busy little beaver

3 posts counts as busy, right? Especially when you haven't really posted in forever.

I suppose a meme (what does that mean anyway?) isn't really a post, but I was tagged (albeit a long time ago) and that means somebody likes me (yes, I would jump off the bridge). Hooray!

here goes.

Name one person who made you laugh last night? Freddie impersonating the singer at Church doing a wonderful baritone rendition of jesus loves me...good stuff.


2. What were you doing at 0800? sleeping :)



3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? trying to salvage the christmas cards



4. What happened to you in 2006? got engaged, got my first new car, first time being a maid of honor (again, someone likes me...good stuff)


5. What was the last thing you said out loud? freddie, someone's breaking in our house (they weren't)

6. How many beverages did you have today? one, sweet tea (well, two glasses, but just one beverage)


7. What color is your hairbrush? I don't use a hairbrush...curly hair + brush=not good. I use a green comb when it's wet then I LEAVE IT ALONE.


8. What was the last thing you paid for? Groceries


9. Where were you last night? at the christmas party that didn't really happen, then make up for it cocktails at Proximity hotel


10. What color is your front door? the door is actually cream, but the disgusting slatted thing in front of it that is on the do do list is brown.


11. Where do you keep your change? in my dresser drawer


12. What’s the weather like today? chilly and super windy



13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? i like cappuccino oreo(it's been so long that I can't remember if that's really the name, but that's the taste, so the name should really be Awesome.) at bev's in richmond


14. What excites you? puppies, vacations, babies, surprises, mashed potatoes, tulips, mail, blog comments, free time



15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, would you like to pay for it?

16. Are you over the age of 25? si


17. Do you talk a lot? pretty much



18. Do you watch the O.C.? not anymore because it was cancelled, but I did watch it.



19. Do you know anyone named Steven? yes, but the ones I know right now are actually named stephen


20. Do you make up your own words? yup


21. Are you a jealous person? i can be a little green


22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Amanda


23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kellie


24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? I'm going to guess my mom because I don't feel like looking for the phone.


25. What does the last text message you received say? okay



26. Do you chew on your straw? I used to all the time, not so much anymore. (me too, joy)



27. Do you have curly hair? when it's behaving other times I'd be more inclined to call it electrocuted than curly



28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? the den to watch tv


29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? SC



30. What was the last thing you ate? crab cake benedict


31. Will you get married in the future? probably not since I already got married in the past



32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Enchanted!

33. Is there anyone you like right now? not today



34. When was the last time you did the dishes? thank god for the dishwasher


35. Are you currently depressed? right now, I'm good.


36. Did you cry today? No.


37. Why did you answer and post this? See the beginning of this post.

dirty santa

Perhaps because I'm a little embarassed about goign to someone's house last night for a party that had already ocurred or because I have no impulse control, for your holiday entertainment, I thought I would share a fun story at our friend's expense. Our friend Ashley has notoriously bad taste in men. (though Freddie assures me that her latest boyfriend is awesome. Good for you Ash!) Last year she was dating someone sketchtastic and invited him to a Christmas gathering with a dirty Santa gift exchange. Ash was a little confused about the concept and thought she was supposed to bring something naughty, so she picked up a pair of furry handcuffs and went on her way. When she arrived and the game began she was set straight about the true spirit of Dirty Santa (you may also call it white elephant or Yankee Christmas). So, Ash was a little embarrassed about her gift choice in the presence of her friends and also her friend's parents and their friends who were invited to the party too. Her handcuffs weren't really all that bad though, they were kind of silly and everyone could appreciate the humor in the situation, until sketchtastic whipped out his choice for "dirty" Santa, ANAL BEADS. Merry Christmas, Grandma.

holly jolly christmas

I'm crazy.

We went to a Christmas party last weekend. It was pretty fun. I actually thought we would have to do a bit of juggling because our neighborhood party was the same day. I was wrong. I thought it was last Saturday, but it was actually this weekend.

So, tonight we got all dolled up and stopped by one of our neighbor's houses across the street who was having an open house before the party. We were on the tail end of the open house. We arrived about nine and it went from 6-10, but we thought we'd just stop in for a quick second before heading to the neighborhood party where the open bar would be. We took a little longer getting ready that I thought because I tried to make a little dessert to take a long (some oreo drop cookies), but Freddie convinced me to leave them until I could find some white chocolate to dip them in since they looked like little baby turds.

