Over it

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Over the last few months (aka since January) I've been suffering from chronic ear infections. Now the last time I had one of these things I was in elementary school, so to say I'm not amused is an understatement.

Because of these ear infections the doctors are always quick to give you antibiotics and send you on your way. This is all fine and dandy, until you've gone through 2-3 different antibiotics with your primary care person and then they throw their hands up and say "I don't know!" and send you to a specialist.

• So I've been seeing the specialist for a few months (probably April). After a few more types of antibiotics (and supplementing with probiotics so my body doesn't freak out) I've learned a few things.



• Probiotics only get you so far. Your body will do what it wants....period.



• You will learn very quickly if you are allergic to something. Found out the hard way that I'm allergic to sulfa and then proceeded to freak out when someone told me they had the same allergy and also couldn't drink red wine because of it.

There is a horrible bacteria you can get if you take to many antibiotics.

That last bullet point? SUCKS SO FREAKING MUCH. I started having problems last weekend (thank me because I will not do the TMI thing here) and by Wednesday I called the dr. thinking "hey, this probably isn't good and let's chat". The long and the short of it is they told me to get my butt to the emergency room as soon as I could...and by the way you can't drive yourself on the off chance you pass out. Woot.

Luckily M came home a little early so we headed out...and sat waiting for about 45 mins because people kept coming in with more important things than mine. Despite the annoyance I guess a heart attack is a little more important. :-) 4 hours later I'm full of fluids and finishing off the finale of The Voice in a hospital bed, but I got to go home, so that's the most important part. Well, that and I was told I was highly contagious.

So here I am, thankfully with a company that will let me work from home for a few days. Well, and alternating with cleaning the house from top to bottom because you don't want anyone else getting the stuff. But the weirdest thing of all? Using too many antibiotics gives you a horrible strain of bacteria that's cure is what? ANOTHER ANTIBIOTIC.

What's worse, an antibiotic that doesn't let you have even a sip of alcohol. That's right, no wine, cough syrup or even certain mouthwashes because it could make your heart do crazy things. Thanks so much world, for giving me this for 4th of July weekend. Fan freakin' tastic. Well, that and the super bland diet I'm on right now. The only "spice" I'm allowed is salt, and salt is nasty. I've cheated a little, a tiny bit of salsa on my eggs & a little cheese on some pasta.

I have to say, this is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Never felt so sick in many many years. But I'm on the mend, and headed to Seaside, OR for a few days. I've missed a good day at the beach.

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Sneaking

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I'm feeling behind. Right now pretty much everything in my life is normal (at least my normal), but I have this sense of being just about 1 or 2 steps behind where I need to be. My internal to-do list (and my external one) keeps getting checked off, but it seems there's either too much on it or I just can't keep up.

Like I should be popping a pill.

I have anxiety, this has always been a constant. It got pretty bad a few years ago and I started taking medication, but after a mixture of that and trying to realize the reason behind my anxiety I've been able to control it...mostly. There's the occasional panic attack, my heart or head racing but I don't freak out anymore. I realize what it is and can make it though.

What's tripping me up this time is that I don't have any of those symptoms, just the feeling of being behind. I have phone calls to make, emails to return, appointments to go to and tasks at work to complete. I have a 30th birthday sneaking up on me and I still don't know how I feel about that.

Maybe I'm not ready. Turning 30 seems like you have all your shit together. You're responsible, an adult. Someone people look to for answers (both in business and personal). Am I there already? Am I just scared?

I don't have the answers. But maybe this feeling will pass as quickly as it snuck up on me.

Ten on Tuesday (but on Wednesday this time)

I'm a little behind this week, sorry guys. Here's the Ten on Tuesday, love the questions.

1. How many blogs do you read every day and what are they? (I’m talking the ones you NEVER miss)
My Google Reader has tons of blogs, but I don't read all of them daily. There's a couple places (Lifehacker,Oh No They Didn't etc) that have gobs of posts per day and not all of them are interesting. But for those personal blogs, food/wine blogs or crafty ones I read them all.

2. How many “best friends” do you have? Do you have different “besties” for different areas of your life?
Can I be ooey, gooey, gushy for a minute? My best friend is M. He makes me happy, makes me laugh and understands all my little crazy parts and shares all of my life with me. But I do have one girl friend who I consider a best. Too many bests and it just dilutes the meaning.

3. What’s your daily make up routine?
Moisturizer, primer, foundation, concealer,powder, blush & mascara. Sometimes (like today) I'll skip the foundation (I'm out until Friday) because it's during the week, but I try to step it up on weekend nights (ie: a touch of eye shadow).

