A Little Bit Driven, a Little Bit Dorky

Bleh?

2009-05-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hmmm ... haven't blogged in a long time. Chris pointed out that his marriage proposal killed my blogging, lol. I guess that's partially true ... I've been keeping myself so preoccupied with all the planning that I haven't really felt like it, lol. And then there's facebook ... I update that so often I some times feel that my blog isn't necessary for updates ... and then I remember I CAN write about other things other than life updates ... hmmmm.

Attempted to make a 3D Wall-E cake over the weekend. The idea was great, the pieces I made were great, but the execution of said cake failed. GAHHH. 20 hours on a cake that was unfinished and now sitting in the dumpster. Oh well. Can't make a perfect cake everytime ... this was my first attempt at a non traditional weird shaped cake so I think I learned a few things.

Looking forward to watching the HOUSE finale tonight.

Work today sucked. A customer POOPED in the lobby. That's right, they full out shat on one of our nice wooden chairs. SO. GROSS. Then I got home and Toasty barfed everywhere. Blegh.

I feel a nap is in order ...

Doodlee Doo

2009-03-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to fly to MO next week to do all the wedding planning- eeeeek! (That was a squeal of excitement, by the way.)

I had such a good weekend. It was productive, fun, and relaxing all at the same time. :) I went to a bridal show at the Hilton in Glendale yesterday which was lots of fun, and afterwards went about a mile down the road for some great outdoor shopping. I have a new favorite store: Anthropologie! It has such cute clothes, house decor items, kitchen stuff, and accessories. It's a tad more expensive than my usual shopping spot, (Target :P) but every once in a blue moon the occasional splurge never hurt anyone. :P

I tried making espresso biscotti the other weekend, and while they taste ok, they don't really taste like espresso. More like ... chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. Some one should come up with a great espresso biscotti recipe and share it with me. :P

And now, back to ... ummm ... other stuff. :P

Poor Neglected Blogger.

2009-03-14T12:52:00.001-07:00

Now adays I put little update posts onto my facebook so often that I sort have neglected my poor little blog ... oooops. :(

The wedding planning is coming along nicely and I'm super excited to be going to KC from April 1st - 8th to do all the planning. I'm going to a "cake tasting" and will get to try 14 + different types of cake, yummm. I would love to make my own wedding cake, but considering that I will be doing basically everything else, I will have absolutely NO time to spend 12+ hours making a cake the day before. I would also have a butt load of cake making equipment that I would need to get from here to there. I am considering, however, making the "groom's cake," because it is much smaller and wouldn't take as much time or equipment.

I made the seating cards and table numbers for the reception the other day, and they do look QUITE cute, if I do say so myself.

I'm SO glad that it's the weekend.

I'm currently addicted to the lemon almond biscotti dipped in white chocolate that I made recently and am contemplating on trying to figure out a good way to make espresso flavored biscotti next.

Hmmm ... that is all.

Me Wants

2009-02-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

www.modcloth.com has the cutest stuff EVER and I want it all!!!! :P

Full Speed Ahead!

2009-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been only 8 days since I got engaged and I have already gotten much accomplished in the way of wedding planning. So far this week I have:

- Chris and I chose the approximate date of the wedding
- The budget has been figured out
- Have almost come to a final decision on not only the venue, but the STATE in which the wedding will take place
- I have chosen the wedding colors
- Picked out and bought all the flowers for the reception centerpieces
- Started Chris and I's wedding website
- Designed the invitations and bought all the material to make them
- Looked at, tried on, and bought my wedding dress
- Have come up with lots of ideas
- Have narrowed down the list of photographers, bakers, and other vendors
- Have picked out the dresses for the bridesmaids

:::wipes brown::: whew!

Valentines, Dinner, Dogs, And ...

2009-02-15T10:30:00.001-08:00

So, I've never been one to get all sappy over Valentine's Day, after all, it's mainly a commercial holiday anyway. Sure I used to like making homemade valentines to give to my friends and, many many years ago, having tea parties with close friends and our dolls. And on past Valentine's Days where I've had a significant other, I never really expected much, maybe just some time together or perhaps dinner. (Or both.) Chris and I even recently discussed how cheesy and lame it is for couples to get engaged on that particular day.

Well yesterday morning I woke up around 11ish and was just sitting on my computer "browsing the net" when Chris came in the room and was like, "Oh, I WAS going to go to Miss Donut-Bagel to get you some doughnuts for breakfast, but decided not to because I wasn't sure if you'd want them." To which I thought, what?! When would I ever NOT want doughnuts, and why are you telling me this anyway? To make me disappointed? I have to admit, I was a little annoyed. Afterwards Chris spent the next 8 hours in the living room playing video games in silence. I was thinking, wow for a boyfriend not only did he NOT wish me Happy Valentine's Day, he's not even talking! Around 7:15pm I went to the kitchen to make dinner. As my Valentine's Day present to Chris, I told him I'd try and make him a special dinner. So I made steak, mashed potatoes, corn, garlic bread, and chocolate mousse for dessert. As I was starting to cook the meal, Chris approached me and asked, "I'm going to Target. Did you want some chocolates or something?" What? Laaaaame. Now, at 7:15pm, he's ASKING me if I want him to go and get me some chocolates. Aren't you just supposed to GIVE them to some one as a ... you know ... surprise? "Sure ... uhh ... I guess. I mean if you want some." So Chris went to Target and I cooked. After he returned, dinner was ready and we ate (and it was actually good.) After I finished cleaning up Chris handed me a card in a red envelope and said excitedly, "Here's your card. I KNOW you didn't get me the same card this year, it's AWESOME." Hmmm ... maybe he'll redeem himself with this "awesome" card?" I opened it. It was ... cute. It was actually a card from the kids section with a picture of a stick figure dalmation on it. I was a bit confused because I didn't understand why he thought it was as awesome as he had been pumping it up to be. Then ...

"Oh yeah, there's something hidden in the closet for you too." Hmmm. I went to the closet and behind a stack of boxes found a really cute owl gift bag. I picked it up, and inside was the dvd '27 Dresses,' a cool picture frame, heart shaped post-it notes with owls on them, and a heart shaped box of See's Candies chocolates, handpicked. Mmmmm. Ok, he redeemed himself. As I was examining my loot, he added, "Oh and there's one last thing in the bookcase. Top shelf ... you have to look through your books." "Ummm ... okay?" I walked over to the book case, and began pulling out my books, one by one, and flipping through the pages. Finally, I took out a beautiful book I had gotten at my wedding planning conference, a pink suede covered book called "Colin Cowie's Extraordinary Weddings." I opened it and inside was a red envelope with a shiny plastic cover over it. Hmmm ... another card? I opened it. At first glance ... it looked like a gift card. But then I read it ... After much squeeling and looking back and forth from the card to Chris, repeating in disbelief "what!?" like five times and asking "really?!" like three times, I finally said yes. :)

(Oh and yes Chris did actually try and make Valentine's Day start out as lame as possible on purpose so that I wouldn't suspect a thing, and it worked! :P)

I am ...

2009-02-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

HAHA.

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Oh. My. Ouch.

2009-01-29T14:21:00.000-08:00

Today at work I was cutting open a bag of frappucino mix with a pair of scissors, and just as I was about to cut I got distracted by some one that was talking to me and ended up cutting my finger pretty deeply instead of the bag. So, I'm standing there wincing and screeching in pain as my co-worker put some "liquid band-aid" on it, and to my horror an old (50's?) customer was standing there staring at me and was like, "Ohhh ... all that screaming is turning me on." WHAT the?!

Ups and Downs

2009-01-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

You know what I don't like? Waking up at 4am so completely drenched in sweat that it feels as though you just stepped out of a pool, and the sheets are so sopping that you have to lay a TOWEL over it. Yuck. Just as I was starting to feel some what better this morning before work, by the time I got OFF of work my head was completely clogged and ready to explode, and my throat hurts like a b*tch, Oh well. Tis to be expected, I suppose.

(Oh I guess I forgot to mention that I spoke to soon in my last post, because I DID end up catching the flu from Chris on Tuesday.)

On the upside, it's raining today. :)

I'm confused ...

2009-01-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

I was balancing my check book online just now, (you know, just checking off the deposits and withdrawls to my checking account,) and noticed that there is a deposit for almost $4,000 currently pending. What the??? I have no idea what that is or where it came from but I'm definitely calling my bank tomorrow. A bit weird if you ask me ...

Chris has been sick with what kinda seems like the flu since Saturday and I'm really lucky that I haven't caught it. Phew. :::wipes brow:::

Right now I'm currently debating on whether or not to sign up for another 6 week session of my acting class. (Next Thursday is the last class for this session.) The reasons why I would even be debating on possibly NOT signing up for another session right now is because of a couple different reasons. Firstly, money at the moment is a bit tight right now considering I quit the Elephant Bar, just returned from an almost 3 week vacation, and currently have ANOTHER week off of work because of Sundance ... and registration for 6 weeks is $275. But perhaps my biggest reason is that ... I'm having a hard time doing it "on the side." For me, I like to do things all the way or not at all. And right now I'm really focusing on getting my wedding planning business off of the ground, and I know I want that as a career. Acting for me has become more of a hobby, something to do just for fun. I'd love to do it as a career if I could just wake up every morning and work on shooting a movie, but I know it's not like that for most people. I hate auditions, looking for auditions, schmoozing, and everything else having an acting career involves besides the actual acting part. So I've resolved to just do it for fun. But I'm having a hard time focusing on starting my business when I'm constantly worrying about my monologues or scenes for class, which are very emotionally demanding. I get stressed some times just thinking about going to class knowing that I'm going to have to cry multiple times right on the spot. I just don't know if I am emotionally strong enough to focus on starting my business AND class at the same time ... if that makes any sense. I suppose many people wouldn't get stressed about doing monologues and scenes but I do. I have to prepare myself mentally and emotionally throughout the entire week in order to practice and go to class. Errr ... I don't know. Bagh!!!

I'm also annoyed and confused with blogger because for the past several weeks I haven't been able to post pictures because they come out HUGE, even if they're way tiny and I put the setting on "small." For instance, I was going to attach a lovely little confused smiley face to this very post, and even resized it in photoshop to MAKE SURE that it's very small, and it STILL came out huge ...

And now, I'm off to go find yet something ELSE to be confused about ...

:::Starts Singing::: I Quit, I quit!

2009-01-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Let's see ...

I QUIT the Elephant Bar on Friday. Actually, I handed in my "2 weeks notice" letter on Friday, but since they hadn't even put my name back on the schedule since I had returned home from MO, they just decided to leave me off all together. So no more E-Bar. Good riddance! It feels really weird only having one job ...

Mmm I'm working on getting my wedding planning business site up so if you want to see it, it's at www.allisonseverafter.com (It's still a work in progress.)

Leaving Thursday for Utah and the Sundance Film Festival, woo woo!

Am currently playing the PS2 game 'Petz, Cats 2.' Meow!

I bought the BEST strawberries the other day. SO GOOD. (And it's not even strawberry season!)

2009 Off With a Bang!

2009-01-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years. Woo hoo!

