O Christmas Tree

So it's Christmas time in case you weren't aware & that means you need to get a Christmas tree!! And so that's what I did! Here the story....So on Saturday we headed out & about to check out some tree lots. I'm very particular (big surprise I know) about my tree so it took awhile to find just the right tree & one at just the right price. Times are tough so i can't be spending all my monies on a tree! at the third lot I finally found the one. Then comes the question of how we're going to get said tree back to our apartment. I don't own a truck & neither does my roommate. All we had was Keifer.

So this is what we did


That's right we shoved it in the trunk!! what of it?!


The drive back to our apartment took awhile cuz Matty only drove about 30 MPH since everyone time we stopped the trunk lid would slam down on our beloved tree. we can't be having that! when we finally got home we took our tree into the garage to get the stand put on him. It was quite the project




Notice how Chalise is just clowning around while me & Matty are doing real work!!




I love how Matty is kneeling on his gloves!!



I love my tree!!



After we got him in his stand we took him inside & started stringing the lights






We thought we were so clever by stringing the lights all around the tree & then putting in in the corner where it was going to sit. Good plan right? well when you do that you should really keep track of the starter plug that you're gonna plug into the wall. We didn't so much do that so when it was in place we couldn't find it. Under the tree I went in an attempt to locate it.



I looked & looked for that blasted plug all up under the tree with no luck. Eventually Joelyn found it.....in the front of the tree...right in front of our faces. I was stuck under the tree & Chalise pretty much had to drag me out. Too bad we didn't get a picture of that!!

Then we started decorating




Here he is all dressed up!!!



It's Christmas time! Let the stress begin!!!

Book Report

You may or may not know that one of my goals for 2010 was to read 5 books. Not listen to them on CD as I normally do but to read them with my own eyes. I’m sure you’re thinking “oh wow 5 whole books!” well you can suck it! That’s huge as I hate reading! I am happy to report that today I finished book #5!! That’s right!! And I still had 3 months to spare. Go me! So here are the 5 books that I read with my own eyes & my thoughts on each one. Here we go…..

Book #1 Silent In The Grave
This was a recommendation from my friend Chalise & she is in love with this book. I am not in love with it but it was good. Murder, romance, sexual tension, scandal, heartbreak & corsets! There was this particular line from the book that really spoke to me. Basically the main character’s husband dies at the beginning & in the end he wasn’t the person she thought he was in the beginning which I can totally relate to. My favorite line from the book: “I mourned the boy I lost because I had already lost him….” Good stuff.

Book #2 Dust and Shadow
Another recommendation from Chalise. It’s Jack the Ripper as told & investigated by Sherlock Holmes. It was a good book but I was hoping it’d be a little more bloody & tragic. I mean it’s Jack The Ripper! But it seemed to have more to do with Sherlock Holmes (who I find to be very self-centered!) than with Jack The Ripper. Whatever Sherlock Holmes. Still it was a good book & easy to get through which is good cuz I have a pretty short attention span!

Book #3 The Secret Life Of Bees.
Good book. Those crazy bee keepers! I liked it cuz it was sprinkled with tragedy & what I’ve discovered in my reading quest this year is that I like tragedy! I like it when the characters are soaked in misery. For some reason it speaks to me & holds my attention way longer. Take your happiness & get it out of here! Anyways…Secret Life of Bees is good & I got through it pretty fast & really wanted to find out how everything was to get resolved in the end. However, it was made into a less than great movie. Where’s the tragedy?! Why did you skip over everything? And why did you change what her father says to her at the end?? Come on Hollywood!! Good book tho.

