typin' away with jesstagirl

Makin' The Move!

2009-05-20T19:29:00.005-07:00

Okay, this will be my final post over here at Typin' Away With Jesstagirl. I've loved this name, but it's time to move on.

So without further ado, please change your subscriptions, retype your bookmarks, and come follow me over at:

A Lady and Her Officer

http://jessicalynnwrites.blogspot.com

And don't worry! The name may have changed, but the "old" content still there!

Doname Change

2009-05-20T16:47:00.002-07:00

Heh. Do you see what I did with the title of this post? It should be "domain" but I changed it to "doname," oh, I'm so clever sometimes!

All cheesiness aside, I'm considering changing the domain (URL) of this blog. My reasoning is because I've heard from some people (who don't have this bookmarked or subscribe to it) that "jeslynn02" is confusing because it's one "s" and two "n's." Plus I want it to be simple and have this blog name correlate with my professional Web site (debuting sometime within the next few months!).

But here's my problem. I've been blogging under this URL for quite some time. I think I know a way to easily swap out domains and leave a nice little message at this one in case people still show up, but here's my dilemma: I like to link to past posts and I'm afraid that those will all be broken links if I switch names.

Oh maybe I should just start a whole new blog all together since I'm kind of starting a new chapter in my life anyway.

Hmmm...decisions, decisions...

*I'm so sorry if this is going over your head. I think I'm mostly writing this out so I can try to figure out what I'm doing!*

If you kept up with this and know what I'm talking about, advice would be greatly appreciated!

To Do Till We Do

2009-05-20T06:23:00.006-07:00

Today marks the nine-month mark. Yup, in 276 days we'll be tying the knot! I made a to-do list of all that I could think of that I need to take care of before the wedding, so I thought I'd share it. Feel free to let me know if I'm missing anything!

The Look:

Dress DONE! (Brides by Demetrios)
Engagement Ring: DONE! (Blue Nile)
Veil:
Garter:
Ceremony shoes:
Bride accessories (earrings, necklace, etc.)
Bridesmaid dresses:
Flower girls dresses:
Groomsmen suits/tuxes:
Rehearsal dinner dress:
Something old
Something new
Something borrowed
Something blue
Talk to custom jeweler about creating my band:
My wedding band:
His wedding band:
Find MUA:
Find Hairstylist:
Makeup trial:
Hair trial:

Pre-Wedding:

Wedding website DONE!
DJ: DONE! (my brother @ Tuffersound
Photographer: DONE! Kim Jackson Photography
Pre-wedding photographer:DONE! Don James
Videographer DONE! my cousin @ Kiko Productions
Engagement pictures DONE! (ask for link)
Wedding Planner: DONE! Karen with Celebrations! Style
Get e-ring insured
Check with fire marshal to have candles at reception
Guest list
Design Save The Dates (Laura)
Make/print Save The Dates
Send Save The Dates
DIY Invitations
Send out Invites
Registries
Block rooms at hotel
DIY Programs
DIY Guestbook
Have our Tasting
Find a florist
Decide on Honeymoon
Rehearsal dinner location
Book Honeymoon
Pickup Marriage License
Gifts for BM and parents
Family must-take photo list

Ceremony:

Ceremony location: DONE! (Hotel Albuquerque in chapel)
Ceremony music:
Pick “readings”:
Find faux petals:
DIY Pomanders for aisles:
DIY flower girl baskets
DIY Table Runners
DIY Labels for wine bottles (if venue allows it)

Reception:

Reception location: DONE! (Hotel Albuquerque in the Franciscan)
Music
- First Dance:
- Father/Daughter:
- Mother/Son:
- Bouquet Toss:
- Garter Toss:
- Cake Cutting:Sugar Sugar, Pour Some Sugar on Me, How Sweet it is (to be loved by you), Build Me Up Buttercup

Get coffee beans for centerpieces:
Get square vases for centerpieces
Get flowers for centerpieces
Cake:
Groom’s Cake:
Cupcakes:
Photobooth (?)
DIY cupcake/cake flags
DIY crossword puzzle:
DIY photo upload cards:
DIY Centerpieces
DIY Napkins (?)

GET MARRIED!!!

Gimme A Break!

2009-05-19T05:51:00.005-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging over here, there's a lot going on in my life right now and yesterday the stress took over. I love that post-it note to the left because it's exactly what I feel like doing lately.

Just for shits 'n giggles (really? who came up with that phrase?!), here's a look at what I have going on in the next several months, and why my IBS is kicking up all of a sudden. Oh, was that TMI (too much information)? Sorry!

May 22 - flying out of ABQ at 6:50 pm to Denver.
May 23 - arrive in ATL at 6 am
May 25 - driving to Pensacola, Florida with Kenny (this is a new change of plans thanks to the Air Force)*
May 26 - flying from Pensacola to Atlanta, from Atlanta to Denver, and from Denver to ABQ. Woot.
May 29 - flying to San Diego at 7 am
May 31 - HALF MARATHON - YEA!!!
June 1 - flying back home at 8 pm
June 7 - friend's bachelorette party
June 12 - friend's rehearsal/dinner
June 13 - friend's wedding
June 28 - ATM Chef Knockout
July 3–July 6 - Georgia to see Kenny
July 11 - FSIL (future sister in law) bridal shower
July 24 - Brother and FSIL rehearsal
July 25 - Brother and FSIL wedding!!
August 15 - Absolute last day to get TNT fundraising money in
August 24 - Vegas for my cousin's 21st birthday
September 1–September 15 - Going. Back. To. England!!!! (I booked my ticket last night!!!)

Um. So. Yeah. I'm kinda stressed. Not to mention, work is kinda stressing me out at the moment, but I think that's more due to thinking about all of the above than actual work. I also want to start working on all these little DIY projects I have for the wedding since I "have so much time," but now I'm afraid all the time is going to fly by without me doing any of the fun projects I want to do.

And as a completely different side note, can I share a major pet peeve with you? I can't stand it when people call pets (usually dogs) their "kids" or "babies." For some reason it just gets under my skin. No offense if you have an animal you love just as you would another human being, it's just a thing that really bugs me personally!

Okay, there's my rant for today.

*The Air Force likes to mess with Kenny and I all the time. It seems like whenever we make solid plans (usually they include purchasing a non-refundable airline ticket) they give him or change his orders a couple days after we get the ticket. For example: We bought the ticket on Friday and on Monday they told him he's going to Florida for work the day I'm supposed to leave. Oh, Air Force, you're really quite annoying.

Favorite Things

2009-05-17T18:07:00.004-07:00

Hey Readers,

This is my 400th post! Whoa! So in honor of making it to number 400, here are a few of my favorite things (in no particular order, and I know I'm leaving things out).

Kenny
Ranch dressing (specifically from Dions, Chilis, pelicans, The Quarters BBQ)
Baked Flamin' Hot Cheetos
Garlic croutons
Green chile
The dry climate in Albuquerque
Flip flops
Blogging (here and here)
Planning my wedding!
Trying to pay it forward
My wedding gown
Traveling (cars, planes, trains, automobiles, truck stops, airports, etc.)
Coffee ice cream with apple pie filling, and cinnamon from Cold Stone
Schmumfy and Harry
Chick flicks
cupcakes

Okay. I think that's all for now! Leave a comment with your favorite things. Hope you had a good weekend :)

Friday Poll

2009-05-15T15:57:00.004-07:00

Whoops! I almost forgot to post a new poll for this week. Here are the results from last week, and I'm very happy to see there are two other readers who are left handed just like me (woot woot!):For this week I'm curious what you guys top your salads with! Are you all about the creamy ranch or a light vinaigrette?

Salad Dressing Preference:
* Ranch
*Blue Cheese
*Vinaigrette
*Thousand Island
*French
*Lemons
*Nothing
*Other

About 10 minutes ago, Kenny and I bit the bullet and bought a ticket for me to go see him over Memorial Day weekend. I couldn't be more excited about this, because that means I get to see him one. week. from. today!!!!! I must have spend at least two cumulative hours trying to find a flight that would give us the biggest bang for our buck, so to speak.

Here's my flight info so you can see the craziness I go through to see my man! Luckily I love traveling and usually don't have any problems sleeping in airports or on planes.

(click to enlarge and get the full effect)

I love the feeling after I buy a plane ticket somewhere! Hope you all have a great weekend.

The Pain Game

2009-05-14T05:46:00.011-07:00

I'm possibly being the laziest person ever right now. You see, as I type this—from the couch—there's an extremely fit woman hosting a Comcast OnDemand Bridal Shape Up on my TV. Yup. I gave up on it, so here I am.

(Side note: I wasn't completely lazy today, I even did this workout before I clicked for the bootcamp, and you know what? It was freaking hard - seriously, watch that segment and then try doing it! I hate how these trainers make it look like a piece of cake!)

I think I forgot to mention that I hurt my knee about two weeks ago, and the back story to that is that it's the same knee I had surgery on several years ago. My knee has never given me trouble before, but the second I felt—and heard—a not-so-pleasant feeling I knew I did something bad. Luckily it only hurts if I put a lot of strain on it (i.e. walk up hill, downhill, do jumping jacks, squats, lunges, etc.), so I'm still continuing with training for my half marathon (16 days away!!!).

But here's the crappy part.

A couple days before I hurt my knee I kinda sorta ordered my wedding gown (WOOTY WOOT!!!), but I may have ordered it in not one, but TWO sizes smaller than what I am right now. Yup.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Hello, my name is Jessica and I just became a crazy bride. So now you can see why a knee engery is kinda cramping my style - literally. It hurts to do cardio and I need to do cardio because that, combined with my healthy-eating lifestyle, is how I will lose weight.

These are some of the videos I've been using and actually enjoy working out to, but I think I may need to take up swimming again until I get this knee problem under control. It's really a gigantic inconvenience because I actually like working up a sweat in the mornings. Lately I've been working a lot on strength and sclupt using hand weights, but I can only do so many arm work outs. If you guys can think of any other low-impact way to get my cardio in, please let me know.

Smell You Later

2009-05-13T16:13:00.004-07:00

I opted for a healthy lunch today so I went to Subway, but I always forget about one thing when I go there: how much it stinks!

Seriously! If you've never noticed it before then you're sure to notice it now, but it just smells. And the worst part is that you reek of of "Subway" the rest of the day.

On the bright side, they do have tasty sandwiches if you managed to get a decent "sandwich artist."

P.S. Hello to everyone reading from around the world! I like the fact that even though I'm not traveling these days my blog is!

Not-Frequent-Enough Flier

2009-05-12T19:16:00.007-07:00

I've been flying back and forth to see Kenny for the past two years and I try to visit him every other month. Now, I'm not good at math (I wrote papers about math and played tic-tac-toe in my college math class and I still barely passed— but that's a whole other blog post), but after flying more than 3,000 miles round trip each time I go out there, you'd think I would have racked up enough frequent flier miles by now to have a free trip, right? Wrong.

I'm sure this would be the case if I had stuck with one particular airline, but I'm cheap so I fly by who offers me the cheapest flight. This means I'm part of the Frontier, American Airlines, and Delta flier programs, all of which only give you super-flier status if you fly around a million miles with them.

I think I'm pretty close to getting a free flight (or at least the next membership level which means I'll get a free drink and movie on a flight - whoop) on Delta and Frontier, but here's my dilemma: I'm about to book two more trips for June and July, but the cheapest flight is on American. Do I pay around $100 more for each trip out there just so I can get the extra miles? Or do I go the cheaper route and just hope that someday I reach the next membership level.

My Mama

2009-05-10T16:18:00.008-07:00

(When I lived in England in 2004/2005 I would periodically send e-mails home to friends and family. This was one of those emails - I hope you enjoy! Happy Mother's Day!)

A Father’s Surprise

My grandma loves England. My grandma loves England so much that she's gone abroad just to go on a garden tour, yes, a tour of only English gardens. So when she found out that her only granddaughter would be studying in England for a year, she booked her flight to London and convinced her long-time college friend, Betty, to go with her. Really, it was a great excuse for her to visit the UK again; this would be her sixth visit to England.

I couldn’t be more excited to have them come out and see me. Not only would I get to be with family again, but I'd also get some much-needed ‘supplies’ from home (i.e. tortillas, batteries, shampoo and conditioner, scarves, and basically anything I could think of, because everything is cheaper in America.)

About two weeks ago I was talking to my mom on the phone and she mentioned that my dad was also sending me a surprise! ‘Oh fantastic,” I thought, “Maybe he’ll send me Reese’s Pieces (he knows I love them, and can’t get them out here), or an article he saw on a band I like since he likes clipping things from newspapers sometimes.” I thought of all the possibilities of what the ‘surprise’ could be….

My grandma’s flight arrived in London at 7:30am on Friday, the 29th of October, and she told me she’d call if she could when she landed, to let me know she and Betty arrived safely, but she said ‘not too worry’ if she didn’t call since she would be busy and a bit stressed. She told me to expect the two of them sometime in the afternoon.

Around 2pm I began to get a little worried and considered calling Peter (the tour guide for the weekend) to make sure everything was ok. I also considered calling home to ask my mom and dad if they had heard from her, but I remembered that my mom was going to an all-day workshop and my dad was going to work early. I heard my mom's voice in my head telling me not to worry and to be patient. Luckily my best friend, who was also studying abroad in Australia, eased my mind and called me around 2:30pm. We talked for a little bit, but my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car.

