It's the day before the night before Christmas!

Apparently, as a child, I sang. A lot. I don't sing now because I know better, but when I was little I sang EVERYTHING. I made up songs in the grocery store, I sang my ideal itinerary for the day, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, I even once tried to sing the Pledge of Allegiance while standing on my grandmother's hearth. Did I mention I was also dressed like a mini-Magnum PI, complete with tiny white shorts and red hawaiian-print shirt? Because I was.

So when my mom walked into the bathroom one December 23rd MANY MANY years ago, and I was singing while showering (what? bathrooms have the BEST acoustics...don't hate), she wasn't surprised at all. She did, however, totally dig what I was belting out...

"It's the DAY before the NIGHT before Christmaaaaaas!!!"

Now, every year on December 23rd, I get texts from family and close friends with that awesome reminder of my past. The calls in the high falsetto, singing it back to me, really make my day.

It's 9:32am and I have already been hit twice. This is going to be a great day.

~*~

In other, not as awesome news, our fabulous vacation is 7 days away and I am so excited I can't think about anything else. Until I see news stories like this:

Plane overruns runway in Jamaica

Oh, the Who-manity!

I have had issues getting into the Christmas spirit this year. Maybe because the weather has been so crappy in Houston (although, it did SNOW!), or maybe because SK and I have been so busy, we haven't really decorated the inside of the house, and finally just got our tree last Friday... Whatever the reason, I have just been kind of BLAH.

I realized I was really in a weird place last night when, while listening to a woman who called into the radio station talking to the DJ about how this is the first Christmas she is experiencing without her mom and how tough it is for her, I started bawling in my car. I was sobbing down Beltway 8. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???

Today, though, the sun is out. Both SK and I have holiday parties for work tonight. It's Friday. My little brother comes home next week, and the rest of the Texas family will follow a few days later. We only have 12 days left until we go on our spectacular vacation.

I am determined to break out of this funk. Today is the day I stop worrying and stressing and being depressed about all the crap that doesn't matter. I am going to enjoy the sunshine streaming through my office window, and an evening out with my handsome man. It's about time it started looking more like Christmas!

All photos from this Flickr group

Holy crap.

Russell Crowe as Robin Hood?

Sign me the F up.

CLICK HERE for the trailer.

Just another reason to hate her...

Hi, my name is Cheryl, and I am an addict.

Hi, Cheryl.

No, I don't do drugs. I'm not an alcoholic...? Just kidding - no question mark. Alcoholics go to meetings, and I don't DO meetings. Seriously, though - no question mark.

I am addicted to Twilight.

Good Lord, I cringe even typing that.

It's not that I am ashamed of my addiction, because I'm not. It's the fact that, like many addicts, I struggle daily with keeping it under control. Seriously y'all, if it were up to me, I would have the movie playing 24/7, I would keep the books in my purse, and I would work Edward Cullen into every conversation I had, FO REAL.

Edward Cullen...not Robert Pattinson (I am a little revolted by HIM)...Edward. The fictional eternal teenage vampire. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???

I get that it's lame. And I get that, as a 26 year-old woman with a job and a mortgage I should have better things to do with my time than obsess about a whole world that doesn't even actually exist, but really, I can't help it.

I am an addict.

So when I hear people bashing my wonderful Twilight saga, I get defensive. We all know it's not real (well...most of us anyway...Newsflash, Tweeners - R-Patz biting you is gross. Get over it.) and we all know vampires don't walk among us, but to hate on us for being into it? Well personally, YOU have too much time on your hands!

Case in point, the wretched Miley Cyrus, getting all high and mighty about her disdain for the franchise:

"I don't believe in it. I don't like vampires. ... I don't like the wolf that pops out of the screen when I'm watching my TV at night. I don't like it. I don't want anything to do with it. I don't like the shirts. I don't like any of it. I feel really lame because everyone's, like, so excited (and) I'm like, 'Don't even talk about it.'"
via LaineyGossip

Jealous that you didn't get asked to be part of it? I think sooooo. Go throw your heinous blond wig on and magically transform into someone else for a while, because clearly THAT'S real enough for you.

Ugh. Boo, you whore.



