All those words I never said

Christmas/Birthday time of year

2012-01-06T15:45:00.003-05:00

If you know me you know I love unwrapping gifts almost more than actually getting a gift! I knew Nick would use that for my Christmas gift, but I had no idea just how far he'd take it. I thought I'd get something that needed batteries and get individually wrapped batteries or something like that. I never expected to wake up and get to unwrap my apartment!!

Aside from that I got an upgrade to my graphics card, some Aperture Science glasses, caffeinated root beer and the best possible thing to drink said root beer from...A replica of the Top Gun Stein from Battlestar Galactica!!! OH and I think he got sick of me taking all his dollars to try and win a DOMO from the crane game at the grocery store, because he got me a lil Domo too :)

I got him the outfit Dexter wears to kill people (he looks incredibly hot in it), a book of photos of us from 2011, a gift card to buy some climbing gear at REI and some tools for his cool new toolbox so he can be manly and fix things.

My birthday is Sunday and in the spirit of never being a real grown up this year my birthday party is going to be at a place called Xtreme Air jump park! My family went in together and bought me a Kindle for my birthday. I opened it by accident the other day thinking it was the Furminator I bought for Ginger and Enzo. Needless to say I was STOKED to find it.

2011-12-21T13:03:00.004-05:00

My friend Shannon found a dog about a month ago. He was wandering around her neighborhood for some time so she decided to take him in and try to find his family. He was malnourished and skiddish but she did a good job of making him friendly again. She called Animal Control to see if anyone had reported him and decided not to turn him in because she didn't want to risk having him being put down. Animal control told her to post on craigslist to search for the owner.

She posted on Craigslist and around the neighborhood looking for the possible owners but nobody responded. After about a month of searching she made the decision to go ahead and just keep him. He's a nice guy and makes a good playmate for her other dog.

Yesterday Shannon got a call that her dog was out. Apparently the UPS man didn't close the gate fully after he left a package. Someone read his tag and called her, she was at work so by the time she called back they had called Animal Control to come get him. The animal control person was actually at the house when she called and told her that it was required that he take the dog even though she's on the phone saying she's coming to get him right now.

Upset, she called the police station to see if there was any way they would talk the animal control guy into just letting her have the dog. They agreed and gave an address to meet him at. When she arrived he asked for her ID and when she gave it to him, he refused to hand over the dog because the address on her ID didn't match the address on his tag. Whats worse, is he actually said "didn't you call me a month ago trying to see if someone lost this dog?". He knew she had been taking care of him yet still wouldn't let her have the dog. He also threatened to give her tickets for keeping the dog and for letting it get loose again. He was condescending and very rude about the whole thing. In the end, he took the dog, refused to give her the address of where he'd be and just kept repeating "he'll be at county". "Where is county?" "Maricopa County". Seriously dude?

Anyway. So she's gonna have to pay tickets, fees and fines to get this dog now. A dog she took off the street, tried to find a home for and fed and cared for.

***UPDATE***
Though she had to pay the fines and overnight fees from the pound, they spayed and microchipped him as well. So it ended up being cheaper than a vet visit. A little light for a very upsetting situation..

Also, upon research of the Maricopa County Animal control she found that there was a lot of issues of not giving pets back, putting pets down and just bad customer service all around.

Story about a guy that raised a stray kitten and brought it in for medical help. tl;dr: The humane society took it, wouldn't give it back and put it down within hours of having it.

I seriously have the coolest little brother.

2011-12-21T11:38:00.003-05:00

I love having lots of brothers and sisters. I love being the oldest because I got to see each of them grow up and turn into different and interesting people. The youngest of my family is Jacob. He's 11 right now and really starting to take interest in some fun things. I wish I lived closer so that I could be there to show him cool things and see what he does, lucky for us, our dad is a bit of a geek too so he encourages Jake in all his interests.

They were a little disappointed that he didn't fall in love with sports because his older brothers seemed to enjoy them. Dad hoped he would be a boy scout like he was but Jake didn't really like that either. He likes puzzles and creating things, he likes seeing things grow and change, he likes trying things nobody else would. He's going to be something great someday.

Jake started making videos of the things that he did and sending them to me. Dad recorded him on his old Nextel phone from work so the quality is always low. Don't worry, I got Jake something really special for Christmas so we don't have to worry about bad video anymore.

Here are a few of his videos. I've been posting them to YouTube, I think I'm going to make him his own channel.

2011-12-14T11:55:00.002-05:00

We've been getting a lot of packages lately! Christmas gifts for each other, for others, from others and things we just order for everyday life. If you know me, you know how much I LOVE boxes. So Nick gets a box from his Reddit Secret Santa. he has me come sit down next to him and see what it is! Oh the excitement!! He opens up Portal Kombat for the game Munchkin Quest.

At first I was like omg what a cool gift I LOVE Munchkin Quest!! But then I realized...wait...I love Munchkin Quest.

The look on Nick's face was priceless. He just opened one of my Christmas gifts right in front of me!!

Needless to say we pulled out the game and he thought he was going to beat me in it so I had to wipe the floor with him. I was an Elf Theif with 4 arms (one coming off my head) wielding (among others) the Sword of Slaying Everything Except Squid! Have I mentioned how much fun that game is?

2011-12-07T13:07:00.003-05:00

I have been spending a massive amount of time playing Skyrim lately. I can't get enough of this game. I know this will shock many other players, but I wasn't a huge fan of the previous games. Yes the stories were amazing but the gameplay was just not what I liked. Not to mention archery, one of my favorite skills in games like this, was difficult to use and just not powerful enough. Skyrim does a great job with my fav set of talents: archery, sneaking, one handed, pickpocket and lockpick.

I seriously find myself gossiping about what happened in game. Especially right now, I am in the middle of the thieves guild questlines and its a twisty turny web of secrets and lies! SO much fun.

I like that Nick plays too because we have different playstyles, so I get to see all the ways the game works. I like to talk to every person, do every side quest and really immerse myself in the role playing asepct of the game. I really like that my talent trees are all built off skills I use a lot. Because of this, I level slower and spend more time exploring than killing and pillaging. Nick is on his third playthrough, still looking for the perfect combination of talents to be uber powerful. He spends more time crafting, sticking to quests that reap big rewards and leveling up skill trees.
This game is great for any type of player and its one you'll be playing for a long time. Definitely worth the time and cost.

Another game I've spent a lot of time on lately is Dungeon Defenders. This is the first tower defense game that I've ever played (aside from mini ones on my phone like fieldrunners) so I have no other comparison but this game is SO much fun. The characters are funny little kids that were left alone in a castle and they unleashed an evil they must put back! The montsters are all after a crystal that you have to protect. The original game had a huntress (traps and explosives), monk (auras), squire (spikes and barriers), and an apprentice (missile towers). You can play co-op or alone and if you play alone and have several characters you can switch them out in game. For example, you can have your squire set up the initial blockades, switch to apprentice and get some missile towers behind them and play the course on your huntress. Its really great.

They have had several expansions, adding new maps and characters. Skyrim has distracted me so I haven't spent a lot of time on the more recent stuff :P

Going to bed has become an adventure.

2011-12-07T12:48:00.005-05:00

Nick and I moved in together October 1. So far so good except one thing. One of us has to be an adult when it comes to going to bed and neither of us are willing to do it. Here's a typical night:
-We spend about 15-30 minutes talking ourselves out of whatever we're currently doing (playing a game, watching a show, browsing the internet)
-play with the puppies and put them to bed
-get in bed
-talk about what we're going to do when we wake up again
-talk about whatever stems from that
-talk some more
-feet fight, covers war or some other form of silliness
-add 10 more minutes to this if someone farts so we can endlessly giggle about it

seriously. the. worst. :P

Actually things have been going great. We are working hard at making our lil place a home, especially for the holidays. My sister Cyndi came over from Cali to do Thanksgiving with us. Cyndi and I did the sides and Nick cooked his first turkey. It turned out really well. We spent the rest of the weekend shopping, drinking and playing Rock Band.
The Christmas tree is up and we're working on setting up some traditions we can do every year. Its really nice to be able to not only enjoy our current time together but set ourselves up for a great future too.

We went to Illinois for a baby shower in September, that was a lot of fun. My sister Lindsy is having a baby in a couple more months and my other sister Michelle is expecting twins shortly after. I'm going to have 2 nephews and a niece soon!

Aside from visiting family I would say the highlight of the trip was going to Chicago. We spent the entire day exploring the Museum of Science and Industry, walking through Navy Pier and riding the Gondola and getting some delicious food. I miss the food back home.

The mini choppers

2011-09-28T11:42:00.005-04:00

I can't seem to hold onto a mini chopper to save my life. Its a small kitchen gadget that chops up nuts, veggies or whatever. So when I first moved into my own house my mom got me one as a housewarming gift. For one reason or another at the following Christmas she bought me another one. I laughed and told this story for years because I thought it was silly.

I moved out of that house when I moved to South Carolina and I didn't take much with me, including my two mini choppers. So when my mom came to visit for Thanksgiving she had to buy me another one. Mom mini chopper tally is now 3.

So I moved out of that house and again didn't take everything, including my poor mini chopper. So Mom came back down to SC to help me get situated and was astounded to find that I again lacked a mini chopper. She bought me my 4th mini chopper.

Mom, ended up staying with me for several months before moving back to Illinois and when she left she TOOK my mini chopper :(

So 4 mini choppers later, I still don't own one and I decided to give up on the idea that I could have one of my own.

Today I'm moving out of my apartment and into another one and I just emptied a cabinet and lo and behold THERE IS A MINI CHOPPER IN THERE. I swear to all things I have never seen this thing in my life. After what I've been through with the other mini choppers, I would know if I actually had one. A mini chopper materialized out of nowhere or someone is playing a joke on me!

Cute idea that turned into a priceless memory

2011-09-14T11:50:00.006-04:00

A few months ago Nick took a vacation to Japan to climb Mt. Fuji. We had just begun dating but things were going really well, so I wanted to do something special for him. I decided to get a box of cards and write to him.

I made one card for various points on his trip. They were things like "Open before you leave", "Open before you go to sleep", "Open when you miss me the most", "Open when you get to the top of Fuji" ect..

He loved it!

Just after he returned from his trip I came home from work to a candlelit dinner. On the table was the box of cards I had given him. He had me open each one and inside he had written back to me...

Now we have this adorable box of love letters to each other, one of my most cherished items.

Its here!

2011-09-01T20:36:00.002-04:00

One more piece of awesomeness to the board game collection. I present to you...MUNCHKIN QUEST!

Its the board game version of a popular card game called Munchkin. I played it the other night at a friends board game night. Have I mentioned the totally awesome people that I've been hanging out with lately? I never knew I could actually know IRL more than a couple of real geeks but as it turns out, there are TONS!
This game is cool. You start out at level 1 and you spend your three moves exploring a dungeon. Explore a new room and face a monster, each room has a special ability or dis-ability as it were. Cards determine your items, class, race and abilities. Use them with other players or against them! Get to level 10 and face a boss to win. SO. MUCH. FUN!

Bitchin' Text

2011-09-01T09:53:00.003-04:00

We are almost through ALL of the seasons of The Office! I love that show, btw. The other night there was a scene where Andy sent Daryl a pigeon text. I wanted to find a video to post here but couldn't, so here's the Wiki:

Andy becomes overzealous about their friendship in "China" by constantly texting Darryl to his annoyance. When Darryl gives Andy an ultimatum that he's one text away from being banned by texting him, Andy wagers it into telling him that his next text will be so good that Darryl will have to high five him. This is proved when Andy finds pigeons eating an ice cream cone and texts Darryl to witness it.

After the scene we're giggling and such and Nick turns to me and says "I'm gonna send you a pigeon text". What I heard was "I'm gonna send you a bitchin' text" which I thought was hilarious and made total sense, I love getting totally bitchin' texts. Apparently in my old age I forgot that bitchin' wasn't what the kids were saying these days.
I think pigeon texts are bitchin' anyway

JON HAMM'S JOHN HAM!

2011-08-10T12:26:00.002-04:00

Last night we're browsing google images of teeny tiny puppies and ooh'ing and ahh'ing at their teeny tiny cuteness. When I scroll to this page:

Nick suddenly leaps off the bed shouting "OMG JON HAMMS JOHN HAM" "google it, google it now!" and laughing like a madman. Somehow a guy named Jon Hamm ended up in my puppy cutefest.

And this, my friends, is Jon Hamm's John Ham:

Betrayal! At the house on the hill.

