Girly

This weekend I have indulged in tons of girl stuff. Painting my nails, having girly drinks, trying different things with the makeup, switching up the usual outfits, shopping and spending money I shouldn't be--just fun, girl weekend stuff. But, the one thing I did more than anything this weekend was take in a few great chick flicks!

Friday night after a post-work drink with a couple of my favorite ladies, Beth and I went to see Nights in Rodanthe. I thought it was terribly depressing--I mean, like your most emotional chick flick movie ever. But, Richard Gere is hot in it, and so is Diane Lane, and they are hot together. Plus, my favorite SVU detective Elliot Stabler makes an appearance, and I am all about that hottie. So, if you want to get your heart ripped out by the most ridiculously romantic and incredibly depressing love story, check it.

Then, yesterday afternoon, Danielle and I decided that we needed to have a Sex and the City day. She bought the movie so we lounged around and watched that--acting just as surprised and entertained as we had the first time we had seen it. That movie is freaking great, and I imagine most of you have seen it. I have lots and lots of love for that movie. And I just acquired the soundtrack yesterday (thanks Danielle!) and it's pretty good, too. I think I am definitely a Miranda. What about you?

Last night, Lucy got back to her and Danielle's place after work, and we decided to get off the living room floor and actually take ourselves to a movie rather than bust into the DVDs of our favorite gals. We decided on the Women. And I thought it was hilarious. I didn't know the story line, and haven't seen the older version of the movie, so I had no expectations. It was so cool though, to see a movie done with only women. Every single character in this flick is a woman (with one minor exception). It was really cool. I thought it was quite funny, and I think Meg Ryan is adorable.

So, it was a pretty relaxing weekend, filled with some of my favorite characters, good movies, and my so lovely friends--love it!

Arrested.

Howdy from the Windy City! It wasn't really all that windy here today, in fact, it was quite nice--sunny, and warm! I know you were all concerned, so I wanted to let you know that I did get a new suitcase--one with normal wheels. Lets just hope that it lasts this time! :)


As I drove into Chicago today (in a really ugly PT Cruiser--I'm sorry if any of you drive one, but it is SO not the car for me) I was faced with some serious serious road construction. It was intense. When I mistook an exit for a toll lane, I was off the interstate in a flash. No biggie, right? Just drive right back on? WRONG! Due to all this construction, I was forced to drive myself all over some random suburb of Chicago to try to get back onto the interstate. It was a tense 15 minutes, to say the least.


Anyway, I finally got in to the city and found my hotel. It was like the second time my Mapquest directions haven't effed me and left me scrambling for the right roads. I need a GPS. Here's the thing, though, my friend Tiff told me to be aware of the toll situation. Thus, I had plenty of cash on me. I went to my event tonight, and realized that you seriously have a toll like every two minutes. I think that mapquest and the city of Chicago have teamed up to make some serious money. Mapquest strings you through the most ridiculous amount of tolls and zig zags you through this city in an attempt to get you where you need to go via the longest route possible and make the most money. I bet Mapquest gets like 10% for effing with poor people like me who don't know the best way around the city. How else do you explain the 157 tolls I went through today?

Here's the other problem--I told you I had plenty of cash. And I did....I did NOT have plenty of change. Once you get in here, the tolls don't have people working them and you are to use exact change. Yeah, um, this girl doesn't carry much change. So, I don't really know where I was but I just chucked the last of my change at the machine, and drove through. I am fairly sure I have skipped out on a few tolls today. I didn't have any money! So, I will probably be arrested by the IL DOT by the time the week is up. (Not really, I can pay for the ones I missed on line--with a credit card--not with dimes.)

This girl's gotta get some sleep. It's gonna be an early morning and a ton of driving tomorrow.

Oh the joys of travel season!

I made my way to the Phoenix consolidated rental car station this morning with plenty of time to spare. Dropped off the lovely Saturn Aura that had kept me in good company all week, and then I was dragging my things to the elevator to find the shuttle to my terminal. My luggage consists of my normal sized suitcase with like, clothes, shoes, bathroom stuff, etc. My small suitcase, which is carry on size and full of work stuff--publications that I sent out here and never used and so am dragging back--that little bitch is heavy. I also have my laptop in its bag, and my purse. Not extreme--just enough. I've done the double bag, laptop, purse gig before and it's never been a problem. I've got a little strap thing that hooks the two suitcases together, and so I only have to use one hand to carry them both--life is good.

