The Latest Facebook Craze

So everyone on facebook keeps posting 25 Random Facts about Me. See number 12, but I've just got to post it here too. Damn Ego!

1. I have a strong fear of being trapped under ice, dive meets and boxing movies.
2. My dogs' teefs are prettier than your dogs' teefs. Bet you $50.
3. If I were on a desert island, I would want to have triscuits, my mom's hummus (which is sabre but i'm usually two cheap to buy it), Martika and Diet Doctor Thunder. And my dogs. And crap magazines. I don't think i'd be any good on a desert island.
4. I still hold up my hands to see what hand is left (it spells an "L".)
5. I have benefactor who has taken me across the world on extravagant trips.
6. I do everything my sister does.
7. I am way too dependent on my mother.
8. I pray all the time to have curly hair and be able to sing. I discovered the curly, more like wavy, hair at 30, so who knows?
9. I love Mariah's All I Want for Christmas, I despise all of her other songs.
10. I have seen Glitter. And Crossroads, for that matter. Multiple times.
11. I feel a special kinship with Britney because her hometown produced the bottled water I use to drink in Louisiana.
12. Although I am immensely enjoying myself creating this list, I know it's because it only strokes the ego, something I'm trying to get rid of after reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth.
13. I did some pretty turdy things in high school and am glad that YouTube was not prevalent then.
14. I have a facebook friend that I have known since i was 4. I keep in touch with pretty much everyone I've ever met.
15. I cry at commercials. And at least once a day.
16. I like stars. Both on ceilings and bottoms.
17. I have done some really dumb things for a $10 bill. But I guess its the price you pay for having a Benefactor. She has spent her adult life trying to make up for how she treated me in college. :)
18. My southern accent only comes out when i'm drunk or with my momma. Or drunk with my momma.
19. My boyfriend has that thing on the back of diet coke cans. Phyllalanine. Or something like that. Before meeting him, I always wanted to date someone that was because I thought it sounded so interesting.
20. I share a birthday with Tori Spelling, Janet Jackson and Tracy Gold. I kept a calendar for a year of celebrity birthdays taken from Entertainment Tonight (before internet) to find out Emilio Estevez's birthday.
21. I wore a necklace of him around my neck for my entire 7th grade year. I was a bit of a dramatic kid.
22. I think God has a plan for us all and I'm being led by him everyday.
23. I was supposed to go to Turkmenistan for the Peace Corps but decided not to because of a boy and my mother's claim that if I went i'd take 15 years off her life. It still is my biggest dream.
24. I send out at least 80 postcards on every trip I take over 4 days.
25. I wanted to be a National Geographic photographer since i was 7. I still love photo and have a photo business, see2photography.com, with my sister.
26. EXTRA BONUS. My sister will do one of these once i tag her and hers will be the most profound and funny one you've ever read. I try but this stuff in her DNA.

And since I haven't included a photo in a couple of posts, here is proof that turtlenecks flatter EVERYONE.

I can see you Mister!!

I know that nasty old man with the newspaper-filled office (I swear he must have newspapers dating from the 60s in there!) that sits directly to the right of my window doesn't read my blog. I'm sure of it. But I believe in the power of intention and if my loyal readers send out their karmic vibes that mister nasty across the way (did I mention he is addicted to watching boody-holes on his computer, UP CLOSE, if you get my drift) will realize that other people see him and give me some relief. It's very hard to work knowing what's staring at the back of your head.

YUCK!

What God Does in His Spare Time

So it's my last day in Las Vegas. Things slowed down at like 1 pm, so I decided before Molly and I went to get our mani/pedis, and before I take my $20 and turn them into nickels for a night of high rolling, I'd take a drive through Red Rocks, which is literally 5 minutes from Molly's house. OH. MY. GOD. It is so beautiful, and so incredible, it's one of those things that you're like, well durh, OF COURSE THERE IS A GOD. I swear that anyone that has driven through Red Rocks most likely leaves feeling super humble and completely in awe. So here's a few pics, none of which do the place justice.

My Pass with Death. Or a REALLY Good Time.

Riding the Coaster: New York, New York

Glamarama

So my dear friend Nicole invited us to the Green Inaugural Ball this past weekend. It was incredible. I don't know that I've EVER had dressed up that much. It was completely organic, including the liquer. And Lin had the press swarming on her since she was wearing the gown Mom wore to Reagan's inauguration. She's so beautiful! And although I lost my camera like a DAMN fool, I did get some pics from Lin....NOTICE MY NATURALLY CURLY HAIR!! I mean honestly, who discovers at 30 they have wavy hair??



With my organic wine..



And my curly hair...

Aren't I a professional Gala girl?

My View on Inauguration Day

Know I now Lin's post for today will be about the incredible sight that the Mall this inaugural Tuesday was. While I had to settle to listening to the speech on the radio in a convention center parking lot, I had a pretty nice view myself this morning.



I was too pooped from my 24 hour day (literally) yesterday to do much of anything tonight, but I definitely plan on getting some hiking in this week, so hopefully more beautiful scenery to come!

I think I may have a problem...

