learning a new craft.

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.

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!

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.

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.
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Weird!

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.

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EL O EL

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

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!

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.

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?

 

---

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.

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.

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

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
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One handed blog post

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

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

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

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.

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.

"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