Sometimes you just want to shut yourself off from the world and think...

Me, looking pensive as I write.
A photo just so you have a photo to look at while reading this.

I woke up this morning wanting to do something nice for someone else. I was in a really good mood despite that I wasted an hour trying on everything I owned and only finally settled on what I wore because if I spent any more time getting ready I would be even more late than I was already going to be. I spent my entire drive to work today wondering how I could make someone else's (or everyone else's) day a little better. But I should have known something was up. Every time I get one of these urges to do something kind for someone else, my day quickly turns into a test of patience or a war with myself.

Of course, still in my good mood, I let the people who cut me off in traffic whiz by without shaking my fist in the air or honking at them- instead, I said what my Princess Nana always says, "Maybe it's an emergency. I hope they get to where they need to go safely".

I greeted people with big smiles on the elevators, and instead of avoiding eye contact, I spoke pleasantly about the weather or whatever else seemed to occupy their minds at the time. This used to be a regular me. I used to love people, I used to feel a strong urge to always help people, but since moving away from Tennessee, I have become a little hardened, a little disheartened by inconsiderate people and selfishness so blatantly on display, and worst of all, have even adopted a few of these bad habits myself. But more so, I have become aware of just how much people take others for granted, how I take others for granted, how they take me for granted. Why do we do that? Why is it so easy for us to do it?

Truthfully, with all the horrible things happening around the world and the horrible things happening right in our backyards, not to mention our daily encounters with others, I am surprised so many people find the energy to be kind or happy at all. Watching the news everyday has become discouraging, only because they focus on the sensationalist stories which are more often than not tragic or anger-inducing. Stupidity is glorified on TV. Frienemies are a staple of following the it-girl mentality. Maybe it is laziness or a generation of "it's not my fault no matter what" excuses, but whatever it is, I am tired of being surrounded by it on a daily basis. It is so easy to act this way, are we all just taking the easy way out?

I don't think I really helped anyone today. Instead I was distracted by my ever-encroaching "me-mentality" and despite a few of my efforts, I was unsuccessful and mostly received sideway glances more than anything. Most people (where I am), when you try to help, are only considering your ulterior motive- flirting, sucking-up, trying to get information out of you, etc. The last thing people seem to consider is maybe you just wanted to help someone, maybe you are just a good person (or at least for a moment you are trying to be), or maybe you just woke up this morning with an urge to help someone else.

I am far from perfect, and if I was a better person I would probably say I am only being tested in my strength and my courage to overcome unfavorable-circumstances and still prevail regardless of them, but it is hard to believe much of anything but the worst these days. My faith in myself, and my faith in others is shaken on a daily basis and it has become a daily struggle to feel anything but indifference (can you feel indifference? ha ha) or strife. In fact, as I write this, I can already hear people whispering about it later, or laughing about amongst themselves. I can even see myself deleting this tomorrow morning when I have renewed my spirit and regained (from only He knows where) a new confidence in others.

This is more along the lines of a letter I would send to a friend (Jana & Kelsey!) and I could go on and on about this subject (as if I haven't already done so), but I doubt you would be interested in reading it considering the more-emotional I get in my blog posts, the less people actually seem to respond to them. So for reading this far, I will at least leave you with a post within a post:

Something Is Missing

Last week, I looked down and made a shocking discovery... one of the main diamonds in my wedding ring had fallen out! I looked down at it and my jaw dropped but that was about it. I should have been freaking out, but I knew we had insurance so it wasn't a huge ordeal. Still though, I was kind of surprised at how I wasn't as angry sentimentally-speaking.

All-in-all though, I think I felt like it was more on-par than anything. Something is missing in my life right now. Husband is in Tennessee doing his internship for the summer, did I mention that? And while he is missing, I am missing him like crazy.

Read More

Wake Up Call!

It is almost 4:00 AM and I am so dedicated to my blog stalkers that I decided to post at this peculiar state of awakeness and simultaneous sleepiness. I only got back to my hotel room moments earlier from finishing up our last night of our annual youth education summit scholarship program- and I am E.X.H.A.U.S.T.E.D.

