A very Merry Christmas for me!

After a long week away working a conference, my sweet man picked me up from the airport on Saturday. He even surprised me by coming to baggage claim (knowing that it was 64 lbs!) instead of me meeting him outside. We had plans to go to Nagoya, our favorite restaurant to celebrate my grandma, dad and Justin's birthdays, all in December. I was SO tired but was looking forward to seeing my family. We met my parents, sister, grandma, and his parents there and had a fabulous feast. After birthday wishes all around, Justin went around the room and thanked each person individually for what they meant in his life and that they were there to celebrate his birthday. He ended with my dad and said all these nice things about him, ending with "and I can't wait til I can officially call you Dad, which I hope will be soon because..." and he turned to me and got on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring and asked if I'd marry him! It was so sweet and he was so nervous. It was so perfect having all of our family there for the event. I'll keep everyone posted on dates, we're thinking October 11th (that's my parent's anniversary) if we can get it together in time. Ring pics below! I'll post more when I have Lindsay take them with her good camera! Love to you all!

Celebrity Morph!

%1Check out more over at Steph's, or should I say Kelly Clarkson's? :)

Lots of rain and lots of packing!

The wall in front of my desk in my office is entirely window. This is both wonderful and torturous! On beautiful days, I enjoy the sunshine but think of how I'd love to be enjoying the outdoors instead of being inside, and on gross days (like today) I'm happy to be in from the rain but am teased with the thought of comfy clothes, a blanket and a good book! All this rain is definitely good for our area and it will also help me be productive indoors this weekend as I attempt to pack 18 years worth of stuff!!! I'm going to think like Peter Walsh from "Clean Sweep" and try to get rid of TONS! This is our last weekend to get stuff together because next weekend is moving weekend! I am so excited and I will definitely post pics as soon as I get our place together. I may not be able to post this weekend but I haven't forgotten my update posts that I mentioned below. Everyone have a great, safe and dry weekend!

Major Blog Update!

Below are 3 new posts about random happenings in my life. Some more important than others! :) I know I have been MIA forever so I thought I'd do some catch up. I REALLY will try to be a more frequent blogger. I have still been reading so I'm caught up with everyone else but I have been a bad commenter! Stay tuned for my last weekend recap which includes a fabulous impromptu date with my sweetie and a spooky girls' night out with Jessy. Also I may have a tribute to a sweet furry friend if I can get the pic from Lindsay.

Big News!!!

Justin and I got approved for our condo!! I'm so excited! We move in on November 10th and we can't wait. We absolutely love it. It was the very first listing we saw and when I walked in the door it just felt like home. I can't wait to paint and decorate and truly make it ours. Here's some preliminary pics to get an idea. I'll post more once I get my hands on it!

This is taken from the main living area looking at the pass through to the kitchen. Peeking out from the left is the dining area.

This is the main living area with the door leading to our patio.

This is taken from the entry way looking towards our bedroom. The bathroom is the last door on the left and the spare bedrom is in the alcove on the right.

Can't wait to post pics of my "renovations"!

A fun way to go green.. and pink!

Don't you just love when you can pair a good cause with a good bag? I was at the grocery store the other day and couldn't resist buying this breast cancer awareness reusable grocery bag. And at $1 each you can afford to be charitable and stylish!

The fruits of my labor

In an earlier post I showed pictures of the herbs and tomatoes I planted. I am proud to say that they were a success! I've enjoyed a summer of fresh basil and rosemary etc. in all of my dishes. The tomatoes however, were slow going. I thought I wouldn't get a single red tomato out of that little plant. In the last couple of weeks though the color brightened and I was greeted by these three little guys that promptly were put on the window sill. It's not much but it's not dead which is a step in the right direction!

More Bloggy fun to follow... I've got some catching up to do!

Bargain Shopper!

This weekend was spent going furniture shopping! Justin was a good sport but he's so over it. Poor guy. Prior to my shopping weekend, I had done months and months of research to ensure that I found the best deals. I wanted stuff that looked good, and that no strangers had slept etc. on :). And this is on a big budget. We ended up getting a couch, a chair and an ottoman today. Here they are:

I love them! Now on to my dilemma. I'm deciding between two kitchen tables. One I love better and one is cheaper. What do you all think? Is the first table $175 cuter than the second? I'm at odds with my inner fashionista and my bargain hunter. Help!

