Evidence

 
....this is what it is like to be married to a nerd. You walk upstairs and find a lair of cords.

Also, this only scratches the mere cord-surface of the multitude of cordage we possess. There are boxes (as you can see in the picture) and vast pits of cords you can find in this household. Which is why I find it hilarious every time we have to purchase a new cord to hook something up - If only the nerd could macguyver this whole cord system up (duct tape?) and connect everything we ever needed to connect again.

hmmmmm.....then again it IS really nice to be able to watch computer stuff on our big TV. Way to go you awesome, cord purchasing, hooker-upper, nerdy husband. Yeah.

I was tagged by a bajillion peoples to do this 25 thing thing.

1. I always want to help people. It usually ends up that I get way (way) too involved and it spins about and out of control. There just is this teensy bit of guilt - I hate to think about something falling apart that I could help keep together.

2. I have the weirdest dreams. By now this is maybe a known thing with me, but this fun fact is on my mind because of last night's dream. Last night I dreamt I had adopted two cats (one fat female tabby cat, one tiger striped female cat) and found out a guy had stolen the cats. Then I was on a high speed chase with this guy....In my car someone else was driving and I had the two cats in a small box (?!) I let the cats out of the box and they walked all over the driver during this high speed chase, so I had to put them back in the box. I ended up back at my old old house in C-ville and found out one of the cats had died (?!) BUT, the weirdest part is that the "cat" that had "died" was just a picture of a cat on a piece of paper. I was crying and hugging the "live" cat and looking at the piece of paper on the carpet in my old bedroom. WTF.

3. I hate working out. I have gone for weeks working out every single day and I STILL hate it. Yes, there is the feeling of "accomplishment" and following through on a commitment, but, I hate everything else about it. Don't get me wrong, I love all sorts of high-energy/endurance sports like volleyball, tennis, etc., but it is not the same as this gym thing. So pardon me when I want to punch someone in their face that just can't shut their yapping about how "awesome!" and "super awesome" and "de-stressed!" out they feel after working out.

4. I saw my poli-sci mentor on public TV Sunday and it made me yearn to go back to school. For about 10 seconds. Still, it made me realize I should do a better job keeping up on intricacies of foreign policy and international relations.

5. I am the first grandchild on all sides of the families to graduate from college. I guess I feel pretty proud about that.

6. I am a very fast reader. I devour books. Saturday I read an entire book I had just checked out from the library. The other book (Orlando by Woolf) I just couldn't get into. Time to go back to the library and find two new books.

7. I get very embarrassed/weird when I see people kissing on TV or in a movie. I sometimes even change the channel.

8. I used to not look people in the eyes when I was talking to them. Then, one day, a teacher asked me point-blank why I didn't. I'd like to thank that guy for teaching me confidence.

9. I like to think of myself as an extremely open person. I feel I can talk to all people in all walks of life.

10. I have some strange sort of pride about people from the state of Wisconsin. I love hearing stories about foreigners who find "my people" endearing and wonderful.

11. I hate it when national news comes to Wisconsin, finds some doober, and puts him/her in the national spotlight. Seriously, WHERE do they find these people? There must be some holding facility and special bus that transports people when they hear national news is coming to town.

12. I'm totally craving chocolate frosting in between graham crackers today. I'm not really a chocolate person, but for some reason I remembered my mum used to use leftover chocolate frosting in between graham crackers.... I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

13. Rollercoasters make me ill, but I love them. A trip to six flags goes like this: ride awesome ride, puke, go out and sit in car and feel awful, feel a little better, go back in, ride awesome ride, puke. end of trip.

14. I still can't eat Cheetos because of rollercoaster pukage.

15. I love playing baseball. I could/can play catch with my brother for hours. I also beat this little douchebag in a little league fielding contest. he's now in the baseball minor leagues. maybe I wouldn't call him mean names if he wasn't all "I'm going to beat you because you are a dumb girl."

16. I don't really care for softball. On the other hand, a summer softball league led to my nickname and that makes me smile. People have a hard time adjusting to my married last name.

17. I see a spider, I kill it. No big deal. I see many other insects, fine, I'll kill them too. I have a bee in my vicinity and I PROCEED TO FREAK OUT LIKE A DUMB GIRL WHO PROBABLY CAN'T BEAT YOU IN A FIELDING CONTEST. Hey, I have my reasons. Namely, the time a bee flew down my shirt as I was riding my bike. So I got stung really badly AND made a car swerve and not kill me. Yay.

18. 4 is my favorite number. The fact that Barack and I share 8/4 as a birthday and he is the 44th president excites my inner number geek.

19. I associate with many many different types of people. When I see different friend groups colliding it fascinates me. Or if I have those "small town" moments while travelling / in a random place. It is a pretty fun feeling to run into people you know in crazy places.

