One not-so-very special day...

No more to-do lists!

2012-01-28T11:00:00.005-05:00

Last year, I put together a list of things I wanted to do before the end of the year. I should really stop doing these. I suck at them. I completed some of them, so here’s the update – and no updates on if I’m going to complete them. I’m done with lists… for now. LOL

Use the steamer my mother bought me.
No longer on the list. My sister has the steamer now.

Use the backyard for something – anything!
The weather was too weird to try to do anything. Hot, cold, super cold, rainy, repeat.

Make a chocolate cake from scratch.
Nope.

Make a new icing.

Done and done.

Make paella.
Still would like to try… one day.

Use lobster.
Done and done. I made two dishes – broiled lobster in a butter cream sauce, and creamy lobster pasta.

Try a new restaurant every month.
Yup, completed. Can’t remember the restaurants, but I know I definitely did this one. Here are a few:
Chow Down Uptown @ The Music Factory – Charlotte, NC (food truck festival in Charlotte)
Captain’s Galley – Concord, NC
Spice 9 Indian Cuisine – Concord, NC
Village Inn Pizza Parlor – Statesville, NC
Petwer Rose Bistro – Charlotte, NC
Clock of Gaffney – in Gaffney, SC

Shop at the farmer’s market.
Did it. And doing it again this weekend, I think. I am venturing the Charlotte Farmer’s Market this weekend for flowers.

Pay off all of our (the boy and I) medical bills.
Ugh, still working on mine. The boys’ bills are done.

Give back to the arts.
We didn’t have much time to do this. I was thisclose to going to see the Nutcracker, but didn’t quite make it. Still hoping to enjoy the arts more in the New Year.

Lose five more pounds.
Haha, this was a joke. I gained! Boo.

Making any more lists? Not anytime soon!

Happy New Year… Nearly a Month Late

2012-01-27T15:05:00.002-05:00

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged – and it’s mostly because I’ve been super busy. The holidays were so busy and crazy. I went through physical and emotional lows and highs. We had many sicknesses. We traveled a lot more than we anticipated. I worked – a lot.

But most of all, we got spend time with a lot of people we love. We are so blessed with so many wonderful friends and family and that we got to ring in the new year with them.

So where does this leave us in the New Year? Happy. Life is good.

I lost my grandmother, but I still have my wonderful family and friends.

My parents are still awesome.

My sister is preggers and expecting a boy.

Sebastian is still with us – fat and healthy.

And the love of my life is still the love of my life.

25 things about me

2011-11-21T16:03:00.001-05:00

I was just reading my friend Jen’s blog post about herself – which was inspired by another friend (Samantha)’s blog. SO I’m totally borrowing this and talking about me, me, me (as if I don’t on my blog all the time). So 25 random facts about me:

1. I enjoy folding grocery bags. I used to be really bad about not throwing away grocery bags. I’d just stick them in bigger bags. I used them for my bathroom and bedroom trashcans. And then I got a dog. I knew it was bad when I moved from Greensboro to Kannapolis because I had several large bags of bags. That’s when I started folding bags. I needed them to be easy to grab and tie around Sebastian’s retractable leash. Amazingly, we used all of the bags (thanks to my use of reusable, eco-friendly bags) and had to purposely get more while shopping. And I fold those bags now, too.

2. This is a fact – I think that was a ridiculously long explanation for why I fold grocery bags.

3. I really can’t cook. I pretend like I can, but I’m not inventive in the kitchen. I just follow directions well.

4. I do love to bake. I guess everyone already knows that.

5. I am so happy in my life. Right now. Just as it is.

6. I love surprising Tim with little things, like a pecan pie at the end of the day.

7. I watch too much TV.

8. I’ve never been to the West Coast. In fact, the farthest I’ve traveled West is to Kansas City.

9. I love beer. And wine. If I didn’t drink so much, I would lose weight a lot easier.

10. Children’s movies are my drug. After I had my gallbladder removed this summer, I went to stay with my parents for a week. I brought nothing but children’s movies for me to watch. And it was amazing.

11. I really watch the worst TV shows – ever.

12. I love men with curly hair. Seriously, Chris Martin might be my ultimate dream man – with his hair grown out. I wish my kids could have curly hair but that’s highly unlikely as I have straight black hair and the boy has pretty straight dirty blond hair.

13. I enjoy lots of kisses – from Tim and from Sebastian!

14. The worst kind of kiss is right after Tim smokes.

15. I dislike when Sebastian picks Tim over me.

16. I think I like the idea of being a mom, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to deliver as a good parent.

17. I am a pretty awesome pet owner. Sebastian is super spoiled – and for good reason!

18. I think I ask too many questions. Sometimes.

19. I like the idea of trivia, but I am the absolute worst person to have with you at a trivia competition.

20. I have watched The Simpsons almost every night before bed for seven years, and I still can’t name all the characters in the show, or remember story lines before the episode actually starts.

21. I haven’t been to the theaters since this summer. And I used to go see 1-2 movies every month, sometimes even in one week

22. I find it hard to spent more than $20 on any piece of clothing. Seriously, I am a bargain shopper.

23. I am a bargain shopper. I read lots of circulars every week.

24. I dislike when I have a broken nail. I really, really dislike it.

25. I found it really hard to write 25 things about me. It has actually been over a week since I started this list.

A super lazy weekend

2011-11-07T15:40:00.003-05:00

The boy and I had a very good, very lazy weekend – and I was reminded again why I like to stay busy. This was probably one of the laziest weekends I’ve had in a long time and I could not be more disgusted with myself. At least, if I have a lot going on, I am active and more motivated.

I got up at 8 a.m. on Saturday but didn’t actually start the day until 1. I sat around, ate breakfast and caught up on TV during that time. And then Sunday, I didn’t get out of bed until 11 a.m., the latest I’ve slept in since I started working.

I decided to try to overcompensate for my laziness. I started planning for Christmas gifts and our Holiday décor. I was even ambitious enough to try a new recipe that I thought would be very difficult.

I made this delicious ratatouille recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Look how beautiful it is:
And I bought our first piece of Christmas decoration, mistletoe:And I expect many kisses this holiday season!

A beautiful wedding

2011-11-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

I love a good wedding ceremony. I truly believe that you should be allowed to marry whoever you want, regardless of their sex. I mean, if someone like Kim Kardashian can abuse the value of marriage, why can’t two people who are in love also make the vow of marriage?

Anyway, while Conan O'Brian was filming his talk show in New York last week, he married two men since New York passed their same-sex marriage law this summer. Seriously, I love how giddy and in-love these two are. It even brought tears to my eyes. Watch and enjoy!

A farmer's market shopping trip

2011-11-05T09:00:00.001-04:00

I’m excited to announce I’ve done another thing on my list of things to do before the end of the year! I finally went to the Kannapolis farmer's market!
Since this summer, I’ve been walking Sebastian through downtown Kannapolis. One day while we were passing the Antique Mall at Cannon Village (located at 104 S. Main St)., Sebastian freaked out and started barking at a statue of a lion on display outside the shop. The employee came out and we had a good laugh, and since then, we’ve said hello when we passed. We finally had a conversation this week, during which we talked about good food, good wines and all the changes in the city. He also mentioned that there was now a farmer’s market that met on Thursdays in downtown Kannapolis. Um, YAY for my list!

I found out that the hours were from 3-6 p.m., so I hurried home this Thursday so we could check it out. Here’s a picture of my purchases. I bought all the fresh ingredients I needed to make ratatouille and even some homemade blackberry jam for breakfast. I do plan on going back because there was a lady who was selling a rosemary plant, which will be a great addition to my herb garden.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the farmer’s market and I feel like it’s something I’ll be doing again soon. My sister says I should go to the one in Charlotte because the flowers there are amazing. I’ll definitely have to put that on the to-do list for an upcoming weekend!

90s themed Halloween party

2011-11-04T13:34:00.002-04:00

A big discussion for the boy’s birthday party was what the theme would be. We debated between a 90s themed party or a Harry Potter party. Obviously, we went with a Harry Potter party. So for Halloween, we decided on to have a 90s themed party. We had a great turn out and some really great costumes! I couldn’t decide if we should do regular food, Halloween food or food from the 90s… So I decided to mix it up. We had things like mummy hotdogs, shrimp cocktails and Fruit by the Foot. I know, random! But I think it was still a good array of food.

I REALLY wish I had taken more photos because I really tried to make this party cute and fun, but here’s one of my favorites.

Garden update

2011-10-17T12:45:00.003-04:00

One of my first big projects when we moved into our house was to get my container garden started. And I’m so excited about how successful my garden has been. Over the last few months, I’ve been doing several things to keep my garden fertilized and growing. This includes mixing garden soil with soil from my parent’s house, putting grass clippings and dead flowers into the garden for fertilization, and watering at least twice a week if it hasn’t rained.

I learned while growing my basil plant in a single pot, that I should not water it all the time. At one point, I was watering the plant every day. It wasn’t growing as well as I had hoped. Then I had my gallbladder surgery and I asked the boy to water it while I was away. He forgot/didn’t, and the plant looked 10x healthier. That’s when I resolved to water it a LOT less often! LOL

Less than three months later, my basil looks fantastic! In fact, I have too much of it. I spent nearly 30 minutes yesterday pruning and planning how I was going to use it all.
And I have several other herbs growing in my garden. My parents brought me lemon grass, green onions and mint leaves from their own garden about two months ago – and they look so good now. I’ve even used them.
AND now, it’s finally a good time to grow cilantro. Yesterday, I put some coriander in the ground.

I also went to my parent’s house yesterday and plucked several stems of a drying Thai basil plant. After a basil plant matures and flowers, the stems dry up and what’s left over on the stems are known as carpels. These dry and brown as the seeds mature. Then, you can de-seed the plant by crumbling the carpels between your fingers.
That’s what I plan to do with these stems from my mom’s garden. Then, I’ll plant them into my garden so I’ll have both Thai and sweet basil next year!

The only sad thing now is that I have no room for anymore herbs. The garden that I originally thought was going to be too big, is now just right. So excited!

Chocolate Butter Cream Icing

2011-10-14T14:21:00.005-04:00

I am so excited to share that I made a new icing - and I can mark this one off my things-to-do before the end of the year list! I made chocolate butter cream icing, using a recipe from Baked Bree (a new favorite website for fun recipes). The texture was perfect for spreading and it actually tasted pretty good. And it’s so easy that I feel comfortable enough to make adjustments to the recipe so it lighter, less sweet and more. So fun!
And I also came to the realization that I can make amazing icing using my KitchenAid mixer. Last time I used it to make icing, it came out grainy and it did not spread well. The worst part is that I was making my standard cream cheese icing, which is super easy to make. A few ago, I bought the KitchenAid flex edge beater and so far, it has proved to be completely worth the $40 I spent on it (this was not a smart purchase; I realized I could buy this at Target for $30 afterwards – arg). At least I know I’ll be using it a lot!

Here’s the recipe for chocolate butter cream.

2 sticks of room temperature butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Cream together the butter and sugar. Gradually add the cocoa powder. Add just enough cream to get the consistency for spreading (I used 2 tbs). Add the vanilla.
Try it, and let me know what you think!

New restaurants

2011-10-13T16:32:00.009-04:00

We have been quite busy the last few weeks! Between our work and play, I’ve not had time for blogging. But I will try to make more time to say hello now and then!

Of course being so social has its benefits. Tim and I were able to knock out another one of my to-dos before the end of the year. We went to TWO new restaurants in the last few weeks.
The first was Yama Asian Fusion in South Charlotte. It’s a Japanese restaurant right near South Park Mall. We joined my brother and sister and their spouses for my brother’s birthday. Unfortunately for a “nicer” restaurant, it was not very impressive. I ordered hibachi chicken, which is a pretty standard dish at any Japanese restaurant. Sadly, the chicken came out dry and the rice was overcooked. Thank goodness for sriracha sauce. Tim also ordered some sushi that was pretty good, but nothing to brag about.

So… new restaurant numero 2 = not so great.

The next restaurant, which will count for a new restaurant in October, was Krazy Fish. It was a suggestion from the local NPR station, WFAE. A few weeks ago, they had a great show about the best old and new restaurants to try in the Charlotte area, and this was one of the least expensive options. So last Fridays, I made a date with a few girl and guy friends and we met up at this little Charlotte restaurant off Central to tacos and drinks. It was pretty good – and even a bit spicy. I love that they have a seafood focus, but with different ways to fix them. I just ordered fish tacos with a side of corn and they were great. I even had a few beers and my bill was still less than $10. It’s definitely a restaurant I think we’d try again soon – so yay!

Yama Asian Fusion photos from: http://www.yamaasianfusion.com/gallery.htm

Krazy Fish photos from: http://www.facebook.com/KrazyFishCharlotte and http://krazyfish.com/

Things I'll Never Say

2011-10-13T11:48:00.003-04:00

I used to LOVE this song. And it's exactly how I feel today.

Only difference is, I'd say these things to him today... :P

Cuz he's worth it.

Fall TV Update

2011-09-27T14:37:00.003-04:00

I must be crazy to think I can get all that TV in. Between work, the dog, dinner and other chores, I can reasonably get 2 hours of TV in during the evenings. So for that reason, I am removing a lot of shows off my list.

Here they are, in case you were interested. LOL

Monday
ABC, Dancing with the Stars
There is a FULL recap on Tuesdays, so why do I need to watch it on Monday? And well, I can always watch this On Demand.

NBC, The Playboy Club
Just couldn’t find the time…

Tuesday
CW, Ringer
Just couldn't find the time.

I have not officially started watching “New Girl” yet, but I think I’m going to record it tonight and give it a try.

Wednesday
I’m still debating between America’s Next Top Model or The X Factor. Ugh. Nothing is officially dropped yet though.

Thursday
NBC, Whitney
The first episode did not sell me on this show at all. It was so bad that I don’t even want to continue. This is exactly what happened when I started watching “Community.” I should’ve kept up with that show though, because apparently, it’s awesome now. Oh well.

Saturday
HGTV, Donna Decorates Dallas, ongoing
Ugh, just not as interesting as I thought it would be. I’m about to cut Dina’s Party as well, so I’m reading descriptions before I record.

Sunday
FOOD Network, The Great Food Truck Race, ongoing
I’m sad that the season is over, but glad this opens up some TV time!

ABC, Pan Am
I don’t think I’m interested enough to start watching this show.

Our Saturday morning project

2011-09-24T12:18:00.004-04:00

The boy is all about his entertainment center. And I guess he never planned to get a cable box. Since we’ve moved in together, we have been talking about getting a new entertainment center because as you see in the picture below, ours is too small.

We had looked at Walmart, Target, K-Mart and Sam’s Club, but found nothing we liked. We decided we needed to expand our search. I guess the problem was our criteria:

Didn’t want to spend more than $200.

Wanted something that either had a stand with TV mount or a tall stand so the TV would sit higher.

Something sturdy.

Something that if was just a table stand, would look OK on its own as a console table.

No glass.

Something that would match our current furniture.

And after weeks of looking, we finally got one! We bought this one from hhgregg, a store I would not normally shop in. It fit most of our criteria. It did cost more than we wanted to spend, but the old one was $150. I guess we got a deal on this one. The guy sold the $350 stand to us for $299. It took us about an hour to put it together, move everything and then put our living room back together. I think our fun morning project was a success. Now, on to lunch and hopefully a doggy date!

South 21

2011-09-23T10:30:00.001-04:00

I’m already marking things off my to-do before the end of the year list. This week, the boy and I went tried a new restaurant – which will count for September. We went to South 21, a (very) local restaurant located at 6932 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC. I knew that this to-do would be kind of easy to do.

Potential obstacles for not completing this to-do were:
-Wanting to go to favorite restaurants I haven’t been to in a while,
-Risk of trying something I’ve never tried,
-Not be able to find time,
-The boy having an issue with the restaurant – the food, price, location, etc.

We both were working until 5 p.m. in the University area Tuesday, so we decided to try out a (very) local restaurant, South 21. For you Kannapolis folks, this is the Charlotte equivalent to the What-A-Burger. It’s been open since 1955 and is literally, a hole in the wall. If you’re not looking, you will miss the small white building located off Hwy. 49/North Tryon. We nearly did.

Anyway, the boy wanted to try it because one of his students had given a speech on it. I swear, if he is not saying, “I heard on NPR,” he is saying, “A student gave a speech about…”

I don’t know if it quite compares to What-A-Burger, although I “must not be from Kannapolis,” because I don’t exactly love that restaurant either. But South 21 was just your typical hole-in-the-wall burger joint. It was cute and quaint. The people were super nice though, which always makes a meal more enjoyable. Maybe we went too early, but we were the only people there at 5 p.m. Something must be said about it though, because it is a local chain. There used to be several of them, but now I think there are just two left.

Give it a shot if you’re looking for something cheap, fast and local!

A formal dining room or a good reading room?