I've had a good visit home so far. I've had lots of quality time to simply relax and visit with friends, which is always wonderful.

I decided to spend New Years Eve with Erika and Barf, since they weren't able to come to Columbia for Christmas. Erika made soba noodles for dinner around 5:30pm (a japanese tradition,) which were actually quite good. Erika had to leave just before 7pm to get ready for a fashion show that she was modeling in at The Foundation Room, so Barf, Stara, Marley and I played some good 'ol American Idol Karaoke Revolution for a few hours. We headed out to the venue at about 10:30pm where we hung out until the fashion show started, which was fun to watch. (Erika got to wear the best outfit, and I'm not just saying that because I'm partial to my sister.) We stayed afterwards and attempted to dance to this weird techo music until about 2am, then headed home. This is where the real fun began ...

We planned on watching the sunrise, (another Japanese New Years tradition,) on top of the roof of the theatre where Erika works. Our problem was ... well ... the sun wasn't due to rise until 7:38am. We had several hours to kill and sat around trying to decided what would be more miserable: Going to sleep only to have to be rudely awakened 3 hours later, or stay up all night and go to bed after the sunrise. While we were contemplating, Sam showed up around 3:15am with blanket in tow (ready to watch the sunrise!) so ... everyone ended up going to bed except Sam, Erika, and myself. We decided it would be easier to just stay up rather than going to bed. We passed the hours with Harry Potter Uno, several cups of coffee, and several cups of hot chocolate. I decided it would be an awesome idea to add a little kick to the game. Now, on every number 7 uno card, there's a picture of Bertie Botts Jelly Beans. I thought it would be a great idea if, everytime some one laid down a Bertie Botts card they had to drink/eat a spoon full of cold coffee with jelly beans soaking in it. (It was ... repulsive.) Needless to say, that little twist added much queesyness but also tons of hard core laughter. BTW, it's much easier to stay awake when each orphus of your body is occupied ... umm ... hahaha ... yes that's the kind of theory you come up with when you're dead tire. :P

Finally, we made it to 6:50am and headed out to watch the sunrise. (Even after Barf tripped and twisted her ankle on the way out to the car.) Again, the only people mental enough to climb the ladder all the way to the top part of the roof were Erika, Sam and I. We sat miserably huddled under blankets in the freezing cold waiting for the sun to peak its orby face over the horizon. We were so delirious, that the smell of what we were told was sewage, smelled to us like a delicious breakfast of omelette and hashbrowns, hahaha. Finally, at exactly 7:38am, the sun rose over the horizon in the east, and we experience great victory.

We then headed home, had some Sake, (another Japanese tradition for good health,)ate some leftover pizza/cheese sticks, and dumped into bed for our sleep of triumph just before 9am. We clocked in almost 6 hours of sleep ... and ... it was beautiful. :P

Mmmm.

2008-12-10T15:03:00.001-08:00

Blegh it's been awhile since I've posted anything ...

I just got gas for $14 ... (even better than in my last post!) Hehehe ... :P

Um um let's see ... work at Elephant Bar has been pretty sucky lately ... haven't been making hardly any money there ... but I guess anything is better than nothing right now ... ummm started taking my acting class again and I'm really enjoying it ... ummm ... I'm working at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah next month so that's pretty freaking cool ... (doing the celebrity poker tournament, celebrity bobsledding, big fashion show, etc.) ... still love 'Little Big Planet' and have started creating my own levels ... really excited to be going home for Christmas and New Years for the first time in like 3 years ... YEAH ... I'm kind of hungry right now ... I'm a bit tired ... yes in fact my eyes are stinging ... have A LOT to get done before I leave for MO on the 18th... haven't started my Christmas shopping yet ... am shooting 3 different commercials this weekend ... and ... I'm covered in Toasty fur ... and ... there's no picture for this blog because they keep showing up WAY too big and I don't feel like opening photoshop simply for the purpose of resizing said image for this post ...

And that's the official update. :P

Oh Happy Day

2008-11-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

I filled up my gas tank today for $18 ... it was ... amazing.

Friday Night Twilight

2008-11-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

Way excited that 'TWILIGHT' opens tonight!!! ... Even though I think I'm gonna force myself to wait until a week night to see it so that it won't be insanely crowded ... perhaps in a week or two on a Wednesday night ... I want as little disturbance while viewing the film as possible. :P

So glad it's Friday. So tired.

Next weekend I'm going to put the Christmas decorations up- woo hoo! I was tempted to do it this weekend, but then decided that I couldn't bare doing it BEFORE Thanksgiving so I decided to wait.

I think I'm going to start building my website for my wedding planning business soon - yay! Hopefully it won't look like total crap. :P

Little Big Ramble

2008-11-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm pretty sure I'm going to be obsessed with the new PS3 game 'Little Big Planet,' which I bought for Chris for his birthday on Saturday. I've only gotten to play it once so far, so I haven't had time to go into full obsession mode, but once I do ... there's no turning back. :P

I also took him out to Black Angus for a birthday lunch, and it was soooo tastylicious! I also had not one, not two, but THREE different versions of "Texas Tea," (aka a really yummy booze drink,) SO good!!

Ran on our new treadmill for the first time today. Lovely.

Saya shed her skin today. Cute! My baby is growing up, haha. :P

Today

2008-11-13T20:30:00.001-08:00

I met the actor Bill Cobbs at the Elephant Bar today, and it was rather cool. :P

Conference Madness

2008-11-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

Currently I'm at my hotel and have just finished the second day of the California Couture Conference for the Association of Bridal Consultants. I've had a lot of fun so far and am learning lots and meeting new people, which is lovely.

Sunday I arrived at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach (where the conference is being held,) at around 12pm and it was hilarious because as I pulled up to the front of the hotel, (valet parking ONLY) the valet dude came walking up to my car and tried to open my door for me only to find that the door handle was broken, hahaha. It felt really weird being "helped" out of my car, lol. Talk about fancy shmancy! There was lots of classes that day and a beautiful outdoor poolside reception that evening. Unfortunetly, my cell phone managed to some how fall out of my bag during a work-shop and I immediately went back to get it and it was gone. Some one stole it and decided not to turn it in so I'm pretty peeved about that. I've suspended it so that they cannot make/receive calls or do anything with it. GRRRRRRRRR!!!! (So I need everyone's numbers for when I DO get another phone.)

Today was nice. Got up early and stopped at a Starbucks on my way to the conference where the nice young asian barista dude gave me my drink for free! (I must've looked good in my professional attire, hahaha.) Lots of classes today, a beautiful luncheon and fashion show, great food ... and now I'm entirely pooped, hahaha. And yep that's about it so far! I'm too lazy to write out all the details ... and yeah.

Vitriolic Smears after Mr. Obama's victory

2008-11-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

I just got a call from UPS. The treadmill I ordered less than a week ago is scheduled for delivery on Veteran's Day! Now I wont have to take a day off work to wait on the delivery man.

In other news, Barack Obama won the election.

Here are some of the responses from the Right.

"Congratulations, moonbats. You finally have your revenge for being forced to look at all those flags after 9/11. This is a day of celebration for everyone hostile to America and the principles of individual liberty for which it stands. Enjoy it while you can ... What (you) have done to this country is beyond forgiveness." - Moon Battery

"If only one good thing has come from this election, it's that it is crystal clear who the enemy is. We don't have to compromise any more. We're liberated." - Caption This

"We are fooling ourselves if we think the United States is still a Christian nation. Its people just elected a barbarian as president." - Jill Stanek

"What we need to do now is pull America's head out of its ass before these bastards do too much damage." Black Five

Has anyone taken a look at the election results? Appalachia is the only geographical area where John McCain performed better than George W. Bush. One guess as to why McCain performed so extraordinarily well there.

The unfortunate thing about comments like these is that they reinforce the caricature of Republicans as Nascar-loving, country-music listeners who are anti religious freedom, public education, environmental protection, science, foreign diplomacy, middle class, union membership, health insurance, immigration, action on global warming, gay rights and, of course, civil discourse.

This is, understandably, disturbing for I know many good people who happen to be Republicans. How then does one reconcile the actions of the party, and its talk show radio mouthpieces, with the people it represents?

Rainy Saturdays = Marvelous

2008-11-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Happy late Halloween to all ... oooops. Hehehe.

Today was marvelous. For the first time in such a looong time, it was cool, cloudy, and rainy all day long. I LOVED it. So much. I played on the internet, played with photoshop (bought an awsome photoshop portrait techniques book,) went clothes shopping and spent way too much money, had me some coffee, and am now sitting here listening to Mozart while typing. Lovely.

The ABC (Association of Bridal Consultants,) conference that I won the scholarship to is next weekend in Newport Beach, I'm excited. I have my own room in a lovely hotel for two nights, pretty nifty.

By the by, everyone needs to get addicted to the Huntsville computer games. I am. Go to http://www.mysterycasefiles.com and you can try a free trial of all seven games. Hmmm ... I think I'll go play right now!

Random Wednesday Blahs.

2008-10-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Just got back from seeing the movie "Quarantine." Although a bit predictable, it was one of the better horror films I've seen in awhile. It was sufficiently nerve-wracking and I definitely had to pee my pants by the end. (Don't worry, I made it to the bathroom.) ... Barely. :P

Chris is purchasing a treadmill in order to get into better shape aerobically. I have to say, I am VERY excited by this! :P

No plans for Halloween yet, although I at least get to wear a costume to work at Starbucks on Friday! :D I'm stupidly excited to wear something other than the black or white polo and cap. Hahaha.

And ... I have yucky cramps. :/

Feelings of Utter Disgust.

2008-10-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

Tonight I went to Michael's to get a few things. When I got there, I walked straight towards the Halloween section, (because what I needed would be found in the Halloween section.) So ... you can imagine my surprise and utter disgust when I found that, on October 22nd, the Halloween stuff had already been replaced with Christmas decorations. No more Halloween things ... BEFORE Halloween. SERIOUSLY mind boggling.

Meet Saya

2008-10-18T22:59:00.001-07:00

Meet Saya, (pronounced SIGH-UH,) the newest member of the ... errr ... family! I bought her today at the Cal Polly Pumpkin Festival. I chose the name Saya, which is the name of a character from an anime series that Chris and I like, 'Blood +.'(It was hard to take a picture without blurriness because she kept moving!) She's an albino corn snake, which are apparently a very calm and friendly breed that like to be held. (Non-poisonous of course.) Right now she's really tiny, but once full grown will probably reach about 4+ feet.What Saya will look like once she's a bit bigger ...And yet bigger ... cute uh? And yes, I know that normal people normally leave with a pumpkin after going to a pumpkin festival, but I think that we have already established that I am not normal. :P

The Pumpkin Festival

2008-10-18T22:48:00.001-07:00

Today was the pumpkin festival at Cal Polly, which was a lot of fun. There was a huuuuge pumpkin patch filled with a seemingly infinite number of pumpkins, food and craft stands, face painting, games, corn mazes, horse rides, and a giant insect exhibit. While we were there I bought a container of SUPER yummy dried apples. Oh and a pet snake. :P (Pics and details in later post.)

