marriages) I'm the second to youngest. The oldest is by far the winner, then the bottom three of us are all within 5 years of each other.

10. Do you feel like you fit in with your age group? Or do you feel younger/older than your age group?
I've always been older than my age group, I think that comes with the territory of being an only child. You spend a lot of time around adults. It also comes from growing up with my mother who didn't really believe in childhood- once you were technically capable of taking care of yourself, you did. I was responsible for myself before/after school starting at 8. I got myself around on buses by myself when I was 10. I was completely paying for my own clothes/spending money/school stuff by 15. Funny enough though, my mother consistently tells people that I was an irresponsible teenager who put too much on her and didn't help her enough. She just isn't the most "maternal" person I've ever known, it was just easier for her to always think of me as a mini adult that lived in her house. The only area of my life that I have ever been immature about was relationships with others in my peer group and guys.

True story: Once I applied for a job and they called my old place of employment for a reference and asked if my age hampered my job at all, like if I would go out all the time or be focused on things other than work. Their response "if you weren't looking at her you would have no idea that she's as young as she is." Which is true.

Sometimes I feel as old as dirt.

Ten on Tuesday, It's July! edition

2010-07-06T10:22:00.004-04:00

1. If given the opportunity, would you choose a mediocre job that paid well or your dream job that paid poorly?
I've already made this choice a few times, and always picked the job that paid the best. In the area I live in, you don't really have a choice in the matter especially if you don't have the option of your parents helping you out or living with them for your first few years out of college.

In the long run, I plan to stay in the best paying job possible to pay back car loans, student loans and bulk up a savings account so that when we have kids I can go part time or stay at home. With that said, if I could find a job that was telecommuting I would take a bit of a pay cut because the flexibility that would give me would be worth it (especially if it were 100% telecommuting so I could work out of state and still effectively do my job.)

2. What is your favorite thing about the 4th of July? (For the foreigners: What is your impression of the 4th of July?) Picnics/BBQs. I love little more than having people over and sitting on the deck.

3. What’s the most random fact you know about American history?
The most random fact is that I know shockingly little about American history. I know the names of the wars we were in, I know the basic structure of facts regarding "discovery" of the Americas and through the establishment of the US. I do not know specific dates other then 1776. I have very little knowledge about the civil war although I live in an area where I'm surrounded by battlefields. I know really nothing about the people involved even though my mom literally lives down the street from many buildings where George Washington and the like ate, went to church, lived, peed, you name it.

I just wasn't interested in history. I had other things to care about like biology and math.

4. What is the best fireworks display you’ve ever seen?
I live in DC. I have seen the national fireworks more times then I can count. Most places don't have anywhere near the budget to surpass those.

5. Who taught you how to put on makeup?
My friend Lindsey and the MAC store. I didn't know anything about putting on makeup until about 3 years ago. True story. I look at pictures from before that when I would attempt to do my makeup for special occasions and I shudder. It was that bad.

My mother's method to girl stuff was don't start it and it's easier. That's what she said about everything from makeup to shaving my legs. I think her overall plan was to make me an unattractive hairy she-beast so that I was ostracized and no one would find me attractive. Thus, I would have no choice but to only concentrate on school.
Related side note: I also had to buy tampons secretly and hide them in my closet because my mother thought they were of the devil. I did a sport where I wore a spandex unitard and sat in a boat in the middle of water for hours upon hours in the day. You see the problem.

6. Have you ever gone through a financial planning process? Tell us about it.
No. I wish I had right after I got out of college though. So many shoes bought instead of money saved. What a waste. We have a whole new set of money issues now, mostly stemming from the fact that we have our money in two separate accounts but I tend to pay all the bills because I'm the one with more time. So every so often Bill ends up with ridiculous amounts of money in his checking account while I'm counting change to buy a soda at work. Also, this makes setting a budget for the "household" impossible. I realize that this is not the best method.

7. What was your favorite outfit as a kid? Bonus points for pictures.
The one that sticks in my head was that in 6th grade I had this oversize sweatshirt with graphic prints that I wore with black and white houndstooth leggings. I thought I was the bomb. (Hey! It was the late 80s/early 90s that's what we wore back then.) I also had a huge Steve Erkel head tshirt that I loved to death in 4th grade I think. So embarrassing.

8. Do you prefer a beach, lake, swimming pool, or no water?
To go into the water? Swimming pool. I don't go into natural bodies of water- between sea creatures and fears of undercurrents it's my worst nightmare. I prefer the beach overall though even if all I do is stick my feet in.

9. Do you recycle? If not, why?
Half heartedly. We are good about soda bottles and beer bottles but not so good about making sure everything that could be recycled is. Part of that is laziness since I think it's stupid to spend the time washing out bottles/cans and removing the labels. Why have they not thought of some automated system to take care of that for us?

10. What are your thoughts and feelings about the Twilight Saga?
This sums it up perfectly:

Twilight rant starts now- look away if you are into Twilight and are sensitive.

You have been warned.

Longer version: It's a bunch of poorly written books by a women with subpar writing skills who got insanely lucky with some ridiculous version of vampires where they don't have sex until marriage and sparkle in the sunlight. This stupid version is completely explained by the fact that she's mormon. The fact that she wrote all the books in 3 months or something like that shows how craptastic her writing skills really are (while some of you might say no that shows how skilled she is! No, it doesn't, because no one can write that much in 3 months if it has any level of quality. I guarantee she just threw some words down on paper and it was completely fixed by her editor's assistant who essentially did all the heavy lifting where writing it was concerned except for the concept.) I might understand why 11 year old girls like these books because, lets face it, 11 year old girls like any over romanticized story where cute boys obsess over normal girls "just like them" but the fact that grown adults actually read and go to these movies (and like them!) baffles me.

The only thing worse then the existence of these stupid books is the movies and the fact that they made that Robert guy and the chick who plays Bella famous. Everytime I see them I wish they would go away. The Robert guy needs to take a shower, badly, and that girl does nothing except for scowl and give barely literate interviews where she likens being a celebrity to being raped. *Buzz* Incorrect. Also, who gives two sh*ts if they are dating or not? I'd like to go to the supermarket and not be assaulted by pictures of them. I'd love to be able to read the gossip columns I used to like before they were inundated by "are they or aren't they" posts. I'd also love to go to movies anytime around when one of these are released and not be subjected to Twitards taking pictures of each other kissing the Edward poster/cutout.

My hatred of this franchise actually extends to my being unwilling to see any other movie that either of them are in out of some small hope that their movies will make no money and they'll go away. Even when otherwise the movies look good (see also: Runaways).

Second summary: I.Hate.Twilight. It is an insult to vampires... and werewolves, literacy and the intelligence of the human race.

Aren't you glad you asked?

7 Quick Takes, July 4th edition

2010-07-02T14:28:00.003-04:00

1. My husband and I had one of those days where he came home after I went to sleep and left before I woke up. So essentially I haven't seen him in two days. Thank goodness for Iphones and Facebook chat, right? The only proof he had been around was some weary half asleep moments of convo and his signature on our lease addendum that our landlord didn't mail to us until after the new lease year actually started. That one fact pretty much sums up our landlord.

2) One of those sleep hazed convos went something like this:

Him: "I need somewhere other than the floor to put my glasses at night."

Me: "Did you step on them again?"

So when I got up I broke out the measuring tape to see how to rearrange our room allowing for a nightstand. Our room is awkward, not very large with 3 windows that are awkwardly placed (and not even evenly spaced). Due to the windows there's really only one place we can put the bed and due to the fact that we have very very little closet space we also cram 3 dressers in there. None of them match. My issue is that once I get started on a "project" I can't just slightly do it. Now I want new bedding, new furniture, new layouts, new everything. I am trying to contain myself because extra money is not growing on trees.

3) Our 4th of July unexpectedly changed last night at about 10pm. Everyone should know by now how little I like my schedules being changed, so needless to say I'm minorly cranky about it. Not because I necessarily thought the planned idea was the most fun thing to do but because I already wrote it in my planner. In ink. Scratched out words are like nails on a chalkboard to me. Seriously. I habitually will rewrite an entire paper/list/whatever just because I messed up one word, don't like to scratch things out and can't find any whiteout. My neurosis is mesmerizing isn't it?

4) The other reason I am annoyed is because I kind of wanted to throw a 4th of July party with themed food and decorations. It's the best excuse ever to go obscenely tacky! Now it's too late because everyone has plans. Next year, though, we're on.

5) My in-laws moved to South Padre Island, TX approximately 3 months ago. The first hurricane of the season headed in their direction. What luck! I can't go out for a visit until Christmas so here's hoping that the oil stays away from their beaches and no hurricanes destroy it before then.

6) I realized that we have never changed the filter in our A/C unit. We've been there a year and I'd bet that our landlord never thought to do it before then. I looked up instructions and never realized that it was so easy. I'll head out to look for an allergen reducing one this weekend.

7) Have a happy 3 day weekend everyone! Use sunscreen, designated drivers and don't play with fireworks after consuming more than three drinks!

Lemony Orzo-Veggie Salad with Chicken

2010-07-01T08:00:00.009-04:00

As I may have mentioned yesterday- it's hot. Really hot. A prolonged temperature that we don't normally see until August and yet, end of June... heat activate!

This has left me with no desire to use my kitchen appliances, especially the oven because our kitchen is tiny and the first floor is tiny so cooking anything with steam? Steams up the whole house. Using the oven? Heats the already warm first floor.

So I present the perfect recipe for this weather. I made it on Tuesday night and figured out that it does work as a full dinner. Just the right amount of a full feeling between the orzo and the chicken for a hot summer night. Plus it only takes 20 minutes to make (even for a slow chopper like myself) and is minimal on the cooking.

Total: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked orzo
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one average sized lemon, I use lemon juice out of the container for most of my lemon juice needs but since you need rind anyway this is a perfect excuse to buy a fresh one)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (the original recipe only uses 1 cup but we like food a bit heartier in this house)
1 cup diced cucumber (works out to about 1/2 an average sized cucumber)
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (We love onions so I upped this ingredient as well)
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (I hate dill but I can tolerate it in small doses. For this reason, I put less in then the recipe calls for and it worked out to be quite yummy, even for those who don't like dill.)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (The original recipe calls for goat cheese but my husband doesn't like goat cheese. Feta worked nicely- just make sure you don't oversalt the water you are cooking the orzo in or it may make your salad too salty.)

Preparation

1. Cook orzo according to package directions (I cook orzo like pasta, which is probably the wrong way to do it but it works great for all the summer salads I use it for. I just bring water to a boil add a bit of salt and then the orzo, cook for about 8 minutes).

2. Drain and rinse with cold water (I don't rinse my pasta, it actually pulls off nutrients and flavor when you do that. Or so Italians say, and since it's kinda their field I believe them. If you just make sure to not overcook the pasta to begin with it's fine, also just allow a bit of time for it to cool.); place in a large bowl.

3. Combine lemon rind and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over orzo; toss to coat.

4. Add chicken and next 4 ingredients (through dill); toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with cheese.

Because of Bill's job, we generally eat dinner at different times. This salad tastes just fine cold and refrigerated. So great that he ate all the salad that was left in about 20 minutes flat. Because it was that good.

Original recipe can be found on Cooking Light. The nutritional information is under it, but if you follow my ingredient list the nutritional info will be wrong. However, since the original only has 275 calories per serving, I think we all have a bit of room until this would become a fattening meal.

In other food links: Fine Cooking has a new deal where they'll send you one recipe every Mon-Fri that is 30 min or less. Sign up here. Just a warning, their normal recipes/magazine generally have multi part recipes that involve a lot of technique and ingredients that aren't in most home pantries/spice racks. I'm not sure if this new feature will be different, we'll see.

Summer=Company Picnics

2010-06-30T11:17:00.000-04:00

You know what is not fun? Company picnics in 98 degree weather. This was not "feels like 98" this was actually 98 in a humid/always feels hotter than that area. It was like torture.

Due to the beauty of volunteer roaming photographers we can now remember this wonderful time through 4 super flattering pictures.

Hi there, back of Kim. How is it possible that I never think I look this fat, ever? Also, when I asked Bill before we left "does this outfit look okay" I clearly should not have listened to his yes. Last, when will I remember that when wearing racerback shirts one must wear a racerback bra or your bra strap will constantly show which is incredibly classy.

Most of the time I don't really think of Bill as a big guy... then I see pictures like this. You can see me on the right corner to do a comparison. Keep in mind that I am not a particularly short/small girl. Notice the VT hat on a guy from Georgia. The brainwashing is complete! *evil laugh*

This pic isn't so bad I guess other than the fact that I look hot, my shirts are constantly slightly off center and oh yeah, the omni present bra strap.

Bill's thinking "dude I'm too hot for this sh*t", I'm just thankful that this isn't the worst picture ever taken of the two of us. Soon after this picture was taken he changed into the blue shirt he's wearing in the above picture. If that doesn't illustrate how hot it was- requiring two separate shirts to make it through 3 hours of picnic time, nothing will.

Oh except maybe this.... we left 20 minutes before the free BBQ dinner because we couldn't take it anymore. Plus we were so hot we had zero desire to eat. BBQ. Free. Ribs and Chicken. *SIGH*

We have one more company picnic to get through this summer, here's hoping it's not quite so hot!

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 22

2010-06-29T10:56:00.000-04:00

1. What was/is your favorite live action (meaning not animated) kids movie?

It's a toss up between The Neverending Story and The Labyrinth. Both= Awesome.

2. What is a bad habit you have? Are you working on breaking it?
I have a couple. I'm late a lot because I always underestimate how much time it will take me to get from A to B. I bite my nails which is gross. I'm very addicted to caffeine. All three I'm constantly working on.

3. Describe your father in 3 words.
Jerk, Weak... look at that I only needed 2.

4. Which character in the Breakfast Club were you most like in the ’80s?
Claire probably. I wished I were like Allison because she was interesting weird but really, I wasn't interesting weird. I was a goody two shoes who sometimes tried to be weird.

5. Name 5 songs you know ALL the lyrics to.
Ice Ice Baby- Vanilla Ice
One Week- Bare Naked Ladies
Wanted Dead or Alive- Bon Jovi
Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sweet Child O' Mine- Guns and Roses

I also know all the lyrics to a lot of Christian rock and pop songs because I sing in the band in my church and after you sing a song so many times it's kinda hammered in your brain.

6. Do you make pancakes from scratch or a box mix?
Truthfully- I rarely make pancakes. 1) I don't really like them 2) Bill usually makes breakfast in our house. If left to my own devices I never eat breakfast foods unless we go out to brunch or something.

When they are made though? From a box. A box that I think expired a year ago because it takes us that long to go through one small box of Bisquick.

7. What was your worst job ever? Why?
The 3 days I worked at Subway. Two words sum up why it was so horrible- the smell. Just think of how Subway smells when you walk in. Now imagine you work there... and when they are first training you, your job is essentially just cutting up all the veggies. So my hands perma smelled of onions and the rest of me smelled like that disgusting mixture of cleaning solution and sandwich meat. There weren't enough showers in the world to wash that off.

I never even went back for the paycheck. Luckily for me I got hired at the Dairy Queen two weeks later which was hands down the best job I've ever had.

8. What was your favorite class in high school?
AP Biology. Our teacher was really good, he even won a Presidential Award for Teaching and had like a 90% track record of his students getting a 4 or 5 on the exam. I got a 5. Just FYI ;-)

9. Favorite summer guilty pleasure?
I honestly can't think of one. Most of my guilty pleasures last all year round. Ice Cream I'll eat in a blizzard, chick lit I'll read anytime and lying around and being lazy is synonymous with weekend in my house.

10. Please share your best money saving tip!
Meal planning. The amount of money eaten up (ha! puns are fun!) by eating out, take out, fast food, and buying lunches adds up very very quickly. When I'm good at the follow through with meal planning we save a ton of money, sometimes I get lazy though and the Chipotle app is just so easy.

I'm intrigued by the cash envelope method of budgeting. I may try it in the very near future. It's just too easy to swipe without thinking about it.

7 Quick Takes, Celebrity Edition

2010-06-25T11:35:00.003-04:00

I didn't do this week's ToT but there was a question in it about whether or not I've met anyone famous. I've, in fact, met several famous people, and several sort-of-at-the-time famous people. Because it's me, these stories are more amusing then awesome. I decided to use these stories for my 7 Quick Takes this week:

1) Michael Landon (actor; Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven)- When I was a small child my parents and I were in Hawaii for a little bit and there's a couple pictures of me sitting on his lap. Apparently we were living somewhere near where he was and my parents got to know him.

2) Donald Trump- My dad lived(s) in Atlantic City so when I'd go see him it generally involved time spent in and around Trump Plaza. One day I was goofing off as I am apt to do, not paying attention, and ran straight into Donald Trump. Almost knocked him over. He was nice about it though, later I figured out that his kids were right around my age so he was probably used to stupidity.

3) Barry Privett (lead singer of Carbon Leaf)- My college boyfriend turned best guy friend used to give out "bootlegs" of live shows for up and coming bands. The secret is that they weren't really bootlegs, the bands let him hook straight up into the soundboards to record because they realized that he did a great job promoting them while costing them nothing. So we'd go to random concerts in our college area and get in really early for him to hook everything up, at one Carbon Leaf concert Barry Privett sat down and started talking to me since I was just sitting around. I was slightly obsessed with said college boyfriend/friend and I didn't notice how cute Barry actually is so later on I was kinda kicking myself for not paying more attention to him.

4) Bob Dylan- In college I was on the student activities board co-running the broadway musicals and plays we'd bring to campus. I also assisted with the other committees including concerts. For Bob Dylan's concert he brought an entire outdoor kitchen and staff with him (actually rather awesome) and my job was going back and forth to the grocery store all day to get the stuff they all needed. At one point I was sent to get beer and got the wrong bottles. Thus, I will always equate Bob Dylan to the sentence "Long necks, I wanted long necks. These are not long necks."

5) Blues Traveler band members- Also through the previously mentioned student activities board. Alaina's story is better than mine because John Popper talked to her about the dog she was walking (the dog was our head tech's). All I did was take ice to their bus and have them invite me to stay. I turned them down. I think Alaina was there too- were you? I can't remember if it was you or Mandy... not an insult it was just forever ago :-P

During this time I also drove Chrystal Method back to their hotel (I know nothing about the band so I'm not sure how many of them I took or who, but I did not appreciate the sexual shenanigans going on in the backseat with skankwads) and there was some other band that Alaina and I drove back and forth from their hotel in a large van maybe a week after I got my driver's license. Driving that big van was terrifying, the band was really nice. I can't remember who they were now though. Like I said, long time ago.

As for the semi-famous-at-the-time people-

6) Sanjaya! You know, the guy from American Idol who was a terrible singer and stayed on for forever? I used to participate in Vote for the Worst and we loved Sanjaya hands down for the sheer entertainment value. I met him and got him to sign a hairspray bottle. True fact: Sanjaya is the only person I ever met that made me nervous, I think I even stammered. I'm sure he was thinking dear lord this old lady is creepy! What's wrong with her?