So my weekend did NOT consist of building a praxinoscope. Next weekend perhaps. Saturday and Sunday were filled mostly with errands. Saturday night, however, I visited my girlfriend Sarah in Ashburn for a slumber party (I LOVE APPLES TO APPLES!!), where my problem was first discovered. Although my problem may have been evident before and I denied it, I have fully realized I am ADDICTED to puppy dogs. Sarah got a beagle puppy and I fell head over heels. I'm babysitting for a week in March and I can't wait for Sarah to leave town!! Here's a few pics of the most adorable dog...excluding my own surgery-prone pups, of course. And Bella. And Link, and Gee and Ivy. And Meredith's brood. Oh well, what can I say. I fall in love with every dog I meet!

One more thing!

Pray for my puppy! We learned today that poor Ick has to get ACL surgery on his leg. He has to stay in a crate for FIVE weeks and anyone that knows him knows this will be one rough endeavor for him. For the not so weak of heart, here's what the surgery involves.

Now he will REALLY never be a dancer, poor angel!

Charting Your Mood

So I don't really sharing with my dedicated readership of 7 (we're growing!) that I see a doctor. Not just a cough, sniff doctor, or as lin calls it a "scoot down" doctor, but a Sopranos type doctor. I'm not crazy (shhhh!) I just have trouble dealing with my emotions sometimes. It gets old crying at the Super Bowl commercials. Now I am an emotional person by nature, so I have no problems being a tad more sensitive than the average gal. But when your emotions start dictating your life, you want to reign it in. Just a bit. So I started seeing someone. And although it's sometimes hard to concentrate because he looks exactly how I would imagine Ross Gellar would look if he were French or Lebanese, it's pretty interesting. Anyway, he suggested I keep a mood journal. So for the past few days, I have been writing down how I feel. It was kind of odd at first, but I'm starting to get into the groove and it's nice to stop for just a few minutes to reflect on your day. I've been kinda combining it with a little meditation of my daily blessings. Like the other day when Emily was in town, she came to work with me and pointed out that the whole day, the crosswalk was green for us. One of my dear girlfriends is training to be a life coach and she does this awesome penny project on the side and she rates each joy in her day as pennies. So meeting up for coffee with a friend is like finding a paper bill. Getting a seat on the metro is the equivalent of seeing a quarter on the sidewalk. That type of thing. With all the doom and gloom present in the news and on TV and guys that don't give up their seats on the metro (see Lin's blog for an awesome commentary on THAT one), it's nice to remember that the small things up. Coinstar proves that.

On another note, I LOVE THE COFFEE HOUSE RADIO STATION. Seriously, if you have not checked it out (its on yahoo radio and XM), it will definitely put in you a great mood. It's like when Emily found a $10 bill on the ground (same day as the crosswalks--that was a GREAT day!!).

I have a meeting at 8:30 am so I need to call it a night. I'll leave you with my project for the weekend, a praxinoscope. Actually it's our project. James builds, I watch. We saw one of the children's museum and we're going to make a small one for our coffee table.



Happy Almost Friday!

Hello 2009!

So here I write, straight from another year. I had the most wonderful holiday. I missed my family dearly but I had a great time with James and Emily and his family in Indianapolis. We went to the Children's Museum, which was friggin awesome!!, and watched movies and took the dogs out WITHOUT LEASHES. And ate. Lots. Oh, I got a fabulous new hair cut/color courtesy of James's sister Julie (pics to come, she cut like 7 inches!). It was wonderful. And the car ride was actually nice too thanks to my new ipod converter and book light. But to make up the lost time with my Clarks, I'm going to have a slumber party over at Lin's tomorrow. That should be fun.

As we got home late late last night, today is officially my day of 2009. The day that you start thinking goals, dreams, etc. for the new year. Since I was 11 years old, I have talked about volunteering abroad. Well this is the year I do it. I want to pay off some bills, save enough to pay those longer-term ones while I'm gone, and trek to Africa or India for 3-6 months. James said he'd come with me. I think it would be the most incredible experience!! So it's going to happen. And I have a reserved spot in the NYC Marathon in November. That's another goal. Of course, i have the typical lose weight, exercise more. Those don't even count anymore. :) I do want to continue getting closer to God. That's been something I've been striving for the past few months and it brings a certain sense of peace you can't find in anything else. Oh, and Hurley is FINALLY getting snipped on Saturday. I think that counts more as my sister's resolution though than mine. Lastly, I'm itching to adopt a ferret, but I'm pretty certain that resolution is going to be kicked in the behind by the man of the house.

I leave you with some pictures of my break. Em opening presents, the museum, and us ringing in 2009 (notice James blowing the horn RIGHT in Ick's ears). HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! (which really means Emily J, Jake, Andrew, Lin and Sally!) :)



Emily's visit from Santa




Tommy and Em at the Children's Museum




Craiggy digging up "Dinosaur" bones at the museum




Ringing in the New Year




Craig and Hurley watching the game. BOO on Katy's team!!




My favorite profile




Ichabob is POOPED after spending the week with seven kids!