Filed under: holidays
I was sooooo looking forward to the holidays. I should have expected law school to once again make the holidays a bit more insane than usual. Being dumped in the season just days before Christmas after being cooped up for a couple weeks of intense studying at home alone is like entering a new dimension.
Most of you reading will already know about “Computer fiasco 2008″. For anyone who doesn’t know, basically my lap top went on the fritz. Mom and Ron told me they bought me a new one for x-mas and they shipped it to me. I spent hours on the phone with AT&T trying to hook up to the wireless internet and am left thinking AT&T is total shit. The following day I discover that the computer was a lemon. I go to Best Buy sans receipt in an attempt to get an exchange within the 14 day exchange period and before “return season” starts after Christmas. The computer is completely out of stock in, like, the whole damn state. I find a new computer that is a bit of an upgrade from the one purchased for my gift for 30 bucks less. Bim, bam, boom – I have a new computer.
Everyone goes home happy.
So now I am busy working on the paper that started this whole fiasco and trying to organize gifts and wrapping and packing for my trip with Brian to Michigan. We are still watching the weather closely and there is likely to be some yuckiness along the way but so far it looks like as long as we can get out of here on Christmas morning, we are good to go.
I will keep everyone updated as I go along. Have a merry Christmas if you don’t hear from me!
Ok so you’re all tired of reading about politics, veganism, whatever else I drone on about . . . so what else is going on in my life?
Well, my last day of the semester is tomorrow! WOOHOO! I will have my nose buried in a book (even more) for the next couple weeks as a deal with finals. Not a whole lot more to say about it than that.
Brian and I are back into the swing of things with working out. The gym is busier than ever too with guilt laden individuals trying to work off the beginning of the holiday pounds. I’ve increased my weight during body pump and I managed to do an entire hour on the eliptical the other night shedding a whopping 500 calories!
Christmas is right around the corner – this Sunday is tree triming with Brian’s family, Christmas eve is also going to be spent with his fam and Christmas day we head to Michigan for the shot-gun visit of the year:
25th – set off for Michigan, destination = mom and Ron’s place.
26th – off to the desolate thumb to see dad.
27th – mom’s family x-mas in the thumb, back to Detroit at night.
28th – haul ourselves back to Indy OR alternatively we might come back on the 29th depending on weather and/or how whipped we are.
Mind you, we are at the mercy of the weather. If it is really nasty my plan is to wrap up a portion of the gifts in bubble wrap, haul them to the nearest post office, ship, return home to a blanket and cat and have a very quiet christmas. I’m hoping I don’t have to call off the trip but the reality is that so far this “winter”, Michigan has already experienced treacherous weather – mom and Ron had an 8 hour ride home from Thanksgiving for crying out loud!! White knuckles and a stomach tied in knots is just not the kind of stuff the holidays should be made of.
I’ll keep ya posted.
*Today is World AIDS Day – more later*
So mom and Ron were here Thanksgiving day and they left early yesterday morning ending their trip with the ride from hell back to Michigan. It was apparently an icy nightmare most of the ride back. They are home now safe but tired. It was a nice trip – busy, but nice. When they arrived they unloaded new furniture for me – a chair, filing cabinets, and a scale. While they were here, my futon cover arrived and Brian and I moved the aquarium and tv so it is like having a whole new living room!
Thursday night mom, Ron, Brian and I all went to see Four Christmases. It was good. Most of Friday and Saturday was spent shopping at antique malls in the area. I think it in the future mom might just need to come down here for a week or so, whether or not I am in school and go do some shopping. There is just too much to see down here and she has more energy to antique than the rest of us combined. I did get a few very cool items while we were out. Mom and Ron bought me a beautiful ring and one of my favorite purchases was a set of 8 brand new 1950’s glasses still in their box. They had been poorly stored and so they all needed a good washing. Last night I popped the one glass that had some missing color on it into the dishwasher to see if they would hold up in there. It turned out beautifully and they will make a fantastic addition in my 50’s kitchen.
