Saturday, August 01, 2009

Stall surprise

I just had an unfortunate mishap in the ladies room. There were no reasonable stall choices so I had to go with the one where the door would shut but wouldn't latch. I assumed my standard hover position and went about my business. The next thing I knew, some girl
was busting in on me. As if that wasn't bad enough, because of my squat position, she smacked
me in the head with the door
and busted my eye with the lock. Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Give and Get

30% off at The Gap, Banana Replublic, Old Navy and any of the outlets. Plus, a portion of the profits go to charity...what's not to love about that?!




Friday, July 24, 2009

Wedding Belle

I've been too lazy to clean and organize my house in time to participate in the "Show Us Where You Live" Kelly is hosting, but I already got all dolled up and have the pictures to prove it, so I'm joining in on Show Us Your Life. Today's Topic is My Wedding Dress.

I can't resist an opportunity to celebrate our special day all over again, so here we go.

I found my dress during a birthday trip to Atlanta for my 27th birthday. No, I didn't go to the famous Kleinfeld's so you won't find me on Say Yes To The Dress reruns. We found it at a store called Bridals by Lori. It was the first dress I tried on. The truth is, I only really got to try on a few dresses...okay, maybe 10 isn't a few, but since it was my first time, I wanted to try on a TON.

I really wanted something that wasn't strapless because that seemed to be what everyone else I knew was wearing. I was hoping for something cap sleeved, but couldn't quite find anything. My last requirement was that the style be pretty timeless. My aunt and step mother were both married in the year of the large, almost cowboy like, bridesmaid hats...and unfortunately that trend also extended to the veil. Oh my beloved 80's, how could you be so good and yet so bad?! I did not want my dress to scream 2007!

I liked my dress the best of the bunch and it was a sample, so it was a do or die kind of moment. I was really feeling a lot of pressure. The dress was a little more than we budgeted, but it was half the normal price (because it was a sample). It felt kind of meant to be because it almost fit me perfectly. So, I got wrapped up in the moment and bought it. I did kind of wish I'd been able to try on some other dresses at some other places, but I resisted because I was afraid I'd want another one.

In the end, I'm really happy with my choice. I felt like a princess, a little embarrassing fact about me is that I've always secretly hoped I would one day discover that I actually AM a princess-Thank you, Anne Hathaway for your captivating performance in The Princess Diaries.

These first few shots are courtesy of my photographer, Elissa Queen in Charlotte, NC. They're from my bridal portraits at my Alma Mater, Salem College in Winston-Salem. I'm house sitting, so I don't have many shots with me. I borrowed these from my facebook profile




The only shot that's actually from the wedding is this one with my mom half way through buttoning the many many many buttons. We even had to get a special tool to get them all done.

I wore a long veil and a blusher. I love the classic look of the blusher and my mom and I had a special moment at the end of the aisle when she flipped it for me. The headpiece came from a great store in Charlotte called Brideshead, they do custom veils and headpieces; they also made pins for my hair. At the reception, I removed the long veil and wore the blusher flipped back. One of the many bridal ladies I worked with convinced me that I should get the most out of it and that it would really make me feel like a bride and make it easier for folks to spot me in a crowd...just in case you missed that big white dress!



I'll leave you with a shot of my Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue. My mom, grandmother, and aunts presented them to me at my Bridesmaid Luncheon. The cameo belonged to my great great grandmother. My mom monogrammed the blue panties as a surprise (I'm sure Freddie appreciated that she chose such a modest pair!). The earrings were my new (don't tell her, but I actually wanted to wear another pair), and my borrowed was a handkerchief that belonged to my grandmother.

Monday, July 20, 2009

unbelievable

Susan was frustrated about her customer service at the bank today and I'm irritated about Target. Yes, you read that correctly, Target.