We toted 45 high school students around the D.C. area for an entire week, where they participated in group debates, made individual speeches, and learned an extensive amount about our nation's history. I have to be at the shuttle in only thirty or so minutes, so this will hopefully knock out two birds with one stone: get me to post since I haven't in forever AND keep me from falling asleep in my somewhat-swanky, king-size bed de hotel.

I got a really good chance to use my camera during certain parts of the program. I wish I could have been on the photographing the entire time, but I am there to work- not to have fun! But who says you can't do both? We had a little downtime at the FDR memorial before we headed off to the National American History Museum, so I took the opportunity to take, what I called, some "Senior Year" photos of the kids. I got so many good shots, and it really helped make the slideshow at the banquet that night a lot of fun. But, thanks to my YES soulmate (and two-time YES chaperone from West Virginia), Matthew Thompson, I also managed to get a picture with just me and most of the students there too. But you know I can't take a serious photo... enjoy...

We always get the best of the best, and these students were so much fun! I have good stories about all of them, but of course they have all become inside jokes and they would only be funny to me, so I will spare you the details.

Below are just a few other pictures of me and the rest of the staff, along with just a few of my favorite photos taken throughout the week by me and various other people... some of them are so cute it makes me really wish I could have been taking pictures throughout the entire week- Oh the places we go! They would have all made such great pictures. But for this year, you get these:

It was so much fun, but I am seriously lacking in sleep, so I am off to help get these kids on their planes and, hopefully, grab some shut eye for the rest of the day.

YES!

Read More

Family Riverunion 2010

Well people, I am super tired- and since we are moments from officially beginning our big scholarship program-  I am going to cheat on this one.

But before you watch the slideshow... just know that:

We had the biggest fireworks display on the river. Rumor has it, there was over $10,000 in fireworks that night. Boats lined up to watch it (like they do every year- we're kind of a big deal), and I was so close I got hit with shrapnel- it was awesome. Not to mention, I love watching everyone and all the dogs run around with neon glow-necklaces on.

We did have a 50s-themed night. Last year was Pirates, and I was hoping we would continue it every year. I can't remember what we came up with for next year... should be good though.

And also know that Husband and I came in first place in TWO of the competitions. We were the Riverunion Champions! I think they should of named us Mr. & Mrs. Riverunion 2010 (it's not a tradition yet, but it could be).

Dominating in the Egg Toss. 

Okay, you may now begin watching the slideshow.

To see more, just click on "View All Images". This one of BNIB is my all-time favorite though:

Lookin' good BNIB, lookin' good. 

Read More

Tennessee, Take Three

To catch up on the Tennessee Trip- this is going to be my blog post about the more random things I did while I was down there.

I had to show you this picture of Husband with
our niece and nephew, Maggie and Macon.
But it wont load the right way and it is making me very angry. 

1. I was sick half the time with sinus stuff. It wasn't so horrible, but there was one day where I literally felt like nothing would make me more happy than to chop off my nose and go to sleep.

Did I ever tell you that Husband NEVER gets sick? Literally, have never seen him sick- ever. He says none of the males in his family ever get sick- he thinks they have some highly-evolved genes or something. This is good for him, but not for me. Think about it- you have someone who never gets sick taking care of a sick person- he has no idea what a migraine feels like, or even stomach ache. He just looks at you like you're making the whole thing up, lol.


2. Before going to Tennessee, I kept telling Husband that I really wanted to eat some good Mexican food while I was there. Not that the Mexican food up here isn't good, but it is... fancier-more Americanized. And not that the food I ate in Tennessee is necessarily authentic- but it is cheap and tasty. Well I kept repeating it to Husband, and for a while there I thought it wasn't going to happen. So MIL picked me and her son up some chips, salsa, and cheese dip to satisfy my craving- and it did! But then the next day, I went to lunch with my parents and brother BNIB and we ate Mexican food! Then, the next day I went to lunch with my awesome friend Kelly, where we ate Mexican again!


I thought I was right back in college every time someone mentioned they would like to go eat Mexican food. I think I could eat it everyday and never fall out of love with it. That and Italian food, and Chinese food. Maybe just food in general.

(Picture right: Me and Lisa in college at our favorite Mexican restaurant - La Cabana a.k.a. La Canasty. It is one of my all-time favorite photos for some reason. Oh, and I had died my hair brown for a short period).