2011-08-10T11:38:00.004-04:00

Let me tell you a story about 6 ordinary people who find themselves together in a big old house! Its a board game I recently got and have fallen in love with. The game starts in the entrance to an old house, the players are each given a set of stats and a misson. Explore the house. Each turn you find a new room that holds an event, a new item or an omen! Encounter enough omens and the house becomes haunted! Based on which room you've discovered and what omen you've unleashed you will find one of many possible haunt scenarios.

So far I've been attacked by my own doppleganger, found the ghost of Crimson Jack, been nearly lured into the depths of hell by a mysterious fiddler and sucked into oblivion by a vortex! Even if you've played a haunt before, each encounter will be different based on the rooms you've discovered and the items available.

We had our first game night get together last weekend and everyone enjoyed the game so much we played twice!

I love this guy.

2011-08-08T23:18:00.004-04:00

I remember when I met him. I was at a Nerds meetup and he walked in with his friend. I thought "he doesn't belong here" and assumed his friend made him come to the group. I was kinda bummed too because I thought he was super cute. Finally he sat down next to me and we struck up what ended up being a 3 hour conversation where we tuned out the entire rest of the room. He will never let me live down the fact that (because I thought for sure he was just some random guy there with a friend) I asked him "do you use the internet?".

As it turns out, he does use the internet. He also loves the outdoors, gaming, pets, travel and most of all he loves me.

Life is good.

Pushing limits

2011-07-27T17:19:00.002-04:00

So the puppies aren't allowed in the bedroom. This is where they hang out if the door is open. Enzo likes to push the boundary as far as he can without getting yelled at.

...and this is what he does when the door isn't open:

Introducing Enzo!

2011-07-13T10:54:00.006-04:00

Meet Enzo!

I've been wanting a dog as a companion for Ginger for awhile now. I only work 4 days a week but when I'm there I'm gone for 10 hours or more so I thought having someone to play with would be good for her. Boy was I right! Enzo has been a great addition. They are quickly learning to play together, respecting each others boundaries and learning from each other. Ginger is still a little jealous of her new little brother but we play close attention to give them equal lovins.

The day we got Enzo we were just going to check him out. I found him on Craigslist and Nick made an appointment to go visit him out at VJ Ranch. We met him and he was so friendly, not too hyper and so cuddly. Ginger and him didn't play right away so I was a little iffy about getting him. Usually she's scared of other dogs and occasionally we meet one she clicks with right off the bat. We decided to sleep on it and we left. Got about a mile down the road and Nick and I looked at each other and said, we just can't leave him, he's perfect. As you can see in the photo, Ginger was very curious about this new little guy!

First thing we did was give his stinky butt a bath. He's not the biggest fan of the bath but he was easier to clean than Ginger is (she HATES water!). First test of leaving him alone in the house he tore everything he could reach down! I guess this part of having him is good and bad. I can't leave anything out but it keeps my place super clean! Hopefully he gets better, I really don't' want to crate him while I'm gone.
The first couple days he ate all Gingers food on top of his own but this morning he finally let her eat and only ate what was in his bowl.
Nick is doing some leash training with him and has him almost sitting on command after only 2 days! Enzo is super smart, he really picks up on stuff fast.

All in all I am really happy with this choice. He was an anniversary gift. Its good that we celebrate each month together, even weeks in advance, right? :D

This weekend we're planning a mini vacation to Joshua Tree National Park in California. I am extra excited to check out Keys View you're supposed to have a great view of the valley and the San Andreas fault. I just like the idea of us hiking all day with the dogs, camping at night and hiking back in the morning. Hopefully there will be some great photos to follow!

I nearly had a heart attack today. Then I acted like an adult.

2011-07-07T13:52:00.004-04:00

In May I got a letter on my door saying I owed $298.xx and it needed to be paid with my next months rent or I'd be evicted. I panicked thinking maybe I forgot to pay rent or I paid the wrong amount one month. I had no idea. After researching my checks I found that I'd never missed a payment so I called and left a few messages for my apartments management office. Nobody returned my call and the one time I did talk to a person she told me that nobody was available but assured me someone would call me back. Since nobody did, I assumed that a mistake had been made when the new management company took over. They accepted my next two rent check and no more notices or calls.

Imagine my surprise when I get a notice today for nearly double the amount of the last notice and it stated I had 5 days to respond or vacate. Words can't express the feeling I got when I read that letter. My chest hurt, I wanted to vomit, I even cried. I was about to run out my front door to that front office and make a SCENE.

But I thought of Nick. My boyfriend is seriously the calmest person I've ever met in my life. I don't know how he does it really. Thats a blog post for another time.

So I took a shower and cleared my head. I got ready slowly so I was nice and calm going down there, I even brought a pen and paper with me. When I got there the lady started going through all of my rents and the dates I paid them seemingly sure she was going to find a missing check but she did not. She was truly baffled. I sat there and didn't say a word though I wanted to scream. She even printed out my ledger with a copy for me so she could prove to me line by line that I made a mistake. Still, didn't find anything.

As it turns out, I am billed $45 each month for my water. However, the bill is much higher and the apartment complex eats the rest for me (thanks I guess) but for some reason her accounting system was adding my portion onto my account.

TL;DR instead of questioning why a person that pays her rent every month on time has a huge past due balance my apartment complex issued me an eviction notice. When I called to question it they didn't return my calls and 2 months later gave me another notice to move out in 5 days. Glad you found the mistake guys, but I'm moving out when my lease is up.

Fathers Day

2011-06-14T23:58:00.002-04:00

I was lucky enough to get a Dad who loves metal. Needless to say, I was super excited when I found this shirt at ThinkGeek!

Its a few days early but screw it.....Happy Fathers Day Daddy!

irregardless!

2011-04-28T11:38:00.003-04:00

I heard a guy on the radio this morning ranting about football or something. I wasn't actually listening but what I did hear was him say "irregardless" and as the words left his lips I instantly felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Now, I don't always use the right words and if you've read my blog you know I don't I usually don't write in proper sentences or form. However, there are a few terms that I just can't stand because its so clearly wrong and people say them anyway.

Irregardless
This isn't even a word, for one thing. And second it can't be used to get your point across. Most situations call for a yes/no right? You'd never say yes/not yes right? So if you're not without regard, then you have regard and your point is moot. With or without regard and never not without because then you're with. GOT IT!? ok.
Also, I googled this and irregardless was actually put into the dictionary as a "non-standard" version of regardless. DERP!

I could care less
You could? So then you still care right? right? yes. Well. I couldn't care less when I don't care about things. Just sayin'.

Summer Summer

2011-04-26T03:02:00.009-04:00

Plans are good when you have them. I'm tired of dealing with the hard ones so here's my list of to-do's for the summer:

1. Visit my sister Lindsy
2. attend 5 concerts (|)
3. See the Grand Canyon
4. Go to Vegas
5. Tubing Salt River
6. Try out a new activity (Ice skating was fun!!)
7. Make a new friend
8. Horseback Riding
9. Brew my own beer
10. Go to a beach in California
11. Create something new
12. completely impress myself
13. Read 5 books (|||)

some are specific and some aren't, most of them will keep me outside and out of my own head. Cool thing about living in the desert is summer lasts way longer than most places so I have plenty of time to put a decent dent in this stuff.

2011-04-13T13:03:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago I was exploring my ability to communicate with others. I was so tired of being the wallflower, boring, quiet girl. I even blogged about it. Today I realize something else about myself that I get really annoyed with. When someone challenges my ideas, I almost always back down. I worked so hard at learning new things and being able to discuss subjects but somehow I missed the part where I needed to back up my mouth. This is the most recent example, it just reminded me of the fact that I do this all the time:

Cyndi: we're going to stop in Santa Fe to party. I guess its a big fun city and its the half way mark between here and Fort Morgan (where she's moving)
Me: I didn't realize New Mexico had any cool cities like that, all I know is Albuquerque the rest of it was boring when we went through.
Cyndi: What? I'm not going through New Mexico at all
Me: .....Santa Fe is in New Mexico
Cyndi: Lots of states have cities with the same names, this isn't new mexico
Me: ok

Later on I look at a map
/facepalm
Santa Fe is in New Mexico and it is the halfway mark

I'm never positive enough about my own knowledge or decisions so stick by it. Why do I do that? This has actually gotten me in trouble before because as soon as I back away from the conversation it sounds like I didn't know what I was talking about. I did, but I wasn't willing to challenge what the other person was saying to contradict me.
I need some debate skills.

dogs are the best animal to have in case of a robot uprising

2011-04-07T15:22:00.003-04:00

I opted to take my book and go to the dog parp and let Ging run around while I chill in the sunshine there

I think its a good idea, Gives ginger a chance to sniff other dogs butts all day
sniff sniff "Yep, thats a butthole"
Dogs just want to make sure other dogs are real and not robots
robots dont have buttholes
dogs are the best animal to have in case of a robot uprising

Its days like this that I am so happy that Gmail logs all my conversations.

My book exchange books came!!

2011-04-06T19:25:00.003-04:00

I got:

Catching Fire- Book 2 in the Hunger Games trilogy and with perfect timing, I just finished the first!

Blindness- Looks pretty exciting! Its about a group of people facing an epidemic in their city where everyone goes blind and then loses their minds. Could you imagine? Our entire society blind? Hide ya kids! HA can't wait to read it.

ROOM- I love books told from a kids point of view. I am so excited to read this one, probably cover to cover in one night!

Chain Mail Jewelry- I'm a crafter, I sew and have been looking for something a little more portable to craft. This is perfect, I spent last weekend at a Renaissance Faire so I'm already bubbling with ideas!!

Thank you so much for the books, they were perfect choices. I looked through each one cover to cover to find a note/name to no avail, so thank you random Redditor, I love them all!

I see it in my face mostly.

2011-04-05T12:32:00.006-04:00

September 2009

Sept 2010

April 2011

Its April Fools

2011-04-01T10:28:00.002-04:00

I am positive that my dad will try and prank me this year, he always does. The sad part is that I always see it coming but believe it anyway because I believe everything he tells me.

To this day I still call those 4 holed swings at the park "doggie swings". Thanks Dad ♥

I've got that rock and that roll!

2011-03-31T21:46:00.002-04:00

Once again Manchester Orchestra has made my skin crawl with an amazing song. They released it today and it'll be one of their new songs released on Simple Math in May.

Its currently on repeat in my apartment.

Is symmetry too much to ask?!

2011-03-23T21:07:00.002-04:00

A simple question from Vince turns into my major annoyance for the night.

I have a female question for you.

Oh sweet is it a dating question because I have no idea how that works but LOVE giving advice about it!

Its not (insert random question about what headphones to buy)---I still have no idea what that had to do with my being female..

Conversation turns to how it would be more comfortable to have two pillows

but for us it would be two unmatched pillows because of the loser sheet set rule

Basically. I got upset because when I was first single and I had only a twin bed, when I bought sheets they only came with 1 pillow case instead of 2. It was a whole ordeal due to unmatched pillow cases.

A few months ago I bought some sheets for my now queen sized bed and guess what?! THREE pillow cases. Who only uses three pillows? If you're going to have two on one side you need two on the other. So now when I change my sheets I have three blue and one red and when I change to red I have three red and a blue. ANNOYING. I really don't think that symmetry is too much to ask.

Social Awkwardness

2011-03-20T23:10:00.003-04:00

I like to think that I have pretty good social skills. I never was much of a talker but as I got older I found out that people are generally more friendly when you can hold a decent conversation. Lots of practice later I think I have a pretty firm grasp on being social. However, there are moments in my life where I am just really not sure what to do. For example, a guy at a bar tried to kiss me a couple weeks ago. I don't want to be kissed and when I tried to lean away from him and he kept coming, my reaction was to headbutt him. Who does that? Me. Thats who. Here then, is a list of situations where I'm not sure what to do:

Door holding:

When you're going through a door and there is someone behind you, what is the appropriate distance they need to be before you don't have to hold the door for them? Too close and you're the jerk that didn't hold the door, too far and you're just standing there awkwardly waiting for them to enter. I've been on the receiving end of the too long holder, you feel like you need to walk faster or not turn down that hall you actually wanted to turn down because someones holding a door for you. Yes I actually did continue through a door simply for that reason.

I've actually adopted a door holding method that seems to work, basically, I walk through the door slowly and stretch my arm out behind me. That way it appears that I intended to hold the door and acknowledged there was a person behind me but I must be in a rush and didn't have time to wait.

Music and talking in the car:

I try to set the music in my car at a level where its nice to hear the music but still appropriate to talk. However, this doesn't always work because if there's a good song on I can't seem to focus on both. Turn the music down and then you're either going to be silent or you have to find a conversation. Turn it up and you've ruined any chance at a conversation. My sister remedies this by announcing what she's planning on doing with the radio then constantly asking if the music selection is ok, equally awkward. Also, the whole thing never works if your passenger doesn't like the same music. Everything about being in a car stresses me out, I don't want to have to think about this at all!

