Ugh.

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

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

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

How ... Hilarious.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

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.

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.

- 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

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

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.

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:

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

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

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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!

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.

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

ABC

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.

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

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.

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 ...

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

Memo

Note to self: While waiting for your food at Jack in the Box, do not stick your reciept to your lower lip. While this may seem funny and provide a certain amount of entertainment to some degree, when you remove the reciept from your wet lip, you will also remove a chunk of "skin" from said lip. Therefore, it is not a good idea.

Gee I wish I had gotten the memo before Friday night. :P

What's on "Your" Bucket List?

While I was in Missouri, Michelle, Esther (Benette) and I thought that it would be amusing to compile our own "Bucket Lists" (ie things you want to accomplish before you die.) So, here are a few highlights from mine ...

- Get certified as a professional wedding/event planner.
- Have my own successful event/wedding planning business.
- Write, cast, produce, star in, etc. my own film and enter it into a film festival. (Sundance here I come!) :P
- Learn how to quilt. (I know I know, I'm a grandma, HA.)
- Learn how to snowboard. (Because I already know how to ski.)
- Go on a real "roadtrip." Stop at the roadside diners, the whole shibang!
- Record a cd. (Vocal and perhaps a bit of piano.)
- Publish a children's book.
- Get married.
- Possibly have at least one kid? :P
- Take a cooking course, or two.
- Start a charity of some sort.
- Go on a storm chasing tour. (I have a feeling Chris won't want to come with ...)
- Hike the Grand Canyon. (I've flown over it enough times.)
- Visit Australia!
- Visit Switzerland and yodle on the Swiss Alps. :P
- Visit Egypt and see the pyramids.
- Go on a backpacking tour- in the jungle!!!
- Climb a mountain (it's one in Colorado but I'm blanking on the name.)
- Visit Italy, drink "real" espresso!
- Visit Japan. And ... do some kung fu? :P

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things and that as I go through life there will be more and more things to add to my bucket list. But- the important thing is that I have one, right? So ... what's on YOUR bucket list?

Getting into the Routine.

A few minutes ago as I was driving home from work I saw a dead cat lying on the street median. It was sandy colored and had long fur and seeing it lying there helpess made me want to cry. Besides the fact that I hate seeing "any" animal (especially cats and dogs,) dead, I hate having to think about the family to whom the animal was a pet, and how they will find out later, maybe even days later, that their furry friend is dead. :(

The Elephant Bar is such a botch. Let's just say that for the SECOND time this week, I've arrived at work on time only to have them be like, "What? You're working today?" Even though I'm listed right there on the bloody schedule! And because of their idiocracy, this means they don't put me in a table section and I end up with the "extra" tables. (ie the tables that never get sat.) GRRRR! I walked out with a measely $33 today.

Over the past several weeks I've realized that while "getting into the routine of things" is a good thing, it can also be dangerous. For me, once I get into a "routine," I really get into it! For example, for the past several months I would get up, go to work at Starbucks, work-out, work at the Elephant Bar, get home, take a shower, do any cleaning and misc things on my list, and then get on the computer. While this is okay, I was doing this basically every single day out of habit. And since I was so busy doing my "routine," I didn't even realize that I was neglecting other things, like my relationship with Chris! After talking about it with him, I realized how important it is to some times break your routine. To be able to say, "ok, my to-do list can wait. Spending time with my partner is more important." When I feel like I need to clean something instead of spending time with Chris or a friend, I have to remember that more often than not, it's simply my OCD kicking in. (Yes, I have been blessed with OCD that makes me feel like I constantly have to be doing and/or cleaning something.) Another thing is, is that in long term relationships when things start getting comfortable, you some times forget that you still need to work hard and put in the effort. Because trust me, relationships are like cars. If you don't take care of them and perform routine maintanance regularly, they "will" inevitably break down!

Anyway I'm rambling. But just remember, if you're some one like me, (ie some one who gets very set into a routine,) just know that it's important to take a break some times and do something else. Go outside for a walk. Call a friend. Better yet, have coffee with a friend! You get the idea. :P

And that is my nugget of wisdom for the day. :)

Clocks

Alright, off to Starbucks, off off up and away!!!!!