After lunch with the fam, Mother bought me a bouquet of some of my favorite crazy-daisy flowers:

3. After picking up some grub with Kelly (MISS YOU! Plan your wedding already!), I got to go shopping with my other friend, Rebecca! We went to Sam's Club and pretty much tried every free sample they had, it was beautiful. And then we took this awful picture of me (but naturally, a great one of the always-photogenic Rebecca).

4. The night before I went to go see the new Twilight movie, Eclipse, at the midnight showing. That's right, and Husband actually went with me. It was the best of all 3, I think. But I'm no movie critic. We purchased our tickets ahead of time, and the theater used every theater it had to accommodate the large crowds. I was so tired, I kept thinking "Why did I ever think this was a good idea?" and then the movie started and it all became so clear. Team Edward!

Taken with the beautiful, but elementary, Freedom Phone.

P.S. I had to just google why the third book was called "Eclipse" because there was never an eclipse. It's a metaphor for when Bella refers to Edward as her "Sun" and Jacob refers to Edward as Bella's eclipse. Sooo young adult fiction deep, right?

5. Before the Eclipse, me and MIL enjoyed some time in the sun. They have a sweet salt-water pool, and Matlock hates it when I am in the water so much, he usually barks at me until I get out. But I wasn't budging, so I told Husband to put him in the pool with me. Every time I put Matlock in the water with me, he becomes a frozen rock. It is the cutest thing ever.

Taken by Husband's much higher-quality camera phone.

I even put him on that pink float in the background for awhile, which made him a little happier, but still not pleased. He finally settled on chilling outside the pool, helping his daddy hit some golf balls.

6. Ever since Husband and I got married, I have been talking about going to Ireland. I don't know where this fascination suddenly came from (yes, I'm part-Irish, but I don't think that's where I am getting it), but I have been wanting to travel outside the U.S. for awhile now and have never had the time, nor the money, but I go through kicks of where I want to visit the most. Right now, Ireland seems to be the forerunner. Well, after meeting up with Rebecca (sorry this is so out of order), I drove back towards Clarksville to pick up Husband so we could go see our friends, Clay and Amy, who live in Erin, TN.

All Husband knew about the place was that it was a very small town about thirty minutes from Clarksville, and I told Husband it was supposed to be a mini-Ireland. He didn't believe me, but once we got there I made Clay and Amy (of Clamy blog) give us a walking tour of the tiny-town. They live smack in the middle of "downtown" so we got to see all the best sites.

Clamy: Clay and Amy

Surprise! Bobo came too!

I am pretty sure the locals thought I was nuts for going around the sleepy town and taking pictures, but I thought it was awesome. I told Husband he could rest easy now, that I had been to Ireland.

There was, of course, lots more. But I think that's enough for now.

Oh wait! I forgot to mention that I finally got to retire the Freedom Phone with my new Droid Incredible. I'm finally back in touch with the world! Isn't it pretty? I still miss the Freedom Phone, so I am entertaining the thought of bedazzling a clear phone cover as a tribute to the old red, white, and blue.

Next up: 2010 Family Riverunion!

Read More

Wedding Crashing by Invitation Only

Summer is the season for weddings, so when I was in Tennessee I decided to just crash some random church and it ended up being one of my best friend's weddings! 

JJOHN and ANIB, now JHARR and A(NIB)SHO.

Okay, I was lacking in inspiration for this blog post since I just posted about my brother's wedding party and how much fun it was and then I was scared I would just sound like I was repeating myself, so I made that first part up. 

I took brother BNIB and Julie as my date, seeing as the groom is in my brother's fraternity and the bride was in mine. BNIB ended up being a terrible date as I hardly saw him the whole time I was there, but he did pay for my meal later so all was not lost. 

Okay, back to the wedding. Doesn't JJohn just look like a perfect barbie doll? Gorgeous! I was so happy to see her, but I had to hang back it being her wedding day and all- I didn't want to monopolize her time (well I did want to, but I didn't). I did manage to save her (momentarily) from the cutest flower girl ever, who was convinced JJohn was a real princess and wanted to be in her arms at all time. 

And I got to see all my O.B.I.C. girls (am I still allowed to say that?).

KBray (I had so much fun talking to you!), Jenna, Jana, Me, and Julie.

