When boredom strikes...

I do random things like this at work if I'm all caught up and extremely bored.

MASTER BEDROOM (click to enlarge)

I know there are some people that are all "eww, a matching set?" when it comes to furniture of any kind. In some instances, though, I don't mind it... Especially when the furniture I've chosen has a wood finish since I'm not really a fan of mixing wood tones. Hell, I don't even like that my couch has dark-stained legs while the rest of my living room furtinure is mission-style oak, LOL. When we first bought the furniture for our bedroom, it was only the bedset and nightstand. We were picking up our new couch a few weeks later and the store was going out of business. We were just browsing while they were loading the truck (Andy's grandfathers both have trucks for us to borrow, yay!) and they had the display armoire marked down to about 30% of the original price. There wasn't a knick or scratch on it so we had them put it in the truck too! Anyone with a true vintage bungalow (I'm talking not a new construction built to look like a vintage one), knows that the closets are almost non-existant. The armoire is sooo nice for the storage we were previously lacking!

The one thing I'd like to change about the master bedroom, eventually, is the carpet. Unfortunately, unlike most of the house, there's no hardwood underneath it. And when I say most of the house, I mean it -- the living room, kitchen, dining room, hallways and guest room all had the original hardwood!

GUEST ROOM (click to enlarge)

This is more of an "I wish" board than an "I have" board considering that, other than the paint, I only have three things from it, LOL. I posted a few months ago about wanting to get a cream bedset but I was browsing online and became only slightly obsessed with iron beds. I found the one above and fell in LOVE! I figured I wouldn't have to match the nightstand to the bedset and stumbled upon the lively green nesting tables above. They'd be a great contrast against the teal walls with cream trim AND they'd pull in the bits of green in the bedding. Sold! And how great is that rug? Thanks, Target, for having some cute and affordable options!

Remember this post? I talked about Craftsman colors and gave a little grid of the colors in my house? Compare row two there with row two here. I've talked a lot about repainting my dining room (which I still haven't started, by the way... So glad they let us push the pick up date for our set out by a week.) but I'm certain I haven't mentioned repainting my hallway. It hasn't happened yet, but will soon. Anyone who knows me is well aware that I'm browsing art pretty much all the time... I came across this whimsical print:

And, like anything else, decided I needed it. My hallway paint was based on vintage garden magazine covers. I'm not really a floral person. They were pretty and on sale so I ordered them. It's been three years and now I want to change it up, lol. I'm the painter so why not?! I just need to find a few other corresponding prints and the hallway will be added to my to-do list.

A new favorite

I've been using Organix products for about a year and a half now. They have so many different kinds of shampoos and I've pretty much tried them all. FYI - they all smell AMAZING! I think my two favorite scents are the 1) Pomegranate Green Tea and 2) Cherry Blossom Ginseng. We were out grocery shopping on Saturday and I needed shampoo. Meijer doesn't really carry much of the Organix line (our Target, on the other hand, has tons!) but I saw this, decided to try it and this is what I've got to say about it:

My hair is seriously the softest it has EVER been! I don't use conditioner but even after blowdrying it, I didn't even need to brush it. I did, but seriously. I could have just left the house. My hair is also shiny, smooth and smells amazing! This shampoo has a coconut smell to it and it's sooo divine. I've found a new fave!

Tidbits

- I'll readily admit that ever since I quit playing soccer in high school, my workout regimen has been umm, lacking and inconsistent -- to say the least! I've had a hard time trying to find something that gives me a good workout while still being something I enjoy. It's tricky! I'm not a runner. I'm not a weightlifter. I'm not a "spend my money on a gym membership" person. My sister in law has been doing Pure Barre and the results she's had blows my mind! Like I said, though, I'm not about to spend money on a membership anywhere and there are pretty much NO work out videos out there. There are two set to release next month but I wanted to start working out right away. I started browsing for something similar and came across this:

Let me say this: I am on day 2 and it's already kicking my ass. Its main focus is, of course, barre based exercise but there are also specific workouts for the upper body and core. I am not flying all over the place like Zumba or some dance aerobics class when I use this DVD, but I find myself working up a sweat quickly! It really pushes you to extend and use specific repetition to tone muscle. And there are times that I'm all "No, Andrea Rogers, I really DON'T want to stand on my tippy toes and do squats." But she's all "Come on, reach! You've got this!" And so then I'm all "YAY, I'M STRONG!"

I kind of love that the one frame from the video I've been able to find is of them on their tippy toes. I really want to hate it so much but I actually really enjoy it! When Erin said that she had fun doing barre workouts, it was a "girl you crazy!" moment for me. But she's right! It's actually fun!

- Toning up means I'll look fab in the bridesmaid dress I'll be wearing this October! It took us a few hours to narrow it down. I couldn't believe how many options the associate kept pulling for us! We finally got it down to our three favorites, then all of us tried them on to decide on the winner. For some reason, the Alfred Angelo website makes the color options a lot brighter than they are in person. The dress will be in a dark apple red color. It also had a halter strap that we're removing, so I photoshopped it out of the picture. LOL.