Mehhh.

Meh, work at E-Bar was okay today except now my work schedule BLOWS. I swear, ANY time you need to take time off (ie to visit your friends and family,) they totally screw you over schedule wise. It took me WEEKS upon WEEKS to finally start getting the schedule I wanted, and then I go home for two weeks and it all goes to s**t. I "despise" working nights and weekends, and now I'm being scheduled both. Friday and Saturday nights, of course. This past weekend, this weekend, AND next weekend. GRRRR. This Friday was supposed to be my day off but today I gave into some one who was begging me and I'm now covering a shift on Friday for that perso. BOOOO.

The event planning course I'm thinking about taking is at this link http://www.gwutourism.org/eventmanagement/index.html although I haven't fully decided if I will be taking this exact one. I know for sure I'd like to get certified, (in event/wedding planning,) I just haven't decided on "where" yet.

"American Idol" and "House" tonight, woopee!!!

Discontinued.

Today at work (Starbucks) I found out something that made me very happy. And what was that "something," you might ask? They discontinued the breakfast sandwhiches!!!!! Brehhhh he he he he!!!! :D You might also ask "why" this makes me so happy? Well, to be quite honest, the breakfast sandwhiches were a MAJOR pain in the arse. (Even though they were only around for a few months.) And again, you might ask, "but why oh why were they a MAJOR pain in the arse?" To which I respond, "Because every two seconds a customer would want a breakfast sandwhich. Which means that if you're the only person on the registser, you have to keep getting interrupted to go put a sandwhich in the oven and WAIT for a minute while it cooks and then return to the register." A minute may not seem like a very long time, but when there's a very long line of customers and you have to constantly stop and warm up a breakfast sandwhich, it is. Apparently enough costumers complained to Starbucks that the smell of breakfast sandwhiches in the oven interfered with the aroma of coffee that coffee shops are so well known for.

A brand spanking new Target just opened on the corner a few blocks away from our apartment. This is both a good thing and a scary thing. Good because I love Target and it will make it very convenient for me to shop there. Scary because as stated earlier, it will make it very convenient for me to shop there ... and I might want to shop there a bit too much. :P

Can you believe it's almost Valentine's Day? I can't! Speaking of Valentine's Day, that made the thought of chocolate cross my mind, which in turn made the thought of food cross my mind and then reminded me that I'm really hungry and need to go eat some lunch now. Oh and I need some tea too.

Home

Happy GROUND HOG DAY!!!!!!!!! Hehehe. Ehem. I wonder if he saw a shadow?

After almost 2.5 weeks, I have been reunited with Chris and Toasty. Cuuuuuuute.

I had a wonderful time visiting everyone from good old MO. And now that I've seen snow and have been ice skating, it finally feels like winter. Now I can truly enjoy the warm California weather. :P

As much as I consider Missouri to be my true home, now that my dad and Carolyn have moved out of our house it all feels different. When I go visit in Missouri, I no longer have a familiar house to go to, I no longer have "my" house. A house that I had lived in since I was 4 years old. My home is truly in California now because there's no dewlling space that is "mine." Does that make sense? :P

While I was visiting I talked to my cousin who also does event planning, and she told me about an event planning course that she's taking at George Washington University to get certified. After talking to her I'm almost certain that taking that course would be something I'd like to try and do this year. It's $4,000- which seems like a lot. (And it is.) But I look at it this way, I'm not going to 2+ years of grad school, so $4,000 is actually quite cheap compared to that. Plus if I ever want to work for an event planning business (other than my own,) the experience would be very valuable to have. Hmmmm ...

I'm also considering looking for another job. A job where I can have set hours and set wages. (Like a Monday through Friday job.) Health benefits would also be an extra perk to look for. Any ideas? I just can't handle working at the Elephant Bar for another 1-2+ years. Noooooo!!! I'm getting to the point where I'm having nightmares about it, lol.

Speaking of the Elephant Bar, I have to leave for work soon. BLAHHHHHH.