4. What is your ideal girl’s night?
Wine, shopping, silly movies or video games and tons of gabbing.

5. Do you keep up with your nails/toenails or are they au natural?
I'm trying to be better but mostly my nails go naked. My toes get painted sometimes but then maintaining the color is another ballgame. Plus with my nails the polish chips so fast it's not worth it. I've been hearing about that shellac manicure though, better bite the bullet and test it out.

6. What’s your best roommate story (assuming you had a roommate at some point in your life)?
I've only had one roommate (outside of living w/family) and she is my best friend. Her biggest quirk was insisting we never turn the heat on. For someone who's always cold this obviously didn't go over well. We only lived together 3 months but I think that made our friendship survive. Plus, she's always said I've been her best roommate. :-)

7. What’s your “go to” outfit that you wear more than anything else?
Right now it's either dress slacks or skinny jeans (work or play) a tee w/a cardigan over it. I'm testing out this posture bra which comes up pretty high on the neckline so there's a limited # of styles I can wear. After the testing they'll rework it for the pretty factor but until then this has kind of become my uniform.

8. Do you have a beauty secret?
Eating well I think is key. When you do this and get enough water your skin looks nicer. I don't always do this but I can tell a serious difference when I don't. Oh! And don't blow dry your hair every day.

9. Did you read Seventeen magazine growing up?
Oh man, I loved this magazine. I remember starting around 14 but I was mostly looking for the quizzes and the outfits.

10. How did you learn to put on makeup?
I think I mostly learned from magazines & a trip or two to the makeup counters. My mom would be the first one to let me know if it was too much, but I've never really worn that much to begin with.

Show me your handwriting!

I found this meme way of Chibi Jeebs over at Just One Anna and thought it was too fun to pass up. You write the following:

• Write ‘Hello!’
• Your name/blogger name
• Your blog name/URL
• Write ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.’
• Favorite quote?
• A number
• 5 words
• Favorite music?
• A really awesome website you read
• Anything else you want to say?

So here we go!


I feel a little proud of myself since I only tried writing this one time (usually anything takes a few tries) and that I had my green pen handy. Anyone else super particular with their pens? I use the Pentel Energel series & now have my entire office using them.

Let me know if you participate in this as well, getting to see someone's handwriting is almost as exciting when you see a pic of them for the first time.

Ten on Tuesday

I'm going to pretend I'm doing a little better here. Posting once every two weeks might actually eventually get me to my just now made up goal of posting once a week. Here's hoping!

Ten on Tuesday

1. If you work, do you drive to work or take public transportation?
I drive to work, usually 40 mins in the AM and 40-60 mins on the way home. I had a bad experience once on public transportation...so it's driving for me.

2. How often do you get your haircut? Do you go to the same person every time?
I am in serious need of a haircut right now. I can easily go a year w/o getting my haircut (unless I have bangs) and try to go to the same person. Unfortunately my person left the salon & I need to find a new one, that stresses me out more than it should.

3. Do you read the newspaper? If so, a hardcopy or the online version?
Sometimes on the weekend if it's available, but most of the time I get my news from Twitter. I subscribe to quite a few news outlets.

4. What is the best book you have read this year?
Just Don't Call Me Ma'am by Anna Mitchael was pretty good, but a lot of the books I've read this year were re-reads.

5. What is the best movie you have seen this year?
Oh man, I tend to forget what movies I've seen (especially theater ones). Let's go with Black Swan, although probably not the best one out this year the dancing was amazing.

6. Do you tend to crave sweet or salty foods?
I crave both, but mostly sweet. My body usually tells me what it needs (cravings for veggies anyone?) so I try to listen. :-)

7. Do you eat breakfast every day? If so, what do you have?
I am horrible at eating breakfast every day. I wish I could, but most often it's a cup of coffee and MAYBE a yogurt on the weekdays. Weekends are another story, I LOVE weekend breakfasts.

8. If you celebrate Easter, what Easter treat/candy are you most looking forward to?
Robins eggs are my favorite Easter candy, but my grandma makes lemon meringue pie once a year on Easter and it's the best pie ever. The only way you can get it other times of the year is if you request it for your birthday.

9. How late is “sleeping in” to you?
I'd say around 10am, but M thinks the day is half over by that point. I'm lucky if I get to 9am if he's home, but we do go to bed early (9pm) so I still get a decent amount of sleep.

10. Where are you going on your next vacation?
There were no plans for this year, but M mentioned Maui in November. I guess Kansas might be going to the basketball invitational and he wants to be there. Could be fun.