This weekend has been great. Last night Chris and I lounged at home and played a fun game of Scrabble (even though I beat Chris by 32 points, hehehehe.) :P Then we spent like 3 hours playing this really fun computer game called 'Mystery Case Files, Huntsville.' So. Fun.

It was funny. Yesterday I got home from work before Chris, so I decided to surprise him with dinner by ordering one of the Tuscani Pastas from Pizza Hut. (We'd both been wanting to try them.) So I placed the order and the pasta arrived right on time, about 5 minutes after Chris got home. However, Chris had wanted to surprise ME with dinner, so he arrived with a bunch of yummy food from Arbys. Needless to say, there was definitely not a food shortage last night. :P

Just For Fun ...

2008-10-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

What Your Socks Say About You

You Are:

- Quite charming

- Of excellent character

- A bit old-fashioned

- Very gracious

The Socks Personality Test

30 Days of ... Teeth Whitening?

2008-10-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

Chris and I just watched '30 Days of Night.' It was a spooky concept, especially seeing that Barrow, Alaska, (where the film takes place,) actually has 65 straight days of night November - January! But it could have been done better, and the female lead was pretty asinine.

I'm currently in the process of getting my teeth whitened. I had a much needed dentist apt. the other weekend and had a major discount coupon for the custom trays/whitening kit, but it huuuurts like a bitch!!!! Seriously I don't know if I can take it for another week/week and a half. :/

I beat 'The Simpsons Game' for the PS2 today- yaaaay! ;D

Next weekend Chris and I are going to a "pumpkin festival," woo hoo! I'm so stupidly excited. :P

I bought an awsome cake topper for my 'Nightmare Before Christmas' cake today, yipeeeee.

And now, I will away to bed as soon as I get the tray filled with death gel off of my teeth.

The Note

2008-10-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

You know how in movies about high school kids they always show the girls (or boys) passing around a little piece of paper during class so they can write notes to each other? Well the other day, as Chris' class was dismissed, such a note slipped out of the back pack of one of his girl students. THIS is the actual note ... (And if you don't already know Chris' last name- it's Ruiz.)HAHAHA. Wow.

It's Time ...

2008-10-03T14:30:00.001-07:00

... to sound like an infomercial. :P I just wanted to say, that I LOVE acne.org! I've suffered from horrible bouts of acne off and on for the past 13 years shortly after I turned 12. And of course I've basically tried everything, from dermatologist prescribed creams, gels, and oral antibiotics to almost every acne product you can find in the drugstores. Well a few months ago back in May after doing more internet research I stumbled across acne.org, which is a very informative site and was created by this dude named Daniel Kern (a former acne sufferer,) who has devoted his time to creating products that work great and are CHEAP. All I can say is, if you suffer from acne, follow his "regime" to the T!!!! Because ... it works. The right side of my face earlier this year ...The right side of my face today.The left side of my face earlier this year ... (notice the big black spot on the left underneath my mouth, it's a giant scab that you couldn't see in the first picture.)The left side of my face today. Woo hoo! OH and BTW, this pic was taken today, and I'm on my period. Now, you're probably thinking, why would I want to know that little piece of information?! And I say, because even when I'm on my period, I still don't break out!!! :P (Except for the occasional odd zit, of course.) :P

One of the those Days!

2008-10-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

This day started off on the wrong foot from the start.

- Toasty's food bowl was being swarmed by ants that came from some unbeknownst location. Poor Toasty.

- I couldn't spray the bowl, the plastic mat it was placed on, or the ground because Toasty would likely have killed herself in licking up the spray.

- I stomped the floor and cleaned out Toasty's bowel for ten minutes. Hence, I was ten minutes late in getting to the car.

- There was a multiple car collision on the freeway that closed down three of the four lanes.

- In an attempt to get to work on time, I jumped over a large concrete divider between the freeway and the exit I wanted to get to. Poor Mazda 6.

- I was late! And, both vice-principals were at the parking lot gate to greet me. Yay?

- As soon as I get to my classroom, someone pulls a fire alarm on campus. I realize I don't have any fire drill supplies because I'm now in a new classroom. And ... I have no idea where to take my kids during the drill, or what "approved" path I'm supposed to take to get there. Both vice-principals are there to greet me again.

- My morning Pepsi can - exploded!

- I just compared my new paycheck to last years - the amount I pay in taxes, union dues, and other deductions has now risen to 28%. Loverly? And, it will take three years to make back the money I spent on my MA.

- Oh, and because California's legislature took forever to approve a budget, that was due months ago, they haven't gone about financing the new budget yet. Basically, California doesn't have the money yet and if they can't take out loans - because of the credit freeze - they wont be able to pay any public employees, such as myself. So ... I might not be getting a paycheck as early as November first. Thanks California legislature.

- The lunch counter just ran out of change so I couldn't purchase a snack or a drink.

- But, the day can still make a drastic turnaround if McCain doesn't suspend his campaign. I'm very much looking forward to the Saturday Night Live feeding trough that will be the Palin-Biden debate. There's nothing quite like a candidate who doesn't have any knowledge of the Supreme Court or who believes dinosaurs and humans once coexisted.

There's No Place Like Home ...

2008-10-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

I just bought these. Jealous? I know I would be. :P I've wanted a pair of ruby slippers ever since I saw 'The Wizard of Oz' for the first time at like the age of 3. That's 22 years of ruby-slipper-wanting! :P

It is FAR too hot here in California to be October 1st. It was 97 degrees today ... what the hell? Although it's supposed to be about 72 degrees by Friday.

I got stiffed TWICE today at work. That SUCKS. Work SUCKS.

On the bright side, I may have my first official wedding cake "booking" for a wedding in July '09. Woooo hoooo! :D

Bedding That is Sure to Give you Nightmares ... :P

2008-09-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

Chris and I stumbled across some pretty ... ehem ... kick-ass bedding today. We now have 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' bedding! (And of course this bedding is fitting for both upcoming holidays- Halloween AND Christmas! Heeeeheee!)

Halloween Hauntings

2008-09-28T01:02:00.001-07:00

Halloween and fall decorations have officially taken over the apartment. :P
I have these hanging from the countertop area, aren't they cute?I have WAY too much fun decorating ... This is by the bedroom doorway. Yes, it says "this way to the dungeon." A nice little corner display ... There's nothing like gravestones and skeletons to make your living room a little more homey feeling. :P Fall candles with the scent of pumpkin spice scattered throughout are delightful! With all the pumpkins I have everywhere, our place really IS like living inside a pumpkin patch, hehehe. A cute Halloween throw blanket for the couch. It's both comfy and cozy ... Chris would know. :P And colorful fall leaves around the front door completes the look. :D

Unpleasant Night

2008-09-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I had total crap sleep because first of all it took me FOREVER to fall asleep, and then when I finally DID fall asleep I was plagued by constant horrible nightmares ALL NIGHT that would consistently cause me to wake up drenched in sweat. I bought and watched the dvd 'The Notebook' today. Hopefully that has filled my mind with enough sappy goodness to keep away the bad dreams tonight. :/

Out With the Old, In With the New!

2008-09-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

So for the past few weeks I've been following this little rule that I made up; every time I buy a new shirt (or any clothing item for that matter,) I have to get rid of an existing item. Because quite frankly, I have a lot of clothes that I don't wear. I just ... have such a hard time getting rid of them! I'm always thinking, I just know that the moment I throw them out I'll want to wear them. (Even though I never do.) This way I'm replacing the old, never used items with new clothes I'll actually wear! Woo hoo! :P

My New Baby :P

2008-09-14T01:24:00.000-07:00

After two years of lusting, I finally bought this today. A beautiful 300-watt, 4.5 qt Kitchenaid stand mixer! (Mine is the reverse of the picture; white with a pink stripe.) I'm so excited to use it! It can mix, whip, kneed dough, and do about a million other things with additional attachments. I figured that I deserved to spend $270 (with tax) on something I could really use as a present to myself for saving $875 from the scholarship I won. Plus, my purchase donated $40 to breast cancer research! :P

After I went on my grand shopping spree, I was feeling so brave that I decided to dye my hair. :P Actually, it really isn't that drastic. It's a light brownish/blonde/red color. Hehehe.

Chris and I saw that new movie "Burn After Reading" with his familia tonight. It was ok. It was entertaining and slightly humorous so I guess it did it's job. :P

And now it's 1:37am and I'm going to bed. :::yawn:::

Cue Light Bulb Switch "On!"

2008-09-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've been coming up with more cake ideas! Currently, I'm planning my next "big" cake for next month, which is going to be a "Nightmare Before Christmas" cake in honor of Halloween! :D And for November, I'm thinking of making an R2-D2 cake. But shhhh don't tell anyone, it's a secret. :P

Random Um's

2008-09-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Um um um I beat 'The Nightmare Before Christmas, Oogie's Revenge' the other day. Loved the game, HATED the final boss, lol.

Um um um I made my first tiered cake over the weekend, and it turned out quite well if I do say so myself. :P

Um um um I bought some hair dye, "light reddish brown" over the weekend. We'll see if I have the guts to actually use it soon. :P

Um ... I'm tired. :/

I'm Contemplating ...

2008-09-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Doing something different with my hair. Like ... coloring it a brownish ... or redish color ... or a brown/red color ... or giving it a slightly different cut ... or ... perhaps both a haircut AND color ... hmmm ...

Eventful yet Non-Eventful Weekend

2008-08-31T23:30:00.001-07:00

Had a good weekend. Chris and I went to the presentation in Pasadena and got our 2 night paid for vacation in Napa Valley and also SIX free movie tickets. Woo woo! Considering each movie ticket is about $12 these days, I'm pretty excited about that.

I also purchased stuff to make my first tiered cake next weekend, and bought the PS2 game 'The Nightmare Before Christmas, Oogie's Revenge' which I have pretty much been playing nonstop today.

I hate it when you have really good friends that pretty much just decide to dump you. I'm pretty much fed up with that bull s--t.

Found a Pinkberry just 5 miles away from the apartment. Yay!

And I work tomorrow. Yipee.

Mizzy & Barf Visit

2008-08-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

So, can I just start off by saying ...

I'M SO EXCITED!!! I just won the scholarship to attend the annual Association of Bridal Consultants conference in New Port Beach! I had to write an essay and submit a business plan. AND it was judged along with other entries from around the world! This will be saving me about $1,000 which ... for me is a lot. It will pay for the entire conference. YAYYYYYY!!!!

Erika and Barf left last night. Their time here was so much fun!!! Thursday when they got into town around 1:40pm Chris and I took them to In'N'Out (a trademark California burger joint,) and then Erika and I took a nice short (but intense) walk in this beautiful neighborhood while Chris and Barf relaxed in the park. That night we played the Karaoke Revolution games while drinking Mike's Limetinis and Mimosas. FUN!

Friday we spent all day at the water park Raging Waters, which was loads of fun, especially since I hadn't been to a water park in like 13 years. We ate dinner at the Elephant Bar, which was delicious! (Yes I still love the food even though I work there.)