- On Wednesday I celebrated four weeks of vegetarianism! I feel like I'm really starting to get into the groove of veggie meals. I've been experimenting and it's getting easier. It's so, so strange for me to admit that I don't miss meat WHATSOEVER! 

- I need to whine for a second. I've done absolutely NO painting in our dining room and so I had Andy push out our pick up date of the dining room set by a week because I must, must, must paint before any of that gorgeous oak makes it into our dining room. I should really not be so lazy about it. Wah.

- For a few months, I've been brewing Henry's Blend from Seattle's Best. I ran out last week and have not been able to find it anywhere around here! I finally gave up and decided to try Java Love, blended by the Organic Coffee Co. and it is amazing! Not only does it taste delicious, but it's organic AND fair trade!

- Last summer, I decided I really wanted a cruiser bike... And just like anything else that I decide I want, I then decide I need it and obsess about it until I either get it or find something else I decide I want (LOL). In this instance, I moved on... Until today. I am now obsessed with the fact that I need a cruiser bike. Again.

Share my shame?

(First: This is the Kanye-less version because I think he's terrible and takes away from the song. Second: This is the audio only version since the official video includes Kanye and clips of sad animal things.)

I mean... I don't even know. Anyone who knows me would be able to tell any stranger that I'm a classic, easy rock lover. My mom and Andy joke that I was born a few decades too late because I obviously should have been around to experience the hippie era. However, I'm slightly obsessed with this Katy Perry song. Seriously? Up until Glee covered Teenage Dream I was all "WTF, who is Katy Perry?" Then I hear this song on the radio last week and I'm all "OMG, KATY PERRY, YAY!" Oy.

Friday's Fifteen

This, too, is floating around the blogosphere. Why not, right?

1. What would you pick to eat if you only had one meal left?

A big bowl of my dad's cabbage soup (minus the beef, of course) along side my mom's equally delicious egg salad sandwich.

2. What quality is the most important to you in the opposite sex?

I think an important quality for ANYONE to have is the ability to be kind without expecting anything in return.

3. If you could pick your birthday, when would you want it and why?

I wouldn't change it. I like my October birthday!

4. What is your dream job?

Honestly, I have no idea. Obviously accounting was in no way what I thought I'd be doing, but I really like what I do and I love the people I work with... That's pretty dreamy, right? :)

5. What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

Shop. DUH.  

6. What's the best book you have ever read?

Truth be told, I've never read a book that has given me an "OMG! WHAT A LIFE CHANGER!" moment. I loved every second of Moliere's Tartuffe (a play) when I read it, though.

7. Biggest Pet Peeve?

People who complain about everything.

8. What show can you not miss?

Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Bethenny Ever After (guilty pleasure -- I love her!).

9. What is your favorite holiday and why?

Christmas, without a doubt. I love giving gifts!

10. Do you want a big family?

No. Two babies, please. :)

11. What is more important to you, love or money?

What a cliche question! Obviously love. I wouldn't stick around when I'm not happy just because whoever I'm with buys me things or has money in the bank. WRONG!

12. If you had to live in another country other than America, which would you choose?

Ireland. It's so beautiful.

13. What is your dream car?

I don't really think about dream cars, lol. I love my Saturn Vue and will probably drive it until it dies! Ask me this when it's time to buy a new car. :-P  

14. Which is better, cats or dogs? Please explain why.

I love both! I love all animals, though, so I'm the wrong person to try and explain why one animal is better than another.

15. If you had to live without either a cell phone or internet, which would you choose to give up?

Internet, 'cause my cell phone has it. :)

Tidbits

Let's catch up on my life a little. :)

- Friday was pretty nice because it went by very quickly! I had an eye exam in the morning which didn't take more than a half hour. I had a financials meeting and then a team meeting at work as soon as I got in. Once those were done, about half of us girls got together and went out to eat. Tred and Anne wanted Arby's and so I tagged along and ate curly fries, LOL. Kelli and Newsh didn't want it so they were party poopers and didn't come! After work, I hung out at the casa with the boys. Thursday and Friday it felt like my allergies were kicking my butt so I didn't have motivation to do anything!

- Saturday, Andy and I went grocery shopping and stocked up on lots of fruit and veggies. Meijer had the biggest, juiciest looking strawberries I've seen in a long time so you better believe I brought a few cartons of those home! :) While grocery shopping, I started feeling worse and it was all downhill from there. We finished up, checked out, came home and put everything away. I stayed on the couch after that, except for the times I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom to puke and puke and puke. You know what a really weird feeling is? Not being able to breathe through your nose while puking.

- I felt much, much better on Sunday! I had something super fun at 3PM, which I still can't say anything about... I'll be able to share more in a month or so. :) And, NO, it's not a baby! (Just in case family is reading this, LOL.) After that we met up with everyone from my dad's side at River Rock for an early dinner. Sunday is $1.00 burger night there so pretty much everyone except me got burgers, lol. I got nachos. Meatless, of course! Speaking of no meat: today marks three weeks of vegetarianism!

