If anyone has been following my reading progress, you'd notice that I'm 4 books away from 50 of 200. Since this is a fourth of the way to the finish line, I'm pretty excited about it.

I've been going to the library every couple of weeks and it has definitely helped me do this project on the cheap.

I've got a few books in progress right now, such as:

Artemis Fowl-pretty cute little book. Since I've been listening to it on tape I've been thinking in an Irish accent for a few days (not even kidding). Such a beautiful cadence to their speech. Can we go to Ireland, please?  Modern take on Fairies that's pretty cute and there is a spy element mixed with Sherlock Holmes that I'm really liking.

I'm also working on The Golden Compass.  This is number 2 on the big list.  Well, technically His Dark Materials is number 2, but that's actually the name of the whole series.  With so many books to go, I'm not reading the whole series.  At least, not yet anyway.  I've tried to read this book before when the movie came out.  I couldn't really get into it, but I actually saw the movie a month ago and it looked like something I could eventually get into. As I'm reading, I'm really just wondering when the polar bear is going to show up.  When does that happen?  Cause he seemed really cool!

Started into some Oliver Twist...and I'll have you know that the "please sir, I want some more" scene happens in the second chapter.  So what the heck is supposed to happen in this book?  No idea.  I never had to read Dickens in college and that might be because I avoided him like the plague or professors thought his books were too long for a semester.  We'll see how this goes, but I'll probably end up getting the CD of it.  Maybe I should watch a BBC version of it so that I know what the blazes happens in this plot line.  Poor kid, gruel, beatings...Les Miserable again but in a different country?

I'm really not sure what to read next.  So if you go to my Good Reads page and see something that you've really loved and I haven't read it, I'd really appreciate a recommendation.  It also seems like my comments might not be working.  If that's the case for you, please hit up the facebook to let me know you pick.

S'il vous plait et merci!

The Shinies, Precious!

S and I were lucky that our upgrades for our cellphones became available this time of year.  Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE my blackberry, I was set on downgrading to a phone that just makes calls and sends texts because I hated that my battery sucked and that I neer knew when my phone went dead in my purse. However, there were some cons to this.  We are old school verizon, so if I canceled my data plan I would lose the unlimited internets.  Apparently, this is a huge deal.  So I wouldn't want to lose that.

It is also super convenient to be able to e-mail things to myself and get directions when I'm lost.  When I told the guy at the verizon store I can hold a charge for about a day or two he looked at me like I was the luckiest person on the planet.  Apparently, you can only expect to have a crappy battery life on a smartphone.  Why?  Yeah, I'm not really sure about that one, but I'm going to have to get used to it I guess.

So when we went into the store, I took a look around and came to the Droid Pro.  Now, this may also be shocking since I swear up and down that I hate droids.  Steven has the first model of the Droid and it's impossible for me to work.  I normally end up throwing it while swearing profusely that they should make phones user-friendly.  Yes, I know how old that makes me sound.

But then I got looking at this baby:

So there are some things that make it much better for me. Notice, the keyboard on the front.  I don't like having to slide out a keyboard and rotate what I'm looking at.  Too much motion gets me confused and this phone allows me to turn off auto-rotate (love).  Second, it's lightweight.  Third, and most importantly, you can actually get the touchscreen to respond.  Shocker, I know.

And the best thing is that you can get so many free apps that you can actually find on your phone!  The biggest problem I had with my blackberry was that applications and upgrades never seemed to show up, no matter how many times I shut it down and re-started the thing.  Yes, that's why I haven't uploaded a picture to my facebook from my phone in over a year, because the upgrade never worked correctly.  Lovely, no?

S got the new larger and improved Droid that he's currently trying to hack improve.

An even better thing...it was buy a Droid and get any phone free.  So once we mail in the rebates, my phone upgrade was free and S got the phone he has been drooling over.

So this means that I can keep in touch more. My new years resolution is to text more and to rely on technology to keep me organized and to go paperless as much as possible.  Good goals and it feels great to actually have a goal this far in advance that has nothing to do with losing weight.

Love it!

Post of Shame

I have been eating soooo horribly lately.  I'm sure a lot of it has been all the holiday crap since I've been to a party every weekend, but a lot of it has just been my willpower.

