So you'll never guess what Mr. Doggity-dog did today.

My work e-mail pops up with a little message containing this:

Apparently, Bram jumped up on our bathroom sink and got stuck. He was waiting there until Steven found him.

Yes folks, my 70 pound puppy is really a cat.

New Look

Not only has my lovely friend Caitlin given me my first blog award (future post pending), but she wanted to know what I've been doing to my blog. She loves the new and unfinished look, I personally think it still looks very similar to poo-on-a-stick, but what can you do?

My secrets?

1. Cut the crap. I love widgets--like, mega love them. It's a comfort to me to be able to look at, say, a countdown for how long I've been with the Big S.  It's constant, and flashy, and I love it. But, they look so messy and jumbled. Really, they're kind of like wearing too much jewelry. In one word: distracting.

2. I really wanted a single column template since I like to use a lot of pictures. In comes this blog template. My advice: don't use this template to start from scratch.  It has a lot of broken code and the divs are all over the place.  I had to have the honey use his computer science degree to whip it into shape just to get the header and pages to center and we had to widen the content area. What a mess.

3.  Don't have a computer hacker running around your house?  No problem. Get Firebug. This is a genius little bit of software that allows you to look at any webpage, hover over a page element, and look at the code behind it.  So, essentially, you could use it to copy and paste all my html and stylesheeting. Not that I would take kindly to that...mind you.  It's a great little tool to tweak your blog, get the code how you want it, and then copy it into the html editor of your blog.  Firebug won't actually change the real code for you, so it's OK if you make a mistake.  If you see something on a website you like and want to know how they did it, you can look at their code and then make it yours.  Really, it's fabulous.

4. The folks over at Maternal Lens got me on to digital scrapbooking. Until this week I never knew that existed  I got my background paper from Sassy Designs. Epic website full of things I must have!  They have sales a lot (not that they are expensive to begin with) and Maternal Lens gives away stuff from them pretty frequently. 

Lots of stuff going into this change.  I've got plans to work on my header this weekend (weather permitting).  I'm sure with our schedules it will take at least a week to get it edited and up and running.

Have mercy,

Where have I been?

Oh blog readers, I know that I have dropped off the planet. My life lately has been a jumble of activities. I'll try to lay out the past few months for you, catch you up, and start writing again.

Work:

I've been working about 37 hours a week for peanuts at the Pier 1 up here. My assistant manager is horrible and is probably the first person I have never been able to find anything I like about them. I've been trying for 5 months to find something I can like so that I focus on that when I have to deal with her. The search has been fruitless, and I've just about given up hope on her. I spend most of my time at work protecting the associates from the wrath of this woman and it's getting to me. It's a very toxic environment to say the least. The customers up here are also very rude and I get a lot of people who think I'm too young to be a manager.

The job hunt has been very slow goings. Even though I have a degree and a lot of kick-bootie grades, most employers only notice my retail experience so it has been extremely difficult to break into any professional scene. I'm still working on it. I think that to really have the time to find a new job I will have to quit my old one. This is very emotionally taxing since I do love my company and I have been there for 2 years. However, I need a job that is full-time and has benefits. There was a brief lead with a stationary company, but the most they could offer me was 2 part-time positions at once where I shuttled between two of their stores and it was a pay cut.

Home:

The house is slowly coming together. The key word there is slowly. I've been doing some craft projects, we finally hung some stuff up, and our room has a mind of it's own. So far the design is a mix of Pier 1 and Ikea. Ikea is such a magical place and I live 30 minutes from it. I live about 30 minutes from most major retailers. There is even a Tiffanys store somewhere near me. I can't afford anything so I've figured it would be dangerous to go. Anywho, I'll post some pictures of my house updates soon. I need to charge my camera...I haven't done that since we moved and that has affected my blogging.

Steven is amazing. I relish in every moment I have off from work to spend with him. He is so supportive of me and gives the best hugs. It has been great to live with him and have him around all the time. I love it! We play tennis with his family and I'm getting quite good. So much fun!

