I stole this off of Libby's blog....

Bold all the things you've done in 2009

1. Did something you said you would never do.
2. Payed for someone who said they would pay you back but never did.
3. Lied about where you were.
4. Discovered a new musician.
5. Made something for a friend.
6. Got a new phone.
7. Got a new iPod/Zune/Mp3 player.
8. Watched three or more episodes of Saturday Night Live.
9. Made fun of someone.
10. Created a facebook account.
11. Flew on a plane for the first time.
12. Spoke in front of 15 people or more.
13. Met someone in real life that you originally met online.
14. Done something illegal.
15. Did your siblings chores for money.
16. Stayed up all night thinking about the worst thing that could possibly happen to later find out that you worried for nothing.
17. Hurt somebody you didn’t mean to hurt.
18. Hugged your mom or dad.
19. Baked a cake.
20. Made a new friend.
21. Lost an old friend.
22. Changed your views on society.
23. Laughed at something that wasn’t funny.
24. Got upset over something that wasn’t a big deal.
25. Had a horrible birthday. (the actual day)
26. Got a pet.
27. Deleted your myspace.
28. Cried because you missed old times.
29. Cleaned your room.
30. Have a new found appreciation for someone you never expected to.
31. Told someone you love them.
32. Told someone you hate them.
33. Screwed something up but didn’t mean to.
34. Received a gift.
35. Gave a gift.
36. Read a book.
37. Ate a lollipop.
38. Threw away something by accident.
39. Smoked a cigarette.
40. Ran a mile.
41. Changed jobs.
42. Aced a test.
43. Wished you were in the past.
44. Got scared about the future.
45. Got yelled at by your parents.
46. Lost a family member.
47. Saw an old friend.
48. Went to church.
49. Hugged a stuffed animal.
50. Said you’re going to make next year better.

Christmas!!...and an anniversary of sorts

Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of rum...or vodka I should say.
Christmas has come and gone. I drove up to Waco on Thursday evening and spent the past few lovely days with my sis and her hubby and kids. It was a very Merry Christmas, complete with excellent food (too much) and presents and children and lots of Christmas cheer.
I have to give Jeff and Suz a shout out for having the cutest kids ever, seriously. I'm not a big gusher about children, but these little ones are the absolute cutest kiddos alive. I'm proud to be their auntie. Dillon is every bit as crazy and funny as Susanna describes on her blog....
Best tidbit: I brought unwrapped presents with me up to their place, thinking to wrap them later on that evening. Dillon was being watched closely, as he was in Christmas heaven, ready to wreak havoc on anything remotely "present-like"...he managed to sneak into the guest room where I was staying for all of maybe less than a minute. Flash forward a few hours to where I was ready to start wrapping. Uh oh, a few of Noah's presents were missing out of the bag. I was starting to worry that I had maybe left them at home and I had Susanna with me looking everywhere for them. Sure enough, Suz told me to check under the bed and there they were, lovingly stashed away by dearest Dilly. No doubt he was happy about finding a horde of toys and wanted to be sure he had some for himself for later. Too funny...
Dinner was delish..made my cream of broccoli soup and artichoke spinach dip to contribute to the death by calories meal. Yay.
Ok I'm tired now from the long drive and plan to sleep tomorrow away. Goodnight. I hope you celebrated in style ;).
Oh and it's my one year anniversary today of moving to Austin. It's been a good year, I've been lucky and blessed. Cheers :)

The week before Christmas

Sucks a**. Seriously. I hate shopping and crowds, both of which can't be avoided at this time of year. Ugh.
Today I went to do some of the last of my C'mas shopping (STUPID on a weekend) and came home in the worst mood ever. I got 80 percent of what was on my list, but I still need to go back to a couple places for last minute touches. I was in Ross for all of 10 hot minutes and after seeing the checkout lines stretched to the back of the store, I dropped what I was planning on purchasing and hightailed it out of there. I almost had a panic attack. Heh.
Last night my buddies from work threw a Birthday/Christmas party for me, which was too much fun...best buddies bought me an awesome present (room decor) and it was a great feeling to know I've cultivated really great friendships with the people I work with..I heart them. We stayed up way too late and I woke up this morning looking and feeling like a hot mess. (NOT a good thing. Heh)
Tomorrow I'm going to work so that I can have Friday off, as my PTO doesn't kick in until the new year. I'm driving up to see Suz and co in Waco on Thursday night. Yay! I'm really looking forward to that (well, everything but the drive). I'll have a 3 day weekend and be able to do C'mas eve/day with family, which hasn't happened for me in quite a while.
So that's a boring little update for you.
And I miss my girls in Cali. Christmas isn't the same without you. Have a glass of mulled wine for me. xxx

And so it is...

