8 Random Facts About Me August 26, 2008

Middle-Aged-Woman over at unmitigated wrote 8 randomly unspectacular things about herself the other day.

I decided to play too and post 8 random facts about myself, even though I think nothing about myself is unspectacular (well, I never said I wasn’t self-confident, now did I?)

1. I have watched The Simpsons since I was 2 years old. I crack up when people tell me they weren’t allowed to watch it as kids.  I never knew that it worked on two levels until I was at least 11.

2. I love watching ghost shows and reading ghost stories, even though I always end up completely terrified if I watch/read by myself. They fascinate me though.

3. I am the least picky eater I have ever seen. However, I do not like the following: radishes, eggplant (even though it’s such a lovely color), watermelon candy, green apple candy, lima beans (tolerable if they are mixed in with something else), and any fatty meat. Blecchhh.

4. Even though I am one of the most open minded and outspoken people you will ever meet, I have the sense of humor of a ten year old. I have no problem talking about sex or body parts, but anytime someone says something about “anus”, “rectum”, or “feces” I can’t help but giggle a little.

5. I have eaten half a watermelon by myself on multiple occasions.

6. I have a pink lava lamp on my desk. I turn it on a lot. It distracts me. I find it soothing.

7. I had a crush on D for years before we got together.

8. It really annoys me when people say “lie-berry” instead of LIBRARY!

Back To School August 25, 2008

Hello all!

I do apologize for not updating sooner, but this weekend has just been kind of crazy. I had to bring stuff back up here to get ready for school, then come home and do some family things.

So, today is the first day of my Junior year of college. I am halfway through, which I am ever so grateful for.

It’s hard to not be with D during the week.

I mean, when you go from being with someone 24/7, to being away from them during the week, it is hard.

We’ve done it for the past two years though, so we can do it again.

And, we’ll have the weekends

I just have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this so that D and I can have a better life once we get married.

And I get to live with my awesome friend H!

I can’t believe how fast these last few college years have flown by, it seems like just yesterday that I was graduating from high school.

Saturday Morning August 23, 2008

So sorry I haven’t posted anything new for a few, my dad had a little surgery, but is recovering well.

I’ve been hanging out with my younger sister, V.

We’re going to go get our sugar high this morning.

Doughnuts….MMMMM.

I will post more later, but just wanted to let you all know what was going on!

Now I Will Never Get Anything Done August 20, 2008

D got a new game today.

Mario Kart Wii.

We kind of played it for two hours before he went to work today.

I have just one thing to say, and this will be soooo much cooler if you watch the Simpsons and imagine comic-book-guy saying it…..”BEST….GAME…..EVER.”

I’m addicted.

My favorite course was one that ran through a shopping mall.

Of course, having spent  thousands of dollars and  thousands of hours in malls, it’s no wonder I felt right at home.

I can’t believe they managed to combine a racing video game and shopping….it’s like they were inside my brain.

I am a huge nerd.

I’m going to go watch The Simpsons and wait for D to come back so we can play some more Mario Kart.

Seriously? August 20, 2008

I was browsing through one of my mom’s magazines this morning, when I came upon an ad for these things-.mmdolls

My first thought was “Who buys this crap?”

This is a $30, 6 inch, “collectible” doll. The magazine ad scolds that “These dolls are not toys; they are fine collectibles to be enjoyed by adult collectors.”

What the hell?

Now please, if you collect these things, don’t get all mad at me, I just really don’t get it.

Why would people spend $30 a pop on a doll that is only 6 inches long?

And why do they think that the M&M’s onesies make them so cute?

I mean, I like babies and M&Ms, but if I had a baby, I wouldn’t be running out to buy it an M&M’s onesie. I mean, I guess they are kind of cute, but what do you DO with them, besides look?

My criteria for dolls when I was little (this will be used again if I ever have a daughter) was that the doll needed to look life-like and be able to be dressed in real baby clothes. I had a Lee Middleton doll-Cute Dolls

I loved that doll-I still do. I still have her. I would say that she was my favorite childhood toy. Yes, she was very expensive for a doll. But she felt like a real baby, and I could dress her in all kinds of different outfits( she wore preemie baby clothes, and real bottles and pacifiers would fit in her mouth)-I carried her everywhere, I played with her everyday. She is no worse for the wear. I know she was worth the money, because she didn’t just sit on a shelf somewhere.

I just don’t understand the whole “sit in a box on a shelf” thing. Nearly every time I got a Barbie as a kid, some well meaning relative would say “Oh, don’t take her out of the box, she’ll be worth something someday.” My mom and I were firmly not in this camp, and every Barbie was promptly torn out of the box, dragged around, and played with. Oh sure, I gave some of them ink pen eyeliner and terrible hair cuts, but I loved playing with them.