No Joking Matter

First of all, can I just say that the death of Heath Ledger made me very sad indeed? Because it did. He was a great actor, beautifully grungy in '10 Things I Hate About You,' and played a damn good gay cowboy. :::sigh::: RIP Heath Ledger.

And second, can I just say that I have had to write WAYYY too many RIP posts in the past 7 months? Enough with the whole dying thing already!!! :(

And thirdly, this whole Heath ordeal just confirms my childhood fear of The Joker. Besides the Blanket Monster and Martians (from Sesame Street,) one of the first things I can remember being afraid of was The Joker. I remember I had to have my mom check my closet every night before bed to make sure he wasn't there. Apparently, playing The Joker was so disturbing to Heath that he had trouble sleeping and was on prescription sleeping pills! According to the associate press, "The role as arch villain The Joker disturbed Ledger. He called the character a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy." Yep. I think I might have to check the closet tonight ...

Great Things

I was planning on writing a nice long blog tonight, (seeing as how this is basically only the second time I've had internet access on my visit and may not have it again,) but unfortunetly I completely lost track of time and am realizing that it's already 2:08am right now. And ... I swore to myself that I'd go to bed before 3am tonight! Oh well. :P

Although, since I haven't been writing many blogs over the past several weeks I've accumulated many things to actually write about now, so woo hoo! Expect great things from me when I return home to my regular schedule in California. (And also to Chris and Toasty.) :P

And now, I'm tired and the hotel-esque looking bed is calling me. Here's to spending my first night in the "half way house!"

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It's currently 19 degrees outside ... BRRRR. The very first thing that Mizzy and I did when we arrived in Columbia was to stop at the mall so that I could get a nice warm hoodie sweatshirt (which is fuzzy and I'm wearing it right now. :P)

We just got back from eating sushi with my dad after spending the afternoon helping him move some boxes from the old house to the new house. It was really weird and rather sad to see my good old house empty. :::sniff::: We also visited the "pet cemetary" one last time. :::sniffle:::

Tonight we're crashing at Michelle's again, (which is also fun.) I'm currently sitting in the temporary apartement which I like to call the half way house and Toulouse is running around my feet. :P

Anyway I'm having a lovely visit so far, despite the fact that my tosies are cold. :P

Random Ramblings

I can't wait to go home and visit next month, woooo hooooo!!!! :D Although it's going to be a little weird. Let me rephrase that ... it's going to be "really" weird. First off, two of my precious kitty cats will be gone. :( And second, a new family will be moving into the house that I had lived in since I was 4 years old!!! I'll be staying in a furnished apartment temporarily with my dad and Carolyn. I can't even imagine not returning to 4308 Royal Aberdeen! I might just have to bum over and sleep at Michelle's more than usual just for some sort of familiarity. :P

Today the door handle on the outside of my car (driver's side,) broke. BAHHHHH. Now I'll have to do the ultra pain in the arse climb-over-the-passenger seat thing until I get it fixed. Which I'm thinking will be next month because I have to get an oil change then ... sooo ... I'll just take it into Mitsubishi so they can change the oil and fix the handle at the same time.

Saturday I made Strawberry margaritas and for the first time in a blue moon Chris got a wee bit drunk and it was really entertaining. :P (I have the most hi-larious pictures of him trying to eat pizza while he's swaying around on the couch clutching his chest,) hahahaha.

I've almost conquered the PS2 game Chris got me, (Kingdom Hearts,) and then I'm all ready to start the second one! :P

Hmmmmmm I'm hungry. QUITE hungry. I'm going to go eat something now.

Singing, Throat Slitting and Tight Pants!

Yesterday was cloudy, wet, rainy, and down right dreery. What better movie could there be to go see than to see 'Sweeney Todd?' With the weather outside I almost felt like a part of the film! Plus, who doesn't like to see a slightly psychotic singing Johnny Depp as a barber who cuts countless peoples' throats and an Alan Rickman wearing gold pants that are a bit too tight for comfort? It was a twisted yet enjoyable film.

