What do you do??

my least favorite thing to talk about is what you do for a living. sorry, but i'm guessing that it's not all that interesting, in general terms it seems that what happens day to day is way more interesting than the actual job itself. it could be very stimulating to you, but i've actually never met anyone who had an interesting-to-me job unless they work in a creative industry or were a writer/blogger/fashion victim. we were watching a show on the big dig recently and while we were watching it abe asked me if this is what my fitness buddy megan does because she's an engineer. i was like: um, yeah i don't know, i think she builds bridges. this answer was based on absolutely Nothing. i don't really know why i thought she builds bridges, maybe back in college she had like 1 bridge project or something and i just associate her with bridges forever. so today i asked her what she did and at the end i said: do you build bridges? the answer was obviously: No. of course not. her company builds pipelines and she actually manages costs and productivity. no hard hats involved here or i mean maybe sometimes she might just feel like wearing one while at the office but it's not mandatory. and now i guess i should learn this about all my friends, what do they do for a living?? and how come it's something i don't know??

KO Prime

Friday night abe and i dined at KO Prime in the Nine Zero Hotel, you know that kind of boutique hotel that makes you feel un-hip and frumpy. i started with the french onion soup and then we ordered outside of the menu and got the porterhouse for two medium-rare. yes that is one giant steak on the T-bone for 2 people! abe had been there before and only wanted that and asked if they still had it, which they did to people who ask. their regular menu did look perfectly fine though, i would have gotten the petite filet otherwise. the steak was really tender and flavorful, i wouldn't put it at the top of my favorite steakhouses though. for sides we got the jumbo asparagus, potato and roasted garlic gratin, and mac and cheese. the potatoes were to die for, they just melted in your mouth, i could have eaten a meal only of those. the other two sides were pretty standard, although they were the biggest asparagus i'd ever seen in person. their dessert menu was a sorry excuse for a menu...there were only two choices: coconut sorbet or creme brulee. i just wanted to tell them that i actually was looking forward to a nice bananas foster or a berry tart. the annoying part to me about this place was the darkness. at one point the people next to use used a mini flashlight to read their menus. i mean really, it was that dark. i couldn't really see anyone else except for abe, and that might be the point, but i've never been a fan of eating dinner in the pitch black.

Food B+
Atmosphere B

Funny quote of the day...

this was actually on friday, but whatever.

E: So will you need to work once you and abe get married?
Me: Uh, yeah, i'll need to continue to work for many years...

this is coming from a person that i know pretty well, or i've known her for say approximately 7 years so i'm kind of not sure what made her think that we were well off enough to have just one of us working right now. to me, it was just completely hilarious! we are not hurting for money right now, but we're certainly not comfortable enough for me stay home and watch martha stewart all day and make a roast....but just imagine it....how delightful.

Babbling on and on

a couple of announcements: first and foremost, we have cleaned out the second bedroom finally. we had so much trash that we couldn't even bring it all down because there was no room in our trash room, so we will have to do that today once it's emptied. there are probably like 4 two person trips down to the trash...why have we kept all that crap for so long beats me. i don't even know what 90% of it is. i've also found in my older age that i'm no longer sentimental for anything beyond photos. in our first move, i really did want to keep everything because i felt that we could eventually find room. in our second move, i loosened up a little bit. and now a year after that move and there's no room for us to do anything in that room i decided that just about everything is free to go....except books, i hate the idea of getting rid of books so we only got rid of the technologically outdated ones. my second announcement is that we have brought abe's wedding band back to the jeweler to be re-sized and it now fits without cutting off his circulation. we still don't really know how we took it home being the wrong size. mine on the other hand is going to be brought into the boston location jeweler to have little nubs put on the inside of the ring...apparently it can't be resized or they won't do it for me, i'm not really sure which one here, but it left a rather unpleasant feeling. i feel like i spent a bunch of money at your store, i brought it home and 7 days later i decided it didn't fit right...perhaps you should have guided me better in the sizing process and because of this i would like to exchange my ring for one that is 1/2 a size smaller, why is that so hard?? i mean the woman told me that this was my only option. so i'm going to to the boston location and see what they have to say, it might work out just fine and i'll get those nubby things, i guess this is my fault for wanting to be able to wear my band by itself sometimes...who doesn't like options? although this is totally going to benefit me when i am pregnant and my fingers get swollen, and i'll still be able to wear my ring when most women cannot. and my last announcement is that we are getting a dog after we get married. i will take any kind of dog as long as it wants to be awesome and not smelly. i would prefer to rescue a dog than to buy one from a breeder because it's a nice thing to do. it's pretty exciting stuff. we will for sure have a fight over the naming of the dog, fight to come in 4 months.