So, we rolled up the across the street neighbors' house around 9:00. They've actually been the nicest too them, but they're a little...different...they homeschool their kids and served as missionaries for a few years...very nice though. Freddie spotted Ellen, wearing a slightly casual christmas sweatshirt, looking oddly at him before she let us in, so he said, sorry we're so late. Did we miss visiting hours? Ellen smiled and said, oh, the party was last night! Boy, were we embarassed! But, they kindly invited us in and we chatted for a bit. Sorry, we told her. Freddie thought he remembered her saying they were sorry their party was the same night as the neighborhood party, so that's why we thought it was tonight. Ellen kindly got out her newsletter and pointed out to us that the neighborhood party was also last night and then we all had a good laugh at our expense.

So, we fools decided to head out and have a little fun while we looked all spiffy. We toured the town scoping out lights and stopped at a cool new hotel for drinks. I had a ymmy fruity martini and rounded out the night with a chocolate martini and we met a nice couple and chatted for an hour. So, the neighbors think we're fools, but we made it work. You win some you lose some.

Did I mention we had already paid for our tickets to the neighborhood party?

bah humbug!

I love Christmas. I love the lights, I love the music, I love the decorations, I love the gifts, I love the whole thing. But, this year Christmas is proving to be a bit difficult. (Should I be surprised? That seems to be the theme of our first year of marriage.)

We finally got our tree up last week. We tried 3 times before we succeeded. First, they didn't have any lights. Then, no stands. Then, no actual trees. We finally settled on one, but it's actually too skinny. Bummer. We had an ornament shower last Christmas and got tons of cute ornaments that I saved until this year when we did our tree together, but they won't fit! I like my tree stuffed, but there really isn't any room. The tree is in the corner, so I'm not decorating it all of the way around. It's the first time I've seen a lot of them on a tree, so I don't want to hide any. Solution? Two trees. Yes, friends, we'll be putting up two trees this year. The other is sitting on our porch waiting for hubly to come home from Baltimore. Our main tree has white lights and much to Freddie's delight, the second tree will feature colored lights. everyone's happy.

Second problem, (well, not really number two, but I'm not going to explain the whole dilemma of deciding where to celebrate, so I'll just move on) Christmas Cards. I am way behind on this project. I actually bought a few last year, but now I want something better. I wanted to use a photo card with our wedding photo, but I don't like any of them. Actually, I like plenty from the photographer, but she wants to charge me $50 just for one image and that seems really high because I still have to print a million of them (and because the engagement pic was only $25). I won't go into more details, but she's driving me a little nuts. (I liked her a lot before the wedding, now I'm having second thoughts...good timing, right?)

I also purchased Christmas stamps early because last year I couldn't get my hands on any of the snowflakes, and had to settle for the ornaments that looked like Santa and Frosty in a casket. Anyway, am I the only one who CAN'T STAND the new Christmas stamps?







Holiday knits? Seriously, USPS, this is the best you could do? They're awful...especially the bear, I can't stand the bear! I'm thinking I'm going to have to put these in my Old Lady Christmas Box (that's not really want it's called, I think maybe Santa for Seniors, and my poor old lady wanted food, stationery and stamps). I may have to go religious this year, or maybe I'll really mix it up and get the Kwanzaa stamp.

somebody's watchin' me

Hey, Kimba, if you're still reading, can I join the party?

granny

I babysat tonight. Yes, today is Friday. I'm over 16 years old and I spent the evening babysitting. As I was driving home at 10:45, I decided to call some friends. Problem. I realized I don't have any friends I can call at 10:45pm on Friday and be certain they are awake. Then, I realized I'm old.

I finally did think of someone. My sister lives in Oregon, so she's a safe bet considering the time change and all, but she was out. She was probably doing all of the cool things college girls who are turning 21 on Monday will do (Happy Birthday, Rachael!). So, I listened to my Enchanted soundtrack instead of chatting. And, I sang along. Correction, I repeated the Happy Little Working Song over and over and over again until I could perform it perfectly, then I worked on my princess face...yes, while I was driving. I am quite the multitasker.

I guess I'm not that old because it's now 12:48 and I'm still awake, but I'm playing on the internet. So, I'm just a little less old and a lot more lame. Oh well. I'm okay with it.

ewww

You know what I can't stand? Hot fruit. I really don't like it. I don't much care for many sweet things when they're hot. I prefer cakes and pies to be cool. Warm Krispy Kremes, no thank you. I just feel like the hot and the sweet are more than I can handle.