Ten on Tuesday

Hi everyone. I know I have problems blogging on the regular so I'm hoping this will help me get back into the swing of things. Today I'm doing Ten on Tuesday from over at Roots & Rings which is all about food this week. Couldn't resist. :-)

1. What is a food that you never thought you would try, but then tried and liked?
Brussel sprouts hands down. They came w/my meal at a restaurant one day and on a whim I tried them. They were amazing! From then on I've been on a kick to try things I've never had or foods I previously didn't like & now do. Broccoli & parsnips are other examples of it.

2. Do you subscribe to any foodie publications? If so, which ones?
Does the Pioneer Woman count? I always knew about her site but never subscribed until recently. I get most my cooking related info from blogs I subscribe to and on occasion the Cooking Light website/magazine.

3. What ingredient do you find yourself reaching for the most when you cook?
I'd probably say garlic or lemon pepper. Garlic gets put in most everything to give it a little punch up even though M's taste buds are pretty basic. Last weekend I made an amazing shallot lemon butter sauce and I found out later he's not big on lemon. Oops.

4. Are there any foods that you hated as a child, but then learned to like as an adult?
See #1. Broccoli I hated when I was little, same with asparagus. Now I eat both and asparagus is one of my fav veggies. Our taste buds change as we age, so it's important to retry foods you never liked.

5. What do you like to eat that others may consider weird?
I have a lot of eating habits that people find weird, but I don't think they're that big of a deal. Ranch as my goto condiment, blotting my tater tots/mexifries from Taco Time and half & half on my cereal are the main ones.

6. What is the weirdest ingredient you’ve ever cooked with?
I'm still working on being an adventurous cook so I'd say lemon zest.

7. Do you have any major food allergies?
Not like some people do. Nothing like strawberries, peanuts or shellfish. I have issues with anything with a lot of fat (fried foods) or green peppers but it's not like they're life threatening.

8. Is there an ingredient that you would like to cook with, but are intimidated to try?
Maybe risotto or fish sauce? Or a couple different spices, cumin for example.

9. Do you bake?
I am an excellent baker. Baking comes naturally to me since I love exact measurements and following recipes. I make a killer pie crust basically in my sleep even though most people think it's difficult.

10. If you could go on any “foodie” show to compete, which one would it be, and why?
I am so not ready for a competition food show it's not even funny. I love shows like Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef or Iron Chef but I am light years away.

It's beginning to look a lot like....crazy Christmas days....

I should be blogging. I mean, that's why I have a blog, right? To post entries, whether they be an account of my day, a funny story, needing advice or something else. And here I am with a self imposed hiatus in which I didn't even really know I did it.

It's nothing personal, and I bet 90% of you didn't even notice. That's perfectly fine, despite my viewpoint sometimes not EVERYTHING is about me. :-) But life has been a little topsy turvy over the last month or so. When we last left off I was choosing a new dress for a wedding we went to. The problem here is that most pics of me were not taken w/my camera so I can't show you the final result. There is this one though, taken a little too close and it makes my arms look huge, but there you go.

We had an amazing time, boogied on the dance floor and managed to get into a fight over trying to find the hotel. Seriously, the two of us + two different GPS systems does not = a good time. But once we arrived to the hotel we were fine.

//

We did manage to finally have our housewarming party, this would be the biggest reason for my absence. Who knew throwing a housewarming party in the 1st week of December would be so much work? This means getting all your holiday decorations up before the party (minus the tree) and right after getting home from Mexico. I took off the week after our Thanksgiving vacation to prep for the party and that's probably the smartest idea I've had in a while. More and more people RSVP'd, and I think the final count was around 40 people. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off for a while but I think the end results came out nicely.

Our staircase

The front room fireplace

Then of course we started prepping for Christmas. There was oodles of shopping every weekend (in the far early morning). Am I the only one who hates shopping during Christmas time? There are too many people around and I tend to lose it. The only way M got me out an about to some of the more popular spots is because we showed up right when the place opened.

But on top of this I had to organize our company holiday party, the white elephant gift exchange (because it wouldn't make sense to have them at the same time) and then surprise! I realized I had not finished all the knitting I promise people every year. Now I'm a knitting machine and freaking out over the time left.

//

M has left for his family house today for Christmas since despite our long term status we're not married and do not share our holidays. I'll head up to my family's tomorrow and I'll attempt not to strangle anyone. Something about being around your family brings that out of people. :-)

But before M left, we had our own Christmas on Tuesday. We toured the new neighborhood looking for holiday lights and even went through the other close neighborhoods where we almost bought houses seeing if theirs were more festive. The verdict being that some of them were better, but ours is pretty good for a first year decorating project. Next year expect better things from us. Hehe.

