SPRING BREAK 2009 WOOOOOOOOO!!!

so i had a spring break this year.

even though i'm not in college anymore.

spring break this year was a long weekend.

3 days.

woah.

crazy.

it was actually more like 2 days though.

spring break was last weekend.

i just didn't get around to blogging about it until this weekend.

surprising i know.

flew down to the flo rida on thursday night.

got picked up by my grandma, 

had some arbour mist,

(yeah thats right)

and then decided bed was a good option.

on friday the sister and i woke up.

my grandma wanted to show us the hot spots she'd found.

hollywood beach was one of them.

so that was it, 

we were off.

unfortunately it was a windy day and a little cloudy,

so the beach wasn't the best idea.

sand hitting your legs and back at 90 mph hurts.

a lot.

(maybe thats an exaggeration)

yet, 

so much better then the 40 degree weather up here.

we decided to walk the boardwalk a bit.

i SERIOUSLY considered getting a 

"spring break 2009"

t-shirt.

i'm actually rather upset i didn't end up getting one.

then we headed back to the retirement community.

hung out by the pool for an hour or so, 

and then off to dinner we went. 

after dinner,

my g-ma wanted to show the sister and i west palm.

so a driving we went.

old age plus driving at night equal holy shit scared!

after the frightening experience of almost dying,

i decided bed was necessary.

once the sister and i woke up saturday morning,

we found what we thought were mouse droppings. 

mice don't really bother people that much so we told the g-ma,

and then decided it wasn't really a big deal.

the g-ma said no one in their building has ever had mice problems,

so whatevs right?

carried on with our day of laying by the pool.

followed by an intense game of shuffleboard.

(again, yeah that's right).

then we got all ready for dinner with the other half of dandace,

and her bf.

it was great to see her again.

woo for reunions!

those make me smile.

headed to the penny casino to check out more of what retired life is all about,

then decided we needed to head out for drinks instead.

i don't think i'm ready for the penny casinos yet.

after parting ways with my hetero-life mate,

:-(

the sister and i headed back to the condo, 

while the g-ma was still playing at the penny casino.

we saw some more mouse droppings and the entire bathmat flipped.

at this point we decided maybe it wasn't a mouse.

and then.....

we saw it....

it was huge....

maybe the size of a small cat....

it was a RAT!!!!!

i almost lost it.

i thought i was going to jump out the window.  

after freaking out for a good 30 minutes, 

we decided to go rat hunting.

with long jeans and sneakers on

(in 80 degree weather)

we looked everywhere for this thing.

with a golf putter and a bowl.

the putter to maybe hit it 

(even though i would probably be running if i saw it)

and the bowl to trap it.

weird.

i know.

but after searching EVERYWHERE,

without getting too close to the dark nooks,

we couldn't find it anywhere.

(i was afraid it was going to gnaw my leg off)

once the g-ma got home.

she felt as though we needed to trap it in the bathroom 

(thats where we think it came in)

and just go to bed.

again.

freaking out.

after a restless night of "sleep",

we woke up to find the bathroom trashed.

you would have thought a small pony was in there.

stuff fell off the walls,

everything on the vanity was knocked over,

the trash in the garbage was all over the place.

there was no way this was just a rat.

i seriously thought it was an army of them in there.

yet none of them got out of there.

(if there was more than one)

so in the morning we called some of the retirement people.

they came and set traps.

the g-ma's friend said she wanted to go get her 22 and kill the thing.

i thought that was hilarious coming from an 80 year old french woman!

i packed and decided if the airport was rat free,

i was ok with going a little early.

and after a quick flight back north,

to the cold,

and the rain,

i was home.

i hated it.

and as for this past week?

back to the grind....

boo.

i miss the flo rida.

BELIEVE

(that you can be "entertained" in a retirement community for "spring break 2009 woo!")

wow i truly suck at blogging

i checked my blog and realized it had been a whole month.

exactly.

since i'd last blogged.

thats awful.

well here is an update on my last week or so:

BRITNEY SPEARS!

i saw her in concert and oh my god.

loved it.

best concert ever.

i'm now completely obsessed with her.

i'm sure you're all completely judging me right now,

but thats ok.

i will still admit that i love britney.

i seriously think i want to be her friend.

again,

i'm sure your judging,

but i'm ok with.

most people do when i tell them that.

it was a phenomenal concert.

shes got some great dance moves.

her and all her back up dancers did an amazing job showing off their dance moves.

i wish i could dance like that.

the pussycat dolls opened for them.

again,

AMAZING.

they too can really dance.

all their fancy dance moves made me really jealous.

the concert had inspired me to want to dance all the time.

i shouldn't be admitting this but,

when i'm alone in my house i dance around like i'm really good at it.

i'm actually not and awful dancer,

but i'm surely not a good one.

therefore, when i dance around like i'm really good at it,

it can be ugly.

let hope the next week doesn't involve a dancing injury of some sort.

