Procrastination? Yes please.

You all know how much I loooove procrastinating.  I don't blog nearly as much as I should because despite sitting in front of a perfectly good computer all day, I always tell myself "I will blog after coffee...after lunch...this afternoon....when I get home...never".  I am a victim.  Procrastination wins every time.  My most favorite thing to do while procrastinating is look at recipes and fantasize about all of the delicious things I want to cook.  Mmmm food porn.  Today I got a wonderful recipe email from my roomie (shout out to Tracy!) who as everyone who has been to my house knows...she hates cooking.  She is a big fan of la cocina de Hattie though, so I am not complaining.  She sent me this email today, and while reading it I literally laughed out loud. **please remember how we do not use lol here, or anywhere, ever, for any reason.  Seriously.  So I laughed so much (and yes out loud) that I decided to post it here to share all of the giggles. Click on the link, you will not be disappointed I promise.  Make sure you read all of the comments.  Hilarious on wheels.

Enjoy. 

Happy Friday.


http://redd.it/10kvz7

Week One!

It has begun.  I can not believe a year ago I sat at this computer and pledged to start my journey to nowhere, knowing that I wanted to be anywhere but where I was at that moment.  How fast a year goes.  Many things have changed for me in this past year, I have lost 15 pounds, I have learned to cook so many new things (thank you to the splendid creation that is Pinterest), I have loved every minute of my 30th year (ladies I am telling you....30...it only gets better from here), and I have started grad school.  If you would have told me 2 years ago...or even a year and a half ago that I would willingly be going back to school, and paying as much as I am to go back to school, I would have said you were bat-shit crazy.  While I enjoy learning I was never the best student, I have a raging case of procrastination (as I have mentioned multiple times), and the cost alone is enough to make a grown man cry.  I needed a change though, and short of me re-inventing the wheel, winning the lotto, or marrying my own Mr. Christian Grey, school was the only way this little Missy was going to change the path she was headed on.  So back to school I went.  Wow.  It's exciting, nerve wracking, scary, and thrilling all at the exact...same...time.  My first class, I felt like I was learning a new language, or learning how to walk again after a tragic accident.  Everything was familiar, taking notes, going through a syllabus, sharing ideas about the readings, but I felt like I was having to relearn how to process all of that.  Taking my first page of notes I found myself to have this creepy kind of mischievous grin on my face as those four emotions (and probably a few I forgot to mention) came at me at once.  This is going to be my life for the next year and a half.  Back to studying, reading assigned texts, papers, group projects, office hours with the professor, etc.  I am terrified of failing, eager to learn, and ready for this next step.


Here.  We.  Go.

It's the most wonderful time of the year....almost

Ok not even almost.  Yes we are still in August and every time I go outside the amount of sweat and pours from every crevice of my body makes me shudder to think about.  Eew to the max.  However it is never to early in my opinion to start thinking about the fall and all of the great fall-y-ness that comes with it.  Today I found myself looking at my calendar for the date of my annual Ugly Sweater Party.  I know it's not until December, but with how rocket-fast this summer has gone I strongly believe I need to start planning now.  Plus thinking about Christmas makes me all giddy, and smiley, and clappy and who doesn't want to see me happy?!  Last year I wore a traditional ugly sweater, found on the East Coast by MP, and it was hideous.  We're talking shoulder pad-hell-hideous, which in term made it glorious.  This year because Santa Barbara is a total suck-town at having a supply of ugly sweaters (or they think its cool to charge $50 dollars for grandmas Sears knitted nightmare) I am going to make my own.  I made my own the first year and it turned out pretty fancy if I do say so myself.  All sequins-y and gaudy and gloriously gross.  Oh the ugliness of the Christmas Season.  How I love thee.  I apologize if you find this post traumatic because you are still trying to hold on to the summer with an iron clad grip of death, but if you have known me for 10 seconds you probably feel this post is way over due.  I should have started thinking about this months ago.  Truth be told I did...but I was too embarrassed to share, and I feared the angry mob that would form as I dared to shorten the idea of heat, BBQs, and boob sweat.  Gross gross boob sweat.

Here's to thinking about Christmas my friends!!

Cheers!

God bless the USA.

For all of you that have known me for at least 15 seconds know I love wine and I love drinking it in mass quantities.  No sippin' and spittin' here folks.  So one of the last times I got hammer-towned with some of my bestest besties we were on our way down to Ventura to try on our bridesmaid dresses for my wine-soul-mate's wedding.  (p-to the-s friends, in 2 months I went from a hefty size 12 **cringe** to a size 8.  What is up bitches!?)  Anyway, as the occasion called for, we got swishy-swashy drunk and on the way home I was inspired to dance.  Shocking.  I danced and danced and sang horribly off key.  One of the songs I performed was an amazing sing-a-long to "Call me maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson, the official song of the summer.  In honor of that amazing memory and because I love doing silly things when I am soaked in wine I am posting this video of some amazing Marines doing a sing-along to the same wonderful song.  I love this video, I love the Marines, and I love wine, God bless the U-S-of A. 