**I get that this is me hating on her for hating on Twilight, but really, I just hate her.

Made my Monday

Today, this week, and the month of November got off to a rocky start as this morning, while cruising the Beltway on the way to work, I got pulled over and ticketed for my expired registration. Annoying, but also 100% my fault, so whatevs. To the courthouse I go, to pay the increased fine for being caught. Boo.

I was unexpectedly snapped out of my funk about a half an hour ago, though. I work on the same floor as a general practitioner's office so there are always random people wandering around our halls. I was headed back to my office and was caught behind an elderly couple, shuffling their way to the dr's office. They were cute, and walked next to each other, chatting about what to do with the rest of their day. The woman stopped in front of my office door and read the sign, mistaking it for the door she needed to go into to. I stopped a few feet back, thinking they hadn't noticed me, and waited for them to realize they were at the wrong door, planning on saying something in a few seconds.

Before I could get anything out, though, the man swatted her on the booty and said, "Helen, wrong door. Now you're making this young lady wait!"

Helen giggled. GIGGLED, y'all. She then took his hand and smiled at me. The man looked back at me and winked.

I about died from the cuteness.

Totally, totally made my Monday.

Eggplant, pumpkin toss, and Mary Poppins

So SK and I are going on a fab vacation in 61 days (more on that in another post...wheeee!) and we've totally amped up the exercise routines and have started making seriously serious efforts to eat better. I usually cook dinner, which, if you've known me for any length of time will have your head going "whaaaaaa???" but for real, y'all, I am a pretty badass cook. Yes, my mom still almost passes out each time I tell her about my latest culinary escapade, and yes, I still have MASSIVE fails, but most nights, I make solid meals that I wouldn't be embarrassed to serve to even the most critical of dinner guests, so BOOYAH.

Last night, unfortunately, was not one of those nights.

Sidebar: If you're just tuning in and have noticed that I call my man by only initials, please don't automatically assume I am some snobbish wench that is afraid for our privacy and doesn't want the paparazzi all in our business. My blog address is my first and last name, for heaven's sake. Anonymity is not something I strive for, clearly. The thing is, there are real issues with the paparazzi in our lives, if by paparazzi you mean HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. SK is a senior-level English teacher at a local high school and a few years ago, I accidentally published his first and last name in a gushy post I had written about our first date, and all of a sudden he's in the middle of a lecture at school and one of his kids pipes up with, "Mr. K, your girl's name is Cheryl and you have a dog and you like to drink wine?" I took down all mention of his actual name that night, in every post it had appeared, and even took down the first date post, just in case, which was a bummer, because it was a great memory. So, just in case you were wondering about the initials, there ya go.

Aaaaanyway...about the food disaster last night.

I bought eggplant. I've heard amazing things about eggplant. I thought, wow, what a great alternative to our normal chicken/pork/beef dinner - let's try eggplant! Right off the bat, SK was skeptical. I put the purple (gourd? fruit - *it does have seeds*? vegetable?) in the cart and he goes, "hmmm...don't trust it." It was totally my goal to make it delicious and trustworthy.

I decided on Eggplant Parmesan, because low-fat cheese and tomato sauce make EVERYTHING awesome, but even while I was slicing and baking and our house was filling with the yummy scent, he still was sketchy about the final product.

For the record, I L-O-V-E-D it. Which is good because SK finished his bowl, pushed it across the table, looked me lovingly in the eye and said, "Please never make that again."

~*~

Tonight, we are carving pumpkins. I am so pumped! The sad thing about Houston Halloween is that it usually stays somewhere in the 89 degree with 98% humidity range until about 16 hours before the actual trick-or-treating takes place, which means that if you prematurely carve your gourd and set it on the porch for all to admire, all they'll see come Halloween night is a puddle-y mess of pumpkin stickifying up your front stoop. So, we slice and dice tonight. Also, we are going to listen to the re-broadcast of The War of The Worlds (http://waroftheworldstribute.com), so I. Am. Stoked.

True, we will just have to throw the empty shells away on Sunday, which seems like a waste, but I'll roast the seeds tonight, and possibly do something with the guts (homemade puree, perhaps? Get Mom the smelling salts...), and maybe we can even have a pumpkin toss like we did last year. SK won $20 from our friend Toby after Toby couldn't hurl our massive pumpkin off our roof, over our pool, and over the fence into the jungle-y uninhabited lot behind our house. The pumpkin cleared the pool, but sadly, hit the fence (or more specifically, the giant thermometer hanging on the fence) and exploded in the back yard. It was not the best decision we've all ever made concerning safety, but it was a great time and we laughed about it for months. Toby has already bet SK he can get his money back this year. Challenge extended!

