Navigating the Quarterlife

4:36

2009-10-11T21:14:00.006-04:00

...Is my watch time for my VERY FIRST MARATHON! (my chip time is 4:38, either way, I am beyond thrilled). So, let me tell you all about it! (My Garmin, Garry, with my time)

So, I've been talking about it for months and training really hard for the past 18 weeks. I didn't miss a single workout and made a serious commitment.

I'll skip everything boring like, breakfast, the light rail ride, etc. I arrived at the Running Festival around 7:20 with my sister (running in the relay) and my mom (spectating). Temperature was in the 70s, but it was expected to drop throughout the morning.

I used the bathroom and met with my Geico Pace Group (4:30) around 7:50. It was very, very crowded and I could barely hear our pace leader giving us instructions. The confetti gun went off and the lead racers started off and a few minutes later I crossed the starting line. I had already lost the pace group! I expected them to be wearing crazy hats and carrying signs, but, they didn't do anything like that- so they weren't easy to find. Anyways, I figured once the first few miles thinned out I would find the pace group again. Not so much.

Within the first mile I saw another girl (Melissa) from my pace group and asked if she minded if I ran with her until we found the pace group. No problem. So, we trotted along together, briefly chatting and passed the first 4 miles without much excitement. Around mile 4 she picked up her pace a lot and I decided I couldn't go that fast. Then, about two miles later, she ran up from behind me! She had stopped for a long water break when I must have passed her.

So, we trotted along again. Both sorta bitching about the Pace Group thing. We had both counted on the camaraderie and encouragement from that group to get us through our first marathons. I talked about my race plan- break it into 2 ten mile runs and a 6 mile run. She liked that plan.

Around mile 10 we saw my Mom in the crowd and celebrated the end of the first ten mile run. We saw a guy dressed like Will Ferrel from the "cowbell" SNL skit- banging away on a cowbell.

At mile 13, we saw my mom again- blowing on a kazoo of all things! And celebrated being halfway done! My friends were going to be at mile 16, so we concentrated on getting to 16 miles. Along the way, we talked about everying- our lives, work, husbands and boyfriends, past races, other runners' choices to wear white spandex shorts.

At 16 we stopped to pee and saw my friends, drinking beer!! along the side of the road. It was a nice little boost. Our next goal was to get to 20, get to 20 and we can do the rest. It was all about mile 20. There were A LOT of hills (we both knew this going into it) and I think I managed them really well, but they were killer on my butt and thighs. I think this was the toughest part of the marathon. I wasn't in a lot of pain and mentally I was doing really well, but I just really wanted to get to mile 20! A guy dressed in a tiger suit dancing to "eye of the tiger" was great!

Unexpectedly, around mile 18 (I think) I heard my name (I had my name on my shirt so that was pretty common), but I recognized the voice. I looked up to see my best friend cheering and jumping up and down for me! I was so excited to see her..and it gave me a nice boost.

MILE 20! It was a fabulous sight. We cheered. SIX MORE MILES. We can run six miles, done it a million times before. We counted down each mile, each was one step closer to the end. We were both doing something we had never done before and it was amazing. Our spirits were really high.

I ran mile 25 for Boy- he said he wanted that mile. So it was, get to 25 for Boy...that was my mantra. Then, at 25, there is only one more mile to go!! It was crazy that we had made it. We saw the mile 25 sign and we both took off (well, it felt like we were flying, but we were running as fast as we possibly could!). We were passing so many people. The last quarter mile of the run
is through Camden yards and the Ravens parking lots and it's really really cool.

Just keep running was all I could think. I saw my mom again (and the kazoo), Melissa saw her husband and daughter. 26 miles came! .2 more. I sware I was sprinting. We crossed the finish line, smiling and hands in the air! I heard my name again and looked to the left. And there was my dad, standing right at the finish line, smiling and waving. I have never been so excited to see him! He yelled something about being so proud of me. I must have had the biggest smile on my face. I didn't think he was going to be able to sneak out of work to come, and there he was, at the very end. It's a moment I'll never forget.

Melissa and I walked through and got our medals and space sheets. And then, it was over. Here was a girl that had just helped me through my first marathon. Her company had meant the world to me. She said, "I'll never forget you." and I said the same, and she went to meet her husband. I really will never forget Melissa. She was the perfect running partner for my first marathon and I am very grateful that I found her!

My watch said 4:36 and I couldn't have been happier. My first goal was to finish and enjoy myself, my second goal was finishing under 5 hours, and my best case goal was to finish near 4:30. And I achieved it! All those lonely long runs and planning to run a marathon without anyone else had paid off. I am a 4:36 marathoner! I could not be happier with myself.

I felt fantastic afterwards. Of course my legs were sore, but it wasn't terrible and I felt really good. I found my sister and eventually my mom and we headed home. Ice bath, lunch, nap. Woke up and couldn't move!!! I am in so much pain. Stairs are impossible, I sware my butt muscles are going to tear. something is strained in my left foot. But, so, totally and completely, worth it. I'm wearing my medal right now and think I'll wear it to work. I'm getting a massage tomorrow and hopefully that'll help, but honestly, it doesn't matter. The feeling of finishing that marathon and being able to proclaim that I am a marathoner is the best feeling I have felt in a really long time. I will be running another. Just, maybe one with less hills.

Now, all I need is a 26.2 sticker to put on my car!

a picture of me and my sister before the Marathon. I'm on the left (with my name on my shirt)

Me, after the race, with my medal, looking like, well, like I just ran a marathon!

Marathon in EXACTLY one month!

2009-09-10T13:04:00.002-04:00

In exactly one month from today, I will running in the Baltimore Marathon! I can hardly believe its this close! I feel like I've been training forever.
In two weeks I run my longest--20 miles, and then I start to taper. So far the experience has been more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

Begin 30 day countdown!

In other news, thanks for all your kind words, prayers, and thoughts last week. Things worked out well with Boy. I told him I would like him to come, but if he couldn't, I completely understood. Thankfully, he was able to be by my side during those rough days and come to the viewing with me. Those days went as well as they can go, I suppose. I guess its just a matter of moving forward now, one day at a time.

I promise I have more to write about life, in general, its just been a busy few weeks(months?) Hope all is well.

Waterproof Mascara

2009-08-31T20:01:00.002-04:00

I own one tube of waterproof mascara. And use it only for high-crying probability events. Weddings, greeting new babies, graduation, funerals.

This summer, my waterproof mascara has been used far too many times. And not, for the happy crying events- like weddings and babies. Unfortunately, its been for the bad events- the funerals and hospital visits.

As I'm sure most of you know, Boy's older brother died earlier this summer. About a week after that, I found out that my Aunt Kathy's health went severely downhill. She had pretty advanced central nervous system/brain cancer. They started her on chemo, but the chemo caused her brain to swell, which caused her to have seizures. She was put into a coma to control the seizures; that was too weeks ago. She never woke up from the coma, and today, she passed on.

Today, I heard my father cry on the phone. I have never, ever, witnessed him crying. It was painful.

Throughout these past few weeks, I told Boy very little. He'd been through so much, I couldn't burden him with my tears. I am still hesitant to ask him to come to the funeral. I'm strong enough to do this on my own--should I ask him to come along after just loosing his brother. He is one of the strongest people I know, but would this bring up painful memories? I also haven't written about it all on here. I had already asked for so many prayers for Boy and his family, I felt I'd used up my allotment.

So, this has been my summer...Tough and depressing and consisting of loosing two people who were very close to me. I start my last semester of grad school on Wednesday. I imagine it going like this, "Hi, Im littlesack. I'm on the education track in the public policy program. This past summer...I went to two funerals and learned that holding up your boyfriend during his brother's funeral is immensely painful."

I need a Xanex.

2009-08-31T10:42:00.002-04:00

Time again for Not Me! Monday.

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

Saturday, during my long run, I certainly did not, stop running, duck behind a cluster of trees, and use the bathroom (#2 bathroom!!). This was not right next to some kids' blunt wraps and empty beer cans. It was not a complete emergency and waiting until the trail stop was totally not possible!!

Okay...That's all for the week. Although there are certainly more, nothing!! lives up to having to make an emergency pit stop in the woods during a two hour run. (I once read an article about runners embarrassing moments, and one of them said - if you've never taken a poop on a run, you aren't a real runner, well---guess I passed that threshold!)

What didn't you do this past week?

Not Me! Monday

2009-08-12T20:27:00.006-04:00

It's been a looooonnnnngggg time since I did a "Not Me! Monday" and believe me, I have a lot saved up.

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

So, here we go....

I clearly did not have a colossal freak out at work on what happened to be Douch Bag Wednesday (less formerly known as DB-dub) when the following happened... First, my boss hung up his phone in the middle of a teleconference simply because he did not want to hear what we were telling him. An hour later, he called me to tell me that our consultant emailed him to state that "my work was subpar and I was compromising the project." My response was that the consultant could take over the task himself, since clearly he did not like the way I was doing it. My boss did not tell me that I was being unprofessional. You want to talk about unprofessionalim?!?!?!?!!?! How about that meeting you just hung up on or the way you nasty-gramed me this morning. Neither of which are "professional." It did not take every fiber of my being for me to not tell my boss to shove his hippocratic, self-entitled, douchebag ways.

I didnot soothe myself with hershey kisses and chocolate covered raisins. I would never ever use chocolate to make myself feel better.

Over the past month or so, I have certainly not peed outside on more than half a dozen occasions. It has certainly not become common for me to stop mid run, hide behind a tree, drop trough, and continue jogging like that was totally normal.

I did not give my cat a bath. I do not have multiple scratches from this experience. I do not blame my mother.

I did not take a mental health day and then a mental health morning from work. Getting out of bed to get to that job is not becoming more difficult by the day.

I am not typing this post while sitting in my undies & sipping a glass a wine. I am not relishing having the house 100% to myself (besides my cat).

I did not spend 40 dollars on an alpaca fur teddy bear. It was not totally self indulgent but totally worth it. (I certainly couldn't have used that money for some new work pants that actually fit me).

I have not shopped at Target at least twice a week for the last month. I certainly do not know why I keep going back- except that a store that sells 20 dollar shoes and bags of hershey kisses in the same place totally gets me.

I did not wear a white dress to a Mother-to-be-Tea thinking it would be an excellent idea. I did not spill tea all over it.

Boy and I did not have the best time with Caleb at the zoo! I did not totally enjoy playing family for the day. And did not seriously consider taking him home with us.(a pic of Boy and Caleb feeding the ducks--except I didn't get any ducks in the picture--ill have to work on that!)

I have not totally and completely missed blogging and all of my blog ladies. and I do not promise to catch up on everything soon.

Something to giggle about...

2009-08-07T16:18:00.002-04:00

Because even in the midst of some really bad days, everyone needs something to laugh about. Last week, a woman I work with sent out this gem of an e-mail.

"Hi everyone:

I lost a medela breast pump in the office last Friday, most likely in the Suite 310 kitchen. If you happen to see it, can you let me know

Thanks in advance"

The boys that sit next to me thought this was too-die-for funny. We all laughed about it for hours afterward. No, breast pumps aren't funny, but asking the ENTIRE company if anyone had found your breast pump that you left IN THE KITCHEN, is pretty funny.

And, how do you loose a breast pump? Aren't those things back-packed sized? Maybe we are all a little immature, but this made my day last week.

**On another note, thank you all so very, very much for your kind thoughts, prayers and words in these last few weeks. I was very hesitant at first to share this part of my life and considered abandoning the blog, but I'm glad I didn't. In a very needy time, you all were there like rocks--offering advice and unconditional love (and to a girl whose first name you don't even know). So, thank you all, so much; you are all strong lovely ladies and I am so grateful that I have been able to develop friendships with you all. I promise my blog will get back to its normal, snarky and self-indulgent ways soon.

Happy weekend.

Love, littlesack

Caleb

2009-08-03T10:01:00.006-04:00

So, left in wake of Eric...is his three year old son, Caleb.

(an older picture of the little Ham)

An adorable, playful kid that has the most gorgeous eyelashes I've ever seen and an infectious personality.

His mother is one of the craziest people I have ever met in my life, and on numerous occassions has corned me in bathrooms to seek answers out about Boy, Eric, and family, and how things are when Eric has(had?) Caleb. (Eric and the mother weren't together after awhile)

She was very young when she got involved with Eric and very young to be a mother, and I just don't think she had the time to mature into a woman with adult sensibilities before Caleb came along and she hasn't grown up since. But, she is his mother, so I am just praying that she figures it out sooner, rather than later. I think I've written about it before, that if Boy and I were financially stable we would seriously consider adopting Caleb, but...that just won't work at the moment.

Boy is Caleb's godfather and although Boy isn't very religious, I know he takes this role--of raising Caleb with morals and values, very seriously. I also know that he is heartbroken that Eric won't be around to do the "dad" things--- camping trips, Boy Scouts, teaching him to play lacrosse, etc. Boy plans to do these things with Caleb.

We currently live about an hour from Boy's parents and Caleb. We've been house hunting for the past few months, but our area is so wide (and our budget so low) that it's really frustrating. I graduate from my program in December and hopefully I'll be able to find a full-time job. Once we know where I am going to be working, I think we will resume the house hunt. But now, a major priority for us is to move closer to Caleb. Even a half an hour closer would make things a lot easier. But--I don't know. It's difficult to talk these details with Boy and, well, it's just difficult.

We are going back to visit Caleb this weekend. It will be the first time we've seen him since his mother told Caleb about Eric (speaking of...she told Boy the day before that they were telling Caleb last Saturday, and he had to work. It pisses me off that if she really wanted Boy to be there---she should have given him more than one days notice). I think it's going to be horrible. but...it leads me to my current predicament. I don't know what to do to entertain a three-year-old. I'm not a mother and, well, honestly, I just have no idea what is age-appropriate yet fun? Any help? I know a lot of you are mothers and aunts, and any suggestions about how to spend the day with a three-year-old would be really appreciated.

Thanks, ladies.

Prayers needed

2009-07-29T13:38:00.003-04:00

I've been MIA, I know. I'm sorry.

I hope to catch up on everyone's lives soon.

Boy's brother died two Fridays ago (7/17) unexpectedly at the age of 27.
His three year old son is left behind.
I meant to write about it two weeks ago, but I couldn't get the words down. Each post started and ended with "Boy's brother died." I couldn't get past that. Seeing it in print was even worse.

Everyone is doing as well as can be expected. Boy is a tough cookie, and although the viewing and funeral were the roughest moments of his life, I know he is glad that he stood in front of his friends and family and gave a heartbreaking eulogy.

The trauma of the moment has passed, but it will always linger for Boy and his family. I think it will be hardest for Boy when, it isn't Eric as his best man, but...it's someone else.

I hope to be back sooner, rather than later, but in the meantime, please send a prayer or two out for Boy, his family, and especially Caleb, Eric's son.

I hope everything in all of your fabulous lives is going really well. Send some happy gossip my way.

I feel violated...

2009-07-05T16:57:00.004-04:00

Thanks for all your questions, I'm working on the answers now.
But, in the meantime, I need to share this story.

Friday night, Boy and I were at a friend's (Remy) house for a bbq with about 15 people. A place we have been dozens of times, camping, partying, etc. Everyone there was either related to Remy, or Boy's other friend, Nate. Boy and I consider about 95% of the people there to be good friends.

The bbq was also in a section of our state, where people have lots of land and there is no crime. Remy keeps his keys in his unlocked car at night. The nearest neighbor is more than half a mile away.

Midway through the evening, I threw my purse in Boy's car because I didn't want to accidentally forget it and then Boy and I walked back to the bonfire, leaving the car unlocked.**

An hour or so later, Boy and I get up to leave, get in the car, and my purse is gone. Just 100% completely missing. I was not drinking at all this night because I had a 11 mile run planned on Saturday, so it wasn't my foggy brain misplacing my bag. Without a doubt, someone had took it.
As rationally as possible, Boy and I talked to Remy and said, look, someone went into Boy's car and took my bag, and while we aren't accusing anyone of taking it--someone took it. It's that simple.

Yes, there is a 1% chance that a random stranger walked down this random road and walked down Remy's 1/2 mile long driveway and randomly spotted Boy's car, and randomly took my purse. Yes, it's possible, yet highly unlikely.

So---how do I go about processing this information? I am 99% sure that someone at that bbq took my bag. These are all people that we see on a regular basis and, in fact, have plans to go camping with them in two weeks. How am I supposed to get over it...knowing that someone we consider to be a friend, went into Boy's car and purposefully took my bag? Now, there were 3 people there that Brent and I don't consider friends, but they are family of Remy's or family of Nate's. So, even if this person wasn't our friend directly, we've still hung out with them before, and shouldn't they have enough respect for their own family not to put all of us in this situation.

and...it is a situation.. Congratulations-- you got 60 dollars in cash; my birth control packet; all my cards- insurance, library, gym, license, credit (which i cancelled); my 20 dollar sigg water bottle; my overly expensive prescription contact eye drops; my keys; my work keys; my shitty ass 4 year old phone, and a bunch of other random stuff that isn't that important, but that I miss. Oh, and also, you took my sense of security.

But--in taking all those things, you created a horrible situation. Now, Boy and I are super wary of these friends, and who they hang out with. And although we practically know that someone there took it, we had to ask all of our friends if they had "accidentally" picked up my bag. We accused our friends of stealing, because, well- someone did. Nate and Remy are both upset with Boy because we were asking their family members about it. (and I would be pissed too, if we were in there shoes, but I hope they understand how we feel- utterly violated and betrayed). I feel so tormented inside, its unreal. I can't even stop thinking about. It would have been better had it happened at a bar and my a random stranger. But now, we all have to deal with the aftermath of it. That, someone I KNOW STOLE FROM ME. Every spare second, I think about, running it over in my head- how could someone possibly do that?

I hope the shit you got outta my purse was worth it. I really do.

**In hindsight, I know this sounds so awful, but of the many times we have been at Remy's we have never locked our car. It's just not something you worry about there.

100th Post Q and A

2009-06-25T19:26:00.002-04:00

*Ahem*
Pardon the interruption, but this post (yes this one right here) is my 100th post! Who new that since I started on this journey in November, I'd have 100 things to say. Granted a few of them were pretty lame (like the one about how my cat had a girlfriend). Some of them were fairly dramatic, like when Boy's jerk roomate left me a passive aggressive note.* And, of course, there is the series of free weekly therapy with Not Me! Mondays.

Over the course of these past few months, I have met some great bloggy friends and really enjoyed getting to know snid-bits of everyone's life. And, of course, I've shared some details of my life with the blog-o-sphere as well. But, perhaps there is more you want to know (or, you may want to say- "Littlesack, you and your blog are lame...and I don't want to know anything else about you"). But, if its the former, and you have some questions, I'd love to provide some answers. (Mostly) anything is free game.