2011-09-22T11:00:00.017-04:00

Just in the last few weeks, I’ve started to realize that I dislike how big our dining room table is. We had six people at our dining room table for dinner a few weeks ago, and I thought it felt crowded in the space. We currently have it cornered in our fairly large kitchen. There is space in our house for a formal dining room, but we currently have it set up as a reading room/den. We also have an extra bedroom that we are using as a junk room/office/Sebastian’s bedroom.

So, I brought up the question last night to the boy about moving things around. My idea was to move our reading room into the extra room and use our formal dining room space as, well, a formal dining room.

Some cons to this:
-Whenever we have guests over, this is the favorite place to hang out.
-We would be moving a TON of furniture – bookshelves, couches and chairs. Not tomention, the dining room table has to be taken a part to be moved.
-In addition to the furniture, we’ll be moving a lot of books and all of our DVDs.
-We will have to go to the backroom to enjoy those items now.
-We will also probably have to buy a small breakfast table for the kitchen. I need the space when -I’m baking and sometimes even cooking.

Some pros to this:
-Our junk/office/Sebastian room would be more organized and clean!
-People won’t feel crowded when they come over for dinner. And we can have nicer dinner parties!
-Two more fun rooms to decorate!
-We would also need to get a computer desk… eventually.
-I can put my bookshelf for all of my serve ware in the dining room as well. It would be more appropriate here now – and easy to access!
-If I want somewhere to read, this room would really feel and be isolated from the rest of the house.

Decisions, decisions!

Gavin vs. Matt vs. Mat

2011-09-21T13:38:00.007-04:00

I’m always looking for new music to listen to. Surprisingly, there have been a few CDs I want to buy. It seems so retro to me, especially now that most people just get MP3s, including me. But I still like the feel of having the CD and putting it into my car. I’ve been debating which of these CDs to buy:

Gavin DeGraw - “Sweeter”

Gavin’s voice use to annoy me – it’s so different. I got his last CD, and really enjoyed it. I just heard his new song, “Not Over You” and I’m obsessed with it! It’s also available on Amazon MP3 for a limited time for $3.99. That seems like the logical thing to do, but I like having the actual CD, too! Could always burn it…

Matt Nathanson – “Modern Love”
I love, love, love Matt Nathanson. I first heard him when I became obsessed with the TV show, “Scrubs.” I’ve been a huge fan since. I have loved nearly every song on every one of his CDs. Surely, this can’t be a bad buy, right?

Mat Kearney – “Young Love”
I did not like Mat Kearney for the longest time. Almost everyone else I knew loved him. I just didn’t get it. It wasn’t until I heard “Where We Gonna Go From Here” that it finally clicked. I also loved his next album, “City of Black and White.” And being of fan of Mat only escalated this summer because I saw him in concert – AND met him! It was also during that show that he announced that he was even releasing a new album. So, no pressure.
These three guys have a similar sound, and if there were truly a singer-songwriter genre, all three would fit perfectly into that. I’m sure I’ll have them all at one point, but which one to get first?

For the rest of the year

2011-09-20T16:49:00.007-04:00

I know I didn’t get to finish my list of things I want to do this summer, so I’m going to expand the list and say they are things I want to do before the end of the YEAR!

Actually, I’m going to change and add things as well. I really do like trying new things, so I’m going to try much harder. Not that I didn’t try harder before. I was actually really busy this summer! It was ambitious for me to try to do them all in just two months.

Also, the boy surprised me by getting me a KitchenAid mixer. In a previous post, I said my ideal situation for making fresh pasta would be to have this mixer and its attachments. Now all I need are those attachments that cost anywhere between $150 – 200. So that will come another day.

Side note: Even though I have this awesome mixer, I’m kind of tired of baking. Isn’t that horrible? It’s just that when I bake something, it takes the boy and me at least two weeks to finish it.

So, here is the new list!

Use the steamer my mother bought me.
I still really want to do this. I just don’t know what to make yet. I’m thinking some kind of fish.

Use the backyard for something – anything!
A picnic? To read? The opportunities are endless! And we have a hammock. What am I waiting for?

Make a chocolate cake from scratch.

Make a new icing.
My best icing is my cream cheese, but I’ve not had any luck with any others.

Make paella.
I love paella. And now I’m going to attempt this monster of a dish.

Use lobster.
I love seafood and have loved everything with lobster in it. So I want to try it at home.

Try a new restaurant every month.
This one is going to be so easy because I love going out to eat at new places!

Shop at the farmer’s market.

Pay off all of our (the boy and I) medical bills.
I didn’t have health insurance during my gallbladder surgery, but my new job pays well. Let’s see if I can’t knock this out fast!

Give back to the arts.
This could mean go to a show, a gallery crawl or watch dancing. But I want to pay to do this.

Lose five more pounds.
Since my surgery, I have lost 10 pounds. I'm going to aim to keep those off and lose five more. It would be awesome if I lost more than that, but you know, I'll keep expectations low... for now.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, Tuesday

2011-09-20T11:00:00.002-04:00

Here’s what I’m watching Tuesdays!

8 p.m.
FOX, Glee, starts today
Last season had its hits and misses, but I still love the music. Let’s hope this season is more consistent!

CW, 90210, ongoing
I think I may be the only adult watching this sleazy show. This year, the kids from Beverly Hills are college freshman. Many shows have struggled to perform well after the kids graduate from high school, but let’s hope this isn’t one that spirals downhill. It’s one of my most guilty pleasures!

9 p.m.
CW, Ringer, ongoing
This is a new show starting Sarah Michelle Gellar. I read one review that said if audiences give it a chance, it might be worth the wait. I haven’t watched the premiere episode yet – which was last week, but I guess that will help me decide to follow the show or not.

ABC, Dancing with the Stars – Results Show, starts today
About three episodes into the season, I start getting annoyed with DWTS, so I end up only watching the results show. It paints a great picture of the previous nights’ episode and you get to see special guest perform. But will I drop the whole show altogether because I have two conflicting shows in the same time slot?

FOX, New Girl, starts today
Arg, I can’t decide if I will watch this. So far, one of the main stars has already dropped the show (Damon Wayans, because of his conflict with ABC-hit Happy Endings). I wonder if this is a sign of the material for the show. I do love lead actress Zooey Deschanel, but will her quirkiness translate well on a TV-format? The show better seal the deal quick because this might be the one to drop.

11 p.m.
TBS, Conan
Comedy Central, The Daily Show

11:30 p.m.
Comedy Central, The Colbert Report

Random thoughts…

2011-09-19T15:23:00.006-04:00

Great Weekend
OK, I take it back. I was not really ready to start Monday because I was still tired from this weekend! We were planning to go to the Cabarrus County Fair on Friday, but instead Tim surprised me with dinner plans.

I spent nearly all of Saturday baking and watching increments of Star Wars: A New Hope. The boy just got the entire series on Blu-ray and because I’ve never seen the ones that count – the original three – our goal was to watch them this weekend. We only got through one, unfortunately pausing them every 20 to 30 minutes so I could run to the kitchen. Maybe we can try again next weekend.

Then that evening, we headed uptown Charlotte to celebrate one of our girl friends’ birthday and her last few days of singledom. I actually stayed out until 2 a.m., which I haven’t done in a while. I felt old. I need to figure a way to get more energy throughout the day. I guess it didn’t help I got up at 7 a.m. that day.

And then Sunday, we tagged along on a trip to the mountains with some friends. We hiked a mountain for like THREE hours! The entire trail was about 4.3 miles. And we had to climb the stairs from hell to get back to the car. Seriously, there were like 100 stairs to climb – and up a mountain! The photos below do not quite show how crazy those stairs were.

Needless to say, I was EXHAUSTED after that.

Overall, a great weekend… But I was not quite ready to get out of bed this morning.

Better Put a Ring On It
I gotta be honest – I am waiting for the day the boy proposes. I’ve been finding myself wearing a ring – any ring - these days. Maybe my body is instinctively preparing itself for the day it happens!

People say that it’s my fault he hasn’t done it. And I agree. But I don’t want him to tell me he’s going to do it. He can surprise me by just not telling me. It’s that simple. Don’t tell me you’re going to do it. Be spontaneous and nervous – and then do it!

Good Changes
Work has automatic paper towel dispensers in our bathrooms. I’m that person that would normally swipe my hands at least two times to get enough paper to dry my hands. But I am making a commitment to try to use JUST ONE for here on out. They must be set to dispense just that one for a reason, right? Remember, I’m trying to make positive changes! I’m going to add this one to the list!

So far, one has been plenty. Change done!

Questions
Even though I say I get tired of the boy who turns everything into a joke, I love that he’s always thinking. He wants to write a book titled, “The Answers to Questions that People Never Ask.” Well, he would ask – but he’d be the only one.

Love him.

Nobody looks forward to Monday

2011-09-19T10:00:00.001-04:00

Except me! I have a lot of great shows that start on Mondays! Check out my TV schedule.

8 p.m.
ABC, Dancing with the Stars, starts today
I always start watching this show, drop off about mid-season and then pick it back up at the end of the season. So this is on my maybe-if-I-feel-like-it list.

NBC, The Sing-Off, starts today
OMG, I am so glad this show is going to be much bigger. Hopefully that also means much better. Thank you Glee for shining the light on these fun music groups. What a fantastic show!

CW, Gossip Girl, starts Sept. 26
I hear the season starts off in L.A. How fabulous for this gang. This show is so scandalous, it’s like a drug.

9 p.m.
CW, Hart of Dixie
I haven’t decided if I want to watch this new show starting Rachel Bilson. She still looks like a young girl to me, so I don’t know if I can see her as a doctor.

10 p.m.
NBC, The Playboy Club, starts today
Despite its controversial subject matter, the critics are saying this could actually be a good show. We’ll see if I can make it through the first episode.

11 p.m.
TBS, Conan
Comedy Central, The Daily Show

11:30 p.m.
Comedy Central, The Colbert Report

Sunday

2011-09-18T13:00:00.002-04:00

Sundays are REALLY busy TV days.

8 p.m.
CBS, The Amazing Race, starts Sept. 25
I am absolutely addicted to this show. I absolutely love it. But I have a major hate relationship with its timing. When football games go over time, CBS pushes all of its’ programs back. But of course my DVR doesn’t know that, so 9 times out of 10, I miss the first 30 minutes. How frustrating!

FOX, The Simpsons, starts Sept. 25
What will happen to Nedna?!

9 p.m.
FOOD Network, The Great Food Truck Race, ongoing
The season is nearly over but I’m so addicted to this show. And it’s rare I’ll get into a show mid-season! Food competition mixed with Amazing Race-like obstacles = sounds like ingredients for a fantastic show!

HBO, Boardwalk Empire, starts Sept. 25
Nucky and gang are back – and I can’t wait. It feels like it’s been a while since I last watched it though, so I should go back and refresh my memory on what happened at the end of last season!

Showtime, Dexter, starts Oct. 9
This summer, I became HOOKED on Dexter. And I can’t wait for this new season. Colin Hanks has been added to the new cast and I’ve loved watching him grow as an actor. Can’t wait to see how his character evolves on this show.

10 p.m.
ABC, Pan Am, starts Sept. 25
I can’t say I’ll stick with this show, but the concept is interesting. I figured it might be worth checking out… at least for now.

AMC, Breaking Bad, ends Oct. 9
The boy and I just finished season 3 and are now starting season 4, which I have DVRed every Sunday. Fortunately and unfortunately, the season is nearly over already. But this show is still a must see that I can’t forget to include it on my list.

AMC, The Walking Dead, starts Oct. 16
And just as soon as Breaking Bad ends, The Walking Dead will begin. This show was quite a hit last fall when it came out, so we got caught up on Netflix this summer. I can’t say I love it, and it kind of makes me mad… But why stop watching now? LOL

What a weekend

2011-09-17T10:00:00.001-04:00

More than likely, my weekends will be spent catching up on TV. Which is never fun. But the only other option to stop watching to much! LOL

Here are the shows I’ll be tuning into on Saturdays.

10 p.m.
BBC America, *Bedlam, starts Oct. 1
I don’t know anything about this show except that it’s about supernaturals and it stars Will Young. Just sounded interesting.

HGTV, Dina’s Party, ongoing
As someone who likes to have parties, this show is definitely of interest. I recorded it last week but haven’t had time to watch it yet. Sounds like it would be perfect for me!

10:30 p.m.
HGTV, Donna Decorates Dallas, ongoing
Gotta be honest – not sure what to expect. Just thought it might be interesting…

11 p.m.
BBC America, *Free Agents, starts Oct. 8
They made an American show based on this one. Must be good!

11:29 p.m.
NBC, Saturday Night Live, starts Sept. 26
Even though episodes are hit and miss, I still keep the TV set to this Saturday night staple.

*new show

A conscious decision

2011-09-16T16:17:00.001-04:00

They say some changes are for the best. And I think that’s what I’m aiming for these days.

I’ve never been a very environmentally conscious person, but now that Tim and I are living together, I’ve made some considerations on how we should live. Start and make them habits now, right? Not all of these are environment related, but they are all things that are going to help us in the long run (or at least I hope).

Recycling
We recycle! I seriously would have recycled more if I could put time and effort into it. When you live alone in a small apartment and you rarely drink soda, there’s just not much to recycle… So I never did.

But when we got our house, Kannapolis announced they were going to start collecting recycled items. We immediately set up two trashcans in our house – one for regular trash and one for recycled items. I was so glad we established this early on. Now I’m in the habit of throwing everything in I possibly can into our recycled items trashcan, including used plastic wrap, wet and used paper towels and of course, the staples like water bottles, take out containers and cans.

A Naturally Fertilized Garden
I’ve truly become my mom. She seriously throws everything that may be biodegradable in her garden. I’ve become the same way! Last week, I mowed the lawn because the boy is temporarily out of service (due to his surgery). I took fresh grass clippings and spread them into my garden. I also had massive bouquets of flowers from my sister’s wedding at my house. I threw those flowers into my garden when they started to die as well.

We’ll see in time if this helps and actually helps to fertilize the soil. But this is a lot less expensive than buying new soil for my container garden.

Reusable Grocery Bags
My friend Liz introduced me to re-usable grocery bags. I was always skeptical of them because well, I didn’t see the point. But I was fortunate that she gave one away last Christmas at a gift exchange. I didn’t use the bag for the longest time – and when I did start using it, I couldn’t stop.

First, I had WAY too many plastic bags. I’m one of those people who NEVER throw them away. I always thought I’d use them for trashcans and well, I guess don’t have that much trash in my bath or bedroom – ever. When the boy and I moved in together, I felt like I was also moving a million little plastic bags with me. That’s when I started trying out the reusable bags. I found some smaller bags on sale at Old Navy (of all places) that I gave as birthday gifts, and then I kept some for myself. They’re so cute and small – I can roll them into a small bundle, pop them in my purse and I’m ready to go.

I used them in the grocery store and started using all of the plastic bags we had for Sebastian’s waste. Just this week, we officially finished using ALL of my old plastic bags and I use four reusable bags when I shop. I might start using plastic bags again this week, just so we don’t have to buy waste bags for the dog, but so far, so good. The reusable bags are awesome!

It is already Friday?

2011-09-16T13:00:00.006-04:00

The boy says this is the day that networks play shows that are going to die… and die soon. Well, I have two favorites that have moved to the 8 p.m. time slot on Friday. I know I’ll be tuned in!

8 p.m.
CW, Nikita, starts Sept. 23
This show is such a guilty pleasure. It doesn’t hurt that Shane West is so nice to look at. I hope this show isn’t canned because it’s actually been quite successful in CW terms. I wonder how the Friday timeslot will affect the season.

NBC, Chuck, starts Oct. 21
I am so sad this is the last season of Chuck. But I don’t know how this season will go either, so I’m hoping for the best. If you watch this show, you know Morgan had the intercept transferred into him at the end of last season. I’m interested to see how this goes.

And if I miss Modern Family on Wednesday, I can pick it up today!

My Thursday TV Line Up

2011-09-15T13:00:00.007-04:00

Shows for Thursdays this fall.

8 p.m.
FOX, The X Factor

CW, The Vampire Diaries, starts today
I don’t know where this show is going… but I still really enjoy it. Sometimes, the storylines are a stretch, but what do you expect when you’re dealing with vampires, werewolves and other supernaturals?

8:30 p.m.
NBC, Parks and Recreation, starts Sept. 22
Between the Vampire Diaries and the X Factor, I have got to find a way to fit this show in. It’s one of my all-time favorite shows on NBC.

9 p.m.
NBC, The Office, starts Sept. 22
Dunder Miflin will not be the same without Michael Scott. How will it proceed? The show has since spun out a slew of breakout stars since its premiere nearly six years ago. Can Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms and team carry the show?

9:30 p.m.
NBC, *Whitney, starts Sept. 22
I don’t know anything about this show except it’s about Whitney Cummings. And I don’t even really know who she is. Don’t know if I’ll stick with this one.

9 p.m.
Lifetime, Project Runway, ongoing
Thank goodness for cable networks that re-run shows a million times. I can skip the 9 p.m. showing to fit in X Factor and the Office, and still enjoy the creative eye candy of this show at a later day.