Justin case you were wonderin...

My sweetie is wonderful! Okay I know the title is cheesy but how can you pass up that pun? :) Work has been crazy so I haven't posted in a while but I thought I'd take a moment to brag about my love! Justin is just a sweet guy by nature but he can have his "caveman" tendencies too. The other day though he was just the sweetest thing ever!

I was having a crappy Monday at work and he was home because he was starting a new job on Tuesday (he loves it). I'm used to coming home and waiting for him to come home while I cook dinner and sometimes it's almost 8 by the time we eat together (not with the new job!!!). Well on Monday I was so excited because when I walked to my room to get changed he was already there! Then he told me that the comforter was messed up and I should fix it. Being lazy I said I'd do it later. He pushed the issue so I picked it off the floor and under it was a stainless steel crock pot! Now I know that's not a glamorous present but we're trying to move soon and I am obsessed with all things kitchenware. He is not. So this was such a sweet and out of character gift. I then discovered one of the seasons of a show I watch on dvd under my pillow and some silverware that I've been wanting and wouldn't pay the money for under my bed! I couldn't believe he went shopping on his own and bought me kitchen stuff! He has always been great with cards and flowers and all of that lovely stuff but this one just melted my heart. And can I just say how proud he was of himself to think to hide the presents? :)

I know this story was about something sweet that involved material things, but he truly is wonderful with so so many things. Most importantly, I have never had a moment with him where I haven't felt 100% loved and like a super model. You can't beat that! It's a very refreshing change too because I have kissed A LOT of frogs! Right Jess? ;) So go home a kiss your honeys everyone!

Fun!

Thanks Ruhiyyih!

You Should Travel to Thailand

You may enjoy getting spiritual at a Buddhist retreat...Or just feasting on a ton of cheap and amazing Thai food.

What Asian Country Should You Visit?

A little of this, a little of that

I know I haven't updated in a while, these past couple weeks have been crazy! My sweet little Mama is doing fine, her second surgery went smoothly and she's now in a real cast, which is substantially better than the boot.

My new job is going well, I finally am starting to feel like a "regular" and my tasks are coming naturally to me. They're sending me on my first grown up business trip in December to work at one of our conferences which happens to be in.. Vegas baby! We're staying at the Mandalay Bay which is super nice. I'm really looking forward to meeting the clients, jewelry shopping at the expo (hello! hand-made silver and turquoise native american jewelry?) and perhaps going to see the National Finals Rodeo. Yeehaw!

I'm starting to look for condos to rent and I have already informed Justin that he will be spending labor day weekend going furniture shopping with me. Poor guy. :)

I had a sweet little Hannah moment today as I was getting my hair cut. Whenever Jess would cut her hair (in her cute little pixie-esque way) Hannah would say "I got a shortcut!" and that is just what I thought when turning to face the mirror. The funny thing is that that saying is the first thing I always think of when I get a "shortcut" but it just held such a bitter sweet resonance today.

That's all for now, hope everyone is doing well!

Update!

Well, my sweet little Mama is home safe, and she has an appointment with a very good orthopedic surgeon on Monday. We'll find out more then about whether further surgery is needed. For now she has just been resting and taking it easy. Daddy has been home from work and taking care of her, such a good guy. I washed her hair for her tonight since she can't get her leg wet in the shower and then we watched part of the 6 hours of television I had taped for her. She's in good spirits and not terrible amounts of pain. Plus, I love the quality time.

The job is going well. I've caught on to all my tasks and can breeze through almost any situation I come across. So far, so good.

This weekend, my friend Jessy and I are going to PA to see Nikki for a little girls' weekend. Can't wait!

Jess- I will look in my old school stuff for that article, but I don't remember it at all! Haha I guess I wasn't the star student you are. Any idea which class? Also, I think I still have access to JSTOR and the other journals so I'll run a search there too. You can always try the LOC website too, they've gotten great about digitizing their sources.

