It's Halloween!!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
It's a great day because it's Friday, the week went smoothly, and lots of great things to smile about. To be brief:
1) Matt's HUGE promotion at work!
2) Carving pumpkins last night that look AWESOME
3) Eating bdubs (because it's gotta make the list).
4) Going home this weekend and seeing my best friend
5) Seeing lots of friends this weekend
6) Seeing my family this weekend
8) TRICK OR TREATS!!
9) Halloween in general
and 10) EUROPE IN TWO WEEKS!!!
Everything is great.
Happy Halloween! A couple more hours of work, then off to a great weekend!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Rowing Club 2008
Today I got an email from one of the seasoned rowers in the Cincinnati Rowing Club that today is the last day for 2008 Open Rows. And even though that doesn't necessarily mean I wont row anymore this year, it means that the season is pretty much over. Open rows are for Novices without boat house keys, and although I have a key, daylight, time, and temperature is now a very constraining and limiting factor. It brought a bit of nostalgia to my heart and felt the need to post some pics of the East Fork Chase to commemorate the season. And to remember when the Original Reiky crew raced (The Riekiert was J, A and D original quad) and to conclude the 2008 season on high note. J is unsure if she will pay her dues next year and continue rowing.... it's so sad. We had a great run....
The drive in
The Kaschper International 4x
Walking the boat down to Launch
The Crew before the race
VICTORIOUS!!! Silver Medal!
Celebrating at Octoberfest (Annual Tradition)
Midweek
It is already turning into a much smoother week than last week, it;s already wednesday! It's been busy both at work and after work, and I think this is the latest I have gone without carving my pumpkins. Here we are two days before Halloween and the pumpkins are still sitting by the door with the dirt still on them?
I have one worry this week and one worry only. Will Matt leave work on time Friday to get back to his house for Trick or Treats? I keep expecting him to leave later Monday-Thursday so that he can leave at a reasonable time on friday. SO far, no luck. Monday night we went grocery shopping ,Yesterday went to the store to buy Halloween supplies (i.e. Candy) . We've been eating later and later in the evening. Yesterday I made rutabaga, which might be my new favorite vegetable. They are by far not the easiest to prepare and cook, but might be the most delicious AND NUTRITIOUS vegetables out there. They are packed, and i mean PACKED, with vitamins and good stuff for you- and probably the most tasty too!! I have a hard time finding them, and pealing and preparing them after struggling for 15 minutes hoping to not lose a finger was a task. But It is SO worth it!! Tonight I am taking Odie to the vet and I have an Adult Halloween party in my building tonight that I am excited about. Tomorrow is pumpkin carving night, and FRIDAY NIGHT IS HALLOWEEN!! Where has the time gone? I cant believe it's going to be NOVEMBER!!
What is even stranger this year is that it will still be light outside when it comes time for Trick or Treating. It's weird that we haven't set out clocks back yet, this month seemed extra long. But gosh, I leave for Europe in just a little over two weeks? WOW!! I cant believe it. I keep telling everyone that if BHO gets elected I am going to leave the country... haha.
I have nothing exciting write about but I felt compelled to post. One thing I want to share is this awesome website I recently discovered: http://www.woot.com/. Have you heard of it? If you haven't, prepared to be addicted! It's a website that sells one product a day at a super low price. Usually it's something techie-- the first day i checked it out it was selling a Phillips HDTVs 42" for like $749 or something ridiculous. And every day since there has been some cool stuff up there! It might come in handy for some x-mas shopping. Either way, this website is AWESOME and addicting. Coveat emptor-- to your wallet. The products are great!
I have one worry this week and one worry only. Will Matt leave work on time Friday to get back to his house for Trick or Treats? I keep expecting him to leave later Monday-Thursday so that he can leave at a reasonable time on friday. SO far, no luck. Monday night we went grocery shopping ,Yesterday went to the store to buy Halloween supplies (i.e. Candy) . We've been eating later and later in the evening. Yesterday I made rutabaga, which might be my new favorite vegetable. They are by far not the easiest to prepare and cook, but might be the most delicious AND NUTRITIOUS vegetables out there. They are packed, and i mean PACKED, with vitamins and good stuff for you- and probably the most tasty too!! I have a hard time finding them, and pealing and preparing them after struggling for 15 minutes hoping to not lose a finger was a task. But It is SO worth it!! Tonight I am taking Odie to the vet and I have an Adult Halloween party in my building tonight that I am excited about. Tomorrow is pumpkin carving night, and FRIDAY NIGHT IS HALLOWEEN!! Where has the time gone? I cant believe it's going to be NOVEMBER!!
What is even stranger this year is that it will still be light outside when it comes time for Trick or Treating. It's weird that we haven't set out clocks back yet, this month seemed extra long. But gosh, I leave for Europe in just a little over two weeks? WOW!! I cant believe it. I keep telling everyone that if BHO gets elected I am going to leave the country... haha.
I have nothing exciting write about but I felt compelled to post. One thing I want to share is this awesome website I recently discovered: http://www.woot.com/. Have you heard of it? If you haven't, prepared to be addicted! It's a website that sells one product a day at a super low price. Usually it's something techie-- the first day i checked it out it was selling a Phillips HDTVs 42" for like $749 or something ridiculous. And every day since there has been some cool stuff up there! It might come in handy for some x-mas shopping. Either way, this website is AWESOME and addicting. Coveat emptor-- to your wallet. The products are great!