Today – no school, no work, just lots of homework and continued cleaning/clearing up.
Ciao.
Filed under: holidays
Good morning and happy thanksgiving! Just a couple things to talk about today.
A) My neighbor – I wanted to sneakily open the door this morning (7am) to see if I could slip the key under the door in a way that mom and Ron could get at it if they arrive to my apartment before I am back from dinner. I wanted to be sneaky because, obviously I didn’t want anyone to see what I was up to and because I am wearing cat fur covered clothing, no bra, my glasses, and my hair is a disaster. I open the door a crack and see a paid of shoes in the hallway, complete with attached feet. I figured it was a kid playing around so I open the door up and look down to see my neighbor, dressed in bar clothes, just waking up from what appears to have been a very rough night. I’m not really sure what the hell he was doing and he tried to explain but, well, I went to college – no explanation necessary. I know the poor guy has to work today – he mentioned in in passing over the weekend and I heard him leave for work just a few minutes after he managed to get into his apartment. I thought the days of people sleeping in hallways was over . . . NEVER!
B) The Today show – if you didn’t see the clip at 7:30 with the muppets . . . it wasn’t funny. It was sad! Premise: turkey tries to convince Al to cook steak for Thanksgiving and then bull shows up and thinks the steak is his mother!
WTF!?!?! If that is supposed to be the way we feel better about eating about a zillion turkeys today, it didn’t work. SHeesh!
In other news, today I will be meeting up with Brian at noon and head over to his Aunt and Uncle’s place. Dinner is around 2 with Brian’s whole fam. After dinner, mom and Ron will be arriving here at some point. I am guessing it will be a quiet evening at home while we move in the new chair they are bringing me and we discuss plans for the weekend.
Hope everyone out there has a great day with family, friends, and . . . hopefully no one eats until they get sick!!
Oh, and if you want a recommendation for some fun Thanksgiving tv (adults only) after dinner, I recommend South Park episode “Helen Keller the Musical”. There is a part in that show about “humanely” killing turkeys. It might be offensive to some but I think it makes a great point in a fairly humorous way.
Is it Christmas yet? I don’t know why I am in such a hurry for the holidays to arrive – they will likely be as crazy and nutty as ever as I try to fit in everything I need to get done into a very short period of time. I’m praying for good weather!
This weekend was particularly crazy. It was freezing cold and yet the stores were packed like it was the week before X-mas! I wanted to get a new battery for my watch and even the jewelry store was packed.
Right next door to the jewelry store was a futon shop where I ordered a new cover for Brian’s futon which is now comfortably sitting in my living room. The current cover is plain black and Oliver is quickly turning it a fluffy gray. I’ve slept on the futon for a few nights now to check out the mattress and break it back in. I think my parents will certainly be pleasantly surprised at how much more comfortable this set up will be in comparrison to the old couch. Sunday night Brian’s sister and her fiance helped us to move the old hide-away couch to the thrift store. I’m happy to know that the couch is gone – it certainly did it’s job well but that thing was a bear to move and I had nightmares about what kind of saw we would need to get it out of there. Moving it now when I’m not having to move myself takes a load off of my mind.
My holiday shopping is coming along. I’ve completed shopping for a couple people and I have some ideas for most of the others. Hopefully my ideas will all fall into place and the weather won’t keep my from getting gifts to recipients! I’d hate to have to mail some of this stuff!
I have no clue what is happening for Halloween this year. It is a rare day that I even care – it is not my favorite holiday by a long shot. However, last night I suddenly was in the spirit when I discovered the greatest Halloween costume ever!! haha.
I think I’ll be taking a video shot of my lil Rhinestone Cowboy closer to the holiday.
Last year after the fact I discovered a ton of fun, freaky recipes for party crowds and I would love to take a shot at some of them. Maybe this year I’ll make some if we go to a party and/or I might whip up a couple trial batches for Brian and his friends. I’m thinking of creating some eyeballs, bleeding hearts, and there is a really tasty sounding “flesh eating worm”. Yum yum.
