Exciting News!

So... this is the first post from my new fancy phone, lets see how it goes.
big news to share and I'm going to be gone all weekend, more on that in a second.


First things first... yesterday I booked a trip for Steve and I to Hawaii!!!!!! You can be jealous now.


Second, I am sitting in my car in Bayfield, WI waiting to board the ferry to Madeline Island. Look it up if you don't know... cause its a bomb place! I'll be back Sunday, behave yourselves kids!

Random v.10.10

Should be very little writing today and several pictures....

First, I mentioned in this post that I decided being in boyfriends arms was more important than taking pictures of fireworks on the 4th of July.  Well, I decided that after taking a few moments to try and get some shots and I got a few decent ones that I'd like to share with you.  Fireworks are becoming my favorite thing to shoot... too bad they aren't an every weekend occurrence!

{CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE}

So that's pretty neat, right?

Now, on Saturday July 17th we celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday.  It's amazing to me that she is already 3.. and.. well... I think she is pretty amazing herself (except for the fact that I can't get her to pose for pictures anymore).  Here are some pictures of the day and a great one of her with her cake!

With her daddy (my bro):

 Gifts:

 The cake

With the cake (no idea why she posed for this, but I didn't question it!)

... and that's all I've got for today!

Reunion Planning

Crap, I am so easily distracted.  My last post, you know.. the random one, was supposed to be a rant .. or a what should I do type of post.... not at all was it meant to be random.

So, I've been out of high school for 10 years now, which usually means a 10 year reunion.  I never signed up for any of that class president stuff because I had no interests and, more so, because I didn't want to be in charge of planning a reunion.
Now with the wonderful world of Facebook, planning has become a lot easier.  So I contacted the class president and asked her what's going on, this was months ago.

By nature, I am a planner (not always my favorite role, but somebody's gotta do it).  So I tell her "let me know how I can help!"  I sincerely meant that.  So we find a venue and since no one else has stepped up to help, we decided together to book it and pick a random date in the fall, thinking that there is just no way you'll be able to make it work for everyone, so just pick it!  Then the next step was to decide on food, but first we wanted to see who else we could get to help.  No one stepped up again and I didn't hear from the Pres for quite some time.  At this point I'm feeling like I'm the only one interested in getting this thing planned.  I have no idea where to start or where to finish.

In the year 2000, new privacy laws went into effect, and we can no longer go to our high school and get contact information for everyone, which means no addresses.  How do we overcome this?  My only idea is to find a yearbook and search the internet (facebook, classmates.com, etc.) for people.  Networking is going to be huge in this.

Being that I sit in front a computer all day for work, it is easy for me to go on Facebook and create an event to get the date out to everyone.  Not only have I created a 'save the date' event on Facebook, I've created a group page for our class.  I feel that that was a great help and a fantastic place to start.

I am beginning to feel like time is running out.  Our date is 2 months out and we don't have a menu (which is essentially easy to decide on),  we've only told people on facebook, we don't have anything in place for accepting payment, we don't even know how much we need to charge.

Is any of this my problem?  No.  Do I still feel a huge amount of pressure to make sure this thing goes off without a hitch?  Yes.

Part of me wants to take a step back and say "I offered my help, but I'm not going to plan the entire thing" but the other part of me wants to kick people in the ass and say "Get off your ass and do your job!"  I'm pretty fed up.

I wanted to start planning this in the early Spring... now here we are 2 months away with nothing but a date and a venue.
Am I right to feel like throwing in the towel?

Please, I need someone to be my voice of reason.

Random v.10.9

Can you believe it's been since May that I've posted a blog with a random title?!  Last year in June I was up to volume 12 of randomness.  I'm kind of disappointed in myself.  Not enough to care though ;)

I had to do some manual labor yesterday, which I'm not entirely opposed to, because I am capable of doing it.  The sucky part is what that labor is.  I had to count hardware (nuts, bolts, screws, oh my!)  Ugh.  Inventory at my work sucks balls.  It ruins my nails and hurts my hands like you wouldn't believe.  Plus the boys here are so unorganized, I spend half my time re-organizing, only to have it destroyed again within a few weeks.
Crap.  The point was not to bitch about that... the point was that I was away from my desk all day aka away from my Google reader all day.  I came into work this morning to 35 unread in my reader!  WTF are you guys doing to me?  Maybe its my own fault for following so many blogs?!  Either way... I'm working my way through peeps, I hate having unread things in my reader!