Monday, October 27, 2008
All is well that ends well
Wow its been a crazy week since the last post, where to even begin? Frankly, so much has happen that my brain can barely decipher the week's events from everything else going on in my mind. I can start with what comes to mind first, my glasses breaking about mid-week last week. Boy was that stressful. First, id like to point out that I don't wear my glasses 100% of the time. I wear the them driving so i can see signs (and cops) from further away, and I wear them at work so I can stare at the computer screen all day and not tire my eyes. When my glasses broke, for some reason, it felt like the world was collapsing. Id also like to mention that they did not break on my default, however the broke by a certain someone pushing a certain four legged creature on to a table where my glasses rested. Inevitably there was a loud crash, things fell to the floor and my glasses broke right in half. Boy did I get angry, so angry that tears came because the thought of finding new glasses that I actually liked was as much fun as pulling all the hair out of my head one stand at a time. agh. Not to mention, it was going to be expensive, I dont have an eye doctor in Cincinnati yet, AND you guessed it- I don't have vision insurance. Luckily, matt and I both took time off work to get me to a doctor and to Lensecrafters to get a vision check, pick out new frames, and get new glasses made all in the same day. And IT WAS stressful. I was very picky, indecisive and hard to please. I had no idea what I was looking for. I wanted to be trendy yet sophisticated. I was pleased to see how patient Matt was, he even picked out a whole bunch of frames for me to try out and was incredibly honest. The whole process probably took close to four hours. I ended up with Corvette red glasses, a huge change from my old plastic black trimmed with light pink frames. They are bold, but I think i hit the look on the head- i've gotten quite a lot of compliments!
The rest of the week remained hectic, but controlled as work was so insanely busy. Today is actually the day I will have my year-end performance appraisal that hopefully will result in a bonus because I've been working so unbelievably hard with year end liability estimates and audit inquiries into our financials. Ugh, so stressful. So we shall see how it goes today at 1:30. Matt had a bad Friday and worked late fixing stuff, he was unhappy to into work today because of how rough friday was. Poor guy. I am optimistic about a good week this week.
Yesterday we went to Matt's parents house for his nephews first birthday party. His nephew is adorable so it was fun playing with him and all the other little rascals running around that day. There were like 4-5 babies to gawk at that day, ugh, so cute. Seeing his brother celebrate the first birthday party is made me so excited to celebrate a birthday party with the kids I hope to have someday. I never see this part of me, for a while i always thought i was missing the mothering gene because I never really craved to have children of my own. I never knew how to handle babies, how to play with them, i never had the instinct. But now, when i see the all the little kids all i wanted to do was pick them up and throw them around and make them giggle. It was a craving for sure.
Since it was so closed to Halloween I brought some things to share to the party. I made Halloween punch in a carved out pumpkin. It was SO good. It was apple cider, honey, pineapple juice, boiled-in Cinnamon sticks and two baked oranges with cloves. Boy did it have a lot of flavor-- I got so many compliments. It felt good! I also made a pea-salad (i dont like peas) and made crouton tomb stones (Rest in Peas) haha I thought it was cute. I really enjoy these kinds of crafty creative things, who knew I ever would? It made me think of how excited I will be to do crafts with my own children.
And, last but not least, one of the highlights of the day was sitting and talking to matt's mom after the party. Gosh I do love her and how included she makes me feel. She was telling me how thankful she was for all the help from matt and I, and she started to tear up when she said that if anything were to ever happen in our future that I would make such a good mom. Gosh, that was a great compliment and so heart felt. Even though she is so cute when she gets skiddish mentioning the possibility of Matt and I getting married; skiddish in the most endearing way.
So all is well that ends well. Monday morning is slow. I am rested and slept all the way through the night last night. Time to start the day!
The rest of the week remained hectic, but controlled as work was so insanely busy. Today is actually the day I will have my year-end performance appraisal that hopefully will result in a bonus because I've been working so unbelievably hard with year end liability estimates and audit inquiries into our financials. Ugh, so stressful. So we shall see how it goes today at 1:30. Matt had a bad Friday and worked late fixing stuff, he was unhappy to into work today because of how rough friday was. Poor guy. I am optimistic about a good week this week.
Yesterday we went to Matt's parents house for his nephews first birthday party. His nephew is adorable so it was fun playing with him and all the other little rascals running around that day. There were like 4-5 babies to gawk at that day, ugh, so cute. Seeing his brother celebrate the first birthday party is made me so excited to celebrate a birthday party with the kids I hope to have someday. I never see this part of me, for a while i always thought i was missing the mothering gene because I never really craved to have children of my own. I never knew how to handle babies, how to play with them, i never had the instinct. But now, when i see the all the little kids all i wanted to do was pick them up and throw them around and make them giggle. It was a craving for sure.
Since it was so closed to Halloween I brought some things to share to the party. I made Halloween punch in a carved out pumpkin. It was SO good. It was apple cider, honey, pineapple juice, boiled-in Cinnamon sticks and two baked oranges with cloves. Boy did it have a lot of flavor-- I got so many compliments. It felt good! I also made a pea-salad (i dont like peas) and made crouton tomb stones (Rest in Peas) haha I thought it was cute. I really enjoy these kinds of crafty creative things, who knew I ever would? It made me think of how excited I will be to do crafts with my own children.
And, last but not least, one of the highlights of the day was sitting and talking to matt's mom after the party. Gosh I do love her and how included she makes me feel. She was telling me how thankful she was for all the help from matt and I, and she started to tear up when she said that if anything were to ever happen in our future that I would make such a good mom. Gosh, that was a great compliment and so heart felt. Even though she is so cute when she gets skiddish mentioning the possibility of Matt and I getting married; skiddish in the most endearing way.
So all is well that ends well. Monday morning is slow. I am rested and slept all the way through the night last night. Time to start the day!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Great weekend and no TCBY
Another perfectly delightful weekend has come and gone, It's Monday morning and I am so tired! It definitely feels like fall now, and winter ready to make it's entrance since the nights are getting colder and colder. I haven't turned on my heat yet, even though it's dropped down to the lower 40's at night most nights. I like the bite in the air, and as I am winding down at night i like snuggling up under a blanket on my couch, a warm cup of tea and I light candles all the time because I think I subconsciously think that I am warming the room a little bit. I have candles all over my apartment. It feels cozy. I love it.
