14 things on the the 14th

Consider yourself lucky you aren't catching my first draft of this post. Suffice it to say I went on a little rant, got carried away, and completely lost sight of the purpose for this little Valentine's Day entry. Now that that's over...let's move on, shall we?

In the spirit of St. Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share a few things I love. Are you curious to know the focus of my list today? Come on, I'll show you!

14 things I love about Boyfriend:

1. his smile
2. his cute little nose
3. the insane shade of red he turns when he's giggling at It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
4. that he'll eat just about anything I cook, even the experiments gone wrong
5. that he loves, loves, loves his family and mine
6. that he'll let me pick the movie
7. that he loves God so faithfully and passionately
8. that he'll tell me I look nice (when prompted) when I wear skinny jeans, even though he hates them
9. that he participates in love-bubble affections even though he thinks it's weird
10. that he shares his food with me (even when it's obvious he wants all of it)
11. his arse
12. that he sings along to country songs when we're driving
13. his enthusiasm for outdoor adventures (and Hawaii)
14. that he'll get up and feed Lucy when I'm really, really tired (or hungover)

Welp...that's it. Everything I love about Boyfriend in a nutshell. Just kidding! That doesn't nearly cover it...but hey, fourteen is fourteen, right? I do what I can. Here are some extras for anyone who prefers pretty pictures over my type-A list.

he wears boots all the time...even in the snow

he poses for pictures like this in the middle of the thrift store

and this with the duke

and he's really good at catching catfish when all I can seem to hook are carp

AND he takes me out for nice dinners and finds awesome jewelry for my birthday, like this

So, that was my fourteen things (plus a couple). Now I'm off to make a lobster and steak dinner with Boyfriend. Do I have the best sweetheart in the world, or what? No response necessary, I know I do. =)

it's about time

No, not the short lived TV series from the 60s. It's about time for me to post NYC photos! I've been back from my trip to The Big Apple for almost a month, and I'm just getting around to uploading pics. Contrary to what you would be led to believe (by most who know me, especially Boyfriend), it was not due to laziness. Exactly. I'd attribute the first week of procrastination to laziness. The weeks that followed without picture posting can be attributed to my misplacing the camera battery charger. By the time I got around to making time to sift through and edit photos, my pretty little silver Sony pal was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. And unlike my last Sony pal, I was not gifted a second battery that can be charging while I use the other. Sad, I know. So, I've been searching like mad around the house. Not a single nook or cranny went unturned. But alas, there was no charger to be found.

Just when I thought all hope was lost (this morning), the big moderately sized light bulb in my head suddenly illuminated in a moment of sheer genius! Although I had checked both desks and their drawers, the coffee table drawers, the paper filling nook, my backpack, my nightstand, and even Boyfriend's catch-all tray, I hadn't thought to check my purses! Insert forehead slap with palm of hand accompanied by a big fat "duh!"

So....all that to say this. After a short charge this afternoon, Sony pal's battery was ready to work. Without further ado...a NYC photo tour!!!

too many, too much

1000 + 500 + 70 +6. One thousand, five hundred seventy six. My lunch weighed in at a super-size me scale of 1,576 calories. I didn't even bother looking up grams of fat, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. Honestly, I brought myself plenty of snacks from home, but then Boss#1 sent me to the post office, which meant on the way back I'd be stopping off at Taco Bueno to pick up food for the office.

It's pretty standard operating procedure–errand near a fast food joint around lunch time (anywhere from 11am-1pm)=lunch stop for the office. I knew I didn't need anything from Taco Bueno. I knew it. But in the end, relying on the snacks I'd brought from home did me no good. I caved. Well, let's get real; it's not like I put up much of a fight. The black bean burrito just sounded so good. (It was, btw) And I honestly thought, "Black bean burrito...that can't be too bad for me. It's prob just rice and black beans. And that party burrito size. The Taco Bell bean burrito is only 350 calories...it should be ok." Ha!