This can be a problem sometimes. I don't like cobbler until it's cold. I'm not interested in hot apple pie and this time of year, I'm bummed out about cider. It always sounds like a good idea. Oooh, it's Christmas, I should have some apple cider, but then the hot and the sweet fruit flavor hit me all at once and it's gross sensory overload. The other day I went to a craft fair and they had free wassail. I was all about it. I've always wanted to come a-wassailing among the leaves of green, but then I read that it's some kind of hot berry drink and I had to pass. I know I'm missing out on the seasonal splendor but what can you do? I'm learning to embrace my inner weirdo and just say no on the hot fruit.

it's beginning to look a lot like lazy

I am feeling very inspired these days. I am so excited to put our tree up that I can't stand it. I have grand ideas about how to decorate our new house. I'm plannign to make candy for all of the neighbors. I want to have all of my Christmas presents bought and shipped by the 15th. But, did I go out and purchase a tree stand so that we could put our tree up tomorrow when Freddie gets home? Have I gone to the attic to get the decorations down and inventory them? Have I even begun to clean out the front room so that we have a place to put the tree and decorations? Do I have a clue how to make candy or have I begun to figure that out? Have I purchased even a small portion of my Christmas gifts? The answers, no, no, no, no, etc. Instead, I have been sitting on my butt.

I really enjoy reading blogs. But, I'd been out of the loop for a while. So out of the loop that I really couldn't even motivate to catch up even though I wanted to. I'm good about giving myself certain expectations that are pretty much ridiculous. I only began to realize this when I was telling a friend about all of the magazines I had to catch up on---WHILE I WAS IN GRAD SCHOOl! I actually let the pile of 2nd hand magazines my mom gave me stress me out. So, I am allowing myself to no read every single post I missed and just enjoy reading what I can.

Of course, that is also allowing me to breed a whole new form of lazy. I really should go check on my dog. I can hear him rummaging through all sorts of things in the other room, and considering the fact that I removed a large nail from his mouth this morning, it's really not wise to leave him unattended. But, he's still excited enough about me that I can call him every 7 minutes or so and distract him from his mayhem. You may call it lazy. I call it efficient parenting.

full discosure

I've always wanted to be a princess. I'm not too particular about what kind of princess I want to be any kind of princess will do. I think this has always been true, but I only came to realize it after seeing The Princess Diaries. After watching the movie, as my husband says, I felt all Disney inside, but there was something much larger stirring in me. I felt a need to be a princess. I began to explore possibilities to make this dream come true. Perhaps I could enter some kind of pageant, of course, I have no real talent, or beauty for that matter, to speak of, but maybe being crowned miss something would settle my soul. I also began to pay a lot more attention when Oprah would feature the single princes of the world, but I'm not exactly sure that I was looking for the responsibility of being a real princess. I think what I really wanted was that sense that there was something much greater about me than the world, or even I, could see. I'm still trying to find that little piece of princess within myself, but as I begin to come more into my own, not just by growing up, but by learning more about myself and growing just a bit more comfortable in my own skin, the need to be a real princess becomes less pressing....until I see a movie like this...







I had anxiously awaiting the arrival of Enchanted in the movie theater. It looked so cute in the trailers that I feared it would be another Hollywood let down, but let me down it did not. If you have a little girl, you must take her, if you don't have a little girl, get over yourself and go. You'll be glad you did. Even my husband taps his hands on the steering wheel when we listen to the soundtrack. I may go again this weekend. :)

What's been keeping me so busy

I'm sure I've alienated all of the people who used to read this blog, but I'll keep trying.

If it's any help, I have been really busy. Here's the main thing that's been occupying my time...





Meet Jack. He's our 5 month old mutt. Freddie brought him home one day and we've been buds ever since. It's pretty amazing how one small little guy can really make you feel like a family. Suddenly, we really have a common goal. I love it. Of course, I was begging for a dog and hoping that we could pick one up on the way home from the honeymoon, but Freddie was more resistant. After the leg and all, he wasn't really looking to find anymore responsibility.

Jack is a firecracker. He's currently running around with a piece of tupperware, but he's been so much fun.

We've also been to two weddings and to Wilmington to see our new little niece, who is actually our first cousin once removed, but I like for her to call me Aunt Amanda and it's much less confusing that way.