- Andy starts hockey in a few weeks! One of his friends from work plays in a just-for-fun league and they were looking for a few more players so Andy signed up. He loves to watch hockey just as much as I do, but hasn't really played it so I can't wait to watch, LOL.

- As you can see from my 365 a few days ago, I've decided that I AM going to repaint the dining room. Andy is nonplussed, lol. I've found a great shade of cream (after Andy brought home about 3458745 paint chips) and I'm hoping to start painting next week. I'd say this weekend but I've got a LOT going on!

- We just found out that our new dining set is in the warehouse in southern Michigan and it's just waiting for the okay to get shipped up here. We scheduled pick up for the 16th to give me time to paint the walls, LOL. We paid good money for the set and I don't want it in the dining room while I'm rolling paint because I have a slight tendency to be clumsy (keep in mind that's coming from the girl that dumped salad in her lap during lunch yesterday, hahaha) so I can just imagine me getting paint on it. I'm hoping to snag the buffet eventually. The set is now retired and I'm thinking the display buffet will be going on clearance shortly. ;)

- I've been toying with the idea of a beadboard ceiling in our kitchen. I've read a ton of DIY blog posts about it lately and it seems sooo easy. Now to convince Andy.

- This coming Saturday I'm meeting up with Erin & the rest of the bridal party to pick out bridesmaid dresses! Afterward we're going to grab Ryan so I can take some engagement pictures for them! I have no idea where we'll go, so I should probably get on figuring that out.

18 Random Questions

This has been floating around the blog world for a while so I figured I'd do it:

1. Make a list of 5 things that you can see without getting up:

- The TV. It's a 52" and I am on the couch, afterall. ;)

- The dogs. Three are currently on the couch, one on the floor.

- My purse.

- A laundry basket full of clean clothes.

- A couple throw blankets tossed over the end of the couch.

2. How do you style your hair?

Lately I've just been blowdrying it and leaving it as is. Sometimes I'll straighten it and every now and again I'll use a large barrel curling iron for loose waves.

3. What are you wearing now?

My comfiest pair of jeans, thanks Old Navy! A lime green spaghetti strap tank with metal beads across the top and a cream sweater with a lime green, navy, light blue and teal floral print. Both of those are from Old Navy, too... I love that place.

4. What's your occupation?

I am a child/medical/spousal support accountant. And yes, it is sometimes as crazy you think it'd be.

5. What do you hear right now?

Bad Girls Club. ::Shame::

6. Who was the last person you hugged?

My husband!

7. What is/was for dinner?

Salad. I've been making salad a lot lately, I'm guessing because it has felt like spring! That's kind of a big deal in Michigan.

8. What did you do today?

I went to work, came home and have been sitting on my tuckus ever since.

9. Dog person or cat person?

I like both! I like all animals, though. :)

10. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

Hmm, if I *HAD* to change my name, I think I'd pick ... Honestly, I have no idea! I know what I'd name a future daughter but I can't think of a new name for myself. How weird... Something Irish, that's for sure.

11. What was the last thing that you bought?

Umm, green olives and sharp cheddar cheese, LOL. I wanted to make a salad last night and didn't have those for it. And those are a staple for Kaycee salads. :) If you want a fun answer: a couple cardigans, a few embellished tees and a popover hoodie from Old Navy on Sunday.

12. If you could afford to go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Truthfully, if I only ever vacationed to Chicago, I'd be happy. I adore it there.

13. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Pretty much where I am now, except with a few babies. :)

14. Where's your birthmark?

On my left cheek.

15. What are you doing this weekend?

Just working around the house. I'm doing something kind of fun, too, but that has to stay a secret for now! :)

16. If you could play any musical instrument, which one would you play?

Sitar! I love listening to recordings of George Harrison playing it.

17. How tired are you?

Not very, yet. Give me an hour. ;)

18. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Just one!

Last Sunday & this Sunday

Sooo... I really haven't gotten around to editing pictures from Grandma Alvie & Aunt Judy's birthday party. I take that back, I have two... LOL. So I figured I'd share those and then a few of my dad's dogs from today since Nick bounces off the walls too much to actually ever get a picture of him. ;)

LAST SUNDAY:

Close up of Grandma Alvie's cake. It was banana nut and SO amazing. I could have eaten the whole thing. I'm not sure where it came from but I wouldn't be surprised if Andy's Aunt Gail made it. She is ridiculously talented when it comes to cooking and baking! Bonus: there was Moose Tracks ice cream... My FAVE!

I'm not sure why Aunt Judy always holds up a finger on each hand when she blows out her candles. But she does it every year, LOL. Her cake was chocolate. Totally had some of that too, lol. I just love Andy's grandma, she is so adorable... And probably the sweetest lady I've ever met (other than my mom!).

THIS SUNDAY:

My dad's dog, Buddy, sleeps with his back paws like this all the time. So cute.