This weekend was agenda-less and I had a blast. I love weekends were I wake up feel like we can do anything today!! Friday night was so relaxed and low key. After work, Matt and I went up to Teak and got some sushi and Thai food to go, walked over to the store to get a bottle of wine, then came back and just chilled and hung out all night. It was great, we lit candles, drank wine, laughed, had a blast. After we ate, we went swimming and sat in the hot tub for a while then went to bed at a reasonable time. I felt so rested and felt so good on Saturday. The sun was out, I slept in until 10 or so, it was a great morning.
Last year I won an entertainment book and clipped a bunch of coupons i thought would be worth using. This weekend we discover the 90% of the coupons expire on Nov 1st, so needless to say it was a weekend of random activities because we want to get our savings! The book included a free pass to the Newport Aquarium, so guess where we went Saturday morning? How can you pass up a free pass, and it was awesome!! I took some pictures of us petting the sharks, and standing next to huge fish , and being silly playing in the kids area. A great time, and money well spent!! Ill try to post pictures if I can remember.
I clipped another coupon for TCBY-- I LOVE that place. There used to be a store close to my parent's house when I was little and we went there a bunch of times growing up! I LOVE frozen yogurt, and I am pretty sure I haven't been back in, say, 15 years? Well, I had a buy one get one free coupon that said there were like six locations around Cincinnati. We even mapquested two locations. Both of which were out of the way, but figured we'd find a reason up that way to make it worth out while. One was North off 71 near the mall (15-20 min away). And it was CLOSED!!! Then we drove all the way to the west side, and THAT WAS CLOSED TOO!! Why don't they tell anyone this? We drove probably a totally of 2.5 hours round trip to these locations and ended up empty-handed. What a disappointment. Are they closed everywhere now?
The day definitely wasnt a totally wash, though. That night Matt took me out to a very nice dinner at The Reserve. We drank wine, had a three course meal and split a sinfully delicious dessert that I am still salivating over. It was romantic, it was great! We met up with some friends later that night to make the day perfect. And the weekend still wasn't over. Yesterday Matt and I went to church, relaxed a little bit together and watched some of the terrible Bengals game, and went shopping at this place. If you have never been there it is quite an experience. There is nothing you cant get at this store. It's definitely not the place you want to get your milk and eggs for a quick trip, but if you want to experiment in the kitchen, or just find something seasonal or ethnic that would be impossible to find the local grocery, this is the place. We spent a little over 80 bucks there and came home with a bunch of yummy veggies and ingredients to make some great and different dishes for dinner this week.
Great weekend. I am tired this morning. Hope this weekend isn't as stressful as last week.
********************************************************************************
Caveat from my last post. The inspiration of the "non-responsive person" post finally responded. There was a question in an email sent last Monday, the email was finally returned Saturday morning. sigh.
This weekend was agenda-less and I had a blast. I love weekends were I wake up feel like we can do anything today!! Friday night was so relaxed and low key. After work, Matt and I went up to Teak and got some sushi and Thai food to go, walked over to the store to get a bottle of wine, then came back and just chilled and hung out all night. It was great, we lit candles, drank wine, laughed, had a blast. After we ate, we went swimming and sat in the hot tub for a while then went to bed at a reasonable time. I felt so rested and felt so good on Saturday. The sun was out, I slept in until 10 or so, it was a great morning.
Last year I won an entertainment book and clipped a bunch of coupons i thought would be worth using. This weekend we discover the 90% of the coupons expire on Nov 1st, so needless to say it was a weekend of random activities because we want to get our savings! The book included a free pass to the Newport Aquarium, so guess where we went Saturday morning? How can you pass up a free pass, and it was awesome!! I took some pictures of us petting the sharks, and standing next to huge fish , and being silly playing in the kids area. A great time, and money well spent!! Ill try to post pictures if I can remember.
I clipped another coupon for TCBY-- I LOVE that place. There used to be a store close to my parent's house when I was little and we went there a bunch of times growing up! I LOVE frozen yogurt, and I am pretty sure I haven't been back in, say, 15 years? Well, I had a buy one get one free coupon that said there were like six locations around Cincinnati. We even mapquested two locations. Both of which were out of the way, but figured we'd find a reason up that way to make it worth out while. One was North off 71 near the mall (15-20 min away). And it was CLOSED!!! Then we drove all the way to the west side, and THAT WAS CLOSED TOO!! Why don't they tell anyone this? We drove probably a totally of 2.5 hours round trip to these locations and ended up empty-handed. What a disappointment. Are they closed everywhere now?
The day definitely wasnt a totally wash, though. That night Matt took me out to a very nice dinner at The Reserve. We drank wine, had a three course meal and split a sinfully delicious dessert that I am still salivating over. It was romantic, it was great! We met up with some friends later that night to make the day perfect. And the weekend still wasn't over. Yesterday Matt and I went to church, relaxed a little bit together and watched some of the terrible Bengals game, and went shopping at this place. If you have never been there it is quite an experience. There is nothing you cant get at this store. It's definitely not the place you want to get your milk and eggs for a quick trip, but if you want to experiment in the kitchen, or just find something seasonal or ethnic that would be impossible to find the local grocery, this is the place. We spent a little over 80 bucks there and came home with a bunch of yummy veggies and ingredients to make some great and different dishes for dinner this week.
Great weekend. I am tired this morning. Hope this weekend isn't as stressful as last week.
********************************************************************************
Caveat from my last post. The inspiration of the "non-responsive person" post finally responded. There was a question in an email sent last Monday, the email was finally returned Saturday morning. sigh.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Pet Peeve
Although this will be a digression from my attempts to maintain a fairly positive blog spot, I have to mention something that continues to get on my nerves. Especially certain incidences recently that make this one of my biggest pet peeves (besides dealing with stupid people), NON-RESPONSIVE people!