That I have one year left in my 20's.
And that is all. Happy Birthday to me.

Could I be any more delinquent...

with this blog? Dear God I'm pathetic.
In other ground shaking news, I am enjoying my last day of being 28. Someone shoot me now.

Snow in Austin

...Who'd have thunk it. Well, to be perfectly honest we had all of three flakes or so, but yes, there was snow.
The funniest part about this is that the weather channels and the whole city was becoming all freakish like, gearing up for snow like it would turn the city into a disaster zone. When it finally fell, it lasted all of two minutes...and then the sun came out, bright and beautifully. I just laughed and had a moment of thanks for the fact that I didn't have to drive home on icy roads.
I've had a bad toothache for the past few days and had the joyful experience of waking up this morning with half of my face swollen from the infection. Ugh. I almost called in sick, but decided to do the ice thing and managed to get my face looking relatively normal by the time I needed to go into work. Thank God for small mercies...
In other news, I'm going to get my hair cut and highlighted on Monday, a sort of B'day present to myself. I haven't colored it in about 3 years, so I'm hoping it turns out nice...yay.
Happy Weekend.

Happy December..almost

So...it's that most wonderful time of year again. Christmas music is everywhere...Holiday season. Sigh. Also time for yearly freak out before birthday. 2 weeks and I'll be entering my last year in my 20's. For some reason, even tho I know I'm not "old", I'm just a little unnerved about it.
Funny because 2 of my close gf's who I work with told me that their 29th B'day was worse than their 30'th in the way of "freak out" sessions. I suppose it makes sense, the anticipation is worse than the reality. Oh well...I will deal with it somehow...
In other news, Thanksgiving came and went..had dinner on the day with buddies from work and had a nice home cooked extravaganza last night with the roomies and their family. Liz and I ROCKED in the kitchen and made a delicious feast. I was proud of us.
I bought a nice bed (finally) today and even tho I can't really afford the expense at this time, it's just one of those things that a girl can't do without....
Besides that, I'm off to a friend's house to decorate trees, drink and have a nice dinner.
Happy Monday.

Gobble Gobble

So it rolls around again, this year being a first in many that I will not be cooking all day for a Thanksgiving feast. I don't know if I'm happy or sad about it. Probably just a bit nostalgic for days gone by... I am working tomorrow, as per usual, but will end the day with a nice meal with my good friends from work at one of their houses.
I guess this is where I should do my customary "thankful" post...I do have a lot to be extremely grateful for this year, so I'm afraid if I start I might bore you to tears with long lists.
So in interest of keeping you awake I will refrain from detailing all the things that I am thankful for. I'll just do a summary.
Grateful for:
A wonderful job, beautiful house, awesome roomates, friends -- both old and new, family and loved ones, success in my first year on my own, health and happiness...etc...
I'm thankful for you too. Cheers and have a drink or two for me.

It's technically tomorrow, but I just couldn't help myself....

I met this beautiful woman roughly 22 years ago when I was a naughty 7 year old and her parents were my teachers. She was the cutest toddler with the blondest curls I’d ever seen….
Flash forward….before we became reacquainted around 3 years back, I had been a silent stalker of her blog and was a huge fan of her intelligence, insight and humorous wit. Never thought I’d be lucky enough to one day be her roommate and friend.
Sparks was the icebreaker (alkies!! Lol) and guitars, singing, long talks about everything under the sun. She became a “kindred spirit” and friend before I ever thought I’d be moving out here to Austin.
Again flash forward. About one year ago I moved in with her and her little family and it’s been nothing but good memories. She’s seriously one of the most talented, sweetest, caring, intelligent, beautiful women I’ve ever known. Being around her makes me want to be a better person. She’s a loyal friend, great listener, conversationalist, comedian, mother, advice giver…. She has a beautiful mind and she’s ridiculously good looking. Damn. I could go on and on but I think words are trite and don’t do her justice.
Liz, I love you sooo much and am thankful everyday for you, everything about you. Happy Happy 26th. I pray your new year will bring you so much joy,fun, good times, accomplishments, progress and great memories we’ll look back on when we’re old…(HA).
Cheers darling ;-)

I've....