Saturday we had breakfast at a little bakery near the apartment called, "Miss Donut-Bagel." It had damn good donuts. We then spent the day in Little Tokyo shopping, wondering around, trying out Pink Berry (MY NEW FAVORITE) and doing karaoke. We rented our own karaoke room for 2 hours (special hour was only $4 per person/hour) and it was SOOO fun! They had every song imaginable. I'm definitely going back. We watched 'The Last Man on Earth' later that night.

Sunday we started off by taking the special Hawaiian Gardens/Crystal Fitness tour, (HA) and eating at Taco San Pedro, then we headed to Huntington Beach for the day. The waves were some of the biggest I'd ever seen while at the beach, and we got knocked over about 50 times each. (At least.) We finished off the day by renting/watching 'Top Gun.' (It was actually Erika's idea!!!)

Finally, yesterday we went to the Grove/Farmer's Market in LA (where I used to live,) and enjoyed some shopping and eating. (At the French Crepe Co, YUM!!!) Afterwards we headed to Hollywood Blvd., walked around, and then to Sunset Blvd. to walk around some more. While there we ate at a super yummy new place called "The Aroma Cafe." To end the night we drove down Sunset Blvd. to locate some famous "hot spots," then drove through Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Drive. Next stop was the Grey Hound bus station. :( But it was a goooood time.

Yep. That's About It.

2008-08-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Umm ummm ummm let's see ...

Saturday Chris and I attended the Celebrity Food Show event in Anaheim to go see The Ace of Cakes live, which was tons of fun. There were also tons of stations set up for various restaurants, independent cooks, etc to try their food products. I apparently won the "sweet stacks" raffle for a $100 gift basket filled with pancake goodies, lol. Oh and Chris and I signed up for a promotional vacation, which means we'll get two nights paid for at a really nice resort in Napa Valley for attending a 90 minute presentation next week. Woot! I checked out the resort and it's beautiful! We'll still have to pay for food and gas, but considering that the "cheapest" room at the resort we'll be staying at is $399 per night, I think we'll manage. :P

Currently trying two different dessert recipes by Paula Dean tonight, I'll find out in about 30 minutes how they turn out.

Way excited for Erika and Barf's visit on Thursday, yaaaaaaaay!

And lastly, I'm trying to think of a cool idea for my first tiered cake ... hmmm ...

Number Three.

2008-08-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm. FINALLY started back at the E-Bar today, fun times. I'd almost forgotten how horrible people tip now adays.

Yesterday I spent all day at Universal Studios with Chris and his family, which was uber fun. I loooooved the new Simpson's ride, SO much fun! And all of the other ones were a blast too, like Jurassic Park, the Mummy ride, and the studio tour. This will be the 3rd theme park I've visited this summer, not bad eh? And I'll be adding a fourth when I go to Raging Waters when Erika and Barf are in town! :D

I'm hungry. Must eat.

Wew.

2008-08-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

So the picture above is of the super cute hand-made owl purse that I just won on E-Bay! I am QUITE excited about it's arrival. Speaking of arrivals, my new digital camera arrived while I was in MO and I picked it up on Friday. So far I love it! I can't wait to put it to good use. :P I got a lot done over the weekend, (everything on my "list," actually!) Hmmm let's see. I ...

- Unpacked
- Went to the post office to pick up all the mail
- Bought a camera case
- Took my car into the Mitsubishi dealer for an oil change, clean, new breaks, and a break flush. ($399- AHH!!!)
- Cleaned the apartment
- Went grocery shopping
- Went to Target for some groceries that the store didn't have (gotta have my supreme pizza lean pockets!!!)
- Went through all my mail (there was a TON.)
- Edited and posted a crap load of pictures from our trip.
- Bought/started reading 'Breaking Dawn.'

Wew! The only bad thing is that when I went to the E-Bar on Sunday to pick up my schedule, I was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that they "forgot" to put me back on the schedule this week! Which means NO shifts this week. Nothing. Nada. Which, after being on vacation for 2 and 1/2 weeks, spending lots of money, getting back and spending $400 on car repairs, REALLY sucks. I'm poor. :(

Highlights for Dummies.

2008-08-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

No, you guys aren't dummies, I just liked the title. :P So the trip home was super fun. Aside from a few damp spots, the trip was filled with highlights. Here are a few of my favorite:

- Going to World's a Fun with Erika, Barf, and Chris. Our roller coaster pic competitions were the best!!!
- Getting loaded up with drinks and then watching 'Hancock' and 'Dark Knight' at Erika's theatre. Good times!
- Taking "Hero" pictures with Resther, Jesse, and Chris and then eating out at Sonic.
- Hanging out with Resther and Jesse at their casa watching movies and making cookies.
- My party, twas loads of fun. Especially afterwards when Erika, Barf, Resther, Jesse, Chris and I played 'Saving Private Ryan!'
- Carrying on a tradition with Erika and Barf by watching some of the '8 Films to Die for.' (As crappy as they may have been!')
- Chris and I's tradition of going to Panera on a daily basis for coffee and a bagel. (Or in Chris' case, a brownie.)
- Hanging out with Andrew and Esther eating delicious meals at their casa and playing tons of badminton! (FYI Esther's creme brulee is as good as The Elephant Bar's. And that's saying a lot.)
- Going to Skies with Erika, Barf, and Chris while drinking delicious 'Lady Godivas.'
- Going on a super long 4 and 1/2 hour power walk with Mizzy.
- Spending time with Andrew, Esther, and Sni-a-bar while drinking Mikes Hard Limeades.
- Taking villain pictures with Erika and Barf. (I have some up on myspace and facebook, check them out!!!)
- Enjoying all the many thunderstorms while in town.
- Going to the 'Bodies Revealed' exhibit with Erika and Chris. It was AMAZING!
- And of course, going on my progressive birthday dinner in 'The District.'

Thanks to Andrew and Esther for cooking us meals and letting us stay at their casa, and thanks to Becky (aka Jones) for giving us a ride to the airport!!! :)

Time

2008-07-23T13:19:00.001-07:00

Ummm have I told everyone yet that the party is "starting" at 6pm on Saturday? Well ... if not ... it starts at 6pm!!! :P

RSVP!

2008-07-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Attention all MO peeps!!! Could you please RSVP by this Saturday (the 19th) for the party that I'm having on Saturday, July 26th? I need to have an idea of how many people will be coming for food and planning purposes. Details on the theme, exact time, and dress will be announced later this week. You can just RSVP to me via myspace or facebook message, phone, OR you can even leave me a comment right here on this blog. :P Thanks!

Ohhhhhh Joy.

2008-07-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Saw 'Wall-E' last weekend and thought it was WAY cute, of course! It totally made me want to own my own little robot ... which ... would be WAY cool. Especially a cute one. Like Wall-e.

Am HIGHLY annoyed at the moment because the digital camera I ordered is NOT going to make it here in time before I leave for Missouri, like it should have. I bought it (on e-Bay,) on June 29th. My payment process through PayPal was complete by July 2nd, and for some asinine reason, the seller decided to wait OVER a week after he received my payment to ship it. I mean, half the reason I ordered the camera when I did was so that I could have it for my trip home! *&^$#@! Now it will arrive when I'm out of the state. Great.

I'm super tired for some reason and my head hurts.

I ordered a ticket to go see Chef Duff (from Food Network's show Ace of Cakes) in August so that'll be loads of fun, plus other celebrity chefs will be there and there will be tons of food and wine tasting. Yipeeee!

I want a Mikes Hard Lemonade right now, in the lime flavor.

I have too much to get done this weekend.

And ... blah.

Playstation 3

2008-07-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today, I finally found and bought an 80 Gigabyte Playstation 3 with a 3 year warranty for about the same amount of money as many people spend on one month's rent in many parts of the country. So, why am I happy?

I've been looking for this specific bundle since June 12th. I've been searching online, making calls to local stores, and driving from store to store. I was almost at the point of considering driving to Long Beach just for one of these.

So, what makes one of these so precious? This specific Playstation bundle is the first to include the new Dual-Shock Six-Axis game-pad, includes a voucher for a free online game, brings back backward compatibility for Playstation 1 and 2 games (a feature not available on other PS3 models), includes slots for memory cards and USB devices (another feature oddly missing from other models), supports 1080p High Definition displays, and includes Metal Gear Solid 4!

Most of the Playstations available right now either include no video games or include bad ones like Spiderman 3, Motorstorm, or Fight Night. This one includes the most anticipated game of the year! So, while the model I bought costs one-hundred more than the other model in stores, the new game-pad and included game in my bundle add up to the cost difference - even without considering the superiority of the actual Playstation model.

Anyhow, I'm justifying my purchase by telling myself that for the first time in three years I wont be paying two grand in registration fees to take classes this coming fall. Yes, I think I will keep telling myself this as I go to bed, especially since I still need to buy one more game-pad for two player games, a PS2 memory card adapter, and an HDMI cable that can handle 1080p.

Oh yes! And, the PS3 doubles as a Blu-ray Disc player.

And, this morning at 8:00 am, new software that allows for application installations will be released for the iPhone!

What a glorious week. I would write a review on Rambo and provide the background on the Metal Gear Solid series, but alas, it's 3:50 in the morning and I am (gasp) tired.

Yes, I'm Back.

2008-06-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

Ummmm had a really fun weekend with Christy in town and going to Disneyland on Friday. Also had fun going shopping at Ontario Mills yesterday and watching some movies/tv today. Hopefully next weekend Chris and I will be going to the San Diego Zoo and possibly doing some really cool things at the animal kingdom and THEN we will be coming to MO to visit! Yeeeeeessss the upcoming weeks are filled with some fun things. Fun is good.

OH for all the MO peeps, (hehehe) I am planning on trying to plan a party for SATURDAY, JULY 26TH!!!! So be there or be square. Details to come. (It was originally planned for Sunday the 20th but Erika suggested that Saturday might be better for all the people who have to work on Mondays ...)

And ... I ordered my FIRST EVER digital camera today. In fact, it's not only my first "digital" camera, it's my first camera PERIOD. Yes, for the past 24 years I've been using disposables. :P

Yipee.

2008-06-20T17:49:00.002-07:00

Work sucked today ... and ... that is all I have to say about that.

The Hike of Death

2008-06-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Anna's visit was fun. Tuesday night after she got into town, we went out for Jamba Juice and just hung out, which was lovely. Wednesday Anna, Chris and I went for a 7 mile hike in the mountains which was a lot of fun. I've been wanting to go hiking for SUCH A LONG TIME! lol. The scenery was beautiful (you can see pictures on my facebook and myspace,) and no one died. :P Although, Chris and Anna nearly died at the end because of a HUGE uber steep and long hill that you have to walk back up at the end. (I didn't almost die ... hmmm must be the Billy Blanks.) :P After we returned home and all took showers, we went "dessert hopping." Actually, we went to In'N'Out for burgers first because we hadn't eaten much all day and were in need of some major refueling. Then we went to Chilis and ordered both the chocolate molten lava cake and the "white" chocolate molten lava cake. Delicious! Afterwards we were planning on hopping to a few more restaurants for dessert, but our hopping was cut short due to fullness. :P Instead we came home and all talked for several hours until I finally forced myself to go to bed at 12:30am because I had to get up at 6am for work. And now ... I'm tired. Very, very tired. :::zonk:::

Let the Good Times Roll

2008-06-17T16:08:00.001-07:00

Chris graduated from the master's program. Woo woo!