For instance (I'll tell you everything, so that it keeps me accountable), yesterday I had:

1. A large latte with sugar-free syrup, that's ok
2. My polkadots, which are a pretzel with a hersey kiss with an m&m melted into it...yeah, I had about 30 of those.  The sad part is that I made those to give to other people!  Not to mention all the broken ones I had to eat...and I had to finish the rest of the pretzels.
3. Lunch, I can't even remember it, but I'm sure it was crap. Although, part of me hopes that I can't remember it because I didn't eat it.
4. Dinner was TACO BELL!  The creme de la crap! 2 chalupas...do you know how many calories those things are?  Kill me.
5. THEN!  Once I got home and I was laying in bed...about to go to sleep...I had a craving for cheese puffs...and my wonderful love got dressed and went out to buy me cheese puffs and I ate half a bag...a big bag!

When I went to bed last night I had every intention of just eating salad today...but no such luck.

1. Breakfast (I'm ashamed to say) was low fat pringles and some gatorade.  This is nutrition?
2. Lunch was chicken strips (not that bad)
3. and I just ate half of a king sized hershey bar....

Oh, help! This is so not good.  Someone please kick my ass back into gear, so that I don't have to carry said ass around on a side-car attached to my fanny.

Seriously...

National Tree Lighting

This past Thursday, S and I made it into the district for the tree lighting.  We left work at 2 since they started letting people in at 3.  I should mention the even didn't start until 5.

So after we had been standing still in freezing cold weather (literally) for 2 hours...we were frozen solid once the thing actually started.  We got to see Sarah Bareilles perform, which was great.

The best part of the evening was getting to see the President and the first family.  W00t!

So once they lit the tree I snapped some pictures and we made straight for an Italian restaurant on F street.

Here are some pictures for your holiday enjoyment.  I hope to torture the cats later this weekend for some pictures...remember, I do it out of love...

Cheers!

A few weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from my orthodontist stating they'd take $500 off my treatment if I started treatment before the end of December.  Since I was quoted $4,500, that's kind of a big deal.  So I called them this morning and set up an appointment for this Wednesday to get the molds taken for invisalign.  Since I work with people, a lot, standard braces were not even an option...plus I was quoted $6,000 for old school braces.  Crazy?  Yeah, I thought so.

I have had braces before, so I'm kind of bummed that I have to do it again.  But the first go around was done by someone in the process of getting certified as an orthodontist, so my parents got a good price, but I got a crazy set of teeth.  I also had permanent retainers, which I've always hated and the top set broke a few years ago.  Because the wire was so close to my gum line, I was consulted by my regular dentist to keep it as it was.  Over the years one of my front teeth has slowly drifted.  I call it my snaggletooth.

See Nanny McPhee as exhibit A:

Then see my chipmunk face and the "snaggletooth."  I know that it isn't that bad, but I'm super, duper, uber self-conscious about it!  I've stopped smiling in pictures or taking a lot of pictures of myself, especially if my mouth is open.  Not to mention, if you look really close...it has gotten so long I've chipped it a little on the end!  Ugh.

It might be ridiculous, but the last time I went to the dentist I found out that the second tooth from the right has moved back so far that it hits my lower teeth when I bite, which is making it a little loose.  No bueno.  Since my biggest fear is losing my teeth, I freaked out and started saving up my pennies.

I'm so excited to start on this so that I can stop hiding from it.  Cause you know behind all the gunk, Nanny McPhee is the ultra fabulous Emma Thompson...and I'd kill to look like that literary savvy diva!  Just not as Professor Trelawney...

So here's to a straighter smile in about a year: Cheers!

I've found a renewed motivation for reading through my book list.  I'm determined, but it's daunting since I'm not even 1/4 of the way through...so I'm "reading" a lot of them on tape.  I don't have time to sit down and do much of anything, but a book on tape I can listen to in the car, while I do laundry, when I'm painting the house, and even when I'm at work.

I used to do this all the time in college, especially with books I couldn't will myself to read.  It  helps when the actor reading the book has different voices for different characters or the book is 1,000+ pages.  Long books take hours and hours and hours and I just don't have that kind of time to sit on my ass.  I really wish I still did.  C'est la vie.

So, I hope it's not considered cheating.  I want to get through the great works of literature, but you know how life gets in the way.  For a good laugh, I recommend Angus, Thongs, and Full-frontal Snogging.  Hilarious! It's basically Bridget Jones for young adults.  I lost it when the 3 year old little sister of the main character, Georgia, told the cute, love interest "Georgie took a big poop this morning!" Yeah, I died.  How random and awkward.

Oh, Sentimental Me.

I heard this song on my way home from work and it really sums up where my head's at right now.

It also made me remember how much of a bad-ass I thought I was when I listened to this CD in the 90's.  Funny how the music in your formative years really stays with you.  Can you also believe I was 8 when this came out?