But we exchanged gifts before we went to bed. M got me this treble clef from Pottery Barn I had been eyeing a few weeks back along with this wine label serving tray since I've been saving labels pretty much since we started dating. The best part though were the "santa" gifts. Although there were a few nice things in my stocking (pedometer, candy etc) Santa brought me this gorgeous piece of machinery!!!:
It's the Kitchen Aid professional stand mixer (in empire red) that I've been coveting for the longest time. Apparently he bought it before I even officially put it on my Christmas list. I cannot wait until I get to use the thing, although I've already put it up in the kitchen. I feel like it needs a name, but nothing stands out as of yet.

Now since everyone is busy with holiday festivities...what is your favorite part? And what stresses you out the most?

If I knew then what I know now...Tweetyour16yearoldself

I don't usually get into the trending topics on Twitter, but this latest one "tweetyour16yearoldself" struck a little bit of a chord with me. When I was 16, I kind of had life by the horns. Of course at the time I didn't know it, but then again that's when things were more simple. Here were some of the things I wish my 16-year old self knew:

• That itch you had to break up? Listen to it & do it when you're still calling the shots.
• All that self-confidence you had? Try like hell to keep it as you get older.
• The tweezers is your friend, the Brooke Shield's look is OVER.

And most importantly:

• Spend more time w/g. gma, & pay better attention when she teaches you how to knit...again.

I wish I had listened to my g. gma more when I was 16. I was too busy being a social butterfly and rolling my eyes when she had something to tell me. It wasn't until soon before her death that I really let the knitting & crocheting instructions sink into my head and I'm forever happy it did.

What should you say to your 16-year old self?

Victoria's Secret, I'm sorry but my breasts are not that big.

To continue where we left off, last weekend I went shopping for dresses for tonight's wedding. As usual I felt a little like goldilocks, things either didn't fit right or in person they didn't have the same appeal. I found one dress that I put on hold, a little black sparkly number (and yet not one of the ones I showed previously) that definitely had the ability to be worn again. But there was something about it that didn't have me super excited like I should be.

So I headed downstairs to yet ANOTHER dress department in Nordstrom. Seriously, how many departments do they need? I always get turned around there. Anyway...this is where I found THE DRESS.

This is the one, but my dress is in navy. I put it on and at first it seemed a little bland to me, but M was convinced this was it. That's when I figured it out...it was too long. The designer (Mark & James by Badgley Mischka) thinks every woman is 6 feet tall so it was hitting my knees. A quick call to the alterations department had the hem ready to be shortened and a little tuck at the zipper and we were good to go. You know, until I saw the price tag. Cue eyes bulging and a slight amount of hyperventalating until I calmed myself down. I remembered I had a large gift card that would bring it down to reasonable levels. Thank goodness for that. Pair the dress with some strappy silver heels and some purply nail polish on my toes and I'm good to go.

It's actually darker purple than this.

I went to pick it back up on Wednesday when the alterations were done and at the same time needed to pick up a new strapless bra. This is where I decided the only thing worse than shopping for new jeans is a new bra. I know some people say bathing suits, but this was just lame.

Confidential: my breasts are not any kind of crazy size. I've had small ones for most of my life and can go braless no problem. Last year or so I gained a little bit of weight and I went up to a 34B and I was happy. Normal sized boobs.

Logically when I started shopping and a sales girl came over I told her 34B, right? I grab a couple different ones, heading into the dressing room and surprise! None of them fit right. Some the band was too small (hello weight), some the cups were overflowing. The poor sales girl comes to check on me and I'm babbling like an idiot stating "either my boobs grew or these sizes are crazy!" She wants to measure me just to make sure. Cue sighs on my end.

"Your band size is right, but I think you need a bigger cup size. Let me get you a C"

*blinks*

Umm...ok.

Surprisingly these fit like a glove. Maybe my boobs grew?

I pick a bra and head to pay and thankfully it's less than the dress. But no, I'm not done feeling crappy. I head over to Victoria's Secret.

Victoria's Secret normally isn't so bad. Most the bras I buy are from there and they're comfy plus kind of cute/sexy depending on what I'm wearing that day. So I thought, "hey, I saw a pink cheetah strapless online, let's try that on".

I start the process again. Talk to the sales girl, she wants to size me and says I'm a 34B. Let's go to the dressing room.

Surprise! This one doesn't fit. Salesgirl gives me the next cup size up.

Double surprise! This one doesn't really fit either. Band size is fine, but that little bit between your breasts is far enough out that I can put a few pencils in there.

Me: "Umm...I don't think this fits either".

Salesgirl: "No way, it fits perfectly."

Me: "Do you see this" *points*

Salesgirl: "Oh, it's supposed to be like that."

NO IT IS NOT!

Me: "Hmm, I think I need to think about this a little more."