My old college roomie Anna is coming to see me tonight, double woo woo! In fact, Chris is about to go pick her up from the airport right now! (I can't because I have my cake class at 6pm.) Thanks Chris! :)

I just bought an awsome book off of Amazon called 'Cakes to Dream On.' I'm soooo excited! :D I can't wait to start building big works of cake art. :P

Fun Times.

Attempt #1

2008-06-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my first attempt at working with fondant! :D It didn't turn out as horrible as I thought it would, but of course it's not as good as I would like it either. BUT for a first attempt it's okay. It's actually a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling, iced with buttercream and covered in vanilla fondant. I really like working with fondant, it's super fun and it's almost like ... clay ... lol ... only ... tasty. And I'm also working on learning how to work with gumpaste and how to make fancy flowers. Weeee!

Back to the 80's

2008-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Guess what I'm eating/chewing right now? Razzles! You see, in the movie '13 Going on Thirty' the two main characters grew up in the early 80's and had this major thing for Razzles. And they are talking about them in the movie and how they can't find them anymore and well ... I frankly had never seen them before and didn't even know if they existed. (Besides in the movie of course.) Well the other day while waiting in line to checkout at Michael's I spied a single pack of Razzles on top of a shelf. There weren't any others ... and I didn't even see a space where they were supposed to be. It was ... fate. "First it's a candy ... then it's gum!"

Oooooh Tush.

2008-06-11T21:48:00.001-07:00

Today, I thought I was going to go blind in my right eye. This morning I went running before work, as usual, and about 8 minutes into the run a bug flew directly into my right eye. Now, normally when something gets into your eye, it stings a bit and gets a wee bit irritated. This however, felt more like a needle poking into my eyeball. Not only that, but the pain was so bad that I had to stop running. My vision in that eye was blurred for about 2 hours, it watered for about 2 and 1/2 hours, and my entire eyeball was sore. (Not to mention UBER bloodshot.) This whole eye deal made my nose run for the tire day. In fact, my nose is STILL running and my eye is STILL a bit sore. Blasted bugs!!!!

I've made more cakes this week then I've made in several years combined. lol. And I'm still trying to figure out the mystery that is learning how much batter to put in and how long to bake two 10" round cake pans. (I'm currently on my second attempt of the evening.) :P

Oh BTW Missouri folk, I might try and plan a small B-day party (aka as an excuse to get a bunch of friends together) while I'm home. I'm thinking on a Sunday ... perhaps ... July 20th? Hmmm ...

In Other News ...

2008-06-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the theatre where Chris and I saw 'Iron Man.' Good movie. And also 'Kung Fu Panda.' Good movie. It made me want a bowl of noodles.

So I finally started my at home course work to work my way towards becoming a certified professional bridal consultant. Woo woo!!! The current course I am working on is etiquette. (There's 5 different courses with 5 different tests, and then I have to take a final exam and also do a final project.) After that, I have to complete a certain amount of hours of training before I get certified. But I'm excited!

Also, I added another cake class, so now I have TWO cake classes that I'm taking per week! The second is 'fondant and gum paste.' So far I love it and I'm so excited to be learning how to make fancy cakes! For our final project in that class we have to do a 3-tiered cake, which will be cool. I would love to be able to make some wedding cakes here and there as part of my wedding business. Although, taking both classes at once will be a bit crazy and time-consuming. Let's just say that I have to make several cakes a week! :P

The new mint mocha chip frap from Starbucks is sooooo good. YUM.

My Place of Employment

2008-05-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

This is the Starbucks that I work at. Woo hoo!

Baby Steps

2008-05-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today I finally took three big important steps towards my career as a wedding planner! I paid for a one-year membership with the Association of Bridal Consultants, and also paid for a 5-course professional development program, which, when completed, will earn me the certification of professional bridal consultant! Total cost: $695. I also signed up at Michael's today to start taking cake decorating classes so I can eventually start learning how to make and decorate wedding cakes! Woooo hoo!!! Total cost: $48. I'm soooo excited! :D And yet, I'm sooooo much more broke. :P

Ghost Spiders

2008-05-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

I just did something that I never, ever do. I ... just killed a spider. By myself!!!! I HATE spiders. :::shudders::: They totally freak me out and I can never get up the nerve to kill them. But just now as I was getting out of the shower and walking into the bedroom, I noticed a medium sized brownish colored spider walking across the ceiling. While the thought of having to kill it myself, (Chris isn't home,) was terrible, the thought of it ending up in our bed some how was even worse. So ... I stood up on my computer/piano bench and smashed it with my shoe. And ... it's guts are now smeared on the ceiling. I feel a strange sense of accomplishment ...

I really, really want to take a cake design class. I want to learn how to bake, assemble, and decorate fancy wedding cakes. Plus, since I'm going into wedding planning, it might actually be useful! Right now I'm looking at classes at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Pasadena. I'm sure it's very expensive for their diploma and degree programs, so I'm going to see if they offer any individual classes. We'll see ...

New episodes of Ghost Hunters tonight- Yeessss!!!! :D

Highlights for Pink Penguins

2008-05-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

* Today at the E-Bar I only had "one" table and made just $5. This makes me annoyed.
* On the other hand, I got to go home early. This makes me glad.
* Chris and I bought our plane tickets last night to visit CoMo, and this makes me very happy.
* The weekend is finally here, and this makes me relieved.
* Currently the weather is cool, cloudy, and stormy, and this makes me content.
* There were two tornadoes here yesterday, and this makes me dumbfounded and slightly (who am I kidding,) "quite" excited.
* I bought Chris the 16gb iPhone last weekend, and this makes me broke. (Just kidding.) :P
* I am currently listening to one of the most relaxing cds ever, and this makes me relaxed.
* This post has nothing to do with pink penguins and therefore makes me feel rather spontaneous.
* Right now I'm thirsty, and this makes me feel dehydrated.

... therefore ... I am going to go get something to drink.

The 'House' Season Finale ...

2008-05-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

Who cried? ...

Besides me. :P

Simply Delicioso

2008-05-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

While Chris was gone all day today studying, I decided to stop by the Macaroni Grill after running some errands to pick up something yummy to-go. I picked out a "build your own" pasta which included fettucini in a creamy garlic butter sauce with grilled chicken and mushrooms. YUM. And of course, tiramisu for dessert. While I was waiting for my order, I sat at the bar and had a caramel macchiato martini. It was delicious. Today was delicious. Will tomorrow be equally delicious? ... Probably not.

Ugh.

2008-05-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today was a verrrrry long day. I worked at Starbucks from 6am - 11:30am and then at the Elephant Bar from 12pm -5pm. It wouldn't have been so bad, (because I work both jobs like that during the majority of the week) but E-Bar today SUCKED more than a Dyson vacuum. Firstly, it was SO hot. The weather outside was hot, and my manager is so cheap that he refused to turn up the AC just so he could make a "profit." Plus our uniforms are all black pants, long aprons, and long-sleeves. Urgh. Secondly, I was supposed to go home early because I was put outside on the patio, (which of course NO ONE sat outside on the patio today because of the heat,) but ended up having to pointlessly stay forever while everyone else got to go home. (Although my manager said it was because I'm one of the "stronger" servers and so he wanted to cut all the "weak links," hehehe.) Thirdly, and most importantly, what customers I "did" have today tipped like total and utter crap. I got a measly $2 tip on a $50 bill. TWICE. Agh!!! I literally made HALF of what I should have made.

I'm sooooo so glad that it's the weekend!!!!

Summer Fun

2008-05-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while Chris and I were out to dinner at Chili's I had this INSANELY delicious dessert. It was a white chocolate molten lava cake. White cake with melted white chocolate flowing out of the center, topped with vanilla ice cream, white chocolate shell, whipped cream, and a tiny bit of strawberry drizzle. OH damn. OHHHHHHH it was food-gasmic. I had a food-gasm while eating it.

Working Mother's Day at the Elephant Bar today can be summarized in one word: HELL.

I just talked to Mizzy and she said that she might be coming to visit me again at the end of the summer!! That prospect is VERY exciting. This means that I have something exciting to look forward to every month this summer! June: Hopefully seeing Christy and going to Disneyland AND seeing my former college roomie Anna, July: going home to visit for two weeks, and August: MIZZY hopefully coming to see me!!!! Yaaaaaaay!!!

And ... I'm already tired and looking forward to Friday. Considering it's only Sunday night, that's a bad sign. :::sigh:::

The Aftermath

2008-05-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

After the bath ... Toasty was not pleased. No she was not. Instead ... she was soggy.

How ... Hilarious.

2008-05-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

So today at the Elephant Bar as I was walking away from one of my tables, (after they had made the "Allis-on Wonderland" joke ... like every other customer ... in the world ...) they yelled after me, "Don't go chasing any rabbits!" :::sigh:::

Yesterday when I got home from work Toasty was ... well ... let's just say that if she were a human she would have had majorly poopy pants. Sooo Chris gave her a shower in the bath tub which was "quite" amusing. It was actually the first time I had witnessed Toasty getting a bath, and, like with most cats, she looked HI-larious when she was soaking wet. :P Awww, poor Toasty. But now she smells like Head and Shoulders shampoo! :P

It's such a tragedy that I have to work all day on Sunday because of bloody Mother's Day. BAH.

Tell Me On a Sunday

2008-05-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, every chocolate lover needs to try this. Yesterday I made brownies (just regular store bought fudge ones,) and cooked them in the oven like normal. Then, when they were "almost" done, I took them out and let them cool. (Now for the yummy part.) THEN I smeared Nutella all over them and sprinkled a generous amount of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips on top, and put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes to let it all melt. THEN you put in the fridge for about an hour. YUM. You can also add chopped hazelnuts as well but I didn't have any at the moment.

I received my $600 stimulus payment from the IRS the other day- WOO HOO! An extra $600 flowing into my bank account is ALWAYS welcome.

Today I think I will scrapbook some more ...

Broken Record

2008-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

My name provides endless entertainment to customers at the Elephant Bar every day. I walk up to greet a table and start off by saying something like, "Hey guys, how are you? Blah blah. I'm 'Allison' and I'll be taking care of you ..." and it's almost always followed by the customer replying, "Oh! Allis-ON Wonderland! Hahahaha!" It never fails to amuse me at just how many people think that they've just come up with the most original thing in the world when I hear it MULTIPLE times daily. :::snickers:::

What-Evs.

2008-04-30T22:42:00.001-07:00

So today for my weekly "cooked" meal, I made spaghetti and bread crumbs. (The name of the dish was something different and sounded yummier but I can't remember what it was called.) Again, I got the recipe from Giada Dilorentis and her 'Everyday Italian' show on the Food Network. It was quite tasty, but I think I'll add some type of meat next time. I also made garlic bread- mmmm!

I cannot stand Jason Castro, (aka "Dreads") from American Idol. Eghhhhh- WHY is he still in the top FOUR!?!?