11 p.m.
TBS, Conan
Comedy Central, The Daily Show

11:30 p.m.
Comedy Central, The Colbert Report

*new show

Fall TV started this week!

2011-09-14T15:45:00.003-04:00

This week marked the return of my fall TV shows. Over the last few weeks, the boy has probably been wondering what I mean when I talk about my “fall shows.” Since I haven’t posted in a while, I thought this might be a great topic to talk about. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting some of the shows I’m looking forward to as the TV networks roll out their best and brightest primetime shows.

It would have been more ideal for me to have posted this yesterday because my first show started then, but I will go with it and start with today. And keep in mind, these shows are in addition to me and the boy having SEPARATE Netflix accounts. By the time I’m done, you’ll wonder how I have time for anything else!

Here are my Wednesday shows.

8 p.m.
FOX, *The X Factor, starts Sept. 21
I gotta be honest, I miss Simon Cowell. Idol just wasn’t the same without him. I even stopped watching Idol, and I used to be an avid fan!

But I don’t miss Paula Abdul. It will be interesting to see the two back together. I really have high hopes for this show because some of my favorite artists have come from the British hit, including Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke.

9 p.m.
CW, America’s Next Top Model, starts tonight
This season of ANTM will feature 14 past contestants. Lots of familiar faces, attitudes, and of course, drama! Let the smizing begin!

ABC, Modern Family, starts Sept. 21
I actually watch the ads for this show. That’s how excited I am about it coming back to primetime. But how will I fit it in if X Factor continues on its 2-hour block and with ANTM clocking in at 9? Thank goodness for cable on two TVs in our house!

10 p.m., moves to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21
NBC, *Up All Night, starts tonight
I love Will Arnett (or maybe I just miss Gob Bluth). This new show also stars Christina Applegate and one of my favorite SNL cast members, Maya Rudolph. So far, it’s looking good!

BRAVO, Top Chef – Just Desserts, ongoing
This show actually started a few weeks ago, but I know it will roll into the fall season. As a beginner baker, this show simply amazes me. It definitely makes me want to be a better cook and baker – even if I can’t name half of the items the contestants are making.

10:30 p.m., moves to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21
NBC, *Free Agents, starts tonight.
I just found out this is based on a British show, which in itself is a good sign. Hello, just look at the Office. Throw in Hank Azaria (love him thanks to the Simpsons) and Kathryn Hahn. Could it be that bad? On a side note (and to be mentioned in an upcoming post), the British version will be coming to America this fall as well.

These three are Monday through Thursday staples. ‘Nuff said!
11 p.m.
TBS, Conan
Comedy Central, The Daily Show

11:30 p.m.
Comedy Central, The Colbert Report

*new show

September

2011-09-10T11:46:00.001-04:00

When did it become September? And how is it that we are nearly halfway through the month already?!

Time truly flies!

A few thoughts as the end of summer nears

2011-08-29T13:00:00.004-04:00

The boy and I.

Have had a rough summer.

I didn't have a job going into it.
I had to move – twice!
My gallbladder was removed while I didn’t have health insurance. $$$$$ Recovery period = 30 days (July through early August)
My aunt, who helped raise me, passed away.
The boy had surgery to fix two hernias. Recovery period = 30 days (August through mid-September)
I had to wake up to the boy throwing up because he got really sick one weekend. This is the first time he had thrown up in 10 years!
We worried about paying the bills.
We’ve had to learn to deal with each other’s pet peeves and bad habits.
We’ve fought – and fought.
We have continued to deal with the boy’s family’s drama, but on a much more limited scale. Still never fun.
We’ve been super busy seeing lots of friends and family, traveling distances near and far. Sometimes the weekend trips to far distances were back to back weekends, sometimes back to back days.

But at the end of the day, I think the boy and I have been positive and remember all of the great things that have also happened for us. We are incredibly blessed and we truly learned that this summer. Some great things that have happened or helped us get through the months…

We took Sebastian to the beach for the first (and last) time! He just hated it, but it was still fun to take a “family” trip.
He asked my parents for my hand in marriage.
We found a fantastic house to rent.
We moved in together.
I've had time for me.
We got even closer – and continue to learn so much about each other every day.
We’ve learned to say sorry – and to put arguments to rest just as quickly as they happen.
We’ve both lost weight and eat much healthier!
My family has been fantastic and so accepting of our relationship.
We have amazingly supportive friends – some with whom we’ve grown even closer to.
We have friends and family that love and care about us.
We’re still so in love - and we say it more than ever.
We laugh all the time.
We are happy.

So, when I think about the hard times we’ve had, I am so thankful for all the great things that have happened and how they have helped us grow – not only as partners in this relationship, but also as friends, lovers and even as individuals.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives hold.

Love you, Tim (and sometimes more than Sebastian).

Busy August

2011-08-29T02:11:00.004-04:00

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy for me. We celebrated the boy’s birthday, he went back to work and he also had surgery. And I’ve been on the receiving end of all of that.

I prepped for his Harry Potter-themed birthday party. I attempted to create a version of the Book of Monsters from Harry Potter.

I've also handled household chores while he was at work and am currently nursing him.

On top of this, I baked more than 40 cupcakes for a bachelorette party this weekend.

I am also beginning to prepare the house for out of town guests coming for my sister’s wedding.

Whew!

My to-do lists only grows longer this week, so I finally took the time to write out some of things I HAVE to do this week.

Decide on a groom’s cake that I’m going to bake for my brother-in-law
Pick up and hope my bridesmaid dress fits
Buy home essentials that I’ve been NEEDING to buy – like paper towels
Get a great cake carrier – I had a great one from Martha Stewart but after this weekend, I’ve realized I need one that carries more than 24 cupcakes.
Get cost estimates for our home office, especially a file cabinet
Check out options for a liquor cabinet
Find an inexpensive bookshelf for my serveware. This is my solution to having too many pieces!

Here's to a good week!

Summer List Update

2011-08-18T12:00:00.002-04:00

Here is an update on my summer list.

Make fresh pasta.

I need to go buy a pasta machine. A cheap one - and probably not a great one - costs about $30. It's worth a try, right? This one might be put on hold until further notice. The ideal situation would be for me to get a KitchenAid stand mixer and get attachments to make pasta. But that could be years down the road!

Make a REALLY pretty cupcake.

I did get really close to this with the cupcakes I made for my sister's bachelorette party. I made red velvet cupcakes with pink cream cheese icing, topped with white whipped icing piping. I don't have pictures though! If I get some, I'll post them!

Try a recipe with an ingredient I’ve never used.

I've used parsley this summer for the first time. I don't think I'm a fan. I also cooked with shallots - and they were incredible. I still want to try something a little more difficult though. Maybe a root here or there. I don't know. We'll see!

Use the steamer my mother bought me.

Nope. I think I'm going to cook fish with this, but I haven't decided when yet.

Go out dancing in a fabulous outfit.

I've gone out dancing twice already! But not in a fabulous outfit. I think I will just go ahead and say I can mark this one off though. Don't think fabulous and dancing will ever work out. I don't think I can stand wearing 4 to 6 inch heels that long!

Use the backyard for something – anything!

I finally treated the backyard for mosquitos so we need to do something ASAP. Ugh. Maybe I'll go out there and read tomorrow or this weekend...

Find a new recipe to make a chocolate cake from scratch. The last one I made was just OK.

Nope, not yet.

The end of summer is near

2011-08-18T04:46:00.009-04:00

Here are some random thoughts of the night...

The end of summer is near. I can feel it. The boy, as well as many of my teacher friends, start back to school next week. Even the weather is cooler these days. Bring it on!

I need ideas STAT! for a Harry Potter birthday cake. Ugh! I don’t want to make a castle, dye icing 8 times or even just make a stack of books. It needs to be fun and unique – but most importantly, good!

It’s been a great few weeks. I can almost feel myself getting a job… soon!

My skirts, especially those I wear to work, look ridiculous on me. I have lost about 15 pounds since my surgery, which means I’ve dropped a whole size in pant/skirt bottoms. I am debating whether to get work skirts cut and altered to fit my current body, or if I really think I will gain back the weight to fit the skirts. It is my hope that I would keep the weight off, but then again, it will cost a lot to get about 8-10 skirts fitted to my body.

I feel a big battle brewing in our household. I started drafting this blog post at 2:30 a.m. – and the only reason why I’m up is because I desperately need to clear out my DVR. The worst thing is that it’s just summer. My fall show schedule is much more intense than what I am watching now in the summer.

In other TV news, I am so in love with Bravo’s Rocco’s Dinner Party. And of course, I discovered it at the end of the season! I am currently watching last week’s finale, but will be DVRing other episodes since Bravo re-runs all of its shows a million times over. So great!

I do love that Tim has spent a lot of time home this week… BUT I feel like I haven’t been able to get as much done as I usually do. I really wanted to clean and clear out the DVR at the same time, but Tim has been playing Tetris in his “free” time. And not to mention, he wants to go run errands with me… which usually means, we have to do some stuff he wants to do, too. I can knock out visiting 4-5 stores in just under two hours. With Tim, we are lucky if we make two stops in two hours. Not entirely his fault… but just saying!

It’s been a horrible summer of health in our family! Ugh. It’s just the start of our lives right?

Best dad ever

2011-08-04T14:21:00.005-04:00

Seriously, my dad is pretty much the most amazing person ever. Without me even asking, he brought dirt for my garden this week. I have a container garden that is about 2-3 inches into the ground, and then 9-10 inches above it. I did this because the area is sloped. Overall, I think it looks good and would be usable – if we could fill it with good garden dirt (if you dig too far down, you hit clay dirt – which is very common in this area).

The boy and I had been trying to decide what our best option would be for dirt and trying to figure out how much that would cost. Well, my dad just saved us a ton of money – and my garden is ready for plants! We put in my two basil plants and my dad is bringing me green onion (and hopefully mint!) this weekend. I am excited to go buy other plants, including Thai basil, for my garden.

And as a side note, my dad told me I was pretty much crazy for trying to grow cilantro right now. He said it was too hot.

My disgusting feet after we finished gardening. Can you tell where my shoes/socks stopped and my legs started? LOL

Other random thoughts for the day...

I can’t decide what to make for dinner. Pasta or chicken? Asian or Mexican? I really want to try a tomato basil soup, but it’s too hot.

I desperately need to start working out again. We’ve been getting up a lot later, mostly because I’ve been sick or because of other things that have been going on that are exhausting (like we bought and put up curtains yesterday). We did walk up to the Gem Theater in Kannapolis today. Maybe we can get one in this afternoon, too!

I feel like I’m always interviewing. After one yesterday, my eye got really infected and my nose bled for about 20 minutes. The best part about my nose bleed was that it was while Tim and I were trying to have lunch. I sat in the bathroom for about 10 minutes before I decided I should try to drive home – with a bloody nose and one eye down. Ugh, I hope something great comes out of that one! LOL

I have been debating what theme we should use for the boy’s birthday party – Harry Potter or a 90s theme… I do have to say, I have a pretty cool menu for the Harry Potter party. I guess invites will go out soon!

Alright, Sebastian and I are now off to a super secret mission! I feel horrible because we always leave him at home. At least now, he can ride around with me in the car. Yay!

Garden inspiration

2011-08-02T18:10:00.003-04:00

One thing I enjoyed doing while I was recovering at my parent’s house was taking long walks. They live way out in the country and on 4 acres. I absolutely love and admire my parent’s hard work around the house, especially their gardens. I remember how much I used to love working with them in the garden, which is why I want to have my own. Here are a few pictures I took while I was taking my afternoon walks.

One of three gardens - but my favorite to walk through

An eggplant – one of many that were growing.

A tiny pumpkin

I desperately want my own herb garden. Look at these mint leaves and how many there are!

I believe these are cherry tomatoes. My parents have a ton of these plants.

Another week, another list

2011-08-02T14:25:00.005-04:00

1. When did it become August?

2. Look at this sweet face. Love him.
3. When can I have alcohol again? I want a beer SO bad.

4. I should not cheat on my diet. I felt so sick on Sunday and yesterday. In fact, I did not eat lunch and just ate a light soup for dinner yesterday, and I feel so much better today. I guess I just needed to get everything out of my system. Back on the chicken and rice diet today. I did not each lunch, but I’m not even hungry. Arg. I need a regular schedule again.

5. But on a positive note, I’m able to sleep now. For a while there, I was having a hard time sleeping because of the neighbors’ dogs right outside my window. As of yesterday, I have officially moved into Sebastian’s room – and he is now in my old room. It really makes a huge difference and I’ve actually slept in the last two days!

6. I need to clear out my DVR but I am so tired of sitting in front of the TV all day long. I’m now watching Nick & Vanessa’s Dream wedding on TLC. Which reminds me, I really liked Nick Lachey’s album, What’s Left of Me.

7. I am tired of making food that the boy’s not going to eat. Yesterday, I threw away a cobbler, about 10 cupcakes, a salad and some fruits.

8. My garden is a little bit closer to being done! I finished outlining and digging out my garden yesterday. Now, I just need to get dirt and to start planting!

9. I feel like I’m not going to get through my summer list. Boo. I hate that I had my surgery because I feel like it’s put a dent in a lot of things I wanted to do this summer.

10. I like that I get my medical bills separately. It doesn’t seem like so much when it’s only $100 here and $90 here and $400 here.

11. Is it bad that I want to see the Glee In Concert movie? LOL

Been laying around

2011-07-23T10:33:00.002-04:00

After about a week of being at my parent’s house for recovery from my surgery, I was ready to be home in Kannapolis. Who knew my parents were so busy during the day and evenings? I saw my mom in the morning, my dad maybe once or twice during the day and then sometimes both of them for dinner at night. My aunt passed away a few weeks ago, so I know they were busy helping my cousins prepare for that. But I don’t know if that explains why they were always gone! I have to say though, it was nice being home and not having anything to do. The worst part was just running out of things to do – and feeling like I was on a routine of doing nothing. I would wake up, eat, watch a movie or read, take my medicine, sleep and repeat.

In total, I watched seven movies and read three books within four days (the first day at my parents, I just slept because I was drugged up on pain meds).

So needless to say, I was excited to be home so I could be a little more physically active and just be in my own space. I was a lot more active than I think I was supposed to be. The last few days, I’ve been so exhausted from errands, cooking, cleaning and well, just being me! I know I should rest more so my body will heal better, so that will be a big focus next week.

Well, here’s to starting off the weekend, though I have to say I think my weekend started on Thursday. We had our THIRD dinner guest :-) over, which was wonderful. And yesterday, we met one of the boy’s best friends and a high school friend for dinner. Today, we will be with my family for my aunt’s service, and tomorrow will be her burial. Lots going on for sure. Hopefully I’ll be able to sneak in a few naps over the next few days!

Operation Kitchen Re-organization

2011-07-14T11:30:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, while putting the dishes away, I found myself frustrated at how I was stacking up things I used every day, like baking trays and cooking bowls. While our kitchen is big, there also is not a lot of storage space and what we have is full. That is why I put reorganizing the kitchen on my list of to-dos.

At my last apartment, I bought a wire corner shelf to help organize some of my spices. I figured they made regular storage shelves as well. After checking out Walmart, Sears, IKEA and Target online, I found that these wire shelves are called either stacking shelves or helping shelves. Who knew you had to be so specific to get estimated pricing?! I took measures of our storage space – about 18”x18” for the bottom and 18”x10” for the upper cabinets, and embarked on a little shopping adventure to get in-store pricing before I splurged.

The conclusion of my great afternoon adventures:

Dollar Store carries these racks, but they don’t feel study. I did buy one 3-tier spice rack (since our space was small and spices are usually light) and one simple shelf for initial testing.
I bought two medium size shelves (about 15”x5”) for $5.74 each on Walmart because I surely thought this would be the cheapest I could find them based on my previous online search.
On the way home, I dropped by Target where they had the same sized shelves for less than $5. I kind of kicked myself on that one because Walmart is usually less expensive!
The best place to get these is actually Big Lots! I dropped in just to have a quick peek and found a large shelf – about 15”x12” – for just $5! The medium ones, I believe, were $3.50. Another bonus was that I found lid/tray organizers for just $3.20!

Equipped with my new purchases, I took on the task. See below the before and after pictures. What a difference something so small can have! I feel like we’ve made better use of the space and if I need more space in the near future, I know what to do!

Top Cabinets - Before

Top Cabinets - After

I used the stacking shelves to make two shelves within one. Love it!

Bottom Cabinets - Before

Look at this HOT MESS, especially where I keep the tupperwear and other plastics.

Bottom Cabinets - After

I love that I was able to now put my food processor in here!

Love that I could use my lid organizer for my baking trays here!

Spice Cabinet - Before

Spice Cabinet - After

A day in the life

2011-07-14T02:16:00.009-04:00

When I woke up Wednesday, I didn’t know what time my surgery would actually be (I was told I’d have to call later that day). My plan was to get up early so I could do items on my to-do list - for the day and for the week. As you may recall, it was an ambitious list. Unfortunately - and well, fortunately, the boy let me sleep in until I couldn’t anymore - which was until around 9:30. So, this post is for the boy who didn’t believe that I had a long list of things to do and to prove to him that I get lots done during the day!