*walks out*

*end scene*

There was no way I was going to buy a 34D - and if you've seen me you'd know there's no way in hell my boobs are that big. Thanks Victoria's Secret for making me feel fat.

But on another note...I hope to have wedding pics soon enough. We head up tonight, should be fun!

This girl needs a little fashion help

There are times when a girl just needs a shopping partner. Unfortunately I'm going solo on Sunday so maybe you guys might be able to help? I have a wedding next Friday for one of my girlfriends and I have a few dresses I'll be searching for when I head to Nordstrom.

There's this little navy number. Classy with a little bit of fun beading around the waist. I think it's made out of shatung.

This grey/black sparkly dress caught my eye in the catalog. Sassy and could be worn many times over throughout the holidays. It's the spendiest of them all but I do have a pretty good gift card to put down as well.

Classic black with a bow at the waist and a little sparkle on the bottom.

Another classic black dress but with little ruffles all over. Could be used for all kinds of occasions.

Pretty in pink, very soft & feminine. Romantic, wedding & all.

Hello silver! I like the style of this dress, also have one in this style but casual & super colorful.

I think the coloring of this dress could look good on my super pale skin. The way it gathers might hide imperfections as well.

For something completely different, the beading on top is beautiful. It might be a little shapeless, but flowy. I'm not entirely sure.

Another classic black, do you see a theme? But all the sparkly lines might be fun.

Finally, for something a little crazy...over at Express.

Help me out fashion experts, I'm going in blind on Sunday.

Home is where...you eventually decide on furniture.

It's been far too long since my last post, I apologize for that. It doesn't seem like much, but the things that have been going on in the last month have kind of flipped my entire world upside down.

M and I moved into the house on September 11th and despite the ominous significance of that date it's gone very well. Not only were we moving into a new place, this was the first time we have lived together. Up until then we would stay together every night, alternating the location (his apt or mine) but this is a bit of an adjustment. Not necessarily a bad adjustment, but an adjustment no matter what.

Things are good between us.There are little things that drive me & him crazy, like where he insists all our boxes need to be unpacked within a month of our move-in date. Or how the counter is always sticky because I missed a spot. Or that I can't quite figure out when to watch the TV shows on the DVR that he has no interest in. But considering these are the main issues we have I think we're doing pretty well. Everything revolves around this house right now, which is why I can't find time to blog. I haven't really had my laptop up when I'm sitting on the couch.

There's all kinds of expenses as well, you don't think about these when you're planning. Or is that just me? We needed a lawn mower...then a new TV. A bedroom set and couch are on the list to purchase sometime soon. And down the line we'd like to redo the deck and eventually the kitchen cabinets. Whoever said that houses are money pits was definitely correct.

However I am looking forward to decorating. There's a little bit of friction between the two of us because we don't have the same styles, and trying to find a common theme is difficult. We need to figure out paint colors because despite the "move-in ready" status I cannot live in 32487 shades of brown. But the promise of ideas has me content until we take the plunge.

Same thing with pets. We will get them when we're ready. I say I'm ready right now but M insists at least our boxes should be unpacked before we do so. Plus, we have some stand-in pets for now. Fred & Ginger are tree frogs that hang out on our front door/window.

Ginger

Fred

And this weekend I realized we have a woodpecker marking his territory. The damn thing pecks not more than 3 feet from my head outside on the gutters. Research shows unfortunately that I can't just buy a shotgun and shoot the thing because they are protected. But there's a few solutions that might work. Most of them sound crazy but hopefully we'll get it right on the first try.

Leave the drama for your momma

Last I mentioned about the house was that the inspection was coming up, so let's just fast forward and say it passed. It actually passed with pretty flying colors which is a major plus. The problem now is that moving day has come up super fast and we will be fully in the house tomorrow afternoon. Am I ready? Of course not. Packing is kicking my butt and all the stress that goes along with it.

A lot of the things I have in my apartment are from my great grandmother's house. She passed away a few years ago and to this day it's still hard. She was like a 2nd mother to me, and I lived with her until she died. So when I moved out I took a lot of stuff with me because I had such an emotional attachment to everything. Things that I didn't even particularly love, things that I found to be ugly, whatever. They all stayed with me because I couldn't part with them. But I am determined to get rid of a good chunk of them...the Goodwill will appreciate them and they'll go to a good home. At least that's what I thought when I started. Last night after every glass I wrapped up I found myself sobbing. Grief hits you in the strangest of ways, no matter how long it's been since you lost someone.

