The One with the Second Workout

I don't have any pictures or anything, but I actually did my second run-walk on Wednesday. . .it was surprisingly successful (especially in comparison to my first day.)

D gave me this. . .weird stretchy workout shirt to wear, and seeing as to how it was long-sleeved, I thought I would die of heat, but as it turns out, the thing has a weird way of keeping you cool.

Did my blood sugar and it was 166.  Higher than 150, so I figured I was good to go.  This time, I unhooked my insulin pump entirely, to see what would happen.  With my weird stretchy shirt and shorts and hair in a clip that caused it to be inexplicably big, I looked like some kind of deranged Workout Jeannie.

I decided to go to the gym this time to avoid both the heat and the July 4th traffic.  As an interesting side note, I passed a bunch of frat boy looking people in the pool area, and this one guy was fighting with his bikini-clad bleach blonde girlfriend about something.  She screamed at him, "You NEVER LISTEN to WHAT I'M SAYING!"  And the guy, awesomely, replied, "Do YOU ever listen to what you're saying?"

He might have been a tool, but at least he was a quippy tool.

(Another side note:  I was looking in Google Images for a picture to go along with "quippy tool" and a picture of Ben Affleck showed up.)

I got on the treadmill and started off at a run.  It was easier this time, partially probably because I'd sort-of done it on Monday and partially because I was on a treadmill.  Got through my first 4 60-90's and then stopped for a water break.  The last 60-90 was a special kind of torture, but I made it through the entire thing with little incident.

Got home and did my blood sugar.  59.  What the what?

(Later, D was like, "You didn't eat anything before you went, did you?"  I hadn't, and he told me that what's happening is that I'm stimulating all kinds of work-out-type processes internally (his explanation was a lot less vague and a lot more concise) and so my glycogen (maybe?) was being eaten up while I ran.  Makes sense.)

So NEXT time, I'll eat something beforehand and maybe leave my pump on.

For the 4th of July, we went to the top floor of my office building and watched fireworks from there.  It was a great view, and also allowed us to see several fireworks shows happening miles away.  Good times.

Day 2 of Week 1 down:  22 workouts to go to complete the 8 weeks.

The One With the 12 Library Days of Christmas

What? It's been since September since I've written anything? Anything at all?

Yeah, I know.

But what better time than that which I am forced to work on Christmas Eve to update?

I don't even really have a good update, but I've been composing the 12 Library Days of Christmas in my head all day, and I was going to put it on Twitter, but then I decided I could illustrate it and everything here. Plus, I could make empty promises about how I swear I'm going to write more in the coming year and I could talk about how, one of these days, I'll tell you all about my new job, beginning in January, and the fact that I got married in November.

But I digress.

The 12 Days of Library Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Working on Christmas Eve

On the second day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Two massive fines

. . .and working on Christmas Eve

On the third day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Three screaming kids

. . .two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the fourth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Four fighting thugs

. . .three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the fifth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Fiiiive un-su-per-vised teens

. . .four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the sixth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Six drunks a-snoring

. . .fiiiiive un-supervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the seventh day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Seven stolen laptops

. . .six drunks a-snoring, fiiiiiive un-supervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the eighth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Eight nasty phone calls

. . .seven stolen laptops, six drunks a-snoring, fiiiiiive un-supervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the ninth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Nine lost USB drives

. . .eight nasty phone calls, seven stolen laptops, six drunks a-snoring, fiiiiiive unsupervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the tenth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Ten lying liars

. . .nine lost USB drives, eight nasty phone calls, seven stolen laptops, six drunks a-snoring, fiiiiive unsupervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Eleven ringing cellphones

. . .ten lying liars, nine lost USB drives, eight nasty phone calls, seven stolen laptops, six drunks a-snoring, fiiiiiive unsupervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my patrons gave to me. . .

Twelve inane questions

. . .eleven ringing cellphones, ten lying liars, nine lost USB drives, eight nasty phone calls, seven stolen laptops, six drunks a-snoring, fiiiiiiiive unsupervised teens, four fighting thugs, three screaming kids, two massive fines, and working on Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas and happy assorted other holidays to whatever readers I have left. I hope your presents are awesome, your carols are on-key, and your gingerbread houses are especially gingerbready.

Until I get my act together to write with more frequency. . .I bid you adieu and farewell. Merry Christmas, y'all!

The One With an Unintended Hiatus

Merry Christmas! 12 days late

Happy New Year! almost a week late

Wow. I am way, way behind. I'm happy to see that my 21 people are still here and haven't yet abandoned me for being so incredibly remiss. Thanks, guys!

I also want to thank the people who let me know that they would, in fact, eat something from someone they didn't know. I didn't have enough people in the time before Christmas actually rolled around, so I'll keep it in mind in case I want to do some kind of giveaway in the future.