Health:

Through the stress of the move, my crappy job, and lots of eating, I gained back all the weight I lost for my graduation. So I got a gym membership at an amazing gym called the Freedom Center (the pool has a huge water slide) and I go every morning for 30-45 minutes of cardio. Steven is doing a biggest loser challenge and has lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks. He's doing so well on the program and I'm extremely proud of him.

I discovered soon after I moved here that I needed to have a root canal done. My mother canceled my dental insurance just before my graduation so I've been paying out of pocket. I have been going back to Gloucester for this because it saves me about $700 to go there then to have it done here by an endodontic specialist. In the end it will eat up $2205 from my savings. My tooth also got extremely infected and I had to take a lot of antibiotics. For about 2 weeks all I could eat was mashed potatoes.

Literature:

Where would I be without my books? So far I've spent a lot of time re-reading Harry Potter since the last movie came out. I'm currently reading The Historian. I'm halfway through it and I find it to be predictable. I hope that it gets better because I've had several people recommend it to me and those are normally good books. As Dracula books go, it hasn't been that entertaining for me. After you have experienced the joys of Tanya Huff and her Blood series...one cannot go back to just any vampire story.


Those are the big things that I've been up to. So much has been going on. I need to start writing again for my own sanity it seems, so stay tuned for further updates!

Sorry to Drop Off the Virtual Planet

I've got this Seminar class that's controlling my life right now and a job that I love too much and therefore work too much with my school schedule (30+ hours). Don't judge, laughs, I'm pulling the economy card. :D

However, next week is SPRING BREAK and I intend it to be the most glorious amount of time ever spent!

This weekend I'm traveling to the DC area to spend time with my "hubcap" (long story...he hated "hubs" even in quotes so now he's my "hubcap"). I mean, what do you want? ;)

Then the rest of my week will be well spent with sleep!

And I hope to reclaim my title as a rising internet socialite. Plans in the works people...plans.

Diva Cup

Posts this week might be TMI since I'm going to be doing a product review. About a month ago, I tracked down the co-op in Roanoke (awesome place, FYI) so that I could get the Diva Cup.

The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup made out of silicone. Intrigued? Well you should be. Because it is made of silicone, it is reusable. You just have to wash/boil it. The girl who checked me out said that she has been using hers for 5 years! Can you imagine the amount of feminine products not going into the landfill?

It cost me about $30, but with the price of girl-time products it pays for itself in the first year of use. Awesome. Since I got it from a co-op I was also supporting a local business. Double awesome.

You only have to empty it 2 times a day. Added bonus for the girl on the go. You can run in it, swim in it, dance in it, whateves (except the horizontal mambo, ya dig).

You can see why I was intrigued, right?

The great thing for me, and TMI, is that I get rashes from pads in the winter. Dry skin + pad= diaper rashes...owies.

So throughout this week I'll keep you all updated on the process. Apparently, it can take some time to get used to it/getting it situated correctly.

Have any of you ever used one?

Thoughts?

I thought it was weird at first too. I've been scoping it online for about a year.

Glimpses of Spring

Yippie! Today I woke up in the BEST mood! I got up, didn't tame my mane, put on a summer shirt, and some fun necklaces. I went to get breakfast and ate it in my car with the windows down just sitting in the sun making some vitamin d.

I love the feeling when the Earth is coming back to life after the winter. Makes me hopeful.

I'm sitting here with the sun coming through my windows and waiting for it to warm up to the expected 60 degrees. Too bad I have to torture myself with homework.

PS- Birds are singing.

80 Year Old Moment OR Yay for Calcium!

So I totally just fell down in the shower. The water was too hot when I got in so I ran to the opposite side of the shower,
somehow I twirled, slipped, and down I went. My hip hit the side of the tub, but thankfully I landed in the tub and didn't fall out, grabbing the shower curtain and ripping the rod from the wall.

However...for the purposes of this blog I kind of wish I had landing soaking wet on the bathroom floor with my cats staring at me, wrapped in the shower curtain, and dodging the falling rod.