Copper heard the electric carver (my step mom sliced up some home made bread for a whole 15 seconds) and was scarred for the rest of the day. He's such a cute dog, but a wimp. :)

In the front is Ginger and in the back is Copper. Ginger came to lay on Andy and Copper jumped up to lay on Ginger. They're brother and sister and never very far away from each other.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Tidbit syle:

- We celebrated two birthdays this weekend and first up was Grandma Alvie's. We all got together at Andy's grandma & grandpa's house around 2 on Sunday for cake and ice cream. I seriously adore Andy's grandparents -- both sets. My grandfathers both passed away when I was five, my maternal grandmother passed away when I was seven and my paternal grandmother moved down south shortly thereafter. I've never really grown up with "typical" grandparents and so I absolutely love going to see Andy's. They're kind, funny and tell the best stories. Andy's grandma turned 81 and she also shares her birthday with her younger sister, Judy, so there were two yummy, yummy cakes -- chocolate and banana. I got some really cute pictures of the two of them that I still need to edit, but I think I'll put them up here afterwards. :)

- Later Sunday night we met up with my mom & Mark at Cracker Barrel for her birthday dinner. I thought after all that cake at Andy's grandma's I wouldn't want to get breakfast for dinner, but I did. :) We went back to my mom's after so that she could open her gifts. Mark got her a Kindle (about which I am super jealous since I've wanted one for a while and have just never sprung for it, lol)! We did the same for her that we did for my dad this year -- one practical gift and one fun gift. (For my dad, it was a new electric razor and a giant sling shot that shoots metal ammo that he can plink at the little targets the boys make when we go camping in June & August. I'll let you pick the "fun" one, LOL.) My mom got a Hoover stick vacuum, hahaha. In my defense, she has been saying that she wants one for months now since her house has about 20 stairs from the first floor to the second and she currently lugs a vacuum that weighs more than me up and down them! Her fun gift was a gift card to DSW so she can buy a few pairs of fabulous shoes.

- After much debate, we've decided to put down tile in the kitchen. I'm a little "meh" about covering the hardwood but it's such a high traffic area that it will get absolutely DESTROYED if we don't. Thankfully we don't have to rip it out to lay the tile so eventually I'd like to uncover and refinish it but for now, the tile is definitely the more practical choice (especially with four sets of puppy paws running through it a few times a day to go outside).

- My vegetarianism is still going well! I spent a good chunk of time this weekend browsing recipes and found a bunch that I can't wait to try. I found a recipe for an asparagus sandwich that sounds AMAZING. I'm a huge fan of roasted vegetables (and asparagus in general!), though, so any time I can slather them in olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and let them get crispy in the oven, I'm in heaven. I also found a recipe for cabbage, potato and tomato soup which, after reading the ingredients, sounds a lot like the famous cabbage soup that my dad makes! It's more of a stew, really, but it is so, so delicious. Other than the beef he puts in his, this recipe seems almost identical though I can't say for sure since my dad is one of those "add as you go and it still ends up delicious" kind of people.

- I got the valances for my dining room on Saturday... Four days earlier than the previous email told me, but 8 days later than their original arrival date. They're pretty so I guess that makes up for it, lol. Now comes the fun part of hanging everything on my giant windows! I wanted to do that yesterday but we were gone from about 1:30 to 9:30 so, yeah... That didn't happen. :)

- I decided yesterday that this week I'll give my back hall a big scrub down so that I can start prepping to re-paint it. It's currently a big mud pit thanks to my puppies coming in and out from the backyard and shaking off / playing back there. Before I decided I wanted my kitchen that butternut squash color, I had already purchased two gallons of light, light blue paint (which was total overkill since one gallon of the squash color covered the walls and left 1/4 of the gallon!) and so I'm just going to use that back there. It has cream moldings, wainscoting and baseboards so it'll go well! Plus I have a lot of decor from when our master bedroom was a dark gold color (I did gold and pale blue in there... Told you I've painted and repainted a lot!) that I can re-use back there to. It'll be nice to get that stuff out of the basement!

- Speaking of paint, this weekend I taught myself how to effectively paint around trim and ceilings without having to tape everything off first. Oh. My. Land. I can't even begin to say how much of a timesaver cutting in is! I have a steady hand while holding paint brushes thanks to taking art classes every year I've ever been in school, lol, and it definitely takes one!

- This week I'm hoping to put glass mosaic tile in the open shelves above our cabinets in the kitchen. You can kind of see them in the pictures from this post... They're above the cabinets on either side of the sink, as close to the ceiling as they could possibly get and I thought they could use a pop of something! I keep adding project after project to our list. Andy is so thrilled. ;)

Tidbits

I realize I haven't made a post with substance for a while. And that's sad, so have some tidbits:

- Yesterday was my mama's 50th birthday! I find that so hard to believe for some reason. We're waiting until the weekend to celebrate since Ronnie is in Flint for school during the week. I'm not sure where we're going to eat, or if we're going to cook something for her at home, but her presents are wrapped and patiently waiting in my guest room! It was her birthday but she bought pizza for her office (which I don't work in but I'm her daughter so that doesn't matter!) so my lunch was veggie pizza eaten in her breakroom... It may or may not have been followed by a gigantic piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, LOL.