I'd like to "formally" announce my other blog, my new-ish food blog. I actually (with the help of D) started it back in December, but kind of dropped the ball, as I did with this one, but I will be doing my absolute best to keep it updated and awesome, so I can move on, eventually, to my intended full-time food career. You can check it out at www.shelikestobake.com. Once I get into the swing of things, it'll be updated more often. I promise.

D gave me a video recorder for Christmas for the express reason of getting further into video blogging. I took some video of the ridiculous amount of snow that we got, but I'm going to have to figure out a way to remove the audio before I put it up. Because I was rambling like an idiot moreso than usual and no one wants to hear that. I also did a video blog from downtown Raleigh during the New Year's Eve celebration, so I'll put that up too, in the future. (By "in the future" I mean "as soon as D has time to help me, because I am fairly technologically illiterate.)

In other news, I ran a mile yesterday on the treadmill. This wasn't a New Year's resolution. I go to the gym occasionally, and yesterday I was feeling particularly sloth-like.

via hyperbole and a half

So I'm running along, feeling like I may or may not die while a skinny Asian girl runs along beside me like it's NOTHING and "Down Home with the Neelys" plays on the TV. I'd like to make it a mile. I'm gunning for a mile. At .80, I feeling like I'm just going to keel over. I think, no, Sarah, you've baked and subsequently eaten SO MUCH these past few weeks, you are going to RUN THIS DAMN MILE.

For Christmas, my brother gave me an iTunes gift card, and I've downloaded a few new songs onto my iPod as a result. One of these songs gave me the wherewithal to get through that mile. It was this one:

Say what you will about her, but this song is awesome.

I've got more stories to tell, but I'll save them for later, possibly preventing another month-long hiatus.

The One With 5 Things I Do Not Understand

1. Why anyone gives two flips what Kathy Griffin says. (Maybe I should change this to "Why Kathy Griffin is famous in the first place.")

2. Why, the day after Elizabeth Edwards dies, on Yahoo!'s "Trending Now" sidebar, "Cancer treatment" is currently number 7, but "Ashlee Simpson" is number 1. Apparently, Ashlee is either A) "urging her sister, Jessica, to start a family" or B) "planning to have another baby to get some attention."

This woman (who I, actually, personally, didn't have a hugely high opinion of, but it always sucks a big one when someone can't beat cancer) who is known for being a successful lawyer, a successful advocate, a not-so-successful politician's wife, and the writer of two widely read books, dies after a long, grueling battle with cancer, and the number one trending topic on this site is the Simpson sisters and their respective uteruses. (Uterri?)

3. Why shows like "Wonderfalls" are yanked after one season, but shows like "Two and a Half Men," which has its moments but is generally sophomoric humor, soldier on.

4. Why people think I believe them when they tell me either that they're going to pay their fines next time they're in the library, or how they're 100% certain they returned that book that's been missing since 2006.

5. Why Christmas is almost here, and I have no money to buy anyone anything. (This one, I may actually be able to answer. It's got something to do with working only one part-time job. A job I love, by the way, but still only a part-time one.)

The One Where I Have a French Friday Disaster

Sorry I've been ignoring you. I kind of feel like one of those parents who go on business trips all the time and then bring back lots of little trinkets and sometimes food to make up for the fact that they just Were Not There.

Unfortunately, I do not have anything with which to bribe you and to apologize for the fact that I've been a lax parent blogger, but I can update you on things that have been going on.

I attempted to make my FFwD recipe for my mom's side of the family's Thanksgiving, which is held the Sunday before Real Thanksgiving.

I've had a few recipe disasters in my day, but none like this one.

I had everything ready. My greased casserole dish held sliced potatoes (all sliced with my new-to-me Cuisinart, which, I'm convinced, could chop ANYTHING), fresh-ish herbs, garlic-infused cream, and a couple of other things. It was lovely.

I did what Dorie told me to do, and that is to put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put the casserole dish on top of that, just in case anything spilled. If something spilled, you don't want it going into the bottom of your oven.

Indeed.

The thing about parchment paper is, NOTHING sticks to it. When I made my parents a moose cake for their anniversary, and I tried to tape parchment paper to an outline of moose antlers so I could use melted chocolate to fashion the antlers, the tape wouldn't even stick to it.

Keep this in mind.

So I'm in a hurry when I'm putting this thing in the oven. I'm in a hurry because we have to leave in 45 minutes, and this stuff needs to bake for an hour. 15 minutes won't make THAT much of a difference, was my rationale.