I'll post some more snaps as soon as I get them on the computer. You're gonna love this girl's hair!

i've missed you like a child misses their blanket

For the last several years, I've been plagued by dreams where one day I suddenly realize I haven't been to math class in a very long time. Panic sets in. For me the panic is two fold, How will I possibly pass when I haven't EVER been to class? I'm sure I had to have missed an assignment or two or fifty. The other stress is walking into the class the first time when everyone realizes I haven't ever been there. In the dreams, I'm always trying to figure out a way to slip back in without anyone noticing. I don't like to be noticed and especially not when it involves something negative. (By the way, try blending in when your brand new husband has been walking around on a walker/crutches/a cane for the last 3 months.)

Not writing in my blog has been a little bit like that dream. Every day I've thought about how long it's been since I've written, there's been a little bit of anxiety. There are a variety of reasons why I haven't written. First, our computer was in an awful spot and it was a horrible place to be for more than 45 seconds. Then, I moved the whole thing and now I have to share it with someone else. I've also recently started a new job that is a little overwhelming at the moment. And then there's the depression, which isn't anything new, but just seems to have been raring it's ugly head recently. It's not like I haven't had anything to write about-the new Fall season just started, didn't it? I even have a little list of things I wanted to say (NERD ALERT!). I just haven't been able to do it. The difference between this and the dream is that this time I'm actually a little anxious that no one will know that I've returned. I've come to realize that this silly little blog is one place where I actually like the attention. It's a cool spot to be me, and whatever one of my multiple personalities seems to be tagging along, and share a little bit of myself without feeling like I'm trying out for the 9th grade cheer leading squad all vulnerable and desperate for approval.

So, I hope you're still hanging around somewhere because I really am going to try to come back this time.

really

For the first time in my life I have high speed internet in my house and yet I still haven't been posting. Why? Because our computer is on a little table intended to be an end table faced by a chair from our card table which is accompanied by a footrest from our patio furniture. This lovely seating arrangement was intended to help my poor broken husband be more comfortable at the computer. It's not working for either of us though, so I'm going to have to do some rearranging. And, by the end of this week, I will post three new things. seriously.

and they say women play games

But have you seen Newport Beach? Because Chase is so skeezy!

absent

I have not been a good blogger lately. Mostly because blogger wouldn't work and because my husband is broken and because my contract ended with my job and I don't have a replacement just yet, so I haven't been feeling very blogtastic lately. But, we do have cable now and road runner, so I should be in elated just because of that.

I just realized that now that I don't work at the hospital anymore, I don't have a wealth of crazy hospital things to tell you anymore. That was the original purpose of my blog, but then I got off task and here you go. So, if you indulge me, from time to time as I reminisce in the midst of my unemployment, I will share some hospital memories.

Here is the first thing that really befuddled me. Doctors walking around the hospital with their paper surgery caps on. Um, I'm sorry Dr. Genius, but isn't that thing supposed to sterile? AND, wasn't it just in the operating room with all of the surgical tools and germs and blood maybe you don't want to wear that into the cafeteria and then lean over the salad bar. And while you're in the process of stripping down post slice, maybe you could consider taking off that paper mask you've got hanging around your neck. They've got more...I saw them and they're cheap. I'm pretty sure the 18,000 you just charged that guy to fix his leg (that's how much it costs, trust me, I know this.) will cover a new mask. You might also think about taking those paper booties off your feet too, 'cause buddy, they're not shoes they're supposed to cover your shoes to keep them clean and when you wear them around the hospital and then to the PARKING DECK they probably got a little dirty.

sad, but true

We moved into our new house in June. With everything that's been going on, and the uncertainty of it all, we haven't had a chance to figure out our budget yet, so we haven't added any unnecessary expenses. My husband seems to think that cable is unnecessary, although I swear that is an overstatement, so our television capabilities have been relatively limited. The bunny ears only get about 6 channels and they're all fuzzy. To tell you the truth, we've been so busy, that I haven't really cared much.

Since Fred got in his little accident and broke his leg, he's been a little more aware of lack of fishing programming available to him as well as his lack of connection to the outside world, so I finally called and got us an appointment to get cable and road runner on Tuesday...AND...because I am a grown up now and get to make all of my own decisions I also got DVR!

I think Fred thinks that his injury and confinement to the couch is what motivated me, but the truth it, the season of The Hills started on the 13th and I'M MISSING OUT ON EVERYTHING!

the romance is not dead yet

Another fun text message today.