I'm looking forward to reading your questions!

*HUGE news on this front, remind me to tell you later!!

Not Me Monday!

2009-06-22T15:56:00.004-04:00

I haven't done a Not Me! Monday in awhile, but I've been saving up some good ones.

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I certainly did not drop a tampon out of my pocket at a restaurant on my way to the restroom. Upon my return, I did not watch the waiter, bend over to pick it up, realize what it was, hesitate, and then say, "ooooohhhhh noooooo." Certainly not.

While in Venice I most definitely did not have a gluten attack in the middle of a museum tour. I was not pacing back and forth, sweating, waiting for the feeling to go away while doubled over in pain. I was definitely not the last person up the stairs and to the bathroom. I did not have to approach the woman at the front of the line and explain that, this was, in fact, an emergency, and could I please step in front of her. I did not have to wait what felt like an eternity until one of the stalls opened up, the entire time speaking broken Italian to the bathroom attendant trying to explain that if that stall did not open up in less than 2 minutes, it was going to be bad. No, that did not happen to me at all.

Last week at work, I clearly did not let another tampon fall out of my pocket in the middle of the hallway as I passed two coworkers chatting. When I walked down the hallway five minutes later, I did not see that little treasure sitting in the middle of the hallway, like a souvenir of my embarrassment since surely the coworkers saw me drop it, but weren't sure how to deal with that situation. Nope, not me.

And finally, in the midst of pmsing and day drinking, I did not beg Boy to drive me to the store to buy chocolate. I did not eat a king size Hershey bar. and I certainly did not finish it off with Sour Patch Kids. Nope, not me at all.

What didn't you do last week?!

Roma in Pictures

2009-06-19T13:27:00.010-04:00

This is the second installment of my Italy vacation in pictures, this time of Roma.

Rome was our first stop on the tour and once I got all the cheesy puns - just "Romeing" around...and "when in Rome" --- out of my system, I was overwhelmed with the history and culture of Rome. One of my undergraduate degrees was in History and so the story of Rome was so amazing and it was difficult to realize that I was actually standing in the midst of places and buildings I had studied so intently.

I was raised Catholic, so going to the Vatican City really held special meaning for me. However, even if I wasn't Christian, or even religious, it is hard to deny the art work, craftsmanship and skill that went into building the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Everything is Mosaic tile and centuries old paintings. I lack the words to describe it. Cameras aren't allowed into the Sistine Chapel, so I have nothing to share of it besides the fact that I could've spent an entire day in there staring and wondering and in awe of Michelangelo's creation. If you ever get the chance to go to Italy, you absolutely MUST visit.

This first picture (I originally posted when I got back), but it is of sun-light streaming into St. Peter's Basillica in Vatican City.

This is St. Peter's Square (and St. Peter's Basilica in the background) at night time. I'm not a huge fan of the way my shutter speed blurred the lights, but it was the best I could do. On the very right side of the picture, what looks like an apartment building is where the Pope lives!

This is a shot while inside the Vatican City (I'm not exactly sure where), but it is down a stairwell leading into St. Peter's Square. I like the light at the end.

The Trivoli Fountain. This is featured in many movies set in Rome. It's the famous fountain that you toss your coins into and make wishes for.

The Colosseum was unbelievable! I still can't get over how old it is and how steeped in history it is. (I also kept thinking that it would be a really cool place to have a modern concert). It was crazy to see the under ground tunnels where Gladiators roamed and even the cells where they and animals were kept. Pictures don't do it justice.

Simple, but I like it. A cross in the middle of the ruins of the Colosseum. (Sadly, it reminds me of a similar picture I have of a iron beam cross standing triumphantly in the midst of Ground Zero).

And, finally, this is a picture of my sister and me (I'm on the right in green) with the head waiter from our last night in Rome. This was the best meal I had in Italy. Two courses of gluten free pasta (one with the best pesto I have ever had in my entire life) followed by chicken with fresh tomatoes and (of course) gelato!! I wanted to stay and rent out a room above this restaurant, as long as this man would continue to feed me (of course the young, hot Italian waiter calling me "bella" all night, didn't hurt either).

Next Up: The Tuscan countryside.

Venice in Pictures...

2009-06-18T09:23:00.006-04:00

I promised I'd give you more of Italy, so here it is. Venice was, by far, my favorite place we went. It beautiful, breathtaking and unbelievable. America has nothing as exquisite and almost impossible. The city felt like a fairy tale, with ancient characters and quaint views. I couldn't stop smiling in awe the entire time we were there.

We started our visit to the city with a water taxi ride down the Grand Canal. The weather could not have been more perfect, the sun was low on the water, the air was fresh and the breeze was refreshing. It was the perfect introduction to the perfect city.

This first picture is a snap i took from the water taxi- it is someone's balcony. My favorite part of Italy, in general, was that everyone decorated their windows with flower boxes and everyone had greenery and flowers on their balconies (even in the midst of Rome).

After the water taxi, we climbed into our gondola (with cute Gondolier). Luckily, my family was able to snag one with just us four, so it was a little more private. By now, the sun was setting on the water and the view was gorgeous.

This is a picture looking out of our gondola down a small canal.

Luckily, we were also serenaded in our gondola. On the bottom left of this picture you can see a man standing- he was singing opera as we were paddled through the the back canals.

I just like this shot (besides the fact that it has a man's tooshie in it). To me, it just captures the essence of the city- from the tall, statuesque Church in the background to the simple boating scene in the front.

And, finally, this is another picture I really liked, no particular reason, it just makes me smile. We finished the evening with dinner in a small restaurant where my sister and I were treated to delicious gluten free pasta and fabulous wine! The next day we explored Venice during the day, which included a glass blowing factory and beautiful glass jewelry. I purchased a necklace of lots of strands of tiny beaded glass featuring different strands of purple. I had never seen anything like it, and am saving it for something special. I try to snap a picture of it soon to share.

Next up: Tuscany & Rome!!

An Established Multitasker

2009-06-15T09:16:00.003-04:00

This morning when I was out running, I passed a woman out for her morning walk with her curlers in her hair. I am all about multi-tasking and this woman was displaying multi-tasking at its finest: working out WHILE getting ready for work. I wanted to stop and congratulate her.

(And, while I'm not sure this is a look I would rock, it still made my morning).

I promise--more Italy stories and pictures this week, I've been trying to get them all organized.

And, I'm approaching my 100th post! Any thoughts on what I should do to celebrate?

random thoughts for a Friday

2009-06-12T09:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday at work I was updating my resume.

After deciding that "bitch work" was not an acceptable thing to put on a resume, I was at a loss.

I have an undergraduate degree and am one semester (hopefully) away from getting my Master's and these are the things I repeatedly do:

Take meeting minutes
Write meeting agendas
Put numbers in charts. In fact, I repeatedly put different numbers in the same chart because someone can't figure out what data set they are supposed to use

Something is wrong with this picture. I'm hoping my lack of actual/real work is the fact that for most of the year I only work part time so its hard for me to get deep into projects. I hope, if not, I am being sorely underestimated.

On another note, remember when I told you that Boy was moving out? Well, he is currently looking for a place to rent short term, while looking for an actual place to buy and fix up. So, last night we went to check out a "basement apartment."

The house was in a really nice neighborhood and things were looking pretty positive. We walk into the house and the guy has two big dalmatians. Totally fine, Boy likes animals. Then, we are shown the "apartment."

I was under the impression that the basement was somewhat finished with hookups for bathroom fixtures that could be easily installed. Not so much!

First, not carpeted. Also, no dry wall on the walls--just concrete and insulation.

(okay, these are things I can get over and work around)

There are also not any hookups for bathroom fixtures.

Then, one of the dogs takes a poop, right in the middle of the basement!

(Now, I am trying to stay positive, but this is pretty ridiculous).

THEN...Boy and the guy are talking details and the other dog walks right up to Boy and PEES ON HIS LEG!

(This was completely ridiculous....something I only thought happened in movies and I was stunned).

Boy was pretty stunned too and as the guy went away to get a rag, Boy just started laughing and it was the kind of laugh that had it been me, it would have turned into a cry.

Boy was like, I can't stop laughing. If it had been too weeks later and he was really stressed about his living situation, I could see that laugh being the breaking point in his stress level. Luckily, it was just a road block.

And...back to square one.

Hope everyone has a good Friday and a FANTASTIC weekend.

My first Marathon in T- 125 days!

2009-06-08T08:56:00.003-04:00

Eeeeeek! It seems so soon when I think about it. Today is the offical start of training for the Baltimore Marathon. It's an easy four miles. I'm sure I'll be blogging about it a lot.

Running a Marathon is something I've wanted to do since I ran my first half over six years ago, so it's time to bite the bullet and commit. By the end of it, I just really hope I'll be able to buy and proudly display that 26.2 sticker.

Italia in Six Pictures or Less.

2009-06-05T08:47:00.009-04:00

I'm back from Italy and I could go on for pages about how FANTASTIC and BREATHTAKING it all was. I am still in awe of the beauty, architecture, and just outright wonder of the entire country.

Instead of words, I'll post a few of my favorite pictures (although it was REALLY hard to choose). and will share random stories over the next few weeks.

A view from up high on Capri looking down at the Coastline.

A shot of some Spirals on a church in Orvieto, a small medieval town in Tuscany.

The Vineyard and Olive Grove where we ate dinner (and drank their wine) in Montecarlo in Tuscany.

A beautiful shot that I feel really blessed to have gotten of the sun shining into St. Peter's church in the Vatican City.

A shot of a Gondolier in Venice. I have about 60 favorite pictures from this city, but I'll just post one.
And finally, a picture of a fruit stand from Sorrento. How red are those cherries?!

So, what did I miss while I was away?!

Littlesack is on Vacation

2009-05-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

By the time you read this post, I will be in Italy! for a ten day tour of Southern Italy.

(photo courtesy of photobucket)

I will be back on June 3, hopefully with plenty of my own photos to share. I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend and can't wait to catch up when I get back!

Marathon Playlist 2009

2009-05-20T21:16:00.002-04:00

I've spent the past few days compiling lists of songs for my marathon playlist. My old playlist was pretty tired and needed some help. I'm also notoriously bad at making playlists; putting long jam band songs on running playlists, etc.

So, from suggestions from the bloggy world, my own list, and Chic Runner's running playlist, I have the beginings of Marathon 2009 Playlist. If you look at this list you might think I'm schizophrenic- the songs range from the beatles, 80s hair bands, songs that were popular 3-5 years ago and some pretty dirty rap songs! But, I just like to mix it up when I'm out on the trail for a long time.

But, I still need about an hour of music, so, please continue to leave suggestions. Thanks!

So, here it is:

Born in the USA- Bruce Springsteen

Journey Don't Stop Believing

California Phantom Planet (The OC Soundtrack)

Call On Me Eric Prydz

Colt 45 Afroman

Crazy Gnarls Barkley

Crazy Bitch Buckcherry

Crush Dave Matthews Band

Sledgehammer DMB

The Final Countdown Europe (I had this as the very last song to the Baltimore Half Marathon last year and it was surreal moment. I could barely hear it as I was running down the finishing chute through Camden yards towards Raven's Stadium, it was really awesome.)

F.B.I. Kelly Bell Band (This is a local Baltimore Band, but i HIGHLY reccommend him, he is awesome!)

Fat Bottomed Girls (Live) Queen + Paul Rodgers Reaching

Fool In the Rain Led Zeppelin

fuck it Eamon

Get Right (Remix) Jennifer Lopez ft. Fabolous

Give It Away Red Hot Chili Peppers

Helter Skelter Across the Universe

Hips Don't Lie 3:40 Shakira ft Wyclef Jean

Hollaback Girl Gwen Stefani

I'm In Miami Bitch LMFAO

Jerk It Out Caesars

just dance jamiroquia

Just Dance Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis

lets get retarted in here black eyed peas

Love In An Elevator Aerosmith

Move Along The All-American Rejects

Mr. Brightside The Killers

Gin and Juice OAR

PROMISCUOS GIRL Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland

Quality Control Jurassic 5

Revolution The Beatles

Temperature Sean Paul

Seduce Me Tonight Flashdance soundtrack

Seven Nation Army White

Single Ladies Beyoncé

So What Pink

Somebody Told Me The Killers

That was a crazy game of poker O.A.R.)

There It Go (The Whistle Song) Juelz Santana

Istanbull They Might Be Giants

Tripping Billies DMB

The Way You Make Me Feel Michael Jackson

We're Not Gonna Take It Twisted Sister

We Didn't Start the Fire Billy Joel

We Will Rock You Queen

What's Your Fantasy Ludacris & Shawna

Whenever, Wherever Shakira

99 Problems DJ Danger Mouse

Running Playlists

2009-05-18T10:02:00.002-04:00

As I've mentioned a few times, I'm training for the Baltimore Marathon in October. I ran the half last year and since it didn't kill me, I decided to take the plunge and run the whole thing.

But, my ipod needs some serious updating. I've got a "Half Marathon" play list, but I need over 2 more hours of songs to get me through the whole thing (and all the training I have planned from now until October).

So, ladies, I'm asking for your help. Can you comment with some of your favorite songs to run/work out to? I like to run to songs that are upbeat/ have a faster beat and will listen to mostly everything (except Country).

Can't wait to read your suggestions

My Mother

2009-05-16T16:24:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I was out with some friends and jokingly someone said to someone else, "That really isn't what you were planning on wearing tonight?" Totally sarcastic and joking. It became a running joke for the night--"You decided on that hairstyle, those shoes, etc."
The type of joke that is only allowable between really close girlfriends.

Later in the night we joked that this type of snide remark is something my mother would say, totally seriously.

Cut to Saturday afternoon, I was eating lunch trying to peacefully read the comics. When, from my mother comes, "So, I guess you aren't going to be getting a hair cut before we leave for Italy. It's a little out of shape."

Seriously?

No, mother, in fact, I WILL NOT be getting a hair cut before we go. I'm growing it out and Italy or not, I'm not cutting it. And, to add insult to injury, I will be wearing those totally comfy cotton capris you hate on our flight, you can roll your eyes all you want. I do not care.

I'm going to start slipping some Xanex into her O.J.

PS- On a lighter note, the always fashionable Mrs. Potts is having a really good give-a-way!

A Special Thursday Edition of Not Me! Monday

2009-05-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to a Special Thursday edition of Not Me! Monday. This just deserved a post all on its own and one of those things that would only happen to me.

This entire story, most definitely DID NOT happen to me:

So, I was off work yesterday and so was my dad and we decided to enjoy the nice weather and take a bike ride on the local trail. I was really looking forward to a long and intense cross-training workout and had planned on making it about an hour and a half long ride. About 30 minutes in, my dad decides he is going to head back home, so I continue to the end of the trail by myself.

Less than a minute later, my bike feels really funny, so I stop to take a look at it. Something was wrong with my back tire so that part of it was swollen and ballooning over the rim. Every time the fat part of the tire got back around to the frame of the bike, it struggled to make it through. So, I got back on my bike and said to myself, "This tire isn't going to last long, I better turn around and try and catch my dad to see if he has a patch kit."

...and then POP! My entire tire blew out. Like, not like, oh a tiny little hole, the entire tire was separated from the rim and tube. F*CK. Luckily I had my cell phone, so I called my house, and left a message for my dad to come get me when he got back.

But, I was pissed. My workout had been cut really short and I wasn't going to just sit on the side of the trail until my dad came back with his car. and this is where the story gets interesting.

I decided to run with my bike as far as I could until my dad called me back. Let me paint a picture for you of what this looked like.
1. I was wearing my bike shorts, which are basically spandex with a seat cushion, which really only serves to make my ginormous butt look even bigger.
2. I wear my hair in two low pigtails when i ride b/c a helmet won't fit over a pony-tail.
3. I have grease all over my hands, shirt and face, from messing with my bike chains.
4. I am running...with a bike next to me! I have no balance to begin with, but with this contraption, I was all over the place.

It was truly ridiculous, and every bike rider I passed (very graciously) asked if I was okay, so they got a close-up of my absurd attire.

I mean, I would never leave the house looking like this and would never decide to run with a bike... these are just things a self-respecting girl doesn't do, right?!

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-10T11:24:00.005-04:00

I've missed a few Not Me! Monday's, so hopefully this week will make up for the lack of sarcasm.

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

(I work on the third floor of my building. When I'm being lazy I take the elevator down). I did not walk into the elevator push "3" (when I was on level three) and then get pissy with the elevator because it wasn't going down to level 1. It did not take me more than 30 seconds to realize I was on level 3 and needed to push level 1. I did not do this twice in one day.

I did not do a happy wiggle dance when I was able to buy jeans in a pant size I have not seen for quite some time. =)

I certainly did not buy the same exact shirt in ten different colors from the gap. I have WAY more fashion sense than that and would never do something like that.

I also most definitely did not spend an EXORBITANT amount of money on a pair of sandals for Italy. I did not justify this purchase by telling myself that the money would be worth it since they were the only pair I could find that were practical, yet cute (and did not look like either something my mother or father would wear).

What didn't you do?!

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T11:20:00.002-04:00

Ladies that are Mothers, or soon-to-be mothers, I wish you a Happy Mother's Day! I hope you find it relaxing and enjoyable. And, please know that even if your little ones never say it, they really do appreciate all that you do.

Here is a picture of me and my own mama and my sister at a Mother's Day Tea yesterday. (I'm on the left.)

Italia in T- 18 days!

2009-05-05T20:03:00.004-04:00

That's right, ladies, I'm going to Italy!!!!* In 2.5 weeks!

I've never been to Europe, so I am beyond excited for this 10 day trip with my parents and older sister. I am Italian on both sides, a history buff, and lover of all things beautiful, so this trip is going to be majestic, beautiful, and perfecto! (plus I get to use my fake Italian accent, by adding vowels to the end of every word. You know, like... ohh Ia likea mya spaghettia!)

Anyways, I get the feeling that lots of you laides have been overseas and I am seeking out your advice. What to wear, what not to miss, etc.

But really, I need some advice on what shoes to wear. I need a comforatable pair of walking shoes that I can wear all day and that don't look dumb or geeky. Idealy, I'd like a pair that works with shorts/shirts and pants. I know this is asking alot, but any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks ladies! Looking forward to your thoughts.

*Pending any massive piggy-flu outbreak. =(

Making Tracks for Celiacs Race Report

2009-05-04T17:34:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I think the races I sign up for are worth the entry fee based solely on the swag (shit we all get) I get. T-shirts, chapstick samples, a key pocket, whatever. I love it all.