So what else is up? Brian and I worked out yesterday morning and then went to a local breakfast joint. I got cherries jubilee crepes – HOLY&*^%!!!! They were amazing! The rest of Saturday and today I spent cleaning up the bathroom, kitchen, and watching movies. For the first time in . . . perhaps ever, the entire apartment is CLEAN! Garbage has been taken out, aquarium is filled and free of algae, you could eat in the bathroom, and dishes are clean and put away . . . and I can sleep wherever the heck I feel like! My goal is to keep the place manageable for good but at least until mom and Ron arrive for Thanksgiving.
Speaking of which, I think they will be able to come down on Wednesday night this year rather than on Thanksgiving day. For the last two years I have gone to Brian’s Aunt and Uncle’s place to eat the big meal and then got home in time to meet mom and Ron. This year however we will be celebrating the holiday the weekend before so on Thanksgiving itself we will be free. I’m exciting to have them down this year as it will be the first time the apartment won’t be in transition. I do plan to have Ron help me move the aquarium and television while they are here but otherwise there won’t be a whole lot of odd jobs that will need to be done this time around.
Well that is all for now – this week will likely prove to be the same ole same ole.
Well phooey. It is 12:05am – I missed blogging for yesterday by 5 minutes. Anyhow, Brian and I went to his Aunt and Uncle’s place to celebrate father’s day with his family. We had a lot of fun – lunch, pool, visiting, cornhole…or whatever that game is.
In the morning it is back to work for me. It will be a very busy week – I am supposed to be mooting two suppression hearings this week with different attorneys. That should be fun. The actual hearings are the 26th. I will be sure to share the results afterwards. Tomorrow afternoon/night I’ll be busy with homework – fun fun of course. 
Ciao!!
And now for some lolcat lawyer style:
Sniffs: Oliver
Brian mentioned something while he was babysitting Oliver that suddenly made a lot of sense. He said he didn’t think Oliver could smell. I don’t know why this possibility hadn’t crossed my mind before.
Oliver doesn’t care about catnip at all. When I put catnip or treats in front of him, he will “sniff” at it, but I don’t think he is smelling anything… or at least not enough to keep his interest. He refuses to eat anything that isn’t put in his dish. In act, the only time I saw him eat a cat treat that wasn’t in his dish was once he knew they were cat treats because he had eaten them out of his dish before. I have put bacon and cheese in front of his nose and he didn’t even bat an eye and if you try to shmear something tasty on his mouth or nose, he panics… probably because he has no clue what the heck you are putting on him!
This helps to explain his occasional wheezing – perhaps he has some kind of respiratory problem. Whatever it is, the vet didn’t pick up on it and it doesn’t seem to be affecting him other than the fact that there are some joys of life for a cat that he is apparently missing out on. 
Super Sniffs: I mentioned before that one of my x-mas gifts from Brian was the Peaceful Progression Alarm Clock by Hammacher Schlemmer. I haven’t gotten to use it yet for its main purpose – waking you up – but I have used the individual settings and the “sleep mode”. Sleep mode gives you the option of having a combination of aromatherapy, light, and/or sounds progressively lessen to help you fall asleep. The clock came with a variety of aromatherapy beads as well as felt circles which can be saturated with aromatherapy oils and used in lieu of the beads.
The whole thing is pretty cool. I can’t wait to try it. The alarm begins lighting up about 1/2 hour prior to your actual waking time and begins to dissipate the aromatherapy at that time too. 15 minutes before you want to wake up, the natural sounds can be set to begin. The light itself has about a zillion different intensities so when it begins to light up, it wouldn’t wake you up too soon. And of course, should you sleep through it all, there is an actual alarm that will go off at your set time. I’ve read great reviews about this alarm clock and I am so tickled that Brian got me such a cool gift. Considering Brian got me about the nicest digital camera around, he didn’t have to do the clock too… but I’m thrilled he did!
