Inside Private Lives

I try not to go see theater in L.A. for various reasons, the biggest one being I am usually very disappointed in the end product and feel like I wasted my money.

On Sunday I got the chance to go see a new show "Inside Private Lives", produced by a friend of a friend, Kristin Stone and this time I left the theater very, very happy.

It's not your usual play (and this is part of why I love it so) - the whole idea behind the show is audience participation. Not your usual type though, the actor presents a 20th-century figure (that they have researched) in a 10 minute monologue. Now, at the end of the monologue (or at the beginning depending on the character and amount of controversy they caused) the audience gets to talk to them, ask them questions, make statements. There is no way I could even convey to you how interesting and fun this was. I was so impressed with the amount of research the actors had done, and how well they had "cast" themselves as the people they portrayed. I left the theater wanting to know more about each and every person I had just watched come alive before me. And to me, that's a ringing endorsement - if you can reach someone and make them want to learn more.

So, their show has been extended through the end of January. Please, please, please take some time and check them out.

So Many Things

I have had so many ideas for posts lately, just no desire to actually sit down and write them. Until I read this.

Which reminded me of the time I got pulled over on my way home from work. I was so freaked out because I had just bought the car, I didn't have complete proof of insurance on me, and I have only been pulled over a couple of times in my life so I still get all nervous and freaked out by it. Plus, I had absolutely no idea why I was being pulled over, well actually, directed to the side of the road by an officer waving a flashlight is more accurate.

So, I sit there and try not to freak out and try to be as nice and helpful as possible. Turns out I had turned right on a "No Right Turn from 4-7pm" street. I apologized to the officer and tried to explain that I didn't usually take this way home, so I wasn't familiar with the streets (which was actually true!). He didn't really care and asked for my information. I handed it over, trying not to cry at the fact that my insurance was already going to go up with my new car and now it was going to go up even more with this ticket and how stupid was I?

Anyway, I sit and wait for the guy to come back with my ticket. As he saunters up, I notice that there is another car in front of me, obviously pulled over for the same reason.

"Well, it looks like your lucky day." The officer explains as he hands back my stuff. "We are being called over to Rancho Park for a suspicious persons call. So I'm not going to give you a ticket, just a verbal warning."

I explode.

"But, can you do me a favor? The guy in front of you is getting a ticket. So can you sit here for a moment after we leave and pretend we ticketed you? I don't want him to get angry."

I am dumbfounded.

"Sure!" I reply. For not giving me a ticket, I could even produce real tears if you would like.

And that is the weirdest traffic non-ticket I have ever received.

Thanks and Giving

The bags are partially packed and we are almost off to visit The Families for Thanksgiving. Hopefully we don't get snowed in or anything, although the forecast calls mostly for rain. Rain and highs in the 40's. The Boyfriend and I are bracing ourselves for freezing our bums off!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

At the Moment

These are the things that are making me happy right now:

1. It is supposed to snow on Sunday in Washington and we leave Monday night to celebrate Thanksgiving there! An actual Thanksgiving with cold weather and snow. Man, I am excited!

2. Emmitt Smith won "Dancing with the Stars". Man, it's a little sad how happy that makes me. The only other thing I have to say about this show is that if you watched it and didn't walk away thinking what a sweet, humble guy Joey Lawrence was, you are cold and heartless.

3. I bought The Boyfriend 2 presents yesterday, The Muppets Christmas Movie and the Very Merry Trio from Hallmark. You know, the one with the singing/dancing snowman and penguins. It's awesome and he was so surprised! I love surprising people. Especially The Boyfriend because I don't pull it off very often, I get too excited and ruin it. But not this time!

4. The Project is shaping up nicely and I can't wait to show it to everyone.

What a Morning

I go through phases where I am extremely clumsy, dropping things, running into doorways, tripping over absolutely anything. It's very maddening, I get really annoyed at the time.

Anyway, this morning, as I walked in to work and noticed someone had yet again printed out something completely NOT work related on the color printer, the big boss walks by - as in my boss's boss.

I stop him and let him know we are having a big problem with people printing out huge personal things on the color printer that don't need to be in color, and since the toner for the color printer costs a fortune, could we please let everyone know to stop doing this.

I show him the papers I was referring to.

"Oh, these are actually mine." He responds.

I immediately die. I apologize. Then I remind him his assistant is out for the day and I will be covering for her.