WHAT UP Jana?! I feel like I didn't get to see enough of you. And guess who I didn't get to see at all? Kelsey. (That's right, I'm calling you out Kels- some Assistant Executive Chair you are- remember when everyone was so mad I started calling you that at meetings? ha ha) Don't worry, I'm not mad, just sad. I was expecting my fill of Jana and Kelsey and didn't even get a morsel of what I expected. I guess that means you'll have to come see me now...

Christine, Savannah, and Me!

Ooooo and SavvyAnna was there! And my big diamond sister, Lisa, was there too, and her dad thought I was Christine's sister- which was a really funny conversation for a second because I didn't recognize him at first and couldn't remember exactly how I knew him. I kept running through my mind of everyone I had ever met through JJohn. 

I got to see a lot of old KA's too, one of which (Evan) was mistaken by sorority sister (Jenna) as my husband. That was an equally funny conversation. Oh, and don't let me forget Jessi Curtis, who is going to start a blog now- because I want her too, right??

Later, when the bride and groom broke for the exit, we decided to keep the party going at the Hooter's in downtown Nashville (which was INSANELY packed for some reason). I hailed a Doubletree hotel shuttle in the rain and told the driver we were staying there (i think at least someone in our group was staying there so it wasn't a complete lie) and could use a ride to Hooters. Clyde happily obliged and when we all packed in for the literally two block ride, he awarded us with little debbie oatmeal cakes when we answered his Tennessee trivia correctly. The line at Hooters was horrible, so to make the time go by faster, Christine and Lisa's boyfriend (not pictured) had a hula-hooping contest in the waiting area. Oh to be in college again.

Okay, I forgot to mention a ton of people, but it is 100 degrees in my apartment right now and my mind can hardly process anything right now. JJohn, I love you, and I can't wait till all of us are finally able to institute our "Blood Marys on Back Porches" days we talked about so many times.

Jeremiah was a bullfrog...

Read More

Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee....

My annual summer vacation to the Volunteer State was pretty much bursting at the seams with seeing people. I just got back on Monday night and I am pleasantly-exhausted. But because there is so much to talk about, I am going to string along the rehashing of details (and pictures) in a few, and hopefully a week's-worth of blog posts. The first to take stage was the action-packed "got hitched" party my brother, CNIB, and my now sister-in-law (SIL!), Faith, threw for all (and I do mean ALL) of their family and friends in Chattanooga.

To shake things up a little bit, I thought I would put the description of the eventful night to the tune of but what else than Alan Jackson's infamous country song, "Chattahoochee"?

That's right peeps, I went way down yonder on the Chattahoochee,
where it got hotter than a hoochie coochie.
We laid rubber on the Virginia asphalt,
we got a little crazy but we never got caught.

Down by the river on a Friday night,
pyramid of solo cups in the jazz club light.
Talkin' ta family and dancin' 'with friends,
never had a moment, just wishin' it wouldn't end.

Yeah, way down yonder on the Chattahoochee,
never knew how much that party would mean to me.
But I saw an old friend and I saw my old man,
Tried to spend time with everyone I can.

Well...

We made a lot of noise, always had to shout,
and even took pictures with a cardboard cutout.
It's a bad beer when it's hot, a bad beer when it's cold,
but there was no line at its keg, so we drank Fat Tire like it was '49 and gold.

Down by the river on a Saturday night,

Can you even tell that my Princess Nana is standing next to
a cardboard cutout of the bride and groom?

pyramid of solo cups in the jazz club light. 

Talkin' ta family and dancin' 'with friends, 

never had a moment, just wishin' it wouldn't end.

Yeah, way down yonder on the Chattahoochee, 

never knew how much that party would mean to me. 

I swapped shoes with my sister and still got a blister,  

Wore the same dress as another, but it didn't even bother. 

'Cause I learned a lot about lovin' and a little about livin'. 

Blew the couple a kiss, said cheers to Faith and Chris. 

Chanted USA! USA! USA! but then I couldn't stay. 

Phew! That was tougher than I thought it was going to be... wonder if I can at least insert the background music onto this thing so you can at least TRY to sing along. I am pretty sure my syllables aren't matched up correctly and that I added or forgot a whole other verse, but I am very okay with that. 