My hip is most likely going to develop an epic bruise. Pictures will follow.

New Project...well sort of...and shocking events.

Today I decided that it was time to do something about my windows. In the winter, windows are just a simple way for energy to escape. Since today was a warm 11 degrees here in Blacksburg and my last energy bill was $89 to heat a one bedroom apartment the size of a shoebox, I made a trek to Lowe's and picked up clear plastic and some tape. The concept is kind of like a greenhouse effect. It seals up the air from getting in and going out and the plastic heats up with sunlight. My dad used to do this to the windows in the garage. Who knows how well it works, but it gives me some piece of mind that I'm at least trying to save some energy and some pennies. You know, added to the fact that I don't keep anything plugged in unless I'm using it. That includes my TV, microwave, computer, lights, internet. I mean, I don't keep anything on. It drives Steven nuts. Laughs. The $89 comes from my prehistoric heater. If the weather was nice enough to just open my windows my bill would only be $15 a month.

Anywho! The real drama and reason for this post...as I was putting up this plastic on my windows...I realized that there was ice...on the INSIDE of my window all around my windows because condensation had FROZEN, yes FROZEN on the inside of my windows.

Maybe with all the money I save I can retire in Mexico one day. Si!

Dear Diary:

I spent my New Years watching Bridget Jones and going to bed early. My tummy hasn't been feeling too swell lately. Bridget Jones' Diary was rather appropriate for the evening since the whole premise of the movie is that she starts a diary for the New Year in order to fix some things in her life. Not only is her character based on Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (a personal favorite) but it's just down right hilarious and I relate to Bridget immensely.

To quote Bridget, her New Years resolutions were:

Resolution #1: uggg - will obviously lose 20 lbs. #2: always put last night's panties in the laundry basket. Equally important: will find nice sensible boyfriend and stop forming romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workoholics, sexaholics, commitment-phobics, peeping toms, megalomaniacs, emotional fuckwits, or perverts. Will especially stop fantasizing about a particular person who embodies all these things.

Now, I've got the guy thing in the bag, however, I think that numbers 1 and 2 could definitely be added to my expectations for the new year.


So, Amanda's New Year resolutions:
1- will obviously lose 20 pounds
2- make sure that yesterdays panties make it to the laundry basket
3- carry trash from my car when I make it
4- graduate
5- continue growing-out hair: do not cut it
6- add probiotics to my diet
7- take my vitamins regularly
8- find an adult job
9- buy a house
10- strengthen long-distance relationships

What are your goals for 2009? I wish you all the best in what is sure to be an interesting year ahead.

Bummin' Holiday

I came to the realization tonight that I had not sent out all my Holiday cards. I sent out the ones to the parents during Thanksgiving break and I made Steven sign all the other cards. So I've had everything signed, thoughtful notes written, return address stickers adhered, and they've set here waiting to be addressed. The delay was caused by Steven, who has been promising to get the addresses of his friends for like a month.

So my apologies if you get your card late. I'm a bum who was busy trying to graduate in the Spring. However, you were, and are, always in my thoughts.

Lovey Dovey Kiss Kiss

My pining for a tattoo finally culminated in two gorgeous doves on my wrists. I'm in love with them; although, it's hard to get used to having tattoos in such a visible place. I've ordered some extremely cute cuff bracelets to cover them with.

Tomorrow Steven graduates from college. I'm so excited for him! Tonight his amazing family rolled into town. His mother and I altered his robe (it was too small around the waist since robes are based on height not size. We added some side panels. Steven and Pat--his little brother--played with the cats. :D) Tomorrow my parents come into town...and the parental units meet for the first time. I'm very nervous about that and keeping my new tats covered. My Mother is not a fan of bod mods and my Dad was ok until I got more than him. Tomorrow will be interesting to say the least...kill me now, kthx.

My sister asked about my other tats a while ago so I'll catch everyone up on my previous tattoo endeavors.