I walk into the kitchen and begin describing what just happened to my fellow assistant who is in there getting coffee.

I spill 32 ounces of water on the floor that I had just filled into my waterjug. We both laugh and she very nicely helps me clean it up.

So I had a bit of a rough start today. At least I laughed while it was happening, and I am still laughing.

Relaxing

I can't think of a better way to spend the first Sunday I've had off in I don't know how long (and by off I mean we didn't meet about The Project and we didn't have plans to exercise) than by spending it with a friend I haven't seen in forever.

Especially when said friend is Mom to a very cute 5 month old girl and hanging out means brunch on the porch and good conversation and playing with said 5 month old.

So thanks Laura and Sophie. The Boyfriend and I had a wonderful, wonderful time!

You Know What?

I think I am hooked on this running thing. I bet you never would have guess, right? The new plan is to run every other day (instead of 3 days a week) because I want to get more running under my belt. Practice makes perfect! Or something.

The Boyfriend already has the running thing down way more than I do. He's going further and further every time.

So yeah, we are taking a break from the filming of Life from the Inside, for the holiday season and so that we have time to build a website and marketing ideas and such. It's going to be awesome, I can't wait for people to see it. I am so proud of this, I finally feel like I am getting my act together as to what I want to do with my life. Or, maybe that I am finally growing up.

I don't know, I haven't actually thought that far into it.

On my way back in from lunch, a co-worker stopped me and let me know that she is heading home because she has "plumbing problems" and I laughed and said "Sorry, that's crappy." thinking that she meant womanly plumbing problems.
So imagine my surprise when she continued with, "So I am heading home to wait for the plumber."
It's not that funny in the re-telling, but it was really funny to me at the time.

Like a Baby in a Blanket

Oh yeah! Harass new parents enough, and they will cave in and send you a picture of the new guy in a blanket!

Look! He is smiling - even he knows how cute he is.

Running Complete

So today was our last run of the Couch to 5k Program. It went okay for me. I have definitely improved greatly, but I have not yet run an actual 5k - I'm close, I run about 2 and 3/4 miles in the 30 minutes. Today was hard because I am sore from our shoot this weekend (who knew standing around for 14 hours could make your muscles hurt?) so it was especially painful to run this morning, but I did have a nice breakthrough - there are actual parts of the run I don't remember because I was so lost in thought.

I mean, I had to actually look back and check where I was because I didn't remember a good chunk of one side of the park we run around! That's the first time that has ever happened and it was nice.

Welcome

Welcome to the world Luca! It's about freaking time you showed up.

And can I just tell you that I am plotting already because they have bathed him, which means he already smells like new baby and I am trying to figure out a way for them to bottle his new baby smell and sent it to me?! If we don't get to see him in November I will just freaking sob hysterically because this is the baby I knitted the blanket for, so he will always have a place in my heart - especially since that was the first blanket I have ever made and probably will ever make again. Even though there are no pictures of him IN the blanket yet....(hint, hint) (Yes I know he's only 1 day old - I am a demanding blanket giver).

Anyhoo, a pic of the darling guy.
















Wow, my friend are parents. This is weird. I wonder when they will buy their first minivan?

This means I am old enough for most of my friends to be past getting married and on to having children. Meanwhile, The Boyfriend and I are still laughing and dodging the "When are you two getting married?" question.

Oh well, back to the fun stuff, like your friends having babies you can play with!

Feliz Cumpleaños Luca!

P.S.

See, this is what happens when I decide to dash off a post in my last 10 minutes of work. I forget that I got to celebrate birthdays with Keith and Rachel! They had an awesome bar-b-que (which I love because they always serve the most delicious food!) and I got to SEE THEM, which lately happens way to few and far between for my liking.

We are shooting the second part of our project this coming weekend and things are ramping up. I am very excited about it as it's pretty darn funny and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

And, The Boyfriend and I just booked tickets (courtesy my Dad's never-ending frequent flyer miles) to spend a whirlwind trip visiting family at Thanksgiving. If we get to see everyone we want (I'm looking at you Jared and Tosha - what, too busy planning a birth to return my phone call?!), it should be a very fun, albeit busy, trip.

Quickly

1. I am running faster and better than ever! On Tuesday, I made it all the way around the park to the car! This morning, I made it past the car which roughly means 2.5 miles. Soon, I will be running every damn 5k I can register for!

