With Cheer and Goodwill...

Today after lunch, I was heading back to my office and decided I would stop at Goodwill. I wasn't necessarily looking for something specific, though I am in the market for a dresser for my guest room. 

However, I'm not in a hurry to get the dresser so I was just browsing to see if I could find anything exciting. As I was walking through the housewares section, I saw this:

So, I wondered, who donates an already burnt candle to charity?

Seriously, wouldn't you just throw this away?

And furthermore, why did Goodwill put this out for sale. 

At the next Goodwill store, I saw a young boy taking things from one section and seemingly hiding them in another section and it made me think of another time that allegedly happened.

Like six or so years ago, Freckles and I were going to a Halloween party and we needed costumes. We did what a lot of people our age do when faced with this dilemma - we hit the thrift shop. (What, what, what, what.)

On that shopping trip we decided pretty quickly that we would dress up like 80s ladies. We found most of what we needed for our outfits, but I needed some shoes.

Luckily I found a bright blue pump that would be perfect with the leg warmers I was going to wear.

Yes, you read that right, I found A pump. Just one.

So Freckles and I searched the rest of the shoe section, to no avail. Then we asked a girl who worked there if they keep shoes in the back. She didn't think so, but she went back there to check.

When she came out to tell us that the matching shoe was not in the back, another girl who worked there informed us that sometimes customers will hide things that they want to buy until 50% off day comes. 

Not willing to give up this integral part of my costume, Freckles and I searched high and low in that store! We looked under every rack of clothes, in every washing machine and dryer, opened suitcases and purses. There was no shoe!

The girl at the front told me that she would hold the one shoe that I had and hopefully they would find its match when they were cleaning up the store after closing. I agreed to that.

The next day, Freckles and I went back to the store and they hadn't found the shoe.

Me: Can I buy that shoe?

Cashier: The one shoe? 

Me: Yes, please.

Cashier: Um, you'll have to pay for the pair.

Me: That's fine.

Cashier: But you're going to only get one shoe.

Me: Yes, I understand.

Cashier: I'm not sure I understand.

Me: Ring me up for the pair of shoes and I'll take the one home. I will not let someone else win this battle. This is about principle now.

I still have that shoe.

It is a decoration in my house...

What Not To Say

In my next life I am going to create a series of classes to teach men what not to talk about on dates.

Oh, and how to read social cues.

I think I told you previously about a date I went on way back when and the guy talked about installing a dishwasher. 

Don't get me wrong, I'd like a guy who can do some of those handy things around the house, but let's save that scintillating conversation for date #2 or 3.

I've been on a few dates in the past couple of weeks and I have encountered a few things that I really feel like I need to share.

Date 1: A blind date with a software engineer. Who could not make conversation.

Seriously, I would ask a question - for example, so, do you get out to DC often to visit your sister?

He would respond, no.

Ok, would you like to expand? Or maybe ask me a question?

At one point, after I had asked probably 5-8 questions that he had answered in a similar way, he asked, What about you?

What about me, what? Do you want me to answer all of the questions I have posed for you? Just the last one?

That was until he told me that he was preparing to travel out of the country soon. And then talked to me for 15 minutes about if I was ever planning to travel out of the country, the Capital One Visa was the way to go.

And discussed with me all of the pros and cons of that particular credit card.

Seriously?

And he didn't even work for them - he worked for Wells Fargo...

Date 2: A date with a gentleman who chose to communicate with me during an eHarmony free communication weekend.

There were some yellow flags before I agreed to go on the date with him, but Sissy and Match told me that I need to stop finding reasons not to date people, so I agreed to meet for lunch.

His initial blow was dealt when he showed up in these shoes:

Wow, having just googled "mens velcro sandals" to find that picture, I discovered that those shoes cost $75. For the record, men, they are not worth it!

Just say no!

The date was awkward, but I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and I texted him when I got home to say thanks for lunch and that I enjoyed myself.

He texted back, nothing profound. I texted Monday morning (see, trying to be nice and encourage communication). Tuesday I was at dinner with Diddy and he called. I didn't have time to get back to him that night.

The following morning he texted - I'm attaching a screen shot of the text so you can see exactly how it was typed:

While I agree that it is very nice for him to communicate so well, the neediness that is the undertone of this text makes me want to stab my eyeballs out! 

I don't do needy.

I did call him back on Wednesday to give him the second chance he asked for. He did not redeem himself.

Needless to say, this has fizzled out.

Date 3: A blind date with an engineer. 

