jealous

I used to be jealous when I saw kids getting ready to go away to college for the first time. I LOVED my freshman year of college because everything was so new and exciting and different. I want that feeling again.

What I realized today is that life as a grown-up doesn't HAVE to be boring and dull. You can still try new things. You can still have excitement.

Perhaps I have lowered the bar a bit in what qualifies as "new and exciting" in my life. I won't deny that. But my point remains the same... there are still a million new and exciting things to experience in my life. Even at the ripe ol' age of thirty. I've got a lot of living left to do. I have a lot of exploring left to do. I have many adventures yet to go on.

Like today...

I tried a new fruit that I had never heard of.

I grew up in a family that only ate apples, bananas, oranges and grapes. Seriously. The first time I had a nectarine was in college and it just about blew my mind.

Today I had a lychee, which is from China.

My first thought when I saw them was "Whoa! What happened to your strawberries??" A friend had to explain to me what they were and then had to explain to me how to eat them.











It looks like a pearl onion but tastes like a juicy grape with a pit in the middle.

All I know is that if there was this crazy fruit out there that I didn't even know about, there must be thousands of great adventures that I can't even imagine still waiting for me out there!

STD testing

Have you ever done an HIV test? I hope so. I think all sexually active people should take them. However, they like to raise my insurance rates whenever I take them- maybe that was just a coincidence, but I put nothing past those horrible insurance companies! - so because of that I have started taking them anonymously.

I wonder how often men take STD tests? I'm not sure why I am so skeptical but I picture men only going in to get checked out if they are displaying outward symptoms.

Some really clever people got together and decided that to get a prescription filled for birth control, women have to come in yearly for a pap smear/ exam. Though it is annoying at the time, I think it is a brilliant idea. Because admit it, if we didn't have to do it yearly, you would just keep putting off and putting off doing the exam.

At the exam they do a manual exam as well as take some tissue samples that then get sent off to be examined. If it comes back "normal" you are all good. If it comes back "abnormal" they do more tests. Though I was displaying no outward symptoms, I once tested abnormal and it turned out that I had pre-cancerous cells that they thankfully caught and destroyed. Had I waited til I showed outward symptoms, it would have been possibly too late to treat it or at the very least would have involved a lot more invasive procedure to take care of it.

So I am thankful for my annual exams. What I learned though, surprised me. Those annual exams don't actually test for STDs. Say what?!? I suppose if you had an STD it might make you show up as abnormal but that's not a guarantee. You have to specifically ask to be tested for STDs. For some of the tests they just scrap off some extra tissue samples. For the syphilis and HIV test they need to draw blood.

So I did that a few weeks ago.

I had no reason to believe I had a STD but I figured it is always better to be on the safe side.

I took the tests...

...and then I had to wait...

...and wait...

...and wait.

And let me tell you something... even though you KNOW that there is no way that you have HIV, there is something about taking the test and having to wait for the results that makes you really paranoid and nervous! There are few things as nerve-racking as waiting for those results!

They told me that they would call me in two weeks if there was a problem and that if I didn't hear from them that it was all good.

Paranoid as I am, I had to call and just make sure that the results were negative. They were. And now I can breathe easy again.

scared

Okay, I'll admit it... I have a lot of fears. I was going to say "irrational fears" but a lot of them are pretty justifiable. And even the ones that I would have considered irrational, like, oh, I don't know, fear of having a bird attack you- turns out to be a pretty rational fear! Stupid red-winged black birds!

So I have lots of fears. I know this about myself and I refuse to let it take over my life. Pretty much all of them are little fears that I never think about unless I am in that particular situation- not the sort that keep me up at night or anything. When the lady behind me on the el is hacking her lungs out I have a fear that I will get sick. When I am swimming in the ocean I am afraid that I will be bitten by some horrible creature. But it isn't like I worry about these things every day.

Most of my little fears don't affect my life in the slightest, to tell you the truth. Because I don't let them.

I do have one fear, though, that is affecting my life a bit. I have acrophobia. A fear of heights. It isn't extreme to the point where I can't ride elevators, go on roller coasters or go up in tall buildings. I do all those things no problem. I can stand on my dresser when I am trying to kill that bug on my ceiling. No problemo.

