Friday, April 9, 2010

5th Wedding Anniversary

In honor of our 5th Wedding Anniversary - please enjoy "our song"

Friday, April 2, 2010

Things I Love...

Ok.... I have done posts kind of like this before, so some of these may be repeats, but that’s all right, right? Because they are still things that I love...



Obvious ones...

- My husband – Our 5th anniversary is coming up next week! Where has the time gone?!?! We met right before my 19th birthday through friends, but didn’t start dating until about 3½ years later... We find a way to make each other laugh until our stomachs hurt pretty much constantly... Every day may not have been the same level of bright, sun-shiny happiness, but we just get each other and at the end of the day there is nowhere I would rather be than in his arms. And this year we have better plans than settling for Denny’s for dinner because it was quick and easy and we had had long weeks at work... Although it did make for a lot of fun telling people that that is what we did for our anniversary...

- My family – I have a BIG family and they are all awesome. My parents are such a great example of people who are just perfect for each other... I heard them bicker (I had to use “bicker” because “fight” or “argument” are way too strong for how silly it was) ONCE in my life and that was while they were working on a home improvement project and it had been a very long day and they disagreed on how best to start the next phase of putting in the wood floor... haha My siblings are all such strong people and are all incredible in their own way... We all may have had our differences when we were younger, but the older we get, the closer we all are. And my nieces and nephews are the smartest, funniest, more adorable group of kids you could ever find... If they are sad, it makes my heart hurt and when they are happy, you can’t help but be happy with them.

- My friends – They are like my family away from family... And since most of my family is not close by, some of their families have “adopted” me and treat me like their own kid... Especially my best friend, Kat, and her husband and family... We spend a lot of the holidays with them and spend pretty much every weekend with them. Plus, because of my friends, I get to go shopping to buy dresses for three weddings coming up... Two of them this month!

- My cats – they may drive me crazy sometimes and I may kind of a little bit sometimes wish in the back of my mind that they were the malamutes that we are going to get when they are no longer with us, but they are really cute and lovey... Especially my boy cat who greets us at the door and would let us kiss the fur right off of his face... Emily may meow a bit too much (understatement) and get in the way when we try to walk, but she still just loves to snuggle up on my lap and purr constantly...

- Jobs – Now, don’t get me wrong... If I didn’t have to work – I wouldn’t. But as it is, I am grateful that J and I both have jobs at a time when you hear every day about people getting laid off... And at a time when the company I work for is being dragged through the mud constantly... Even if his taking a job with a different company recently means that he doesn’t have any vacation time for six months, making it so we can really go anywhere and will miss out on family stuff...


Ok... enough seriousness......


Less obvious ones....

- Jammies – before I started working out every night, the first thing I would do when I got home from work was change into my jammies and relax. Now, I still get to them, it just takes a little longer...

- Harvey’s Seatbelt Bags – no surprise here... They are my favorite purses ever. I am still madly in love with my Lola and I get more compliments on it than any of my others... I call it my “Tomboy Bag” because it is so like me... Girly, but tough.

- Frozen Yogurt – my weakness has always been anything cold and sweet... Lately, though, it has zeroed in on Plain Tart Frozen Yogurt from Cherry On Top or Yogurtland. They have the best...

- Converse All Stars – I have been wearing these since I was 11. There is something sublime about how perfectly stiff the canvas is and how white the white parts are when they are brand new... The only annoying thing is that I have to order them from zappos or from the Converse website now because NO STORES carry half sizes... Ugh.

- Working out – I bet no one who knows me would ever expect to see this on here... And it’s not that I love working out really... It’s more that I love the weight I have lost, the extra confidence, and the beginnings of muscle tone that it has given me already... haha

- Massages – why, oh why did I wait so long to get a professional massage?? It was incredible. I will be getting many more...

- My IS 250 – Such a fun car. I had a plan to be really good about washing this one because it’s such a pretty color and you can’t really see that when it’s dirty... But rain and pollen have already made me want to throw up my hands and give up... As I said to Josh the day after I last washed it and came out to find it filthy already, “THIS is why I barely ever wash my cars!! It’s an exercise in futility!!!!!”