Hugs:

Hugs are always weird. I blame South Carolina for this. Before I moved to the south I had a nice little personal space bubble. It was the span of my arms, all the way around my body. Don't get that close to me unless you have been invited. When I moved down there I quickly learned that people were going to hug and touch you no matter what so I adapted. Since I didn't grow up hugging everyone it felt awkward, I never knew when it was appropriate since in my mind you only hugged people you love. I found myself hugging people when only a handshake was necessary. I still do that! I'm at a party, saying goodbye, I had a great time..should I hug the host? Handshakes aren't right....a wave goodbye maybe? Is that rude? I DON'T KNOW!

Long hallways:

In the past this hasn't been an issue, you only really experience this in like doctors offices and stuff. But I got a job where I have to walk all the way across a giant building to get to my desk, this means there are at least 4 long hallways. 4 chances for me to spend what feels like eternity walking towards a stranger. There are several ways that people avoid this but so far none of them feel normal to me.

Look at your cell phone. This is a great remedy because you can ignore everyone around you for your oh so important cell phone. The problem with this is that you look like a self important jerk. Nobody likes that guy.

Look at the ground. I don't know about you but when I walk my heads up and I look forward. You are obviously avoiding me by doing this and now not only are you awkward but so am I because I think maybe I looked unapproachable.

Eye Contact. This requires more tact than I'm familiar with. I usually end up making eye contact for far too long and appear to be gawking. Plus, if you make eye contact so as to acknowledge but then look away at nothing its so obvious it always just looks weird.

Conversation. I'm all about striking a conversation with a stranger but what are you going to talk about in the time that you have and when its is ok to start talking (distance wise) what if you speak too soon and then you have to say something else. OR what if there are TWO people now you have to speak to both of them "about about this weather?" to the first person and to the second person who clearly heard you speak to the guy ahead of him "long hallway right?"

And the absolute WORST part about long hallways: Someone in front of you walking the same speed as you. UGH! Now I have to walk slower so we aren't walking side by side or speed up and act like this is the indy car race to my desk.

Goodbyes:

Why do we have to say goodbye 100 times? This goes with hugging too, if you hug after a goodbye, don't say goodbye again because then you have to hug again and its a vicious cycle! Here's how a goodbye should go:

I had a great time, thanks (hug, handshake or wave or whatever else)

Goodbye

EXIT

done, you've said goodbye and you're on with the day.

Here's how a goodbye does go:

I had a great time, thanks.

bye!

hug-handshake-whatever

ok bye!

so see you later?

Yea maybe like Wednesday?

OK!

ok, well thanks again I had fun

me too!

Hug again not sure why

ok bye

bye!

Sometimes theres a couple more cycles of talking, hugs and goodbyes before you finally get out the door. Its weird.

However, I have no remedy for this at all. I usually end up leaving abruptly and skipping the goodbye altogether so as to not deal with it.

goodbye (close the page, don't say goodbye back or I'll be forced to say it again!)

Your house smells like someone died!

2011-03-19T19:11:00.003-04:00

I was going through my old photos today and I ran across one that made my day. In May 2009 I went to Hawaii and my sister and mom watched my apartment for me. They kept calling me and saying that my place smelled so bad that they couldn't even stay there. Like something died. I was a little freaked out, I try to keep my place clean and I was going to be gone for a week so whatever it was would just smell worse by the time I got there if they didn't find it.

Finally, I got home after a long flight and a great vacation to find this and a note that said "WHO DONE IT?!":

Helplessness Blues

2011-03-19T19:07:00.002-04:00

This is a fantastic song, I love the lyrics and his voice is just beautiful, especially in the chorus.

I was raised up believing

I was somehow unique

Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes

Unique in each way you can see

And now after some thinking
I'd say I'd rather be

A functioning cog in some great machinery

Serving something beyond me

All those moments will be lost in time

2011-03-11T21:28:00.003-05:00

I found this page today. Some really beautiful screenshots, the quotes really make the images. This one in particular.

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. … Time to die.”

Blade Runner (1982)

Thanks, mom

2011-03-03T15:19:00.002-05:00

My mom sent me a get well card and I guess she couldn't find the perfect card, so she improvised. haha.

Had lunch at Chino Bandido today with Crystal, a mexican-chinese place. They have the most unique menu, its one of my favorite places to eat in Phoenix. Emerald Chicken on a quesadilla with jerk chicken rice, omnomnom!

Getting my staples out today from my surgery. Finally, man these things are really getting on my nerves. Its going to feel so good to finally sleep on my stomach again!

What if I’ve been trying to get to where I’ve always been

2011-03-01T21:06:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you but I could not be more excited about Manchester Orchestras new album Simple Math to come out! They released the title track and I can't stop listening, feeeeeeed me more!

"What if I was wrong and you had never questioned it?
What if it was true, that all we thought was right was wrong
Simple math, the truth cannot be fractioned"

I think that song was made for me.

Appendix-less

2011-02-28T21:49:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday I went out for some day drinking and afterwards hit up Santisi for darts and more drinking. Needless to say Friday when I woke up I wasn't feeling top notch. My tummy was killing me! I went to work but ended up leaving early and going home to rest. Around 9pm I decided that hangovers just don't last this long, I did some drinking but not THAT much. So I headed over to urgent care and they looked at me like a crazy person, TO THE ER! Several hours later I was getting my appendix out.

What a strange experience. I was in a daze for days between blinding pain and drugs. As with any crisis, when I came to I realized once again that I have an amazing support system. My friends and family all came in to help me take care of myself, take care of my dog and provide much needed moral support to get through this. Thanks guys :)

Left with Steph

2011-02-21T19:34:00.004-05:00

My friends Nick, John and AJ all play Left 4 Dead with me. Its been awhile but there's always a running joke that I get the most friendly fire. Nick is a great artist and he drew a little cartoon depicting us. The first is me with a machine gun the the guys hiding in the background, then me with the bright idea to put big signs on them to help avoid (and also poking fun at the time I blamed them for startling the witch and then getting in my way!) and finally the guys decide maybe I'd be better off with melee weapons instead of guns :P

There are a few more in the series but these three get the chain of events the best :)

CR-48!!

2011-02-10T00:32:00.002-05:00

I had a UPS tag on my door a couple of days ago, assuming it was something for my sister I waited until today to get it. I hadn't ordered anything and Brandon said he never mailed anything so imagine my surprise when I open up a Google Chrome Notebook!!!! I signed up MONTHS ago to be a tester for it, never in a billion years did I think they would be sending me one!

Its really great so far. I can connect to the internet via my wifi, tether from my phone or use Verizon 3g. I get 100MB free a month or i can buy an unlimited 3g package for ten bucks.

In addition to getting one of the coolest devices ever, I also finally got Cyanogen Mod 7 on my phone. I've been fighting with this phone for a few weeks now. Today was a great success in one geeks life.

Now I have a Google phone, tablet and notebook. I think I am officially a fangirl

Who said turning 30 meant growing up?!

2011-01-25T22:40:00.004-05:00

I had a fantastic 30th birthday. My mom showed up (it was her birthday too) in Arizona and surprised me. Shannon picked me up and we went to dinner with Cyndi and Danielle and afterwards we went to Dave and Busters. We're walking in and I catch a glimpse of our friend Dave and think, whats he doing here? Then I notice Dave has a girl with him but I can't tell who she is. Upon closer inspection it was my mom!! I screamed so loud the people around us all jumped HA!
We had a great time, I played tons of games and got lots of tickets. Grand prize was 2600 tickets and a new cozy hoodie.

The whole week after my birthday my mom was here and we did all kinds of fun stuff. Probably the most fun was the trip to Jerome, AZ where Maynard from Tool has a winery called Caduceus.

Yum!
There were actually several winerys in Jerome that we stopped at. I can't wait for a trip back, if not for the scenery alone! Here's a photo of Jerome as we approached it, the whole town is on the side of a mountain!

Have you seen this? tl;dr: for a moment I thought intentions were good.

2010-12-31T21:20:00.001-05:00

http://rockbeyondbelief.com/2010/12/22/mandatory-army-survey-says-atheists-are-unfit-to-be-soldiers/

http://rockbeyondbelief.com/2010/12/24/soldier-fitness-tracker-spiritual-questions-now-available/

http://www.maaf.info/resources/gatspirituality.jpg

Am I missing something? It asks if you're a "spiritual" person, I don't think it actually insinuates that you need to be a Christian. Many people feel "spiritual" about the earth and humanity and their connection with it. Think back to the family celebrating the solstice festival, they aren't Christian but they certainly feel like they are part of something with other humans and the earth. It simply shows they don't alienate themselves and they feel like their life is special and meaningful. I really think that this atheist was just being overly touchy and actually being the epitome of what they were trying to weed out in the first place. A person that didn't feel connected to other people and couldn't be part of a team, which he needs to be to be in the Army. The survey even suggested that he seek help in others, again reinforcing the purpose of the questions, to be able to believe in and depend on others. I don't think they were trying to weed out freethinkers here, I think they were looking for socially inept hermits who would probably harm the group as a whole before they helped it.

So here I am on my high horse thinking that this guy is over reacting and trying to find the meaning behind these questions and thinking to myself, surely the military isn't doing this. Until I read this: "Billy Graham Evangelical Associations, ‘Rock the Fort’ concert series came to Fort Bragg. It was allowed to convert several hundreds of soldiers on stage at a military base. At several bases, actually. It was their stated goal to convert as many soldiers, spouses and civilians as possible."

And then I went here: http://www.maaf.info/

And I found this: http://www.maaf.info/resources/CSF_Spirituality_Remediation.pdf IF you get low scores you can get help, its a list of suggestions for how to become more spiritual and to feel more connected. It seemed harmless, suggesting you listen to music or join the Army Band, write letters or poetry. But then it moves throughout the letters giving examples of excerpts from other military members thanking God and this leads into the suggestion that prayer be part of your rehabilitation. If you like, you can also visit the Chaplain.

The deeper I got and the more I read the more pissed off I got.

I try so hard to believe that people are good and that deep down intentions are good. Sadly, most of the time, they think the intentions are good. But I'm speaking about average people that have no bearing on my government or my way of life. People like a grandma who seek to spread what they think is right to other people. But making it a requirement and forcing it upon you in order to continue doing your job is wrong, its a horrible thing to do and I want nothing more than to help make it stop.

I liked making this Alot!

2010-12-25T14:53:00.005-05:00

I don't know about you but I think that Hyperbole and a Half is about the funniest blog I've ever read. I decided for Christmas to make Shannon something special because she shares my love for this blog. One of our favorite posts is "The Alot is Better Than You At Everything"

So I went to the fabric store and found the perfect fur for this project. Let me tell you, fur is not fun to work with. I liked it because there was tons of room for errors since the fur hides all of your stitches, but the stuff was EVERYWHERE! haha. I'm still cleaning fur off the floor. Anyway, after much fun and stitching I bring you:

The Alot!

Ginger also loved this Alot

LOL, you said butt!

2010-12-07T19:58:00.003-05:00

Brandon: so, whats our space website
"SpaceTits.com?

me: I think it should go in our couple blog. Pictures and stories of the awesome things we do

Brandon: Works for me
"23 January, 2013.
Stephanie burped in my face. I punched her in the ovaries, then I broke out. Playin some CoD7"

me: Then I revoked head rubs

Brandon: headbutts are an unrevokable right
wait
headrubs
I guess if I headbutt you in the ovaries that could work

me: Lol you said butt

Brandon: lol butts

I think we have a mature healthy relationship :P

So Brandon and I have been planning to do a "space mission"! We're going to send some cameras into space on a weather balloon. like this one. Next Spring when he gets back from deployment. No, we are not calling the mission SpaceTits.

Back up! I'm doing science!

2010-11-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

I bet you did what you did when you did it to do it again by the time you were done with it

2010-10-15T20:36:00.004-04:00

This voice! This voice! Andy Hull does amazing things to my brain. Manchester Orchestra is what I'm referring to. I love this particular song today but I love all of their songs everyday.

First full week of my new job is down. I love it! Who knew property and casualty insurance would be as much fun as banking. I know what you're thinking. I don't care. Whats really awesome is that USAA is a values driven company just like BB&T was which means they actually give a crap about me and how happy I am with my job AND they treat their customers awesome. People I've met that work there really enjoy it so I'm looking forward to the months to come. I am in training for quite awhile before I actually start work. Anyway, things are going well :)

New Place!