First, since we are all well versed with Internet communication (email, chat, instant messages, and the like) and almost all of us have cell phones, getting in touch with people has never been easier. Almost everyone I know who has a cell phone carries it with them everywhere they go. Personally, I feel naked with out my cell/blackberry or some form or communication device with me. And I know I have been known to not always pick up when my phone rings, however, I make it a point to ALWAYS return phone calls. Much like 'the ol' days" where you left messages for people on their telephone answering machines, the dialed person would return the message at his/her earliest convenience. Just the same as it would be very rude to leave a message and get no return phone call back.
Well, now and days it seems far too easy for someone 'not too get the message.' In fact, many have PDAs and phones that receive data to get emails/texts/phone calls INSTANTLY! So the question of someone not receiving the message for 'x' amount of time (out of town, working late, or generally NOT AT HOME) is no longer and excuse for anyone. ANYONE. Heck, I've even seen bums on the street with cell phones in their hands!! Now, there is two faces to this coin; I know that because we can now receive these communication messages all the time now it increases the opportunities for these messages to be screened. I know i dont want to talk on the phone or send an email when i am talking to someone, out to dinner, or doing other things I just don't feel like being bothered. I am definitely OK with leaving messages and waiting for a response. The pet peeve is the not responding. For me, when i know i am busy and cant get back to an email I will send a quick one back to say i am busy, thanks, and ill get back to you as soon as I can. Phone calls, ill send a quick text back saying thanks, ill call you back later.
Now, what is an acceptable amount of time to return the message?
I have no idea? 6 hours? One day? two days? three days is definitely pushing it. When is it acceptable to feel like you are getting blown off?
It bothers me so much, and I cant explain why it gets under my skin as much as it does. It's very possible that I take it too personally; I just imagine someone reading/hearing my message shortly after they receive it and saying to themselves ' o it's donna, this is unimportant to me, ill ignore it.'
Maybe they don't say that.... BUT WHY CANT YOU RESPOND TO ME!?! Am I really asking for that much? SOme of my friends have a free pass when I am just calling to chit-chat and I know they are super busy (and we generally dont talk on a regular basis anyway). Sometime I dont call people back for a few days because I know I want to block out a decent chunk of time for them. But what if I asked you to make plans? or have a simple questions, or require a simple response? What is your excuse??
I wonder about the future, this high speed communication pathway makes it easier in a lot of ways. But do we ever know if the message got delivered? Too often you hear that they never got the message as the excuse. What if there really was a problem with the connection? I just have a hard time believing it because I dont think Ive missed very many messages (that i know of)
First, since we are all well versed with Internet communication (email, chat, instant messages, and the like) and almost all of us have cell phones, getting in touch with people has never been easier. Almost everyone I know who has a cell phone carries it with them everywhere they go. Personally, I feel naked with out my cell/blackberry or some form or communication device with me. And I know I have been known to not always pick up when my phone rings, however, I make it a point to ALWAYS return phone calls. Much like 'the ol' days" where you left messages for people on their telephone answering machines, the dialed person would return the message at his/her earliest convenience. Just the same as it would be very rude to leave a message and get no return phone call back.
Well, now and days it seems far too easy for someone 'not too get the message.' In fact, many have PDAs and phones that receive data to get emails/texts/phone calls INSTANTLY! So the question of someone not receiving the message for 'x' amount of time (out of town, working late, or generally NOT AT HOME) is no longer and excuse for anyone. ANYONE. Heck, I've even seen bums on the street with cell phones in their hands!! Now, there is two faces to this coin; I know that because we can now receive these communication messages all the time now it increases the opportunities for these messages to be screened. I know i dont want to talk on the phone or send an email when i am talking to someone, out to dinner, or doing other things I just don't feel like being bothered. I am definitely OK with leaving messages and waiting for a response. The pet peeve is the not responding. For me, when i know i am busy and cant get back to an email I will send a quick one back to say i am busy, thanks, and ill get back to you as soon as I can. Phone calls, ill send a quick text back saying thanks, ill call you back later.
Now, what is an acceptable amount of time to return the message?
I have no idea? 6 hours? One day? two days? three days is definitely pushing it. When is it acceptable to feel like you are getting blown off?
It bothers me so much, and I cant explain why it gets under my skin as much as it does. It's very possible that I take it too personally; I just imagine someone reading/hearing my message shortly after they receive it and saying to themselves ' o it's donna, this is unimportant to me, ill ignore it.'
Maybe they don't say that.... BUT WHY CANT YOU RESPOND TO ME!?! Am I really asking for that much? SOme of my friends have a free pass when I am just calling to chit-chat and I know they are super busy (and we generally dont talk on a regular basis anyway). Sometime I dont call people back for a few days because I know I want to block out a decent chunk of time for them. But what if I asked you to make plans? or have a simple questions, or require a simple response? What is your excuse??
I wonder about the future, this high speed communication pathway makes it easier in a lot of ways. But do we ever know if the message got delivered? Too often you hear that they never got the message as the excuse. What if there really was a problem with the connection? I just have a hard time believing it because I dont think Ive missed very many messages (that i know of)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Halloween Ideas?
Thank GOSH the week is almost over! It was a short week for me and it seemed longer than most! The length of the week directly correlated to the stress level this week, which I can attribute a good portion to some staff accountants which shall remain nameless. Thank gosh tomorrow is Friday!
I have very few plans for the remainder of the month and it is so nice. This past weekend was the last wedding of 2008 (and that feels nice too!) and EUROPEAN VACATION is just under a month away.... that feels extra nice. The only thing on my mind outside of work is Halloween. What will I be? I have two parties this month; the first of which is Dave's Halloween party with some of my rowing friends and a lot of their gay friends. I have a feeling the only straight people at the party with me myself, J and A, and possibly Matt if he joins me. It should be hilarious! For that party J and A mentioned going as Rock Stars together.... crimping our hair, wearing mini skirts and boots, bright colors, get an inflatable guitar and microphone. It could be really fun! I have another party up in Cleveland the day after Halloween which will be much less rambunctious and I dont know what I want to be for that either. I could always fall back on my Mustard Costume (last year Matt and I were Ketchup and Mustard). I know, cute, huh? I also considered dressing up like Sara Palin because multiple, MULTIPLE people have stopped me and already told me I look like her. The only problem with that is i dont know how worth it is to stir that pot when engaging in any kind of political discourse with ANYONE these days just makes me more and more cynical and bitter as every day passes.