BELIEVE

(that even if your a bad dancer, you can pretend your a good one)

pants too short aren't ok!

weekends are becoming the only time i have a life.

during the weeks, i work.

and when i'm not working,

i'm at the gym.

where i work.

so its still like i'm at work.

and if i'm not there,

i'm a lump on the couch.

therefore,

my weekends are my time to unwind i guess.

this weekend that was not the case.

i worked both saturday and sunday.

boo.

but the highlight of my weekend was seeing my crew kiddie friends.

there were tons of them around.

it was fun.

went out to dinner on saturday night.

got bar food of course!

then drank.

too much.

it was nice to catch up on the past 9 months of life.

you never really realize how much

can happen in a 9 month period until you

try to recap it in one night.

wow.

of course it was necessary to do shots.

why?

i'm not sure.

so after making the walk back to my friends house,

i realized there was no way i could sleep in skinny jeans.

so i asked to borrow a pair of sweatpants.

seems simple right?

you'd think.

my friend is probably 4 inches shorter than me.

her height is all in her torso.

mine,

is all in my legs.

every pair of pants she gave me were like capris on me.

i felt it was necessary to sleep in a pair of pants that actually fit me.

so after trying on 3 pairs, 

we found ones that fit well enough to pass.

it was just craziness i tell you!

BELIEVE

of course i traveled on the second busiest traveling day of the year

in case you didn't know,

the wednesday before thanksgiving

is the busiest traveling day of the year.

any guesses on the second busiest 

day of travel is?

thats right.

last friday.

some people have the long weekend.

(like myself)

(yay presidents)

some schools have the whole week off this week.

and it was valentine's day weekend.

you put those three together and its almost

as busy as thanksgiving.

and guess who's flying on that friday?

thats right...

this girl!!

i haven't flown since may.

that was to compete in nationals.

and there were lots of people with me

so i was very confident in traveling.

and the time before that?

senior year of high school.

i'm not what you would call a world traveler. 

surprising i know.

and do you know what else sucks on the second

busiest day in airports?

security.

the line was long.

people were close.

and it was hot.  

after the long lines,

and an hour of waiting,

it wasn't that bad.

the weekend was great.

got to see some old friends.

and meet some new friends.

then i had to fly back.

security was a breeze this time.

(apparently monday wasn't as big

of a traveling day).

although i thought it was odd that security

let the girl in line behind me through with a 

screwdriver.

it was ok because it was less than 7 inches long.

anyone else think thats odd?

but delayed planes make for a very boring wait.

there's not much to do in airports.

you have to pay for internet.

people are always talking over the intercom,

usually two or more people at a time.

so you can't even understand what 

either of them are saying.

but through all the drama of airports,

i've learned that i am a world traveler,

and that i don't really mind flying as much

as i thought i did.

woohoo for me

BELIEVE

(that you can survive through

airport security and delays)

when did shopping get stressful?

friday i went shopping.

and by shopping i mean i think i actually bought 3 things.

woah crazy shopping trip.

i went with the intentions to buy one item.

a case for my new fancy mac.

i have already managed to scratch it.

(oops)

so this was becoming a necessity.

i wanted to make sure she was covered 

and protected for the upcoming trip.

so my friend asked me to ask the mac peeps

if they will install memory on her computer that she 

bought elsewhere.

so one of the geniusy guys walks up to me 

and asks me if i need help.

and the conversation occurs as follows:

me: "actually i have a question for you"

mac dude: "what can i help you with ma'am"

(side note: when did i become a ma'am? wtf)

me: "i have an older mac version and i was wondering

if you would install memory for me that i bought somewhere else."

mac dude: "do you mean ram or giggabytes?" 

(i think that was the other choice, really i have no clue)

my head thought: 

oh shit i don't know,

what's the difference?

i must have been giving him the 

weirdest look because the mac dude follows with:

"well are they two small disc looking things?"

again my head thought:

i have no freaking clue mac dude

me: "oh yeah thats what they look like."

mac dude: "well actually you can install it yourself"

at this point i just wanted to be like well actually, 

i'm totally lying and i have no clue what your talking about.

but i was kind and just followed him to the mac.

he gave me a total tutorial of how to change ram.

in a computer i don't own.

for the ram i don't own. 

and i'm not sure i ever got an actual answer.

after this i was so confused and just wanting to leave the store,

i walked out without my case,

only to have to go back a little while later to buy a case

for a totally different computer.