20. Manousheh is, hands down, my absolute favorite food in the world.


21. Any lime flavored drink is my absolute favorite drink in this world. So, I guess, give me a margarita and manousheh for breakfast and I will have a blissful day. (wipes drool off blogpost)

22. Sometimes the absence of a reason strengthens my resolve to stick with something. It is what it is.

23. I did a baton routine to Kokomo when I was little that I swear I could still perform today. I loved that damn baton class.

24. Funniest advice ever given to me? My lovely aunts have informed me in the past: "don't worry, you can turn that into a drinking game...." So, I guess when life gets you down, turn it into a drinking game!

25. I love the feeling of driving up a mountain with music cranked snuggling against the one I love and feeling home. Home is where your heart is.

Chicago - One Great Day!

First and foremost, I can't believe how much FUN I had this Saturday in Chicago. I don't always take the time to detail out some of these visits, but now I shall. Be aware that this entry will be LONG, but fun-filled.

There were several negative factors that weighed in for the day that made for some concerned anticipation. Namely:
- The recent cold rainy days we were having
- Being around my 9 year old sister for longer than 20 minutes. (love her, but...)
- Feeding my 9 year old sister banana pudding for breakfast and then remembering I have to be with her for a period longer than 20 minutes.
- Missing the 810am Metra train (completely my fault) and navigating the entire way into downtown with no maps. Relying on my memory. The memory that failed to remind me what feeding my 9 year old sister sugar for breakfast can result in.

Whee.

Well, I navigated the crew properly into the parking garage (as chicagoans would call it the 'parkn gratch') and put us squarely in front of a mcdonalds in which to fuel my bubs with some breakfast. We think a bum took a dump in the stairwell and was getting yelled at by security. Triple gold points for me!

Knowing full well we arrived a clear 45 minutes before our tour guides anticipated us, I suggested we go on a riverwalk. Little girl being adorable in the big city:
So far, so GREAT! It was a gorgeous day for us to tackle Chicago, so I was very happy with our little walk.

We then promptly called our tour guide shop and hurried their little bums through their morning routine. Profuse apologies owed. Minus myself 4 points. We took a hasty visit out to their balcony quickly keeping an eye on all their sneaky kitties. Found all their cool action figures and geegaws which always entertain. I get served water in a Guiness glass. Bitchin. We boarded the MHP tour bus and she showed us THE 7TH FLOOR including some dude casting evil sweat glares from his treadmill in the exercise room. Iwanski gets snared by a spider web. I hate it when that happens.

Ok. We moved onward to THE CORN COBS!!!!! Through the tremendous generosity of JBuckW (funniest thing is that I can sometimes only think of him as "Buck" and he can only think of me as "Sfoofie". Apparently we are asking MHP all the time what our "real" names are!!!), we got to go up to the roof of the building. It was completely free, completely without lines, completely memorable, and totally thrilling! I grew up seeing these buildings all the time in Chicago, but never thought I would ever be running free up on the roof with family and friends. I like these three pictures I took -one from the outside, the other from the rooftop, and the final of my adorable MHP and I!



Although the visit was brief, I hope Buck knows how much this opportunity was appreciated. I can't believe someone so cool is tucked away into the corncobs!

We all then headed to Millenium Park. I've come to really like this area. I don't get bored from seeing 'The Bean', the acoustically perfect outdoor theater, the plants, or the Crown fountain. Us girlies kicked off our shoes and socks and even splashed around in the fountain waters. Here are my favorite pics from the park:




(note: at this point my dear sis is still being an ANGEL. It was fun to see her enjoy her first visit to a huge city!)

We decided on a visit to The Field Museum (since we were doing so well on time!). Along the way Iwanski entertains the crowd by yelling out "I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER" which had all of us in stitches - especially my younger siblings. I also got two of my FAVORITE pictures from the day headed over to the museum. First, you can see two skyscrapers reflected perfectly in the skyscraper across the street and a cute lamppost and flowers are tucked into the picture as well. I am pretty proud of the shot. Also there is lovable Iwanski fervently trying to seduce our bus into stopping.



At the Field Museum was the big red ball! We counted ourselves lucky to see it tucked right up against the Field Museum's columns.

We quickly divided into two camps at the museum: people willing to fork over a few dollars to see the weather exhibit (and, it should be noted, that they were EXCITED to see a weather exhibit) and the other camp being "haters of forking over extra dollars for a weather exhibit". The haters chose to see the awesome "Native Americas" exhibition and some relaxation time. (Hey, if I wanted to experience a tornado live, I'd head to Kansas sometime.) We then all toured the Egyptian and Animals exhibitions. The animals exhibition was COOL and GROSS and sometimes COOL BUT GROSS. I guess it was cool to do "The Bear": Guess that's Iwanski's way of meditating for a good NFL season. Or else he wants to go crazy and live in Alaska like a bear like this guy.