For whatever reason, I chose to pick up this parchment paper-lined cookie sheet containing my potato thing with one hand. Now, when you pick up a rectangular pan with one hand, it's going to tilt a little to the other side where you (for whatever reason) have no hand. This happened. What also happened, thanks to the parchment paper, was that as I went to put the thing in the oven, the entire dish slid off the sheet and exploded at the bottom of my oven.

The dish didn't explode (thanks, Pyrex!) but everything in it did. It was a fountain of potato, cheese, and garlic-infused cream. So I cursed, grabbed the glass dish out of the bottom of the oven, turned off the oven and then did what any good chef would do.

I freaked out and cried.

D was in the kitchen when all of this was going on, so when I started freaking out, saying, "What do I do? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!", he was all, "Just leave. I'll take care of it." I tried for another second to figure out how to fix it, and he was all, "Sarah. Leave."

So I did. I went into the bedroom and cried some more. And then I thought, "I should take pictures of what's going on so I can write about it!" But then I thought that taking pictures while D was fixing my epic, epic error might be considered bad form. So I did not.

Needless to say, this dish did not go to Thanksgiving with us. An apple cake did, though.

This was not the end of the potatoes, though.

D somehow saved a lot of the ingredients in my erstwhile potato dish. They sat in the fridge for a while, and then, the other day, I decided to give it another go.

Rather than carefully infusing the new cream with garlic, I whisked it with onion powder. The recipe said to fill the cream to the edge, and if there wasn't enough, to add milk. I did just that. Then into the oven it went.

This is what happened:

. . .um?

I should note that there were some other potatoes in the dish (it didn't bake as empty as it looks), but I'd taken them out to try them, before discovering the sea of cream in which these things were swimming.

Maybe it's because the potatoes sat in the fridge for a while. Maybe it was the milk. Maybe it was the cream. I don't really know. What I do know is that this dish ended up being an epic fail.

I didn't do the last week of November's FFwD (I forgot, plus we were out of town), but hopefully, I'll catch up soon. I also have other things to write about, but I've been overwhelmed with my new Web site project, I've just kind of shut down, bloggily. I'll get it all figured out one of these days.

And, just so you don't think I'm a total failure, I'll show you my blueberry-cranberry pie I invented:

A little on the sweet side, but D said it was "the best berry pie [he'd] ever had." And he's got Southern grandmas, so I think that's saying something.

If you wonder -- My new blog/Web site venture is going to be baking-centric, so while I'll still be talking about non-baking food here, when the spirit moves me, my baking stuff will be moved to its own site shortly. I'll be sure to post the address for that for those who are interested.

The One Where Craigslist Creeps Me Out

Last night, D and I were looking through the personal ads on craigslist. Not looking for anything in particular, just checking out the depravity that takes place online.

And what we found was amazing.

One that caught my attention was someone (a dude) who was looking for a woman who wanted. . .oral attention on the way home from work. He noted the highway he lived by, and said that if anyone (he specified people in relationships) wanted some "oral attention" on their way home from work, he would be more than happy to oblige.

. . .what?

Then there were plenty of people who wanted random hookups (those are to be expected), relationships (also expected), and one guy who was dying to get it on with a transgender person.

. . .WHAT?

I mean, I get that people like sex. I get that some people like a lot of sex with a lot of different people. But it's like. . .why specify that you want someone in a relationship? Why look for something when YOU are in a relationship? There was one that specified that the guy was in a relationship, and that he wanted a woman who was also in a relationship.

How about (and here's a crazy thought) you. . .have sex with the person you're in a relationship with? Even when I found myself in the Other Woman position (yeah, yeah. I know.), there was no sex. Was not a thing. I don't understand the people who go out and that's specifically what they're looking for: sex (or. . .whatever) with NOT the person they're seeing.

All of this doesn't even include how skeezy I find it to troll for sex online, even when you're single. Sure, when you're single, you can do whatever you want, but. . .why would you want to do random people? Not having had a giant number of sexual partners (Hint: That number is fewer than 2), maybe I just don't understand the allure. But I feel like posting pictures of your junk online is just gross. If you have to find someone online, why not try a legit dating Web site? (There was an ad for one on a Web site I visit called PlentyOfFish.com. See? Cute name AND I'm guessing there are no photos of naked junk. Although, to be fair, when all written out with no capital letters, it looks like the name of the site is Plenty Offish, which doesn't make any sense at all.)

What took the proverbial cake, though, was a listing D found. Apparently, a middle-aged homosexual gentleman had received. . .oral stimulation from a random, unknown 20-ish homosexual gentleman. He didn't know his name or anything else (CREE-PY!). His main concern was that his. . .junkular piercing (a sentimental gift of some kind) had gone missing, and the dude was afraid that the unknown young man had swallowed it. He wanted it back. Understandably. He even helpfully included a picture of what the ring looked like, in case the younger dude was crapping out several genital piercings and needed to know specifically which one this guy was looking for. Luckily, it was a generic stock photo of said piercing and not a photo in which the ring was. . .attached to anything.