the guy was looking at me like i was a total idiot.

whatever mac dude, i have no clue what the hell ram even is.

next time i'll tell them right up front its not for me.

after about 10 minutes of feeling like an asshole,

i decided to continue my shopping "spree".

i went to nordstrom.

looked around at all the sweet clothes they had.

the ones i'm too stingy to buy.

then i saw a scarf 

that i couldn't live without.

it had all sorts of bright annoying colors.

i fucking fell in love.

so after purchasing that,

i went to the shoe section,

just to look of course.

then i fell in love again.

ed hardy got my heart.

so i had to buy them.

but its ok i love them!

but damn you ed hardy.

then i had to have a drink because 

that trip was so stressful.

BELIEVE

(that shopping trips can go from

feeling like and asshole to falling

head over in heels in love...

twice!)

how does a commercial become the center point of my post?

i'm watching my shows tonight.

greys and private practice.

i just saw a commercial.

about karate.

it made me start to think about karate.

i took karate.

for like a year.

i started as a white belt.

(duh)

then i grew up and was a yellow belt.

i was getting real good.

then i got a green belt.  

i was fucking kicking asses and taking names.

then i quit. 

people were started to find out and i thought they were going to test my skills.

i didn't want to have to show them my skills.

or more like i thought i was going to be a loser.

who the hell takes karate?

yup me.

i do.

well i did.

i just naturally know how to kick ass now.

ok.

this is random.

this weekend i saw "its pimpin' pimpin'"

a stand-up comedy routine from kat williams.

pretty much i almost peed i was laughing so hard.

hilarious.

my favorite part,

"poor little tink tink"

watch it.

its a must. 

holy shit you will die.

cause i almost did.

it will make your day oh so much better.

thats all i got.

my life has been boring the past few days.

i'm going to the mall tomorrow though.

that is always interesting.

anyways.

you know the drill.

BELIEVE

still failing the earth...one styrofoam cup at a time

last week seemed to drag on foreverrr.

i was busy all week, 

constantly doing something and getting home late.

i was not a big fan of that.

days that normally go by fast,

seemed like long days.

what the hell is with that?!

 

my weekend though...

it was pretty great.

got to spend some time with the broski.

(i can say the sister too, 

but i spend lots of time with her anyway.)

spent time catching up with a friend whom i hadn't seen in a while.

it was nice to shoot the shit with him.

he harassed my life.

i took it.

he seems to put me in my place.

i laugh, what else can i do.

of course i watched the big game.

i didn't care who one.

i've always been one for the underdog,

but i had to be honest with who i really thought was going to win.

the steelers.

i do have to admit though,

it was closer than i thought it was gonna be.

bruce sucked.

i think they should bring back mtv halftime shows

so what, a boob popped out.

get over it already.

the mtv shows will forever be better than any of the shit that occurs now.

the gym and i are no longer friends.

although i find it interesting 

i think i look better when the gym and i are on a break.

whatever.

i usually feel like shit when i don't go to the gym.

i need those endorphins.

maybe i'll get back into it this week.

we'll see.

i blame it on the weather. 

if it were nicer out,

i would be more tempted to go for a run.

stupid winter.

i heard phil said more winter.

i hate that groundhog.

as long as i can remember he's said more cold.

and even when he said more warmth,

it was still cold.

i think its all a hoax.

another stupid holiday to add to the list.

i got my fancy new sigg water bottle yesterday.

i really like it.

i drank water out of it all day today.

i think i'm the most hydrated i've ever been.

just so i could be like 

"i got a new water bottle, like it?"

everyone seemed to think it was pretty cool.

obviously. 

i felt like i was saving the earth a little bit today.

until i got a coffee at lunch and it was in a styrofoam cup.

fucking dunkin' donuts.

then i got fruit from a little market store place,

and that was in a plastic container.

so i'm still failing the earth.

sorry earth, i'll try to be better tomorrow.

BELIEVE

(if you can't tell, i'm trying some new blog styles. be patient with me. i gotta find something new to fit me.  i'm getting bored with the old format. get used to this.  i get bored with what i'm doing with my life quite often!)

Confessions of the Pathetic Retired Rower

I have confessions.  Many of them.  In the past week, I’ve been overly obsessed with rowing.  Now I haven’t been in a boat in 7 months and 26 days.  The last time I sat in a boat, I was in my rowing prime and it was one of the best weekends in my life.  (Actually I’m lying, I rowed in October at our Intersquads, but I don’t really think of that as competitively rowing, it was more fun than anything, but technically I was in a boat.) 