But ladders just kill me. As soon as I get about ten feet off the ground, I start freaking out. I try to rationalize it to myself. That's how I get over all my other fears... I just talk myself out of them. But that doesn't work with heights. For example, when my brother was painting the house last summer, and climbing up and down ladders and scrambling over scaffolding like a monkey, he needed my help setting up some of the scaffolding. All I had to do was climb up a ladder and lift this scaffolding piece over my head onto the brace that was attached to the ladder. Not a tough job but one that my brother couldn't do by himself.

I felt so ridiculous because as soon as I got up there my knees went totally weak and I felt like I was about to faint. I ended up successfully doing it but I came (<----->) this close to passing out!

I've been trying to learn why this happens. The only answer I have found is that there is a lack of blood flow to the brain when you get scared. Now normally I don't question the way my body works... but this seems like a really bad design flaw to me. I'm up on top of a ladder and get scared and my body's solution is to pass out?!?!

I tried to go out on the roof today to look at the lovely hole caused by the storms this weekend and I only lasted about twenty seconds before I raced back inside. I was actually proud of myself for lasting that long! I had it all planned out in my head... I would just crawl out the window onto the flat part of the roof, then I would scramble up the sloped part of the roof and perch on the peak and look down at the opposite side of the sloped roof where the hole was. No problem!

Um, okay, slight problem... mostly having to do with me being the biggest baby in the world! Oh well, it's always good to have something to work on, right? What fun would it be if I was perfect already?!

true stories

My brother shared this with me yesterday. I liked it. Figured you would too...


STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street . But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."



STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.
This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.

perspectives

One of my greatest wishes in life is to have a secret camcorder connected to my eyeballs so that I can record everything I see and play it back for people.

Sure, I can tell you about the things I saw today, but I want to show you. People react differently when they know they are on camera, hence why it would have to be a secret camera.

Today I saw a man out walking his two dogs. They were big dogs and they were on leashes. Trailing about fifteen feet behind but walking at the same pace and following them was a cat.

I don't know whether it was his cat or not, but in my mind it was. You always hear people talk about cats that act like dogs. I have a hard time picturing the cat bounding all over the room when the owner says, "Do you wanna go for a walk?!?" But it was still pretty cool to watch the cat going for a walk with the family.

I wish I could record all the special little moments that I see and show them to you. I want to show you the world as I see it.

Two people can walk down the same block and come away with the entirely different experiences. Which is sort of cool, in and of itself.

But I want to share. I want to show you how I see. I want to see how you see the world. I love the feeling you get when you are with someone that you know really well and you both see something at the same time and you turn and share a look and without saying anything you both smile because you know that you are both thinking the same exact thing about what you just saw.

Is that one of the reasons that we all like tv and movies so much? Because while we are watching them we are sharing the same vision?

I don't know. All I know is that I wish I had footage of that cool ass cat!

my calling

Do you know what my problem is?

I know what you are thinking- I only have the one?!?

Anyways, my problem is that I didn't have to think at all when choosing my first career. I knew I was going to be a massage therapist since I was 11 years old. I KNEW it! It felt so right. It was my calling.

Now, as I have decided to embark on a new career, I feel so lost and scared and confused- because nothing is calling me. I think about different jobs and I think, "Sure, I could do that, I guess."

It just feels so wrong because the last time I chose a career I was so certain.

Is this what everybody feels like when deciding on a job?

How did you choose your career/job? How did you know it was right for you? Or, are you in a job that's not right for you?

statistics

I read a disturbing statistic the other day...

In one survey, 70% of female respondants said they would rather have chocolate than sex!

Whoa! Come on, fellas! It's time to step it up a notch!! That's really kind of sad. Because no woman would rather have chocolate than have great sex which means that the sex she is getting really isn't all that.

And that also means it is YOUR fault if your wife is gaining weight! You are driving her into the arms of her chocolate lover!

I have a lot

One of my favorite quotes/ideas, that I am sure I have mentioned before, is "Imagine you lost everything you have right now, and then got it all back. Think of how happy you would be!"

It's soooo true. We always think about what we want, rather than what we already have.

Yesterday my phone decided to stop working. I think he was just tired, maybe a little overheated. We all need a break sometime.

But I really can't afford to replace my phone right now, so I plugged my phone into the charger, sent him some good vibes and went to sleep.

And lo and behold, my phone was working again this morning! Which of course made me think of the above quote.

So now let's think of all the things that I have right now (big and small) that I don't want to lose and that I typically take for granted.