I quickly got off the phone with her and ran outside. I gave my Grandma a huge hug and a kiss and I turned around to welcome Betty. But, there was one problem.

When I turned around it wasn’t Betty who I was looking at… it was my mom! MY MOM!!!! Thousands of thoughts were racing through my mind and I didn’t know whether to laugh, or cry, so I did both.
I heard her say, “Surprise! I’m Betty.” But at that moment I couldn’t comprehend what exactly was going on! I invited my mom, grandma and Peter into my house and gave them a very brief and scattered tour. They proceeded to give me treats and things from home. As this was happening I was still trying to put everything together – boy did they have some explaining to do!

About a half hour later we were ready to go begin our weekend of sightseeing and touring. And what do you know; the weather began to clear up the moment we left the university, and was actually unbelievably nice the whole time.

On the way to our Bed and Breakfast my mom and grandma filled me in on everything. They told me how EVERYONE knew about this surprise…EVERYONE, that is, except for me and all of my friends. So, for ALL of you who knew about this, I congratulate you for not letting the cat out of the bag!!!

It was on the way to the B&B when I finally calmed down and stopped shaking. I called my dad and thanked him for my ‘surprise!" I’m still so happy and so surprised; it’s very surreal. My papa’s gift was a very unselfish and amazing surprise, I’m very lucky to have such great parents!!!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

This one is hands down, my favorite picture from my entire time in Bournemouth, England.

Notting Hill on a Saturday!

Buckingham Palace changing of the guard.

White Cliffs of Dover

Stonehenge

Us posing in front of Stonehenge with a local paper!

THE Dress!

2009-05-09T06:17:00.006-07:00

The title of this blog may be a slight teaser, because you see, you're not going to see any pictures of "The One." Kenny sometimes stops by here and I'd hate for him to catch a glimpse of the dress.

(I know you all must be SO disappointed I'm not going to wear the one on the left...I kid, I kid!)

But! I am so giddy and excited over this gown. I didn't have the magical moment when I first tried it one, and it certainly wasn't the first one I tried on, but after I put this one on and "sat on it" for a few days I knew it's the one I wanted to wear. I know it's silly but I think about it often throughout the day and I'm really sad I only get to wear it for one day.

So far my mom, Laura (maid of honor), Natalie (bridesmaid), my dad, and my grandma have seen the dress on me, and I think I'm going to keep it that way. I want people to be surprised at the wedding.

Anyway, I decided to write about it today because I'm going back to try it on again and get the size to order. We already paid (half the cost) a week and a half ago, but now I need to go and sign the contract and all that jazz!

Did you (or are you planning on) show your fiance The Dress before the wedding?

Friday Poll

2009-05-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

*Wow! Two posts in one day and three within 24 hours? Consider yourselves lucky!*

The media sure has a way of freaking out the human race (remember the Hanta Virus and the West Nile virus?) But with the ~~Swine~~ H1N1 Flu, I was really scared for awhile. Sure, I'm also sometimes a hypochondriac, but the flu is something people can feasibly get! Combine the real-life threat with the fact that I was flying on an airplane while this pandemic was spreading didn't give me much comfort.

But then I realized that hundreds of thousands of people get the flu every year and more than that, people die from the regular flu! Anywho, long story short, I got over the media-hype and realized that I just need to be sanitary (wash my hands, use sanitizer, and keep myself healthy...like people should always be doing!).

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought that this silly scare will fly by sooner or later. (Ha. ha. get it? FLY by? Swine flu? When pigs fly?" Ha. Okay, that was kinda lame...)

Now for today's poll:

Are you... * Left handed
or * Right handed

I hope you all are having a great Friday!

For All You Do

2009-05-08T05:41:00.005-07:00

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day and even though I haven't joined the ranks yet, I'm learning to appreciate all that spouses do for our country and our men and women. As a previous girlfriend and present fiance, I've had my ups and downs of already dealing with what the military dishes out. I've been through a deployment (and preparing for another one), I've had dates changed on me, and have realized that nothing is ever certain till he's literally in the air on his way to his destination...and even then I'm pretty sure things are negotiable.

I've been very fortunate to meet some unbelievable military wives who have already made me feel welcome and I can't wait to meet more women like the ones I've already met.

p.s. I'll post the results of this past week's poll later this afternoon, but you can start taking the next one now. Oh! And check out the post I did late last evening (below).

Someday My Life Will Begin

2009-05-07T20:18:00.009-07:00

Some day my life will begin, but just not at this moment.

I'm so ready for my next chapter to begin that I can hardly stand it. I just watched Grey's Anatomy tonight and it sure reminded me of what love is.

Love is wanting to still touch someone even when they're dripping wet from humidity.

Love is making new friends with strangers even when the thought of "people" scares the heck out of you.

Love is putting up with families that are as different as night and day.

Love is moving across the world to follow someone because you can't stand another day without them.

Love is finding comfort in an email or a text when your significant other is thousands of miles away from you.

Love is being patient when she doesn't understand how to make gravy or how to hang curtains.

Love is realizing that someone is just as beautiful after waking up or after working out than they are when they get all dolled up.

Love is having durn good inside jokes to make each other laugh.

Love is understanding two people are different by finding balances between the two.

Love is taking naps on his lap when you know he'd rather be doing anything but wasting an hour of his day.

Love is feeling your heart ache, because it's missing its other half.

Love is giving up your dream of eloping in Vegas at a drive-thru chapel because your fiance has a dream of wearing a gorgeous dress.

Love is always saying goodbye, but knowing there will always be a hello.

Love is all around.

Love is.

Nice To Meet You!

2009-05-06T08:21:00.006-07:00

I've been noticing a lot of traffic lately on my lil ol' blog, so I figured it'd be nice for a meet and greet type of post!

So what do you say? Are you ready to share a little bit about yourself? I see you lurking on here from Canada, the UK, Brazil, Virginia, Massachusetts, California...oh how the list could go on!

I know commenting on a blog may seem scary for some of you, but I personally love knowing I'm writing stuff that people actually read. Besides, you don't even need to sign up for an account! Just click the little "thoughts" down at the bottom of this post, copy and paste the questions, and write your own answers. Or shoot, don't even answer the questions, just say hello and tell me where you're from! (See, I even purposefully made it "thoughts" with the idea that more than one person would comment!)

Here, I'll even go first:

Hi, my name is: Jessica
Do you have any pets? I have two hamsters, Schmumfy and Harry, and a dog named Oreo.
What's your favorite food? I love chile and Italian food.
Have you ever lived in another country? Yep! I lived in England four years ago.
Have you ever met a famous person? I've met Drew Carey, Eddie Izzard, several musicians, and...yeah, I think that's about it.
What countries have you visited? Oh wow, Mexico, Canada, England, N. Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and France.
Are you a 'morning' or 'night' person? Morning!
How many cities have you lived in? Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Atlanta, and Bournemouth.
What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Coffee or cookies 'n cream. Put if it's from Cold Stone then I like coffee ice cream with apple pie filling and cinnamon sprinkled in it. Mmmmm...so good!
What's your favorite color? Red and black, which surprisingly are not the colors in my wedding.
What season do you like the best? Fall - it's gorgeous wherever you're living.
Where do you live now? Albuquerque, New Mexico

Okay, now it's your turn! Please? Pretty please?

Catchin' Up...again

2009-05-05T05:00:00.006-07:00

My apologies for being MIA again for the past several days. You see, I took a little weekend trip to Georgia to go see my man and when I go out there I seem to forget what a computer is. Spending time with him becomes my top priority. Anyway, this weekend his base was hosting an air show, so I got to see lots of fast plans in action; twas very fun if you ask me!The Thunderbirds in action!

If only I had a video camera! This guy was doing flips, twists and flying upside down!

:) Good times. I'm surprised I'm smiling despite the yucky humidity!

This is where my airman works. Notice just how gigantic those computers are! I think someone needs to let the Air Force know that computers come in much smaller packages these days!

And this is the plane he flies on, called the JStar!

I have about 50 more pictures from my trip - all from the air show - so I'll hopefully get them on my photo blog very soon (as in later tonight, maybe).

Since I was gone on Friday I missed out on the Friday Poll, so let me just recap that and get a new poll up now.
It looks like we have a few die-hard tweeters, but the majority of you are "just saying no" to Twitter. I wish I could've done that, but unfortunately I do have an account; I just don't update it all that often. Personally I like Facebook more...

Moving on to other business of the morning. For this week's short poll I thought I'd take a cue from the recent Swine Flu scare and see if you're letting the H1N1 Flu get in the way of your life:

Swine Flu thoughts:
* I'm freaking out, man!
* This too shall pass
*Whatever
*Other

Whew! Okay, apology (check), air show (check), poll (check), mention the swine flu (check). Ah. I know what I'm forgetting....

As many of you know, to my family Cinco de Mayo is more than just a day to enjoy margaritas. It's the day my dad was diagnosed with cancer (click link for that post).

I hope, if you haven't already, you'll check out the little button to the right that says "Help Me Fight Cancer." And I hope even more that you'll donate something...anything. It's because of donations and research (and prayers) that my dad is still alive today. Some of the medicines he was taking during his treatment were outragiously priced, but thanks to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (and from people who donated money), they gave him a sort of scholarship, so we didn't have to pay $3,000 per dose - I kid you not.

So while everyone is out drinking Coronas and eating yummy fajitas and guacamole, I'll definitely be thinking about receiving that phone call from my mom four years ago today. I hope you all have a fantastic Cinco de Mayo, and I also hope that maybe when you dip your chip into that salsa you'll remember what today means to me and my family and maybe, just maybe (!), you'll come back to this post, click the link, and donate some money so other people can enjoy their families on holidays.

Engagement Photos!

2009-04-30T05:58:00.010-07:00

Last week I gave you a sneak peak of our engagement pictures, so today I wanted to tease you with even more! Check out the end of this post for the link to see all 53 of them if you so desire. If you can't tell, I'm pretty darn excited about these, so I hope you enjoy them as much as Kenny and I do!

All photos by Kim Jackson Photography.

If you can stand to see more of us, head over to our SmugMug for 48 more.

P.S. you only have until tonight to vote on the Twitter poll on the right!

Trash Talking

2009-04-28T06:21:00.003-07:00

I've been branching out of my normal training routine and stepping away from the treadmill at the gym. Recently, I've been walking outside around my neighborhood. It's just so nice outside in the mornings now, and today I even left my earphones out of my ears and let the birds sing to me. Everything about this morning's walk was fantastic...

...except for this:

Today's trash day in my neck of the 'hood, and whenever I'd get within 10 feet of most of these black and blue bins I could sure tell that some of that trash had been sitting in there for a good week. It kinda puts a damper on the nice, fresh air.

The Way I Always Look

2009-04-27T09:14:00.002-07:00

This song just popped up on my iTunes and I immediately thought it'd be a great First Dance song.

The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra

But then I started really listening to the lyrics:

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you...
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart...
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ... Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.

Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm,
Just the way you look to-night.

I think they're really nice and would be great for a first dance, and as much as I want Kenny to remember what I look like on our wedding day, I want him to remember that he loves me even on the days when I look like crap, when I'm feeling sick, or when I just got home from running eight miles.

I don't want him to love me based on how I look on our wedding night while we're dancing the night away; I want him to love me just the way I look tonight...

Possible Centerpiece?

2009-04-25T18:45:00.008-07:00

I took a quick trip to Dollar Tree today to see if they have square vases, because the price for vases from fancy schmancy stores want to charge me mucho. I decided I'd like my centerpieces to be in square vases filled with coffee beans and have poofy light pink flowers. Something like this:

Since real flower centerpieces cost way more than I want to pay, I thought it'd be a better idea to try to make my own. Yup. I'm going to attempt to Do. It. Myself. Well, it won't be all DIY, in reality I'll need help from my mom and friends!

Okay, back to my quick project (seriously, it was quick. This took me MAYBE 15 minutes). I got a square vase ($1), two bunches white carnations (1 dozen, $2), and two bunches of light pink roses (1 dozen, $2 - but I only used six of them, so really it was $1 for that). So. The grand total for this centerpiece? Four bucks. When/if I do this for real I'll probably get some flowers from Hobby Lobby, because I don't really want white flowers. BUT, what do you think of the carnations? I think it gives it that soft, poofy look I like! The vase is also a little small, I think, so I'd need to see what it looks like on table set for ten people.
Just squint real hard and maybe you'll see coffee beans in the vase, and all light pink flowers. So what do you think? Seriously, honest opinions!

The Day After

2009-04-25T06:36:00.003-07:00

The day and the day after either I or Kenny leaves each other is always hard. We just get so used to being around one another that when they're gone you have to readjust your life. It's back to the IMing and texting each other routine. Yesterday I actually contemplated moving our wedding up several months, but the only feasible time we could have it would be too close to my brother's wedding, and I'm pretty sure that's a big etiquette no-no.

It's not that I feel like the next 302 days will be a waste spent out here, it's just that I want to get on with my life with him. I know it's going to be a somewhat rocky transition (with me picking up my entire life and moving/changing lifestyles/jobs), but I just want it to start as soon as possible, and 10 months from now just seems like ions away.

(I just liked this picture so much I wanted to use it again! AND notice how it's centered around Atlanta - how cool is that? If only the picture was taken about half an inch lower, a little closer to Warner Robins!)

I find myself checking out our engagement photos more often than may be considered healthy, but he just looks so darn fantastic in them that I want to look at him all the time. Hopefully I'll get those photos up somewhere sometime soon so you guys can see them, too. While I don't think they'll be as drool-worthy for you (because if they are I may have to sit down and have a talk with you and tell you that HE'S MINE!), I do hope you'll like them.