Kitty kisses and hugs :)

Back to school

Well I did it.  I got into grad school. 

I am still in a bit of shock, and even as I write this I can feel a tingly feeling in my tummy along with a raging heat flooding my face.  You know when you set out to do something and you are all gung-ho about it but secretly in your deepest darkest thoughts you not only don't think you can do it...you kind of hope you can't?  That is how I felt about grad school.  I fought my inner most demon of procrastination...boy oh boy am I a procrastinator...and I applied and I actually got in.  Wow.  So now as the summer races by like a bullet train I realize that come fall time I will be a student once again.  I will say farewell to my 5:01pm glasses of wine, my ever full schedule of fun parties and dinners and girls nights, and I will say hello to studying, term papers, and no sleep.  Joy.  I know there is a huge pot of gold at the end of this rainbow of terror and I have to keep focused on that.  I am sure my hell-on-wheels prison of a job will keep me constantly reminded that I need to get the eff out of here.  No matter what the cost, bags under my eyes, no social life, and less boozy time it will all be worth it.  Right?  Riiight?  Bueller?  Oh dear.

getting a little closer....

After a few weeks of mind-numbing suspense I finally got an email today for an interview for grad school!!  Wahoo!  Yeeehhhaawww!!  Yippie kai yai yayyyyy!!  I am scared, excited, and nervous.  I will keep y'all posted on how it goes.  **for some reason I have turned country in this post**  My apologies.

...and now we wait...

Last 5pm Friday was the deadline for my grad school application, so naturally I waited until the day before to give the requirements a looky pooh to see what I needed to do.  There were your standard letters of recommendation, transcripts, resume, etc.  The biggest beast of them all was the admission essay (i.e. tell us why you think you are worthy to come to our amazing school).  Let me remind all of you that it has been many moons since I have sat down to write anything longer then these blog posts, let alone something that will be critiqued and analyzed and dare I say it....judged.  Gulp.  Just the act of opening Word to create this monster of an essay got my pulse raising.  I had to fill 5 pages with glowing, flowing, witty, and informative answers that gave the reader an insight into "who I am".  Excuse me whilst I barf.  I had to skate the fine line between selling myself and sounding like a pretentious bitch.  Let me tell you, that line is thin my friends, very thin.  So essay is typed (it is relatively smart and "grad-school-y") I rushed my application packed to the main office.  Nothing like sliding it under the door at 4:30pm.  Way to keep them on their toes eh!!?  So now with my application in their hot little hands we sit and we wait.  And we wait.  Nothing like waiting to make you sweat.  Eeeeew sweat.

too much fun=no writing

Ok so it has been forever and a day since I have written, and I deeply apologize but I have been having way too much fun.  My weeks have been packed with lots of super duper things and for some reason that translates into me not writing.  I don't know why, but I seem to be more inspired when I am mad or frustrated.  Hmmmmmm.  The biggest thing happening this week is me applying for grad school.  Yipes to the max people.  Once I apply (deadline is June 8th and we all know how this crazy cat lady loves to procrastinate) I will feel a lot better about consuming as much booze as I have been consuming recently.  Mmmmmm booze.  So for the meantime, because I have no idea what to write about and I am trying to save all of my wits for having to write my "I am so amazing and here is why:______ so please accept me into your school" essay I shall post my new song I am obsessed with.  Enjoy. 

Kitty kisses and loves :)

this is getting out of hand...

I have serious writers block this morning...I think I need coffee.  It's cold and foggy and cuddling up with a warm cup of joe sounds delicious.  Cuddling up with a handsome man named Joe sounds delicious too...but alas. 

Here is another example of an attempt at communication with a fellow from Match.  Grab your coffee, read, and enjoy my misery.




So I have live up here 7 years

So do you have fun weekend plans ?

What you think if we talke or tex ?

Dan , your cute two !!


I think I am going to move to the moon.  They have coffee there right?

...for example...

Text from one of my Match suitors last night:

"Why u so busy lol  were about to eat ...bbq pulled tri tip sammiches"

                                                                                                               (no response from me)

"It was yummy!"

                                                                                                                 "Nice."

"U should cook dinner for me :P"




                                                                                                             (no response from me)



I rest my case.