We then decide to head to Wrigleyville and dinner. Things quickly went sour when we boarded the "free trolley" to only go about 2 minutes away. As we slowly become confined in the small back corner with no driver in sight, you can see the mental notes being made in the Iwanski brain: We could have been there by now. When did we get on? 8 minutes ago? Yeah, definitely could have gotten there by now. This is why Chicago really doesn't deserve the Olympics. I'm never taking this free trolley ever again. All seven of us will have to get out of this corner at the very next stop and inconvenience the eight people standing in the aisles. I hate inconveniencing people. Also: Iwanski don't tell stories on stairs. etc. We made a smart strategic move putting MHP and my mom next to each other. Those two can chat their ears off of one another and become oblivious to their surrounding environment. Until Journey begins to play, in which case they sing loudly and get in fits of giggles. Very much sisters:
The trolley finally did move and, yes, we inconvenienced the packed aisles by shoving our 7 asses (as Chicagoans would call them 'aces') out at the next stop. Our trip on the brown line over to the Belmont stop was another event filed under "Reasons Why Chicago Might Not Be The Best Choice For The Olympics." You see, for that day (and that day only. Oh. Hmmm. Maybe.), the brown line was running on an orange line rail. And then shuttles (?!?) were set up at the end to provide additional confusion to the party. Luckily we got off before the shuttle service began.

Our dinner at Mi Tierra was (in the annoying manner of Giuliana Rancic) A.MAZING.
We had margaritas, real queso fundido, and I tried a plate of 3 different A.MAZING. items. (guacamole taco, chicken tostada, pork tamale). We all laughed and us margarita girls giggled when the tequila hit our systems.

After dinner, we made our way over to Navy Pier. Yes, after this entire day of awesomeness, we still had energy for Navy Pier. Navy Pier was really cool - despite us hitting one of the only non-firework-weekends they have. We walked out to the point, headed back through the buildings and the stained glass exhibition SO COOL,btw), got the kids some souuuvenirs, and ended the night with ice cream. Actually, the night ended with getting our driver (bubs) some coffee from 7-11 to make the trip home.

None of us can believe we did all of this in a single day. Besides one heart-attack-inducing trip over Iwanski's foot at the station platform and a couple other sugar rushes, my little sister was very well behaved. I also took special pride in my navigation skills on the fly and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

Overall, I had nothin to worry about. Especially because we hired the MHP & Iwanski tour firm....If anything they provide the comic relief in any cramped free trolley corner.



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FYI: You can find some of the coolest Chitownphotos here

Let's update each other randomly!

* Today I found some cool looking number sparklers online and upon further investigation, they have a STAR shape sparkler as well! That's awesome right there. Why didn't I find these about a month ago for my birthday? I'm thinking I should just have another birthday. Or some occasion that warrants a star sparkler. I went into "pure glee" mode after I discovered them. I'm weird like that.
What have you found on the internet that made you enter pure glee mode?

* Did you know amazon.com wish list lets you have a "universal wish list" option you can add into your internet experience? Anything I find anywhere online (like, ahem, STAR SPARKLERS) I can add to my wish list and keep all cool things in one place. If you know my full real name you can go to amazon.com and view my wish list. (I can post a link here, but then all the world can view my address and that is just waaaay too much information for me to post publicly.) I have everything on there from magnetic "paper" dolls to wii items to legos and lots of books. Seeing fun stuff I like in one spot makes me smile.
What is on your wish list?

* I bought figs today because they are bubs' favorite fruit. I'd never had a fig before I met him, so buying fun foods like figs makes me appreciative of how much I've grown being with him. I got (and still get) such a rush from learning international things. That excitement is a part of the huge appeal of this man I'm happily stuck with. Did you know how difficult it is to find figs in this city? Have you ever had figs?

* Exactly four years ago I was on a very similar job search. I had suddenly quit the "going-nowhere" security job (yes, laugh away, I was a security officer), and needed something a little more grown up. I still don't regret leaving my recent job in March, but I do wish something could pass by and work out now. How many times can I tweak a resume and question my skills? Can I try something creative? Last time around the job fell really quickly into my lap. I am actively praying for the same results.
What are some traditional and non-traditional avenues I can look to find a job? Would you hire me?

* We are in the process of condo buying and I am completely lost with it all. I know some more details about places that I like better, but I couldn't tell you what a mortgage even is. I guess an idiot like me got lucky marrying a finance MBA guy. I get him figs and he gets us on a solid financial plan. I sometimes believe I'd be renting out a trailer on 7th st back home with my severe lack of financial knowledge. Yee haw!
Please tell me you were/are as lost as me with this?

