Facebook Experiment – You all suck

Alright, so those of you who are friends with me on facebook know that I tried to get some user participation for this blog.  Complete and total failure, even with the promises of anonymity I could only get 4 of my 400+ facebook friends to answer the following questions…

What was the lamest excuse you have used to get out of a date?

What was the lamest way someone ever told you they loved you?

So here are the answers for the awesome people ballsy enough to answer the questions!

My Lamest excuse was doing laundry to get out of a date. I made it out like I was leaving really early the next day and had to get it done.

Lamest excuse to not go on date was I had to wash my hair. Guy actually fell for it and asked about next day. I said no I had to dry it and he hung up.

I am lame so i don’t turn down dates, they turn me down... unless they're fat lol

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"hey fuck you asshole!!"

Lamest way to say I love you- would a marriage proposal be almost the same? Spouse said we should start a savings account so we could get married. LOL gotta love a man who thinks savings...lol

Crappiest first I love you was when a former gf texted it to me for the first time. Seriously that's not something you text the first time you say it.

on my birthday when i was drunk i looked at said boyfriend and said "someday ull love me then ull understand" he then grins and hides his face then tells me he already has been in love with me for over a month

Ha, ha, thanks all!

Nostalgia? Is that what this is?

The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia)

No… I don’t quite think that is the word or definition that I would use to describe how I’m feeling at the moment. But for the first time… probably ever… there are certain aspects of NY that I miss. Or maybe really just people.

In a stage where all of my relationships are pretty much brand new (not that I don’t love the new people in my life!), it’s amazing to re kindle those old friendships that pick up exactly where you left off.

Now I am left three days after leaving seriously missing some truly amazing people. It’s great to see how much we have all grown in the few years that we have been away from each other.

So now I am making it my life’s mission to convince a very select few people to MOVE CLOSER TO ME so that we have more than texting and the occasional crazy night of boozing it up and peeing in public every few months.

My aunt is going home in May and for the first time since 2007 I am actually excited about going back. Especially given that I will also be home in November to throw Bobbie’s sweet 16th birthday party!

Oh, and most of you have made promises to come visit me in the next 3-4 months… I am holding you to it!

Word of the Week, Round 7!

Carleton College?  You betcha.  This one is hilarious… well…  it is to a nerd anyway!

 

bandersnatch \BANDR-snatch\ (noun)

1. A fleet, furious, fabulous creature, of dangerous propensities, immune to bribery and too fast to flee from; later, used vaguely to suggest any creature with such qualities

Example Sentence:

In a letter from May 15, 1966, C.S. Lewis wrote "No one ever influenced Tolkien--you might as well try to influence a bandersnatch."

Taughannock Falls – My Trip to NY

Sunday afternoon after church, the family and I drove up to Ithaca to go to the mall. On our way back, we stopped at Taughannock Falls so that I could get some pictures for my wonderful readers!

My Daddy! The rest of the family was lame and they stayed in the car!

Say cheese old man!

Or don’t… Time to drive to the top of the falls…

Tilt your head 30 degrees to the right. Then it will make sense!

And that’s that!

Saturday night with old friends – My Trip to NY

So let’s just say that I had an absolute blast catching up with old friends Saturday night.  We started at Connie’s Diner so I could get the infamous Quickie…  Get your mind out of the gutter and scroll down to see what I am talking about!

Me and my leaning tower of creamers…

And the delicious unhealthy goodness that is the quickie… a hamburger and fries smothered in gravy!

 

mmm… nummy!

I literally think we had been at the bar for 20 minutes when I smashed/jammed my finger in a bar stool.  This is a picture from early Sunday morning so the swelling and bruising is actually minimal in this photo but yeah…  I jacked up another appendage in a long night of drinking!

My signature vodka and lemonade! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, these were not all mine!  This was one round.  GREAT night.  Pop a  squat, wipe with snow, walk home in the freezing cold, and then go to Denny’s anyway!

Reasons I left New York

Again, I will point out that the joy of having a blog, is that I get to write about literally whatever I want, regardless of what you all may think or feel about it.

I am heading to upstate New York for a four day weekend on Friday and I have just checked the 10 day forecast and I am anything but thrilled so here is my list of reasons that I left New York!

1.  It snows at the end of March.

2.  The job market does, and has always sucked.

3.  Because being 30 minutes away from the majority of my family wasn’t far enough.

4.  Only having to eat one turkey dinner on holidays, the one that I made myself.

5.  No longer being involved in family feuds.

6.  Being able to live out my own mistakes without unsought criticism/advice.

7.  It’s only 60 degrees on Memorial Day.

8.  It may be 85 degrees during the day in the middle of August, but it’s only 50 at night.

9.  There is nowhere to eat out and enjoy a cultural experience.

10. Charlotte is just plain better.

Word of the Week, Round 6!