Waging a war on LOL

Mistakes in grammar and spelling have always been a pet peeve of mine. I am not the smartest person in the world, I make mistakes all day long, but some things like simple spelling and grammar are inexcusable when you reach a certain age. While there are about a billion examples of this I have decided to wage a war on the term "lol". I.effing.hate.lol. I hate it whenever it is used. Back in my golden days of college when the Internet felt like it was just being invented and I spent every waking minute on instant messenger the shorthand terms: lol and lmao were born. At the time it was needed, as your fingers were flying across your keyboard writing an entire paragraph (single space, times new roman, for all of you college-going folk) in a matter of seconds. Now it has morphed from a simple, "I am laughing out loud at what you just said...er typed" to an "I have nothing else to say" or, "I am extremely awkward and think everything I say is funny or should be taken as a joke but only if it offends you". For the love of all that is holy and sacred in this world STOP USING LOL AT THE END OF EVERY SENTENCE!!! You might say "Wow easy with the anger, I never use lol or if I do I am literally laughing out loud and therefore (by my standards) actually type out "holy shit I am literally laughing out loud". I am not yelling at you my dearest of dears, I am using this blessed soap box to vent my anger and frustration at the goons I have interacted with in my recent return to online dating. I know you all were wondering when I was going to bring that up again. I returned a few weeks ago...I have been silent since...no new MP posts or anything....soooooo? I have not posted anything because I have hidden myself away in my darkest of closets with a pillow over my face to muffle my horrified screams. WHO THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS? Mowgli, the little boy who was raised by wolves (yes talking wolves and yes it was Disney, but just go with me on this one) had better grammar, spelling, and communication skills than most of the apes I have encountered on Match. Recently I was responding to an email and a little "advice" bubble popped up that suggested: when sending an email be sure to check your spelling and use correct grammar; this can make or break a connection with someone. Bless the elves at Match for putting that bubble there, but I feel they are not getting the message across LOUD.ENOUGH. I think it should be a huge banner, in size 40 font, across every screen you click on--email or not. Last night I got an email that had so many misspellings ("Ur'll" instead of "you'll", or be a big boy and just type it out: "you will"....ooooh now isn't that sexy?!) I could hardly read it, and 4...yes 4...lol's. There was nothing remotely funny about the email, I mean other then the fact that this 35 year-old man was trying to be smooth and was coming across about as smooth as sandpaper on a sunburn. Not one part of the email warranted a lol. **Please note my previous statement that we should stop using lol entirely, but being that this is a new war I am waging I understand if it takes some time to sink in** However when you are peppering your random, weird, void-of-puncutation sentence with lol's because you are horrible at communicating like an adult then you my friend are failing...miserably. I call to you my literate army of dedicated followers to aid me in this attack on ridiculous conversational fuck-ups and stop using lol. Tell your friends, tell your family, yell it to random strangers on the street as they hold their children and run. Stop using lol. You are not really laughing; you are making yourself look like you can't think of anything else to say. The conversation is over. Move on to a new topic...like finding me a new boyfriend...or boy toy. Get me out of this Match.com nightmare!


P.S.

Writing this made me frustrated, and being single makes me even more frustrated so I thought I would put a picture up (that I did not take--thank you Google images) of Christian Bale because he is an absolute dream boat.  Mmmmmmmmm.  Ok now I am happy again.

Kisses.

Where have all the manners gone?

There are some simple basic rules to live by as an adult, in fact I would not even call them rules, I would call them common sense standards.  It amazes me on a daily basis how many people lack these standards and manage still to exist while living in their deluded made up world of fantasy.  I often wonder: who raised these selfish, mindless fools?!  Then I have to remember that as much as we want to and tend to blame the parents, it is all too easy to open your eyes and your mind and learn things yourself.  I am astonished by the number of people that I know that are blindly selfish when it comes to attending get-togethers.  When you go to someones house be it for a casual event or a formal Christmas party, ALWAYS BRING SOMETHING.  You should never have to be asked to bring something, ever.  You should always offer, or bring it automatically.  I don't care if the Queen of England invited you over.  You know that bitch doesn't need wine--she's got servants to do that stuff for her--THAT-IS-NOT-THE-POINT.  The point is, my fair weathered friends, it is the gesture.  It is a showing of appreciation for this woman (sorry guys I am being gender bias for a minute) who probably slaved all effing day cleaning her house, running all over god's creation buying paper plates, cocktail napkins, utensils, and then had to run back out with curlers in her hair because she forgot ice (why do we always forget the effing ice???).  If she has "help" (i.e. husband and kids) their help was to stay the eff out of the way while she cleans, sets up, cooks, cleans again, shops, stocks, and prepares her house for this party that she swore was a good idea a few weeks ago but is cursing with every sweep of the mop.  If you happen to be one of those women, or know one, that has paid help and she hasn't lifted a finger to prepare for this party other then to send out invitations and spend all day in front of a glowing mirror while wearing feathered slippers, once again--THAT-IS-NOT-THE-POINT.  The point is that this savvy lady thought enough ahead to throw a party which will have booze and yummy food on a night when you otherwise would be sitting at home eating a microwave meal and watching reruns of The Golden Girls.  So get your ass to the store and blow the $7.99 on a bottle of wine as a thank you.  If you want to be even classier and guarantee an invite at every party this fancy pants lady throws, buy a bottle of wine for the party and a bottle of wine for the hostess!!
This brings me to my most serious point.  WHAT **rips hair out of head** WHAT in baby cheez-its name happened to the hostess gift?  Back in the day when avocado was the color of choice whilst picking out kitchen decor it was UNHEARD OF to attend a party and not bring a hostess gift.  Why you might ask should I bring a gift for a woman (again gender...sorry) who chose on her own free will to throw a party?  Answer: because it is the classy thing to do.  See above:  you did not have to clean your house, spend all day and an ungodly amount of money shopping for this party AND you will not have to clean up the party and the random items that have broken during this festive event (there is always one glass that bites the dust...sad).  People use to bring bottles of wine, liquor, nibbles, candles, all of which were NOT...I repeat...NOT expected to be consumed while the party was going on.  It was a gift...follow me here...for the hostess to enjoy on her own.  Most likely while rubbing her feet and sitting on her kitchen floor surrounded by a mess, but that is what you bought it for right?  Right. 