So in the past 5 days I have erged twice, and I was erging pretty hard.  Not like the lame “gym-rowers” who just wasting their time (in my opinion).  Like serious good workouts.  Granted I’m definitely not pulling the best numbers because again, haven’t been in a boat in 7 months and 26 days.  I have started looking at the weight racks in the weight area again, thinking hey I could start lifting again.  But lets be honest, I’ve just lost a decent amount of muscle and I finally don’t look like a man.  So I really don’t think stacking on all that muscle mass again is good! 

 I have another confession.  I was browsing Amazon tonight looking for a new water bottle.  A Sigg one, you know to make the environment better.  I’m environmentally friendly what can I say!

 

So I thought to myself: Well while I’m on here I should check out and see if there is anything else I “need”.  Since I just finished my last book, I should see what books they have.  Well, I’ll just search “rowing books”! Soooooo in doing that I found 3 (!!!!) books I wanted to buy.  I’ve actually always wanted to read one rowing book so I found that one and then two others happened to jump into my cart! Oops.

So theses are the three books I got:

Mind Over Water

Drawn to the Rhythm:  A Passionate Life Reclaimed

 

The Red Rose Crew: A True Story of Winning, Women and the Water

I know I know I’m pathetic and seriously need to come up with a new hobby.  I just can’t let go of my true love: Rowingggggg!

 

Book Update:  I just finished “The Wednesday Letters”.  Great little love story!  Its about three siblings that go back home to clean out their parents bed and breakfast house only to find that their dad wrote a letter to their mother once a week.  There were some crazy family secrets exposed in the letters.  So it made it very interesting.  Also I just finished “I’m Not Myself These Days”.  To sum up this hilarious effed up book, Its about an alcoholic drag queen living with his “male escort” boyfriend.  Very enjoyable!!

 

Well I will continue to dream about all my previous rowing accomplishments and dwell over the fact that my glory days are over

 

BELIEVE

I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!

So here’s a quick update that involves the last month of my life in where I felt the need to go missing.  I had an amazing holiday season.  I spent time at home between Christmas and New Years because I didn’t have work that week!  I pretty much just didn’t nothing for the first few days while I was home.  Then I had a 5 day Dandace reunion…which was AMAZING!  We spent New Years in New York City.  Thankfully we didn’t have to stand in the cold and watch the ball drop.  We just watched it on TV!  I rang in the new year with friends and lots of drinks!  So 2009 should be good!

Now I’m officially into my 2009 routine.  Working my two jobs and trying to have a life outside of that! HA!  I feel as though there has been a new snow storm every weekend.  Actually, every Sunday.  I’m sick of this weather.   And I desperately want to migrate south, with the birds!!

 

So far 2009 has been treating me well.  My friends are amazing.  My family has been supportive in all my crazy life decisions.  And there’s that someone there to put a smile on my face, even if it’s with a simple text.  With those two jobs come less of a social life, but a bigger pay check, so things should be interesting in the up coming months. 

 

Yesterday I went to the Museum of Science.  It was amazing.  There was so much to see that I felt like I saw so much but struggled to remember it all.  I even got to see an IMAX presentation of  “The Greatest Places” Very Cool.  There is a big 180 degree dome in which you feel as though you are “engulfed” in what is happening on the screen.  I felt like I was actually watching at these locations.  I definitely recommend to everyone and anyone to check out one of these IMAX films.  It was my first and totally worth every penny!!!

 

But most of all I want to talk to YOU.  I’ve been an awful blogger lately and there are always those of you that keep checking for a post.  I’m sorry I will be better.  I’ve just been so busy my blog has slipped my foolish mind.  So I ask you to keep checking up.  Don’t give up on my blog.  I will be more consistent than last month.  That I can promise.

 

I hope I haven’t let anyone down.  Keep checking up.  I will be better.  Thank you for checking my blog.  I appreciate your interest.  I will continue to keep up with it!!!

 

BELIEVE

 

I KNOW I KNOW

So the other day I was playing on the web.  I found this site and there was a picture on it that looked a lot like me.  Then i realized I HAVE A BLOG!! I know I know.  I've been awful in the new year.  Its been over a month.  I promise I will get better.  I'm just trying to find the time to write you all a GOOD blog post that will apologize for my awful blogging!! Soon.  Like within the next 3-5 days!!

The Holidays are Getting Closer!!