Thanks Carleton College for coming through again!

flout \rhymes with "out"\ (verb)

1. to treat with contempt : mock, insult
2. to engage in or practice mocking : sneer

Example Sentence:

Martin longs to be considered a rebel and boasts of how he flouts the rules at school, sneaking off to meet his pals when he's supposed to be in class.

Cirque Du Soleil - Totem

Alright, so we all know by now that I am one of high expectations.  That being said, I shelled out a good chunk of change for tickets to my second Cirque Du Soleil show Totem, currently visiting Charlotte at the Motor Speedway (which we all know is truly in Concord).

The show was pretty exciting.  There were some neat tricks and some gut wrenching “oh my gosh” moments.

 

The clowns are always my favorite… lol

That being said, given the WOW factor of La Nouba – I was slightly disappointed with the show as a whole.  BUT if you have never seen a Cirque Du Soleil show, I highly encourage you to drop the cash (there are some really great discounts if you sign up for their e-mail lists) and make a night of it!

Sushi Restaurants, Charlotte, NC

I had decided earlier on this morning that I was going to blog about the sushi restaurant I had dinner at last night, and tell you all about my experience with eating baby octopus.  But then I went to the Ephesus Business Lunch today which was catered by another sushi restaurant and now I’m torn.  So I’m going to share it all!

New Zealand Cafe -

Spicy Dragon Roll ..................................$ 9.95
Spicy eel, cucumber with spicy salmon, crabmeat,
jalapeño & house spicy sauce, smelt roe with
scallions on top

I can’t find my favorite from here, which I have had twice now.  It’s the ballantyne roll and it is shrimp tempura as well as spicy tuna…  Delicious.  I have eaten there twice now and yesterday was the first time that I had eaten in.  It’s got a pretty small dining area and was already packed upon arrival (6:45 on a Tuesday).  But, service was great and the food was delicious so I really can’t say anything about it…  Except for stay away from the baby octopus nigiri…  or the “iidako”…  No, seriously…

I guess I just expected…  something a bit less… intimidating?  But!  I can now say that I have eaten baby octopus, and all in all, this is a great restaurant.

 

The Cowfish -

Burgushi…  Oh my gosh…

The Taste Explosion Roll

Seasoned natural Angus ground beef, applewood bacon, fresh jalapenos and spicy cream sauce inside of a sushi roll coated with tempura flakes. Each piece is topped with marinated Roma tomato and pepper jack cheese, then baked to perfection. Drizzled with cashew cilantro pesto to finish

Burgers, sushi, you name it.  I am so excited about this place and cannot wait to there again!

That’s all for now!

Magazines, Articles, and more…

So I have been reading a lot lately.  And no, not my normal… fantasy fiction books if you will.  Cosmopolitan magazines from cover to cover, eharmony relationship advice…  You name it, I’ve been reading it.  So I thought I would start to compile all of the things I’m learning in one place not only for my horrible memory, but for others who might not have the time to indulge in a 2 hour bubble bath reading session…

So here is my first list of shocking information that I think you all (women) will thoroughly get a kick out of.  Men?  It may be time to move on to the next post… ;-)

 

1.  “Anything less than 2 minutes is considered premature ejaculation.”  However when it’s taking “too long” there may also be cause for concern.  The real question is, is he “giving himself a hand too often” or is he on antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication?  Both of these are cause for prolonged ejaculation.  (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/tips-moves/sex-detective-0609-2)

2.  This next one is something that I have sort of compiled based on life experience and what I have been reading but may be RIDICULOUSLY and PAINFULLY obvious.  Is your type really your type?  Let’s think about this.  I have dated the same exact guy…  Michael, Joel, Nicky, Brenten, Jayson…  (haha, no, these names were not changed to protect identities, whoops) SEVERAL times now.  SURE they have their differences…  but they have all treated me almost exactly the same and have pretty much ended all in the same way.  So what do you do about it?  Step outside of your comfort zone.  Go on a date with somebody that you may have otherwise turned down because he’s “not your type”.  And when he doesn’t take you on your perfect date?  Ask yourself if you had a good time.  If you did, try it again.  Do you see where I am going with this?  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing time, and time again and expecting different results.  So why do we keep putting ourselves through the same relationships month in and year out?

Hmm… let’s see…  what else?

3.  Oh!  Apparently shaving matters.  *sigh*  While it may be a huge pain in the butt and I may have thought it made my…  *cough*…  look like an alien, you’d be surprised what a confidence booster having a clean canvas (if you know me at all, you know shaving my legs maybe once every two weeks was a lot for me) can actually be!