So to wrap up my angry sermon on the mound: if you are invited to something...anything...bring a bottle of wine or something to eat (or hell go crazy and do both).  Even if you are not asked, even if you are told not to, do it.  Who wouldn't want an extra bottle of wine in their house or some extra nibbles to munch on later?  It's the classy thing to do people.  Stay classy.

**I will climb off my soap box now.....where's the wine?**

back in the saddle again...

I have re-entered the dating world, and despite having mild success the last time with online dating I am quickly reminded why I hated it so much at first.  What I have discovered this time with match.com is that you can "find single people around you" meaning that if you find yourself in another town and you are a bored, horny, gross, and super creepy guy you can see single ladies on Match who are in your close proximity.  So not only do I have to wade through the usual unattractive guys, the guys who insult you in ever email (yes I got a new one of those), I now get the occasional "hey I am in town for the next 24 hours can I take you out?"  Really if I wanted those kinds of dates I would be an escort and at least get PAID for my time.  Right?  Uuuuhhh.  So here I go again friends--back in the saddle again.

Sing it for me Gene!!

Life is interesting.

Tonight as I crawl into bed I find myself reflecting on my life--where I have been--where I am going. I think of all the places I have lived, the beds I have slept in, the roommates I have had. All if those things, whether they were good-bad-or ugly have all brought me to exactly where I am now. They have brought me to this moment where I am all cuddled up in my amazing bed with my 2 kitties. Life might not always make sense, life might leave us wondering most of the time, but overall--life is good.

...and like that...he was gone

I would like to think that as I am getting older I am also getting wiser.  That might not always ring true, but what I learned recently is that when it comes to love, I am no longer a woman who will settle.  I was the reigning queen of hunting out the broken and often broke men and wasting my time and resources "fixing" them and trying to train them to be the man I wanted them to be (or more importantly the men their parents should have taught them to be).  This past relationship I vowed to myself to do everything I could to be the opposite of what I normally do.  Don't move them in right away (I am the worst at that), stand up for myself, but more importantly to listen to all of the screaming fiery red flags.  I am happy to report that although I am back to being single, I am very proud of myself for realizing that I can not "fix" a man, I don't want to "teach" him how to be the man I need, and to not take 2 or more years to figure that out. 

What was shocking to me I must point out is how many women in my life suggested that I do stick it out, try to teach MP how to be romantic and chivalrous, and thoughtful.  Give him more chances, talk it out with him, and it seemed funny to me because how often when I did those things did it a) not work out and b) did those exact same women tell me that you can't change anyone.  I think there can be small modifications in a relationship like putting the seat down, using a coaster, separating laundry by color, etc.  However there are certain fundamentals in every relationship that if are missing ruin any chance of a healthy progression.  To me, and this might just be me, teaching a man to buy you flowers when you have had a bad day is just as ridiculous as having to teach a man not to beat you when his favorite sports team loses.  You shouldn't need to do that.  Next time, buy yourself the damn flowers, along with a new vibrator and lose the boyfriend. 

Just a suggestion :)

Back to hunting I go.

...happy hump day...