Rock and Roll...that was complete contraband when I was 8.  Dang. Smuggling banned books and music into my parent's house was the most exciting thing I did growing up.  Ah, memories.

I didn't find Meredith Brooks until I was 13 and the song Bitch changed my life...not really, but once again, I felt completely bad-ass.

Both songs let you know that it's ok to be a walking contradiction and I believe we are all contradictions, if only a little bit or for a little while.  For instance, I'm a "Hippie" that works for "The Man" if you want to break it down to black and white.  Most days I don't know how I really feel about that, but it pays the bills.  The most frustrating part is that I'm there to help people and support them so that they can do their jobs, but I'm stuck in the corporate limbo of what I can and cannot do, which produces a feeling of absolute impotence.  By extension, that also really makes me want to pierce something or get a new tattoo because it feels so nice to see people in suits do a double take when they see my wrist tats.  I know, I'm weird, but I don't make enough money to get so worked up over this stuff.

I'll just leave you with Bitch, in case you don't remember it, and I hope that it makes you feel the bad-assery of it all.  Cause we all want to feel a little bit wicked sometimes, right?

Or I'm having a quarter-ish life crisis. Meh.

In Which I Contemplate Teaching Bram to Kill Petsmart Workers on Sight

Well, our trip to Petsmart started well and ended well, but in between there was a lady I'd really like to punch in the face. Tonight I definitely experienced that feeling parents and pregnant ladies must feel when they get unsolicited advice.

Going anywhere with our dog is almost the equivalent of taking a hyper kid to the zoo.  He gets overstimulated in situations with a lot of people, cars, and smells.  We have to go slow and we have to do a lot of warming up before we go anywhere.  I normally take him for a long walk to wear him out before we get in the car.  Once we're in the car he gets super excited because he loves the car and because he thinks we're going to Grandma's. Once he figures out that we aren't, he gets even more excited.  Once we reach the store we have to do a few rounds in the parking lot so that he gets used to the noise and all the dog smells and everything.  I normally try to get him to focus on me and come when I say his name...or really just to look at me if I talk to him.  It's hard because he really wants to smell things.

So on his walk before we left, he was a champ.  He walked the best on the leash then he has in a long time because I've basically stopped caring if he's right beside me.  My dog is so big, we literally cannot walk abreast on the sidewalk.  So, I let him go in front a little, if he doesn't pull it's a great walk.  I was so proud of him.  At Petsmart he got a little anxious at first, but I used the shopping cart to block his view of the people and other animals and he did really well. He'd get interested in something then we'd tell him to come along and he listened.  Major big-boy steps here!  I should also mention that my dog just turned one. He's the size of a house, but he is still just a puppy.

I've also mentioned his recent issues with his new food and his issues with food in general.  My dog is an anorexic, mostly because he's too excited too eat. He has access to food all day, but he has always been underweight.

So in comes Ms. I'm-A-Trainer-Here.  Ugh. 

"Oh, is that a newfie!  He's so cute!  Have you done lessons with him?" (This whole trip to Petsmart is a lesson, in our opinion)....

"Yeah, we've looked into it."

"Oh, well you should definitely join one of my beginner classes, yada yada."

"Ok, we'll think about it."

"You know, he's really thin for a newfie."

"That's because he doesn't like food."

"What's he eating?"

"Insert the name of super expensive vet recommended food."

"Oh well that's crap, you should get him on holistic dog food."

"Sure, we'll look into it..."(not)

Now, this is the point where I'm getting a little sensitive about the subject because I have literally hand-fed my dog only for him to pretend to eat it and then hide it under furniture.  I've mixed pumpkin, rice, chicken, chicken broth, dog food mixers, refrigerated dog sausage, etc.  You name it and I have tried it.  We've also been through several different types of dog food and the one we use is the one he will eat the most of.

"Oh, well you should mix in soft food with it so that he's interested in it."

Our vet has specifically told us not to use soft food.  It upsets his stomach, like whoa.  And there is nothing medically wrong with him that causes him not to eat, he just doesn't like to do it. He's weird. Meanwhile, Penelope has tried to eat his food, which is why my cats are obese and my dog is a toothpick.

So yeah, this condescending lady that has no idea about my dog's history with his weight and all the things I've tried to do and all the hours of sleep I've lost over it, comes in with her...oh, well you're really bad dog parents look...really?