I sat down at my desk and unwrapped the burrito only to sink my teeth into amazing black bean yumminess chock-full of cheesy, sour cream goodness. O.M.G. Immediately I tried to guess the calories. It had to be a lot. It was definitely more than the Taco Bell bean burrito. It was so creamy and delicious...it had to be bad. Four hundred ninety calories bad! Are you wondering where the other 1,086 calories came from? Mexi dips and chips. That's where it came from. Oh geez. Of course I knew I didn't need that! In my defense, I didn't even eat half of it. So really, I didn't actually consume 1,576 calories. Yet.

As long as I'm telling the truth, I may as well let you know...I usually take the entire afternoon to eat my lunch when we buy fast food. I feel much better about myself if I don't wolf it down. Usually I convince myself that taking four hours to eat spreads out my caloric intake, and really it's like eating lunch and then having an afternoon snack. You with me? That's how it works, right? Har har.

The un-eaten portion of my lunch continues to mock me from its resting place about eighteen inches from my computer. Stupid mocking mexi dips and chips. I will not eat the rest of you!! I will not!

Wanna bet the chips win this battle?


ps: I borrowed this image from Stacey Greenberg over here because she had a photo and I didn't.

Ceeee-le-brate good times, come on!

I hope you sang the title out loud! Ok, maybe not out loud, but did you at least give it a little hum, head bop, or shoulder shimmy? I did a shoulder shimmy. Of course, I knew what I was writing, so I shimmied and wrote. At the same time. Whatever, back to the matter at hand. Celebrations. Today, I am giving a nod to my blog. Or, as it were, a very tiny nod to my very tiny blog.

For any confused readers (probably most of you)...my blogiversary came and went without recognition. Oops! I actually didn't think of it at all until today, over three weeks late. But realistically, I don't have too much to celebrate, right?

WRONG!

Though my first thought was to let the seemingly insignificant date pass by without acknowledgment, I reconsidered. What would my attempt at blogging amount to if it weren't acknowledged? Small successes are still successes, right? Maybe I didn't write as much as I'd hoped in the beginning of the year, but I wrote. Maybe I didn't find a central topic around which to focus my writing, but I wrote. And, maybe I didn't make much sense to anyone who was forced to read my blog while I stood over their shoulder stumbled upon my site, but I wrote. Are you getting my point? I wrote, dammit. And even if it wasn't to the degree I imagined, it's definitely something to build on. In that spirit, I've created a list (imagine that) to keep me pumped about my teeny tiny progress. Enjoy.

1. I am still blogging (however infrequently).
2. I posted 16 times last year. (Don't laugh! It's better than one. Or none.)
3. I am happy about the variety of moods/themes in posts. That is to say I feel like there's a good mix of "this-is-what's-going-on-in-my-life" posts sprinkled with "I'm-a-goofball-and-this-is-totally random" and "I-am-very-serious-about-this-so-take-this-seriously" posts.
4. I actually have followers. Granted, not very many. But they're there! So thank you Mary, Adagui, and Mandi! Muah!!

Now comes the fun part. The extra encouraging part. GOALS. I don't have any new year's resolutions to speak of, but I do have goals. And what better way to share my goals for blog than like this:

Number One: WRITE MORE! That's the most obvious and most important goal. I'm tempted not to tell you my ideal number of blogs per week, but it might help me get off my ass and contribute to my own project. So here goes. Three. Three times per week. That would be ideal. Here's the thing though, for someone who didn't even write much more than once per month on average, I feel like three times per week is lofty. Very, very lofty. However, two posts per week doesn't sound crazy. So that's what I'm settling on. That's my goal. Let's see how I do. ;)

Number Two: By the end of the year, find a focus (not the car, just got rid of that) for the content of my blog. That's the one I'll need the most luck on. Even more than frequency, I'd bet.

and Number Three (because I think 3 sounds like a good number for this sort of list): Improve my writing skills. I have an idea that writing with more frequency will inevitably enhance my writing. So here's hoping #1 helps with #3!

And because I've included no pictures in the post thus far...

because, well, it's a celebration!

and this is just because I like these boots. =)

Cheers!