In a quiet restaurant where he frequently talked too loud! And told me no less than three times what grocery stores could be found in Omaha, NE and also near his house on the east side of the Phoenix metro area. And asked me what grocery stores were close to my house.

Grocery stores, people.

I know that I show everything on my face and I am fairly certain that my face was not showing interest at a listing of grocery stores.

Also, he started talking about bad parts of town (in Omaha) and how it was where the African Americans lived.

(Remember how I said he talked too loud in a quiet restaurant?)

I was mortified.

Did you ever see the Sex and the City episode where Charlotte goes on a date and runs into Carrie? The date is not going well so she asks Carrie to call her to tell her something bad happened. And she answers the phone and literally says, "Oh no, something bad happened?"

I was wishing for that phone call.

When I got back to Match's house after the date, Biggie asked me, "The date didn't go good?" I told him it did not.

Biggie: You didn't like him?

Airplane: No

Biggie: What did he look like?

Where did that even come from?

Match told the boys that my problem is that I'm too picky.

But I get to be. This is the rest of my life we are talking about. I'm not going to subject myself to grocery store talk for the better part 60 years just to be in a couple.

A Nice Day for a White Wedding

Shit got real this past weekend.

IT married IKEA* (he finally got a name and he came up with it himself...)

I do not have any pictures of the bride and groom together, so you will have to settle for a picture of me and the hottest date around, DVL.

Yeah - we rocked it!

Check out those shoes! And remember them - they will be back later.

DVL and I worked together many moons ago and we've been friends for a while now. He resides in DC and is a blast!

I honestly don't know if I would have enjoyed the wedding as much without him by my side.

He was a great dance partner (and obliged me by dancing to EVERY song!), a phenomenal drinking partner, and a photogenic SOB!

The photographer was a friends of the groom's family so she threw the photo booth in for free.

We took full advantage. Though I was really hoping for some boas.

I mean really, how cute are we?

While we were out enjoying ourselves on the dance floor, Tiger stole one of my shoes and took it back to the hotel with him. 

The following day, as DVL and I tooled around town running errands, I received various pictures like the one below, of my shoe seeing the sites of our Nation's Capitol.

All in all, it was a beautiful wedding and a fabulous weekend!

I am certain there are more stories to share, and I may even get around to sharing them at some point, but if I don't - at least you have the pictures, right?

88/365

pretty in pink

Not many things make me feel as pretty as getting a manicure!

Adds a little femininity to my man-hands.

89/365

stolen goods

I stole these shoes from SuperFan and I don't want to give them back! And I can't find them anywhere to buy my own pair.

Super sad face!

And please don't mind that weird crooked second toe - I guess it never really healed from the breaking...

Double super sad face!

90/365

two months

BabyBunner is two months old and cuter than ever! I mean really - how could you resist this smile?!?

something new

For the month of April, I am going to try this little project...

92/365

your reflection

A very light reflection of me in the background of a picture of my sisters and me.

93/365

colour

Trying to get some color from the sun at the final spring training game of the year.

It doesn't work when you use 50 spf...

Pictures...

38/365

sound of freedom

I have mentioned my intense love for our Country and the military before.

I won't lie to you - FCP isn't my favorite organization for a variety of reasons I will not share, but I do love the sound of jets flying overhead!

39/365

take me out to the ballgame

I attended a baseball-themed dinner for work in preparation for Spring Training in our City.

I thought this centerpiece was adorable! Peanuts, sunflower seeds, and caramel corn - the only way to make it more baseball is to fill it with beer after.

40/365

hot pink heels

It is a very rare day that I wear pants to work - I can't help it, I'm a skirt and dress kind of girl.

But sometimes you just have to end your work week in your favorite shoes. And when they are neon pink it is best to dilute the look with a long pair of black pants. Unless your job includes "street sales."

41/365

afternoon delight

Janiac was in town for one night and one night only last week! She was apparently starving when she arrived at my house so I gave her some cheese, crackers, and vodka and I enjoyed a glass of wine.

She told me that drinking wine in the afternoon makes me an old drunk. I think it just makes me a good Italian.

42/365

louv

I spent some time on Saturday with two of the loves of my life! 

Biggie wrote me a special message on the whiteboard that I bought him for V Day. How cute is that??

43/365 

why-o, why-o, why-o?

I don't know why I look up the wod the night before Crossfit.

Let me tell you, getting out of bed at 4:09am knowing that five rounds of walking lunges are ahead of you is not an easy task.

Picture Pages...