As of late, I'm constantly paranoid about getting a migraine.  These stupid things have taken over my life, even though I haven't had one since the end of May (knock on wood, please), I think about them all the time.  {PS. I love google docs, its a friendly place for me to keep track of my migraines}

TV
Big Brother - it's begun.  It's my summer love - so far I don't know who I want to win.  Hell, I don't even know who I want to make it one more week.
Breaking Bad - Thanks to Tivo, I only have the season finale left to watch.  Does anybody else watch this show?  It's simply amazing.  If you're going to start watching it, start with season one... the character development is unbelievable.
Jersey Shore - is going to start soon... I'm such a sucker for this ridiculous show.  Their way of life intrigues me.
Glee - So late on this one... but I just finished the first half of season one.  I don't know how this aired on TV, but on DVD they have released what is called "Glee: Season 1: Volume 1" which consists of 4 discs.  However just looking that up on Netflix it appears they are releasing discs 5-6-7 in September that will be part of Season 1: Volume 1.  Then Season 1: Volume 2 has an unknown release date. I'm very confused.  Either way, I'm obsessed with this show.  I love it more than words can describe.  I should look it up on Hulu and see if I can get caught up that way; anyone else know of a way to watch Glee for free to get caught up?

I'm in love with my new phone.

This weekend is the Worldwide PhotoWalk - it's not too late to sign up for your city.

This weekend my baby niece is being baptized.  She is a little angel.  I love her.

On Wednesday night I leave for Duluth, on Thursday morning we will journey from Duluth to Bayfield, WI where we will take a ferry over to Madeline Island until Sunday.  I can't wait to be there again for a long weekend.  I love that place.  Oh, happy days!

That's it for now.

Lost Generation

Dana posted this today and I thought it was worth sharing.

The message reads forward and backward... take a moment to watch and listen, really pay attention.  It's pretty neat (and short).

Little Ditty

I've recently discovered that following a link on someones blog that leads to another blog is a pretty good idea.  I've begun a new system of reading blogs, if I find a blog I like based on one time reading (which is usually the first page of posts), I'll add it to my reader, read it for a few days or weeks.. then if I truly like it, I'll make it known that I'm reading.  That way I don't follow a blog, announce myself right away and then decide it's really not my style and never go back; I just feel like that is rude.

So... over at this blog (which I just recently started to follow) I was linked to this blog (which I just added to my reader today) and I figured filling out one of these little ditty's would add another post to my archives in a time where I feel I'm falling off the blogging spectrum.

Enjoy!

Outside my window: it's overcast.  Looks like it's going to be a mostly cloudy day :(

The time is: 7:22am

Today I feel: just okay; could have slept a bit longer.

I am thinking: about my new phone (seriously, I'm addicted)

I am going to: the gym tonight.

I am wearing: jeans and a baby-T (lol, are they even called that anymore?)

I wish: on shooting stars

I am reading: this survey as I fill it out

I am working on: this survey, rather than my actual job

I am hoping: to book our trip to Hawaii soon!

I am hearing: people in the office chattering... (we really need walls)

Around the house: is my little big cat, wishing I was home petting him

I bet you didn't know: that I absolutely hate where I work right now

One of my favorite things to do: is eat!

Meet...

the newest freshest love of my life

{via}

I went out yesterday and bought myself a new Android phone, which means is runs Google's Operating System (AT&T's Samsung Captivate).  I spent way too much time geeking out on it last night... and take a guess at how much work I've gotten done today.  None.  Very little.  I'm a dork.  I'm in love.  I'm so fucking organized it's amazing!

Sadly, I now do apps.  Which I'm pretty much over.  I always thought apps were lame until I met this beauty :)

So... jealous?  You should be!

My God, I'm so happy right now.

What shall I name her?

Buttermilk Pie

So I came across this recipe here and wanted to prove to myself that I can make something as pretty as what I see other people making...  and now I want to show you that I did!
I made this for my grandma's birthday that I quickly mentioned here.

Ready?


INGREDIENTS

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (half a stick)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
• 1 cup cold, heavy whipping cream
• 20-30 raspberries (or half as many strawberries, halved)
• A handful of blueberries

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then beat in the sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Beat in the flour and melted butter. Beat in the vanilla and buttermilk.

2 Pour filling batter into an uncooked pie shell (frozen is fine).  Note: Take care that this doesn't happen to you; I bought frozen pie crusts, probably should have bought the 'deep dish' pie crust.  The batter spilled over in both of my pies (the only advantage was giving the crust a shiny golden appearance)

Bake at 325°F for approximately 50 minutes, or until the center of the custard has just set (can still be a little wiggly). Remove from oven and let cool. The custard may puff up a bit in the oven; it will deflate as it cools.

3 Whip the chilled cream until it holds stiff peaks.

Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, spread the whipping cream over the top of the pie. 

Arrange the raspberries and blueberries in a decorative pattern on top of the whipping cream.

Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

Makes 8 serving pieces.