Book #4 Where Light And Shadow Meet
Ok so one of the very very few movies that ever makes me cry is Schindler’s List. I only watch it like once every 5 years cuz it’s so tragic. In my opinion it’s one of the greatest movies ever made & even tho it’s rated R I think every person should see it. So I had just finished watching Schindler’s List & decided I would read the book that it’s based on. Well I also found this book-Where Light and Shadow Meet which was written by Oskar Schindler’s wife Emillie and is their whole story told from her point of view & what she experienced during & after the war. After reading this book I feel as tho she really is an unsung hero. She really did so much for the Schindler Jews & really I don’t think anyone has any clue that she was behind the scenes. With that said I also found her to be a very bitter woman and at times it seemed like she’s just mad that she hasn’t gotten enough recognition for her part in things. Sure that’s fair but it’s not all about the rewards after. Yes her husband was always leaving her behind & cheating on her & in general was a d-bag to her but I found her bitterness very off putting. Still it was very interesting that someone who can be so uncaring & selfish to his own wife could muster the compassion to save thousands of people from being killed. I find it very interesting & in that respect it speaks to me. Good book.

Book #5 Left To Tell
Ok remember how I said I love tragic stories & for the characters to be miserable? Well really that really only applies to fictional characters. I’m not heartless. That said I’ll tell you about Left To Tell because oh my gosh it is TRAGIC! It’s written by this woman Immaculee` Ilibagiza & she lived & survived the genocide in Rwanda by hiding in a 3x4 foot bathroom with 7 other woman for 3 months. No talking. No showering. No laying down. Barely any food. And rarely ever sleeping. All the while her family & pretty much everybody she knew were outside getting slaughtered. This woman is so amazing! She talks all through the book about discovering God through this horrible tragedy. You cannot believe what was going on over there & really the rest of the world either was unaware of it or they ignored it. Frankly I’m shocked by how much attention was not & has not been paid to this event. If you have a chance to read this book do it. I think I’m going to write this woman’s name on a piece of paper & whenever I’m feeling like my life sucks I’m going to tack it up on the wall so I’m reminded of how good I have it. I slept in a bed last night in my own room. I woke up & took a shower. I ate 3 meals today. And all of my family is with me. This woman’s best friend in the world was her brother Damascene & he was very brutally killed while she was hiding in the bathroom. At the end of the book she goes to a prison where they’re holding a lot of the people who carried out the genocide. She comes face to face with leader of the group who killed her brother. The guards at the prison expected for her to scream at this man or spit on him or hit him. Instead she looked at him, touched him on the hand & said “I forgive you.” WOW! I’m telling you read this book. It will change your life.

So those are my 5 books and I read every one of them with my own eyes. But I’m not done yet. Chalise has hammered into my head that you meet a goal & then you must exceed it so I have to read one more book. I’ve checked out this book “The Glass Castle” from the library at least 4 times & can’t seem to get it read. It’s a pretty in demand book so I can never renew it & then it takes forever to get to the top of the waiting list again. It’s waiting at the library for me as we speak & since I’m already more than ½ way thru it I’ll have my goal exceeded in no time!

Side note……while I haven’t actually read it with my own eyes I’m going to mention one more book in this write up. It’s called “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and I have decided that it is my very favorite book. It’s by the author of The Kite Runner which is also a fantastic book. I’ve listened to it twice on CD & I just bought the actual book the other day so now I have a book on my book shelf that I’ve actually read! I love this book! It’s hauntingly tragic. It follows 2 different women in Afghanistan from the 70’s til after the Taliban are driven out and all that they go thru as women in that country. Seriously I’m haunted by it! Read it!

What's The Haps?!

So what’s been happening you ask? Well I’m going to tell you!! This is likely to be a long post but I know you’ll make it through!

I’m all moved to my new apartment! And I love it!! I can’t believe how much better I’m doing at my house work now that I don’t loathe where I live! I think Kiefer doesn’t really like not having his little house anymore but he’ll soldier on. And so far so good on the roommate situation! I feel very good about my new living situation!

I’ve been attempting to be more domestic lately. Mostly after discovering that I have like 4 buckets of flour in my storage I decided it was high time I actually used it. I made zucchini bread for the very 1st time!

All my provisions


I soon discovered that I no longer own a cheese grater. I’m not quite sure what happened to it but don’t fret I busted out my food processor which I rarely use and since I rarely use it I’m not even sure what blades & parts need to be used for what. So the 1st zucchini I put through to be shredded turned out to be mush since I had the wrong attachment on it. Well what can ya do?! I sorted myself out & got it working.
Ready for the oven


Ta-dah!! It turned out fabulously & I am very impressed with myself!