10 a.m. – Walked the dog. Then ate a late breakfast (just a piece of toast).

11:30 a.m. – Made and ate lunch with the boy.

12 p.m. – Sorted all of our laundry and began the first of three loads. Then dug out all of the DVDs so I could watch TV, sort and organize the DVDs, while I cleared out my DVR. Started watching the USA vs. France Women’s World Cup soccer game.

1:30 p.m. – Watched episode 9 of Game of Thrones.

2:30 p.m. – Ran to the dry cleaners to have three alterations done. Finished two loads of laundry and started the third load. Then called the hospital surgery center to get a confirmation on my surgery time tomorrow.

3 p.m. – Started watching Game of Throne season finale and finished alphabetizing the DVDs.

4 p.m. – Started watching the Japan vs. Sweden Women’s World Cup soccer game and finished alphabetizing the DVDs.

4:45 p.m. – Went to Harris Teeter to buy ingredients for dinner. Then drove to Rite-Aid to buy Hibiclens, an antiseptic antimicrobial skin cleanser, for the evening and morning shower.

5:45 p.m. – Called mom to update her on my surgery. Walked Sebastian. Called Cathy to update her on my surgery. Then enjoyed a wonderful phone call from my great friend Stephanie.

7 p.m. – Put the organized DVDs onto the bookshelf. Realized the DVDs would not fit onto one shelf and rearranged the living room furniture so I could put another bookshelf into our reading room. I then placed all the DVDs onto that shelf.

7:30 p.m. – Put together ideas for meals for the boy over the next couple of days when I’m gone, while making a batch of sweet tea. Then started making dinner - crab cakes with a tomato and corn marinade.

9:30 p.m. – Welcomed the boy home with dinner. Put tomorrow’s dinner in the oven.

10 p.m. – Folded and put up all the laundry with the boy. Finished cleaning the kitchen and put dinner for Friday in the oven. Also labeled meals, heating directions and other relevant information for each meal.

11:30 p.m. – Finished labeling all of Tim’s meals for the next few days and took a shower.

12 p.m. – Finally having time for me!

So what’s left? I still have to clear out the DVR, work on my garden and new website, and pack for the weekend at my parent’s house for recovery. I have some time in the morning though, so here’s to hoping I can check a few more items off my list!

My first herb

2011-07-12T11:00:00.001-04:00

I got my first herb yesterday – and I forgot to mention it! The garden is no closer to getting done, but I kind of forced myself to buy the herb. My plan for yesterday night was to try a new crab cake recipe and it called for basil. Amazingly, I could not find basil anywhere (I checked at three different stores!), but I did find a live basil plant among the tomatoes in Harris Teeter. I decided to buy it and even get a pot for it.

It’s a lot bigger than I thought it looked, but I’m excited to have my first herb. Now, I just have to get the garden ready!

Summer List

2011-07-12T09:30:00.002-04:00

If you can’t tell, I like lists. So here’s another list – list of things I’d like to do before the end of summer.

Make fresh pasta.
Make a REALLY pretty cupcake.
Try a recipe with an ingredient I’ve never used.
Use the steamer my mother bought me.
Go out dancing in a fabulous outfit.
Use the backyard for something – anything!
Find a new recipe to make a chocolate cake from scratch. The last one I made was just OK.

From the Brilliant Mind of Tim

2011-07-11T22:44:00.002-04:00

Today on why Tim rubs babies like he rubs dogs:

"For the first couple of years, babies are like dogs. They like squeaky things, bright colors and playing tug."

Broiled Chicken with Onion & Apples

2011-07-11T21:56:00.006-04:00

I felt ambitious today, so I thought I’d try a new recipe for dinner. Thanks to an old issue of House Beautiful, I got a sneak peek at Rocco DiSpirito’s cookbook, “Rocco Gets Real.” It features everyday, easy and delicious recipes supposedly anyone can make. If the recipe I tried is any indication of how the rest of the book is, it might be worth me getting!

Here’s the recipe with some of my own tried and true commentary (in italics):

BROILED CHICKEN LEGS WITH ONIONS, APPLES & CHUNKY LEMON-PEPPER SAUCE

2½ pounds chicken legs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large Vidalia onions, peeled
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
2 tablespoons Bertolli extra-virgin olive oil
1 10-ounce jar Tabasco Spicy Red Pepper Jelly
3 lemons
Fresh coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat broiler on low. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Place chicken in center of pan. (I used two chicken leg quarters.)

Cut each onion into 12 thin wedges. Scatter onions and apples around chicken. (I actually ended up using only 1 onion and 1 Granny Smith apple.)

Drizzle everything with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 10 minutes. Turn chicken over and stir apples and onions to expose uncooked surfaces. Turn broiler on high. Broil until chicken is charred and cooked through, about another 10 minutes. (I checked the chicken at 10 minutes and it was still unfinished, so I broiled it another 10 minutes to get that pretty crisp look.)

Meanwhile, heat pepper jelly in a small saucepan until melted. (I could not find pepper jelly to save my life – and I checked three stores! I ended up buying a chili pepper hoagie mix. I guess it worked OK. The boy liked it!) Peel the lemons and remove the pith. Dice the lemons, reserving the juice. Remove jelly from heat; add diced lemon and juice. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon sauce on top of chicken, onions, and apples and top with fresh coarse-ground pepper.

I served this alongside stove-top, stir-fried green beans. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe again. It was so light and even on my diet – I could eat it!

Just see how much I can accomplish when I put my mind to it! LOL

To-do this week

2011-07-11T17:30:00.000-04:00

I didn’t quite finish my to-do list last week, so I’m putting them on the list for this week – although my week will actually end on Wednesday because of Thursday’s surgery. But I will add a few items just to be ambitious.

From last week:

Go through our DVD collections and organize them.
Finish digging out and outlining my herb garden. (Last week, we got a lot of rain and this week, it's supposed to be super hot. Just don't know when I'll get to this...)
Take more naps.
Get creative ideas together for a new web site I’m building.

Additions:

Clear out the DVR before my surgery. This should be interesting because I’ve DVRed like 10 movies!
Reorganize the kitchen so it looks less cluttered.

Grocery shopping

2011-07-11T13:14:00.003-04:00

When did it become July 11? Where has this year gone? Sigh.

I'm thinking of what I'm going to try to cook this evening. Just because I can't eat it anything good, doesn't mean I can't cook it. And I love to cook. Maybe I'll try a Tyler Florence crab cake recipe I saw in this month's issue of House Beautiful. Or, to show the boy that I do go back and look through old magazines (he thinks I'm a magazine hoarder), maybe I'll try a recipe for cheddar chicken from the May 2010 issue of Real Simple.

This is why he doesn't grocery shop - and I do! He just doesn't think about food when he goes to the store, unless he's hungry THAT moment (and even then sometimes, he doesn't think about it. He'd rather go to Cook-Out). He thinks about things he needs on a daily basis, like deodorant and toothpaste.

Before he left for work today, I asked him if he needed anything at the grocery store. I brought it up because I had ONE slice of toast for breakfast this morning because we were out.

"Oh yeah, we need that. And I want the thin slices like we had before," the boy says.

"Do you want me to make tea for you, or do you just want soda this week?" I ask.

"I like tea."

"OK, I'll add sugar to the list of items to buy," I say.

"Oh, and I guess I want sandwich meat since you're buying bread," he says.

"OK, do you want cheese or any thing like horseradish for your sandwiches?"

"Uh... I'm OK."

"SEE - that's how you build a grocery list!" I yell, as I'm writing down the start of a grocery list. (Because, you see, the boy doesn't believe in shopping lists like me.)

Sigh, well - off to my "womanly" duties!

Just a list of thoughts for today

2011-07-10T17:37:00.007-04:00

1. Tim bought a hammock stand today. Just another great place where either one of us can get away with our thoughts or to do things like relax and read. He doesn’t know if he’ll keep it yet, mostly because the bugs in our backyard are ridiculous! But who knows, we’ll see in time!

2. It really pays to stick to my diet! I had pho for lunch yesterday – beef broth with rice noodles. And I was dying all day and I still feel some of it today. It’s mostly been heartburn, but nothing that has been too unbearable. I did make turkey burgers for dinner yesterday and they were delicious. I made them on the stove. I sandwiched the meat between two pieces of white bread, lettuce and tomato, and I used condiments!

3. We have some grass!

4. And we have more weeds.

5. The boy and I have been monitoring our bird neighbors. It seems they’ve been away for quite some time, so it’s our assumptions that we missed flight day. We will miss Minerva, Earl and their babies. Now there's just an empty nest in our porch.

6. Go USA! Go USA! I watched the USA women’s soccer team play a tough game against Brazil today for the World Cup semi-finals. What an exciting game – the most exciting Women’s World Cup game I’ve seen this weekend. Can’t wait for the next game!

7. Look at this face. My favorite reason to get up each day.

Hope everyone else is having a great Sunday!

The evolution of Sebastian's dog bowls

2011-07-09T14:00:00.005-04:00

There is no denying the fact that Sebastian is the most spoiled dog ever. However, this fact became even more evident when the boy and I began to move in together. I’ve had Sebastian for three years now and it’s true, he’s the love of my life. The boy and I have equally shared the responsibility of spoiling the dog as much as we can – dinner table scraps, extra long walks, so many treats we’ve lost track of them all and a whole lot more. He even has his own bedroom with three actual dog beds and a pillow-turned-bed. This specific post is dedicated to the evolution of Sebastian’s dog food bowls and how even though he has had a perfectly good dog bowl set, we’ve continued to buy him more!

Now there is reasoning behind the fact that his dog bowls have changed, but it all points to the fact that we were simply spoiling the dog. LOL

When we first got Sebastian, I bought a cheap dog food set – one of those plastic sets where both bowls are melted together. The boy recently tried me to throw away this one, but I insisted it could become our traveling set since it’s just one piece. For now, it’s tucked away in Sebastian’s bedroom of junk.

A year later, I insisted the boy get his “son” a birthday gift. I always get Sebastian a gift and bake him homemade treats. Despite the boy’s objections to us celebrating the birthday of a dog, he did buy Sebastian a gift – two silver bowls set in a wooden tray for food and water. And this set sat up a lot higher. The boy said that since our dog liked to sit while eating, it would be easier for him to reach the food. Right…

After months of being jealous of the nice set at the boy’s apartment, I started scoping out for one that would beat it and make it “easier” for the dog to eat. I found a bargain on a beautiful set - two ceramic bowls sitting even higher up on sturdy wire frame.

And now that we’ve moved in together, all three sets have continued to play a role in the dog's life. We have the traveling set, as I mentioned before. The wooden set stays in Sebastian’s room for the times he might wander into that room for naps or treats. And the nicest, sturdiest, tallest set moves around the entire house depending on where the dog is sleeping for the day.

And that, my friend, is the sad evolution of Sebastian’s dog bowls!

Please take note – this post is about Sebastian’s dog food bowls. Clearly, I am bored and need a life. LOL

Movies

2011-07-09T09:30:00.003-04:00

Since I got HBO this week, I’ve been setting the DVR to record a lot of movies. I always do this when I first get HBO, but I slow down about three weeks into it. For now, I’m watching a lot of movies mostly out of boredom or trying to get through my Netflix queue.

Here are the movies I’ve watched this week:

Ever After – I really liked this movie when I first saw it (years ago) but I guess I was oblivious to all the bad things in the movie. I thought it was OK the second time around, but I definitely wouldn’t give it the high remarks I did a few years ago. Some of the lines were just so much cheesier than I remember. And I'm amazed the girl could sneak away from chores for so long! I still think the story has potential – I mean, what girl doesn’t love a good Cinderella story? But it just didn’t gel for me this time around.

Going the Distance – I swear I’m not on a Drew Barrymore kick. It just so happens that she was also in this movie! I was surprised that I kind of enjoyed this one… even though, halfway through it, I was wondering when it was going to end. Some parts definitely felt long, the story was predictable and the dialogue felt overworked – someone was trying too hard to make a point or to be funny. But there is no denying that Barrymore and Justin Long had chemistry. I can’t recall if they were actually dating when this film was being shot, but I was really surprised at how great they were together. I guess it doesn’t help that I have a tiny crush on Long. Too bad they’re not together anymore because I believed in their relationship, especially after this movie!

Welcome to Dollhouse – So, it took me about 45 minutes to finally get into this 1.5 hour long movie (LOL), but overall, I really enjoyed it. Heather Matarazzo is so genius in this movie as an awkward pre-teen. Even though I didn’t have the angst or face the same reasons for why she had so much pent up anger as a teen, I could still relate to her raw emotions and the kinds of relationships you build and how you build them with people at that age. And while my dense brain can’t sometimes “get” dark comedies, I enjoyed this one! I even found myself laughing out loud.

Charlie St. Cloud – This was a book chosen for book club last year. While I didn’t read the book in time for the meeting, I did finish it. I decided to record and watch the movie version since it was HBO. I thought it did a good job actually following the book (or at least I thought it did a good job of doing so). Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of the book and therefore, thought the movie was OK. My takeaway, though, was that Zac Efron is HOT and actually a pretty good actor. I’d like to see some of his other movies and see him in a more adult role. My only fear is that he will become like Leonardo DiCaprio to me. While I love DiCaprio, he still has that baby face, which makes it hard for me to believe some of the characters he has played in more hard-hitting movies. Fortunately, he is a great actor so in sometimes, I can by-pass the baby face. But will Efron overcome that - and can he become a great actor? Let me just emphasize that I am not comparing their actual talent - just the fact that they both have baby faces! LOL

We shall see in time!

A new list of food I can eat!

2011-07-08T23:08:00.009-04:00

I can check off another thing on my list of to-dos after today. I scheduled my surgery for next Thursday!

The bad news is that I have to stick to this diet for another week. The good news is that I learned I can eat a lot more than I previously thought! Of all people, you’d think I would know not trust everything I see online. But for anyone else who might be looking for a list of approved foods pre- and post-gallbladder surgery, here are some of the things my surgeon confirmed I could eat (and are still good!).

(Very or extra) lean beef
All cuts of veal
Lean lamb
Fish - fresh, frozen or canned in water
Skim milk cheese with 5 grams of fat or less
Whole or cholesterol-free eggs substitutes
Nonfat yogurt
Dry beans and peas
Tofu
Fruit drinks and juices
Coffee
Tea
Skim milk
English muffins
Plain corn or flour tortillas
Angel food cake
Gelatin
Meringues
Pudding made with skim milk or egg white
Graham crackers
Vanilla wafers
Ginger snaps
Sherbert
Nonfat frozen yogurt
Fruits – fresh, frozen, canned or dried except avocado
Jams, jellies
Molasses
Sugar
Honey and other syrups
Hard candies
Lifesavers
Gumdrops
Jelly beans
Plain mints
Sourballs
Fondants
Marshmallows
Peppers, salt, herbs, spices
Lemon juice
Vinegar
Condiments including ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, pickles, relish

While this list is extensive, it is not to say that some of these may not have different effects on others. For example, if your case is extreme – say your gallstones have passed or some vegetables or fruits affect you differently – you may want to avoid some of the items on this list. But man, it was just a relief to see some of these items on the list. Of course, I still can’t have cheese, French fries or pizza… but I can make do for another month or two.

Three thoughts

2011-07-07T15:19:00.004-04:00

One/

How is it that I JUST discovered Cupcake Wars? I decided to record a few episodes this week and so far, I’m obsessed. It has taken me two episodes to get used to the format, because unlike other cooking competition shows I watch (like Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen, etc), the competitors change each episode. It’s truly inspiring to see how chefs have infused unusual flavors into their cakes! I hope I’ll get to bake again soon because I’d love to try some of the things these people are doing.

Two/

I am definitely more productive when I have a list. On my list of things to do this week, I have already accomplished the following:

Go through our CD collections and organize them.
Find “Water for Elephants” so I can re-read it. (I’m already 1/4 through the book!)
Take Sebastian on longer walks. (We took another 2-mile walk this morning.)
Get HBO. (Done and done. I’ve even already set the DVR for several movies I want to watch.)

Three/

I really have the best friends in the world. Thanks for everyone who has reached out to me about my health. I am doing fine – and not feeling any pain. Hopefully I’ll be able to schedule a quick surgery and be on my way back to my normal health any day now. Today, Michael and Liz stopped by to take me to lunch. It was nice to get out of the house and do something, including getting to spend more time with baby Connor. Now, I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do the rest of the day!

Our friendly neighbors

2011-07-06T15:50:00.009-04:00

Since moving in together, I've done a good job of getting to know some of the neighbors. During our first week at the house, I ran into a huddle of women while walking Sebastian. They, too, were taking their dogs out. We immediately became friendly and I got to learn more about the neighborhood and the folks who lived around me.