- Books – I love love love love love love love books. I always have. My bookshelves at home are once again loaded to what looks like their breaking point... I really need to replace my two 3-foot ones with two 6-foot ones... (To go with the two 6-foot ones that I already have...) I read and re-read over and over and over again... I just love curling up with a good book. I could spend hours in book stores looking through the stacks, discovering new books or authors... It’s the best.

- My DVR – I have said many times how happy I am to have a dvr. I no longer have to watch the filler on shows like American Idol... I can just get to the singing without having to listen to Randy say “Dawg” a million times... Or Kara ramble on and on... Or listen to the entire song if the person singing it is just seriously terrible and really shouldn’t have made it this far in the competition... It seriously only takes about 20 minutes to watch a 2-hour episode.

- My hair – It is really thick and shiny and soft and pretty... And it is my natural color (eep!) for the first time in YEARS. I miss the red sometimes, but I am getting more and more okay with my natural color as the sun adds back in my natural highlights...

- Music – I like pretty much anything if it’s good... Rock, Rap, Classical, Jazz, Pop... It’s all good... (I even like a teeny tiny bit of country.... Sometimes.)

- Target – I have been trying to be good about not spending so much time there... The cashiers at the one by my office used to know me by name. That’s when I knew I had a problem... But I still love that store. I love to just wander and look at everything...

- Video Games – I can’t help it... I love them. I always have my Nintendo DSi with me... And we have the Wii and the PS3 at home... It’s just a nice way to disconnect and give my brain a much-needed vacation... haha

- Bare Minerals make-up – This stuff is seriously awesome... So glad my “sister-from-another-mister”, Hazel, introduced me to it...

- Laughing – Totally and completely. Nothing is better than laughing so hard you cry and your stomach feels like it’s going to burst... Especially when it is about something so completely stupid that not every is laughing as hard as you... There are so many times that Kat and I are laughing uncontrollably and our husbands are staring at us like we are crazy, while trying to reign us in to finish whatever it was we were doing...

- Reeses’s Mini Peanut Butter Eggs – Seriously, YUM

- Johnson’s Lavender and Chamomile lotion... Smells SO good and makes my hands ridiculously soft. Even if it does have a stupid little blurb on the back instead of the usual description you would expect to find... “She approaches life with a quiet sense of calm. You instantly feel at peace in her presence. She loves this relaxing lavender and chamomile lotion because it does more than just moisturize.” It keeps going, but you get the picture.... So lame. Hahahaha

- Asian food – Chinese, Thai, Japanese... I love it.

- Dark Chocolate – Really good dark chocolate... So delicious.

- Orbit Sweet Mint Gum – this stuff is awesome. It tastes like those yummy after dinner mints... Mmm......

- Diet Coke – Yum. Just yum.

- Early Close Days – We don’t get these very often and lately it seems like we are too busy to even entertain the thought of leaving a second early, but when they happen, they are wonderful... I’ve always said the two easiest ways to boost morale around here is more jeans days and let people go home early once in a while...

- Sleeping in – I can’t help it... Some weekends I just love to see how long I can sleep... It’s so nice. And I know some day down the line when we have kids I will have to give it up... So I am enjoying the crap out of it while I can...

- When people I dislike get in trouble – ‘Nuff said.

Ok... I’m starting to stretch here... I mean, I had a run going there about food! I think this list is done for the time being....

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Odd Conversations...

My husband and I remark quite frequently that we are having a conversation that has probably never taken place before... One such conversation just took place....

SCENE:  Me sitting on the couch watching Mythbusters as J was in the kitchen getting his french fries out of the freezer where they had been cooling off (he loves cold fries... I don't get it) and a commercial for that cool-looking show "Life" came on....

Me: GROSS!!! That bug just shot.... butt juice!

J: So?  There are lots of bugs that shoot butt juice...

Me:  But, DUDE!! That was a LOT of butt juice!! Like his entire body weight in butt juice!

END SCENE.

And that is a good example of why my husband is awesome - when I exclaim something about a bug's butt juice, he doesn't even question what I'm talking about... he just goes with it.......

That's love. hahahaha

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

A Heaping Helping of Mental Garbage....