I was trying to take advantage of the crazy deal on Starbucks coffee (7 dollar coffee and when you buy 3 you get a 5 dollar gift card). But, the cashier couldn't get the card to come up until I bought 4. Hubs probably would have left it alone, but I am a miser frugal. I bought the fourth bag, but went immediately to check out the flier. It said 3 bags, so I proceeded to customer service. The girl had a difficult time returning my 4th bag for the full price, so she called the manager. He worked it all out, but what I couldn't believe was that he was popping his gum the whole time. I stood not 2 feet from his face and he continued to blow bubble after bubble. Sometimes he even did that annoying thing where you fold your gum so that it does a thousand ear piercing pops in a row. I thought about complaining, but who would I complain to? HE WAS THE MANAGER.

For the record, I'm actually a pretty cowardly complainer. I usually call in my complaints and I keep them few and far between, but what you don't know about me is that I cannot stand gum! Seriously, people pop it, pull it, smack it, and stick it everywhere. It is my number one pet peeve and so I've eliminated it from my life. My aversion certainly didn't help the matter, but is it just me, or is that absolutely ridiculous?!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

gone, gone, gone, really gone

So, this is my return to blogging, for now. I just haven't been feeling it lately. So, like Kate says, You get what you get and you don't get upset! Apparently she's getting a fortune, a ton of publicity, an old body guard and he's getting two hot earrings, and a young girl who removed his wife's jowls of a dog, but couldn't do a thing about Winnie The Pooh. There you go.

I still haven't done the list of things I'm proud of doing before my thirtieth birthday. maybe I will maybe I won't, but I probably will. maybe.

What inspired me to write today. I just got the best message from my Grandma. My cousin and his wife found out they are expecting in January. They lost a baby back around Christmas. Then, they thought she might have actually had a molar pregnancy, which means it wasn't a baby she was carrying, but cancer. Then they found out that she did actually lose a baby, so it was just grief, panic, grief. They waited a while to try after having their first. They are very, how should I say it, particular. She really threw them for a loop. I actually think some competition might calm our little missy down. I guess we'll soon find out because it turns out that they're not having one, but TWO babies! So exciting!

This marks the 19th pregnancy. Two girls had babies last week, which brought my pregnancy total down, but new baby total for the last 30 days up to 7. That's a lot of booties.

Meanwhile, I'm still barren. But, I'm hopeful. Last night, mister OPK (ovulation prediction kit for those of you not in the know) gave me a smiley face on the first try. Here's hoping that's a good sign.

So, that's all I got. I had to get it out there. I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed by all of these things and I can't really wrap my brain around much of anything else. Maybe now that I've spilled the beans, I can move onto something else.

In the mean time, I leave you with sweet little Taylor.


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

i made it


I've been counting down the days to my 30th birthday and it has finally arrived. It was touch and go there for a few weeks, what with the 5 days my husband's co-worker stayed with us for the furniture market followed up by 7 straight days with my aunt and grandma visiting and topped off with another two days of more family visits. Oh yeah, throw in a few visits from my mom and my in-laws and their dogs for good measure and that makes for a pretty stressful month. All in all, it was nice visiting with everyone though and I'm certainly stronger for it :)

The threat of turning thirty hit me pretty hard this month. I'm a little sad about ending my twenties. I feel like it's saying good-bye to a piece of life that I'll never get back. This anxiety has given way to some great conversations though. So, in an effort to put my best foot forward, I'm going to compile a list of 30 tidbits from my twenties for which I am grateful. But, first I must go get a massage. I've got to milk this birthday for all it's worth.

Monday, May 04, 2009

life of freddie

I enjoy watching Life of Ryan and other MTV reality shows. (This is further proof that I am not yet ready to be 30.)

Yesterday, I was catching up on DVR and admiring the scenery.

I asked Freddie, "Do you think Ryan Sheckler works out too, or he's just so cut from skateboarding?"

Freddie said, "Doesn't he surf? That will make you ripped. But, he probably works out too. Plus, believe me, it's a lot easier to tone up like that when you're young."

I told him, "I feel kind of guilty when I think he's hot because he's so young. I think he's 18."

He assured me, "That's okay. There are plenty of 18 year old girls I think are hot."