So, when I get to the line for my shuttle, I can't figure out why the hell my bags seem so heavy and I am already sweating.

A nice man helped me with the bags the rest of the way--the threw them on the bus for me and I settled in for the 10 minute ride to the terminal. Get off the bus, rig the bags up, and drag them across the street--again, way too heavy to even make this work. So I unhook them, balance my laptop on one, purse on the other and I am off to find my ticket counter.

I look back to see where I am at one point and notice that my bag is leaving a weird like streak on the carpet near the counters. Wtf? Whatever, I don't have time to investigate, I just want to get my tickets and get these F*&^ing bags out of my possession for the next 8 hours.

I go to the lovely self check in that American Airlines offers, pay an extra 40 dollars to check these two bags, and then have to drag them once more to the security line to drop them off. After she tags the big bag, I get to looking at it. I then realize what the problem has been all morning.

It's one of those bags that has the wheels that do the 360 turn so you can pull it whatever direction you want. Well, apparently, when I hooked the little bag up to it and started pulling, the wheels didn't want to turn.

The.bitching.wheels.rubbed.themselves.flat, and then on top of it all, started.falling.apart. I touched one of them--so hot from all the effing friction they created that I nearly burned my fingers off. So, here I am with this bag that has wheels that aren't even round, and have chunks falling off of them. To make this even worse, this is the 3rd flight/trip I've ever taken with said bag--it's basically brand new.

Whatever.

TSA dude, please take this bag from me before I beat the shit out of it and cause a major scene. Thank you.

Everybody's doing it!

I was really excited to see that Amanda at I Could Be Ordinary tagged me in her most recent post, and then I had to realize that I had to actually think about all of these things!! Thanks for the tag, girl!


A. Attached or Single? Singleton!

B. Best Friend? I have been blessed with lots of fantastic people in my life! They know who they are!

C. Cake or pie? Cake. For sure. Yellow with chocolate frosting.

D. Day of choice? Saturday. When it's not my day to work. Sleep in. Be lazy. I love Saturdays. Sundays are a close close second.

E. Essential item? My computer--namely for internet/email purposes, and good music.

F. Favorite color? Green

G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears

H. Hometown? Spencer! Go Tigers!

I. Favorite indulgence? Red, red wine.

J. January or July? July. July is a good month. And it's warm. And perfect for grilling, being in the sun, and drinking beer.

K. Kids? No, I don't have any. And I don't want any for a long time. Although, I love other people's kids. And babies are adorable. I'm not a hater, I just am not ready for them! Scary!

L. Life isn’t complete without? Nail polish.

M. Marriage date? Ha! Marriage schmarriage!

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 2: Autumn (26) and Christy (18)

O. Oranges or Apples? Both

P. Phobias? Spiders. Warm milk. Oversleeping.

Q. Quotes?I have lots of favorites--but my current favorite right now is: "Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind." (Thanks Kara!)

R. Reasons to smile? I like smiling. Smiling's my favorite. Um...having hilarious conversations with fun people. Little Emerson. Good blogs by my blog-friends. Text messages. Cute boys. My really awesome friends (wine days/nights, SATC extravaganzas, driving aimlessly on gravel roads, really long pointless conversations), I just love them.

S. Season of choice? I go back and forth here. I mean, I love all seasons for different reasons. I wish they changed monthly instead of like, tri-monthly. It would be better then--you wouldn't really be able to get sick of them! I love flip flops in the summer, sweatshirts in the fall, snow in the winter, and raincoats in the spring!

T. Tag 5 people: Bayjb, Beth, Kara, E, Auburn Kat!

U. Unknown fact about me? Um...I often gag when brushing my teeth. My feet are NEVER still, and they're always hot.

V. Vegetable? Corn. No contest.

W. Worst habit? Flirting. With the wrong boys.

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Niether.