My first question here, I guess, would be why in the name of all that is holy would you give something like that as a gift? WHO gave him this gift? Possible suspects:

1. Friend, as a gag gift;

2. Former Lover, not as a gag gift;

3. Supportive Grandmother

I really don't know. But I feel like, in this situation, rather than taking it to craigslist, the guy should call Grandma and fess up.

"Hey, Grams, it's Kris. Yeah, things are going fine. Work's good. What's that? Oh, yeah, Mom's doing well. I'll tell her to call you. Listen! The PA you got me for Christmas got swallowed by some random dude. . .I know, right? You'd think he would have noticed. No, I met him at a bar. Yeah. You think you could send me a new one for my birthday? Excellent. Thanks! See you at Thanksgiving! Give Snuffles a kiss for me!"

Snuffles, obviously, is Grandma's cockapoo. Ironically.

So there's that. How I Spent My Tuesday Night.

Synopsis: Craigslist is a little sketchy.

The One Where Christmas is in May

Happy Tuesday everyone. I've spent the last little while feeding my Google Reader obsession (I'm up to somewhere between 90 and 95 blogs I follow now. . .) and now it's time for a Christmas Update.

. . . . . . .

What?

"But Sarah!" you say. "It's May!"

True. My family, for whatever reason, doesn't do Christmas ON Christmas anymore. (We don't do Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving either.) We were going to have it in January, but then my cousin (the one I mentioned was in the car wreck?) wouldn't have been able to make it. So the whole family, plus a couple of cousins from Massachusettes, got together at my uncle's house for barbecue and Yankee Swap.

(I didn't take any of the following pictures, FYI, except for the one of the dessert. They were either taken by my uncle, my aunt, or my SDad. Or possibly Mom, I'm not sure.)

Here's John, my little cousin who was in the car accident. He's doing a LOT better, even though he's not able to really communicate that well, or move around on his own. That sounds really bad, but trust me. MUCH better than before.My brother and sister looking. . .angry? Gangsta? I'm not sure about this one.Then there's my mother and HER siblings behaving. . .as siblings do.

And, of course, the dessert. (Crappy quality thanks to it being a camera phone photo.This is a chocolate peanut butter trifle involving chocolate cake (it was supposed to be brownies, but I didn't have the time to make them), vanilla pudding, peanut butter, and Reeses Cups. Yum. I also made deviled eggs, but didn't take a picture. (And, by the way, my sister, who's 18, said they were "Legit, the best deviled eggs she'd ever had." This is the second time she's said I made the best (whatever) she's ever had, and I take that as high, HIGH praise coming from a teenager.

Yankee Swap went. . .better than expected. I actually HATE the whole concept of YS. For the uninitiated, Yankee Swap means everyone who's playing brings a present, and they're put in a pile. Then everyone draws numbers. The first person picks a present and opens it. The second person can either open a new present or steal the present from the first person. And so on and so forth.

Makes me crazy. My OCD way of things needing to be a certain way doesn't jive with this, because if something is mine, if it's given to me, then it's MINE. This isn't to say I'm selfish. . .it's not that I want everything. It's that if something's mine, it belongs to me. I'll share it, but it goes home with me.

So, needless to say, it's a very, very frustrating game for me. I'll play it, but it's frustrating. I ended up with this really, really ugly chicken (I'll have to put a picture of this thing up. It's UGLY. And a leopard-print Snuggie.

Excellent.

D got this foam thing to put on the wall that says (I think) BAM! It's like the sound effects drawn in old comic books? It's kind of awesome. (That does not mean, however, that when he started to put it on the wall right beside the front door, I didn't go, "Um, how about over here?" and put it on the wall beside the bathroom around the corner. It's cute and kitschy and I like it, but not in the main foyer of my living area.

So that was Christmas. Sounds like we'll be doing it in May from here on out.

The One With Rosemary's Baby

I'm out of pineapple upside down cake. It's kind of a tragedy, but D and I finished off the last of it today. I was waiting until it was gone before making anything else, so that's a good thing, but now I have to actually come up with something to make. . .I bought this glass cake-holding thing (that, incidentally and when turned upside down, doubles as a punch bowl) and the pineapple cake has been in that since I made it, but now it's sadly empty.

I'm thinking some kind of layer cake. I've never made a layer cake, and I discovered within the last week that I actually own two cake pans. Hence, layers.

I don't honestly have anything interesting to talk about currently. Tomorrow's Easter, and we all know what that means. Monday will have half-off Easter candy! (Which, actually, makes me sad, because I just realized right now that I'll be at work. Maybe I can run to Target during lunch or something.)