2. I wish Jared and Tosha's baby would hurry up and get here.

3. I am going to see "Snakes on a Plane" right after work. I hate snakes, but it should be fun.

4. The Boyfriend and I went to Knott Scary Farm with Steve (who is the MOST FUN PERSON EVER to go to KnottScary Farm with!) and I had a blast! Even more fun than last year - which was the first year we had ever been - I don't understand why The Monsters love me, it must be because I scream at the drop of a hat and then laugh maniacally. Really, the only way to enjoy something like that is to completely give yourself over to the fact that people are going to jump at you all night and usually it's fun.

I think that's all for now. I had more stuff to write about, but I can't remember what the heck it was.

Recovering

So as pretty much all of you know by now, we spent all last weekend shooting the beginning of our project. It went amazingly well.

I spent most of this week catching up on sleep and just generally fighting off a general malaize. Oh and also dealing with the fact that L is leaving me for another job. I am so sad that I will not have my silly friend at work anymore, but I am very happy that she will be much more appreciated at her new job than she is here. Well, except that NO ONE will appreciate her afternoon giggles as much as I have. She has saved me from perpetual boredom more often than I can even tell you.

There is not much going on here to write about. We are plugging away at Part 2 of our Project which will film in October. I am so excited about this because I am co-directing with Kathy for this go-round of filming, it should be pretty darn awesome.

And finally a running update. How exciting you say! Well it has definitely been going better. Who would have guessed that running might suck when you are PMS'ing? Gosh!
I have been definitely improving and not beating myself up if I have a bad day of it. I try to enjoy being outside early in the morning and being able to work out with my own thoughts for company. It's quite nice.

Also, thanks for all the encouragement I have been getting - here and in real life. You guys are so sweet to me!

Bubble Wrap

I've had a very odd week.

First, while preparing a costume piece for the upcoming project The Boyfriend and I are working on, I burned the inner part of my right forearm on the iron. The iron I had just used and set down and then decided to try and reach around it to grab something.

Then, I ran the vacuum cleaner over my bare feet and ripped most of the toenail off of my big-toe. The Boyfriend jumped to my rescue and wrapped band-aids around the toe before it could bleed everywhere. I didn't run the next day because my toe was still throbbing.

My teeth on the upper right side have been hurting all week, for what seems like no reason at all. I actually think this is a side effect of my allergies going crazy lately.

To finish the week (so far) while running this morning a bug flew into my mouth and lodged itself in my throat. Coughing wasn't helping, so my body decided to gag. Since I didn't have anything in my stomach I kept gagging until I threw up spit (or something that was not stomach bile because I KNOW what that tastes like).

I threw up twice.

Luckily no one was really around to see this happening, except for some woman walking her dog who walked past me right afterwards and gave me an odd look.

I didn't care.

I did cry at the end of my run because I just feel like I suck at running. I am not progressing as fast as I would like (or at all), so therefore I get really down on myself. I don't want to quit, I just want to be good at it instantly. Is that really too much to ask?

Also, could I please just lose some weight already? And could I whine about more things?

Oh My

I have been feeling quite a bit under the weather lately, so in lieu of posting any real thoughts today, I am going to post pictures of the baby blanket I made for J&T.
















This was my first attempt at something that wasn't a scarf and I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Plus, I thought it would be fitting to give this to the people who actually got me started knitting as they bought me my first set of knitting needles, and the same brand of yarn I used to make the blanket with (it's pretty darn fantastic yarn!).

Now I am off to whine to The Boyfriend about how I feel like crap again. He loves it when I do that. Happy weekend!

Running (Wo)Man

This morning was my 3rd run of the week, which means I have a break until Sunday.

Running is going pretty darn well. I mean, it hurts - right now my right calf is very sore -but I feel so happy and calm and relaxed after running outside (I am such a hippy!) that I completely understand the whole "runners euphoria" thing. I am really getting into this.

Next week will be a whole new adventure as we start the next segment of training and The Boyfriend will not be slowing himself down to keep pace with me. The Dude is just too tall for me to keep up with (at least until I lose some weight!) so I will be on my own starting Sunday.

Yesterday I did a 3 mile walk at lunch with L, and we saw Danny Bonaduce walking with a pack of people, trying very hard to get noticed.

Man, he is a short dude.

Running

So, The Boyfriend and I have decided to start running as a new form of exercise, and a new way for me to avoid the gym as much as possible.