Well, in case you didn't follow the lowdown I gave you in the beautiful lyrics I wrote above, here it is again for  all of you who aren't exactly the "read-between-the-lines" type of people (men everywhere). I went down to Chattanooga for CNIB and Faith's wedding (you gotta have Faith! - George Michael), where they apparently know every single person in that town. Seriously, I think they have a fully-blown addiction to friends. Sure, you say, a person can never have too many friends. But I beg to differ, one such time a person might have themselves thinking they have too many friends would be at... say... a wedding where they were footin' the bill. 

They had a HUGE crowd at their wedding, and it was so much fun. My aunt looked at me during the party at one time and said, "Where the hell did they get all these people? They can't know all of these people."  It was purely logical though- she was in a sorority, he was in a fraternity, they had the party in their college town- it was only natural... AND FUN!

Holritz Photography captured the feel perfectly. I was just looking at all the
 professional pictures of the party and they are spectacular. 

I hardly sat down the whole night. I got to dance for the first time in a long time thanks to my little sister J who doesn't mind doing the goofy kind of dancing I like to do (once you roll out the shopping cart, it is only a matter of time before the sprinkler is in full-force and roger rabbit makes an appearance). 

It was awesome getting to see all my family (even though I would be seeing them shortly at the 2010 Riverunion! *future post*), and I even got to see some of Chris' old high school friends. Speaking of old friends, I ran into Krystyn Cochran! I feel like the last time I saw her we were moon-bathing, emptying one of those Sam's Club-size Cheetoball Tubs onto her trampoline, and sticking people's underwear in the freezer while they slept. Oh, the good ole days. 

My dad, who lives in Costa Rica, even made an appearance (which I learned about the day before I went). PHOTO OPT! (I am hoping to eventually have some better pictures for this post, but I didn't take but one while I was there and now I am at the mercy of others for pictures.)

Hmmm... I believe that is all I can say on the matter. I mentioned the cardboard cutout, right? Awesome. 

I mentioned that the bartenders couldn't keep up with the amount of people at the party, right? Hilarious. 

I told you about the pool party before the actual party, right? I didn't?! Well, the wedding party was actually on my brother's birthday, so we all went to his house for a pre-party party, where he received a gift that lit up his entire face... a truly CNIBerish gift... I will also leave you with this gift...

Read More

It was a dark and stormy night.

Husband and I were enjoying a nice evening of watching our latest Netflix obsession, Roswell (anything about Aliens and I am in), when the storm outside started brewing. Of course! I thought, there wasn't a cloud in the sky earlier and I had chosen that very day to get my car washed. Go figure. Then, right as I am about to publish the best blog post to end all other blog posts- the power goes out!

Now, this isn't the first time the power has gone off in my apartment. Sometimes it is because the hair blow dryer is going at full speed at the same time I am watching TV. But this time, the whole building's electricity came to a screeching halt. Right after the lights went out, I heard a roar of "Oh my goshes" coming from outside our window. People from our building were hanging out outside next to the pool area and saw the entire building's lights go out. I wish I had been out there, that must have been such a cool experience.

Husband quickly turned into panic-mode because the lights being out meant that not only would we not get to finish our Roswell episode, but now we were forced to find some other form of entertainment that didn't involve the computer, television, game systems, or technology in general.

Husband goes into a deep depression
after the power outage.

"Now what are we going to do?!" There was no light in the room, but I could still see him shaking his fist in the air with utter desperation.

And then I said what no Husband ever wants to hear...

"Well, I guess we could just talk."

A "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" rang silently from his head.

He knew I would be excited that all the lights went out. After all, I love candles, I love anything that breaks up the monotony, and I love peace and quiet. After lighting all the candles we had (Note to self: must buy more candles), I decided to take this opportunity to use try out my new camera in the candle-light.

I couldn't see a lot of the buttons, so a lot of it was blind trying. But I did manage to make a cool star out of the candle lights by moving it in a star pattern as I took the picture. So simple, but so much fun to try. I couldn't believe it actually worked:

Once Husband saw me having fun with technology, he snatched the camera from me to take some of his own.

The power outage lasted until the middle of the night (don't worry, I went and turned off every light so in case that did happen, I wouldn't wake up to a million lights on). But I think it must have been the entire block, because I slept so well without any light streaming through my windows.