I'm scheduled to work next Sunday (even though it's out of my availability as far as scheduling goes,) because it's Mother's Day and basically EVERYONE is forced to work that day. Ohhhhh goody. I CAN'T wait. Ehhhhg! So annoying.

I just got "summoned" for a week of jury duty in Hollywood. WTF?!?!? Whatever.

Bake-a-Licious

2008-04-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I want to try and cook at least one new dish each week. It's so easy to get into the habit of making fast and easy things like chicken sandwiches and taquitos, (just stick them in the microwave and press "start!") that you forget to actually try and "cook." Soooo today I tried a recipe that I saw on 'Every Day Italian' this afternoon, parmesan fish sticks. It was my first attempt at cooking fresh fish. (Or fish of any kind, for that matter!) They turned out really good and are quite healthy too! Basically, they're baked salmon fish sticks. And picky-eater Chris gave them 5 out of 5 stars. Woot! You all should try them.

I Want an Owl

2008-04-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

One of the beautiful perks of working at Starbucks, (besides the free drinks,) is the free box of tea (or bag of coffee) that I get every single week. With the warmer spring and summer months approaching I'm becoming increasingly obsessed with iced tea. Currently, I always make sure that I have a pitcher of passion iced tea ready for my drinking. And of course, I'm drinking a glass right now.

I really love the show Ace of Cakes on Food Network. It's a new favorite. The cakes that they make at Charm City Cakes are amazing. And of course, I always enjoy Hell's Kitchen.

Ahhhh, it's Friday.

Kindness Counts

2008-04-17T20:30:00.001-07:00

Today at the Elephant Bar while I was working, the hostess came up to me and handed me a pretty little envelope with flowers on it that was addressed to me in curvy handwriting. She said, "an old lady came by the restaurant earlier this morning before you got here and wanted me to give you this. She said that you waited on her a few days ago and she forgot to leave you a tip." I opened the envelope and inside was a little note on pretty stationary where she had written, "Server Allison, thank you for the fine service on Tuesday. Sorry I forgot to leave a tip ... 80 years takes it's toll. (signed) Jeanette." Inside was $5

I just thought that was the sweetest thing. Her kindness totally made my afternoon. I might just have to send her a thank you note.

Did you say Perimenopause? WHAT?

2008-04-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

So, today was a really good day. Seriously. I woke up, (after sleeping in of course), and then Chris and I headed to Barnes'N'Noble (like we do every Saturday so that he can study for like 3-4 hours,) and I finished reading 'Eclipse.' Omg loved it!!! I cannot believe that I have to wait THREE and a HALF MONTHS before being able to read the fourth book. Gahhhh!!! I want it. Now.

After Barnes'N'Noble we went to Best Buy where Chris bought the dvd 'I Am Legend' (haven't seen it yet,) and then we headed to the Elephant Bar for dinner. Mmmm garlic bread, philly cheese steak sandwich, garlic mashed potatoes, and creme brulee! YUM. THEN we went to Target to buy exciting things like underwear, socks, and Estroven. (Yes, we'll get to that later.) THEN we went to the new Pet Smart and bought Toasty a new scratching post, food, "cat grass," a catnip toy, and a new food bowl mat.
OH and did I mention that not only did they just build a Starbucks inside the Target right by our apartment, they're building ANOTHER Starbucks outside in the parking lot!!! We went from having ZERO to TWO Starbucks. Woah. Just woah.

So about the Estroven. It's medication to reduce menopausal symptoms. Yes, I said menopause. See, for the past several months I've been experiencing things like mood swings, depression, irritability, etc., so I decided to try and play House and figure out what was/is going on. After doing lots of research online, I came to the conclusion that there's a very good chance that I'm ... errr ... "hormonaly imbalanced.' Of the 20 symptoms listed to be associated with hormonal imbalance, I have/am experiencing:
- Night sweats (I wake up nearly every night DRENCHED in sweat.)
- Occasional rapid heart beat
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Loss of libido
- Anxiety
- Breast tenderness
- Depression
- Dizziness
- PMS like a mo fo! Ack!!!
So yes, I'm hoping this will help. Ugh and I'm not even in my thirties yet. :::sigh:::

Mmmm.

2008-04-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sooooo glad that it's the weekend! So. Glad. It was a very long week, and I even had a stupid meeting at 8am this morning at the Elephant Bar, but now I'm a free woman! (Well ... at least until Monday morning at 5am when I'm back to work at Starbucks ... )

Today was lovely, (AFTER the meeting was over, that is.) I sat inside Barnes'N'Noble for 5 hours (AGAIN) and got over half way through the book 'Eclipse.' I will be finished with the book this week and then I will have to wait until AUGUST 2ND for the next one to come out. :::sigh:::

Chris bought me 40 Cadbury Cream Eggs the other day. F-O-R-T-Y. Now "that's" love. :P

Tidbits.

2008-03-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

- This stuffed animal panda bear is really cute, I want.

- This is the coolest Super Mario Bros themed wedding cake ever. And yes, it IS a cake. I'm also a huge fan of the "mad hatter" style wedding cakes.

I used to LOVE this commercial! Hehehe.

Pink Elephants

2008-03-29T23:34:00.001-07:00

Last night Chris and I were watching movies on the HBO Demand channel, (where there's a list of movies that you can watch at any time,) and we watched, "The Hills Have Eyes II" and "Blades of Glory." They were both ... very "special" movies in their own unique way. :P

On Saturdays Chris always goes to Barnes'N'Noble to study for the masters exam with his study partner, and I always tag along. (To read of course, not to study!) :P Last weekend I bought and read 'Twilight,' and today I sat in one of the comfy chairs with my vanilla chai tea latte (YUM) and read the sequel 'New Moon.' In just 4 hours I was already half way through the book! Unfortunately, Chris didn't want to stay an additional 4 hours so I'll have to read the second half next weekend. :P

Mmmm I want to take a road trip up north this summer.

I'm listening to the Pink Elephants song from Dumbo. :::giggles:::

Save a Penny For a Rainy Day

2008-03-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

This evening I had to run to Target to get a few things, and I picked up a super cute white piggy bank with colored spots. WAY cute if I do say so myself. I realized that I've never owned one before, and that it might not only look nifty, but would also be a good place to put all the lose bills from tips. I also got some Sponge Bob Square Pants dixie cups and cup dispenser. Tres exciting, no? :P

I'm excited for this summer. My former roomie from college (Anna) will hopefully be coming to visit me for a day or two in June. YAY! Also, Christy will be coming by for a day or two as well, and we plan on hopefully making a trip to Disneyland! Woo hoo! AND of course, I plan on visiting home this summer. That's already three exciting events in store!!!

And now ... to bed. Zzzzzzzz.

Humph.

2008-03-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today I worked from 5am - 3:30pm. It ... sucked.

I couldn't seem to focus while working at Starbucks this morning, so in the course of under 15 minutes I managed to spill boiling hot coffee all over my left hand THREE SEPARATE TIMES!!! Just damn. By the third time I wanted to cry- seriously. My hand was a lovely shade of bright pink for hours.

Then the Elephant Bar sucked because of three reasons, 1.) We were extra busy today (because the Macaroni Grill right by us closed,) and being busy "would" have been a good thing, had it not been for reason 2.) TWO servers decided to not show up today, so I was slammed at our busiest hour with an additional entire section, and 3.) I made LESS money today then I did yesterday, and yesterday we were sloooow.

Grrrrrrrrrrr. Just grrrrrrrr.

To All:

2008-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! :::starts singing in an annoying nasal voice::: "I'm a bunny, and it's not funny, how people think Easter's just a time for hunt'in eggs! I'm a bunny, listen Sunny! Easter is all about J-E-S-U-S!" Hahahaha sorry inside joke.

Out in the Open

2008-03-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Lengthy blog ahead.

Something I've been dealing with for quite some time but just haven't blogged about yet is what I like to call, "my eating problem." While I've been doing much better, and eating hasn't really been too much of a "problem" for me lately, it's still something I deal with on a daily basis. I haven't written about it before because 1.) I didn't want to sound like a freak, 2.) I wasn't ready to identify the problem(s), and 3.) it just seemed too complicated.

Even now I don't really know where to start. When I think about it, I guess it started back in my early teens. Maybe, 13? 14? To sum it all up, I was always active and enjoyed exercising and doing things like dancing, gymnastics, etc. I remember my family would go out to eat, and I'd always just stay home and have a bowl of cereal. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe partly because I wanted to just have dinner while watching tv, and maybe partly because cereal was healthy ... because staying in shape was something that was important to me. And when I do things, I like to do them to the max. Call me a perfectionist.

During 2 years of college I dated a guy, (yes we all know who,) who was also a health nut and personal trainer. He taught me the lovely "food diary" idea, where you keep track of everything you eat each day in order to keep track of the calories. I always ate a healthy amount, and never had any problems. I wasn't obsessed, it was just a healthy habit I had. Sure, I would become a bit anxious/depressed if I went several days without exercising, but still.

Fast forward to 2007. If I had to pinpoint a month, I'd say that the end of the summer is when my problem really began to manifest itself. I'm sure many people go through phases in their lives where they just feel "dumpy." Well, for several months I felt "quite" dumpy. There were so many things that helped to contribute to the "dumps" I had. The loss of our dear family friend Leroy, the death of my grandpa, trying to adjust living with my boyfriend, (which don't get me wrong, is wonderful. But I think it's always a challenge at first when two people move in together.), I was feeling depressed career-wise, my skin went to total s**t, and I was severely missing my friends and family back home. All of these things seemed out of my control. But out of all the things I "couldn't" control, my eating and weight were something I "could" control.

Around the end of September I began restricting my food intake. At first I started at about 1,300 calories a day, but that quickly became 1,200 calories a day. My goal was to eat 1,200 calories a day or less. If I could eat just 850 calories in a day, that was a good day. Because not only would I have reached my goal, I would have reached "beyond" my goal. (Keep in mind I know all about healthy eating and that eating too little isn't good for you, etc.) But the more days that passed, the louder this irrational voice inside my head became ...

I became obsessed with food- and not eating it. I would plan everything I would eat during the day the night before on fitday.com to make sure I wouldn't go over my calories. I had the amount of calories in each serving of all the food in our cabinets memorized. Some times I would have to remind myself that WATER has zero calories. I started weighing myself each week, because losing weight each week made me feel like I accomplished something. (I'm the type of person who is constantly setting goals and trying to accomplish things.) Food was constantly on my mind, and I began to feel anxious around it. I began to despise eating in front of people, because I felt as if I was being watched, or that I was eating too much. I felt even more depressed than I had before, and it was putting tension on my relationship with Chris. The more control I thought I had was just an illusion; I was really "out" of control.

I lost 15 lbs during about a month and a half, (and I wasn't at all overweight to begin with,) but gained most of it back by Christmas because Chris began to get really concerned and I was determined not to let my eating problem get in the way of our relationship. I've been making it a point to eat healthy again, but it's hard. There's still that voice inside my head telling me to eat 1,200 calories a day or less, and to lose 5-10 more lbs. I still occasionally have those days where, if I eat over 1,400 calories, I feel like I've failed and so I'll eat everything in site. Some times, I still get anxious when eating in front of Chris and so I'll wait until he's in the shower before I have my bowl of cereal. But those days are getting fewer and more far in between, even if it "is" something I have to consciously battle in my head every day. And as OCD as I can be some times, I have to remember that there "will" be things out of my control, and that's okay. Life's too short to spend it in constant hell inside your head.