It always amazes me how when Monday comes around, the very thought of getting through 5 whole days before Saturday arrives is just something that I can not wrap my head around. And yet, after I season my dreary ho-hum week with some girls nights, game nights, nights hovering over my stove, and the inevitable OCD cleaning session and BAM we have arrived at the weekend!  This week I started off with a super duper bang, I went and attended a class at the school I am interested in attending.  Oh-me-oh-my was that just what the doctor ordered.  I have to admit the idea of sitting in on a 3 hour class reminded me of how it felt to have 8am classes back in the day...and I can honestly say I went to about 4 of them....total...ya.  This class had 8 ladies total in it, including the teacher, and those 3 hours flew by in an instant.  The class was interesting, informative, and fun.  Great conversation and insight, the "students" treated me like I was in their class not just an observer.  It was just what I needed to give me that final push to want to apply and make the next year of my life intense...but worth it.

So now I need to apply.  More on that later.

Now the fun part:  food bucket list wrap up.

This weekend was a cooking extravaganza.  Let me recap on the loveliness that I made.  I made corned beef and cabbage (which I admit I have made before so it wasn't soooo much a food bucket list item but it was delicious so silence your judgement!!), I made bread and butter pickles, corn dogs, hummus, tabbouleh, crock pot chicken, and chicken stock.  My fridge is packed to the gills! 

Here is a picture of my bread and butter pickles all mixed up and ready to go in the jar:

They take 5 days to marinate before they are officially ready, but in true Husband's sisters form, my sister and I cracked them open on day 3 to have a little test and they are feeeeee-nom!!  Sooooooooo good! 

The corn dogs were born out of a craving.  I often wonder how I am going to be if I ever decide to breed because even when not pregnant I get cravings that rival a ravenous wild animal salivating over a piece of meat.  Its intense.  This past week I wanted corn dogs.  I yapped poor MP's head off about how much I wanted corn dogs, how many I would eat, what I would dip them in...etc.  Poor guy, the things he has to put up with :)  So thanks to being bitten by the Pinterest bug I searched for a way to make my own!  They were delicious and tasted much more "fresh" (if you can imagine processed meat, covered in a thick batter and then deep fried to all heaven "fresh" but you know what I mean...).  They weren't that pretty...here is a picture of them (I ran out of sticks so I just turned the last 2 dogs into little corn dog nuggets.  Equally delicious).

The hummus is also super good, and with a huge 24 ounce can of garbanzo beans it is sooo worth making it on your own.  Especially when they go on sale for 10/10 or something.  Yum!  I didn't take a picture of the hummus, we ate it too fast, and my sister was getting mad at how loud my little blender is....so I forgot.  :)  Take it from me.  Nom nom nom.

The chicken was created sort of on accident.  I had a whole chicken I bought way back when chicken was half off at the store.  It was less then 4 dollars, such a steal!  I froze it and the other day in prep for the rainy weekend I took it out but as the weekend of food came upon me I really had too much to cook (if you can even imagine that being possible), so I was going to roast it but then I remembered I had that class to observe from 430-730.  I was all in a tizzy when I went to bed and then it hit me!  I remembered on Pinterest someone pinned about cooking a whole chicken in the crock pot!!  What a great idea!  So I threw in some onions and carrots and tossed the whole chicken in on top all seasoned up and stuff and 10 hours later I had a crock pot full of chickeny goodness and my house smelled like a chicken dream.  As an added bonus after you shred the chicken, which is super easy thank you crock pot gods, you put all of the bones back into the crock pot with the juices from the chicken, add some water and cook it low and slow over night.  In the morning you have home made (and practically free) chicken stock!!  What???  Amaze-balls! I am telling you people.  Do it.  Do it for love, do it for me, do it for the love of all things foodie and luscious.  You will thank me later.  Hopefully with a bottle of wine.  Juuuust saying.

Bring on the rain!!!

Its supposed to rain this weekend, so in my best girl scout "prepared for everything" way I have stocked my house full of yumminess to cook all the weekend long!  Lots of crockpot food, soup ingredients, and plenty of stuff to make some Pinterest food!  Because of my readiness for the horrible weather it will be a sunny beautiful 75 degrees the entire weekend I just know it!  Ohhhh the irony!  Oh well, I will have an update on Monday with all of the greatness I have cooked whether its a balmy 75 degrees or a chilly 50 degrees and pouring rain. Never fear!  I will cook come hell or high water my friends!

Also an update on school.  I have an appointment to sit in on a class at the school I am thinking of applying to here pretty soon.  I am really looking forward to it.  Hopefully I can get a good idea of how the classes feel and the school works in general.  3 hours a day Monday through Thursday can be intense especially if I am going to work full time.  Hmmmmm.  Lots to think about.  I think better when I cook...back to the kitchen!!!

