Adventures in Metroland

Guerilla Tactics and Spider Veins

2012-01-31T08:23:00.000-05:00

Whelp, I have lost a total of 2 lbs. In 3 weeks, which is A) healthy weight loss but B) not as much as I had hoped for. A friend of mine started doing weight watchers through their online program and I have decided to try it as well. I set a goal of 5% which would put me down at 197.5 lbs at the end of the month. I have 3 months so hopefully by my 27th Birthday (in may) I can be down to my college weight of 175 lbs (this was when I was in peak rowing shape). My ultimate goal is to get down into the normal range for my BMI which is somewhere in the 145-160lb rage. I have to admit I am a bit scared to get down there, I have always been a bit chubby so I don't really know what I will look like at that weight. But here goes nothing.

On a side note, this Friday I am getting the first of 2 outpatient surgeries that are supposed to help solve my spider vein problem. One this Friday and one next Friday.

This is what I am Having done (if your squeamish, don't watch): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwWlLTzXtdo&feature=player_embedded

It is supposed to treat the underlining cause of spider veins. Then once this is done, I can have my spider veins treated and I don't have to be concerned with them coming back!

And My parents are visiting (my dad for a week and my mom for 2). My mom being the over protective woman that she is wants to make sure I am A-OK after these surgeries.

Naked Pussy!

2012-01-23T07:59:00.003-05:00

Get your mind out of the gutter.... My Roommate shaved her cat see:

It's called the Lioness hair cut....Now she looks naked!

Ski Trip Fail

2012-01-18T10:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend me and two of my friends headed up to Maine/New Hampshire for a bit of winter fun. We ended up with quite the adventure to say the least:

We rented a GIANT Car thanks to my friend company points. It was a fully loaded Tahoe, aka The Pimp Mobile. This thing is bigger than a Hummer; not kidding we parked next to one and are about 15% bigger.

Saturday, We went Snow mobiling:

and got lost:

Sunday, we woke up it was -17 degrees, we were supposed to go skiing, but it was too cold to ski,

So we went to the store to get supplies (alcohol and snacks), and saw some creepy sights:

returned home and did this instead:

And the heat broke over night, it was -20 out side and about 40 in the house, Monday we did this while waiting for the heat repair folks:

Then we jumped on the plane and headed home!

Happy New Year and OMG!

2012-01-10T08:11:00.000-05:00

Well Helllo Blogging world. Its been like 8 weeks since we hung out. I blame the holidays and general laziness.

Speaking of laziness, my ass has grown. You think I am kidding, look at this picture from New Years:

and this is with SPANKS! Yes dear blogger friends, I have let myself go, but No More!

Today, I stepped on the scale this am and I weigh a whopping 210. at 5'8" that means I am Obese. I wear a size 16.

I have my goal. I would like to lose 30 lbs by my Birthday in May and then another 20 by Christmas which would put me at my lightest weight since high school and back into the normal range for my BMI.

What is motivating this business? Well for starters, DC is a town where thin people get dates and I want dates. Dates that lead to LTR's that could possibly lead to the aisle (I have go the itch for the white dress and a church).

The second thing that is motivating this is my 10 year High school reunion is 2013. I need to look good by then because I was the new girl who didn't get too much attention and would love a little bit of stickin' it to the mean girls.

The third issue and probably the most important is that I am not Healthy, which is bad news all around.

Here's what my plan includes:

1) I have signed up for 2 half marathons and plan on signing up for the marine corp again. The first half is in march, the second half is in June and the marine corp is in October. Between those 3, I should have the motivation to work out, because if I don't those races are going to HURT!

2) Eating close to the source. What does that mean? Well it means eating food that is minimally processed, i.e. fresh fruits, veggies, and lean meats. Steamed Veggies with baked salmon= good. Hot pockets=bad.

3) I will work out 6 days a week. They don't all have to be super omg i am going to die work outs but it needs to happen.

4) I am cutting out soda. It cuts the bloat, sodium and helps my body maintain its iron and calcium levels better.

5) I am limiting alcohol consumption to 1 night a week.

6) I am kicking off the weight loss with 1 bottle of Alli to get things moving and to understand which meals I have that are fattier than others.

That's it, its simple it works for me and I will post pics once a week to give you an idea of where I am at and my pitfalls.

Woo Woo 2012 is my year!

What happened to Thanksgiving?

2011-11-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I decided to finish out my Christmas Shopping (yes, its early, yes, I am type A and no, I didn't finish because my father is behind on putting his list together-do not get me started). So me and a few girlfriends trucked out to the outlets that are an hour away.

Over all it was successful, but I am not sharing what I purchased because some of the folks who I bought for sometimes read this and what is the fun in that?

On the way back, we swung by Target. I thought I would pick up a few Thanksgiving decorations to put on my apartment door. Now this Target was a SUPER Target, the mecca of all things inexpensive and commercial. much to my surprise all they had in regards to Thanksgiving was a sad little display on the end of an aisle in stationary that had a paper table cloth, some plates, and napkins. THAT WAS IT!

Their Christmas displays were out of control already and they Had 4 aisles of Halloween decorations but when did the retail world up and decide to SKIP THANKSGIVING! I don't understand its one of the few holidays where you can eat, watch football, and are not obligated to purchase presents.

*Insert fist shaking here*

Sigh, I guess I shall just have to go out and collect leave to make my own wreath.

My Front Door

2011-10-10T13:01:00.000-04:00

My roommate's favorite Holiday is Halloween, I decided that I was going to surprise her with some decoration on our front door:

She loved it! What do you think?

200 mi Ragnar Relay Results

2011-09-27T09:08:00.000-04:00

I may or may not have mentioned in a previous post that I ~~was suckered into~~ signed up for a 200 mi relay race with 11 of my friends from my Hashing group. The race was from Cumberland MD back to Washington DC.

Each runner had to do 3 legs of the race, all the legs were different distances, but my total ended up being just over a half marathon at 13.4 mi. It took my team 28 hours and 42 min to run the distance which had us in 58th place overall out of 262 teams. Which I think is not too shabby since most of us were just cruising. The hardest part of all of this is that there was no opportunity to sleep.

Did I mention that we camped the night before? You know how camping goes, you don't really sleep either. so it was like 48 hours of no sleep with a half marathon and 200 mi of driving with stinky runners and no showers. It was a blast but Saturday night I slept like 16 hours just to try and catch up a little.

I am still recovering and I am glad I don't have to do it again soon, but I could do it again.

Weird, True and Freaky.

2011-09-12T09:45:00.001-04:00

So I have a confession to make. I sort of believe in the premonition mumbo jumbo; mostly because weird shit happens to me all the time.

I dream and then get wicked, I MEAN WICKED cases of Deja vu from dreams. There have been instances of me dreaming conversations and then about a month later, they come to fruition. It weirds me out every time.

The dreams, I can handle, however, there are 2 instances where the mumbo jumbo has gotten out of hand.

The first was when I was 16. I was on a family moving road trip as my parents were fond of doing since we were in the military. This round found us driving the southern coast of the US with a pit stop in New Orleans. My mom, my sister (who was 10 at the time) decided to hit up a ghost tour (in July) since there are few under age activities in that town at night. So we are meandering with the tour that has a couple of young couples, a few older ones, and some some other single tourists, my sister and I are the only ones under the age of 25 on this tour. The tour gets to this house, we enter.... and my sister instantly gets light headed and passes out; she then throws up. I too am getting light headed and am seeing spots and feeling ill (no vomiting from me). They take us both out side to get some air, in with in 5 min, both of us feel perfectly normal. No ill effects, nothing. No one else on the tour was ill, my sister and I did not eat the same food that night, there wasn't any real reason for us to have that reaction.

WEIRD SHIT!

The second instance, will weird you out further. My Mom was in the process of taking me to school, my junior year of high school on 9/11. My classes started at 7:30 am and I was usually there by 7:15 ish--This is in Texas to give you a time line. So my mom and i are listening to the radio and we both hear "Planes have crashed into the trade towers". So we both go "What?," turn up the radio and listen for more information... Nothing, not a peep more about it. That is until the FIRST Plane crashed at 8:45 EST, 30 MIN LATER AFTER WE HEAR THE ANNOUNCEMENT.

IT FREAKED US BOTH OUT!

so yes, mumbo jumbo happens to me.

Labor Day Weekend round up

2011-09-04T20:26:00.000-04:00

This Labor day, I took the Labor to heart.

I decorated my bedroom, almost all the way, I went to Ikea to pick up the frame I wanted but they were sold out in the sized I needed (Queen). Pictures are forth coming, once I get the bed.

I made salsa, my roommate and I went in on a CSA share. We had some tomatoes that were just past their prime, tons of onions and some jalapenos. I had garlic cloves, salt and a little olive oil to throw in to my roommates Cuisinart blender/food processor combo (it's kinda awesome). Viola, salsa! I used one of my canning jars to store it in the fridge to keep. I think it will be even better in a day or two once all the flavors blend, if it lasts that long.

I made roasted squash soup to freeze. The CSA has provided us with a couple of small quashes, a butternut and a round one that kinda looks like a tiny pumpkin. Throw that in with some onions into the blinder and thin it out with some chicken stock. Now i have some yummy soup in my freezer when it really gets cold.

I also did the traditional house cleaning, grocery shopping, and dog washing. I feel very productive.

What did you do this labor day?

Earthquake and a Hurricane

2011-08-30T09:45:00.002-04:00

Everything is a-ok here.The earthquake was nothing (though I did get to leave work early- lets hear it for working in a 100+ year old building). And the Hurricane, Irene felt the need to know out the power, for about 12 hours, so nothing as well.

I did discover that my dog has excellent survival skills, in the event of an earthquake, he runs like hell according to my roommate, unlike her cat which cowered under the bed and would not come out to evacuate. I think dogs are the smarter animal, Just sayin...

My sister has moved out!

2011-08-26T10:05:00.000-04:00

Yea! She is gone off to school in NJ (she is going to freeze her hind quarters off-she is transferring schools from TX). She was living with me for four months, imagine sharing your space with a 20year old girl for 4 months.... shudder.

I love her but boy, I NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER want to have to share a room with her again. She drives me batty.

anyway, now that I don't have a full sized bed and a queen sized bed in my room taking up just about every square inch of free space, I have started the process of finally (after living in my new apartment for 6 weeks) putting my bedroom together. I have push and shoved and tried different combos and came up with this (please ignore the poor quality, my camera phone is not optimal):

I tried the bed under the window but it just doesn't work and I can't place it on the closet side as there are double doors that swing out from the closet.

I still need to get a new comforter, some shelves, new shades and the bed frame I want but this is an improvement from the dorm like situation I was working with before.

PS. I hate making the bed, this is as made as it gets, so don't judge.

In the famous words of Charlie Brown....

2011-08-19T08:50:00.001-04:00

AAAAGGGHHHHHH! I need to rememeber that she (my sister) leaves in 5 days.... 5 days... that is all.

Quick and Dirty Book Reviews...

2011-08-18T07:50:00.000-04:00

I recently have veered away from my trash romance/sci-fy/vampires-do-exist usual reads in favor of more mental stimulation.

1) Four Fish- It is about how we humans came to cultivate the four most popular fish on our menus; salmon, tuna, bass, and cod. It makes you want to eat fish and never eat fish again. It gets somewhat technical but is intertwined with the authors own story surrounding fishing and his observations. I would recommend it if you have read the Omnivores dilemma and liked it.

2) The Help-Yup, I realize that this is chick-lit however, it has no mythical critters so I am throwing it in there. It is an entertaining beach read; it doesn't require allot of brain power to process. It moves a little slow for my taste but overall I would recommend it if you were looking for a light read. Yes, I also plan on seeing the movie.

3) BossyPants: This is Tina Fey's book on her rise to fame. Seriously Funny! First of all, I <3 Mrs. Fey to begin with and her book gives me hours upon hours of her sarcasm. If you have seen any of her skits on SNL or liked Date Night, pick up her book for a light-heated look at why she is so fabulous.

Useless Body Parts

2011-08-15T15:10:00.000-04:00

Interesting facts you learn whilst bored at work. Did you know we (humans) have useless body parts? Think if I had them all removed that I would lose some weight....

Whelp here they are in revers order for your viewing pleasure:

10)Plica semilunaris: that flesh piece in the inside corner of your eye... it produces the sleepies you wipe out of your eye every morning.

9) Arrector Pili: The little muscles that give you goose bumps... we have no need for it, supposedly it gives furrier critters the ability to store more heat (that's what clothes are for).

8) Wisdom teeth: supposed to help replace the crappy teeth when we were living in caves... I have mine removed. It appears that mother nature realizes that we take better care of our teeth and is phasing them out since not everyone gets them anymore

7) Coccyx: AKA your tail bone... no tail needed.

6) Tonsils: supposed to be filters for food borne bacteria... My mom had hers removed and is surviving quite well :)

5) Adenoids: Are also filters for bacteria but this time in the air. supposedly they shrink as you age and are pretty much useless by the time you are a grown-up (at least age wise)

4) Sinuses: In humans, pretty much useless... if we had better senses of smell they would help process information in smells but our ancestors opted for color vision, had to pay the piper somehow, so smell was sacrificed.

3) Male nipples: Women have them, so men do too but they serve no purpose.

2) Gall bladder: supposed aids in digestion, but is often removed due to infection.

1) Appendix: helps digest tough materials, like small fish bones and tough plants.

It appears that the useless items are the ones that are prone to infection.... so does that mean if i take them out I would get less or more sick?

Big ole' mess of crazy...

2011-08-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

Since I moved apartments, I ride the metro every day. I live at the very edge of a line just before you leave the District, but my work falls on the same line so it only takes me about 20 min to get to work.

Normally, this ride is fairly uneventful, I pop open the kindle or throw in my ear buds and rock out on the way to and from work.