Rebate

a few weeks ago i marched into verizon wireless and had enough with my broken blackberry pearl.  of course i was too late and missed my warranty, whatever.  i decided to just get a better one.  this better one is the full sized pink blackberry, it's totally awesome by the way.  the phone was $175, but had a $75 mail-in rebate which to me sounded just fine since i use it nonstop.  so i get the phone and waited for my rebate to come in the mail.  today it arrived, but was it a check?  was it a credit to my account?  no, it was a verizon visa debit card for $75.  wtf?  a debit card actually isn't the same as cash.  this bothers me because A. they never told me it would be a in that form, and B. what if i wanted cash back?  this is what happens when you go to the ghetto verizon in downtown crossing.  i will never go back.

Psycho Driver

this is one of the craziest stories i've ever heard.

my friend Doris was telling me about a crazy night out where she had gotten into a fight with her husband and left a bar by herself to take a cab home after way too much to drink.  she gets into the cab, and for some reason she decides that the that driver is really creepy, and is just like totally insane.  she called her brother, and he's trying to calm her down.  she's like: the cab driver is trying to kill me!!  he thinks she's being crazy, so he says: let me talk to the driver, i'll give him directions and you can just come here (because he lived closer).  so she hands the phone to the driver, they chat, and she gets the phone back and talks to her brother again.  he says: GET OUT OF THE CAB NOW!!  for some reason the car came to a rolling stop on a bridge, so she jumps out of the cab and goes running and screaming down the street with the cab driver chasing her on foot.  she didn't really have a plan or anything so she just hops into a random person's car.  she gets in, and she's like crying and just really distraught and i'm sure the guy in the car witnessed her fleeing from the cab.  so she says something along the lines of: drive me out of here!  and then the cab driver was like banging on the window, and she's yelling: Drive Drive!  luckily, the guy was a good sport and drove her away from the whole ordeal.  and then...she was in the car with a total stranger.  she says: ok thank you so much, you can just drop me off around here and i can find my way home.  and he says: it's ok, i can just drive you home.  so Doris went from being in a cab with a stranger she thought was trying to kill her, to being in a car with a total stranger who is now going to know where she lived.  he dropped her off safe and sound luckily for everyone.  but then, she didn't have her keys to get in, her husband had them and he was still at the bar.  she thought that her best option was to hide in the bushes.  she sat in those bushes for who knows how long, and when her husband came home with a visiting friend, they could hear her talking in her phone in the bushes which she then jumped out of.  and she hasn't taken a cab by herself ever since....

Girls Night

i got together with some girls to have a nice girls night out doing silly things.  we got ourselves out to Ned Devines in Fanuiel Hall...i haven't been there in a year at least for a million reasons that i'll mention later.  there was a rugby team there, definitely a couple of basketball teams, and some bentley college event.  it was a very strange mix of people, and we were like the little people who escaped from the circus.  the best part of about ned devines is the live music, and the fact that they do only cover songs.  they did miley cyrus, lady gaga, and pretty much everything chicks sing along to on the radio right now. it was awesome, we bopped along all night.  that part was great, the ungreat part was getting elbowed left and right, getting stepped on, and then getting hit in the head by a 7 foot tall dude who was probably still in college.  i could have lived without all that.  i also could have lived without all the girls puking in the bathroom and the fight for a cab at the end of the night.  minus all those little inconveniences, i can still say that ned divines is always a good time with lots of activity.

After the UFO

Ok so I kind of messed it up a little bit. But it honestly did look super great

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At the salon

It looks like a UFO is sucking me into a space ship!!

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Day off!