Most important, don't forget to have a cocktail (I picked Weed and Lemonade)

Happy Baking!

Naughty First Impression

I don't generally divulge information about my personal life, let alone my sex life (maybe at one point I did a bit more) unless it was about my B.O.B. ... but I really want to make a good first impression on this Sara girl, whose blog I've been lurking on for a few weeks now (sorry Sara, I'm finally coming out of the closet).  You see... my girl Krysten is planning a bloggy get-together in August (seriously let me know if you want to come) and we all were emailing and giving links to our blogs, so that when we meet we can kind of have an idea of who everyone is.  Well, Sara uses bad words in her blog and she is the realest bitch (self-proclaimed) on her blog; how can you not fall in love (theoretically) with that?
Today (or last night, whatever) she posted answers to some questions she was asked by another blogger... you know the tag type of blog.  Then she was to post her own questions and tagged more bloggers in it... well, I wasn't tagged but she did dare other bloggers to play along - I figure this is a good way to grab her attention.

Her questions and my answers (if you don't want to know about my sex life, stop reading now, but we all know you're gonna keep reading!):


1. At what age did you discover masturbation and how did that happen? 
In all honesty, I was YOUNG!  Like too young to even know what was happening to me, no joke.  It was a complete accident.. but I haven't stopped since.


2. What's the worst sexual encounter you've ever had? 
Besides the first time because I couldn't feel anything... the worst was trying to do it on a foosball table.  Propped up on a square corner just for fun wasn't my idea of a good time.


3. What is one thing that will get you all hot & bothered almost every time?
Love my neck kissed... 


4. What is one thing that you haven't tried sexually that you think you might want to do. Eventually.
I WILL do it behind/under a water fall.  It will be wet, it will be cold, it will be nothing like what I fantasize in my head - but I will do it.  It will be awesome.


5. If there is one thing that you would change about your partner's sexual technique- what would it be?
If I changed him he wouldn't be him... so my answer is nothing. 


6. Top or bottom? 
Bottom, it's my only chance at getting off.


7. Talking or no talking? 
I'd say no talking, but noise is good... let me know you're having a good time and like what you're feeling too!


8. Oral sex- yay or nay? 
Ummm... Hell to the YES!

My Watch

I've been wearing a broken watch since July 4th at 12:50 and 31 seconds.  I happen to know it was the afternoon 12:50 and not the middle of the night.

It reminds me of a quote that I know Tony Soprano didn't come up with himself, but I first heard it out of his mouth:

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day"

In this case it's a watch, not a (wall) clock... and it's not right twice a day, because my watch has the date on it.

I probably need to take care of this before August 4th at 12:50pm; in which case it would be right twice that day.

I LOVE Holiday Weekends!

July 4th has always been one of my favorite holiday's  - it's usually a family affair as my grandma was born on the 4th of July and we usually get together to celebrate it.  Especially having the day off of work, it always just works out.  I always keep my weekend open until I head the family plans, then plan around that.

This year we were to celebrate gma's birth on Friday the 2nd... then the rest of the weekend was free!  There was lot of things we could do, lots we talked about doing, but overall we didn't do that much... and sometimes that's okay!

Some highlights of my weekend (photos to come, soon):

• Mastering the skill if baking and making 2 Buttermilk pies for my grandma's birthday celebration
• Getting a BEAUTIFUL necklace from my amazing boyfriend
• Having a blast on Friday night; out Nordeast with good friends and great family
• Grilling sockeye salmon
• Winning $43.00 on one horse at Canterbury Park (on a $2 bet)
• Deciding that having my boyfriends arms around me during fireworks was more important than photos
• Sleeping (way) in every day!
• Getting a first coat of stain on 2 frames (and having the most important one look better than I hoped)
• Enjoying a lovely dinner with boyfriends parents (Steak, Potato, Corn on the cob)

June 2010 Photo Hunt

Click the badge to see everyone who finished!!

I'm pretty pissed off and fully disappointed in myself for the lack of effort I put into this hunt, and I missed way too many.. but here it is nonetheless.

1. Hilarious Out-Takes

2. Creative Crop

3. Sun Flare

4. Sweet Dreams

5. Work - my workspace 

6. Play - Minnesota Twins Baseball

7. Cookout/Picnic - I didn't know these people

8. Transportation - so pretty :)

9. Money/Currency

10. A Fountain

11. A Night Scene

12. B&W with Selective Coloring - Grain Belt Nordeast

13. Something Old - my flower died overnight

14. Something New - my new pink nail polish!

15. Something Borrowed

16. Something Blue - blue bracelet 

17. Something Musical - Dave playing the accordion!

18. Something Purple - new crocs

19. Something Yellow - my pajama pants

20. Something Scenic - Downtown Minneapolis from Target Field