Last week there was a night that was the most magical night of my life! Merely because I saw maybe the best concert ever. I may even go as far to say that even though I’ve never seen a Britney Spears concert, (I love her and I think one of her concerts would be AMAZING) I think this concert would rock Britney’s world. I saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra! They were amazing (have I gotten that across yet?) These people are out of their minds insane. This group plays mostly Christmas music, but with a rockstar edge. Electric guitars and violins all over the place. Fabulous I tell you! Then to make it even better…there are lights going off everywhere that are in sync with the music. It was phenomenal. I actually want to be the violinist. She was freaking insane. She could rock out like none other! It was pretty freaking awesome!! I have some pictures of the amazingness:



And Even a Couple Vids (I know i'm getting Fancy!!):

EFFING PHENOMENAL!!!!!

Anyway besides my obsession with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I had an interesting weekend to say the least. On Friday I spent over two extra hours at work to help set some stuff up and such. Then I came home and just hung out, staying late at work was enough for me. I didn’t do anything too exciting Friday night except for go to bed and watch some random TV. On Saturday though, oh Saturday. Tthe apartment was cleaned for a holiday party my sister and I had. Anddd ohhhh the holiday party. There was lots of wine and a nice headache and nap to follow on Sunday. It was a fabulous time though I do have to admit. It was a great time to spend time together and shoot the shit. And of course enjoy allllll the wine that we did! God I love the holidays!!

Today it was back to the grind of work! Boo.

This is the last full week of work until the holiday time! I can’t wait to spend time at home!! So the big New Years Eve plans are starting to take form and I’ve decided to go to the big apple for New Years. Not to watch the ball drop or anything, but to be with friends and in a big city where a lot will be going on. I’m very excited and I just can’t wait! If you’ve been reading my blog a lot, you will know that I miss spending time with my friends TONSSSS. So being able to spend New Years Eve (and weaves bday!) together! Really it should be a shit show….I can’t wait :-)

10 days til Christmas
14 days til a Dandace Reunion…

Quick Yet Entertaining Post

I found this…and I think its hilarious…So I thought maybe I should share it with you

1. YOUR PORN STAR NAME: (First pet and current street name): Kodak Cresthill

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your Mom’s side, your favorite candy): Jane Toffee

3. YOUR “FLY GIRL/GUY” NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name): C-Di

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Pink Turtle

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Diane Oneonta

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom’s maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in): Eascamcone

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The,” another favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink) The Pink Chardonnay

I do have to say it seems to work out quite wonderfully…

Its a Holly Jolly Christmas!

My weekend was a phenomenal one. Friday night I went out drinking. Yesterday I did pretty much nothing except go out to dinner and watch “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” I love that movie. It is hilarious and it makes me laugh exceptionally hard!

But Friday and Saturday are not what I feel like discussing. I feel like discussing today. I had a wonderfully productive day…after getting up at 10:30. But that’s besides the point. I sat on the couch reading my book for close to two hours, and enjoyed some Christmas tunes. Then I decided I needed to get some fresh (cold) air. Today being the first snow here (it was actually more of a flurry), so I felt like I needed to be out doing things to appreciate the snow. So I went to CVS…used my 30% off coupon and bought some odds and ends…maybe even some Christmas presents hahaha-whatever I have no money. Then I spent close to two hours at the gym. Hoping to maybe make up for the lack of my gym participation this past week. Something tells me it doesn’t really work like that. But while there I stumbled upon the UNC/Notre Dame Woman’s soccer game. It was the National Championship game. So it was a very good game to say the least. It was tied most of the game, but then in the last two minutes or so UNC scored maybe the most beautiful goal I’ve ever seen to take the lead! I have to say my heart sank for ND, but that’s the way the game goes!

Anyway, after my power work out, I went grocery shopping and cook an extravagant meal for my sister and I (it actually was more like mediocre but I want to make myself feel good). All while cooking I hopped onto Pandora.com and got some great Christmas tunes on my computer and was rocking out the whole time. After dinner my sister and I put up some Christmas decorations. I do have to say every other year I have never really gotten into Christmas away from my “real” home because having no money and being busy with school and training, I didn’t really see the point (the no money thing actually hasn’t changed, so I blame it all on school…blahh). My sister is what I call a “Holiday Enthusiast” . I swear she lives for this shit. I honestly could go with or without it. I do have to admit I really do enjoy it now that it’s all done. Pandora of course, went on throughout the evening, just putting me more and more into a joyful and cheery mood! So now I’m loving my apartment and here are some good pictures of the place all decked out:

The Mini Tree:

While going through my pictures I saw some from my trip to the aquarium…so I feel the need to put a few of those up as well just because I love them:

TURTLE!! It was a baby one...he is very cute!!

Penguins!!

A freaky (but cool) looking jellyfish!

Ok that’s enough of pictures, but I am now going to continue my amazing mood and Sunday by watching Desperate and Brothers and Sisters, and then read some more of my book before bed!

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*

Am I Fooling You Yet?

