Totally Random

As if my post yesterday wasn't completely and utterly random, I found this on Martha's blog and decided I should probably comply since she actually takes the time to read my blog (p.s. - look at her blog about "Simon's Cat.")

10 years ago:
I was 18. First year of college at Texas Tech. I was not using the study habits I developed as a straight-A student in high school, rather I was spending my time learning about alcohol mixology and recuperating from unwise levels of consumption. I eventually failed out my first year, had to sit out one semester and then take a "learn how to study course." Sheesh!

Things on my to-do list today:
-grocery shopping with Stephen
-play some Guitar Hero if he'll let me in on the action
-take my clean laundry out of the dryer since it's been there since last week
-go to bed early to make my 5:45 a.m. spin class

What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire?
I would pay off my parent's debt so they didn't have to worry so much and buy them tickets to Boston to visit us. Then I'd buy a house up here so Stephen and I could quit searching for crappy houses on his budget. Then I'd take care of my debt, set up a college fund for my nephew, donate a significant fund to the shelters where I got my kids and I'd take a much wanted vacation. Naturally I'd make sure that the rest was invested so I wouldn't have to worry about things ever again except which color Jimmy Choos I should get. :)

Three of my bad habits:
1. biting my nails
2. losing motivation for the gym
3. eating out too much

Five jobs I've had:
1. car attendant for Hertz Rental
2. hostess for TGI Friday's
3. Salon coordinator
4. bookkeeper at my dad's shop
5. PR bad-ass (in my mind anyway!)

Five things many people don't know about me:
1. I failed out of college freshman year
2. I haven't talked to my brother in about 2 years
3. I LOVE sudoku
4. I am afraid of heights but really want to bungee jump
5. I go to Target at least once per week, and oftentimes 2-3 times per week, even if it's just to browse.

Snowboarding 101

I want to learn how to snowboard! I figure this is another way to supplement my exercise regiment, and would be a total blast to learn! Plus we have something like 6 months of winter up here, so why not get out an enjoy it to the fullest!? I need to go out and get measured for equipment so I can buy everything when it goes on sale soon.

So if anyone has recommendations on brands, types and what to look for when getting snowboarding equipment, please let me know!

Attitude Adjustment

I'm in dire need of an attitude adjustment and I can't figure out how to fix it. I have been in such a funk lately, and taking it out on Stephen. I'm sure it has a lot to do with being homesick, not having friends up here yet and my friends being 2,000 miles away when I need them the most, but I can't help but feeling totally alone. The biggest problem for me when I get this way is that I also get really sensitive about EVERYTHING and my feelings get hurt easily.

On Friday I had a bad day. A supervisor told that at my level there is a certain expectation of what I can do and was appalled to learn that I had never done this task before. Normally I would just let stuff like this roll off my back but, because of my funk I'm in, I took it really personally as a slap of my abilities to perform a task. And for me there is nothing worse than criticizing my abilities. Then I wasn't asked to play on Stephen's volleyball team, and when I mentioned it to him he replied with something along the lines of it being a competitive team and not a fun team. Days later I'm still upset about that one.

The worst thing about me getting like this is that I start to feel insecure about myself . I start questioning Stephen's motives with me. I wonder if the only reason he asked me to live with him was because he wanted a stable roommate or whether he's with me because it's convenient or that he feels guilty since I moved up here. And I HATE questioning these things; they make no sense and it only makes me feel worse.

I don't know what to do about this. I'm hoping that I get out of this funk soon though, because I don't like being a Debbie Downer.

Sorry for bitching about this on my blog. I don't want this to be a blog about me being so negative all the time, especially since there are some new people reading my blog who don't know me well enough to understand that I'm not usually like this, but this is a blog about what I'm going through and as such I need to talk honestly about how I'm feeling. I do know that once I work through these things I'll be fine, let's just hope it's sooner rather than later. I'm ready to be back to my normal self.

The Awesomest Girlfriend

It doesn't happen very often, but last night I was a super star girlfriend! No, strike that; I was the AWESOMEST girlfriend.

Yesterday was Stephen's birthday and I pulled out all the stops. As I mentioned in a post last week, we had his semi-surprise birthday party on Saturday night with some friends from his office. Everyone had a great time.

Us at The Burren - great Irish pub

Fran, Stephen, Dan, Aileen, Simone and Adnan (sorry for cutting off your head!)

Abby, Aileen, Simone and me

I've been so excited to give Stephen his presents and it couldn't have worked out any better. He came home frustrated because of some issues he had with his car that's in the repair shop from the accident he had back in December, so I knew that his presents would put him in a better mood.


First up, a fresh blueberry pie. Stephen prefers pie to cake and has been asking for a pie for his birthday. I told him I wouldn't get him a pie for his birthday because of everything else, but in the end I couldn't let him go without a pie.


Next was a framed photo of us for his office. He asked for this back at Christmas but I couldn't find a decent enough photo of us that would look good at his office. Ironically we took a great one at Christmas, so I was finally able to give him that gift.


Saving the best for last... Red Sox tickets. And not just any Red Sox tickets. Tickets to game 2 of the regular season. Tickets to see the Red Sox play his Detroit Tigers. It will be our first trip out to Fenway, and the look on his face when he saw those was priceless.

Normally I don't consider myself such a badass, but after last night who would argue with me? :)

Happy 1st Birthday to the cutest baby I know

Happy birthday to my little Duncan man! Today my "newphew" (he's really my best friend's kid) turns one year old. Isn't he just the cutest little man? Mom and Dad have great fashion sense for this kid.

Mom and Duncan - isn't he just the cutest?!

As a lion for Halloween

Oh, I don't know

My friend Becky at It's all about the Mochaface tagged me for this meme on books. Her book meme is so much better than mine! But since she tagged me for this, I better do it!

If you're wondering what a meme is, dictionary.com defines a meme as: a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes. In the blogosphere we call this "tagging."

Anyway, I digress. The rules for this meme are this: Take the book you're currently reading, turn to page 123. Find the fifth sentence... then post the next three sentences (#s 6, 7, 8) on your blog.

Here is mine, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Year 6 at Hogwarts):

"Get under here, quick," said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of
his bag.
"Oh - I don't know, Harry," said Hermione, looking uncertainly
toward Mrs.
Weasley.
"Come on!," said Ron.

So there you have it. Not nearly as thrilling as Becky's posting, but still, the book is really good. To continue, I'm going to tag Martha at Notions and Kelly at Chemopalooza - girl, you said you haven't had much to blog about, so this should help! :)

Reason #101 Why Stephen is AWESOME!

I just had to put it out there that yet another reason I love my man is that he cooks. Every Saturday morning since I've moved to Boston Stephen has made pancakes for us, and he recently made homemade spaghetti sauce for us - the BEST sauce I've ever had - and last night we made homemade chicken tenders and homemade garlic mashed potatoes.

Holy mackerel it's a wonder I haven't gained 20 pounds since I've been up here (gym membership is actually paying off!)

Oh, and he's getting MUCH better about doing the dishes and making the bed. I've let a lot of it go and so I'm not nearly as frustrated with him anymore, but I still get excited when I get home and the bed is made or I hear him doing the dishes.

I know I've kvetched a lot about what he hasn't done, so I thought it only fair to talk about the things he does. He is awesome, and does much more than I even mention, and I wanted to say that he is definitely appreciated.