I'm spending most of today out in Tome, New Mexico watching my great aunt Tia while my mom and dad are spending a weekend out of town. She doesn't have the Internet there (GASP), so I'm taking a lot of work with me to finish. I wish I had some wedding projects I could start on!

Hope you all have a good Saturday!

Friday Poll

2009-04-24T06:25:00.005-07:00

source

Here's a sneak peak of our engagement photos! I'm just waiting to get the CD of them so I can get them all online. That's one of my favorites :)

Based on my very un-scientific poll, I'm willing to guess that most of you live or are from the West side of America. I, personally, can't handle the taste of sweet tea. No sugar in that refreshing drink for me, thank you very much!

As for this week's poll, I wanna know if you Tweet!

Do you Tweet?
* I have twitter, but don't tweet
* I can't stop tweeting
* No, I refuse to sign up
* Other (leave a comment)

An Almost Goodbye

2009-04-23T08:22:00.003-07:00

This morning my dad asked me when Kenny leaves. I told him, “tomorrow,” but I must have said it with a gloomy tone, because he asked me why I was sad. Stating what I thought was the obvious, I said, “because he’s leaving!” And then my dad responded with, “Well you’ll only be apart for a week, you’re seeing him next Friday.”

And then it hit me.

People don’t understand. Some people just don’t get that being away from the one you love is hard, really hard. I realize Kenny and I both choose to be in this long distance relationship; I understand that I could have moved out there as soon as I knew I loved him so we wouldn’t have to go minutes, days, and months, apart from each other, but I didn’t move.
Knowing that I’m going to see Kenny next Friday (I’m going out there for the weekend) only makes saying goodbye tomorrow a tiny bit less hard. Couples in normal (i.e. not long distance) relationships rarely spend time away from each other, but my relationship will always be based around countdowns, hellos, and goodbyes, so I just wish people would take our situation a little more seriously.

After I see Kenny next weekend we’re not quite sure when we’ll be together again. The (hopeful) plan is for him to come out for my brother’s wedding in July, but that’s not set in stone yet. Nothing ever is when you’re life is determined by the whims of the military. Other than that, he’ll be deployed in the fall.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it sure makes the rest of you lonely. – Charlie Brown

In the Mean Time:

2009-04-22T10:15:00.003-07:00

While I figure out what I want to blog about, why don't you take the survey to the right. And while you're at it, feel free to leave suggestions for other poll topics!

All Smiles

2009-04-20T14:44:00.005-07:00

Talk about a whirlwind last several days! Kenny flew into town Wednesday morning and I’ve been attached to his hip ever sense. (Okay, in all actuality, I’ve been attached to his thigh since he’s a good foot taller than I am). I’ll spare you the hour-by-hour schedule, but it’s safe to say we got a lot of wedding “stuff” done and I’m feeling a lot less stressed about things. This is the only time he’ll be in town before December rolls around, so I thought of the things I wanted him here for and we went to town, literally.

Here’s a brief recap:
* Signed the contract for our ceremony and reception venue
* Checked out rings, tux’s, and started a brief registry
* Had a blast taking our engagement photos (we should hopefully get them back by this Thursday!) (We were originally going to take them at the airport, but after realizing the Sunport isn’t exactly photogenic, we opted to shoot them in Nob Hill. I really can’t wait to get them back.)
* Went over possibilities for a First Dance song, but that's still up in the air.
* And most importantly, I’ve enjoyed seeing my fiancé every day.

When you’re in a long distance relationship, it really makes you appreciate the time you have together.

I know I slacked on getting my regular poll up on Friday, so I’ll put one up today. But first, the results from the last poll!
It looks like the overwhelming response is that you all like Christmas/Hanukkah the best. I put my vote towards New Years. That’s when Kenny and I first met and I really like the traditional meal my immediate family has that night followed with a celebrations with my friends!

For this week’s poll, I want to know what you like to drink:

Which do you prefer?
1. Sweet Tea
2. Unsweet Tea

I still need to get my photos of the day up, so keep an eye out for those!

After these messages

2009-04-16T10:26:00.001-07:00

...I'll be right back!

*My man is in town, so I'm skipping time on the computer to hang out with him. I'll resume blogging when my life becomes boring again*

Engagement Shoot Inspiration

2009-04-12T17:40:00.010-07:00

Kenny and I are taking engagement pictures next Saturday and I managed to get the location for the shoot at the Albuquerque Sunport Airport. Do you see the connection? Kenny and I have been long distance our whole relationship, and with him being in the Air Force and all, well, airports have some significance in our lives!

So with that said, I went out into the world of the Web and found some other airport engagement photos. These are some of my favorites and I wanted to share it with you. Now, I'm almost positive there won't be any airplanes in our photos (just part of the deal I worked out because of silly liability reasons, but if you all cross your fingers and send us good vibes next Saturday, maybe they'll appear!

I'm really anxious to see what our pictures will end up looking like; this definitely isn't your traditional engagement shoot, but hopefully it'll all turn out great. Our photographer, Kim Jackson, possibly sounds even more excited about this than us, and I'm taking that as a very good sign!

So what do you think of our shoot! I also numbered these photos because I'm interested in which are your favorites (I have a few that really stand out and I'm in love with). Without further ado, here are a roundup of my favorite pics:

1:2:

source for above four

source for above three

source for above two

10:

11:

source for above two

12:

source

So that's all of 'em. What do you think?

Tome Hill Pilgrimage

2009-04-11T17:57:00.004-07:00

In honor of it being Easter weekend (and the fact that I didn't really do anything productive or exciting today), I think you should check out my pictures from yesterday if you haven't already. I have great plans to write a legit article about my adventure yesterday, but that's not going to happen tonight.

Friday Poll

2009-04-10T05:33:00.001-07:00

There wasn't a great turnout for this week's poll, because I'd like to think I have more than five people reading this! (One of those votes is from me and another, I think, is from my mom!) Either way it looks like I have some lazy people who like to read this. KIDDING! But other than that it looks like everyone works out throughout the day. I'm a morning worker-outer. Once I get home in the afternoon that it and I'm done for the day!

Now for the next poll! In honor of Easter this Sunday, I wanna know what holiday you like the best. And if it's not listed, feel free to share it in the comment section.

What's your favorite holiday?

New Years
Valentine's Day
Easter/Passover
Fourth of July
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas/Hanukkah

Kiss and Make Up

2009-04-09T08:25:00.005-07:00

I woke up having a “case of the Thursdays” and I hope the feeling departs soon. Kenny and I had an argument last night – nothing serious, but it still sucks arguing over the phone and being 1,405 miles apart. Normal couples can kiss and make up. Us? Well, we say we love each other, hang up, and hope for sweet dreams.

I went on my normal “homework” walk this morning and walked around a local park. It was a gorgeous day, but I still couldn’t shake that grouchy, oh-woe-is-me feeling. I decided to treat myself to some coffee, but after I paid for it and got to my car I realized I accidentally left my caffeine sitting on the counter at Dunkin’ Donuts. “It’s one of those days,” I said with an embarrassed laugh as I went back in and picked up my day’s saving grace.

Yup. It’s one of those days.

Is This It?

2009-04-06T20:23:00.003-07:00

It seems that everyone—from my day-of coordinator to people I randomly meet—must know what my colors are for the wedding. I know I should just buckle down and pick them, but I've just been so indecisive. Well, tonight I think I'll just go ahead and pick them. I worked on this inspiration board all nigh, and it was surprisingly fun.

Dun...Dun...Dun...

sweet pink and brown by jesstagirl on Polyvore.com

Pink and Brown will be the inspiration for our wedding...

...I think.

Windy City

2009-04-04T17:48:00.006-07:00

I should start off by saying I'm surprised nobody blew away today. We've had some ridiculous wind lately—I'm talking 70-mile-an-hour gusts and 30-degree weather. And needless to say, this was not an ideal setting for a garage sale. But, we went about our sleepy ways and started setting up at 6:30 am.

And before we knew it, people started showing up!

I know the pretty blue sky can be deceiving, but believe me, it was windy! Some of the things weren't selling as quickly as we'd like and since ALL of the profits from the sale were going to my fundraising, I couldn't risk selling things at 50% less than what we were already asking. So I went to Craigslist, posted a whole bunch of stuff and actually had people respond and at my house ready to pick up their new items!

All in all my fundraising pot now has $450 more dollars in it! I'll reach my goal sooner or later. If it was a nicer day we probably could have sold more, but we did what we could.

As for right now, I'm pooped and the 14 miles I'm supposed to walk tomorrow is looking extremely daunting. This wind has completely drained me and if I feel the way I feel now, tomorrow morning, I may do seven miles tomorrow instead.

a not-so-gorgeous day

2009-04-04T12:16:00.002-07:00

...I'm trying to not get blown away.

Update to come later (if I don't get blown away first).

Google

2009-04-03T09:17:00.007-07:00

I had to take a tiny break from my work to post this very, very interesting thing that just happened. I'm writing something about noodles for work, so I typed "noodles" into the Google search bar:

And this is what it gave me:

The thing that's so cool about this is that I didn't type in "noodles, Albuquerque," but it still knew where I was searching from and gave me some Albuquerque noodle results. This means one of two things:

1. I spend WAY too much time on Google and it's starting to know that I end everything with "blah, blah, blah, Albuquerque"

2. Google is Big Brother.

Also, I typed "google" five times in this post and every. single. time. I spelled it "goggle."

Friday Poll

2009-04-03T05:22:00.003-07:00

I've had the same phone for at least the last five years and I love it. It's tiny, cute, and does all that I need it to do, except take pictures. I can sometimes receive photos, but taking them isn't even an option.
It's kind of nice to know that at least two of you out there share the same cell-phone fate as I do.

And now for a new poll in honor of me being lazy today and not going to the gym (whoops!):

When do you work out?
*In the morning
* During the day
*After my 9-5 job
*Me, work out? HA!

No Foolin'

2009-04-01T18:08:00.005-07:00

I've never been good at playing practical jokes, so instead of foolin' you guys I'll treat you to a double post today, how's that sound?

This is was the quote welcoming me into the month of April this morning. Now, I get how it's supposed to be Spring related with the blade of grass reference and all, but I think it's a pretty lame quote. I'm sure I'm being to logical about it, but I really think it's stupid. What do you think? Does this inspire you? Because honestly, I'm thinking of putting up another quote in it's place so I don't have to stare at it for the next 30 days.

So I guess this could also be considered a triple post for today. I know, I know, I'm stretching it now! My mom came home with these lil fellas today. Now I'm not a fan of mice; it doesn't matter if it's Gus Gus from Cinderella or even a baby mice, but these are seriously adorable - and they taste even better than they look!

It's made out of a Hershey's Kiss, an almond an a chocolate-covered cherry. Apparently a woman at my mom's work makes them (and possibly other objects/animals?) an creates them often for weddings. She'll see the woman again on Friday and is going to get more info out of her.

If I could get these in any shape, object, or animal for the wedding, what would you suggest?

Excited

2009-04-01T08:20:00.007-07:00

I had big plans to blog yesterday and make a huge deal about how, exactly two months from yesterday I would be participating in the marathon. But instead I choose to put the computer away and watch NCIS and The Mentalist.

Lately I've been searching online to find military-wife inspired blogs. I've found several that I really like (you've probably noticed them pop up on my blog list to the right) and they're getting me even more excited about becoming a more proficient blogger/writer.

I've always wanted a specific niche when it comes to writing and I can't wait to start writing about my life of being a wife, having a family, and the blessings and curses of being in love with someone in the military. I haven't thought this all the way through, but when I get married, or some time before, I'll probably make a new blog or rename this one to reflect my new life. I found this site with custom made blogs that are very vintage-chic and reflect the military life, and I LOVE them! Now I just need to come up with some witty/clever blog name.

I am so antsy for my next adventure to begin that I can hardly stand it!

and the first shall be last

2009-03-29T14:22:00.006-07:00

Last week for our ten-mile walk I was boasting about being the first person the entire walk, well this week karma caught up to me and I was the last person in today. But that's okay because I completed 12 miles! This is only the second time in my life I've walked that much, so I'm proud of what I accomplished, even if I can barely sit or stand without moaning.

(this was very early in the walk)

To say that today was easy would be a complete lie. I don't know what I hate more, hills (okay, I personally think they were more like mountains then "hills"), or wind. It doesn't matter which I hate, because both were a pain in my butt today.

(anticipating water!!!)

(mmmm....water!)

I also don't like walking without an end in sight, and this course was just a looooong, windy road with absolutely no end in sight. Just when you think you're done conquering a hill another one comes and swoops up at the next bend. New Mexico is a gorgeous place to live, work (out), and play, but I'm not a fan of how desolate it feels while walking 12 miles...ugh.

("Kicking the dam in its crotch!")

But, with all that whining I did finish and I actually finished just around three hours, which is great! I'm still hesitant about doubling that mileage, so I think I'll just take it one step at a time.

(conquering six miles; it was [almost] all down hill from there)

I know that picture above is tiny, but it's the elevation of the Jemez Dam route we were on (click the link to read more about the route).

Friday Poll

2009-03-27T06:05:00.005-07:00

Well, this poll was somewhat of a flop because there was no clear result:
I guess the one clear thing is that my readers don't like Spring, and who can blame them? Now that March is here, the weather in New Mexico has definitely stormed in with wind, blizzard-like conditions and gloomy days.