* This upcoming weekend will include a visit to Chicago. We're hittin up skyscrapers and parks for lots of fun family time.
Aren't you jealous?

* I must end this update to grab lunch and do a bajillion loads of laundry this afternoon. I'm actually going to be going through old college papers and readings during my time at the laundromat so it should be fairly entertaining. I need to reflect on a time where I was intellectual. And completely oblivious to the real world.
Do you still have college/high school stuff that you can't get rid of?

A meme to get back into blogging again...

1. What is your occupation right now? Former child prodigy on sabbatical contemplating retirement.

2. What color are your socks right now? My little piggies are roaming free

3. What are you listening to right now? All is really strangely quiet.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? I created and ate off of a grilled cheese sampler platter. It's what happens when two people can't decide on cheese/bread/grilling techniques. You simply create a multitude of options, made notes, and decide what is the best option for future grillage of cheese on bread.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yep. I actually miss driving stick-shift.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Dougie fresh. He's visiting tonight after being out and about in this world on some UN sponsored trip. Awesomeness.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I'd like to think of Sage as my darling twitter buddy.

8. How old are you today? 27 and 10 days! Oh, mentally I'm about 16 today.

9. What is your favourite sport to watch? Well, before I answer, I must forgive whomever for taking creative license to add in a U to favorite. Ok, that's out of the way. I really like watching ice skating the most. Secondly, I like watching tennis, all of winter olympics, most of summer olympics (NOT FORGIVING NBC FOR HORRIBLE OLYMPIC COVERAGE), and baseball if I'm at the field.

10. What is your favourite drink? I mainly have taken a strong liking to water, but unsupervised I think I could drink gallons of Mountain Dew. Any alcohol drink that rhymes with "parjimitas" and/or contains ample doses of lime content are thoroughly favoUrited in my world.

12. What is the last movie you watched? Gladiator on VHS. Realized our Gladiator on VHS has been viewed so much that it is scrawbly (ooh, fun made-up word) in most parts and I should probably invest in a DVD copy.

13.Favorite day of the year? Probably my birthday. Nothing cures "no holiday in August" like my birthday.

14. How do you vent anger? I express displeasure in a most expletive way. Then it's all out and I usually feel better in 6 seconds.

15. What was your favourite toy as a child? Dolls, Barbies, and Legos.
(sidenote: hey Beth, why didn't we ever build a Lego Barbie house?)

16. What is your favorite season? Fall

17. Cherries or Blueberries? blueberries. for pancakes and muffins of course.

18. Do you want your friends to add this meme to their blogs? I could make crazed demands and full-bodied threats and rant until they do, but I'm just not that type of person. But if they value my friendship, they'd answer.

19. Who is the most likely to respond? Poodums my friendly ghost.

20. Who is least likely to respond? Aunt Jemima.

21. Living arrangements? Great 2 bedroom apartment with a great husband. Great location, great space, great pool, great amounts of storage space. Oh, F-BEEPING-GREAT, the kids outside are screaming. *counts to 6* Yes, great place.
(haha, just discovering that great no longer looks like it is spelled right or is actually a word anymore. greaty great great.)

22.When was the last time you cried? I haven't cried...oh, yeah. Nevermind.

23. What is on the floor of your closet? A basket full of pj clothes that don't fit anywhere else in my dresser and are too comfy to hang up.

24. Who is the friend you have had the longest? my mums. awww.

25 What did you do last night? Watched Project Runway and played WordTwist on Facebook. I AM UNDEFEATED.

26. What inspires you? Big dreamers, lots of money, crayons.

27. What are you most afraid of? Something attacking me while I'm sleeping.

28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Put some peppah on it.

29. Favourite dog breed? Beagles(WAAAY before Uno won Westminster), Labradoodles(sorry, but I do like the hybrids), and I've taken a strong liking to my parent's Bassett Hound(awww Babe is so adorable)

30. Favourite day of the week? Sunday

31. How many states have you lived in? Just Cheeseland

32.Biggest Life lesson? Be generous, kind, and never stop dreaming.
(Yeah, I know that was 3 lessons in 1.)

Bang the drum.

Sooooo I just realized that my birthday is on MONDAY. I don't know how this was overlooked! I guess I kept thinking of it as something that is happening, oh, next week "sometime". Now I'm t-minus THREE DAYS! I think this is the first birthday where I don't really have a definitive plan for doing something fun. I'm known in this land for loving birthday's a little too much. It is both a blessing and a curse bestowed upon me from my mothah (and that side of the family). A blessing because I truly believe birthdays should be celebrated, cherished, loved, and special. A curse because it seems there are a ton of people who don't think like we do (we have a special title for them: PARTY POOPERS) and also a curse because there was bound to be a birthday where I'm caught at the last minute with no plans.
Sure, it was really (REALLY) cool to go home last weekend and find an adorable cake made just for our August birthdays (those end-of-Julyers steal all of our thunder typically) and it was really (REALLY) cool to get my birthday digital camera in the mail....but....now I feel like I'll have a quiet non-surprisical birthday.