We are doing the Couch to 5k Running Program, with out ultimate goal being able to run 3 miles, 3-4 times a week and lift weights at the gym 2 days a week.

Sunday was our first day and I am happy to report that all went as well as can be expected when you are not a runner (as I am). I am sore today, but I am sore in my stomach area mostly. Which is good because that is where I need a lot of work exercise-wise.

I will keep you updated as to how well I take to this. My father is a runner - he has completed 2 marathons and usually runs 6 miles a day.

Man I hope this running thing is genetic.

So Long, Farewell

Today is Kathy's last day at the office where I also work. I like to believe I am not the reason she is leaving, but who the hell knows, I can be difficult.

Kathy and I met doing extra work on the film "First Daughter." It was my first and only experience doing extra work, but that story is for a later time. It was nice to have someone normal to talk to (normal people were few and far between), and she helped me get through two TERRIBLE nights. The best part was when we realized that Kathy worked at the same place I was going to be interviewing with. So, again, she gave me pointers and was very friendly when I came for my interview.

That was 3 years ago and since I met Kathy she has been my friend, my confidante, my co-star, my co-producer, my co-worker. What else can you say about someone who forwards you obnoxious voice-mails from family members to laugh at? Or buys your Boyfriend a Chafing dish because you tell her that he wants one for his birthday and you won't buy it for him? I mean honestly, who WANTS a chafing dish?

So, even though I am sad that I won't be able to walk 2 feet and talk to her whenever I want to, I will still see her often. Whether she likes it or not.

This is a picture of us on set of our short film "The Social Club". I'm putting this one up because I like this picture of myself. See, difficult.


Photo by Rachel.

Happy Actual 33rd Birthday

So, as some of you may remember, The Boyfriend thought he was turning 33 last year and was pretty unhappy about it.
Well now there is no escaping it - this year HE IS 33! Go and let him know what an old man he is.

I mean, look at him, doesn't he look old?!




And don't I look pretty?!

Sorry, I just like that picture.

Happy birthday, Boyfriend. I hope you have an awesome day. Just try not to break your hip.

Knit

So, I finished my first ever non-scarf knitting project! It is a present, so I have to wait until J&T receive it before I can post any photo's.

In other news, I am knitting another scarf. This one is for the boyfriend. I'm sure he will appreciate it now that it has cooled down below 90 degrees around here.

So Now You're Back - From Outer Space

Hi there. As most of you already know we are back form our whirl-wind trip around the southern parts of the US.

It was amazing, fun, interesting, eye-opening and full of yummy food as we ate our way home.

And now I am back at work. Which wasn't as hard to come back to as I thought it would be. I guess mostly because I got a lot of hugs and "We missed you, if felt like you were gone for months!" which is nice to hear!

And I am back on the South Beach Diet to try and lose some of this car-trip weight I gained (partially due to discovering Waffle House. Have you eaten there? It's freaking AWESOME!) and mostly because I have about 6 months to my 30th Birthday and I am pretty much back to where I started. Oh well, I had a great time, I got to spend a ton of time with The Boyfriend, which is how I would spend everyday if I had the chance, I saw some really cool sights and I visited with my sister and her family.

If I could, I would head out on the road again tomorrow.

Apparently The Boyfriend + Al Franken books on cd + Lewis Black on cd + tons of candy and food make me a happy, happy person.

Who knew?

The Bags Are Packed

And I am anxiously awaiting the time to leave for the airport.

See you all in 2 weeks!

And Happy Early Birthday to my Bro.

The Final Countdown

Oh peoples, the impending "leaving for vacation" countdown rolls on. I guess we should get our luggage out and start thinking about packing. It's hard to figure out what to take on a trip that starts on the beaches of North Carolina (which are right now being pelted with rain) and ends with a road-trip through the hot-as-hell Texas/Arizona.

We just finished house/dog sitting for the family I babysit for. They just adopted a puppy that is just the cutest thing, but he's BIG and playful and requires a lot of attention. If the past 5 days taught me anything it's that I am not ready to be a pet owner or a mother. The constant vigilance is tiring.

T Minus 11 Days

Until The Boyfriend and I begin our roadtrip! I am literally counting the seconds until I have 2 glorious weeks away from work.

O Yeah!