The memories I have from playing with my toys are worth far more to me than whatever I could have sold them for. Even if they were worth a billion dollars, I wouldn’t change a thing.

5 Favorite Things (This Week Anyway) August 19, 2008

You know how Oprah has her favorite things? Well, I’m no Oprah, but I have favorite things too. If I were rich, I would buy you all some, so that you could love and appreciate them too. Here are my 10 Favorite (material) things right now.

1.  My Barely There Invisible Look Underwire Bra (style 4104) in Ice Blue.

Why:   Because I love sharing too much on the internet, I will not hesitate to tell you that once you get to a certain bra size things start….happening…an extra hook is added, and straps become wide and grandma-like. Well, for those of us that are uh, well endowed, here is your solution. This bra is pretty and feminine, but does not have froufrou bows and lace that look AWFUL underneath clothes. It also has a lack of grandma-straps. (Which are fine under some things, but if you wear a low-cut top you have bra straps hanging out of the sides of your shirt. Not a good look.) The band in the back is also wide enough that it doesn’t give you that weird back fat look.

2. Spray N’ Wash with “Resolve” Power

Why:  Not to sound like too much of a domestic diva for talking about laundry all the time (believe me, I am definitely not), but this stuff works like magic.  I tend to make a lot of messes-I am around kids a lot, I love to cook, and I LOVE outdoor things like hiking, caving, etc, and don’t mind getting a little dirty.  I had a camisole that I had dribbled tomato sauce down and didn’t catch the stain right off the bat, so it got washed without any stain stuff. This resulted in washed in tomato stains.  I sprayed some of this stuff on there, washed it again, and it looks like new. This stuff has gotten out tomato sauce, blood (it’s hard not to scratch at twenty-two mosquito bites), chocolate, and numerous other things. If you have babies or small children, you will love this stuff. And it smells pretty too.

3. Iams Kibble in the red bag (I think it is lamb and rice flavor)

Mayzie has never been a big kibble eater. She likes to eat wet food the best.  Although wet food contains everything she needs nutritionally, I think that the crunchy food is better for her teeth.  We started mixing up half a can of wet food with a big plate of kibble. Mayzie is a pretty smart dog, so she somehow figured out how to eat the wet food without actually eating all that much of the kibble.  Sometimes she would eat the kibble, and lots of times we just ended up throwing away platefuls of licked-clean kibble. We tried so many different brands, we tried giving it to her with gravy, we mixed it and mixed it, but still she managed to eat only the wet food. Finally, she came to the end of her last bag of kibble. I saw this kind in wal-mart and decided I would give it a try.  I am proud to say that Mayzie has been a member of the clean plate club since we have bought this bag.  And, the crunchy food makes her teeth look pretty and white.

3. My new Ted Baker Galaxy frames.

Why:  I’ve had lots and lots of pairs of glasses, and these are my favorites. I usually wear contacts, and only wear glasses if I am relaxing before bed, or if my eyes are tired. Not these glasses, they are so cute! They are black on top and rimless on the bottom. This is good because I have black eyebrows and my eye color is such a dark brown that it could probably be called black. Rimless glasses disappear on my face, but I didn’t like the severe look that some of the dark frames gave me. I found these and it was love at first sight. I have worn them for 2 days in a row now and gotten so many nice compliments.

4. D’s Eternity for men cologne

Why: This stuff smells sooooo good. I love the way D puts it on on date nights.  Some colognes can be overpowering and too spicy smelling. This one smells clean and masculine. Perfect.

5. My Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion

Why:  It smells good and I don’t have to keep reapplying it all day.  It even works on dry knees. You can buy a 3 pack of it at Sams.  Plus, it’s in a pump bottle, which I think makes much less of a mess.

So those are my 5 favorite things this week.

What are some of your favorite things?

Raise your hand if you just did something DUMB. *Raises Hand* August 19, 2008

So, I have been doing laundry all morning.

Good for me, right?

Actually, I don’t mind doing laundry, because all you have to do is feed the stuff into the machine, turn it on, and go about your business till it’s done.

Now I have many many clean towels, but unfortunately, they are all piled on the recliner and the end of the couch…I will fold them…someday….

Now onto my DUMB thing that I did.

I was picking up stuff to wash, and I decided that I would wash a bunch of tank tops and things that I wanted to wear. You know, those plain cotton ribbed tank tops, like Old Navy sells. I have a bunch of them, but not enough to fill up a whole washing machine, so I went around picking up more of my clothes….some shorts, tshirts, swimsuit cover-up, and a RED stretchy camisole. Into the washer they all go.