Did you know that it was my birthday a couple weeks ago & that I am now 31 years of age?! True story-why would I make that up?! Yikes! That sounds so much older than 30. When you’re 30 it’s a big deal & it’s a big time birthday but when you hit 31 it’s just getting old! And I felt it. And let everyone around me know I felt it! I had a big hoopla for my 30th last year so I decided this year to make it a little more low key but still it was a really fun birthday. 1st we stuffed our fat faces at Craigos pizza buffet & even I had soda to drink! Tone down the crazy partying I know!!

Me & Sherri


Some of my peeps at dinner


me & Strudel


After stuffing our fat faces we went back to my new house for cake & ice cream (homemade by Lisa! Delish!!) and more merriment.

Dear Chalise


Me & Matty



And even Matty, Chalise & Joelyn got me a new little desk for my computer! It’s so cute & I love it! And even Matty (and a couple other peeps) put it together for me!
It was a delightful celebration.










my desk!





Happy birthday to me!! I’m officially in my 30’s!!

So have you caught on to this coupon craze? I’ve heard people talk about it & all the cheap & sometimes free stuff they end up getting. It doesn’t make any sense to me? How are you getting free stuff? So my mom is WAY into it now so I decided Chalise & I needed a tutorial as we are all about cutting costs (hello that’s why we’re roommates now) so we tagged along for one of her shopping adventures. IT IS STRESSFUL! You really gotta know what you’re doing & I knew we were doomed when my mom said we needed a basic knowledge of math! Oh great! We made our 1st coupon purchases & got all this for only $6.63!! What the!? How did that happen!?



oh you can see part of my fabulous new kitchen which I love!!

So we’ll be getting better acquainted with this little fad! Times are tough people!

Ok I think that’s what’s going on here. I’m trying to do better at my blogging but no promises!

On The Move Again!!!

So I'm on the move again!!! I'll be moving to a new place in just a couple of weeks & I cannot tell you how excited I am about it! When I moved in to my current apartment I only intended to live there for 6 months & now over a year later I can't wait to get out of there! I HATE that apartment! HATE IT! I've hated it since the minute I moved in there. I hate that the screen door wont' shut unless you throw all your weight against it. I hate that you have to slam the front door every time you shut it & that my landlord would never fix it. I hate all the spiders that come out of everywhere in the summer. I hate that when it rains the walls leak & again my landlord would never take care of it or even come clean the carpets after it flooded. I HATE the kitchen & everything about it & most especially that no matter how many times I mopped the floor it still always looked dirty. I hate that when it gets rainy & muggy outside that it smells like cat piss in there. I REALLY HATE my upstairs neighbors & can’t wait til I never have to see their stupid faces or hear their stupid lives ever again! And most especially I HATE that I had to move there in the first place! Ok you get the idea right?! Well the packing is in full swing & man I’m the most organized mover you’ve ever seen! Everything is labeled & neatly stacked & I have lists of what stuff is being moved first & where it’s going & good grief why am I this way?! I can’t believe how different it feels this time around. Last year when I was getting ready to move I was crying every five minutes as I was packing up my life on K Street. Not this time! If anything it’s all tears of joy!! And every day when I come home & see the bare walls & empty shelves instead of breaking down I feel like jumping up & down cuz I’m so excited to leave! I love the new place that I’m moving too (especially the kitchen!!!) & I’m even getting excited to live with my friend Chalise (even though neither of us is looking forward to having a roommate) and about all the money I’m gonna be saving!! So by the end of this month I’ll have a brand new address!! Pics to come don’t worry!!

Am I Outside...Again!?!?

So a couple years ago I took a little (now infamous) trip to the wilderness. I pretty much vowed that I’d never return. And I meant it! Well I finally decided to lift the wilderness banishment & give it another chance. Let’s compare shall we?!

The last time I went camping I shared a tent with 3 other people & the 2nd night we were there it leaked. This time I decided to purchase my very own tent. A lot of thought went into this purchase let me tell you. I can’t just be in any old ugly tent. It needs to be cute! Here it is & me putting it together all by myself! that’s right I’m a skilled wilderness woman now!