So, I am just going to bypass the long and painful story of my trip to the post office this weekend with The Boyfriend (NEVER had I wanted to own a gun so badly in my life) and jump to the highlight of our experience which was when I realized that this guy was in line behind us.

That's right, Kid, of "Kid 'n Play" fame was standing in line behind me at the post office. Never have I wanted to interrupt a celebrity's day so much!

Except I didn't know his real name. And I realized that my gushing over him would sound something like this "Oh man, you are Kid from Kid 'n Play! I loved you when I was like 12!" and that just sounds mean. Plus, he seemed like a nice guy, goofing around with what I assume was his daughter while waiting in line.

Congrats Bro!

Just found out this morning that my older brother was promoted to Chief of the Fire Department in the town where I grew up.

Congrats Brother! I am so freaking proud of you I can't even explain.

It has been a life-long dream of his to be a firefighter and let me tell you, he kicks ass at it.
When I was in high school he used to let me go on smaller calls with him if they were close to the house. I have even watched him single-handedly put out a small brush fire by himself.

So, you probably get the point of this post already. My brother rocks. I couldn't be prouder of him.

Shout out to Sherry

I just called AT&T to ask a question about my bill. I kind of knew the answer, but it definitely needed to be double checked.

Anyhoo the person helping me, Sherry, was super nice and very quick to get to the bottom of my billing question, also supplying me with the answer I was pretty sure I was going to get going into this call.

Imagine my surprise when, at the end of everything, she thanked me for being so nice when I called and told me I was the nicest caller she had had all day.

I seriously blushed.

I informed her that I, too have worked in a call center and in customer service so I understand the trials and tribulations of the job.

Hmmm

What is it about an upcoming trip that makes you spend lots of money?

What is it about Mondays that makes people let a little too much of the crazy out? I have a co-worker who constantly lets people know that today is the worst day of their life. I have a hard time understanding this.

I mean, I have bad days. Lots of them. But they usually aren't that bad.

I would be more apt to exclaim that today is the most "meh" day of my life than anything else.
I think I will begin all conversations from now on my letting people know that "TODAY IS THE MOST MEH DAY OF MY LIFE."

I think it will be fun.

Two Posts!

One Day!

Also - 2 things I have just learned:

1. I really really really need to have money to travel. Travel outside of the country money. And soon.

2. It's a very long, boring day when I can't pick up the phone and call The Boyfriend whenever I feel like it.

OTC

I had acupuncture for the first time last weekend. It freakin rocks. I felt so tired and yet so energized afterwards. They put 19 needles in me and they were so excited that it was my first time, they kept telling me I was handling it well. I spent most of Saturday feeling pretty rough, but when I woke up Sunday morning I felt AMAZING. I had energy. I didn't have a headache. I am completely addicted.
Migraines run in my family. So do allergies. I was lucky enough to inherit both. At least mine aren't as bad as my Grandmothers. She would be in the hospital for 3 days with a migraine. With the pollen count the highest it's been in years, I have not been having a good spring. And med's just weren't helping. I can't tell you the last time I didn't have a headache. When I found out my Grandmother used to go to Canada to get accupuncture, that sealed the deal for me. I have wanted to try it for years. I am so sorry I waited that long.

The Boyfriend is working as a P.A. for the a few days in Malibu. While the money is nice, it sucks not having dinner waiting for me when I get home. Or breakfast made for me in the morning.
Yes, I am spoiled.

That's all for now. I know it doesn't seem like much, but there are more things going on. Like roadtrips to plan.

If you had one night in Nashville, where would you go?

This is Getting Comical

Today, I wore jeans as it is Friday and therefore "casual day" at work.

Today I wore my new green t-shirt that I was complimented on!

Today, my jeans have finally decided to shuffle their mortal coil and get a whole in the upper thigh area, rendering them useless.

Today The Boyfriend met me for lunch and forgot to bring another pair of jeans, that I had requested so that I don't get in trouble for my inappropriate jeans at work. He has avoided being in trouble for this by being VERY sorry that he forgot them, as well as the fact that my thighs rubbing together seems to hide the whole for now.

Today, I wore underwear, which was apparently a blessing in disguise. Also, I am starting to feel better so instead of breaking into tears over this, I can laugh at it instead!

Great

Now I am sick. This is just awesome. And I know exactly where this sickness came from thanks to the extremely sick co-worker who hacked all over everyone for over a week.

Argh.