An Enchanting Evening

2008-03-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I gave into the temptation of buying the movie 'Enchanted.' Such a fabulous movie! It's one of those films that I can watch when I'm feeling dumpy to lift my spirits. It's a cute love story, it's funny, and it has good old Disney animation. What could be better? I watched it last night and was just as amused with Prince Edward this time as I was the first time I saw it. Speaking of Edward ...

I bought the book 'Twilight' today and have been reading it for the majority of the evening so far. Quite lovely. Quite ... lovely.

If Toasty Were an Owl ...

2008-03-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

The other day I bought a super cute stuffed animal owl. First, because I have a "thing" for owls, (they're just so bloody cute! And, the Goblin King was an owl. Let's not forget that I declared I would marry the Goblin King at the young age of 3!) and second, because the owl looks like Toasty. I swear, if Toasty were an owl, this is what she would look like. Cuuuute! :P

Woot.

2008-03-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was fun. Chris and I played Scrabble while watching the movie, "The English Patient," and ate out at The Macaroni Grill. Yuuuuuum. It was sooo good. Then on Sunday we hung out with my friend Clinton from college whom I hadn't seen in 3 years, which was also fun. We hung out by the pool, went to Starbucks while enjoying a mini thunderstorm that was rolling through town, (there was actually THUNDER!!!,) played a board game called "Dirty Minds," (hi-larious,) and then ate out at The Old Spagetti Factory while talking in fake british accents. Now "that's" my idea of a good weekend! :)

Sweeeeeet.

2008-03-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ok this might be a little too much information for some people, but for those of you women who are taking birth control pills, can I just say Planned Parenthood? I don't know about anyone else, but my health insurance, (even when I had GOOD health insurance on my dad's plan,) didn't cover this lovely ... err ... topic. For the past year and a half, I've been paying $37-$45 each month for my prescription monthly pills packet. PLUS a minimum of $75 just to see my doctor regularly in order to keep getting them. Well since I moved, the doctor I had been seeing previously for this reason is just too far of a drive. So this month I decided, (since I was due for an appointment to keep getting my pills,) to just go to Planned Parenthood just this once since I hadn't yet found a new doctor. Ummm ... can I just say that it was the best decision evAR because not only was the appointment free, but they gave me a YEAR'S worth of the exact same pills I had been taking for FREE. I will be saving $531 this year by not having to pay for them anymore. And I don't have to worry about getting them refilled every single month. SWEEEEEEET.

Disturbing.

2008-03-14T15:47:00.001-07:00

The other night I had the weirdest dream ...

I dreamt that I was with my sister, Michelle, and Christy. We were at their (the Berry's) house, getting ready for a Halloween party that we were throwing. We realized that we needed some more food and decorations, so we decided to go to the store and Walgreens. Mr. Berry offered to drive us since he said he was planning on going into town anyway. So off we went. Things looked a bit different, (as they so often do in dreams,) but some things looked familiar and remained the same. As we were driving by AppleBee's on Stadium, we passed what looked like Michelle's dead and bloodied body laying on the side of the road. (Disturbing.) So we were all like, "What the? That looked like Michelle!" (of course we were extra dumbfounded because Michelle was IN the car with us.) We told Mr. Berry to turn the car around and nearly got broad-sided in the process because of the icey roads. (There were patches of snow and ice on the ground.) We drove by AppleBee's again, and there it was, Michelle's body on the side of the road. We were all extremely disturbed and panicked by now, so Mr. Berry starting driving us home. I looked back through the window at Michelle's body and suddenly she (the dead body,) got up and began to follow us. We returned home and ran inside the house, locking the doors. We explained to a really confused Mrs. Berry what we had seen, and then as we looked out the front window, we saw the bloody dead Michelle walking up the front lawn towards the door. Then, as if in a trance, Mrs. Berry walked to the front door and opened it, (as we all protested,) but there was a screen door. The dead Michelle (who now had dark brown hair,) was touching hands with Mrs. Berry through the screened door. Then Mrs. Berry began sobbing, as if it really "was" Michelle. After a moment, she opened the door and dead Michelle came in. I was huddled by the couch next to Erika, Christy, and the live Michelle. Dead Michelle came up to us and asked us to follow her in this really creepy voice. Live Michelle turned to us and said, "I think we need to follow her. If we don't, I'm afraid of what she might do to us." Reluctantly and quite panicked, we started to follow dead Michelle. Suddenly we appeared in "my" old neighbor hood, and we were in the side of the yard. The sun was almost set, and there was still snow on the ground. I looked down at the grass and saw that there were about 6-7 fresh looking graves in the yard. (No stones, just mounds of dirt.) Dead Michelle (who at this point didn't even look like Michelle, but instead some dark haired bloody ghost,) pointed at one of the fresh dirt graves. Suddenly the Berry's old dog Savahnna, (who has been dead many years,) came out of the dirt. It was weird. We all petted her and then she sunk back into the ground. Next the ghost led us to the back yard, where there was another fresh grave. The ghost turned to us and said, "this was a good friend of yours." A moment later a long arm burst through the dirt, and out came Leroy. He looked the same, except that his skin was gray. He looked at all of us and said, "I was getting so sick of that grave!" He turned and looked me in the eyes and continued, "but I've been worried sick about you guys!" BRRRIINGGG!!! At that moment, my alarm woke me up bright and early, 6am. I was mad that I woke up, because I wanted to know what else would have happened. But I was also a little creeped out ... I mean ... I don't normally like seeing my best friend as a dead body following us around showing us all our other dead friends ...

I've Decided ...

2008-03-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

I want to go to Italy. Tonight's episodes of 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' (one of my faaaaavorite shows,) took place in Italy. BEAUTIFUL. Oh and there's lots of pasta in Italy, and I love pasta. Oh and espresso too, and I love espresso. OH and fun little bike things to ride around on, and I like bikes. :P As I was driving past the gas station Chevron tonight, (one of the cheapest stations around here, the one "I" go to,) gas was $3.55. *&^#@!!!!!!!!! If I had a motor bike, like in Italy, I wouldn't have to worry as much about gas. :::sigh:::

It's Over!

2008-03-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

I finally beat 'Kingdom Hearts II' today, YAY!!! :D

Great game ... but ... the final stages? Damn. Just damn. My fingers, hand, and arm were all cramping. The bosses just kept coming. I really just wanted to cry. Seriously, I almost cried. :P But it's over, and I can now add that to my "list of video games I've beat" repitoure. :P

Saturday Afternoon Survey

2008-03-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Resther did this survey in her last blog, so I think I'll be a copy cat. :P

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
An atlas and a cd holder. Oh and a windsheild scraper. (Not that I need it out here.
2. When was the last time you threw up?
In January. Ewwwww!
3. What's your favorite curse word?
Damn. For Sure.
4. Name 3 people who made you smile today.
Chris, Toasty, and Chris.
5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Sleeping in!!!
6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
I was at Barnes'N'Noble with Chris.
7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
Probably playing 'Kingdom Hearts II."
8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
No and I don't plan on going either.
9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
"No ..."
10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
I have several. Starbucks Mud Pie and chocolate mint cookie chunk are two faves.
11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
A white chocolate mocha from Starbucks.
12. What are you wearing right now?
Jean capris and a really cute new panda t-shirt that I bought on Wednesday.
13. What was the last thing you ate?
A muffin. Yummy.
14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Yes, the panda t-shirt mentioned above along with 3 other tops, and some more black leggings.
15. When was the last time you ran?
Thursday.
16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
I never watch sporting events.
17. To what extent do you recycle?
We haven't done much recycling lately. Bad I know.
18. Who is the last person you emailed?
My dad.
19. Ever go camping?
About once every few years.
20. Do you have a tan?
No not really.
21. Do you formally set the table each night?
Hahaha yeah right.
22. Name a favorite TV series from a) your childhood b) your teen years and c) your adult periods.
a. Sesame Street
b. Qauntom Leap
c. House
23. If you aren't married yet, describe your dream wedding. If you are already married, and you could go back and change something about your wedding, would you?
It would take up too much space to describe my "dream wedding." I just don't feel like typing for that long! :P
24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
If it's in a glass. But I don't really drink much soda.
25. What did your last IM say?
Don't remember. Don't really "IM" much these days.
26. Are you someone's best friend?
Maybe?
27. What are you doing tomorrow?
I have the day off!!! And ... I don't know yet.
28. Where is your mom right now?
Ummm ... burried underneath the ground? Horrible I know.
29. Look to your left, what do you see?
The wall and a matress.
30. What color is your watch?
Don't have a watch.
31. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Beautiful landscapes and the Steve Irwin.
32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
Only if I needed some type of reconstructive surgey from say, an accident.
33. What is your birthstone?
A ruby. Woooo hooo!
34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Don't eat too much fast food. Ummm ... both?
35. How many kids do you want?
Dunno.
36. Do you have a dog?
Nope. I have a Toasty.
37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
My sister.
38. Have you met anyone famous?
Yes.
39. Any plans today?
'Kingdom Hearts II" baby!
40. How many states have you lived in?
South Dakota, Missouri, and California. = 3.
41. Ever go to college?
Yep and graduated too...
42. Where are you right now?
At the apartment.
43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Work can be mega annoying some times.
44. Last song listened to?
Ummmm probably something on the car radio but I wasn't paying attention.
45. What do you wish you could bake/cook?
Alot of things!
46. Are you allergic to anything?
Some times cats. Some times shrimp.
47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
My black slipper flats.
48. Are you jealous of anyone?
No.
49. Which do you prefer: bath or shower?
Showers mostly, but baths are lovely to soak in sometimes.
50. Is anyone jealous of you?
How would I know?
51. What time is it?
3:56pm
52. Do any of your friends have children?
Yeah. Scary.
53. Do you eat healthy?
Usually.
54. What do you usually do during the day?
Work, work-out, work, scrap book or play PS2, random chores.
55. Do you hate anyone right now?
No one in specific.
56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
The majority of days at work, yes.
57. Name something you admire and something you dislike about your country of origin (or country of residence - your choice). We have amazing potential but much or our abilities and influence are missused or just not used. This is a beautiful country. Very diverse. And yet ... very stupid some times.
58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
I'll be 25. :::GULP::: That means I'll be half way til fart!!!
59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yes, Chris and I had season passes last year.
60. How did you get one of your scars?
One word: Fritz.
1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
All of them.
2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Home, lol.
3. Do you regret losing your virginity to who you lost it to?
No.
4. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be ?
I'd have to think about that. I'm not really sure actually.
5. What do you want to be doing right now?
Sitting on my duff, like I am right now!
7. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A vet, a disney animator, an actress, a wedding planner.
8. How many colleges did you attend?
Just one.
9. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
Because I just bought it and it's uber cute.
10. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
Urrrg. Just URRRGGGG!!!
11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you where would it be?
Within the US? Colorado - Chris and a few other friends.
Outside: London or Australia maybe, although I've never been to either place. :P
12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
Ahhhhh! (Because Chris was running towards me to tackle me!)
13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
"I ... get to ... sleep ... in ..."
14. Do you miss being a child?
I miss not having to worry about things like jobs, money, etc. I remember when, during the summer, the only thing I worried about was "what" I was going to play and "who" I was going to play with.
16. What errand/chore do you despise?
Ummm, running boring errands like grocery shopping. Getting Gas. BLAH.
17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer?
Yeah probably.
18. Get up early or sleep in?
Sleep in!
19. What is your favorite cartoon character?
Donald Duck.
20. Favorite thing to do at night?
Sleep.
21. Have you found real love yet?
I'd like to think so!
22. When did you first start feeling old?
When I started having to pay for everything myself.
24. Your favorite lunch meat?
Turkey.
25. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart/Target?
There's no "certain thing" I get everytime. I get what I need.
26. Beach or lake?
Beach. But some lakes are really nice too!
27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
Absolutly not.
28. Do you own property?
I own a vehical.
29. Favorite guilty pleasure?
Errrr uhhhh chocolate?
30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about?
I'm very open about my favorite movies. Just ask!
31. What's your drink?
Water first. Second, white mochas and caramel macchiatos.
32. Cowboys or Indians?
Indians I suppose.
33. Cops or Robbers?
Robbers! Oohhhh yeah. (Actually I don't really care ...)
34. Who from high school would you like to run in to?
No one really. I'm still friends with everyone I cared about.
35. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
I've never listened to the radio in my car. Always a cd.
36. Norm or Cliff?
Uhhhh ... ???
37. Grey's or The Office?
Neither.
38. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?
Spending 3 years with some one when I knew it wasn't going to work out.
39. Do you like the person that sits directly across from you at work?
No one sits across from me at work.
40. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregar, Reese Witherspoon ... I could keep going ...
40. What famous person would you like to jam with?
Queen!!!! (or should I say, would like to have "jammed" with ...)
41. Indoors or Outdoors?
Both.
42. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
No.
43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
Nope.
44. Last book you read?
The final Harry Potter book.
45. Do you have a teddy bear?
No, I have a rabbit.
46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth
In the wilderness?
47. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
I "live" in Caifornia.
48. Do you go to church?
Not since I moved, I "church hopped" a few times but never found one I liked.
49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
A career. I'm already in a relationship and wouldn't care to start another one.
50. How old are you?
24.