Sunday was the "Making Tracks for Celiacs" 5k, that my family, friends, and I have participated in for the past 3 or 4 years. As I mentioned before, my sister and I have Celiac Disease (an intolerance to gluten and wheat). Next to Christmas, it is probably my favorite day of the year. Tons of gluten-free vendors come and give out free samples and of course, sell their products. It is the mecca of gluten-free-ness. My sister's best friend calls it "Happy Celiac Day."

My goal for the race is to get done asap so that I can get to the swag, because wow, there was a ton of free samples. You basically take a shopping bag and go through the vendors and put a sample or two of the goodies in your bag. (My bag is sooo full because my friends all get bags too and give it all to me- I feel like Halloween). I also ate the best pizza ever, some amazing donuts, and a english muffin that resembled the real thing so perfectly I couldn't stop sampling. Oh, and the cinamon buns were FABULOUS. (I, of course, also bought a bunch of these yummy products).

But, the best vendor was a total surprise--> Joe Corbis?! apparently they make the best chocolate chip cookie I've had since being gluten-free. It was so freikin fantastic I ate three cookies. (I've probably eaten less than 10 cookies in total since being gluten free- five years ago). They were so good, I couldn't stop talking about them. And, I bought a tub of dough so I could make them at home. And then, I realized, I had cookie dough that could be eaten out of the tub! Oh! My! Goodness! I can't even tell you how excited I was about this! Cookie dough?! I thought this was a relic of my past.

Anyways, the whole day was fabulous, and I can't wait for next year's run.

In addition to the run, this past weekend was Alumni Weekend for my college team. It involves an entire weekend of getting all the alumni together and drinking and partying like we did when we were in college. We all had a blast, but I haven't drank like that in a long time--- closing the bar on Friday and Saturday, and day drinking on Saturday (while playing soccer). It was great to see all the girls and I couldn't have been happier spending time with my best gal pals for two nights in a row.

Did I mention I closed the bar Saturday and then got up at 7 for the 5k on Sunday? It wasn't terribly rough- but being awake after 5 hours of sleep and two days of drinking wasn't that awesome either. So, my time wasn't fantastic (31 something), but I wasn't really planning on "racing" since I knew I'd be out the night before. I was just planning on running and chatting with my friends along the way. And...getting some great free swag...Mission Accomplished?

How was your weekend?!

S is for Summer (Weather!)

2009-04-27T09:00:00.002-04:00

The weekend weather was amazing! Was it nice where you are? I hope so, because this weekend the weather was gorgeous (of course I sweat the entire time, but once it gets above 70, I start sweating non-stop, so, that is neither here nor there).

The entire weekend I spent outside. A picnic on Friday with Boy, celebrating a gal pals birthday at a rooftop bar on Saturday. And Sunday was the perfect Baltimore day.

Thanks to free tickets from my company, I had tickets to the Orioles game yesterday. Boy, a friend and I went to the Orioles v. Rangers game downtown and enjoyed a really exciting and winning game. Luckily, our seats were in the shade!
After the game we enjoyed crabs and corn on the cob on the back deck with music and friends. The first crabs of the season were amazing and it was the perfect end to the weekend.

I hope your weekend was equally as nice and enjoyable!
Sorry about the lack of not-me-Monday, but the only ridiculous things I did this weekend involved more peeing in the woods and bumping into stationary objects, and you've read about those things before. I'll be back with more sarcasm next week.

A Cause for Celebration!

2009-04-24T10:21:00.002-04:00

Ladies, it is time for a celebration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, the other day I was at Boy's house, hanging out in his room when Boy went into the hallway for something and I heard Jerk room mate (remember him?) say, Hey, Boy, I want to talk to you for a second. I wanted to do this when you were alone, but this will have to do.*
(At this point I think its going to be about me, so my ears perk up).

Jerk RM: So, as you know I plan on buying this house from my father within the next few months.
Boy: Yup.
Jerk RM: And well, Dana and I (Jerk's gf) have decided that it is time for us to move into the next phase of our life, and we'd like to live here, just us two. So, we were hoping that you could find another place to live by the middle of the summer.
Me (in the room, by myself, dancing around in circles, SOOOOOO EXCITED!)
Boy: Yeah, okay, that is fine.

So, Boy comes back into the room and I act all innocent, like, wow, that really stinks that you have to find a new place to live. Boy was like-- Don't even act like you aren't excited, I know you are!

And ladies--I AM EXCITED! Boy has a really high tolerance for Jerk's bullshit and because Boy is trying to save money, I know he was planning on staying there for a little while longer.

So, yes, it is totally selfish that I am super excited and Boy has to go through all the hassle of the moving process. And, yes I feel slightly bad that Boy is basically being kicked out. But, my feelings of, "HOLY CRAP, NO MORE JERK ROOMMATE!" totally override those other feelings. (You can call me a bad girlfriend if you want, but Boy moving is probabaly going to be one of the best things that has happened for our relationship).

So, WOOOHOOO! It is time to bust out the real estate section and get to work! Any suggestions in the Baltimore-metro area?!

*First of all, don't be so damned passive aggressive. I am hardly ever at the house during the week, unless I am coming over after class and its 10'oclock at night and Jerk is already in bed. I just randomly happened to be there, so don't act like I am always there monopolizing Boy's time, because that is simply NOT true.

Competition

2009-04-21T20:55:00.003-04:00

I played soccer for 12 years, 8 of which were really competitive, including four years on a Division I soccer team. But once my senior soccer season was over, I was over soccer. I immediately stopped caring. For the past year or so, I couldn't figure out why I didn't miss it.

And finally, I figured it out (as this post will tell)...
My four years of college soccer were rough. I'll spare you most of the details, but basically I had difficulty adjusting to college in general and I was riding the bench, a lot. It was super difficult to go from being an all-star on my club team to a bench rider within months. It crushed me. Once I started playing more, we got a new coach who just screwed up our team chemistry. She was immature, divisive, and just plain crazy. I'll spare you most of these gory details too, but here are some gems from her tenure.

1. After losing a game we should never have lost, we ran sprints for an hour after the game. (a MAJOR NCAA violation)

2. She was so pissed at us one day, at the away game, she made us sleep on the floor in a hotel conference room. Again, huge violation.

3. For shorter away trips, we would take team vans (the 15 passenger variety). She thought it was a good idea to race the assistant coach in these vans. They almost flipped and it was one of the top ten scariest moments of my life.

4. She also thought it was a good idea to have us compete in a sprint-triathlon without any training. (On a side note, I did this after pulling an all-nighter writing a paper and was so high on aderral and red-bull that I didn't even notice the pain until hours later. I also lost my contacts in the pool and had to squint through the 10 mile bike ride and 6 mile run.)

Regardless, as a captain, I put everything I had into the team my senior year. I planned big dawg-little dawg stuff, an entire camping trip, team bonding, thanksgiving dinner, everything. Despite all these efforts, we lost, a lot and it was miserable. I cared SO much and gave the team everything I had, that my brain was so consumed with the team. It was really common for me to tell everyone what to wear to practice (what colors) and then show up wearing the completely wrong thing.

My revelation:
I wouldn't trade those soccer years for anything, but they wiped me out- physically, emotionally, mentally. And it isn't the soccer that I am over, its the competition. I cared SO MUCH for SO LONG that I don't have that care in me anymore. I stopped playing indoor last summer because it was far too competitive. The last straw was when a 40 year old man called me a "fat b*tch." I was so angry, it was unbelievable. I couldn't stop shaking. I am just over that level of competition.

But, the point is...I just, honestly, do not care. I want to play for fun, and only for fun. If I whiff the ball, who cares? If we loose, who cares? Not me, sister, not me! And now that I have figured out why I stopped playing, it feels so good. I'm starting to realize why I loved soccer in the first place. And once my schedule slows down a bit, I'd love to get into coaching a youth team. But--it's just the realization that I really do miss soccer, and I really do love it, but its only the sweet, fun parts that I miss- the reason I started playing as a ten year old.

Not Me! Monday

2009-04-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Have a bad week?
Do so many ridiculous things you can't even remember them all?
Then "Not Me! Monday" is the perfect free therapy for you!

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I certainly did not cry during Biggest Loser when Kristin saw her hubby after her makeover. I am not totally invested in the show and would never let a stranger's life affect me like that.

While running intervals on the treadmill (during the prime 5-6 oclock hour) my towel did not fall off the top part, it did not land straight onto the mill, and I certainly did not step directly on top of it and fling it off my back heel onto the person elicpitcalling behind me. Nothing like that would ever happen to me and I was not totally mortified that my sweaty towel slapped a fellow Gold's gym member. I will not be surprised when he writes me a "dear fellow gym member" letter.

While camping this weekend, I clearly did not pee beside my car and when I couldn't find the hand sanitizer in the dark, I did not decide that hand washing isn't a necessity in the wilderness. I did not do this several times. It is not totally disgusting and way gross.

I did not stay up into the wee hours of the morning Saturday night dancing around the bonfire and splashing my drink everywhere. I did not nap and eat gross hangover foods all day Sunday. I did not secretly enjoy my super lazy Sunday. When I asked Boy what he felt like, he did not reply "a three-toed sloth." I did not fall off the couch laughing hysterically!

How was your week? Did you gross out a fellow gym member too? Maybe you even walked into a shut door. Whatever you "didn't" do-- now is the time to share!

Wine-o!

2009-04-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

While perusing the liquor store the other day, I found this: Mad Housewife Wine. I know I'm not a wife, and not a houswife, but if I was, I would love this wine. Well, I love this wine anyways, but I would really love it if I was housewife. I just think its really my sense of humor.

It reminded me a lot of the Anne Taintor gear that PP&MS posted about awhile back. To me the wine says, "Yes I will plaster a smile on my face and deal with some man's bullshit all day, but I will also come home and take a bottle of wine to the face and everything will be ok."

They say a picture says a thousand words. Can't a wine bottle speak to me as well?

It's Becoming A Pattern

2009-04-14T08:17:00.003-04:00

Bigsack's behavior, that is.

To me, Holidays are about family and I am lucky enough to have a pretty big family to spend those holidays with. My family may drive me out of my skull and make me wish I had some Xanex and a bottle of wine, but they are family and I love them regardless.
I understand that some have made their own families with great friends and not necessarily "relatives," but whatever you define as family, is family.

Anyways, boyfriends are not family.

I love Boy, but right now he is still Boy and not Husband, and therefore not family. I know he feels the same way about me. Being with him on Holidays would be nice, but neither of us are willing to give up our family holidays. And we are both perfectly content with this arrangement.

Bigsack, on the other hand, has a completely different view of things. As I've written about (many times) before, she has wrapped her life around her boyfriend, Paul.

Since Thanksgiving, this has been the pattern:
On Holidays, Bigsack and her boyfriend, will spend some time with my family, and moments after eating, get up to go spend the rest of the day with Paul's family. I continue to not understand why they have to do this. I like Paul a lot, I think he is level headed and good for my sister, so it isn't about him at all. But I fail to understand: Why can't Paul spend the day with his family and Bigsack spend the day with our family? Why do they have to rush through spending time at both places? Why do they have to do EVERYTHING together.

This pattern...it's driving me bananas and I know I have written about it before. So, next Thanksgiving, please remind me to have the strength to ask my sister WHY she has to rush through Holidays like this, just so the entire day can be spent with Paul.

Not Me! Monday

2009-04-13T09:30:00.005-04:00

And now back to our regularly scheduled programing. After taking last Monday off from Not Me! Monday, I am back in action. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week..

I did not make it my Lenten goal to go to church every weekend. I did not only make it 3 times (including Easter). =(

I certainly did not fall asleep at 9 pm on Friday night. Boy and I are young and vibrant and in the prime of our lives. I would never fall asleep that early on a weekend.

I did not have a near panic attack at my grandma's house yesterday because everyone in my family likes to talk at once and not only is the noise deafening, it makes me really anxious. I did not numb my anxiety with half a bottle of wine and six chocolate eggs.

My mother did not buy Cheeto (my indoor cat) a harness and leash so he could run around the backyard while she was doing yardwork. Cheeto did not hate every minute of it and refuse to be walked around like a dog. He did not sit down in the middle of the yard and not budge until I picked him up and ended the debacle. It was not entirely hysterical!

I certainly did not get yelled at in church Sunday morning for talking with my sister BEFORE mass even started. I did not let this woman make me feel like I was ten years old.
(This was absolutely ridiculous! I was telling my sister how to get her gluten free communion while the choir was singing as they always do before mass on Easter. The lady behind us rolled up her song sheet and hit me on the arm and screeched, "I can't hear the service!" [I'm pretty sure she meant the choir] but...EVERYONE else in the church was still filtering in and saying hello and greeting family and friends. I was baffled and humiliated and it was completely ridiculous. The woman was only in her 40s or 50s, its not like she was a batty 80 year old that you would expect this out of. After she hit me, I just turned around and almost died. I mean...what could I say, "Listen, "B*tch. I'm an adult. You don't admonish another adult like that. A polite, "ladies could you keep it down, id like to hear the choir," would have worked. You don't need to wack me with a song sheet." I mean--we were in church, it wasn't the time for my snarky side to come out. But still---the whole thing was utterly ridiculous!)

Okay, that is about all for this week. Anything you didn't do this past week?

Awkward Coworkers

2009-04-10T10:37:00.002-04:00

Everyone has at least one. That coworker that no one understands. We all ponder where they came from. And now, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the cast of characters at my work.

1. The whisper whistler.
This delightful individual is my cube neighbor so I witness his eccentricities first hand. He is 26 or 27 but acts like he is 20-21. Comes to work with wrinkled clothes, shirt un-tucked, wet hair and sneakers. Basically, you can tell that he never had the influence of a girlfriend to ensure that his appearance was acceptable for work. Anyways, he does this thing where he whistles reaaallllllyyyyyyy silently, so that it is barely audible. It almost sounds like air coming out of a vent, but it is EXTREMELY annoying. I'm sitting there trying to comprehend what I am reading and its like this little whistling elf is sitting on my desk. Constantly. He only stops when he is eating or talking.

2. The bathroom talker.
This woman geeks me out the most. I have issues with talking in the bathroom. Once I enter the stall, all talking should stop, immediately. I just think it's really awkward. The bathroom talker, however has other ideas. Not only does she try to talk to me when I enter the stall, but she talks to herself too. This is the worst part. I walk into the bathroom to hear someone in a stall saying, "ooooohhh Lordy, what is wrong with my stomach?" I almost fell over and died and left immediately. This has happened on multiple occassions- She is ALWAYS talking to herself in the stall. I find it very uncomforatable.

3. The Adult Child.
This guy, by far, is my favorite awkward co-worker. He is extremely smart, but has no social skills at all. I have no idea where he came from, who raised him, or how he got this way. I would love to be a fly on the wall in his home.
Some of the things he does:
when you are talking he will stare at you when you stop so that you feel forced to keep talking (I know this is a lawyer trick).
when talking to me, he will lift up his shirt and play with belly button.
he will wear a polo, khakis, and his black dress shoes that should be worn with a suit.
He will forward me emails from the current girl he is dating and ask me to interpret her mood and the tone in her email (which would be fine if we are friends, but he is my superior), He will also call me when he is out of the office and ask me to read him his email from his current girl (emails that he hasn't read yet). On Monday mornings he will go over his weekend dates with the current girl and ask me my opinion on "why she left his house at 2 am instead of staying the night." eeekkkk....

So, these are my favorite awkward coworkers. Next week's installment...The Boss.
Until then, who are some of your favorite awkward coworkers?

Update Monday

2009-04-06T10:11:00.003-04:00

I'm skipping Not Me! Monday this week. Not because I didn't do a series of rediculous things, but they are the same old things- running into standing objects, over reacting, and over indulging on chocolate.

Instead, I'm having an update Monday.

Last week I talked about potentially not being able to graduate in December and how it was ruining my life (see? over reacting!). However, I kept following up with the situation and went to the head of our department. And, apparently one of my favorite professors went to bat for me and convinced the department head that I should be allowed to graduate in December. So, YEAH! The department has granted me permission to wiggle around my schedule to get it all done by the end of 2009! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Now, it's just a matter of passing all those classes.

So, thank you for all your well wishes and concerns, apparently our bloggy might was pretty strong last week.

I have a tough school week ahead of me (one of those where everything falls in the same week), so I'll probably be pretty absent. Hope everyone has a lovely week.

Random Musings from Littlesack...

2009-04-01T09:00:00.002-04:00

I don't have much to say today. My head is full of worries and stories that I can't seem to put into words. So, instead...here is just some random thoughts that are totally unimportant, but really weird...

Sometimes the "Word verification" words for leaving comments on blogs are really hard for me to spell. It really annoys me when it gives me a word like "egdyebfksfkan." I usually mistype on purpose and hope for an easier one.

I noticed yesterday that it is really impossible to "be a lady" while driving. Especially while wearing a skirt. Especially while driving stick. Clearly men invented the car.

There is no word for when you run into someone in the hallway and then to get around them, you both go the same way, and then you both go the same way again, and then its really awkward and one person just stops moving so the other can get around. When this happens in a story you are telling you have to go through the whole thing. Like, "So I ran into Billy in the hall and we did that thing where....(you get the idea). My dad invented a word for it. It's called "sniggling." I really like it and think its funny. My whole family uses it now, so its "Billy and I sniggled in the hall." (It sounds dirty, haha!).

I do not understand people who honk or holler at me when I am running. What is their purpose? Generally, it startles me so much my gait gets messed up for a step and I trip and almost fall. Very annoying.

Ok, that was all totally worthless information and completely random, but, welcome to my life.

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

This past week I did not do a series of completely stupid things this week (I do not blame it on pms).:

My phone DID NOT go off in class. It was not utterly embarassing and totally awful. I did not feel like a complete asshole and really childish at the same time.

On Tuesday, I certainly did not drive right past my exit for work. like-- right by it. I am not scared that I am turning into a crazy cat lady that has lost her mind and can't even get herself to work in the morning.

I did not put both contact lenses in the same chamber one night. I did not wake up and wonder where my right contact had ran to in the middle of the night. They were not stuck together and my eyes were not super dry all day long. I am NOT totally disheveled and "that always forgetful friend."

I am not getting royally screwed over by my graduate program who is forcing me to stay an extra semester for ONE CREDIT. I did not have a miserable meltdown after finding out this news and over exaggerate by claiming they were ruining my entire life. I did not wash down my tears with a margarita.**

(Intro: Boy and I have our own blankets in bed because I am a notorious blanket stealer). So, Boy did not have the brilliant idea to "try and share one blanket tonight." Within one hour I did not steal all of the blankets so that boy was shivering by himself! haha!