However, outside political and work universe, I am quite quite content these days. Matt and I have been having tons of fun with each other every day after work recently. Just this week we have been using up tons of veggies I bought and made some great meals together. We've been playing around with each other, going for walks, swimming in the pool downstairs, going out for ice cream, having a blast. Maybe he has just been in extra good moods, but we have been laughing A LOT and it's so refreshing to balance out the high degree of stress i have 7-5 every day. Yesterday while i was cooking in the kitchen, he picked me, flipped me upside down and had all the blood rush to my head and I was laughing uncontrollably. my eyes started watering because i was right next the onions i was about to cook. It;'s like we are kids again playing together. No matter how old you are, you are never too old to run around, and play like kids. Laughter put years onto your life.
I have very few plans for the remainder of the month and it is so nice. This past weekend was the last wedding of 2008 (and that feels nice too!) and EUROPEAN VACATION is just under a month away.... that feels extra nice. The only thing on my mind outside of work is Halloween. What will I be? I have two parties this month; the first of which is Dave's Halloween party with some of my rowing friends and a lot of their gay friends. I have a feeling the only straight people at the party with me myself, J and A, and possibly Matt if he joins me. It should be hilarious! For that party J and A mentioned going as Rock Stars together.... crimping our hair, wearing mini skirts and boots, bright colors, get an inflatable guitar and microphone. It could be really fun! I have another party up in Cleveland the day after Halloween which will be much less rambunctious and I dont know what I want to be for that either. I could always fall back on my Mustard Costume (last year Matt and I were Ketchup and Mustard). I know, cute, huh? I also considered dressing up like Sara Palin because multiple, MULTIPLE people have stopped me and already told me I look like her. The only problem with that is i dont know how worth it is to stir that pot when engaging in any kind of political discourse with ANYONE these days just makes me more and more cynical and bitter as every day passes.
However, outside political and work universe, I am quite quite content these days. Matt and I have been having tons of fun with each other every day after work recently. Just this week we have been using up tons of veggies I bought and made some great meals together. We've been playing around with each other, going for walks, swimming in the pool downstairs, going out for ice cream, having a blast. Maybe he has just been in extra good moods, but we have been laughing A LOT and it's so refreshing to balance out the high degree of stress i have 7-5 every day. Yesterday while i was cooking in the kitchen, he picked me, flipped me upside down and had all the blood rush to my head and I was laughing uncontrollably. my eyes started watering because i was right next the onions i was about to cook. It;'s like we are kids again playing together. No matter how old you are, you are never too old to run around, and play like kids. Laughter put years onto your life.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Great Idea
Such a great idea to discover new blogs and find more ways to waste away the day! haha! I loved getting comments, I thought no one read this ramble. Maybe ill start proof-reading and spell checking before I post from now on!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Chicago weekend and Shopping
Finally back at work after a long, but good, weekend. Last week was just CRAZY busy at work, I ended up working 6 hours of overtime on Friday because HQ told me they were working over the weekend and so were the auditors so I need all year-end stuff submitted. So I busted my ass, brought my blackberry and charger with me to Chicago, and was fully prepared to get questions thought the weekend because HQ made is ABUNDANTLY clear we have no excuse to miss the deadline. Well, no email or calls Saturday, none Sunday, and NONE yesterday too-- and I know the auditors work on Monday because Columbus day is only a federal and bank holiday. NOTHING! I am a little disgruntled about that. At the same time, however, it feels nice not to have any outstanding items lingering over the long-weekend, nor was it annoying to get phone calls when i am out of town this weekend. So, i guess it worked out. Hopefully the trend continues the week.
My weekend was pretty good, I went to Chicago this weekend to celebrate one of my college friend's wedding. It was great to see him and his wife so happy, no less party with some of the old college crew. It's getting more and more rare that a big group of us can get together these days. We all had a great time, except for the 6 hours of open bar, Matt wanting to go to bed, and a huge after party in our hotel room. Matt was so tired and I felt bad that SO many people were in our room, but how cool were we that the bride and groom were in OUR room. Funny how some of the grooms college friends ended up in hotel room 666. Coincidence?
I had Monday off so even though the car ride was long, i knew I had all of yesterday to get stuff done. And stuff done I did get. I was supposed to row in the morning, but my rower-friend stood me up. So i got to sleep in, clean a little bit and enjoy the 80 degree morning with a walk with Odie. My plan for the day included checking up on email (which was quick since i had none), going shopping for fun ( I needed a new pair of jeans and some winter shoes), go grocery shopping, do some laundry, make dinner for matt, and RELAX. I got all of it accomplished, except I ended up not finding anything I set out to find at the Mall. I probably tried on a total of 30 pairs of jeans and didn't find any of them particular cute and worth spending over 60 bucks. The one pair of cute jeans I found at express here. LOOOOVEd them! they made me look super skinny, they weren't too tight, and they flared out the perfect amount ( I don't like it when they look too flare-ey). BUT THEY WERE SOOO LONG!!!! like TOOO long. I like longer jeans because 85% of my shoes have a heal, but even on my very tipy-tip toes they were still dragging the ground. ugh! Huge disappointment. And because they have a cute little hem line on the bottom, it wouldn't be worth trying to sew them up to not be as long. So, I was 0-1 in the jean department.