One Word. Cute.

2008-03-06T21:14:00.001-08:00

You know what makes me happy? The Target that just opened a few blocks down from our apartment! It's so convenient. Chris and I went to it's "un-official" opening last night and it's reeeally nice. Best part? There's a Starbucks in it- complete with a nice sitting area! Now you might wonder "why" I'm excited about a Starbucks, seeing that I work there and all. Well, the one I work at is about 12 minutes away, whereas this one is about THREE minutes away, hehehe. Now I'll have one close enough for late evening cravings. :P

I returned to Target tonight after work and bought some uber cute lantern lights to hang from the counter, a few cute tops, a couple new cute dishes, (yes, everything I bought was CUTE! Hehehe,) and a few other boring things like toilet paper, sunblock, etc. (The toilet paper is "not" cute.) :P OH and did I mention that they have a fabulous chocolate section? We're not talking bags of Snickers and Milkyways, but really nice truffles and stuff!

Anyhoo, that's my excitment for the night.

Wishing And Hoping

2008-03-01T14:15:00.001-08:00

I want an indoor treadmill to be able to use whenever I want. Some times I want to go for a walk or a run, but I don't know where to go, don't feel like driving some where, or the weather sucks. Ahhhh to have one in my very own dwelling space, "that" would be nice. :)

Doope doo da doo.

2008-02-29T11:02:00.001-08:00

Instead of getting up and working-out this morning before work like I usually do, I just layed in bed and got doped up on Tylenol, lol. Thankfully I didn't have to work at Starbucks this morning, although I "am" about to head out to work at E-Bar.

I got my tax refund deposited into my checking account today. Whoo hoo!!!

One of the few girls I actually liked on this season's American Idol got the boot last night. Arrrrgh. Stupid voters. STUPID voters.

I'm looking foward to the weekend. Why? Because I no longer WORK on weekends! So now I can actually enjoy my weekends along with the majority of the human population.

Who Will Get the Boot?

2008-02-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

A really random picture of a super cute persian kitty I came across on a random site as I randomly searched for a picture of "sunny california." What came up? Cute persian kitties.

Today it was beatiful outside. Unfortunetly, I didn't really get to enjoy the weather unless you count making several trips outside to take out the trash while working at Starbucks.

I'm really not that impressed with the girls on this season's American Idol. There's maybe 2 that I like (3 if you want to push it.) Most of them are just plain annoying. We'll see who gets eliminated tonight!

I finally finished my first scrapbook in about 2 and 1/2 years, (I hadn't made one since I dated Roger,) and so now I have one for Chris and I at last. I plan on starting #2 as soon as I buy another one.

I'm tired. My eyes are stinging.

Oh. My.

2008-02-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

A huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders: MY CAR PASSED THE ENHANCED SMOG CHECK TODAY!!! Phew. What a relief. You might wonder why I'm so relieved ...

The first time I got a smog check, (almost 2 years ago,) my car failed. The second try, it failed again. Finally, after several repairs and several hundred dollars later, it passed the third round. (Third time's a charm, right?) Oh and let's not forget that it costs about $50 for a single smog check. WELL my vehical is required to get one every other year when I renew my registration. If your car fails the smog check, then you are not allowed to renew your registration. Sucks huh? Especially because my car burns access oil and so when you fist start driving it, it has smoke coming out of it's butt. (Did I mention they're adding a "smoke check" to the "smog check" as well?) Yep, they're starting that next month! Basically if any smoke comes out, you fail. (That's why I raced to get it done this week!) Needless to say, I am VERY relieved that it passed. Now I don't have to worry about it for another two years! Sweeeeet.

YA!

2008-02-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

Chris bought the new Karaoke Revolution game, 'American Idol: Encore' today. I just played it for over an hour. It is DA BOMB!!! Soooo many great songs. And MORE songs. AND Paula Abdul is actually on this one. Yay. So fun. It made my evening. Is the weekend really over?

Woooo.

2008-02-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

I revamped my blog, can you tell? Cute isn't it. I ... thought ... so. :::collapses:::

ABC

2008-02-19T21:37:00.000-08:00

Everytime I have a "good day" at the Elephant Bar (i.e. I make a decent amount of money,) and I start to think, "hmmmm this isn't reeeeally that bad ..." it's ALWAYS followed by a bad day. Today I made jack squat. Pfhhhh. AND I had to spend WAY too much money on new uniform stuff this afternoon. (They're changing our shirts which I had to go out and buy myself,) and I had to buy a belt and new shoes too.

I think I "might" have decided on which wedding/event planning course I want to take. Maybe. Haven't decided for sure. BUT I'm thinking about getting certified in ABC, (The Association of Bridal Consultants) which is an organization that's been around since 1955. Their page is currently undergoing maintanance until February 28th, but it has some information. I talked with my cousin about the event planning course she's currently taking at George Washington University and she said that so far she's "not too impressed." She said it's too easy. Plus there's alot of stuff about planning other events, such as meetings and corporate events, and I'd like to start out focused mainly on weddings. Not sure I want to spend $4,000 on a course that is "too easy" and doesn't focus enough on weddings. The ABC site is:
http://www.bridalassn.com/Default.aspx

I have cramps. Youch.

Lovely Sundays.

2008-02-17T17:14:00.001-08:00

Today has been delightful so far. I've done nothing but watch movies and scrapbook in my pj's all day. I watched 'The Lake House" (one of the movies that Chris gave me for Valentine's Day,) and it was very cute. And now I'm making pizza for Chris and I. :::sigh::: I need more days like this.

Tastylicious

2008-02-15T13:24:00.001-08:00

Did everyone have a good Valentine's Day filled with love and passion? Hehehe. :P Chris got me some really thoughtful things. Two dvds, ('50 First Dates' and 'The Lake House',) two complimentary ring tones for my phone, (I picked out Alicia Keys and Super Mario Bros,) a chocolate red rose (the best of both worlds,) and my favorite: A heart shaped box of 24 chocolates where he picked out each individual chocolate himself! (So I don't have to worry about getting any of the gross "pink" ones!) :P Yummmmm they are the BEST chocolates. Oh damn. So good. Oh and he took me out to dinner too! We were going to go to The Olive Garden, but after finding that there was a 2+ hour wait, we headed to Black Angus. After arriving there and finding that there was a 1 hour and 45 min+ wait, we headed to Acapulco for some Mexcian. Since the wait was only 10 minutes, we decided to stay. :P It was quite tasty. To end the evening we played the "gift" that I had bought for Chris, (a board game called "101 Nights of Ggggreat Sex,") which is actually as good as it sounds! :P Oh and Chris and I have such similiar taste in cards that we ended up accidently getting each other the SAME V-Day card. Haaahaha.

Oh and my foot is a little sore still but feels much better. Phew!

Youch.

2008-02-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Uhhhg. Last night Chris and I went to Walgreens and when we returned we couldn't get the gate to our apartment to open. (We have a patio which is surrounded by this 7 foot-ish wood fence type thing that has a door.) Well, that door was stuck. So finally I decided that I would just climb over the wood fence and open it from the inside. I had done this before, and it worked like a charm. Well ... not last night. I climbed to the top of the fence and jumped down. When I hit the concrete floor below it felt as if my feet just shattered!!!! OMG I cannot tell you how badly it hurt. Unfortunetly, when I had done this little manuver before, I had been wearing padded running shoes to absorb the shock. Last night I was wearing these little flat slippers with absolutely NO padding. Now my left foot feels fine, but I cannot walk on my right foot. The entire heel area (not the upper toe part) is in immense pain when I walk on it. I'm "hoping" that it's just really badly bruised or strained ... or something. I can sort of "stand" on it today, (last night I couldn't even stand on it,) so that's a good sign ... right? :/

Always Something More ...

2008-02-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

Just got back from getting my car washed/oil changed/ serviced. Blahhhh. How come everytime you bring your car in for something you almost "always" end up having to spend much more than planned? Instead of spending $35-ish for an oil change/inspection and full car wash, I ended up spending $160 for having to get additional services performed like getting the coolent fluid and brake fluid flushed. Although I've realized something. If you want an oil change and NOTHING but an oil change, go to Wal-Mart. Because even if there's something wrong with your car or your car desperately needs something, they "won't" mention it to you. (I know this from experience.) So as annoying as it is to take your car into some where good where you can almost expect them to tell you something that your car needs, it's nice to know so you can "at least" have the option of knowing and getting it taken care of. Need I mention the car fiasco I had last year because Wal-Mart was never telling me about my major oil leaks everytime I brought my car in?

Toasty is insisting on laying on my arm right now and it's making it very hard to type ... ehem ...

So hard in fact that I think this will be all for now. Blame Toasty for my lack of interesting-ness today! :P