So, lovely ladies, what didn't you do last week?

**I'm still fighting the staying for an extra semester thing, but it's going to be a long battle. I NEED TO GRADUATE. In all honestly, I can't help being exceptionally upset about this. Boy and I talk about getting engaged after I graduate (not immediately, but you know) and when i got this news my first thought was that it delayed getting engaged and then married to Boy. I haven't told anyone that part, but it's the deepest reason that I am upset. I know its irrational and girly, but I want to begin the next phase of my life...

The Difference Between my Mom and Dad

2009-03-26T14:35:00.002-04:00

Littlesack: Hey, I signed up for the Marathon, did I tell you?

Dad: You go girl! (genuinely excited, and in the most feminine voice he can muster)

Mom: The WHOLE THING?! Are you kidding me?! Why would you DO that?!

...Can't you just be happy for me that I'm trying something I've been talking about for years?

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-23T09:50:00.004-04:00

I'm a Cat and I'm a PC.

2009-03-21T14:01:00.000-04:00

My cat has a fetish with my school supplies-computers, pencils, you name it. Sitting on top of my lap top is one of Cheeto's top five favorite places in the house. Right on top of my lap top, while I am in the middle of writing a paper or something. He also really likes to sit on top of my textbooks when I'm in the middle of reading it or in between me and the book I am reading on the couch, so that I can't see the pages. Sometimes I let him get away with it and I try to read around him, but it is really annoying. Literally- he sits right ontop of my keyboard.

Last week he got into my post its and had them all over his face. He likes to rip them off the pages I have them on and chew on them, which makes it difficult to remember what pages I mark. He also really likes my highlighters. If I leave them unattended, he will bat them all over the place.

What a weirdo.

**Please ignore the snarky look on Cheeto's face, my excessively messy desk and corkboard, and my lighter that is large enough to start a bonfire**

What's YOUR Worst Running Experience?

2009-03-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

Did you see "Biggest Loser" last night? I'm getting emotionally invested. I was so stressed when Kristin gained a pound and almost cried when her mom went home. Kristin's check is in the mail--the 100 pound mark is next week and I can't wait.
Anyways...the challenge this week was to run a half marathon, WITHOUT any training. Difficult! However, I guess this was filmed in the winter when most places had snow because a lot of the contestants had to run the 13.1 miles on an indoor track! I can't even imagine the misery of running for over two hours on an indoor track. Tara's track was only 1/10 a mile for each lap---that means TEN laps for a mile. I seriously can not even image that form of torture.

In college our gym's indoor track was 1/10 of a mile too. In late January when there was still snow on the ground we also did our soccer running on the track. The memories of it are so horrible...spending an hour doing intervals on a tiny track is seriously just miserable. I've never run a half marathon on that track, but I've run for hours. One year our fitness test upon return was the Cooper test--- 1.75 miles in 12 minutes. And we had to run it on the indoor track and if you didn't make it, you ran it until you made it. I had just gotten over mono at this point, but was never going to make this anyways- I am not a fast endurance runner, just an endurance runner. Anyways, I didn't make it the first time, or the second time, or the third time, or the fourth time. Neither did half the team- we only got to stop because another team had track time. That day I ran about 80 laps on that indoor track and the thought of it makes me want to throw up! So, I can only imagine the bajillion laps the Biggest Loser contestants ran to finish a halfy.

This certainly wasn't the worst running experience of my life, but it's certainly up there. The time I drank chocolate milk before a surprise fitness test was a pretty bad day too! So, what is your worst running experience (I know you tried to block it out, but let's all relish in the pain?!)

Not Not Me! Monday

2009-03-16T10:16:00.000-04:00

I'm skipping Not Me! Monday this week. My Saturday was ridiculous enough without adding a bunch of "nots" in front of it.
So, as I posted about on Friday, I had month long plans with girlfriends to spend the day at the Spa at Hotel Hershey. I had to drive separately because I was driving to Boy's parents house Saturday night, which is in the opposite direction of home. So, Saturday morning, us girls hit the road in two cars to head up to Hershey, Pennsylvania to celebrate one of the girl's recent engagement. So far, so good.

About a half hour outside of Hershey my car starts making a tinkering noise. (My car is a 10 year old Ford-piece of shit- that I have spent more on repairs on than I bought the car for). I thought this was odd, so called the other car and we pulled off I-83. Right after we pulled off, my car died and the power steering went out (this has happened before). I restarted it and was able to get it into a gas station. Pissed. Looking around the car I can't find anything. Then, smoke starts pouring out of my hood. Not Good. I pop my hood and there is this gross slimy green substance that has exploded all over the insides. The smoke is disgusting. I figure a hose may have burst, but I can't find any obvious holes. Annoyed. I call my father (my car care knowledge was exhausted by this point). He suggests calling an auto repair place in the area and seeing if they can look at it. On a Saturday. And I am an hour away from anything familiar to me.

After literally 6,000 phone calls to the 6,000 auto repair shops in the local yellow pages I found a Ford dealer that could squeeze me before they closed for the day, I think my sobbing into the phone about being from out of town helped. Next, I needed to find a tow truck. The 500 calls I made were not helpful. Thankfully, the woman at the gas station's son knew someone who had a tow truck that was able to pick up my car. This whole process took about 1.5 hours, a huge headache and a melt down about halfway through. I was so stressed I was shaking and naseaus.

Finally, my car was towed and taken to the repair shop. The shop said my radiator had gone up and they were able to replace it same day and I could just pick my car up later. (Very good news, considering). I was in constant contact with the shop throughout the spa (really un-relaxing). The whole thing was a huge inconvenience to a bunch of people and involved cutting our spa day short.

We got there late, rushed through lunch, and were rushed into our appointments. Since we had to get back to the repair shop before it closed, we rushed out of there after our appointments to pick up my car. It sucked. I go to the spa once a year and like to make it a day long thing--totally indulging and relaxing. Because of me and my shitty car, I rushed my pals through their spa day and we didn't even get to gush about the engagement. I considered skipping my spa appointment and sending the girls without me, but I couldn't cancel my appointment without being charged the entire fee and if I was spending that much money, I damn well was getting a massage. The whole thing, was just totally shitty and not how I wanted to spend my "relaxing day."

I can say, however, that the massage was PHENOMENAL. It was the best I've ever had and utter bliss for the entire 80 minutes. It just completely sucks that the bliss of that day was surrounded by such complete stress.

So, in honor of not me monday, all in all, My car does not suck, and I didnot slightly ruin the completeling relaxing day I had planned. What didn't you do this week?

The Spa at Hotel Hershey

2009-03-13T11:50:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow, I am going here:
The Spa at Hotel Hershey!
I couldn't be happier or more excited than I am now. If you've ever read anything I've written, you know that I am obsessed with Chocolate on an addictive level. Here, at the Spa, there are bowls of hershey kisses EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE. Just for you to indulge in. I take handfuls and put them in my robe pockets and munch all day.
And the robes...oh, they are luxurious and beautiful and so comfortable.
The whole place is just magical, beautiful, oh-so-peaceful. Combining chocolate with my love of massages just makes me the happiest person ever.

Tomorrow I am going with my college roommates. We started going once a year during college (one of the girl's parents live near by) and since graduation, we still go. It is the best ritual I have ever been apart of. I can't even explain how much I am looking forward to entire day of massage, lounging, chocolate and pampering. OH! I am so excited.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and I'll be sure to post about everything when I get back.

Please don't judge me...

2009-03-11T21:07:00.006-04:00

I am in the middle of a temper tantrum and am defining the rest of this post as the "judge free zone." (If after reading you want to tell me to read during this time, please don't...I work and am in graduate school- I read enough and for the hour of free time I have each night I like to spend it doing something mind numbing like tv. Don't judge me).

As I've mentioned before, I moved home after graduation to have a free place to stay during grad school. As I've also mentioned before my mother is bat shit crazy and drives me out of my mind. I do not feel like my home is "home" and never feel like I have a place to myself (especially when my mother likes to snoop through my room for things- This is a entirely different story for another day, the fact that my mother feels she has the right to snoop through her adult daughter's room is something I DO NOT understand). Anyways...

I don't watch much TV at all, but during college I had a TV in my dorm room and I grew addicted to watching it at certain times. In the morning while getting ready, I need the Today show. At night, I need it on to fall asleep. On the weekends, I like to watch it when I first get up in the morning, while still laying in bed.

Because I don't feel like I have any space of my own, lately I've taken to watching some TV in my room for an hour or so before bedtime. I look forward to that solitude and cherish it.

Today...My parents switched cabele providers and being bat shit crazy as she is, my mom did not order a cable box for my room. As of 9:13 Wednesday evening, I do not have television in my room.

I might cry. I know I sound like a spoiled 12 year old, but this is really bothering me. I can not fall asleep without the TV on, unless I've taken 2 Tylenol pm and a bottle of wine, and that isn't a habit I want to start. I'm just annoyed that my only saving grace- that hour of down/TV time before bed is gone. Like, right now, its 9:20, the perfect time to snuggle up in bed and watch something on the tube and then set my sleep timer to 40 minutes and fall asleep. But, now, I will get in bed and stare at the ceiling in absolute silence until I can't bare it anymore, go downstairs to fall asleep on the couch while watching TV, and then wake up at some obscene hour only to climb back upstairs to go to bed.

UGH!

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-09T10:00:00.002-04:00

Time for another dose of free therapy...in the form of Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama who is quite the busy woman! Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not throw a pillow at the T.V. at the end of two hours of "Biggest Loser." I was not super pissed about the "To Be Continued" ending.

I clearly did not register for the Baltimore Marathon in October and then nearly throw up with anxiety moments afterward. I am not incredibly nervous about this challenge!

I did take a bottle of wine to the face after my statistics exam Thursday night. It was not an hour and a half of horrible statistic-ness. I am not dreading getting my grade back. =(

I certainly did not forget that we had snow on Monday and that my running trail would be muddy on Saturday. I did not go for an hour long run in the mud and play around like a 10 year old boy. I certainly did not let a stranger's Labrador jump all over me with his muddy paws. I did not relish every minute of it!

I did not look in four different grocery markets for my favorite Easter candy, Cadbury Mini Eggs. I did not squeal with excitement when I found them! (Please do not judge the fact that I have a favorite candy for each Holiday, including Easter. I know I have an obsession, I'm working on it).

and I did not eat half a container of Ben and Jerry's pishfood last night. It was not totally worth every bite!!

What didn't YOU do last week?

Oh, and on another note, we bought Boy's nephew a playdough set with all the accessories and a floor "Cars" puzzle! Thanks for all the suggestions!

My First Marathon

2009-03-06T13:48:00.003-05:00

I did it. That's right, ladies. Yesterday I registered for my first Full Marathon! The Under Armour Baltimore Marathon on Saturday, October 10.

I am scared shitless and also extremely excited about it. I've run two half marathons in the past (one last year and one about 5 years ago) and decided I was ready for the next challenge. And that challenge, just happens to be 26.2 miles.

I've been planning on running the Baltimore Marathon in fall 2009 for a little over a year now. This winter and spring my goal was to shed some unwanted pounds and get as strong as possible so that my running would be a little easier once I started training. And, I am SOOOO happy to report that since the middle of January I've lost 10 pounds!!! I am super excited and very proud of myself. It hasn't been easy, but I've been really focused on counting my calories, getting in a lot of cardio, and lifting weights like a mad woman. And, so far, so good. My goal is to loose another 10-15 pounds. I think that these 10-15 are going to be a little harder to get rid of, but I'm pretty optimistic. And, I'll keep everyone posted.

So, Saturday, October 10 seems like a long way away, but I know it will be here before I know it. I think I'm planning on a 20 or 24 week program, which makes my training start sometime in June.

For any marathon veterans, please leave some feedback on things that pushed you through and any success tips. I'm particularly looking for a good snack/gel that is easy on the stomach.

YEAHHHHH!!!!

Help from Moms Please...

2009-03-05T09:14:00.002-05:00

Ladies,
I need your help please, especially if you are a mother/aunt/etc.
Boy's nephew's birthday is next week and we need to get him a present. Caleb is turning 3 years old and we have no idea what to get him. He is into typical little boy things: sports, cars, dinosaurs, etc.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

THANK YOU!!!

Just a Thought...

2009-03-03T19:44:00.002-05:00

Next time I'm at the gym, please remind me NOT to run on the treadmill next to the mirror, even if it's the only one left. Running next to a mirror allowed me to see all my not-so-perfect parts in their full glory and I can watch how slowly my feet appear to be moving even though I feel like I am running so fast I am going to fall over and die. It isn't good for the motivation factor.

And, next time I'm at the gym and forget undies to change into after I shower, please remind me to make sure that my pants are zipped up.

Just a thought...

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-02T10:04:00.003-05:00

Time for another dose of free therapy...in the form of Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama who is quite the busy woman! Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not create a vision board of wedding dresses, colors, places, and accessories because I was excessively menstrual and couldn't control myself. Nope, I would never plan my wedding when I wasn't even engaged. Absolutely not!

I did not laugh hysterically when my cat got into my post-it notes and had them stuck all over his face. Instead of helping him out and taking the post-its off, I did not search for my camera to capture the moment.

I certainly did not give myself a pep talk in the bathroom before my re-scheduled performance review. Talking to one's self is really weird and I would never pep myself up to handle my egotistical and ass-hole like boss.

I did not just dance with glee when I found out my university is closed for the day due to snow!! I will not jump immediately back into bed and relish my snow day after I post this.

Due to my new obsession with Biggest Looser, I did not get myself to push through a workout by telling myself it was my "last chance workout." I am fully aware I am not on this show and I would never pretend Jillian was there pushing me.

On another note, I did not scarf down hershey kisses like a feen right after this completely negating the workout. Chocolate is killing me!!!

As always, feel free to post about what you didn't do this weekend!

To my Fellow Gold's Gym Members:

2009-02-25T09:50:00.000-05:00

Dear Gym members,
Most of you follow proper gym etiquette and we have little do with each other besides a small smile as we both walk into the gym at an un-Godly hour. I appreciate this. However, to the few that need a refresher on gym etiquette, please see my letter below.

To the gym bunnys,
Yes, your body is rocking. Your six pack is nice and your legs are perfectly toned. And, if we are being perfectly honest, yes I am a little jealous that your whole body probably weighs the same as my left leg. That being said, we could all still tell that your body is rocking when you wear normal workout gear. There is no need for spandex shorts and a sports bra (with regular bra underneath) that you wear every-single-time you are at the gym. One, there is no need for the regular bra under the sports bra look- cleavage in a sports bra is defeating the purpose of keeping those suckers down. Secondly, It's not that hot at in the gym---no need for the sports bra only look. By wearing just that--you are clearly saying, "Look at me while I work out."

And if you feel that the gym is hot, (which I doubt because I've never seen you sweat) I bet putting your hair in a pony-tail instead of curling it and wearing it down would help keep you a little cooler. Just a tip from me to you. Finally, that make up that you put on to come to the gym is totally unnecessary too. We are here to sweat, not scope out men. Judging by that huge rock on your left ring finger, I'm pretty sure you are married and although you are clearly trying to attract attention, you probably shouldn't be. If you aren't getting what you need out of your marriage and need to seek validation for your looks at the gym, well, sister, that is an entirely different conversation.

And the next time you shoot me the stink eye while I am doing my wide leg squats to try and slim down my thighs, I will pick up the 10 pound dumb bell and hurl it at your face.

****
To the old man who thinks he can enter the "womens only" section:
Sir. Apparently you aren't getting the evil glances I shoot at you every time you do this. I know you aren't illiterate and can read that huge sign that says "Ladies Golds." We ladies specifically work out in this section to avoid creepers like you who make us feel uncomforatble while working out. (Yes, men, we do see you checking out our asses while doing our 1000th squat).

I assume you are simply lazy (which is weird since you are really musclar- as I can tell by your entirely too tight t-shirt). Since you can't seem to walk the 30 feet to the other equipment to find the specific weight you need, you think it is ok to prance into the women's section, pick out the weight you want, and prance out. This, my friend, is not ok.
One, it's women only for a reason. We like it this way. Get out.
Two, it's pretty screwed up to take our equipment out of the room because you are too lazy to find it elsewhere.
Third, if you ever have the balls to correct my form on something, like I've seen you do to other women before, I will not resist throwing that ten pound dumbbell you took from the women's section directly at your face.

Ask a gym bunny, she'll tell you.

Thanks to the both of you for your attention in this matter. Really appreciate your cooperation.

Love,
Littlesack.

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-23T10:26:00.003-05:00

Time for another dose of free therapy...in the form of Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama who is quite the busy woman! Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not pay to get my hair cut and was unhappy with the cut so I had my sister cut it the way I wanted it. Nope, I have more gumption than that, so that if I didn't like the hair cut at the salon I would have certainly said something.

I did not eat an excessive amount of chocolate this weekend. I would not let PMS get to me like that. =(

I certainly did not nearly drool over the gluten free cinnamon bun that I bought from a delicious gluten free bakery. It was not unbelievably fabulous and I did not lick the plate afterward.

I did not dress extra professionally the day I had my performance review at work only to have my performance review pushed back a week. I certainly did not get pissy that I wasted my perfectly constructed outfit on nothing important.

I did not stay out until 3:00 am on Saturday night and then sleep half of the day on Sunday, causing me to not get done any homework. Nope, I realize that I am not in college anymore and I certainly prioritize better than that.

I most certainly did not make up a lie to tell the pet groomer about why I was late bringing in my cat. And that lie clearly did not involve something along the lines of, "my kids were running all over the house this morning and I couldn't get them under control." Since I do not have any kids, I would never make up some random lie like this, especially since the pet groomer didn't even care. This lie did not just randomly burst out of my mouth for no good reason at all.

That's it for this week's edition of not me Monday. As always, please play along!

A girl's best friend

2009-02-19T23:01:00.003-05:00

A girl's gotta have chocolate, right? I mean, right next to pearls and diamonds, I'm pretty sure chocolate is a girl's best friend.

Even though I try to make smart food choices all day long, I always ensure that I have a few calories left over to spend on some chocolate. It's my night time treat that always ends a day just perfectly.

Since chocolate isn't know for its nutritional qualities, I've concocted a few ideas that make healthy chocolate taste super creamy! And...here they are.

Banana Chocolate Shake
-peel one banana and cut into bite sized pieces.
-put in a zip lock back and freeze overnight.
-In a blender, combine the frozen banana and 1 c. soy chocolate milk (this is what I use, but fat free milk with 1 tbsp of chocolate mix works just as well)
-Mix until well blended and serve immediately!
-DELISH! (and under 200 calories!)

the frozen banana is really creamy and has an ice cream texture which makes it really decadent. If I'm eating it for breakfast or after a workout, I usually add a teaspoon or two of peanut butter for some extra protein. But, if it's just a night time snack, I leave the p.b. out. You can also freeze it for 2-3 hours after blending and the consistency becomes thicker.