Mass in the morning. Easter luncheon. I want to make a dessert to bring with us, but Dad usually does that, and I don't want to cause dessert overload.

I did find, and I may use half-priced Peeps to make these on Monday, these lollipop-looking things, which basically consist of Peeps covered in chocolate (either milk or white) and put on a lollipop stick. They sounded intriguing.

I'm floundering right now. I want to have something interesting to blog about, another one of my well-known rants about something or other, but it's just not in me today.

Except.

I read "Rosemary's Baby" today, and I wish I could have those hours of my life back. The beginning of the story was inoffensive enough, but then it got boring and then it got weird. I feel like other books have done better at the "building suspense" and then at the "surprise ending." I finished it, and was like, ". . . . .???" And then I read the excerpt at the end for the sequel (written, like, 30 years after the fact), and it just got more and more ridiculous.

I'm all about books about children being possessed by demons or being demons or whatever (See: "Bless the Child"), but this one just didn't do it for me. If you haven't read it or seen the movie, ignore this next bit: Rosemary ends up giving birth to Satan's son.

Yeah.

Complete with a tail and horns.

Yeah.

I was like, really? REALLY?

In other news, there is now cable (sort of) and Internet in the apartment. I say "sort of" because there are the most basic of channels. It WILL allow me to get back to Grey's Anatomy (not that I've missed it too much. . .it kind of sucks this season) but I'm missing the all-important Food Network, which I'm hoping to work up to one day. There are two home shopping channels, and at least one Spanish channel as well. And this morning, I got to watch infomercials for things I didn't even know I needed, but clearly, that I do, such as this. . .device that cooks all kind of meats and melts the fat RIGHT OFF. I wish I could remember what the thing was called, so I could Google a picture of it and put it on here. Because it's awesome.

The One With the Monkey Stomp

Another entry! Another entry. . .I was about to say, "Two entries in one month!!" . . .but then I realized today's April 1st. Whoops. April Fool's Day on me. Fail.

Got a new temp assignment that I'm going to start Monday-ish. Receptionisting, data entering, etc. Not sure how long it's going to last, but it's money. That's the important thing.

D and I are at this coffee shop currently, and while I got my usual Earl Grey tea, he got something called a Monkey Stomp. The guy behind the counter said it was created by a customer, and it consists of 4 espresso shots and 4 shots of thick chocolate, with whipped. . .milk, I guess. It's called a Monkey Stomp (again, according to guy behind the counter) because it makes it feel like Donkey Kong is jumping up and down on your head. Why this is something you'd want to experience, I'm not sure, but it actually is pretty tasty. The best part about it, though, is the drawing of the monkey in the milky froth stuff.

So my new career choice is something involving food. I'd gone to check out a culinary school around here recently, but I'm thinking that adding $50k to my debt is not so much something I want to do at this point in time. But you know, if I don't want to work for a restaurant, it wouldn't be that hard to get started via word of mouth. (Note: I don't mean it would be easy at all, but I'm saying it would be easier to do that than to go to a restaurant and be like, "Hey, hire me. I'm awesome."

D suggested I do something bake-y. Like. . .selling bake type foods. I got several (random) cookie cutters I bought off of Cousin C at her yard sale, so cookies could be a thing. Plus, bread, cakes, pies. . .all that. I think that would be fun. . .plus, it's something I legitimately like doing, whereas I'm kind of not thrilled about the idea of all things literary and editorial at the moment. I have no inspiration, no real desire to do any of the things I've been doing for the last. . .lifetime anymore, so maybe it's just time to try something new. I'm going to have to figure out how to even get started doing something like that, but I can figure all that out while I'm working at this new place.

Yesterday, I didn't have a whole lot going on, so I made a pineapple upside down cake (which I'd never made before, and I did not realize how labor-intensive these things are), and I also threw in a loaf of banana bread. My original intent here was because I thought the bread only had to bake for half an hour, while the cake had to bake for 45 minutes. I was going to let the cake go for 15 minutes, then throw in the bread. Unfortunately, I didn't read it properly, and the 30 minutes was for making muffins with the batter. Regardless, everything got made, and it was awesome.

Easter will consist of a freaky-early Mass, followed by lunch at the grandmother's. If you're wondering.

Fin.

The One With Profanity and Cupcakes

I'm going to share with you a commercial that, inexplicably, makes me laugh like a maniac. There's one particular part. . .the rest isn't terribly funny, but the kid with the sousaphone makes me laugh. Maniacally. He shows up around the :10 mark.




That kid makes me laugh. So. Hard. What irritates me, though, is the chick that holds up the appendages and says something about not spending, "one of these and one of these. . .an arm and a leg." C'mon, T-mobile. . .you give your potential customers no credit. I think that bit would have been hilarious if she hadn't clarified. The guy buying from "Schnitzel and Things" is pretty funny, too.