When referring to our neighbors, I also mean to include the wonderful wildlife that lives on Main Street. So far, we've only met squirrels and birds, but that's enough for me. On our second day of living in the house, we noticed a birds nests on our porch. We didn't know if it was occupied or not, but our question was answered just a few days later when I found this on our porch!

Yes, that is a bird's egg. Was this a sign that our bird did not like us disturbing her home? It gets better!

The next day, I found this on our porch ledge!

Maybe she hated us? I immediately went out that evening and bought a feeder as a sign of neighborly love.

Maybe we're obsessive or maybe we're just bored, but we've been monitoring our neighbors since, and it looks like they have a new little family! And our relationship has gotten better. She doesn't run away like crazy if we step out on the porch anymore. We've even been able to take photos of her and her babies. And when I say her, I mean Minerva. Minerva even has a lover, Earl, who we've seen on occasion as well. More photos below!

Minerva

Minerva's Babies

The babies

Minerva and Earl

Earl

Another of Earl

Minerva

Getting used to this new diet

2011-07-06T12:14:00.002-04:00

So far, I’m doing OK on this new diet. There are a few things I love about it. I love that I can drink as much apple juice as I want. And I LOVE apple juice. I can also drink as much cranberry juice as I want. Yay!

I also have a ton of applesauce and Jello in the fridge. Not sure when I’ll get to those, but they are great snacks.

I realized today that I do not like oatmeal though. It’s on the list of approved foods. I want to say I used to like it. I thought it was crunchier but after making it today, I don’t think I can do the mush. I even got the apple cinnamon mush. Just not my cup of tea.

Well, the boy's just left me to go to work. Yesterday was his first full day back, and I missed him like crazy. I did everything I could to keep myself busy – laundry, cleaning, cooking (food I couldn’t eat!), watching TV, etc. And I still missed him. I need a job. I need to be preoccupied! That’s why I decided this morning to make a to-do list of big projects this week! Hopefully I’ll stay busy, but not be too exhausted! Here goes nothing!

Things to get done this week

2011-07-06T11:39:00.011-04:00

In no particular order, here are things I need to get done this week:

Go through our CD collections and organize them.
Go through our DVD collections and organize them.
Find “Water for Elephants” so I can re-read it.
Finish digging out and outlining my herb garden.
Take more naps.
Take Sebastian on longer walks.
Get HBO.
Get creative ideas together for a new web site I’m building.
Schedule my surgery.

I should put “Apply for Jobs” on the list as well, but I feel so exhausted from looking. I’m sure there will be a few I can apply for this week, but it feels like second nature now. I don’t even think about it anymore.

As for walking Sebastian, I took him a long walk today so that one is partially done. We walked from our house to the Kannapolis Gem Theatre, which is about a 2-mile walk. His little legs kept up with me the whole time. Of course, he is passed out now. He’ll probably even sleep the whole day. I love that he is such a trooper! I wished I had more energy to do that every day but I’ve been told I shouldn’t be doing too much. That’s probably why I get dizzy and feel small stomach pangs. Well, here's to getting the day started!

More gallbladder update

2011-07-05T09:15:00.004-04:00

I have the best family and friends in the world. The boy is starting work again this week, so my family has volunteered for me to stay with them post-surgery... whenever that will be. I was also supposed to have a girl's night on Wednesday and they're trying to figure out a place that would serve bland food so I could join them. Probably not going to happen, but super sweet of them! Sigh, amazing how much can change in so little time. So far, all I've eaten is a boiled chicken breast, rice and plain toast. Sounds delish right?

So last night before bed, I started thinking - what can I actually eat? After much digging, I finally found a list. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a list. Everyone just says, low calorie, low fat, no acidity, etc. etc. OK, I got that. But can I eat mashed potatoes? Corn? Apples? "Avoid anything that tastes good" is just too broad for me. Here is a much better rule of thumb: stick to a clear liquid diet - or I can pretty much eat anything I can see through. LOL. Here are some specifics...

Water
Broth
Jell-O
Fruit Juice without pulp (apple, grace and cranberry juice)
Clear soda (probably going to avoid anyway)
Popsicles
Soup (avoid creamy soups)
Mashed potatoes (use broth instead of butter)
Toast
Rice
Applesauce
Oatmeal
Grilled or boiled chicken

Just a few more weeks to go of this...

I swear Sebastian is avoiding me like the plague. You know, they say dogs can sense when their owners are not feeling well. Don't they usually try to be there for their owner? Not Sebastian! He has truly avoided me - sleeping in any room but mine, or even coming near me, even when I have food! It probably doesn't help that the boy is acting similar. He says he's just giving me time and space to rest, sleep, etc. I just want to feel loved and cared for! Come give me a kiss on the cheek every now or then, or come in and check on me when I'm passed out! LOL. OK, now I am just complaining. The boy has been amazing. He has been cleaning, walking the dog and doing just about everything I would normally be doing. He even planted more grass so that hopefully in a few weeks when I am feeling better, I can walk outside bare feet! All he asks is that I take my meds, get sleep and eat well. He will take care of the rest. So amazing. Love him - for better, for worse, in sickness and in health.

I finally booked an appointment with a surgeon for this Friday. I will most likely schedule the surgery then. Not looking forward to those costs, especially since I don't have health insurance. Sigh. Hopefully, my paperwork to the hospital reflecting my last few months of pay will look pitiful enough that I get some financial assistance! :(

Guess it's time to take the dog out. I've complained enough today! :)

Happy July 4th, and how it all went downhill

2011-07-04T09:34:00.007-04:00

This weekend started off great, but it's amazing how quickly things that turn around. Kannapolis had their annual fireworks show on Saturday, so we decided to invite some folks over for food, drinks and a mini-pre-celebration. We had a blast before heading to downtown to watch the real show.

Sitting on the brick sidewalk on North Research Campus Drive, we excitedly watched the 20-minute fireworks show. It was amazing - and it gets better every year. I wish I had taken photos because right now would be a great place to post them.

After the show, we came home to clean up. That's when the night started going downhill for me. I had noticed my stomach hurting after we ate. I had previously experienced this pain - upper abdominal pain that was very dull, but numbing. It always came after a large, often greasy dinner. I previously drank Pepto-Bismol to ease this pain and in an hour or two, it subsided. I tried that, and after an hour, nothing was feeling good. The boy suggested I try milk because it was a base - and the food we were eating probably had a lot of acidity. At that point, I was willing to try anything.

We said our good nights to all of our guests and I immediately went to lay down. I probably drank two bottles of water and another 2 teaspoons of Pepto. Still nothing. Tossing and turning - and now moaning and crying from the pain - the boy came in and suggested we try a stronger med. We drove down to Walgreens where the pharmacist recommended Maalox. As soon as we left, I threw up outside of the store. I was so embarrassed as four others stopped to watch me. The boy quickly collected me into the car and we went home. Unfortunately, Maalox didn't help. I tossed and turned for another few hours - not really getting any sleep.

The next morning (now Sunday), we decided to go see a real doctor. After nearly two hours at UrgentCare, we were sent to the emergency room because my lab tests were showing an usually high rate of white blood cells. We waited what seemed like an hour or two to finally be seen in the ER. Over the next three hours, I would sleep, have an ultrasound, take medicines and have blood drawn. The conclusion - my gall bladder needed to be removed.

Fortunately, the doctor informed us that while I had some inflammation, I would need to take some antibiotics before surgery. With a lot of meds, we finally went home. It felt so good to finally be in my own bed, around the love of my life - Sebastian - and of course, with the boy. We watched a few hours of TV before bed - just a quiet evening and exactly what I had needed.

So what does having my gall bladder removed mean? Ugh - losing the ability to eat everything and anything that tastes good! Last night, I had a very light noodle soup. This morning, I've eaten plain toast. And it gets worst. Now, you have to understand how much I love spicy foods. I don't really care so much for greasy foods, but spicy foods - foods with lots of umph and life - they are my fave!

Here is a list of foods I cannot leading up to and after my surgery:

Foods that are fried, like French fries and potato chips
High-fat meats, such as bacon, bologna, sausage, ground beef, and ribs
High-fat dairy products, such as cheese, ice cream, cream, whole milk, and sour cream
Pizza
Foods made with lard or butter
Creamy soups or sauces
Meat gravies
Chocolate
Oils, such as palm and coconut oil
Skin of chicken or turkey
Cereals
Whole-grain breads
Nuts
Seeds
Legumes
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Spicy foods

For now, I need to stick to a low-calorie, low fat diet. Two things I wish I could eat right now are pizza and ice cream. So, to say the least, it's been an exciting weekend but with an unfortunate turn of events. The good news is that gallbladder surgery is not uncommon and the recovery should not take very long. The long term effect though - not being able to eat anything good! - is what I am going to dread the most.

Well, here's to starting the day! Happy July 4th folks!

It's been a long time

2011-07-01T10:35:00.005-04:00

It's been a long time since I last posted on this. I am thinking about writing again thanks to a lot of wonderful blogs I've read lately. Maybe they're making a comeback... or maybe they're like the pair of jeans you forget about in the back of your closet. You put 'em on, and remember how wonderful they once were and made you feel. Yep, still feels good.

I feel like I've really lost touch with my writing, so I'm hoping this will be an outlet for me to practice and get into the groove of writing again. Here goes nothing.

So much has happened since my last post. Then again, some things never change.

Things that have changed:

The boyfriend and I are officially living together (as of last week!)
I've moved back to the Charlotte area (and looking for employment opportunities).
I've met and gotten to know some wonderful people over the last few years.

Things that haven't changed:

Sebastian is still the love of my life.
The boyfriend is a close second. It'll be 7 years for us this year.
TV is still an obsession (although, since it's summer, I've cut back my TV-watching a lot).
I still have the most amazing family and friends!
Still loving life!

Well, it's the Friday before 4th of July weekend. Maybe I'll surprise myself and post again soon!

My TV and the life that revolves around it

2008-09-30T16:22:00.002-04:00

It’s been a while since I’ve written on my blog. I suppose this is because things have been kind of busy… And the thing is, it’s mostly TV and reading that have been keeping me busy. For a while there after I first moved out on my own, I debated what I wanted to fill my life doing. And now that I’ve completely fallen in love with TV, I’ve actually got a schedule going every week. Here is my TV viewing schedule for the fall, or as of this week anyway:

Mondays

12:15 a.m. – Tim and Eric. OK so I have to admit I am DVRing this for the boy, but occasionally I will an episode or two.
8 p.m. – Gossip Girl, Dancing with the Stars. So far, not impressed with Gossip Girl, and it’s actually kind of getting on my nerves. I’ll probably continue to watch this season but after the kids go to college, it always gets bad. Dancing with the Stars is unfortunately the show I put on the back burner to watch later. I can usually watch the 2-hour shows in an hour or less. That’s not saying a whole lot about the show itself.
9 p.m. – Heroes – yes, I’m actually trying to give it a shot even though last season was such a disaster.
11 p.m. – Daily Show
11:30 p.m. – Colbert Report

Tuesday

8 p.m. – 90210. Don’t ask why I am continuing to watch this show. It’s not very good.
9 p.m. – Dancing with the Stars, Privileged. Again, Dancing is on the backburner because I absolutely LOVE Priviliged. It’s a fun, smart and cute show, and I absolutely love Joanna Garcia!
10 p.m. – The Rachel Zoe Project. Why do I continue to care and watch this show about Rachel Zoe. I gotta be honest, I’ve heard her name but didn’t really know who she was until I started to watch this show. I hate her assistant, the blonde one, the one everyone will hate after watching the show.
11 p.m. – Daily Show
11:30 p.m. – Colbert Report
11:40 p.m. – Gavin and Stacey. I absolutely love this show and love that the BBC repeats it at a later time because it’d be hard to catch otherwise!

Wednesday

8 p.m. – America’s Next Top Model, Pushing Daisies. ANTM is sooo cheesy. While the show is an hour long, I wait until 9 p.m. to watch it because it will take me about 25 minutes to watch the whole show. I’ve never seen Pushing Daisies, but I’m DVRing until I can catch up on Season 1 on DVD, which I’m getting on my Netflix next!
9 p.m. – Project Runway. I love love love Project Runway and hate that it’s taken me so long to get into the show.
10 p.m. – Top Design. I’m learning to like this show but there are a lot of people on the show that honestly don’t deserve to be on it. If I had a budget like that, I could probably do just as well on some of those designs as others on the show.
11 p.m. – Daily Show
11:30 p.m. – Colbert Report

Thursday

8 p.m – My Name Is Earl. So far, so good – off to a good season!
9 p.m. – The Office, Kitchen Nightmares, but this week, it will be the VP debate. Last week’s office was so great, so I am sad it won’t be on this week. But I guess the VP debate will suffice. I am also looking forward to the return of 30 Rock, easily one of my all-time favorite shows on TV.
11 p.m. – Daily Show
11:30 p.m. – Colbert Report
Friday
10 p.m. – The Soup, and Best Week Ever when it’s on. I don’t understand the schedule behind Best Week Ever. It’s on one week and off the next. What gives? I used to prefer Best Week Ever over the Soup, but now I’m definitely leaning toward The Soup more.
11 p.m. – Daily Show
11:30 p.m. – Colbert Report

Saturday

9 p.m. – Chuck. I’m bummed that I have to DVR Chuck on a Saturday because it comes on the same time as Dancing with the Stars and Gossip Girl. Why can’t they just move Dancing with the Stars to a 9 p.m. time slot on Mondays? I hope that Gossip Girl starts airing on Sundays again soon though so I can record Chuck on Mondays. I think I’d rather watch Chuck than Gossip Girl. This week just didn’t have a repeat for Gossip Girl.
11:30 p.m. – SNL. OK, I’ve DVRed this two weeks in a roll now and not watched it yet. Maybe I should stop DVRing in hopes that I will eventually watch it. Probably is not going to happen.

Sunday

8 p.m. – The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. – King of the Hill
9 p.m. – Family Guy, I Love Money. Yes, it’s the finale to I Love Money. And yes, I know it’s an absolutely awful show full of scheming, manipulative losers… But it’s fun to watch when ironing and doing other household chores.
9:30 p.m. – American Dad
10 p.m. – Skins, Mad Men. These two have to be two of my favorite shows of the summer and fall. I can’t wait to see how both unfold.

Now that I’m looking back at it, I can’t believe I watch SO much TV! I honestly don't want to think about it! Yikes! Well, don’t worry. I mean I’m not only TV’d up. I’ve actually been getting a few books in. In fact, I just finished 3 books from the Philip Pullman “Golden Compass” series and I’m currently reading the third part to the “Twilight Saga.” And movies, the most recent one I saw was “Choke,” so I’m still getting those in too. Arg, can you believe this is my life? Good times!

Football to come to UNC Charlotte?

2008-09-18T11:56:00.002-04:00

Dubois: Add football in 2013 – if boosters will pay
UNC Charlotte Chancellor suggests 6-month campaign to raise $5 million with $1,000 seat licences
By David Perlmuttdperlmutt@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Thursday, Sep. 18, 2008

UNC Charlotte Chancellor Phil Dubois recommended to university trustees this morning that UNCC suit up a football team by 2013, but punted to boosters and other football supporters to raise $5 million in six months to help pay for a $45.3 million stadium complex.

As expected, the trustees took no action, but will vote on Dubois' recommendation – including the lofty benchmarks to gauge public support -- at their Nov. 13 meeting.

Dubois made his recommendation during a trustees meeting, telling the crowd, "I believe this is the time when there's white smoke coming from the chimney," referring to the signal given by Roman Catholic cardinals when they select a Pope.

Dubois' announcement then received extended applause, some of it apparently coming from trustees.

A huge hurdle would be raising the $5 million through non-transferable seat licenses -- he calls them Forty-Niner Seat Licenses -- at a time when the economy continues to sour. Dubois proposed selling 5,000 licenses for $1,000 just for the right to buy season tickets.

He said trustees could extend his six-month deadline to nine months, or a year.

"The people who say they want football, now have to help pay for it," Dubois said in an interview with Observer reporters. "The surest way to demonstrate you're willing to pay is to put out a tangible amount of money that shows that support.

"Let's not wait for some long period of agony to decide if the support's going to be there. Let's decide now. And if it is, then we'll go forward."

If not? "Then it goes away."

He said UNC Charlotte athletics director Judy Rose is confident the money can be raised.
To pay for football, Dubois put less of a burden on students than what was proposed by a football feasibility committee.

That committee recommended student fees increase by $300 per year, or $150 each semester, phased in over the next four years.

Under Dubois' plan students would pay $25 each semester in 2010, $50 a semester in 2011 and 2012, and $100 each semester in 2013, when the team would start playing.

The $200, or a 1.4 percent increase in student fees, is "consistent with the amount that the vast majority of students ... indicated that they would be comfortable paying for a football program," he told trustees.

Dubois said he's heard concerns about raising fees from adult night students and graduate students.

"We have an obligation to consider that education is expensive, and we have an obligation to help them get their college degrees," he said.