Now for this week's poll....

Do you have a camera phone?
*Yes
*No

Take Two Minutes...

2009-03-26T09:07:00.001-07:00

Videos like this get me every single time. Gah.
Have your tissue handy and don't say I didn't warn you!

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-03-25T12:21:00.006-07:00

When I lived in England I fell in love with a singer named Jamie Cullum. I found him a few months before I found Michael Buble, and now whenever I listen to them it takes me back to my days riding around rainy Britain.

I bring this up today because, boy, what a difference a day makes.

Yesterday I was most definitely having an "off" day. I had a pounding headache that felt like a woodpecker was constantly tapping the right side of my head, I was overly exhausted for no good reason (i.e. I got the same amount of sleep as any other night), and I was bloated, oh was I bloated; my size-and-a-half-too-big engagement ring was having a hard time coming off my finger.

I took some trusty Midol and even though Woody The Woodpecker took a short hiatus from my head, a nagging headache still remained. Thankfully the amount of caffeine from the drugs allowed me to get some work done and join the rest of humanity, but I still didn't feel normal.

Until this morning. What a difference a day made. I woke up sans headache and with the usual energy I'm used to. And best of all, my engagement ring is once again too big for my finger, which means the bloating has left my body.

I share all of this mostly to get to this point: PMS is really a giant annoyance in my life and if there was one thing I could wish for it's that men would have to spend at least two months in a woman's body so they can experience the crazy and sometimes bi-polar emotions that we have to deal with.

In The Clear

2009-03-24T19:40:00.003-07:00

Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow. ~Philip Gulley

I'm sure most of you know the story of my dad's diagnosis with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He was diagnosed May 5, 2005, and that anniversary is coming up pretty fast. After you're diagnosed cancer, patients continue seeing an oncologist on a routine basis. First it's every couple weeks, then every month, then every three months, six months, and so on. Two days ago my dad went in for a six-month check up.

Before every visit he's a nervous wreck, which is understandable, and this visit was no different. Luckily the doc told him and my mom that he's still in remission - no sign of cancer or anything they need to be worried about. It's such a huge sigh of relief for all of us.

My thoughts and prayers go out to families who aren't receiving such great news, and I hope they have a fantastic support system in place for them.

short weekend w/ lots going on

2009-03-22T18:50:00.003-07:00

It's been a long weekend. Long story short, here's what went down:

Saturday
* Team in Training fundraiser all day - made about $50 :)
* Met with a very potential photographer
* Hearty pasta dinner

Sunday
* Walked 10 miles and kicked the course's butt! It was a great walk and I had a fast and consistent pace the entire time.
* Went to Albuquerque The Magazine's Wedding Showcase in the afternoon. Started out wearing heels and quickly changed to flip flops.
* Signed the contract with my day-of coordinator!

now I want to sleep. I'm exhausted.

Friday Poll

2009-03-20T06:32:00.003-07:00

I had to edit this poll a bit because I couldn't copy it straight from the site, so it doesn't have the neat highlighted percentages. With a little prodding, 13 people voted this time around and the overall winner for this poll was the last option: The Whole Shindig. I debated whether or not I wanted to even include that one because I wanted to see what - besides the whole thing - people like the most. Maybe I'll do this question again in a few months.

Okay, on to this week's poll...dun dun dun...

What's Your Favorite Season?

*Summer
*Spring
*Fall
*Winter

And just when you thought I managed to get away without talking about the wedding, think again. Eleven months from today I'll be tying the knot!

It's Time to Slow Down

2009-03-18T06:26:00.004-07:00

I really need to take some time and breathe; my life is flying by and I'm trying very, very hard to hang on by tiny threads.

It seems as though I'm never home anymore. If I'm not meeting with a potential vendor (venue and photographers are taking up my time now, and I especially love it when they stand me up and no show), then I'm doing my best to hang out with my friends or make it to some of the magazines after work functions (I missed one last night - boo!). The work load is definitely picking up at the magazine, so I'm also doing my best to juggle things there.

My weekends almost always are gone as fast as I can blink. This weekend I'm selling hot dogs at a Team in Training fundraiser (ask me about it if you're in town this Saturday), trying on wedding dresses at a "trunk show," run/walking 10 miles, and stepping into heels and a pretty dress for the Wedding Showcase. Whew. Just writing that all down makes me tired!

I keep telling myself that things will calm down soon, so I'd love to see the light at the end of that tunnel sooner rather than later. On the docket for today: already worked out for 40 minutes, I'll pick up a large coffee from Dunkin' in an hour, interviewing restaurant owners at 10, working more on the never-ending DateBook, Burger Taste Test #3 this afternoon, meeting another potential wedding photog at 5:30 and then celebrating my friend's birthday after that. I need to remember to:

Eight Miles: Uphill Both Ways

2009-03-15T18:55:00.006-07:00

Whew. Today's training took a toll on me. Truth be told, I didn't warm up and stretch nearly as much as I should have, but still, when you're literally going uphill (both ways!) it's hard! My lower back was sore after just four miles, I could feel blisters forming on feet, and my legs were way passed feeling like Jell-O. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Albuquerque area, let me break it down for you. (My comments are highlighted in yellow, try clicking the picture!)
All in all it was very good practice for me. The one fantastic thing about training in in Albuquerque is that these hills that are making my legs and bum so sore now are going to feel like an ant hill in San Diego. I started doubting my ability to complete a full marathon (26.2 miles) in a little more than two months, but I know I have the support of my friends and family, so I'll do the best I can.

P.S. The only reason you're getting a post tonight is because Jenna begged for one, so you can thank her for my whining :p

Pint-sized Cupcakes

2009-03-14T06:45:00.005-07:00

Fact: I love all things tiny, cute, and not overly sweet.
Fact: Putting on my adorable apron doesn't make me a whiz in the kitchen.

But sometimes if I see something I REALLY like I'll be more inspired to stay motivated in the kitchen. Well, I think these little bites are cause to keep my drive alive. Seriously, how cute are they? And they actually seem pretty easy to create.

When a recipe begins with the word "easy," as in these Easy Cupcake Bites by Bakerella, it means there's actually a fairly good chance I can follow the recipe. AND, when that recipe has step-by-step photos to accompany the easy recipe (like here at The Pioneer Woman Cooks), it means my chances of screwing up decrease even more!

Now I'm not expecting my bite-sized cupcakes (cuppies?!) to ever turn out looking like the very first picture (shoot, I'll be happy if you can even tell they're supposed to look like "cupcakes") but I think these are too adorable to not attempt to make.

Before I bust out the apron, the next question is what flavor of cake mix should I buy?

Friday Poll

2009-03-13T06:17:00.008-07:00

Well, eleven of you voted last week and eight of you think my colors should be light pink and brown! Thanks for all of you who voted - who knew that I had that many people reading this! I'm still up in the air on what colors I'll pick; I'm still leaning to a pale pink and black.

I'm starting a new poll for this week (vote on the right):
What's your favorite part of a wedding?
*ceremony
*reception
*flowers
*dresses
*photography
*food
*drinks (alcohol)
*dj/dancing

I think I'll have a new poll every Friday. I'll close them Thursday night and post a new one the next day. Feel free to give me ideas for different polls (they don't need to be wedding related!)

Some day - when I have free time (ha!) - I'd like to go all the way back through my archives and label all the posts. There have been some interesting things I've covered, so it'd be nice to have those easily accessible with labels. Anyway, that's the latest "do" on my to-do list.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

P.S. typin' away with jesstagirl hit more than 2,000 total visitors this week since I started! Very exciting.

Training Recap

2009-03-12T06:25:00.004-07:00

my walk team from Sunday

I know I've been preoccupied with wedding plans on here, but I wanted to give you an update on my marathon training with TNT. This past Sunday I walked six miles and I'm gearing up to walk eight this coming Sunday. I'm really enjoying walking. I feel like I'm exerting less energy by walking, but I'm going faster than when I ran so I end up having more energy in the long run. Granted, now that we're getting into the longer walks I'm getting tired after, but I feel good. I've also been averaging 2-3 miles three days a week at the gym.

Now that it's getting warmer I'm going to start walking outside. I've been getting several checks in the mail, and hopefully those numbers will be reflected on my web site soon. I have a couple fundraisers coming up and I'm excited to see what type of money they bring in.

Now for wedding stuff! I'm meeting with my future mother-in-law today for lunch (La Salita!!!) to go over the wedding plans. I think we're getting really close to signing for our ceremony and reception site; I'll be sure to post about it when that happens. This afternoon after work my parents and I are meeting with a potential photographer...keep your fingers crossed that I won't have to sell my arm and/or leg to have them shoot our wedding!

In sad news, my camera is still MIA. I know where it is (left it at the house in the photo above), but I haven't had time to take pictures. I was doing so fantastic with taking a photo everyday, too! I'll pick back up when I get it back.

Inspired!

2009-03-10T05:48:00.009-07:00

I think I found my inspiration for this wedding, and I think Kenny may approve, too!photo from Mrs. Lovebug over at weddingbee
If you can't tell, L.O.V.E. is spelled out with typewriter keys!

I stumbled upon this over at Weddingbee (my new hangout) and I immediately fell in love. This is was the inspiration for her wedding: It pays tribute to her love for writing - or let's be honest, it was probably her love for typing (!!) - combined with liking all things vintage (that's where Kenny would come in) and then she tied it all together with hues of light pink, black, and cream. Like I said, I think I'm in love.

I've always loved vintage typewriters, and I especially like the way the type looks on paper. Wouldn't it be cool to have vintage-looking invitations and/or a typewritten guestbook?

It wold also fit in perfect, because Kenny's been attempting to make me a Steampunk Keyboard for the past year and a half. One day he may actually finish it...

A little romantic, a little vintage, and (hopefully) pretty unique! So what do you think?

Ouch!

2009-03-09T08:02:00.004-07:00

I get pretty offended when people don't love my city as much as I do. Granted, it took me a couple decades to appreciate it, but now I can't get enough of this place.

Emily Blunt (from The Devil Wears Prada) was recently in the Duke City filming a new movie out called Sunshine Cleaning. In the movie, they filmed at a trailer park, and she was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying this about filming in Albuquerque:

"It takes some getting used to. We actually were given great accommodations to live in, but we also got a real sense of Albuquerque. It is a bit of a shock on the system - it's rather a bleak place, and everything was beige. I ate a lot of Mexican food, though, so I was happy."

If only she filmed her during the spring or summer when things are actually not just beige, but have hints of green everywhere. If only she mentioned how gorgeous it is to have a mountain range to see everyday, or how amazing it is to see the sun set against the backdrop of volcanoes on our West mesa. I understand that, compared to England, Albuquerque can be a bleak and very beige place, but I wish people saw Albuquerque for all its glory.

Then again, at least Blunt liked our food, unlike other starlets filming here.

My Big Fat Hispanic Wedding

2009-03-09T06:10:00.004-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA lately, I've wanted to take a teeny break from all this wedding talk. Okay, truth be told - I may have stopped the talk online, but it hasn't slowed down outside the blogosphere.

On the docket for today's blog is the guest list. Oh. My. Word. I've always known that my family resembles that from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but after putting together a very rough draft of our guest list it's confirmed.

Let me just lay it out for you. On my dad's side of the family I'm the fourth fifth youngest out of 27 cousins, and most of these cousins are now married and have kids of their own. Now add up all the aunts, uncles, friends of the family who are like family, my friends, coworkers...and you get the idea. Easily, without even trying to contain numbers, my side of the list is well over 125 people. This would be a great time to mention that Kenny and I wanted a "smallish" wedding - 150 people max. Kenny's side will probably barely hit around 50 people, and that's with him trying to scrounge up people.

Since I'm not willing to part with some of the names on that list, I think our "smallish" affair is turning into a mid-sized event. I'm okay with it, and as long as Kenny is okay with it. Now we just have to try to get the price down on the venue we're eying, because fifty bucks a head plus everything else for this wedding comes out to a pretty hefty number!

At first I was a little worried about my side having three times as many people as his - I didn't want this to turn into "Jessica's wedding." I want it to be "Jessica and Kenny's Marriage," and that's when I realized that yes, I do have a large family, but they're all going to be part of his family, too!

So, how do I decide who makes the cut and who I have to cut out?

Pink and...?

2009-03-04T19:59:00.012-07:00

Since I'm now addicted to anything and everything related to weddings, I found this site called Polyvore that lets you put inspiration boards together. What's an inspiration board, you ask? Well, it's basically a collage of images to inspire you.

I'm considering having pink and brown as my colors, so these are some of the images found on the internet that I really like (if you click the image it'll show you the sources for all the images). I wish mine looked as fun as the two below, but like I said, it was my first time!

As for the other colors I'm debating over, those are light pink and black:

Source: Snippit & Ink

Source: Snippet & Ink

Now head to the right, take the poll, and tell me which you like best!

Possibility

2009-03-03T19:35:00.004-07:00

I was at Whole Foods today and they had Gerbera Daisies in several vibrant colors. These are the flowers I'm thinking of having at our wedding. They just seem like "happy" flowers!

I'm still debating what my colors will be. I think I'll have light pink for sure, but now I just need to figure out what color I want with it. I paired these lovelies with some dark red daisies, but I don't know if I'm feeling it now. I may just stick with pink and brown as my colors...