I also set out to buy a pair of 'all around' shoes that I can wear with jeans, also to work with some outfits, and I want them to be pretty trendy. This is becoming more important because A; it's getting colder and I need to retire some of my open-toes shoes and sandals I've still been wearing and B: I am going to need something comfortable and cute to wear in Europe next month when I do lots of walking. It's especially difficult because they need to have 1-2 ' heal (at a minimum) so my pants don't drag but they need to be COMFORTABLE. The lowest heal I own right now to wear with jeans are my my boots I got at Aldo last winter, but I dont think ill want to walk around in boots in Europe. What would be cute? And comfortable and stylish.... help!
So here I am Tuesday morning, with over $150 dollars in the hole of extra clothes i DIDNT need with out achieving any of my shopping goals. I did get some super cute fall/winter stuff at Ann Taylor Loft... so many cute stuff there right now. I LOVE the loft!!! I even had two- $25 dollar off cards so I left with some good bargain buys!
OK, enough shopping-talk. Time to get some work done....
P.s. I made spaghetti squash last night- it was AWESOME I made it and topped it off with vegan meatballs, and a concoction of kale, spinach (collard greens), broccoli, and pine nuts cooked in vegetable stock with 3 garlic cloves minced into the vegetable stock that evaporated as I cooked the greens. It turned out DELISH! And totally healthy!! YUM! The only problem I ran into was 'forking' out the squash, when I was done it didnt look very spaghetti like. But it was still yummy!
My weekend was pretty good, I went to Chicago this weekend to celebrate one of my college friend's wedding. It was great to see him and his wife so happy, no less party with some of the old college crew. It's getting more and more rare that a big group of us can get together these days. We all had a great time, except for the 6 hours of open bar, Matt wanting to go to bed, and a huge after party in our hotel room. Matt was so tired and I felt bad that SO many people were in our room, but how cool were we that the bride and groom were in OUR room. Funny how some of the grooms college friends ended up in hotel room 666. Coincidence?
I had Monday off so even though the car ride was long, i knew I had all of yesterday to get stuff done. And stuff done I did get. I was supposed to row in the morning, but my rower-friend stood me up. So i got to sleep in, clean a little bit and enjoy the 80 degree morning with a walk with Odie. My plan for the day included checking up on email (which was quick since i had none), going shopping for fun ( I needed a new pair of jeans and some winter shoes), go grocery shopping, do some laundry, make dinner for matt, and RELAX. I got all of it accomplished, except I ended up not finding anything I set out to find at the Mall. I probably tried on a total of 30 pairs of jeans and didn't find any of them particular cute and worth spending over 60 bucks. The one pair of cute jeans I found at express here. LOOOOVEd them! they made me look super skinny, they weren't too tight, and they flared out the perfect amount ( I don't like it when they look too flare-ey). BUT THEY WERE SOOO LONG!!!! like TOOO long. I like longer jeans because 85% of my shoes have a heal, but even on my very tipy-tip toes they were still dragging the ground. ugh! Huge disappointment. And because they have a cute little hem line on the bottom, it wouldn't be worth trying to sew them up to not be as long. So, I was 0-1 in the jean department.
I also set out to buy a pair of 'all around' shoes that I can wear with jeans, also to work with some outfits, and I want them to be pretty trendy. This is becoming more important because A; it's getting colder and I need to retire some of my open-toes shoes and sandals I've still been wearing and B: I am going to need something comfortable and cute to wear in Europe next month when I do lots of walking. It's especially difficult because they need to have 1-2 ' heal (at a minimum) so my pants don't drag but they need to be COMFORTABLE. The lowest heal I own right now to wear with jeans are my my boots I got at Aldo last winter, but I dont think ill want to walk around in boots in Europe. What would be cute? And comfortable and stylish.... help!
So here I am Tuesday morning, with over $150 dollars in the hole of extra clothes i DIDNT need with out achieving any of my shopping goals. I did get some super cute fall/winter stuff at Ann Taylor Loft... so many cute stuff there right now. I LOVE the loft!!! I even had two- $25 dollar off cards so I left with some good bargain buys!
OK, enough shopping-talk. Time to get some work done....
P.s. I made spaghetti squash last night- it was AWESOME I made it and topped it off with vegan meatballs, and a concoction of kale, spinach (collard greens), broccoli, and pine nuts cooked in vegetable stock with 3 garlic cloves minced into the vegetable stock that evaporated as I cooked the greens. It turned out DELISH! And totally healthy!! YUM! The only problem I ran into was 'forking' out the squash, when I was done it didnt look very spaghetti like. But it was still yummy!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Some pics from this weekend
I sent a few pictures of my parents from this weekend- the very fall-like weekend I had with picture perfect weather. Last year when we picked out our pumpkins i was wearing long sleeves, a jacket, and I think I even wore Matt's sweatshirt too since I was so cold. This year- jeans and short sleeve. Matt even wore shorts!! I am loving this, the longer is stays warm the shorter winter is. 
Another busy week at work with probably not much time to post..
On a side note, I don't have cable yet and at dinner with the girls last night there was much excitement around a bunch of On Demand shows they watch. Most of them I have never heard of. They don't watch any of the TV I watch (which it very little apparently comparatively) and that is all they watch. They don't watch any prime-time shows that I watch. Desperate Housewives? How can you NOT watch that!! I have mixed feelings about the whole thing, and the conversation in general. I don't think I need cable (even though i have an awesome TV). I get some digital channels, I get more than i used to, and I don't need another reason to stay inside and watch more TV. I can think of a lot more things I can do with $70/month. That is 1.5 dinners at Teak a month!
Monday, October 6, 2008
adjusting expecations and a good weekend
So what an interesting weekend it was, and again a lesson re-learned about failed expectations. I have been fully aware of my major fault of getting angry when the expectation I have in my head are not realized. I need help working on this, seriously, my poor boyfriend needs me to work on this.