Dubois proposed that a team start playing in a Division 1-AA conference "for the foreseeable future," and not set a timetable to elevate the program to Division 1-A by 2016, as recommended by the feasibility committee.

"You have to build a solid program with a solid fan base," he told the Observer. "If you want to move to Division 1-A by Day X, you'd never be admitted to a Division 1-AA conference because no one would want you."

To satisfy federal Title IX regulations, UNC Charlotte would introduce three women's sports: Lacrosse in 2016; field hockey in 2019 and swimming or another third sport in 2023.

Dubois said he'd prefer an on-campus expandable stadium, starting with 12,000 seats, near the light rail that is scheduled to be extended to UNCC by 2015. The $45.3 million complex would include a sports building with offices for coaches, locker rooms and practice fields.

Football, he said, is part of the university's long-term strategy for growth. The Charlotte campus is expected to enroll 35,000 students by 2020.

Other research universities that size play football, he said.

Yet in making his recommendation, Dubois said he doubts a football team would bring significant private donations, or draw higher quality students, or that a team would open a floodgate of private donations.

"There is nothing in our institutional history or in our alumni profile that suggests that our coffers will be filled by gridiron gold," Dubois told trustees.

Football, he said, would "enrich the student experience," boost school spirit and create a stronger bond between students and school -- a key ingredient "in helping a student persist to achieve his or her academic degree."

It would also give the Charlotte region "ownership" in UNCC.

"Like it or not, athletics have a lot to do with capturing the public's imagination about public institutions," he told the Observer. "I would like to think that the public is fascinated with our research and public service. Sometimes it is. But athletics opens doors for research partnerships -- for student internships. It gets the public to pay attention to ... your academic enterprise.

"Getting Charlotte and the Charlotte region to own this institution, I believe, will be enhanced by football."

Dubois said he's a football fan, but likes basketball more. Yet football, he said, has consumed 80 percent of his work at UNCC the past six months.

If his recommendation is approved, it will be up to Rose and her department to raise money and field a team.

"I've done my part," he said. "I have other responsibilities and I intend to get back to them."

Read the article here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/104/story/199771.html

Advertising on School Buses

2008-09-15T12:19:00.003-04:00

Wow, looks like you can REALLY advertise on anything! Read this article from Advertising Age.

Strapped for Cash, Schools Eye Bus Ads
Several Michigan Districts in Talks to Accept Ads on Kids' Transportation
By Emily Bryson York

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- In addition to the usual yakking, fighting, kvetching and comparing of lunches, kids on Michigan school buses may soon be gawking at ads. A number of the state's cash-strapped school districts are in talks with marketing groups to broker deals to sell ads on buses.

"Times are hard," said Mike Gwizdala, director-transportation at Bay City public schools.
"The fuel prices are definitely affecting all transportation, whether it's a school bus or a metro bus. It's definitely having an effect on a lot of people, and school districts are in that boat."

Terry Prewitt, executive director-financial services at Saginaw public schools, said he's reviewing several vendor proposals. He added that any ads would have to be "age-appropriate" and "subject-appropriate." Saginaw transports nearly 1,000 children every week. The vast majority of them are under age 12.

It is illegal to advertise on the outside of school buses in Michigan. Any ads must be placed inside.

Mike Eichhorn, president of Crossroads Marketing & Consulting in Davison, Mich., is one of the vendors competing for the Saginaw contract. He hopes to score business with major national advertisers by creating a cooperative of Michigan school districts. He also has had discussions with representatives of Bay City and Goodrich public schools and is meeting with Detroit public school representatives this week.

Precedents
As a father of three, Mr. Eichhorn added that he is sensitive to parents' concerns about advertising to kids. He said he was surprised to see an ad for Tyson chicken and a Pepsi machine in the lunchroom when he recently dropped off his 6-year-old.

Michigan school districts have tried school-bus ads in the past, but the returns were disappointing. A spokeswoman for Michigan's Ypsilanti public schools said the district discontinued its advertising program because "it was not as successful as we had hoped." The district partnered with a credit union, a health center and a cellphone provider.

School-bus advertising has sprung up in other areas as well. Cherry Creek public schools in Colorado brought in $54,000 in bus-ad revenue last year. That was a little short of projections, said district spokeswoman Tustin Amole. The money was used to purchase GPS's and cameras for the buses.

Cherry Creek's major advertisers include local TV stations, recreational centers and even the U.S. Army. Ms. Amole said the school district avoids "junk food and other kinds of advertising," and that there have been no parental complaints since the program started in 2006. The ads, however, are on the outside of buses, not the inside.

Advertising to children, particularly in a captive environment, remains a thorny issue, especially considering pledges among food marketers blamed for America's obesity epidemic to limit marketing unhealthful food to children. The South Carolina School Board banned school-bus ads last week, and any measure undertaken in Michigan is likely to be controversial.

"Advertising on school buses exploits a powerful symbol of education and subverts parental authority by making exposure to brands compulsory," Josh Golin, associate director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, wrote in an e-mail.

Read the article here at Advertising Age, too.

Not-quite-so-thin is in for models at Fashion Week

2008-09-11T14:52:00.003-04:00

This headline caught me off guard and kind of excited me about the changing face of the modeling industry... And then I read the article.

Not-quite-so-thin is in for models at Fashion Week
By MEGAN K. SCOTT, Associated Press Writer

If model thin is always in, at least there were fewer protruding collar bones and ribs to be counted at New York Fashion Week.

Models were up to sizes 2 and 4 — not 0, according to Nian Fish, chair of a fashion designers health initiative. Designers rejected prepubescent 13-year-olds. And at least one super-thin model who had the audience talking a few seasons ago was noticeably absent.

"I think a lot of the direction from the designers has been a much healthier approach," said James Aguiar, co-host of Ultra HD's "Full Frontal Fashion," who noticed more curves and smiles on the runway.

Avril Graham, executive fashion and beauty editor at Harper's Bazaar, also saw a healthier look and more diversity: "We're obviously going through a season of a less cookie cutter look."

That is a small relief to those who have brought attention to the cause of eating disorders in the fashion world, though many say there's a long way to go.

"I saw a few that looked better," said Finola Hughes, host of "How Do I Look?" on the Style Network. "I actually saw some breasts, which was great. But there was one show I went to and everyone looked really skinny."

The question of how thin is too thin has been tossed around since Kate Moss made her modeling debut 20 years ago, ushering in an era of "heroin chic." In 2006, at least two models died from complications linked to eating disorders, which prompted some in Europe to try to ban skinny models from the runway.

Efforts were more modest in the United States. The Council of Fashion Designers of America held workshops on eating disorders and recommended that designers keep models under 16 off the runway, offer healthier snacks backstage and require those identified as having an eating disorder to seek professional help if they want to continue modeling.

"I think there's progress," said Fish, creative consultant for KCD Worldwide, which produces fashion shows and events. "The girls are still slim. We didn't want them not to be slim. We wanted a projection of health."

Some critics consider the industry's efforts lacking because they still let skinny winnies rule the runways — while the models suffer to become walking hangers.

As a new model at 15, Coco Rocha said she went to Singapore and lost 10 pounds in six weeks. When she returned to the U.S. she was so obsessed with food, she beat herself up over eating an apple.

"I'll never forget the piece of advice I got from people in the industry when they saw my new body," she wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "They said, 'You need to lose more weight. The look this year is anorexia. We don't want you to be anorexic but that's what we want you to look like.'"

Rocha is one of the few models to speak out about the issue, even as ultra-thin models find their way into pro-anorexia "Thinspiration" videos. The question isn't just about model health; it's about who will win the hearts and minds of the teenagers and young girls who look up to them.
Young girls can now see more realistic shapes on television, from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty to the plus-size winner on "America's Next Top Model." And models have largely disappeared from the covers of magazines, replaced by celebrities who generate their own is-she-too-thin headlines.

But that doesn't mean models aren't influencing girls and women.

Carol Weston, advice columnist for Girls' Life Magazine, said she gets letters from tween girls who want to models or are looking for weight-loss advice. Modeling "seems so glamorous," she said. She said many teenagers confess that they starve themselves, purge or use diet pills.
Eating disorders groups have recommended requiring adult models to have a body mass index of at least 18.5 — the lower limits of a normal weight — and an independent medical certification affirming that they do not suffer from an eating disorder.

"They do drug testing for sports. Why? To keep competition clean but hopefully also to save lives. That's what we want, too," said Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association.

But such measures are called Draconian by Dr. Susan Ice, a medical director for an eating disorders treatment center and member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America health initiative.

For now, the goal is simply to raise awareness, said CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg.
"I think that it's a good thing to do it the way we're doing it as opposed to throwing those poor girls on a scale and terrifying them even more," she said.

Because of the initiative, some models were identified as having an eating disorder, referred for treatment and are back on the runways, Fish said. Some who didn't look healthy weren't used.
There has been some pressure for designers to increase their model size to a 6, but the designers prefer models whose modest curves don't compete with the clothes, Fish said. London recently dropped its plan to require medical exams for models because of a lack of international support.
"Thin is going to be the ruling look — until someone says, 'I want voluptuous,'" said Fish. "I don't know if that ever is going to come back."
__
AP Fashion Writer Samantha Critchell contributed to this report.

Come on! A size 2 or 4?

On another note, today the AP reported that Nicole Kidman was the most overpaid celebrity. Really? What has she been in lately? But I am excited for her reunion with Baz Luhrman for this fall's "Australia."

Sebastian

2008-09-11T12:50:00.005-04:00

Dog who doesn't like to use the bathroom outside when it's raining gets raincoat.

The Bridge to Nowhere

2008-09-11T09:37:00.003-04:00

I completely agree with this article from NPR's David Folkenflik. Oh, listen to the "liberal media."

Truth Squad: Palin On 'Bridge To Nowhere'
by David Folkenflik

Morning Edition, September 11, 2008 · Pretty much wherever she goes on the stump, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tells voters she killed Alaska's now-infamous "bridge to nowhere" in portraying herself as an anti-pork-barrel reformer.

And yet, pretty much every time journalists have compared Palin's record to her rhetoric on that proposed bridge, they've called a foul. The results — whether from CBS News, USA Today, the Anchorage Daily News, NPR or some other outlet — have been remarkably consistent. The surprising thing is how little effect that journalistic fact-checking has had on the campaign trail.
"It is pretty striking that so many news organizations have looked into this independently and come to the same conclusion — that she didn't play that much of a role in ending the bridge," says Bill Adair of the St. Petersburg Times and the Web site PolitiFact.com. "And yet they continue to say it — day in and day out.

"I just hope the voters will stop to take the time to learn what's true and what's not — from us or from some other source — and then make their own judgment," Adair says.

'Thanks, But No Thanks'
Palin, the first-term governor of Alaska, usually offers up a formulation like the one she offered at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

"I told Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere,' " she told cheering delegates. "If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves."

She has repeated it at campaign stops since, as recently as Wednesday, and the anecdote has become a key element of her political biography as the campaign of her running mate, Sen. John McCain, casts her as a reformer in his own image. McCain has consistently opposed projects that are funded through specific earmarks tucked into larger legislation.

"Whether it's killing the bridge to nowhere … or vetoing $500 million in government spending in Alaska over the last two years, she has earned and deserves the title of reformer of her state," says Ben Porritt, a spokesman for the McCain-Palin campaign.

A Complicated Record
Palin's record, however, is more complicated. The bridge involved would have connected the small town of Ketchikan with a sparsely populated island that has an airport. The bridge would have also cost several hundred million dollars. It is true that as governor, in 2007, she announced the project was dead.

But, as McClatchy Newspapers political reporter Margaret Talev says, "She was for it before she was against it — and actively for it before she became actively against it." McClatchy owns the Anchorage Daily News, which has covered Palin's quick ascent in state politics thoroughly.
While running for governor in 2006, Palin said she supported federal funding for the bridge, and she praised the state's two senior lawmakers, Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, who were promoting the project.

But it came under national fire, and as Stevens and Young became tainted, political support for the project ebbed. (Stevens is now facing federal charges in a political corruption trial. Both Stevens and Young are battling for re-election.)

Congress dropped the specific designation of the more than $200 million in federal funds for the bridge, instead releasing it for use for any Alaska projects. Palin wanted to direct the money to other projects that would prove less embarrassing. So, according to major news organizations that examined Palin's record, there was no "thanks, but no thanks" moment.

Last Rites For The Bridge
"Even in Alaska, there were a lot of people who were opposed to it. So it's not like she boldly stood up against it," says Adair of the St. Petersburg Times. "What she did was, seeing the political reality, she ended it."

"It's not that she really killed it — but she did perform the last rites," Adair says.

As for the larger issue, as a small-town mayor, Palin hired lobbyists, and as a mayor and governor, she sought such targeted earmarked funds herself. The Associated Press reports that Palin is seeking another $200 million in such projects for Alaska next year.

Adair calls Palin's account of her role in the bridge's demise a "half-truth."

Jack Nelson, the retired Washington bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times, has a tarter term for it: "It is a lie," he says.

That's not a word most journalists use, because it is so charged. Nelson says he can use it because he is retired.

"Most of the time in past campaigns, when major news organizations have come out and said that something is totally false, the candidate will drop it," says Nelson, who was a reporter for more than five decades. "In this case, they are repeating it over and over and over."

But with so many other sources of information and opinion online, revelations in mainstream news organizations don't pack the same punch that they once did.

Campaign Defends Palin's Record
And Porritt, the McCain-Palin spokesman, says there is no reason to back down.

"There have been a number of distortions about Sarah Palin's record as a reformer," Porritt says. "But this isn't about claiming the title. This is about having a record to back that up."
Porritt points to journalistic site FactCheck.org to prove Palin is telling the truth. But FactCheck.org wrote last week that Palin's line about the bridge is "inaccurate."

In fact, FactCheck.org cited the "bridge to nowhere" first in its list of reasons why it concluded Palin was "short on facts" during her speech at the Republican convention.

Listen to NPR's coverage on which candidate is actually a candidate for change: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94499918&ft=1&f=1102.

VMA recap

2008-09-07T23:16:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I'm even doing a recap. But I have to admit, it was a LOT better than last year's show. Well here are my notes from tonight's festivities.

1. That was not an "opening" to top last year's performance Brit-Brit.

2. Rihanna sounded awful. It's easy to tell how bad she sounds because she struggles from her "regular" singing voice to falsetto. Very rough indeed.

3. The VMAs set looks like a larger set of TRL.

4. I laughed at Russell Brand because I don't think anyone else laughed at him. I thought he was pretty fun, energetic and exciting... But maybe not for this crowd. I love his jokes about the Republican party unfortunately.

5. The youngest Jonas brother doesn't open his mouth when he sings. Instead, he looks like he's grinding his lips and teeth to make noises, I mean, to sing. When I first heard them, I thought it was Nick or Aaron Carter making a comeback. I do have to say, their VMA performance was cute.

6. WTF is up with Michael Phelps' headgear?

7. I can't believe Leona Lewis, who I lovvvvve, would stoop so low as to do a single with Lil' Wayne. WTF was up with Lil' Wayne's pants during the performance. That was just inappropriate.

8. I'm bummed that MTV is taking advantage of the Twilight series and that the Twilight series sold it's soul to MTV.

9. While she doesn't sound that great, I love that girl from Paramore. She's such a cute, petite, little thing!

10. I love Christina Aguilera (always have) but she was TOTALLY lip singing (lip-syncing?) tonight. Ugh, that was disappointing to see.

11. Who's Tokio Hotel? And is the lead singer actually a girl?

12. I think Kid Rock wears sunglasses because he doesn't want people to see and realize how old he actually is.

13. Who is Brit-Brit's stand-in boy toy? I'm so behind on celebrity news!

14. I'm incredibly bummed that my DVR canceled my recording of "Skins" because of the VMAs and a show I've yet to watch, "Mad Men." Now recording the 2 a.m. re-run of "Skins" and hoping to watch tomorrow. Last week's episode took me completely off-guard because it was about topics I'd never thought would be discussed. So crazy, but enjoyable. I heart Chris.

Quick list

2008-09-07T21:00:00.001-04:00

1. Thanks to today's pop culture, I think that a new stereotype for Asians has evolved - they can dance. Just look at America's Best Dance Crew, Dancing with the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance.

2. I can watch a lot of bad TV and even I can't tolerate the MTV Music Awards pre-show. The VMAs were bad last year; will they be bad again this year?

3. I don't want to say that the VMA's are a reflection of today's youth, but I do think they are a reflection of what today's youth aspires to be. Arg.

4. I discovered that I had on-demand service this weekend... But I still don't think I'm missing out.

5. I think Netflix has steered me wrong in my recommendations. I love a good foreign film (and I believe I indicate that in my ratings), but I just endured 3 pretty painful French films. Maybe it's where I'm at in my life right now; I just don't understand or appreciate them. I can see why they were acclaimed - the music, the scenery, the simple nature of the films, etc., etc., but so far, not my type.

Write more later tonight or perhaps later! For now, I'm dipping into the red wine I've been eyeing on my wine rack for the last couple of days. Now that's restraint!