I have:
the sweetest grandma in the world who lives nearby and writes me letters
no blisters on my feet
good tasting tap water
a working tv/DVR which lets me watch Cash Cab
a wonderful working computer with internet
a great little iphone
a job
wonderful clients
a great relationship with my coworkers
plenty of oil/lotion which won't need to be reordered for a while
a big house to live in
my health
a strong body that is really getting in shape- I am at this crazy point where sometimes I will be walking down the street and my muscles will just feel so good that I want to start running.
cramps- okay, so I'm not really that happy about having these but at least I have sensation in my body- better than being paralyzed and not able to feel anything, right?
my parents are alive and love me and we get along really well
plenty of diet coke in the fridge
a lovely town to live in and work out in where I feel safe
clean air to breathe
an awesome planet to live on which hasn't been destroyed by asteroids in the night
an amazing public library just a few blocks from my house
plenty of clothes to wear
a working alarm clock
running water, electricity, working plumbing
working air conditioning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great friends
people who take time out of their day (okay, let's be honest, who are trying to waste time) who read my blog
hair bands for my hair
carmex for my lips
a near unbeaten record in Words with Friends


Okay, I'm going to stop now because in my mind I have been listing a million different things. I really have sooooo much.

ouch

One of the fascinating things about men and women is that we will never really know what it is like to be a member of the opposite sex.

I'll never know what it feels like to get hit in the nuts.

Men will never know what it feels like to have really bad P.M.S., like I have today.

Do you remember the doozers from Fraggle Rock?





On days like today I always picture them living inside my body and doing construction work on my cervix.

And like most early morning construction- it is really annoying and puts you in a bad mood!

I prefer the idea that it is little guys causing me this discomfort rather than simply hormones in my body.

chipotle

Okay, you know it is a slow blogging day when I am blogging about Chipotle...

At Chipotle when you order something they put it all together and then take a marker and write some letters on the packaging so that the cashier knows what is inside.

Most of the letters are very obvious. "C" stands for chicken. "Ca" stands for carnitas. "g" stands for guacamole.

Yesterday when I was ordering a salad I had a new guy and he was a bit confused about what to write. He first wrote "S" but realized that wasn't right because "S" stands for steak. So then he wrote "Sa" for salad. A more experienced worker came over and told him to write "E."

I said that I never would have thought to write "E" for salad. She explained that since they are a Mexican restaurant they often use Spanish words. So the "E" stands for ensalada.

Now you know.

yum yum give me some!

Green City Market BBQ.

Have you ever heard of it?

Lots of people haven't, even though it has happened annually for about ten years now.

What is it?

It is ridiculous!

What is it, really?

It is a big, gluttonous food fest in Lincoln Park. All the best restaurants in Chicago have a booth where the chefs serve one special dish. You buy a general ticket to get you in and then you can eat and drink as much as you want.

It was so good. It lasts for two hours, which is actually more than enough time. I pictured long lines and only being able to try a few things. They limit the amount of people and so the lines move quickly along.

The only problem is that the heat index was about 99 degrees. And who the heck wants to stuff their faces when it is that hot? I foolishly ate all of the first things that I tried and then was only willing to take a single bite of the later things.

But yum!

I had actually only heard about cooking chicken like this for the first time ever this year. Do people really do this? I had no idea.





There were a lot of delicious things and there were some things that I didn't particularly love. Luckily there were plenty of choices. This was a "savory macaroon" that my sister handed me. I took one bite, which was okay, and asked my sister what was in it. Smoked trout. I then yelled at my sister about not knowing when she should lie to me. There are certain things that I am okay with eating as long as I don't know what I'm eating. Fish and I are not friends.



A lot of restaurants planned their menus with the heat in mind and served fun things like these frozen watermelon bites.



I soooo didn't need to see this.



Did I mention that it was about 100 degrees? I really did not need a close up pic at this point.



We got to meet Rick Bayless. My sister made him laugh! And his tacos were delicious, though by that point I was so stuffed that I was only willing to try one bite.



So yeah, that's our little glimpse into how the other half lives.

funny

Sometimes you've just got to laugh...

... because the alternative is crying.

I'm never going to the hospital ever again. I don't care if I am dying. Just not going. I'm going to get one of those medical bracelets and instead of listing any conditions of mine it is simply going to say, "Do not take me to the hospital under any condition."

I got my bill from the hospital today. Technically my insurance is pending but I know that I will have to cover all of it.