I am warning you... This is going to be a seriously random post... My brain is ALL OVER the place today.... haha


I really wish that someone would give me en employee roster and a highlighter and let me mark off the people that we don’t need around. I can think of 12 right off the top of my head without even having to try... I would even be willing to be the one to tell them to take their personal crap and get out... I wouldn’t lose any sleep. It would be lovely.

I love watching people that are on that list when they get in trouble. It makes my day. I’m not kidding... It really puts me in a better mood. And if there are tears, it’s just that much sweeter... I don’t think that makes me a bad person – it may make me a MEAN person, but not really a bad one... And I’m ok with that.

I don’t understand why it is so hard for people to get fired... They make huge mistakes and are given an infinite number of chances! It’s ridiculous. And all it does is show the people that DO work that they don’t really have to because nothing’s going to happen anyway... Just do enough to not bring attention to yourself and you can coast forever... And if you are able to find yourself a group of scapegoats to push the attention onto time and time again, then you can even be COMMENDED for your laziness.

Random jump back to the “mean” thing... I am a happy person (most of the time... everyone gets stressed and needs a few days to pull themselves out of a funk), but I have learned that I am a mean person. Not malicious... Just mean. Now, don’t start thinking that I am always mean... It’s not like I kick puppies or anything!!! In fact, I LOVE puppies. They are just ridiculously cute... And I am a fiercely loyal friend. But stay out of my way and don’t even think of doing anything to someone I care about...

Ok.... Wrote that this morning... Totally lost that train of thought now.....

Hmm.... Next thought.

So I’m still Shredding my butt off.... I’m up to Level 2 now and WOW it’s rough. I’m down 13 pounds so far. (Woohoo) I told my husband the other day that once I lose the weight (it’s probably gonna take a while), I am going to get a cheap (but beautiful – I have been able to find some... They probably aren’t as gorgeous in person, but as long as they photograph well, I’ll be happy) wedding gown and we are going to have these photographers that I like take a bunch of pictures of us and I will put them around the house instead of my “fat” wedding pictures. Of course, I’ll have to keep the old ones with family in them, but the new ones will be on display front and center.... hahaha

I always wanted to do one of those “trash the dress” photo shoots... Where you are posing in ways that you never would have on your wedding day for fear of dirtying the dress... Like sitting in grass or dirt and near/in water... I think it would be awesome. And they have done some “trash the dress” shoots before and the pictures are incredible...

So about the weight thing... I finally decided that enough was enough. No more whining, no more wishing... I had to get off my lazy butt and do something about it. That means – get home from work and Shred (who doesn’t have time for a 20 minute workout?) and eat healthy more days than not. Now, I know that things would probably go faster if I just said “eat healthy” and there may come a time when I hit a plateau and have to amend the more days than not to every day, but for now... I plan on still enjoying things I love... Like frozen yogurt... And comfort food that is probably pretty terrible for you... Like the Cornish Pasty I had at The Olde Ship last week... I adjust what I eat the rest of the day to try to accommodate my yummy treats without going over the calorie # I am trying to hit and most days I am right on. Or close enough to not feel terrible. Even with the Pasty I was able to keep it under the high end of my range...

Now, I am an odd person. I embrace that... And it may seem odd that I do not have a specific weight goal in mind. All I want is to fit into my favorite jeans comfortably again. I don’t care what weight that happens at... If they fit and I feel good about myself, I’ll be a happy girl. I know approximately what I weighed when they fit well before... I don’t know the exact number because skinny people generally don’t weigh themselves all the time like people that have more than a few to lose do. Hahaha... These jeans are seriously cute – they are dark blue, boot cut, with blue butterflies on the pockets. I love butterflies and I love these jeans. I even have the outfit in mind that I will wear the first day that I can wear them again. (I kept a lot of my “skinny” clothes that I loved too much to part with...)

Women’s clothing is really annoying... Why aren’t any sizes the same from one brand to the next? I remember when I was at my skinniest, I wore size 6 in some things and a size 10 in others... And I didn’t really care... I just couldn’t ever have someone give me clothes as gifts without trying everything on first... And that’s still true.