Not last Wednesday. On Wed's in the summer I play softball. I got on the metro to head to a game and ended up sitting next to this middle aged African American gentleman with a cane.

Not 2 seconds after I sat down, did this guy turn to me in a Panic, here is how the conversation went:

Him: excuse me, excuseme excuseme.... (insert wild hand motions)
me: uh, yes?
him: I need to get to (end of another line) by 6 pm to catch a limo.
me: (Its 5:30) I don't think you are going to make it
him: well what time do you think I will get there, because I have to meet my sister, Jada Smith
me: uh..... well lets see, its 17 stops from here with a transfer (its about 3 min a stop) so probably about an hour
him: OH MY God (insert rocking)... Jada and Will are going to be so mad, i have to be there by 6 to catch the limo to the airport so we can get to the air port to go see the Jay-Z concert.
me: Uh... Ok....
him: you see I was hanging out with my fraternity brothers in (different metro stop) and they held me up too long....
me: .......... they tend to do that...

---At this point it is too late to move seats and I don't want to be THAT girl on the metro. The rest of my trip was peppered with references to Jada and Will and occasionally a reference to Beyonce.

For your reference... This is the pick of Jada and her brother, her YOUNGER brother: http://concreteloop.com/2008/09/events-lakeview-terrence-nyc-premiere/jada-pinkett-smith-and-her-younger-brother-caleeb-pinkett

good times on the metro, let me tell you

My weekend project!

2011-08-07T20:52:00.000-04:00

I found these kinda cool shaped but ugly brass taper candle sconces.... Being that i have been reading WAY too many do it yourself blogs and watching peeps do AH-MAZ-ING transformations (see here: http://betterafter.blogspot.com/) and being of the can-do generation, I decided to attempt to redo them myself in gray, the same gray that is on the new night stands and dresser I got. Here is the before: I had taken the first one apart before I remembered to take a photo. Forgive the poor pics, its outside, 99 degrees, and taken with my phone.

Step 2: spray brass with Kyrlon Gray Primer to cover ugly brass.

Step 3: Spray with High gloss gray Krylon.

Let dry: This took Forever... DC humidity does not make this easy.

Wahoo, the final product! I plan on mounting them on my wall with air plants instead of candles and the final room pic will go up in a couple weeks. But for my first project... they turned out pretty well I think!

Bedroom Inspiration!

2011-08-02T08:15:00.002-04:00

Get your head out of the gutter! I am talking about decorating not the horizontal polka. This is my inspiration photo:

I went back and forth on the color scheme I wanted... I knew Ii wanted a grey base but it was between a mustard, lavender, orange and teal as the secondary color. I polled friends and family and this is what I came up with. I won't get to put the room together until my sister moves out (22 days and counting) but I have started collecting the pieces.

I have these night stands:

and I have this chest of drawers:

and I want this bed:

I have vintage movie posters that are going to go on the wall and I have my eye on a quilt at west elm that is the right color. I will take a before and after shot so you can see, have no fear.

On a side note, I may or may not have mentioned that I rowed in college (Division 1 athlete, thankyouverymuch!) and I was doing a little thrifting this weekend, I came across a vintage, and I mean VINTAGE erg (aka rowing machine) for $20 tucked back behind some mirrors at a salvage place: its freaking cool... mine looks like this but without the seat:

The cool thing is the one in the picture was listed for $250 talk about a score! I also got 2 brass wall sconces that have seashell type back ground that I am going to spray paint grey this weekend. This too will have photographs for the step by step procedures. I think I am going to put air plants in the candle holding part instead of candles, I think it will give it a funky vibe.

So pretending to decorate is on my mind these days, its keeping me from killing my sister.

MIA....

2011-07-27T08:52:00.000-04:00

Well peeps, I am sorry I have been missing in action, there has been a bit going on in my life and I shall provide a quick summary and try to get back to my 3 times a week postings here.

1) My sister came to stay with me for the summer. I now know that while we may have shared a house when we were young, it's not the best idea for us to share space over the long term. I think it would have been better if we had our own rooms or my sister wasn't 20 going on 14 (the drama I just can't take). But she leaves in a little under a month (she has spent May, June, July and then Aug with me), so my stress level should ratchet down here shortly!

2) I moved! Not from dc but across town. I now live in a lovely 2/2 (which will be better once there is only me and my roommate, see above) with an awesome roommate, though her cat (Bumblebeetuna, yes all one word) and my pup (Toby the Dachshund) are still sorting out how they like one another. Toby thinks its play time, and the BBT just hisses, its all very passive aggressive at this point and entirely entertaining. Also, my new place is directly across from the metro and super quick to any of the places I frequent. Did I mention it has a pool, grills, a gym and a rec room? Oh and its cheaper than what I was paying at the other place.

3) Along with the moving, I have gotten new furniture, but I am waiting to decorate the bed room until my sister moves out.... I shall be posting Pics once its all completed :)

4) Work is frustrating... they are converting the contractor jobs (which is the job I hold) to permanent GS positions... On the one hand I am glad for the program that it is getting permanent funding, on the other, I am sad that my job is going away. I am eligible to apply for the job that I am sitting in however, I don't think I meet all the qualifications (which is dumb because Ii have been doing the Job for over a year.)

5) I have also been doing outdoorsy things like playing softball, hanging by my pool (!), and hashing, my running group (I have been named but it is not something to post in polite company as is many of the names at the hash). I signed up with a group of my friends to do a 200 mi relay, if you know anyone in the DC area who has a 12-15 passenger van they are not using in late September, let me know.

That is the quick and dirty.

PS.... No, I am not seeing anyone, I went on a few dates with a man who tried to lick my skin off... ick!

Back to Blogging: Part 1: Why I sometimes hate my job

2011-05-31T10:04:00.000-04:00

Hello 2.4 readers!
I am back! Since I have been absent and not posted anything real (in almost a month ACK!), I decided to get back into the swing of things by doing a 4 part catch up. Today's happens to be the work one, so feel free to hit the snooze button and check back Thursday for part 2.

Part of the reason I have gone missing in action lately is that work has been stupid busy. The back story, I work at the headquarters for my programs program which means that all the policy and budget stuff for my program has to go through my office. There are only 2 of us, there would normally be 3 but the 3rd position has been gaped for over a year because the gov. can't get itself together.

So work is generally pretty steady for my and my coworker. Then our program got tasked to take over a course for upper level brass Set up at headquarters. There is a contract in place with another company with a person who was set to handle the job. Well the girl and the company decided not to tell our program that girl was leaving 2 weeks before the course was set to start, she told us Thursday afternoon that the Friday was her last day. Mind you this course is 2 weeks long and has 30 + different briefer's. I got hand the cluster F***. Lucky me. Did you know that upper level brass are needy folks? you would think that the reason they are upper level would mean that they can handle their stuff, but nooooo they need help for everything from access to the Internet to where the freaking bathroom is. So needless to say I worked some seriously long days.

The HQ department decided to saddle each of its programs with a new requirement to provide a body to be a sort of action officer for a new task force. Because I am up at HQ, I got the job temporarily MID-Course until we could on board a new contractor to fill the slot. Luckily my coworker could do the on boarding paperwork as I was balancing the other jobs.

Now that the course is over, I get to do the follow up paperwork and the on boarding paperwork/turnover for the back fill of the girl that quit. Which I am happy to hand off but it is more work in the short term than I was actually prepared for.

Also, you know that position that has been gaped for over a year? well we are finally getting someone in July but that also means they need to go through the on board process too.

So overall, my work plate is full... anymore and I might run screaming from the building.

I promise I am not dead

2011-05-16T07:32:00.000-04:00

I am doing 3 peoples jobs at work, mine (budget and finance), the c**t's who quit no notice (course coordinator for upper brass students-its 2 weeks long MF'ers), and this other newly created job at HQ direction. I dont have time to eat really and I have been pulling 12 hour days.

We will be back to our regularly scheduled programing in about 10 days.

Getting it back together.

2011-05-02T08:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posting, I had to take some time to get my stuff together, at least mentally. I have been in a "I don't know what to do with my life now that I am out of college/grad school, i need a new mission" Slump. While I haven't gotten it figured out, I am working on finding what makes me happy and working towards a goals.

The first goal that I have decided on is I would like to be able to purchase my own house by the time I am 30. I am 25, turning 26 in 2 weeks and it is a reasonable amount of time to work on a down payment.
-- I have also decided to move in with a roommate at the end of the summer to help this goal along

The second Goal is be debt free by 2013. I owe only on the last year of grad school and I have less than 20% to go on my car. In addition, I have set up a solid payment plan on my credit cards. I have also made a pledge to myself to not charge anything but plane tickets and Christmas present on my cards, use cash for the rest.

The Third goal is to Really Really lose weight. I stepped on the scale. I WEIGH 208, Holy bejesus batman. At 5'8" I am overweight. You may have seen my false start early in the blog, before the radio silence. But honestly, this time I am doing it. My Aunt has done it and she has lost 35 lbs in the past 3 months. My Goal weight is 165 and I am giving myself a year to get it done. For those of you that are bad at math that is 43 LBS. I have done the grocery shopping, downloaded the calorie counter for my food, busted out my portion pals. This shit is getting done!

The fourth goal has to do with my career... It is undecided at the moment, I am a contractor, I am working on budget and finance but I don't want to be stuck where I am at forever, I have the itch for more responsibility and more interesting work. I am exploring my options.

The funny thing is when I am going through and deciding all of this, finding a significant other is not really a priority. It would be nice and if it is a side effect of the above great, if not that is ok too. But I didn't leave it hanging, I joined Ok Cupid in an effort to be somewhat active. I did make myself the promise that any guy i date had best not be a beta male (like all my ex's are). I can barely keep track of my own stuff let alone someone else.

That's it in a nut shell, fairly simple and that is the best to accomplish the goals I believe, keep them simple and set deadlines.

Cheesey Warm Fuzzy

2011-03-28T08:05:00.000-04:00

My family and I travel a lot to see one another. I try to make it home 2-3 times a year, my sister because she is in school makes it home more, and my parents visit me about 2 times a year.

It is always a bit of a sad parting because we are all close; it is the nature of being a military family. We used to all travel together but once we started traveling independently (read: I went off to college), a cheesy family tradition started.

Who ever does the dropping off at the airport sends a message about 30-45 min after that says "miss you already." It's super sweet and also corny but it has never failed to put a smile on my face, it works, we all love it, but shhhhhh... don't tell anyone I am such a freaking marshmallow.

I won't be doing that again!

2011-03-17T09:18:00.000-04:00

I am a periodic blood donor, meaning I give 2-3 times a year, I don't give more because it is not all the pleasant for me to go through. I also have a common blood type, A+ which according to a quick google search, so is about 28% of the world's population, so like I said common.

Well, each time I donate, the Red Cross harasses me to come and donate platelets (aka my white blood cells) because apparently they are the equivalent of the Hulk (they see an infection, cry "Hulk SMASH" and the infection goes away). I decided that I would try it since it has a quicker recovery and you can do it more often.

The platelet donation process goes as follows, they take some blood, filter it through this machine and strip away the white blood cells, throw in a little saline and put back the plasma and red blood cells whilst keeping the white all for themselves.

Now normally, I am the kid at the donation center who gets all dizzy and hot, asks for a coke, and the put cool towels on me and then I am good to go once they have taken the pint of blood.

Not so much with the platelet donation. They hooked me up with a double needle (2 in one, leaves a big hole), and began the process. Theoretically you are supposed to get a little cold and maybe need a calcium supplement to ease the nausea. Raise your hand if you had a bad reaction, *raises hands.

My temperature spiked, I got all hot and uncomfortable, and got that sickly pale green. I had such a bad reaction that they had to stop the process. give me back my red blood cells and take out the big freaking needle.

I Will NOT be doing that again. I will how ever continue to donate blood periodically, because lets face it, not enough people do it. But seriously, just take your pint and leave me alone, that whole take and put back thing simply does not work on my system.

a bit of a mess...

2011-03-09T08:07:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is lately, but I am tearing up at stupid things all the time. I can't watch a show with kids getting hurt, people breaking up, or illnesses without turning into a blubbering girl.

Don't even get me started on those Humane society commercials. Luckily I live alone and thus there is no one to witness my complete and utter failure at being the tough girl but my poor box of tissues is running out.

It could be caused by a number of things, the being single, the health scare (update: off antibiotics and have a follow up with my gyn at the end of the month), the mild uncertainty about my job (as a contractor, when the fed is furloughed, we are furloughed as well but we don't have the option to get back pay if it gets offered), or an itch for change. It could be all, it could be none, or it could just simply be being a girl.

I am usually not this hormonal and it needs to stop asap. I don't like feeling this soft and mushy.

What happens when you have a rainy day?

2011-03-06T18:09:00.000-05:00

and maybe some left over odd bottles of beer... you make beer bread!

I have 6 odd bottles of beer and by odd i mean miss matched from parties and 6packs that never got finished. I found an easy recipe and modified it. It turned out delicious! Here is the basic recipe.

preheat the oven to 375

3 cups all purpose flour
3 TSP baking powder
1 TSP Salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 12oz bottle of beer
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together, add the beer. Pour into greased baking pan. pour the olive oil over the top. Bake for about 1 hour, you should be able to stick a tooth pick in it and it come out clean.

As far as the type of beer I found that the Boston Lager or the Shiner Heferweizen turned out the best. The light ther beer, the less sugar you need and the darker beers may need some more to avoid that bitter flavor.

Delicious with chili, stew or fresh out of the oven with a dab of butter.

Home and Putting it on a shelf

2011-02-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the delayed posting. My girl parts decided to stage a revolt that drove me to visit the ER. Those of you that know me, know I have a high tolerance for pain, ex: last year I fractured my wrist and didn't go to the doc for a week.   My diagnosis is an ovarian cyst with a Urinary Tract Infection, basically, If it belongs a a woman it is revolting. It's times like these that I want to be able to remove and store my lady bits until I am actually going to use them, a**holes! Doc gave me antibiotics to handle the UTI and anitnausea/percocet to combat the pain and told me to follow up with my gyno in a month. Gee thanks doc!