Cheers.

nom nom nom

Our fearless blog loving friend Julie made a comment the other day that when I created this blog she wondered when it would turn into a food blog :)  Oooooh how she knows me so well!  Although it is not officially a food blog...mama still has her eye on the prize of getting the eff out of this life rut I am in, I do love to cook and few things make me happier then crafting up something delicious in my kitchen.  SO last night I made homemade pesto, which I had said in an earlier blog that I was going to make last weekend but I was way too busy and I forgot to buy the much needed parmesan cheese.  Well its not much needed, I found out there are many other ways to make pesto that are all low fat and all of that jazz, but for my first attempt I wanted to stick with the basics.  Last night I purchased the needed cheese and I whipped up some pesto.  It was easy, it smelled delicious, and it is so much cheaper to make then store bought pesto.  I will be making it again as I remembered last night as I went to bed that I did not toast the pine nuts and I had been advised to do and I forgot to add salt and pepper.  My pesto was literally basil leaves, pine nuts, and cheese with lots of olive oil.  I must try it with the ingredients and advise I forgot but it was still pretty good.  Food bucket list item down!  Plus I got to use my fancy little mini food processor too!  Double win! 


Another item I found on Pinterest is the green monster smoothie. Packed with vitamins and goodness its part of a new diet...eeeeeww I hate that word...that I am going to try during the month of April.  Pretty much a green monster smoothie for breakfast and lunch with small snacks of veggies and lean protein in between and then a normal meal for dinner.  While I will try to be "health conscious" of my choices for my dinner I am not going to be too crazy about it as I have been super crazy about my eating all day.  Plus we all know that once you take something away from someone (starting tomorrow no chocolate!! kind of thing) that is the ONLY thing you crave.  So while I will fight the urge to run down to Mickey D's and get 5 double cheese burgers, the occasional delicious and decedent item will be enjoyed :) So yet another new kitchen gadget tried out and another Pinterest food item tried.  Mama is on a roll!!

just sitting around.....

A lot of people I know sit at an office all day.  While most of them do more then drool over Pinterest and day dream watching YouTube like I do, I bet we all have that mid day frozen numb feeling consuming the bottom half of our body.  I have heard that it is good to get around and walk every now and again, or when you talk on the phone stand up so you don't lose feeling to your lower parts.  I don't talk on the phone that often, and any time I leave my office a S.W.A.T. team is called into action with screaming sirens and blinding search lights to bring me promptly back to my hell hole and resume my mindless tasks.  So how do I avoid a frozen (and flat and flabby) ass from sitting here doing nothing all day?  Office exercises!  As ridiculous as it sounds every 30 minutes I stand up and for about 5-10 minutes I do some modified exercises I do during a mat class of Pilate's but I doing it whilst I stand behind my huge office chair which hides me from the ever-so scrutinizing eyes of my co-workers.  I can tell you just from doing it today I can still feel my bottom half even as we move into the 8th miserable hour of the day and it is a bonus that I am getting a wee bit of a work out done while locked away in my administrative prison. 

Feel the burn, watch the food porn, love the Pinterest.

good morning blogging world!!

Hello and good morning! I thought I would send out a quick hiddy-ho-hello to my thousands (ok 4) readers before I start this crazy weekend!  Last night was a huge fondue success!  The ladies got together for Leanne's birthday and we melted a bucket of cheese and dipped all sorts of yummy things in it.  Oh it was delicious.  We gabbed and gossiped, sipped and gorged on melty cheesy heaven.  We all woke up a bit foggy today, bloody marys are on the menu this morning for sure, but it was a great time and as I said before I got to use my new fondue pot AND I made another food item from Pinterest.  Winning. So today I will help my sister move into her new place, meet for bloody marys, go wine tasting, meet up with my dad and little sister to get the truck load of girl scout cookies we ordered, and then go to dinner for day #2 of Leanne-a-palooza.  Then home to bed with my sexy MP.  Tomorrow we have a day off together so hopefully we will get to sleep in a bit (but not if Lyla gets her way) and some relaxing will be on the schedule....I hope.  Cheers to the weekend, cheers to fun with friends and family, and cheers to girl scout cookies....nom nom nom.

How MP and I wake up most mornings:

"Oh you wanted to sleep in?  Well too bad so sad my dear humans!!  It's 6:30am on a Saturday...every body up!!"

Have I mentioned this before?