2010-10-05T17:14:00.003-04:00

Thanks to the help of my amazing friends and family, I was able to move into my new apartment on the first. Here is a little walkthrough of it. I don't have anything on the walls or any curtains up right now but I got some nails today to get started. I'm planning on making my own curtains once I can get some fabrics for it. The complex is really pretty and theres lots of shopping and dining and bars nearby, not to mention its only like 6 miles from work! So happy to be settled and ready to start working again. New job starts Monday.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

2010-09-23T12:23:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the tremendous support I've gotten from my family, my boyfriend and my friends. I can't say enough how important having a great circle of people is. I only hope that I return even a fraction of their kindness.

I was able to find an apartment this week and will be moving in next Friday! A job, my own place, my car back. Everything is going to be alright.

I love my new apartment. I hope I'm not going to eat my words later since I don't actually live there yet but the complex is really nice, pretty courtyards, private balconies, 4 swimming pools with hot tubs and covered parking. Its everything I was looking for AND they are pet friendly and they waived all the pet fees. So I get to have Miss Ginger there and not pay extra for her! Oh and this time I got an upstairs unit so I don't have to deal with the baby hippo on a treadmill noise. I got a 2 bedroom which is a big upgrade for me. Its still small but it'll be nice to have a space for family and friends when they come to stay. Not to mention finally having a place to set up my sewing machine.

Speaking of my sewing machine! I joined a craft swap. I am stoked, its a autumn/halloween themed one. I can't say yet what I'm making because its going to be a surprise for my swap person but I'll post photos afterwards. The rules were to make 2 or 3 small items that take less than 2 hours to make. I have SO many ideas!! I think I'll do one Halloween one and a few Autumn ones because they can be used longer.

2010-09-19T04:23:00.002-04:00

I went to New Jersey this week to see Brandon. We had a great time even though the trip was really short. He brought me some funny Engrish shirts back from Japan. One that has a Stormtrooper on it that says "Smooth trooper lovers yo mamas flapjacks" and another one that says "only love is believed" with some Japanese characters on it. Some cookies that apparently are like eating cookie roulette because some of them are good cookies and some are nasty. I haven't tried them yet. Oh Japan.

We did some sightseeing and he took me out to Atlantic City where I learned that I am definitely not a gambler and that there is more to playing Blackjack than just making sure you get as close to 21 as possible without going over. I also learned that it only takes 2 vodka cranberries to make me start giggling. Geeze I'm a lightweight!

Last week was his birthday and I got him a Tshirt and made him this, its a few panels from the game Portal that I cross stitched and framed. I have never done cross stitch before but it was really fun and I can't wait to do some more.

I joined a craft swap between some girls online, I will get a survey next week from the person I'm trading crafts with so I have an idea on what to make her/him. Will post results when I'm done!

Forumspring

2010-09-08T15:21:00.002-04:00

I made an account at forumspring. Its a neat little thing where you can ask random questions to users, you can make an account or you can just submit questions anonymously. Ask me anything!!

2010-08-20T17:07:00.002-04:00

All in all the move to Arizona has gone pretty well so far. I've been here for a couple of weeks now and while I still haven't found a job, I do have lots of good prospects! My plan was to update and post photos while I drove out here, however, my super awesome phone was not being very super awesome and didn't want to stay online. So know this, it took three days to get here and it was a very pretty drive. If you are friends with me on facebook I posted some of my photos there.

While mom was still out here we took a little day trip to Tuscon and visited the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. Which as corny as an ostrich ranch sounds, was super fun. We got to ride this big monster tractor thing while the guide talked about ostriches, the desert and all kinds of neat facts about both. I think the coolest part was feeding them grapefruit from a fishing pole, they are the weirdest looking animals! Afterwards we went to a restaurant called Jonathans Cork and actually ate ostrich! It was pretty good. Tasted like a very tender steak.

That day we also went to the Sonora Desert Museum. We took a night tour because its a little too hot during the day here right now. Its basically a big walking path through the desert that highlights the plants and animals seen there. There were zoo-like displays with common animals like the coyote, ocelot, mountain lion, and bears. I want to go back when its cooler because they have a hummingbird display.

I went hiking on South Mountain the other day, there are alot of places to hike and walk and run and take your dog here. Ginger is the happiest I have ever seen her. Shannon has a sheltie named Sundae that has become her new best friend/little sister. They get along great and its so much fun to watch them play.

So, overall Arizona is awesome so far.

How to be alone.

2010-08-13T18:04:00.002-04:00

Ran across this today and it spoke volumes to me. How to be alone with myself was probably the biggest lesson I've learned in the last couple years. I've always struggled with being happy with myself, often times simply putting others before myself just so I had someone elses life to focus on. Living alone taught me to embrace my own talents, learn more about the way I think and the things I love. If you haven't embraced these things in yourself, take the time to. You will like who you meet.

HOW TO BE ALONE by Tanya Davis

If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you've not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren't okay with it, then just wait. You'll find it's fine to be alone once you're embracing it.

We could start with the acceptable places, the bathroom, the coffee shop, the library. Where you can stall and read the paper, where you can get your caffeine fix and sit and stay there. Where you can browse the stacks and smell the books. You're not supposed to talk much anyway so it's safe there.

There's also the gym. If you're shy you could hang out with yourself in mirrors, you could put headphones in (guitar stroke).

And there's public transportation, because we all gotta go places.

And there's prayer and meditation. No one will think less if you're hanging with your breath seeking peace and salvation.

Start simple. Things you may have previously (electric guitar plucking) based on your avoid being alone principals.

The lunch counter. Where you will be surrounded by chow-downers. Employees who only have an hour and their spouses work across town and so they -- like you -- will be alone.

Resist the urge to hang out with your cell phone.

When you are comfortable with eat lunch and run, take yourself out for dinner. A restaurant with linen and silverware. You're no less intriguing a person when you're eating solo dessert to cleaning the whipped cream from the dish with your finger. In fact some people at full tables will wish they were where you were.

Go to the movies. Where it is dark and soothing. Alone in your seat amidst a fleeting community.
And then, take yourself out dancing to a club where no one knows you. Stand on the outside of the floor till the lights convince you more and more and the music shows you. Dance like no one's watching...because, they're probably not. And, if they are, assume it is with best of human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats is, after all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you're sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life's best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.

Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you.
Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, there're always statues to talk to and benches made for sitting give strangers a shared existence if only for a minute and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversations you get in by sitting alone on benches might've never happened had you not been there by yourself

Society is afraid of alonedom, like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements, like people must have problems if, after a while, nobody is dating them. but lonely is a freedom that breaths easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it.

You could stand, swathed by groups and mobs or hold hands with your partner, look both further and farther for the endless quest for company. But no one's in your head and by the time you translate your thoughts, some essence of them may be lost or perhaps it is just kept.

Perhaps in the interest of loving oneself, perhaps all those sappy slogans from preschool over to high school's groaning were tokens for holding the lonely at bay. Cuz if you're happy in your head than solitude is blessed and alone is okay.

It's okay if no one believes like you. All experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can't think like you, for this be releived, keeps things interesting lifes magic things in reach.

And it doesn't mean you're not connected, that communitie's not present, just take the perspective you get from being one person in one head and feel the effects of it. take silence and respect it. if you have an art that needs a practice, stop neglecting it. if your family doesn't get you, or religious sect is not meant for you, don't obsess about it.

you could be in an instant surrounded if you needed it
If your heart is bleeding make the best of it
There is heat in freezing, be a testament.

Mmmmm beer

2010-07-27T08:55:00.001-04:00

Part of my gift from brandon for running was a case of beers from brewdog.com. I haven't had a chance to taste them all yet but so far I'm loving them! Their ipa won the gold medal in the world beer cup, and for good reason, its awesome. Comprehensive blog of each one to come!

Thursday is my last day at the bank. Mom comes in saturday and sunday we hit the road to arizona. I'm nervous and excited!

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Success!

2010-07-21T08:56:00.001-04:00

Running is starting to pay off, got weighed and pinched yesterday and lost 11.5 pounds! Feels good to see some results. In addition, my heart rate and blood pressure are down too.

Officially set for phoenix finally! I'm moving out of my apartment july 30 and hitting the road aug 1. Mom is flying down to drive with me, I am eternally grateful to my mother and all she's done for me, especially the last few years. She definitely caught me while I was falling!

I plan on blogging as we drive, it's going to be a 2-3 day trip!

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101th post! I missed the 100th so we're having an after party

2010-07-18T10:32:00.003-04:00

Someone on my facebook posted this photo yesterday. I posted the link because the comments really go right along with the ridiculousness of the whole thing, but here's the photo too.

Anyway the photo and the message he was trying to send, that planned parenthood (birth control and abortion) are a hidden agenda to kill off black people, is wrong. So, I emailed him mostly because he's always posting his opinions on life and the world and usually I laugh off the bs he's spewing but come on...this has taken it to a whole new level. Emails as follows:

Me

Normally I like a few differences of opinion and a good debate over things especially relating to anything a conservative christian believes and maybe it just caught me on a bad day but that post made me want to throw my monitor across the room.

That photo had nothing to do with where planned parenthood begun, the KKK invited her to speak there because their bullshit agenda of eliminating blacks seemed to jive with what she was doing (same way the nazi's used her ideas of eugenics for their ridiculous agendas). What was she doing? Talking about planned parenthood in inner cities. Why? Because thats where poverty is, ignorance, disease, drugs and dare I say..unwanted pregnancies occur. She wasn't trying to eliminate black people, she was trying to eliminate a society that turned out as ignorant and poor as ours is. Maybe if her efforts were taken more seriously half the ignorant, poor, lazy people that drag down productive members of society wouldn't exist today. instead, I have to see my government trying to take care of people that won't take care of themselves.

but hey, abortion is killing, its genocide, whatever you want to call it, its completely necessary. Even if a person didn't believe in abortion they'd have to agree that simply using birth control is a method worth teaching.

His Response:

Murder of unborn children is never necessary. If we lived in a moral society where people married and THEN had sex and had only as many children that they could support, we would have no problems with overpopulation or unwanted children. And this is not a "conservative" thing. It is a Christian thing. Whether you believe in God or not, if everyone followed the teachings of the Bible, regardless of their reason for doing so, this would have a much better world.

Me:

Well reality is that we don't live in a moral society and theists and atheists alike can agree upon that. The question is what do we do about an overgrown population that is increasingly under educated and living on generational welfare? Telling everyone to read a bible is about as useful as beating a dead horse. However, whether or not you or I are Christian or pro choice isn't whats in question here.

The purpose of your post was to suggest that somehow Margaret Sanger was in unison with the KKK trying to eradicate the black population. This is simply not true. Margaret Sanger was simply pro choice and spreading her ideas of planned parenthood. It had nothing to do with black or white but that sometimes people that aren't in a loving committed relationship do get pregnant and sometimes its not the best thing for them or the population to handle. I understand you don't agree with this theory and thats fine by me, don't use birth control or have an abortion. But, she was't trying to erase black people as your post suggests.

Slow Club

2010-07-06T20:02:00.003-04:00

I love Slow Club! It all started with "Me and You" and its snowballed from there. Youtube them! "Apples and Pairs", "It doesn't have to be beautiful"..all of them are sweet and quirky and pretty!

Help yourself out, shoot history in the mouth,
It's all that's left to do.
Look me up in some phonebook
Under, Me and You.

Goosefraba

2010-06-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

THERE IS SERIOUSLY A BABY HIPPO ON A FUCKING TREADMILL IN THE APARTMENT ABOVE ME OMG THIS IS MAKING ME CRAZY.

whew.

I am listening to this song over and over because it makes me calm

2010-06-22T19:51:00.000-04:00

This girl does a fantastic version of this song, absolutely beautiful

I went to a cobbler
to fix a hole in my shoe
he took one look at my face and said
"I can fix that hole in you."
I beg your pardon, I'm not looking for a cure
I've seen enough from my friends
in the depths of the God-sick blues

You know I am a liar
You know I am a liar
Nobody helps a liar

'Cause I've been down to Dixie
and dropped acid on my tongue
tripped upon the land 'til enough was enough
I was a little bit lighter and
adventure on my sleeve
I was a little drunk and looking for company
So I found myself a sweetheart
with the softest of hands
we were unlucky in love but I'd do it all again

we built ourselves a fire
we built ourselves a fire
you know I am a liar
you know I am a liar

and you don't know what I've done

and by the rollin' river
is exactly where I was
there was no snake oil cure for unlucky in love
to be lonely is a habit
like smoking or taking drugs
and I've quit them both
but man, was it rough

and now I am tired
it just made me tired
let's build ourselves a fire
let's build ourselves a fire

28.6

2010-06-21T20:31:00.002-04:00

Final stretch in the run your ass off competition and I have gone 28.6 miles total. Friday is the last day and I have to say 30 days of routine and I'm really enjoying myself, I almost feel bad if I don't go at this point because I enjoy it so much. Spending time with my dog, I love how it makes my body feel and I love being outside. I've found some pretty places to run, too.