Not a lot to report, really. Still working at the same place. People still think it's funny when I tell them I work in the Accounting Department. (I get it. I'm bad at math. It's irony. Get over it.) I kept track of the number of times The Blonde One used profanity on Friday. . .my tally sheet isn't right in front of me, but I'm pretty sure it was 15 uses of the F-word, 3 uses of the MF-word, and 20-something various other obscenities. D and I (and by "D and I," I mean "D") figured out that, broken down, it came out to one obscenity every 5 minutes and 35 seconds. . .or something ridiculous like that. 5 minutes and something. That seems. . .vaguely unprofessional.

So, needless to say, I'm still looking for a full-time job. I need to call this woman who e-mailed me about a position at a local magazine, but, unfortunately, it's not a full-time job that pays. . .anything. I feel like, though, if I want to do something in that industry at all, I need to start over from scratch. Which sucks, but it's kind of necessary. I've been out of full-time, permanent work for almost a year now (it'll be a year in. . .10 days. Wow.) and I'm just wanting to do something I like. Preferably something not profanity-laden.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against profanity as a rule. I'm a fan, actually. I don't care about the people who are like, "Profanity is for unintelligent people who have no other words to use and nothing better to say." Well, no. I'm relatively intelligent. I have a lot of words in my arsenal. Sometimes, it's just necessary. And it feels good. But like all good things, it should be used in moderation. You wouldn't sit down and drink a bottle of whisky, would you? (Maybe you would. You shouldn't.) My point is, there's a line, and The Blonde One crosses it on a daily basis, and I'm kind of surprised she still has a job.

So the anniversary of my firing is coming up, and Valentine's Day is also coming up. At least Valentine's Day comes with cheap candy the day after. I feel like cupcakes should be a thing that happens, to commemorate. Also, D's and my relationshipiversary is in February. I don't actually know how to do that. . .anniversaries for things when you're not married. My mom and SDad do anniversaries like. . .the anniversary of the first time he called her at work and the anniversary of the time she drove 45 minutes to bring him chocolate chip muffins she'd baked. (Seriously.) They also do the anniversary of their first date. It was 10 years ago this year (February, incidentally, I think.) and I don't know if they still do this, but they used to wear the same outfits and go to the same restaurant. (Red Lobster, if I'm not mistaken.)

And all that came from. . .cupcakes. February is a hopping month, apparently, and I think cupcakes are probably a thing that needs to happen. Funfetti, with the good icing, not the crap they're trying to pass off as Funfetti icing these days. (If you're wondering, the correct Funfetti icing, more commonly called "Rainbow Chip" is the vanilla-looking one that has. . .rainbow chips in it. Don't even believe anyone when they try to tell you that the vanilla icing with the sealed packet of oblong jimmies, or circular jimmies on top is a Funfetti icing. They are lying to you and should be slapped.

Unacceptable.

The One With Stuff About Christmas

Back again after holiday craziness.

Had a lovely Christmas Eve/Day/Etc. Received mostly gifts of the monetary-type (although my sister, K, gave me this cool framed/illustrated thing with the lyrics of Something Corporate's "I Woke Up in a Car," which was pretty badass.) M and J also gave me a year's worth of AAA. Whoo! That came in handy when I (stupidly) left the air running without the engine on (or something. . .D explained to me what had happened, and I'm still not convinced I know what the deal was.) A nice guy in a truck came out to my (then) place of work and jump started it for me. I probably could have seen if someone in the office had jumper cables, but, for one, the people there weren't terribly nice, two, I don't know how to USE jumper cables, and three, I mean, I have to get my AAA money's worth, right?
The job I'm in now (I don't know if I've actually written since starting here) is with a company I worked with before and swore I'd never work with again. But, obviously, that was lies. Because I'm here. And I'm doing. . .actually, I'm not certain what it is I'm supposed to be doing. I'm working in the credits and collections department, and I've had a couple of projects I've completed, but generally, people don't seem to know what to do with me. Gives me time to surf the Internet for. . .whatever. Today it was recipes and things to add to my Google Reader.

I got the sweetest Christmas card from K (not sister K. Pennsylvania K. PK.) that may or may not have made me tear up a little. (It did.) That was the only Christmas card I got this year (except the one from my aunt), so that was cool. I did this thing one year where I was part of a card exchange with this group on a message board I used to frequent. . .frequently. That was my first Christmas away from home after college, and I got, like, 25 cards from people I'd never met. It was awesome. I miss that board occasionally (after all, it's where I met PK), but it's kind of turned boring. At least, it had turned boring the last time I was there, which was quite a while ago.