Y. Your favorite food? Mashed potatoes. Soup. Corn. Bread. Pasta. Olive Garden Salad. Wine. Beer.

Z. Zodiac sign? Aries.

Phoenix, oh Phoenix

I'm debating getting showered and going shopping or heading straight back into bed. Phoenix is great. I made it here safe and sound--a bit more turbulence than usual, and about an hour behind schedule, but I was just glad to get here!! The scenery is a cool change from lush Iowa...it's definitely brown here. But hey, how often do you get to do your work while laying by the pool as a lizard scurries around next to you? I got a little too much sun yesterday, so the pool is out for today. It's off to Tucson tonight!

When I got in on Saturday, I got like the last car in the Enterprise lot. It was a really ugly car. I get excited about rental cars. I think it's fun to drive different cars that don't actually belong to you--it's like a really long test drive. Am I the only one who feels this way?? Anyway, I was very depressed when they told me that was the one. I looked at Mr. Enterprise in disbelief. He said, well, I do have a Ford F150 you could drive if you want that instead? Yeah right. As if this girl is going to be gallivanting around Phoenix in a big ole' Ford? So I took the really ugly Kia. It was like a midget mini-van. Thankfully, the alignment was off or something because the darned thing shook like crazy going down the interstate. I took it back the next morning and graciously accepted a brand new Saturn Aura--it's MUCH better.

So, My Sister's Keeper is incredibly sad. But I thought it was a good book (you can borrow it when I get home, Bethy!). I loved the writing. I went to Barnes and Noble on Sunday after I finished it to by another Picoult book. I mean, I suppose it makes sense to read the most depressing books possible in a place where the sun is always shining! Thus, I purchased Nineteen Minutes--anyone? Anyone?? I'm not quite half way done with it...but I'm not liking it quite as much as I liked the other one...at least not yet!

On another note--the Hills is on. Spencer Pratt. Ewe. Enough said.

Airport, oh airport.

Here I sit in the DSM International Airport. I am Phoenix bound. I have a two hour layover in Dallas. My flight was just delayed about a half an hour. The thing is, there is a hurricane in Texas, and by 3pm they are supposed to be experiencing squalls in Dallas. My flight out of Dallas is supposed to be at 4:15. In the middle.of.a.squall. What the heck is a squall, anyway?? What do you suppose the odds of me actually getting to Dallas/Phoenix today are? Yeah, I thought so, too. This could be a long day. I hope very much that someone is going to be available to come and pick me up when all the flights are cancelled. Barf.

On another note, I still love airports. Especially with a computer. People watching is fun. There are some interesting characters in the world. And I love to see the dynamics between couples when travel plans go awry. All flights to Chicago just got postponed by like 2-3 hours. This woman just totally bit her husbands head off while they are standing in line for a gate agent to change their itinerary. As if he could change the torrential downpours they are experiencing in the windy city...

I did buy a new book this morning, though. My Sister's Keeper--Jodi Picoult. I've heard excellent reviews. I decided to give it a try...turns out I might have lots of time to read it. I'm sitting close to the counter. That's my typical modus operandi...which is because I am honestly always delayed/cancelled. She who sits closest to the counter has the best chance of hopping on another plane. Seriously. This happens to me all.the.time.

Thank god for Xanax.

AZ

It's Wednesday. I have a headache. My nose is running. It's the worst year for ragweed, like, ever. I am tired. It's been a long week--already. Most of the day at work I think about killing myself with office supplies, scissors, phone cords, and exacto knives must be kept out of my hands about passing the time productively.


Today my mind is wandering. Nothing seems to be going right. I'm feeling flustered and behind. And the only thing that keeps me from throwing in the proverbial towel and taking the rest of this bitch of a day off is the thought of Saturday.


Saturday, my friends, I depart for gloriously sunny and hot Phoenix, Arizona. The ten day forecast shows temperatures in the high 90s and lots of sun. Let's celebrate, just for a second, the outdoor swimming pool at my hotel. Seriously. Are you celebrating? Whatever. Bastards.


I'm there for a week. For work. Which means I can meet up with a couple friends in the area one night, and the rest of the week is mine. To do as I please (I mean, there will be work, too, of course). To eat. To drink. To sleep. To lay in the sun. And I can't wait. It's going to be freaking fantastic to get out of this office for a while and hop in a car or on a plane and listen to my music as loudly as I would like.....ahhhhh I love travel season. Besides, it's getting cold here wayyyyy too fast and these allergies are enough to drive the sanest of people to the looney bin.

There is a real possibility that my next post might find me typing poolside...

Are you ready...

for some football?