So this weekend was supposed to be a relaxing weekend with some apple picking and down time with Matt's family, some good dinners, and lots of sleep. I need it since next weekend will be stressful (but fun) travelling to Chicago and all. Well, Matt had a bad day at work last week and some how he ended up coming down with the flu. And for some reason my bitchy self could not swallow the fact that he was actually sick and not just feeling bad for himself because he hates his job. On top of this, i proceeded to get angry at him because he was too sick to go pick apples with my Saturday afternoon-- something I had been looking forward to for two weeks. He was sick, I was bitchy. What kind of girlfriend am i? I know this is because my expectations in my head were not met, I need to work on this.
Luckily, even though the start to the weekend was a little rocky, it all turned out quite nicely. With EXCELLENT weather to ice the cake! So instead of going to Lynd Farm on Saturday, I went to the Soap Box Derby with J and A and some other rowers and friends of theirs. It was something unique and different and the weather was perfect for this! It all turned out so nice, and I am really glad i got to spend the afternoon with a couple of great friends anyway. That night was just as relaxing, Matt started to feel better (and I was started to feel better about the prospects of Apple Picking on Sunday) and we spent a great night together. We went over to Matt's house for a little bit, then went to Target and Circuit city to find an HD cable for the wii and Sammy, and then ordered some pizza to have a good night at home. Yummy pizza and we even bought a couple new games for the wii that we can play together. The wii is AWESOME on my TV! The best part, i went to bed a fairly decent time and slept all the through the night!! Gosh, what a great feeling it is to wake up pretty early, wake up naturally and WELL rested, and see sunshine and an entire day to whatever we wanted.
It was PERFECT day for a columbus trip!
We left later in the morning, stopped at Matt's parents house, found a little place to have Bubble Tea near OSU (a place we discovered last year and HAD to go back!!) and then found our way to lynd farm. We picked out two awesome pumpkins, got 20lbs of apples, and even picked up some jelly, squash and some other veggies for dinners this week. IT was perfect day and we had a blast together. Ill have to post some pictures we took of me sitting on Matt's shoulders reaching for the high apples.
I am feeling rested today, i am ready to take on the week....
So this weekend was supposed to be a relaxing weekend with some apple picking and down time with Matt's family, some good dinners, and lots of sleep. I need it since next weekend will be stressful (but fun) travelling to Chicago and all. Well, Matt had a bad day at work last week and some how he ended up coming down with the flu. And for some reason my bitchy self could not swallow the fact that he was actually sick and not just feeling bad for himself because he hates his job. On top of this, i proceeded to get angry at him because he was too sick to go pick apples with my Saturday afternoon-- something I had been looking forward to for two weeks. He was sick, I was bitchy. What kind of girlfriend am i? I know this is because my expectations in my head were not met, I need to work on this.
Luckily, even though the start to the weekend was a little rocky, it all turned out quite nicely. With EXCELLENT weather to ice the cake! So instead of going to Lynd Farm on Saturday, I went to the Soap Box Derby with J and A and some other rowers and friends of theirs. It was something unique and different and the weather was perfect for this! It all turned out so nice, and I am really glad i got to spend the afternoon with a couple of great friends anyway. That night was just as relaxing, Matt started to feel better (and I was started to feel better about the prospects of Apple Picking on Sunday) and we spent a great night together. We went over to Matt's house for a little bit, then went to Target and Circuit city to find an HD cable for the wii and Sammy, and then ordered some pizza to have a good night at home. Yummy pizza and we even bought a couple new games for the wii that we can play together. The wii is AWESOME on my TV! The best part, i went to bed a fairly decent time and slept all the through the night!! Gosh, what a great feeling it is to wake up pretty early, wake up naturally and WELL rested, and see sunshine and an entire day to whatever we wanted.
It was PERFECT day for a columbus trip!
We left later in the morning, stopped at Matt's parents house, found a little place to have Bubble Tea near OSU (a place we discovered last year and HAD to go back!!) and then found our way to lynd farm. We picked out two awesome pumpkins, got 20lbs of apples, and even picked up some jelly, squash and some other veggies for dinners this week. IT was perfect day and we had a blast together. Ill have to post some pictures we took of me sitting on Matt's shoulders reaching for the high apples.
I am feeling rested today, i am ready to take on the week....
Thursday, October 2, 2008
New addition to my family, Samsung
Yesterday was a rough but exciting day.... It was one of those days that everything that happened to me, happened in a very difficult manner. It all started when I got home from work on Tuesday and my TV did not turn on, it was completely broken. Yes, this was my old crappy, TV I got for free from a friend's ex-boyfriend when I first moved to the city. And no it is not fancy by any means and barely worked when i first got it 2+ years ago. But it was free, how could I complain? As crappy as it was I never thought about getting a new one because it worked. Key word, it worked-- it turned on, it turned off, it showed me a couple channels, it never talked back, it worked.
So that night it died to told my boyfriend that this was the straw that broke the camels back, this is the last thing that will push me over the technology edge and get a big girl tv. And I was doing it tomorrow! Matt thought i was hasty but moderately supportive and did a little looking online that night and the night was over with visions of HDTVs dancing in our head.
Well, yesterday was just a rough day in general. I dont know if it was a full moon, i was just cranky, my brain was half functioning, i don't know, but everything was NOT easy yesterday. I met Matt at lunch to discuss some of his thoughts about my new tv and the research I had been doing that day at work. That research including price comparing at different stores, reading customer reviews, reading consumer report articles, using C-Net, lots of research. Matt met me with nothing but contention. All I wanted him to do was support me and help me make this big purchase because it would really need a second opinion. Not a dissenting opinion. SO not only was lunch full of bickering, we parted ways in a fit of rage (on my part) operating under the assumption that my boyfriend only wants to call the shots, doesnt think I am smart enough to buy a TV on my own, and acts crazy without putting any thought into my decisions.
Perhaps he wasn't thinking exactly what i was interpreting, but that is SURE how i felt!!! Luckily, a few minutes after lunch we both calmed down and he called me to tell me he would come with me to buy this TV tonight. I took his word expecting his help during the process.