So if I don’t write a blib about Christmas, I might just forget all together!
I had a great Christmas. Brian and I celebrated the Holiday on Christmas Eve with his immediate and extended family. Pizza’s were made, gifts were opened, food was eaten and everyone had a great time. It was a long but very fun day. Brian got me some of the greatest gifts this year! A digital camera that really is amazing and an alarm clock that wakes you up with light, sounds, and aromatherapy!!! (I asked for that! lol). He and his family were super generous.
On Christmas morning I headed out early for Michigan. Rather than go into bizarre detail about everything, here is the gist: I had a great time with everyone the whole time I have been home – at mom and Ron’s, at dad’s, wedding shopping with my friend, and hanging out with friends and fam. Even if I had gotten no gifts at all, this Christmas was one of the best I can remember. However, I did get a lot of gifts and they were all wonderful! I can’t even remember everything I got, it was like being 7 again!
Well, time to get going for now but I will be sure update again asap!
Every family has holiday traditions. You might hate them or love them, but you have them nonetheless. My mother’s family gets together every year. This might not sound like a big deal. It is when you have 15 children.
Yes, my mom was #12 of 15 kids. By this time, they have to rent a hall to accommodate all of the children, their children, and now their children’s children as well + all of the significant others and random friends and buddies that pop in. I can honestly say, no, I don’t know the names of all of my first cousins and I really can’t tell you much about my second cousins but I am proud of the fact that I can pretty much look at any of them and place them as being a descendant of one of my Aunt’s and or Uncles.
My father’s family is Polish. You would think this would mean I had a lot of traditional polish foods at Christmas but I don’t recall eating any more polish food during the holidays than we did at any other time of the year. I get the feeling though that I wrongly assume some foods are American in origin when in reality they are Polish or are a Polish take on a traditional American meal.
Anyhow, I came across this little version of the 12 Days of Christmas a couple years ago and I adore it. I am sharing it with you now and I’m sure if you spend any time with me, you’ll hear me talk about some of these dishes at least once.
The 8 Polish Days of Christmas
The first Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, A boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The second Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, Two steamed pierogies:
What’s a pierogy? It’s dough, wrapped around meat And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The third Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party Three simmered gwumpkies:
What’s a gwupmky? It’s cabbage, wrapped around meat. Two steamed pierogies And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The fourth Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, Four baked paprikas:
What’s a paprika? It’s a bell pepper, stuffed with meat. Three simmered gwumpkies Two steamed pierogies And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The fifth Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, Five smoked kielbasas:
What’s a kielbasa? It’s pretty much just meat.Four baked paprikas Three simmered gwumpkies Two steamed pierogies And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The sixth Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, Six fried chruschikis:
Let me guess, something from the meat family? Actually, it a delightful pastry with a thin, flaky crust! Ooh, mmmm! Five smoked kielbasas Four baked paprikas Three simmered gwumpkies Two steamed pierogies And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The seventh Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, Seven pitted prunes But I don’t like prunes! Trust me. With this food, you’ll need ‘em, son. Six fried chruschikis Five smoked kielbasas Four baked paprikas Three simmered gwumpkies Two steamed pierogies And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
The eight Polish Christmas dish I bring to the party, Eight poppy seed cakes Poppies! Poppies! Oh, I’m so sleepy! There’s no place like home!Seven pitted prunes Six fried chruschikis Five smoked kielbasas Four baked paprikas Three simmered gwumpkies Two steamed pierogies And a boiled potato topped with dill weed.
So I don’t have class again today. woohoo. Well, it is kind of “woohoo”. I am trying to enjoy it since we have to make up all of those missed classes later in the year. We’ll be going in on Fridays and Saturdays for sure
So before I get down to business with the loads of studying I have to do today, I popped the TV on and caught a story about a girl who has had the hiccups for 3 weeks now! Here is the link to the Today Show’s website with the story.