Frozen Pudding
-I take a 100 calorie cup of pudding and put it in the freezer for about 4 hours. It is the perfect consistency and just thick enough to resemble ice cream. Plus, it takes longer to eat, so I don;t scarf it down. If you freeze it for too long and it is super hard put it in the microwave for 30 seconds on power level 8 and it will be good to go!

These are two of my favorite stand-bys when the chocolate bug gets me but I don't want to splurge. It tastes like splurging, without all the calories and fat!

If you try them, let me know what you think...

The Biggest Loser

2009-02-18T10:19:00.003-05:00

I LOVE the Biggest Loser! I used to only watch the finale to see the before and afters (I love a good before and after picture), but this season I started watching at the first episode and I am addicted. I'm very into it. When they are doing challenges I find myself tensing up for them and holding my breath until I know who wins. I physically have to calm myself down and tell myself to unclench my fists. It's very weird.

I also find it really motivating. If these girls, who weigh two hundred pounds more than I do can run and lift and kick their own asses, I can certainly push myself to loose these 20 pounds or so.

This season, my favorite contestant is Kristin and last night she broke the 300 pound mark, which must have been really exciting. I was really happy for her. Last week she was at 300 and was hoping to drop below 300, but gained 2 pounds. I wanted to hug her through the t.v. Weight loss is frustrating, even if you are doing nothing but working out like a feen. When i was in WW, if you had a bad week but knew you did everything right, my leader used to say, "your check is in the mail." Meaning--you may not have lost this week, but you will loose big next week. When I am disappointed with my number I often say this to myself, and it's what I wanted to tell Kristin last week (see how nutty I am---I am connected to this girl and think she is my actual friend!).

So, morale of the story--if you are frustrated with weight loss, just keep going. It is really difficult, even for those with a lot of weight to loose, but your numbers will eventually start to go down.

Anyways, I really love this show and can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring for the contestants. And if you don't watch--I highly recommend it.

On another note, Pearls and Bows is having a super cute give-a-way!! And for all of you ladies, who love your monograms, you will surely enjoy this! Be sure to enter.

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

Just another Manic Monday...
But, on this Monday, like all other Mondays, we play...Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama who is quite the busy woman! Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not have a fabulous weekend with Boy gallivanting amongst the West Virginia mountains, browsing through boutique shops, hippie craft stores, and wine cellars. I certainly did not drink an excessive amount of wine, and spoil myself with chocolate. I was not totally self-indulgent this weekend. I did not get exactly what I wanted (sex, chocolate and massages). *wink*

I definitely did not have a secret smile when I typed in my actual weight on the treadmill because I was proud of the poundage I lost!

I clearly did not slam my pen into my desk because the new statistical software I am learning wasn't behaving properly. No, it certainly wasn't my fault and I certainly have way more patience than that.

I most certainly did not convince Boy to browse through the cutest baby shop with me. I was not so in awe of the adorable outfits that I wanted to purchase for my newly and secretly pregnant best friend. I did not almost burst at the seems and gush to Boy that best friend is pregnant. (Once I can tell him, I'll need to explain that it wasn't MY baby itch keeping me in the store, but my "ohmygoodness I can't wait to spoil this kid" itch).

I did not drink four cups of tea and three sodas on Thursday so I could make it through work and into my 7:10 to 9:40 class without crashing. No, I would never inhale that much caffeine in one day.

Sorry this wasn't as snarky as usual, but I had a good week and had to share it somehow?!

What didn't you do last week?

Hearts Afire

2009-02-12T10:04:00.005-05:00

I meant to write more. It's nearing Valentine's day and I wanted to do a cute post about it. Good Girl Gone Blog invited me to write about a date night for Springpad's date night planner and I also wanted to participate in a tag about how I met Boy (Spanish class, by the way). But...I just ran out of time. School + work is keeping me busy and blogging has fallen behind.

Boy and I are going away for the weekend. We haven't really celebrated Valentine's Day in the past- just a nice dinner, no gifts. But, we've been meaning to get away for a awhile, so this seemed like a good excuse. I'm not sure where we are going, he planned it and I told him not to tell me. I just said I wanted something that included sex, chocolate, and massages (not neccessarily all together!) So, I'm hoping for one of those things.

When I am anxious about something, I tend to dream about it. And, I am clearly anxious and excited about this weekend. This week I have had so many dreams about this trip. One where we attended political discussions all weekend (bleh!), one where we were camping outside a five star hotel, one where he was on the verge of proposing, one where we were eating lasagna (which I can't even have), and one with an old man and a walking stick giving us a guided tour.

Weird...I know. So, I'm super excited about going away and hope its relaxing and fun. I've been working all week to get homework done since I won't have time this weekend. I'll let you know all about it when I get back.

So, ladies Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone has a nice weekend. And, if you think you are valentine-less, remeber that you certainly aren't! Your best gal pals love you more than you think and they will always be your Valentine, through good years and bad.

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-09T10:44:00.004-05:00

It's Monday! Know what that means? Time again for Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama who is quite the busy woman! Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not nearly run over a dog while his ten year old owner watched. (This was one of the top ten most terrifying moments of my life and it all happened in slow motion---the dog bounding into the road, me slamming on my breaks and skidding. I will always remember the look on the kid's face. I jumped out of my car, screaming if I hit the dog and the kid was like, no, he's ok. and the beautiful lab jumped all over me slobbering me with kisses. I was unbelievably happy he was ok. But, I'm pretty sure I aged ten years.)

I certainly did not squeal with delight, alarming the entire sushi bar, when my girlfriend I hadn't seen in over two years came into the restaurant.

I did not realize I was "too old" for a favorite college hangout when the music was excessively loud and I was screaming to carry on a conversation. I am only 22, I should not be annoyed by bars like that!

I did not spend over a half an hour in the card store looking for the perfect Valentine's Day card for Boy. No, I am more practical than that!

And I most definitely did not opt out of a family function to "do homework" and the moment everyone left the house, I did not put down my books and curl up to watch Soap Net. Nope, not me!

What didn't you do this week? Feel free to play along.

Picture Tag!

2009-02-06T09:40:00.006-05:00

Lovely Snow White over at Snow White and the 76 Dwarfs tagged me in the picture game. You are supposed to post a picture and tell the details about when, where, etc.
I was given the number 8-- so the 8th folder and the 8th picture.

This computer is new and all my undergrad pictures are still on my old computer. So, luckily you will be getting this picture instead of one of me doing something utterly ridiculous like a body shot off a man dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow...or something like that.
You are going to have to look reallllllllyyyyyyy hard to believe me, but...That is the Dave Matthews Band and Dave in the middle with the guitar. This past summer Boy and I went to Rothbury--a Music Festival in Michigan and Dave was one of the headliners. Although you can't tell from my picture because my camera is a piece, we stood pretty close as we danced and shouted lyrics for hours on end.

I can easily say that it was the best night of my life. EASILY. The whole show was just ridiculously amazing, Dave was phenomenal, and the band was just unbelievable. And, the best part of all-Boy was with me the whole time. When I listen to the live tracks from that night I continuously get chills down my spine, remembering and relishing in every detail of the whole night. I loved the whole festival, but this night will forever be remembered as one of the times in my life when I was happiest and most at peace.

The Letter Game!

2009-02-04T12:43:00.000-05:00

This game went around a few weeks ago, but I missed the boat that time and get to play this time! The adorable Emily at Vineyard Vogue gave me the letter "N" to post ten of my favorite things that begin with that letter. If you'd like to play (and missed the boat last time too) let me know in a comment.

I had a hard time with this letter, not sure why. But- here are ten of my favorite "N" things.

Nuzzling. Early on weekend mornings when Boy doesn't have to work and there is nothing pushing us out of bed.

Napping. This could be one of my favorite things, period. As an undergrad, I had secret couch in the Commons that I would nap on every day after early morning practice. If a friend needed me, she knew where to find me. I currently wish I had a cot under my desk, George Costanza style.

Nature. I love being outside when the weather is nice. There is a state park right by where Boy lives and we often take walks or hike in there. I also really enjoying trail runs- I think they are truly cathartic. I'm so focused on not tripping on a tree root, that the time flies by. On one of my runs, I saw a dear and her doe just standing near the trail starring at me like I was crazy. It was so startling and pretty!

NPR (National Public Radio). I know this makes me a bit of a loser, but it's about the only thing I listen to on the radio. It's the best way to get news quickly and succinctly and there are no commercials!

Nuggets (the chocolate ones from Hershey). Mmmmmmmm!
Novels. I love reading and could spend hours cuddled up reading. My ideal vacation is sitting on the beach, drinking umbrella drinks and reading books. My all time favorites are: The Catcher in the Rye and the Red Tent. Currently, I'm reading Gloria. A while back I asked for book suggestions and Victoria at This English Girl's Life recommended Gloria. So far, I am absolutely in love with it and it is really hitting home. It's about a girl in the 1960s during the summer after college and before she heads to Grad school.

Naked. Awkward, yes, but also true. I love to be naked when no on else is around. If I lived by myself I would sleep naked every night.

Napa Valley wine. (ok, this is really a stretch) but I really love wine and none of my favorites start with the letter N. So, I improvised. Some of my favorite memories come from bottles of wine shared with girlfriends. I even collect the corks from important moments in my life, like big dates with Boy. Luckily, I was able to snag a wine cork from Mrs. Stilletos wedding day and add it to my collection!

Night time. I think its the most peaceful time of the day. In the summer, I love to be outside when night falls. In colder months, I really enjoy curling up by myself before bed- it's my me time!

NBC (the channel). Except for LOST, which is on ABC, all of my favorite shows are on NBC. Law and Order: SVU, The Office, and Biggest Loser. And of course...I love the Today Show--also on NBC.

Ok, that's all. Let me know if you want a letter!

Flashback: Childhood Movies

2009-02-02T20:56:00.007-05:00

Do you ladies remember this movie? Escape to Witch Mountain? And Return from Witch Mountain was the sequel. And these were the kids in the movies:
The movies were made by Disney in the mid-70s and they were always on the Disney channel when I was growing up. I can't say I remember all the details, but I know there was an overpass, some UFOs, a mountain and these kids underwent some form of odd testing. That's about all I can piece together from my memories, but I really liked them.

On SuperBowl Sunday The Rock (I know he has a real name now, but whatever) was promoting his new movie...the trilogy to the movies...Race to Witch Mountain
Now, I can't say the original movies were really cinematic masterpieces, but Really? Really Dwayne Johnson (apparently The Rock's real name)? I feel like this is a movie that would have been better left not-made and certainly isn't going to add anything to the movies almost FORTY years later. Apparently, Disney is feeling the squeeze from PIXAR and is delving deep to find some new (or recycled) movies.

Anyways, random, I know, but I had this flashback on Sunday and wanted to see if anyone else remembered these movies?

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA since last week, school started this week and I was busy getting adjusted to the change. Anyways, time again for Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. A few weeks ago I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not laugh so hard I that I actually snorted soda out of my nose like a 10 year old when my co-worker put a picture of our boss over the picture of Michael Scott on my "The Office" Calendar. (more on this later).

I certainly did not have to get a man from my office to jump start my car on Friday afternoon because the battery died and I didn't know how to do it myself. Nope, I am a more capable woman than that***

I did not squeal like a little kid on Christmas when I got my care package of English Toffee and chocolates from Sasika!

I most definitely did not lie about my weight on my rental skis form Friday night so that Boy wouldn't know that exact number. Nope, I care about my own safety way more than that.

I certainly did not eat way too much junk at the Super Bowl party even though I brought my own healthy snacks. No, I am a logical gal and know that if I stop eating so much junk I can stop lying about my weight on the treadmill, ski rental forms, and other forms of weight torture.

Ok, that's it for today. What didn't you do last week?

***I did (honestly and actually) learn how to jump start a car this same day and later in the weekend jump my own car, all by myself!! Put that on your resume...

Gluten Free is the Way to Be

2009-01-27T21:08:00.004-05:00

Ladies, I've been keeping a secret.
Nothing big really, but it affects my life in a major way and might explain some things I generally mention. As big as this is for me though, I do know that it could be a lot worse and in many respects, I am very lucky.
So...I have Celiac's Disease, which is a genetic auto-immune disorder where my body doesn't process gluten or wheat products. The only cure is to cut all of these foods out of my diet. This means I can't eat all bread, flour, wheat, and gluten products. Yes, you read that right-- I can not have all those good, starchy comfort foods.
Pizza and beer? Nope.
Pretzels, cookies, and crackers? Nope.
Bread, rolls, stuffing? Nope.

My doctors finally figured out what was wrong when I was 17, right before graduating High School and going to college. Which means that for 17 years I was eating foods that were toxic for my body and explains why I was a pretty sick kid growing up.

At first I didn't think about it much. I thought it sucked, but I don't remember dwelling on it- Hell, it could have been a lot worse. I met with a nutritionist and tried a ton of new products-mostly made with rice and potato flour. Some I fell in love with and are close to the real deal, some were so gross and gritty and grainy I wanted to be sick. I have one specific memory of tasting a new pancake mix and it was so gritty and so far from the real deal, that I literally broke down crying into the mix. It was pretty miserable.

All in all, I've got things figured out. I have a staple of my favorite gluten-free products that I keep on hand and even found a gluten free chocolate cookie dough ice cream!!! However, despite all this...I have a few lingering issues.

1. I was raised Catholic and therefore participated in communion every Sunday. The bread served at communion, however, is just that...bread. So, I can't take communion. I have struggled with this for a long time and quite honestly, its one of the major reasons I don't go to mass. At first I thought, well God wants me to take communion and therefore he won't let this particular bit make me sick. This turned out not to be true. So, I started faking taking communion and giving the bread to my father back at the pew (If you are Christian and appalled by this, please don't tell me, I already know and it bothers me deeply...but I'm being honest here and honestly have very few other solutions). I refuse to not participate because sitting in the pew not getting communion makes me feel less like a Catholic. On the research I've done, the Catholic church's policy is that the communion bread has to have gluten in it (it has to be bread) because it was actual bread in the Bible. So...what's a girl to do? Fake it or sit out? I'm still not sure. But, I've already decided that for Lent I will figure out a solution to this (I'll keep you posted).

2. The other issue that gives me considerable trouble is weight loss! My diet is already so restricted that I have a hard time giving up other good foods. A year or so ago, I did WW and did really well for the first 8 weeks or so. Then, I hit a wall and just couldn't handle it anymore. Basically it goes like this-- gluten free foods are pretty gross in general and so to make them better manufacturers add more fat or use non-whole grain products (white rice flour instead of brown rice flour) which decreases the fiber content. So although moderate in calories, lots of foods are low in fiber and high in fat, which sky rockets items on the points scale. It is simply too restrictive. There are no low carb breads in my life or light crackers or 100 calories oreo snack packs. There is barely bread, crackers and cookies. This is my struggle. I have already given up so much, I hate to give up the bagels I found that actually taste like bagels even if they are 400 calories a serving. So, again, whats a girl to do? Well, I've decided to count actual calories instead of points. So far, the results aren't very encouraging, but I'm willing to hang in there.

3. This is my final point. I never realized how much I would miss food until the last few months. Lately, I see someone eating a piece of pizza and I have to physically restrain myself from taking it from them and throwing it in my mouth. I MISS THESE FOODS. This past week my mom brought home cinnamon buns and I almost cried. honestly. I haven't had a cinnamon bun in over 5 years and I'm not really sure I will ever have something that gooey and good again. It is seriously weird to say that I miss a food, it makes me feel very odd and disgusting. But the hardest part of it--is the finality of it. It's not like I'm on a diet and am just cutting bread out but can indulge every once in a while. It is, no more bread, ever. There isn't much a girl can do about this point, but it has just been frustrating these past few months like nothing I have ever experienced and I just wanted to vent it out.

WHEW! I am not going to lie, all of that felt really good to get out. If you hung in there through all that reading, thank you. I know it was a long and pretty heady reading. I promise that my next post will be more light hearted and considerably shorter.

Not Me! Monday

2009-01-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Time again for Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. A few weeks ago I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not feed my cat popcorn for dinner because I ran out of cat food. Nope, I am a much better furmomma than that.

I certainly didn't whine to Boy that I liked "his side" of the bed better and make him switch with me, only to find out I didn't like "his side" better and make him switch back. Nope, not me!

For certain, I didn't almost cry at work when the most nit-picky woman in the world tore apart a document I spent more than 10 hours on and then asked me to stay two hours late on a Friday afternoon to fix some spaces and periods. No, I'm stronger than that.

I did not polish off a bottle of wine on Friday night and then fall asleep at 8:45 on a FRIDAY! No, I am a fun-loving gal who was definitely out on a Friday night.

I most definitely did not follow my mom, who was sick with the flu, around the house and spray anything she came within 10 feet of with an excessive amount of Lysol!

Finally, I clearly did not snap at my sister that "its not her bed!" when she was whining that she wanted her boyfriend to come home so she could go to his house to sleep in "her bed." Nope, not me, because if I thought she was being a stupid girl about her boyfriend I would tell her in a rational and adult manner!

What did you "not do" this week?! As always, feel free to play along.

Etsy much...?

2009-01-22T20:31:00.004-05:00

I didn't even know about Etsy until I joined the blogging world. And now? I am 100% hooked and totally obsessed. I've been looking for something fabulous and a little different, without being garish or ostentatious in any way. I wasn't sure what I had in mind, but knew I would know it when I found it...and I certainly did.
Last week, I saw this necklace from Musarra on Etsy, fell in love with it and scooped it right up.It's an antique broach made into a necklace with a rosary chain. I love its elegance with a modern twist--the big pearl and rosary forming the necklace. Classic, but also fun and different. I especially love the fact that no one else will have it. I love unique jewelry.

Today I received it in the mail and was so excited--it was even packaged in a cute little box with a ribbon! It is even more fabulous in person than in the picture. I can't wait until the next event when I can wear this find with my little back dress. Valentine's Day?

What are your favorite etsy stores and finds?

Martha for the Masses

2009-01-20T14:01:00.004-05:00

Today I had one of my "Martha for the Masses"/Good Enough Solution experience.

The backing to my earring fell out and I didn't have another one in my coin purse. Instead of being all pouty about my lack of earrings for the day, I sprung into action. Believe it or not, I cut the eraser off of a pencil and am currently using it as my earring backing.

Martha should really hire me to write a book on Workplace solutions to Beauty Problems. Chapter 1: How to use a paper clip in place of a bobby pin.