I’ll be the first to admit it, I was in a pessimistic mood last night. Sure last night I called it “realistic”, but if you read it at all, you would have known I was just trying to make myself feel good. So tonight after celebrating the Diva Diggs’ birthday with drinks, Jose’s, Cold Stone creamery and topped it off with Grey’s Anatomy, I’m in a fabulous mood. I could just hug everyone and anyone I see.

My alarm went off this morning to go to the gym, I didn’t get up. Haha. I can tell myself it’s because it was my day off from the gym but that’s a lie. I was very tired and I didn’t hear my alarm at 6:45. I didn’t hear it until close to 7:10 which means there wasn’t much time to go to the gym. So I nixed it. Oh well. I’ll try again tomorrow…again should be interesting to see how this one goes. I probably won’t get up. I’ll convince myself I’m tired or make up an excuse. Maybe I’ll wake up at 7 and feel guilty thinking the rest of the world is probably up already. Or maybe I won’t even set my alarm for 7 haha.

All week at school, one particular boy has been very fascinated with telling everyone he loves them. At the most random times he will just blurt out “I love you Candace”. So today he told me about 3 times that he loved me. So as he was leaving I said “I love you jimmy john” and he responded with “OK” …what the hell is that. “OK.” Not even I love spending time with you. Figures. That’s kinda my life. HAHAHA. I did find it very amusing. It was quite adorable though because (side note: the kids name isn’t really jimmy john, I just thought that was an amusing choice of name).

So on these blogs I may come across as say grown up or mature, but I think I just like to think out what I’m going to say so I don’t sound like a total idiot. Which really I don’t mind if I do, because well what else is new. Some days by the time I get around to blogging, something may have touched me that has put me in a sentimental mood. Something may have made me pissed off or cranky (last night per say?). Sometimes I have days like today where I have trouble being serious about anything. But though it all, it’s still me. I still have my crazy side. I just like to try and sound smart on this thing. But if you do know me, I’m not fooling you with my fancy blog. Hahaha!

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*

Mood: It's Called Realistic with a Twist of Pessimism

I’m sitting. On my couch. Watching. Watching the magical performances of many stars before they light the Rockafeller Christmas tree. Its all so sparkly and lit up. Everything makes me think about the Holidays. How presentations like this make snow seem magical. Well I have news for you. Snow equals cold. I hate cold. Therefore, none of this shit is magical! Ok so the first snow fall is pretty. Then I feel it should just get warm again. And it would be magical if the first snow could be on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. But that’s too damn cliché so it would never happen! Slash lots of people don’t celebrate Christmas so nevermind. Also, the first night it snows is pretty and lovely, but do you remember what it looks like the next day. Or two days after. Even a week after. It looks like pure nastiness. All brown and slushy and awful. So basically, what is comes down to is, Christmas isn’t magical, its nastiness.

But I don’t really believe that, Christmas is fun and joyful. I enjoy the time with the fam and such. The snow and coldness on the other hand, that is nastiness

So on a more positive note. I went to the gym early this morning, before work. It sucked. I hate the gym. We are in a fight. But it was very satisfying. To be at the gym so early and know I didn’t have to go back after work. It was great. But yeah I hate the gym because I’m not in as good of shape as I want to be. Damn. The “more positive note” isn’t really working out for me.

So since I’m in such a realistic mood right now, my mood pretty much puts a negative on everything apparently. I’m not really in the sentimental mood apparently! Haha maybe tomorrow!

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*

The Art of Volunteering

So I haven’t blogged in a while, I was home for the turkey day! After battling all the holiday traffic, I finally got home to see some of the friends I hadn’t seen in almost 6 months or more. It was great to catch up with everyone. Share the stories of our apartments, the stories of our jobs or lack thereof. So we chatted up, drank ‘em down, and enjoyed each other company. It was definitely a lot of fun.

The next morning I woke up very early…it might have been around 9…to get up and volunteer at a soup kitchen to provide people who were unable to make their own, with Thanksgiving dinner. It was definitely an all day affair, but it was definitely emotionally satisfying. Some of these people didn’t have much money, but some people came alone, which made me feel very fortunate to have people to share the day with. From there I went to see Four Christmases with a friend. I thought it was hilarious and I love Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, so really it was an amazing movie for me. Predictable, yes. Still funny, yes.

So after a fabulous weekend home with the family and friends, I sat in an extra hour and a half of stop and go traffic…booo. But while home, I stopped at an art shop and picked up some new art stuff for my painting hobby. So tonight when I got home, in order to relieve all the driving stresses, I painted…it was amazing, well maybe not the painting itself, but the stress relief of painting. Very odd that something that doesn’t require running until you want to puke or beating the shit out of a pillow, basically straight aggression, could be a stress reliever.