Buzzin' Around the Office

2009-03-03T12:38:00.004-07:00

This morning I somehow made it out of bed and into the gym at an earlier time than usual. I hit the treadmill at full speed (ok, it was only really going at 3.7 mph) and walked for more than 45 minutes. I'm learning how to keep an endurance pace so that I can actually complete a marathon without feeling and looking like I'm about to pass out/die at the end. So far so good. Can you believe that at one point during my workout this morning I actually had enough oxygen and energy to sing - outloud! - with a song that was playing?!

My walk this morning set the tone for a good day, and I think that good days (ok, bad days, too) deserve a treat. I stopped at my local Dunkin' this morning and bought my daily fix, a cup o' french vanilla joe with a little cream.

Ah. Bliss. Not only did the caffeine start it's magic work right away, but I was able to be more productive than I've been in awhile (i.e. I was able to "just say no" to browsing wedding web sites/blogs...I'm addicted). It's been a couple hours since I had my coffee and I can still feel it in my system. And don't worry, I'm still being productive - I just had to take a break to eat lunch, so I'll be back typing away at work stuff in just a few minutes.

I love the smell of coffee in the morning.

Oh! And I bet your glad this post had (almost) nothing to do with weddings, huh!

March Quote

2009-03-02T15:53:00.004-07:00

When I walked into work this morning I got to flip my calender from February to March. I love changing the months because I get a new quote to stare at for at least 28 days :)

While I like this quote, I still don't agree with it 100 percent. The way I've always seen it, God doesn't put anything in front of you that you can't handle. Life can sure throw some curve balls that make us twist from our plan, but I personally believe God is the one who helps you get through it all.

Blogover

2009-03-01T18:51:00.006-07:00

It was time for a makeover. It happens ever-so-often, and it just felt like time. So what do you think?

Before:

...and after:

I think I like.

edit: the only thing I'm not a huge fan of is how small the text is in the post section; I'm gonna have to try fixing that.

Rings 'n Things

2009-02-28T07:54:00.007-07:00

I've been wearing a very sparkly ring on my finger for exactly two weeks - give or take a few minutes - and I'm still not used to it being there. I've noticed different lighting makes it bling like nobody's business, and sometimes while I'm driving I get distracted by the reflection it makes on my car.

Before I got engaged my my mom was sneaky and mentioned that I should get a manicure while I was out getting a pedicure with a friend. My hands looked polished and pulled together after that, but now they're starting to head back to their normal, boring digits. Since I'm on the computer the majority of the day, the polish is chipped and peeling, and my nails have grown too much.

I never used to even notice my nails before. Sure, I'd cut them when they got to be too long, but that's as far as my primping would go. Now that my left hand is the subject of admiration (I know, I know, I may be taking this "ring" thing a little too far, but it's by far the prettiest thing I've ever owned!) I feel the need to get a manicure all the time. I mean, if I have this shiny thing on my finger, the rest of the hand should be just as pretty, right?

Alas, since I'm cheap and rarely have time to do anything these days, I think I'll resort to giving myself a manicure every once in awhile and treating myself to a professional one every few months. I think that seems like a fair deal.

Choices, Choices

2009-02-27T21:47:00.005-07:00

Well, it's about that time again; I'm getting tired of this template/background, so I'm on the search for something different. If you have suggestions, feel free to share them. Should I go with a wedding theme? Something generic? Simple?

I have lots of things I want to talk about, but don't want to bore you so I'll list my topics and hopefully get to them sometime soon.

Rings and Things (Hands On!)
Training
Colors

Ok, so there aren't too many, but I'll get to them in due time.

As for now I'd like to talk about ceremony locations. In an ideal world, Kenny and I would like to get married outside, but seeing as how we have a February wedding and there's no way to predict the weather, picking an outdoor local is kinda silly. With that said, we're considering finding a venue where we can have both a ceremony and reception at the same location.

We both like this and I think my mom sees where we're coming from, but my dad will have nothing of it. He doesn't understand why we can't get married in the Catholic church - Kenny's family isn't religious and doesn't feel comfortable with it, and since he doesn't have many opinions about the wedding, I'm taking the things he requests very seriously.

I'm trying to talk him through reasons why I'm doing the things I'm doing (e.g., It's not just my wedding, it's Kenny's too; this is a celebration for us and our relationship, not about you), but I alos need to remember that A) he's paying for it and B) I want to respect him.

He also doesn't understand why a priest won't be marrying us (see reason above about the Catholic church). We don't have an officiant yet, but Kenny and I want him to reflect us and to be lighthearted and funny. I believe that God will be present at our wedding whether I get married at the Vatican, on top of a mountain, or in a hotel lobby. And as long as my friends, family, and Kenny are with me then that's all that matters.

It's still early in the planning process, so I'm sure things will all work out!

Change of Plans

2009-02-24T21:49:00.004-07:00

Ah, the military life. I'm still trying to get a handle on what it'll take to be a military wife...will I ever fully get the gist of it?

Long story short: Kenny's deployment got switched from this summer to the winter. This is sad news mostly because he'll be gone for his birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years (which is also our three-year anniversary). If everything goes according to plan, he should be back in the States at least a month before our wedding.

He told me about the new schedule this afternoon and I was strong; I didn't shed a single tear. In fact, I didn't cry all afternoon! Until tonight when I thought of all the special days we'll miss together. Such is military life. He was a sweetheart on the phone tonight and came up with all sorts of positive aspects of him leaving:

* He'll do nothing but eat healthy and work out every day while he's gone and lose another 30 pounds (hmmm...sounds like I'm the one who needs the "Deployment Diet" instead of him!)

* Since there's literally nothing to do out there, he'll be saving us money.

* My cell phone bill won't be as high because we won't talk as much.

* I won't have to buy an outrageously priced plane ticket to Atlanta this Thanksgiving.

* I'll be too busy planning the wedding to think about him.

* I can try my hand in the kitchen by baking new goodies to send him in care packages each week (okay, I thought of that one all on my own).

* He hopefully won't be deployed again for at least a little while after we get married, so we can enjoy time together as newlyweds.

....um...yeah, those are all I can remember. And truth be told, I see the immediate downside to each of those points and they all start with me missing him. Oh, and as he was trying to be optimistic about this deployment my strength became weaker and weaker until I noticed a tear streaming down my face. Now they won't stop falling. (The latest thing that turned my waterworks on again was me getting sad that we're going to miss our traditional Callaway Gardens weekend.)

Nobody said this would be easy, but I really hope you guys will all be here for me, because I'm not just marrying the love of my life, I'm marrying the Air Force, too, and unfortunately they don't care about feelings or "special" days.

My Quest For "The" Dress

2009-02-23T19:37:00.004-07:00

Before I walked into a local bridal boutique I had to take one of my peppermint pills to calm my nerves. There was excitement, butterflies, and fear all at the same time. I've heard so many stories about girls finding The One the first time they slip a dress on. Man, talk about pressure.

After the little bell chimed above the door a nice girl came and told me to browse their book and paper clip dresses I like. That was easy enough, and I soon had several gowns "picked out." I stepped into the dressing room and fear started to creep up. You see, for those of you who don't know me, I'm not usually the smallest girl in the room. I was worried about how all the size 4 dresses were going to fit over my not-so-very-sized-four hips.

I slipped the dress over my head and the sales lady came back to lace the corset back. And a few clips and pins later, she made the dress fit me like a glove. Actually, better than a glove - it was like the dress was made for me. But it wasn't The One. In fact, none of the dresses I tried on were The One. A few came close, and I'll definitely try them again, but the overall experience was so much more pleasant and exciting than I ever could've imagined. I felt like a princess and didn't want to take the dresses off.

.......... and then I went to Alfred Angelo tonight.

I'm usually not one to bad-mouth businesses, because I'll usually give them a second try to redeem themselves, but this place got under my skin and I won't be returning. To try on dresses I needed an appointment, so I had one set for today at 5:30. Finally around 6 pm they were able to see me. I couldn't try on dresses right away, though. First the lady wanted to know my bra size, shoe size (what?!), clothing size, etc.

I was already getting an uncomfortable feeling about the place - just one of those vibes, ya know? - but I wanted to check out the dresses. After the woman gave me one of her bras, even though I insisted I would be wearing the one I brought with me, I started looking through their dresses. Well, wouldn't you know it - the dresses I wanted to try on were sizes 8 and smaller. After trying a size 12 the woman told me I needed a bigger one. We got a bigger one (in a style I didn't like to begin with) and I tried it on. I felt gross in it. The saleslady insisted it looked good (umm...no). I took it off and tried on the next one. The material made my skin red and the dress didn't flatter a single part of me.

Long story short, I tried on a few more dresses and decided I had had enough. I left the store feeling defeated, fat, and frustrated. I cried in the parking lot and I'm thankful that I had good, quality service before stepping foot in Alfred Angelo.

Writing About Weddings

2009-02-18T07:33:00.003-07:00

I have a wedding Web site that comes with a blog, and if you know me then you know I can't turn down an opportunity to blog! I'm trying to decide if I want to keep wedding-related stuff over there, or just post it at both places. If I keep it here I'm changing up the design of this site again. Any thoughts?

From Feb. 15:
I'm Getting Married!

I've only been engaged for a little more than 24 hours, but I already can't stop staring at the sparkling ring on my finger. Every time I look it just reminds me that this whole experience wasn't just a dream.

It's one thing to think about weddings and to be in love with the idea of falling in love and getting married, but as I'm soon finding out, it's an entirely different experience to be involved with creating a wedding. Oh, and did I mention that I'll be doing most of the planning without my fiance? He'll be stationed in Georgia for most of the time and deployed for another few months.

My approach to this whole thing—like many brides-to-be say they'll be—is to remain practical, calm, and open to suggestions. I'm incredibly excited to make this as unique as possible and can't wait to see how this whole experience turns out.

I hope you'll stick around for the journey :)

From Feb. 16:
A Long Road Ahead

Like most long-distance relationships, couples can only manage to see each other during short periods of time. With that said, my diamond ring and I are currently sitting on an airplane flying back to Albuquerque, and my fiancé is driving the lonely two hours back to Warner Robins from Atlanta. He’s going out of town for work during (almost) the entire month of March, so we’re hoping to see each other in April or May before he deploys again in June (gotta love the Air Force)!

We’ve only been engaged for two days, but already I can tell the bridal magazine industry is going to receive a large chunk of my paycheck each month. I currently own four wedding magazines, and let me tell you, these suckers are not cheap! In fact, one of them actually says “Book” along the spine and set me back $14 at the airport magazine shop! Turns out it’s my favorite go-to guide so far…money well spent. I have a feeling the wedding industry isn’t seeing a large dent in their pockets due to the economy.

Even though Kenny and I are envisioning a wedding in late January, February, or March (…that’s at least 12 months away for those of you who are counting, and once again we can thank the military for such a long engagement), it seems like so much planning needs to have started, oh, about five minutes ago. Not only do I need to decide what my colors will be (because without my colors how can I pick invitations, flowers, cake, dresses, etc.), but I also need to find a location for the ceremony and reception. I also need to set a budget, which will most likely be one of the first things to cross off my list. Allowing myself to be flexible and frugal are two things I’m counting on during the next year.

this was my mom's dress...she hasn't touched it since 1980!

Here's what it looks like:

I'M ENGAGED!!!!

2009-02-17T19:46:00.002-07:00

The Proposal:

My flight from Albuquerque to Atlanta on Friday the 13th was supposed to get in at 11:40 pm, but instead had me taxing into the airport at 12:45 am on the 14th. Kenny was there to pick me up, and by just shy of 3 am we arrived at his house in Warner Robins.

On Valentine's Day morning we woke up after a few hours of sleep, and while I was in a sleepy daze Kenny took my rings off my fingers. Kenny's a fidgeter and often takes off my rings to twiddle around with them, so I didn't think anything of it.

A little while later he put the rings back on my fingers, like he usually does. But as we were laying there I could feel his heart start to race.

Kenny and I have a running joke about getting married in 2012; don't ask me how or when it started, but two thousand twelve became the "magic" year for us.

So when Kenny said, "Will you marry me tomorrow?" My response was to giggle and say, "no." Then he said, "Will you marry me in 2012?" Since he also always asks me this, I laughed and this time said, "Ha. No. That's too far away." Then he said, "Well, will you marry me sometime?" I said, "Of course!" Then he said, "No. I'm serious. Will you marry me? Look at your hand." I looked at my hand, and instead of the ring he made me was a gorgeous diamond ring.

this is my attempt to be creative with a photo of the ring!

Photo by: Don James Photography

THE ring! I tried, and tried, and tried to take a decent picture of my ring, but none of them did it justice. Luckily, I work at a magazine and have some amazing photographers about ten feet away from me. This is an 18 karat white gold, forever-style, one-carat diamond ring. I LOVE it!

My Story

2009-02-06T09:08:00.006-07:00

If you're visiting from my TNT site, thank you and welcome! I want to share my reasons for running again with Team in Training:

It was a dark and rainy night (as it so often was in Britain) and I was well into my sixth month of studying abroad in Bournemouth, England, when my mom called from back home. Her tone of voice told me she wasn't calling to chit- chat about the weather.

Instead, she told me they found a large mass near my Papa's liver. The silence, emptiness and loneliness that hit me after that sentence was almost unbearable; it felt like my air was sucked out of lungs and someone punched me in the stomach. The rest of the conversation was a blur.

After hanging up with my mom I felt alone and isolated, and as the days and weeks flew by so did results from countless number of tests, which all came back inconclusive. My parents canceled their first trip overseas in order for my dad to take more tests to see if the tumor was cancerous.