If only...

Not Me! Monday

2009-01-19T15:25:00.003-05:00

Time again for Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. A few weeks ago I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

I had a hard time coming up with "Not Mes" this week. Not, by any means because I was so well behaved, but because I keep doing the same things...falling off the treadclimber, indulging in peanut butter m&ms, etc.

So, this week although my list is short, don't think it's because I'm getting soft on you.

This past week,

I did not spend an excessive amount of money on four items at Sephora. Nope, it would be irresponsible to spend that money when I need to buy textbooks next week.

I certainly did not knock 5 fives pounds off my actual weight when the treadmill asked me for me weight this week. Nope, I have more self awareness than that. (Who am I kidding with this anyways; I'm pretty sure the treadmill isn't going to judge me and say "whoa there, littlesack, cut back on those peanut butter m&ms!)

Finally, I definitely did not browse around the baby store and almost buy something, just because the items were cute even though I currently don't have any babies to shop for. Nope, not me.

Hope everyone had a great week and as always, feel free to play along!

Small Victories

2009-01-16T11:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I experienced a very small victory on the Fit Train. I, littlesack, did not eat chocolate alll day. Not at all, not even one small m&m or a crumb from a cookie. I'm sure I've done this before. But yesterday I consciously and actively avoided all chocolate. I feel very proud.

I am a lover of all things chocolate. Cheap crappy kind, yup. Rich, dark amazing kind, yup. Body wash that smells like chocolate, yup. (Thank you, Philosophy).

On an everyday basis, its not like I have an IV of chocolate hooked up to me or anything. But, I do believe that a small amount, every day, does a soul good and keeps the mind sane. And by small, I mean like a 100 cal pack of m&ms or 2 bing chocoloate cherries. It's just my small little pick-me-up to fight the afternoon slump.

But yesterday, I was going strong and didn't even need that chocolate. Once I realized how long I had gone without it, I made an effort to avoid it the rest of the day. Woohooooo for me!

Today, however, is a different story...and the m&m packet is calling my name. One day at a time, ladies, one day at a time.

Happy are Those Who Dream...

2009-01-15T08:46:00.007-05:00

First, my dear friend Miss Anne at Indefinetly Definite is having a Valentine's Day give-a-way! Be sure to stop on by and enter.

I have really weird dreams, a lot. And I remember them all. Usually they involve a mix of people, places and things I know but not in any logical sense. Like, my cat at my work, talking. That type of thing. They are also usually a product of the tv show I fell asleep to or a conversation I had before bed.

A few nights ago I had a dream that Boy proposed to me with the UGLIEST ring imaginable. It wasn't even an engagement ring. This picture is the closest I could find to what it looked like in the dream. But, basically the band was made of concrete and the "stone" was purple and so thin that it was glued onto the ring (kinda like the one below). Horrendous! And the ring wasn't even the worst part! Nope.

In the dream when Boy proposed he didn't even say anything. He just kneeled down and put the ring on my finger. But, it was the WRONG finger. He put it on my middle finger! In my dream I was so embarrassed I wouldn't even wear it. haha.

Here's to hoping this doesn't happen in real life, ever!

Happy Kitty and Today's Find

2009-01-14T10:25:00.005-05:00

I love all of you! Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts yesterday. I thought that this waiting game was a common problem for 20 something women, but it just made me feel so much better that everyone else had experience with it too. I am a much happier kitty today.

Blogging really is like really inexpensive therapy! =)

Moving on...
Today, I am digging passive-aggressive notes.com.
A coworker passed it along to me and it is awesome! Most of us have encountered some form of work place "note-leaver" and this site brings them all into one place so you can browse annoying "note-leavers" from all over the country. If you have some time, I suggest looking through the most popular and greatest hits on the side bar. But, if you are in a rush, this one: Thanks Sandra! is by far, my favorite! (just click on the pics to make them big enough to read).

ENJOY!

I'm tired...

2009-01-13T08:14:00.001-05:00

I'm tired...

of not having a place of my own
of going to school
of being made to feel guilty by my mother for taking personal time because she never does
of Jerk roommate's anxiety, outright aggression, and passive aggression
of feeling so unwelcome and uncomfortable in Boy's home that it makes me sick to my stomach
of only spending time with Boy one or two nights a week
of the lack of quality time and intimacy that only spending one night together leads to
of Boy's brother's poor decisions and personal drama that affects us all
of being slightly out of sorts

but mostly, I'm just tired of waiting for the next phase of my life.
I've always felt like I was just working towards the next thing. In High school, I was working to graduate so I could go to college. In college, I was just working to graduate to get to grad school. Now that I'm in grad school, I'm working so that I can be done with school for awhile, and get a job. Don't get me wrong. I don't think that getting a job will make me feel fulfilled--I know I'll always be working for the next raise, project, or position. But, I just want to feel like I accomplished something-- that all my hard work in school is going to pay off with a decent job.

On the other hand, I know I need to slow down. To enjoy not having a full time job right now, to not have tons of bills and stress, to not worry about a family and a house. But the mounds of homework, the guilt trips, and the lack of personal space and belongings forces me to not enjoy the present situation. It only makes me long for a space all my own.

For a place where I can...

lounge freely without fear of a guilt trip or an angry outburst
lay around in my undies and not feel odd about it
have just a bottle of wine for dinner and 100% enjoy it
lay in bed until noon
skip out on the dishes for a few days
and avoid doing laundry until I run out of underwear

But, none of these things are possible for a little while. I still have at least a year of school left, which means only a part time salary for a year and Boy is in no position to buy his own place. So, until then, I will force myself to deal with the situation, steal personal moments when I can, and in general, put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

But, in the mean time, I'd love your support and thoughts as I attempt to act like an adult...

Not Me! Monday

2009-01-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

Time again for Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. A few weeks ago I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I did not nearly face plant on the tread climber at the gym and in an effort to not fall knock my water bottle off its stand and soak myself in the process. I also did not ignore the stares from my fellow worker-outers. Nope, I have more coordination and grace than that.

I did not nearly punch a girl in the face for coming to the gym with starbucks coffee in hand, hair down, make-up on, and discussing how "boys keep coming up to me telling me I'm just too skinny." Nope- not me.

I did not go to bed at 8:45 one night this week because my early morning workouts had me exhausted. No, I am a young, vibrant girl who was out partying at that time!

I did not watch the entirety of four football games this weekend. Nope, I have more exciting things to do than sit around watching football.

I most certainly did not cringe and cower on Saturday night when Jerk roommate couldn't find his cell phone and proceeded to flip all of the furniture over until he found it. No, I would never let him affect me like that.

And finally, I did not put my full length mirror on more of a slant so that it makes me look skinnier!! Nope, not me!

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and as always, feel free to play along.

Welcome to the family...

2009-01-09T10:53:00.004-05:00

Warning: the following story is incredibly awkward!

Boy's father had heart surgery this week (He is doing really well). However the hospital where he was having surgery is over an hour drive from where his parents live, but only 20 minutes from my parents house. So, we invited Boy's mom to stay with us for a few days so she could get to the hospital easily. Ok, everything fine so far.

So, Wednesday night I am laying in bed and I really have to pee but, as usual, I only have on a T shirt and my undies. I'd like to avoid running into her in the hallway looking like a refugee. I know Boy's mom is still awake- I can hear her downstairs. So, I have this internal debate if I should find some sweat pants and throw them on to run to the bathroom. I decide against it. So, I sprint to the bathroom and Boy's mom is still downstairs and all is fine. Then, as I'm leaving the bathroom, I peak my head out to see if I can hear her downstairs still. I thought I did. So, I begin the run back to my room (again, only wearing skivies and a t-shirt). I turn the corner and BAM! there is Boy's mom at the top of the stairs and me wearing very little clothing. I said, "uhh.....hi." Boy's mom: "Hi." Then I sprinted back to my room.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Awkward! Talk about timing. I mean, had I been one minute earlier or one minute later, none of that business would have happened!

I mean clearly she didn't care and i doubt she thought about it all after that. But still, my boyfriend's mother saw me looking quite unreasonable in a t-shirt and undies. Awkward....
Well, welcome to the family I suppose.

Two Awards!

2009-01-06T18:09:00.014-05:00

The lovely Saskia has honored me with the New Year Award! Thanks lady!

Here are the rules. You must be a true lover of the New Year to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with the New Year.
List 5 things that you love about the New Year. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space.
Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But keep the New Year cheer going.
Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving a comment on their site. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award.

Things about '09 I'm Loving:

1. My 2009 Lost Calendar. Hello, Jack!
2. The first Marathon that I have planned!
3. It's potential for new experiences, friends, and fun
4. Hopefully---> Rothbury 2009!
5. A trip with my college roommates to the Spa at Hotel Hershey--Fabulous!

And the new yearie goes to......
The Pink Chick
Newport Nuptuals and
because she must love the new year-- The View from the New Year's Eve Baby

And...AngieS at Psycho Hairapy has given me the Honest award. Thanks, girl!! I'm excited to play.
Let's start with the rules:
The honorees are to:
A) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
B) pass the award on to bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

1. I'm beyond scared to say out loud that I plan to run a Marathon in 2009. I've always wanted to do it and 2009 seems like a good year. I just don't like to say things out loud, I think it jinxes them.
2. My sister has always been extremely skinny, when she stopped running and gained some weight, I didn't feel bad for her at all. I told her, "welcome to my life."
3. I have a tattoo of a Celtic cross on the inside of my left ankle.
4. One of my top fears (honestly) is that if the T.V. stays on Channel 1 (the one with the static and fuzz) a horrific message will flash across the screen or something equally dreadful will happen.
5. Sometimes I catch myself acting like my mother and I am horrified. Although I inherited her caring side, I honest got her snippy/snarky side and I hate it when I see it in myself.
6. I am a worrier- a serious worry wart. I often fill my head with worries about everyone else, that I forget to do things for myself. On my college soccer team, I told everyone what practice gear colors to wear everyday (the locker room was under construction so we had to bring our clothes to practice with us). On multiple occasions I was the only one who showed up wearing the complete wrong outfit, while everyone else was matching.
7. I still sleep with my teddy bear (teddy) from when I was an infant. He is really gross to others. I used to have trouble sleeping at Boy's without a bear, so he bought me a teddy for his house.
8. I played competive soccer for 11 years and played Division I college soccer.
9. I sware that I have magnetic energy. Street lights go out when i drive by them all the time. It's really weird.
10. In Good Housekeeping magazine (don't ask why I read that when I don't have a house) they have a section called "the good housekeeping way" and one called the "good enough way." Like- if you were going to take 2 hours to clean- do it the good housekeeping way, but if your MIL is coming over in 10 minutes- just shove some crap into a closet and its "good enough." I like to think of all of my homemaking skills as "good enough." I like to do just enough work so that it looks like quality, but really it's not. "Martha for the Masses" I like to think of myself. Like, I'm not going to make a ridiculously difficult dessert but I will put candy footballs on the fudge for the tailgate. (Does that make sense?)

Finally- these awards to the following:

1. Randy at Psycho Hairapy (AngieS I really enjoyed reading your back and forth answers, and thought it would be interesting for Randy to play along as well).
2. Mrs. Stilletos at Newlywed Stilletos
3. Mrs. Not so Domesticated at I Now Pronounce You Husband, Wife and Two Crazy Dogs.

Hello, Lover!

2009-01-05T19:08:00.004-05:00

Some ladies have a thing for tall, pointy-toed stilettos, others for beautiful bags and clutches, for others jewelry is their weak point.

For me, it's fitness gear. I know that fitness gear is totally unlovely and non-fabulous, but I love it. My grandmother usually bestows some moolah on me for Christmas and while I usual use it for even more un glamorous things like groceries or windshied wipers, this year I bought a Garmin 305 Forerunner- the watch of all watches! And, boy do I love it. It is FAB-U-LOUS!

Let me tell you all about it...
This little bugger does all kinds of crazy things as you can read about on their website. These are some of my favorite functions:
-Its main function is a GPS that always tracks where you run and saves your routes
-It shows your mileage.
-It has a heart rate monitor and you can set heart rate zones, so that you train within a certain zone. It beeps at you to work harder or slower if you go out of your zone.
-pace monitor. This is my favorite function because it is going to help me immensely while training for some upcoming races. Again, you can set a pace zone and it beeps at you if you are going too fast or too slow.
-It tells you calories burned and more accurately than gym equipment because it is set to your age, gender, weight, etc.
-It tracks your courses for you and you can upload them onto your computer to compare your progress on the same course at different times.
-You can race against an imaginary runner dude on your watch. It tells you if he is beating you and how fast you need to run to catch up with him
-You can program interval runs into your watch. This is awesome, because it beeps at you when the interval is over, instead of constantly having to check and reset your watch. I love this function
-You can also run away from home as far as possible and then tell the watch to take you home and it will show you the route to take to go back home

I know it does a million more things that I haven't quite figured out yet, but so far I am 100% happy with this purchase. I've had a heart rate monitor for a while and I thought that was a legit purchase, but this thing is freikin amazing! I thought that it being so clunky would annoy me, but I don't even notice it.

Also, I was able to find it for considerably cheaper at Wal-Mart than on the Garmin website, which also made me very happy! Who knew a watch could do all this?

Happy Running!

Not Me! Monday

2009-01-04T19:38:00.006-05:00

Time again for Not Me! Monday. In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. A few weeks ago I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

1. I definitely did not spend an excessive amount of money on a Garmin sports watch (more on this later- I am in love with it!) I would definitely save that money my grandmother gave me for Christmas.

2. Of course I did not get extremely frustrated with my mother when she called my work hysterical because she swore the cat grew opposable thumbs, open and unlocked the front door and left the house. I have way more patience than that.

3. For sure I did not use pms as an excuse to be a little snippy this week.

4. I certainly did not get frustrated with Boy because he can never decide what he wants to eat and doesn't like any of my suggestions. Again, I have more patience than that.

5. I most definitely did not act meagerly at Boy's all weekend in order to avoid upsetting Jerk roommate. I have bigger cahoones than that.

6. Finally, i did not wear my long under armour tights with nothing over top of them for a trail run on Sunday and then go into the 7/11 for a G2 in all of my spandexy glory. Nope, I would not subject the citizens of my town to my large tooshie with nothing but a layer of spandex in between us.

That's all for this week. Hope everyone had a great week, and as always, feel free to tell me about what you didn't do this weekend!

Blog award!

2009-01-04T19:17:00.003-05:00

YEAH! I got an award. The fun Tina over at life's a journey gave me the Beautiful award. I'm very honored to have been given this. Thanks!

The only rules are to bestow the award upon a few of your favorite bloggers. Although I follow and enjoy a lot of blogs, the ones below are some of my everyday must reads.

To keep the cycle going, I will give this award to:
Miss Anne at Indefinitely Definite
Mrs. Potts at Experiments in a Galley Kitchen
Holly at In my Overactive Head and
Tova Darling at Secret Life of Tova Darling

Adventures from "back home"

2009-01-01T21:22:00.003-05:00

Hello, 2009. It's nice to see your beautiful face and I look forward to everything you bring. Boy and I rang in the New Year celebrating in his home town with friends, champagne, a bonfire, me saying, "New Year Eve's me (aka kiss me at midnight), and being curled up between a sofa and a love seat. All in all, a very good time.

However, as I wrote about the other day, Boy comes from a very interesting place that continues to baffle me. My post from the other day fresh in my mind, the whole trip I couldn't help but don my sociologist attitude and analyze things a bit more.

Not only is the town small, but it is hard to leave. Of all of Boy's friends from High School, only three (besides him) went to college. Only two graduated. And while a college degree isn't necessary for life, it certainly provides more options than the town has to offer.

I am also continuously amazed by their gender, racial, and social norms. Men believe that the women should be "barefoot and in the kitchen pregnant" (not my words). Girls commonly get pregnant in High School and resent the baby's father for the rest of their lives. Kid Rock is idolized for his beliefs. Women drink and smoke while pregnant, and justify it by noting that "my mother smoked when she was pregnant with me, and I turned out fine."** (This is the one that bothers me the most and I still don't know how to handle it).

On the way home, Boy and I always analyze the trip, because generally so many things happened that surprised me, that I need to talk about them. Today was no different and in the middle of the trip, Boy voiced something that I have silently wondered for two years. He said, "I wish I could look back at my life in High School and compare who I was then to who I am now." Since the first visit back, I have always wondered this. How did this wonderful Boy, with modern social, racial, and gender values come out of such a behind-the-times and un-accepting town. When most of his friends stayed in the same place (mentally and physically), how did Boy get out and stay out? Not only did we ponder how this happened, but when. At what point did Boy disregard the antiquated beliefs of this town and adopt a more modern perspective?

I have honestly wondered this for so long, I was just glad that Boy realized it too. That, although those are his friends, he is very different from them. He couldn't come up with an answer-How he left behind the norms of his town and when, but I don't think he ever will. For now, I am just thankful and happy that Boy got to be the person he is. Whatever forces shaped his life so that he became the man I love, I am extremely thankful for them.

During a lull in the conversation I wondered if Boy will ever out grow his friends. While they are a good time and I generally enjoy them, besides their past (and the Redskins), Boy and his friends have very little in common anymore. I think today was one of the first times that Boy realized how much they have grown apart.

I still haven't worked out all the intricacies of Boy's hometown and each time we visit, I unearth a new and fascinating, although generally disturbing trend. So, stay tuned for future sociological expeditions from "back home." We can examine the relics together.

(**disclaimer: I know very little about pregnancy and I am not trying to ruffle any feathers. I know that some doctor's say that an occasional glass of wine is ok, but an occasional glass of wine is not what I am talking about here).

A Story About Boy

2008-12-30T11:25:00.000-05:00

Since I talk about Boy so much, I figured I'd tell you little anecdote about him, so you could have something to visualize whenever I talk about him.

Boy grew up in a very small, one-stop-light town in the western part of the state, the part that all those hick jokes come from. His school was closed the first day of hunting season and his rival high school had a "bring your tractor to school day." (I sware to you, I am not making this up). There is very little do to up there, besides play sports or drink, so they did a lot of both in High School.

And while Boy has left most of this country behavior behind him, there are still a few vestiges left that continue to surprise me. Sometimes when we go back to his home town I pretend I am a sociologist examining him in his natural habitat (this visual makes me giggle). The following story explains how Boy still has a little country in him.

Over the summer, Boy and I went to a holiday cookout at one of his friend's mother-in-law's house. Everyone was having a good time, drinking, playing corn-hole, and just catching up in general. Then--it got close to dusk and the mother's family members (like her middle aged sisters) started to set a tent up on the lawn. I was quite confused and asked Boy what they were doing.