It feels like fall in Iowa--sleeping with the windows open and sweatpants on is perfect. The mornings are filled with a crisp, cool dampness, and the evenings cool off quickly. This weather automatically makes me think of two things: travel season, and football.

I'll be honest in saying that I am not the most avid football fan. In fact, I rarely watched it ever until my sister got married and her husband made me. I actually enjoy watching now--as long as someone tells me what the hell is going on which team we are supposed to be rooting for.

Anyway, today marks the first football game at my beloved alma mater. It's the perfect day for the first game--the sun is shining, the air is still and the temperature is just right--perfect for jeans and long-sleeved tees. The team has a brand new coaching staff and a whole new group of kids playing the game this fall, and I am so excited to see how it works out! I don't know plays. I know what the quarterback and the kicker do--everyone else just kindof blends together to me and if people start talking about like, linemen and stuff, I get really confused. I don't know what coaches do what, and I don't care! I know enough to tell who is doing well, and ultimately, who wins (which, of course, will be us!!! *knocks on wood* )!!

Enjoy the weekend!!! Happy fall.

Down, girl, down!

I think Sarah Palin is a scary woman. I don’t really think we need to get into political arguments here on the blog front so I am going to keep my issue commentary to a minimum—lets just say, she and I agree on absolutely nothing. Nothing. Honestly, I am afraid of the influence she could have--and I think she's crazy.

Someone referenced her as the long lost sister of Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter—I would agree! Honestly, did you watch her speech at the RNC? I hate dirty politics (what I say on my blog… not politics—I’ll rip all I want! :)), and that was what her entire speech was—what did she say…something along the lines of “the opposition said they can’t stand McCain—the truth is, they can’t stand up to McCain.” Really? Honestly? And then, trying to strike the fear of whatever deity you may believe in into all of those in attendance? Yikes. Her audience was hooting and hollering like people on that scary movie “Jesus Camp.” McChange? Seriously. Give it up people. And if you think McChange is going to work, you should probably think again…although you might get the votes of the loyal McDonalds patrons.

I feel like John McCain thought that he was going to get a VP to steal the Hillary following—a wise strategy, indeed. He should probably have picked someone a little less intensely right wing . Yikes, McCain, yikes. He’s nearly 105 years old—if he gets in office (which I find unlikely) I will either move to Canada or think about killing myself….but back to the point—if he gets in, and dies from old age (which we have to consider--I mean honestly), we are stuck with her. And that fear, my friends, is why liberals all over the world are taking Xanax in record doses.

As David Letterman said, she should probably have gone into a career which would have suited her better—as a model at Lenscrafters.

She kinda looks like Tina Fey, too, huh? Poor Tina Fey.

(*I hope her kids don't read this. I would feel really badly.)

Let the debates begin... :)

Photos

This morning, I woke up, wandered around the house, and the decided I need to go to get some pictures printed off and get a cd burned so I could create my latest blog. Pictures, dear friends, are essential to the idea.

So I drag myself to the car and through the parking lot, into the store, find the photo kiosk, sit on the stool and attempt to figure out which of the 11 slots my memory card fits into. First one is too small, and then I place it into the second one, and all of the sudden it's gone. I hear it clink around somewhere. Clearly slot number 2 is far too large.

Shit.

So I go find the guy that works there, and he has to page another guy to help. Guy number two surprises me. I am surprised this establishment lets someone so crazy handle any of their keys. He and guy number one have to look through nearly 600 keys to figure out what they are going to do.

Guy number two comes up to me and says, "Well, you know, if all else fails, I'll just do what I used to do in high school."

Me: *very blank stare*

Guy number two: "Yeah, you know, when I was younger I used to pick locks all the time."

Me: *unimpressed* "huh."

Guy number two then proceeds to find some safety pins, and I shit you not, has both of these safety pins jimmying around inside this lock trying to get it open, and he thinks he's totally bad-ass for doing so. What the hell?

Finally, guy number one finds the right key and they end up having to tear this machine apart--there are seriously pieces everywhere.

I get my memory card back--celebration! Ya! I can get on wtih my day! Not.

The irony is it wasn't even the right memory card...

And I refuse to go back to said establishment today, so you are going to have to wait until at least tomorrow for the actual post that was intended for today....Happy Long Weekend!