7) I know three other people who were on a season of American Idol. My friend Linds knew the first, then I met the others through the first and we all got along really well. I am not listing the names because I learned a long time ago that their fans are no less than insanely crazy. I am not exaggerating when I say that if I wrote down the names, it would come up in some Google Alert and all of them would think I was dating/involved/secretly married to one of them and I'd get hate mail. This post would also end up reposted on all their fan forums (I know this because a picture of my backside once ended up in a fan forum just because I was standing next to one of them and the comments were something like "who is that skank?!?! is he dating HER??!!! why would he, she's ugly!!!" I wish I were kidding.)

True fact 2: I went to a concert with Linds that was unrelated to these people (and like a year after their season) except that one of them happened to attend it. When said friend and I got to the hotel the same crazy fans that followed him around at his concerts (with the American Idols Live Tour) were also staying there and were flat out mean to us. Like barely a level above spitting on us mean. Because they remembered us. Which is also creepy because we just look like ordinary people with no distinguishing characteristics. We didn't know at the time but the concert we went to had overlapping fans with said American Idol boy.

So there you go, my brush with fame. Obviously, living in DC I have also met a few senators/representatives but they are not really famous. Also, my mom worked for the previous prophet of the Mormon Church so I knew him. I didn't even know until I was like 14 that most people don't ever get to meet him until I casually mentioned it at Young Womens and everyone was uber impressed. But since I doubt anyone reading this is Mormon no one cares about that.

Have a great weekend!

Chickens!

2010-06-24T09:50:00.000-04:00

"I want to get chickens."

"Yeah okay."

"Really? Look it's a hen house that we plop down in our yard, don't have to build and when we move we can take the chickens with us."

"You hate birds." (It's true, I do. I love all of god's animal creatures except for birds which I hate. I blame my mother and her continually referring to our parakeet as my sister.)

"But we could get our eggs from them. I'd go out and play with them, talk to them, sing to them. Happy chickens make yummy eggs!"

"No."

*sigh*

She's crafty - she's got a gripe

2010-06-16T16:51:00.003-04:00

I'm full of gripes today, it's just one of those days.

Our weather has been terrible lately. Muggy hot, drizzly, overcast. Ugh.
Work annoys me.
The people annoy me.
Other people annoy me.
I haven't had anytime to work out.
I'm hungry all the freaking time. (curses to trying to lose weight!)
I'm having motivation issues.
I'm getting a headache.
I can't ever seem to wake up on time.

I'm trying to focus on the positive.... I have a four day weekend this week!

....Yeah, that's all I got. I'm clinging to that one thing like a champ though.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 21

2010-06-08T12:31:00.000-04:00

1. What does your car say about you? If you don’t have a car, what kind of car would be your daily driver?

My car says "efficient with no frills" which translates to when I originally bought it I had a complete lack of savings nor any extra cash per month so I bought something with the minimum amount of automatic features because I heard that they break more often. I think this is actually true because I've only had two repairs in about 5 years; one was due to someone hitting (and running) into the back of my car in my office parking lot due to ice- they bent the frame, exhaust area which was $1000 fix *ouch!* and the second was due most likely to my hitting a pot hole at too high of a speed and pulling off something on the fuel line. In my defense, we had so many potholes after the winter of doom it was impossible to miss all of them and some were deep enough to swim in.

2. To this point, what has been your purpose on this planet?
Sometimes it feels like my sole purpose is to work. I've been working since I was 15, and from 15- 27 I almost always had two jobs. Not going to lie- I'm kind of tired... already... and I still have at least 35 more years until I can retire.

3. If you could trade places with any person for any amount of time, who would it be?
Every summer I wish that I could work remotely all the time so I could take walks by the river during lunch or just even move to the beach for 3 months and work from there. I'd like to trade places with anyone who gets to do that.

4. What is your favorite kind of cake? If you don’t like cake, what is it about it that you don’t like?
I'm one of those who isn't a huge fan of cake. It's just too sugary and I hate most icing. Also, all too often the cake is dry. However, I did like our wedding cake more than I normally like cake and that's because we had buttercream frosting and it was a light, fruit filled cake which was a great deal less sweet then normal.

5. Would you have wanted to live in your parents’, grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ generation or only your own?
There are benefits to each one I think and also negatives. The only thing I don't like about our current generation is how plugged in we all are all the time. I think we've lost the art of quiet time since we are all constantly multitasking and people expect to be able to get a hold of us 24/7.

6. Do you have any home remedies for illnesses, cleaning or otherwise?
To get stubborn mold out of grout, use a bleach pen. Not too original but it's all I have. Also, if you are getting a cold take a lot of vitamin C, but most people do that.

7. What is your ideal weather situation?
80, Sunny with a slight breeze. What can I say? I like it hot.

8. What is your best attribute (physical or personal)?
Physical- My eyes.

Personal- I'm dependable. If I say I'm going to do something, I do it unless I have a darn good reason not to and then I'll still fret about it.

Like last Sunday, Alaina and I go walk 3 miles by the river before church and accidentally locked my keys in the car. We had to send her bf to church to do the stuff she normally does and to tell the band I wouldn't be there, but I really worried about it and felt horrible for not being able to make it because I specifically told them I would be there that week. Obviously I had a good reason why not (we had to wait for a locksmith to find us in a random parking lot on the side of the road) to get my car open but still, felt like I let them down. I guarantee the band probably didn't give it more than 5 seconds of thought.

9. Do you text or surf while driving?
Rarely. I talk a lot on the phone while driving since I have the attention span of a gnat (thus can't do only one thing at a time) but I draw a line at texting or checking email or surfing or anything of that sort. It's just way, way too distracting.

10. How long have you known your best friend?
Known her for 17 years, been friends with her for 13. We went to the same middle school but didn't really run in the same circles so we knew of each other but never really befriended until we were in band together in high school.

Now I'm Moving This Way, Doing This Thing

2010-06-03T01:20:00.004-04:00

So I have this ex who I dated right before I met my husband... an ex I sort of dated for like 4 years, broke up with, a few months later was dating Bill... and then I was engaged in less than a year. Now there is a lot of back story on this "relationship" like the fact that he in fact, only admitted that we were actually in one as of about... oh, when I told him I was engaged- but that's another story for another day (maybe). We also broke up a few times and got back together, but since I started dating him when I was 23/24, I essentially was with him all of my adult life until I wasn't. And then I was married. The End.

This all creates a weird juxtapositional vibe to our entire friendship since we still hang out once in awhile. He is still the same guy that is always going out drinking, going to concerts, living with roommates he barely speaks to, going to Vegas and coming back with weird stories and then he says so what have you been up to? Oh lets see, my brother in law was here last weekend and he and my husband played a lot of video games while I made cookies, then I had a really great coupon for such and such and that excited me, maybe we'll go to a movie next weekend... are your eyes glazing over? Are you even still listening to me?* Now, don't get me wrong I love my life and wouldn't trade it for that one in a zillion years, honestly it just sounds tiring, but we are most definitely in vastly different vicinities whereas 3 years ago we were in the same place and that's just jolting to realize. In the everyday it's just not something I think about.

Then there's the baggage that I realize I shouldn't still have since I clearly have moved on to a better place but it was never really dealt with. I felt petty ever trying to bring it up since it's so clearly past the expiration date. Like the reason we broke up for the final time. Let's just say it was a girl, and not one he cheated on me with or dated or is dating however he commonly says she's his ideal and has had a massive crush on her since high school. Let's also say that he chose to take her as his date to a friend's wedding instead of the girl he had been dating for 4 years. Oh, did I mention she is also married? Giant purple elephant in the room of our past relationship. At all times. Like when he starts talking at a recent dinner about how hot she is and how hot his friends thought she was and how they were surprised he had such a hot girl who hung out with him. Not that that happened or anything..... now while I know that logically that should not bother me in the least; it still stings, feels insulting, and makes me want to go run about 300 miles and go anorexic to lose all 30 of my extra lbs. What is it about the past that can still bite us in the butt? I think it's really just a version of that urge we all have to look like a supermodel with the happiest life ever whenever we run into an ex, especially one that at some point broke our heart into a zillion pieces and didn't even notice. Not that that ever happened either.

*For purposes of illustration I am only mentioning the mundane and not the BBQ we had last weekend during which Bill puked in our utility sink then got mad at the guy who refused to keep playing beer pong with him, the drinking game of staying sober death (seriously, NEVER EVER play anything with the name Waterfall in it if you have anything to do before noon the following day) and the fact that I passed out somewhere between the boys playing heavy metal on Rock Band while Lindsey sort of sang the lyrics of words she didn't know. Those events don't make the juxtaposition as obvious, and are also rare.

I don't really talk about myself much, I am going to start to change that because I think this blog is boring which is an insult to myself. For now, if any new people are curious feel free to learn 27 random things about me.

In lieu of a post...

2010-06-02T14:31:00.002-04:00

because that would involve original thought and writing, I give you links.

I am usually not a fan of home design websites and homes they showcase because never, in a million years could I or would I live in anything that is all white, has uncomfortable furniture, looks like a child got let loose in Willy Wonka's factory to decorate... or ate too much and then threw up all over the walls, has no actual ceilings to rooms but the top of the "airy" space is covered in pipes, nor will I ever pay $5000 for an armchair. However, this place I like, especially the red hallway featuring a polka dot runner with the black and white checkered floor and the green office that my dreams were made of! Yay for not being cookie cutter! I do have to systematically ignore the picture of the rusty chair next to their bed because rust is not cute. Rust looks like dirt. I dislike dirt.
Have you ever seen someone catch a heavy duty, battery back up surge protector on fire? Now you have! I have no idea how I did it either, according to IT they've never seen anything like it before.
This is an interesting read, but what I fail to understand is when and why it became so taboo to just utter the thing we are all thinking- why not just counsel the girls NOT to get into sexual relationships at such a young age? It's all well and good to teach them about healthy relationships and what to do in case of abuse but I fail to see how a teenager in middle or high school being in a time consuming, committed relationship with one person ever leads to anything good. Not only will they have sex before they are ready but it also takes focus off of what should be important at that age. Learning, friends, extra curriculars and figuring out who YOU are as a person, an individual without defining yourself based on someone else. There's just better stuff to do, places to go, people to see. This statement is why my kids will hate me at least one time during their adolescence.
An in-depth look at the spate of murders in SE DC last summer (Part II will be out tomorrow). For those of you who don't live in the area, certain areas of DC are akin to war zones- one in particular called Trinidad where you aren't even allowed to drive in anymore without proof that you live there. Police have no clue what to do about it and as this in-depth story reveals there is a reason for that. There is no logic, no thought process behind what's going on. In this case it was a cheap, simple bracelet that set off a string of murders, retribution, more murders, etc in a neighborhood where no one "snitches" in fear of retribution and no one seems to bat an eye at someone storing an AK-47 in their house. There has to be something we can do about this all too common form of urban violence; I can't believe our current methods are the best possible ways to go about it but I'm not sure what the answer is.
So we don't end on a depressing note- a picture. It's hard to tell which face is funnier... or if the pointy terrified cat ears popping up beat both.

Law enforcement spouses as seen on TV- fact or fiction?

2010-05-27T13:23:00.007-04:00

I love cop shows. Law and Order and all it's counterparts, NCIS, The Wire, and lately I've been watching a crime drama from Lifetime called Missing. Setting aside how it's obviously a Lifetime show since it makes the FBI look overflowing with women (who wear belly baring shirts and Jimmy Choos) the one thing I loved was how little it delved into the personal lives of the law enforcement involved.

My perception on things has changed greatly since marrying a man who works in Law Enforcement. To illustrate I present the following:

I used to love the movie Air Force One. I just watched it for the first time since I met Bill and all I could focus on was all the Secret Service Men who were shot and killed. And then I start thinking about their wives and families at home. Actually this happens with pretty much any movie that any type of officer is killed. I didn't used to notice.
I hate guns. I don't like to touch them, I never wanted one in my house. Now I sleep with a loaded gun beside the bed and I don't even think about it anymore. His brother was visiting last weekend and went to wake Bill up (who sleeps until 3pm on weekends if you let him), then came downstairs and was like "I can't believe you let him keep that thing right next to the bed." I can honestly say I had on some level forgotten it was there. When we have kids obviously it will not be kept like that but for now, there's no one that is going to accidentally shoot themselves since I don't touch it.
My awareness of what cops are actually like and what their spouses are like.

Which leads to my complete annoyance with how they portray law enforcement spouses (and for that matter perpetuate the stereotype that all cops cheat on their wives). There are a few things that I do know-

most people who go into the law enforcement field do so because they have strong opinions of what is "right" and what is "wrong." While obviously there are dirty cops and those who do cheat on their wives out there, just as many of them are willing to skewer someone for it because it's wrong. Wrong is of great significance to them. While I am sure that Bill will probably be tempted at some point in his life and while he has plenty of time out of the house and long working hours when I don't always have any idea of where he is or when he'll get home I can honestly say that I fully believe he wouldn't actually cheat. If only because of the fact that is classified strongly as wrong in his mind. He is not alone on that one.
In order to be the spouse of someone in law enforcement you have to realize that you will get lonely, you will shoulder a lot of the stuff in your home and if you have kids you will been in charge of a lot more of their care. That's just a fact. Their hours are not flexible, they don't have telecommuting options, they don't always know when they will be home so I present this handy checklist for you to decide if being a law enforcement spouse is really for you-

If you want someone who will be home every single day for dinner at 6pm, do not marry a cop. If you don't want to be doing load after load of laundry just so they don't have to do it at 1am after they worked a double and have to be back in to work at 7am, don't marry a cop. If you don't want to be the one who runs all the errands from bank runs, to the bulk of the grocery shopping, to waiting for the electrician, to taking kids to Dr. Appts, do not marry a cop. If you aren't able to push aside the fact that on any given day something may go very, very wrong and the reality of your night may be very different then your morning, do not marry a cop or you will spend the rest of your life as a ball of anxiety and stress (and miserable). If you can't deal with the fact that they can't and won't always talk to you about every aspect of their work day, don't marry a cop.

These are just common sense and the vast majority of us understand these facts- so why is it that EVERY SINGLE spouse is shown as insipid whiners? None of them, if they were being honest with themselves would have passed that checklist. It's insulting. On Law and Order: SVU Stabler's wife constantly whined that he didn't help her enough, spend enough time with the kids, that he talks to his partner more than her and never tells her about his day. I am constantly talking to the tv saying, oh so he was supposed to ignore the raped 6 year old to go home and go grocery shopping? He's supposed to give you confidential info on a file just to tell you about his day? According to your strange disillusionment of what he is supposed to be like?

I loved Missing because it never had that element... until last night when one of the character's wives locked him out of the house because he said he'd be home for dinner at 7pm and didn't show up. She locked him out of the house. Now you may not realize what this would mean, but lets say that one day I decided to throw a hissy fit and be upset that Bill said he'd be home at 7 but didn't show up until midnight, but not through words... by changing the locks while he's at work so when he shuffles home after working for 16+ hours, feet hurting and starving he realizes oh wait I can't get inside.

Then I come to the door and say "oh? are you noticing me NOW!" but still refuse to let him in and say "sleep in your car."

That would be grounds for immediate divorce because it's mean spirited, stupid, immature, whiney and quite frankly by saying "I do" to someone you know is going to work in law enforcement for the duration of your marriage you give up the right to be angry because they don't always show up exactly when they say they will.

I got even more annoyed when they had the character show up at their house a few days later (on a weekday) and she was gardening illustrating that she does not, in fact, have a job. Then she proceeded to whine about how neglected she feels and unhelpful he is. I would like to interject here that there is nothing wrong with women not working outside of the home, in fact if you can swing it on one salary sometimes it works out better that way. However, one of my greatest pet peeves is when a woman's sole job is the home and still expects her husband to work an outside job and then come home to contribute 50% of the household and child responsibilities. That would be like him expecting her to do all of her job and then go to work for him 50% of the time. Not that he shouldn't help, just that it shouldn't be expected to be even when the home IS her job. *gets off of soapbox*

Now while I may roll my eyes from time to time while venting to my best friend about the fact that I was sick and the dishes sat in the sink for 5 days until I felt better when it comes down to it I don't really mind the work. The fact of the matter is, I work a job with set hours and am home between 4-6 every day. I can work from home when I need to and it's really no skin off my nose to run errands. Especially when the alternative is only doing my "half" and then informing my exhausted, overworked husband that he can't go to sleep because he needs to complete his "half" of the chores. Then he should go work another double on 2 hours of sleep... because that's safe.

If I were a wife from a crime drama that's apparently exactly what I should do. Or do all of it and then complain** incessantly about the life that I... wait for it... signed up for. Oh, and of course- lock him out with zero warning just to get attention.

**To be more clear when I say complain I don't mean venting here and there, or getting discouraged once in awhile. Trust me, that happens to all of us. I mean complaining to the point of extreme actions/constant whining to your spouse/constant complaining to every one around you/unhappiness to the point where it fully affects your life.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 20

2010-05-25T11:40:00.002-04:00

1. What is your favorite piece of furniture in your house?

The basement couch. When we moved in to our current home, we refused to move the broken, old, debilitated couch that we had one more time so that went into the dumpster. Instead we got new ones, one for the living room (it's red) and one for the basement guy den (tan). I actually like the couch in the basement so much more then the one upstairs- its a huge sectional with plenty of room for two people to lie on at the same time, but it doesn't fit upstairs.

2. If it was raining so hard on a Saturday that you couldn’t leave your house, what would you spend the day doing?

Probably watching whatever mind numbing marathon was on- Law and Order, America's Next Top Model, whatever Bravo is airing... this past weekend it was a show called Jerseylicious. What is it about Jersey lately?

3. What was your favorite candy as a child?

Pixie Sticks. Candy was completely unallowed in our house (along with all sugary foods) so I hid them in the battery compartment of my boom box. I don't really know if I actually liked Pixie Sticks that much or if they were just the perfect size to fit and the quickest way to injest as much sugar as humanly possible in a short amount of time .

4. Did you get an allowance? What was it based on? What did you do with it?

Ha, no. When I was 15 my mother declared she was no longer even buying me clothes so it was up to me to get a job. Her idea was that an allowance was like paying children to do stuff around the house that they should do anyway. While on one level I agree with that, I think that unless your kid wants really expensive stuff or a car forcing them to work while in high school for bare necessities is adding unnecessary stress to their lives.

A couple that I used to know dealt with their teenagers this way: their primary jobs were to be students. As long as their grades stayed up, their priorities were straight, etc they would give them money (within reason) when they needed it such as going to the movies or things like that. They were also allowed to borrow the family car for approved outings. They could babysit to save up for extras as long as it did not impact their grades. That method makes a lot more sense to me.

5. Do you have a favorite Etsy store?

Not really, I love to look at the stuff on Etsy but I rarely buy anything. I know that homemade is better but Walmart and Target are cheaper. *bad Kim* I AM currently considering buying one or two of these headbands though:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Precocious?ga_search_query=precocious&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

I've been on a constant search for comfortable headbands that stay on. I'm waffling due to the $10 each price tag.