I know I haven't put a lot of commentary into wedding planning, but that's because I haven't really been. . .planning our wedding. It's a money thing, still, so I'm kind of hesitant to try starting anything, as most things require a deposit, and deposits, I don't have. However, there's apparently going to be some kind of bridal expo here not this-coming, but next weekend, and I'm dragging D along to that. (No, that's a lie. He asked if he could go. Because he's ideal like that.) I've never been to anything like that before, and I'm actually a little wary (because I know how these Bridezilla types can get) but it seems like something someone who's getting married is supposed to do.

It's about lunch time (in 13 minutes) and I'm DYING, because The Blonde One went downstairs and bought a steak and cheese sandwich that smells so good, it makes me want to bat her over the head and take it. But I'm going to Dad's house for soup. Which is. . .not nearly as good, but much less expensive.

Also, my cousin, G, and her husband and son were in a really bad car accident on Christmas. J (the son) has had surgeries and things since then, and it sounds like it's really touch-and-go. If you do the praying thing, or if you do the keeping people in your thoughts thing, this would be a good time to do it. Updates are here: http://blueframephotography.wordpress.com/

John is 3, I believe. It's sounded like there have been a lot of things that have come together despite the big-picture accident, so despite the accident and injuries themselves, there's been a little bit of luck there. I can't even imagine. Most of you know that I was in a car accident back in May, and I completely walked away from it. Even with that, I'm still fairly terrified of being in a car, so I. . .like I said, I can't imagine. So keep them in your thoughts, if you would. And I know you will. Because you all rock.

The One Where My Job Ends Abruptly

It's been a while, yeah. I'm glad I gave up on the 100-days concept (that, I swear, I will not reference again), because I'd be failing tragically.

The awesome job I had that was supposed to take me through the beginning of the year? Gone. Apparently, the other guy I was working with and I finished everything too quickly, and there's no more work. It lasted 3 weeks.

My temp place has a couple days of receptionistism set up for me next week, but that's it for now. I interviewed with another staffing place last week, and they were going to call me to set up an interview with the actual person doing the hiring this week, but I haven't heard from them. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that that's not particularly good news.

I started writing today. Maybe, just maybe, I can push through it and actually finish something.

D and I had dinner with my parents, my sister, and my sister's friend last night that culminated in game-playing. What should be noted here is that D and I are terrible at the game Cranium. Terrible. This is the second time we've played together, and the second time we've lost. (Together.) I'm not sure what it is, but it's just not our forte. He won a round of Pit, and someone or other won the game of Scategories. I won nothing. I should go home tonight and play Life. Maybe I'll win.

Christmas is coming up, and exactly none of you will be surprised to know I haven't bought anyone anything yet. I should probably do that this week, since Christmas is. . .next week.

I'm feeling very stuck right now. There's nothing really going on in my life, and I'm feeling quite suspended animation at the moment. I've kind of put a halt on any wedding planning because. . .well, there's no money to use with which to plan. That seems to be a necessity, from what I understand, and I don't think I can steal a cake. I've been saying I'm going to do the dishes for the last three days and they're still sitting in the sink.

I think what it is here is that when I don't have a job, when I don't have anything to do, I feel pretty useless. And I don't. Have anything to do, I mean.

So that's a short update. Don't have a lot to say, but I felt like I was neglecting the 1.2 people who read what I have to say.

The One Where I Pretend I'm a Housewife

I failed again in my 100 (105) day quest again, so I'm not going to even try for that any more. I'm just going to say that I'm going to attempt to do this every day, but I'm not going to put the added pressure on it any more. Because I really feel kind of like a failure.

Today was a day of practicing for future days of housewivery. Not that I'm planning on BEING a housewife, but if I were, today was a good day of practice. D started a temp assignment today, and mine doesn't start until Monday, so I had a lot of time on my hands. In that time, I did laundry, washed dishes, got some groceries, and did all the other things women who stay at home are (I guess) expected to do. He was supposed to be back at 2:30-ish, and I was going to have lunch ready, but then it turns out they had him stay later, so he'll be here monentarily. I was, admittedly, relatively ticked off about the change in plan, since I had busted my ass to get everything finished in time to make my Lunch of Awesome (which included chicken, pitas, hummus, and fruit), but I couldn't be too irritated, since it wasn't his fault.

My Lunch of Awesome will have to be either tonight's Dinner of Awesome (which, maybe not so much, since it sounds like he's bringing food home from work from. . .something. A party? I don't know.) or tomorrow's Lunch of Awesome.

Tomorrow night, my sister, K, D, and I are going to take mine and K's grandmother out for dinner, because neither of us are going to be able to make it for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm going to be up with D's family (I may have mentioned this already) and K is going to be at the beach. So we're going for a visit, and so my grandmother can meet D. I think Golden Corral is on the agenda (my grandmother said she would like either that or Chinese, and I'm kind of over Chinese right now.) Plus, I like Golden Corral, so it's a win-win.