On May 5, 2005, a month before my plane departed from London, my mom called me. My Papa was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkinï¿½"s lymphoma, and would start chemotherapy immediately.

Chemotherapy and cancer. I tried my best to wrap my head around what was going on, and through hot tears streaming down my face I tried to give my mom the support I knew she needed from over the phone. The reality of what was going on made me realize it was time for my adventures and traveling to end. There were more important things to worry about back at home.

Emotions overtook my senses as I stepped onto American soil for the first time. I was anxious to see my friends who promised to meet me at the airport, and of course, to see my family. As I walked out of the security section I scanned the sea of heads for familiar faces. Instead of seeing any of my friends I spotted my dad walking towards me with open arms.

I stopped in the middle of the airport as he was walking towards me. Just from looking at him I could tell his first chemo treatment had already started taking a toll on him: he had lost a lot of weight, was using a walking stick, and his thick black hair was gone, replaced with a smooth bald surface. A few weeks later his eyebrows and eyelashes disappeared. The chemotherapy treatments took a toll on him both physically and emotionally, and changed me forever.

Now, four years later, my Papa is in remission and my hope is that families should ever have to go through this, but if it should ever happen, I hope they know there are organizations out there like LLS that will help them every step of the way. That is why I am doing this...to help pay it forward and get rid of cancer for good.

My TNT Walk Group

2009-02-02T17:59:00.003-07:00

I wanted to post a picture of my walk group for TNT this season! The group is larger than pictured here, but not everyone showed up to the first practice yesterday. I'm off to a good start - I did two miles yesterday and another two today. Woohoo!

My Mission to Help Find a Cure

2009-01-28T14:07:00.007-07:00

As I was typing the subject for this post I got a text message from a really good friend saying her step dad's cancer has spread to his stomach and liver. When I read that my stomach became twisted in knots, I could feel my eyes tear up, and the memories of when my dad was diagnosed

Living with cancer, whether you're a survivor, family member or friend is a sobering experience. The tribulations of day-to-day life just don't seem as important. It's something I don't wish upon anyone, and the fact that there are still people out there being diagnosed and losing their battle is just not okay with me.

I'm not a doctor or a scientist; I get queasy at the very thought of donating blood, and I don't think I could ever be as strong as those who are fighting that evil six letter word.

The only thing I can do is what my gut tells me to do. I may not be the fastest runner, but every time I put on those running shoes and trained for my previous half marathon I envisioned the pain and lack of strength my dad had while he was going through chemo. I imagined what it must have been like for my grandma to have a mastectomy to get rid of her breast cancer for the second time. I sympathize with every patient and empathize with family members and friends going through this hard time. If they were able to get up and out of bed day after day, then I can certainly run in their honor.

Cancer victims have it so much harder than anything going on in my life right now, which is why I'm committing myself to raise money again for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It may seem like a daunting challenge to raise close to $4,000, especially in this economy, but it literally breaks my heart when I hear that someone close to me is going through this trial. Running the marathon (I'm doing a full marathon - 26.2 miles this time) is an after thought. If people are surviving every single day from this terrible disease then I can certainly bust my behind, get out there and make some money for them.

I actually didn't intend for this post to go in this direction today, but my heart is heavy right now and this is the only way I can express my thoughts. We pray every night that my dad's cancer will remain in remission and by asking for money I feel I'm at least doing a little something to help keep it gone forever.

I'm Running for a Cure and would love it if you could join me. came flooding back into my mind. People shouldn't hear news like that.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T07:28:00.007-07:00

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Obama could run.
Obama ran so our children can FLY!"

I know this has been floating around the Internet since Obama began his quest for the Oval Office, but I thought today would be a good day to post it again. Not only that, but it's a darn good possibility that Obama will still be in office when that day comes and I do have children, so that means something to me.

I didn't vote for Obama, but I think everyone's excitement has worn off on me, because I can't wait to see him become our president. It's something spectacular to see this many people aware and awake regarding our country.

My boss gave us the day off today to watch the inauguration, so except for a short blip when I go pick up my computer (!!!) I'll be glued to the televsion. I'm thrilled to be living through part of this history today.

Makin' Muffins

2009-01-18T19:24:00.009-07:00

Thanks to Ashley (a fellow gal I "met" through a military girlfriend's Web site), I had a new recipe to bake today. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "Jessica, you can't cook." And while this is true, I really like trying. So here's my adventure in making a new (and healthy!) recipe. (FYI, they don't look anywhere near as delish as they do on Ashley's blog!)

Flax Seed Cranberry Muffins

The recipe calls for flax seed, and seeing as how flax seed is in the name of the recipe I decided to find out what flax seed was. Basically it has lots of Omega 3 and is high in fiber. You can sprinkle it on just about anything and it's great to cook with.

My mom and I picked some flax seed up at Whole Foods, but what we didn't know is that the seeds come whole and we needed them ground. Great. After trying to grind them with a coffee grinder (it was broken) we moved on to using a blender. That did the job.

Now it was onto the next part of the recipe. Cranberries. Since cranberries aren't exactly in season, and I forgot to buy some frozen ones, we decided to just go with cranberries in a can. In the end all, be all of things, I think the cranberries worked even though there was lots of sauce (we rinsed off all the goo till we only had the berries left).
Ok, so moving on. I had to mix the dry ingredients and then the wet ingredients in separate bowls. Now, had I actually read the directions (this seems to be a recurring problem with me...) I would have read that I shouldn't put the cranberries in till later - oops! Here's what the wet stuff looked like (appetizing, huh!):

There's applesauce, eggs, egg whites, vanilla, cranberries and oil. Yum.

I almost forgot that I had to grate orange peel in there. I've never "zested" anything before, so I got out the grater and tried to make this work.

I mixed the whole shebang together and filled the muffin tins. The batch made 19 muffins, but I have enough flax seed left to make another batch. Next time (and there will be a next time because I think they're really yummy!) I'm going to make mini muffins.

They taste almost like bran muffins, but are a little sweet and a little tangy.

They may not look all that delicious, but trust me, they are!

Flax Seed Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients
1 3/4 cup of Ground Flax Seed
1 cup of whole cranberries
2 Eggs, 4 whites or 4 total eggs
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of applesauce
1/2 cup of brown sugar
tsp. of baking powder
3 tsp. of cinnamon
1 tsp. of nutmeg
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 Tbl. vanilla extract
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional for topping) - I didn't add the nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Liberally butter muffin tins. Makes anywhere from 12 to 24 muffins. Do not use paper muffin liners - they will stick.
1. Pour boiling water over cranberries. Let sit for 5 minutes and pour off water.
2. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients (minus the cranberries) separately, then mix them together.
3. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes to thicken.
4. Fold in cranberries.
5. Fill each muffin cup about half way, and sprinkle with nuts.
6. Bake about 15 minutes (a little longer if you're only making 12) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Keep up to a week in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.

A Belated Christmas Story

2009-01-16T13:47:00.002-07:00

I've had my iBook G4 since April 2006 and I've loved it each and every day. But in the past year it's been having some problems. Luckily none of them have been computer-threatening (i.e. I haven’t lost info on my hard drive….knock on wood), but they have been just plain annoying. On top of that, it doesn’t have much space anymore. I’m constantly moving photos and music to my external hard drive just so I can have more room. I realize these aren’t huge problems, but it was enough to pique the interest of my tech-savvy boyfriend.

And so, for Christmas Kenny presented me with a gift in the form of a card, and inside the card was an I-O-U for anything at the Apple Store. Needless to say, I’m one lucky gal! I tossed around the idea of getting an iPod or an iTouch (I may have left my iPod on an airplane last year when I went to visit the previously mentioned boyfriend). But when it comes down to it, a computer is what I want and a computer’s what I’m going to get!
I think I’m going to place the order today (through my Apple-store-employee-and-cousin Monica) for a new MacBook and wait on pins and needles till it comes in the mail and then I’m giving Kenny the iBook so he play and tweak it to his liking. In the mean time, I need to ship my iBook off to the Apple-fixer-upper place because it broke again, but I think I’ll wait on sending it till my new one comes in.

Answer and Quote

2009-01-12T10:59:00.004-07:00

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner from yesterday's question. The answer is July, so congratulations goes out to my mom!

And for today, I finally got my wall calendar in the mail today, so I'd like to share January's quote with you:

Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. - Albert Einstein

Answer and New Question

2009-01-11T09:16:00.003-07:00

So what sort of animal is a porgy?

it's a fish!

Now onto today's "Hard Ass" question:

Once called Quintilis, which month was named in honor of Julius Caesar after his death?

Don't forget...nobody likes a cheater!
The answer will be posted tomorrow.

A Saturday Hard Ass

2009-01-10T19:39:00.003-07:00

I bought myself this Smart Ass daily calendar for 2009 and so far I like it. Here's the question for today - comment and tell me the answer. No cheating!!

What sort of animal is a porgy?

(I'll post the answer tomorrow)

Soy de Burque

2009-01-08T19:27:00.005-07:00

A column I read today in the Albuquerque Journal that I wanted to pass along:

Here's a Q Tip for You: ¡Viva Burque!

The city of Albuquerque's official nickname — The Q — has been a thorn in the side of a growing revolution of city dwellers since it was rolled out a little more than a year and a half ago.

The revolution has been led by the anonymous subject of today's column. The Q drives him mad. Not because he's got any particular beef with the 17th letter of the alphabet, but because of what it represents: "We as citizens were never asked what we wanted to call ourselves," he says. "It was brought upon us. I think it's strange, this whole idea of branding a city."

Since Mayor Martin Chávez's desire to come up with a city brand resulted in the official Q logo, billboards have advertised Albuquerque as The Q; the mayor's radio show is called "The Q Hour;" local shopping cards are Q Cards; the annual Downtown music fest was named the "QJam;" and the new bicycle borrowing program is being named Q Bike.

The mayor is a happy early adopter of the Q. "I just like the heck out of it," he said when the logo was rolled out.

Outside of official channels, The Q isn't exactly spreading like the flu. Ever heard anyone say, "I'm spending the weekend in The Q"? Or, "I just moved to The Q and I'm lovin' it"?

Ever heard anyone outside official channels use The Q in any context, ever?

Spending about 30 seconds on Google reveals what we all suspected: The Q did not spring from the loins of originality.

The Q is an arena in Cleveland (still time to get Monster Jam tickets!); a gay dance bar in Lincoln, Neb.; a hard rock radio station in El Paso (and a host of radio stations elsewhere); the subway train that goes to Coney Island in Brooklyn; and the nickname of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Mass. (It is also the odd devotion of a librarian at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, who has a trippy Web page devoted to "facts and fancies concerning the seventeenth letter of the alphabet.")

So back to our anonymous hero, who fought back and launched the Burque movement. With a Web site and T-shirts and bumper stickers for sale — and a You Tube video showing how to make your own Soy de Burque shirt — he has reclaimed some control over what he wants his native city to be called.

He opts for Burque because that is how he grew up shortening Albuquerque. While his shirts have shown up in shops and on chests around town, he has remained unnamed through it all, opting for Burque to get all of the attention.

"I'm just a guy on the street. I'm just another regular old citizen," he says. "It's not about me and I don't want it to be about me."

The Burque movement has spurred quite a little nickname war — one that Burque is winning on the streets.

Or was winning.

Then came the dark day late last year when the city's new blue curb side recycling bins were delivered. It's hard to do battle with a city-funded blue army.

"I was driving down the street and everybody had their canisters out and I just saw Qs everywhere," he says. "I thought, 'What can I do? It's this thing that's just being pushed on us.' "
What happened next will help explain why Mr. Burque likes to remain anonymous.

"I stared at it for a little while. Then I got some vinyl and cut out some stencils and went out and put my own little mark on it."

And the official Q became BurQue. Seditious or delicious, depending on your point of view.

The Duke of Burque is excited about the possibilities for all those Q's as Albuquerqueans receive their recycling bins. He points out that those without stenciling skills can use a "Soy de Burque" sticker to amend their Q.

"I think people can go crazy with it," he said. And then added judiciously, "I'm sure it's city property, so I'm not encouraging anybody to do anything with them."

He's also not pushing Burque — that would be as bad as what the city is doing.

"You can call it Albuquerque. You can call it ABQ or Duke City. You can call it The Q. You can call it Burque," he says. "It's about where do we live? Who are we? Shouldn't we have a voice in this?"

If you've never had any trouble spitting out "Albuquerque," all four pesky syllables and two Q's, feel free to continue. If you want to be the first in the city to actually say you're "from The Q," well, good luck. If you're thinking of joining the Burque Brigade, please, some words of advice. Practice rolling your r's. And, remember, Burque does not rhyme with turkey.

You can reach Leslie at 823-3914 or llinthicum@abqjournal.com. Read all of her columns at www.abqjournal.com/upfront.

Sick...again.

2009-01-07T15:57:00.003-07:00

Well, the sore throat I mentioned in my previous post turned into something gross. I went to the doctor's office yesterday and had a strep culture done by a very rude nurse. The "rapid" test came back negative and she sent me home with instructions to sleep and drink.

I slept and drank as much as I could yesterday, but around 2 am I could feel my ear starting to hurt. By the time I woke up in the morning I could barely swallow, couldn't talk, and it hurt even to move my head. I went back to the doctor's office, this time to see my real doctor. She took one look at my throat and was writing a prescription two seconds later.