But anyway, I love the process of painting. Figuring out a good background color, maybe blending two colors together. Working it until it is the perfect shade of the color is there on the canvas. Then finding the abstract shape and the color of that shape that will suit the background color. This process is usually started by visualizing something on the canvas itself, and then drawing that imagine. Usually I finish it up with some accenting details to make the image really pop, but without making it too frazzled. And then finishing it off with my initials!! So that’s my process. Something tells me that most other people have about the same process. Maybe others have some more details, but I’m still new to this whole thing.

Any who, here is the fabulous painting:

Its back to work tomorrow. I really miss those long breaks of college, oh well maybe at some other point in my life it can be like that again!!

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*

I Think I've Figured It Out!!!

I did it. After YEAR AND YEARS of trying to figure out what the hell I want to do with my life I believe I am on to something with this idea. Every week I think I should do something else with my life, but this idea has stuck to me for a while now. I have always fiddled with idea of being a nurse but at the same time I knew I wanted to work with children. I discovered this past summer that children are so innocent and un-jaded about life which is why I had decided I wanted to have a child’s influence in my everyday life. Which explains why I’m doing what I’m doing with my life right now. So how do I put the two ideas together?? I could be a pediatric nurse and work in a doctor’s office, taking blood pressures and heights and weights every day, but there’s no way I wouldn’t get bored after about 2 days. I need more variety in my life than that. So I was thinking about all the different things I could do with the two interests, and I decided that I think I want to work with children with cancer. I feel this could be very difficult, emotionally. On top of the fact that this means 2-3 more years of school. I can deal with the school though because this is something that I will truly enjoy. Bbut how will I know if I can handle it emotionally? …well I’ve decided to volunteer at a local children’s hospital and try to get involved as much as I can to see if having to see children in such a sad environment is something I can handle. I feel that in such a sad environment, someone like myself, who is cheery and happy 98% of the time, would be good in an environment like this. Maybe that is because these children could use someone to put a smile on their face, to change up the depressing environment they are constantly in. I will keep you all updated on that goes!

So on a more random note, the holiday Starbucks peppermint mocha latte is effing AMAZING!! It is one of the only things I drink from Starbucks, but I think it is fabulous. Any who…….

My sister has XM radio so every now and then we listen to channel 4. For those of you that have XM, you know this is the 40’s station. I’ve come to like some of the 40’s music. Particularly the music that has no singing. I just like the instrumental and no vocals, which is odd because I love to sing along (even though I can’t sing for anything). Every song I hear reminds me of something that is absolutely obscure and is not related to the 40’s at all what so ever. Except every now and then a song comes on that reminds me of the movie “The Notebook”. When I first watched that movie I realized that I would have loved to be alive during that time period. I felt like there was just so much freedom and much less corruption. So when I hear some random 40’s songs I always wish I were alive then and sometimes I let my mind wonder and think about the kind of person I would be in that time period. As I sit here listening to the Beetles, I think about how I also wish I were alive in the 70’s and 80’s and well I guess I was alive in the later part of the 80’s but I couldn’t really appreciate it because I was so wee little. I guess I should say I wish I were 20-something in the 70’s or 80’s. I’d truly take either decade. I feel like those times were pretty awesome to be young in and be able to appreciate it. I’m sure that when I’m older I will think the time that I live in right now was pretty awesome to be a part of, but its easy to take advantage of right now while I’m living in it.

Well I’m off to help my sister made a phenoooooooooooooomenal dessert.

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*

They say change is necessary...

“You've changed so much. I guess that's what happens. I wish you knew how much you changed me. I wonder if I changed you, if your life is different because of me. Because mine's different. My God, you taught me so much, and now we don't even talk to each other. I guess that's what happens.”

Change. The word has been ALL over the place these past few months because of the elections. But I’m talking about personal change. People changing. Places changing. Jobs. Apartments. Lifestyles. Living in college was easy. Zero responsibility beyond being sure you got your homework done. If you accidentally over slept and missed class, no big deal. No bills. No nothing.

Now that college is over, its all responsibility. Bills. Rent. Being sure I have enough money to pay for those things. Being sure I get up on time to get to work on time. Being sure they kids that I’m teaching are learning and they are happy. I don’t have a family or kids or anything but I have friends I like to stay close to even if we are far in distance. I’m always trying to be sure to remember everyone, keep in touch with everyone. As time goes on and I’m apart from more and more people, I’m just realizing I’m changing, they are changing. How will our personal changes affect our friendships? What happens next? Will we change too much and not stay as close?