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  No?  Well I loooooooooooooooove Pinterest.  I am a pinning fan-at-tic!!  You know how they have twi-hards, star wars geeks, and trekkies...well soon they will have a term for folks like me who are Pinterest obsessed.  I mentioned a few blog entries ago that I have been trying to make some of the things I have pinned because some of these ideas...ok most of them...are so effing easy and cool you would be a fool NOT to try them out.  So a few weeks ago I made fried pickles with the recipe that I got from Pinterest.  Ohhhh me oh my were they delicious.  So easy to make, and better then any I have had at a restaraunt.  Ohhhh yum.  Tonight I am going to make two yummies from Pinterest--some home made pesto sauce and some cheese fondue.  I have some basil that is about to turn and I was freaking out last night on what I was going to do with all of this basil, the idea of letting it go to waste was just unbearable, and voila! it hit me!  I shall try another pinterest recipe AND put to good use the brand new Cuisinart mini food processor I just bought off of Amazon.  Double win!  I am also going to make cheese fondue tonight for one of my best girlfriend's birthday.  Another pinterest recipe and another way to use my new fondue pot that I also got from Amazon.  Did I mention I went a little Amazon crazy with my tax return.  ya....I did.  Guilty as charged.  Warning: I am a sucker for kitchen-ness.  Ooohh it makes me drool.

So to summarize:
I love Pinterest.
I love food.
I love kitchen gadgets of all kinds.
Cheers.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/08/uses-for-pesto/

mama needs a tool box!

Life has this mysterious way of sneaking up on you and I truly believe with all of my heart that the more time you spend making plans the more life loves to throw in a monkey wrench or two in your "oh so well made plans".  I use to stress about all of those monkey wrenches...I am a lady that loves to plan, hell I obsess over it, but as of late I have noticed more and more that as I make plans life has a way of changing them without my permission.  I use to get upset about it and allow it to cause a slight (or not so slight) episode of extreme tantrums to ensue, but the latest rain of money wrenches gave me cause to sit and wonder: a money wrench is a tool right?  So maybe life is seeing a plan I have made, notices it is a disaster, and it throws me a monkey wrench not to ruin my plans...but to teach me something to give me the tool(s) to make it better, to build it stronger.

I am ready for the monkey wrenches now.  Bring em on.  

Look at us now...

The other day I was walking with some of my best girlfriends and I took a step back and started laughing at the picture we made.  We were a heard of 4 ladies, 3 of whom were pushing strollers, one lady pushing a stroller is pregnant and we have a toddler bouncing along after us.  I made everyone stop and look at us and I asked if anyone would have bet money a year (or so) ago that this would be what our sassy lady bunch was look going to look like in a year.  We would have never guessed it would be this.  When did we all grow up?  When did our days off change from laying out at the beach and boozing it up to chores, running errands, and feeling complete if we managed to get all of the laundry washed AND folded. **Oh what a victorious feeling** Not that any of us would trade places with our younger selves...there is something to be said about the wisdom that aging brings, but it seems as if this all happened over night.  When did all of my girlfriends become wives and mothers?  When did it become impossible to get together a group of friends last minute for happy hour?  When did a simple over night vacation turn into a circus full of strollers, bouncy chairs, blinky toys, and 8pm bed times?  Oh life, you sneaky little bastard you :)

Food Bucket List

I love food porn.  I am the kind of person that gets down right giddy when my Food Network magazine arrives and I eagerly flip through the pages for mouth watering recipe ideas.  However, I have piles and piles of these magazines all with dog-eared pages and every color sticky note marking recipes I want to try and I have tried notta one!  So last year I had a food bucket list item that I wanted to conquer.  The ever-so-easy (so everyone told me) salsa.  I love me some Pace, but who doesn't love them some home-made salsa?!  So last year that was my goal.  Own a salsa recipe.  Own one I did!  I now make salsa by the bucket loads and while I tweak my recipe each time I can call myself a salsa maker with pride!  With the boom of Pinterest (I love you Pinterest) I pin recipes all the live long day!  Some are easy, some not so easy, some involve expensive ingredients like lobster and truffle oil, and others involve super cheap stuff like a jar of pickles and some flour and eggs.  I have put it upon myself to not only ogle at the food porn I find in my magazines and on Pinterest (once again I love you Pinterest) but to actually make these things!  So once a week I will make an item I have pinned on my food board, or see in a magazine or online.  Give it a whirl, and let you know how it turns out.  Tonight its fried pickles!!  They should be delicious!  I will let you know!

Why is this b*tch yelling at me???

Recently some girlfriends of mine have been getting together once a month for a game night, we open some wine...ok lots of wine but I thought we talked about how we weren't going to judge...and eat some nibbles and after the first few glasses kick in we head to the living room and play a board game.  Oh the fun we have.  The first game night we all laughed so hard my face hurt the next day.  Inhibitions are thrown out the window and slight edges of competitive personalities surface which makes game nights something I wish we did every night.  Last night I was thinking about how often we get so wrapped up in our lives and our day-to-day of bustling to and from work that we forget to make time for some good old fashion belly aching laughter.  Right now with so many "adult decisions" going back and forth in my head (to school or not to school? what subject? can I get a job with that degree? can I get a job anywhere for that matter? why do I hate Syrah so much?) it was nice to let go, act like a kid, and laugh.  I know that I started this journey because I firmly believe that life is too short to spend 6 minutes (let alone 6 years) doing anything that makes you unhappy and while a big part of me becoming less miserable is getting a new job, I also need to remember that I also need to laugh more.  Laughter through the tears...lots and lots of wine :)

....half way....