- Friday I went out to eat with the girls for lunch at Latitude 43. It's a newer restaurant in town and it was phenomenal! We ordered the "43 skins" for an appetizer, which they make with waffle fries instead of potato skins. YUM. I decided to get their penne with meatballs and was a little "meh" while waiting for it because in most places, though their menu may say meatballs in the plural form, you get your plate and there's one meatball plopped in the middle of it. I was really happy when the food came and there were 7 or 8 meatballs on my plate! They were spicy and sooo delicious.

- Saturday was our lazy day. We had plans of being so productive, but we got up and decided lounging around sounded better, lol. We got caught up on Big Bang Theory and cleaned a little, but that was about it. Sunday was Andy's mom's birthday and we met up with his family to have lunch at Logan's in Midland. I think it's such a weird coincidence that both of our fathers were born in January, both of our mothers were born in March and both of our siblings were born on the 31st of a month. Freaky, right?!

- My dining room windows are still bare. I ordered the valances for them on 2/28/11 and got an email that I should expect them by 3/4/11. Awesome turn around right?! I logged in to my store account on Monday when I still hadn't seen them to track them down and there was an update that they wouldn't be here until the 15th now. Uhh, whatever, that's fine, but maybe a notification via email would be helpful?! We also have everything cleared out of there to make way for our new dining set that should hopefully be here in the next week and a half to two weeks. We got a call that our chairs are in but they're still waiting on our table. Yeah, kinda need that. :) So, without curtains AND without a dining set, our dining room looks very pathetic. There *is* art on the walls though, so I guess it's better than it could be!

- I am on the hunt for the perfect waist-height table for our kitchen. Our stove is in a corner of the room and there are no cabinets on either side of it, so it's kind of a pain to prep everything at one counter, leave it all there, take what I need to the stove, come back for whatever I need next, etc... We have one empty wall (and it just so happens that it's next to the stove) so I thought a good idea would be to find a tall table that we could leave against the wall most days but pull out to the middle of the kitchen as an "island" when we wanted to cook.

- In a few weeks, I'll be going to pick out bridesmaid dresses with the rest of the girls from Erin's wedding. I can't believe her wedding is only six months away already! Her wedding colors are dark red, ivory and black and we can all get a different dress so long as they're all the same red color. It'll be fun! I'm really, really excited about the wedding present Andy and I decided we're getting for them, but I can't spill the beans just yet. ;)

- I can't remember if I mentioned that one of my friends asked me to shoot her wedding so, just in case -- one of my friends asked me to shoot her wedding. ;) I won't book shoots unless friends or family ask me to and when Anne asked, I couldn't say no! I've got a checklist going for all of the equipment that I'd like to acquire by September and really, there's not as much as I thought! I'd just like to get a nice macro lens and that'd pretty much have me set for my digital camera. But I want to play with my film cameras a little bit, too, and so I'd REALLY like to get a light meter for my Mamiya and Yashica! The always amazing Jonathan Canlas (he shoots 100% film, by the way) has ingrained into my brain the importance of light meters when using film cameras. I've tried to buy Nikon lenses that will work on my F100 and my dSLR so I'm all set there. I want a few "close-up" filters for my Yashica and I'd like to get another lens for my Mamiya since I've only got the 85mm right now. So: a lens for the dSLR, a light meter, a few filters and a lens for the Mamiya. I think I can handle that!

- I'm starting to feel the itch for our annual Chicago trip. Even though the ground is still snow-covered here, it's been warming up and the sun has been showing its face and when that happens? My urge to get the eff outta Bay City kicks it into overdrive! I'm not sure what we'll do there this year, or what hotel we'll book, but I can't wait for the road trip and summer fun.

Twenty-Six

I've seen a lot of these recently and thought I'd play along. So, without further adieu, here's the "A-Z of me:"

1. Age: 23. I'm wittle. ;)

2. Blog Title Inspiration: One of my favorite Beatles songs is For You, Blue (which was written and sung by my personal absolute fave, George Harrison). June holds a special place in my heart -- it's my mother's middle name and also the month I was married in.

3. Chore You Hate: Cleaning the bathroom. EWWW.

4. Day at the Beach or Cozy Rainy Day?  Cozy, rainy day. I love the rain.

5. Essential Start Your Day Item:  Something to drink.

6. Favorite Color: Yellow, green, red, purple, teal... I love color!

7. Gold or Silver? White gold!

8. Height: 5'4''

9. Instruments You Play:  Hmm. I can play Superstitious on the piano aaand that's it! LOL. Andy is the more musically inclined out of the two of us - he plays bass guitar, drums and saxophone.