Last week I got back from my 2 weeks in Alabama. I had a fun trip, the people at the bank I worked with were super nice and I did lots of fun things while I was out there. I attended Bamajam, a country music festival. I didn't know much of the music but I did walk around drunk and barefoot so I fit right in! I drove down to Panama City Florida for a day and oh my oh my was it pretty!! I would love to go back there someday. I heard just after I left the oil was nearing the beaches there, its a shame :(
I took a Zumba class while I was there too, that was fun. I have zero rhythm but just trying to keep up I worked really hard!

July 1st I am driving up to Illinois to visit my family. I didn't go back last year so I'm pretty excited to see everyone. My dad is going to be out of town but he's going to have the house all ready for me to stay in, that was sweet.

Anyway, another wonderful summer. Exciting things to come in the next couple months, big changes!!!

Run away little girl, run away!

2010-05-25T19:02:00.004-04:00

I got a neat app for my phone called Cardio Trainer. It tracks via gps where I went, how long, how far and how fast it also says how many calories but I think that's inaccurate because I keep pretty much the same pace and its always giving varying results. Anyway, when I save my workout it then posts to my facebook feed, which is cool because my friends encourage me and stuff. I also like how I can compare my results from the last time.

I added another app called C25K pro which basically puts you on a 9 week routine to build stamina and speed. Here's how it works, you turn it on when you begin your workout and there are a list of workouts labeled Week one Day 1, Week 2 Day 2 ect ect. Each week you increase the number of seconds you run and decrease your walking. For example in week one you walk 5 mins for warm up then alternate running for 60 seconds and walking for 90, then walk 5 mins cooldown. The whole routine takes 30 minutes. Since I like to walk Ginger for one hour I just run each of my day routines twice. Lately that's been getting me about 3.5 miles in because I run slow. It makes a sound when its time to run and when its time to walk (you create the sound scheme) that plays over your music. I really like it and by week 9 i *should* be able to run 30 mins without stopping to walk (its sad that I can't do that now but whatever, I'm working on it).

So Brandon decides to tap into my competitive nature and encourage me to push harder today by giving me a competition with him. For the next month starting today (May 25-June 25) we will both use Cardio Trainer app to track our mileage and if I go more miles than he does, he will buy me a present. No word on what the present is but it doesn't matter, I want to win and given his track record with presents (Zune HD, HTC Incredible) I think its' going to be something totally badass.

So yesterday doesn't count but I did 3.1 miles in 51 minutes. In a couple minutes I'm going to head out for the first day and hopefully beat yesterday and with any luck increase each day. Will try to post results as often as possible.

I got a dog!!

2010-05-16T17:11:00.003-04:00

This is Ginger!

I have been thinking for awhile that I would like to get a pet. I need something to take care of, something to motivate me to get out of the house and be active, and a companion. SO, when I got back from Japan I made a trip to the Columbia Humane Society. I looked at all the dogs there for quite awhile and didn't really click with any of them in particular. I was walking between 2 cages deciding on them when Ginger caught my eye. She must have been outside and just came in. She was so sweet looking and the dog in her cage was jumping all over her and barking and she was keeping her cool. So I took her outside for a walk and when I kneeled down to greet her she put her paws up on me and gave me a hug! I fell in love and adopted her that day. lol.

I've had Ginger for 3 weeks. She's perfect for me. She has a good demeanor, she loves to cuddle and she listens to me! We go for walks (we're working on jogging...well she's got jogging I'M working on jogging lol), meetups with other dog owners in the park, we play and she's learning tricks. Having a dog has changed my daily activities for the better, I highly recommend it to anyone.

Ginger is a 2 year old pointer mix. She was brought to the Humane Society by her owner who said she couldn't afford to care for Ginger and her brother Roscoe anymore (if you know ANYONE that wants a dog please PLEASE go adopt Roscoe!). She left a sweet note talking about what Ginger likes and even said when she likes you she will hug you with her paws :)

She's your lobster.

2010-05-14T17:33:00.001-04:00

Phoebe: Hang in there, it's gonna happen.
Ross: What? Okay, now how do you know that?
Phoebe: Because she's your lobster.
Chandler: Oh, she's goin' somewhere.
Phoebe: Come on, you guys. It's a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You know what? You can actually see old lobster couples walkin' around their tank, you know, holding claws like...

Yes it’s a Friends quote and I'm just a silly girl for thinking this but I take comfort in the thought that you always end up with your lobster no matter what else happens.

2010-05-06T16:57:00.000-04:00

My sister calls me at work to tell me she's got a Steph and Lindsy thought. What she means is we will sit and ponder the weirdest things. The existence of Santa, what dogs might be thinking, random things you may sometimes wonder but usually keep to yourself. Todays topic was what people did prior to the invention of jogging.

Lindsy: Every time I hear the phrase "jogging was invented in the 70s" I think to myself….
Me: Wait wait wait, "jogging was invented in the 70s" what do you mean every time you hear it..why would you hear that more than once in a lifetime?

Lindsy: Doesn't matter, I hear it all the time.
Lindsy: So what, if I had to run an errand I either had to walk to it or full on sprint? I'm calling dad to ask what they did.

Me: Yea there was no happy medium, it was awful. And you always got made fun of for either walking too fast or running too slow.

Me: Until one day someone was like, back off man, I'm run-walking. And jogging was born.

Happy Star Wars Day

2010-05-04T11:25:00.001-04:00

May the Fourth be with you

Lotsa updates (I went to Japan, I got a dog, made some life changing decisions recently! Will post more when I can!)

learning a new craft.

2010-04-04T18:57:00.005-04:00

I've always loved sewing, mostly little crafts and home decor. I have 2 really nice machines but I don't have the space in my apartment to get a table, ironing board and place for my machine in so I haven't done much in a long time. So, I'm trying to teach myself how to crochet. So far I've learned the slip knot, yarn over, slip stitch and a chain stitch. I think the needle and yarn I bought were a little small for beginners, might go back and get some different stuff to practice with. Getting a good hang of it though, pretty soon I might be able to turn it into something! yay crafts :)

Music, traveling, friends and family. Life's good.

2010-03-31T09:53:00.001-04:00

I always tie music into times in my life. Certain songs, genres or artists that I was really into during a particular event or time in my life. Even if those people aren't around anymore or whatever was happening is done now, the music brings me back to that time. This morning made me smile, I was flipping through my Zune and 3 songs in a row that directly related to a happy time in my life played. Silversun Pickups-Kissing Families, Radiohead-15 Step and Led Zepplin-No Quarter. I love my Zune, I love my life, today is a good day.

Travel season for me has officially begun! Two weeks ago I was in VA Beach for 4 days visiting my sister, her boyfriend and their two adorable (gigantic) dogs Sam and Lexi. I got strep while I was up there and had to find a doc and I felt awful but it didn't even matter because I was so incredibly happy to be around my sister. We went to a Mystery Dinner Playhouse and solved a "who done it" during dinner, Lindsy turned 21 and we went out and had her order her first shot, beer, pitcher of beer and drink with dinner. We went bowling, I got to play at the dog park with Sam (german shepherd) and Lexi (Doberman), they are the sweetest most cuddly dogs ever! Before I left VA I went back to the tattoo artist that did the bird behind my ear and I got a tattoo of a plumeria on my foot. It is the tattoo I wanted to get last year in Hawaii but didn't have a chance to. Very cute!

Last weekend Nicole and I went to Myrtle Beach for 2 days. We went to a beerfest in a new little area they built up called the Market Commons. Had a great time sipping lots of yummy beers and listening to a live band. After the fest we had dinner at PF Changs, one of my favorite places to eat! It was kind of chilly so we didn't spend a whole lot of time on the beach, but we're planning on going back in June when its warmer. We also went mini golfing at the tallest mini golf course I've ever been on. The place had blue water. It reminded me of when I was a kid, my dad took me mini golfing at a place with blue water. The water fascinated me to no end and all I wanted to do was touch it but my dad kept telling me no. Of course, the moment he turned his back I went down by the water to check it out and I fell in!! Dad will never let me live that down. So to commemorate my second trip to blue water, I took a photo (and I never fell in, however, I did putt my ball into it and I had to share Nicoles ball the rest of the time). We got some "wild west" photos done at one of those old time photo places. We were gangsters, cute pic and fun dressing up. All in all it was a great weekend away from home and great time spent with one of my best friends.

Also, while we were in MB. Nicole got a tattoo (cute little daisy on her toe) and her ear pierced. We went to the piercing place that I got mine done at last year and the girl that did mine was there, she was so sweet, I liked the jewelry she had and so she replaced mine for free! The tattoo place was awesome, the artist was Israeli and had a cool accent! He was singing and dancing for us and telling jokes. At one point one of his friends came in and was trying to talk him into doing the "grandma from Alabama" impression but he got shy and didn't do it. Haha, I woulda loved to see that! We did get some video of him doing the tattoo with my new Flip HD camcorder, I posted it on my youtube…Youtube.com/shynnee !

In 17 more days I will be boarding an airplane to Japan! I am so excited, my first trip out of the country, yay!

Food!

2010-03-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

I've been eating the same foods over and over for a few months. Trying to watch calories and such. Its working great but its getting so BORING! I was at Target this weekend and I saw "The Biggest Loser 30 day plan". What I needed was some easy to cook, simple meals that I can prepare in advance so I don't revert to eating out or buying too much "quick food". This book so far has been great. Here's what I ate yesterday:

Egg whites on an English muffin with a slice of ham and cheese
Blueberries
Milk

Apple and string cheese
water

Turkey wrap with carrots and an orange
water

Chicken breast and asparagus
water

Deviled eggs (substitute the yolks with hummus! Yum)
water

But nothing has been as wonderful as the oatmeal I had this morning. Prepare yourself!

Life changing Oatmeal
1 banana mashed with 1 tsp pure vanilla, set aside
1 1/2 c skim milk to almost boiling
Add 1c oats and cook for 2 mins
Add mashed banana mixture and take off stove and let sit covered for 5 mins.

Oh oh oh so yummy. This makes 4 servings, so just eat a 1/4 of it and save the rest for later! I ate some hard boiled egg whites, too.

I can kill you with my brain.

2010-03-12T13:57:00.001-05:00

Ever since getting hooked on LOST via netflix I've decided to try out
other tv series on DVD. My recent obsessions are Heroes and after months
of Brandon pestering me about it, Firefly (as usual you know what's best
for me, I love it).

If you haven't watched Heroes you must. The show highlights normal
humans that have special abilities, like precognition, flying, speed,
ect. and the events that fit them all into each others lives. I'm into
season 3 right now.

Firefly was short lived and I'm not sure why as the story was good, the
characters are likable and there's a ton of possible storylines in
there. Its about a crew of people about 500 years in the future. They
travel around in their spaceship named Serenity smuggling goods and
causing trouble. Each character is uniquely funny and interesting. I
really like it.

Musically I've been listening to Gorillaz new album Plastic Beach. I
hadn't thought about Gorillaz in ages. Since Clint Eastwood (their song)
was popular. This album is great though. My favorite song is Rhinestone
Eyes. Its one of those songs where when it ends you almost get sad its
over and start it over again. I also like Superfast Jellyfish, which I
can't quite put together a meaning for and that's the allure to me, its
about breakfast cereal and King Neptune and his undersea crew. Yea, I
can't put it together either. Listen to it.

Finally consistently back at the gym after the whole breaking my arm
issue. Feels good to be working out again.
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Weird!

2010-02-18T13:49:00.002-05:00

I suppose if someone was going to steal my identity applying for colleges isn't the worst they could do to me.

It all started about 10pm last night. I started getting emails thanking me for my interest in their particular college. Then this morning the phone calls started. Calling to give me more info. As if having a boatload of colleges calling and emailing me wasn't weird enough, stranger was the info they had to contact me. They all have the same info: my maiden name, an address to the bank I work at but not the branch, my cell # and my personal email.

A spambot prolly got hold of my info and added me to some list. Not sure where they woulda pulled the wrong name and address from but I'm blaming Facebook for this. Luckily I have identity theft insurance so I called them just in case it ends up being more than calling list spam.