~*~

To add to the randomness that has become this post, tomorrow I am going with my mom to see Mary Poppins at the Hobby Center. Squeeee!!! I am so excited, I can't stand it. It was my favorite movie when I was little, and when my mom heard it was coming to Houston, she called me immediately. Tomorrow's matinee showing is the only time we both could make it, so we'll be Chim-Chim-Chereeing it up downtown at 2pm!


This is going to be a great weekend...

Twinkle Twinkle

I am so in love with twinkle lights, it's ridiculous. My love affair with the glowing bulbs started back in college, when all the girls on campus tried desperately to make their dorm rooms cute and awesome with posters and hanging stuff and pictures and lights, while all the guys just sort of, kind of, but not really because they were gross and didn't care too much, tried to make their rooms not smell like sweat and fart.

My roommates, luckily, were equally as down with the sparkle, and so twinkly lights we did have, and oh, how they made my heart sing. Though I have graduated from college and dorm/apartment days, I have migrated this cheap decorating idea to my actual house and still L-O-V-E it. I have woven a strand of white lights through our wine cabinet so that it makes our bottles and glasses shine (we illuminate our booze!), we have strands of lights in the backyard along the fence, and we used to have lights up under our patio umbrella until the day the wind howled at like, 84 bagillion miles an hour while we were at church (woah) and shattered our table and bent up said umbrella.

Christmas light time is a'comin' and though I am more of an old school, big colored bulbs lining the eaves of the house gal, I do love to see all the pretty lights around. Here are a few projects I am working or would like to be working on, and some lights that make me happy happy...


I totally want to re-create this FABULOUS idea from Tasha at Charmed. Seriously, that is gorgeous and what an awesome idea!! We have a HUGE master bedroom that we haven't touched since we moved in and I am itching to paint and get some stuff up on the walls. Love this.



I saw this on Apartment Therapy (I have a house, I know, but it's such a cool site!) and immediately went out and bought a canvas that I have yet to do anything with, but I can soooo imagine it propped up on the table in my entry way. Si, si....



GAH! LOVE this photo.



Twinkle lights even make bare sticky sticks bee-yoo-ti-ful.

Last night, SK was flipping through channels and put this on for me. My granddad's name was Charlie Brown (legitimately, y'all) so all these movies/comics will forever hold a little piece of my heart, and instantly warm me up when I watch.


Have you ever seriously listened to the dialogue in this movie, though? I guess I hadn't, and while watching and laughing last night, I frequently would catch myself thinking, 'Dang, some of these kids are kind of assholes.'

Lucy Van Pelt: All right, all right! Let's bob for apples! This is the way to do it.
Schroeder: Yeah, Lucy, you should be good at this. You have the perfect mouth for it.

Charlie Brown: Hey! I got an invitation to a Halloween party!
Lucy Van Pelt: Is the invitation to Violet's party, Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown: Yes. It's the first time I've been invited to a party.
Lucy Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, if you got an invitation, it was a mistake. There were two lists, Charlie Brown: one to invite, and one not to invite. You must have been put on the wrong list.

And some of them were just totally awesome.

Linus: You don't believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting.
Sally Brown: Welcome to the 20th century!


Photo sources here, here, and here.

What I Love...and what I want...Wednesday

I hate shopping for clothes. Wait. Strike that. I hate trying on clothes while shopping. Hate it. Detest it. I will go for months without buying new anythings because my body has changed a little since the last time I bought a {insert clothing item here} and I really just don't want to try on a new {clothing item} to see what size I need. Also, as much as I hate trying things on, I really really hate returning things, so I just don't shop much at all. Ever, really.

Except at TarJay, and usually then only for shoes. Really though, the TarJay clothes always seem to fit me, no matter what size I randomly grab. I heart you, Big Red Bulls-eye Store.

Sunday I got anxious and needed to go spend some cash (that makes me sound like a total asshole, I realize) so I went out and got these:

...and a pair of suede green flats and a pretty gray sweater, that I can't post here b/c even though I heart TarJay, their website hates me and won't let me pick up the images. Gar. But cute, right?