10. Job Title: Account Financial Analyst. And part-time photog for my friends. ;)

11. Kids: Not yet!

12. Live:  In an adorable cerulean blue Craftsman bungalow in mid-MI.

13. Mom's Name:  Shirley.

14. Book Currently on Your Nightstand:  None as of right now. I desperately need to get some new books!

15. Nicknames:  Yiya, Wee or Kayc.

16. Overnight Hospital Stays? I think once when I was a newborn and had the flu. But other than that, none! And I'm glad for that since the hospital in this town is more of a hindrance than a help to most people!

17. Pet Peeve: I donno, really. Not a lot bugs me, I'm pretty go with the flow about most things!

18. Quote from a Movie:  "HOW DARE YOU! SHE'S A NICE LADY!" Some Hangover to brighten your day, since the girls and I were just talking about this one!

19. Right or Left Handed? Right. 

20. Siblings:  Two younger brothers -- Ron & Nick.

21. Time You Wake Up? For work, I'm usually up by 6:30. I dilly-dally around the house for a while since it doesn't take me long to get ready (seriously, my husband takes a longer shower than I do!), I only live about 7 blocks from work and don't have to be in until 7:30. On weekends, I'm usually up between 6:30 and 7. It's just habit!

22. Underwear:  Umm, yes...

23. Vegetable You Dislike: Celery. I just can't. BLECH.

24. What Makes You Run Late:  Andy, LOL.

25. Yummy Food You Make: Apparently a kick-ass taco salad is my specialty because I make it for work potlucks and it's gone within the first half hour!

26. Zoo, Favorite Animal:  BUFFALO!!

LOL

I love this.

TV Tuesday: Recommendation

If there’s one show that you haven’t watched yet and absolutely should, it’s the Big Bang Theory. While my brother DID give me all of the seasons (so glad his fraternity has every season of every show under the sun to share!), a few other people told me I needed this show in my life and you know what? They were right!

Aside from Monty Python, I’m not a fan of stupid humor. I know plenty of people that get a kick out of American Dad or Reno 911 (my husband being one of them), but to me? It’s just, well… Stupid. I know plenty of people that laugh every time they hear the dueling farts from Family Guy. But me? Once was enough. The thing I love most about BBT is that it follows a group of genius physicists. Their banter and jokes are SMART while still maintaining a funny factor. I don’t necessarily like to be “tested” while watching a show but I’d like to at least think my brain isn’t going to turn to goo from watching a few seasons!

Normally, my favorite ANYTHING is the underdog. Something else I absolutely adore about this show is that the four guys (Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj) are ALL underdogs. Leonard, try as he might, just can’t get the girl across the hall, Penny. Sheldon lacks the ability to comprehend ANY sort of social skill – random kindness, sarcasm, irony, etc. Howard tries to be a ladies man, fails miserably and always ends up coming off as utterly creepy. Raj totally loses the capability to speak whenever a girl joins a conversation. I have to admit, though, I think that Sheldon is my favorite of the underdogs. It’s just so funny to watch him try to interact with others that it makes the whole show for me!

Penny, the girl across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon, works at the Cheesecake Factory and becomes friends with the group even though she is nowhere near as intelligent. The interactions between her and Sheldon are easily the most amusing, especially since Sheldon thinks his intelligence makes him some sort of superhuman and Penny thinks his intelligence makes him socially retarded.

( They are invited to a costume party and all try to be the Flash. )

I want to end with quotes that make me laugh every. single. time. Enjoy. ;)

Zack: Is that the laser? It's bitchin'.

Sheldon: Yes. In 1917, when Albert Einstein established the theoretic foundation for the laser in his paper "Zur Quantentheorie de Strahlung," his fondest hope was that the resultant device be bitchin'.

Sheldon: Good morning!

Penny: Do you have any idea what time it is?

Sheldon: Of course I do, my watch is linked to the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. It’s accurate to one-tenth of a second, but as I’m saying this, it occurs to me once again your question may have been rhetorical.

Sheldon: Why do you have the Chinese character for "soup" tattooed on your right buttock?

Penny: It's not "soup," it's "courage."

Sheldon: No, it isn't. But I suppose it does take courage to demonstrate that kind of commitment to soup.

Sheldon: I find zombies dancing in choreographed synchronicity implausible. And, also, it’s really scary.

Well, I'm not going anywhere.

We are, for all intents and purposes, snowed in today. Even the courthouse is closed and, other than today, that's happened ONE time in the last 25 years. The chief judge made the call around 7AM that we were going to be open, but after trying to drive to work himself (go figure), he decided the courts should close. For that, I am thankful. As you can see above, even though my Vue has all wheel drive, there's no way she's making it out of our driveway. When the plows are getting stuck and the bridges are being shut down, you know it's best to just stay home!

I tried to take a peek out of our bedroom window this morning and couldn't see because snow had caked it from top to bottom. I knew that was a bad sign. Thankfully, we still have power! I couldn't imagine being stuck in the house all day, freezing our patooties off and trying to think of ways to amuse ourselves! It started snowing yesterday and just hasn't quit... Even as I type there are flurries dancing down to the ground.

But, what did I find myself doing just a few hours after waking up? Putting my boots, gloves, scarf and hat on to go schlep frolic outside with my dogs and take some pictures. You've got to document days like today because even here in Michigan, there aren't many times we get snow like this!