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

2010-02-17T11:09:00.002-05:00

EL O EL

2010-02-16T11:47:00.000-05:00

I got a message from Adam this weekend that he thought he had a stroke. He's had problems with heart and nerve damage since his accident so really, it was only a matter of time before something like his happened. He's worked really hard over the last couple years going to the gym and trying to get his body into shape and its really hard on him knowing that no matter how hard he tries that accident is going to haunt him his whole life. Since I was really the only person around him during all he went through, I would be one person he calls when he's having a hard time dealing. So I tell him I'm sorry and that I hope he's getting the kind of encouragement he needs from his family and girlfriend and to call me when he has some time to talk.

Like a couple hours later I get a text from his phone saying "don't you worry he gets all he needs from me, don't you worry". Clearly that came from his girlfriend. And all I'm thinking is, he's not getting anything from you but more stress if all you are worried about is what he says to me. Also, a normal healthy Adam is very high risk for a stroke and a heart attack due to his injuries and adding job related stress, something he's had a lot of recently and stress at home is probably what caused the high blood pressure in the first place! So, in my opinion, you need to stop acting like a little child and realize that you are one of the main causes of what happened. Get over yourself.

On a happier note, I bought a Flip HD camcorder this weekend and I am SO excited. I had them mail it to the bank so I didn't have to wait at FedEx jumping out of my skin for it. In case you didn't know, I LOVE getting new things, especially gadgets. I want to use it for all the places I'm planning on going to this year. So I can post them online and share with my friends and family. I got a GREAT deal on it too. The camera is normally $199 but Newegg.com had them for $156 AND they gave you 2 HDMI cables free, which usually run $30. So new toy and I saved money!!

Now that I have my TV and my Xbox 360 to myself again I have been getting back into Dragon Age: Origins. It had been so long since I played I had to get back into it and since I really hadn't gotten that far to begin with I decided to start over. I made a human rogue instead of the elven mage I was using. Its actually kind of cool starting from a different viewpoint like that since I know part of the story. The human noble origin story isn't as interesting as the elven one but neat nonetheless.

Anyway, this is getting long. More later :) 59 DAYS UNTIL JAPAN!

Karma Karma

2010-02-10T12:07:00.001-05:00

When I got into that car accident last week, as I said there were like 8 cars involved total. A young girl was in front of me, she walked back to my car and her and I went up to the cop and the trucker together. She was very nice and we chatted a bit while waiting. Her boss kept calling her while we were out there, telling her she needed to get to work and was really just being completely mean about the whole situation. After the SCDOT guy changed her tire she ended up leaving. Her car was definitely messed up but she was worried about losing her job and upsetting her boss. I felt bad that I didn't get her phone number, she said she had called her insurance agency and they knew about the accident and would help her get the truckers info though.

Well about 2 days later I went to the grocery store in the middle of the night and I run into that girl! Very weird because its nowhere near where the accident happened as it was on my 45 minute commute to work. Anyway I asked her if she got her car fixed and she said she did but she had to pay for it since she didn't have an incident report from the police. I got her phone number this time and told her I would text her the truckers insurance info and the claim number. I was happy that when I gave my statements I made sure to tell them about her just in case she tried to call in. She texted me the next day thanking me, they covered all of her costs! Felt good to know I was able to help her and it was so strange how we ran into each other so randomly!

But that's not all! I was out Monday night with some friends and I met a girl who worked where this girl worked. I told her about what happened and she already knew the story, she's friends with the girl from the accident! What a small world.

Today I get my car back from the body shop. I really hope that its fixed right, I'm going to run over to the dealership and have my mechanic take a quick look at it to make sure its all good. It'll be nice to have my car back, I like the rental and all but I'm pretty attached to my own car.

Last week I booked my trip to Japan! Leaving April 17th. I really can't wait. I've never been to a foreign county and I can't wait to see Brandon again. I am anxious about the long travel alone but I am sure I'll be fine. I'll bring lotsa DS games and my Zune along. Scribblenauts can keep me entertained for long periods of time, haha.

I also booked a trip to Myrtle Beach at the end of March for Nicole and I. We're going to a beer fest, she's getting a piercing in her ear like mine and we're going to go parasailing! This is the beginning of what is probably going to be another good year for travel! I am looking at booking a flight to Illinois next month so I can just get that out of the way. I haven't been home since 2008, looking forward to seeing my family again!

Going to sing Karoke tonight with a couple girls I met on Monday. Hope we have a good time!

2010-02-02T14:30:00.001-05:00

How weird is it that my car was ruined by a driveshaft just days before LOST premiers. Charlie is my favorite character.

LOST

Where stuff happens and junk.

2010 is testing me.

2010-02-02T14:28:00.001-05:00

Friday at work was very overwhelming and busy, I had a ton of things to do and right at the end of the day I made a mistake that, while fixable, was incredibly embarrassing. Wore out and wanting nothing more than to go home and relax with a cold drink I get home to my mom crying. My great grandmother wasn't doing well and she wanted to leave for Illinois Sunday to see her before she passed. Mom was planning on moving but not until next week. 15 minutes after hearing this news, great grandma passed away.

I did some shopping Saturday to get my mind off things. Sometimes its nice when you're feeling bad to buy something new that makes you feel pretty. I got some shirts and jeans. I went out Saturday night and had a good time, got a little carried away but I don't do that very often so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Needless to say I slept pretty much all day Sunday.

Ready to start fresh and put the last few days behind me, I leave for work Monday morning. I was headed down I-26 near 378 in Lexington and the drive shaft came out from under an 18 wheeler. Seeing the 2 cars ahead of me hit the thing and go flying off the road with popped tires I thought I would be smart and straddle it. Only to find out it was taller than I thought, it ruined my car. After I pulled over I saw that this thing had caused a lot of issues for other drivers too. It took the police officer like 3 hours to get everyone's incident report filled out. He was so nice, he let me sit in his car while he filled out everything because my car wouldn't run and it was really cold outside. Finally, the tow truck got there and brought me to the body shop and enterprise picked me up with a cute, sporty little rental that I totally don’t mind driving for the next week or so. Luckily, the truckers insurance is covering everything and I will be well on my way by the end of the week (hopefully).

Yes it has been an eventful few days. I think I will be taking it easy for the next week or so.

Overdramatic Much?

2010-01-29T12:35:00.001-05:00

From: Chris M.

Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:24 AM
To: Stephanie
Subject:

Hi, we have talked briefly before my name is Chris, perhaps you remember me? Anyways I just thought I would drop you a line to see how you are doing and to point out that you are getting an F for lack of participation today. If it were possible to give a grade lower than an F I would do this.

If there was someway I could tell the world how much your conversational skills suck I would do that. If I could afford a commercial during the super bowl I would make that commercial about how absolutely pathetic you are with the talking to me today AND I would show it as many times as time would allow. Just sayin

Tl;dr its just a rant.

2010-01-28T10:11:00.001-05:00

I've been tossing this around in my head awhile and mentioning it to a few people here and there who thinks its crazy that this even bothers me but I have to say it. I hate dual facebook profiles. You know where a boyfriend and girlfriend or a husband and wife make one profile for both people "bob and nancy smith" instead of one for bob and one for nancy. It bugs me for 2 reasons because when I see them I think either 1. one of these people does not have their own personal identity (surprise its usually the woman) or 2. one of these people is incredibly insecure and can't stand wondering who the other is talking to and such. And both of these things are my 2 biggest fears about being in a relationship.

Over the last few years I've worked really hard at finding my own identity again, separate from Adam and then separate from Tim. For some reason in both relationships I let them tell me what I should and shouldn't be interested in. Adam telling me not to be a teacher and make more money (clearly for his own benefit) and Tim talking down about virtually every idea I ever had. I found myself making choices based on how I thought they would react to them and that's what made me so unhappy. Its great to have common interests, in fact its better that way because you have more things to enjoy together. But sometimes a person is going to like things the other person doesn't like and it means you just need to support them and let them enjoy what makes them happy.

I don't have to go into much detail about the jealousy thing, most people have experienced it. I've been in one relationship my whole life where the person I was with was not at all jealous and it was fantastic. I am not a jealous person and its great when you are with someone who feels the same way.

I know its just facebook and the whole thing is kind of dumb anyway, but I really do think it says something negative about you and about your relationship when you can't establish your own profile with your own friends.

2010-01-17T09:04:00.001-05:00

You know, some people say life is short and that you could get hit by a bus at any moment and that you have to live each day like it's your last. Bullshit. Life is long. You're probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you're gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years.

Pants on the ground

2010-01-14T11:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1l7f4Q6sTM

10 minutes later he's an internet sensation. Lookin like a fool with
your pants on the ground. Lol Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone
provided by Alltel

One handed blog post

2010-01-12T12:31:00.001-05:00

Apparently I threatened 2010 to kick butt so much that it kicked my butt for being cocky. I fell Saturday and broke my elbow! So here I type slowly pecking away with one hand. Needless to say this will be a short post.

Saturday night Nicole, Allison and I went out. First we had dinner at Julia's in Columbia (fantastic German food btw), then we went to the Vista. Neither of them seemed to be having any fun, the bars were crowded and it just wasn’t their scene. Nicole wanted to go to the Skyline. I don’t know, I cant decide if it’s the country music, line dancing, lack of culture, lack of decent beer or lack of decent crowd that I don’t like but I hate the Skyline. Not to mention it’s a smoking bar so you leave stinking every time. But alas, we went. Nicole found us a table in the farthest corner of the bar so I had to get up and find some poor unsuspecting man to talk into giving up his seats. That was easy enough, not sure his buddies were thrilled when they got back though. We got a good spot right next to the stage though. People watching was the best part of that night.

Brandon finally got his package. But not before the USPS and International Postmaster got a piece if my mind lol. I was stressed, his expensive helmet cam was in there! I'm happy he's got it now though, one less thing to stress over :)

also

2010-01-08T15:14:00.001-05:00

It appears my birthday is also the same as Stephen Hawking. COOL!

2010-01-08T15:08:00.001-05:00

I sent a package to Brandon in Japan 17 days ago. 12 if you take away the days that the mail didn't run. At any rate its been way too long and I'm worried about it. I emailed the USPS but they said since its going to an APO that its no longer in their jurisdiction. So I had to mail a letter to some agency in Virginia asking them to locate it. I have something else to send him but I'm afraid to now!!

Today is my birthday! I have no plans so far. I assume I'll be going out and finding the best happy birthday drink specials! Its my moms birthday too so I suppose I'll be going out with her. Mom bought me a haircut/color for my birthday. Its really cute, short with bangs and dark brown with some caramel colored highlights. Very pretty.

Last night my friend Waylon called me and helped me set up a training routine for the gym. Waylon is a personal trainer but he lives in Illinois so he's trying to help me over the phone. I have a list of exercises to do on particular days, how to do them and everything. He also talked to me about how we build muscle and how different types of workouts do different things for your body. I'm not going to type all of it out here but its really great to have someone to be able to ask questions and get ideas from. I take classes in the evenings, whatever is going on in the 6:45 timeslot after my workout is done. I like doing the BodyPump class at Golds but they moved the schedule around and last night in its time slot was BodyCombat. Something new for me but it looked fun, karate, kickboxing and taichi. That class was TOUGH omg!! Not only was is constant moving, jumping and running but there were a lot of moves you had to learn and then coordinate quickly. I worked HARD. I'm definitely going back but its probably going to take me a few classes to be able to follow the moves!! In 6 weeks I will report back to Waylon and he is going to adjust my routine so my muscles don't get used to what I'm doing. YAY for free personal trainer :P

2010-01-06T13:20:00.001-05:00

Me: My birthday is 1-8-81 it’s a palindrome!
Vince: Oh neat, that explains your personality!
Me: Really? What's that mean?
Vince: I don't know I just made that up.

My birthday is Friday! Mom gave me a gift certificate to get my hair done. I haven't had it cut in months so I'm going today, super excited. Saturday we're going out to dinner with some friends. German food at Julia's, I love that place. I have no plans for my actual birthday yet but I'm sure it is going to be going out somewhere. We shall see.

2010-01-05T10:34:00.001-05:00

Mom and I decided to go out Saturday night. We tried a new place since the regular place wasn't very busy. They had karaoke and a girl I used to work with was there so we stayed. Sitting at the bar chatting away I can feel the person behind me starting at me. Trying to ignore it I swear I can hear him breathing. So mom tells me "steph I think that guy behind you wants your attention". At this point I haven't even looked to see him because I'm kinda creeped out by the vibe I was getting from his piercing eyes.