Besides the staged revolt, I went home last weekend to escape the cold and brought some of my Grad School Friends home. Oh boy was it fun!

We all flew in on the same flight last Friday, except for my friend B, because he had those fancy pants air miles to use, and my parents so kindly offered up their lake house and fed us a rocking Dinner of Rudy's BBQ.

Saturday morning found us up and about early. We all decided to get a little exercise in so as not to blow up like a blimp due to the excessive amount of alcohol that was about to Be consumed. We hit up the national park that is on the backside of the neighborhood of the lake house for a short run/walk.   We then headed into Austin to be touristy and saw the Johnson presidential library and toured the capital building (these are my Grad school friends, we are a bit nerdy).   We then headed back to the lake to prepare for the nights events.

Let me just say I love me some Austin Night life. We went to din din at Baby A's and the group doubted me when I said to order the purple margaritas. We then hit up 6th Street, think New Orleans style bar district with the subsequent traffic blockade. Maggie Mae's was our stop. They all ended up being plastered and dancing with many a younger aged dude (except B, he had a male companion of the boys who like boys who he took off to the side and chatted with whilst we gals decided to hit up the dance floor). I may or may not have exchanged numbers with a just turned 22 year old, and by just I mean it was his Bday, He might as well have been a 21 year old. And, I may or may not have been the center of a salt and pepper dance sandwich of which the bread was pushing 6'6" on either side.

Did I mention We SHUT DOWN THE BAR! on a side note, this is the second time this month that this has happened to me, I did not shut down a bar this many times last year, let alone in the same month.

back to the lake house we trekked. I think we all finally got to bed around 4 but found ourselves wide awake at 9 am (gowd awful early if you ask me).

We hit up the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo fair and then the River walk that included a floating tour. By this time, our energy was plum tuckered out and we headed back to my parental units place to sleep off some of the effects before our flight home.

All in all a good weekend, but I was really glad to be home and in my own bed Monday night when the insides revolted.

Quick Diet update

2011-02-22T08:09:00.000-05:00

Hey all- I am currently still 194 pounds. Which I consider a win because, I went home to the Great State of Texas, ate like there was no tomorrow and drank up a storm, I am talking booze at every meal, re fried beans, lots of cheese and deap fried tortillas. The fact that I didn't put on any weight indicates that the runs I did over the weekend held it off.

Yea for that, but it also means I have to buckle down and really pay attention to what goes in my mouth. I have picked up calorie counting again and have committed to writing down everything that I put in my mouth (that's what she said) for the next week to get a grip on what I am eating.

I also am making a commitment to eating most of my food as close to its natural state as possible. So things like oatmeal, rice, veggies, and meat rise to the top of my eating choices and things like ice cream, bread, pasta, and casseroles fall out the bottom.

I promise a lengthy post about the whorl wind weekend that occurred, its just too long to post at work.

Old Photos

2011-02-17T08:13:00.000-05:00

Gosh, I love when my family shares old photos,

Here are my parents.. circa 1970 somthing...

And here is MY GRANDMOTHER

I really don't know who has the shortest shorts, and this is worrysome giving that the top picture has my father and the bottom picture has his mother.

Verdict?

4 day Weekend!

2011-02-17T07:55:00.000-05:00

Today is my Friday, I simply have to make it to 4pm and I have 4 wonderful days off. What am I doing you might ask?

I am escaping the cold (or not so cold as it is today-but it is still much warmer where I am headed), to go hang out at my parental units lake house with some of my grad school friends. There might be some running amok in Austin as well as the San Antonio Riverwalk, but there will definitely be some boozing---on second though, who are we kidding, I will be in the land of pitchers of margaritas, there definitely will be boozing.

Texas beware, I am coming back for the weekend!

The Single Girls Valentine

2011-02-14T12:34:00.000-05:00

Today is Valentine's Day and all across the globe men and women are showing their love to one another through small gifts and flowers. As a single gal, we tend to feel less love than the rest simply by lacking a current partner.

Just because I don't get many Valentine's doesn't mean I don't show the love. My grandmother's 75th birthday was yesterday and it was the last time before today that I would see the family for a couple of weeks. I got each of them a valentines card and some chocolates. I also got to see one of my besties who is in town to see her "luvah" aka her boyfriend.

My bestie got me wine stoppers, chocolate, and some foot care supplies (what else does a gal need). My parents got me some super cute double heart earrings.

Overall, not a bad deal. As far as the actual day goes, I put Nutella on my English muffin instead of peanut butter, I treated my self to a hot chocolate and I am treating myself to a spin class tonight.

While I may not have a partner, there is no regret to how I am spending this V-day.

Brave Brave Soul: The start of the Game

2011-02-12T19:34:00.000-05:00

It starts this weekend, I am running a 5k Sunday morning that should give me a starting point to get faster as well as thinner.

I promise not to turn this into weight loss only blog, but I am going to update every Saturday, with a picture and measurements. My goal is 15 lbs by my friends wedding on 22 May. So with out further ado.

This is me:

Scary Hun? This is why I am doing this.

These are my Measurements:

Height: 5'7.75"

Weight: 194 lbs

BMI: 29.7

Bra: 36 DD

Clothes: 14/16

Hips: 46.5"
Waist: 38
Bust: 42.5"
Thigh: 28"
Calf: 16.75"
Bi-Cep: 15.25"

My goal would put me at a weight of 179 lbs, and a BMI of 27.4, still overweight but closer to the healthy category than what I am right now. Game on Suckers!

Weight Loss Challenge!

2011-02-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

One of my really good friends is getting married in May. This is my deadline, I NEEEEEEEDDD to lose quite a few pounds between now and then. It is 15 weeks away and my goal is to lose between 15-20 lbs by then.

I will be posting a bathing suit picture on here tomorrow and measurements including weight. I think its the only way to keep my self motivated, internet embarassment! I do so much better with negative reinforcement than I do with postitive when it comes to these types of things.

Wish me luck!

Drrraaaagggiiinnng.....

2011-02-10T14:32:00.002-05:00

In my brilliant mind, last night I decided that I wanted to kick up my workouts a notch. There just so happens to be a spin class on Wed. evenings at my gym and then there is a relaxing yoga class after....

Spin class focused on god forsaken hills at resistance so hi you can't really pedal followed by yoga that was all about balance... ever tried to balance when your thighs are still shaking from spin class? The outcome is a few of my most recent least graceful moments.

Also, this morning, I am dragging ass, I mean, slow on the uptake and reading anything on screen makes me want to put my head down and nap. if I didn't live in a cube farm with half walls, I might have slept the day away... le SIGH!

Happy Birthday Jules Verne!

2011-02-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

If you checked your Google homepage today, you noticed that today is Jules Verne's Birthday, he would be a whopping 183 years old today if he was still living. He is most known as the father of modern science fiction. I have read many of his books but I had no idea the extent that he was published. Thanks to Wikipedia I now know that he wrote 62 novels (of which 54 make up the Extraordinary Voyages series) and 9 essays.

So in honor of the Creator of one of my favorite genre's, I am adding the following books to my reading list for the year; some of them I have read but its always good to run back to the classics.

Five Weeks in a Balloon (Cinq Semaines en ballon, 1863)
Paris in the 20th Century (Paris au XXe Siecle, 1863, not published until 1994)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Voyage au centre de la Terre, 1864)
From the Earth to the Moon (De la terre à la lune, 1865)
Journeys and Adventures of Captain Hatteras (Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras, 1866)
In Search of the Castaways or Captain Grant's Children (Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, 1867–1868)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers, 1870)
Around The Moon (Autour de la lune, a sequel to From the Earth to the Moon, 1870)
A Floating City (Une ville flottante, 1871)
Dr. Ox's Experiment (Une Fantaisie du Docteur Ox, 1872)
The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa (Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais, 1872 )
The Fur Country (Le Pays des fourrures, 1873)
Around the World in Eighty Days (Le Tour du Monde en quatre-vingts jours, 1873)
The Survivors of the Chancellor (Le Chancellor, 1875)
The Mysterious Island (L'Île mystérieuse, 1875)
The Blockade Runners, (1876)
Michael Strogoff (Michel Strogoff, 1876)
Off On A Comet (Hector Servadac, 1877)
The Child of the Cavern, also known as Black Diamonds or The Black Indies (Les Indes noires, 1877)
Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen (Un Capitaine de quinze ans, 1878)
The Begum's Millions (Les Cinq cents millions de la Bégum, 1879)
The Steam House (La Maison à vapeur, 1879)
Tribulations of a Chinaman in China (Les tribulations d'un chinois en Chine), 1879
Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon (La Jangada, 1881)
The Green Ray (Le Rayon vert, 1882)
The Headstrong Turk (1883)
Frritt-Flacc (1884)
The Vanished Diamond (L’Étoile du sud, 1884)
The Archipelago on Fire (L’Archipel en feu, 1884)
Mathias Sandorf (1885)
Robur the Conqueror or The Clipper of the Clouds (Robur-le-Conquérant, 1886)
Ticket No. "9672" (Un Billet de loterie, 1886 )
North Against South (Nord contre Sud, 1887)
The Flight to France (Le Chemin de France, 1887)
Family Without a Name (Famille-sans-nom, 1888)
Two Years' Vacation (Deux Ans de vacances, 1888)
The Purchase of the North Pole (Sans dessus dessous, the second sequel to From the Earth to the Moon, 1889)
Mistress Branican (Novel) (1891)
The Castle of the Carpathians (Le Château des Carpathes, 1892)
Propeller Island (L’Île à hélice, 1895)
Facing the Flag (Face au drapeau, 1896)
Clovis Dardentor (1896)
The Sphinx of the Ice Fields or An Antarctic Mystery (Le Sphinx des glaces, a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, 1897)
The Mighty Orinoco (Le Superbe Orénoque, 1897)
The Village in the Treetops (Le Village aérien, 1901)
Master of the World (Maître du monde, sequel to Robur the Conqueror, 1904)
Invasion of the Sea (L’Invasion de la mer, 1904)
A drama in Livonia (Un Drame en Livonie, 1904)
The Lighthouse at the End of the World (Le Phare du bout du monde, 1905)
The Chase of the Golden Meteor (La Chasse au météore, 1908)
The Danube Pilot (Le Pilote du Danube, 1908)
The Survivors of the 'Jonathan' (Les Naufragés du « Jonathan », 1909)

P.S I did not email Mr. 4 Months back, I am not going to, and I haven't heard from him again. But just wait, he will turn up again.

Bad Pennies, Bad Pennies, They all turn up like Bad Pennies-The Ex email

2011-02-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

All my Exes turn up, time and time again, just to "catch up," or to try and get back together... IT has NEVER failed.

The recent one (Mr. 4 Months) has sent me an email. I get the feeling that it was just to make himself feel better about the break up (if you can call it that). The Question is ... Do I Respond?

Here is the email, (italicized bits have been changed to protect the identities).
____________________________________

HookdnTX -- You're probably over me by now. I want to explain that
I really liked being with you but I'm a mess and also relationships
usually don't work out in general. None the less, I thought you were
random generic qualities about me, and I regret that life is built like this. Then
again, life is short. And, we have needs. I probably needed a friend
more than anything. Well, I have other needs. But really, I think
same random generic qualities about me.

Sorry I suck.

Really I'm dying of some random sleep disorder, and I've very recently figured that out. It
makes me poor qualities about him.

sincerely, Mr. 4 Months
____________________________

You might be a Yuppie if...

2011-02-02T12:42:00.000-05:00

You use your lunch hour to walk the 12 blocks to the salon to have your ladbits, eyebrows and toes maintained.

Its my monthly treat to myself! What is your monthly treat?

Blog Post Number 101! Crockpot expieriment Recipe Fail!

2011-02-01T07:57:00.000-05:00

I know most people usually make the 100th post the big post, but I think 101 sounds better (plus I missed that yesterday was my 100th post)

Anyhoo, I had a disaster of a crock pot yesterday and ended up throwing the whole thing out. I was attempting to make a leek, parsnip, onion soup that I could then puree and have a creamy soup for dinner and be able to freeze some.

I chopped up the leeks, onion, and parsnips, threw in a couple cloves of garlic, some salt, pepper, a little rosemary, and instead of stock I was using some left over beer. Set the Crock pot on low, and headed off to work.

I rolled home, walked the pup, busted out my blender and proceeded to make the soup a puree. Contents pureed and put back in the crock pot because I like thick soups and wanted it to condense a little. In the mean time I tasted it. Ever bite into a horse apple? remember how bitter it was? now multiply that by 101. It was so bitter it made me ill. I think the beer is what pushed it over the edge, note to self, never EVER use a hoppy beer with bitter ingredients.

I ended up have to dump the whole thing down the drain. Ugh, I hate wasting that kind of stuff, but even the pup wouldn't touch it and he licks his own butt.

It was tofu stir fry instead for dinner last night.

Twitter-paited--- The resulting Aftermath

2011-01-31T12:44:00.002-05:00

As a result of the previous generation feeling froggy come springtime, there is a SERIOUS amount of birthdays for me between 15 Jan and 15 Feb, I mean like 4-5 a week in a 1 month span.

I happen to have 2 birthday parties to attend this past weekend, and they made me feel like I was 8 years old again. They were not for young kids either, the birthday for my now 26 yo friend was at the local bowling alley, where we strapped on the fake pleather shoes, make jokes about her ball being lopsided or heavier than another and drank cheap pitchers of beer.

The birthday for my 28 year old friend happened to be a Princess party, that's right. We all were ordered to wear crowns, eat pink cup cakes with strawberry frosting, eat pink dip, and generally act like how a stubborn prince would act. Did I mention that there was pink princess punch?