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4-day week

Today is the last work day of my week and i just realized it now!! i'm so excited. tomorrow i'll be taking the day off in order to work on abe's wedding gift around town. unfortunately he knows what it is, but also fortunately at the same time...i'm so bad at keeping my own secrets. in fact i have none.

i've been grinding my teeth at night again. this only happens when i'm having a nightmare, or really stressed. i think it's the latter here. my brain has been working overtime, i've been thinking about things like:

the best way to store my sweaters till next winter
cleaning...abe wants pros to come in
the piles of idiotness all over the place
finding more free time
what i do for the daylight hours
getting enough sleep
all the un-done errands and chores
my health
money and budgeting
the crap room
the stupid zappos box waiting to be returned for 2 weeks now

obviously none of these things are of major worry. it's just that sometimes when you have a lot of little things going on they can just take over and irritate you to no end. thank god i can sleep in tomorrow! but what i just realized is that both plants that abe got me for valentines day are still alive and blooming, even the orchid. that's good news atleast!

Very Important Dream

This morning....

Abe: You ruined the best dream ever.
Me: Why?
Abe: I was about to sit down to try a Turducken for the first time!

New Book

i pre-ordered Heather Armstrong's newest book back in January and totally forgot about it. when i arrived in the mail yesterday i was totally thrilled, a new book! i haven't read a good book in a long time or none that i would recommend to you anyways. last night i got through half of it, and i can say that it's really the most entertaining non-fiction book i've read to date. it's about her struggle with pregnancy and parenthood and postpartum depression. it's really honest and hilarious with lots of little back stories that are really very interesting. i felt like: no i can't relate to this because i'm not pregnant, have never been pregnant, and my internal clock hasn't even started to tick yet, but i do feel like everyone tends to gloss over all the difficult stuff when it comes to babies...why do they do that? i think it's kind of mean. maybe they don't want to threaten the human population or something, but Heather doesn't gloss over anything especially the graphic morning sickness. i suggest everyone who likes hilarity to check it out.

Things we may never learn

My friends are so funny.

"I had I think 6 vodka cranberries last night and I am never drinking again.
The end. "

it's like the special olympics

i regret to inform everyone that our room full of crap is still full of crap. but we were able to bring a giant bag of donation stuff out to my parents to donate for us, so we did lighten the load a bit and i can see our closet floor again. when we got home we noticed that we forgot to put some shoes into the bag, you know of course, there's always something. sometimes it's just really difficult to de-clutter when it should be really easy.

we picked up our wedding bands on sunday and got them home only to realize that we both had sizing issues. mine is slightly too big and his is slightly too small. how did this happen? yes we tried them on at the store, and again we tried them on when we picked them up, but there's just something about trying a ring on in the comfort of your own home where you're really able to evaluate things and be very critical. so we're going to have to go back next weekend and work out these little problems. hopefully it will be easy enough to just exchange them. good thing we didn't get his engraved yet, which has been on my mind a lot lately. i want to put something unique, genuine and with the date. nothing sounds timeless enough for me... so more on that later. maybe i'll use a binary code or something.

many months ago i decided that i needed to put a curtain up in our bedroom to do some extra light blocking and to add something to the hideous white walls. so i went out to target, bought the nicest looking curtain rod i could find and got a curtain. abe was away and i didn't want to wait, so i broke out his drill and started drilling away to hang up the rod. well...i don't know how to use it, so i'm sure i didn't do it right. eventually i abandoned the drill for just a screw driver instead. in the end i got the curtain rod up just fine. abe looked at it really apprehensively, like i couldn't have done it correctly. and mind you, i probably didn't. it stayed up for almost a full year...and this weekend i went to open the curtain and the entire thing collapsed off the wall on top of me. i will no longer be hanging curtain rods in my future, it's just not one of my talents.