It doesn't help either that I've been under significant stress. Moving stresses me enough, but my family is bringing the drama as well. It's all well intentioned, but my mother & grandmother are freaking out because M and I are moving in together and I don't have a ring on my finger. I know it's old fashioned and I know they are just being momma bears protecting their most precious cub of the family...but it's driving me crazy. I know he has plans and engagement will happen when we're ready for it but in the meantime I don't appreciate feeling like I'm openly defying their wishes. I swear, best intentions drama is the worst kind.

But you know what almost makes this all worth while? This pantry.
I'm so excited to organize this thing, OCD tendencies FTW!

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance." -Bern Williams

Summertime is...

Corn on the cob

Floating in the lake / Sitting by the pool

Strawberries & blueberries

BBQs

Vacations

Iced tea

and most of all....BIRTHDAYS.

I don't know about you and your family/friends, but summer is called "the season of going broke" in our family because of the sheer number of birthdays. It starts in June and doesn't end until September, and until the last few years we used to have a party pretty much every weekend. It's a little exhausting.

But my birthday in particular, is very significant. July 23rd, is home to birthdays for two different great uncles, a step-grandmother, M's new niece and myself. I welcome M's niece w/open arms because this is a pretty special day to be born. :-)

This year the day was pretty packed. I made the executive decision to work that Friday and we had a BBQ at the office. In addition one of my coworkers made me angel food cake with berries & whipped cream because she knew how much I enjoy it. I was able to cut out a little early and head to the hospital with M to see the new addition to his family. She's beautiful and healthy and absolutely perfect.

Of course we needed to cut our visit a little short because we had plans to go to dinner that night at John Howie Steakhouse. If you live in the Seattle-area you've probably heard of the new mall area called the Bravern, it's home to such famous stores as Hermes, Anthropologie, Jimmy Choo as well as many other high end stores. But what's special about chef John Howie is that he already has an awesome restaurant called Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar. I have been to the steakhouse once for happy hour and their happy hour food is tops.

We decided to check out their full menu this time and they definitely did not disappoint. But the best part? M totally surprised me! We had planned to go (just the two of us) and when we checked in they told us some of our party were waiting in the bar. Turns out he invited a bunch of our friends! He can never keep secrets from me so I was so thrilled.

The following weekend was my grandfather's & brother's birthdays, so we celebrated with brunch on Sunday for my grandfather and dinner the next night at this tiny Mexican joint that my little brother loves. Thankfully this weekend will be a little quieter, we have a pass until the next one. Instead we're headed to a Mariner's game on Saturday and out to Seafair on Sunday. Please wish us luck that it doesn't rain like it's supposed to this weekend, Seafair is much more fun when it's not raining.

So tell me...what are your big plans this weekend? And most importantly, what signals to you that it's summer?

They say it's your bday (HIATUS)

Hi everyone! I'm taking a quick hiatus because there's some craziness going on in my neck of the woods. Today is my birthday along with the arrival of M's sister's new baby so there is plenty of celebrating to go around. Tomorrow we're headed up to the lake for a day of relaxation that cannot come fast enough.

Oh! You know the house hunting from the last post?!?! We picked one!!
I am so excited. The inspection is on Monday so if everyone can please cross their fingers that all goes well I would appreciate it. If/when that's finished the closing date is Aug. 25th.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone, I'll be back soon!

Moving up...eventually

I have to say, house hunting is an exhausting process. In my last post I mentioned how we've been looking since October. We were prepared and did a lot of research, even pinpointing the city and neighborhoods we'd love to put down roots. But trying to make this happen is a whole different ballgame. We loved the first house we looked at, but of course didn't want to put an offer on it because it was THE FIRST HOUSE and isn't that a big no-no? But we figured at least we knew what we really wanted and kept looking. Then the "perfect" house came on the market, we fell in love with it and found ourselves dreaming about it...then someone else put down an offer and bam! it was off the market.

Just like a new relationship...you fall head over heels with someone, but then they break your heart and there you are picking up the pieces when it hurts so bad. It makes it hard to love again because your guard is up and it's going to take some serious effort to knock it back down.

There was another house, what we've dubbed the "kitchen house" because this kitchen makes you so giddy and in love and wanting to have it's little kitchen babies. In reality the downstairs is amazing and perfect for entertaining, there's a great backyard and you think that's it. But the upstairs needs serious work, the master bath & closet will need to be completely redone and the owner is asking way too much money for the thing.

So we sat. We did all kinds of research on this house, the owner and why he didn't want to bring his price down. The word divorce was thrown around and after reading Dooce's posts on the crazy lady they bought from it made me almost run away screaming. But the kitchen, the beautiful kitchen with the sub zero fridge, the separate freezer, the double oven, the island that seats six.

...