6. Do you prefer time with family or time with friends?

I personally don't have a lot of family- it was just me and my mom so my friends became my family. My husband's family is great though, I'd love to spend more time with them but they live too far away.

7. Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, or Animaniacs?

Animaniacs with Tiny Toons coming in a close second.

8. Best daytime talk show: Oprah, Ellen, The Doctors, Tyra (ha!), Dr. Oz, or Dr. Phil?

None. The only daytime talk shows I find even mildly entertaining are the ones like "he fathered 5 babies that were born all the same day! and then he says none of them are his!!!!"

9. Would you rather have the power of invisibility or the ability to fly?

Invisibility. I'm nosey.

10. Name 1 thing you love about being an adult.

Being able to eat ice cream whenever I want.

Read more Ten on Tuesday here.

A back ache isn't always just a back ache

2010-05-24T07:06:00.002-04:00

This story starts two Wed nights ago when I started having a pain in my lower right abdomen. It was just a tinge but continued to get progressively worse throughout Thurs. Thursdays are my really busy work meeting days so I ended up going to urgent care after hours at my local Kaiser Permanente office. They ran blood work and a urinalysis which came back normal and the doctor barely hid the fact that she clearly thought I was making it all up. (side note: The lab downstairs had only one employee and was so backed up the doctor was calling every 20 minutes to scream at them for not having test results in yet.) She said to call for an ultrasound appt, maybe it was a cyst and just to take ibuprofen in the meantime. When I called the next day for the appt the earliest opening they had was the following Thursday-6 days later. For someone with a history of burst cysts this seems asinine but what could I do?

On Friday we left for a camping trip, side pain and all (though the side pain wasn't as bad as it had been), Saturday night it randomly got worse for about 20 minutes and then disappeared. Sunday morning I woke up and felt fine, was doing dishes after breakfast and bam! my lower back felt like it was on fire. I blamed it on the lower than normal sink and the fact that I had been camping, sleeping in a tent on a small air mattress. When we got home I had dinner club already planned and I grinned it and bared it through the back pain until curling up in bed with a heating pad on it that night. The heating pad seemed to help.

Monday morning I woke up feeling fine and the morning was okay but by mid afternoon I could barely move my back hurt so badly. Walking, sitting, lying down all hurt. I chalked it up to sitting in an office chair that isn't the most supportive for the back for too long and went home where I promptly attached myself to the couch and heating pad, only moving to the bed with heating pad later. I called the Kaiser line to tell them of this new symptom and once again, I honestly believe they thought I was making it up. They said to take ibuprofen and if I wanted to come into Urgent Care again they'd make me an appt. Here's the problem with urgent care- they have no ultrasound equip so if it's a cyst like they believed there would be literally nothing they could do until my already scheduled appt which I just had to make it to because they could not move it up. I would not think it was anything else since the doctor told me all my other tests were normal.

Tuesday morning I once again felt better when I woke up but by Tuesday midday I made this tweet:

At this point, the only thing that made me feel at all better was the trusty heating pad. My husband was starting to think that I had injured a vertebrae but it wasn't just in my back. The pain was in the original right lower abdomen spot, along my entire lower back and wrapped around my hips. By the afternoons I was in tears from the pain. Now many of you might question why I was even at work in the first place, but that's just how I am. If I have work to do, I'll be there. If I have meetings, I will be there. I have been at work in pretty much every stage of various illnesses. I take off work for two reasons: 1) migraines because they mess with my vision enough that it would be dangerous for me to drive and 2) anything gastrointestinal because being at work during something like that is just uncomfortable. That's it, and when I do take off I am always working from home.

I get home on Tuesday night, skip the couch and go straight to bed. The heating pad isn't even helping at this point, the only position at all comfortable is on my back with my knees pulled to my chest... but when I say comfortable I mean on the scale of having needles stuck directly into nerve centers or next to them it was next to them. The ibuprofen I was taking was no longer even taking the edge of the pain away. As I went to sleep I tweeted this:

Wed morning, as was the pattern by now, the pain wasn't so bad when I first woke up but then progressively got worse much earlier then in previous days. I also had a training class Wed morning at work requiring me to sit in a chair and not move for 3 hours. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was like torture. When I got back to the office I called the Kaiser line again saying that I know that my ultrasound appt is the next day and I've been trying to wait but I can't anymore. It's just too much. The advice nurse actually literally scoffed and said that she could not believe that they hadn't brought me in sooner for the tests. My doctor was completely booked (she always, always is) but she'd send an emergency note to them to try to get me in ASAP. I waited, and waited... and waited. At 4 I called back because I had heard nothing. Because this is an HMO you don't have the option of just going to the ER unless it's life threatening or your doctor gives the okay so I basically was just like "look, I am in pain. I cannot even fully describe how I feel right now so either I need an appt right now with any tests you need to run or I need an okay to go to the ER." I guarantee my doctor's nurse didn't believe me either. That seems to be the theme of all of this. I am sure that's partly my fault since to most logical people it would make sense that if I was really in that much pain 1) I would not be calling them from work or 2) I would have already gone to the ER. However, they underestimate my work ethic and how incredibly cheap I am. Unless I have a reasonable expectation that they will actually pay for the ER trip I'd probably sit on the side of a road bleeding to death so afraid of the eventual bill.

Finally the advice nurse said the doctor says she can see you tomorrow afternoon or you can go to the ER tonight. The fact that the earliest they could do was the following afternoon at 3pm shows how incredibly unconcerned they were. To fully explain why this is ridiculous (and probably a bit of TMI), I have a history of reoccurring UTIs due to a birth defect (my urinary tract is much shorter than normal people's), a hiatal hernia that predisposes me to ulcers and a history of at least one ruptured cyst that sent me via ambulance to the ER. If for no other reason then those items in my history one would think they may have taken me a tad more seriously.

I get home, go to bed with the heating pad and finally declare that the pain has won, we are going to the ER and hopefully won't get sacked with a massive bill. Best decision I have ever made since my issue had nothing to do with something you'd find on an ultrasound and the test that shows what was wrong was one they already ran and apparently tested incorrectly. So what would have happened instead was I'd go in for the ultrasound, which would have been normal (I know this because they also did one at the hospital), go to the doctor where she'd look at all the tests they already ran and maybe give me a pain killer and dismiss me. Obviously I don't know this for a fact but I've had Kaiser long enough to know what they do.

I had a kidney infection. Now for those of you who aren't aware you can't get a kidney infection without first getting a UTI/bladder infection and then the infection moves up into your kidneys. Where it then festers and causes a lot of pain in addition to other symptoms. On the informational sheet they give you from the hospital about kidney infection the number 1 thing is get prompt treatment for UTIs so it never moves into your kidneys. But I tried to do that! I get enough UTI's (see above) that I know the symptoms like the back of my hand and went in back in April with symptoms. They said I was fine. I got another urinalysis when I went into urgent care almost exactly a month since I went in in April, once again got an all clear. Then someone with a history of urinary infection problems is calling you almost daily saying they have defacto flank pain (abdominal pain that streaks to the lower back) and you are so unconcerned that you don't at the very least have them come in for another urinalysis much less make room in your appt book? Fail. Massive, massive fail.

They gave me a narcotic pain killer while at the hospital and it didn't even fully take away the pain I was in, if that illustrates it for you any better. However, after just two doses of antibiotics the pain was gone. That's it. Thank goodness to the ER doctor who insisted on running a urinalysis again after I told her they had just run one and it was fine less than a week before (which, by the way would be impossible).

Thank you Kaiser for being incredibly incompetent. Thank you for your insistence to not put me on the same protocol that most with reoccurring UTI's are on, giving them a supply of antibiotics that they can take when they have symptoms to try to prevent this from occurring. Thank you for making me live with that pain for a week for no reason at all. I'm sure it just made me stronger in the end, after all it did not kill me. I also thank you in advance for not attempting to reject the ER charges and send me a bill for thousands of dollars, I guarantee you do not even want to start that game after all we are in America and this is the land of malpractice suits. Love, Kim.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 19

2010-05-18T11:45:00.002-04:00

1. If your name was a verb, what would “to Chelsea” mean? (Insert your own name though…)
Probably something really anal retentive like organizing a counter top while waiting in line to checkout at a store. Not that I've ever done that. Or maybe being overly blunt, I also do that a lot since I have an extremely low tolerance for BS.

2. What myth have you always wanted to prove or bust?
Whether or not you could actually get struck by lightening from talking on a cordless phone next to a window. I saw that once in some show about strange, random ways to die and it always seemed somehow wrong.

3. If you had the ability to get a message out to the entire world, what would you say?
Prejudice/intolerance shown to anybody in the name of "God" or "religion" is not okay just because your religious leader condones it. It's still ignorant.

4. I know you’ve answered a similar question before, but it’s been awhile. Please name your current top 10 blogs.
My daily blog reads (aside from Roots and Rings) are:

1. Capitol Hill Style
2. This Fish
3. Girl's Gone Child
4. Dooce
5. The Pioneer Woman
6. Craving the Cupcakes
7. 2 birds, 1 blog **WARNING: rough language used on this blog, very funny if you are able to ignore that.**
8. Organizing Junkie
9. Baker's Dozen
10. Design Sponge

Thank goodness for Google Reader since this is just a tip of the iceberg on what I read daily! Specifically I have 54 subscriptions, but not all of them update daily (and one is the crime feed for my county because I enjoy self inflicting mental torture). I just wish you could comment directly from the reader and that more people posted their entire blog post into it.

5. Do you have a junk drawer?
Sort of. We have a drawer in our end table next to our couch which is the catch all for old batteries, pens, matches, etc. We had a real throw anything in there and let it fester drawer in our old apartment- now that space is called "our office."

6. Bottled water or tap?
Tap unless buying a bottle is just more convenient like at an amusement park or if you are running around.

7. As a kid, did you have a favorite Biblical story?
Noah's Ark. I loved animals so it was just the perfect story for my young self.

8. What is your favorite black and white movie?
Miracle on 34th street (original)

9. Aside from your engagement/wedding rings, what is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own? Does it have a story behind it?
I have a ruby necklace that came from the time we lived in Thailand. I'm wearing it in some of my baby pictures, then my high school graduation pictures and it still fits now.

10. What sports/activities do you hope your kids will be involved in? (Answer for both a boy and a girl)
Boy- Football
Girl- if we live near water, crew. Otherwise volleyball.

I'd love to be like anything they want to do is alright but seriously if my boy doesn't like football I'll cry.

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 17

2010-05-14T12:49:00.004-04:00

1. I hate ants. Unfortunately we live in a duplex built in 1950 that has plenty of nooks and crannies for ants to crawl into so it's a constant battle to keep them out of the cat food dishes. My latest attempt: moats!

Please ignore my dirty kitchen floor. The cats create crumbs as fast as I can sweep them up.

2. I saw this license plate on my way home and as someone who loves cat macros way more than she should I found it hilarious.

3. When I first started cooking I listened to Bill when he said he hated meat that was frozen and thawed. I tried to grocery shop accordingly leading to at least 2 trips a week and we would end up paying half of our grocery bill just for the protein products. I have decided to ignore that lately because it is so much cheaper to wait for a sale on the stuff we eat and then stock up on enough meat to last for a month. This week I did one of those trips and just look at this receipt! Keep in mind my final total also included other staples and produce, so we ended up with a month worth of chicken, salmon, pork chops and strip steak for about $60. We eat meat in pretty much every single dinner, so this is more significant then it may be for people who have husbands who don't mind vegetarian food, or will eat it without then saying they are still hungry.

4. I'm not sure if you have heard of Shoe Dazzle. It's a shoe club promoted by Kim Kardashian where you answer a quiz about your style likes and dislikes and every month a group of stylists selects shoes for you. You get 5 options (and if you don't like those you can select 5 more or pick from a couple generic popular items) and for $39.95 you get a pair of shoes. Every month. For those who aren't that huge of shoe fanatics you can opt out that month and pay nothing, either because you don't need a new pair or because you don't like the options. The thing I generally like about other people picking stuff out for me is that it forces me to look at things I otherwise wouldn't and a lot of times they end out being more flattering then the fuddy duddy stuff I generally gravitate to. (For this reason, if I could afford it I would totally use a personal shopping service) I guarantee I won't purchase something new every month, or even every few months but it's still fun. Here's my first pair of shoes:

What do you think?

5. I've mentioned before that I listen to The Dana Show via podcast and this past week I was listening to an episode that contained what she calls "mailbag of hate." Normally this is my least favorite segment because she does dramatic readings of her hate letters and a lot of times the voices are really insulting and stereotypical. However, this week she read a letter by an environmental hippie type that was hil.arious. Just the wording of the letter is funny:

"Your comments on the oil spill and saying it comes from the earth was so screwed up! You joke that people call you an earth raper but I WILL call you an earth raper for real! You rape earth up the a$@! Paved paradise! God never intended for man to use everything he put on earth, it's like the apple tree and eden! We weren't supposed to eat apples... See More! But we did... and now we are all going to hell. Oil is the forbidden fruit and you are recommitting the sins of Eve by using it. I ride a bicycle! I don't need to use terrorist oil. I put my groceries in the basket on my bicycle and I don't use oil! And I don't clog the streets! Urban?!?!? You can't be urban and drive! Your forbidden fruits caused 9-11! Reap your rewards Earth Raper!!!!"

but the voice she used to read it outloud was even funnier. I can't even read it without hearing the voice in my head and every time I think about it I start cracking up. I posted this on my facebook page which led to one person wanting a bumper sticker to put on their car that says "Earth Raper!" and someone else saying that it sounded like a band name.

6. I believe we are going camping this weekend. I have mixed feelings about this since I have not camped in a tent since I was about 12. There are bugs outside and I tend to dislike nature. In nature's defense, it's due to my allergies and sensitivity to sunlight (I get migraines unless I wear sunglasses any time there is a shred of sun out). It's also because I like couches, indoor plumbing and tvs. None of that is nature's fault.

7. Also on tap for the weekend, Sunday night is our monthly dinner club. This time I'm hosting it and the theme is Mediterranean so I'm planing to make Chicken Souvlaki with cucumber yogurt sauce. In my shopping sale extravaganza I realized they had buy 1, get 1 free for party sized hummus so I'm serving that up as well with pita chips.

My own papparrazzi

2010-05-12T07:51:00.002-04:00

When I get ready to go somewhere (especially if there's people I've never met before there) I have a bad habit of taking a picture of my outfit to see what it actually looks like on.

I started doing this because of times that I looked in the mirror, thought I looked fine and then pics popped up later of the event and my outfit was terrible. Awful. This is an attempt to stop these unhappy surprises... however, all it serves to do is make me neurotic.

I'm not photogenic. I ALWAYS look worse in pictures then I do in real life so much so that more than a few people have met me and immediately said "wow you don't look like your pictures at all." Most of the time they will expand on that and say later (when they are more comfortable) that they thought I was fatter, uglier, taller, completely different facial features, etc. I only mention this to put all this in perspective for you... I check to see if my outfit looks alright by relying on a method that rarely ever works out in my favor. Follow that logic.

I blame Facebook.

If so many pictures didn't exist of me wearing terrible outfits in the (sort of) public domain I wouldn't care so much. I can honestly say that pre-facebook Kim would laugh at post-facebook Kim taking pictures and changing outfits 2000 times before leaving the house. She'd tell her that Kim is being a neurotic nincompoop and then Kim would say now I understand why so many celebrities are anorexic or addicted to plastic surgery.

I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have a bad outfit, fat day, or bad hair day displayed on every newsstand, grocery store aisle and website. Ugh.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 18

2010-05-11T07:58:00.002-04:00

1. What was your high school superlative (if you didn’t have one- what would it have been)?

I went to a school with 2000 students (for only 3 grades). I believe we may have had superlatives but I guarantee I had never even heard of half of the people on the list much less ever met them.

I'd say I'd be best invisibility. People knew who I was, sure, but I was in several very different groups and blended pretty seamlessly in all of them. Mostly because I called so little attention to myself people sometimes didn't even realize I was there, it's like the prison method of surviving high school.

2. What sports did you play in high school?

My main sport was crew (rowing). I did track and swim team solely to stay in shape in the off season not because I was at all good at either.

3. What was the best part about your wedding (if you’re not married yet, what are you looking forward to)?

The food. Our food was really good (and at least 3 times cheaper than every other place we looked at which probably made it taste even better).

4. It’s your last meal– what Appetizer, Soup, Salad, Entree and Dessert would you choose?

Shrimp cocktail (spicy cocktail sauce please!), French Onion, a spinach salad with a basic vinaigrette and tomatoes, Fillet Mignon with horseradish sauce, that gooey campfire dessert that had bananas stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows wrapped in foil and buried in the embers of the campfire.

I'm hoping I don't get a last minute reprieve because the indigestion this meal would cause is off the charts.

5. What song is your guilty pleasure?

See You Again- Miley Cyrus

6. What is your favorite professional sports team, and why do you like them?

Chicago Bears. I love football, more specifically I love great defensive lines. If you think defense, you think da bears.

I would seriously inseminate myself with Urlacher's sperm purely in an attempt to create a son who could play defensive football like he does.

TMI? I apologize ;-)

7. What is your favorite reality show and why do you like it?

Top Chef Masters. You get the great challenges and quick fires but most of the chefs competing are so humble, gracias and respectful of all the other talent in the room that it's just pure enjoyment to watch.

8. How would you classify your home decorating style (modern, classic, french country)?

I like basic, comfortable, and stain resistant decor. Nothing breakable and very little clutter. Would that be classic?

9. Pizza- deep dish or thin crust? White sauce or red sauce? What toppings?

I'm not a huge fan of pizza but if I eat it, it's whatever the normal crust is that Papa John's delivers, red sauce and for toppings- onions, sausage, mushrooms and extra cheese.

10. Favorite weekend getaway within a two hour driving radius?

Annapolis, MD.

Growing Pains

2010-05-10T11:26:00.006-04:00

Lately there has been a tense feeling of discord in our house. This is unusual for us because we don't fight. I know a lot of couples claim this and then one day you are at their house for dinner and they start screaming at each other about some issue while you awkwardly sit there and then they go "oh that? wasn't a fight, that's how we talk." We actually don't fight. This is actually pretty much a trend for relationships I have.... don't fight at all until the end and then bam! it's over in an explosion of smoke.

For awhile I was concerned that it meant that I was one of those passive aggressive people I claim to hate and just hold everything in or even worse, a doormat. It took quite a bit of introspection for me to realize that actually I don't really fight with anyone. It's not that I don't have an opinion, it's not that I don't state those opinions- I do. It's that I just say here's my opinion, they give theres and we come to some conclusion or agree to disagree, all in a very calm normal voice level manner. No yelling, name calling nor bad feelings involved. This works until it's over something I cannot agree to disagree on most of which are dealbreakers; such as alcoholism and crazy stalkerisms or a few lesser not neccessarily dealbreakers such as things that bug me and just won't go away no matter how many times I calmly mention it. Honestly, I think I got out all my fight desires as an adolescent who threw plates while screaming at her mother. Hey! It's hormones! I couldn't help it! Plus, have you MET my mother? ;-)

I regress, so this fighting thing... it's new to me. I don't even think Bill had any clue how to deal with truly pissed off Kim since he had never really seen it (at least not directed at him), but what it all boiled down to was growing pains.