So, it was my goal to post my instagram pictures each Monday for Miscellany Monday, but I was in Denver playing with the sweetest babies (after my nephews) on Monday so we're running behind...

(Cheyenne - I will try to maybe break up the pictures in future weeks to make it easier to comment... :))

9/365

fortune telling

Had a work lunch at PJ Fangs and this was my fortune. As Tela would say back in the day in Spanish class, "Ah, que suerte!"

10/365

got mah hurr did

 I am apparently addicted to getting my hair done now... I did want to go a little darker so my new hairdresser complied. You can't really tell in this picture, but there are some red tones in it as well. I'm loving it so far!

11/365

movie shoes

Right after Christmas, Match and I headed over to Sissy's house for a dinner party with BIL's family. I was wearing these shoes. BIL's mom walked up to me and said, "Oh, wow, I have only ever seen those shoes in the movies."

Can someone tell me what that means?

12/365

leaving on a jet plane

This was the view out my airplane window when we hit 10,000 feet. Leaving Phoenix headed to Denver.

Did you know there is a whole conspiracy theory about the Denver Airport being the headquarters for the NWO? People are crazy!

13/365

beading and baking

Went with PR to the bead store in Denver to make some jewelry. Despite being totally overwhelmed, I was able to fashion the earrings you see on top there. I was pretty impressed!

Then it was home to bake German Chocolate Cake for her hubby's birthday. I'm not much a fan of German Chocolate cake - I'll just take the frosting, please.

14/365

fountainhead

I am trying with all my might to read this book and it is just not happening. I keep falling asleep.

15/365

pedis and mimosas

Sunday morning we headed down the street for pedicures and mimosas. I'll have to tell you about the adventure we encountered in my detailed Denver post.

16/365

shadytown

Seriously, is there anything more shady than an old school briefcase?

I used to work with a guy who carried one of these and I couldn't help but giggle during our annual convention when he would sit in our committee meeting and put it up on the table and open it up. I always thought it would be full of piles of money.

17/365

injured list

I really truly have no idea how I did it, but can you see how swollen my left ankle is in the pictures? It didn't hurt so bad yesterday, but it was super swollen so I wrapped it when I got home and elevated it. I managed at the gym this morning with no pain and a little ice and advil dulled the pain this morning. I'm hoping that since it just randomly swelled, it will just randomly heal too...

Twelve Inches...Or A Foot

Did any of you see that Sex and the City Episode where the guy at the shoe store gives Charlotte free shoes as long as she'll let him put them on her feet?

I was as freaked out about that episode as I was when I encountered a foot fetish in real life.

As I've mentioned, Cribs got married a couple of weekends ago.

I may have also mentioned that it was the.greatest.wedding.EVER! That isn't really the point here, but I can not express this enough.

So, as is typical of girls at weddings, we wore heels during the ceremony, but when the reception came around we changed into flips. (Super cute flips that Cribs' mom bought for us!)

Because you know, at a wedding, me and my girls - we gots to get our dancing on!

And dancing we did - all night long!

The band shut down at midnight and by the time we got everyone situated and headed outside for a cab it was closer to one am. 

Glinda, Fiero, another bridesmaid, and I are standing in front of the resort waiting for a cab when another party goer came up to us and said, "I saw you girls wearing those heels earlier and then you changed. I was very disappointed. You should wear heels all night."

We kind of thought he was joking so we all made a comment about how he should wear heels all night or how we couldn't properly get our groove on in the heels.

Then he says, "I'm serious. Next time I see you at a wedding, I expect you to wear heels all night. I kind of have a thing for feet."

We all just kind of stared at each other - I mean really, what do you say to that?

Then he offered us a drink that he was carrying.

I said absolutely not - I did not want to get roofied by the crazy foot fetish guy.

Though what's the worst that could have happened? I would have woken up with painted toe nails getting a foot massage...

Miscellany Monday

one

running behind


I can't believe that it is already 9:44 pm and I haven't posted this blog yet. I sat down this morning to post and then had to get ready and go to work. Then I had internet issues at the office today. Then I had a meeting after work. Then I got to Sissy's house and a friend of mine was here. So...better late than never, right?


two
a little glitter


Glinda and I were shoe shopping for Cribs' wedding last week - our mission: black strappy heels. 


Our find: 

We tried to talk Cribs into letting us get them - gold is one of her accent colors after all...


But - my birthday is coming up and I would love someone forever if they bought these for me!


three
glees


Glinda is obsessed with Glee. I had never seen it, but she needed someone to talk about it with so she gave me the first season to watch on DVD so I could get caught up.