I finally got a new phone. After keeping my first cell phone for 4.5 years, it finally started to kick the bucket. SO this means that people can actually call me now and they'll actually be able to HEAR me again! (Hint hint.) Oh and I have a fabulous 'Nightmare Before Christmas' ringtone. (Are you beginning to notice a Tim Burton theme running through this blog? If so ... you score some points. :P)

And now, I'm going to go play 'Kingdom Hearts' and make strawberry margaritas. Wooopeeee!

In Loving Memory

This has been a very sad last week and a half for me. As you know from my previous blogs, Smacky was killed in a garage door accident. Then, this past Monday on New Years Eve, my precious Snickefritz passed away from kidney failure. :( I know she was old, but I really wish I had been able to see her one last time, especially since I'm coming home in two weeks. I'm going to post a blog with "my" memories of Fritz, but since it's late, (and I have to be up at 4:20am,) here's something written by my dad.

Snickelfritz Marshall

(1991-2007)

"Snickelfritz Morrison Berry Marshall passed away of kidney failure at her home in Columbia, MO just after sunset on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2007. She was 16-and-a-half years old. This unique feline was born during the summer of 1991 at the Columbia home of Dale, Paulette, Christy and Michelle Berry. Fritz's parents were Gadget and Morrison Berry. That her mom was half Siamese probably explained much of her loquacious nature.

Fritz's royal demeanor was believed to be the result of her breeding from many centuries past. She claimed to be a direct descendent of the royal household cat, Cleopatra Felinus, of Egypt's King Ptolemy XII. After the death of Cleopatra Felinus in 71 BC, the distraught king named his next daughter "Cleopatra" after the beloved cat. Cleopatra was to become queen of Egypt (69 BC-30 BC).

Fritz was still a kitten when she came to the Marshall household at 4308 Royal Aberdeen Street in early October of 1991, a few days after House Mistress, Debbie Marshall, was diagnosed with leukemia. The beloved (though infamous) feline then ruled the Marshall household at "4308" for the rest of her life. She always declared her supremacy over all other pets, residents and visitors. If need be, she would demonstrate it with her razor sharp claws. Though prone to occasional violent outbursts, she was also one of the very cutest and most vocal domestic cats to have ever lived on the planet.

Over the years, the personable Snickelfritz gained a multitude of nicknames, including: S-Fritz, Essie, Ripple, Ripplefritz, Ree, Noble Breed, Noble Beast, Warmy Softy, Warmer, Rrow, Hurrrr, Girrrl and Rosana.

She used up her eighth life in October of 2005, when though near death, she somehow survived a bout of kidney failure. After this, Fritz largely went into retirement. She spent most of her time indoors. Her favorite activities from then on consisted of having her long beautiful fur brushed, eating squishy cat food two times per day, and entertaining visitors. Fritz loved hearing their worshipful adorations. Unquestionably, her capricious personality mellowed over her last year of life.

Fritz's death followed by 9 days the accidental death of "4308" pet, Smacky Marshall, who died in a garage door accident. House Master, John Marshall, was still mourning the loss of Smacky when Fritz's health went into an abrupt decline. Though her death seemed imminent, Fritz maintained a remarkable dignity over her last few days. It is also perhaps ironic that her death occurred when it did-in the waning hours of the last day of the year. The Marshall house at 4308 Royal Aberdeen is under contract, and the closing date for the sale was just days away (1/22/2008). It is hard to imagine Fritz at any home except the one she spent her entire adult life. In a real sense, her death closes the "4308 Royal Aberdeen" chapter in the Marshall family history.

Her family and many friends will miss her dearly!!!

Fritz is survived by her home servants, John and Carolyn Marshall, and her former home attendants, Erika Marshall (Kansas City), Andrew Marshall (Kansas City), Allison Marshall (Los Angeles) and Jay Gengelbach (San Francisco). She is also survived by her two home pet subjects, Oreo and Toulouse.

After her death, Fritz was laid to rest in the "Royalty Section" of Aberdeen Memorial Cemetery, not far from the graves of some of her previous (deceased) subjects: Jen Marshall (1984-2000), Taffy Marshall (1990-1998), Suki Gengelbach Marshall (1989-2004), Little Dog Marshall (2004-2006), and Smacky Marshall (2005-2007).