I feel like we don't do enough stuff together so I blame him and his video games, he thinks I'm just as at fault due to my ridiculous Bravo habit. Here's the thing- when we started dating, he worked midnights. I worked days. We saw each other for a few hours a day, if that. This continued for essentially our entire dating relationship. When that occurs one becomes very capable of entertaining themselves 90% of the time and aren't used to making room for someone else in their routines. Then he switched to days but still works so much overtime that there still are times I only see him (awake) for an hour or so a day. When we have stretches of time where we do have more time together; weekends, time off, less overtime, etc. we don't quite know what to do so we default to you live your life, I live mine. Leaving us much like those circles that only slightly overlap but otherwise exist independently.

I was fed up, and even more than that- I was lonely.

In the end, it's actually kind of fun having to relearn someone in a small way in order to find stuff you both like to do. Adds an element of mystery to someone that you thought you knew quite well and shakes old routines up. We're too young to be stuck in a rut anyway.

7 Quick Takes, Vol. Cat Lady

2010-04-30T12:00:00.004-04:00

1. I take my younger cat (Lea) to Petco to get groomed and usually they do a pretty good job. This time however, there are areas that are shaved unevenly and as of this morning I found the 3rd scab on her back. Meaning they cut her in 3 different places. Oh, and I never got her collar back. Petco, you fail.

2. I received a call yesterday from our vet who said "we got a call about needing test subjects for a type of animal prozac that you administer by rubbing it on their ear instead of giving them pills. They need animals whose behavior issues are extreme enough that it's obvious when it works or not... I thought of Lizzy."

The above statement is the best summarization of my older cat I've ever heard.

3. Lizzy is a wickedly smart cat with a very strong attachment disorder to me and very extreme food anxiety. Notice the use of two verys. It's warranted. She was on prozac but she figured out when we'd give it to her and would start disappearing. Then I switched the time and she switched the time of her disappearing act. So then I started moving around the times and she would recognize the bottle. So I put the pills into another container and then she recognized that one. This is also the cat who will not play with cat toys for any longer than 2 minutes (in other words, for as long as it takes her to figure it out). Laser pointer? Not fun, you are holding it in your hand. Ball that moves around the tube? Not fun, I'll never be able to pull it out but if I stick one paw here and another there it can't move anymore. Hand in paper bag... yeah I found your hand and bit you to make a point. Do I look like a moron to you?

4. Needless to say, she gets bored a lot and there is nothing we can do about it. So she screams. At windows, at people, at walls, at corners. And misbehaves. She knows she does things she's not supposed to because she looks at you while doing it and sometimes... she winks. I'm not joking. Once when she was a kitten she decided to claw the couch and then pee on my mom's shoe and then climb using her claws up the window screen and when she got to the top (all of this took about 5 minutes flat) she looked over and winked. If there was one thing to make me believe in reincarnation it would be this cat.

5. She was found in a dumpster as a kitten with her litter and if there was anything to drive home the point that anything you do to animals or babies no matter what age makes a difference it will be this. I adopted her from a rescue group at 8 weeks (she's now 10 years old), since that point she has always had food (I'm sure she had plenty at the rescue group too). Plenty of food. Cat food, treats, human food, she was spoiled rotten. When we would stay with my mom she would actually give her little mini plates of our dinner in addition to her cat food. She has never once gone hungry. However, I swear she remembers her dumpster days because she starts howling for every meal an hour before she receives it. She seems to honestly think that if she doesn't beg, remind, act starving she'll never eat again and die a long painful death from starvation. The overdramatics of the whole thing would make me laugh if not for the fact that her loud, ear piercing howling makes me want to cut off my ears with a dull, rusty knife. This happens twice a day. Every.single.day.

6. The last thing you should know about her is that she loves me. So much. I am her selected human and anyone around knows it. She puts up with others, sometimes, but if we were the last two creatures living on earth she would probably be her happiest. When I was single she'd sit on the couch between me and any guy that might be over and if they reached in my direction she'd bite. She slept taking up half of my bed (sleeping with her head on the pillow like a human completely stretched out). You can imagine how well my getting married went over. The looks she gives Bill run from disdainful to outright hatred. I think if she knew how she would probably poison his food just to make him go away. To illustrate this point further I offer three stories:

- To help me out he'd try to feed the cats in the morning so I could sleep and she wouldn't touch the food. If he put it in the dish she would not eat it until I came downstairs, picked it up, mixed it up with a spoon and put it back on the floor. If you think we can ignore her please look at point 5. It's impossible to sleep through the howling and clawing and paw sticking up my noseing.

- He works late a lot and while I'm home by myself she ignores me. For the most part she's just wandering around doing whatever it is cats do. The minute she hears keys or the door though? She is velcroed to my lap. It's like she's staking out her territory to make sure it isn't stolen while she isn't paying attention.

- If I try to sleep at night facing him instead of facing her side of the bed, she pokes my back incessantly. If I do not respond she scratches my back. If still nothing she sits up and sticks her paw in my ear. If I somehow lasted through all of this she starts headbutting me until I turn over.

She also sits in the bathroom with me, sits on my lap when I am at a desk, sits at my feet or next to the sink while I do the dishes, follows me up and down from the laundry room while I do laundry, lies on the kitchen mat while I cook, sits on top of me while I watch tv, etc. She's a literal shadow. And she hates it when I leave. The first time I left her with a pet sitter she didn't eat for the first 3 days. All she did was sit next to the front door waiting for me to come back.

7. You mentioned Prozac I can rub on her ears? Sign me up! :-P

Read more Quick Takes at conversiondiary.com.

I wish I could say...

2010-04-29T15:39:00.008-04:00

I wish I could say that I've been busy, so busy with FUN and EXCITING things that I did not have time to blog. Because I'm off having a wonderful life that you would all be jealous of.

To illustrate this:
Just last night I made pork chops, roasted potatoes and garlic and watched Missing on
Netflix to the Wii.

Last weekend I had a migraine which left me indoors moaning on Saturday, then I went to church and to work on Sunday. Yes, to work.

Oh, then I helped Bill put together our new grill. Whose big box was outside through the rainstorm we got that night... and Monday... then I got to attempt to drag that wet soggy, bigger then me box to the curb for trash day.

Did I mention that while doing that the cat ran outside in her endless pursuit to eat grass and puke it up later leaving me to wade across the mud in my slippers to get her. My poor, used to be pink, slippers.

Last week I watched the entire series of Roswell, a total of 61 episodes at 45 min each. Please don't do the math to figure out how much time I wasted.

Since I've been gone I also turned 30... but we aren't going to mention that.

Yeah, I knew you'd all be jealous. :-)

April Resolution check-in

2010-04-21T07:00:00.002-04:00

22 Goals for 2010

1) Organize our office and basement
2) Go to bed earlier/get up for work on time
3) ~~Create~~ and follow a regular cleaning schedule
4) Sew one item of clothing from scratch
5) Settle into a workout schedule where I work out consistantly (at least) three days a week
6) Run ~~two~~ one 10Ks
7) Purge and create a workable wardrobe
8) Make the kitchen window curtains
9) Stop drinking soda
10) Finish the quilt I've been working on for years
~~11) Start a monthly dinner potluck club with the girls~~
~~12) Get my clothes altered so they fit correctly~~
13) Find a job in a smaller city
14) Take more photos
15) Eradicate 25% of my debt this year (including student loans)
16) Build up a savings account
~~17) To keep up with my email inbox so I don't blink and end up with 900 plus email messages~~
18) To concentrate on work at work, concentrate on home at home
19) Eat better portion sizes, better balanced meals
20) Start eating breakfast
21) Be better organized and on top of things at work
22) Take the time to read a book a month
------------------------------------------------------

1) I still have way too much leftover wedding crap in the basement to even attempt to organize it. Anyone have any ideas to get rid of it? Anyone know of anyone wanting to buy party supplies (some used once, some never used)?

2) Umm, yeah. This is still a work in progress. I think it will be for quite awhile.

3) Working on it, and getting better. I also have to adjust it to Bill’s work schedule since I’m infinitely more productive when he’s stuck at work all night.

4) Don’t have a sewing area set up yet.

5) I’m at about 2 days a week which is getting better. There was a work out tape made back in the early 90s with Cindy Crawford that was seriously the best work out ever. You would do it and feel it everywhere the next day and it would actual whip you into great shape if you consistently did it. I actually believe that I hurt more from doing that tape then when I had a personal trainer, it was that good. Then the tape was lost (plus it was a tape and wouldn’t have lasted forever). I have had zero luck finding a copy, it’s not made anymore nor do I believe it was ever released on DVD, and every other tape I’ve tried just really doesn’t cut it for me. The 30 Day Shred I found annoying and boring. Wii fit isn’t enough.

When Kim offered a great deal (all 3 for $24.99 and free shipping) to her Twitter followers I took it, and will try one of the tapes today. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m crossing my finger that this is the elusive at home workout that 1) is hard enough to actually work and 2) isn’t boring/annoying/shrill.

6) One down. Completed the Ukrop’s 10K in Richmond, VA the last week of March in 104 min 36 seconds which works out to about 17 min a mile. Not too shabby since Alaina and I walked it. Our goal for the Turkey Trot in November (5 miles) is to run it. Or at least part of it, and by the Ukrop’s 10K next March to be down to the 10min mile group.

7) I’m a purging maniac. Really, I’m merciless. If I put something on more than 2 times then take it back off because I don’t want to wear it, it’s donated. If I can’t remember the last time I wore it, donated. If I don’t like it anymore, donated. The smaller my wardrobe gets the happier I am because it’s just so simplified and better organized. Also- less laundry.

8) I really, really need to get on this. Our back windows freak me out at night.

9) Le sigh. Nope, not yet.

10) Nothing to report.

11) Completed

12) Completed

13) I think this is something that I’m just not quite ready to do yet for a few reasons. One, my tendency is to wait for Bill to find a job. The fact is, I don’t really care what I do for a living. To me, my job is a way to make money in order to provide the means to do the other stuff I actually want to do. That’s it. It’s a means to an end. What I do has zero to do with what I studied in college, my job is generic enough and I have enough experience that I can find a job anywhere doing something that relates. Also, quite honestly if we moved to an area this was feasible, I’d prefer to only work part time (if I couldn’t find something that was telecommuting at least half time).

On the other hand Bill works in the area he studied. He has concrete ideas of what he would like to do and what would make him happy. If I found a job in an area he couldn’t work in within his current field, he wouldn’t be happy. Not in the end anyway. It just makes more sense to me for him to find something and then me to follow. So my current idea is to only seek out jobs that are fully telecommuting. That way I could work from anywhere and in the meantime I’d be a lot happier. In my field those jobs do exist, I just need to figure out a way to get one or to transition my current job into at least part time telecommuting.

14) You know what’s a huge help to accomplish this? The Iphone and it’s photo apps. Now I literally have a camera on me all the time.

15) As of March I’ve eradicated 6.7% with 25% of the year gone. If I evenly distribute my goal across the year my goal would be 6.25% so I’m running pretty much exactly on schedule to accomplish my 25% goal. My debt pay down method was to start with the account with the lowest balance and work up or the “snowball” method. One thing I did decide that I need to do is to lock up all my credit cards. Having them in my wallet is too tempting. Not too tempting as in spending money I don’t have, I’ve pretty much taken care of that problem, just too tempting to spend in general. The more money I spend the less I can apply to getting rid of the debt and bulking up savings.

16) Made a huge step in March towards this. I’ve been reading a lot of information from the Money person for the Washington Post and she suggests having multiple savings accounts: The Emergency fund and the Life Happens fund. The emergency fund should have a min of 3 months of living expenses while the Life Happens fund has about $1000 for incidentals that pop up such as car repairs. That way you never have to use credit cards. My new goal by the end of the year is to have 3 months in the emergency fund and $1000 in a Life Happens fund. Then I’ll consider a down payment fund.

17) Iphone helps me to stay on top of this a lot better. Whenever I’m in line or waiting, I go in and clean out my email boxes.

18-22) Nothing to report.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 17

2010-04-20T14:47:00.002-04:00

1. What two cities should be moved closer together?
Corpus Christi area of TX and Washington DC. Bill really misses his parents, and I really think we’d both love having them around more.

2. What was the first plane ride you took?
DC to Bangkok, Thailand. I was the minimum age to be cleared for air travel, a couple months I think. Until Pan Am airlines folded, I held the record for the youngest international air passenger that ever flew on their airline. Maybe even the youngest passenger period.

3. What continent would you most like to visit?
Australia.

4. What’s your favorite place to window-shop?
Georgetown. No particular store, just all of them; especially on a nice, not too hot, sunny day.

5. What’s the least fun you’ve ever had at a place specifically tailored for fun?
I can’t think of any place specific, but when I was a kid most of our vacation locations would fit into this. Beach, Disney World, etc. My mom was the type to plan out each day so much that you felt like you had to work to be on vacation. No sleeping in, no down time. Just go, go, go! I would always be more tired AFTER vacation then before.

6. You’re stuck on an island with plenty of food, a companion, and a relatively stress-free lifestyle. What do you say when the rescue ship comes?
I’d hide. That sounds like heaven. I could exist quite happily without tv or internet.

7. Which day of the week do you look forward to most?
Friday. There is always the sense of possibility and promise with Fridays, the work week is coming to an end (and I try to schedule my work and meetings so my Friday afternoons are quiet) the weekend is coming and you don’t have to go to bed early.

8. What’s your favorite place to enjoy the great outdoors?
The beach. I love everything about the beach. The lifestyle, the water, the noises, the people… I wish we could live at the beach, putting up with hurricanes and high insurance rates would be completely worth it.

9. What’s on your “to do” list this summer?
More BBQs, being outdoors more, making time to relax. Unfortunately every 5 years is a really busy time at work so no vacation for me this year (I have leave restriction starting May 1 through the end of September), so I’ll just have to make the most out of what I can control.

I also want to buy a hammock for our back yard this year. I meant to do it last summer but never got around to it.

10. Which natural disaster freaks you out the most?
Earthquakes. For one year Iin high school I lived in an area where the main street of the town (where the high school was located) was literally on a fault line so in the place of fire drills we had earthquake drills. They would have an emergency bell ring and then actually play “earthquake noises” over the loud speaker. We’d have to go underneath desks and protect our heads or find doorframes to stand in and wait for the noises to stop. Scared me to death. To this day I refuse to hang anything above beds (even though we are no where near earthquake zones now) because of the constant warnings that an earthquake striking at night could cause the stuff to fall on your head and possibly kill you.

Also, if the school was on the fault line itself, I seriously doubt desks and doorframes would have helped us.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 15

2010-04-09T12:40:00.001-04:00

1. A study making waves this week is one that states that not breastfeeding is costing our country $13 billion a year. My issue with studies like this is that it's one thing to throw out all of these studies and quite another to actually do what needs to be done to support women following advice. In the area that I live in, it would be nearly impossible to live on only one salary a year (unless that one spouse makes well into 6 figures) so both people need to work. Then unless you work for a wonderful company in this workaholic region, they don't even like you to take sick leave much less maternity leave, and federal law only forces them to provide 6-8 weeks. If we are supposed to breastfeed for 6 months, I don't know about you but the idea of spending my days at work pumping with what I've heard is a greatly, greatly uncomfortable breast pump in the bathroom for another 4 months is just not at all appealing, nor will it happen. I flat out refuse to feel like a dairy cow when formula works just fine as a viable alternative.

I guess there's a new law about providing private rooms at companies, but that still doesn't work for me. My company bills by the hour, if I take time out in my day multiple times to pump I can't charge those hours meaning I would have to work extra time to make up for it. Then my baby would be in day care even longer than the 9 hours it already would be. If this country wants women to breastfeed for 6 months, it's simple- give us 6 months of maternity leave. Canada gives their new mothers a year so surely we could do half.

2. There are a lot of reasons we will not be having babies anytime soon and this is just one of them. Another one; Do you know how much full time day care costs in our area for infants? On average $1400-$1800 a month. Heaven forbid you have twins since you only get 10% off the second baby. Like I said, living on one salary is not an option, the second salary will be cut in half by only one baby in daycare, plus the idea of leaving a 12 week old in day care for 9-10 hours a day just terrifies me. It seems so wrong. Also, I have a hard enough time taking off one day without panicked calls so I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I took off 12 weeks. To put it into perspective for you, I was off work the week before my wedding and I was in the office building around midnight many of those nights doing work so I can tell you exactly how maternity leave would go and it involves me unshowered, exhuasted and stressed out in my office building furiously doing work at 11pm two days after giving birth. *shudder*

Quite frankly it amazes me that anyone in the DC area has kids at all (and doesn't live an hour+ commute away, which is not an option.)

3. The first meeting of the dinner club that I will be attending is this Sunday. The theme is Indian, so I am going to attempt to make Vegetarian Korma. Bill is not a fan of curry nor Indian food so I'm sure he'll love the perma curry smell our house will have for a few days but hopefully it will be worth it in the form of yummy food.

4. Is anyone else really sick of being smacked in the face with Tiger Woods' and Jesse James' inability to keep it in their pants everytime they open a newspaper or other news source? I don't understand how this is news. Who is it helping by making it so public anyway? Not their children, not their wronged spouses, not anyone who has to read about it. As far as I can tell it just makes the mistresses money, which yay! let's reward women for sleeping with married men! and gives the men more publicity for being scum. That's a great idea! In summary: it hurts the people who matter, it helps the people who are crummy.

5. Our bedroom (aka the dumping ground for all the mess in the house) has now been clean for a whole week! You can see floor! You can walk around without tripping! Next up to fix: the office (aka the black hole of junk).

6. Has anyone seen the Runaways? It's getting decent reviews and I think it looks good but I am automatically wary of seeing anything with any of those Twilight people in it because I find them extremely annoying.

7. I've run out of things to say, it's a bit sad that I can't even think of 7 things to talk about. Next week I'll be back to regular posting, so tune in :-) Have a wonderful weekend!

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 16

2010-04-06T10:58:00.003-04:00

1. If you could travel back in time, would you? What decade would you visit?

I would want to just go back to high school. I have some key things to tell myself back then, nothing that would have changed anything huge but I really wish I was a better student and concentrated on the right things.

2. What was your best Halloween costume? (fun to make? most creative?)
I love Halloween! My college roomate and I were a devil and an angel once with glitter dresses that we found on a clearance rack in like August. How's that for thinking ahead. I actually think I have a picture...

There you go!
We reused this costume a few times.

3. Do you like your name? If you weren’t called by your name, what would you want to be called?
Yeah, sure. When I was younger it was unique but as I got older there were more Kims and Kimberlys in the places that I went. I once worked in a 5 person office and two of us were Kims. I had to go by Kimberly because she was there first. But other than that, it's fine. I think it actually suits my personality pretty well because it's not overly feminine... and neither am I.

4. In the past year, what is the BEST recipe you made. Please share it!
Simple Pan Fried Pork Chops from Pioneer Woman's website. My husband said hands down they were the best pork chops he's ever eaten in his life and that he could have eaten about 100 of them. His mom and aunt are really good cooks so I take that as a high compliment.