Also, I stopped at VS since I had a coupon (yay!) and I got this:

HOLY CRAP, this stuff smells so good. I went through a Marc by Marc Jacobs phase in college - loved the perfume. This smells JUST LIKE Marc. I loooove it. So does SK, so, bonus!

Now, onto what I want...for Christmas. Disregard (this post). I was maybe on drugs. Or at least drunk. Maybe just tired. Just forget it, ok?

I really want this camera:


It's an instant camera that produces little credit card-sized images! So in love. I covet this camera.

Also, some of this:

I have a Polaroid camera from the 80's that I jacked from my parent's house, but alas, I have no film. I am obsessed with Polaroids and really really want to use that little camera. And, good news! Turns out Polaroid listened to it's loyal fans and will start producing the film again. Yay!

Aaaaand I'd like this:

Because it's so pretty. And would look badass in my kitchen. And I am CONVINCED I would bake more if I had this gadget. Cross my heart.


What do YOU want for Christmas?

October is for (booby) Lovers

With all the hoopla of Halloween - which, by the way, used to be my most favorite of holidays until I started working and didn't get the day off, should it fall during the week - it's easy for all other worries and cares to fall by the wayside this month. After all, we're starting to hurtle full-speed into the holiday season and life is going to be a little more fast-paced for all until January rolls around again.

Over here, though, in my little corner of the InterWeb, I'd like to take a moment to slow down. Slow down and recognize the TaTa's, y'all.

My grandmother and an aunt (both on my mom's side) are breast cancer survivors. SURVIVORS. But even though they came out of the war with their cancers in remission, the battles they fought and the treatment they received are very much a part of them, every day. Because the disease is so prevalent in my family, all us girls are diligent about getting our annual checkups. Their battles are a part of all of us.

In honor of those who have won, who have lost, and for ALL who have fought, I'd like to dedicate today's post to all things pink and spooky. Boo!

Creepy little pumpkin head.


Its the cat's claws that make this one so weird and scary.


I heart Nightmare Before Christmas!


Go HERE to read about how I was a witch on Halloween for like, 7 years straight.


Skull prints. LOVE.


Gross! Spiders creep me right the heck out.


Seemingly cute pink bear, until you notice the claws - is that blood?!


Imagine a world without breast cancer...


Photo credits here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Christmastime is ALMOST here!

Too bad it still feels like its 106 degrees in Houston. I kid you not. This morning, the weatherman said that it would be in the high 80's to low 90's, but because of all the humidity and low (high? Shut up - I'm not a fracking barometer) pressure we are experiencing, it would feel like it was 100+. Living in Houston can most closely be compared to living in a fat football player's armpit for 9 months out of the year. I know. I almost gagged just writing that. TRY LIVING IT.

Seriously, with it not always being even somewhat cooler on Christmas day, it would be hard to remember it's getting close to the holiday season, but for the massive displays that go up in the stores earlier and earlier each year. Not that I'm knockin' it...I love me some Christmastime, but Christmas trees in September (yes, I saw some)? I don't know about all that...

And {this post} directly contradicts that last sentence, whatever, sue me. Chalk it up to actually having a house to decorate and realizing what a huge endeavor that can be - because, really, when it comes to Christmas decorations, go big or go home, bitches - and having enough room (and a trained dog who's proven she won't eat ornaments) to have a LIVE tree that drops pine needles the freaking second you drag it through the door. While more fun because YAY, I get to decorate the house!!, it's also a lot of work because OH RIGHT, we have a big ass house to decorate. Also, I wrote it on November 9th, so I have a whole month to work up into that cheery frenzy again.

I feel like I am getting Scroogier about Christmas by the second, which, woah - not where I was going, nor at all what I was feeling when I started this post, so I should probably just shut this bad boy down now before I say something I know I'll regret like, screw this holiday! I'm not celebrating! Also, no gifts! Humbug! It's the unrelenting heat and knowing that while it's October 8th, as soon as I step out of my air conditioned office and make the 30 yard walk to my air conditioned car, I will have lost 7lbs in water weight, will be drenched in sweat, and possibly dehydrated.

Happy f-ing holidays, y'all.