I am someone who has sever allergies and yet rarely gets really sick. Since I am used to daily headaches and sneezing and other allergy type stuff, I just don't know how to deal with this type of thing. Why do colds and such make me all emotional and weepy?

Good grief.

Um, hi

I haven't been writing because anything that is going on in my life right now seems to be a fight. I am really sick of pretty much everything and would just like to run away.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So, today is my 29th birthday. What I love most about today is that all last week when people would ask he how old I was turning, I would say 29 and their immediate response was telling me what a baby I still am (in a nice way, I just realized that could sound like everyone was being really mean).

Today has started out pretty awesome. I got to skip the gym, The Boyfriend made me an omelet, Lisa made this awesome blueberry concoction complete with Vanilla Ice Cream and Julie and Angela brought me donuts, complete with SEVERAL choices for maple since they know that maple bars are my favorite!

And it's not over! I am going to Chili's for lunch with Vicki and out to dinner tonight! Good lord, can you tell I like to celebrate with food?! And how nice that all my friends know this about me and keep me supplied with sugar all day!

My Dad called me from work at 7 am this morning and my Mom called me later and sang Happy Birthday to me.
Like I said, it's been an awesome morning.

Last week was another story. Last week I just wanted to stomp around and hate everyone. But this week, this week I think everything is good.

I am happy. And full. And 29.

Next week I will be cutting me hair off again. This is becoming a yearly tradition for me!

Such Sweetness

Said to me yesterday morning, by The Boyfriend as we exited Albertsons:

"I want to carry the bags. If you get hit by a car, the donuts will get all squished."

True love, people. True love.

Overheard at the Gym

Picture this in a very high-pitched Valley Girl type accent that's really really gratingly loud. Also, just to paint this picture for you, this person is the type to stay on the Cardio machines for over an hour EVEN THOUGH THE SIGNS SAYS "30 minute Time Limit", so she re-sets her time every 1/2 hour even if there are people waiting to get on a machine...

"So, I had one of those days yesterday where I just realized everyone I work with is stupid. Like Lisa*. I mean, once someone told her they could totally tell she was not college educated and now she's all fixated on it and paranoid about that."

WOW. That's like walking up to a really fat person and saying "I can totally tell you eat A LOT." and then being all surprised that you hurt their feelings.

AND THEY GYM WOMAN THINKS THE PEOPLE AROUND HER ARE STUPID!

*Not her real name. I was too busy trying to get my brain to not leak out of my ear to deal with people's names and such.

It Was Funny Then Too

The color printer for my office was acting up, so I was on the phone with IT trying to get it straightened out. IT Guy asks if he can take remote control over my computer, I say sure!

He looks around at a few things as I explain what the problem is. He prints a test page. I go to see if it works.

It does.

When I come back, he says, "I'm going to open an email and print it just to make sure everything is working. Can I print this email?"

Before it opens I say "Sure" because what could I possibly have in my work email that would be personal?

As the email opens I begin laughing very hard. He catches this and says "I won't read it."

The email was between a co-worker/friend of mine, containing various personal information about the Diva Cup, the pill, cycling together and how many Valentine's Days I have been on my period.

Needless to say, I didn't want to draw any more attention to the email, so I just continue quietly giggling as I check the color printer to make sure it worked.

After I get off the phone, I am laughing so hard I can barely talk. Leave it to me to have a VERY personal email opened and printed by the super sweet IT Guy. Luckily he has a wife and daughter so if he did read it, I highly doubt it was new information for him.

So Many Things

I may just number this to make it easier:

1. My niece has a brain infection. I totally thought these types of things only happened in soap operas, but here it is in real life. My poor niece has not had the easiest of lives so far. First she was diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome and they put her on some awful medicines and now this. Please send good thoughts to my niece in Texas as she is in quarantine in her home for a month as she is on some serious meds that make her sleep all the time. Also, because of our Presidents freaking genius, "No Child Left Behind" crap, she is going to have to repeat a grade because of being out sick. The thing is, she isn't far behind and has amazing grades, but because she doesn't have the exact number of days in school, she is being punished. I hate our President and his completely idiotic ideas.

2. Valentine's Day is not over for me yet! As I type this, The Boyfriend just received a package from Café Press of some shirt that he designed for me and won't tell me what it is no matter how many times I call home and ask what I am getting.