5. Look around – what is the nearest object or picture hanging on the wall?
A wall calender with Gary Patterson cat pictures on it.

6. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? Would you recommend it?
Shutter Island. I was underwhelmed but others really loved it so it's possible that I just missed something. Leo is quite scrumptious though.

7. Did you go to summer camp? Will you/do you send your kids to camp?
I did. Being raised by a single mother meant lots of activities in the summers to keep me busy. I went to day camps and overnight camps. It was really fun and the friendships you make, especially at overnight camps, can't be made anywhere else.

8. What kind of ringtone do you have?
Right now it's some sort of guitar noise thing that came with the phone. I find most ringtones annoying so I tend to keep it on vibrate all the time, but then leave my phone random places and end up missing everyone's calls. People started complaining. Now, I try to turn on a ring sound at least when I'm at home so there's actually a chance I'll answer.

9. Where is the farthest away from home you have ever been?
Ever? When I was a baby until about 3-4 I lived in Thailand and travelled all over the place. However, since I can remember- Cancun, Mexico.

10. Has anyone ever written a song or a poem for or about you?
Yep, a guy I dated at the end of my senior year wrote a ton of poems about me, including one in the back of my yearbook that likened me to the Titanic. I guess I was sinking him? He was that brooding, angsty type. The thing is I was a senior, he was a junior, we had just started dating and then he told me to pick between him and my now best friend, because I "couldn't have both in my life." I was a 18 year old girl, of course my girlfriend won. That's just silly.

Read more here: rootsandrings.wordpress.com.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 15

2010-03-30T08:19:00.000-04:00

1. What television character do you identify with?

I don't watch a lot of tv sitcoms, only reality shows and Glee. Reality show people are picked because they are really out there and the Glee kids are in high school.

2. Describe your morning routine.
Alarm goes off, hit snooze 5 thousand times (a bad, bad habit I'm trying to break), go to the bathroom, immediately jump in the shower, with my hair in a towel and robe on I check facebook (update all my ridiculous ongoing games like Farmville, Petville, Cafe World, I play a lot of them), check work email and mentally organize my work day, head back upstairs and get dressed, head to bathroom and do my hair and put on a bit of makeup if I have a meeting or am feeling ambitious, head out the door. This all happens in less than an hour.
3. How do you do lunch? Bring from home or dine out? Same thing every day or mix it up?
Sometimes I take leftovers. Sometimes I go to the overpriced deli next door. When I get my organized act together I have my office stocked with food so I don't have to leave.
4. What is one moment that, although seemingly trivial at the time, changed your life?
Deciding that even though I had never done it before, I was going to- just once- meet a guy from the internet (myspace to boot) for dinner. In a public place, of course. Something seemed different about him. 2.5 years later, we've been married for nearly 6 months. I actually almost wussed out and cancelled faking illness. So glad I didn't!

Sad fact: We actually lived down the street from each other, maybe a half mile apart. We likely would have never met any other way, we just would have seen each other around places and never spoke. Or if he tried to talk to me (he's friendly) he would have just thought I was a biatch because I'm incredibly unfriendly to men I don't know. Like near mean unfriendly.

5. Name your top three beauty products.
1) Oil of Olay complete: great moisturizer that contains SPF.
2) Retken Spray Foam mouse: sprays straight on so your hands don't need to get involved.
3) St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub. Only thing that keeps my skin clear.
6. What do you do when you’re alone in the car?
I talk on the phone. I know, I know but it's the only time I really have to keep in touch with people... but hey! I use speaker phone.

7. What is the ideal city for you to live in? If you can, take this survey (< that’s a link) and tell us the results. Do you agree with them?
A small town feel where we can buy a house with a decent sized lot without breaking the bank but still has job opportunities. Somewhere where the people are nice, because where we live now is quite possibly one of the least friendly locations on earth. A place where the words "work/life balance" are not akin to cursing. I'd like to be near a lake or beach. Bill would love to never see snow unless we vacation TO snow ever again.

Definitely. Good job survey!

8. Are you waiting for something?
Nope, nothing.

9. What was the last shocking news you heard?
I can't think of anything, but then again I'm pretty darn hard to shock.

10. What are three things you wouldn’t do for a million dollars?
1) Murder
2) Prostitution
3) Abuse a child

Age and clothing

2010-03-24T10:13:00.012-04:00

I made it a goal this year to sort through my ridiculous amounts of clothing and weed out everything that doesn't fit and/or is not flattering. Quick backstory on this- 5 years ago I was a size 4. I was always tiny, so skinny that people constantly thought I was anorexic. You know how this story goes... I hit 25 and that amazing metabolism that kept me in the skinny clothes slowed down and I gained 40 lbs in 5 years. Actually I gained 35 lbs in about 3 and have been trying to lose (some) of it since, a feat that caused me to gain about 5 more. That means that I have a ton of stuff that I was holding onto in vain that is a size 4. Then there are the shirts that fit my considerably smaller boobage that won't even dream of buttoning now.

The second group of problem clothes is that, like many who were skinny skinny their whole life and then all of a sudden had a belly, and fat pockets, etc. I bought a ton of stuff that fit like sacks. I know people who have seen pictures of me are shaking their heads in disbelief (and trust me people who know me think I'm crazy as well because I'm not fat) but it's a mentality thing. I think carrying around 40 extra lbs no matter what size you started at and ended at takes adjustment. I was self conscious of every body area so I bought clothes that were the opposite of fitted, not realizing that in actuality it all just made me look fatter. Looking at pictures of myself in some of these clothes I look like I gained 80 lbs, at least, instead of just 40. Those need to go also.

The first part of it all was admitting that I will likely never be a size 4 again, my frame just isn't built for it. I'm too curvy. Also the amount of work required for me to be that size would be completely time and energy consuming. So all those clothes needed to go. The second part was realizing that though I am heavier than I used to be, I don't look bad. Embrace the curves, wear clothes that flatter your body type at the time and stop hiding behind the baggy clothes.

These are a few things that I have bought recently:

I love the cute sleeves on this top as well as the pink color- so summery! Plus it has a longer length, which is key since I have a really long body.

I own one pair of shorts. One. They are not flattering, which I only realized once our honeymoon pictures came back. Problem- they hit right in the middle of my knees which makes my legs look stumpy and they are so baggy that I look large (paired with an empire waist top I look 5 months pregnant). I am donating those so a middle aged mom can wear them and replaced them with these and a pair of shorts that *gasp* actually hit mid thigh. I couldn't find a picture because they sold out already, but they are incredibly cute and I think my husband wanted to jump up and down in joy when I tried them on because I was actually showing some leg.

The ones pictured hit above the knee- much more flattering length then mid knee no matter what length your legs are- and are form fitting so they won't make you look anything but what your body normally looks like.

I bought this as a neutral bottom that I could pair with just about anything. The skirt is a longer length (knee) and has great pockets. Warning though- the waist band is elastic in the back so if you have a phobia of elastic you may want to stay away from it, but its really comfortable to wear.

I am actually wearing this today. Open weave sweaters are great for that annoying period of time between seasons when the weather changes by the day. They breathe so you can adjust to the warmer afternoons but also provide a bit of warmth. The sleeves are a bell style 3/4 length and I'm just wearing a basic tank top underneath. One thing I have definitely learned is that if you are wearing a looser fit top, wear a fitted bottom. If you wear loose fitting on top and bottom- not attractive. Yes, seems simple but don't tell that to the numerous pictures of me from the past couple of years ignoring that idea.

Since oversharing is the theme of this post, I will admit to you that I sweat. A lot. While on men this may look manly and people don't pay attention, girls always have a different set of rules when it comes to bodily functions. If we sweat, we arent supposed to show it (cept when we work out). I live in the DC area and if you've never been here during August, don't come. The humidity and heat is off the charts. I can't stop the sweat, so the only way to hide it is to wear a lot of tank tops since sleeved shirts show sweat stains. Half of my wardrobe is tank tops and the lightweight material this one has is key.

All clothes from Old Navy. They have some great deals right now.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 14

2010-03-22T13:20:00.004-04:00

1. When you were a senior in high school, what career did you think you’d choose? Did you? Why or why not?
Pediatrician. I went to college as Pre-Med but then decided that I was not the right type for medical school. For one, I was never going to be willing to study 20 hours a day and two, I didn't want to have to give up/delay having a family until I was through med school and residency and everything. Ironically I'm nearly the same age and have not started a family.

2. What one thing about the “real world” did you find most surprising once you were on your own?
The hardest adjustment for me was bill paying/organization. I am a bit naturally scatterbrained so I'd write out checks and forget to mail them, or not keep track of things well enough to realize that I never paid such and such bill that month. I'm just now pulling out of the bad credit hole that my first few years caused.

3. Name 3 things you think your closest friends DON’T like about you.
1. I'm habitually late. I try not to be but I just can't ever seem to make it places on time. "Kim time" is about 15 minutes after the designated time.
2. I have a hard time making standing commitments. Like if you want to do something every Thursday or meet at the gym every day at a particular time, I'll last a week and then stop doing it.

That's pretty much it, I think if there was a whole list of things they didn't like about me (or anything major) then we wouldn't be friends.

4. In order to sleep, do you need background noise or absolute quiet?
Background noise.

5. Why do you choose to reside in your current city? Yes, you have a choice
Since Bill's job is based around a specific building that is only here and my work is pretty much only based here, that's why. We really would love to move somewhere with a better cost of living and less urban, but anything we are interested in job wise tends to be major cities. Out of the options DC is the best, I would cut out my own eye before ever living in NYC.

6. Are you close to your parents?
No. My dad and I do not speak and though I call my mom once a day our relationship is essentially my feeling that I should do things rather then me wanting to spend time with her or talk to her. We just have never gotten along, nor do we have anything at all in common.

7. What is your favorite fiction book? Poem? Blog?
I don't have a favorite book per se, but I love Jodi Pinoult and Mary Higgins Clark. The Lady of Shallot. This Fish Needs a Bicycle.

8. Do you enjoy cooking or is it a chore?
I enjoy it.

9. Be honest. What one thing would (the majority of) your blog readers be shocked to find out about you?
One day about 6 months ago I decided that I was going to start cooking. Up until that point, except for rare occasions, the extent of my cooking was heating up water to make ramen. Oh, and I didn't eat red meat or pork for 10 years. You however, would not be surprised that bacon was my gateway to being a meat eater again.

10. If you were given your own national holiday, what would you require people to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the Day of You? Would there be a parade? Greeting cards?
Sunny side up eggs, bacon, home fries. A turkey sandwich with horseradish and avocado. For dinner you could pick between steak and mashed potatoes or steamed crab legs and spiced shrimp. Vegetarians would not like my holiday, they'd have to fast.
No parade or greeting cards, eating is much more important.

Read more Ten on Tuesdays here.

Photo Break

2010-03-22T11:06:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I went with my friend Alaina to Richmond to see Wicked (for the first time).

The stage setup. Obviously we couldn't take pictures during, but I had to get a pic of the dragon.

The two of us. I wont even tell you how many pics we had to take to get one that was at all usable.

I had seen some awesome things people have done using Tiltshift Generator on iPhone, but this was the best I could do. Anyone have any tips?

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 14

2010-03-18T20:25:00.004-04:00

1. While making Shepherd's Pie for St. Patty's Day dinner, I grated my pinky finger. By grated I mean that I was grating carrots and then I grated my finger exactly as you would grate food. In other words, it was not a nick. I know this sounds awesome, but you don't need to try it out I can tell you that it hurts. It hurts (and bleeds) like a motherf*cker. I don't use that word often, but if there was an occasion for it it's this one. Trust me.

2. You can actually see where the hole is and look down into the hole to see 3 different layers down to the whitish layer. Also, when you just have a hole in the side of your finger, it's really hard to get it to stop bleeding. We were just wrapping band-aids around as tight as we could and then redoing it when I bled all the way through that band-aid. I will not show you a picture because that's probably TMI nor do I want to destroy your friday like that.

3. Oh, last thing- it's quite unfortunate when you have a hole in your finger at the exact spot that your hand rests against the surface while writing. I am writing with this awkward pinky out angle which makes me look like a delusional dame who thinks she's at tea. All the time.

4. We watched the Hurt Locker last night and I have to say, I expected it to be a lot better. It was alright, I guess. Not Best Picture worthy, though it didn't have a whole lot of competition (see also: Avatar).

5. The weather has been beautiful lately! Spring has definitely sprung. My allergies are completely out of control, Claritin is barely keeping me breathing but can only do so much.

6. I am heading to Richmond, VA on Saturday to see Wicked. I'm really excited :-) This is the first of two weekends in a row I'll be in Richmond (next week Alaina and I are doing the 10K), so instead of staying overnight both times we are just driving down and back up in the same day this time around.

7. I spent a pretty penny on clothes a couple days ago but I really needed some summer wear that is slightly more attractive then my norm. I never realized quite how bad it all looked on me until I looked at my honeymoon pictures. Now I will own a real pair of shorts that doesn't look like I'm swimming in them, plus a few more warm weather staples. In the same shopping vein, I was invited to a baby shower and because I hate Babies R Us (ick! too many babies and their crying!) I ordered it online. Does that make me a baby grinch? ;-)

Read more Quick Takes here.

Cleaning Schedules

2010-03-18T12:15:00.007-04:00

In an attempt to be more organized I have gone through several versions of a cleaning schedule that

breaks it down into easier to tackle pieces so that I am not running around cleaning like a crazy person anytime I find out someone is coming over

is in an easy, detailed checklist format because I love being able to cross things off, it makes me feel accomplished

gets the house clean enough even for anal retentive me

Now, in the interest of full disclosure I have not yet had a full week of success with this but I'm moving in the correct direction. Also, the beauty of it is that it's so detailed that if you miss a week or two of a particular room it's not going to be so bad.

Things about me that you will see reflected in this list are:

1) I hate cleaning cat boxes, I hate scooping them. Plus, we've stuck them downstairs in the basement so out of sight, out of mind. To help the cat's deal with the fact that their boxes will never be scooped once a day they each have their own. You will see that I clean their boxes twice a week. On Mondays I change the litter/wash the boxes and on Thursdays I scoop.

2) I hate laundry. I am incapable of doing more than (at max) 2 or 3 loads at a time or I stop folding everything and just leave it in a basket in the middle of the floor to wrinkle. Due to this fact, I've split laundry up into pieces. I also cannot do that put a load in before you leave for work, dry when you get home every day and it doesn't stack up thing. Why? See above comment about out of sight, out of mind. We'd just end up with moldy clothes.

3) Our trash and recyclables pickup is on Tuesday so you will see stuff stacked on Sunday and Monday that make sense keeping in mind the pickup schedule (minimizes the really stinky stuff sitting in the trash can for prolonged periods of time). This is extremely important during summers in DC when it's extremely hot and humid and our outdoor trash can is near our front door.

4) We do not have kids. Thus we don't have as much laundry as someone with kids (especially infants and potty training kids), our house doesn't get as dirty, I have a ton more free time, etc.

5) I have to put go through mail on every single day (may seem like a no brainer to most everyone else) because we have a horrible habit of just leaving it in a stack on the floor where it falls through the mail slot and then is shoved by the opening door at night. Then we sort through it anxiously when we think "hey, it's been awhile since we've paid such and such bill, it's probably time for it to be due again!"

6) The Tidy-up line item will be used in the future but as of yet is not. We haven't reached a level of cleanliness yet that going around picking up errant messes (i.e. dishes left in random rooms, socks in corners, etc.) once a day is even feasible. Too hard to see, especially on our second floor which I've affectionately retitled the trash dump.

7) I hate cleaning on weekends, it just seems like a waste of a perfectly good weekend. I prefer to just get all that annoying stuff out of the way during the week but I know many people feel differently.

8) The abbreviations up top are what rooms I'm working on that day. Some of the abbrevations only make sense to me so I'll explain- on Monday I am covering the Kitchen (K), Basement (B), Trash (T) and Bathroom (BA). This does not mean I fully clean every one of those rooms that day. For the Basement I Clean Cat Boxes, Sweep, and Mop. For the Kitchen I wipe countertops, wipe cabinets, clean stove/oven, wash sink, sweep, and mop. Since I already have the mop bucket filled and the mop out I head upstairs and mop the Bathroom floor as well, but that's the only thing I clean in the bathroom that day. For trash, I change all the trash bags which includes the basement, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc.

9) Essentially it works out to focusing on one room each day plus doing a few extras that make sense based on what else you are doing (like not having to fill the mop bucket twice a week). Monday is Basement and Kitchen, Tuesday is Living Room and Dining Room, Wednesday is the Bedroom, Thursday is the Bathroom and Saturday is the Office. I put the Office on the weekend because Bill's home then and I'm not sorting through his stuff and half the office is his.

If you are looking for a cleaning schedule, feel free to steal and modify according to your own idiosyncrasies and habits. I also have it in Word for easier modifications, you can just move everything around. Just email me and I'll send it to you. Click on the images to make them bigger.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 13

2010-03-16T06:33:00.000-04:00

1. Quick! Zombies are coming!! What do you do?
Barricade myself at home and find my husband's gun. Aim for the head! :-P

2. Whew, that was a close one. …I think your phone is ringing. Oh, it’s your best friend! She thinks she’s been bitten by a zombie. What advice do you give her?
Stay at home, hide and I'll come to you! Then I'll go and observe her from afar. If she's okay she'll come with me. If she was infected I'll run because I don't want to have to shoot her.

3. You realize it’s time to leave your current location because it’s clearly not safe anymore. Are you going to move at night or day? Defend your reasoning.
Day. Easier to see what's coming at you. Plus, I don't think zombies sleep so there's zero reason to move at night. Do they sleep?

4. During your relocation, you come across a weapon superstore. My, that’s convenient. What kind of weaponry do you choose?
Shotguns. They'll do more damage. Bigger shells.

5. As you leave, an old lady on the side of the street begs you to help her. Do you? Why or why not?
No. She may have been bitten. When zombies attack it's everyone for themselves to survive!

6. Good choice, you’re clearly a good person to have around in a zombie apocalypse. Oh hey, there’s a wifi signal here! You can’t stay long but this is your chance to gather some intel on the current situation. What’s the first website you check?
cnn.com to see if there's zombie free areas and/or safe zones set up and if they know what caused it. If so, I'll head there- if they at least have a cause I'll be able to plan better.

7. SHH! What was that noise?!
Eeek! Zombie tried to sneak up on me. Pesky little buggers.

8. I think it’s time to get out of here. I hope you have a plan. Where are you going now?
To find food and then to head for a safe zone.

9. Wait a minute, that looks like a bite mark on your arm… You may be infected too! Will you tell other people?
No. We'll wait and see what happens. For the record I would not have a bite mark on my arm because I'm wiley and skilled and no zombie will better me!

10. How does this story end?
I find a zombie free area and survive until all the zombies are gone. One person always has to survive.

Read more Ten on Tuesdays here.

March Birthdays!

2010-03-15T18:38:00.004-04:00

Only picture I ended up getting of Bill, ignore Melanie's crazy facial expression ;-)

Much better, Mel.