Oh – back to the losing weight thing... (Told you this would be random...) I originally wasn’t going to say anything about trying to anyone. That way, if I gave up, I wouldn’t have to feel bad... I’d be the only one that knew I gave up. But then when I actually stuck with it and started seeing results, I wanted to brag a little... haha So I started telling people. And talking about it more and more... Because now I am accountable... I have people who will know if I slack off... Who will know that I gave up... But I plan on staying with it this time. I wasn’t always like this and I know that I can get back to who I was again.

Ok... enough randomness... It’s almost time to hurry home and Shred. :-)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Things On My Mind RIGHT Now...

- I haven't had enough time to write a real post lately (and a lack of topics in mind....) so these posts will have to do until I get back in the flow...

- I totally planned to write something on my blog anniversary last weekend and totally didn't...

- I am waiting until there is sufficient fast-forwarding on my dvr to be able to get through the American Idol results show without watching any of the filler

- My husbands blackberry notifications that are going off every few minutes are cracking me up - it sounds like a "red alert" kind of noise

- It especially cracked me up when the same noise was happening on the episode of Futurama that I was watching

- I have been a lot better about my 30-day Shred-ding lately...

- I actually upgraded to Level 2 on the Shred and it is ROUGH

- My butt was thoroughly kicked by my shred when I got home from work - I'm gonna sleep GOOD tonight

- I still love my super soft fuzzy sheets, but we're having really warm weather lately and I am going to have to switch back to regular sheets if it keeps up... they are just tooooooo warm for this...

- I shouldn't complain about having warm weather, but I really do prefer colder weather...

- There is a commercial for Hot Tub Time Machine on right now... it looks terrible

- Umm... That's all I got... American Idol results time :-)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Things On My Mind RIGHT Now...

- I can't wait for my massage this weekend

- I am really tired

- I have a headache

- I think it is seriously stupid that celebrities were given $25,000 gift bags at the Oscars...  Maybe the companies that provided crap for them should donate the money to people in need... I hear Haiti and Chile have been having a hard time....

- 30 Day Shred is still kicking my butt

- I am currently 12 pounds down with only mumble mumble left to go! :-)

- I just found out that Spree are just candy-coated, polished Sweet Tarts! Crazy.  You learn something new every day... Thank you "Unwrapped"  :-)

- I ate way too much for lunch today because it was amazingly delicious and I am still kinda full... That's why I didn't eat dinner...

- I really can't wait for my massage this weekend...

- I can't believe that I have never had a professional massage...   I've always wanted one, but just never went and did it...

- I can't wait for my next massage in May/June at Burke Williams for my friend's bridal shower / bachelorette party... haha

- I love Diet Coke

- I wish my girl cat would stop meowing at the hall closet...

- It was really windy today.

- I love my IS250.  I just wish that it would stop raining for long enough for me to think it would be worth washing it.

- Why do you lose weight in your hands?  I need my clothes to fit looser, not my engagement ring and wedding band!!!!!!  I am getting really annoyed by them spinning on my hand... I mean, seriously!!! COME ON! haha

- I am freezing even though it is warm in my house... I'm always cold for the rest of the evening after I work out.

- I love my jammies, warm fuzzy socks, and blankets :-)

- I am really sick of the crap going on in the media about the company I work for...  I just want to get back to business as usual.

- I really want to hit up the Kogi truck again...  They have this new sandwich with the short rib meat in it and it sounds AMAZING

- OH! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my new purse!! Another Seatbelt Bag by Harvey's.  Last Saturday I purchased myself that beautiful black Lola Ruffle Satchel.  I adore her.  And I have been wandering around singing "Lola... La la la la Lo-o-la!!!"  And talking about her like she's a person.  It's true love....  I'll post a picture soon...

- I've been meaning to post some pictures and have been forgetting... I will fix that soon.

- Okay, Unwrapped... Maybe I don't need to know so much about everything.  I am seriously grossed out by what goes into those tubes of Betty Crocker colored icing...  I don't think I will ever eat it again.  I seriously just gagged.

- My husband's new work van looks like a cross between an ice cream truck and an ambulance...

- I think I am going to go to bed super early tonight.  I am too tired to function properly...