Think I should be concerned? :)

old lady, old lady, old lady

I'm getting old. On May 27th, I'll be turning thirty. 3. 0.

I can remember when my mom turned thirty. So weird.

I don't actually think thirty is old. I know thirty is the new twenty and all that. I have plenty of young friends who are thirty and considerably older. It's just that I don't want to be thirty.

You see, once your thirty, you can never be twenty again. Profound, huh?

If I must turn thirty though, I plan to do it in style. A big party will be organized and my birthday list includes a trip and other assorted cash and prizes. and maybe a baby. We'll see.

it works if you work it

On Sunday, I was running late for church. My shirt color insisted on spreading wide across my chest, a la John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and it was driving me crazy. I could have ironed it, but that would require setting up the ironing board, and oh yeah, I melted our carpet with it, so I'd also run the risk of melting carpet goo all over my shirt-and like I said, as usual, I was running late.

Coincidentally, I was trying to mix it up by straightening my curly hair, so I improvised. You know what, the straightening iron works pretty well for clothes too!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

miss usa

In the midst of all of the Perez Hilton and Miss California USA controversy, many of you may not have heard that Miss North Carolina won the Miss USA pageant!



I actually heard about this amazing young lady last year at Freddie's family beach trip. The Dalton family regularly pops in on the Figure 8 trip to visit with his aunt and cousins (they all used to attend church together before the Daltons moved to Wilmington).

They popped by last year and I was initially impressed with the family's amazing looks. I mean these people are show stoppers, seriously. Mom and Dad are like Ken and Barbie and even the awkward little brother could have been a model. Only two of their knock out daughters could make it that weekend. Kristen was too busy being a star student at ECU and preparing for the Miss USA pageant.

Fortunately, we were able to meet the middle children. Their equally impressive daughter Julia is also a pageant girl. In fact, she was Miss Teen USA North Carolina-twice!. Unfortunately, she only made 3rd runner up in 2007 and then 2nd runner up in 2008.


You may be wondering about their other daughter, Kenzie. It must be hard growing up in that type of family. She seems to be holding her own though. She's kind of artsy and eclectic. Not too eclectic though, more like New York chic. Lest you feel sorry for her for missing out on all of the pageant fun, she was the Azalea queen at a local Wilmington Festival. Fortunately, for the misfit of this family, she did catch someone's eye. She's engaged...




To Chad Michael Murray

What a family.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

sorry, mate


I've been a little overwhelmed this week, so last night I declared that we were definitely going out to eat tonight.

However, it seems a maelstrom is brewing outside and I am pretty comfy in my jammie pants, so I reminded my husband that he'll be away from the house a lot next week for furniture market. I sweetly suggested we let Outback do the cooking.

We were excited to find that we didn't even have to actually talk to a person, we could just order online. So, click, click, click, and in twenty minutes we'll be eating steak!

Except, we just got the confirmation e-mail and realized we'd actually placed an order at the Outback in Blowing Rock, NC.

It's two hours away and while I'll be there this weekend, I'm too hungry to wait.

Oops.

Friday, April 17, 2009

gone fishin'



Actually I'm planning on going bummin', but hubs will be doing some fishing.

We know this couple through our other friends and through some other random connections. We actually like them more than the couple we know better and had a blast with them at our other friends' wedding. We've hung out with them a time or two and on Wednesday, they called and asked if we were interested in last minute trip to the beach.

They even invited Jack!

I don't have a lot, read any, girlfriends in town. I went to college somewhere else and moved here when we got married. I have friends close by, but no one that I can just call to grab a drink or go to a movie. Most of my local friends are pretty well established.

So, while the boys are fishing, I will be busy making D my best friend. Wish me luck and while you're at it, say a prayer that Jack doesn't eat their pup, Otter.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

dooce

Yesterday, I taped Oprah because I wanted to see Dooce. Freddie was doing his online application in the same room and overheard her intro that said she makes $40,000 a MONTH in advertising. A. MONTH.

Freddie rewound the tape to be sure that was correct. It was.