Do you know how much it cost just to set foot in the emergency room? I mean, not even including any treatment??

It costs me $785. How is that right? Was that what it cost to pay the person who entered my info in the system? Because if it is, I want THAT job.

Seriously, that is just for going to the emergency room. I know because they have a very itemized bill that tells me just how much every other thing cost. I suppose it does make sense, that does include the cost of the fancy backless gown that I got to wear. That totally makes it worth it.

All in all, it comes up to a total of $1, 635.

Have I mentioned how much I love health care in this country??

snippet

I think most of us have a desire to see what goes on in other people's heads. Why else are you bothering to read this blog?

This is a sample of what goes on in my head...

insomniatic musings

Okay, for real, how do people live without air conditioning?

And how is it 85 degrees inside my house at 4:30 AM?

I had to unplug my computer and bring it back into my bedroom, I was actually starting to sweat sitting in my dining room.

And having insomnia is bad enough, having sweaty insomnia might just put me over the edge.

This post is going to have no rhyme or reason to it, just warning you now.

I've started eating meat again. And started having nightmares again.

And I've been drinking more which leads to more insomnia. I know better. But tonight I am going to a food fest or should I say food feast and am going to be eating and drinking way too much again. But after that I will be back on the bandwagon.

I was offered a job as a nanny today (that isn't going to work out) but I just want to point out that nannies really get the shit end of the deal. Because really you aren't just a nanny. You are a nanny, a chauffeur, a housekeeper and a chef. So if you want to come home from work and have a clean house, entertained children who have their homework done and dinner waiting for you, you are going to have to pay me a lot more money.

And yes, I realize that is stuff that parents simply have to do all the time without getting paid for it, but you also, therefore, realize how much it is worth to have someone do that for you.

I wish there was some secret way, or way to do it that wouldn't hurt someone's feelings, to tell someone what they have to change about themselves for it to work out between you and them. But there is not. And if someone told me that they would like me better if I were only to change something about myself, well, I wouldn't take it too kindly. But what if changing those things would greatly improve your life? Doesn't matter. We still don't want to hear it.

Do you know what I wonder? (whenever I ask my siblings this they start just shaking their heads because they know the next thing out of my mouth is not going to be normal) Do you think other animals keep track of the number of sexual partners they have had? Or do only humans do that? There are some animals that are monogamous for life and they probably don't think about it much. But what about animals that have multiple partners? What about animals that fight each other for the right to breed with the females- do they then brag to the losers about how many females they have done it with?

Yes, these are the things that I think about.

I also discovered a great blog today... http://catalogliving.tumblr.com

It is hilarious. Go there when you need a good laugh.

And congrats, Nicki, on successfully donating your kidney! You rock! And no, I am not just misspelling my name, that is a shoutout to an amazing woman who just happens to have the same amazing name as me.

Okay, let's try and get back to sleep, shall we?

The List

Everyone has one...

a list of celebrities that they would want to get with.

Why not?

So number one is obviously Hugh Jackman. I mean, obviously, can you get a better hottie? And gentleman? And better actor? I doubt it.



The rest are in no particular order...

Will.i.am



Orlando Bloom


Michael Jordon (back in the day)


Johnny Depp, (then, now and forever!)


David Bowie (when I need to get my freak on! but from way back in the day)


David Beckham


What can I say? He deserves a few!! :)




Gerard Bulter (accents kill me!)


and let's not forget the fabulous Robert Downey Jr.!


I won't put a full list of women but the top one would be...

Penelope Cruz


And then of course there is the list of people that I would never get with even if you paid me!

Joy Baher (makes me want to scratch my eyes out!)


Seth Rogen (ick!)


Who is on your list? Feel free to post anonymously! :)

Tim O'Brien

My bookclub tends to read a lot of girly books with lots of strong female protagonists. Nothing wrong with that. But we decided to change things up a bit. So for this month's selection we chose the book In The Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien.

I was reading it on the el today and was pretty engrossed in it. I got up and stood by the door as we were getting close to my stop and a man (a nice, normal looking white business man in his 30s- which is shocking because I never have normal people talk to me!!!) came up next to me and says, "The things they carried."

I said, "What??"

He takes out his earbuds and repeats, "The things they carried."

I look at him sort of blankly as I search my brain to think back and remember if someone on the el with us had been carrying something odd. They hadn't been. So I said, "What things did they carry?" At this point I am thinking, "Maybe this guy isn't so normal after all! That is my luck!"