You take the good, you take the bad

So today was my first day at work. Let me start by saying everything/one is fine. Everything did not start out great though. I settled in pretty early with my clothes all picked out and my to do list made for the morning. I went to sleep only to be woken up at 1:30 by the phone ringing. I saw on the caller id that it was our friend Moira, who happens to be on a business trip with my mom in New Orleans right now. My first thought: "Oh my god, s**t". It turns out that somehow, while at dinner with their colleagues, my mom lost her footing and fell, breaking her ankle severely. She has a compound fracture of 3 bones all of which made their way to the outside of her leg, severing a main vein in the process. She was sent into emergency surgery at 2 am to repair the tissue and fix the bones as much as possible. They couldn't set the bones much because of the risk of infection from the surgery. So needless to say, I spent the whole night getting zero sleep just physically sick to my stomach. I felt so terrible for her being in a strange city with none of her family there to help her. Thank God for Moira, she was there by her side all night long. My family is so grateful for her. So anyway, she made it out of surgery fine, my dad flew in this morning to take care of her and they'll be headed home first class tomorrow. She'll have to see an orthopedic surgeon when she gets home and I'm praying she won't need more surgery. I'm hoping that she'll be able to heal relatively pain free (thanks meds!) and have no further troubles walking etc. I just can't wait to give her a hug after work tomorrow.

Speaking of work, I managed to get through the day by attaching my cell phone to myself. My boss is awesome and told me to do whatever I needed to do, be it talk on the phone all day or go home. I ended up having a good first day. I learned a lot and was able to help some of our clients work out their registrations. Everyone I work with is great and I'm looking forward to learning more. I'll update more when I learn more! Until then, I'll just be thinkin about my Mama and doin the best job I can!

Contest Alert!

Janice from 5 Minutes for Mom has an awesome contest going on! It's for an Insignia 37" Flat Panel LCD HDTV! The contest is sponsored by Best Buy, so go check them out too!

New Job Starts Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the first day of my new job! I will be a customer care representative/ meeting assistant for a company that does training, consulting, and publications for Native American groups. I am so excited to be starting my career and also to be working for a cause that I care so much about! Everyone is so nice and I can't wait to get to know everyone even better. I'll post tomorrow to update about how the first day went!

A Tribute to the Monkey Princess

As the reality of this tragic situation sets in, I find myself to be cried out (for now) and more able to focus on the sweet little lady who has rightfully warranted all this attention. The very first time I spent time with sweet Hannah, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and sweet little smile, and in her darling but oh so mature 2 year old voice said "Look Allie, I have clickety-clack-clack shoes!". She then proceeded to demonstrate how her shoes did indeed "clickety-clack-clack". At that moment I thought "Well surely any 2 year old with an affinity for shoes is a very cool and special little girl!"

That was the first but certainly not the last time that the little Monkey captured a piece of my heart. I am always excited to get "Fancy Hannah" stories from Jess when she would come to stay and would always laugh at the fun stories that Rach would share on her blog. I've been responsible for arming little Hannah with "big girl makeup" (for play purposes only) as I know the face is one of the most beautiful canvases, and hence responsible for her losing said makeup as she tried to wear it to school! :) (Hey, every girl needs to make a statement right?) My life has certainly had more smiles thanks to Hannah.

The Earth has lost a bit of its sparkle, but the stars are surely shining brighter now. I will always have nothing but happy memories of this sweet little angel with whom I share my favorite animal and a passion for fashion. Fly happily sweet Hannah, you finally have your beautiful wings.

Prayer Request

Today is a very sad day. My friend Rachael (who is also my dear friend Jess's sister) has lost her beautiful little girl today. There are no words that can explain the grief that accompanies such tragedies. Whatever your faith or beliefs, please send your prayers and good thoughts to Jess, Rachael, Brien, Lily and the rest of their family. Rest in peace sweet "Fancy Hannah".

Fab Find!