He looked at me and said, "Holy Shit, Babe. You better get to typing."

calgon, take me away!

Perhaps I should have titled this post, "the one where i share too much information"

I'm not supposed to get off work for another hour, but I had to bail early today. My snarky side was coming out with a vengeance. I was starting to take it out on my patients and that's not good for any of us, so I called in relief and hightailed it to my bathtub. I proceeded to marinate for an hour while I finished a book and was able to emerge a much better person. Until my husband came home and started talking.

Don't get me wrong. I actually enjoy talking to him, but I had just worked so hard to decompress and he was quickly putting me right back in the pressure cooker. Fortunately, I think he picked up my "shut up, shut up, shut up" vibes and high tailed it to Barnes and Noble-after he put away the laundry-thankyouverymuch.

I was exhausted this morning and barely made it out of bed. When I arrived at work I learned that I had a total care patient. This man could not do ANYTHING for himself. This would be fine if I were a n*rse tech, but I'm actually ment*l he*lth tech and cleaning up after a man who pees himself really just ain't my thang. After I smelled what I was in for and another woman came to me and started bitching away, I knew I was in for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I'm sure none of this was helped by the fact that I'm pretty afraid that on April 20th I'm going to lose my new perfect job where I have fun co-workers, learn a lot, see cool/crazy things every day, get great benefits, and have an AMAZING schedule (4 day weekends, anyone?). The downside of my job is that I took a HUGE pay cut to do it. It was totally worth it because of the other perks, but if I have to switch shifts and lose my other perks, it won't be and it's a bad time to switch it up.

It also probably wasn't helped by the fact that yesterday hubs' boss suggested that they might really want him to transfer to Baltimore in 12-18 months. Although I would enjoy singing, "Good Morning, Baltimore!" every day, I'm not so much excited about living on the set of Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire (although I did love He's Just Not That Into You). He got online and began job searching pronto, but that meant....

He was a little distracted when he oversalted the casserole I made and ruined it, then was too distracted to actually throw it away and left a huge mess for me this morning, and finally forgot that he'd offered to make me lunch and left me with nothing to eat.

To top it all off...and here is where I'm-disclosing too much information, maybe wishing I had more readers so this would actually be an opportunity to reach out and get some moral support, feeling kind of embarrassed for already feeling consumed by this, and admitting that we're trying to have a baby.

The great job search of 2008 resulted in a position that was great for that next step in our life, but also required us to wait a little longer than we thought to start trying. I thought we'd begin quite casually in the fall, but when we had to wait until February it was difficult to keep it casual. i couldn't help but look up my "fertile window" online and then bite the big one and pee on a few sticks to double check. We kicked it all off with a trip to the Magic Kingdom and then really focused our energy the next month. My husband's original certainty that he could just look at me right and get me pregnant turned out to be false, so this month we stepped up our game even more. And now, we wait. I can't help but think about it all of the time. How do you not? How do you sit and wait for your life to change completely? How do you not wish you'd tried when it wasn't quite time so that now you might see some results? How do you not misjudge every bit of post nasal drip nausea?

I feel guilty because I have several friends who've tried for so much longer, but I can't help fear that I'm going to be in their shoes.

So, today, when the man peed himself and then smiled at my while someone asked me to clean it up. I offered to cover another girl's responsibilities so that she could do it (she's trained for that stuff and I'm not) and ran to the phone to find someone else to work the last section of my shift. I truly believe that sometimes it really is more important to be in a hot bath with a book than it is to be at work helping other people.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

you're not fooling me

Have you seen the new Mott's applejuice commercial? Marcia Cross is in it along with two little kids with red hair. Maybe they chose red heads because of how nicely the hair compliments the other colors in the commercial (I was impressed with how they accentuated her hair), but I'm pretty sure they were trying to give the impression that they were her kids. Mott's, who do you think you're fooling? Do you think I've been living under a rock? Do you think I've never read People magazine? Do you think I didn't know that she has twin girls who are still little. Do you think I don't know their names? Because I do. (I may not know the names of the supreme court justices, but I do know about Eden and Savannah.)

Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are trying to pull the same tricks while selling vibrantly colored appliances.

Next thing you know Brad and Angelina will be trying to sell a mini van with just one little red headed kid.

What's that all about?

I guess they don't want to exploit their own kids, but hey, everyone else's are fair game.

kids a plenty

Have you seen the new gigantic family show on TLC? It's called Table for 12. At first, I wasn't planning to watch it, since I watch 2,000 other shows, but I cleared a few things of the DVR and now we're all set.

The children are a little older so you don't have quite as much mini mischief, but the parents are so real and so nice that I really like it.

Check it out.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

aww

I'm watching the series finale of ER. It's been a while since I've visited the ED in Chicago as I've relocated to the OR in Seattle on Thursday nights. I used to be a pretty faithful viewer though, so I had to come back for the farewell to say good-bye to all of my friends.

I don't know many of the new staff members in Chicago. I've seen an episode or two with Uncle Jesse, but I was just surprised to see that one of my favorite teens has really grown up. I didn't know that little Rory Gilmore had given up journalism for medicine. Way to go Rory! I guess Yale served you well.

Friday, March 27, 2009

teeny bopper

Is it weird that I'm pretty sure I'm going to see the Hannah Montana movie? In the theater?

pathetic

A guy I work with is going through a tough break-up. He wants to stay together, but she doesn't. So, they're trying to be friends. Of course, this isn't working because he still wants to be more.

Yesterday, I was trying to convince him that he needed some time away from her to get over her. I told him about one of my old boyfriends and our lingering break-up/make-up relationship and how we couldn't be friends until we had A LOT of time apart and how even now, it's weird. He wanted to know if we were friends now. We talked about how it's difficult to be friends with someone who knows so much about you...more than most of your other friends. Suddenly, I thought of some good friends of mine who aren't together anymore, but are still really close. They can even talk about one another's dates, etc, but the truth is there's really still chemistry between them.

I was trying to remember which friends I was thinking of and then I realized it was Sam and Naomi.

From Private Practice.

Pathetic.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

snotty

I have many thoughts and happenings on my mind that I want to write about, but unfortunately they're all covered in snot. It's starting to warm back up around here, but not much is in bloom yet. I can feel the tide turning though because my head is swimming and I'm sneezing like crazy. I haven't slept in two nights because I've been so congested. I've temporarily become a mouth breather, which is oh so attractive.

I signed my name and gave my license so I could get the real sudafed and I'm about to head for my bed. I will post more when my brain dries out. In the mean time, has anyone tried a netti pot?

Monday, March 16, 2009

stranded

My husband works 30 minutes from our house. We've been trading cars daily based on who has to drive farther. This has helped to save some miles on our leased car, but sometimes proves to be confusing. Today is one of those times.

Fred had the leased car on Friday when I drove to Charlotte and he has the other car today. He's only using one car, but unfortunately, has both sets of keys with him. So, I am stuck.

I'm not complaining too much. I was supposed to go to a seminar on retirement today, but it was hosted by AIG, so I'm not sure how helpful it would have been anyway. I have to drive to meet my students at 5, but he assures me that he'll get me the keys by then. It's rainy and gross outside and I'm still wearing my pajamas. I've also got a full DVR schedule and a new episode of Big Love to watch.

Actually, I may have ended up with the better end of the deal.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

off

Today has just been an off day.

I woke up around 5:30 and just laid in bed until my alarm went off at 6:10. After a while, I wondered what was taking so long. It was 6:15. I had set my alarm for 7:10. I have to be at work at 7:00.

Then, I couldn't find either of our car keys and realized I'd forgotten to clean all of the snow off the car and it had frozen.

I went to grab a cup of coffee before I ran out the door, but discovered that Freddie had accidentally set the alarm for 6:30...pm

Freddie was kind enough to bring me some coffee and then we had a fiasco and had to switch cars.

At lunch, my Smart Meals leaked some kind of grease all over my uniform.