See the problem?

I hear the washer go off, and I go downstairs to put the things into the dryer. I pull out a white tank top…noting that it looks slightly pink. Another white tank top features bold pink splotches.

SHIT.

Let me just take this opportunity to tell you that I know how to do laundry. I have lived (partially) on my own for 2 years now. I know that white things + red things= pink things. But I washed these things in COLD water, and I had washed the red camisole before….so I thought it would be ok….I routinely mix up all kinds of crap in the washing machine, because I wash everything except towels and panties in cold water. I have never screwed this up. It is not that hard. Turn the washer on. Put in some detergent. Insert clothes. Shut the lid and walk away for awhile. Come back and put the clothes in the dryer. Repeat until you no longer have a 3 foot pile of dirty laundry in your bathroom.

I know that this is no big deal because yes, they are just tank tops and can be bleached back to normal, and hey, it’s not like they cost that much anyway, and again, they are just shirts.

It’s the fact that I ignored that little voice in the back of your head, you know, the one that routinely tells you things like “hey, maybe you shouldn’t eat that second piece of cake, you actually want to be able to wear those jeans again” or “hey, shouldn’t you be mopping the floors right about now? there are enough crumbs on it to feed a small country.” or “hey, why don’t you clean out your closet? i don’t think you are going to need those pants you wore when you were eleven.”

I frequently tell that little voice to shove it.

Today the little voice said “Seriously? You’re going to put those white things in with the colors? DUMBASS!”

If I Write It, You Will Come August 17, 2008

I’m feeling extra lazy today, so let’s do something a little different today.  These survey things are all the rage, so why don’t I ask some questions (don’t worry, I won’t ask anything I wouldn’t answer myself), and then you copy and paste the questions into a comment, and you answer them too? Good idea? Great, let’s get started.

*All About You*

1. What is your name?  Rachel

2.  Where were you born?  Nashville, TN

3.  What is your favorite food?  Mexican food…..yummmm

4. What is your favorite color? Aqua blue and pink.

5. What did you want to be when you grew up? A mom….and a nurse.

6. What do you do now that you are grown up? I am a currently a student, but in two years I will be a teacher. I still want to be a mom, but not for awhile.

7. How did you meet your spouse/significant other?  Well, we had been neighbors for going on 9 years….I would wave at D and say hi when I was out walking the dog, but we actually “met” in a cell phone store. I said “Aren’t you my neighbor?” (I knew exactly who he was, I had been crushing on him for around 2 years) and he said “Yeah”.  Then I came home and washed my car in a bikini ( what a bimbo, I know, but hey, I was 17) to entice him to come over and talk to me. He did. The rest is history.

8. Do you have any siblings?  Yep, I have a sister who is a senior in high school. That makes me feel old. I remember the day she was born.

9. What year did you graduate from high school? 2006.

10. What was your most embarrassing moment?  It was pretty embarrassing when D came to visit me my freshman year in college and we waited until my roommate left to have some “alone time”. She left and we locked the door….then she comes back 5 minutes later because she forgot something and found us in a uh, somewhat compromising position. Everyone was clothed though, so I guess it could have been worse. That was totally TMI. Sorry. LOL.

11.  What is your favorite thing to drink? Sweet tea. Or Diet Dr. Pepper. Or a Coke Icee.  3-way tie.

12. Can you keep a secret? Usually. I will probably tell D though. I tell him everything, even things he doesn’t want to know.

13.  Have you ever had the police called on you? Not me personally, but I have been to parties that got broken up for “disturbing the peace”.

14. Do you have a song stuck in your head right now? Yes. “Fat-Bottomed Girls” by Queen. LOVE that song.

15.  Are you a lover or a fighter? A lover…I love pretty much everyone and everything, that is until they give me a reason not to.

16. Can you forgive and forget? I forgive very easily. It’s hard to forget though.

17.  Are you a happy person? I am a VERY happy person.

18.  Who is your celebrity crush? Ken Watanabe as the chairman in “Memoirs of a Geisha”.

19. What is your favorite movie? “Little Miss Sunshine” “A Beautiful Mind” “Sabrina” and “Beauty and the Beast”

20. What is your favorite animal? Dogs by far. I love every kind of animal though, even the creepy crawly ones.

Lessons Learned From My Dog August 16, 2008

I have a dog named Mayzie-Jane. I call her Mayzie, for the most part. If you haven’t noticed already, I am quite fond of Miss Mayzie.  Yesterday I noticed something….there are a lot of things that people could learn from Mayzie.