Brain Fog

i don't usually drink much at all, and because i went out drinking last night my whole day has been a total disaster.  i pretty much stormed into my room shutting the lights and the door and going to bed while abe was like: where did she just go?  and then i woke up pretty ill which was expected.  but that's not even where it gets good.  at lunchtime i was just starving, so i showered, got into the car and went to the grocery store.  i got most items on my list, and i could just taste italian sub victory.  abe called in our lunch at a local sub shop and i went to pick it up down the street at my favorite sub shop in the world.  i found a spot right out front, pulled in, and noticed there was a meter.  i sat in the car for a bit to find a quarter even though i knew i probably didn't even need to put one in just to run inside and back out, but i like to be cautious.... so i get out of the car, insert the quarter and run across the street.  i saw a friend in line, so we were chatting and he walked me back to the car, and we're talking and talking and i realize that i couldn't find my keys.  so i'm digging and searching to no avail.  suddenly we both look at the car and realize... the keys are actually in the ignition and the car was running the entire time!!  i have not done something that idiotic in a long time.  

Hello Sisters!

aren't they cute? i am happy to say that i don't have a photo from college to compare this one too, we're so much better looking now!  i don't talk about sorority life too much mainly just because i tend not to talk about anything from the past much.  once it's over, it's just over right?  i really enjoyed being in a sorority in college, without it i never would have found the same kind of friends.  i'm sure that they vary from campus to campus and chapter to chapter, but still i know that i found the right one for me at the time.  it changed my life for the better and i met my best friends, and i couldn't live without them.  this photo is missing a noteable couple of people, i missed you girls!

The Equation

the equation to a bad night out... i have finally figured it out and it only took me 6+ years.  

1 beer = no problemo, great night!

2 beers = we are feeling good and doing good.

3 beers = the tipping point, tummy is starting to hurt.

4 beers = this was a bad decision, regret with acceptance.

5 beers = take me home immediately, health is deteriorating.

so as you can see on most nights when i go out 1-2 beers is really where i should be and i'm Ok with that, but sometimes i forget this and like last night 4 beers seems harmless enough because it was a good amount of time....but no, it didn't work out nicely. 

4 beers consumed = 4 hours with my head in the toilet.  i think i remember why i hardly ever go out drinking anymore...

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Hamersley's Bistro

last night we trekked to the south end to dine at Hamersley's Bistro in the south end. this is a really nice little date spot in a great neighborhood, and they have valet isn't that nice? i started with a winter mix salad it was just alright, nothing special really. for my main entree i got a steak special which was steak in a demi glaze and 2 big french fries and broccoli rabe. i really enjoyed it, i thought it was really flavorful and tender. abe started with the duck confit (i should have gotten that) and it was really good, but when is duck not good? for his entree he had the new england bouillabaisse with lots of fresh seafood. he liked it, but it was kind of missing something like a veggie or a starch or something. it was a bit small. and for dessert i got the bananas foster, whenever i see this i need to get it, and it was just sort of just ok. you know i enjoyed out night out and the meal, but i'm not sure that i'd go back again.

food B

ambiance B+

Mare

it's restaurant week in boston! probably my favorite time of year. this time around we tried out Mare in the North End for all-natural, classic northern italian food. it was awesome. i started with a pizzetta di mare and it had calamari, shrimp, and scallops on top. the seafood was just so fresh and flavorful, i loved it. for my entree i got wild mushroom spagattoni and it was delightful! the mushrooms had so much flavor, and the sauce that the pasta was in was just light and perfect. for dessert we all got the tiramasu, actually this part of the meal was the least thrilling, i've had better, the presentation was nice though. the space that it's in is also really something to look forward to. it was totally modern which you don't expect in such a historic neighborhood, but it was really nice and there were really high windows to look out into the street. i can't wait to go back in the summertime! actually, i just can't wait to go back.

Food A
Ambiance A
Awesomeness A

Twitter

Guys, i think i'm going to start to follow Twitter...maybe i won't participate but i will read updates, my life is really not that interesting on a daily basis. It's not because i'm feeling especially pressured by pop culture but because sometimes people can be unexpectedly hilarious and i need those little laughs during the day. see Exhibit A: Christopher Walken. and unfortunately that's where my exhibits end, and it might not be enough to get other people on board but it does it for me.