Oh yes, besides the alcohol involved in all of these, they could have been any of the birthday parties I went to between the ages of 5 and 14, though to be honest I was still going to bowling parties in high school.

Flashback weekend! This coming weekend should be fun, my bestie, otherwise known as my Other Other or O.O. for short is coming into town to celebrate... wait for it.... Her Birthday. There should be plenty of shenanigans to go around as we are going OUT.

Repairing the Ego

2011-01-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

Nothing stings quite like rejection. This one was a small sting and a bruise compared to some of the items I have been through, but still a gal needs to have fall back activities to pull out the stinger and keep the swelling down.

My default programming is to vist my two favorite men, Ben & Jerry of course, and wallow in my sweats for a few days.

Not this time! I have what I like to call relationship weight; you know the 3-5 lbs you put on when you start dating someone new and you go out for rich dinners and skip the gym in order to prep and look pretty.

Instead, I commited myself to not miss a hash (not pot, the drinking group with a running problem) for the next 6 weeks, getting back into the gym for zumba/spin class, signed up for 3-5k running races, and have another couple planned to sign up for once I get the pay check.

In addition, Groupon had a coupon for laser hair removal, which I bought, which will come in handy when I have to put on that swimsuit for the first time this summer (Not any time soon mind you, we just got 5" of snow last night, eep!)

They say the best revenge is living well, well damn it, I might as well look good while doing it!

ps, I also removed him from my facebook page, blocked him on gchat and have him as DNA (do not answer) in my phone so that one may resist temptation. Also, because all of my Exes have this habit of coming back, they are like bad pennies, they just keep turning up.

Game Over

2011-01-25T08:33:00.000-05:00

Well, that's all folks. I have offically been dumped, and it kinda sucks the big one. It was the whole, "I am just not ready for a serious realtionship and staying friends is not an option."

I really really dislike dating right now.

Almost 4 months in--The Update as Requested

2011-01-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

As you may recall that I have been dating someone, the first few reports can be found here, here, and here.
Background on him, he is gainfully employed (is a requirement of mine, you would be surprised how often this is not the case), good looking (tall, dark hair and eyes, fit, and bigger than me), ambitious (3 small businesses to his name), a home owner, no criminal record (yes, this is an important aspect, it has happened before), and is with in my age range (younger=Half my age plus 8 years, and older=my age plus 10 years, so he is in the 21-35 age range but just barely)

-Side note, the age thing is important to me, I have found that men outside of this age range are generally at different life stages than I am, plus my Grandparents are 12 years apart and now that they are much older, my grandfather is ready to be retired and my grandmother still wants to go and do and be. While exceptions may be made for the correct person, this is what I generally go by. End Side Note-

As you can see we started dating in October of last year, and things took some time to get to the behind closed doors phase, to the point where I was concerned that we might not ever get to that phase.   But we reached it a little after Christmas. Yea! Finally!

As a rule, he has been responsive to my attempts to contact him, he makes plans, is a super gentle person, and always the gentleman. All looks good on paper to me. In addition to being good on paper, there is the warm fuzzy part, whenever I am around him I get that feeling inside (not the super sparky one of insta-lust but a good feeling none the less).

Up until this last week, stuff was going good. Granted, we only see one another about 1 a week due to the fact that he lives in B-More and I in DC.

The last date we had was at my house, I cooked Chicken Parm, had wine, there was some behind closed door action and then he headed home (It was a Sunday and we both had to work the next am). A little chatting on Monday and then...... NOTHING!   Not one email, phone call or text!

I am not fond of the MIA act.   So I pulled a girl move (I hate having to do that crap), and texted with the "i haven't heard from you, is everything ok?" line.   I got a minimal response about a cold. So, not an excuse, My response involved an apology for possibly giving him the cold and then calling him out on his lack of contact (I am a little blunt to say the least).

UGH Boys, Apparently he doesn't know how he feels about me and that is why he didn't contact me this week. How is one supposed to cope with that? I mean I am sure I didn't give him food poisoning and its not like I changed up anything in the bedroom dept that would scare him off.

So I am in Limbo and that's the Truth.

Odds and ends

2011-01-17T07:58:00.000-05:00

The perks of working as a contractor generally outweigh the downsides, however when the rest of this crazy town is kicking it in bed in their PJs on a federal holiday, its sucks the big one. The upside is that I have the opportunity to to work from home so I am allowed to work in my pjs, but its still work. :(

I thought I might also update you on the dating situation, I am still dating the guy I met at my friends divorce party. its going on 4 months and it seems to be going well. He seems a little gun shy and we haven't broached the subject of the Bf/gf question but I figured I would wait until after Valentines day to cut the pressure.

Ugh holidays=weight gain, I am working on getting back to my fighting shape. that is at 155 lbs people on my 5'8" which means my New Years resolutions involve 40 lbs.

My other NY resolution involves getting out of debt and boosting my savings. When did I become a boring grown up?

All about me Monday!

2011-01-10T11:58:00.001-05:00

1. Favorite appetizer? Tough call but usually and antipasti plate

2. Favorite State (besides the one you live in)? California, I was an hour from Tahoe
3. Favorite magazine? Atomic Ranch, I love the Mid century look.
4. Favorite ice cream? Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey even though it makes me a chunky monkey
5. Favorite flower? Gerber Daisies, color doesn't matter.
6. Favorite quote? "Hope is the thing with feathers; That perches in the soul; And sings the tune--without the words; And never stops at all" Emily Dickinson

7. Favorite time of day? I am an early afternoon person, love naps and the quiet before the evening activities commence.

My new Hobby!

2011-01-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

I have taken up a new activity often referred to as a drinking group with a running problem, otherwise known as Hashing.

What is Hashing you ask (and no it does not involve any illegal substances, only questionable behavior)? Its basically a choose your own path run set up by "hares", marked by colored flour and chalk with drinking pit stops along the way.

We run through trails, back alleys, through creeks and people's yards all in search of the beer van. It is glorious!

The Long time hashers are no longer known by their first names, but by their Hash names, a few notable ones are Turbo Twat (girl), Can't find Pussy in a Haystack (boy), Poop Been a Dick (boy), and Red Vag of courage (girl). Dirty Diddys are sung and foul language abounds. Basically if you can't hang with 12 year old boys you wont have a good time.

(Did I mention that Hashing is still a bit of a boys club? No? Well Ladies, if you want to meet fun, fit men, find a Hashing group near you today!)

We run every Thursday after work and the run starts and ends in different parts of the city every week. This Thursday happened to be the Hash were my accident prone wonderness showed its true colors.

I managed to get my the crotch of my pants caught whilst hopping a fence, managed to nearly ass plant in a river and get attacked by a tree while racing through the woods. The Group of runners I kept with also happened to lose the trail a time or two but that is the fun part.

In my area? Want to try it out? Then come be my virgin and I will show you the ropes.

All about me Monday!

2010-12-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

1. Do you buy cheap or expensive toilet paper?
     I guess it would be expensive, since well I am a girl and my lady bits deserve the high quality.

2. Favorite show you're watching this season?
    Bones! Brennan admitted she likes Booth-Finally!

3. What was the last book you read?
      Haunt Me Still by Jennifer Lee Carroll- Wonderful mystery book!

4. When using a public restroom to you squat over the seat or sit?
     I don't use public restrooms unless it is dire and then its a hover pot

5. What's your alcoholic drink of choice that usually raises a few eyebrows?
     Flavored Stoli and Sprite

6. Do you dream in color?
I usually dream in black, white, and one color. The important items will be highlighted in the color. EX. The crazy ax murder after me will have a Purple axe.

semi-famous claim to fame

2010-12-15T08:30:00.002-05:00

I may or may not have routinely made out with a housemate of mine in undergrad who may or may not be a semi-famous local celebrity musician in my old college town.

This is as close to famous as I will ever get...

All about me... a day late

2010-12-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

1. Christmas… love it or hate it?
Love, Love, Love! I took a second job to pay for presents. I live alone and have a REAL tree and 2 REAL wreaths, the holidays have always been big in my family.

2. Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? What else (if anything) needs to be done?
Oh it was done 2 weeks ago and they are all wrapped, the oned that needed to be mailed have been and I have been delivering the ones to those peeps who i see just before Christmas.

3. Christmas sweaters: do you own one? Is it cute or tacky?
I don't own a sweater but i do have one reindeer felt vest for those tacky christmas sweater parties.

4. What gift are you most excited about giving this year?
Um, All of them, I spend a good deal of time and money picking out presents for my family in hopes that they like them. I prefer to watch them open mine rather than open my own presents.

5. What is your “go to” holiday treat, the one you make every year?
The family Christmas cookie recipe, think a cross between surgar cookies and short bread with a butter cream frosting!

6. Your cousin Joni brings her new boyfriend unexpectedly to Christmas dinner. Do you have a gift for him?
Sure, I always have a gift card or 2 stashed.

7. Does your living room look like it could be on an episode of Hoarders?
No actually, I am a bit OCD when it comes to clutter, I vaccuum everyday.

Apartment Nightmares: Version 1.5

2010-12-07T07:39:00.000-05:00

About 8 months ago I had the ceiling above my bathtub spring a leak and partially collapse into the tub. No big deal, my apt managers had the maintenance guys come out and fix it the next day and paint it the following day easy peasy. Bonus, the mess was only in the tub so no damage to the floors or any of my stuff and the clean up was a breeze.

Before the ceiling sprung a leak, I started noticing that the paint was bubbling up. Well the paint has started to bubble up again but this time not only in my bathroom but in my living room too. I reported it to my apt company. They came out and inspected it. This time however, they decided that instead of having a professional come check out the section for water damage, the solution is to paint my ENTIRE living room and bathroom.

As a result of this I had to remove all personal items from both rooms and move all the furniture away from the walls. I have lived in my apt for almost 4 years now, do you know how much crap you accumulate? Plus I got to find out just how dusty it gets behind the furniture. My OCD kicked in, I hope the painters appreciate a freshly vacuumed carpet and clean bathroom. I also hope that they leave it as clean as they found it.

I would call it nightmare 2.0 but it seems to stem from the other issue 8 months ago. This evening I get to put all my crap back. But at least the apt is clean for my shin dig this weekend and I can hang my wreath on the wall without having to climb over my sofa.

Holiday's and Baking Disasters

2010-12-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Every year my family makes a TON of sweets for the span between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am usually in charge of cookies.

There are 2 distinct instances where I royally screwed them up....

The first was when I was probably 9 years old. We have these frosted shortbread/sugar cookie combo cookie that is to die for. Think a sugar cookie with the consistency of shortbread and frosted with butter cream, I think I put on 5 lbs just thinking about them. I mixed them according to the recipe and then sprinkled the counter with flour and rolled them out. Well they stuck, so I added more flour to the batter. They still stuck, more flour added... See where this is going?

By the time I got them not to stick, they were pretty much flour cookies. we baked them and even the homemade butter cream couldn't save them, there was 50 cookies down the drain.

The second instance is a little more humorous. I was maybe 13. I am part Italian, I have family in little Italy in Boston. My Mother's favorite cookie is the italian cookies with the almond paste. I requested the recipe from my Great Aunt in Boston because at the time we were living in Northern CA and there were no italian bakery's in the area. She sent me the recipe.

I started to make it, it called for a dozen eggs, 10 cups of flour and about 80 ounces of almond paste.... It seemed like a lot, but what did I know? I ended up using 2 bowls to hold all the batter. At 13, I didn't think too much about the amoutn of batter I had

Turns out My Great Aunt had sent the recipe from the bakery, which means that I had a dozen dozen (144 cookies) needles to say we had cookies for MONTHS.

Songs that are not allowed in my house

2010-11-24T19:17:00.000-05:00

Rompe by Daddy Yankee, anything by the Dixie Chicks and Rock on by David Essex for the following reason:

all I want for Christmas....

2010-11-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

Is my two front teeth! Actually, I have them but I remember when my wish lists were much more exciting, like when I was 5 and wanted a pony or at 16 when I wanted a car. Now that I am a grownup, I request much more mundane things.

So with out further Ado, here is my list of wants:

1. New Running Shoes: Asics Gels size 10 Women/8 Men (After the marathon, my old sneakers are pretty much shot.)
2. New winter pea coat in a bright color with buttons and no tie at the waist.

3.    A hard cover for my kindle
4.       New dishtowels in Pink or light green (don't judge, I have green dishes and my table is a round 50's diner style that is white, the chairs are pink vinyl with white piping, I live alone, I can have a pink kitchen if I want)
5.       Books (I have a kindle!)
6.       Earrings-gold or silver (no nickel please as I am allergic.)

Thrilling no?

New Couch Quest.

2010-11-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

When I say Quest, I mean Epic Quest. I have been looking for a new couch for almost a year now. I know what I want, it's just a struggle to find it.

I currently, have a long and narrow living room furnished with a mixture of hand me downs, thrift shop finds and a couple Ikea pieces. Most of my furniture was acquired when I moved to DC just over 3 years ago for grad school.

I currently have a 10+year old leather love seat and chair combo in my living room that my parents were kind enough to leave me when they vacated the area as I was moving up here. The leather has started to crack, the seats aren't as firm as they once were but most of all I would like a couch that is long enough to take a nap on; at 5'8", a love seat just doesn't cut it.

I have had my heart set on a grey fabric sofa (no more leather has my pup seems to be extra hard on it and no microfiber as that seems to be a pet fur magnet) with mid century styling, relatively light weight and under $1000. If I could find one that also had a sofa bed that would be ideal but it is not a requirement.

Now, I found one that fits 60 % of my requirements at crate and barrel this is it: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/sofas/steele-sofa/s345761 in grey tweed. The downside, its almost 2 times my budget.

I know most people say to shop online and find a cheaper one with similar style, however, I have a hard time buying anything that I haven't put my rear end on to try first in person before I drop that kind of cash.

The quest continues. If you have any recommendations, I would gladly accept them.

to prove a point....