I tried putting this all in a slide show but for some reason it wasn't working. deal with it!











Look how cute I am in my tent!


The last time I went camping we went where you just pretty much find a good spot of grass & set up shop. This time we went to this place that had these campsites all sectioned off. Every spot had a fire ring, a picnic table & a set spot where you put your tents & everything. As we drove around trying to find a spot I was put off by this designated camping business. And where are the tents supposed to fit in some of these spots? This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen! I found it very bossy! I’ll camp where I please!





Chalise fancies herself a serious camper & decided that this forced tent spot just wasn’t going to work for her so she found a little spot off the way to put her little camp spot. And please she’s not sleeping in a tent either. she was determined to be out under the stars. No thanks! What if some rodent or worse a snake came slithering across your face in the middle of the night?! I’m not coming to rescue you. I’ll be in my tent! Her little area looked like a homeless person slept there!




She didn’t end up sleeping there after she/we creeped herself out so she made her headquarters right outside my tent & still slept under the stars. In the morning when it was raining she didn’t budge. Instead she put a poncho over her face & she was good!



The last time I went camping I had to be a real frontierswoman & pee outside. It was too much for me & my body would not allow it. So by the time I got home I had pretty much not gone to the bathroom in 2 & a ½ days. That’s wretched! This time there were toilets near our campsite. Thank goodness right? I’m not so sure. These toilets were basically an outhouse consisting of a toilet seat hovering over a dark abyss. And there was no way I was venturing to said bathroom facilities by myself. Forget it. Someone had to be with me at all times. I can’t decide what’s worse dropping trou in the middle of the wilderness & worrying about what or who might sneak up on you or setting my bare butt over that abyss! Please I’ve seen enough episodes of X-files to know what might come out & grab me! I was so panicked to get out of there I’d race out of the bathroom with my pants ½ way pulled up. I’m sure the rest of the campers appreciated it! Again my body wasn’t allowing it & by the time I got home I pretty much hadn’t gone to the bathroom in almost 2 days!

There was one time that I braved the bathroom by myself & of course I made a big to do about it!

Here I am triumphant!


The last time I went camping it rained pretty much the whole time we were there & I could never figure out why we didn’t just go home. It was cold & miserable. This time I made a rule that if it was raining I was leaving. And I meant it. Saturday morning I woke up to the sounds of rain pitter pattering on my tent. You are freaking kidding me!! Don’t worry it stopped after about 20 minutes & all was well!

The last time I went camping I was pretty much useless when it came to pretty much everything especially the cooking. This time I rocked it! I am a really good camp cook! I made us breakfast burritos, dutch oven blueberry cobbler & dutch oven chicken enchiladas. I’m not trying to be all whatever but man the food was awesome!

Don't you just love my hair & outfit?!







Chalise is quite a show when she gets in the wilderness. She has this pair of velour pants that she busted out & after she put those on she was a whole other person! She even has a little dance that she does when she wears them!




That night we played a fortune telling card game (think MASH when you were in grade school) that was supposed to reveal who your one true love is. If it was your turn to deal you had to wear the head lamp.




The game told me that my one true love is Val Kilmer which means it really works cuz Val Kilmer IS my one true love!!



All 3 of us brought something to dispose of whilst in the wilderness. One of Joelyn’s frogs passed away so we buried him & had a little graveside service. RIP Frank RIP.


Chalise brought leftover wood from her theater sets & we mostly used that for our fire. So she got to set her sets on fire.



I brought a stack of emails from someone that I’d rather not have around anymore. All together it was about 2 reams of paper. I had been hanging on to them all this time & just wasn’t quite ready to let them go. I decided my return to the wilderness was the perfect time & place to rid myself of them! At 1st it was very sad & I’m not even gonna front there were some tears but once I started throwing them on the fire it was on! It was very therapeutic to watch them go up in flames.






And then we made some killer smores over the ashes!!




And here's just some fun random pics from the trip. As if you haven't seen enough already!!









So the wilderness has redeemed itself!