NYC: checking in

I have officially walked and walked and walked for hours in NYC. Sadly, I have very little to show for it. I hiked 60-70 blocks, I think. Maybe a bit more? Either way, as much as I walked, I covered only a tiny little speck of Manhattan. Still great to get out and explore. People watch. Learn how to cross the street! Seriously, it's very intimidating. I mean, I know there's the little guy who lights up when it's your turn to cross (just like everywhere else) But people seem to cross the street whenever as long as no one is coming. That's all well and good...except for the intersections where there are essentially eight lanes of traffic (N/S/E/W are all separated by medians on the bigger streets) and someone is always turning, and honking, and confusing me! It's quite crazy.

When I got around to Little Italy I wandered into Landmark Diner for a California Omlette. So, so so good! It came with home fries and toast and was way too much food for one person! But it was perfect, all the same.

Back to the present. I am in GC's apartment, writing and watching/listening to General Hospital–relaxing before venturing back out in the cold. The ambient noise provided by all the big trucks, honking taxis, ambulance sirens and shouting pedestrians is actually quite...nice. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to live here.

the big apple

these streets will make you feel brand new

the lights will inspire you
lets here it for New York, New York, New York

It's official. I am headed to New York in less than three weeks. Sixteen days. A little less if you consider that my flight is at 10 in the morning. Actually, in sixteen days (God willing), I'll be in a supershuttle traveling from the airport to GC's work. You see, I'll be meeting her there and once she's off we will begin our girls weekend. (Save the half day she'll put in on Friday while I traipse around her neighborhood keeping an eye out for Ed Westwick.) Then Sunday afternoon, Boyfriend and LM will fly in to meet us. I am so looking forward to spending time with GC, who I haven't seen since 1996! (and that was the only time we've seen each other since 1991, when we wee little 6 year-olds were separated by 800 miles!) That's right ladies and gents, GC and I were kindergarten BFFs and have been keeping in touch for the 20 years since she moved away. ::sniffle:: But alas, we are finally getting together again! And oh what fun it will be to spend time in the city with Boyfriend and LM too! YIPPEEEEEE!!!

So...for any curious minds...this is a general idea of where we'll be. I'll actually be staying with GC and her roomie Thursday-Sunday, then Boyfriend, LM and I will head to a hotel right near Little Italy. Pizza, anyone?

In the spirit of Christmas (it still counts) I'm making a list and checking it twice. Though this list has nothing to do with behavior. The truth is, I'd make a list even if it wasn't the holidays cuz that's how I roll. (I even received Love Listography for Christmas to satisfy my penchant for list-making)

1. Figure out which luggage makes the most sense for me and Boyfriend to take
2. Decide which clothes to take (this will soon become it's own list)
3. Organize travel documents for myself and Boyfriend
(including details for navigating from the airport to Manhattan for Boyfriend,
who is certain he will get lost)
4. Camera (purchase or borrow because mine broke)
5. Book for the plane
6. Pack airline friendly purse and carry-on (more lists!)
7. Find a new pea-coat!
8. Compare "to-see" items with Boyfriend an LM so I can
hold off on certain things they would like to be a part of

That's all for now. But you can be certain I am not done penning checklists.

More to follow. Ciao.

oh, the things I've missed

So...I've missed quite a bit. Call it lazy. Call it unmotivated. Call it whatever you like, but the point is I've been absent. The following is my attempt to make up for my lack of blogging:

New Car! 2011 KIA Soul-My first new car, and only the second car I've ever had.
(You will notice Ryon's truck in the background, which he also got this year)

Other happenings:
2-Year Anniversary!!!
Captured Conference 2010 with B-Rad
Sarah & Robby's Wedding (Now they are the Hassell family in time for the Holidays!)
Camping @ Lake of the Arbuckles with boyfriend
26th Birthday
Family Reunion in East Texas
Camping @ Lake of the Arbuckles with TreMandi & Jon
and other small happenings, but that's the gist of it =)

Now, back on board with the blogging. Ahhhhh....