2010-11-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

I may or may not have wrapped all the Christmas presents last night that I bought while watching Glee and then NCIS Los Angeles.....

It's the Holiday Season!

2010-11-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

I am a planner, through and through. I like knowing what I am doing the next weekend on the Monday before and I have big trips planned out at least 4 months in advance. I pack 2 days before a trip and I double check the rules always.

I have already started my Christmas shopping and I am half way through the 30 people I have to buy for. Yes, I did just say 30 people.

I took a part time job on the weekends selling pumpkins to 8 year olds at a fall festival starting in September so I could afford to buy for all these people and I started shopping early so that I wouldn't rack up so much credit card debt.

I have also planned and invited peeps to my Christmas Party.... I know it is early but my invites were sent out a week ago. I generally aim for the 2nd weekend in December. I was getting asked about it in October and I planned my party and about 8 other people posted their party's invites around mine the day after. Apparently, I throw a party not to be reckoned with.

This year I am doing something a bit different with it. I am asking each guest to bring an old towel or sheet when they come. The local animal shelter is always in need of sheet and towels for bedding and to keep the animals clean. After the party I plan on taking the items to the shelter.

I generally provide libations and yummy snacks for all involved, in addition to rum, vodka, and gin I mix up a big big batch of mulled wine (i put extra alcohol in it) which is a hit every year, even more than the peppermint martini's and the pumpkin pie martini's I have provided at previous parties.

The nibbles I haven't figured out yet but that is my project for this weekend....

My Name is HookdnTX, I have a planning problem!

Making Stock for the First Time!

2010-11-04T09:19:00.000-04:00

I have never made my own stock before but I wanted to try. I had read about using "trash" foods to make it and so I started compiling my items.

By Trash I mean the ends of red, yellow, and vadalia onions, the slightly wilted scallions and green onions and the ends you cut off, fresh ginger peals, the stems from herbs like basil and thyme, carrots slightly past their prime and the head of garlic that had started to sprout. Generally the items that you would toss out but are still usable. I also went through my freezer and used the frost bitten last ears of summer corn that I didn't get around to eating and some frost bitten chicken thighs and a lonely pork chop.

Tossed it all into my GIANT stock pot. Added water until it was 3/4 filled added some salt, pepper, celery seed, and dill. Then brought it up to a boil. Let it cook for 3.5 hours and strained it through my colander.

I ended up with about 4 quarts of stock. 1 quart I placed into a mason jar and put it in the fridge for use within the next couple of days. The rest got divided into 3 quart bags and put in the freezer.

It was easy and almost free since it was made from stuff I would have thrown away.

My dachshund is also happy as the chicken (sans bones) and the pork chop have become a welcome part of his dinner (a little bit at each meal with his regular dog chow) so even that is not gone to waste!

I feel extra frugal today!

The good and the bad...

2010-11-03T12:20:00.000-04:00

Good: I had date number 4 with boy and it went really well.

*WARNING: the following comments my induce nausea and vomiting due to their sickly sweet nature*

Top 3 items from the date
1) The man knows how to compliment a lady: Upon greeting one another, "you smell wonderful" and half way through the meal, "you have fantastic hair"
2) He is still helping me on and off with my coat and holds the door, I simply don't remember when I had someone be this consistently kind to me.
3) He stated that he is a nice guy who likes to treat women well and the he is "still trying to figure out how to be nice to me because I deserve it" and then I melted. :)

We have another date set up for this Sunday!

****WARNING Expired******

BAD: But I did have a mishap. I made a dash to Target to pick up some new black flats because my old ones had died. I managed to find not 1, but 2 really cute pairs. Wore one last night to date and they were comfy!

However the problem comes with Pair #2. I put them on... and they felt funny. Right shoe felt tight, left shoe felt really lose. Took them off--- Darn things were 2 different sizes which were different than the size stated on the box. Oh well, I guess that what I get for mooning over a boy and not paying attention.

Sorry Peeps, no UGLY today!

PS, my post marathon soreness is down to the "I did too much at the gym last night" soreness vice the "OMG I can barely walk" soreness that I had the first 2 days. Hip hip hooray for not walking like I am in a bad western.

And another one bites the dust

2010-11-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

Guess what all 5 readers?

I ran and completed the Marine Corp Marathon this weekend! It was my very first one! It is another item off my bucket list, so that makes 2 items off this year, run my first half (Zooma Annapolis in June) and then the full this weekend.

It took forever to complete (actually it took just over 6 hours for me to complete), It hurt like a son of a gun at the end and I am sore as all get out, but its done, DONE, DONE.

I would like to say that I am now addicted to running crazy distances but alas, I am not, I don't think I will do another one until my Half marathon times are consistently under 2 hours because lets face it, no one enjoys 6 hours of running, I don't care who you are.

Wahooo!

P.S. Boy is back from the former USSR and we have a 4th date this week. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I wanna talk about me!

2010-10-25T08:30:00.000-04:00

1. What’s your middle name?
Michelle. My Dad is named Michael and Michelle is the feminine version of that name.

2. Do you read celebrity gossip?
Only what shows up in my Glamour mag once a month

3. Waffles, pancakes or french toast?
None of the above, I love me some breakfast tacos (which I guess is closest to a pancake).

4. Do you collect anything?
Fossils, I wanted to be Indiana Jones when I was a kid, then I found out that a) you can't change genders and b) he doesn't get paid.

5. The first word that comes to mind when describing yourself?
Busty, they just always get places first.

6. Have you ever been skinny dipping?
Yes, My grandmother had a pond surrounded by 30 acres, I have even been fishing whilst skinny dipping.

7. Who's one blog friend that you would want to meet in "real life"?
I would love to meet Mrs. Lisa and One Girl Trucking.

Date 3, the work trip, and managing expectations

2010-10-22T11:30:00.000-04:00

Party Guy and I went on our 3rd date last week. I was deemed worthy enough by him to occupy his Saturday Night (which is the prime weekend spot for those no in the know, you only schedule your important peeps for Sat night) He invited me up to Baltimore for dinner (which is appropriate because he has driven down to DC 2 times and so it was my turn). I drove to his place and he gave me quick tour of his townhouse.

Town house breakdown: 4 Br 2 Ba townhouse with 3 floors, a bit of a back yard and a gated parking area. Nice sofa, mostly ikea furniture. The nicest room in the house was his office, He appears to be a bit of a work-aholic and he had lots of re-hab projects going on. Overall a nice house but def a bachelor pad.

We went to dinner at a local pizza joint. had good conversation and pizza. Then we headed back to his place. Hung out and chatted for a bit and then.......

Started acting like grown-ups do behind closed doors. I let it go as far as 2nd base before putting it to a halt. I Like the Guy but we had our first kiss on the second date, and I am not ready to fall into bed with a guy I like after spending maybe 15 hrs total together.

Here's where it gets hinky....

Background: His job takes him out of the country to an Eastern European Country about 1 time a quarter. This trip happens to be from this Tuesday through next Friday.

I ring him Monday to wish him well on his travels and kind of get a feel for what his itinerary is. He says he didn't expect to hear from me again because I put the breaks on.

My Thoughts on the Matter:
1) We have only spent 15 hrs together
2) I am a classy gal (most of the time)
3) what kind of girls have you been dating that jump from a 1st kiss to Home runs in 1 date?

I gave him my reasons and all seemed to be well. He ran me as he was boarding the plane to say goodbye and asked for an email.

I emailed him wed and I haven't heard back yet. I am trying not to have my feelings hurt by the no contact. I do realize that he is on a work trip in a country that is hours ahead of us and I don't know what kind of access he has to a computer. Still, I don't think it takes too much time to send a quick reply and I give until Saturday before I give up hope.

Am I unreasonable? Should I expect more or less contact? How do you manage the expectations of a new relationship?

I wanna talk about me!

2010-10-18T09:21:00.000-04:00

Part time, Full time, or no time? I work full time and I have a part time job for the fall

2. What do you do for a living?
I’m an Gov. Contractor doing finance for our military.

3. Scale of 1 to 10-- how much do you love your job?
7- good job, decent pay, and great benefits though I could use less spreadsheets

4. What does your typical work day attire consist of?
Business suit every day but Friday and then its slacks and a dress shirt

5. When you were a kid, what did you always say you were going to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be Indiana Jones

6. Is your job a job or a career?
It’s a career so far, I like having the flexibility to work on different projects

7. I hate commuting! What do you do when you’re stuck in traffic?
I ride the metro with the flesh eaters, so traffic usually consists of standing on the train....

Dates.... Yes, that is plural

2010-10-08T10:15:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make, I have had 2 successful dates, with the same person. I am very excited!

Met him at a friends Divorce party (irony much?), he tracked me down via facebook we exchanged several awkward emails (mostly awkward from his end )

And we had our first date last Friday, drinks and a little grub, lots of conversation.... it went well until the goodbye came, and I decided to be the awkward one... I guess turn about is fair play.

Despite my awkward good by, he agreed to go on another date with me, which was last night, dinner (did I mention that he lives in Baltimore and drove all the way down to my house in dc to pick me up, opened my car door, helped me on and off with my jacket and was just overall a gentleman? it is so refreshing) and lots of conversation... it ended in a good night kiss. I think I might really like him :)

Quiet during Church Please!

2010-09-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

So this past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend WPOC's Sunday in the Country (Yes, I am a country music fan, I did grow up mostly in Texas).

On the Docket was:

Matt Kennon
Bucky Covington
The Band Perry (awesome btw, their first album comes out 12 Oct)
Joe Nichols
Eric Church
Lady Antebellum

Pretty fantastic concert, especially Eric Church- his song "Smoke a Little Smoke" is totally as sexy live as it is on the radio.

I had lawn seats with a friend of mine. I have discovered a few things during my concert adventure. I am officially too old to go to a concert and be sober in the lawn seats. Also, most early 20 somethings drink far too much, case in point, 5 people around me and my friend were too drunk to standby the time Joe Nichols came on and another 3 had to be taken home early. I don't know about you but if I paid for a concert, i am damn sure I don't get too wasted and miss the headliners.

However, I do appreciate the mellower concert goers that recognized that a good time is had by all if you are respectful to your neighbors.

Overall a good time was had and I would highly recommend going to see any of the bands listed if you get the opportunity.

what happens when suzie runs into the busiest week of her life.

2010-09-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

Inspired by this post on Apartment Therapy: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/cooking-discussion/cooks-confession-what-have-you-passed-off-as-dinner-127333

I thought I would share my go to lazy person's dinner options (note most of these work only if you are the only person to feed).

1) Pint of Ben and Jerry's: My faves are chunky money and their vanilla caramel swirl.
2) cheese and crackers
3) left over cupcakes usually 2-3
4) a bottle of wine, generally i will drink it and then fall asleep actually forgetting to eat anything. I recommend that you not do this when you have to be up early the next morning.
5) left overs, most often from the crock pot. I make ALOT of beans at one time and then mix up the toppings at side dishes. For example, black beans can go with corn bread, into tacos, or miked with fresh tomatoes/onions/corn and eaten with tortilla chips.

While they are not the healthiest options, at least I don't forget to eat

*Being the fat kid that I am I don't think I would forget to consume anything.

What are your strangest dinner options?

Suzie Homemaker is back!

2010-09-15T08:28:00.000-04:00

As you may remember I live in a 1940's apartment with a gas stove and no vent fan (I usually open the widow to let the heat out). The summer's here are just to sweltering to bake and keep a crock pot running while my small window air units try to cool the place. Now that the weather has turned cooler in the DC area, I am able to return to acting like a domestic goddess that I like to pretend to be.

In the past two weeks I have gone on a rampage. It started with a cupcake-a-plooza. I made Smore's Cupcakes, Pineapple Upside-down Cupcakes, and Caramel Apple Cupcakes. I then proceeded to make Peanut ginger scones and have had a delicious scone for breakfast everyday this week! This past weekend had me making Quick breads (no yeast), two types emerged; Honey Oat and Apple-Ginger.

Yesterday, I happen to swing by the farmers market near my work and one of the vendors offered to cut me a deal on apples (30+lbs btw). Which is a good deal but in hindsight it would have been better to wait for the weekend when I had a car to tote them home and didn't have to lug them home on the metro.

*Note to the girl sprawled on the metro seat that I asked to move so I could sit. You had the last seat available blocked with your legs, It is not unreasonable for me to say excuse me when I am LUGGING A GIANT BOX OF APPLES THAT REQUIRES TWO HANDS TO HOLD, instead of trying to balance whilst the driver of the train decides to play stop-and-go with the breaks. So Don't huff at me C***!

But, 12 lbs of apples peeled and cored later, I have completed my first batch of Crock-pot apple butter (2 quart jars) and a batch of Canned Apples in light syrup.

This is just the beginning, I am hopping to finish out the apples in apple butter as I have had many requests for it and since I am working on a farm, I am hoping to snag some late season tomatoes and attempt to make my own pasta sauce.

-Welcome to Fall People. I may not like the cold but it allows me to do some of the things I miss out on in the summer months.

I wanna talk about me!

2010-09-13T08:44:00.000-04:00

Ms. Lisa likes to do a Monday round up of questions posted by a fellow blogger, however her fellow blogger has decided to up a quit. So in Honor of Mrs. Lisa and her favorite things, I am assisting her in continuing her "All About Me" Mondays. So without further ado:
1. How old are you? A whopping 25 years old.

2.Where are you from and where do you live now? From is a tough question due to being a military brat and now I currently live in our Nation's Capital

3. What music have you been diggin lately? Pop-Country, don't judge

4. Favorite food(s)? It depends on the week but lately it has been cheesy savory dishes like broccoli rice and cheese casserole

5. Single,married, divorced? Single, Holla!

6. Kids? If so, how many and how old? No Bambinos, not planning on having any anytime soon.

7. What are 3 blogs you read daily? Mrs. Lisa (see link above), Ms. Catherinette Singleton (http://www.catherinette.wordpress.com/) and Cake Wrecks for some humor.