I should talk about some memorable past birthdays:

4- My golden birthday and I actually remember it! I got a huuuge teddy bear from my aunties that I promptly named "snuggle-up-a-gus." I think I still have this bear!

5-10 - I get Barbies and Barbie accesories! whee!

16- My family threw me a SURPRISE SWEET 16 PARTY! It was so awesome.....and has a funny story to go with it. I had just spent a weekend with my grandparents and we were all going to meet at this restaurant so that my mom could take me back to c-ville. My mom had all my friends gathered and they all had their cameras trained on this one set of steps leading right to their table. I walk in with my grandparents and the hostess proceeded to lead us upstairs....via another set of steps! We get up and I happen to look over at this other huge table of people....and started recognizing my best friend. Weird, thinks me. Then she sees me and I notice all the rest of the table, balloons, party hats, and a banner. I was still shocked, but it was funny that the surprise was fairly ruined.

21- I took my two closest friends to Whitewater to partay! Yes, I got drunk out of my gourd. BUT, it was in a safe manner, thankyouverymuch. It had all the classic moments... pouring out drinks I didn't like (I'm a mean drunk), some drunk bridesmaid telling me my hair was beautiful, me yelling at k-dawg to get her away from me (I believe my exact words were "Get this bith away from me"), walking back to my friend's apartment from downtown, me refusing to walk any further and laying down in the grass, my friends convincing me for a long time that we were RIGHT OUTSIDE the door of my friend's apartment, sleeping, going back to the Delevan lakehouse we were staying at, and going for a boat ride the next day at TEN IN THE MORNING hungover as hell.

22-26 - I realize I'm in love with/living with/married to a mighty PARTY POOPER. Must convince said PARTY POOPER to deal with my BIRTHDAY EXCITEMENT.

Hmmm, for this birthday I think I'll just resort to margaritas.....because I'm known in this land for loving margaritas a little too much.

Poetically perfect.

I've found myself waxing poetically in my head on this vacation. Sitting on a beach I sigh to myself knowing that it is (really really) poetically perfect. The sun melts away anything else I try to summon to trump the perfectness. Even going to the grocery store produces a wisp of amusement and something to learn. I store away these days of my brain being challenged by language and culture. Sitting in the garden on yet another sunny morning gives me the simplest vacation pleausure. I like the combo of tea and roses. There is even a term for the morning sitting and drinking of coffee(tea)..but I can't even begin to spell it here!!


(the last beach we went to...I took this pic!)

So, oh yeah, tomorrow I'm going to be hauled off to another amazing beach...oh poo, huh?

There are the tiny things too...I get to receive sneaked eye winks from my husband and focus on the cutest little things that make me remember back to the first time I really knew I loved him (it was on vacation in New Orleans!) These little things and the overall comfortableness of vacation fills some gaps in the relationship with happy memories.

Yes, we will be returning to the states....but not until I get to fill my brain with tons more poetically perfect moments.

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more observed things:

- 3 huge bags with tons of fresh (field->truck->store shelf) vegetables and fruits only cost $15. I AM LOVING IT.
- My man2ousheh quest (man2ousheh cup 2008?) is continuing and so far the local shop is winning like 6-0
- Every third car here is a BMW or a Mercedes.
- Every third car here contains a majority of the assholes on the roads
- Clothing is expensive here, but you can find really unique pieces
- I didn't bring enough dress clothes. In fact, I'm at the point where I'm sick of every single piece of limited clothing I brought and now my jeans don't fit (in a fresh vegetable awesome way!).
- The Frenchy types of people here have just the right amount of Lebanese with still the hint of pretentiousness. I'm more amused than offended :D
- Hearing the song "Jump" by Kriss Kross sung in French was so hilarious. (hearing the song come on the very next day the very first time I hit play was destiny?)
- I say in my brain the French word, but all that comes out is gooooooo
(remember the episode of Friends where Phoebe was trying to teach Joey? I feel like Joey!)
- We are really getting blessed with all the kind wishes from people
- Knowing how many times to kiss a person hello can never be learned...unless you vocally state your intentions. (it's usually three kisses hello and one goodbye?)
- I fully apologize to any shop owners yesterday and today who jabbered away at me in Arabic and I couldn't even guess at what they were saying. I mumbled stuff and walked away - they must have thought horrible things!
- I don't think my adorable red manicured nails will last another day
- I almost got an adorable kitty caught for me...poor thing was trapped under a car but remained just out of reach
- Within the group of friends nothing can get planned more than 15 mins in advance. Except designated BEACH DAYS.
- Networking ("friend of friend" / "second cousin thrice removed") is an art form here. I swear everyone is only 3 degrees away from each other in this country.
- I've obtained acceptable accent status. woo hoo!