In 2006, Allison Marshall presented her father, John Marshall, with a gift-- an intricate, incredibly realistic and beautiful needle-point portrait of Fritz. John Marshall considers it to be one of his very most prized possessions. The remarkable piece of artwork will be transferred to the new Marshall home at 1201 Sutton Drive, located one mile south of 4308 Royal Aberdeen, which is under construction and scheduled to be completed in about March of 2008.

JBM

1/1/ 2008 @ 0500"

Dots.

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! For Christmas eve, (although it was really in the afternoon,) Chris, his family, and myself included, all gathered at his grandma's house (where all his other relatives were) for some quality food and festering time. Afterwards, Chris' family and I headed back to his dad's house where we all opened presents and then went to bed, lol. For part of my Christmas present, Chris got me the two PS2 games "Kingdom Hearts," (I and II) which I've been playing all week long. OH and he got me the third edition of Donald Duck Cartoon Classics dvds!!! Which are pretty hard to find. I love them!!!!

I'm currently sitting on my bum eating Dots ... it's lovely. For some reason all weekend I've been craving Dots. Last night I had Dots, and tonight I had to go back to Walgreens to get some more, lol. Weird.

I can't believe it's just about 2008. Anybody got any new years resolutions? :P

In Loving Memory

This is something my dad wrote in memory of Smacky. A lot of these memories are the same for me, so I decided to post this.

"Some Remembrances of My Smacky Boy

2005-2007

Smacky will go down as one of the great cats of all time. My "Boy" died about 10 hours ago, and he's on my mind. I hope he's in Little Dog's Park in Heaven right now.

Smacky Boy came to 4308 Royal Aberdeen in late June of 2005. "Black and White" was an abandoned kitten who I found one afternoon as I was leaving the Medical School on my way to the parking lot. The kitten seemed frightened by all the commotion and noise, so I decided to bring him home.

He was an immediate hit with the household. He was so good-natured and playful! He and Little Dog became best friends, though more like brother (Smacky) and sister (Little Dog). Even as a youngster, Smacky displayed a trait that I have never seen exhibited to such a degree in cats-confidence. He took everything in stride. Nothing ever bothered him much.

Smacky was named after the little pet bear of Bucky-cat in the comic strip, Get Fuzzy. Somehow the name really fit him well.

Here are a few things I'll always remember about my "Sugar Smacks."

He was extremely bright in many ways. One day when he was still a juvenile, I opened the refrigerator, and he just walked up to it and pulled out a can of Fritz's opened cat food in his mouth. He knew right away what he wanted and got it. He put the can down and started eating.

Smacky was also a long, lean, athletic cat. He had the longest legs, front and back, of any cat I've ever seen. He also had such a cute lovable face.

Nothing much ever seemed to bother Smacky. He loved playing with dogs, like Little Dog, Oreo (after Little Dog died from being hit by a car), and with Elle (the neighbor dog across the street). One of Smacky's classic maneuvers was what I called the "Rope-a-Dope," after a defensive move that Muhammad Ali used to do in the boxing ring. Smacky would lay on his side on the ground while the dog he was playing with would be trying to nip at Smacky. Smacky would just twist himself to keep from getting grabbed. Oreo would sometimes bite Smacky's ear and tug him, but Smacky never seemed to mind much.

Smacky also liked to tease the larger (and meaner) dogs in the neighborhood-- like the ones in the yard behind ours. Smacky would go up to their fence and just lay down, which would send them into a barking and jumping frenzy, because they couldn't get him.

I also suspected that Smacky was part polar bear, because he didn't mind staying outside on extremely cold winter nights. It wasn't unusual-even if it was 15 to 20 degrees-to find Smacky in the middle of the night on a chair outside the front door. Most of the time, he would come in, but he wasn't in a hurry.

Smacks was pretty much an omnivore. He liked dry cat food, he liked "squishy" cat food, he liked dog food, and he like people food. It didn't much matter to Smacky what kind of food he was given.