Then yesterday we saw a different house. I was wary, thought "eh, I see so many things I'd like to change". But it's priced to sell, and those around here go within a week. And after spending almost an hour and a half touring the house I tentatively started warming up to it. The layout is perfect, the high vaulted ceilings, the master bedroom, the laundry chute, even the backyard. I want to get excited, but I'm so timid, worried my heart is going to get ripped out again.

Dream kitchen vs. decent kitchen w/amazing pantry
Landscaped backyard vs. larger slightly noisy backyard
Mirrored closets vs. california closet walk-ins
Xmas tree bay window vs. cascading staircase

Is one better? What can you upgrade for cheap and what's going to cost an arm and a leg to change? My head hurts. People normally get a starter home for their 1st but we're looking for a house we can settle down in. Put down roots, raise children. We're going to discuss this to death. I know that if either one of these houses is not the right one it will present itself to us but I don't know how much more I can handle. Pro-con lists will be my friend tonight, I can feel it. And hopefully we can both land comfortably on one side or the other.

Homeowners, how did you know your place was "the one"? Was there a feeling or did it take you a little time to know it was right?

"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy. Come on, Squishy. Come on, little Squishy. Ow. Bad Squishy, bad Squishy."

Sounds of water running.

Jaws dropping.

Feet hitting carpet...squishing.

Frantic phone calls.

Waiting what seems like hours, days.

Shop-vacs sucking.

Fans whirling.

Silence.

Last week my washer proceeded to flood. Well scratch that, let's start at the beginning. It all starts the same way, I start to remind M that it might be a good idea to wash his towels. He tells me that they are JUST FINE and I disagree saying they smell, which is apparently something only someone FEMALE can smell and ends with him relenting. To be nice I offer to let him use my washer & dryer because you don't actually have to pay for each use in quarters and we're on our merry way.

That is until this time. We put the towels in the washer and proceed to make dinner and once we eat I go to check on the laundry. That's when I hear water still running, see water in the bathroom and feel that squishy yucky (hot!) water under my feet. In that second I'm frozen until the only thing I can do is yell "M!!!!!" He runs for more towels, I call the emergency maintenance line for my apartments and then I wait. And wait. Stupid phone line is actually a pager so someone has to call me back. Luckily I get the call back soon but then proceed to wait until they finally show up.

But they did and were surprisingly helpful. One round of the shop-vac and them telling me how great it was that I caught the flooding early. Two days of fans drying out my carpet, I now have that sound of industrial strength fan buzzing through my ears at a moment's notice.

My poor downstairs neighbor was not nearly as fortunate. She wasn't home for most of it and the maintenance people had to poke holes in her ceiling to get the water to flow...and flow it certainly did. But we're now back to normal with no indication it happened in the first place.

Yikes, I don't know how people deal with this when they own their own home. Still wish we could find the perfect one, we've been on the search since October.

But in much happier news, have you voted for LiLu to be MTV's new Twitter Jockey?!?!


Please please vote for her, she's one of my first commenters on this blog and I love her dearly.

Back to the drawing board

weheartit

Remember my post about going gluten free? I finally made the appointment with my dr. about getting tested. The good news is that I've had that appointment and came back with some news. The bad news is that it turns out I was tested for celiac disease back when (although no one told me) and the test came out negative.

So here I am back at the drawing board. My dr. mentioned talking to a naturopath and a possibility of joining another IBS study but neither one of these options sound all that positive to me. I know nothing about naturopathy (I guess it's time to research) except that I've lumped it together with chiropractic medicine and astrology. Maybe in my research I'll find out it has some merit.

Now the IBS study makes me feel like I'm grasping at straws. I've done one of these studies before and the only benefit I received was a little cash and a boyfriend I realized was horrible for me. I should be more positive about this, I mean my company does clinical trials all the time but the first study left such a bad taste in my mouth that I'm not sure.

The only upside to all this is that I had a beer last night and didn't feel crappy afterward, so maybe it's not necessarily the gluten thing. If and when I get to Oktoberfest in Germany I won't be dying. :-)

Do any of you have experience with seeing a naturopath? Did it work? Was it pointless?

I'd like a little cracker with my cheese & wine

Something I haven't really written about in this blog are my health issues...well, one really. And that is the problem of the all the time stomach ache. I've had this issue since I can remember, starting from having a colic as a baby and here I am, almost 29 years old and still barely have an idea what causes it.

To say it's frustrating would be an understatement. I've gone through countless tests, semi-diagnosis of IBS and even clinical trials in hopes to figure out what causes it all. But it wasn't until I started working at a company that is filled with doctor types that thought maybe...just maybe...I have celiac disease.

I still haven't made an appointment with my dr. because apparently the only time they are closed is when I can call, but I'm going to get there soon. In the meantime though I've been working on going gluten free. You know, to see if it makes a difference.