I think I’m trying to be good at growing up (even if I’m not happy about it) and I’m trying to take responsibility for everything that I do. I could easily just go through the motions of my job, but I want to go above and beyond and really make a positive difference in the company that I work for. This is not who I was merely 6 months ago. I loved the parties and the no responsibility and trust me, I was really living the life. But don’t get me wrong I still love partying and I’m not a fan of responsibility but I’m doing what I gotta do to get by right now.

I sometimes think I’m handling it well. I’ve changed, but I’m staying true to who I am at the same time. I haven’t made any crazy changes in my life and I haven’t started doing things I never would have done a few months ago. And as I sit here thinking about all the people that have come into my life in the past years (even the past months) I can easily think of ways that each person has effected me, changed me, made me to be a better person, brought out the best in me, brought out the worst in me, made me happy, made me sad, made me re-think my life and what I’ve done with it thus far.

I don’t really know where this is all coming from today, but I sit here with only my thoughts and think about how everyone I know has changed since college, whether college ended for them in May with me or it ended 4 years ago. Some for the better and some for the worst. I think some people have just made choices about growing up or not. Some have decided to linger on the past (and maybe I’m doing a bit of that too) and some have decided to go the other way, completely shocking everyone with what they are doing. I expected this sort of this would happen, but I guess I never truly believed it until today. Sometimes I think, it’s not the change that’s shocking, it’s who is changing and how they are changing that is shocking to me.

“Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends.”

…Right?

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*

A Slight Update on the Last Week

So working in a preschool environment lets me have days off like today…Veteran’s Day. And today on TV I saw so many specials on soldiers coming home. But what is ironic, is that I’m reading the book “The Lucky One” by Nicholas Sparks, which is about a marine that went to Iraq three times and there’s a love story of course. But that’s not the ironic part…even though I know this may not necessarily be a true story, the story about his time in Iraq written by Sparks is quite vivid…and I can maybe slightly imagine the environment and stress over there. Granted I don’t know if what I’m imagining is what it’s like, which is why I say “maybe slightly”. So I salute to you veterans and current armed forces. Thank you! You are some of the bravest people I know.

So Obama is our new president elect. Wow…can you say progress. YAY America!!! I really think it’s amazing that we’ve come so far. I’m not gonna lie. I really thought he was going to take it. All the numbers were pointing to him before the actual election.

So I had a mis-hap and fell of the horse for a week or so but I’m getting back on. I’m going to the gym everyday to train and I’m also eating better. And since I had the whole day off today..it was definitely hard not to munch today, but I found ways to keep myself occupied. I started counting my points again and writing it down. Sometimes as much as I count I somehow seem to forget the bad things I ate that day!!! Oops!

Last weekend my broski came to visit the big city and I think he really loved it. He liked having so many options and that there was just so much to do…beside the fact that he got to see me!!! And this weekend I have a couple friends coming to visit and I’m just SO excited to hang out with them. I haven’t seen them since the day after Nationals in May. Therefore I can’t wait to spend time with them and possible cause trouble!!!

Happy Election Day!

Today is Election Day!! So I’m sitting here on my couch watching how things are unfolding and I realize how happy I am. Not because “my guy” is winning or anything…I’m truly happy because I can’t wait for the effing politics to stop! No more commercials, no more debates, no more news about polls. Its all over in the day or so. All that stuff is exciting, but I feel as though these two candidates have been battling each other and other candidates for the past 2 years or so and I’m sick of hearing about it. Woohoo election day is here, this shit can stop!! But don’t worry, I’m excited to see how things unfold.

While I’m watching all of this I’m realizing no matter who wins, I think things will start to change very quickly once in the White House. I just hope that no matter who wins, America can stand behind the president, because as we’ve seen in the past, when the president fails, America fails, and well I’m sick of our country failing. Therefore, since my vote is already in, I will support whoever wins.
(If he loses...sometimes I will say he would have done it better, but I’ll try real hard not to!)

Just so that everyone knows, there was a preschooler today at school telling people that Santa should be president. It was hilarious!!

So Halloween was on Friday night and I decided to go out…in style…from the 80s. And at this party I went to, Guitar Hero was busted out. I couldn’t help myself but to start talking shit. I rock at Guitar Hero. It was in my apartment all last year and I played multiple songs on a daily basis. I love that game. So I took on a few competitors, and I won. People were very impressed with how much I rock, (I know because Guitar Hero told me so…a lot!). It’s cool, you can call me a nerd, dork, loser, etc. I am very aware that I am all of these! Here are a few pics of me kicking ass:

I’m getting slightly sickly, so it’s time for the nester chester!

*ALWAYS BELIEVE*