The Fruit Bowl

i have started packing abe his lunch again so he can eat healthier. he likes to bring two sandwiches (i know, i know) and a piece of fruit. so i've been packing him a tuna sandwich and a turkey sandwich, and a banana, apple or orange. mind you, i Peeled that orange for him so it will be very easy for him to just eat it and not get messy and have no excuse. last night when we were out he had the balls to admit to me that he'd actually just been hoarding all the fruit this week and he's actually making a fruit bowl on his desk....and on top of that, in fact he just threw away the nice perfect orange that i had spent time peeling for him on monday. WTF. WTF is right! this made me a hundred shades of fuchsia angry. i guess he could have just not told me about the fruit bowl and i never would have known about the idiotness, but there's just no excuse for wasting perfectly good fruit when I could have been eating it instead. there's something very much not Ok with wasting produce, it's sort of like a modern day sin. god will remember the time that he wasted all that ripe fruit just for fun, and so will I.

Jackson

This is Jackson and two mystery cats. they have invaded Duluth and now it will never be the same.

Celtics game recap

we went to the celtics game last night with gifted tickets, so we thought it would be really fun although we hadn't followed the team at all this season. i literally watched not one minute of a game all year and the season is just about over. we were sitting in a really good section so the boys were ordering their beers, and i got a hot dog and everyone was pretty content. abe forgot to buy his foam hat though. so we're there, enjoying the game and we should have crushed the other team but it was really close the whole time and towards the end we were like: ok we're going to leave with 3 minutes left so we can beat the crowds since we had our car. when the 3 minute mark hit, we all got up and left the garden...

2 hours later, we check the score. they went into overtime and won the atlantic division...WHAT?! we had no idea the game had anything riding on it, and we had no idea that it went into overtime. we are probably the worst celtics fans in the history of the team, but we will probably go again next year and forget about this overtime situation and it could probably happen to us again because we're that clueless.

Celtics game

We are at the celtics game tonight! Busy bees.

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From The Donkey's Mouth

Quotes of the Day and it's only noon. oh happy st. patty's day to you irish people.

Person 1: "Don't go blaming this on ME Chad!!" click.
Person 2: ... did she just hang up on me?....ring ring "did you just hang up on me?"
Person 1: "Yes." click.

Person A: "Have you tried this Kashi Lemongrass chicken meal yet, it smells so good, i don't know what the heck it is..."
Person B: "Lemongrass, it's right on the box."

Britney, the review

Really Good. Much better than expected!!
Mind blowing? No.

i think the enormous stage was actually a hindrance for her, she had a hard time getting from one end to the other end, it was literally the size of an entire basketball court. she was basically running back and forth in 5 inch heels all night long (with the fringe mind you). but the dancing was pretty good, although it could have been better there was something lacking there but i may have had too high of expectations. this show was pg-13! there were lots of youngish girls there and i was just like: ok, i get it now, that's what has happened to youth. i believe there was a simulated threesome, a big orgy, and outrageous things that i would normally relate to madonna... but i didn't have an ounce of alcohol in me and i was wearing a cardigan because i just came from work, so i think i might have been missing out on something. i think she changed her costumes too, i know a couple of them were missing for sure. she did a few really awesome videos to kind of mix things up and keep it going when she was off stage, but what i did notice is that you can't see her well. she's never on screen anywhere so from where i was sitting, she looked pretty good...but did she really? i will never know, i can only assume that she did that part on purpose. overall it was fun, i'm glad i went, my hearing is damaged from all the screaming girls but the next time she's in town i'll go to see my favorite little pop tart again and i'll be prepared!! trainwreck or not, i'll always have a super soft spot for britney.

Almost time!

We just saw some really impressive side circus acts but no britney yet. My poor camera isn't working. Curse that stupid sony!

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Pussycat dolls

I can't believe how many girls are going crazy for them right now! I also can't believe britney needs an opening act.

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Race Results

I'm proud to say that the race results came in from the 5k on sunday... and i did not do as poorly as previously thought. in fact i did respectably considering the amount of training that went into it...pretty much none.

I came in 2,310th out of 4,151 people and ran an average of 9:28min miles, which should have been more like sub 9min. miles but i'll get there next time. Total time 29:23.