What I Love Wednesday

Baseball games! Going to see the Astros play the Cardinals tonight. I love the ballpark.

(source)

This one is short and sweet - enjoy the rest of your week!

9.22

Happy Fall, y'all!

(source)

Wild nights

The only internet-appropriate photo of our Girls Weekend.
Yeah. The ONLY one.

Marshmallow Torture

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

via Cup of Joe via Steve V

Tonight.

Tonight I am getting together with 10 of my girlfriends from college to have an awesomely fun girl's night/slumber party. It's been over 4 years since I have been in the same room with all of these girls, and I am so excited!

We were all in a sorority together - varying years - and some of my favorite memories from my college years involve all of us together, strewn about on living room furniture, rehashing the previous night's happenings and laughing so hard we cried.

Groups of 2 or 3 of us lived together in apartments and houses spread out over Seguin throughout our 4 years, and the last summer I was in town, we decided we should all rent a house - make it an unofficial sorority house. There were 10 of us in there at one point and really, we should have known better, because OH THE DRAMA. Also, the house was like, 700 years old and literally falling apart around us, so yeah, not the wisest decision. Still, when I moved out to become an adult and come home to find a job, I bawled my head off for half the drive to Houston because all I could think about was how lonely my mornings were going to be without all of them to talk to.

Some of them are married, some have kids, some are still in Seguin and some have done amazing things in the last 4 years. I am blessed to have a group of women like them in my life and I am so excited to be able to spend some time with all of them again.

"I get by with a little help from my friends..." - John Lennon

photo credit chezzee

What I Love Wednesday

I am obsessed with photos of bubbles!! So happy and sparkly - reminds me of picnics and warm breezes and sunset. Also, dogs and bubbles? Hilarious!

Photo by Stansich

Photo by Dangeri

Photo by Just85


Balloons also make my heart leap a little right now. Anyone ever been hot air ballooning? I am afraid I would pass out.

Photo by gbatistini

Photo by DarwinBell

Photo by Betti


Also? Disneyland. A summer without Disneyland isn't a real summer, in my opinion. I haven't had a REAL summer in a long time...

Photo by TonyBoyTran


What are your favorite things today?

We remember

Tonight I am going to a concert in the Woodlands where, no doubt, something patriotic will be sung because it's a COUNTRY show (I know...who am I??) and there will likely be a moment of silence taken to remember and mourn the devastating losses our country suffered 8 years ago today.

To all those who keep us safe each day, I thank you.

What I Love Wednesday

THIS WEBSITE. Go there and make your photos into Polaroids! I am so ridiculously in love with Polaroid pictures. I have an old camera, but no film. Boo. I hear there is a movement to bring it back. Anyone hoarding any I can buy from you in the meantime?

I am in the process of decorating our master bathroom. It's really small and has no windows, so it's a difficult space to work with, but I have painted it light colors, and will be switching out all the rugs and towels, so hopefully that will help. I want to hang a chandelier above the tub (which we never use), and I am SO IN LOVE with this one from Ikea (imagine it in white):

THIS Etsy shop. Her paintings are FABULOUS. I want one for the house.

She has a blog called A Beautiful Mess (click link below)



and she owns a store called Red Velvet Art and sells stuff like this:

and this:

Can't you imagine those cute little vinyl underwares up on the bathroom wall? LOVE!

These shoes - found HERE:


The fact that Autumn is coming...


And, as always, this guy:

What do you love today?
xo

Labor Day

We definitely did not labor on Labor Day...

I Slept in until 12. I haven't done that in YEARS, y'all. Clearly, I needed a serious recharge.


We didn't cook a thing. Unless you count peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at 9:30pm, which I don't, just so you know. I poured myself a bowl of Raisin Bran for breakfast (ahem...at 12...) and then we went to Taco Cabana for dinner, while we were on our way home from Best Buy where we purchased the series that will consume our nights for the next week (keep reading).


SK and I bought (BOUGHT...not rented. This is serious) the first season of True Blood and started watching it last night. I am obsessed, and was slightly worried he wouldn't be as into it. Solid YES that he is? At 10:45, when episode 2 was over, he asked me to stay awake with him and watch "just one more episode." Homie is HOOKED. Yay ;)


I love days like yesterday.
I hope your Labor Day was as non-laborious as ours!