It's been a fantastic week!

2008-08-28T16:26:00.000-04:00

Despite all the awful rain this week, I am feeling like I am truly having a blessed week. Perhaps it’s my reward because I was patient beyond belief last week, especially since I had the two dogs and got very little sleep. Even this weekend, I didn’t get to catch up on sleep because I wanted to be attentive to the babies. Perhaps I should see the rain in a symbolic way – a great thing that is washing away all the drainage I felt last week. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, here is my list for the week, hopefully with short descriptions. Instead of a random list, this is a list of things that have helped to make this an absolutely great week.

1. The boy got a big raise, which equals good things to come in the near future!

2. I finally opened a YouTube account! I don’t know why that is so great, but in the future, I hope it will be beneficial. LOL

3. Sebastian is showing me how completely grateful he is to have me in his life. He’s wanted to cuddle SO much this week and I am LOVING it. Perhaps he is sensing that he is going to be having a pretty important procedure next week… Snip snip.

4. My dad turns 50 this year, and we’re going to throw a HUGE party! Best part – I’m getting to do decorations. My decorating service is officially open for business!

5. I got to see John Mayer AND OneRepublic in concert – FOR FREE! I swear I am DESTINED to be a John Mayer fan because this is the second show I didn’t think I would get to go to, but got FREE tickets!

6. I have a new friend in Greensboro, and she’s awesome! So far we’ve already shared a sporadic John Mayer concert experience in Raleigh, danced, had a few brews and got soaked all on the concert lawn in the rain, ate free pizza at a school neither one of us attended, drove the opposite direction on a one-way street, got lost in the ghetto, and learned about each other’s past 20ish years!

7. I’ve discovered some really great shows on BBC America. I’m officially adding “Skins” and “Gavin and Stacy” to my DVR queue.

8. My Netflix is back, yo! And it kicked off with a great movie, “Les Choristes.” Tomorrow I get the first “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”

9. I’m excited to be getting back into politics. It’s going to be a great election season!

Dierk's Bently - yes, I'm in love

2008-08-22T11:34:00.003-04:00

There is nothing better than a song that makes you tap your foot as I am doing right now to a song by Dierks Bentley. I’ve recently fallen in love with his music. I thought his other songs, like “Every Mile a Memory” and “Come A Little Closer” were OK but they didn’t wow me. I knew he had a big following though… It wasn’t until he released “Trying to Stop Your Leaving” that I FINALLY caught the buzz (what I’m listening to now actually).

The sad thing is, this song doesn’t even have very good lyrics (and I’m one to love a song just because of its lyrics). I just LOVE the music and how he sounds singing it though. My favorite part is when he sings, “But the river keeps a-running.” So crazy how a little part like that makes such a big deal to how much I like a song! The harmonies are really great in the chorus, the guitar in the bridge – simple plucking at first, and then it builds up – and the twang sound, maybe from a slide guitar, in the background. So great!

And because of this ONE song, I’ve warmed up to all his other hits and now I’m head over heels in love. Other favorites are “Sweet and Wild” which features the super talented, but not well known Sarah Buxton, “Come a Little Closer,” “Free And Easy (Down the Road I Go)” and “Settle for a Slowdown.” I know I’m just running through is greatest hits, but that’s the album I got, but hey, now I’m hooked. That’s all that matters, right?

This has been the longest week ever

2008-08-21T10:56:00.002-04:00

1. I love the OneRepublic CD. They reminds me of The Fray (only because The Fray hit mainstream first), but their musicality is more mainstream. Their CD, “Dreaming Out Loud” sounds like it’s better produced overall. I put the album away for a month or so because I had been listening to it obsessively for about 2-3 months… And well, I pulled it out again recently because I was in a lovey-dovey mood thanks to the new (released in November 2007) Westlife CD. I forget how great it really is. I can’t decide which song is my favorite because there are so many good songs. This one goes into my albums I didn’t think would be good but I’ve fallen in love with. Once in a while, a CD will completely knock me off my feet because I just didn’t expect it from that artist. Others in this category include Nelly Furtado with “Loose,” James Blunt with “All the Lost Souls” and David Gray with “Life in Slow Motion.”

2. So Chloe, my sister’s dog, has turned out to be a nightmare. I don’t think my sister knew her dog was like this, mostly because her dog is an outside dog. Our training and care of our dogs are completely different. As my dog is an inside dog, I do a lot of things to cater and adjust his habits so he is used to being inside. It seems Chloe wants to be an inside dog too, perhaps because of the heat outdoors or maybe it’s because she is a puppy and is used to being around someone, and not another dog. I’m not really sure what it is, but I’m trying to break her habits. I’m trying to learn to trust her, but her two accidents on my carpet, despite being taken outside, within 2 hours is making me question whether or not she can be trusted. Isn’t that an awful relationship to have?

3. I might actually have the weekend to myself – which will be great. All the boy’s plans of coming up are falling through because of this meeting here and there, which is fine by me. May be we need a weekend apart (although the last time we tried that, he ended up coming on a Sunday evening anyway… aw, he misses me, too). I need a break because the dogs together have been a nightmare. Sebastian is very aggressive and defensive when other dogs and even sometimes people are around Chloe, so once he starts, she starts… And it feels like it’s never going to end. This is how it has been ALL week, in and outside of my apartment. I keep trying to get used to it, but to no avail. Ugh I think my breaking point was when she used the bathroom inside. I stuck her outside, turned up my TV and just ignored her and Sebastian. Don’t worry. I only did it for about 30 minutes. But it was enough to energize me for our 30-minute walk afterwards. Anyway, about the weekend, it will just be a good opportunity for me to bond and learn to trust Chloe since I’ll be home so she’s not crated nearly all day. And I’ll be in my pajamas and/or more comfortable clothes, and I can either catch up on TV or watch romantic comedies allllllllllllllllllll day. Ugh, doesn’t that just sound like a dream? I can’t wait!

4. I have a secret confession – well, not so secret now – to make. I want to listen to the Jonas Bros. CD! I know if I was five years younger, I would be all about them, similar to the way I was crazy about NSYNC. I recently watched “Camp Rock,” and the sing-along version, too. And it was surprisingly cute and fun. I can understand the love and the hype over the Jonas Bros now. I guess one of these days, I’ll break down and get it.

5. It’s crazy when something like the Jonas Bros. reminds me of how childish I was only five years ago. A lot of people think I’m older than I really am, mostly because of the way I carry myself and the company I keep. I guess that’s a compliment?

6. I think I have lost my sense of humor. I’m trying to find things that are funny, because I love funny things! But lately, it just seems I think things are “cute” and I “awww” and “ooo” at them. I think the last thing that made me laugh out loud and ridiculously was “Tropic Thunder.” That was so refreshing.

7. So I’ve caught the buzz and jumped on the bandwagon for vampire romance “Twilight” saga. Besides all the ooey-gooey romance stuff, the first book was enjoyable once it picked up. The second book was slower. And then the third was more exciting. I think the romance was a little too much for me, but I can see what people love the series. I am getting myself excited about the movie, due out this November, watching MTV specials about it, watching the trailers and reading up on the cast and crew. I love the guy playing the main vampire, Rob Pattinson. He’s hot and he was good in his “Harry Potter” role. So far, he’s looks and acts the part. Whether or not it will come through in the movie, we will see. I’m going to read the next book soon, which I believe is the last for now… I’m trying not to read any reviews on the book, because I’ve seen the headline for one review – and it was not good… I don’t want to spoil it for myself though – although, if my expectations will be low enough, I might actually enjoy the book more.

Anyway, this list was supposed to be short and sweet snippets. But as you can see, they’ve turned out to be long, painful paragraph. Will write more later, hopefully as better, more thought out entries.

I'm not gonna fight you on this one

2008-08-15T14:32:00.001-04:00

I know that people always say that if you're love, you'd be willing to do anything for that person. As some songs say, I'd die for you. But in reality, is that really how you show you truly love someone? Some say that I'm so mean to my boy. I don't think that expressing my true opinions and feelings, and laying everything out on the line all the time is being mean. It's just my expression of honestly. And isn't that a key factor in the foundation of a relationship? I like to think that our relationship is ultimately a compromise, a way for us to complement each other in areas where else we might lack. He is passionate about important things and I'm passionate about the details of those important things. He's the ying and I'm the yang. Isn’t that what love is really about? Appreciating and loving someone for everything that they are?

Anyway, despite how one “loves” another, I bluntly told him last night that I would never fight another girl for him. It’s never doubted my mind that others have been interested in him, and in more ways that a friendship. And that is totally fine. It doesn’t bother me because ultimately, it’s his decision to stay with me. I don’t understand why love triangles exist. If someone doesn’t want to be with you, why do you want to be with them? Get over the physicality of it, because that’s usually the reason why. Someone else will come along who will be better and if not better, you make them better. That’s what truly loving someone is all about – making compromises and working together to make each other better people. I think that’s what made me fall for him and him for me. We make each other want to be better people in life, in our goals and what we expect and want out of everything we do.

Now I know that he would never cheat on me, but if he wanted the freedom to see other people or be with someone else, I’m not going to fight for him to see that I’m the better choice. I think that I lay everything out on the line and I give 110% every time. If he can’t see that, then he definitely doesn’t deserve me. And if you can’t give someone yourself wholeheartedly and 110% of the time, then you don’t need to be in the relationship. Don’t force yourself to love someone. That’s now how love happens or not even why it exists.

Maybe I am too strong mentally when it comes to relationships. Perhaps this is why I’m always “mean” or more aggressive… but I like to think that I’m in a point in my life where I am comfortable enough to not second guess who I am and who I want to be with. Anyway, that’s my blog entry for the week. Ugh, I will try to write more in the near future!!!

Short list of thoughts for the day…
1. I’m excited but also nervous to see Chloe today. I bet she’s bigger than Sebastian now.
2. My boss is awesome. I love my job!
3. I am getting Moulin Rouge back today. I haven’t had it in my possession in like 5 years! NO joke. And yes, it is my favorite movie!
4. Tropic Thunder, here I come… I think and hope.
5. OK OK, I keep denying to myself that I don’t like the Twilight series – which I am catching up on via audio books… But, I can’t seem to stop listening to them. Hoping to finish Eclipse this weekend.
6. Are people who read really smarter? Does listening to audio books count?

Yes, it's Monday

2008-08-05T00:02:00.004-04:00

Well as I'm writing this, it's barely past midnight... But I will still include it as Monday because it feels like a LONG week already. Because I want to go to bed earlier tonight, I'm going to just do a short (maybe long) list.

1. It sucks when you find something perfect but you decide for all that it would be best to let it go. Ugh... bye bye perfect dress.

2. I've not showed Sebastian a lot of love the past few days because I found out he has tapeworms. This morning felt like the longest when I had to go to the vet, get him tested, get drugs and then follow him around until he pooped. Yuck... I think I made up for lost love this evening though.

3. The boyfriend thinks he can really take on having a dog. He wants to keep Sebastian for a week. Could I possibly part with my other half for a week?

4. As I'm getting ready for bed, I am wondering if I can trust Sebastian in the bathroom tonight. It's become his favorite place to sleep because I always move him out of the kitchen into my room. The bathroom is the halfway point between the two so I guess it's his way of compromising. Take a lesson from this dog boys! I have trust issues with Sebastian and the bathroom because lately, his favorite thing to do is to unroll my toilet paper. The other day, I found him halfway in the tub. Maybe he's more human than I thought!

5. I watched the Teen Choice Awards tonight. Wow, do I feel old! Thanks to my obsessive TV-watching habits now, I did know a number of the so-called "teen stars" of today. Here's to the Jonas Bros (yes, I have "Camp Rock" in the DVR hold, but have yet to watch), Gossip Girl crew (in the box every Monday - even reruns!), Miley (go'on wit yo bad self hosting the show, you can tell she is so commercial) and Hayden Panettiere (yes I had to look up how to spell that).

6. I DVRed "Finding Nemo" in high def today. Actually DVRing now. Let's hope it's truly in high def so I can anticipate seeing it on Blu-ray. Rumored to not happen until February 09.

7. I DESPERATELY need to be laying in bed by 11 p.m. more often!!!

8. Goooooooooood night!

Harry Potter News

2008-08-01T10:23:00.003-04:00

So author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling announced on her website yesterday plans for the release of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard." The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be published on December 4, 2008, by Rowling's charity, Children's High Level Group, in an exclusive agreement with publishers Bloomsbury and Scholastic and with Amazon. All proceeds will go to the charity. There will be a regular edition ($7.59) as well as a limited number of collector's edition ($100, which will include 10 additional illustrations not featured in the standard or even the original group of books).

According to Rowling, "the new edition will include the Tales themselves, translated from the original runes by Hermione Granger, and with illustrations by me, but also notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore," these notes were of course found in his papers following his death.

Sebastian - the nonstop barking dog?

2008-07-30T16:29:00.004-04:00

Tiny Dog Has Been Barking Nonstop For 6 Years

Thanks for sending along Observation Bubble.

New Harry Potter trailer

2008-07-30T09:28:00.002-04:00

Watch it!

Fat Princess Game

2008-07-29T10:02:00.002-04:00

Feminists cry foul over Fat Princess
Does Sony's cartoony castle game cross the line?
By Ben Silverman

She's plump, powerful and ready to cause more controversy than "SuperSize Me."

She's Fat Princess, the star of Sony's upcoming video game of the same name. Debuting at last week's E3 expo, the colorful Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.

According to popular gaming blog Joystiq, two feminist gaming sites have already voiced their displeasure with the weighty issue.

Feminist Gamer's "Mighty Ponygirl" rings in diplomatically, suggesting a new way to play the game altogether.

"Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry," she said, before adding, "Oh, but that's not as "cute" as cake and fat chicks. Right."

Over at Shakesville, however, writer Melissa McEwan cuts to the chase, telling Sony she's "positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative ---holes."

Sony has yet to issue an official response, although Joystiq did receive a particularly informative update from James Green, Fat Princess' lead art director, who clued gamers in on the origins of the game:

"Does it make it better or worse that the concept artist (who designed the look, characters, everything) is a girl?"

Crocs sales plummet

2008-07-28T13:30:00.002-04:00

Let me just put it out there that I am not a fan of crocs - especially those with the holes on top. I thought for a while that I may get a pair to just have because hell, they were so "in." But alas, I did not, and apparently, all the hype has died down because their sales have plummeted like there is no tomorrow...

Crocs stock plummets after warning

By STEVE LADURANTAYE
July 25, 2008 at 11:06 AM EDT

Shares of Crocs Inc., the once high-flying shoe maker, fell 47 per cent at the open Friday after the company warned it wouldn't come anywhere near its previously announced expectations for the quarter.

The company had told investors they could expect profits of 42 cents (U.S.) to 47 cents a share in its second quarter, but it said after the market closed Thursday that 3 cents to 7 cents would be a more reasonable expectation as sales volumes declined. Analysts were looking for 41 cents.

“Although we made important progress reducing costs in our manufacturing and distribution platform, primarily shutting down our Canadian facility and lowering our headcount, it was not enough to offset the lower than projected sales volumes,” chief executive officer Ron Snyder said in a statement.

Crocs shares closed trading Thursday at $8.95 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. At the open Friday, they were trading for $4.73, down $4.22. They were trading for as much as $75 in October, as the company's brightly coloured, lightweight shoes peaked in popularity.

Mr. Snyder said retailers around the world were being “extremely cautious” with their orders, and were keeping leaner inventories than a year ago. While sales were up 65 per cent in Asia and 13 per cent in Europe in the quarter, the gains were less than expected.

“We are obviously disappointed with the economic situation in the U.S. and parts of Europe, however, we remain confident about the long-term prospects of this business,” he said. “We are currently in the process of sizing our business to be profitable on lower projected sales volumes, and these cost actions will continue through the end of the year.”

Sales projections in the quarter were lowered to $218-million to $223-million, from $247-million to $258-million.

For more on this story, read it here.

Predictions for the marketing industry

2008-07-28T11:42:00.002-04:00

How Are We Doing? And How Will We Do?

PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2008 Global Media Forecast
By Maxwell Lakin Published: July 25, 2008

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Consulting and analysis firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released its five-year global entertainment and media forecast this week. PwC Entertainment & Media Practice Chairman James O'Shaughnessy in New York and Managing Partner Marcel Fenez in Hong Kong note that this latest version of the report, which is now in its ninth year, marks emerging-market growth, in addition to unprecedented established-market gains.

MediaWorks takes a look at the forecasts for several of the media market's largest sectors, including internet-access spending and internet advertising, TV advertising and subscriptions, newspaper and magazine publishing, radio and out-of-home advertising, and recorded music, film and video games.

Internet advertising and spending posted notable gains through the past 18 months, and is projected to steadily increase over the next five years. In general, and with the exception of the lapsing recorded-music sector and a struggling newspaper market, the media industry has done well for itself of late. PwC estimates that total global media and entertainment spending rose 6.4% in 2007, with internet-access spending in particular posting a 16.7% increase.