Me, Alaina and Linds. As usual, I'm ruining the picture with a strange facial expression.

Alaina and I.

We were smart and wrote everyone's names on the cups since they all looked alike.

We had a great time! Bonus: both Bill and I took today (his actual birthday)off and got a three day weekend. Hope everyone had a good weekend too!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 13

2010-03-12T11:48:00.007-05:00

1. I am a little neurotic. I know some of you who either read this blog constantly and/or know me in real life are like "no... really?" and shaking your heads asking why I would think this was news. I regress, I'm a little neurotic. This manifests itself in different ways such as my thinking constantly that I never work hard enough, am going to get awful evaluations and then fired. As of yet, that has never occurred and in actuality get incredibly good evaluations. This was the year though that my neurosis went off the charts because I've had what you could call a hard year at work (that's putting it mildly). Once again though, I was completely off base and got a great eval.
*sigh of relief*

2. Speaking of neurosis, on Wed night I climbed up onto the dining room table to fully reach the dining room chandelier to dust it. I'm so glad nothing broke (me included). I just didn't trust the jump/swipe method to get it clean enough.

3. I bite my nails. I tend to think that it's a genetic thing because my dad also bit his nails plus I started at a very young age and have never had any other oral fixation symptoms. Never sucked my thumb, hated bottles, etc. I've tried every method under the sun to quit; bad tasting gels, bright nail polish, having a mother pull my hand out of my mouth constantly while growing up, having a husband telling me to stop it in disgust. Nothing works... except for acrylics. Simple reason: I can't bite through them. I wore acrylics constantly for years but then got tired of them and haven't for awhile.

... my past couple of weeks have led me to get them again. Kim's fingernails= stubby, bloody stumps.

TMI? Eh, that's why we read blogs, isn't it?

4. Speaking of bottles, true story: when I was a little over a year I looked directly at my mom, she swears I smiled while doing it, unscrewed the top of the bottle and dumped it on her bed. That was the last time I ever drank out of a bottle and actually a perfect illustration of the type of child I was. Kharma is going to be a biatch.

5. I have become a rather proficient cook but am an awful baker. So bad, in fact, that I once made a batch of chocolate chip cookies that had such a bad spongey texture that my husband wouldn't even eat them. I'm determined to work on this, because it just makes no sense. Why can I do one and not the other? This weekend I'm attempting chocolate souffle cupcakes with white chocolate mint cream for a double bday party thing we are having. Wish me luck, and cross your fingers and toes. I'll need it.

6. Interesting fact about my group of friends. Not one of us has a birthday in our own month. Not even the guys we brought in later because we dated/married them. We have 2 in March, 3 in April, 3 in June and 2 in September. With the bunching issue it makes little sense to celebrate each one individually because
1) we'd be going out every weekend of the month
2) it would get incredibly expensive

so instead we just celebrate once each month and group everyone together trying to do an activity everyone approves of. First on tap-for the two guys of March- dinner and bowling.

And my awesomely good cupcakes! (Banking on the power of positive thinking)

7. I think I'm losing weight. I'm not really actively trying to, and of course that's when it happens. My attendance at Weight Watchers has been spotty so I'm not sure of my exact weight, but my pants aren't fitting anymore in the waist and my belly is getting flatter. I'm not complaining, it's just... odd.

Read more here.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 12

2010-03-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

1. Of your current hobbies, which would you choose to spend more time, money, and effort on? Why?
Cooking.

2. List the two other hobbies/habitual activities (not chores) besides the one listed above that you regularly do now and didn’t choose in question one.
Television watching, reading.

3. Why are you spending time on the above two hobbies/habitual activities at all if you really wanted to spend your time on the first one you chose? …or to put it another way, what are these two hobbies/habitual activities fullfilling that the first one doesn’t if you don’t want to put all your effort into the first hobby?
TV watching is a stress reliever to me, sometimes you just have to sit and do nothing. Reading is a form of escapism. I understand the purpose of this question but it's unrealistic, I think, to say that people should concentrate solely on the one thing that makes them happiest. It's kind of like when you like a song and then you listen to it on repeat for a week straight. You wouldn't like it so much anymore.

4. Read John 3:16 in the bible… In what way does this passage affect you? What are your feelings towards these words, positively or negatively?
It gives me hope that this world isn't the best it gets. It's also the core of my belief system and the reason I have zero fear of death.

5. M&M’s: nuts, no nuts, or peanut butter?
I don't like M&Ms, but the only ones I'll stick in my mouth at all are the peanut butter ones.

6. Putting away the feeling of pride being a bad thing; what secretly/openly are you proud about yourself?
My self-sufficiency.

7. Given one room in the house to do with what you want, not changing the actual size of the room and with all the money you would need, what would you do, and be specific? (this can range from bouncy floor,walls & ceilings; to hard wood floor with wood paneling and purple ceiling with a chair; to nothing)
My house has tiny rooms, so you can't really do much more then each room has in it already. I'd love a dream bathroom but there no room in the current space. So I'll focus on the kitchen. I'd replace the appliances, and install a dishwasher.

8. What’s the next movie you’re going to see? Not what you’d LIKE to GO see, but the next movie you realistically are going to watch.
We just went to a movie this past weekend and we don't go that often (they are expensive!) so nothing for a little bit. Unless you count Netflix.

9. Use the keyboard only and make your best smiley/funny/cool face –> like this! 8^)
B-D

10. What makes you cry? What makes you pray? What makes you laugh?
Stress and frustration make me cry, the safety and health of my family makes me pray and my husband and cats make me laugh.

Read more here.

Sundresses and wedges, oh my!

2010-03-08T11:58:00.005-05:00

We have finally started to enter a prolonged thaw period and all these warmer temps are making me start thinking of spring. With spring comes thoughts of dresses and sandals and other warm weather clothes that make me happy.

Here's a few dresses I love right now:

From Modcloth. Confession, I love Modcloth's clothes however I have never, and probably will never buy anything from them. I look. I covet. However, I never pay $50+ for any item of clothing that isn't 1) boots or 2) coats. I love this dress though, both the pattern and the simplicity of it. It exudes the casual feeling of warm weather dressing that I love.

I buy 95% of my work clothes from Chadwicks. They have a killer clearance section and it isn't a long wait from when you notice something that you love but is too expensive full price until it ends up in the sale/clearance section at a more affordable price. This has a vintage feel with a bright spring color. Plus it gives me the coverage I want at work without having to put a sweater over top of it or a tank top underneath.

I love this entire outfit from Old Navy. From the dress to the shrug sweater to the necklace. Probably the only thing I would change is that I'd wear flats with it. These long dresses are so comfortable that if I could I would live in them 100% of the time in the summer. I already have two. I hope this trend doesn't leave anytime soon.

------------
For shoes, I never buy shoes from anywhere but Payless (unless they are on a deep, deep discount rack but those usually aren't available online), so that's where both these images are from. Honestly, I get many compliments on my shoes and they are always comfortable so I see no reason to pay more.

I'm loving the wedge fad right now. Wedges are like the best of both worlds, comfortable like flats but add the height and the leg muscle definition of heels. Add a bright color and it's perfect for spring. Just a warning though, do not pair bright colored shoes with bright colored clothes. You'll look like a bridesmaid with those dyed to match your ugly dress shoes. Wear neutral colored clothes, pop with accessories. Wear bright clothes, pair with neutral accessories.

-----------

Last, I discovered an Iphone app called Stylebook where you put in the clothes you have in your closet and you can pair them together in outfits. The uber organizer in me thinks it may be a handy tool to plan out my work outfits for the whole week on Sundays so it streamlines my morning routine. Plus, I'm hoping it will eliminate my being out and saying "I think I need a black sweater" and then realizing in 2 months that actually I have 5 black sweaters that are almost identical.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 12 (the Iphone addition)

2010-03-05T07:22:00.006-05:00

1. During the Olympics I watched both of the USA vs. Canada games and I really enjoyed them both. Normally I'm more of a love hockey in person not so much on tv type of person, but they really played for the jugular. You could TELL each team wanted it and wanted it bad and that is just intoxicating to watch. I wish they both could have won... though technically they did. I mean USA won one and Canada won one- isn't that kind of a tie? They should play again! ;-) Interesting tidbit that you may have missed: every single player on both teams plays for the NHL. In the Olympics that generally isn't true.

2. I have really been struggling with friendship lately. It has occurred to me that friendship defined is different to different people and I'm wondering if due to my experiences my idea of it is kind of warped. For example, I have a lot of guilt when I realize that there are people I just don't like, but that's allowed isn't it? I mean not allowed to be rude to them but isn't it allowed to just realize once in awhile that there are people you just don't have enough in common with to pursue a true friendship with (vs. an acquaintanceship)? Also, when someone asks you your opinion about someone else are you supposed to just be vague or is it okay to say this is my experience, not saying it will be yours but just something I've noticed? Or should you just let them come to conclusions on their own? Last, I have a habit of never really liking to make waves. So unless bothering me is huge, I don't see the point in even mentioning it. According to someone I was speaking to, you are supposed to mention it if it's a (minor) frustration. I just don't know if I agree with that.

3. If you have been paying any attention lately you know that I just got a new iPhone. I was kind of reluctant because they are just so trendy and I definitely thought about getting a Blackberry instead. But there was a good deal, so we ended up with two. It's amazing, I'm not going to lie. I have lists, lists for my lists and then lists for my lists for my lists. And there's an app for it all. Most importantly- I can keep my calender on me any time I have my phone, thus I can write down everything immediately so I'll never forget anything again. (I have a horrible memory, causing a lot of frustration to all those involved)

4. One of my favorite apps is Grocery IQ- which gives you the ability to make shopping lists for each different store you go to. Now, anytime I realize we are running low or I need something (or want something) I can just add it to the store it would be from. When I get enough items, I run to that store and am focused. There's no more of that "I know I'm forgetting something..." nor fumbling with a piece of paper and a pen that keeps either falling to the bottom of your purse or falling through the cart rungs.

5. I have Evernote, Awesome Note (for to-do lists), CalenGoo, and Mint for organization apps. Does anyone have any other productivity/organization apps that they recommend. Organizational systems are a bit like crack to me.

6. Does anyone else listen to The Dana Show? I discovered it lately and actually really enjoy it. I generally vote democrat so she leans a bit conservative for me, however I think that most of us are fed up with big businesses and lobbyists having so much say up on the hill. So, for that reason, her show is enjoyable for me. I've been working really long hours this week and listening to talk radio is actually better than music because it's kind of like you can pretend that you have someone to talk to. Does that sound pathetic? Yeah... I thought so.

7. As someone who was really reluctant to try Pioneer Woman's recipes, consider me a convert. They are easy to make, use ingredients anyone has sitting around which is great and most importantly- tasty! Since you all were right about that site, maybe I'll give Smitten Kitchen another chance (it's also been highly recommended).

More Quick Takes here.

Bravo Wrap-Up

2010-03-04T08:00:00.003-05:00

My new feature in which I blog about of the Bravo TV shows in the past week in a free thought format. I watch all of them, pretty much, so the featured show will rotate.

Millionaire Matchmaker:
There were two I hadn't seen, both the 9 and the 10.
JASON & DAVID

Patti has a radio show with advice people couldn't do without- like every 3 times he initiates, you do to keep him on his toes. Nothing says spontaneous like following a schedule. Oh and give good BJs.

Jason Davis (aka Gummy Bear)- Wow, he's only almost 25 years old? Patti is concerned no one will be sexually attracted to him, which is true because he's nasty. Anyone who has seen a tabloid in the last 5 years knows that. Patti thinks her assistant's hair spikes have attacked his brain for letting Gummi Bear sign up for their club.

Jason has the most annoying grating high voice in the world. He's also crazy.

Ideal girl: doesn't give two shits what anyone thinks of them like him. Clearly- since he has teddy bears that he used to talk for him. Patti thinks the crazy is from walls he's put up to protect himself. I think the crazy is just from the crazy... and years of drug use with a dose of growing up in Hollywood thrown in.

He has that idealized idea that everyone should love you for whatever you are even when they first meet you, even when you have nasty dirty fingernails and look like a smelly homeless person.

Oh I'm blind! Naked Jason Davis only wearing tighty whities. My eyes! My eyes! I hate you Bravo for doing this to me.

Question: Does he use a cane because he has to or because he thinks it's awesome? I really truthfully cannot tell.

First off, he insults a girls necklace, which probably means that now she likes him.

Next a girl tells a p**** joke, which is uber classy. Jason remarks that at least she has a mild sense of humor, so picks her for one of his mini dates. I'm not surprised. Surprisingly she turns out to be a nurse who works nights. And actually isn't funny at all, he declares her boring.

He asks girl #2 what she likes to do and tells her not to BS him. She's like okay, I like shopping and gambling. She has Gummy Bear at the word gamble but covers it up and claims that it's because she's kind.

On the date:

Stephanie says that she doesn't take too many things seriously and just laughs everything off. She may actually be the only person possible for him. Surprisingly he pulled out all the stops for the date...except there's a monkey. He claims it's because monkeys are smart and can tell if a girl is good or not and implies that he can't. So he's less smart then a monkey on a leash. The monkey likes Stephanie and Jason does too.

Now they are farting because that's what we all do on first dates.

Ew! She kissed him. Multiple times. If anything, this proves there's someone out there for everyone. No matter what.

*right about now Lea sat on my hand making it incredibly difficult to type, sigh!*

Post date:
Jason tells Patti that he asked Stephanie out again for a second date but oh surprise! she has a boyfriend! Wait, what? Patti wants to start over and really wants to meet the monkey, who apparently was wrong with it's girl good-dar.

David- Wants a girl with a Meg Ryan personality, smiley eyes. He quotes Sleepless in Seattle which Patti interprets as "bells and whistles." Early 30s-early 40s but wants kids. Declares he seems perfect but can't be or he wouldn't be signing up with Patti. He's 50, but quite hot. then reveals he originally was an actor and model, not surprising. He runs 8 miles 5 days a week. He reveals what's wrong- he doesn't approach people. Patti is giving him a "hunter, fisher" life coach.

The life coach doesn't believe that David really has no idea what to do or how to approach people, he says that's just not possible. They do "trial by fire" in which they discover that all he does is talk about himself and about stuff in general. He doesn't allow for ebb and flow or ask them anything. The girls interject "just pretend you care, even if you don't- we can't tell the difference" which is actually really true.

Patti is super sneaky and put in an older millionairess for David- of course they hit it off immediately. He ends up picking a 25 year old and the millionairess, then picks the 25 year old. Patti is pissed off and tells him off. David follows her lead but I have to wonder what Leslie is going to think when she watches this show, which makes me sad for her.

On the date:
Leslie has 3 sons (wow! she looks great!) and is happy that Patti told David already that she is a millionairess. I'm glad that he told her that. They seemed to hit it off and she wants to go out with him again but my hunch is he'll claim there's no chemistry and wants the 25 year old. We'll see if I'm right.

Post date:
I'm right! He has a problem with her age and that she has 3 kids. Patti declares he just wants a baby maker and writes him off.

JIMMY D & MATEO
Patti has a wedding planner that she liked. She wants a funkified wedding that's kosher for 300 people. I will be amazed if the wedding planner makes it to the end without being replaced. She also throws Chelsea a birthday party and gets her a stripper who is a "detective." I find all cop and detective stripper characters hilarious because some people *cough* get that every day. Booyah.

Jimmy D is back! but he's changed because he's a year older and got his head bashed in in a fight. He HAS changed, now he goes everywhere with two massive bodyguards, probably to avoid getting his head bashed in again. I may be alone, but I find him absolutely hilarious and he's cute. He apparently also stopped drinking, comes across as calmer and stopped talking about himself in the third person. That makes him much less entertaining.

Patti is throwing in the curve ball test of the girl old Jimmy D picked before, the girl that she thought was either a porn star or a hooker.

Jimmy D's bodyguards hate him, which is amusing.

He picks Angel, who was Patti's trap. Patti is annoyed. Angel is happy because she gets to go to Vegas on her date.

Date:

Woah, she gets to play poker with Phil Hellmuth. It's like my dream date (not really, but I'd at least appreciate it, a lot). She's never played before, so it's completely lost on her but she just happens to win the first hand, probably because the big poker guys were in shock that they actually had to play with that. Also, she apparently smells like alcohol and Jimmy D thinks she's drunk. I dunno if she's drunk but she isn't very smart.

The suspense escalates because Angel goes up to change and disappears. She claims that she threw up and now is asking for money, and also will not let him into her room. That he paid for. Jimmy D has learned that instead of insulting her he'd just cut his losses and go do something else. He gets permission from Patti to call Whitney who lives in Vegas who shows up even though she hates to be second choice because apparently "everyone knows" Jimmy D and how outrageous he is so she's curious.

Post Date:

Angel won't pick up her phone, shocker. Whitney says she liked seeing another side of him and wants to go out with him again. Jimmy D now understands that it's his fault he picked the wrong person and its not just them being crazy.

Mateo is 42 and christian who wants a beautiful, hot, petite, not divorced, christian mother of his children... oh, and who's positive. He actually has a list.

Within 3 minutes he's mentioned that he was one of the original Microsoft millionaires 3 times. I think he's proud of that fact.

Patti is trying to bring up sex and he's avoiding it because he doesn't think it's appropriate. Ooo, now she's making the penis gesture and talking about it. Maybe his head will explode out of embarrassment. His last girlfriend left him for his friend, that's harsh. Poor guy.

He reiterates that he must have a christian girl...

...then he ends up picking Angela, who is Jewish.

Date:

They went to a horse track, which is a date I'd never enjoy because I think horse racing is cruel and inhumane. /step off soapbox

Patti knows that religion is a dealbreaker but bites her tongue, but then of course right off the bat they realize that they are incompatible due to religion not even halfway through dinner.

Post Date:

Mateo is very cute and upbeat about the whole thing and is just like well I tried something new and it didn't work out. Oh well! Patti will get him someone else.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 11

2010-03-02T09:37:00.003-05:00

1. If you were given an hour to use a $200 Amazon gift card, what would you buy?
A kindle. (I'd have to throw in some of my own money too, though)

2. Are there any fairly common foods that you’ve never had?
I doubt it. If you asked me that even 3 years ago there would be more, but I'm willing to try pretty much anything. And have tried pretty much anything I've had the chance to which includes most common foods.

3. What was your favorite way to use your imagination as a kid?
I imagined that all my stuffed animals were real and they all lived with me. So my stuffed monkey had a cage and I had an inflatable alligator in a kiddy pool in my bedroom (no water, that's where my mom drew the line).

4. What’s your favorite state? Why?
That's an odd question... I don't know that many states but I like things about each that I've been to. The sunny climate in Southern California, the numerous gorgeous trees and forests in Virginia and the Rockies in Utah.

5. If it was our culture to have our parents choose our spouses, do you think yours would make a good choice?
No. One, my mom doesn't really know anything about me or who I am. Two, she really has no clue what makes people compatible with each other. Not to be mean, just a fact- she's relationship retarded.