Husband thought someone probably crashed into a light pole and hoped everyone was okay. I preferred to think it was a spy trying to steal something from someone's house or apartment, and to avoid making a scene- he/she needed to cause a huge distraction and turn off everyone's lights instead. Then, I went searching for my cell phone and couldn't find it anywhere. Maybe I was the one being spied on...

Probably not though, I eventually found my phone because the bling on it caught the flickering light of the candle and exposed its hiding place. That is, unless the spy is really good and stole it and then put it back in time for my second-search party. Dang, they are good.

Read More

Say Cheese!

As you already know, I have been working hard to lose weight. It started out as a healthiness thing, then it turned into a goal thing, and now it has turned into a done thing! I woke up this morning and had officially reached my goal weight of 130!

To show Husband I wasn't lying later, I took a picture to document this momentous occasion. I know a woman is never supposed to tell her weight (or age), but I am 24 years old and weigh 130 pounds, and I'm pretty freakin' happy about it. Any poundage I lose after the fact will only be an added bonus. 

I still don't look super-skinny or anything, and if you haven't seen me in awhile you probably wouldn't think I really looked any different, but there was some definite bulge developing and I wanted to nip it in the butt before it got a chance to spiral out of control. 

Did I mention I LOVE eating? Seriously, wish I could be eating 24/7. I blame my mother for being such a good cook- I've never done drugs before, but I imagine her food has the same addictive qualities as crack. One taste of her mouth-watering sausage wantons and- well, there really is no such thing as eating just one of them, and I think that says it all. But if you don't believe me, just ask Husband's family. How do you think I won them over? I brought my mother's delectableness the first time I went to Christmas with his whole family, and two months later, he proposed. It turns out, you don't have to be a good cook to hook a man, you just need someone who will do the good cooking for you so you can pass it off as your own. Thanks Ma!

Okay, enough parental-blaming for the time being. Since losing weight, the best part has just been feeling so much better! I've tried and failed before (haven't we all when it comes to dieting?), but then again, I did have a sweet incentive waiting for me at the finish line....

AN AWESOME DSLR CAMERA!! 

Unfortunately, I had to take pictures of it with my old camera. It's like the best dentist in town having to get his teeth done by the second best dentist in town. He is the best dentist in town and he's the one that has to live with sub-par teeth! And a bad set of chompers on the man who makes his money off of making them look good, is not good for business. I know, craziness, right?

I knew my Olympus Evolt E-620 was going to be in the mail today, but was so sad when I got home and opened it up and I didn't have the right memory card for it. Shake ya fist! My stepfather, a camera enthusiast/expert, picked it out for me and I thought for sure that him knowing me so well and all that he would know I wouldn't read the fine details of the description and notice that I was going to be missing a very important part of the picture-taking process. Fear not people, one trip to Target later and I was ready to start shooting!

It is kind of loud when it takes a picture, but I LOVE LOVE it- especially the swivel live-image view screen:

I am also stoked that I finally got to purchase a LugLife bag. I saw a LugLife bag forever ago and kept trying to think of good excuses to purchase one. Then, when I was waiting for my new camera to be shipped to me, I did a lot of online shopping for a camera bag that wasn't so, well, camera-bagish. I couldn't find much, and especially nothing great for under $100. But after an exhausting night of googling, I remembered my long lost-love of the LugLife Puddle Jumper. I thought it would be a little too big, but was willing to make it work if the price was right. When I went to LugLife's website I was so happy to learn they had since developed a mini-puddle jumper!

Is that lucky or what?! As an organization lover, who is using it as a camera bag, I figure I should at least give you proof of why it is so awesome. Here are some pictures that may explain why it is so perfect (for anything really):

Look at all those pockets! It has a pocket everywhere, for anything you can imagine. Perfect for all those bulky or tiny camera accessories. But the selling point for me (not that I really needed one to seal the deal or anything), was the easy access pocket I could use to put my camera in (which is advertised as a nice place to keep a change of shoes, but I think the larger one is better for that. If you ride the metro and keep a comfy pair of shoes in your bag, I recommend the regular size puddle jumper!). 

The secret pocket also keeps it safe from all the other items in the main storage section of the bag. The whole bag is also really nicely padded- making it perfect as a camera bag! And it comes in a bunch of fun colors! I went with black though, because it goes with more outfits. 