I brought a pop corn and a movie for the patients and the butter splashed all over the other side of my uniform.

I escaped to go to the bathroom and discovered my underwear were inside out.

But, that's okay. Because I won a little award at work today, so it's all good.

Monday, March 02, 2009

snow day!

Today-6 inches of snow
Friday-70
North Carolina Weather-Crazy

When you work at a hospital there's no such thing as a snow day. For that matter, there's no such thing as Christmas either. However, Monday is one of my days off, so I was so excited about the snow last night. We've actually had a couple of good (for NC) snows this year, but I've had to be at work for all of them, and of course they had melted by the time I got home.






I begged Freddie to skip work today and stay home with us, but the best he could do was go in late. I am DYING to go sledding and praying the snow holds out until he gets back home. In the meantime, Jack and I played outside for a bit. I had to make a mad dash around the house trying to find some gloves to wear. I found 4 gloves, but they were all lefties. Little man loves socks and gloves and I expect he is to blame for the missing righties.

He was very interested in one blade of grass that poked through the snow and it was so cute to see him trying to figure it out.



I decided to borrow a little snow from our neighbor's house (no one lives there) to add to my snowman. Jack was not happy that I left him in the yard alone and cold. He cried and whined like crazy. He didn't love the snow. He was so cold and shiver (I suppose I would be too, if I'd gone out there NAKED!) He warmed up to it a bit and seemed to enjoy the cold snack. We gathered up a few pots and I'm going to try making some snow cream later.


If you look carefully, you can see he's actually trying to take my glove!
Little man finally convinced me to go inside. It looks like he's trying to get his tush warm.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

funny times four

You say we're in a recession? These guys don't care.

Thanks to Happy Hour Sue for sharing this!

it's tough being popular

We actually had plans this weekend.

On Friday night our cute friends Tim and Danielle invited us over for dinner. We enjoyed playing with their silly dog, Otter, and enjoyed a little wine, too. Our visit to and tour of their house served as a little kick in the tail because I left feeling horrible about the state of our house, err I mean rat's nest.

Yesterday, Freddie's friends from Maryland stopped through on their way down to Florida. (Man, I wish I'd stowed away in their car because it's freezing here!) Freddie woke up early and cleaned our house. (Well, he mostly cleaned and the rest of the stuff he stowed away in our back bedroom).

Today, we felt inspired to get off our butts and do something. We were going to paint, but it's freezing and dark today, so we skipped it. We did do some virtual designing and found a bathroom we love on rate my space. We tried to go out in this freezing rain and look for supplies, but only made it as far as Panera for soup before we had to head back home and put on our jammies.

I suppose we'll continue to feel horrible about our house, but at least we'll be warm and cozy in our rat's nest.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

an actual conversation

Freddie visited his buddy up the street and told me that he was taking his friend's wife to a movie. I jokingly suggested that they were having an affair and after assuring me that they weren't, he told me that he joked that he had better watch him around me and then we had the following conversation.

Freddie-I knew you wouldn't have to worry about him because he's a smoker, but do you think if he weren't a smoker and he looked like Brad Pitt you would cheat on me with him?

Me-I'm not really that into Brad Pitt. I mean, I can appreciate him, but I don't think I'd date him.

F-....well, or some other actor you're really into.

M-Johnny Depp! Except, I don't think I'd be so into Johnny Depp if we hadn't had such a long history together.

F-What about Matthew Mcconaughey?

M-From what I understand, he's not really into personal hygeine. I think he's kind of stinky in person.

F-Well, what about somebody you really like.

M-Oh, John Krasinski!!

F-Wow, you were excited about that! okay, yeah him.

M-Yeah, you might really have to worry about that.

F-What if we really did live next to John Krasinski and we were friends with him and we hung out all of the time....And, I still got really tired and had to go to bed early and you guys hung out a lot after I went to bed.

M-I think if our marriage was on the line you should try to stay up later.

F-But I don't even know that our marriage is on the line. What can I do?

M-You know, I think we're just going to have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

goodnight sweetheart

Freddie couldn't hang through the Oscars.