Been inundated with all things "benefits" over the past week, my head is still spinning trying to figure it all out
Been getting the writing urge again and want to pick it back up
Been quite disgusted with Taylor Swift winning so many awards at the CMAs...seriously people, she can't sing live for shit...
Been told emphatically by my gay friend that I'm an in the closet lesbian. LOL!
Been hooked on the TV show "Glee"...seriously fun
Been a bit unfaithful with the workout routine..only making 3 days a week sometimes. Must remedy this!!
Been working overtime on weekends, but finally took this weekend off for a little "me" time...
Been scheming about what to get Liz for her birthday and think I've come up with a nice little plan
Been freaking out a bit about upcoming 29th birthday...one year left in my 20s. Argh
Been missing friends and family during the holiday season.

Just a few tidbits that you didn't really need to know. Happy Weekend

A year ago...

I still believed that when the word "love" was used, it meant love -- not some other twisted form of emotion
I was still willing to put my pride, myself, my heart and emotions out there, wear them proudly on my sleeve, and not consider the consequences
I was reckless enough to think that if I wanted it badly enough, it would happen
I was hopeful and optimistic, yet sadly pessimistic at the same time. A conflict of everything all over the place
I was giddy and walking on air...when I should have realized it was just that, air.
I had a little taste of heaven, though the aftermath only turned out to be food poisoning
I was a lot more naive than I should have been.
Thank you 12 months.

Oh and as an afterthought, I've been blogging for 5 years now, as of a few days ago. Wow. Maybe I should just let it go and close this thing down.

A comedy of errors....

Or more like a tragedy...such has been my life over the past week.
Stupid car troubles. Started out with some douche bag backing into me at HEB and running off....I didn't see it happen, but when I got out of the store there was a definite dent and paint scratch on my baby. Pissed off is the mildest way to put how I was feeling.
So there was freak out number one. I do have good warranty on the vehicle, but I don't know if it'll be able to be fixed completely without paying an arm and a leg for it. Argh.
Next on my list of "happenings" was Saturday...ended up working a few hours, as we're behind at the office. I was driving my friend home from work when I STUPIDLY ran over a freakin screwdriver that was happily placed in the middle of the road. I didn't even see it until it was too late. D. told me that I'd better check the tires, and sure enough I had a puncture to the back tire. I got home before it went flat, but that put me car-less over the weekend.
My awesome roomie put the spare on for me in the wee hours of the morning, but I still needed to go in today and replace the tire. EXPENSIVE!!! There goes my money I was saving for the Blue October concert this month. Weep.
So, they say troubles come in threes..which means I'm paranoid about what the third will be. Or maybe I'll catch a break. Here's to hoping.
Goddamn car.
Thank you for listening to my rant.

Scary Pictures :)

So we threw a little pre-Halloween bash at our place earlier on in the week, as most of my and my roomie's friends were set to work on Halloween night. Costumes were encouraged, the house was "spookified", the cameras were out in full force, as were the drinks and candy. I decided to be highly original (right) and come as a devil in red. A simple costume, but it worked, I think. Here are a couple of shots from the revelry...
I promise to tell you about the interesting ahem Halloween night I had downtown in my next post.....
Hope you had a safe and fun Halloween night. :D BOO!!!

I miss my mommy...

I seem to be breaking records here with how many times one can come down with the stupid flu. I've even had a shot for it but am down with relapse #3...(perhaps the shot had something to do with it?...just sayin) I haven't had an actual fever for ages, so this time around dealing with fevers and such has not been fun. And oh the dilemma of still wanting to go into work while sick so I don't have to make up too many hours, but at the same time not wanting to sicken my whole office with this damn thing.
I got sent home noon-ish today, as it was rather obvious I was not well enough to be up and about working. I ended up sleeping 3 hours straight, which is very unlike me. But at least the fever broke and I should be up and about tomorrow, bright and early as usual.
Hot soup and a few PM painkillers did a great number on me. I hope you're all well and happy.
Happy pre-Halloween

A wedding

Friday afternoon found me happily hanging out with an old friend that I hadn't seen in almost 10 years. C and I were buddies way back in the good ol' days of Japan. One of his friends was getting married in Austin and his gf was out of the country, so he called me up and it worked out for me to go as his "date" to the wedding.
We headed up to North Austin last night and attended a pre-wedding party in one of the prettiest places I've seen in ages, right on Lake Travis. BEAUTIFUL house, classy people, a lot of fun.
This morning we attended the ceremony in a gorgeous venue in the country. It was perfect weather, you couldn't have asked for a better day. The ceremony was sweet, sweet enough to even soften a cynic like me (for a few minutes...lol) Love was in the air and it showed on the faces of the bride and groom. Aww.
Afterwards it was a delicious brunch buffet with an open bar. My type of fun. Yay.
I'm EXHAUSTED now and am not moving off of the couch for the rest of the evening. Hello bottle of wine and sleep.