If Smacky had a weakness, it was that he didn't seem to be intimidated by cars. It wasn't unusual to see him lying in the middle of the street. My prediction was that he would eventually be hit by a car.

Something car-related proved to cause his final demise. About 4 pm yesterday afternoon (Saturday, 12/22/07), Carolyn was closing the garage door and Smacky ran under it at exactly the wrong time. The door crushed him right in the middle, killing him instantly. Carolyn called for me. I found him lifeless. No more Little Boy.

I hope to see my friend someday in heaven in Little Dog's Park. After Little Dog died, I asked God if He would give Little Dog a park in heaven for animals killed by cars or in other accidents. I'm going to ask God if He would let Smacky be Little Dog's assistant. Smacky wanted to be everyone's friend. He was certainly mine.

I'll miss you my friend. Yet another reminder of the fragility of life in this world."

Devastated

I'm completely devastated right now. I just found out that my cat, Smacky, died today. :( Apparently, he got smashed underneath the garage door. :( After much crying and Chris trying to comfort me, I have taken 4 shots of alcohol to numb the pain. It ... sucks. And I HATE shots. I don't do shots. But tonight I did. And I'm amazed that I'm even able to type right now.

RIP Smacky. I loved my "leetle one!" My leetle baby boy. I love and will greatly miss my baby boy. And I agree with Esther. Fuck 2007. This is the 3rd death in 5 months of some one that is near to me. I hope 2008 is better. I love you, Smacky!

Coming Home!!!

Hey I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be arriving in Kansas City on Wednesday, January 16th and will be in town until Thursday, January 31st. Can't wait!!! :)

Yum Yum.

Doesn't that chocolate cake just look sooooo yummy? I made it myself! Yes that's right. I made it out of blended newspaper, water, salt, glue, spackle, and paint. Oh and a berry on top! Now that I go over the list of ingredients, maybe it wouldn't taste so yummy afterall. :P I've spent all week making a bunch of these, which are actually Christmas ornaments. (I haven't yet attached the string to hang them.) But aren't they super duper cute?! :D

I finally got some more Christmas shopping done yesterday, so I'm ALMOST done! Although the only gifts I really need to have on time are the presents for Chris. I'm not seeing everyone else until January so I have a whole extra month. Speaking of seeing everyone in January, I'm soooo so excited to go home for like 2 weeks! For ya'lls info, I'll probably be arriving into town "around" January 23rd-ish. (I'm getting my ticket tomorrow or Tuesday.) Woooo hoooo!

I can't believe it's almost Christmas, (again!!!) The years go by so fast.

Yawn

Well today was my first day back at Starbucks, it was a long day! 4am til 4pm at both jobs. Woah.

My dad and Carolyn came to visit over the weekend, which was fun. We ate out a lot, went bowling, ate some more, and then went out some more. It was fun. Yay.

Got our first Christmas tree Saturday, it's super cute. Although the f*ucking" lights don't seem to be working anymore today, which greatly pisses me off. GREATLY pisses me off.

I'm really hungry, I need to eat. I had intended on writing more "in depth" but ... I don't really feel like it. So ... I'm going to go eat.

Craving ...

I really want a tuna salad sandwhich right now. Mmmmm that sounds SO good.

Enchanting

Yesterday Chris took me to see the movie "Enchanted," which I must say I found simply delightful. It was just the cheery, sappy, cheesy kind of movie I needed. :P Plus I really got a kick out of it, especially the over exaggerated Prince character who constantly made me laugh and snicker throughtout the film, hehehee.

I can't believe it's only 21 days until Christmas- I haven't even STARTED Christmas shopping!!! Although if I'm not going home until mid January I guess that buys me some extra time (except for Chris' present,) which is GOOD. Extra time is good, and I really need it to make up for all the money I lost this month. POOOO on getting loads of money stollen.

The perks of working at Starbucks again have already started, even though I don't actually "start" until next week. I went in today after work to get my caramel macchiato and guess what? It was FREE. :P

Toasty just meowed at me. Cute. Meow.