{ Mabel, our smallest dog, could barely see over the drift! }

{ The snow from the left side pretty much all drifted right. }

 { Our front porch usually stays pretty well hidden from the elements. Not today! }

{ We also used to have front steps. Not today, either! }

I hope that if you're outside, you're being safe. Be prepared for slow, long trips in the car and bundle up!

You can thank me later

RECOMMENDATION:

For some reason or another, I can not pick out my favorite TV shows without the help of my brother. Two of my absolute favorites came to be that way because of his recommendations. Obviously one of those shows is How I Met Your Mother. I feel like whenever I make an actual blog post, I’m mentioning it somehow! Anywho, this post is NOT about HIMYM. This is about the IT Crowd.

Let me state for the record that I’m talking about the British version of the show, NOT the US version with Joel McHale (whom I can’t stand) that didn’t even make it past production. Airing since 2006, a sixth season has been ordered and it just keeps bringing the laughs!

I have no problem admitting that I always root for the underdog, so it’s a no-brainer that Moss is my favorite. Aside from the fact that Richard Ayoade is hilarious in everything he does, he can play the role of a nerdy computer tech with an aversion to social situations like no other. Obviously producers thought this same thing when trying to make the US version come to life – they asked him to play Moss for that series too! It’s hard for me to pick a favorite Moss moment, but one of them is from episode three of season three (“Tramps Like Us”). Moss gets a concussion and stays at work. Jen (the relationship manager) is talking to him and he’s just facing the wall, laughing. His head is wrapped but his parted ‘fro is still making its appearance known. His concussion is reversed when he is electrocuted while being forced to remove the “electric sex pants” his boss was ordered to wear to prevent sexual harassment.

Roy, an Irishman that works with (and is a friend of) Moss, is also hilarious. He tries so hard to be cool that it just doesn’t quite work. He sports a different witty t-shirt every episode and tries to do as little work as possible. My favorite Roy moment is from episode one of season two (“The Work Outing”). He and Moss tag along with Jen on one of her dates because they believe the man that asked her out is gay, a suspicion they think is confirmed when he tells her that they’ll be seeing “Gay! – A Gay Musical!” Roy really has to use the bathroom but finds out the regular stalls are out of order, so he pretends to be disabled to use the handicap restroom. He accidentally pulls the “assistance” handle instead of flushing the toilet and a group of workers bust in, ready to help. Watching him try to pretend he is “leg disabled” is probably one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

The thing I love most about Jen involves how she interacts with people… I love how Moss & Roy use her lack of IT knowledge to their advantage. Jen is somehow put in charge of IT as a “relationship manager,” much to the chagrin of Moss & Roy and so they constantly come up with ways to make her look silly. In episode four of season three (“The Speech”), they convince Jen that the “whole internet” is held in a tiny little lock box… She begs them to let her use it at her speech in front of the shareholders. They tell her that they double checked with the elders of the internet and Stephen Hawking himself gave her his blessing. They convince her that if the lockbox falls or is damaged in any way, the world would basically go into panic mode and nothing would ever be the same. She takes the box to the meeting, shows the shareholders and tells them the importance of maintaining the integrity of the box. Moss & Roy are absolutely HORRIFIED to find out that all of them believe her… Until it accidentally gets knocked over and the shareholders go ape-shit. They start beating each other up, making out and running amuck through the building.

(I LOVE these Moss inspired Keep Calm posters!)

I thought I'd end this post with a few of my favorite clips:

Jen, for being the IT department's relationship manager, knows absolutely nothing about computers.


Moss and Roy decide to play hooky from work and end up in the middle of a crime scene. Probably one of my all-time favorite moments in this show!


As part of Douglas' settlement, he has to wear electric underwear that give him a shock whenever he gets "excited." Love this!

NY Rangers' Avery

I just could not resist posting this. My husband LIED and said the Wings were playing tonight. Uh, no dear, try Wednesday. However, the Caps are playing the Rangers and I'm an Avery fan. Have been since he played shortly with the Wings. I know some people think he's a douche and has a big mouth. I, however, think he's a stylish guy (come on, what other hockey player do we know that interned for Vogue on the off season?) with the balls to say what he thinks. And he's scrappy! That's the best kind of hockey player.

Anywho. Whenever I see him on the ice, I immediately think of his almost-fight with Max Talbot. I say almost because it was broken up quickly... And Talbot didn't really fight so much as he smacked. Avery makes fun of him the entire way to the penalty box and I laugh EVERY time I think of it!

Weekend Wrap-Up

For the most part, I eat really well. I admit that there are times at work where I'm like "Y'know what would go really good with this coffee? Mother effin' Tagalongs." NOM NOM NOM. I'm a pretty firm believer in not depriving myself of something I want. Otherwise those Tagalongs would turn into "And a donut. AND a Hershey bar! AND A PIECE OF APPLE CRUMBLE!!!" That would not go over well. This weekend was one of those weekends where if I wanted it, I ate it.