That’s it for now…  I’m definitely going to start taking notes so that I can share more of my ridiculous findings as you all continue to follow my reinvention of myself.

Word of the Week, Round 5!

It’s Tuesday, and by now I’m sure you all know what that means…  We are about to learn a completely useless, totally random word!  Yay!

Thanks again Carleton College…

affable \A-fuh-bul\ (adjective)

*1. Being pleasant and at ease in talking to others

2. Characterized by ease and friendliness

Example Sentence:

"Miss Wilson was as affable and courteous as heart could wish, and though I was in no very conversable humor myself, the two ladies between them managed to keep up a pretty continuous fire of small talk." (Anne Bronte, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

Day 10 – 10 Day Challenge

It’s here!  I did it!  All 10 days!  I don’t know about you, but I am proud of myself.  If you know me, and my procrastination, you are proud of me also!  *does a little happy dance!*

Day 10: One Quote That Describes Your Life Right Now

I am not going to lie…  I really wanted to use the “you can’t judge me, that’s the whole movie” quote but I have decided that I will not use Charlie Sheen yet again in this blog…  And so the search begins.  Here are some of the ones that were runners up and strongly considered for one reason or another to be the quote that describes my life right now…

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
Joseph Addison

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.
Oscar Wilde

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.
James Allen

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs.  Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger.  If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.  ~Dale Carnegie

Nobody trips over mountains.  It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.  Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.  ~Author Unknown

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

And here is the quote that actually made it.

1.  Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.  ~Newt Gingrich

Day 9 – 10 Day Challenge

Just one more day!!

Day 9: Two Movies You Absolutely Love

1.  When Harry Met Sally – Who doesn’t love this movie?  Seriously?  Men and women can’t be friends…  All three of those scenes are by far my favorite scenes in the movie and some of the greatest writing of all time.

2.  Top Gun – Yes, I realize that these two make me seem…  several years older than I am…  but who cares?  They’re classics…  “You’ve lost that loving feelin, whoa that loving feelin, you’ve lost that loving feeling and it’s gone, gone, gone, whoa.”

So there you have it!  :)

Day 8 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 8: Three favorite Cartoon Characters

This one is going to be pretty short and to the point.  What do you people want from me?  It’s Sunday!

1.  Daria

2.  Tigger

3.  Spongebob Squarepants

Day 7 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 7: Four Songs That Describe Your Life Right Now

1.  Hot For Teacher, Van Halen

I think of all the education that I've missed
But then my homework was never quite like this!
Ow! Got it bad,
Got it bad,
Got it bad,
I'm hot for teacher!
I've got it bad, so bad
I'm hot for teacher!

 

2.  Johnny and June, Heidi Newfield

I want a love like Johnny and June
Rings of fire burning with you
I wanna walk the line, walk the line
Until the end of time.

I wanna love, love you that much
Cash it all in, give it all up
And when you’re gone, I wanna go too
Like Johnny and June

 

3.  Times Like These, The Foo Fighters

I am a new day rising
I’m a brand new sky
To hang the stars upon tonight
I am a little divided
Do I stay or run away
And leave it all behind?
It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time again

 

4.  Little Miss, Sugarland

Little Miss do your best
Little Miss never rest
Little Miss be my guest, I'll make more anytime that it runs out
Little Miss you'll go far
Little Miss hide your scars
Little Miss who you are is so much more than you like to talk about
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Yeah, sometimes you gotta lose 'til you win
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It'll be alright again
It'll be alright again, I'm okay

Day 6 – 10 Day Challenge

My 10 day challenge is officially more than 1/2 way over!

Day 6: Five Things You Can Eat Everyday

1.  Chicken! – If you are what you eat, then I should be walking around with wings and a beak right now.  Grilled chicken, fried chicken, baked chicken, chicken tenders, chicken wings, chicken quesadillas, chicken soup…  Yes please!

2.  Sour Patch Kids – I mean… seriously.

3.  Potatoes – Not only could I eat potatoes every day, but I could eat them with every meal.  Hasbrowns for breakfast, french fries for lunch, a baked potato for dinner… rinse and repeat.  Mmmm…

4.  The Pita Pit – Chicken Caesar with bacon, the way it comes add hot sauce.  Absolutely could do that every day.  Does it still count even though it’s chicken?  Crap…

5.  Velveeta Shells and Cheese – This list isn’t very healthy…  oh well!  I like my comfort foods.

Day 5 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 5: Six of Your Favorite Books

1.  The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier.  This one is an old favorite and to be honest with you, I haven’t read it in years.  I think I’ll need to do that soon!