People wrote in with ideas for stopping them… one person suggested a chiropractor. That was an idea I wouldn’t have thought of, and surprisingly, they hadn’t thought of it yet either (I am sure that in 3 weeks you would come up with all kinds of bizarre ideas!) The girl is 15, but I loved the fact that she said “so long as it doesn’t hurt, I’ll try it.”
hmm… to be honest, I think if someone suggested cutting off a finger, after three weeks of hiccuping, I might just give it a whirl!
In other news, Valentines day was very nice. Brian took me to Build-a-Bear and I made a teddy.. I named him Theodore Edward Bear lol. He is very cute in his “bearboxer” boxers, (complete with a place for his lil tail to pop out in the back) and his silver sunglasses. I have always wanted to make a bear… it really is a lot of fun. I recommend it 
Well I am off to do hw – I am hoping to get nearly all of next weeks work done today and tomorrow so I can spend all next week working on a memo that is due the 26th. And it probably will take me alllll week…
Ciao!
Woohoo, snow day #2 begins tomorrow! This is a pretty huge shock. I figured my 8:30a.m. class would be cancelled since rush hour would likely be a messy disaster with the high winds we will have all night and in the morning, but I thought for sure my 12:45 and 2:20 classes would be in session….
Well, surprisingly enough, those were the first two classes to be cancelled! The snow will end tonight, most likely within the next hour or so and I am guessing that they could have the roads pretty well cleared off by rush hour if it weren’t for the winds that they are predicting tonight.
Sadly, the storm has interfered with my Valentines Day plans slightly… I modified them accordingly, which is a bummer, but the point certainly isn’t lost.
So, I figure tomorrow I will finish up my laundry and study study study (since all of these missed classes will have to be made up in the future!)… I will have class on Thursday as planned I am sure, BUT my only Friday class was cancelled last week due to plans of the Professor. lol.. what a week! Honestly though, it was a well needed break and I am hoping it rejuvenates me a little bit
*Had to put this out there…. just some thoughts when someone uses the bible as their reason for considering homosexuality an “abomination”….
Filed under: ads, fun stuff, holidays, humor, meat, recommendations, stories, weather
Today has been funny…
Every once in a while, I check the local newspapers and the schools main website for “wanted” ads and job postings. Typically the school will list “guinea pig” positions through the medical and / or dental schools and those can pay really well. The wanted ads usually don’t pan out, but you never know what “junk” might be worth a couple bucks to someone else! Well in today’s ads… there was a listing for “freezer burnt hunters meat”….
I had to read this one… this guy apparently feeds his dog raw meat and he’ll travel up to 50 miles to pick it up!
lol…creepy.
Then this morning at school, I noticed a ridiculous number of large crows outside. They were super noisy and had over taken the whole school and the park across the street. Anyhow, the whole sidewalk was … well, covered in shit. Big, white, slimy pile of bird shit. I was more concerned about getting hit with the poo as I walked in, but on the way out… someone actually SLIPPED in the bird crap. I was trying so hard not to laugh and then I just kept praying that I wouldn’t slip and fall in it as punishment for thinking it was funny! lol.
When I got in the car, an advertisement came on the radio – “Valentines day is just couple days away. Get professional help!”….
lol.. what!?! Well, turns out it was an ad for a local sex/smut shop but I don’t know if they got their point across really well with that ad lol.
So yea, amusing day here on my end….
How is your day!? lol
Oh yes, and in other news, reports are calling for anywhere between 6 and 16 (or 20 depending on the station) inches of snow. It should start falling around 7pm and I am assuming (based on last weeks fiasco), that there won’t be any school tomorrow, or at the very least, no Torts class in the AM. Snow is cool, as long as we don’t get the ice storm that is expected to hit the southern part of the state.
Well, I am off for now, depending on the continuing humor of the day, I might be back….