Then, of course, Sunday is T-Day.

Here's a question. I've never co-existed as a part of a legitimate couple, where both of us are in the same place. So. . .what do people do on the weekends? Like, Friday night? I really have no idea. We have plans Saturday and Sunday, but what do couple-type people do on the weekends? I really have no idea.

Finally, I had the TV on in the background today, and Ellen's show was on. . .she had Robert Pattinson on the show, and I have to say that he's not HIDEOUSLY unattractive when he's not made up like a vampire. He seems almost charming, or something like it. But.

The fans.

He came on the set, and they screamed. . .and screamed. . .and screamed. . .and dear GOD, it was entirely too much. I had to mute the TV. Maybe it's not Twilight I hate so much as the fans of Twilight I hate.

(No. The books still suck. But the fans. . .)

The One With More About the Photo Shoot

I failed for a second time. I completely forgot to update yesterday, and as I was falling asleep, I was like. . .you know, I COULD update, but it's after midnight, and it wouldn't count anyway, so I'll just take the second of my 5 free days. I need to do better, because I only have 3 free days left.

C finished our engagement photos and I am. . .I don't even know what to say about them. They're amazing. She and F perfectly captured D and I as a couple, and I couldn't not have asked for better pictures. Plus, we had fun doing them! So it's a win-win-(win) all the way around. They're under a password protection on C and F's Web site, so if you are just dying to see them, I can tell you how to get into it. Suffice it to say, they're great, and I am really (really) excited.

Speaking of excited, I got the job I interviewed for yesterday. It's a temp job, until the beginning of the year (so, like, 6-8 weeks?) but I'm still pretty jazzed about it. It's with a company that is involved in the publishing industry, so it helped that I had a background in publishing already. Apparently, the woman that interviewed me really liked me, so that was. . .you know, a plus. Being liked is a plus.

D is in town now for. . .however long. We are currently camped out at an extended stay (that reminds me of a college dorm. . .which is not a bad thing). After the week is out, we'll figure out what to do from there. . .we don't have a definite plan as of right this second, but as far as employment goes, I think it looks promising for both of us. (Fingers crossed).

(Have I mentioned in the last 30 seconds how much I loved the photos? D's beside me, still looking them over, and I look at them every now and again and am thrilled. Thrilled!)

"Thanksgiving" is on Sunday. . .the one where Mom's side of the family gathers? I'm still preparing (mentally, you see) for introducing D to the extended family. Any significant others of my cousins that have been brought into the fray have ultimately been able to engrain themselves into the madness that is my family, but. . .we'll see how that goes.

And, I swear this is the last time I'm going to mention how much I love these pictures, but there's this one. . .I'm looking at the camera, and D is looking at me. . .I've got like this death grip on his tie. It's one of my favorites, and I think C mentioned she really liked it as well.

D's take on it? His words are far preferable to mine: "You look like, 'I'm going to have him tonight. I'm going to make him my love slave.'"

So there you go.

The One With the Photo Shoot

OK, so I failed. I missed one of my 100 days of blogging, and I felt really, really badly about it. More badly than I feel one should feel about messing up a self-imposed 100 days of blogging.

But! I feel like yesterday/last night was a good reason to miss a day, so i forgive myself, and I feel you all should, too. D and I had our pictures done! C and F did. . .the best job ever. I am pleased with the few that I have seen thus far, and. . .I mean, I've got to say it. D and I are a hot couple. :) C told me that when she does engagement photos, most people don't want to kiss in public, so she was beyond thrilled that D and I have. . .no shame, and would make out on command. And make out on command we did. There are many, many shots of us making out in various locales throughout downtown Asheville, and also a few of not making out at all.

A link to the sneak peek? You ask. Of course: http://blueframephotography.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/sarah-and-dc/.

I'm going to maybe write another blog when I get back home (in like 5 hours). Maybe. And if not, then I'll just miss one of my 100 days. I'll give myself 105 days to make 100 entries, I think. So there's a little room for error.

Tomorrow's a job interview for me. And D will be in town for the week, about which I am BEYOND excited. He's staying the week, and then going to my family's Thanksgiving with us. Mine and C's side of the family have our Thanksgiving the Sunday before Legit Thanksgiving, so everyone can be there if there are other family celebrations to contend with. This will be D's debut to my family, but I'm not concerned. C and F like him, my parents LOVE him (he's pretty much BFF with my Sdad) and even my sister, K, is a fan. So, here's to D meeting the family.

Go look at the sneak peek to the pictures. You will not be disappointed.