Friday, the girls at work and I met up for lunch at a local diner. If I wasn't about 90% sure that Guy Fieri would turn them into the health department for whatever he found in his few hours behind the counter, I would submit them for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I'm talkin' about Mr. Hot Dog. Home of (probably) the best coney dog you'll find in Michigan. I get mine with a dill pickle spear on it and I'm in heaven. Plus, when you go with people you really like, it doesn't get much better!

{MY DREAM CONEY DOG}

Saturday, we went over to my dad's for a family get-together. We celebrated my step-sister's 15th birthday with another Bay City favorite, B&C Pizza. Oh man, it was sooo good. My mouth was saying yes and then about an hour later my stomach was saying "NO... OH, GOD. WHY?!" I mean, doesn't extra cheese with green olives, sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms on top of a crispy, golden brown crust sound delicious? My dad ruined his, though. How, you ask? Well...

{CUE THE CRIES OF WOMEN & CHILDREN EVERYWHERE}

We watched Tab open all of her gifts. We got her a pair of boots that she had wanted, a new pair of headphones for her iPod, an iTunes gift card and a tiny little bracelet with the word "sisters" etched on it. That one was more from me, I'm the sappy one. :)

{TAB & BREANN}

We watched Autumn eat her pizza and the dogs pout since my dad wouldn't even let them near her. Little scavengers.

{MMM, PIZZA.}

{COPPER JAY, WATCHING FOR FALLING PIECES}

{BUDDY BOY, PRETENDING TO HAVE MANNERS}

And we watched my dad with Autumn, one of my favorite things to do. She absolutely adores him... All of his quirky noises and faces make him a celebrity to the kids. He's easily the family favorite. He was tickling Autumn and she was cracking up. Which was making him crack up. And when I snapped this, I cracked up. I don't even care that their heads are a little out of focus from them laughing. I love it.

{AUTUMN & PAPA}

Today, we met up with the family again and had lunch at Chen's, a buffet style Chinese restaurant. I ate way too much lo mein, not enough crab rangoon and successfully used the ice cream machine for a perfect bowl of Twist (chocolate & vanilla swirl). Something I've yet to live down, though it happened about 18 years ago, was the time I convinced my father I could operate the ice cream machine by myself. It started out fine, but when the time came for me to turn it off, I couldn't pull the lever down. Umm, just picture me panicking and leaving the machine to continue unloading ice cream into my bowl while I tried to tell my dad maybe I shouldn't be doing this by myself yet. By the time we made it back to the machine, ice cream was EVERYWHERE. Thankfully, it was laughed about then and unfortunately, still laughed about now.

Sunday Savings

Normally $215. Price + two day shipping straight to my door? $65. I seriously wanted to do a happy dance around my house when I added this little baby to my shopping cart. That's a $150 savings thanks to my love, Amazon! I've been using my 8GB memory card in my Nikon and, while I've been able to take thousands of photos with it, it was definitely time for an upgrade.

One Stop Wednesday

(One Stop Wednesday is pretty awesome. It features things that can be purchased all in one store. Whether it be an outfit, gifts for unique loved ones or ingredients and decor for a dinner party, sights are set on ONE destination. Get in, get out and you're good.)

OUTFITS TO GO OUT TO EAT WITH THE GIRLS

This week's OSW is inspired by all of the fun dinners and delicious lunch get-togethers I've had with my friends as of late.

 

Let's say I'm catching up with my lovely ladies on our lunch hour. If that were the case, I'd totally be rocking this. (Not pictured, of course, are the boots I'd have to wear to get to and from the car in this ugly Michigan weather!) The clothes and shoes in this little collection are from Mod Cloth.

Maybe I have the day off, or EVEN BETTER, maybe it's the weekend! Either way, if I'm feeling casual (AKA lazy), I'd be out my door in a heartbeat in this cute little get up. The clothes and shoes for this outfit can all be purchased at Old Navy.

Even casual girls like myself enjoy getting dolled up every now and again so I thought I'd include this adorable dress that I would DEFINITELY wear in the one month Michigan has summer weather. (I kid, I kid.) Paired with super cute wedges and, of course, I always grab a shrug because it's a guessing game as to whether or not the restaurant regulates their temperature! Like the first outfit, everything here can be purchased at Mod Cloth.

Finally!

Though I've had this domain purchased since October and have wanted to start blogging again since 2009, it took a little while for the procrastinator in me to finally buckle down. It never failed, I'd sit down with the intent to spend 10 minutes finding a quick and cute template... Before I knew it, I'd spent 45 minutes browsing Oh No They Didn't. But hey, I found one I liked enough, customized it just a smidge and here I am. This will do until I can actually build my website! I was going to post a little "getting to know you" survey, but the ones I found wanted me to tell you if I liked croutons or bacon bits better... That doesn't really tell you anything about me. (But, if you must know, it's croutons.)

I'm sure you'll learn plenty of random things in reading my future blog posts, but I will be posting a list of must-knows about my life. (Here's a freebie- I'm obsessed with lists.)