"he's creepy isn't he?"
"yep"
"give him a dirty look so he'll quit"
My mom's incapable of giving dirty looks apparently so she says "stop staring at her". Apparently that meant, stop staring and talk to her. So creepy boy in his Guns n' Roses t-shirt moves to the seat right next to me. Yes, I could feel him staring and hear him breathing from 2 seats away and now I can smell him too. Essence of stale cigarette with a hint of parents basement is what I would guess he smelled like. So I turn my back to him and try to ignore the fact that he's now trying to join in our conversation. I was telling mom I really wanted to sing karaoke so creepy boy practically falls out of his chair running to find a song book. It was at that point that we decided to leave. He tried to get my phone number and I was really polite saying no but he acted like it was the biggest shock he'd ever heard, throwing his hands into the air and staring at me like I must be nuts.

Also, next time there's karaoke I am going to sing Lita Ford's Kiss me Deadly.

2009-12-27T15:15:00.002-05:00

"You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect - you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there."

-Bob Marley

Shynnee.com

2009-12-24T11:58:00.001-05:00

How cool is this? Brandon bought me Shynnee.com! I feel so cool and special :) It directs you to this blog. Now I feel like I should put more important awesome things here. Then again, everything I say is important and awesome :P

He also sent me a big box of cool Japanese things! Some of my favorite items: everything chocolate, a t-shirt that looks like I'm wearing a health kit from Left 4 Dead, Hibiscus flowers you put in a glass of champagne, energy drink that is in a packet that looks like donated blood, a stuffed tank puppy I can dress, dried fish and nuts, neat little brew your own coffee packs and an MRE that he's going to make me eat eventually. Ok that wasn't just some of my favorite things that was everything. I loved it all! Meltykisses are officially my favorite chocolates ever.

I got my brother the MW2 Combat Controller for his PS3. He's gonna be so happy. I see him look it up online everyday and we went to Best Buy and he showed it to me at least a dozen times. I found a "collectors edition" at GameStop, it comes in a special case. Not that it'll ever go into the case, kid plays 24/7! I let Shannon open her plush sushi and edamame keychain because she was having a bad day the other day and it put her in a good mood.

We're going to see Avatar for Christmas tomorrow! I'm stoked, everyone says the movie is great. They are actually playing a 3D version we're going to try and get into. Then moms making Christmas Dinner. I'm a little sad its not ham but she promised me ham for New Years. Have I mentioned before that I have an obsession with ham? The stuff is fantastic. Can't get enough!

The Gift

2009-12-18T16:49:00.000-05:00

I went to a Christmas Party last night. At the party I was in charge of the games. We played a getting to know you game where I had everyone write down something about themselves nobody would know. Then we all had to guess who's who. It was fun. My other game was you take a pair of panty hose (everyone freaked when I started handing out panty hose by the way) and blow up balloons, first person who fills their hose all the way puts their "antlers" on wins. Everyone had fun with it.

We also did a Chinese gift exchange. Where everyone draws a number and when its your turn you can choose a gift or steal someone else's. Well I got to my turn and there were some so-so gifts out there so I decided to take my chances at the table. I picked this cute cloth bag with candy canes on it. Opened it up and there was some candles and candy and a book. YAY! I love books! The book was a bible..a camouflage bible.

I get that I live in the south and when it comes to things like this I am the minority, but here's the thing about holy roller that thought it'd be a good idea to give a gift like that. When we were playing the getting to know you game her secret about herself was : "I like to stay out dancing until early morning." When asked "oh, what kind of dancing do you like?" her reply? "Depends on which bar I'm at".

Reminds me of Jim Gaffigan "can we hurry this along, I've got some sinnin' to do".

2009 of awesomeness

2009-12-18T16:33:00.000-05:00

2009 rocked for me. Looking back I can name one or 2 things that stood out and made each month awesome. I can only hope to keep the momentum through 2010. Here's some highlights from my 2009:

January-2 weeks spent in North Carolina for training for my awesome new job
February-2 more weeks in NC and a trip to Virginia beach to see my sister!
March-Trip to Myrtle Beach with Lindsy and Nicole for Lindsy's bday.
April-Lindsy and mom at my place all month, bonfire nights out in Batesburg
May-Trip to Hawaii to see Brandon!
June-Stayed at the Lake in an awesome cabin with friends.
July-4th of July pool party at my place and a fun trip to Savanna, GA!
August-Trip to Charlotte, saw a live band. Amazing dinner at my fav place, PF Changs. Trip to AL for work.
September-Cody moved in. hadn't seen my brother in a YEAR. Trip to VA to visit Lindsy and Jake
October-Charleston with Brandon, awesome comedy club! Halloween party, dressed as Marilyn Monroe
November-Evening at the State Fair, Thanksgiving full of yum and joined Golds Gym and the bowling team!
December-Visit from Lindsy, photo shoot with her and cody, christmas parties and CHRISTMAS!

I met tons of new people this year and tried out lots of new things. I learned a lot about myself and the things that I enjoy.

I lived my life this year and it was amazing.

2009-12-15T12:21:00.001-05:00

My brother, sister and myself went to get photos done last weekend. My sister Lindsy drove down from Virginia with her GIGANTIC dog Sampson. He's a German Shepherd. He also tortured Tank the whole time. Sampson just wanted to play and Tank just wanted to not have his head in Sam's mouth. Good times.

The photos turned out really good. We did some traditional smile and pose ones and then we got to do some silly ones too. One where we were fighting and one where my sister and I were kissing my brother and he was rolling his eyes. Totally cute. Its part of our Christmas gift to our dad. He's gonna love it. I posted them on Facebook and Myspace.

We tried to have dinner at my all time favorite place to eat Mikinos but they were closed for the holidays. Musta went on vacation. So we went to Copper River instead. I'd never eaten there, it was awesome! Not to mention the service was really great. Our waiter was an asian guy named Herman which I thought was kind of silly but it helped me remember his name. He was fun and gave great service, which is always important to me.

We wanted to go see the Christmas lights in Sumter at Swan Lake but it was late and that’s a long drive. I'm going sometime this week I think. I've seen photos on the website, it looks really pretty. I'm going to bring my camera and see if I can get some photos. I think if I just turn the flash off it'll turn out pretty cool. We shall see!!

I'm really excited about the Christmas gift I got Shan. She's obsessed with eating sushi and I found some plush Sushi on thinkgeek.com (yes like a stuffed sushi pillow thing) so I got her that along with an edamame keychain, the little pea pops up. Its adorable. I wasn't sure what to get Brandon so I just filled a box with random things that I thought he might like. I can't wait for my brother to get his, I got him Scribblenauts. I got my dad a bar set that looks like a chemistry set! Totally awesome. I'm in love with thinkgeek.com by the way. Its ok that I spilled my gifts here, none of those people read my blog ;)

Nonsense and rambling.

2009-12-08T12:45:00.001-05:00

I really like that I can email my blogs in now. So I can just ramble and compile my blog throughout the day and send when I've run out of things to say. Enjoy!

I joined a bowling league for something to do on Monday nights. I'm a pretty horrible bowler but its just a fun league and you get a free bowling ball for joining. Last night they gave us coupons for Christmas so now I have a big book of bowling coupons. I decided to take my tellers sometime, they are pretty excited about that.

Tonight at the gym is shoulders. My 2 favorite things to work out are shoulders and back. I think because for the most part my shoulders and back always hurt, everyday. So I know when I build some muscle there they will likely start to feel better. Plus all the exercises I do for them get the muscles hot and stretched out so the pain goes away for awhile while I'm working out.

Man I can't believe the year is almost over! 2009 was definitely a big year for me, so many changes and so many awesome things happening for me. I think I'll make an end of year look back post, I need to make a list first. I already have a pretty exciting 2010, looking at flights to Japan today. Its like 6 months off and Brandon has our whole trip mapped out almost! My sister is turning 21 in March and we're planning a vacation for that.

Final note-It is my personal opinion that women should never wear camouflage. Ever.

The Jewelry

2009-12-07T12:57:00.001-05:00

I moved recently to a bigger apartment. I've been living in a 500 sqft place so you can imagine that I don't actually own that many things. I don't collect anything so the stuff that I do own is either meaningful or useful or both. As I was moving I noticed that some of my jewelry was missing. These are items I don't wear because they are expensive and I don’t want to mess them up. I didn't stress about it because I thought maybe my mother had put it into her safe. When she got back I had her look inside just to make sure and it wasn't there.

I'm missing:
Diamond Earrings
Gold Garnet and Diamond Ring
Gold band with hearts shaped into the band
Gold and Pearl Necklace
Silver ring with blue, green and purple colored diamonds in it.
Heart shaped gold ring with diamond chips in it

I placed an ad on Craigslist and I have been looking at local pawn shops, I filed a police report and a claim with my renters insurance. Yea they will give me some cash, but man. I have so many cool expensive things in my apartment, why my family jewelry?? I'd trade everything I own to get that stuff back, its simply not replaceable. I am positive that it was workers coming into my apartment for various reasons. I have had one person stay the night in my apartment and I'm positive that person 1. wasn't alone in my bedroom and 2. wouldn't steal from me for any reason. I'm sick over this.

Mustachio!

2009-12-06T12:26:00.005-05:00

Played some Left 4 Dead 2 the other night with Nick, Jon and AJ. We found a Whack-a-Mole type game in the Dark Carnival map. It was called Whack-a-Stache and instead of moles popping up it was pistachios with mustaches! When they popped out they yelled "Mustachio!". Very cute and I've been saying Mustachio! for days now. You get an achievement for beating the Whack-a-Stache game, which is basically the 4 of us shooting at the thing each time one popped out. Still loving that game.

Brandon got me Serious Sam:HD and I've been playing that today. Its a Doom style FPS game. I haven't tried Multiplayer yet but the Single Player is fun, I like the monsters and so far my favorite are these headless guys that come running at you screaming and they have bombs on their hands. If they get too close they explode on you. I just like how they yell AHHHHHHH!

Yesterday mom and I went shopping. I got most of my Christmas gifts online this year so besides the few things I needed to pick up for local people I mostly shopped for myself. Old Navy had a sweater sale, too bad when I got to the counter only 1 of the three I chose were actually on sale. I had already fallen in love with them so I got them anyway. After shopping we decided to grab a beer before going home so we stopped at Carolina Ale House. It was fun but as the bar area got more crowded we realized we were the only women in the place and that was attracting much unwanted attention and more drinks than we could handle, so we left and went to the comfort spot, McCareys.

Nicole had a purse party yesterday afternoon. I've never been to one before but it was neat. Very similar to Pampered Chef, PartyLite and all those other shop at home companies. They were selling purses, totes, and accessories. I got my sister a cute handbag and I bought myself a organizing tote. Its got lots of pockets and places to put things and the fabric is super cool. I'll probably use it for a gym bag or to put my sewing stuff in. Christmas time really makes the girl come out in me. haha.

Speaking of the gym, I haven't updated my okfinefinefine blog because its redundant. I'll probably end up mentioning everything I do here and since I joined bodybuilding.com to track my measurements theres no point to a separate blog. I'll delete it soon. I started going to classes at the gym now, Monday mornings is Boot Camp, Wednesdays BodyPump (favorite so far) and Saturday is BodyStep. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday I do regular workouts and cardio still. Besides the fact that my entire body aches pretty much all the time I am starting to feel stronger already. My first 30 day measure date is the 11th, this coming Friday. I am confident I will see a difference.

Never Try and Yankitize Me

2009-11-26T09:50:00.003-05:00

Me: Don't call me sugar

Friend: darlin?

Friend: honey?

Friend: sporty?

Me: Steph

Friend: lmao

Me: Honey, darlin ect sounds condescending

Friend: ok didnt mean to offend, i am what we call southern, so i do use sugar and darlin a lot and they arent meant to come off as sexist or whatever..............they are kinda like saying ma'am when i use them

Me: I know

Me: I'm yankee-inizing you

Friend: meanass

Me: Or teaching you how to speak to one

Friend: never try and yankitize me

Me: Haha

Friend: it aint happenin

Friend: although i can pull of a pretty good chicago accent

Me: I gotta hear that

Friend: oh i know how to speak to "yall", just cuss a lot and never actually show any respect. its simple

Friend: and speak loudly also

Friend: show zero manners

Friend: and just be an all around ass........which shockingly enough, i can pull off ;)

Why does speaking loudly with no manners sound so appealing to me? ...I need to take a trip back home soon.

The Pen

2009-11-23T13:28:00.002-05:00

My favorite pen has left my desk leaving behind only a note that reads:

"Don't worry...

I'm ok. I just went out

4 some fun. Hey...you

got 2 go on vacation

this year...

With Love, The Pen"

its been several weeks and my pen has not returned so I have left a note for it to find upon its return:

"Dear Pen,

I hope you've enjoyed your

travels. Much has happened

over the last few weeks.

Sorry for doing this in a

letter but...

I've replaced you with

a younger, thinner, move

attractive pen. I hope

you understand...I have

needs. Its not you, its me.