Boy: Uh, they are setting up a tent to sleep in (like I was the silly one)
Me: So, these aunts and uncles are going to sleep outside on the lawn instead of inside in a bed or something?
Boy: Uh, yeah (again, like I was a nut)[Now, the house wasn't ginormous, but there was certainly room for a few carefully placed aunts and uncles].
Boy: I mean, we are sleeping in a tent too.
Me: SKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTT. Excuse me? (Now, I am a girl that likes to camp---but only when she isn't being visited by aunt flo and is fully prepared with all necessary camping gear- cute bandana included).

I quickly nixed this idea. Lord only knows what Boy was thinking, telling me hours before bed time, that in fact, we would not be going back to his parent's house, but we would be sleeping outside. That was NOT going to happen. Especially after the appearance of a giant wolf spider! But in the same breath, we are in our early 20s, and sleeping outside isn't really that big of a deal, and had I been prepared, I wouldn't have minded.

But--never in a MILLION years, would I let my aunts sleep on my front lawn in a tent. The more I thought about this situation, the more comical it became! I mean, honestly?! Who lets their aunts sleep on a tent in their yard? And the best part of the whole thing, was that this sleeping arrangement was pretty much 100% normal to the majority of people there. I was baffled and even more baffled that Boy wasn't baffled. Although his aunts have never slept on his front lawn, (his mother would never allow such a thing) he had certainly seen it happen at other people's houses before.

Anyways, I thought this was a fun little tale about Boy and how every once in a while things pop out of his mouth that are totally natural to him, and completely foreign to me. Which is not to say that some things I do are completely foreign to him, but we will get to those stories later.

Not Me! Monday

2008-12-28T14:06:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. A few weeks ago I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

1. I certainly did not almost polish off a jumbo tub of buttered popcorn at the movies! I would never eat that much popcorn!

2. I certainly did not waste an hour or two at work last week blogging. I would never be that irresponsible with a client's time.

3. I most certainly did not snicker my way through church giggling about how bad the choir was. Nope--I'm a way better person than that!

4. Of course I didn't secretly get angry at my sister for waking up at her boyfriends on Christmas morning and leaving Christmas dinner early to spend time with her boyfriend. No, if I was that annoyed I would clearly tell her.

5. Finally, I certainly didn't tie a Christmas bow around Cheeto's neck so he would look cute and left it on until he wrestled it off! Nope, I'm a nicer furmom than that.

Feel free to play along!

Trouble with BigSack

2008-12-24T23:37:00.005-05:00

For the past seven months, my sister has revolved her life around her new boyfriend. It bothers me for so many reasons and yet, I don't tell her. I don't know if I don't tell her because I'm scared she will be pissed at me if I tell her the truth, or if I just want to leave her alone in her love bubble.

She is too old to act like this---in her mid twenties, she has an advanced degree and a specialized job. She is a grown woman, yet she overlooks family and lifelong friends to spend time with her boyfriend. An athlete her entire life, she has stopped working out because she says she doesn't have the time to run before going over her boyfriend's after work.

It's not like she is the only woman to have ever done this. At one stage or another, most of us leave our senses behind and abandon friends and family for a boy.

The trouble is, she has done this before and didn't learn her lesson. She did this with another boy and it ended because she suffocated him.

I think it bothers me the most because generally, in life, I am pretty independent. I often crave time alone and enjoy days off reading a good book with no one to bother me. This independence transcends into my relationship with Boy. Yes, we spend a lot of time together, but we also have activities/interests outside of each other. We frequently go out with out each other. I do not need to see him everyday. I like to give him a chance to miss me. I certainly do not skip out on my family to be with him on Holidays.

I just wish the girl would lead her life and find ways to fit her boyfriend into it, not lead her life around her boyfriend. Or, maybe I wish I had the strength to stand up to her and tell her she is acting like a high schooler and needs to act like a grown woman... However, it's likely that neither will happen and I will continue to brood inside until i snap about it.

3 Awards and a Guest Blogger

2008-12-23T13:06:00.008-05:00

Since I had some serious weekend drama, I've been slacking in the "Tag/Award" department. So, this post will feature three awards and a guest blog spot by Cheeto (who was tagged)! YEAH!

I got the lemonade award from Mrs. Stilletos and from Sasika for showing (most likely) Attitude and (maybe) Gratitude. Thanks, ladies!! Both of these fellow bloggers are fabulous and fun and you should visit them!

This award comes with a few rules:
Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Victoria also tagged me with the Smile award! Yeah, Thanks girl!

The qualifications to receive the award are:
A. Display a cheerful attitude.
B. Love one another.
C. Make mistakes.
D. Learn from others.
E. Be a positive contributor to the blog world.
F. Love life.
G. Love kids.

I'm not sure I always follow all of these qualifications, (besides Making mistakes--have you seen Not Me! Monday?) but maybe that is something to strive for.

The Rules:
1. Must link it back to the creator
2. Post the rules
3. Choose 5 people to give it to
4. Recipients must fit the characteristics above
5. Create a post to share this
6. You must thank the winner

And now....
On to guest blogging. Cheeto was tagged by Lulu and Jax from "I Now pronounce you: Husband, Wife, and Two crazy dogs." I know I promised no more crazy cat lady posts, so sorry.

So here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

So, here is Cheeto and his fun facts:
1. Although I have lots of favorite spots around the house, my new favorite is laying underneath the Christmas tree and batting ribbons of off presents.
2. Every morning when Littlesack's alarm goes off I come into her room, pounce on her bed, walk on to her full bladder, circle around her chest, and lay on her neck until the snooze goes off.
3. I also really enjoy drinking from any water dish that isn't mine. So when Littlesack leaves cups laying around I love to drink out of them. Sometimes she drinks from tall skinny glasses and my head won't fit inside I have to knock over the glass to drink the water. Littlesack isn't a fan of this game.
4. Although I LOVE tuna fish from the can, I won't eat the good tuna Littlesack gets from the seafood department.
5. Since I am an inside cat, the farthest outside I can go is out onto the screened-in back porch. I spend hours out here and often the squirrels and chipmunks taunt me since they know I can't come outside and chasethem.

and end guest blog spot!
****
Whew, what a crazy award season for me and my cat!
So, I have the feeling that most of these awards/tags have been around the blogroll block a few times and although I am really thankful for each of them, I don't want to make it repetitive, so I'm not going to tag anyone specifically.

However, if you want to play any of these tags, leave me a comment and I will certainly tag you. I just don't want to tag bloggers that have repeatedly been tagged.

If I don't post again before Christmas, I hope those celebrating Christmas have a wonderful one, and I hope those of you celebrating Chanukah enjoy the rest of the holiday!

Update Monday

2008-12-22T09:35:00.005-05:00

1. Boy scored major points this weekend by seriously standing up for me to Jerk roommate. When Boy got home from work he talked (maybe yelled) with Jerk about how he handled the situation horribly and personally attacked me. Boy told Jerk that it wasn't acceptable for him to leave me notes like that, threatening me with spending time there, etc. Apparently boy was convincing because I got a voicemail from Jerk apologizing for handling the situation poorly and for leaving such a nasty note. I even got an in-person apology the next day.

So, since its the season for yuletide and good blessings, I will forgive, but I won't forget and this incident will certainly stay in the front of my mind.

2. Thanks for all the comments. I'm glad others have had crappy roommate experiences and can relate. To those that suggested I should have confronted Jerk immediately after I saw the note- you are totally right. But, when i get angry, I don't look pissed, I just cry. And it's very hard to stand up for yourself and say how angry you are, when you are crying like an ten year-old. It's something I really wish I could change.

3. The fact that Boy is paying for two shares of utilities is completely ridiculous and the fact that he let that go without a fight is ridiculous. But- a conversation for another day.

4. Yesterday Boy and I (and about 15 of his good friends from home) went to the Skins- Eagles game. While I'm more of a Ravens gal myself, I do root for the Skins and also love me some Chris Cooley. (Too bad his wife is the hottest thing since sliced bread). For Boy's birthday present I got most of his good friends together to all go to this game. Although very cold, we had a great time tailgating, watching the game, and partying for eight hours. I always enjoy catching up with the girls in that group. Even better- the Skins won in a fourth quarter nail-bitter!

I'd say I'd post pictures, but I don't like to bring my camera to events that involve multiple hours of drinking because I will most likely loose it, so there aren't any. But here is brief summary that you can imagine: Four hours of tailgating in freezing weather, me and Boy wearing about 8 layers of clothes each, Boy failing asleep in the first quarter because of a little too much tailgating fun, and enough wind to send a plate of hot dogs flying!!!

5. It's finally the week of Christmas! WEEEEEE!

6. I'm skipping Not me Monday! for the week---too much drama in the weekend.

7. For those of you that tagged me recently, I promise I haven't forgotten and will get to those posts this week. Look forward to guesting blogging by Cheeto (who was tagged) and an award from Mrs. Stilettos and one from Victoria. (YEAH!)

Seriously?

2008-12-20T11:59:00.004-05:00

You have GOT to be kidding me!?! This note is what I woke up to this morning- a lovely little note from Boys' roommate- taped to the front door handle along with the "dish" that I did not wash. The dish was a 2x2 Tupperware dish that I was eating m&ms out of. (If it can be held up by tape----it's not a dish).

(If you can't read it- it says, "Little sack, Why do none of your dishes make it into the dishwasher? If you want to be up at this house you need to clean up after yourself!")

Boy's roommate is without a doubt the BIGGEST passive aggressive A**HOLE I have ever encountered. This note, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Because I am so ragingly pissed right now, I will tell you the series of bullsh*t things that Boy's roommate (we will call him Jerk) has put me through.

Background facts:
Jerk had his girlfriend living at the house for over a year before she paid for a single bill, utility, or otherwise and was there every day when Jerk wasn't (after a year of living there for free, she now pays bills)
My college roommate's boyfriend basically lived at my house and was very messy. and I HATED it. He was there more than i was there- slept every night there, etc. So, when I moved home, I vowed that I would not be "that girlfriend" and I would not be at Boy's house too much. I have kept that promise to myself very well, and am rarely there more than two nights a week.
I also make sure that all of my things are only ever in Boy's room and not in common areas, and that shared dishes (pot's, plates, etc) are washed immediately after use.

Instances of Jerk throwing straws at camels back:

1. Instance 1- Boy and I had been dating for about 2 years when I graduated, moved out of my college townhouse and moved back home. Up until that point Boy and I split time between hanging out at each other's places, but were never together for more than 2-3 nights per week. When I moved home, I would often go over Boy's after work on Friday and because of differing schedules, I would be at Boy's house before Boy got home. Instead of relying on Boy's roommates to be home- Boy made me a key. Fine.
One week day I had to stopped by Boy's house to pick up something I left there. Not expecting anyone to be home, I was frightened when Jerk was home and asked me what I was doing there.
LS: Uh, picking something up
Jerk: How'd you get in?
LS: I have a key
Jerk: How'd you get a key?
LS: Boy made me one.
Jerk: OH?! (Turn on heel and walk away)

So, being pretty intuitive I realized Jerk was not happy, quickly left the house, told Boy about it and began to walk to walk on egg shells, feeling very unwelcome.

2. Instance Two: Jerk is VERY particular about a clean house, which is fine. I like things tidy too. I can appreciate that. Over the 2 years Boy and I have been dating, he has yelled (yes, yelled and scolded) at Boy to clean up his dishes. Knowing how particular Jerk is about this--I always make sure that immediately after we finish eating dinner--the dishes are washed.

3. Instance three: Boy generally works on Saturday morning, so he leaves his house before I get up. Last weekend I got up to leave and a cup and a "dish" (again a small Tupperware I was eating baked cheetos out of) were sitting on the stairway, as a clear sign to me to put them the hell away. Because Jerk was in the kitchen and I wanted to avoid him, I stepped over the dishes and left the house. I wasn't giving into his passive aggressive bull shit.

4. Instance four: This morning I am leaving the house (again after Boy has gone to work) and find this LOVELY little note taped to the door knob. Just last night Boy told me I was "reading too much into Jerk's action." I was Freikin livid when I saw this note! Like, beyond a normal level of anger and pissed off-ness. First, I always ensure that out dinner dishes are done and I'm sorry that I left a cup out on the coffee table, because I forgot to put it away before bed. But I really don't understand why this is such a big deal. And, if it is such a big deal---all Jerk has to say is, "Hey, Littlesack, i'd appreciate it if youd put your cups in the dishwasher before going to bed." LIKE A GROWN UP!

So, I call Boy to tell him that I am certainly not overreacting, because well, Jerk left me this lovely little letter. (My favorite part of the letter is the "if you want to be here" like he is threatening from barring me from Boy's home like I'm a five year old child).
So, Boy promises me he will talk to Jerk about it.

And this is also the last straw for Boy too (who has way more patience than I have ever possessed). Apparently, Boy told me this this morning, but a few months ago, Jerk told Boy that since I was there more, I should have to pay utilities. Boy didn't feel like arguing, so he agreed. (don't get me started on why he agreed.) So, for the past few months the utilities have been split five ways (Jerk, jerk's GF, other roommate, Boy, and me) and Boy has been paying 2 shares. HONESTLY---WTF?!?!!?! I have, over the entire course of our more than 2 year relationship taken less than 10 showers there. I am also only there when Boy isn't for less than an hour most Friday nights. There is no way I am using enough utilities to warrant Boy paying two shares. And, I'm upset that Boy was paying that money and didn't tell me.

I have lost it! I am a 22 year old woman! I, nor my 24 year old boyfriend, do not deserve to be treated like we are children. I am at my wit's end and honestly have no idea what to do about it. Boy is going to talk to Jerk, but, I certainly don't want to go there anymore. But--where am I going to go? Living at home isn't awful, but I'm only doing it to save money while going to grad school. I have no place of my own, and If I can't go to Boy's, where will I go when I need downtime?

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no more to say, I am sorry that this is long and ugly, but I needed to get it off my chest because crying about it wasn't helping.

SO EXCITED!

2008-12-19T09:39:00.007-05:00

1. THANK YOU all so much for your support during my hair trauma episode. It means more than you know. really. Love all of you!

2. On to more EXCITING Things...

This past July 4th weekend I went to my first music festival (I told you I was part hippie) at it was AMAZING. I can't say enough good things about it, but in sum, it was one of the best vacations I've ever had. I'll give you the annotated story of the trip.

If you don't know what a music festival is, here is a brief summary-

Basically a bunch of people (like 10,000) camp out for four or five days and drink and party all day and night. There are generally over 100+ bands over the four or five days to see and some trippy side events as well.

So, I saw an add on line last winter for Rothbury- a concert featuring Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and even B's favorite band The Disco Biscuits (plus a hundred or so others). I was immediately hooked because I LOVE ME some Dave! So, I convinced B (a music festival veteran) to go and over the next few months the line up got even better. I'd list all the bands I loved, but that may be boring to some of you!

The festival was in Michigan and we live on the East coast. So, B and I packed our camping gear up and drove all night and headed out to Michigan where the land is flat and the air is beautifully clean. We met one of his best friends out there who currently lives in Colorado. We set up our camp site (beer pong table and easy up included) and got to drinking! And the next five days could never have been better. I still can't put words into how awesome the whole trip was, especially the Dave concert. B and I stood really close to the stage and danced the whole time. Those few hours, were by far, the best hours of my life. Dave was AMAZING, the crowd was crazy and it was just ALL FUN. After the show I used words like "shredded his guitar" and those are words I never ever use. That, is how good it was. After we got back I downloaded the soundboard from the show and put it on my ipod. When I run to those songs, I get so happy I can barely keep myself from dancing. (Sometimes I play "air drum" while running, which probably looks more like "air seizure").

Although Dave was certainly the highlight, the whole thing was amazing. I saw some great bands that I'd never seen before. I took over 500 pictures on the trip of some of the craziest things i have ever seen. (My old icon--of that odd pumpkin thing, was from Rothbury, and was only one of many very odd sights).

Anyways, the site for Rothbury 2009 has been under construction for the past few weeks and I am addicted to checking it daily- crazy hungry for the lineup for this year. This is all the sight says now. AHHHHHH! I can't even contain my excitement for what this year is going to bring.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like a kid at Christmas (hm, that seems appropriate?) Maybe, for this Christmas, I want Rothbury to list their line up for this year!

Hair-apy*

2008-12-18T19:44:00.006-05:00

Ok, ladies...I got someone besides myself to take a picture of me (and my hair). Here is the before and after. (Before on the left, obvi). I still can't tell if it makes me look like Harry Potter or like a more mature me. I'm not that big of a fan of the new bangs---I like them to be a lot heavier and swoopier (is that a word?) Regardless, here they are.

Thanks for all the book suggestions, I can't wait to get to the library. I'm still taking book suggestions for January if you didn't leave any.

Ps- I totally borrowed this post name from Psycho Hairpy, and if you haven't check them out, do so, they are fab!

Schools out...for winter!

2008-12-17T18:14:00.003-05:00

Ladies,
Thank you so much for all your hair crisis support! I'm glad there are people just like me out there. I'll try and post a picture when I can get someone else to take it. Again, Thanks, I really appreciate it!!

On to other things:
I don't talk about it too often, because it really isn't that exciting, but I'm currently in grad school while working part time. And, boy is it fun! (read: totally NOT fun). There isn't anything really negative about it, I just have very little time to do anything but homework in my free time. I have probably watched two hours of t.v. a week this semester and that is very unlike me.

But- today, I AM OFFICIALLY DONE FOR THE SEMESTER! Woooooohooooooooo!!!!! I can't even describe my excitement. All my papers are turned in, exams done, everything! YYYYEEAAHHHHH!!!!!

Even better, classes don't start again until the last week in January, which means about six weeks of no-school time!

So, my comfies are on and I am going to sit in front of the t.v. from now until bed time and feel 100% not guilty about it. WOOHOO!

As much as I like my t.v. time (soap net, anyone?) I also really enjoying reading. Give me a good book and a glass of wine and I can be content for hours. But--having read academic literature all semester, I'm out of the book world and am in desperate need of suggestions.

So, ladies (and maybe one gent or two), do a gal a favor and leave a comment with your most recent favorite read? I need some quality reads for over the Christmas break and through January.

Looking forward to reading your picks!

Hair Trauma

2008-12-16T22:46:00.003-05:00

So, I just cut a considerable amount of my hair. And by considerable I mean- I used to be able to put my hair in a considerable pony-tail and now I have no hair to put into a pony-o. EEEKKKKK.

I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I like it...I think.
I do this all the time...Grow my hair out, get sick of it, cut it short, hate it and grow it long. It's probably something I've been doing since early high school. I can never figure out how I like it. And i liked my hair 5 hours ago, I just felt like...what the hell---I'll change it. And so, I changed it. A LOT.