6. What’s your favorite herb?
Chives.

7. If you could have dinner with one celebrity, who would you choose?
Neil Patrick Harris.

8. What’s your favorite Disney movie?
Finding Nemo

9. If you had to listen to the same song over and over for 24 hours, what song would you choose?
Currently- Viva la vida and All Summer Long. Yeah, I have horrible taste in music. I embrace that fact.

10. How do you order your steak?
Medium Well.

Read more Ten on Tuesday here.

March Resolution Check In

2010-03-01T21:09:00.003-05:00

1) Organize our office and basement
I'd love to say I've started on this, but I haven't.

2) Go to bed earlier/get up for work on time
My new work schedule seems to be 9-5 instead of 8-4. But it's consistent so that's progress, now I'll concentrate on waking up earlier.

3) Create and follow a regular cleaning schedule
I've been through a couple that just haven't worked for me. I have a new one starting this week that may be better.

4) Sew one item of clothing from scratch
Not yet. I haven't even figured out how to work my sewing machine yet. Soon though!

5) Settle into a workout schedule where I work out consistantly (at least) three days a week
I've been going back and forth with this. I got into working out then it snowed... a lot. Then I wasn't feeling well. And then today I had everything to go but then realized I forgot shoes. *sigh*

6) Run two 10Ks
One coming up at the end of the month! Not sure how much of it Alaina and I will run, but we'll finish it. We're determined like that.

7) Purge and create a workable wardrobe
Definitely making progress. A ton of disliked, old and ill-fitting stuff has left the house. Was replaced with a few better pieces, but not so much that I end up back in the same pickle. Work in progress.

8) Make the kitchen window curtains
See above about not even figuring out how to work my machine yet.

9) Stop drinking soda
Nope.

10) Finish the quilt I've been working on for years
No.

11) Start a monthly dinner potluck club with the girls
First meeting happened, but I missed it because I was sick :-( March was scrapped due to scheduling issues so tbd in April!

12) Get my clothes altered so they fit correctly
Have 2 pairs of pants there now. Yay me!

13) Find a job in a smaller city
After the couple weeks I've had this seems even more pressing. Sigh!

14) Take more photos
So far so good.

15) Eradicate 25% of my debt this year (including student loans)
Making great progress. I also have an emergency fund started and have raised my credit scores more than 100 points since I last checked (like 8 months or so ago).

16) Build up a savings account
Check! Will keep going. It's kind of addictive.

17) To keep up with my email inbox so I don't blink and end up with 900 plus email messages
Have realized that the key to this is my brand new iPhone. When you can constantly check your email it keeps things under wraps, right now I'm working on getting my email cleaned out and properly filed and keep finding things from months ago that I totally never saw.

18) To concentrate on work at work, concentrate on home at home
Small steps. It's hard to create a hard divide, I've realized.

19) Eat better portion sizes, better balanced meals
My portion sizes are definitely getting more under control and as long as I stick to my meal plans and cook dinner instead of grabbing fast food, they are better balanced. I just need to stick to the meal plans better.

20) Start eating breakfast
Not at all. This requires me to get up earlier than the minimum amount of time for me to get ready and get to work.

21) Be better organized and on top of things at work
Definitely getting better about this. When I get frazzled I get stressed out and then everything goes to hell in a handbasket but I'm working on that too.

22) Take the time to read a book a month
Check.

What has been going on in my life:

2010-02-25T10:53:00.001-05:00

- I have been sick so frequently this winter (especially lately) that one of my friends commented that I must be pregnant. I'm not. Though it seems that it's definitely in the air because pregnant people are EVERYWHERE!

- Turns out that I would bet money my boss is who gets me sick all the time. We always end up sick within 24 hours of each other with the exact same symptoms. He has kids. People with kids seem to get every bug that ever goes around because their kids get them from school.

- All that pretty snow we got? Gone! Now we have a swampy gross disgusting mess, a leaky basement and a ton of mud. Yay.

- I'm done with winter, I'm ready for sun dresses and sandals.

- My In-Laws just bought a house on Padre Island, TX. Greatest thing ever, now every time we visit it's like a vacation. Christmas at their house every year! ;-) (not really because my mom would cry)

- My job is stressful. I wish I could telecommute at least part time. That's not new, but to add to all the reasons that were there before- I think I'd be happier if I had the ability to add social opportunities into my day once in awhile. By social opportunities I mean talking to at least one person in a cordial manner. Yes, I do see the irony in needing to not be in the office to do that.

- Yesterday at this time we were under a Winter Storm Watch. Now, we are under a High Sun Watch that warns us to wear sunglasses. I find that extraordinarily funny.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 11

2010-02-19T11:56:00.003-05:00

1. I feel I should apologize for neglecting this site. We were slammed by tons and tons of snow and then the house was hit with the stomach flu. Topped off by an uber busy week at work.

2. I'm starting to realize that I think I underestimated how wonderful my old boring job was. Yes, I could do it with my eyes closed and one arm tied behind my back, and yes an accurate statement would be that a trained monkey could do that job however I had zero stress. I would go home and not think about my job until the next day, it was almost always solely 40 hours a week. Very little responsibility for anything fell on me and I had plenty of time to do all the other things I'm far more interested in then work. None of the above are true with my job now.

3. This past week has also led to the conclusion that I need to come up with a new schedule. As someone who is not keen on spending hours upon hours in my office building, I need to concentrate this weekend on getting our home office usable so I can work as much as I need to at nights and on the weekends. My current method of working on the coffee table is just not working, too many distractions, plus it's not a comfortable way to sit and work for long periods of time.

4. I think we are finally getting Iphones/Blackberries this weekend! Woot! We keep going back and forth on what we/each are going to get. The benefits are laid out as follows:
Iphone- more user friendly, easier setup
Blackberry- easier to type, more business minded

I have also been looking up all the apps to see what will help me most with my spreadsheet and list obsessions. Anything that takes all those scraps of paper out of folders, purses, etc would be superb.

5. I think I'm going to buy a mail and key holder. For one, I keep losing my keys and two I hate cluttered surfaces and our current mail system of throwing everything on top of a bookcase is driving me nuts. In looking up possible holders, I also found a pretty good looking indoor/outdoor rug that apparently is surprisingly plush but can still be hosed off if need be that may work really well for our basement. Anyone have any mail/key organizers that work well in their houses?

6. Does anyone else live in a house with someone who plays a lot of war themed video games? Is it just me or after awhile does it make you feel like you live in a war zone?

7. I am considering starting a fashion blog for normal people including a daily outfit. You know, people who don't wear mini skirts or mismatched layers of "thrift store" clothes, who have real jobs and budgets so they can't afford to pay $500 for a pair of shoes. Do you think there's any interest in that? If they already exist please point me in that direction since I haven't been able to find any. Or maybe I'll just integrate it in with this blog one or two days a week.

Regular posting will resume next week.

More quick takes here.

Snow.... what?!?!

2010-02-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

After years of snow drought, our area seems to have a bullseye painted on and is under seige. We got 18 inches final total in December, the last Saturday in Jan we got about 6-8, and this past Friday and Saturday? Final total= 22. Keep in mind with these numbers that we are at a low elevation, very close to the river and generally trend warm. Those further inland got well over 2 feet.

Oh, did I mention we are under a winter storm watch for Tuesday night/Wed? AND there's more storms setting up, so we'll just have to see what happens with those. I think it's going to take until July to get the DC Area fully dug out.

Here's some pictures for you:

Our deck table and chairs. This picture was taken early Saturday afternoon- keep in mind, it was still snowing. Hard.

Took a walk up to the 7-11 and to survey the damage so far on Saturday morning at about 9:30. The trees behind me? Not supposed to be hanging to the ground, obviously. They had not yet broken but all that wet snow is heavy!

View of our street. After this was taken we got another 6 inches or so. Yes, a snow plow had been through- couldn't tell? Yeah....

Another view. We were dropping off our shovel at a friend's house who lives nearby. The dragging shovel was handy- gave me a path to walk in that wasn't up to my knees.

Bill does not like snow. He says it comes from a childhood living in Upstate New York and seeing all of the problems snow can cause. I just say he's a grump ;-)

View of the snow piled up on our deck.

Lea was very curious. Curious did not equal brave and she was incredibly not interested in venturing out. Lizzy went out and jumped around in it when it was only about 2 inches or so. She learned a lesson in the last snow storm that deep snow equals kitties falling into holes and getting stuck, so now she knows better.

Snow always provides a nice break from the buzz and busy-ness of life, so it's nice. But I have to admit, getting storm after storm would not be as nice even for those who love snow (like me!). Also, this was a busy week for me and it looks like none of that will be happening. Already cancelled- Super Bowl Party and most likely the first dinner club meeting tomorrow night. Possibly cancelled- Alaina and I's annual Valentine's Day dinner at the Melting Pot on Tuesday. We'll see if we can get out our neighborhoods with a non 4WD vehicle by then.

2010-02-02T10:55:00.003-05:00

1. What is your favorite travel destination spot?
Anywhere that's warm and sunny and has a beach. I'm not a big fan of vacations that require tourist activities, for me vacation has to be doing nothing or I'm just as tired when I get home as I was when I left.

2. Cats vs. Dogs.
Both. Seriously. Right now I only have cats because they are lower maintenance and we have a really small house. As soon as we get a bigger place we are getting a dog- probably a Rottie or German Shep.

3. Do you believe in fate?
Somewhat. I do think that some things were meant to happen but at the same time, I think it's dangerous to discount free will completely. I've just seen too many times that making one bad decision completely altered someone's life in a bad way. I can't believe that they were just destined to have that happen.

4. Do you believe in karma?
Definitely. I wish more people did because I think that would inject a lot more kindness into the world.

5. Everyone has a unique laugh. Do you like yours?
I like my real laugh. When I'm truly laughing, not just a half ha ha laugh I have one of those loud full bodied laughs. I laugh with my whole self. Unfortunately, I don't fully laugh all that often.

6. Is love really all you need?
Yes- but to a point. It's been shown time and time again that money will effect love and is at the top of what causes divorces. I think love and enough money to cover basic bills is all you need.

7. What’s your take on the whole 2012 scare?
I'm not sure if I've heard of this, but based on the movie I'm guessing that the world is supposed to end or something? Look, the thing is I live so close to a huge target for terrorists and others that wish our country harm that I worry more about that then anything like the world ending- even then I don't worry that much about it. I think whatever happens is going to happen. You either survive or you don't, and if you don't you get to go to heaven and that's not too shabby.

The fact is the vast majority of people who are afraid of death and worry about things like this constantly are those who don't believe in god or faith is something they question. I'm not telling people what they should and should not think or believe, but that's just a fact.

8. If you won a million dollars and had to give it all away, who would you give it to? (Family and friends not included.)
Half to the ASPCA and half to C.O.P.S.

9. Do you believe in God/religion/the power of prayer?
Yes.

10. What New Year’s Resolution do you always make but never keep?
To stop biting my nails.

Surprise snow!

2010-02-01T08:18:00.004-05:00

The weathercasters were saying as late as Friday morning that we were only going to get a dusting from the Saturday storm. This is less than an hour after the snow started mid morning on Saturday, clearly they were wrong. We ended up with about 4-5inches in our yard. (official measurement at DCA which we are almost next to: 5.2)

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 10

2010-01-29T08:44:00.011-05:00

1. I have mentioned my hairstyling struggles before and this week I made the decision to just give up on the layers. "But layers make your hair have volume!!" the stylists always say. Truth be told, the only things on earth that give my hair volume are 2 hours of styling, curling, or if I got a whole head of extensions with or without the layers. Those layers were just an unnecessary hassle and since I love sleep above all else they got chopped off. Up to the shortest layer.

Here's the new do:

Let me know what you think :-)

2. I have noticed recently that people with talent seem to lose that talent or become less sure of themselves once their small blogs blow up. I'm talking about Capital Weather Gang who used to be deadly accurate with their forcasts when they had a small blog and forum... then they were picked up by the Washington Post.com. Now their forecasts look something like this:

Chance of dusting to 1 inch: 40%
Chance of 2: 15%
Chance of 3: 10%
and so on.

Then afterwards they'll say, hey look we got 3 inches of snow! That means we were right in saying that we had a 65% chance. Um no, that's not what you said at all and I think you need to redefine percentages to yourselves. They seem to be really, really afraid of being wrong, so they hedge their bets too much. They didn't have that problem before.

3. When I feel that I cannot trust sources for particular information that impacts my life I tend to get a bit obsessed with figuring out how to do it myself. You may have noticed from my twitter feed that my latest obsession is learning how to read radar and weather models myself. That way I can predict what I'm going to get weather wise without relying on people terrified of being wrong. "You can get anywhere between a dusting and 6 inches of snow." No thanks, never again will that suffice.

4. I have discovered a great Starbucks alternative if your office has those Flava machines where you can make a cup of coffee each time. Take a travel sized coffee mug, pull out the bottom of the machine so it fits. Make a regular strength Sumatra coffee. Then make a hot chocolate from the Dove packs. They should both go into the mug. Stir. Tastes better than a Starbucks mocha.

5. This week has not gone well for the gym, I realize I say this every week but next week it's on! I'm running out of time (ha! puns are fun!) before my 10K at the end of March and at this point even walking it may actually kill me. Besides, last time around I just walked it and I refuse to admit I've made no strides (I amuse myself even if I amuse no others) forward in 2 years. My plan (great advice someone gave me via the comments section) is to twitter and facebook status my gym plans. It keeps it forefront in my mind plus I look ridiculous if I don't go.

6. Totally thought the Superbowl was this weekend and sent out an invite for it to my friends. I'm a bit out of it sometimes. Good thing I had not gone shopping for food yet. Will post our menu next Friday.

7. On tap for this weekend is shoe shopping for Bill (his work shoes split in half down the sole), continuing my organizing/purging efforts throughout the house, and taking the opportunity to relax (it's going to be cold, yo!). Hope your weekend is great!

Read more Quick Takes here.

**Side note: Is there anything that you like above other things on this blog? Anything you want to see more of that I don't do?**

Organization 101- Week 1

2010-01-28T10:42:00.003-05:00

I am going to admit right now that I haven't fully completed the Week 1 materials and Week 2 started today. My plan of going to bed earlier and getting to work earlier have not worked out this week at all. At all, at all. So I've been at work later in the evenings and I'm exhausted so thus productivity= in the toilet.

The one thing I did to though is to start purging. It would be impossible to organize my house without getting rid of a lot of the extra stuff lying around. Goodwill came by this morning to pick up and they took out all the old dishes, my old glasses (for drinking, not eyes), some of our lower quality pans (that I used back when the only thing I ever cooked was Ramen), and two bags of clothes/purses. Keep in mind that when I say two bags I mean two big lawn sized trash bags. Yeah, I'm in awe as well... no wonder I always had so much laundry. The sad part about it is that the bulk of it doesn't fit anyway or I hate it and was just clinging to it like a security blanket for no logical reason at all.

So my closet is (mostly) cleaned out and my two dressers are completely cleared out of all stuff that I don't love. My purse collection has been lessened to only those that I love and will actually carry.

I think that's a good start.

1.27.10

2010-01-27T13:29:00.004-05:00

We Love DC posted this pic of flooding in Old Town, Alexandria Monday:

like it's news. That exact area of Old Town (the white building is a boating club and to the left is the Torpedo Factory) floods all the time. There is actually a sign in the parking lot (currently flooded so you can't see it) that says "flood zone, park at your own risk." If you go down to Old Town you'll notice that the slope of King Street up from this point is quite large, designed that way for this very reason.

The interesting thing about living in such a transient area for your entire life is that people are shocked when you are from here. I'm asked on a daily basis where I'm from and when I reply "Alexandria" people are like "wait, what? No one is from here." I, and my friends, disagree. We live here, are from here and I was even born in Alexandria hospital. Because of this I chuckle when I see news blogs posting things like this and when people are willing to buy million dollar townhouses right next to the river there. They are all from out of town, I guarantee, because no one from here in their right mind would buy a place that will 1) flood all the time and 2) smell like rotting fish from the nasty, nasty Potomac River whenever the wind blows in a certain direction. It always amused me when I used to date and guys would say "hey, I found this great place- we'll go to Old Town!" and then when we couldn't find parking, common for weekend nights, I just directed them to park at my mom's. Yeah buddy, Old Town isn't new nor as exciting as you think.

True story: when I was 15 I worked in a tshirt shop about 4 blocks up from where this picture was taken. Every time a storm would go through (it was summertime) we would go outside and watch the river creep it's way up. That is how common it is. Once again, not news. But good try We Love DC.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 10

2010-01-26T14:34:00.005-05:00

1. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Who I turned out to be. It sounds sort of self centered, but coming from where I did and my mother being who she is- I could have ended up a very different person.

2. How much did you weigh when you were born?
Over 7 lbs- like 7lbs, 8 ounces or something like that. My mom just gave me a bunch of old photo albums to scan and Bill saw that and was like "good god, you were a large baby." (which coincidentally is a funny statement because 7 lbs doesn't seem that large. I mean I have a cat that's bigger than that) He was too. I may have to rethink procreating with him because I may have to push out some giant child-baby.

3. What is your favorite perfume?
I wear Burberry London.

It's funny because once it's on, people love the smell and compliment me on it all the time. But when it's hanging in the air- Bill swears it smells like his Grandma's bathroom. Not high compliments.

4. How many siblings do you have?
None. Technically I have three step sisters but I don't see any of them. I sometimes regret that a bit, it would be nice to have more family.

5. How many children would you like to have? (Or how many do you have?)
Barring financial restraints and the fact that I'm already kind of old and haven't started yet- I would want 5. However, especially where we live, that's not realistic and Bill only wants 1 which I refuse to do because I hate being an only child. I would guess we'll end up with zero or two.

6. What’s the best class you took in college?
I loved Analytical Chemistry. If I had taken it before my Junior year I probably would have changed my major to that.

7. What was your favorite game to play when you were a child?
I was really good at double dutch- like I could do cartwheels and stuff without tripping on the ropes so that's what I did most of the time.

8. What character on Friends are you most like?
I don't think I'm like any of them. Maybe if you took the slight ditsy cheerfulness of Phoebe and meshed it with the OCD qualities of Monica?

9. Are you a phone person? (ie: Do you like talking on the phone?)
No. Not at all. I used to be in high school but then computers came out... and then later text messaging. Now I'm just awkward and want to get off the phone as quickly as possible. The best bet of talking to me on the phone for a substantial amount of time is if I'm driving somewhere (don't yell- I use speakerphone!).

10. What was the best vacation you ever took?
My honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico. We did this all inclusive thing and it was wonderful.

Read more here.

Bear with me...

2010-01-22T13:53:00.002-05:00

For various reasons I can no longer post during the days and my nights have been hectic. Next week I'll be on a new schedule and posting will resume- starting out with week 1 of my Organization 101 workshop! :-)

Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 9

2010-01-15T09:54:00.008-05:00

1. It is a (bad) habit of mine to complain about things without ever making one iota of effort to change them. A good example of this is that at work I've been complaining all week about how cold I am, but never once did I think to check the thermostat in my office. About a year ago when I moved into this office I set it for 80 and just assumed it was still set at that. Clearly I was not thinking about the fact that every day I have cleaning people in here and security staff... and then there's the bi-annual carpet cleaning and all the times I've had people move stuff around... oh, and the time my computer system was switched out and I had like 3 people in here at one time (it's a small office, so that's a lot). I finally checked this morning and it was reset at under 65. No wonder I was cold.