He just hugged me good night and said, "See you tomorrow?" With a question. a question.

"You said that like a question? Do we have plans i don't know about. I think I'll be here tomorrow. Unless I leave you. Or I die. If that's the case, get my casket at Costco."

"That's true. That's one thing you taught me while you were here."

I suppose my work here is done then.

and the oscar goes to

a few funny oscar conversations...

#1
Announcer lady "coming up next on the Academy Awards.."

Freddie-"Wait! I thought this was the Oscars!"

#2
Freddie-"I don't understand why all of these movies are up for awards."

Me-"I think they're going for a hopeful theme this year. That's what I heard on NPR"

Freddie-"What kind of hope?"

Me-"You know hope that a kid from the slums can still win Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."

Freddie-"Yes, we do have that."

#3
Freddie after seeing He's Just Not That Into You, " I hope that one wins!"

sunday shopping

I was hunting around online for a deal on a TV and found another great deal. The Costco website says that they have thousands more items than you'll find in your local store. Well, that's certainly true.

It turns out that you can actually buy a casket online. They have two categories...one for standard shipping and one for expedited shipping, just in case you didn't plan ahead.

This one is my personal favorite. It seems to be pretty classic, but if you want something a little more flashy, they also have them with messages embroidered inside the lid. One says, "Mother" and has a little flower another one says, "In God's Care." Another is called the Edward, but I can't see what it says inside. Surely it doesn't say Edward because I would think that would really reduce its marketability.



In all seriousness, maybe this isn't such a weird thing. I visited a funeral home with my "death and dying" class in seminary and that place was really scamming people out of some money. I went ahead and gave Freddie the thumb's up to get my casket at Costco, but he informed me that he'd prefer that he die first. He thinks I'm better at dealing with those kinds of things. Well, thanks, but no thanks.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

meowza

Apparently dogs had the animal clothing market cornered and cats decided not to take it anymore. It's a bold debut, but I think they could work it out. I just hope the rodents come up with something creative. It's going to be difficult to top this.






Kitty Wigs

I want to be a princess

I've always loved Disney. I know the songs, the stories, the characters, etc. I spent many an elementary and middle school afternoon watching The NEW Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel. Keri Russel, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and assorted other random friends who now appear in Lifetime movie and McDonald's commercials were my afternoon companions. I love it!...all of it! I first visited Walt Disney World when I was 16. My mom waited to take me until I was old enough to appreciate it. Some parents may have thought I would be too old, but I am a kid at heart and I ate it up.

Last weekend, my husband and I went to Disney World for Valentine's Day. Magical things happen for us at Disney. We were engaged there in 2006. (yeah, it's cheesy, but I'm a cheesy girl) And, since we're thinking about expanding our family, we thought "why not corrupt the Magic Kingdom?" Okay, so that's not exactly how it went, but that's a story for a different day.

Anyway, while we were there, I was able to get right in front of the new show at Cinderella's Castle. I love the Castle. Love. It. Ever since I saw Princess Diaries, I've had a secret hope that one day I will become a princess and buy Cinderella's Castle. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Why not go big? At the show, i got completely caught up in the whole thing. I was thrilled to be able to see so may of the princesses, and their princes, up close.

At Epcot, I got my picture taken with Belle, Mulan, and Pocahontas, (yes, I still do that!) and I spotted Snow White and Jasmine and I started to think about how long it had been since we got a new princess. I'm not sure who Jiselle is affiliated with, because I do love her and regularly since the Happy Little Working Song in her honor, but I did not spot her at Disney.

Sure enough, today I heard some exciting news. A new princess is on her way and she's an African American. It's about time.

Here's a shot of our new princess in doll form with her human actress counterpart. Princess Tiana is going to be featured in the story of the frog prince and is also going to mark Disney's return to 2D animation. Now we just have to hope that we get some good folks lined up for the music.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

eww

Here's a post that will make you vomit.

Or, it's at least a story about how I almost did while I was at work today.