Why have I not been watching this show? It is FABULOUS!


four
progress

If you click on this picture and enlarge it you can see what we're growing in our garden.


Some of it is hard to see, but this morning we noticed that our sweet bell peppers are starting to sprout!! (We were a little worried because the seed packet said that we should start them inside - whoops.)


However, our summer squash is struggling - I'm hoping that it will come up soon!

Tada!

I'm fairly certain that I have mentioned to all of you in previous posts that I am not a big fan of wearing shoes.

Obviously I do it because it is socially unacceptable not to.

However, I much prefer to be barefoot. Calluses be damned.

The strange part of this (no, I do not think it is strange that I want to walk around like a caveman) is that I LOVE shoes! I love to buy shoes!

Mostly, I love cowboy boots.

And yesterday, I wore a super cute pair that I picked up recently for a smokin' deal!

A couple of month's ago I was introduced to Langston's Western Wear when I entered a blog contest over on Blair's page.

Through that I began following Langston's on Twitter and was introduced to Ag Proud because they were also hosting a contest.

I did not win either of these contests, but I am now two pairs of boots richer...

Here's the thing - the boots pictured above are 50% off right now.

Trust me, you should order them!

I just can't keep a deal like that to myself!

Just Another Manic Monday...

For the past three hours I have tried to write this post and can't focus.

So you are going to get a glimpse into the way my mind works as I post what comes to mind...

1. My family ROCKS! HHT's wedding was a freaking blast on Friday night! We danced the night away. All of us, even my grandparents. The wedding ended at 11 and my grandparents were still there. Seriously, we have our issues (like any other family), but when it comes down to it, we can come together and throw it down!

2. I went to another wedding on Saturday. I wore these shoes:

I LOVE these shoes! For the wedding I wore them with a very unrevealing black dress. It has short sleeves, hits at my knees, and shows no part of my cleavage. I also happened to pull my hair back into a ponytail for the event. (This probably had something to do with the party mentioned above happening the night before). Either way, the only thing even remotely wild about my outfit was the shoes.

I know people were judging me.

I could feel it.

And the fact of the matter is, hot pink heels do not make you a slut. Or a hooker. Or whatever they were thinking.

There were certainly girls at the wedding with more revealing clothes on than me. Heck, the bridesmaid dresses were more revealing (and they were wearing pink shoes too - just not quite as pink).

I just really feel like hot pink heels do not make a hooker. So I'll keep wearing the shoes. And you can keep on judging me.

3. I started P90X this morning. I did the Chest and Back video and it was hard. I could have probably pushed myself a little harder in the first set, and I will start doing that, but don't kid yourself, this is a hard workout. I think it will take me a while to get into a routine, but I'm going to keep going - 90 days. I took before pictures yesterday, and I'll save them for when there is a transformation. But stay tuned!

4. A little piece of advice for my male readers (are there any of you?): Girls like flowers. A friend of mine had a picture of a bouquet of flowers that she got "just because" from the boy she was dating. And I wondered to myself, if guys knew how special that made a girl feel, would they do it more often? So I asked Big T - he said that the last time he sent flowers to Mrs. T was Valentine's Day - and complained because they were so expensive.

So I consulted IT to make sure I wasn't crazy, and we agreed (so it must be the truth) that a girl would rather have a $15 bouquet of whatever flowers "just because" than a $50 dozen roses on Valentine's Day.

Just a tip.

The Loves of My Life...

For some reason the urge has struck me to make a list of things I currently (and some I have always) love(d)...

So, dear readers, enjoy your journey into the mystery that is my mind.

• The Next Food Network Star - seriously, great show.

• My new boots
  

• Jessica Simpson - for wearing this shirt and for making shoes that MA, Glinda, and I can spend so many hours making fun of

• "That's what she said" jokes - perhaps these aren't as funny when I'm not with the IC, but I don't know.

• Commercials with a shirtless Michael Phelps - seriously, is there anything hotter than a swimmers body? Wardrobe...

• My bangs - the craziness that has come from getting bangs is out of control.

• My iPod - mostly I think I'm loving really getting into the lyrics of songs I already have downloaded.

• The rules that Beckham and I are creating.

• Last weekend. The randomness and hilarity were unbeatable.

• Planning road trips. And making soundtracks.

• People's weird travel rituals. (For example, today I was on a flight home from El Paso, which is like a 55 minute flight or something, and the guy across the aisle put in ear plugs and wore an eye mask to take a nap.)

• Facebook messaging during conference calls.

• Random text messages from people I love.