We are half way my friends!  6 months ago I started this journey desperately trying to scratch my way out of this state of mind numbing misery I have found myself in.  Originally I had blogged that I wanted to start a career in Pilates instruction and while I have not given up that hope, I have refocused my sights on going back to school.  I love school.  I am that person that gets down-right giddy when buying school supplies.  I can actually get lost for hours in a a pen section in the university book store.  Oooooh gel pens!!  I have always loved learning, and even though I didn't get amazing grades in high school, I loved soaking up new tid-bits of new information.  So this combined with my morbid fear of waking up 10 years from now, 40 (HUGE GASP), and still being employed as someones pee-on assistant gave me the idea to go back to school.  I have been pounding the pavement looking for a new job to deliever me from evil for over a year now (really since about months 3 in this place) and every job I want requires more school or years of experience in that specific field.  While this seems like a "duh" notion it chaps my ass that I can't walk into an interview and say TRUST ME I CAN DO THIS JOB.  I know I can do it, its just getting in the door in front of the 100 other people (thank you recession) that are also applying for the job.  Harg.  So my dear friends, I am going back to school.  What school?  Who knows!  To study what exactly??  You've got me!  Not quite sure on all of the details yet...but I have my financial aid worked out and heck isn't that half the battle?! :D  I am sure I will figure it out.

 Aren't new adventures fun??!!!

Where's the wine?

eewie gooey lovey dovey land

Love.  Love is when you take a half chewed Jelly belly out of your mouth and say "ick this tastes awful...try it" and he does.  Or even better when you get your favorite flavor Jelly Belly and you say "mmmm baby this one is my favorite!" and you take it half chewed out of your mouth and share it.  Sharing is love.

I love Jelly Bellys.  I love being in love.

and like that....she was gone

My sister is my best friend.  We are thick as thieves and not a single day goes by when I don't speak to her.  I wake every morning and either call her or text her, and we spend all day talking and texting and chatting online.  So needless to say I am having a mild freak out attack that she just left for Argentina for 6 weeks, during which I will talk to her maybe every 3 days and usually via email.  Freaking.the.eff.out.  A few months ago my sister got laid off from her job and after pounding the pavement for a month solid looking for a new job and not finding anything she took this as a sign that she needed to do something she has always wanted to do but never has had the time to; travel.  She is on her way as we speak to spend the next month and some change traveling around Argentina, Chile, and Peru in search of an adventure.  I am excited for her, I am nervous for her, and I am going to miss her every single minute she is gone. 

I love you Megs.  Enjoy being a wilderness explorer!!

Love.....

Have you ever hear a song for the first time and realized instantly that you love that song.  You listen to it over and over and over and over again.  Well I was at the gym the other day and "Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz came on Pandora (Jack Johnson station) and I nearly melted off of my treadmill.  Not a song you would think to work out to...or station for that matter, but I was in a mood.  Recently MP and I used those fateful words "I love you" and henceforth I have been transported into lovely dovey land.  So I have been listening to this song over and over and over.  I love you Jason Mraz.  Not as much as I love my MP...but close :)

Enjoy!

Pinning.

I have recently discovered the glorious world of Pinterest.  Its amazing.  Its wonderful.  Its straight up magical.  I don't know how my life existed without it.  I truly am a new person. 

Its funny though trying to explain Pinterest to someone.  I attempted to do that the other day and I just ended by saying....oh never mind its just too effing splendiferous to put into words.  (Splendiforous?)  That really is the best way to explain it though...kind of like: if I have to explain what it is and why it is as important to the human race...then you don't deserve to know what it is.  The whole idea is (dare I say) kind of silly if you really think about it (but then again so is the word "once" when you say it over and over again...try it...once, once, once, once...weird).  Its just a bunch of peeps "pinning" things to a virtual pin board that they like.  For no other reason then to share an "ooooooooh pretty" or "mmmmmm that looks yummy" or "HAHAHAHAHAHA that was funny" thing they saw and share it with other pinners.  I mean really.  So all day you are glued to your computer or your phone (or in my case both at once...I have an addiction people I get it) and you lustfully look at billions of pictures of pretty, yummy, funny, neat, crafty shit.  Its amazing.  I am in love. 

Thank you Pinterest for giving me yet another reason to not do a lick of work today.  Thank you very much.

Pinning.