3. Today is my Future Maybe Mother-in Law's* Birthday! Happy Birthday Marcia! Hope you have a great day!

4. I am no longer using tampons ever again now that I have tried the Instead Cup. I love it. Despite some, um, interesting beginnings, I am now completely in love with this and will never ever use anything else except some other kind of cup because good god people, these things are amazing. If you haven't tried it, please do so. You will understand why I am so happy. I mean 12 HOURS BEFORE YOU HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING!!!!
Also, less waste to throw away. Good for you, good for the planet. Everyone wins!

5. I am mostly finished with my first non-scarf knitting project, except I think the pattern was wrong or I read it wrong, but now I need to either start over or go buy more yarn to try and fix it. Instead of deciding I have left it sitting on the back of my couch for a couple of weeks now because I am mad at it for being wrong, so I guess I am punishing my poncho.

6. Does anyone else think we need to get some money together and send Garet to his own vocal lessons? If you watch American Idol, I am talking about the sweet cowboy from Wyoming. He was so damn cute and nice and actually aware of the extent of his talent. I adore him.
Ah! He has a website!

I guess that is all.

* We (being Marcia and I) came up with this name for her awhile ago because we both thought it was funny and I was sick of being introduced at The Boyfriends Girlfriend because really, we have been dating for a long time and "girlfriend" just sounds to temporary. So does "this is my Boyfriends Mom." I forgot about it until I starting writing this post. I may have to start using it again.

Why Me

So, The Boyfriend and I had a wild night last night of shopping at Costco. Whenever we are done with our actual shopping, The Boyfriend likes to look around the DVD section, to see if he can find any DVD's that he will then convince me we HAVE TO HAVE.
Since I don't really care to wander the DVD section (seriously, it is always busy and full of rude people who don't understand personal space) I decided to wander around the women's clothes section.

The women's clothes section of Costco depresses me. I feel so bad for the employees who are always there and always refolding the crap people just throw back somewhere near the pile they picked it up from. It just seems like a never ending job and no one even pays attention to what you are doing. Seriously, I don't know how these people don't snap and start screaming at the customers who walk up right next to them and completely tear apart a pile of clothes they just finished folding. I would actually pay to see that happen.
Anyhoo, the clothes section didn't have anything weird or interesting, so I started meandering towards the DVD's when this man stops me and in a very thick eastern european accent, asks if this is the only women's section in Costco. Now, I had noticed this man not just because he was intently inspecting items in the women's section, but because he seemed to need someone to notice that he was looking at women's clothes.
I answer him that it is.
"I am looking for something for my mother."
I say that's nice and begin walking away.
"Can I ask you something?"
Now here is where I should have just continued walking away. But NOOOO, I turn around and look at him.
"Have I seen you somewhere before? I work in Santa Monica? Do you live around here?"
I answer "I don't hang out in Santa Monica, so no, you probably have not seen me before."
"Don't you live around here?"
"Yes, I live in this general area, but I have not met you before." I continue edging away from him as I am now completely annoyed.
"Well I swear I have seen you before. Are you just looking around?"
"Well, my boyfriend is right over there looking at movies and I am looking at clothes."
He asks me my name. I tell him my first name. He shakes my hand and tells me his name is Sage and that I have a pretty name. (Really, I don't think my first name is all that exciting, so this is how I usually know some guy is just trying anything to get me to talk to him.)
He starts rambling about how he works in Century City, that his work just moved there and something about how he is around this area a lot and asking if I am American. I am totally not paying attention as I am calculating how quickly I can get away from him and how fast I can convince The Boyfriend that we need to leave the store immediately.
I say "Nice meeting you I have to go."
He says "Maybe I will see you around again. Or we could meet for Green Tea sometime."
I walk away.

Okay, I have never been one to get hit on a lot. I know it usually takes me a little bit to realize "Hey, this person is hitting on you!?"
But seriously, how many freaking people have fallen for the "I am looking for something for my Mother" line? I could give a crap that you are picking something out for you Mom. I mean, what kind of creep doesn't pick up on body language or the name drop of Boyfriend and back off? WHY IN CRAPS SAKE DID HE THINK I WOULD GO GET GREEN TEA WITH SOME STRANGE GUY I MET IN THE WOMEN'S CLOTHES SECTION OF COSTCO?
Why didn't I call The Boyfriend "my fiance'" like I usually do when someone weird starts talking to me?

At least we got "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ." That makes me happy. But I don't think I should have to suffer through extremely bad attempts at getting picked up just for cheap DVD's.