Thanks to Jessy, my favorite shopping guru, I found this awesome bag at CVS for $4.99! What a steal! It's great for lugging your junk to work, packing books or magazines for a trip or to/from the library, to tote toiletries for an overnight, to use as a fun purse or as a shopping bag (way prettier than plastic or paper!). Go grab one before they're gone!

Front and back have different designs! They also have a couple other colors. :)

Happy Shopping!

Bangs, Versatile Bangs

It's no surprise to anyone that knows me when I show up with a new hair do. After working in a salon for years you just run out of things to do! So on a whim, I decided to make the chop and get bangs. Not swoopy side bangs, but real, "all the rage", "very now" bangs. I can't have a celebrity lifestyle but darn it, I can have celebrity hair! So here they are in their many forms! Steph- hope this helps with your decision! Jessy- here ya go since you can't see the live version this weekend! :)

Here they are normal style:

In a ponytail:

With bangs to the side for a more common look:

In my favorite "poof":

And the obligatory "I refuse to do a thing with my hair today" style:

A Green Thumb

Following the theme of my previous post, this one is for my friend (and Rach's sister) Jess. This is mostly because I'm always amazed at how she can plant anything in the smallest space. Seriously, you could walk out of her townhouse door and onto her little pathway and eat herbs right out of her containers scattered along the walkway. I've hemmed and hawed over wanting to plant something so I finally decided to take a page from Nike and "just do it". So to Jess' amazement I'm sure: I planted my very own herb garden! It was pretty fun at first but I don't like dirt it turns out so about halfway through, I was done. But I stuck with it and even made cute little name signs. So here is my beautiful garden! Are you proud Jess?? I do have to say that cooking will be much more fun now that I don't have to run to the store everytime I decide to make a recipe with an herb I don't have!

Green is the new black

Well the world has seemed to come full circle and it is increasingly popular to "go green". I'm a conservative girl but I can't resist a chance to do something good, especially if it means you get to buy cute bags* :). I decided that this post would be a shout out to my favorite aspiring locavore: Rach. Go check her out! So the reason this post is for her is because I started up my yearly tradition of getting my goods from our local farmers' market. I have always loved going to the farmers' market for fruits and veggies and I can't believe I waited this long this year to start! Well in my defense, I did go the very first day but there were only breads and stuff because the produce wasn't ready yet. But boy did I hit the jackpot today! I couldn't resist its beauty so here's a picture I took.

My finds were: tomatoes, green peppers, red onions, radishes, cucumbers, green beans, watermelon, canteloupe, peaches, sweet cherries, living lettuce (stays fresh so long!), jalepeno cheddar bread, tomato-garlic-chive bread, fresh feta and fresh applewood smoked mozzarella. Whew! And that's just what I bought. There was much much more to offer. So, just because it's fun, and really, you do not find food like this at the grocery store, here are a few pics I took up close of the prettiest produce. :)

*bags shown in picure are long handled EcoBags.

A bit of self discovery

So it occurred me today that I'm fairly certain that I suffer from a disease that doesn't clinically exist... I think that I have Shopping Bulimia. How on earth did I acquire this, and how do you treat something that doesn't exist? Sure enough, I go through spurts of binging and purging. I'll shop because I feel like it and stock up on stuff that I don't need or even remember weeks later. I will sometimes bask in the glory of a bag full of stuff and I feel prepared for anything. Then other times, I will feel cluttered and overwhelmed by my things and I will go on a major purge, often unloading up to a dozen garbage bags of donations onto those less fortunate, or my friends who don't suffer from my affliction. I think I even love this crazy transfer of things. I get just as excited when my friends comment on how they love when I clean because they get stuff as I do from walking in the door with my arms loaded with bags. This begs the further question: If I'm not on my way to debtors' prison, is this such a problem at all? Does it really matter if I like to shop and then to minimize? Probably. I think I'll try to eliminate some of the chaos and search for a happy medium. On a supremely healthy note, I am fully aware that if I was not blessed with people in my life who make me happy and whole just by being there, my things would not have the whimsical effect that they do now. I do know that the stuff doesn't make the girl. :) Now, off to purge (just a little).