8. How long have you been blogging? Off and on for 3 years.

I like shoes and giving Big gifts

2010-09-08T07:56:00.000-04:00

and as such, I have found that my present income is not sufficient enough to support the above and my drinking habits. I have gotten a part time weekend job.... working on a farm.... during their fall festival...with kids 10 and under. This should be interesting.

25 is not an old maid people.

2010-08-24T09:03:00.000-04:00

As you know I had a family reunion this past summer with my mother's side of the family. It is also the side of the family that believes the motto "early and often" when it comes to bearing children. I have 2nd cousins who are younger than me and on child number 3. I got the question, Are you seeing any one etc, etc,

-----My answer was no, I am having too much fun dating around. What I wanted to say was, Shut it, I got my undergrad and grad degree while you were busy knocking boots and making babies.

My sister who is 19 and already been engaged 1 time (don't get me started, it was a rough year for my family with that one) has a long term boyfriend (not the same ring guy) who is former military and every time I see her she goes, "you need to get married," "I don't want you to be mad at me for getting married first" and the like.

----To my sister, I DON'T WANT TO BE MARRIED YET. I DO NOT CARE IF YOU GET HITCHED FIRST. Incidentally, your current BF has not proposed and he lives in NJ while you are going to school in TX. Long distance is hard, good luck

My few married friends have all said, you are next at their weddings.

----Dear lord I hope not, there is still student debt to handle and I like not having to share a bed or a bathroom.

My coworkers are great but they assume that I run amok every weekend and that I have no issue working late because I am single.

-----FAIL on both accounts peeps I like to go out on the weekends but its not like I am slutty boozer and I do have plans during the week. They involve the Gym, the dog park (for Toby the dachshund) and happy hours with great friends (no, I don't always drink at them, sometimes its just good to vent about pushy coworkers).

In short, I like being my single self, I am in no hurry to get hitched, I am respectable and I AM NOT OLD so stop pushing me to find a Man.

Guess What?!

2010-08-17T08:43:00.002-04:00

I can now wear a size 12 jeans! WOOT. I have gone from an 18 to a 16 to a 14 to a 12 (!) in the last year. Upside to the 12 jeans (warning TMI time) I tried them on with period bloat. Suck it fat cells, your time on my body is limited.

Gimme S'more

2010-08-10T09:34:00.000-04:00

I like to pretend to cook. I can fix most anything and I usually modify recipes to fit my taste and time frame. As such I see no need to bake a cupcake from scratch when Miss Betty Crocker (yes, I said Miss, no woman with that many recipes would have time to find a man AND develop those recipes, plus she most be quite rotund) has done most of the work for you already.

That being said, I have a semi-homemade way of making delicious S'mores cupcakes, perfect for the summer months after eating that burger or grilled chicken breast.

I first had a S'more cupcake at one of the million cupcakeries in the DC area that have popped up. They had graham cracker cake, with chocolate ganache and a marshmallow topping.

Well being a pretend cook and not baking from scratch this is what I did.

1 Box white cake mix.
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (backing aisle, also good to have when making cheese cake.)
1/3 cup extra vegetable oil
1 bag Hersey's kisses
1 bag large marshmallows.

Mix the cake mix according to the box, add in the extra oil and graham cracker crumbs. Place cupcake batter into cupcake pan, fill about 3/4 full. Unwrap kisses, place 1 -2 kisses into batter in each cup. bake according to box. when almost done, like 5 min till, open oven place 1 large marshmallow on top of the cup cake. bake the remaining time. Pull cupcakes out, and smoosh marshmallow on top so it looks like frosting. Serve Warm.

I made 18 of them this past weekend for my family. There was 10 people, All the cupcakes were eaten. You do the math.

I love these because you don't have to ice them and everyone thinks your a genius for coming up with them. Try them and let me know what you think!

Quirks of living in an older apartment

2010-08-04T09:01:00.000-04:00

This post is inspired by the Apartment Therapy article on list of deal breakers for living situations, you can see the post Here I live in a fairly large Apartment for the DC area, it is almost 800 square feet and is rent controlled so I am generally in good shape when it comes to the living situation.

However, there are quirks to my 1940's apartment.

1) Con: I have the least amount of closet space ever. I am talking tiny, I have 1 entry way closet that is about 3 ft wide with 1 hanging bar, 1 linen closes so narrow that have have to fold my towel 2 times on the narrow side and then fold them in a triple fold on the wide side to get them to fit, and 1 bedroom closet that is about 3 feet wide but was deep enough that I McGuivered a bottom rack sideways to hang pants on.
Pro: it has forced me to pair down my wardrobe and keep only items I really love and are in good shape

2) I don't really have cold water. I have fantastic hot water and good water pressure however the coldest it gets is maybe 80 degrees, so no glasses of water right out of the tap.

3) No washer/dryer/dishwasher. My community has a pay as you go laundry on my floor which is fine for now and I don't generate allot of dishes at one time but it would be nice to have them.

4) 90 layers of paint on the walls and other surfaces so when the humidity is up (like it is all summer here is the swamp land other wise known as DC) everything sticks to them.

5) A radiator that doesn't turn off all the way. Its great in the winter and because I live in a cement building on the bottom floor, I never really have to turn on the other radiators, but late spring and early fall it is hotter than balls in my apt and I have to run the air constantly to avoid over heating El Perro.

6) Upstairs neighbors have wood floors: 2 people, 2 dogs and 2 cats, 'Nough Said

Despite all of that I live right near a park, the bus stops right around the corner, and my dining room is big enough to hold my vintage inspired white and chrome dining table with its pink vinyl chairs. I am happy. The only way I would move after 3 years is for an apartment that is closer to the metro and has all of the items list in 3.

What are your deal breakers for apartments?

Highly Coordinated

2010-08-03T11:58:00.000-04:00

Today marks the busiest next two weeks of my Year.

My immediate family is coming into town but they are not arriving all together (that would be easy-but that is not "our" way). Side Note: Initially my sister was supposed to arrive with my mom however her Sig. O. got tickets to a baseball game up in Yankee-Land (anywhere north of the Mason Dixon Line, yes I STILL live in the South) so she decided to jump ship early, thus having my mother arriving first.

Here is the schedule (I feel like I am on anamanics right now)

Today- Mom flies in this evening-drive the hour back to my place from the airport
tomorrow -Mom to visit GP's and meet up with sister and BF as they arrive back from Yankee-land, I stay here have softball game, Mom and sister spend night and Thursday up with the GP's (grand parents)

Friday, Half day work, Mom+sister+grandmother+ maybe aunt come back down, we go see the Norman Rockwell (he is my favorite American artist) exhibit at the Smithsonian. Car full of peeps plus dog trek back up to GP's for the weekend

Sat- Pending agreement, shopping in the tax free state of DE.

Sunday, Dad to arrive in drive back down to my house

Monday-Thursday, Work plus a softball game thrown in for good measure. Some point during this time, Grandmother has outpatient surgery on her neck and Mom+sister return to GP's to take care of her. Sister runs around with friends as well. Dad up here for work so he is at the office.

Friday to Sunday -Sister/Me head to beach with friends (this is our first trip as pseudo-grown ups together sans parents, god grant me Patience with her). Dad +Mom head up to GP's and Dad does race just north of GP's house on Saturday. Drive back to My house Sunday

Monday-I go to work, sister recovers from her binging with the adults. Mom+dad head back down to my house.

Tuesday-Family flies out.

Wednesday...... go to work, come home sleep....

Forgive me If I don't post for awhile, I will have 1-3 additional people in my 1 br apartment up in my grill and privacy goes out le window.

Dear Universe

2010-07-26T22:25:00.001-04:00

I am passive aggressive when I know that what I am about to say is going to hurt the feelings of someone.

I pansy-ed out, I admit it, I sent an "I am not interested" EMAIL to an ex who decided to pursue me again.

Background: Said Ex and I had a rough row last time (mostly my feelings were shredded, stir fried and served as the special at your local Chinese restaurant). However, we still play on the same softball team and have many mutual friends so I am put in the position of having to decline his intention with a limited impact as possible.

So I sent an EMAIL. I am a pansy, however, said Ex only communicated his intentions over email and Gchat so I feel that we both have been passive aggressive and therefore Karma can feel free to reap its revenge equally.

Which BTW, I feel like it has in the way of having the other person I was sort of seeing Stand me up not 1 time but 2 times in the same weekend. I am done, I quit, and I FAIL. I am going back into my cubby hole with the 2 reliable men Ben and Jerry.

Check out my peaches....

2010-07-25T14:02:00.000-04:00

Summer is my favorite season. I love the heat and I love that days are so much longer. It provides lots of opportunity to do activities in the evening and on the weekends.

Best Part though has to be the bounty at the Farmer's Market. Check out my loot from this week

Jealous? I hope so. The tomatoes taste delicious on the bread with a little of the mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil. Dessert was some of the blueberries.

Have you visited your market lately?

I have....

2010-07-21T15:36:00.000-04:00

Rump Shaker stuck in my head and its all because of my softball team leader....

Picturing the future

2010-07-19T22:08:00.000-04:00

I had a family reunion last month and I often see the other side of the family since i live just over an hour away. The question always comes up am I dating someone special, most often the answer is no. Its not that I am dating, its the special part that gets me, I usually don't get past date 1 let alone date 3-5 to get to the "special" part.

But beyond that, I don't particularly see myself getting married with 2.5 kids in the suburb. Not that there is anything wrong with that. At 25 my vision of the future has me with a pretty 2 bed 2 bath condo (with a pretty porch and lots of plants) in a mid-level city (decorated in a warm mid-century style, but I digress) that I share with my dachshund with a long term boyfriend who can go to his own damn space when I can't share my space anymore.

Maybe its because I don't have that special someone yet, but please JUST STOP ASKING ME or I am going to have to make up sordid details to scare the bejesus off my Grandmother.

Weekend Update: Single Girl Swagger

2010-07-12T08:20:00.000-04:00

Its raining Men, Hallelujah, its raining men............

And that is my last foray into singing for fear of busting ear drums and killing cats but its true.

First of all, a former flame has decided that I am worth pursuing again. I don't trust it, period the end. Last time I got run through the wringer and I am not up to putting myself through that a second time.

Second of all, I spent some time with a Jake Gyllenhal look alike (from his Jarhead days) Yes, he is that hot. He is gainfully employed with a clearance (obvi the gov thinks he is worth hiring), owns his own home, has an education, and can build stuff (he built his own back patio). Wow, how does a gal get so lucky?

Saturday found me with a lot to process on the man front, and as the good domestic goddess that I am, when there is a lot on my mind, I clean. I went so far as to wash all my linens, you know your comforter, curtains etc. I had to make a run to the store to pick up some dryer sheets and got macked on by a fellow in the laundry aisle at the store. :)

Sunday, I went for my long run and had one fellow choose to run with me for a few miles (He ran up beside me on the trail and politely requested to run with me, which is refreshing 'cause he could have been all stalker like and I would have had to drop kick his rear end. But in the end, I was running to far for the man but it was nice to have a chatting buddy for 3 mi or so.

So look out world, this gal is getting her Swagger back. All the weight loss and hard work is starting to pay off. I now have prospects (which is a great change from the last year where it appeared I was going to end up the weird old lady who takes in stray dogs, yes dogs, I don't like cats that much).

Wahoo Weekend!

I will never understand...

2010-07-01T08:46:00.001-04:00

Why women will wear shoes and clothes that are too small.

Shoes Rant: It is summer in the District and everywhere I go I see women with too small flip-flops; either their heels are hitting the ground or their toes are hanging over the edge. It just seems like you would notice your feet touching the ground. It does not cost anything extra to go the next size up in flip flops and if you have unusually large feet for a woman, check out the men's section, they have black/brown/blue flip flops too.

Clothes Rant: I know it is not comfortable for women to wear pants with the waist band digging in. I see sooooooooo many women with a GIANT Muffin top. Its not just heavier women either, I have seen size 2-4 women try and squeeze into a 0 as well. If your a regular sized person (sizes 0-14), go the next size up, I promise, no one is going to look at the tabs. If your on the cusp of the plus sized group, either jump into the plus sized group or work your tail end off (like I did) to get back into the proper size; in the mean time, find clothes that fit. The plus sized group, this goes the same for you. Trust me women, it looks better to have a smooth figure than look like some one piled up a lump set of tires.

Don't even get me started on the amount of skin showing in this city, I am no prude but when your muffin top/belly/nipples are hanging out over your clothes, its time to put on something else.

Long Life

2010-06-16T10:03:00.001-04:00

Me, at age 3 with my Great Grandmother Mariannina

March 10, 1903-June 8, 2010

My Great-Grandmother passed away last week. She was born in 1903 which makes her 107 at her passing. An Italian immigrant, is the matriarch of 4 children, 6 grandchildren and 9 great-grand children. A wonderful little woman (yes, little, she was barely 5 feet tall) and will be greatly missed.

Friday's Theme Song: All My Friend's Say

2010-06-11T12:45:00.001-04:00

By Luke Bryant.

I have a weekend with NOTHING Planned. I mean seriously? I cannot tell you the last time I had an entirely free weekend.

Since I am a type-A personality I have started making a list of things I am going to do that I usually have to cram in somewhere else so without further ado:

1) Laundry -Its been 2 weeks and I am wearing my last clean bra-'nough said.

2) Sunbathe to try and even out my tan lines, I have a shorts/tank top tan line, I will be spending some of next weekend in a bathing suit, it does not do well to be tan and have a pasty middle.

3) clean house-no more dust, remove the puppy fur from my carpet, change the sheets etc.

4) Take the Toby-monster to the dog park (he is a dachshund and kinda chunky, he needs the exercise)

5) Watch True blood-Season 3 starts Sunday!

6) Read Mansfield Park-one of my fav classics.