Our convo goes on about all the bigger dogs she knows that have died so young (really?).  And yes, I know that my dog will be lucky to make it to 10.  I really don't want to think about that because I'd rather love him while I have him. And his hair is course because he's a freakin' water dog with a double coat, unlike your stupid Bernese Mountain dogs and oh I could just go on and on about how much this lady rubbed me the wrongest way possible... but I'll resist.

Instead of wondering around the store some more (and buying more) and really enjoying the fact that we were out in public with our dog and he was doing really well, we took our "crappy" expensive food and went home.

But, the night wasn't all bad.  We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner and he was a celebrity.  I always forget how big my dog really is until other people react to him with "OMGEE, he's effin' huge!  Is that a real dog?" (to which a guy responded "Well, he isn't battery operated").  He got two nuggets and a lot of pets from the lady at the drive-thru....ok everyone who worked there came out to the window to see him. He loved it and I love him and how awesome he is.

Screw you lady at the Petsmart, I definitely won't ever take him to you for lessons and after the debacle that was his first grooming experience there, I wonder why we ever go to Petsmart in the first place?

Well it's almost 5 o'clock and I'm still at work...and it's Friday...that never happens.  Mostly my Fridays consist of me watching the clock tick slowly by, however, today was crazy-town.

Oh well, I at least got to try out a new restaurant today: Eggspectations.  Ever heard of it?  We have one near work and I got to go out with the office ladies to chow down.  Delicious.

Now I'm deciding if I should go to the gym even though I really don't want to go or make a trip to Petsmart because my baby-dog does not like his big-boy food.  He switched to Adult dogfood (Science diet=not cheap) and has thrown it up every time. My poor dog...and my poor carpets...and my poor wallet.

Can it be Thanksgiving break yet?  I need the reminder of all the things I'm thankful for.

Holiday Preview

If you're hip on my facebook life then you know about my most recent spaztastic, special purchase: a record player.  I got it because it can fit under a bed.  My current record player is part of a huge stereo that I have no room for.

The record player fits into this post because the melodious joy that is Billy Joel was the soundtrack of this adventure.  His song Vienna sums me up to a tee.

As you can see, Oliver doesn't know what to think about record players or Billy Joel.  I say he has horrible taste in music.

I digress...because I have been a busy beaver trying to get ready for this holiday season.  If you remember from last year my artificial tree had a very major accident and snapped after 30 minutes of operation.  It was a short life for the tree and a tragic end to many of my ornaments.

We rallied our spirits and got a real tree.  It was very messy and my ornaments were too heavy for the limbs especially as the tree started to loose its umph.

So this summer I scoped out a new artificial tree with a full metal composition on the cheap.  Summer really is the best time to get a tree since I only paid $150 for a $300+ tree.  It also doubled the amount of tips I had.

So naturally, I need more ornaments.  The following are what I've grabbed up so far.  I've organized them by store just in case something catches your eye.  I should probably put a disclaimer that I have the tackiest tree you've ever seen and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I want my tree to burst with happiness and fun, so I mix a ton of colors and textures and holiday genres from rustic to vintage (my favorite) to handmade to ice to just plain whimsical.

Trust me, you want to be at my house this holiday.

Crate and Barrel:

Peacock feather in glass bauble

Every year we get a photo ornament and I put our favorite couple picture from the year in it.

Teacher says "every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings."

Mistletoe

Swirly tree.  I have a colored one that's flat squiggles, now I have a 3D clear one.

Pier 1 Imports:

Oh the glitter!   Makes me miss retail.

Argyle.  You should see my sweater collection.

SoOoOo tacky!  I love it!  I have spray that matches this and they even ring.

Why yes, that is an ornament of a balloon animal.  Dinosaur to be exact.  They have a few other animals too.

Snowflakes.  Pretty!  Pretty!  I hope we see a little less snowflakes this year then the last.

His legs are so tiny and his belly is so big...need I say more?

Polar bear snow globe.  The snow globe thing is very big with ornament this year.

Dancing snowman...with even tinier legs than Santa.

Garden flag...so cute

Khols:

Love doves.

Zoo Trip

Last weekend we traded in this muchkin with the grandparents so that he could have a play-date:

And upgraded to this munchkin and her older sister and took them to the zoo.

Now, if she doesn't make your ovaries hurt just a little bit I don't think you're quite human.  Little bitties K and N are positively the happiest and smartest babies in the world.  It was such a great day to take them to the National Zoo and catch up with their parents.

They grow so fast!  K is learning so many words and she got so excited to see the animals...mostly to see the ducks, but we'll take it!

She didn't even leave a note...