Beach Bum

Well we're back from our fabulous week in the Outer Banks. I'll post later with the details and pictures but first for those who know me I thought I'd amaze you. I was a total beach bum! I lived in my bathing suit and lounge clothes with no makeup except mascara if I went out! Below is my beach bag with my beach essentials. In it you will find: Beach towel, book (of course), Coppertone Sport spf 15 spray, Alba Botanica spf 20 facial sunscreen, big floppy hat (just say no to wrinkles!) bottle of water and flip flops. That was basically my whole trip in a bag! Back later with more tales including our trouble on the high seas!

The Job Hunt

Well not too much is new. I have been enjoying some time off while I'm working part time and have tried to catch up with what seems to be 2 years worth of sorting, cleaning, trashing and organizing! I'll post pics of the bedroom once I get it in order. Those who know me will understand what a difference it is. I was seriously thinking of applying for disaster relief for a while ;) I've been reading for fun and cooking almost every night which I think Justin has enjoyed the product as much as I've enjoyed the process. I actually made chocolate chip cookies from scratch yesterday!

The biggest thing (and PAIN) right now is my full time job search. I've been looking everywhere (or so it seems) and it is getting frustrating. My degree is in history, which is difficult to find a job in so I've broadened my net. Even still, I haven't had much luck with my searches. I'll keep at it, I'm sure something will surface. The sooner the better though because I'm trying to move by the end of summer. We're actually thinking about moving to Charles Town, WV. AACK!! I know I know. But we could save some SERIOUS money by commuting the extra 45 minutes. So that's that. I'll try to come up with some more interesting things to blog about but for now, it's off to cook dinner. Jess- I'm making the chicken, rice, mushroom, brocolli casserole you taught me! And some banana pudding with the 'Nilla wafers: yuck, but that part is for Justin.

Britney may not be crazy after all...

Okay, well she probably is. But they say you don't know about someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. Well in my case it was more like hair. I recently had hair extensions as a fun experiment as a guinea pig for my stylist friend. They were long and fun and I enjoyed my month with them. Then, removal time came. We spent more time getting them out than in (4 hours!!) It was PAINFUL and sooo tedious. I asked numerous times if she would shave my head just to get it over with. That's when the lightbulb went off in my head that Britney wasn't crazy to shave her head, she just had hair extensions!

In other news, Steph at Adventures in Babywearing is holding a contest for a CD that my friend Scott's band made. It's a children's CD called Soundzania and it's super fun! Anyone with kids or shopping for a unique and fabulous kids present should go check them out!

Despicable!

Okay, I am not a Survivor fan, I don't follow the seasons despite my sad love of reality tv. BUT, I happened to catch one episode in which Yau Man won a truck and upon winning, gave his prize to Dreamz, who did not own a car of his own. He did this on the condition that if they were both in the final four and Dreamz had immunity, he would give his immunity to Yau Man. Dreamz accepted and said he "swears to God" that he would keep his word, as if his word meant anything at all. He went on in a private interview saying that he would want his son to be a person who keeps his word so he would of course keep his own. So as you might have assumed, this exact event took place and Dreamz, being the scum that he is, did not give his immunity to Yau Man. This to me crosses a whole new line of strategical play. Can you really "survive" with no regards to your integrity? A person's integrity is one thing that you can never get back. Everyone makes good and bad choices but when you sell yourself out, on national tv no less, you show zero regard for yourself and certainly no regard for others. I wonder how Dreamz can sleep at night knowing that he has lost his most basic instrument of humanity. So congratulations Dreamz, on your truck, I hope you and your empty soul enjoy it.

The traitor himself.

Goodbyes Stink :(

My good friend Jess is moving to Kansas on Saturday and I spent the afternoon with her today for the last time! I think I've taken for granted all of our times together as it has always been so easy to hang out. We met 7 years ago on our first day of college when I had just graduated and she had just gotten married. We've been through so many big times together including the birth of my favorite munchkin Ella. I'm gonna really miss them! Hopefully I'll be out to visit in the fall so I can see the new place! I'll also be blogging more regularly so that we can keep each other easily informed of our lives. So check back for frequent postings! Good Luck Jess, Bob and Ella!

Me giving Ella an airplane ride!