2. I discovered yesterday that if I want office supplies at work that aren't normally in the stock room- like tissues, pretty pens, etc. while it's cold enough outside that I never want to take a lunch break- Office Depot delivers for free the next business day! I can order what I want, have it delivered straight to work (paying for it myself, of course) and then I never have to leave!

3. All my christmas stuff is still up. My plan was to take it down last Sunday but you know what they say about the best laid plans... stuff came up. Then my week was really busy, and it's still all up looking a little silly at this point. My plan is to get it down tonight because we are having a party tomorrow night and all my friends will surely make fun of me if I'm so lazy that it's all still up. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure my friends.

4. We still have a stockpile of licquor left over from the wedding so we keep having parties to get rid of it. We have kind of run out of reasons to have parties so we just make them up at this point. Recently we bought Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii and a new large tv- so this is the "DDR Party." Though, I'd be willing to bet that a very small amount of people will actually play DDR, if anyone will at all.

5. While having these thinly veiled "drink all our extra alcohol we'll never drink on our own!!!" get togethers, I think it's ill advised to not provide food as well. This time around I'm doing all appetizers and came up with a menu that makes me salivate just thinking about it.

Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno Thingies- Pioneer Woman

Feta Cheese, lemon and thyme turnovers- Betty Crocker

Fresh Avocado and Black Bean Dip- Tasty Kitchen

Mushrooms stuffed with Brie- Tasty Kitchen

Spiced Shrimp with Ina Garten's Cocktail Sauce- I use Phillips spiced shrimp steamers (frozen) which taste just as good as making fresh spiced shrimp yourself. Seriously.

Alaina is bringing her goat cheese/tomato tarts.

I think we'll have a good spread.

6. I found quite possibly the best website ever for recipe filing and menu planning. Plan to Eat. In full disclosure, I did not find it myself I found it from a link off of Organizing Junkie's site, but it is wonderful. You can inport recipes right off most of your favorite sites, for the sites that don't import automatically there is a bulk upload feature where you can just cut and paste. Then you file them by course, can add comments as you make them, delete if you hate them, and pull and drag them straight into a calender for menu planning purposes. The greatest part (to me at least) is that it makes a shopping list for you divided into catagories. A shopping list you can add your own items to, or take off the things you already have in your pantry. Check it out (it's free for the first 30 days).

7. Still have not made it to the gym this year, but next week I'll get on schedule! (hopefully)

Ten on Tuesday Vol. 9

2010-01-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

1. Are you usually late, early, or right on time?
Late. I always underestimate how long it will take me to get from Point A to Point B.

2. What is your middle name?
Alison. One L, not two.

3. What are the last 4 digits of your cell phone number?
9339

4. How big is your bed?
Queen (and both of us fit on maybe 2/3 of it since the cats stretch out). We want a King but decided to wait until we buy a house so we don't have to move it.

5. What are you allergic to?
Pollen, Dust, Mold, Dogs with hair instead of fur (like Bichons) make me break out in hives everywhere they touch (so I can be near them as long as they don't touch me), pumpkin seeds, Cephlahexin, and recently developed a sensitivity to Orange Juice. Out of nowhere. Everytime I drink it I vomit. It's like one day I drank orange juice all the time, the next morning I woke up and couldn't drink it anymore. Sucks. I like orange juice.

6. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Stumble downstairs to feed the cats. They are almost always my alarm clock. Between 6:45 and 7:00am every morning.

7. What was your favorite TV show growing up?
My mother was very strict so all I could watch really was PBS shows and a few approved things like Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and the Sunday Night Movies presented by Disney. I liked Ghost Writer a lot as well as this PBS series about a Monk. Don't remember what exactly it was called.

8. Will you, or did you, go to your 10 year high school reunion?
I did. It was lame. I doubt I'll do that again. My school was weird because it was huge so it was impossible to know everyone or even 1/3 of your graduating class. Turns out, not that many people I was friends with actually went.

9. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?
Umm, yes. Vibrations from it falling still exist creating the sound, even if there is no auditory senses around to receive those vibrations. /science geeking out over

10. What, in your opinion, is the greatest invention? (You know, since sliced bread…)
Indoor plumbing.

Read more here.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 9

2010-01-08T13:22:00.005-05:00

1) In trying to give up soda, I also decided to end my ingestion of caffeine at noon/1pm every day. My current schedule is drinking 2 cups of coffee between 8-noon and then drinking only water, milk, V-8 Juice or Crystal Light after that (nothing with a ton of sugar either like many juices have). I cannot even explain to you how much better I'm sleeping. I always had sleep problems; insomnia, supersonic night hearing, constant waking up, etc. (I've talked about most of them here), and as a result I rarely woke up mornings feeling rested. Then I got crabby and dazed and I'm sure I wasn't always very intelligent. Since I've switched to the new schedule, I start getting tired at 9/10 (when normal humans are supposed to) and I've been waking up BEFORE the alarm goes off around 6:45. Not only that, I'm rested. Wide awake. Not crabby, for good reason since I sleep like a rock now too. Last night I stayed up a bit later than normal to watch the BCS Championship Game and by the time I went to bed I was completely out within 5 minutes of hitting the mattress. My husband said he actually had to physically move me to my side when he came in and I recall none of this. I slept in that rock-like state until 6:20am, then dozed off again till 6:45am at which point I got up happily feeling rested.

2) In related news, it has been 63 hours since my last soda. I'm quite proud of myself. My Dr. Pepper addiction was off the charts, in fact the only person I've ever met that drank more soda then me is Bill.

3) I've been super busy at work this week which I love because it makes my day go by a lot faster. All the cleaning/organizing I did of my office is a huge help.

4) Speaking of cleaning/organizing, on slate for this weekend is taking down all the Christmas decorations and tree. Always a sad time because it's all so pretty and nothing is quite so empty seeming as neighborhoods going back to their unlit state.

5) We decided that for Christmas one of our presents to ourselves would be a new tv. The TV I brought with me into the living situation is quite possibly the heaviest tv that has ever been made on this earth (but you couldn't beat the price- thanks Brian from Urizone!). So while it worked great, was a large screen and we didn't NEED a new one the idea of ever moving that behemoth thing again was just daunting to think about. It has now been replaced by a LCD flat screen double it's size (and a third of it's weight). The other good thing about this new tv is that now the ugly bookcase we were using as a DVD stand is too big for the space and I have the excuse I've been waiting for to buy a new one! Woot!

6) ESPN, both in print and on TV, is actually talking up and saying nice things about VA Tech's football program. This is significant because they hate us. I am not exaggerating. If you don't believe me, next season watch a VA Tech game that's on ESPN, listen to the commentators and you'll see what I mean. An example of this was the Miami game. If you didn't watch it (which you probably didn't) we completely shut down Miami to the point where they looked outmatched. It was really bad. The commentary went like this: "(ignore what just happened) Jacory Harris is one of the most promising quarterbacks in the nation right now. His completion rate is off the charts good (VA Tech gets an interception) and Miami really is good enough to be in the national championship title race. They are easily the best team in the ACC. *monotone bored voice* VA Tech just scored. *end monotone bored voice* Back to the topic of Miami...."

Many VA Tech fans have contemplated actually just muting the game and listening to music instead.

To further explain to you how significant this is, Bill called and said "mark this date down on the calender and then circle it... and then underline i- ESPN actually just said that VA Tech would end this season in the Top 5 and be a contender for the National Championship next year. ESPN!! COMMENTATOR!!! ON ESPN!"

P.S. ESPN, VA Tech hates you too. That's why lightning struck Lee Corso's car on our grounds. But thanks for the nice words, even if I did have to check out my window for flying pigs.

7) Do any of you have Netflix? If so what's your method for making sure you actually return movies in a timely manner? I constantly forget to put them in the mail, then lose them, then forget to put them in the mail again... and then it ends up just being a huge waste of money. Do you have a designated Netflix spot? One of my movies currently in the house I've had since Jan 2009. No, that is not a misprint.

Read more Quick Takes here.

Adventures in name changing

2010-01-07T11:24:00.003-05:00

Bill and I lived together before we were married for about a year and a half, so most of the "post wedding" stress had already been worked through. There were none of the "how did I not know that about you?!?" surprises which is good... and bad. The bad part is that we remark a lot to each other that sometimes we kind of forget we are married. Everything is just the same as before, except now he wears a ring and I wear two.

I have to admit though, that the one post wedding issue that's much more annoying then I thought it would be is the whole changing your name thing. I followed the steps in the correct order- change with Social Security, change with DMV, when one has their new license you can start changing bank accounts and credit cards, etc. I let work know and got a new badge. The weird part is that you are inevitably going to have a period of time where you are essentially two people. For example, my driver's license has the new last name but my credit cards still have my old last name. My bank account debit card is in the new name but my checks are in my old name. My badge at work is in my new name but the sign outside my door and my paychecks are in my old (different people do each). It's a strange feeling and I never quite know where I'm supposed to put what name. For example, if I sign something at work is it in the new or old? Another problem is when clerks check my ID and try to not accept my card because the names don't match. Technically, I'm not supposed to write a check because the name on the check doesn't match the one on the account. But what are you supposed to do when every action has an order and takes a different amount of time?

My second biggest adjustment (related) is having a new signature. As I am not one of those girls who doodles the guy she's dating last name with her own I had actually never signed my name with the new last name, until I had to sign at the DMV. Holy awkward batman. I think the signature block on my license looks like a 5 year old scratched it out in crayon.

It's at moments when I'm struggling with these things that I actually feel married. (Though in full disclosure, I did fill out a form yesterday in which I put my new last name but accidentally checked the "miss" box out of habit. Oh well!)

First Wed. Resolution Check In

2010-01-06T12:18:00.002-05:00

I am determined to not let my resolutions go by the wayside this year so I think spot checking on progress would be a good way to keep me on track.

1) Organize our office and basement

I am not the best at organizing things; I never know how to get motivated, what is the most efficient way to go about it, and I'm always worried I'll throw out or donate something that we'll need and look for later. I am determined to change this because I hate disorder and not being able to find anything stresses me out (and I suspect stresses Bill out). I have signed up for the Organizing 101 online workshop over on the website simplify101.com which runs for 7 weeks and helps you out with organizing projects by splitting it up into manageable chunks. The workshop starts Jan. 21 and I'm excited!

2) Go to bed earlier/get up for work on time

I've been getting much better about this. I still am not making it at exactly 8, but at least I'm waking up in the mornings feeling rested and I make it in before 9 (which is the point people may actually start looking for you). I'll keep working on it.

5) Settle into a workout schedule where I work out consistently (at least) three days a week
6) Run two 10Ks

These are kind of going together. I found a beginner schedule to running a 5K and running a 10K (each is 8 weeks). I also signed up for a 10K at the end of March in Richmond with Alaina. Now, I just need to work on my efficiency at work so I get out on time and in the gym. Also, it would help if this bone deep cold would go away since it makes me want to just hibernate until it's over.

9) Stop drinking soda
I did not drink soda for one whole day. Then I fell off the wagon the next day. Baby steps. Also, question- is substituting once vice (soda) for another (coffee) okay? Coffee is healthier since I don't add sugar and I really struggle without the caffeine.

11) Start a monthly dinner potluck club with the girls
Sent out a schedule starting in Feb with locations and cuisines (we are doing a different type of cuisine each month to add some challenge and interest) through May. I will check this off once we actually kick off, because sometimes things don't happen as efficiently as they seem that they might.

14) Take more photos
Started out well by making sure I took my camera to the New Years Eve party and took photos.

18) To concentrate on work at work, concentrate on home at home
I switched out my desktop at work with a docking station for my laptop so it's easier for me to just leave it at work (but have the option to still take it with me). Thus I'm not tempted. We'll see how it goes.

21) Be better organized and on top of things at work
I have also added being happier and more present here at work. I got into a funk of annoyance and grumpiness by the end of the year and am determined to start of the year on a better foot. I cleaned out my office and organized filing so I'm on my way.

Ten on Tuesday, Vol. 8

2010-01-05T15:19:00.002-05:00

1. Are there any movies that inspire you to bake/cook?
I just watched Julie & Julia right before Christmas and it was wonderful. Really gives you the impression that with practice anyone can become a good cook. Overall though, I find the Food Network way more inspiring then any particular movie.

2. What’s your favorite food blog and why?
I don't actually read food blogs. I have very few sources for trusted recipes and quite frankly I don't trust most blogs. It irks me to waste food when the recipe does not turn out to be the "greatest" anything. I keep hearing raves about the Pioneer woman cooks so maybe I'll check it out.

3. Who’s your favorite celebrity chef?
My favorite recipes are Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa), but my favorite chef to watch is Morimoto. He's just so good at what he does. The first tv chef I ever watched was Nigella Lawson because my roommate thought she was pretty and watched her show. My favorite celebrity but is rarely on tv chef is Rick Bayless. I'd give my right arm to eat his food. More specifically his black mole (even though it has pumpkin seeds in it, or in Spanish, pepitas and I'm allergic to them). Hear that Rick? I will deal with my lips swelling up for your mole, that's how awesome you are.

4. What’s your favorite kitchen tool?
I have a feeling it will be my food processor once I figure out how to work it. I can't actually get it set up right, because I'm that smart. In my defense it was a wedding shower gift (my shower was the week before the wedding so my mother in law could be there), then the wedding happened, then the honeymoon and then it was the holidays so we haven't had a lot of downtime for me to play with it.

5. When it comes to cooking/baking, what’s your specialty?
Definitely not baking, I am really horrible at baking but our current oven is awful so I am not too inclined to practice too much. I'm so new at cooking my specialty is "making it edible."

6. When in the kitchen, do you wear an apron, if so, any cute ones you’d like to share?
Usually not, though that's caused quite a few food splatters that are a bitch to get out. when I remember to put it on, I have an apron with stars and moons all over it. I think I got another one with flowers on it for a wedding present.

7. Is there anything that intimidates you when it comes to baking/cooking? (ex. Pie crust, yeast breads, sauces, etc…)
I have a lot of stuff I have never even tried; however the bane of my existence are green beans. For some strange reason, I can never ever get my green beans to taste right. I always under cook or overcook them, or they taste almost soapy or something.

8. What’s the weirdest gadget in your kitchen?
A cheese grater that my non cooking self thought would suffice at the time I bought it. It actually does not work for doing more than one swipe of cheese or you will end up cutting yourself, or tossing the cheese across the kitchen. It's quite possibly the worst cheese grater of all time. I do use one of the grating attachments as a zester though, so it came in handy for something I suppose.

9. What’s your go-to music for cooking/baking?
I never listen to music because I constantly have the tv on. I'm trying to remedy that this year.

10. After several failures, what do you do to motivate yourself to get back in the kitchen to try again?
I will conquer the green bean, and I want to start making bread.
Edit: Whoops misread the question. I am so stubborn that failing at things just makes me more determined to perfect it. I don't need more motivation then that.

Read more here.

20 22 Goals for 2010

2009-12-31T06:43:00.006-05:00

1) Organize our office and basement
2) Go to bed earlier/get up for work on time
3) Create and follow a regular cleaning schedule
4) Sew one item of clothing from scratch
5) Find a workout schedule where I work out consistantly (at least) three days a week
6) Run two 10Ks
7) Purge and create a workable wardrobe
8) Make the kitchen window curtains
9) Stop drinking soda
10) Finish the quilt I've been working on for years
11) Start a monthly dinner potluck club with the girls
12) Get my clothes altered so they fit correctly
13) Find a job in a smaller/cheaper city
14) Take more photos
15) Eradicate 25% of my debt this year (including student loans)
16) Build up a savings account
17) To keep up with my email inbox so I don't blink and end up with 900 plus email messages
18) To concentrate on work at work, concentrate on home at home
19) Eat better portion sizes, better balanced meals
20) Start eating breakfast
21) Be better organized and on top of things at work
22) Take the time to read a book a month

Also posted in the sidebar to remind me.

2009 in photos

2009-12-30T18:08:00.002-05:00

Are your pets vicious?

2009-12-29T13:34:00.000-05:00

In our quest to become functioning adults, Bill and I decided that it was about time to get renter's insurance. I say it this way so you think that we actually remembered this and sought it out, instead of it being offered when I called Geico to change my name and marital status on my car insurance policy. When they mentioned it a light bulb went off and I was like oh yeah, we were supposed to get that like 6 months ago when we moved in here.

They transfer me to their renter's insurance agent and he asks the typical questions about where we live, what we use the house for, if we have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers then asks if we have pets.

Yes, two cats.

Are they vicious? Have they ever attacked anyone?

Um.....
No?
They're cats?

I once asked someone if they had pets and they told me they had one cat. I assumed it was a house cat and it turns out it was some form of mountain lion. Now, I never assume.

Point taken, insurance man.

Highlights of our Christmas

2009-12-28T06:17:00.003-05:00

* Our household did not do any Christmas shopping until I finally went out at about 2pm on Christmas Eve. However, I was done with all the shopping and home by 5pm. There aren't many good things that came from my time of shopping addiction (hello, lack of money!) but one of the few is that I am a really great shopper. I know what lots aren't as crowded, I know which checkouts no one thinks to go to. Even on Christmas Eve.

* Notice that I did all the shopping, meaning my husband did not get me a Christmas gift. I actually don't care, but it's fun to give him a hard time about it.

* My mother decided that since I refused to pick up on her "subtle" hints that she wanted to spend the night Christmas Eve, she would just show up at my car with her overnight bag when I picked her up for church. I guess it worked, because by that point what was I supposed to say?

* I decided on Christmas Eve that my desire to cook Christmas dinner was at about zero. My desire to clean up after it was at about negative 1000. So, I made us dinner reservations at the Chart House instead. Nothing says Christmas like expensive seafood and views of the Potomac River.

* Bill worked the midnight shift Christmas Eve. Just like he worked the midnight shift on Thanksgiving Eve. I understand the idea that it's easy overtime (plus holiday pay) but it always kind of sucks for me.

* My Mother in Law sent us a gloating text message wishing us a Merry Christmas from South Texas where there was NOT almost 2 feet of snow and it was NOT frigidly cold.

* My mother declared that since I was the hostess I had to give out all the Christmas presents and then open mine. This was after I cooked breakfast for everyone and she empty-offered to do the dishes without actually ever intending to do them. She was not joking or being sarcastic.

* To wrap up our Christmas dinner, my mother declared that we had no religion. Because hers is the only one that counts. Bill looked about one step away from strangling her, so it was time to go home.

* We woke up the day after Christmas to a flooding basement. Apparently when you have tons of snow on the ground and add a rainstorm, it does not lead to good things. Bill spent most of his day on a constant rotation of putting down towels, running them through the spin cycle, then the dryer and putting down dry towels trying to keep the water in the back room and not letting it get near our couch... or the XBox 360.

*Hope your Christmas was wonderful!