I gave her a bath yesterday, which she hated (with a passion), but after it was over, all was forgiven after 3 cheese slices and some dog biscuits. Cheese slices to Mayzie are like cookies to humans. I know it sounds silly, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could all learn from this? If someone you love does something you don’t like, it’s ok to be mad for awhile, but if they apologize, you should forgive them.

Mayzie has an uncanny ability to tell if someone is upset or sick. If you are feeling sad, she will come sit by you until you feel better.  True story: my cousin’s wife lost a baby at birth a few years back and a few months after, they came to our house for Thanksgiving. She wasn’t crying or visibly upset, but Mayzie knew something was wrong. She sat by her with her paws on her lap. Mayzie is definitely not a dog that takes up easily with people she does not know, nor is she a lap dog, so it was really surprising for her to do this. Lesson learned: Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all pay enough attention to people we care about, enough that we could know if they were sad without them having to tell us?

Mayzie is very happy when we come home after we’ve been out. Her tail thumps wildly, she makes little happy noises, and her eyes just look flat out happy. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could show that much enthusiasm when our loves came home?

Very simple things make Mayzie happy. She likes to go for rides in the car (especially in D’s truck, where she can sit between us), she likes to go for walks, she likes it when you sit outside with her, she likes eating soft-serve ice cream cones. All of these are very simple pleasures. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all enjoy the simple things in life? Instead of worrying about where our next mega-vacation was going to take place, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just sit on our own front porches and watch the clouds go by?

I could go on all day with things I’ve learned from Mayzie (such as, yes, your neighbors will be mad at you if you steal their newspaper and then tear it to shreds), so I’ll wrap this up.

But isn’t it funny that I learned about being a better person from a dog?

Examining this plant is fascinating!

Up and At Em August 15, 2008

Today was the morning for my follow up appointment about the ovarian cyst I had earlier. (Everything is resolving itself, and I am feeling MUCH better.)

I had decided to take the early appointment, just so I could get it over with and not have to spend the whole day waiting around to go.

This forced me to get up MUCH MUCH earlier than usual. I used to get up at 6:00 everyday, but since I’ve started college, I’ve become a much later riser. I usually don’t get up until well, about 9:00-hey it’s summer. School starts back soon and I’ll have to get up a lot earlier than that, so don’t be too jealous.

I discovered that getting up early  has much of the same effect as coming in at  the same time from a long night out. Both leave me feeling disoriented, vaguely nauseated, and willing to lie down on any horizontal surface. This morning as I stumbled down the stairs, I cast a wistful glance at my dog’s bed. She moved so that she was entirely sprawled out on it, looking at me like “Don’t even think about it.” I shuffled into the kitchen, popped a bagel-ful into the microwave, and poured myself a nice big glass of diet dr. pepper. Hey, a girl has to  wake up somehow.  (I promise I don’t usually drink coke for breakfast.)  I got my bagel-ful out of the microwave, and tore into it much like those carcass eating lions you see on animal planet.  I stared at a newspaper for awhile, not really reading it, then I went upstairs to get dressed.  After I managed to clothe myself and smear on some make-up, I was off.

Sort of.

There was a wreck probably less than a mile from our town’s on-ramp. I sat in traffic for 30 minutes, with the windows down, serenading all those who were (un?)fortunate enough to be sitting near me. I sang classics like “Walk This Way”, and a new favorite “Picture To Burn” (which seems to eerily chronicle every past relationship I have had-”So go on and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy, I’ll tell mine you’re gay.”)  I wished that I could talk to D to pass the time, but he was in bed snoozing after a long hard night at work. I’m sure the people around me wished that I could call someone too.

Well, they got the wreck cleared up enough for people to drive around it (wrecks make me SO nervous, I hope whoever was involved is ok) and I made good time getting downtown.

The traffic wasn’t really that bad downtown, with the exception of somebody in a van that would NOT let me over. I hate that. And I could tell that they were doing it on purpose, I would speed up to pass them, they would speed up so I couldn’t, I would slow down, they would slow down- you get the picture.

And then, just as I was getting ready to turn into the hospital parking lot, some guy flipped me off! I really have no idea why. He was crossing the street, but he was on the OPPOSITE side of the street, and I couldn’t really stop the car in the MIDDLE OF DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC.  This caused me to want to roll down the window and yell, but it really isn’t lady-like to yell “OH YEAH? WELL FUCK YOU TOO!”  out of a car window. So I just returned the favor and pulled into the parking lot.

Everything after that went very smoothly. I got good news from the doctor, and then I had a smooth trip home.  Then I had to go to wal-mart (for like the fourth time this week, I am a terrible planner) to buy kibble and hair conditioner. I threw in a new collar and some doggie treats too, because someone is getting a b-a-t-h very very soon, and will expect a treat for the indignity of having to stand outside to be rinsed with the hose.