Things that amuse/interest me here

* Hawa Chicken shops (I say it like a ninja...HAWA!)
* The people who have lived here a long time but don't really know Arabic. They can get away with only speaking French and this amazes me
* The signs / tv or movie captions / instructions all in three languages
* My poor poor butchered French pronunciations
* Huge Jesus on wheels (he moves around a certain street we drive through...it's like "FIND THE JESUS!")
* The freedoms here that I can't decide if they are good or bad (eg: drinking alcohol in cars)
* The traditions (eg: there is a specific kind of rice pudding you serve to all the visiting guests after you have a baby)
* Lizards in the garden
* My "quest" to try all different kinds of man2ousheh to see if the man2ousheh here in Brummana is really the best in all the land
* The old old old buildings that are so pretty in their ancient-ness
* The religious shrines that dot the sides of the roads
* The veiled women walking with their skimpy dressed friends
* The staring....everyone stares at everyone else in cars. (Not just because I'm the blondie.)
* The millions of flower boxes put up along fences in the villages
* The kindness of a total stranger to take off her bracelet and give it to me after I only commented that it was pretty. (this kindness is very common in the older generations, but you don't apparently find it in the younger generations. the girl, Issan, who gave me the bracelet will always be remembered when I put on the bracelet!)
* When going to the movies you sign up where you will be sitting in the theater
* The ability to find a full dinner for $2
* Paying for things in US dollars
* Planning out our perfect beach day for tomorrow
* How cheap it is to get a manicure, pedicure, and eyebrows done ($30 dollars and they do such a good job!!)
* Sitting at a restaurant by the sea with the breezes hitting my face
* Picking out the girls who had nose jobs
* Learning tons of Arabic in only the week I've been here
* Truly amused by the fact that so many things simply don't have a system here (especially traffic. and the fact that I didn't even need a visa when I entered at the airport. we decided it was probably because it was 430am and the guy didn't feel like filling it out!)
* All the flags flying around here due to the soccer Eurocup that is happening. People take soccer here very seriously! (go Germany!)
* Burger King and almost every place delivers here. Oh, and you can tell the guy to pick up something from the store along the way...
* Around every corner is an amazing view

I'm sure I'll keep thinking of more.

For laughs...

* There is a great post over at dooce.com which is actually a guest post by 1/2 of sweet juniper. I dont have any kids, but the parenting duo that writes for sweet juniper have some amazing posts that any one can enjoy.

* Along the lines of lolcats is another new favorite "awww" website: Cute Overload.
A favorite from there:

* As always, making fun of celebrities can be soooo incredibly funny. Go Fug Yourself. Included in a recent post was a line I would like to steal: "But if you think that's as wack as it gets, just wait, because at the film's premiere she crashed the Wackmobile straight into Lake Crackpot."

* All along, VH1's Best Week Ever have been blogging hilarious things about Top Chef. How did I miss this? The finale recap was great. And this gem about Lisa was priceless.

* Continuing my French music addiction.... (and it will make you go "awww")



There, that should keep you entertained for at least a little bit. I'll be back in a month to continue this partay....

My Dad

I had a pretty strong connection to my dad right away even if I didn't meet him until I was eight. I distinctly remember my parents wedding day (how many kids can say that?) and I think it was just meant to be how everything worked out. He's my dad through and through. I'm the one who would sit in the basement (his woodshop) and watch him make things out of wood. He would even give me scrap wood for me to make cool tables and things for my Barbie empire.(hey, my entire walk-in closet at that house was Barbieland. or 'a mess' if you asked my mom.) He's a fantastic wood craftsmen and I'm pretty proud of every little gift I have made by him. There's something special about holding a wooden pen made by dad.

I've (shamefully) given my dad so much hell through the years, but, you have to believe I have a huge amount of respect for the guy too. He's the one I could whine at to get my way and can be quite a teddy bear. I will always cherish how he was the one who ultimately soothed out so many stresses with the wedding. Even though it wasn't his thing to have a huge formal wedding (he would have really liked for everyone to grab a cheeseburger from the Burger King drive through, wave, and leave), he was there for me.

I have so many crazy good memories about dad. Him dressing as Santa Claus, driving through the streets of C-ville embarrassing me by yelling "WE GOT PIZZA HUT" out the open window (and honking the horn), teasing me about boys, always getting us ice cream, regaling us with tales about the dump, giving us rides on the tractor, walking through the woods, singing Elvis songs, making me watch John Wayne movies (OVER AND OVER), talking like Arnold Schwarzenegger (making t-shirts with him looking like Schwarzenegger!), all his dad-isms, ALWAYS CHANGING THE OIL ON MY CAR, and so on (this list could carry on a long time)

I know I didn't cry or get emotional when he walked this little girl down the aisle and I know I didn't cry when we had our father-daughter dance (I was sooo happy that day!) .... but today as I write these words I'm filled with tears knowing how much my dad means to me. He's bitchin, trust.