(confessional moment: Part of the reason I always want my hair long is because if/when I get married, I want to have long hair at my wedding. But...that if/when doesn't even exist at this moment, so I cut it. And it can always be grown out, right?...?)

It's a good cut and it frames my face better than my last cut. It also makes me look older (in the good way) and like I can legally drive a car and buy a drink. I often get mistaken for a 16 year old, so this is probably a good development.

it's just a wee shorter than I was expecting.
It's just going to take some getting used to. But hell---it's hair and if I don't like it in a few days, it'll grow. Right?

If I could figure out how to take a picture of myself without looking like a 16 year old emo punk--I would post a before and after...but any "self portrait" looks ridiculously childish.

So, just send some positive reinforcement my way and pretend I post before and afters and after looks better?

(On another and less selfish note- Isn't it odd how much we define ourselves by our hair?)

Cheeto as a wee one

2008-12-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, So I promise not to make this blog about my cat, mostly because I'd like to avoid the label of "cat lady." But since I've been posting about Faylene and her status as a homeless kitty, I thought telling the story of how Cheeto came into my life would be fitting.

One of my college roommates found Cheeto in our backyard one cold February morning. He had clearly lost his mom and was less than two weeks ago (which is way too early to leave the mother). He was such a pitiful looking thing- hair all matted and his feet and tail were scabbed over. He probably weighed less than an ounce and was the size of two golf balls. teeny tiny! It was awful. My roommate nursed him with a bottle dropper and slowly he started to gain weight and grow fur. His favorite activity as a wee little thing was climbing into shoes and falling asleep there, only to be woken up by someone hastily trying to throw their shoes on. Below is a picture of him when he is about one month old, I think.Cheeto started to really love being in my room and sleeping in my bed- so he naturally spent a lot of time sleeping with me and loving on me. About a year later my roommate moved out to move in with her finance (and their two dogs) and ask if I wanted Cheeto, and of course I said yes! So, I adopted Cheeto. I was such a happy kitty mama!

Now, almost three years later, Cheeto is healthy and happy and maybe a bit chubby, but I'm happy to say that he is a rescued cat that leads a very pampered life!

Point of the story is that I have a serious soft spot for homeless kitties, which is why Faylene has worked her way into my heart so quickly and why I'm trying to find a good home for her.

Ok. That is it. I promise. No more cat stories for a long time, I just thought this was relevant! Tomorrow I will go back to brooding about life and sharing stories about my psychotic quarterlife crises!

Not Me! Monday

2008-12-15T12:14:00.000-05:00

Last Monday night I stumbled across MckMama who plays "Not Me! Monday." It looked like so much fun, I couldn't wait to play. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week.

So, here goes:

1. I totally did not sneak enough peanut butter cookie dough to make myself sick. That is something I would never do.

2. I definitely didn't pick a fight with Boy about something that wasn't his fault because I was in a bad mood and wanted to be angry about something. Nope, not me.

3. I certainly did not play skeeball at Dave and Buster's this weekend and then get pissed when the the machine gypped me out of tickets!

4. I most definitely did not let my cat lick the whipped cream off of my spoon and then proceed to eat off the same spoon. Never, that would be totally gross!

5. While baby sitting Boy's cousins, I most certainly did not almost have a panic attack over the fact that the newest version of the "Guess Who" game was made from shitty plastic and kept breaking. Nope, I would never let my anxiety get the best of me like that.

6. And finally, I for sure did not find a picture of the perfect wedding dress and save it in my secret file of wedding related items. No, never would I be that nutty!

Feel free to play and link back to MckMama and me!

Faylene

2008-12-14T20:20:00.004-05:00

So, the other day I wrote about Cheeto and his girlfriend Faylene (a twist on "Feline"). She made another appearance Saturday morning and I was able to snag a picture of the two of them. Obviously Faylene is the one eating out of the dish and if you look hard you can see Cheeto's little ears in the door-peaking out to get a look. This little interchange cracks me up.

Despite the cuteness of the situation, I don't think Faylene is just someone's outdoor cat who comes to visit sometimes. I think she has been abandoned by a family. First of all, I'm pretty sure she is declawed, which means she is supposed to be an indoor cat. When I gave her a bowl of food she scarfed it down in seconds. You can't tell from the picture (thank Goodness it isn't that bad), but when I pet her, I could feel her hip bones jutting out. She wasn't that skinny a few weeks ago. She was also starving for attention and nuzzling all over me. I almost cried it was so sad.

So, my next step is to plead with all my friends to ask if anyone wants her and if no one does, I'm going to look for a no-kill shelter in the area. When this economic slump began, I remember hearing stories about people abandoning their pets because they simply couldn't afford them anymore. It's such a sad externality that I don't think anyone expected.

Until I can find a home for her, I just hope she can find somewhere warm to snuggle at night. Point of the story--tonight, give your pet a little extra love and be thankful that you've been able to keep them during these tough times.

My Christmas Wish

2008-12-12T10:40:00.005-05:00

Part One:
As a child of two baby-boomers who lived through the seventies, most of my life has been shaped by their culture and music. One of my first memories is of riding in the minivan with my father, belting out the lyrics to "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles. (as an aside- in middle school my friend and I used the code name "yellow submarine" to talk about our secret crush).

My father has a love for the Beatles that goes beyond normal infatuation---and that has transcended through me. I LOVE everything about each of them. I've read their biographies, I mourn the day John Lennon was shot, their songs populate my ipod and itunes, and my oh-so-favorite Christmas song is "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" by John and Yoko. (and while I hold a grudge against Yoko and I know this wasn't a Beatles song, I still love it).

When "Across the Universe" (a musical set to Beatles songs) came out I saw it in theatres twice. I bought the dvd the day it came out and downloaded the soundtrack immediately. I LOVE this movie. It makes me cry and smile at the same time. It is one of few movies that I could watch over and over.

In sum, i love the Beatles and I often wish I had been alive to witness their music in person.

Part Two:
Cirque Du Soleil is a transfomative and amazing mix of street performances and circus acts that travels the world. I have been lucky enough to see their show twice and it is truly amazing! The sights and sounds are rediculous and take you to a different world. If you have never seen a show, I highly recommend looking for it when they come to town.

My Wish:
In Vegas, there is a show at the Mirage that combines these two loves. There is a Cirque Du Soleil act, called Love inspired by and all about Beatles music.
THIS is my Christmas wish. I want to see this show more than anything else. It has been on the top of my list for years and it will remain there until I see it.

However, it is in Vegas, a quality 2,000 miles away, and I certainly don't have the moolah to go. So- Santa---if you could make this happen, it would make me REALLY happy!

Love,
Littlesack

Cheeto

2008-12-09T18:01:00.007-05:00

This is how my cat, Cheeto, feels about Christmas. I thought it was cute when I saw him nuzzling under the tree on the tree skirt. Just as that thought was entering my mind, I caught him rip a bow off a package and proceed to destroy it! What a ham...

Speaking of Cheeto, he has a girlfriend! Cheeto is an indoor cat and although he spend hours on our screened in back porch, he's not allowed in the yard. But, his girlfriend is an outdoor cat. Girlfriend, (faylene is what we call her) comes and visits Cheeto every morning. Faylene sits on the fence and they just stare at each other and meow. Faylene also visits during the day and sits directly outside the glass front door while Cheeto sits directly inside the glass front door. It is a sight to see! Both of them are all riled up with tails wagging (I didn't know cats wagged their tails!)

The sad part is, we don't know if Girlfriend has a home or not. She looks well cared for and isn't skinny, but she comes around the house a lot. We put food out for her and she eats it, but we aren't sure if she's not being feld elsewhere and is really hungry or is just a chubby nugget.

So--for now, Cheeto just has a mistress that visits him daily. (Kinda romantic, isn' it?)

Back to the Street

2008-12-08T22:17:00.005-05:00

This past October I ran in the Baltimore half-marathon. While I can't say i enjoyed every minute (honestly, who enjoys running for 2 plus hours?), I did have a lot of fun, was proud of my time (2:14), and was really proud to have finished in one piece. However, I did strain something in my foot and had to take 6 weeks off from running.

So, I went back to some lower impact activities- my workout dvds and biking- until my foot healed. But today, I was just so over those dvds and the stationary bike. Inspired by Marlene, a Canadian on the run, I hit the streets again. I figured if she could run outside in Canada, I could handle the winter along the mid-Atlantic.

Being a pretty avid runner, I have a lot of gear that keeps me warm, dry, safe, and entertained.
Sweat wisking undies and bra? check
under armour long tights? check
sweat wisking long sleeve t? check
my 180s with small space for ipod ear buds? check
road id? check
and ipod with road-ready mix? check-check!

Dressed and ready, I got out the door before I could change my mind.
And, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, my stride came right back and lasted the three miles, and I remembered why I love running in the cold.

So, moral of the story, ladies. If you are fearing the yucky winter weather, get yourself geared up and hit the street. I think you will find the crisp air refreshing and the holiday sights delightful. And, if you are completely miserable, just think about the nasty comment you can leave me the whole time!

Tea Time

2008-12-08T09:56:00.003-05:00

As i mentioned last Friday, I was invited to afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton yesterday. It was a "thank-you" gesture to all of the ladies who had helped my cousin over the past year with her twins.

It was lovely, fabulous, and truly wonderful and I was delighted to have been invited. However, it was certainly a break from the norm for me. I certainly do not regularly attend "tea." (Although I do drink tea everyday, it is usually in a thermos on my way to work or in a chipped mug while lounging in sweats). I am a girl who hikes and camps and revolves her weekend around flag football and watching football all day on Sunday.

So to change my usual Sunday of sweats and stew to one of ruffles, tea sandwiches, and crumpets was certainly a nice change of routine. (And, I still got home in time to watch the Skins play the Ravens!)

Beautiful Babies

2008-12-05T14:21:00.004-05:00

I don't have much to say today, but i wanted to share this photo because it makes me giggle. This is a picture of my twin beautiful almost one-year old cousins. Nora is in the laundry basket and Ryan is leaning in. This weekend I will be attending a tea that their mother invited me to- it is a tea to thank all of the ladies who have helped her over the past year. I have to say, it has been a joy to help. Nora and Ryan are so delightful. Nora is a chunky monkey and everyone says she looks like me when I was an infant; it's all in the long eyelashes and chunky thighs we share. (The former is a family trait I am thankful for, the latter, not so much).

Enjoy the Weekend!

I'd like to thank...

2008-12-05T11:57:00.005-05:00

I won an award! My very first! eeeeeee! Thank you Holly. If I can figure out how to post the award picture, I will do that, but right now I'm 100% clueless on that front.

Here are the rules: Copy and paste the rule instructions in your post. When posting on receiving the award, make sure you include who gave you the award and link it back to them. Post five winners and link it back to them as well. Post five of your addictions. Add the award image. Let the winners know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

My addictions:

1. Peanut Butter m&ms. Seriously...magical

2. Stove popped pop-corn with truffle salt. Beyond expensive..but amazing

3. Good books. My current obsession is the Post-Secret series.

4. Sweet Summary wines made with flavors like Mango and raspberries

5. My father's spaghetti sauce. It has been in our family for years and I put so much on my noodles there is enough to bathe in afterwards. Italiany delicious!

I'll award the following ladies--
Saskia
Megan
Undomesticated Newlywed
Good Girl Gone Blog
Inspired Kara

Tag! I'm on Home Base

2008-12-04T08:55:00.010-05:00

YEAH! I'm so excited. I was tagged by the fabulous Whitney at That Girl who, if you haven't visited her yet--I highly recommend it. She has some good stories to tell.

In short- I'm supposed to tell you six odd little bits about myself:

As always there are a few rules...
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is UP.

About Littlesack:

1. When I was in 5th grade I read a mystery called "Whodunit?" In the story a man was killed and left in the bathtub where they found him. Ever since then- every night before I go to bed I check behind the shower curtain to make sure there isn't a dead body laying there.

2. I workout a lot. But i also eat a lot of peanut butter m&ms, so it tends to even itself out. My newest obession is with P90x (Power 90 Extreme) by the people from beach body. Let me tell you---it is EXTREME! I'm also planning on training for my third half marathon this spring with some of my gal pals!

3. I have really vivid dreams that are really odd and I usually remember most of the details. It isn't uncommon for me to have a dream that entails the following; a shrinking desk, donuts, clifford the big red dog, bamboo plants, my boyfriend in jail, and a work place situation that involves people from school, friends, etc. B tells me I should write a book about my dreams, but that would be pretty odd.

4. I will not eat any type of bean or pea. This isn't an aversion to vegetables, I just hate the texture of them. I think beans (especially limas) have a flour-y consistency and it makes me sick to think about.

5. I've recently started to make it a point to make my bed before I leave in the morning. Sometimes it is rushed, but I have become obsessed with the feeling of getting into a made bed at the end of the night.

6. I am a infomercial addict. I don't ever buy anything, but I will get hooked into the infomercial and next thing I know thirty minutes have gone by and I am still watching. I'm not sure why, but I find them very addicting.

And I will tag the following lovely ladies:

Kate at elefantitas alegres
NewPort Nuptials
PinkPearls and Muddy Sneakers
Mrs. Cup at My Cup Overflows
Lindsey at Sweet Simplicity
and Lindsey at Learning to be a Wife

The itch

2008-12-02T10:06:00.003-05:00

No, not the seven year itch, or even the chicken pox itch. This itch is hard to describe, difficult to define, and yet most women know what it is.

It is the feeling you get when you are settled in the current stage of your life and yearn for the next thing. It occurs out of nowhere when you are shopping in the mall and see a beautiful young mother with her adorably dressed and pigtailed daughter and all you want to do is scoop that little girl up and carry her home with you. For the next few hours, days, or even weeks, all you can think about is baby; wanting a baby, preparing for a baby; decorating the baby's room. You get the idea.

For me, the itch is the wedding itch, (and although I am dating someone I love dearly, we are certainly not engaged or close to being married). It ebbs and flows (probably in a cycle very similar to the one brought on by mother nature- but that is neither here nor there). Sometimes the itch overtakes my brain and I can't focus on anything else. The moment my best gal pal's wedding pictures went up online, I spent the next two hours hungrily looking through all 1,987 of them. I was unstoppable. I often get so itchy that I spend hours searching for my perfect wedding dress, the perfect location, the perfect season, and the perfect bridesmaids dresses. This isn't like a casual search online, this is an incessant desire to find the PERFECT things.

I haven't had the itch in a while. I've been making every effort to push all things wedding out of my brain for fear of seeming like a lunatic. It tends to be odd when you are looking at engagement rings on line and a coworker asks if you are getting married soon, and you have to say, "uh, no." Rumors spread about your sanity. So for the past few months, I've kept my itch contained.

So ladies, have you ever had the itch like this? Or done something slightly crazy when it struck you?

The look

2008-12-01T11:33:00.004-05:00

***The following is something that I wrote a long time ago, about a boy that very few people know about. But, it was one of the roller coaster things where the highs were unbelievable and the aftermath made your stomach turn.

Sometimes when I think hard about it, I can't remember what he looks like. I know the thin hair and his baby blue eyes (but only because he talked about the the connection we had with our "baby blues"). When I think hard about it, his face is like the sun- when you look right at it, you can't see it at all.

We had a serious past. One that started early on in college and continued secretly throughout the years. I was his "partner in crime" and we often got into mischief together. He brought out both the best and the worst in me. One night I would be dancing in circles around his living room while his roommates played the guitar, the rest of us singing familiar tunes, the air thick with smoke and the smell of cheap liquor. The next I would be huddled under my blankets, alone.

I have one defining memory of what his face looks like-I saw it in one split moment after he kissed me. Like it was a look I wasn't supposed to see but I opened my eyes too soon. His eyes told stories and this story contained all the passion, desire, and chemistry we ever had. The only word that adequately describes the look is hunger.

That was one of the last nights I ever saw him. After months of being on that roller coaster, my heart couldn't take it anymore.

I guess, I just wonder if in ten years when I think about him and the impact he had on my life, will I be able to remember his face? Or will it always be a blur- a mix of baby blues and hunger.

girl or woman?

2008-11-30T11:46:00.001-05:00

I always wondered at what point I would feel like a woman, not a young lady, or a girl. I thought that gradually over the years I would make decisions that would take me farther away from girlhood and closer to womanhood. Part of me still exists in both worlds. I cry like a girl, am insecure like a girl, and still sneak peanut butter m&ms. But I also love like a woman, stand up for myself and my beliefs like a woman, and mail my own Christmas cards (something I have always associated with adulthood).

And on Thanksgiving I took one definite step away from girlhood and towards womanhood. It was after Thanksgiving dinner and everyone was sitting back to digest. I stood up, collected the plates, and went into the kitchen to do the dishes without a thought in the world. My mother had cooked all day, I certainly wasn’t going to let her clean. So there I was, for the next hour, washing dishes, while my aunts dried them, gossiping about life.

In years past I would grudgingly go help my aunts and mother clean up. But this year, I was leading the clean up, with my aunts helping me, with no grudge. It just seemed like what I should do.

This revelation may seem trivial, but to me, I really felt like I had taken one step toward being a “grown up.”

Things I'm thankful

2008-11-29T14:43:00.001-05:00

Every year since I can remember my grandmother has asked me to give her a list of things I'm thankful for. At 13 years old it probably contained things like "bonne bell lip gloss." And while I am still thankful for a great lip gloss, my list has gotten a little bit better over the years. I know it is a few days past Thanksgiving, but, what the heck, tis the season to be grateful anyways.

So, for Thanksgiving 2008, here is a lit of things I am thankful for

B.How much I love him. How much he loves me and shows and tells me. The things he does for me, because of me and with me. That is he spontaneous which makes me do things I wouldn’t do without him. His calming nature. That I’ve been able to sustain a relationship for 2 years.
The things my mother has unknowingly taught me-kindness and caring and doing the little things to make other people smile
My father’s humor, wit, and sarcasm. That I always be his friend, not just his daughter
That my parents have made sound financial decisions so that the current financial downturn hasn’t affected us much
That my parents taught me to live within my means- an invaluable lesson that I think will serve me well in the future
My sister and how close we have become. And this year, I’m thankful for P. for making her happier
My cat cheeto
The strength to get through these last few years of school (hopefully)
Happy friends
Wine
Chocolate (peanut butter m&ms)
My core group of girlfriends that are wonderful, lovely, and who care for me like family
The internet and how it has made communicating with friends and family so much easier
How beautiful my twin niece and nephew are
Gluten free food
For having friends that care enough about my allergy to adapt their lifestyle so I can eat with them
My job