Read more about these predictions at Advertising Age.

Sebastian Look A Like

2008-07-25T14:37:00.004-04:00

Or maybe Sebastian just looks like this dog... Anyway, this is a maltipoo, Jessica Simpson's maltipoo to be exact.

And here is my baby.

I can see some differences, but overall, pretty similar. A lot more similar than Sebastian and Falcor!

I promise I will not write about my dog.

So in love...

2008-07-25T10:44:00.002-04:00

Let's see if this works...

'Nuff said.

For you fans...

2008-07-25T09:47:00.002-04:00

This was a really interesting article from Advertising Age. It's especially an interesting read for people who are into the entertainment industry and definitely if you are into marketing and PR.

'Iron Man' vs. 'The Dark Knight'
Which Superhero Movie Packed the Biggest Media Punch?
By Antony Young Published: July 24, 2008

Summer blockbusters "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" both showed superhero-like powers when it came to pulling in box-office receipts. "The Dark Knight" delivered a thumping $158.4 million last weekend -- an industry record. "Iron Man's" $98.6 million initial weekend take surpassed all expectations. Talented directors, great lead talent and sensational reviews from critics were naturally a major part of both films' successes. But the marketing and media behind these two Hollywood franchises was a critical ingredient to maximizing both films' potential. Paramount developed the "Iron Man" media strategy for Marvel Entertainment's first funded production, while Warner Bros. was behind "The Dark Knight." The companies took quite different media strategies. Let's review how well they did.

Read the rest of the article here.

This made me laugh

2008-07-25T09:39:00.002-04:00

I was telling a colleague that I "felt old" this morning because I was listening to Westlife and Celine Dion.

Colleague says: celine dion is never old. the hoe can sing. when i first heard her everyone thought she was black

Me: she's not really a "hoe" LOL

I'd never think of describing Celine Dion that way, so it made me nearly laugh out loud at my desk when I read that. Oh goodness!

The Little Things in Life are the Best!

2008-07-24T15:46:00.003-04:00

So I absolutely LOVE Pandora. You put in a favorite song and/or artist, and the program pulls up songs that are similar. Then as you listen, you can rate songs you like and don't like, creating an overall better playlist of songs to fit what you want to hear. After weeks of nagging him to try Pandora.com, I got this e-mail from him the other day...

"Pandora knows me pretty well….started with Flaming Lips…then Modest Mouse then Beatles….then Radiohead.

Sorry it took me so long to try it."

I told him that this e-mail was one of the best I had received in a long time. It shows he listened and he appreciated my thoughts. A rare time, but happy that it happened. Isn't that sad that a gesture so small and insignificant was so significant to me? It's all about the little things in life!

Most Innovative Celebrities in Digital Media

2008-07-24T12:41:00.001-04:00

I thought this was an interesting article. Who knew? Do you think these people actually get online, or do they have a publicist who manages a team behind it? Also, why isn't P. Diddy on this list. I hear, but have not seen, that he has some pretty great online videos! Anyway, just sharing...

Announcing The Econoclast10: Most Innovative Celebrities In Digital Media
By Rafat Ali - Wed 23 Jul 2008 09:00 AM PST

In conjunction with our EconCeleb conference later today, we present the Econoclast10, a top 10 list of the most influential and innovative online celebrities. Whether they’re blogging, investing, entertaining or, well, updating their MySpace profiles, these celebs are finding new ways to reach and interact with their fans. Check out the fancier, illustrated version here.

Our Econoclast10 is below. Please feel free to tell us which picks you agree with—and which ones you don’t—and add your own nominations in the comments.

#1) Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay: The trio’s venture FunnyorDie.com has funny videos featuring celebrities, comedians and you. HBO, which couldn’t make its own comedy site work, recently took a small stake in the site. The trio has wrangled in a plethora of Hollywood’s hipper comedy elite to contribute to FunnyorDie.com and other sites in its network. More named after the jump...

#2) Will.i.am: Black Eyed Peas hip-hop star Will.i.am has his own social network online, Dipdive, and has struck a deal with RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) to put it on Blackberry handsets. He also served as a spokesperson at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Beyond that, Will is responsible for the “Yes We Can” video supporting democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, The video was released on Dipdive.com and YouTube.com, and featured 35 stars including Kate Walsh, John Legend and Scarlett Johansson. It was viewed more than 17 million times and inspired dozens of others to follow suit.

#3) Ashton Kutcher: Ashton Kutcher co-founded the production company Katalyst, which has created TV shows and movies. The company has gone digital and signed a deal with AOL (NYSE: TWX) to produce five programs each with at least 20 mini-episodes to be distributed on AOL.com and AIM. Kutcher is also creative director for tech start-up Ooma; Kutcher’s spearheading the marketing campaign and producing viral videos to promote this service.

#4) Oprah Winfrey: Oprah.com has daily coverage of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and provides millions of users with extensive expert advice, interactive workbooks, photos, video, inspirational stories, books and product information from the show. For some early online cred, Oprah was a founder of multi-platform Oxygen Media long before most people knew you could have multiple platforms. Now she’s partnered with Discovery. In addition, Oprah’s Book Club allows members to connect with other readers from their local area or around the world. Oprah also has a webcast named, “Soul Series,” and an online adaptation of “Live Your Best Life.”

#5) 50 Cent: From drug dealing to fame with the release of his 2003 album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” Curtis James Jackson III has become a rap mogul, founding G-Unit records and achieving multi-platinum success. In addition, Fifty founded the G-Unit Clothing company, has dabbled in movies and consumer products, and has used his Web sites, 50cent.com and thisis50.com, to push the promotion of 50 Cent events and memorabilia arguably more than any urban rap artist to date.

#6) Stephen Colbert: Well known for his popular Comedy Central show, “The Colbert Report,” Stephen Colbert has used the Internet to interact with his fans in new and innovative ways, from Google SEO to a presidential campaign complete with Facebook groups. A winner of the 2008 Webby Awards for “Person of the Year,” Colbert has also used his fame and success to raise funds for his education charity, DonorsChoose.org.

#7) Radiohead: At the end of 2007, Radiohead released their newest album, “In Rainbows,” online in a “pay what you want” form. Some artists are commending the move, most notably, Bono, and others, such as Coldplay, have followed suit by offering their latest single online for free. Radiohead has since re-released their album on-demand on Last.fm and now have their own branded section and new music video available on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and iGoogle.

#8) Peter Gabriel: From his initial fame as the lead vocalist of the rock group Genesis, Peter Gabriel has had a successful solo career and more recently has become a pioneer in digital distribution for music. Gabriel backed OD2, one of the first digital music companies We7, and more recently TheFilter.com, an entertainment site that filters users tastes in music, movies and Web video.

#9) Tila Tequila: Beginning her career with modeling in “Playboy” and “Import Tuner,” Tila Nguyen had begun to find some success as a reality TV star and TV host before her MySpace page catapulted her to fame and “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” debuted. She is now turning to music and with an unconventional tactic: instead of signing with a major record label she will release her first songs only online.

#10) Martha Stewart: Martha Stewart has made her mark in the digital space with MarthaStewart.com, which not only houses her blog and social net, but also recipes, gardening tips and home decorating advice, to name a few—oh, and did we mention she reads the WSJ on her Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Kindle? This year her company bought Emeril and a large stake in wedding planning community site WeddingWire. Late last year, it launched the Martha’s Circle network, enabling advertisers to reach targeted audiences via its niche blogs and sites. Additionally, MarthaStewart.com has everything from recipes to entertaining ideas, and her TV show. The Martha Stewart brand has integrated partnerships online with companies including 1800 Flowers, Everyday Food and Macy’s.

Cute dog

2008-07-24T12:26:00.003-04:00

So I'm going to become the old lady that loves dogs and all the silly things they do...

Sebastian - a small version of Falcor?

2008-07-23T23:46:00.003-04:00

Some believe that my dog looks like that creepy dog in the Neverending Story. Yes - the long dog that can fly... Here are the comparisons!

This is Falcor...

Now this is Sebastian...

Do you see a resemblance?

Another day, another thought

2008-07-23T00:03:00.002-04:00

I am quite proud of myself today. My life since moving into my own place has been quite boring, of course except on weekends. I come home from work, take my dog, cook dinner and then watch TV until bed. Yes, that’s me – 7:30 a.m. – 11 p.m. How sad right? As of lately, I have become OBSESSED with TV, mostly because I know how much it is costing me and because I have DVR. I DVR everything now, even at the same time as I’m watching the show. Anyways, I’m proud of myself because after watching “Kitchen Nightmares,” I decided I wanted to return to an old love – music. So I turned off my tele!

I came to my computer, turned on the “Mamma Mia” movie soundtrack and started dancing around the apartment. This led to singing, then dancing with Sebastian (yes, he danced with me because I don’t have another man in my life who will) and then vacuuming. As I write this, I am sitting in my room – deskless, exhausted, sweaty and yet, smelling like clean carpet. Can you believe that is what has made my night? I swear I need to live a more exciting life. But then again, we choose our own destinies right? I keep saying, one of these days… Ugh I just need to make the leap. Save up for a few years and then take a few weeks off and do things I want to do.

Go to San Francisco or Los Angeles. Hell, go to the West coast!

Live it up big in New York and/or Vegas.

I think I could only be so extravagant for a week or so. And not just because of the finances, but I think mentally, I have to be grounded. At the end of the day, that’s the kind of person I am. Just someone who is grounded and simple. I joke a lot that I’m a 40 year old person in a 20 year old’s body, and friends confirm this. Some say it’s because I’m wise, with which I have to disagree. I think it’s because I’m into things I shouldn’t be into yet – like having kids, yes my maternal clock feels like it’s just ticking away, having a home, etc. I mean, goodness – I’m not even 25 yet! Give me a break! Wait five more years! Haha. Well, for now I have Sebastian, and he’s quite a handful already.

There are so many other thoughts, but alas, it is beyond my bed time. Until I can gather all my thoughts, a list of my random thoughts will suffice for the evening…

I’m annoyed that he only calls me when it’s convenient for him. What’s the saying? Don’t make him a priority when you’re only an option to him.
I am sickly in love with Westlife.
I don’t care what anyone says, I DO like the country version of “Home.” It features the kick ass Miranda Lambert.
I think I am getting annoyed with my cell phone already. It’s only been a few months!
It’s official, I’ll be in GSO for another year at least!
Times have changed since I started blogging. A colleague told me yesterday that I should reserve my blog for more interesting things like cool videos and funny pictures. Hope readers will still enjoy my random meanderings anyway... But I'll try to find some cool videos eventually...

2008-07-22T13:07:00.003-04:00

1. I love it when we have brainstorming sessions at work.
2. I had leftover Chinese for lunch. Might have not been the best choice.
3. Sending out that [impersonal] e-mail blast about my new blog has gotten me in touch with old friends. Nothing I love more!
4. If you're not doing on August 1, join us at Village Park in Kannapolis for a movie on the lawn!
5. I am such a bad mom. This morning, Sebastian woke me up at 5:30 a.m. barking, so I brought him into the bedroom with me, shut the door and went back to sleep. I think he whined for a little bit because he doesn't like being confined to my room anymore, but then he laid next to me and went to sleep soon there after.

Police: Women Arrested In Monroe May Be Sex Slaves

2008-07-21T15:05:00.001-04:00

POSTED on WSOC-TV: 10:28 am EDT July 21, 2008

MONROE, N.C. -- Two women arrested in a prostitution investigation at a North Carolina massage parlor may have been sex slaves illegally brought to the United States, police said.

Son Jarkowsky, 40, owner of the parlor in Monroe, was charged Saturday with trafficking people and allowing a business to be used for prostitution. Police said she violated a total of 33 city ordinances.

The massage parlor opened in 2007 and police said it catered to male customers, but that females who sought massages were ignored.

Police said the business advertised on the Internet and customers came from hundreds of miles away.

Two employees also were arrested, one on a charge of an attempted crime against nature and the other on two counts of indecent exposure.

Sgt. T.J. Goforth said the women didn't speak each other's language and slept on mattresses in the parlor. He said it wasn't clear if they ever left the business

Goforth also said authorities were seeking counseling for the employees.

The four-month investigation showed one woman was from China and another was from South Korea. The probe began when officers received a tip in April and sent undercover officers into the business.

RELATED STORY: Police Shut Down Spa, Arrest Owner On Sex Charges

Nice Charlotte, nice...

Random note

2008-07-19T22:38:00.002-04:00

I think in another lifetime, Colin Firth and I were meant to be together.

If not Colin, Chris Martin...

Another list

2008-07-19T22:33:00.002-04:00

1. Yes, I enjoyed "Mamma Mia."
2. http://mylifesucks69.blogspot.com/. 'Nuff said.
3. I'm so cranky today.
4. Poor Sebastian. He must hate me cranky. Nhia + Cranky = lots of yelling
5. One beer down. Another 12 pack to go.

Old and New Things

2008-07-19T10:09:00.005-04:00

Last night, the boy and I discussed one of the most used high school yearbook acronyms - KIT (keep in touch). As you and friends exchange yearbooks, you leave notes including what you'll be doing in the summer, phone numbers, addresses and in my time, e-mails :). We were looking at his own yearbooks recently and he joked that he should try calling some of the numbers that had been encrypted in his book of memories. After all, friends and acquaintances had invited him to KIT. But he said that he just didn't feel like he should keep in touch with others if they weren't willing to do the same. I whole heartily disagree, but maybe that is why I'm in public relations. I've always known I wanted to be in public relations because I like being able to network with others, I like being social and I like the opportunities public relations can open. Most of all, I like what PR can accomplish through understanding these separate entities. I don't think that I treat my friends like I do business professionals, but the way I am with my friends helps me in tackling the business world.

I like to think I have friends in almost every chapter of my life - high school, college, and definitely at all of the jobs I've held. Maybe these people are just acquaintances, but I like to think of them as friends. These aren't people that I just knew, but people I continue to keep in touch with, whether it's every day, every week, every month or even years in between. It amazes me how much people transition in the time that I have know them and I'd like to continue to follow the steps they make because life is all about the experiences people endure.

Since I am talking about old friendships, there is one thing I will definitely reprise for my blog. A friend of mine used to always post lists on his blog - lists of thoughts, rants and every now and then, to dos. They were so fun to read, but short snippets so I didn't feel like he was dragging me on and on about what he was thinking and doing. And I like to start posting lists on my blog as well. So in his honor :), here is my first list!

1. Sebastian is the funniest, but sweetest dog in the whole wide world.
2. Can't wait for the wedding this evening
3. I finally saw Dark Knight - it was a LOT better than I thought it would be.
4. I anticipate going to see "Mamma Mia." Ugh, will someone go with me?
5. I miss Justin Vick, to whom this list is dedicated.

I do love Coldplay, but this may be too much

2008-07-18T12:08:00.004-04:00

Coldplay to team up with Miley Cyrus?!

Coldplay singer, Chris Martin, says he would like to tour with teen Disney actress, Miley Cyrus, in a bizarre musical match up.

Martin, 31, revealed his secret admiration for the Hannah Montana actress and aspiring pop singer, 15, saying: 'I like Miley Cyrus... I like the TV show.'

Quizzed on a possible touring team up, the Viva la Vida singer, said: 'I'd do it. Anyone we like or respect, no matter how different they may be, we would play with.
Miley

'She's doing something quite different... I just think she seems to have a sweet character.'

Would you like to see Coldplay and Miley duet?

Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun... A new day has come

2008-07-18T10:24:00.004-04:00

This is my first official entry since my last one nearly two years ago. Things have changed so much in my life, and for that, I’ve decided to delete all my previous entries. For one, I am no longer in college. Took 3 ½ years to finish up my degree in communication studies. And now I am young public relations professional – learning the trade, already in a second job.

Second, I’m no longer in a floundering relationship. I had always been on the brink of a break up going into college and even during it. My assumption was that it was the person I was seeing at the time. I’ve come to realize that a lot of those problems stemmed from my own insecurity. Now I’m fatter and even less attractive than I have ever been, but feel more secure and confident in who I am and how I look than ever. I’ve had my ups and downs – as life will have it – and I’m sure I will continue to have those, but for the most part, I am content with my life. I believe a large part of what I was going through when I was in college was just because I felt I needed to be overly dramatic, and boy, did the drama follow. But the tides have changed. I’m no longer a young adult, and feel I have truly moved into the adult phase of my life.

Third, I have responsibilities now. And I don’t mean the responsibility of nagging my boyfriend to spend time with me or the responsibility of going to class on time. I have a small apartment and another life that depends on me. I think we all have a need to feel needed or responsible. My dog satisfies that for me. He is everything I could’ve ever hoped for and completes my life in a way that I didn’t know he could. And I actually pay all my bills now – rent, electricity, water, cable and more.

Well, what’s to come? It’ll be documented here in my very own, revamped online journal. Hopefully it won’t be allllllllllll about my dog, as some have speculated… Thanks for visiting and I hope you’ll come again.

2008-06-15T18:02:00.002-04:00

hi world. be back soon