Nuts to You!

So, I don't have my Traders Joe's stuff written yet, but for now, I would like to say Nuts to You stupid freaking California weather! Seriously, it's February. Last year everyone was worried about all the rain and this year all I worry about is whether or not I can shove a knife through my temple without causing any serious damage. Because some days a knife would feel better than the sinus pressure I am dealing with.
And again, why does every weatherperson act like 85 degrees is great! Brilliant! The best weather every! I am going to kick them all in the head.
Right around their sinus area.

Monday, Monday

So, umm, I seem to have spring fever and it's only February.

I have felt like I am barely holding my crap together ALL DAY. But in a good way. Like I am all giddy for really no reason. Which is a good thing because I started today hating the world and pretty much most people in it.

Reasons Why

I should not be allowed near lemons or Sharpie's while bored at work. Meet my new friend Lancelot Lemon courtesy of L!

A Potpourri

Since I have been dealing with very random thoughts for the past few days, I thought I would share them with you.

*I know most people have seen this, but it makes me laugh so I am sharing it with you.

*I started this plant project almost 2 weeks ago with this plant that is supposed to appear with my fortune on it, but nothing is growing. It probably doesn't help that I keep forgetting to water it, but still, this just continues my running score of killing any houseplants. I can't believe I even entertain the idea of having kids when keeping a plant alive becomes boring to me after day 2 of taking care of them. So now instead of a cute photo essay about the plant growing, it will now be a photo essay about a can of dirt. A cute can of dirt.

*I am so annoyed at Trader Joe's right now, it has inspired a new section for this blog I will entitle "Nuts to You". Just know that whenever I say that in my head, I hear the theme song for those "Real Men of Genius" commercials, where, at the end the guy sums up what the commercial was about, "So, here's to you Mr. Taco Bowl Inventor" but instead in my head I hear "so Nut's to You Mr. Trader Joe's Broccolli that went bad after 2 days" or whatever else I am annoyed with. Didn't know I was so good at rambling did you! Just know I will probably post more now that I already have 2 subjects for the new "Nuts to You" section.
Also, every time I say "Nuts to You" I giggle.

*The Boyfriend and I have been Netflixing "MI-5" thanks to a recommendation from Julie, who was also the giver of the fortune plant that will never be. Much to my surprise, it has Hugh Laurie in it. He's "House" and I have the biggest crush on him, even more so now since seeing him in this. Good lord, he is a sexy man.

*I have finally started my first non-scarf knitting item. I am making myself a poncho and with any luck, I will be finished with it before next winter. I have already re-started it 3 times and thrown it across the room only twice. Yes, I have a temper.

*I have been listening to Kelly Clarkson's album and I can't get one of the songs out of my head.

I guess that's all for now. These don't seem so random to me now that I have typed them out, but I am probably forgetting most of my most random thoughts from the last week anyway.
Toodles.

My New Favorite Quote

"Chuck Norris is kind of like Jesus, but instead of dying for your sins, he will karate-kick you in the face until you achieve salvation."
Via Defamer.

*updated to add:

I HAVE HAD TOO MUCH CAFFEINE TODAY.

New Year, New You

I made it through the holidays without gaining any massive amounts of weight. Not that I didn't try. I ate anything I felt like eating, but I did manage to keep my portions somewhat under control. So now I am back at it and I even walked at lunch today to get some extra exercise in.

I have been feeling very stagnant lately. I have decided to clean my closet out and get rid of a lot of things that have just been hanging around. We are VERY quickly growing out of our one-bedroom apartment, and since there is no hope of being able to afford something bigger anytime soon, I figure now is a good time to get rid of some things. Not that I haven't been trying for awhile now to downsize, but I have a renewed sense of really wanting to get rid of things and change some stuff around.

This is of course not a good thing as far as The Boyfriend is concerned, as this will eventually cross over into his side of the closet, but he usually plays along until his packrat tendencies take over. It's not his fault, he is the child of a packrat*. He just doesn't have THE NEED to get rid of things like I do.

Eventually I will post more about my Christmas vacation, but for now, I have more Daily Show videos to watch..

*What is with the word "packrat"? It makes keeping things sound so bad. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing until you own 35 cats and every newspaper until you were born, but, you know, if you just keep the odd thing around because it reminds you of a good time in your life, that's not so bad.