First, the exciting part of the night: Penelope ran away and no one knew she was gone until our neighbor knocked on our door: "Do you have a cat"--"uh, yeah, two of them"--"I think one of them is on my parent's deck"--"Couldn't be mine (not my perfect babies)...is it gray...silver tag..."--"yeah"  "(crap)."

I could see Oliver in the kitchen acting completely nonchalant and maybe even a little happy to be the only cat. (Or did I imagine that?). When I yelled to the basement to see if Mr. S had seen her, all I got was a "huh?"  Penelope was nowhere around, but I still denied that it could be our cat.   However, when I went over there, climbed up on their deck, there she was.  Stinker.

She went to our sweet, Indian neighbors two houses down and spent the day on their deck trying to get into their house. (I should just say how sweet and fabulous this older couple is because I adore them). I went over there and boy did she yell at me! That meow sounded exactly like "what took you so long."  I kid you not.  It might have even been that many cat syllables.

I tell you what, she is a DIVA. I still have no idea how precious Penel got out of the house.  I rectified the situation immediately by giving her wet food: her favorite...just to, you know, remind her how good we are to her.  I think she realizes that because she didn't protest at all when I carried her home holding her like a baby, which she hates.

But, I'm convinced she secretly loves it.  The lady doth protest too much...and might get back at us by pooping somewhere exciting!  Of course, that's only if she feels like the evil glares aren't working well enough.  The eye daggers are working, Penelope, promise...

Hum...as a precaution to pooping, I'll be paying Penelope some extra special attention tonight.

How in the world do you deal with stress?

Work has been bringing me down lately because I've had to deal with some extremely rude people. More specifically, rude people who are in a customer service capacity. It's a personal pet peeve since I have work people-oriented jobs forever.  Is being nice really that hard?  Apparently it is.

I got off the phone with said person today and went directly to the company candie corn. Not good.

Anything fun you recommend to cool down at work?  It took me the whole weekend to get over the crap from last week and it begins again.

Ugh, and just so you know, if you ever need to rent AV equipment in the DC area, let me know and I'll tell you who not to contact.  I have to draft a letter to the head of our event hall to complain because it has absolutely, 100% been that bad.

How do you manage to do it all?

Yoo-hoo?

You know, I wasn't kidding when I asked you a few posts ago what your favorite book growing up was.

For reals, I want to know.

I'm really enjoying James and the Giant Peach.  I've been taking it slow since it's really quite a tiny book, but very inventive and surprisingly educational.  I'm learning about garden bugs. :D 

Pump-it-up

I've come to the conclusion that trainers are horrible for your self-esteem.  Since we're winding down to the end of our 8 week train-a-thon, we had "that talk" about where we were aiming after the challenge and where our trainer would like to see us.

I would have thought I could go with another 10, but she pulled out 20.  20?  I wanted to cry.  Just this past 10 has been painfully slow to get off.  I mean I'm going to the gym 6+ hours a week and eating so clean my intestines could pass a white glove test.  It has taken me 2 months just to lose 6-8 pounds!  At this rate, it would take me 6 months to get where she wants me.  It's super frustrating because I can't loose weight quickly anymore.  One summer I lost 30 pounds in 3 months.  Amazing.  Why can't it come off like that anymore? (Because you're losing much more realisticly and healthy this time, dumb-dumb). Grumbles.

I think it would take 2 hours of cardio and weights a day, for 6 days a week to get me there at a regular pace.  Can you say frustrating?  Who has time for that?  I barely have time to sleep, or see people as it is!

Grumbles...part of me wants to just say f-you lady, I'm eating this whole chocolate cake.  The other part of me really wants to do it.  Le sigh. 

If you need me, I guess I'll be at the gym.  We do have a weigh-in tonight...yay? Not so much

You Capture: Autumn

Whoa buddy it has been a while since I have done one of these. It has also been a while since I've picked up my camera.

These aren't very brilliant, but they did cause me to set something funny on the nikon and have to try to reset it. No idea what I did but everything came out over-exposed except for what I took before I killed my camera...obviously.

Anywho, I hope that you're ready for some good ole' turkey day coming up. We're protesting Halloween this year. Why? Because I don't want any candy laying around the house for months until we finish it. My holiday plight this year is how in the world to have a healthy holiday season, but that's another quandary for another day.

My welcome brigade.

Such pretty colors.  They make me miss the mountains.

Ok, you caught me, I really just needed to nap on the deck.

I've really been enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having.  It was about 80 today, which doesn't seem like fall at all.  I say that now, and watch it drop to the 30's tomorrow.

I apologize in advance.

Next week the challenge is Halloween and/or silence.