We need to buy our fire extinguishers.
Have a great day!


We have not discussed this since the day we registered for our wedding gifts, yes, we did register for a fire extinguisher, safety first, we did not get one though. I guess being trapped on the couch has given him lots of time to think about his undying love for me, and his fear of burning to death.

By the way, I picked up the stool softener. Things are moving along nicely.

lovey dovey

my new husband sent me the sweetest text message yesterday.



I need stool softener so bad.
I am ripping a tear down there.
Love you.

74+27=101

So, this is my 102nd post. I had thought about having a little contest when I wrote my 100th post, but I missed it, and I'm broke, and my husband is broken, so oh well. Perhaps another day. It was really just going to be for the purpose of shameless self promotion anyway.

HOORAY FOR ME...WRITING A BLOG!

Every Good Boy Does Fine

I have a good memory. Seriously. I can remember a lot of things. Granted, they're mostly totally useless for everyday life, but they're great for trivia challenges. I know just about every 80's sitcom theme song and almost every commercial jingle I've ever heard. (call 588-2300 empire..when the world never seems to be livin' up to your dreams...I'm chiquita banana and I'm here to say, bananas have to ripen' in a certain way and when they're flecked with brown and have a golden hue, bananas taste the best and are the best for you-I could go on forever...) Anywho, I know a lot of random things.

In college, when I was working on remembering specific characteristics of bugs for a zoology test, I made up elaborate songs and tunes to describe them-I won't write the lyrics here because the tunes are of my own creation and you really need to hear them for yourself. On long car rides, Freddie and I enjoy rewriting songs to fit our ocassion. While these tunes only stick with him in the moment, they pop back into my life at random all of the time. That's when my memory is most special, when I'm walking down the hall and suddenly think of something like pemdas, which is what happened to me yesterday. (But it doesn't mean anything! So, we put in words, one word for every note! (anyone recognize the reference?)

I thought for a minute and suddenly remembered please excuse my dear aunt sally. huh? where did that come from? Is it all coming back to you now? Order of operations. 7th grade pre-algebra. Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction! Hooray! Now, if I could just remember where I'd put my keys, I'd be set.

welcome to my life

I've been absent for a bit as my newlywed life has been keeping me quite busy. I did finally get my kitchen aid mixer, and honey let me tel you, it's beeyooteeful. I haven't mixed anything though because once again, my husband is up to his shenanigans.

While I was out shopping for his birthday present a little over a week ago, I got a call from Guilford County EMS telling me that he'd broken his leg while wake boarding and that they were taking him to the hospital. 12 hours, no sleep, and a rod in the femur later, we made it back to our room and my boy began to mend-translate whine. Seriously though, he's been quite a sport about everything, unlike his blushing bride. I have been worrying because worrying is what I do best. Just call me eeyore. I've also been angry, which is actually good because I don't do anger so well...I'm much better at eating and avoiding. While I've never asked Freddie not to wakeboard and it's actually something we used to do together quite a bit, I would be a little less pissed if he'd hurt himself falling down the stairs or better yet, at work!

A life full of donut butt pillows, walkers, canes, crutches, ice packs, helplessness, and emptying urinals were not mentioned in my membership on theknot.com and I'm less than thrilled about beginning my marriage this way. Before any of this happened, I found out that a job that I was pretty well assured was mine, was suddenly not so certain, (the verdict is still out on that one-I should find out a week before this position ends, hopefully Friday or Monday) and I was already feeling anxious about work, insurance, and money, and pretty much like a loser, so I wasn't in the best shape going in. We've had lots of help-tons of great meals and lots of great "nurses", but it is so overwhelming. As much as the help is appreciated and necessary, it also means that there is someone in my house 24/7, I'm an introvert at heart, so it's difficult enough, but I cannot stand that so many people are seeing our new place when we haven't done ANYTHING to get it ready for actual human living.

To top it all off, on Friday, we found out that Freddie's mom has breast cancer and will have to have a mastectomy asap. When it rains it pours.

So, that is my bummer post. I have a few more lighthearted things to share, but really didn't feel like I could go there without going here. And, I didn't feel quite like I should give you all the full extent of my emotions about all of this when I hadn't actually shared them with my husband. That is done now, and we're pretty good, I'm free to express my annoyance about having to dump his urine, and so I'll spare you the rest, but if you're the prayin' kind, feel free to give a shout out for us. I'm about to lose my religion.