OH – and here is a funny site. You can create your very own presidential speech, complete with phrases taken right out of Bush’s very own speech’s, with his voice! lol… needless to say, it can be pretty humorous!
hehe… ok, yea, I already found something hilarious I had to add… a site dedicated to pictures the government has put out to inform the public of what to do in a terrorist emergency…
and some unique interpretations of what they mean
My butt hurts…. I worked out last night and was really worried while doing it that I was pulling the muscles in my thighs (which I usually do) and wouldn’t be able to walk today. Instead, I can’t sit down…. but I can work though this so I am grateful it was my behind rather than legs!
I went to a dermatologist today. I really don’t think my skin is “bad”… I think if I left it alone it would be much better than it is (Brian is agreeing as he reads this…). But the Dr. actually prescribed some gels for me and told me to continue using the cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer. I was kind of surprised that he gave me a Rx. I wasn’t going there for one, just some general advice and some info about what to do about these awful cysts I get once in a while (not right now of course though). He said this was a preventative measure and told me it would help even combat acne from hormones and stress (or, *gasp*, hormones and stress at the same time!).
Hopefully it will help out some and not make my skin go insane.
Ok, so for the bulk of this post; 2006 in review.
I generally write a review of the prior year at the beginning of each new year and a blurb about what I look forward to in the coming year. I think I finally have it all figured out but I am regretting not having my old journal to reference.
I had a lot of “firsts” in 2006.
- I got laid off for the first time (they swore it was b.c. they couldn’t afford another employee on the payroll, I accept that explanation lol).
- I went on unemployment (@ 23!!!)
- I was convinced by another law school hopeful that Penn State Dickinson SUCKED and that the school and local just weren’t worth it…. (I am so glad I listened to him).
- I visited Indianapolis and IU – Indy.
- I took a road trip, all by myself for the first time, to Virginia.
- I worked in a jewelry store in the mall for, hmm, a couple weeks before leaving one night and just never coming back (also a first for quitting in such a way!)
- I “did e-bay” for the first time.
- I went to Cedar Point with someone I met in person the day before. (Brian!)
- I saw my first friend get married and attended my first bachelorette party.
- I moved to another state.
- I started law school.
- I fell in love (maybe not totally a first… but certainly a first of its’ kind!)
So yea, it has been a big year. And an essential year. I often forget about the first part of 2006 since it seems to pale in comparison to the second part, but it was very necessary and a time of intense learning about myself.
So what would I like from 2007??
- to make health (healthy eating, sleeping, and exercise) a priority
- to begin concentrating on the future – where do I want to live, what do I want to do, how do I want to manage my finances etc. (something to think about come spring time….)
- to bring more beauty and love into my life and into the lives of others around me by being “my best self” and having a good attitude and regaining my unwavering confidence that I can handle anything that comes into my life.
yea, for now, those are the things I look forward to in 2007. I am sure the year will bring me many more surprises… some may not be all that great, but I know everything happens for a reason and I trust in life and karma, but most of all, I trust in myself to be able to handle anything that comes my way. As for the good unexpected surprises, well, those are always welcome
Hello from “up nort’”. I just wanted to make a quick post. I received an e-mail today from a website I recently made a x-mas purchase from: Imaginary Friends Inc. They were updating customers about new products. I am really excited about their new offerings. I ordered my mom their assorted flowers stationary but I was really wishing they had a messenger bag for sale with one of the flower screen prints on it. Now they have more options in the apparrel and accessory lines! Here is my favorite (if I was going to make a personal purchase)…
Well, I am using a dial-up connection right now and am pretty… frustrated to say the least…
Oh, on a side note – my dad and I went to see Borat tonight (a second run for myself) and I was stunned that the theatre here cut at least a half hours worth of film! Part of me wonders if this was a local decision or if the “movie” itself decided to cut parts of the film…hmm…
Anyhow, hope everyone had a fabulous New Years day!
Ciao