It just sucks that I'm sick again. I'm going to look into taking a daily vitamin and really working on getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, and drinking lots of water a day.

Getting Healthy

2009-01-05T12:55:00.002-07:00

One of my best friends from high school is literally traveling the world right now. Mike has been to Italy, Greece, Egypt, and is now on his way to India; I’m so impressed that he actually “did it.” Everyone talks about achieving their dreams, but how often do we actually get out there and make them happen? He sold his car, bought the ticket and hasn’t been back home for many months. It’s just amazing to me.

When he first left I would get a little sad reading about their (he went with another friend of mine, Abel) adventures, but now I can read them without wanting to purchase the next flight out of town. These days I’m not as antsy reading about how much excitement he’s having because I know that I’m just in a transition phase right now. Traveling is in my blood and I know I’ll be back with my passport in tow when the time is right.

In the mean time, I’m keeping my adventures close to home. In other words: I think I’m about to start fighting off yet another cold. I’ve literally been going nonstop for the past 17 days; I’ve been traveling, drinking, eating all the wrong foods, not sleeping, not drinking water, and so on and so on. My body is pretty mad at me right now and is screaming at me to start taking it easy again and bring it back to a healthy state.

With that said, I worked out this morning despite waking up with a sore throat (bleh) and a somewhat stuffy nose and I had a Lean Cuisine for lunch. The workout darn near killed me, but hopefully I can keep it up. And later today after I get home from work I’m going to take a nap and work on catching up on all that sleep I’ve missed.

When Bliss Says Bye

2009-01-04T08:49:00.006-07:00

Kenny's plane took off ten minutes ago and I'm not on it. No, not that I was supposed to be on it, it's just that he's going back to Georgia and I'm staying here, the way it's been for the past two years.

You'd think saying goodbye and dealing with a long distance relationship would be easier after two years of sporadic encounters, but it's not; if anything, it's getting harder.

The two of us had an unbelievable time together during the past two weeks and we were lucky to see each other nearly everyday. In fact, it was almost like having a boyfriend who lived here! But now we go back to our countdown (26 days days possibly; 40 days for sure) and look forward to the next time we see each other.

Till then, I'll truck on and continue my life of having a relationship thousands of miles and several states away, and I'll be thankful for dating in the 21st century when I have devices like cell phones (what would I do without unlimited texting???!!!) and instant messaging.

Here's to seeing my love again in t-minus 26 days...

Through My Eyes

2009-01-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed NYE and had fun with friends/family. I rang in 2009 at my friend Brandon’s NYE party. This is the same party where Kenny and I met three years ago, so it holds a special place for both of us. It turns out that I definitely can’t drink like I used to in college; I was out of commission pretty much all day yesterday.

While I was lounging on the couch during my daylong siesta I stumbled upon Project 365. Basically it’s a yearlong photo documentary of whatever type of pictures I feel like taking that day. I started Through My Eyes to serve as my digital scrapbook for the next 365 days and I plan on being diligent and posting pictures as often as I can. I’m hoping to get a good following over there (i.e. I’m hoping people will leave me comments on my pics!), and I have several ideas on how to not get bored with taking a different picture everyday. Some ideas:

1. Guess what the photo is – I’ll take a close up picture of something and people will have to guess what it is.
2. Theme weeks – one week of the same type of thing
3. Food – I plan on baking a lot more this year (see the last post)
4. YOU tell me what to shoot!

I guess I can add this to my 2009 To-Do List! On that note, it’s time for me to start snapping some photos. Happy January second.

Adios Oh Eight, Hello Oh Nine

2008-12-31T14:52:00.004-07:00

Last year around this time I posted my resolutions for this year:

MAKE a scarf.
TRAVEL to England.
MOVE out of my parents house (maybe - I actually enjoy living there)
~~GET a pet hamster~~
GET published in another magazine
~~EAT healthier~~ (this is with the exception of literally the past two weeks!)
~~DO more spontaneous random acts of kindness~~
VOLUNTEER for an organization I'm interested in.
CREATE a book from my European pictures
READ at least one book a month.

As you can see, I didn't do too well with keeping those resolutions. So this year I'm not making a resolution list. As you can see from above, I like crossing things off. In fact, I may put my 2009 To Do list on the side of this blog so I can cross them off as I accomplish them.

Without further ado, here's my 2009 To Do list

Visit England again (the plan is to go in September)
Make a Scarf (this one will continue to appear till I actually make one!)
Get published in another magazine
Start my own Web site
Lose 25 pounds (ideally I'd like to accomplish this by June 13.)
Meet someone from MIG
Run (and walk) a full marathon
Work out at least three days every week, but won't freak out if I miss a day
Dye my hair
Read at least 10 books
Bake more

Tonight should be exciting to say the least. In about two hours I'll be joining Kenny, Amanda, Chris, my grandma and my parents at The Cooperage for dinner, then two hours later Kenny and I will join his parents for dinner. No, that's not a miss-print; we're having two really yummy dinners tonight. Ah, the things we do to make each other happy.

After dinner we're scooting over to the west side for the annual New Year's Eve party. Kenny and I met at this party three years ago and got together at the party two years ago, so we're also celebrating our two-year anniversary today/tomorrow! With that said, I need to go get ready. I hope you all have a wonderful NYE and will continue to follow me and my typing into next year.

Have a save and very happy new years!

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T08:19:00.003-07:00

To all my friends and family:

Here's hoping I get to do this sometime this winter:

Cute!!!:

Please?

And Happy Hanukkah!

Seriously. Need. A. Drink.

Merry Christmas :)

Lonely Eyes

2008-12-16T16:19:00.004-07:00

It seems like just yesterday that I sent my laptop away to get fixed, but here I am waiting for it to come back again. This past weekend my screen was going black on me and wouldn't let me do anything, so I sent it off yesterday to get fixed.

I hope it comes back soon, because I miss it already. My evenings are lonely without it, which I guess goes to show you just how much of a homebody I really am.

Yesterday, besides sending my computer away, I went to the eye doctor to get new contacts. They feel SO much better than the old ones I had, but I think the prescription for the left eye is just a touch off, because it's not focusing as it should be. And after staring at a computer screen since before 9 this morning, my eyes are starting to get really tired and very dry. It's all I can do to keep them open for the next few minutes.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Not only am I going to Las Vegas (woohoo!), but friends I haven't seen for a very long time are coming into town, as is my boyfriend! So excited for next week :)

Sellin' on eBay!

2008-12-12T20:54:00.004-07:00

Well, it's official: I'm an eBay seller!

Yup, my first auction ended tonight and the bag sold for...are you ready for this?...$81!!! Oh yeah, baby! Not only that but I was able to print out the shipping label from my home and the postal carrier is picking the package up tomorrow. Very, very cool.

Now that I'm on a selling "high" all I want to do is find more things to sell. I have three more things up for bid right now, but so far they don't have any bites. That's not stopping me from putting more up there, though. I have some books, VHS tapes (I'm sure there's someone out there looking for Notting Hill on VHS!) and some prom dresses I want to get out of the house.

I would LOVE to work on that tonight, but my computer kinda sorta crashed earlier tonight. I called Apple and it's something to do with the power cord...again. So right now it's running on it's little battery, and unfortunately for me (and my laptop) my battery sucks out energy very, very fast.

I guess this is the perfect time to turn the computer off and go scrounge up more things to sell!

*Shameless plug: See the eBay logo to the right of this post? Yeah, you should click it; it takes you to the things I'm selling. Who knows, maybe my junk will be your treasure!

StumbleUpon

2008-12-08T13:48:00.002-07:00

I saw this while "stumbling" and all I can say is WOW:

Photos That Changed The World.

My eBay

2008-12-08T06:58:00.006-07:00

I'm an official eBay seller as of yesterday evening! I finally got fed up with some of the stuff I had hanging around that I didn't exactly want to take to Goodwill, but they wouldn't take at Buffalo Exchange. Actually, since there haven't been any bids as of yet, I guess I'm a wannabe eBay seller.

As of right now I have three items up for bid on eBay. I took the photos, I used attractive-looking templates, and now I wait. And wait. And wait...

Up for grab I have:
*Harveys Black Original Seatbelt Bag Purse Satchel Tote

*Red "Emilie M" Leather-Like Purse Handbag

*"Last Kiss" Black White Red Blue Coat Jacket XL
*Note: the links above will not work once the items have sold, but I do have a Jesstagirl02 Store

I also have several prom/fancy dresses, shoes, and books I'd like to sell. It's kind of a fun venture and I'm excited to see if anything comes of it! (click the link; it's the items above plus whatever else I add) and I'm going to try to get the code for the scrolling gallery to put on this blog.

But I am le tired

2008-12-04T12:16:00.004-07:00

I am very tired today because of the Best of the City Party the magazine hosted last night, so in honor of feeling completely useless today I'd like to post two videos that made my day. The first is an oldie, but goodie; the second one just made me laugh so hard that I started crying. I mentioned to a coworker that I wanted a bagel for lunch and she directed me to watch the second video shown here. Good times.

End of Ze World:

Foamy - Five More Minutes:

Now it's time for work.

An Eskimo Proverb:

2008-12-01T10:53:00.002-07:00

"May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart!"

Happy first day of December.

My New Ride

2008-11-29T07:56:00.011-07:00

My lovely silver Pontiac Grand Am has slowly been kicking the bucket for awhile. So much so, in fact, that when I went to see how much I could get for it they came back with just five words: "Seven hundred and fifty dollars." Wow. I had two broken windows (electrical problems) that needed to be fixed and that alone would cost me at least $700, not to mention the fact that it was due for some tuneups, an oil change, and just a lot of TLC.

My car was a '99 and had close to 115,000 miles on it and boy did it live a very fulfilled and happy life on the road. But it was time to move on to something a little more safe, stable, gas efficient, and something I could enjoy driving for at least another ten years. So when my parents decided to head to the Toyota dealership in town (they, too, were looking for a car) I decided to tag along.

My dad ended up trading in his '95 caravan:
For an '05 Toyota Highlander that looks a little something like this (*note* this is not the actual car, I just found a picture of a similar one online):
That mini van took us on a countless number of trips around the country and it will be missed.

So, while my parents were buying their new ride, I was out in the lot looking at this beauty:
It's a 2008 Scion tC and I can't wait to drive it again. I'm sure I already mentioned this, but had I built this car from the ground up, not only would it have cost me at least $3,000 more, but I would have tweaked it to look just like this one. It's a used car - it has about 20,000 miles on it - but it's exactly what I wanted...minus the two-door factor. I love the color, tinted windows, alloy wheels (won't have to worry about those babies falling off while driving!), two working windows, TWO (!) sun roofs, an awesome radio, cruise control, and on and on and on.

Here, take a peak into the newest addition of my family:

Ok, now I know this is REALLY geeky (again, we can blame Kenny for this), but on Battlestar Galactica (only the coolest sci-fi show ever) the "bad guys" are called "Cylons." Now everytime I mention to someone what kind of car I drive - a Scion - I have to concentrate and make every effort to not say that I drive a Cylon. What's even funnier is that Scion also makes a car that people call "toasters" because of their boxy frame. On Battlestar, a cylon's nickname is a toaster. Get it?! Ah, I think it's hilarious.

A "toaster"

So even though I had to say adios to my loyal Grand Am, I'm pretty excited to start a new chapter in my life with this new (used) car.

Happy Belated Turkey Day

2008-11-28T21:55:00.009-07:00

Last night I promised I'd post about Thanksgiving and my week in Georgia, so while my geeky boyfriend watches Star Trek, I'll get my type on.

I'm seriously shocked by how fast the time has flown by. I know it's cliche and all, but seriously; I can't believe that it's already 12:01 (est) on Saturday. I technically leave tomorrow and that makes me ridiculously sad.

Kenny and I spent the beginning of my time here shopping around and finding home decor to fill his house and make it a home. I think it's safe to say that he now has a workable and enjoyable kitchen. On another day we took a trip to Lowe's and picked out two shades of paint, one for the guest bedroom and the other for the guest bathroom. The next day we opened the cans and started covering the white walls with colorful paint.

Thanksgiving went off even better than expected. We woke up early on Thursday to start brining our turkey with a recipe Kenny found while watching the Food Network. The Good Eats Roast Turkey had to brine for 6 hours and then cook for another three(ish). While the bird was soaking up flavor, we cleaned the house and got to work on the other dishes we were providing: Kenny's homemade rolls (so. freaking. delicious! but I forgot to take a picture - just trust me about how good they are), my grandma's yummy green bean casserole (this is before it went in the oven, so just imagine the french onions all brown and crispy!):salad (manderan oranges, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions): mashed potatoes, gravy (from a recipe out of a magazine), and Sandra Lee's Sweet Biscuit Wreath that I made...all...on my own (with Kenny rooting me on from the sidelines):
We invited the Harr's over for dinner (they brought an addicting pumpkin butter, stuffing, sweet potatoes, chocolate meringue pie - yummy, a sister, a father-in-law, and two ridiculously cute kids) and they arrived just as we were taking the last parts of the meal out of the oven. Truth be told, the turkey took about an hour to cook longer than we expected, but by the time that bird came out of the oven we knew it was worth it.

Not only was this one of the juiciest turkeys I've ever seen, but instead of the flavor overpowering the meat it added to the richness of the turkey. Unfortunately, I made some gravy that I didn't think was that great and I poured it all over my meat. But on the bright side, there is plenty of meat leftover.

The whole meal was fantastic; I loved the company, the food, and even the cooking process and cleaning up after.