So we get to Best Buy and Matt does NOT help at all. I am asking all the questions, there are like 3 million TVs on the wall for me to look at and they all look pretty close to the same. Help! I don't know what I want! I know relatively how much I want to spend, I want something that will last with changing technology, not too big- not too small. WHICH TV!?! I am started to get angry again, Matt's mom calls him to ask us if we want to go to Costco right away, I am feeling pressured because I just got here, now Matt's mom is involved, i cant make a decisions, I am frustrated now AND stressed.
The hardship continues for probably another hour or so perusing the isles, asking more questions of each other, getting more help from a sales rep, and finally matt engages himself a little more. After continues bickering of course. Well, i pick out a tv we both are in agreement with. After all, it's not worth getting a TV that I am going to be hearing about how unhappy he is with it for the next 10 years. And personally, i think i get the best tv there is for it's size and price out there right now. I pack up and check out....
Good: I purchases a new TV!!
Bad: I cant fit in my car without the trunk flopping on it
Good: A best buy person helps pack it up
Bad: Best Buy doesn't have anything to help me hold down my trunk
Good: Dick's Sporting Goods is just down the way
Bad: I am so embarrassed to ask 4 sales associates standing around doing nothing for twine
Good: They are SOOO nice and give me a huge roll and scissors and tell me to use however much I want
Bad: I lose my car keys in the process of typing up the trunk
Good: Matt is nice to help me look for them
Bad: I am too embarrassed to going back into Dick's a third time looking for my Keys
Good: I found them IN my trunk
Bad: I start hearing my car make some weird noises
Good: My dad affirms me it's not that serious once i diagnose it
-pause- more Good: We pick up Teak for dinner!
Bad: I break a glass all over my kitchen trying to reach for a plate
Good: We set up my AWESOME TV and start watching some digital channels in HIGH DEF!
Bad: I spill an entire container of soy sauce on my white carpet trying to clean-up.
OY. I made it though, i went to bed and woke up happy again when I walked into my living room to say good morning to my new TV:) I LOOOOOVE this TV!! It looks awesome in my room, the color and sound are SO incredible, I am just happy as a clam right now. I want to have all my friends over to watch my tv so they can see how great it is!! O wait, I can see the VP debate in HD tonight!! Sometimes the greatest rewards are the toughest to get, but it all worked out. I love my new addition to my family:)
So that night it died to told my boyfriend that this was the straw that broke the camels back, this is the last thing that will push me over the technology edge and get a big girl tv. And I was doing it tomorrow! Matt thought i was hasty but moderately supportive and did a little looking online that night and the night was over with visions of HDTVs dancing in our head.
Well, yesterday was just a rough day in general. I dont know if it was a full moon, i was just cranky, my brain was half functioning, i don't know, but everything was NOT easy yesterday. I met Matt at lunch to discuss some of his thoughts about my new tv and the research I had been doing that day at work. That research including price comparing at different stores, reading customer reviews, reading consumer report articles, using C-Net, lots of research. Matt met me with nothing but contention. All I wanted him to do was support me and help me make this big purchase because it would really need a second opinion. Not a dissenting opinion. SO not only was lunch full of bickering, we parted ways in a fit of rage (on my part) operating under the assumption that my boyfriend only wants to call the shots, doesnt think I am smart enough to buy a TV on my own, and acts crazy without putting any thought into my decisions.
Perhaps he wasn't thinking exactly what i was interpreting, but that is SURE how i felt!!! Luckily, a few minutes after lunch we both calmed down and he called me to tell me he would come with me to buy this TV tonight. I took his word expecting his help during the process.
So we get to Best Buy and Matt does NOT help at all. I am asking all the questions, there are like 3 million TVs on the wall for me to look at and they all look pretty close to the same. Help! I don't know what I want! I know relatively how much I want to spend, I want something that will last with changing technology, not too big- not too small. WHICH TV!?! I am started to get angry again, Matt's mom calls him to ask us if we want to go to Costco right away, I am feeling pressured because I just got here, now Matt's mom is involved, i cant make a decisions, I am frustrated now AND stressed.
The hardship continues for probably another hour or so perusing the isles, asking more questions of each other, getting more help from a sales rep, and finally matt engages himself a little more. After continues bickering of course. Well, i pick out a tv we both are in agreement with. After all, it's not worth getting a TV that I am going to be hearing about how unhappy he is with it for the next 10 years. And personally, i think i get the best tv there is for it's size and price out there right now. I pack up and check out....
Good: I purchases a new TV!!
Bad: I cant fit in my car without the trunk flopping on it
Good: A best buy person helps pack it up
Bad: Best Buy doesn't have anything to help me hold down my trunk
Good: Dick's Sporting Goods is just down the way
Bad: I am so embarrassed to ask 4 sales associates standing around doing nothing for twine
Good: They are SOOO nice and give me a huge roll and scissors and tell me to use however much I want
Bad: I lose my car keys in the process of typing up the trunk
Good: Matt is nice to help me look for them
Bad: I am too embarrassed to going back into Dick's a third time looking for my Keys
Good: I found them IN my trunk
Bad: I start hearing my car make some weird noises
Good: My dad affirms me it's not that serious once i diagnose it
-pause- more Good: We pick up Teak for dinner!
Bad: I break a glass all over my kitchen trying to reach for a plate
Good: We set up my AWESOME TV and start watching some digital channels in HIGH DEF!
Bad: I spill an entire container of soy sauce on my white carpet trying to clean-up.
OY. I made it though, i went to bed and woke up happy again when I walked into my living room to say good morning to my new TV:) I LOOOOOVE this TV!! It looks awesome in my room, the color and sound are SO incredible, I am just happy as a clam right now. I want to have all my friends over to watch my tv so they can see how great it is!! O wait, I can see the VP debate in HD tonight!! Sometimes the greatest rewards are the toughest to get, but it all worked out. I love my new addition to my family:)
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