Guilty Pleasures

Ugh...I have so much I could write about that happened in the last few days, but I just spent a bunch of time staring at the blank blog format wondering what to write. It just wasn't coming out. I think it is a way of knowing that the last few days were very special - too special for me to write about them decently. Instead I think I'm going to just throw some other stuff out here that's easier to write about.

I have some things I take great delight in and spend too much time on. So I will share them here:

- LOL Cats. I can has a laugh at every picture. OH, and if you are a dog lover, there's LOL Doggies.

- Pop culture. The N mentioned yesterday "How do you know all this crap?" I swear the most inane pop culture poo seeps into my brain. It is everywhere. I have a love/hate relationship with it all. Seeing Michael Kors talk about how he has an obsession with the tabloids actually made me feel better. He even says "Now I gotta go in and see all this delicious juice." On the downside, there is definitely the hate part of this guitly pleasure relationship. Apparently Ashley Simpson didn't announce her publicity-pregnancy before her publicity-marriage because it "went against her religious beliefs." Quite possibly the dumbest thing I've read. Hey princess, wouldn't getting pregant before marriage go against your religious beliefs? aaaand btw, you have the creepiest dad. EVAR. So I read things randomly, watch E news randomly, and see things randomly on the internet and now I have insane amounts of useless knowledge. I know it is useless and yet I still am sucked into that vortex. The delicious juice vortex.

- Not really a "guilty" pleasure, but I'm including going to church on this list. In these modern times, many of my generation and all over the world simply do not "get" church/religion. (Ashley Simpson?) I like church and a lot of people don't understand that. Especially since I'm still part of what people consider the most bastardized instituion in the Christian world. Whee. I love this ride.

- Chick movies. I begged/whined/sold my soul until I got to see 27 Dresses. 'nuff said. (ohhh, but "The Prince and Me" is the WORST MOVIE EVAR.)

- Cheese. GAAAAAAAAAAH. Cheese has the most evil grip over my diet. I will give up meat to include cheese into a meal.

- French music. I probably will never learn to prounounce "Sacre Couer" or "Chantal" correctly, but I love Frenchy songs. I don't even know what most of the songs mean, but C'est Si Bon!

- Idle retirement. I probably could have done something cooler with this time, but I do love it. I take great pleasure in a simple day. (I guess I did focus on my health and well-being which is definitely cool, but I didn't save a puppy from a gutter in the rain or anything like that.)

- Pillows, blankets, and towels. I love having a lot of them and finding the cushiest ones to snuggle with. I wish I could adopt the snuggle bear and take it home. Snuggly softness rules! (haha, I do love how the clip is labeled as "Snuggle Bear YOU MUST DIE)

- Lime drinks. The new Aquafina Alive in Orange Lime ROCKS. I can get a little caffeine when needed without resorting to diet drinks and aspartame. I love a lime drink in the summertime too. If I had any ingredients for a margarita in the house, it would totally be in my hand right now.

- READING. favorite thing to do is cuddle up with a book (with a margarita, pillows/blankets, in my idle retirement, with a French soundtrack playing in the background)

- Playing Scrabble (and, really, any other board game). I totally came back this weekend to win at the very end in beating K, but I did lose to N last night. Memories are made when board games are played.