As surreal as it sounds, Kenny and I haven't fought or even argued this entire trip. Going back home is going to be hard. He'll be coming home for Christmas, but it's not the same. I'm planning on visiting again in February and I already can't wait. Tomorrow he and I are going to Callaway Gardens' Fantasy of Lights for our 2nd annual Thanksgiving weekend tradition (ha - we can now say it's an annual tradition!) and I can't wait.

Next up I'll have to post pictures of my new car...but that will come on a different day. Oh, and I hope you all like the new look of this blog. It's not a huge difference, but it's enough for me to notice and enjoy.

Big Bird

2008-11-27T19:49:00.002-07:00

I had great plans to write a fantastic recap of the Thanksgiving Day festivities....but all I can think about right now is how much my head wants to be on a pillow.

In a nut shell (ugh...even thinking about nuts makes me feel fuller): This was one great day!

More to come sometime tomorrow when I can fit into my jeans again...

Big Girl Moment

2008-11-19T13:57:00.002-07:00

Well, on Tuesday afternoon I pulled up my big girl panties (that one was for you, Jenna!) and became a new (slightly used) car owner. Yup. I bought the Scion tC and I'm loving every time I put the peddle to the metal.

Actually, I'm trying hard not to hit the gas so I can save on fuel, but other than that I'm enjoying my new purchase.

Before I bought the car Kenny asked me one very serious and important question: does this one have working windows? Oh yes it sure does! Not only that, but it doesn't have hubcaps, it came with alloy wheels, which means I don't need to worry about my hubcaps falling off ever again! (This was an ongoing problem; in fact, when I traded in my car there were five hubcaps all together and three of them were different...hmmm!).

Oh! And my car has not one, but TWO sun roofs! Even though I'm still a tad bit bummed it's a two door vehicle with a smaller trunk, Kenny assures me that I'll get used to it soon.

I love it! (pictures to come soon.)

A Disappointing Dunkin’ Date

2008-11-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

Since I’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a new (slightly used) car, I’m going to have to put a halt on my spending habits. I’ll start brewing my own coffee at home, bringing my own lunch to work, and staying away from anything that says, “drive thru.” I consider myself pretty money savvy, and have been pretty excited that the spiraling downward economy hasn’t pinched my wallet…until now. Sure I’m going to get 30 miles per gallon compared to the 19 I’m getting with my car now, but does that really matter at the moment since I have to fully insure my car and pay a car payment each month? At least gas has dipped below two bucks here!

I think I’ll be okay, because in the long run this is way worth it. Who knows, my insurance may not even be too much. My Grand Am was considered a four-door sport’s car and the Sicion has all the stars you can get when it comes to safety, it’s not considered a sport’s car, and it’s a coup.

With all that being said, I woke up this morning and could tell it was going to be a coffee day. Unfortunately, Dunkin’ Donuts was out of my regular French Vanilla brew (GAH!) so I had to go with their Cinnamon flavor (bleh). So much for enjoying the last cupa joe that I’m gonna buy! Oh! And to top it off, kitchen at work is being remodeled, so I can’t make it to the microwave to heat up the lunch that I brought, which means I’m gonna have to go to one of those fast food places I mentioned above. Sheesh. I guess I’ll start cutting the spending starting tomorrow.

New Hot Wheels?!

2008-11-16T18:55:00.002-07:00

My parents bought a car yesterday. Actually, they bought a Toyota Highlander. They love it and I like it a lot. They basically ran their '95 mini-van to the ground and getting a new car was WAY overdue.

Which brings me to my (almost) new car! I currently own a '99 Pontiac Grand Am that I LOVE, but it's slowly falling apart. Example: two of my windows do not work. Not only do they not work, but they fall down when I drive. ACK. Kelly Blue Book has it listed for practically NOTHING and every time I have to fix something on it (like a week or two ago when I had to get my horn wroking again I spent $100) I cringe.

I've been considering getting a new car for several months and was leaning towards a Honda Civic, but yesterday when I was at the dealership the salesgal (who happens to be a family friend and who is giving me her family discount - heck yeah!) showed me a Scion TC....and I fell in love.

I was/am still a teeny bit hesitent because it's a two door and I always swore I would never own a two door (heh, I also swore I'd never do a LDR or date someone in the military!), but the back seat is incredibly roomy, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't have people in my backseat as often as I did in high school or college; in fact, I can't remember the last time I had a friend in the back seat.

So, I'm taking my car in tomorrow to see how much I can get for it and talk finances. This is a huge step for me; it'll be my first real car. I feel like I'm really growing up.

Ok, so this is what I'm looking at: It's a 2008 Scion TC (link is to the actual car I'm looking at - please don't go and buy it from underneath me!). If I were to build this car from the bottom up I would pick every single thing feature that it has. I love the color, I love the fabric, I LOVE the sunroofs, the way it looks, everything!

Junk Food Meltdown

2008-11-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

Ugh, I feel ashamed for all that I’ve put in my body in the past day (sigh…and this morning. You see, yesterday I found out that I’ve lost five pounds all together since I really made losing weight a goal. Hoo-freaking-ray! And last night my mom and dad told me I looked thinner, and I didn’t even tell them about my milestone earlier that morning.

Heh, here’s where the guilt rides in: I met Laura at Starbucks for an afternoon pick-me-up and I practically chugged a tall caramel apple cider (mind you, I did get it with sugar free caramel!), then after lunch – a slice of delicious pizza – I had a mini cupcake. I know what you’re thinking, “it was just a mini! Give yourself a break!” Well, I still felt bad. Then for dinner I had three slices of Little Caesar’s Pizza and a salad. Whew.

…and then there’s today…

For breakfast I had another two slices of pizza (my plan is to eat it all so it won’t be in the house anymore tempting me!! Good plan, eh?!). Then I desperately needed coffee, so I stopped at my Dunkin’ Donuts and got my regular cup ‘o Joe. But as I was standing there I saw the donuts calling my name, and I NEVER get donuts, I don’t even really like them, except for today. So I got a donut with sprinkles and chocolate, and now the donut’s sitting here in my desk in front of me saying, “Eat me! Eat me!” So you know what I’m going to do? I’m gonna eat it.

I realize all of this really isn’t too bad in the whole healthy-eating scheme of things, but I’ve really been trying to do well. I guess I’ll jump back on track after the yummy donut. Um…and after lunch because I’m going to Garduno’s with the folks.

Template

2008-11-10T15:23:00.002-07:00

I need a new blogger template. I love the concept of this one, but the colors hurt my eyes! Maybe I'll get inspired sometime and work on the colors. Any suggestions?

And He's Off

2008-11-08T09:37:00.004-07:00

Well, I had him home for 12 fantastic days, but now he's somewhere in the air flying the friendly skies on his way back to Georgia. It was great while he was here. I got to see him almost all of the 12 days - usually at night for dinner. He got to see my work, go to a work party, we went to three Halloween parties (!!) had dinner with both sets of parents and grandparents and then we had dinner with both parents together. Whew. It was a whirlwind.

And now I'm sad because he's gone. The thing is, Kenny will always miss out on different functions because of the military. Tonight my friends are having a party and tomorrow we're celebrating my great aunt's 95 birthday, but he'll be back in Warner Robins and not here. There will always be something he's missing.

I do feel bad though because I've been sick the last few days and haven't been able to see him as much. It started off on Wednesday just feeling like a cold was upon me. On Thursday I woke up and felt like I was gagging and chocking on something. The uvula in my mouth/throat was swollen and preventing me from swallowing; combine that with all the aches and pains I was feeling and the fever I had and I was definitely under the weather. I slept most of Thursday and hoped I'd feel better on Friday. Friday morning rolled around and I felt worse. My throat felt like it was on fire, so a trip to the doc was in order.

It turns out that the rapid throat culture says it's not strep, but the doctor still gave me an antibiotic, so I'm hoping it's going to kick in ASAP. My throat still feels like it's on fire though. And now i'm going to go take yet another nap.

Coffee Fix

2008-11-05T09:32:00.002-07:00

I really wish my Dunkin Donuts had a drive through. It's not because I'm lazy, it's because I'm addicted to their coffee and on gloomy/rainy days—like today—getting out of my car seems silly. Ok. Maybe I am lazy. But I'm only lazy till I get my caffeine fix.

History Is in the Making

2008-11-05T07:36:00.002-07:00

President Obama.

Really, that's all I have to say. If I hear "time for a change" one more time I may actually scream. I'm tired of this election and I think people need to move on with their lives. I had an eerily uncomfortable feeling while I was watching all of this and I honestly don't think the American people know what we're getting into. A country can only handle so much "change" at one time.

But, I will respect my president.

Happy History Changing Day

2008-11-04T13:00:00.002-07:00

Seeing as how this is such an important day in the history of America, I figured I should do my duty and blog.

I honestly just can't wait for this election to be over. I get that it's historic and either way we're going to have a black man as a president or a woman as a vice president, but I'm just so over this election.

Personally, I don't like either candidate, but I had to go with the lesser of two evils for this one.

In other news - yup, there is actually other stuff going on besides this darn election - Kenny's been in town for a whole week and it's been nothing short of great!

We've done dinner with both sets of parents (yup, our parents met each other!), we've seen my friends, gone to parties, and have hung out just the two of use. It's been great and it's not even over yet. He's here till Saturday, so hopefully we'll get more time with just the two of us now. I think we're going out just the two of us tomorrow night.

I'm thinking about changing this template again, because I'm still not crazy about this one. We'll see.

An Engagement Announcment

2008-10-22T06:17:00.005-07:00

Ah, the secret is finally out of the bag: my baby brother is officially engaged. Whoa! Yeah. I know. It's pretty crazy.

I have serious mixed emotions about it, but it's not my wedding; I need to just shut up and be happy for him the two of them.

He's been carrying the ring around with him for several days, and I'm pretty sure it was about to burn a whole in his pocket. From what it sounds like, Amanda pretty much has the whole kit and caboodle planned already. To each their own, I guess.

It was strange being over at the Sloan's house last night. They all know Chris on a completely different level than how we know him or Amanda. They know him like a son and like a brother. I know Amanda like...a girlfriend who we see every once in awhile. I'm sure we'll get to know her better, but in the mean time it's like they're taking away our Chris faster than any of us are prepared for.

They've also only known each other for less than a year - and I understand that people get married and live prosperous and happy lives together, but I just pray that they're preparing for a marriage and not just a wedding. It's way too easy to be wrapped up in "love" and the prospect of having a wedding, than actually plan for a life together.

I think it's also strange for me because I'm the oldest and I'm supposed to be the one to experience things first. And now I'm the one being left in the dust. It's a strange concept for me to grasp. Kenny suggests we jump the gun and beat them at a wedding with an elopement in Vegas - ha.

I'm excited to get to know Amanda more and I wish them the best of luck.

Overheard at Dunkin Donuts:

2008-10-16T10:58:00.002-07:00

I was in desperate need for a DD coffee, and while I was waiting for my French vanilla brew to be filled a man walked in. This was the conversation:

Man: “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I found a Dunkin Donut’s here!”

[side note: Someone with that much exuberance demanded that I look at him. This man was in his 50s, wearing a burnt orange shirt with the state of Texas printed in the middle and the word “TEXAS” right above it; he had more than a beer belly and looked as though he needed to shave about three weeks ago.]

DD lady: “Well, what can I get for you?”

Man: “Coffee. Extra large. Extra cream. Extra sugar.”

DD lady: “You pour your own cream and sugar.”

Man: “WHAT?!!”

DD lady: [a little louder this time because maybe she thinks he’s a bit hearing impaired] “The cream and sugar is right there for you to pour yourself.” [She points to me pouring my milk into my coffee.]

Man: “You don’t do it for me?”

DD lady: “We don’t do it here, the customer does.”

Man: “Well never mind then. I don’t want to do it myself. NEVER MIND!”

[And then he stormed out of DD. I was right behind him (I had finished pouring my own milk into my own coffee) and I noticed this guy was driving one of the largest trucks I’ve ever seen, and he had a burnt orange “Texas” license plate on the front of his big ol’ truck.]

Me: “Go back to Texas!”

Some things...

2008-10-16T06:14:00.003-07:00

*I went with my baby brother on Tuesday to shop for an engagement ring for his girlfriend.

*He's proposing...sometime (Amanda may somehow happen to read this so I can't go and SAY when it's gonna be!)

(side note: We had a family discussion about this - I've been kinda resentful about him getting married for several reason - and I feel better about it now. They want to get married next summer, but Kenny will be deployed. I know it's not my wedding, but I asked if they'd consider waiting till Kenny got back so he can be there, too, and he said they'd think about it. I REALLLLLY hope they will.)

* I still don't know who to freaking vote for. I hate this election and I want it to be over.

* I just bought my ticket to see Kenny over Thanksgiving. I was originally going to take two days off work and be out there for four days. Well, we were talking about it and if I end up taking that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off then I can be out there for NINE days! It's a little confusing, but I think it'll be worth it. ...This will be the longest period of time Kenny and I will be together in one place, and I think it'll be really good for the two of us.

*He'll be out here for his TDY in TWELVE days! Even though he'll be here we still have both families and friends to see, so it'll be two weeks of having him home, but not the same as nine days together in a place that I could potentially live one day...

*He officially bought his house yesterday and got the keys. He's a homeowner :)

*I promise more things are going on in my life that don't include him...I just can't really think of anything.

*Oh! Work is awesome :)

*Crap. And my throat hurts a little bit.