Guys, if you saw how people were just wizzing by me left and right you would have thought the same thoughts i had on that day: WTF! i was feeling a bit deflated on my performance. i guess i just more died at the end than did poorly all around.

On the results page the female winner ran 5:37min pace... she runs a mile faster than the time it takes me to get changed at the gym.

Flora - Arlington

This was perhaps the busiest weekend i've had in recent time. friday night we had dinner with another couple that we haven't seen in a long time so that was nice to catch up. we went to Flora in arlington because i'd heard really good things about it. well, it was just Ok...i'd give it a 6 or 7. there wasn't anything wrong with this place, it certainly wasn't bad, there just really wasn't anything amazing about it. the service was nice, the building was beautiful, but the food portions were a bit on the small side and overall the food could have been better. i started with tomato bisque, and honestly on a scale of 1-10 the bisque was a 3. for my entree i ordered one of the specials which was sort of a beef pot roast, and it was alright, it had an odd flavor to me. i'd give the entree a 6. i skipped out on dessert, but abe ordered the pear and frangipane puff pastry tart with toasted almond ice cream, and that was Flora's saving grace. this dessert was mouth watering delicious!

Food C+
Atmosphere B+

Overall...I wouldn't go back...

Britney Day

Today is the Day!! Britney Day! me and some girlfriends are going to see Britney Spears tonight and i'm expecting lots of ridiculous costumes, lip syncing, and blond extensions. i'll report back later on this one!

Wedding jewelry

We went to Barmakian Jewelers today for their wedding event where anything wedding related was 10% off. We ended up saving a ton of money on our bands plus the fact that we went to the store in NH and there was no sales tax. And then because of this deal I decided that I wanted to buy earrings for the wedding and got 10% off those too, well after a bit of internal debate, but I decided you only get married once. We did really well today!

and also, this is probably the best photo i've taken in ages.

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Filet a fish

That stupid MacDonalds commercial with the singing fish that says: give me back that filet a fish, give me that fish. Its catchy to a fault.  Anyways this is abe's fish face while we are waiting to see wedding bands.  it was one of those weekends.

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Roadrace!

I got a medal/bottle opener at the race today.  I got it just for getting my fat ass across the finish line! My friend V totally ran ahead and I never found her again until much later at brunch. She's a much faster runner than I am. In fact I'm basically turtle pace, there were dads pushing strollers faster than i was running, it was kind of hilarious.  There was even a "Green Man"...does anyone watch It's Always Sunny in Philadephia"??  yeah the whole green spandex suit, it was really funny. The weather was perfect though, a nice sunny 50 degrees. It was really fun and I hope to do it again next year, hopefully with slightly less pain.

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Rock climbing

Again! I know. I think we might be hippies now. Abe has improved in a week and I've actually gotten worse. Oh well its a fun time anyways.

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Blue Poppy

i've been super into gold recently and i saw this website that has conflict free and organic jewelry... i mean not that i'm an activist by any means, but it's just nice hand crafted jewelry that is really one of a kind. i love this ring with the tiniest of diamonds, it's just really sleek and would go with all your outfits and the price makes you think, yeah i could do that! check out the site at Blue Poppy.

New Project!

Ok, so the jacket on the right is from jcrew and retails for over $400. the jacket on the left is a jacket from old navy with hand crafted flowers. do you see where i'm going with this? i am going to try it out, first i have to find the time to make it to a store that sells fabric... there's a lot of inspiring design and crafts here on The Scoop, i think i'm in love it's really similar to Design Sponge but i'd say it just has a different voice. wish me luck on my endeavor...

Cool Toys!

i was searching through my files to try and find a photo of my bridesmaids all together...but for some reason i don't have one.  that doesn't make any sense at all.  i have tons of photos of all of them, just not together.  while i was hunting, i found a retarded photo.  did i ever tell you people about the time i tried to use a kiddie sit and spin?  you can't even see it because my humongous body is just engulfing it.  apparently this toy is just for small children under 60 pounds or so.  i sat, and did not spin an inch, and then i became totally disappointed because i've never used one before and now it's just too late for my fat ass. why don't they have cool toys like this for adult sized people?

choose me!...or don't...

i ended up entering into a random drawing for the nike women's half marathon in San Francisco in october purely out of curiosity...and the hopes of a cross country quick weekend trip... and the craving for an in-and-out burger.  during the entry process i had to enter a contact for emergency purposes and of course i put down abe since i'll be dragging him along with me if i'm selected, and at the Relationship line i got to enter Husband for the first time.  because come october we will be mr and mrs panda, wedding bands, prenup and all!  i'm kidding about the prenup part though, because that would never in a million years happen.  it felt really good to be able to put a more defined relationship there, fiance is great and all but it's not as structurally solid.  it's funny how one word means so much.