2.  1984 – George Orwell.

3.  The Giver – Lois Lowry.  One of those books that I just could not put down.  I’ll never forget this one because I transferred back to Seneca Falls Middle School and the teacher was like you have one week to read this and do this project to catch up with everyone else.  I was glued to it, not because of my deadline, but because it was amazing.  I was reading while walking through the hallways to get to class.  I really loved it.

4.  The Harry Potter Series – JK Rowling.

5.  Love The One You’re With – Emily Giffin.

6.  The Host – Stephenie Meyer…  I also really like the Twilight Series.

This was much easier than yesterday’s blog!  Holy guacamole batman!

Day 4 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 4: Seven People Who Inspire You, and Why?

1.  Jesus Christ – I know that this one is a bit obvious but it is extremely true.  Jesus came from Heaven and walked on this earth with the same temptations that we face every day, if not worse, and he still left this world sinless and perfect.  That’s pretty inspirational.

2.  My Dad – My dad is a huge inspiration to me.  He has emphysema, A1AD, Diabetes and several minor joint/bone disorders and issues but that does not shake him.  He is still an amazing father, husband, and Christian.  He always supports me and his faith never falters.

3.  Mother Theresa – I’m not sure how many of you know this story but she truly gave everything she had and took only what was absolutely necessary for herself.  She would always take the “left overs” and had horribly deformed feet because of it.  I know that’s just one of the tiny things she did, but it is a huge inspiration to me and a goal for my life.

4.  Anne Frank – She was just a truly amazing young woman with a great spirit and strength that I feel gets pretty lost in today’s society.

5.  Clara Barton – She founded the Red Cross.  Need I really say more?

6.  Todd Krantz – A good friend of mine who has about 10 years on me.  Him and I have very similar personalities so he is always providing great insight on how to navigate through just about any situation.  He pretty much has exactly what I want when I’m his age.

7.  My family – I know this one is pretty general and cheesy but A.) It’s getting tough to think of people and B.)  My family made me the person who I am today and that is definitely something I am proud of.

 

Hope you all enjoyed.  This one was a toughy!

Word of the Week, Round 4!

Carleton College to the rescue once again!  Are y’all using these words in your daily vocabulary?  Hmmm?

chicanery \ shih-KANE-uh-ree or chi-KANE-uh-ree \ (noun)

1. Deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry : trickery
2. A piece of sharp practice (as at law) : trick

Example sentence:

In the old stories, Anansi the Spider is capable of such a level of chicanery it’s no wonder he almost always got his way.

Day 3 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 3: Eight Places You Want To Visit

This one is exciting, I am going to not include the places I have already been…  These are in no particular order.

 

1.  London – Men with sexy accents please.

2.  Belize – Does this not just look like an amazing snorkeling spot?

3.  Vegas – Just because.  No, I don’t even like to gamble.

4.  Alaska (not sure where exactly)

5.  Dublin – Ireland is gorgeous.

6.  Boston – just because I’ve never been there.

7.  Sydney – Because of Finding Nemo?

8.  Venice – Gorgeous.

Day 2 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 2: Nine Things You Can’t Live Without

1.  The internet – If I couldn’t pull up google and search for something when I am trying to prove a point or can’t think of a name to something, I would be lost!

2.  Music – I could not make it through a day without listening to music, or singing in the shower etc.  Music helps my moods greatly.  Though I could live without songs getting stuck in my head.

3.  The bath tub – I think this one is pretty self explanatory but I am very attached to long hot baths.

4.  Text messaging – Yes, I know it’s lame, but it’s the truth.  I didn’t come up with this topic!

5.  A good book – I am a visual reader.  The book comes to life in my head…  Well, at least a good book does!

6.  Netflix – Seriously…  Instant, commercial uninterrupted hours of television and movies… mmm.

7.  Chicken! – I could eat chicken every meal of every day.  Seriously.  Roasted chicken, fried chicken, chicken lo mein, chicken tenders, chicken tacos…  mmmm.

8.  Dining out – I love going to a great restaurant…  whether I’ve been there 100 times or I’m finding a great place for the first time.  It’s one of my guilty pleasures.

9.  Salt – Another guilty pleasure.  I love salty foods.

 

Oooooh!  Tomorrow will be exciting:

Day 3: Eight Places You Want To Visit

Day 1 – 10 Day Challenge

Day 1: Ten Things You Wanted/Want To Be When You’re Older

10. When I was in Kindergarten, when asked, I wanted to be a nun. Yes, laughable, I know. Hush.

9. At one point I wanted to be a microbiologist. Then I realized that for that you need a ton of science, and while microbiology may have interested me... I am not a fan of the sciences. Not science, not political science, not social science... no thank you ma'am.