7) Work out- I plan on running 4mi Friday, my long run this week in prep for my marathon is 6 mi and then Yoga on Sunday so I don't get sore.

Thrilling weekend eh? No worries though, I should have lots to report next week about my weekend, you see it is a family reunion on my mom's side, there are at least 100 people coming, and they have redneck leanings, I should have pictures of the crazy and some funny stories.

What are you doing this weekend?

1 Milestone Complete!

2010-06-09T13:42:00.000-04:00

As you may or may not have read in an early post, I have taken up running in a effort to aid I'm some serious weight loss. I needed goals to achieve because that is the Type-A personality that I am.

One of those goals was to run a half marathon and a marathon in my 25th year of life. I am happy to say that I have completed my VERY FIRST HALF MARATHON!

That's Right folks, I ran my 5'8" 180 lb round rear end 13.1 miles this past Sunday. It was tough to do even though I have been training. It was hot, for those of you who don't live in a city that is built on a swamp imagine running in a sauna and you get the idea.

I completed the race in 2 hours 42 min and 20 seconds. I was hoping that it would be closer to 2:30 but i guess that just means I have to run some more.

but it is done and out of the way... on to the next milestone. I have signed up for a marathon on Halloween this year. I have 16 weeks to get up to 26 miles. Yikes, but hopefully by then I can say I ran my 165 lb round rear end 26 miles instead of the 180 lb rear end. I am hoping to do it in 5 hours. Here's to hoping!

Epic Weekend: The New York Edition

2010-06-03T10:10:00.002-04:00

So my BFFL (Best Friend for Life as her campers call her) decided that we need to celebrate my quarter century, the beginning of summer, and her send off to camp for the summer (*tears*) by visiting the wonderful NYC and reeking all sorts of havoc.

It was EPIC! Fleet week + Memorial Day Weekend= Lots of Eye candy and temptation.

We both took the day off Friday to run errands and such and it gave me time to drop off my pup at the Grandparents/Aunt's. We took the train, BFFL started in DC and I picked it up just north of Baltimore (we planned it so that we could ride the same train up. We kicked off our trip by each having a half bottle of wine on the train.

We stayed in a hotel directly across from Penn Station, which was a good thing because both of us had not eaten and were feeling a wee bit tipsy. ps... if you don't care about where you stay and just need a place to crash, Hotel Penn is not that bad, however if you like say a working TV and no Pot smell, I suggest you stay some where else.

The drinking continued at dinner and the tipsy feeling was maintained while we were getting ready to go out. We had planned on Friday being a low key night and then rocking it out for real in style on Saturday. Both of Us initially put on dresses and then decided that jeans a cute top and flat sandals were the way to go, casual but cute.

So out we go to a place recommended by yelp, lets just say it was a fail and move on. We did and it turned out better. One family member lives in NYC and he recommended another location with about 40 beers on tap and as you know, any place with that many beers attracts a lot of testosterone. It was a nice place but quickly got crowded with 12 year old sailors and a few bachlorette parties.

We decided to wander the area and see what other places might be interesting. Our meanderings brought us to a club with a line. We figured if it has a line, it must be a bit more popular and we hopped in line. Well apparently the place had a dress code, neither one of us thought that we would get in because the guy in front of us was turned away for dress code issues (he had on sneakers)but low and behold we did despite out jeans and sandals. Once inside, we were still boggled because the women all had on micro dresses and sky high heals, the men were dressed to the 9's. So who knows, we each had a drink and then decided that it was not our scene and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday found us up early. Since we had the time, we went to check out the Battleship Iwo Jima since it was fleet week, the tour was free, and both of us like big guns, boats and planes. There was lots to look besides the big toys, my fav was SGT Jones of the USMC who was just back from Afghanistan and was kind enough to chat with me about what he did and show me a wonderful helicopter. :)

After the tour and flirting, BFFL and I headed to the theater to see Wicked on Broadway and it was AH-Maz-Ing. I have read the books but the musical is fantastic. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the opportunity.

After the Theater, BFFL and I headed to dinner and the Drinking began..... We had beer with sushi and then got some more beer on the way back to the hotel and drank yet again whilst getting ready for our epic night.

We had done some scouting on our way back to the hotel the night before and found that there was a popular bar with the Squids in port just up from the Iwo Jima. That was decided to be our starting point figuring the odds of making a Sailors day and ours was higher there.

We didn't end up with sailors, but 4 yummy Brits from across the pond on holiday in NYC. These 4 lovely lads decided to treat us to some more choice beverages. Two of the lovely lads provide a bit more attention to me and BFFL. We had an interesting discussion on terminology and some clarification on the difference between "making out" and "getting off" in the US.

The 2 gents who were pandering for our attention ended up coming back to the hotel for a little slap and tickle with BFFL and I but nothing too serious. It was a great night but not so good a morning.....

Our gentlemen callers ended up leaving early in the a.m. and BFFL and I attempted to get some sleep, but sleep would not come because it was time to pay the piper.

BFFL paid her respects to the porcelain throne, I however manned up and kept my cookies down. The after effects of our night were not so pleasant. They were rendered less pleasant by the fact that we had to meet up with her Gran to do a tour of her Museum.

We met up with her Gran for lunch, the museum has a restaurant at the top that overlooks Central Park. neither one of us was feeling so hot but the view was lovely and I was able to stomach a sandwich. We then had a tour of the exhibits. There was one that used formerly living items, plants and animals in sculpture which was tough to get through, and then there was one on jewelry which every girl loves and then on on hand made bicycles that was my favorite. I think it was my favorite because my Father appreciates them so much and I have a bit of that in me too.

BFFL was not doing so great so we came back to her Gran's Apt and BFFL took a looong nap and I got to hang out with her Gran (which by the way was the first time I had met this woman, so it made it a bit awkward). Gran decided that she was going to take us out for Indian Food for dinner.

Indian food+hangover=bad combo or so I thought but I am a good sport. Dinner was great and I was actually feeling better bu BFFL had a hard time with her glass of wine and some of the heat in the food, I just think she is a bit of a pansy :). Needless to say our Sunday ended quite early for NYC as both of us were tired.

Monday found us with about half a day before our train back to DC. We decided to do a little wallet lightening in SoHo. I got a beautiful silk dress and a tie dyed tank and BFFL ended up with new jeans and a plaid shirt. I also had the opportunity to meet up with my cousin for Lunch and we caught up on all the family gossip including how his divorce was going and the new crazy woman he is dating ( I normally don't call people crazy but the fact that this woman was willing to use his tooth brush after hanging out at his house for the 2nd time means that she is and this is one of the more mild things she has done).

BFFL and I rounded up our gear and hit the train back to DC to close out our trip. I would say that all in all, it was Fan-freaking-tastic.

How was your Memorial Day Weekend?

Accident Prone Wonder: The softball edition

2010-05-24T13:47:00.000-04:00

Some of you many know that I am accident prone, not just a little but a lot. I manage to get injured all the time.

This most recent time involved my summer softball team. It is an adult co-ed, slow pitch, summer league with no strike outs ets. One would think that it would be fairly relaxed, but your wrong, there are some seriously competitive people out there but I digress.

I pitch occasionally which led me to the recent injury. The batter stepped up to the plate (the batter had been hitting balls into the outfield at a good clip). I pitched the first ball, he let it ride. I pitched the second, foul ball. I pitched the third ball, wham, low line drive right into the calf.

I had enough presence of mind to pick up the ball and made the play but because of a bad call, the batter wasn't out :( Here are the results of getting such a hit in the leg, and the healing process of the body.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

DAY 5

Sexy Huh?

Getting healthy

2010-05-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

So as you may or may not know, I am on a getting healthy kick and when I say Kick I mean it has been the last six months (ok actually 18 months, but the last 6 I have put effort into especially in the last 6 weeks).

Any way the kick started with the scariest thing ever, I was in a monogamous relationship and I ended up catching HPV from my partner. This STD often results in cancer unchecked and with a family history of cancer, it wigged me out. Luckily/Unluckily this STD clears on its own but can take up to 2 years to really be out of your system, read there really is no medication that treats it and the shot only prevents 4 types of the 100 out there.

Well, I had a yearly update right before my birthday and Guess what?! I am all Clear! Hip hip Horay!

However, this event put a real damper on my self esteem and dating has taken a backseat in my life and when I mean back seat I mean, only a few first dates and no second dates let alone getting up close and personal with a guy (including kissing). You have to be comfortable with yourself in order to be comfortable with someone else.

So Six months ago, I had a check up (to get tested and watch for signs of cancer) and I tipped the scales at over 200 lbs, that was unacceptable at 5'8", I was a Lard A**. Really, I was a size 16 and in denial.

I decided that since my little black book held no interest that I was going to get healthy so that when the infection cleared I would be ready to rebuild some esteem.

I am happy to report that I am down at least 20 lbs from that last check up! I am working my way back down into normal sizes, right now I am somewhere between a 12 and 14, 12 is still to small and the 14's are too big. My goal is to be an 8/10 nothing too crazy and I think my goal weight is in the 160's, I am very realistic about weight, plus being a busty broad, a size 6 just wouldn't look right on me.

I signed up for my first half marathon (it is in 3 weeks and my long run this week is 10 miles, I haven't run this far since freshman year of high school 11 years ago) and I signed up to run the Marine Corp Marathon (also my first) in October.

So between the weight loss, the fitness level, and the negative test results, I am getting healthy finally!

and the party continues

2010-05-14T08:07:00.001-04:00

First of all let me just say that it is 8 am, I am at work, and still tipsy.... good times.

Last night my friend J invited me and my O.O. ( my term of endearment for my best friend, it is short for Other Other as in you have a significant other and then she is the person who i spend the next most amount of time with and since neither one of us is attracted to the feminine persuasion it works out well but I digress) out with her coworkers/friends to celebrate her coworkers bday.

O.O. brought her man friend Lawyer Boy (MFLB), they are not an official couple yet but moving in that direction. J has a Sig. O. but he was lame and stayed home.

Anyway, I met up with the ladies at a bar that attracts the over 50 crowd, lets just say that the 3 of us brought down the median age by 20 years in the place when we first showed up.

We were chatting and O.O.'s MFLB shows up and the drinking begins.

I think I offended people last night, when I get tipsy, I am a casual touch-er, nothing too crazy or in appropriate, I hug, I pat knees, if I know you I may put my arm around your waist. However this town I live in is straight laced and sometimes the boys from J's work would jump when I patted their knee. I had to explain myself multiple times, it wasn't a come on, it was a person to person physical contact.

anyway.... I ended up drinking a whole bottle of Riesling and not eating dinner. My trip home has me trying very hard not to look like I am drunk. You know the kind of concentration you normally use to solve quantum physics equations and your just trying to make it down the escalator stairs or not trip on the metro.

I don't think I won the battle, but I did manage to make it home with out causing myself any bodily harm. I did however end up passed out in bed by 9:30 pm, this birthday has made me an old lady.

I have more parties this weekend to attend but I really don't think I should drink as being a whopping 25 seems to be killing my liver.

I am 25 Today!

2010-05-11T07:53:00.000-04:00

How does a 25 year old single gal celebrate her 25th birthday? With Cheese and wine with 3 of her best friends follow by an Action Flick with some eye candy ie Ironman 2.

In addition, as a real adult (I can finally rent a car and not pay extra fees) the first trip I am taking is to NYC during fleet week with my best friend. Should have some shenanigans to report on following the trip but for now I am settling on a 4 way dinner date and a movie.

Softball Season Begin!

2010-05-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

I had my first softball game of the year last night and My team won! Hip Hip Hooray! It's kind of a big deal, this is the 4th year of the team, my third year on the team and we haven't had a winning season yet but this year looks promising.

I am not counting my chickens before they hatch mind you just saying that our odds are significantly better this year.

However, I can tell you what the most popular boy name was about 25 years ago, Ryan followed by Dan. We Have 4 Ryans and 2 Dans. The Dan's are easy to tell apart because they have very different body types. The Ryans, (except for 1) are all about the same height, build and I don't really know them yet add to that the fact that they were all wearing the team uniform, hats and glasses that my default is just to go "Hey Ryan" and watch them all turn around.

I do find it interesting that the women on the team have less common names, there is my name which is also the name of a comic book character, Natalie, Angela, Charity, Brenna, and Stephanie ( which I know is more common however, we have no Lauren's, Ashlies, Jennifers, etc).

Its a bit refreshing.

They are letting me pitch this year (which is a scary thing, but I think I am doing ok as long as I don't get a line drive to the face).

Are you playing on a summer team?

I love the Heat!

2010-05-03T10:08:00.000-04:00

It has finally gotten really warm here! We had our first 90 degree weekend and all I have to say is is it's about darn time!

I spent all Saturday outside. I did my first 7 mi run in 4 years and it was tough but good to know I could do it (this week is 8 mi). Yes I am crazy and am in the process of training for my first half marathon followed by my first marathon in October.

I also played softball for 3 hours in the sun. All I have to say is I am no longer a pasty white woman... I have a tan! Albeit now I have tank top and shorts lines but it is so better than being see-through.

Bring it on Summer, I am from South Texas, you cannot scare me!

Quest for a new swim suit.

2010-04-26T10:33:00.000-04:00

Let me just say that I hate swim suit shopping. Loathe it, despise it, etc etc... Nothing makes you realize just how far from your ideal body than trying on a suit in the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights in every dressing room.

ICK ICK ICK.

However the summer necessitates a new swim suit. I want a Bikini. I find that one pieces are not super flattering as I have a sort torso and GIANT boobs (no I am not kidding I am a DD--Which causes more problems than you might think).

Tankini's are just one pieces in disguise see the above.

I don't do the monokinis -IE the one pieces with random bits cut out 'cause who wants a stripped tan line? If I wanted that I would go get a spry tan and smudge it a bunch.

So a 2 piece it is. Being Busty has its down sides. I cannot wear the bandeau tops because what happens is that I end up with boob poppage out the top and bottom or I end up topless with a fancy belt.