- Did I mention that I can't wait for my massage?? :-)

Monday, March 1, 2010

Let me climb up on my soapbox real quick....

People are dumb.  Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb...  Some days it feels like people expect you to hold their hands and walk them step by step through things that they have done a million times and should be able to do on their own!  And it leaves you wanting to do any combination of scream, cry, or bang your head against your desk.  At only three and a half hours into my day today it felt like I had been there for twelve.  Ridiculous.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't have much patience, but I have FAR less after the alarm going off 40 minutes early because Josh had an early job to be to and I could NOT fall asleep again no matter how hard I tried.  Even less after fielding a barrage of stupid questions...  And even less after you add in having to deal with the fact that the woman that sits next to me was over reorganizing the coffee supply cabinet for TWO HOURS!  Now that normally wouldn't be much of a problem... Annoying, yes, but a problem?  Not necessarily... But right now the company is kind of in "crisis" mode and her managers' phones are ringing off the hook.  And when she's not at her desk to catch any of their missed calls, they ring to me.  And I don't have time to do her job as well as mine.  Plus, as fun as it usually is for me to get to tattle, it was getting really annoying when one of her managers kept asking if she was back yet, if I knew where she still was, if I could watch for her because he really needed her to work on something...  That's when it all becomes problematic.

And sends me back to wanting to scream, cry, and/or smack my head on my desk.

How hard is it to do your job??  I just don't get it.  I understand the fact that she has to put away the coffee stuff when it gets delivered, but does that need to take two hours of her completely reorganizing the closet?  And then stopping to chat on her way back?  Nope.  It doesn't.  And then she complains about not having enough time to get everything else done.  I can't stand that.  If you want to screw around, you damn well better be able to get your job done.

Now, I get that EVERYONE screws around on the clock.  Everyone does personal stuff - check e-mail, go on Facebook, chat with friends, make personal phone calls - I get that.  I've even been known to blog at work.  But only if it's a day where I really don't have much going on or if I am helping out by covering the switchboard and am really limited as to what work I can bring down there...  I would never sit and play at the expense of my job.  I know that there are plenty of people that would kill for my job, and I am not about to step aside and hand it over to them.  See, I love the company I work for.  And I like my job.  And I'm damn good at it.  I work my butt off and deserve every big raise and bonus that I have earned for myself.  I do more in this job than anyone else before me has, my bosses know that, and they reward me for it.

I'm always shocked when people here that are known for screwing around constantly complain that they didn't get a big enough raise or bonus.  DUH! You didn't earn it!!  Be happy that you got ANYTHING and MOVE ON.  Last year was a hard one for everyone and we didn't get raises or one of our usual bonuses...  These same people were ranting and raving about how unfair it was...  Be glad you still have a job and that we didn't have to do any layoffs, people!  This year is looking to be even harder for us and I am definitely not expecting raises or bonuses.  But I am expecting them to complain again.  In times like these, you have to work harder to show that you need to be kept around just in case things go badly and layoffs happen!  You have to buckle down and kick some butt!  Now is not the time to take long lunches and 30 minute breaks and sneak out early just because your manager isn't there to see it happen...

Plus, we are coming up on review time right now.  These same people think that the reviews are pointless when we aren't even going to be getting raises...  Not realizing that if there were layoffs, good results on your reviews may save your job.  I don't like the whole review process either, but I do it.  I put so much information in my self-assessment, it's borderline obsessive.  I do it to show them EVERY LITTLE THING that I did all year.  Just in case they somehow missed something.  Like the fact that I had to review over 14,000 repair orders for bonus points for incentives... Or the fact that I personally handled over well $1,000,000 worth of payouts or 1099's for incentives... That's just how I roll...

Basically... As I climb back down off of my little soapbox here and take a seat... I am just saying that people need to earn things and stop expecting to be handed everything.  And they need to stop complaining about having to actually DO work when they are AT work...  Do you want a paycheck?  Then that's what you have to do.

I am SO glad that I have ripped a bunch of cd's onto my work hard drive so that I always have a nice big selection of music to choose from to get me through the day because I'm not listening to any more whining...

Plus, The Beatles make me smile...

Bonus.

Link Within

Related Posts with Thumbnails