Today's Revelations

* I dont like peeling oranges. I like cutting them into wedges and eating the delicious part out of the skin.
* Eating oranges made me happy
* Static electricity at the gym is scary. Kept shocking my poor left ear!!
* The internet is an endless resource for learning about static electricity. I think I've cured what the problems were (dry skin, fresh laundered clothes, dry air, cold morning, dry shoes)
* Gimme Arabic bread (thin pita) and melted mozzarella and I am a happy woman
* Pineapple scented things are totally ruined when they contain other totally not necessary scents like coconut. Or mandarin orange. Or "tropical" artificial scents. WHY CAN'T IT JUST BE PINEAPPLE?
--> sidenote: Boo to yankee candle for discontinuing pineapple paradise. That scent was the only reason I ever bought from them...and was the BEST smelling thing EVAR.
* I can totally tune out anything when I'm reading a book.
* Tuning everything out while reading a book is fabulous.
* There is a big crack in our wall that I never noticed
* I really do love and appreciate all my friends
* A band from college that I know totally got 5000 times better with the changeup of the lead singer. I've told the guitarist that they've needed a new lead singer for YEARS. To know how much better they sound now is pretty gratifying
* I need to do dishes. yuck.
* The apartment really is a lot better now that I'm around a lot more
* I don't miss taking a billion phone calls a day and solving horrid insurance cases.
* I keep dreaming about past jobs I've held.
* I dream a lot. and a lot more vividly than most people. I had a dream this week containing some random person from high school. Then I get a message from his wife (who I also went to high school with) that they are expecting a baby girl. So random that I had a dream and an important announcement involving the same RANDOM person.
* Even when I have access to all the cable channels at the gym, I always seem to end up watching a channel I get at home. I'm just used to all the food network, bravo, style, and women's channel entertainment.
* I can't wait until I can go play tennis, go for a bike ride, have a picnic, BE OUTSIDE AND NOT BE COLD, go for morning walks, golf, etc
* I've set my goals for tomorrow: dishes, buying soil to start the patio garden, going to a strength class at the Y, and going through one cupboard in the kitchen to match containers to covers.
* I can't bring myself to get rid of the bridal magazines. Why?
* Enchanted is a delightful movie
* Cuddling and watching Enchanted is the best
* I definitely know which kind of contact lenses I'm going with. I was given two sets to try out and one is a ton better than the ones I'm wearing today.
* You don't need to have a fancy camera to take a good picture
* I love my bestest friend

Fun one

1.) Answer the questions and type into Google image search.
2.) Post pictures from the first results page.

Age you'll be next birthday:


A place you'd like to travel to:


Your favorite place:


Favorite object:


Favorite animal:





Favorite color:


City where you live:


Name of past pet:


Name of first crush:

(Mike Vitar from the movie "Sandlot" - Baseball girl all the way!!)

Nickname:


First name:


Middle name:



Last name:


Bad habit:


First job:


Grandmother's first name:


Major in college:

imbibe the limeness baby!

lime vodka is totally where its at
you should be 'bout it 'bout it
get up get up and get down



welcome to a crash course in sfoofie bartending

step 1. yaaaaaay! no need to go out!
step 2. mix lime vodka with anything. hell. skip the anything and go straight to it!
step 3. you are lime vodka.



you've passed (forever an optimist)! congrats!

anyway. contrary to popular blogging op polls, i am not drunky drunkersons. it turned out merely to be a friday night watching a pretty great movie with bubs and remembering i have 2 key ingredients in my household to have one very pretty drink. now i get to spend time trying to convince ye 4 readers to try this.

See, the mark of a great pub establishment IMHO is whether or not they have lime vodka. (bonus points if it is the bright green cheap stuff.) you can even get guys to dig the "ecto-cooler" of it all. my fave lil pub here in brew-city doesn't carry the stuff anymore (gee, wonder why i haven't gone there much now?), but when they did, i could get the whole crowd going on the drink. it's unique, colorful, tasty, sophisticated YET deeply white trash. all my friends groan when we go out and i have to ask if lime vodka is in the bar's reperatoire (crap. can't spell. whatevs). no matter what tho, 2 drinks later and they're switched over to this one.

it is really, technically known as THE ALLIGATOR

...and the real technical recipe is:


lime vodka
triple sec
splash lemonade
splash 7-up
squeeze o' fresh lime
garnish with lime


...though i often modify it to:

lime vodka + 7-up / sprite / mountain dew / squirt /etc


Tonight it was the real green vodka and mountain dew. sweet cuppin cakes it was tasty!


A Short History Of A Drink
The Alligator drink was invented* in Whitewater, WI** at a little craphole*** by someone named Justin****. The drink can be done as a shot***** or a tall one****** or a short one*******. The End.


* I really really think so.

** Whitewater was both great and not great in so many ways. Here is a slice o' life there: HI! Welcome to Whitewater! There is no restaurant open past 9pm here! Except Taco Hell! Our Taco Hell has rusty road signs on the walls, tables and chairs were saved from some dumpster, and we'll blare some righteous country music! Shudder! OHHH the best part is that we'll give you parking tickets for parking in a parking lot even though our town is only 6,000 people! We LOVE giving parking tickets!

*** man. the brass rail was/(is?) such a shitastic dumpy place for playing such a key role in my life. fate is awesomely funked like that.

**** it's weird to be thinking about that person named justin. yeah. justin was such a hippy pothead. justin went to australia and came back some kind of savvy save-the-world-type-person but i could totally stab in the dark and guess he's still just just a hippy pothead. that's how these people just are. predictable!

***** bang.

****** preferred method of consumption

******* totally un-PC of me. should be correctly listing it as a "little darling one." ...until it kicks me in the shins.



There. a whole post about my favorite drink. and i'd like to thank my inspiration (nay, the QUEEN of relaying her every f'in FAVORITE f'in $6000 thing all the f'in time.) for convincing my whole nation of blogopia to try my favorite f'in thing. : OPRAH.


cheers!