I had to help one of our patients wash her clothes. I let her in the laundry room only to find that someone's stuff was already in the washing machine. I was in a hurry, so I just reached in and pulled it out. About three scoops later, it was all in the dryer. But, as I grabbed the last bit of clothing, I heard a scraping noise like there was a piece of change in the machine.

I reached around and found the culprit.

When I pulled my hand out of the washing machine I discovered not a coin, but a tooth. A TOOTH! A HUMAN TOOTH! In. My. Bare. Hand.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

sunday funday

We completed movie number 2 out of our quest to see all five oscar best picture nominees. I should say my oscar film quest because Freddie really has no interest, but is being a very good sport. Tonight, we saw Milk. It was good, but my favorite part was when Freddie really got into it and said "that was good" out loud. He was responding to some quick comeback Harvey Milk had in response to an ignorant jerk, but he was so lost in the movie that he forgot we were not at home and used his outside voice. I got so tickled, I could not stop laughing.

Afterward, we tried to hit up Bill's PIzza Pub. It's supposed to be a local favorite that I just learned about at work on Thursday. No joke, 4 people raved about it and then 3 more said, you've never been?! I hyped it up all weekend, but when we got there, we learned they are closed on Sundays. bummer.
I've been trying to figure out how to juggle my day tomorrow. I have to get my oil changed and my car inspected (it was due in OCTOBER and we're driving to Florida on Thursday.) I also have to order baby shower invitations and make and drop off a meal to a girl from the league who just had a baby. As Freddie and I struggled to figure out how to balance all of these things, I also have to go to the next town over at noon and am just going to stick around since I have another meeting at 5, when he tried to offer me some assistance. I think you're just going to have to skip the meal. What?! I quickly informed him that this was not an option. I committed. It's what you do. They're expecting me!


We headed to the HT to pick up the groceries for the pot pie and I realized it's triple coupon day. Usually the triple coupons only go through Saturdays. I'm sure this is HT's way of only catering to religious coupon cutters. I grabbed two out of the machines and was so excited because I remembered that I still had my house sitting newspaper in the car. I rushed home and clipped away. It was amazing! I ran around that store like I was on a game show. My best deal? Skintimate shave gel. I had a coupon for 50 cents off, which, of course, tripled to $1.50. You know what? They had the stuff on sale for 1.49, so I got it for FREE and got a penny toward something else AND I got the last one...SCORE!

if i only had a brain

My blog is ugly. Everyone else has very cute things on their blog and I have an ugly green blogger template. I don't know how to fix it though. Strike that, i don't know how to fix it without spending money because I'm not really willing to spend any, or rather I'm not willing to spend what it takes. If you want to snazz it up for 20 bucks, I'm your girl, though.

I'm starting to figure out a few bits and pieces of html, but not enough to make this thing attractive. Any hints?

update: Thanks to aquapoppy designs, I have a new blog background! Now, I just need a header.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

your mission, should you choose to accept it

Every year when Oscar time comes around, I stay up late. I endure the hours of speeches, dresses, awards for sound, and costumes, and production, and obscure foreign film to see the winners in the Best Actor, Actress, and Film category only to find that the two films I have actually seen will lose. This year, that's not happening.





I'm on a mission. I'm going to see every film on the Best Picture list and I'm working pretty hard to see the films that have a Best Actor or Actress nominee too. Tonight we saw Slum Dog Millionaire. We really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if our friends did, but oh well. I gave them the list of the 5 nominees and that's what they chose. Tomorrow, we're going to see Milk.

I was trying to see three movies this weekend, but Freddie, who isn't as committed to the cause as I am, was only up for 2. However, last night he was trying to convince his friends to come along, so he volunteered to see a movie with me on Sunday to make last night's selection more appealing to the masses. We saw He's Just Not That Into You and his friends didn't actually come. The movie was SO CUTE! I think it was Freddie's first time seeing a major chick flick on opening night. In one particular Judy Blume moment, ALL of the girls in the audience simultaneously said, Awwww, and he was blown away. It was great.