Now, to retire the old camera and show you some shots from my new one. These are just on auto without flash, but I still think you can really tell the difference in the quality. I didn't have anything interesting to shoot, and am still waiting for the battery to fully-charge, but here are the quickies:

The first shot with the new camera! 

I never thought I had odd looking feet, but they are kind of freaking me out in that picture. 

Me trying to figure out how to use the live-image swivel view screen to take a picture of myself. 

After finally convincing Husband to take a picture with me. Don't be fooled, he only looks really happy because we were watching something really funny on TV. And finally... 

You know I can never resist taking a picture of the pup! 

Can't wait to play with it more. I'm already annoying enough with my regular camera, I can only imagine what is to come of me now. Say Cheese!

Read More

Prepare To Be BeDazzled!

Long story short, I had a Blackberry Storm which treated me well for awhile but got progressively worse  and eventually developed into the most unbearable device I have ever owned, and yesterday it stopped working all together. My mother was kind enough to let me take her upgrade and so I made my way to the Verizon store- I wont go into detail about how mad I get every time I go there, but I did end up finding a phone that I liked. It also happens to be one of the most popular phones on the market right now and nobody in the near vacinity had one in stock. Such is life.

SO I opted to wait it out for a phone I really wanted rather than purchasing something I didn't really want right on the spot. This is actually a pretty big moment for me as I tend to get the "gotta have it right nows" and can be relentless and unforgiving when I get a goal in my head. Some call it impatience or needing instant gratification, smart people know I just get... enthusiastic about things.

While I am waiting for my Droid Incredible (and if you have heard negative things, DO NOT mention them to me. I am a firm believer of self-fulfilling prophecies and I don't want any negative thoughts swimming around in my head. In case I wasn't clear: If you don't have anything nice to say [about the Incredible], don't say anything at all! [pretty please!]), I have to use an old Verizon phone I still had in my desk. This is also remarkable as my old phones usually go in the (1) trash bin, (2) to my brother, BNIB, who breaks phones at an unimaginable rate- seriously, I went to his apartment one time and found seven RECENTLY USED cell phones laying around in plain site, don't let any store tell you they have a phone that is unbreakable, BNIB has proved over and over again that no phone is truly indestructible - or (3) don't work anymore, hence why I got a new phone.

So knowing that I could be stuck using this old school phone, with no email or facebook or anything!, for up to 3-4 weeks, I decided there was no reason I shouldn't shake things up and do what all cool people do and BEDAZZLE IT! That's right, I've pimped my phone, I've blinged it out, I've sparkle-fied it. But best of all- I've made it EXTRA cheesy by giving it a patriotic theme. I wonder if I say it is a Second Amendment theme if work would let me expense it...

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

AMERICA, AMERICA... Bada-BLING!

THE PHONE OF THE FREE, BABY!

PATRIOTIC PUPPY!

Are those fireworks coming from my ear?! No that's just me talking on my BLINGING cell phone. And just because I love you guys so much, here is another one for you:

 That phone is FREEDOM-LICKING GOOD!

To come: random rants, a new camera?, the best bag for organization freaks, and more!

Read More

Pandarized!

When someone is out of the office for a long time, or even just for lunch, bad things can happen. A fellow co-worker of mine extended her long Memorial Day weekend into a mini-vacay- so me and Nick (Finance) decided to mess with the small panda collection she has in her office while also leaving her with a new present for her wall. We had much grander plans, but were still pretty pleased with the results:

Pictured above is one of the pandas who got tied up and blindfolded while Nicole (Event Services) was out. The underage panda beside it decided to take advantage of the situation and got a little too tipsy with the shot glass. 

We aren't actually sure what the panda was trying to accomplish by climbing the bowling pin, so we can only assume one of the other pandas tied her up to it.  But best of all was the present we made for Nicole. While others at work may have their prize deers or turkeys hanging on their walls, Nicole now has her own prize panda:

Nicole wasn't as disturbed by it as we had hoped, she thought is was more cute than anything. But doing these type of things may be why I always get blamed when someone plays a trick on someone else in the office.

Read More

Signs of Summer

First freckle of the summer! It's on my leg, and I think it's a keeper...

Read More