But you know what the hardest thing is? Finding a decent gluten free cracker. So far I like the Blue Diamond "Nut Thins", but they do not have the consistency of a good cracker. Really, I want a tasty cracker to put stinky cheese on while I have a glass of wine, so anything that resembles a water cracker is tops in my book.

So readers, do you have any suggestions? Have you gone gluten free? And if so, what are your go-to alternatives? Carbs are my downfall, pasta, bread, (beer) you name it. I was shocked to see that even soy sauce has gluten in it so my mind is a little upside down at the moment. Throw in the fact that both mine & M's grandparents come from wheat farms and there you go...brain exploded. ;-)

Administrative Professionals' Day

I started my trek into the working world by working at my grandfather's truck rental business at the age of 14. I didn't want to babysit and at 14 there's only a few options you have to make money, the family business being the top of the heap. So I sat in the office putting together rental contracts (and screwing off, let's be honest) with one of my cousins during the summer for 2 years. This was the best job and the worst all rolled into one, but I learned many lessons there. Like these:

• When you work, you may end up with the worst boss EVER. I love my grandfather, but he is horrible to work for. And the fact he paid me 85% of minimum wage because that's all he was required to still irks me to this day.

• You will have to work with some seriously strange people - and put up with all their quirks. One of his employees was schizophrenic, one was nice w/a cute butt and all couldn't aim when using the bathroom.

Throw in a couple other things like learning how to make a decent cup of drip coffee & how to deal with problematic customers and it started me on my way for real jobs. I later left this business to work as a receptionist in a hair salon (what a fun job despite not paying well at all) and a few other interesting places.

Now what I've learned is there are some people who have never heard of Administrative Professionals Day. There are some people who have only heard of this day as Secretary's Day (did you see The Office last week?). There are some people who may have heard of this day but don't think it's a real holiday or that there's no need to celebrate. This is not a story of those that don't, this is a story of those that do.

Up until now I have not had a single company celebrate this holiday. I've worked in various positions that somehow fall under the umbrella of admin professionals and quite frankly I've always written it off as yet another day where people undervalue the position. You get to that point where if you don't expect anything, you will not be disappointed when nothing happens.

Then something does...and you're pretty much blown away.

I came into work on Wednesday to see the most beautiful flowers on my desk and a card that simply said "Thanks for all of your help." The woman who started a few weeks earlier had put them there and my eyes almost welled up in tears. Then later a meeting request came through stating "We are toasting Cass w/a wine and cheese party. Attendance mandatory." This meeting request came through as post dated for the previous Monday because most the people in my office have a little problem with Outlook. ;-) And during this meeting there was a card signed by everyone and a $100 gift card to Nordstrom.

Maybe blown away was an understatement. To know I'm valued where I am now finally makes everything click. I stayed at my last job for far too long and w/o getting laid off I know I'd probably still be there, still miserable.

If you've seen Up In the Air w/George Clooney this is his key phrase:

"Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now. And it's *because* they sat there that they were able to do it."

Cheesy? Yes. Probably going to get you punched in the face if you say it to someone you let go? Yes. But something about that sat with me when I was watching it. Because for some people it really is true. I was lost when I first got laid off, but a few months later I found a company that I like, that does great work and values me as an employee. How many people can say that?

What happens in Vegas...gets very delayed.

I have been stuck in a writer's block situation for quite a while now.
It all started because I was planning on posting about my Vegas trip
but I didn't want to post w/o including a few pictures. Cut to it
being about a month ago and there you go. Here's what I've learned:

The new City Center area is freaking amazing. We stayed at Aria which
was beautiful and not smokey. The wonder of dating a guy who
specializes in designing HVAC systems means I know all the little
details. His company designed for the hotel & it's supposed to stay
that way.

The food in the City Center was fantastic, I had the best scallops (w/
braised oxtail no less!) & cocktails at a place called Sage. I wish I
could eat there every day for the rest of my life & would consider
going back to Vegas just for it.

I sometimes forget that not everywhere is like Washington with their
antismoking laws. Here you can't smoke indoors and have to be at least
50 feet away from doors. Not so much the case there. Let's just say my
nose was sensitive.

We went to Ghostbar one night which was pretty (view wise) because you
know why? There was a thunder & lightening storm which every bolt lit
up the sky. I wish I caught that on camera.

Oh! We saw O while we were there! Crazy flips in a pool, then the pool
disappeared, and it was back again! Definely something I'd see again.

All in all Vegas was decent but unless there's a set purpose I don't
need to return. And no impromptu weddings to mention on my part. :)

So tell me people, where's your fav place in Vegas?