All-Conference Squirrel

This is by far my favorite T-shirt design on Threadless. Every time i see it i start laughing to myself. Squirrels Love those acorns!

Taste Spotting

My friend Kerri introduced me to this foodie blog: Taste Spotting.
if you love photos of food with recipes as much as i do then you will really appreciate this blog. the site itself is just really nice looking and the food is just mouth watering! check it out.

wedding registry

i'm so excited. just by chance i checked in on my registry today and things are already starting to get filled at crate and barrel, how fantastic! i wonder who it was, but by what was fulfilled i would say it's friends and not family and since my friends tend to be more on top of things than abe's friends i would say it's mine....but i could be wrong.

omg. someone got me an immersion blender so i stop scalding my face when i'm blending hot liquids, thank you thank you whoever it was!! i will blend you some hot soup sometime. you saved me from years of pain.

Texas roadhouse

And this was our reward for completing our indoor rock climbing class: a steak lunch! There is this place in everett near the rock climbing gym and its literally in the middle of a parking lot but we heard it was better than it looked so we finally stopped in today. If you can tolerate loud country music and nascar decor then you should give this place a try because the food is really cheap and pretty good. I got a petite filet with two sides for like $14 and in boston that would be atleast double. I would go back again but next time after rock climbing I want to go to panera instead! I love that place.

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Sunday

Of indoor rock climbing. I know right!

MetroRock Gym

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Pinkest Elephant

I'm opening a store on Etsy called The Pinkest Elephant....logo coming soon and website is coming soon. here's some of the work that i finished today, i'm going to need to figure out a better way to photograph the paintings- the lighting is definitely off, i'll figure that one out i need to represent the colors better. the photos were just kind of last minute though. more elephant madness to come!

Running is just Walking but faster

my 5k road race is quickly approaching and i'm not at all ready for it.  i got the flu and then a cold and i've only gotten in two runs since then, but like i said before 5k never killed anyone.  i got an email from nike about a half and full marathon in san francisco in october and i'm seriously considering entering the random selection process for the half marathon.  why?  i just think that nike can throw a very organized race with lots of perks and it's a women's only event so it will be really nice i just know it.  now my only issue is that i've never run longer than 7 miles in my life... so i'm not sure what makes me think i can do it.  really all i need is serious motivation, a training regime, and a plane ticket.  i guess this also kind of depends on whether or not i'm taking classes or if i'm just working full time.  just another addition to my list of "i'm thinking about it", that list seems to get longer every day!  

Smell

the sense of smell is the strongest sense linked to memory, and women have it even stronger than men due to estrogen. if you don't believe me, just punch it into google. i think i actually have a pretty weak sense of smell, but i definately have a memory bank of smells that bring back strong memories. last night in our elevator i smelled the Exact smell of the Barbie perfume from the 80s. you know that tiny little bottle that came with one of the barbies...i tried to find you a photo but i can't seem to find the exact one, although i can identify the smell. sometimes i catch a wiff of the cologne my first real boyfriend wore and it brings me way back to 2000 and i think: god why can't they just stop producing that product. when we were out to dinner abe was able to ID the smell of an airplane when you first walk in and there's airline coffee brewing, and he wanted to run away because it just did not belong there. also whenever i smell quiche, i want to puke instantly...it reminds me of something from childhood.

other smells:
macdonald's french fries remind me of a weekend that i spent with my nana and papa
a steak and cheese sub reminds me of my brother
sometimes i imagine the smell of my smurfette purple lip stick because it was perfectly grape
craft paint reminds me of the time i created a poster in 7th grade that won a contest...ironically elephants were the main theme

i wonder what i smell like to people...