He finally explained that he saw that I was reading a Tim O'Brien book and he thought it was "The Things They Carried" which is the name of another one of his novels! I explained that it was a different one and the first one of his that I had read and that we were reading a more male centered novel for my bookclub just to change things up a bit.

Tim O'Brien apparently was in Vietnam which is a subject that he talks about in both of these books.

It just got me thinking though, I wonder if more cute guys would strike up conversations with me on the el if I was reading things like Fight Club or leafing through a Sports Illustrated instead of reading Wuthering Heights!!! :)

fun facts

Did you know that Will Farrell doesn't have any cavities? That wasn't what I planned on writing when I started this post, but I just found that out tonight and found it interesting. As another aside, I didn't get my first cavity until I was 20 years old and it was in my wisdom tooth and I had it pulled and I used to joke that I only got them pulled so that I could continue saying that I didn't have any cavities!

Anywho, what I was originally planning on posting about was all the fun and exciting facts that I learned while on my chocolate tour on Friday...

I learned that they sell INSANELY good french fries at the French Market. Again, nothing to do with chocolate, but good to know. With your choice of eight different dipping sauces. Yum.

Okay, chocolate facts:

Chocolate comes from cacao which is a fruit that grows on trees. The chocolate comes from the seeds inside a big pod, which can be all sorts of colors.






It used to be so valuable in ancient South/ Central America that it was used as currency! And people used to counterfeit it! How? They would carefully peel back the shell of the seeds, scoop out the chocolately stuff and replace it with dirt!

It was only consumed in LIQUID form back in the day! It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that chocolate became the stuff we know and love. The Mayans added chilies to their hot chocolate. The Spanish added cinnamon to theirs.

It only grows from 20 north of the equator to 20 degrees south of the equator!

Christopher Columbus was the first to bring chocolate to Europe. Spain had a monopoly on chocolate for a long time which is kind of weird because you don't usually associate Spain and chocolate!

And your last fun fact... where was the brownie invented?

Why, Chicago, of course! The omniscient and oh-so-always-accurate Wikipedia informs us, "The brownie first appeared in public during the 1893 Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago, Illinois. A chef at the city's Palmer House Hotel created the confection after Bertha Palmer requested a dessert for ladies attending the fair; it should be, she said, smaller than a piece of cake and easily eaten from boxed lunches."

forgiveness

Do you ever have a moment of zen?

If you have then you know what I am talking about. Just a moment of blissed-out happiness where you feel totally at peace with the world.

I had one last night.

I was getting ready for bed but realized I wasn't really tired yet. There was nothing I wanted to see on TV and I don't have a book to read, so instead I spent a moment filling up a sheet of paper with things that I love. It only took me about three minutes. There are so many things and people that I love. Like you!!!! Mmmmmwwwaaahhhh!

Then I started reading my Dictionary of Quotations, which, as I am sure you guessed, is a book full of quotations. It is divided by themes such as Alcohol, Children, Democracy, Disease, God, etc.

Last night I read the section on Forgiving. My favs were:

"He who has not forgiven an enemy has not yet tasted one of the most sublime enjoyments of life." -Johann Lavater

and

"I can pardon everyone's mistakes but my own." -Marcus Porcius Cato

And then my moment of zen came. I felt any and all grudges that I have ever held- all the hurt that I was clinging to- everything, just slip away.

There were things that I had wanted to forgive in my past but for whatever reason hadn't been able to yet... and suddenly I was able to. You cheated on me... okay. You talked about me behind my back... okay. You blew me off... okay. You treated me like crap... okay. I forgive you.

I. Forgive. You.

Forgiving myself is a bit harder. But I even made progress there. Cut myself some slack.

And it just feels good.

shoes

I am so proud of myself. I just threw out three pairs of shoes.

That's a good thing.

They were old and gross and I didn't wear them.

But I have a really hard time throwing out old shoes.

Because what if I need them and wish I had them sometime in the future?

I'm a total packrat. Don't worry, you won't see me on Hoarders any time soon. I've been getting much, much better about it as the years go by. But shoes have always been one of the things that I have had trouble pitching. But I did it. And I rock. Just thought you should know.

advertising

Every day we are bombarded by advertising. We are smart people and we know we are being played, but that doesn't make us immune to it.