Regards,

Stephanie"

Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist

2009-11-19T07:14:00.003-05:00

So as I download music recently I realized that a lot of the songs I've been choosing were from "Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist". So I googled it and found this site, apparently this dude Blalock compiles a monthly playlist of new music and you can torrent it. Each list is about 125 songs. So far March, August and October have the most songs I like. But I wanted to share, cool stuff in there. Enjoy!!

2009-11-18T15:21:00.004-05:00

According to this my Xbox is feeling "Emo" because I haven't played it much. Don't worry little buddy, I picked up Dragon Age: Origins and Assassins Creed 2 yesterday! I also got my long awaited Left 4 Dead 2 and played a bit with Brandon until my stupid dumb annoying internet disconnected and then he had to go to bed. I finally got back on and was able to jump into the finale with AJ, Nick and Hisan. Very cool thing, instead of just fighting off wave after wave of zombies you actually have to complete objectives. For example, we had to collect 13 gas cans that were spread around the area and fill up a car to get out. This requires even more team work than before, I throughly enjoy it. Not sure how I feel about the new characters yet though Ellis reminds me constantly what I don't like about South Carolina, even if he is pretty funny.

Dragon Age: Origins is just awesome. I only did my first quest but the customization, amount of quests and the fact that its single player but you're playing with a group and you can actually switch to other party members makes the gameplay really interesting. There are customizable battle plans (a bit like a complicated wow macro), tons of side quests and your responses shape your story line. I'm playing an Elven Mage right now.

I haven't touched Assassins Creed 2 because I would like to have more than just an hour or so to play, review to come :)

Today on the news they talked about how the government says not all women should have to be screened for mammograms in their 30s and 40s. They did NOT say if you are in your 30s or 40s its completely unnecessary to get them but you know the news they like to word things in such a a way. Of course all day I hear women in an uproar about this new piece of information. C'mon guys. If you are in your 30's and early 40's, nobody in your family has had breast cancer, you're healthy and you do self exams (which every woman that has breasts should be doing by the way) and not an "at risk" case you really do not need to get a mammogram. Yes, of course there are exceptions to this rule, there are exceptions to every rule but they are as common as a freak bowling ball accident.

-as an aside about the self exams and a note to how important they are, my best friend does them religiously and found a lump a few weeks ago. Went to have it checked out and is having it removed this week, the chances of it being anything are slim but you never know.

Moral of the story - know your medical background, be responsible for care and maintenance of your body, listen to your doctors advice. Just because you turned 30 does not mean you are at risk for breast cancer.

Clearly

2009-11-14T01:23:00.003-05:00

I'm moving! Not far though.

My apartment complex emailed me last week to let me know my lease was expiring. I had planned on renewing but I wanted to check the complex next to mine to see what rates they were offering on their one bedrooms. So I emailed her back and said I was thinking about moving because they were bigger next door. I get an email back from her offering me an upgrade. 200 more square feet and a fireplace for the same price I was going to renew my current lease for! How awesome is that?! I move Friday.

I think its great how usually when you tell people you're moving they have 100 other things to do. But everyone I have told has offered to help! I have people supplying boxes, helping me pack, moving my big stuff and helping me unpack! This should be great!!

I preordered Left 4 Dead 2 and while in Game Stop I almost ordered Assassins Creed 2 as well but they had a deal going on, trade in 2 games and get it for $20. SWEET. So Tuesday when I pick up L4D2 I'm gonna snag Assassins Creed 2! Great week for gaming.

I downloaded "Never Been to Spain" by Three Dog Night the other day. So far I'm the only person I know that loves the song. Clearly I have amazing taste and everyone else sucks. Clearly.

CoD MW2

2009-11-10T23:43:00.002-05:00

Yes I guess I am the only person I know not SUPER OMGWTF STOKED for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Friend: Imma go home, and patiently wait on UPS guy. When the game gets there I will quickly rush to the kitchen and get a knife and open the game.

shynnee123: You don't have it yet /gasp

Friend: At that point I will hear angels singing and I imagine it will be something like Charleston Heston in that movie The Ten Commandments when he parted the red seas…….I will even hear the exact same music playing.

Friend: I will then rush to the xbox, turn it on and gently slide in the disc. I imagine that will feel like the first time I had sex but better. The hard drive will be a bit tight, but probably not as wet ya know?

Friend: Then as the opening cut scene plays I will bask in the glory of my accomplishment of scoring the greatest game in the history of the universe!

Wow. Just wow. I'm still not buying it..

On another note, Left 4 Dead 2 comes out next week and Assassins Creed 2 shortly after that. So I can be OMGWTF stoked in my own little way.

Mitch Hedberg

2009-11-07T08:02:00.003-05:00

I've been lol'ing all morning reading a Mitch Hedberg thread. Enjoy some of my favorite quotes:

A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer.

This shirt is "dry clean only"... which means it's dirty.

I haven't slept for 10 days, because that would be too long.

I saw this wino, he was eating grapes. I was like, "Dude, you have to wait."

also - I saw this rhino, and he was eating grapes, and i said, "what the fuck is a rhino doing in italy"

I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it.

I like refried beans, which makes me want to try fried beans. Because maybe they're just as good and we're wasting time.

Is a Hippopotamus really a Hippopotamus, or is it just a really cool Opotamus?

I went to a record store, they said they specialized in hard-to-find records. Nothing was alphabetized.

Escalators can never break, they can only become stairs

smokey the bear is a lot more intense in person

If you find yourself lost in the woods, fuck it! Build a house. "Well, I was lost, but now I live here. I have severely improved my predicament

At the end of my letters, I like to write "P.S. — This is what part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated

One time, this guy handed me a picture of him, he said,"Here's a picture of me when I was younger." Every picture is of you when you were younger. "Here's a picture of me when I'm older." "You son-of-a-bitch! How'd you pull that off? Lemme see that camera... what's it look like?

I want to hang a map of the world in my house, and then I’m gonna put pins into all the locations that I’ve traveled to. But first I’m gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won’t fall down.

There's a commercial on late-night TV for this thing you attach to a garden hose. It says, "You can water your hard-to-reach plants with this product." Who the fuck would make their plants hard to reach!? That seems so very mean. "I know you need water, but I'm gonna make you hard to reach. I will throw water at you. Hopefully, they'll invent a product before you shrivel and die. Think like a cactus!

Sometimes I wave to people I don't know... very dangerous to wave to someone you don't know, because what if they don't have a hand? They'll think you're cocky. "Look what I got motherfucker! This thing is useful... I'm gonna go pick something up."

2009-10-22T09:01:00.000-04:00

Someone on my Facebook friends list updated his status to say "is this where you want to be when Jesus comes back?" Well, no. I hope I'm in a bunker somewhere with weapons because it means the zombie apocalypse is finally upon us.

Last night I went to the state fair. Rode some fun rides, won a stuffed animal and restrained myself from eating things like funnel cakes, corn dogs and chocolate covered bacon (yea wtf). Read more about all that on my fat girl blog okfinefinefine.blogspot.com

The coolest thing at the fair was an amazing sand sculpture. It was huge, an entire woodlands theme complete with trees, animals and it was so incredibly detailed. Wish I'd have brought my camera with me.

Tonight I'm going to dinner with Nicole, Monday was her birthday and I got her one of those horrid ugly purses she so badly wanted. Then home to carve my pumpkin! I love fall!!

I mean, seriously, NOWHERE? For starters there are like a thousand species of dinosaurs

2009-10-16T19:56:00.005-04:00

HAHA, this IS totally me.

This weekend will be a good time. Tomorrow morning I am headed out to Nicole's house to set up for her mom's surprise 50th bday party, then going over to Newberry for Kristina and Bennies wedding (yay guys!). Then back out to Nicoles for the party, I LOVE her mom. This lady took me in as her own kid almost immediately, inviting me to family stuff like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years when my family wasn't here. Totally being there for me when I was having issues with Tim. I'm stoked to celebrate her birthday!

I don't think my mom realizes that Lindsy and I keep NO secrets. Literally, I don't think I can even speak to my sister without telling her every little detail about everything in my life. We just don't do secrets. So mom tells Lindsy that she's been watching LOST on her laptop without Cody and I and not to tell me. WTF!? She's ruining family night! She went so far as to buy her own Netflix subscription so that we wouldn't see that she shows had been watched (on xbox when you watch a show it marks it as watched even if you delete it from the queue and re-add it). So of course Lindsy calls me right away with this news. jerk.

Next week starts my eat right and stop being a fat girl routine. I'm going to blog about it so I have some accountability. You can find the blog here okfinefinefine.blogspot.com don't look today, its not started yet. I have a little motivation to do what I'm doing so hopefully I can stick to it.

The Rubber Galoshes

2009-10-13T20:20:00.002-04:00

So Brandon and I are at a Food and Wine Fest, very cool by the way. I have a tendency to check out other girls. For one, girls are pretty and two, I like to see what they are wearing because it helps me when I have to dress myself. I notice a couple girls wearing rubber galoshes. Ugly ones. Well to be honest there are no cute galoshes. They are almost as horrible as Crocs, in my opinion. Anyway I point this out to Brandon and he and I start counting how many girls were wearing these things. TONS! One chick had on a straw beach hat, safari dress and galoshes. She wasn't sure if she was going to the beach, on a safari or trekking through marshes but whatever it was she was covered....too bad she was on a plantation at a food and wine festival.

Speaking of chicks at the festival. There was this smokin hot girl in a green dress that I couldn't stop staring at! Brandon says she looks like Caprica from Battlestar Galactia, she totally did.

2009-10-13T19:04:00.003-04:00

I've been playing Scribblenauts, it came in the mail last Friday. I refuse to use the obvious methods of getting to things. Like flying around in a spaceship instead of just climbing. The game is hilarious though.

Spent this past weekend in Charleston and decided Charleston might need a Stephanie but it has to offer a giant balcony downtown. I'll keep updated on how negotiations are going. Saw The Have Not's they were great. Improv comedy. Saw the aquarium, went to a food festival, went on the aircraft carrier and submarine and walked on the beach at night. It was a great trip.

Also I found out that you can get Acai Bowls in Charleston! First place in SC I have found yet. However, I have become so obsessed with these that I can make them at home now!
Acai Bowl
1 acai smoothie mix
like 1/2 c apple juice or soy milk (up to you)
1 banana
blueberries
ice
granola
honey
mix 1 smoothie pack with a banana, apple juice and some ice, top with blueberries, granola and drizzle in honey
AMAZING OMG

2009-10-13T19:04:00.000-04:00

So many games so little time!

2009-10-02T07:12:00.002-04:00

I will not play Aion, I will not play Aion. It actually looks really fun and the graphics are very pretty, not to mention you can get wings and fly! It looks alot like World of Warcraft by looking at the interface but that's about all they have on common. I just don't have the time for an MMO. 5 of my friends are playing already, if they still love it in a month, I'll consider at least picking up the 10 day trial.

Wild Sweet Orange

2009-09-27T22:11:00.005-04:00

Have you heard Wild Sweet Orange? This is why I love using Pandora, I run across so many artists I would have never listened to otherwise! I got some really good stuff today but this is one of the only bands I heard that I've liked almost every song I played. Here's a link to their Myspace Profile, there's a lot of songs on there. They have video embedding disabled on YouTube but search it, love it and uh..buy the album :)

In other news, I finally rented Little Big Planet and MAN is it great. Sackboy is the cutest video game character I have ever seen! The levels are fun, you basically have to figure out how to move from beginning to end by moving things around, swinging from stuff and things like while collecting items throughout. There are challenges to do between levels. The graphics are cool, its almost like claymation but they are so spot on things move when you nudge it. My Sackboy is actually an orange Sackgirl with purple pigtails and bunny ears, hehe. I also picked up Assassins Creed because I hadn't played it and I saw a commercial for Assassins Creed 2 and it looks badass, so I want to play through the first one before November when 2 comes out. Its got everything I love in an RPG game plus beautiful graphics! Its gonna be fun, there are a TON of movement that'll take some getting used to though.

October is almost here and its going to be an exciting month! Charleston in 2 weeks, Kristina and Bennies wedding and Nicole's moms 50th the weekend after that and Myrtle Beach the weekend after that! Shannon is trying to talk me into going to AZ for Halloween and I might do it, I miss her like mad and we'd have a blast. Shes moving into her new house so it would be cool if I could get out there to check it out, after all, it might be my future home soon!

All in all this was a great weekend, I decided to get into Lost and I can stream all the seasons to my Xbox so Cody and I watched a ton of them Saturday. Heard some new music and picked up a couple games, couldn't ask for a more relaxing weekend!