8. When I was in high school I wanted to be a stenographer. When you end their program, on average, one can type 226 WPM shorthand and 75 on a regular key board. At that point, I was already at 90 WPM. That was back in the day when it wasn't common for someone to be able to type that fast. Ahh, the computer age.

7. At one point I really thought that being a nanny seemed like a good idea.

6. Singer (cliche, I know)

5. Actress (cliche, I know)

4. CEO of ?

3. Not too long ago I wanted to run/open my own restaurant.

2. Right now I am studying for my undergraduate in accounting. If this is where I stay, I will want to be a CPA.

1. I really like my job as an association manager and would love to be my own boss some day doing just that.

And there you have it. See you tomorrow for


Day 2: Nine Things You Can’t Live Without

10 Day Challenge

Alright, I've listened. I'm not blogging enough. I get it. Here is the beginning of my challenge series. 10 days of random blogs. If I can complete this one, I will move on to something a bit more heavy, a bit more personal, and yes, something longer than 10 days. Here is the list:

Random 10 Day Challenge
Day 1: Ten Things You Wanted/Want To Be When You’re Older
Day 2: Nine Things You Can’t Live Without
Day 3: Eight Places You Want To Visit
Day 4: Seven People Who Inspire You, and Why?
Day 5: Six of Your Favorite Books
Day 6: Five Things You Can Eat Everyday
Day 7: Four Songs That Describe Your Life Right Now
Day 8: Three favorite Cartoon Characters
Day 9: Two Movies You Absolutely Love
Day 10: One Quote That Describes Your Life Right Now

Enjoy!

Word of the Week, Round 3!

Carleton College has once again provided the word of the week for my (and yours, I hope) wonderful nonsensical entertainment purposes.

puckish \PUH-kish\ (adjective)

1. Impish, whimsical

Example Sentence:

Bert delighted in teasing his colleagues, and fortunately they recognized his puckish behavior as good-natured and tolerated it cheerfully.

Puckish behavior…  Describes me perfectly!

The Red Carpet… Report Card?

The what to wears vs. the what not to wears…  (There will be a separate posting for actual results, I promise!)  Oooh the joys of writing a blog.  Do you know what it truly means?  It means that I have the power to say whatever it is that I want, about whomever I want and you all can choose to or choose not to read it.  My citations are horrible, though I doubt that I will end up in jail from my poor citations on this blog, but I suppose it could happen…  And now on to the photos.  I hope you enjoy this because I truly got a kick out of making the comparisons.

Busy Philipps: B-                  Marisa Tomei: D

Something just doesn’t seem right about the report cards here when you compare them side by side.  That’s all I’m saying, you be the judge!

Andrew Garfield : B        Jesse Eisenberg: B

Props to the boys of Social Networking for rocking it out with two solid B’s.

 

Annette Bening: A                  Halle Berry: A

Yes, I think it is safe to say that Halle Berry rocked that dress.  But again, when you compare, was Annette really deserving an A?  Is she dating a president that I don’t know about?  Anyone?  Anyone?

Cate Blanchett: B-        Florence Welch: D

This is another one that I have an issue with.  You can call Cate Blanchett “fashion forward” all you want to.  That will not change the fact that when you put her next to a D, you can’t help but wonder who is creating these scores in the first place.

     

Helena Bonham Carter: B-                     Hilary Swank: B

Props to two amazing women who absolutely rocked their B’s.

Daphne Zuniga: C                    Mandy Moore: C

Daphne next to Mandy…  Daphne may be a C on her own, but put her next to Mandy and she gets an automatic B- if not a full out B.

  

Michelle Williams: B          Maria Menounos: B

Again, when compared side by side, who gave Michelle that B?  Really?

 

Jennifer Hudson: A      Natalie Portman: A

Jennifer Hudson deserves a definite A+, especially when paired with Natalie.

 

Mila Kunas: B-                       Scarlett Johansson: B

This one absolutely baffles me.  Mila is hot, and her dress is much less painful.  Yet her grade half a point lower than Scarlett’s?  Why?

 

Nicole Kidman: D         Virginia Madsen: C-

I mean…  This just says it all.

 

Reese Witherspoon: A          Sandra Bullock: A

Two beautiful women who absolutely rocked their A’s.

 

The Trumps: B-                 Matthew McConaughey: A

Proof that it takes more than a pretty lady on your arm to get an A.

Thank you Yahoo for the Coverage of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, hope you all enjoyed.  See you soon!