I remember reading something (on the back of my church bulletin) when I was a little girl that said something to the likes of "you eat advertised cereal, and brush your teeth with advertised toothpaste and wash your clothes with advertised detergent but you still think that advertising doesn't work?" It, obviously, stuck with me.

So while I know that advertising is just playing up to my needs, desires and fears, I can still appreciate a good ad campaign when I see one.

I think one of the most brilliant ad campaigns that I have ever seen was Nike's "Just Do It" campaign.

How simple is that?

But it sums it up so perfectly.

No excuses. Just do it.

I find myself telling myself to "just do it" all the time.

Stop procrastinating. Just do it.

The garbage needs to be taken out. Just do it.

I should update my blog. Just do it.

I'm tired and don't want to go running. Just do it.

Are there any ad campaigns that you love?

signs

I've decided to look for signs today. And by signs I mean just randomly giving more meaning to everday occurances than they really deserve. The first sign was that the train conductor totally held the train for me which is OBVIOUSLY a sign that my luck is changing! :)

Tour de chocolate

My sister and I are kind of dumb sometimes- like right now when we put off using our Groupon for the chocolate tour until the week before it expires and now have to use it when it is 90 degrees out.

To be fair, however, there isn't ever a really bad time to eat chocolate.

What is a chocolate tour? You pay a flat fee up front and then you go on a guided tour around the city to a bunch of wonderful little spots where you get to sample chocolate treats.

Luckily the people who run this thing are a lot smarter than we are and our tour will take place completely within the (air-conditioned!!) French Market. Oh la la!!!

Confession

So I probably shouldn't admit this to anyone, ever, but we are all friends here, right?

All right, here it goes... I actually really sort of liked the movie All About Steve!

fun little adventure

Guess what I did this morning?

Go on... guess!

Did you guess that I woke up freaking out in the middle of the night and went to the ER?? Then you're a winner!

I haven't been to the doctor in years, not even when I broke my ankle. I mean, I see my gyno but that's at a Women's Health Center so it isn't really like seeing a doctor.

But I woke up around 3 in the morning and just could not breathe.

I had woken up struggling and gasping for breath. I tried to calm myself down but it felt like I was choking. I could take a full deep breath, but I had to work to do it.

Since I have been having a little bit of allergic reaction to my million bug bites that I got this weekend, I was afraid that maybe it was an allergic reaction and that my throat was swelling closed or something.

So I took benadryll and tried to calm myself down and go back to sleep.

But I still was having trouble breathing.

So I decided since I had just worked on a client that had a cold, that maybe it was just mucus taking over my throat. So I took a Mucinex and waited and tried to get back to sleep.

But after an hour and a half of still struggling to breathe and starting to panic about it, I said "okay, better play it safe," and I woke up my sister and made her take me to the emergency room. After all. when my mom was having her heart attack, the main symptom that she had was that she couldn't breathe.

So I get there and, of course, they could figure out nothing wrong with me. They did a bunch of tests and told me to take it easy.

And I can breathe okay again, though I can't say that I am "breathing easy" knowing the size of the medical bills that I am going to be getting!!

All I can say is that it is hella scary to not be able to breathe.

weddings

Wedding season has started for the Becker family. Four of my female cousins on my dad's side are getting married this year. There hasn't been a Becker wedding in years and then BAM! all of a sudden the love bug has hit and hit hard.

Do you like weddings? Who doesn't like weddings? I love weddings. I especially love when the couple puts their own special touch on their wedding.

This past weekend it was my awesome cousin Haley and her equally awesome beau Jordon who got married.

Haley's new name is Haley Becker McCall. Who knew that I would ever be attending a Becker- McCall wedding?!?

somnambulist

Things I don't do:

I don't take Ambien.

I don't do things in my sleep that I don't remember.

I don't get drunk and go into the closet in the middle of the night to pee thinking that it is the bathroom (not that I am naming any names!!)

But last night I had a few drinks in me and woke up in the middle of the night in the act of pulling my bulletin board down off of my wall.

WTF??

It was somehow related to what I was dreaming but as soon as I realized what the heck I was doing I woke up and forgot the dream.

And for the record, my bulletin board is NOT small!



I woke up this morning and was like, "Whoa! That's weird- why is my bulletin board on the ground?" And then I remembered that I did it. Probably would have freaked me out even more if I had zero recollection of it. Still don't know why I did it. All I can think about is how people who constantly do that sort of stuff on Ambien must get really freaked out about it.