Wedding update

lately people have been asking me every single day how my wedding planning is going. and honestly, i don't even think about it really and it's not that i'm not excited it's just not real yet. i always kind of have something ongoing but it's not really worth talking about....like the cocktail napkins that i ordered or the makeup trials that went nowhere or the envelopes at my calligrapher, but in a nutshell it's just too far away for me still. i've been thinking about our honeymoon in Anguilla a lot and i've been trying to get new outfits here and there so when june arrives i'm not totally feeling the crunch of needing to buy vacation clothes. i literally could just open up a suitcase and start putting things in there, but that would be totally insane so i'll wait till may when it's only somewhat insane. things have been pretty smooth sailing lately and i just am trying to focus on my health and beauty regimes. i was doing really well at the gym until i got derailed by the flu and then a nasty cold, which i still have like 2 weeks later. but overall, i'm feeling pretty good and my skin is improving every day. i've been seeing lots of brides lately wearing my dress in blogs and magazines, about 5 or 6 so far and i have to say that it seems to fit each person differently and looks almost like a different dress each time because of the bustle and the accessorizing so that made me feel a little bit better. i was kind of kicking myself for getting such a popular dress so it seems, and i do still wonder if i would have been happier in a jcrew gown, oh well, i'll remember that when we renew our vows in later years. the things on our to-do list: 1. Officiant 2. Rehersal Dinner finalizing 3. Menswear

Another makeup trial

This is from today's trial at place #2.  i can't really see my makeup here...perhaps a little too natural.  or really what i want to say is: am i wearing any makeup here?  i don't get it, why is it so hard for people to get what i'm asking for.  this time i even brought a picture with me of the look i am going for...i would say that this looks nice, but it's not exactly anything i'm jumping for joy over.  it did look better in person though, i'll give her that much.

And just to compare this was trial #1.  i do like this but i also feel like it's just kind of washed out - as my mom would say.  i have no color and i actually look really pale almost dead.  

What did i learn from these trials?  i'm doing my own makeup on my wedding day!!  i know, everyone has something to say about it, but i don't want to risk not looking like myself or having on caked foundation.  i'm totally comfortable doing my own makeup for a special occasion so this will be the motherload!  i'll do a "trial" next week...

Shut it

i feel like i spend my entire day listening to people complain about something, well more like in particular a select couple of people. i don't mind listening to someone vent, because god knows i love to vent, but if you feel the need to come over to me and complain 20 times a day or more about something superficial...then you might want to think again because i don't like it. the negative energy really brings me down! but how do you tactfully end that kind of discussion? i usually just shrug or not really have much input and just hope the person goes away, but generally it hasn't been working. and even when i'm not being inundated with complaints on life i can over hear loud conversations on how bad a particular cell phone is or how husbands do this or that or how someone is stupid or this or that is pointless, and it's like i just can't get away from it. it seems to follow me around the entire day. i would like to make it stop, but i don't really know how to do it in a way that would be considered totally not offensive. how do you tell someone they're not your friend and in fact you cannot stand the words coming out of her mouth or her voice for that matter, because that's how bad it's gotten...

Sunnies!

I love these sunglasses! i want a pair, in fact i like them so much that i want two pairs....but i'll try to be realistic and choose just one...but it's so hard.

Miami here we come!

We are feeling crushed by debilitating work hours and stressed beyond our means with daily frustrations so we booked ourselves a nice little long weekend in Miami for April. we can fly there for $10 and stay there with points so who's to say that we can't afford a quick little getaway before our wedding hits? we're going and we're going to relax and get some much needed sun and take no prisoners. it's going to be a weekend full of sunburn and cuban food and bloody marys. i may cry on the way back home...

I Scream

abe got me a little gift.  when he told me he got me something from Snorg Tees i was thinking: what in the world could this ironic little tee shirt say, when this is the one that i got i was totally surprised.  have i mentioned that i'm pretty lactose intolerant?  but whatever, i guess that's the ironic part.  i think it's actually just the funny face that the ice cream is making that made want to get it, it is pretty funny.