I don't really like halters... They may hold the ladies up but I always end up with a pain in the back of my neck if I wear it for more than 2 hours.

Now I won't get into the details about my bottom half, but I need more coverage than the strings that a lot of the bikinis have, just saying.

So what I need is a swim suit version of a full coverage bra and maybe so boy shorts for the beach/pool this summer.

This is a Giant undertaking as so many of my fellow females know. Please let me know if you have any recommendations. I could use all the help I can get.

The accident prone wonder strikes again

2010-04-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have decided to really get back into shape. Not the shape I was in college but the shape I was in in high school whilst running track. Lean, svelte and 165 lbs.

I currently weigh.... 187 lbs Gasp! Seriously its 22 lbs to go, when I originally started to get back into shape I was 208. OMG at 5'8" I am a lard ass. I decided to really put the effort in and have been watching my food calorie intake and exercising like a mad woman.

Anyway, in order to be lean and svelte, it requires running. I am not a hug fan of running but for my body type it gets me lean fairly quickly.

This is where it all goes down hill....

I have a daily run course that can be anywhere from 3.9 to 5.5 miles depending on my turning point. On Monday I decide to do my short 3.9 mi run.

So I start cruising along, this run has me run down a semi busy road for the getting off of work traffic but it is low on pedestrian traffic which is rare in my town so I enjoy it. There is however one section where the sidewalk is chopped up for some housing project.

Are you seeing where this is going?

I am jogging along, minding my own business and i end up catching my toe on the chopped up side walk.

Ass over teakettle I go. Wait it gets better. I fell and rolled trying not to really harm myself. It is also in front of a line of cars, one of which was a convertible with 2 older gentlemen (late 50's early 60's--which apparently is my key demographic for attraction, but i digress) who stop to ask if I was alright.

I am fine however I do have dirty girl bruises on my knees that look like I have been engaging in inappropriate behavior.

Did I mention that all my work suits are skirted? It is that Kind of week.

At lest all that was hurt was my pride. I can never claim that my middle name is Grace.

Consequences from having Advantages

2010-04-05T10:24:00.000-04:00

I am lucky enough to be able to have been given the ability to attend Graduate school and get my Master's degree. I have a good job and work I like to do all coupled with a decent salary that allows me to pay my bills and occasionally take a short vacation or two.

The down side to having these advantages in life is that I have high expectations of a potential partner.

I am finding that I am better educated and making more than most of the men I am meeting. Don't get me wrong, I don't want a man to provide for me so that I can quit working (that might drive me crazy) but I would like someone who is even with me.

I have found that when I have given men who make less than me a chance, entertainment tends to fall on me all the time. I am expected to pony up every time for the both of us and I don't know about you, but i don't work to pay for 2 people all the time and I don't expect the guy to have to pay for me all the time. I just want some equality.

I have dated men who have a trade skill instead of an education and it is still the same. I don't think I would have minded so much pony-ing up for the entertainment all the time if you offered something in return (this goes out to my former BF the massage therapist, I didn't expect to get a massage all the time, but more than 1 time in the entire year and a half sure would have been nice).

So if anyone knows a man who is well educated and can pay his own bill, will you hook me up?

Here's you sign....

2010-03-30T07:45:00.000-04:00

You know you work in the ghetto when a black lincoln pulls up and they have stick on silver metal letters that read the following:

HOOD CLA$$-E

Now that is a car I want to catch a ride in!

I got the message

2010-03-26T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have an online dating profile with one of the more popular dating websites.

They send me matches everyday and I review them to see if I would like to get to know them. It is usually a picture and a profile, if the picture is interesting to my feminine side, I read the profile and then start communicating.

Yesterday, I think I was getting a message from the Man upstairs to maybe get to know some of the men in a biblical sense.

My Matches Names were: John, Paul, Mark, Matthew and Michael.

Notice a pattern? This and so close to Easter too.

Inmate in charge of the Prisoner

2010-03-19T08:37:00.001-04:00

I started a new job as a contractor working for the military. It is financial in nature involving budgeting and programing. I have been here for 7 weeks.

3 weeks ago, the head person retired. There is a new leader

The 3 person who works in my program at the headquarters is on vacation until Tuesday.

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHO THOUGHT THAT I WOULD KNOW ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE BUDGET AND BE ABLE TO ASSIST THE NEW BOSS WHO HAS LESS KNOWLEDGE THAN I DO AND STILL DO MY JOB?

because I can't, the panic has set in!

That is all.

So you are a leg man...

2010-03-16T09:25:00.000-04:00

I have a tattoo from my (undergraduate) Alma Mater. You see I was a NCAA athlete on the Women's Crew Team. You can tell by my picture to the right.

Said tattoo is located on the inside of my left ankle below the bone on the soft spot between the tendon and the bone. It is a basic black outline of my mascot and is small enough to be covered by a bandaid. This is on purpose.

Normally it is covered by either pants at work, half covered by my shoe in skirts and generally not noticable when I wear tights/hose.

The point is you have to LOOK for it.

However a Leg Man will point it out. I have decent legs, some muscle tone and a bit of a tan from running outside.

I can not tell you how many men go: "Did you go to (insert alma mater)?"

All I want to say is "here's your sign," but instead I go yeah and give them a look. Then most often they respond with the schools slogan. The usually gets another nasty look from me.

Also, none of the leg men that comment are in my age range, at a minimum they are 2 times my age. ICK

Dear Old Leg Men,
If I wanted you to comment on my body markings I have plastered it on the back of my calf for the world to see. But I didn't so please keep your learing eyes to yourself. If you cannot manage that then at least don't let me know you are learing. It grosses me out that you are my Father's age.

Thanks,
Adventures

Running in the Rain

2010-03-15T11:56:00.000-04:00

This weekend I ran my first race of the year. I have decided that this year I wanted to run my first marathon and I am aiming for it to be the Marine Corp marathon on Halloween.

This weekend was the Four Courts Four miler. I am a SLOW runner but I can do just about any distance when I put my Mind to it. I did the Race in 45:13 that averages out to an 11:19 mile. Like I said I am slow.

The race was not a fun one. It was an out and back race on pavement that dumped us all out on to a road that is a major communting route. The first mile was all down hill which is nice because you get a chance to warm up. The second and third mile was a gentle rolling hill. Holly Bejesus Batman, that down hill becomes a wicked uphill to the finish line.

Did I also mention that it was RAINING during the ENTIRE Race? Oh and it was 40 degrees out! Cold and wet are not my idea of a fun run.

It is nice to have the first race done and to see where I am at but it makes me realize how much work I have to do to get to a decent pace before October.

I read books like they are going out of style.

2010-03-01T08:16:00.000-05:00

One of my New Years resolutions was to read 100 books this year, let me tell you it is easier than it seems apparently. So without further ado, here is my list thus far:

1. Don't Hex with Texas
2. Interred with Their Bones
3. Blood Noir
4. Bloody bones
5. Seduced by moonlight
6. A caress of twilight
7. Blue moon
8. A stroke of midnight : a novel
9. Guilty Pleasures
10. Dead Until Dark
11. Living Dead in Dallas
12. Club Dead
13. Dead as a Doornail
14. Definitely Dead
15 All Together Dead
16. Dead and Gone
17. Many Bloody Returns
18. A Touch of Dead
19. A grave secret
20. The Awakening
21. The Struggle
22. The FuryDark
23. The Reunion
24. From Dead to Worse
25. Dead to the World

26. Currently Reading: The Laughing Corpse

Next on the list
27. Circus of the Damned
28. The lunatic Cafe
29. The Killing Dance

Admittedly, I have read the Charlaine Harris novels before but I wanted to re-read the series before Season 2 of True Blood Started on HBO and before her new book came out. If you like the series you would like the other series that I am reading, The Anita Blake Series by Laurrel K Hamilton. Its only march so I have plenty of time to go, if you have any suggestions to add to my reading list please let me know.

Adventure of the day

2010-02-18T09:26:00.000-05:00

Due to the Damn Groundhog (who by the way will end up a hat if I ever see him in person, or I might just make a sepcial trip tp PA if we get more winter weather to make sure he can no longer make predictions again), the DC area is STILL covered in massive amounts of snow and the public transport is not back to normal.

The winter conditions nessitate a massive amoutn of winter clothing, a long feather down coat (hits me at hte knees), boots with the fur (don't judge), hat, scarf, and gloves of course. the only skin showing is on my face and I am still cold. UGH!

The my bus is only running about half of its route which forces me to hike either hike uphill to pick up a bus, there are 2 options. Today I hiked it to the main drag to pick up a bus that runs across the city instead of the bus that does a loop to and from the metro. The bus happens to run into an area that drops me off about 4-5 blocks from my work.

What google didnt say was that those 5 blocks were through the ghetto and over a highway where the side walks had not been dug out. Cat calls (which I dont understand as the only aspect that suggested I was a woman was my boots and I am pretty sure i just looked like the Stay Puff marshmellow man) and nearly breaking an ankle made me walk quickly and decide that this option is no longer really an option.

P.s. My cast is off so I will be posting again!

Things that are not easy with one hand.

2010-01-13T10:06:00.000-05:00

Keep your mind out of the gutter you dirty thieves.

I have come to the conclusion that having a cast on one hand that immobilizes your thumb sucks the big one. I have compiled a list of things that are painful or nearly impossible to do with such a cast on.

IF you look at the pic from my previous post you see that it is my left hand, I am right handed and I thought that while it might be a little tricky I would be A-ok.

I thought wrong. This being my first broken broken bone and cast and such, there rules you must obey with the cast on.

Keep it dry.
Don't stick objects to scratch the skin
The cast is not fire proof.

Pretty easy rules to follow.

Back to my list of things that are hard to do one handed. Being that you have to keep the cast dry:

1) Taking a shower: I have to cover my cast with this tube-like shield that prevents water from leaking in. Have you ever tried to squeeze a shampoo bottle then wash your hair with one hand? Not easy and it usually ends up with me dropping the shampoo bottle and too much shampoo on my head.

2) Washing dishes.... Cast must stay dry yes? well I lack a dishwasher, and washing dishes with one hand leaves a few broken glasses.

3) Morning coffee+opening doors, I cant grasp the coffee with he cast hand and it hurts to pull the door with the cast hand. Too many spills to count

4)Do my hair. Try pulling your hair up with one hand and have it look good. It ends up with me having a ponytail is lumpy bumpy and missing a big chunk.

5) Typing: I can't rotate my hand enough to use the 4 fingers not casted to type. You should feel blessed to have a post this week with no spelling mistakes.

6) hold the leash and clean up after my dog.

7) pantyhose: Man I f'ing hate these things to begin with. Imagine trying to put on pantyhose with a coat hanger and you will learn my frustration.

the list goes on but these are the big ones... I hop to god i am a quick healer and they will take it off next week!

Say Hello to my Big Blue Friend

2010-01-06T11:52:00.000-05:00

Verdict: It is fractured. I get it re-exrayed in 2 weeks. Until then I get to do everthing one handed.

2010 and falling again.

2010-01-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

This New Years, I and 2 of my friends trekked to the great white north (i.e. Maine) for a little skiing and snow mobiling.

It was an interesting trip to say the least. I am not the most graceful coordinated person but I generally can tough out any situation and come about relatively unscathed.... Not this trip.

It began when I decided that I wanted to bring my own ski equipment because I have as my Friend likes to put it "baby skis" aka Snow blades and they fit int he overhead bin as well as my boots and my ski clothes. I also decided that I didn't want to check a bag. The skis being one carry on and the whole kit and caboodle the other carry on. the result is a GIANT backpack that nearly topples me over each time I put it on. But I manage to handle all of my own crap through security and board the plane, arrive late in the evening, meet up with the 3 member of the travel brigade (TB) and get on the road.

The TB jumps in the massive SUV we rented (later named Mustafa--bonus points if you can guess why). A member of TB's parental units own a house up there about an hour from the airport. We begin to cruise. It begins to snow, and low and behold the windshield wipers work but don't actually touch the glass.... Sigh.... We ended up having to replace the windshield wipers so as not to die on the snow covered frozen Maine roads.

The next incident is of my own doing. As the TB got in late, it was decided that we do a less intense activity the 31st of Dec and it allowed for the procuring of adult refreshments (which by the way consisted of 2 bottles of champagne, 2 bottles of red wine, one bottle of white, 1 liter bottle of a Merlot and one liter of a Riesling, in addition to the single red bottle we drank from the parental units stash--All over 3 days by 3 people, ladies of OMT you should be proud). The TB decided that we should be snow mobiling. Fun, fun, fun , that is until I missed the low point of crossing the snow mogul and decided my machine could take the higher one. I took it slow but it still ended up with me face first in the snow.

The 2nd day of vacation, the TB went skiing. I am a mid level skier, Greens are easy, blues i am good once I go down them once, I can do blacks, but I stay off the Double blacks for the most part. The following incident is not of my own doing, as a matter of fact a certain member of my travel brigade decided to try and kill me as well as the third member of the TB. It all began when we decided to take the lift up. Best Friend L, Friend S, and I decide to take the triple lift up. I on the Right, L in the middle (L is also the least experienced skier) and S on the left. We get to the top and The lift slows so skiers can get off and not die, that is unless L is in the middle, then everyone dies. L decides to body slam me into the ground while getting on the lift and to attack S with her ski poles. S manges to escape the grasp of L and remain upright. L remains up right. I however do not remain upright. I land on my wrist and I land hard. Stuff pops things bend wrong. It hurts....

It takes me a couple of minutes to get up. Anyway we cruise down the mountain for lunch. Tb breaks for lunch, I head over to the Medical facility to have it looked at. the guy says that if he really looks at it and it is damage that that is the end of my ski trip.

My response, just give me a n ace bandage and Ill deal with it later....

it is now Monday, I have a doctors appt tomorrow to check on it. There is more to the TB adventures so stay tuned kids.