1: My stars


2: My flowers

Surprise in the night

I woke up this morning to snow!

FIRST SNOW!

We have had flurries all morning. It isn't great snow (mostly just a tiny mixed kind), but the snow seems to be starting early this year. Does that mean we will have snow for Christmas morning? Please, oh please! I've got to warm up my vocal chords so that my "snow song" is ready for the big snow.



Snow on campus is one of my favorite things. It makes walking around so enjoyable.

I'm very glad that I went to Burlington Coat Factory while I was in Manassas this weekend and got a new warm coat. It has already come in handy.

Leapster: Wall-E

I know I don't have kids but that doesn't stop me from keeping up with the latest toys. Tonight Steven and I were going through the toy section at Target and we stumbled upon the Wall-E game for Leapster.

I love Leapster and I love Wall-E so automatically a great combo, but what made this game so great was the fact that it not only taught kids spelling and numbers but also taught them how to recycle! It had a whole section for sorting recyclables...how awesome is that?

Can I just have a kid already so that I can buy them toys just so that I can play with them?

Vote! Vote! Vote!

(Elvgren, my favorite pin-up artist)

Tomorrow is election day and then I promise that I will leave you alone about voting for four years. Get up early and get voting, love doves. I don't want to hear any excuses that you forgot or that something came up. I will tolerate no excuses (:D). That might be a little harsh, but this is important.

I'm expecting a landslide for my candidate (day before the election and I'm finally allowing myself to feel slightly cocky...if he doesn't win I can always move to Europe), so tomorrow will be like Christmas eve where I won't sleep and I'll just have news shows playing constantly on my computer. It's like football for the socially minded. Steven has called the Electoral votes Obama 345, McCain 193. Elections are a fantasy league for peaceniks and dorks...of those two options I am both.

Since I've kept pretty neutral about all this, while really being very passionate about something and following every news-story and watching every debate and every speech since the Democratic primary (and I'm talking first Democratic debate between the like 8 original people running to be the Democratic candidate), please allow me one single remark of pure bias and extreme love: GOBAMA!

I hate the Cold Cold Times

This weekend has been in the low 50's...so you know Amanda is super cold. However, it is a great time to do a Pashmina montage to tribute my faithful friend--the trendy scarf that isn't quite yet the frozen tundra wool scarf. Enjoy! And btw- that's a Pier 1 pashmina and we are getting them back in for the Holidays in a few weeks...stop by love doves.

Oh Great Pumpkin!

I finally got to go to the pumpkin patch! I took Steven and his parents (who are so freaking amazing...I mean I love everything about Steven and that includes his incredibly cute family). Again, I'm sorry the pictures turned out grainy. Apparently I needed the flash on because it was overcast even though my camera was giving me the green go-ahead for light. Grr... Lesson learned: always take extra batteries. My camera died before the petting zoo portion of the trip. Steven's dad got a lot of pictures so I'll post them when they send them to me they are sure to be amazing because he has a professional grade camera... gimmie.

And yes, that is a picture of me "milking" a fake cow... I was the only one with the guts. Laughs.

Fall Sunset

When I saw the sky tonight I grabbed my camera and ran outside to snap some pictures. I needed my tripod! Sorry they turned out kind of fuzzy; the low light needed a longer shutter speed and that would have required me to get out my tripod and do things manually and by the time I did that I would have missed it. Maybe another night I'll plan for it. I got some cool silhouettes of the trees though.

Anyways, like all things, it reminded me of a sonnet by Shakespeare. Number 73 to be exact:

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou seest the twilight of such day

As after sunset fadeth in the west,

Which by and by black night doth take away,

Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire

Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.

This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

I Finally Dragged Steven To The Park:

Hilarity of Relationships!

So the most hilarious thing happened while Steven and I were watching The Dead Poet Society (one of my faves).

I called Oliver a little stink-butt.

Steven turns to me and says, "who's a little stink-butt?"

Then he grabs me-- twists me into a ball-- and tries to tickle me and then...

I farted.

I'm still laughing-out-loud.