It's becoming real

While I still can't believe that I'm actually going on a vacation in less than 48 hours, it is becoming more and more real.

Some numbers for you:
97 - percentage of packing I've completed (as of Friday)
19 - current temp in Minneapolis
6 - inches of snow we are to expect today (it's been snowing all morning/afternoon)
73 - current temp in Honolulu
1 - stop between Minneapolis and Honolulu (in Denver)

There is a huge storm coming across America Tuesday night into Wednesday... it's not supposed to effect any place I will be, but I will kill somebody if it has any impact on my flights.

I don't like marshmallows

That's really about it.  

I was watching a vlog that Harley did and she was commenting on how when she comes to America (she lives in Ireland) she wants to try s'mores.  Apparently they don't have Graham crackers over there!  Anywho - when I go camping and my friends are all munching away on the gooey s'mores, it makes me feel all icky inside.

I don't like marshmallows.  eww.

Frame Project

I have this window frame that my mom gave me several years ago that she told me I could use for pictures.  It's a 6 panel window frame, so she thought it'd be good for getting 6 of my photos up on my wall (I'm super bad about getting my favorites printed and/or framed).  I agreed and took the frame not knowing completely what I wanted to do with it.

Over the summer I decided I wanted to take action and at least get the frame stained to a good color, then figure out what pictures I wanted to print and what sizes they needed to be.

(sorry for the lame cell phone photo)

In November I gots to thinking about how maybe this could be used as something more than just a photo display, but still a photo display as well.  So I opened up my Photoshop and made myself a little mock-up of what this frames structure was - and started filling in the blanks.  I just grabbed a few images of mine, not necessarily the exact ones I want to use (I may want to explore some Hawaii options).

I thought this could be a cute/fun thing to hang in a kitchen of a place we lived together - 

I wanted to keep some photos and I had the idea to make a cork board out of all the wine corks I had been saving over the years - in addition to that I had a decal that says I {heart} Minneapolis that I wanted to stick on a piece of glass in there.  Anyhow - this is what I came up with:

Actually this isn't exactly what I came up with, but one of the things I ended up with - in this case it would involve taking out one of the inside frame pieces and making the cork board section larger.  You can buy chalkboard paint, so that's the chalkboard part (I was running all my ideas by Steve, so I obviously had to add cute little notes to him).  He threw back the idea of replacing the chalkboard with a white board, as they also make white board paint.

So then I played around a bit and thought maybe having a larger section for writing (chalkboard/whiteboard), would be better... and then I show you this:

Well, that is fine and dandy... but it kind of takes away from the cork part of it.  Now, in all honestly and the age of smart phones, having a cork board doesn't really make a lot of sense to me - I don't write many hand written notes anymore and I couldn't think of what else I'd want to post on it - but really I wanted to have a larger section of cork because I think it looks cool.  So then I was like - well, I don't NEED to put that I Love Mpls decal on it's own pane; how else can I work it?  I came up with this:

Why not put the decal on the white board?!  Duh.  This allows me to have a large white board and a large cork board.. and I can still stick a couple of my favorite shots in there.

So, obviously these are Photoshop creations and it's yet to become a reality, but it's something that I really need to begin thinking about again.. because I simply don't want this frame laying around forever!

Which of these grab you?  Any ideas that I haven't thought of?  Do you love it/hate it?  Don't worry, I will post pictures of the final product - right now just looking for some honest feedback.

Dream House

Well - I don't remember the last update I gave you guys on the house hunting but I think it was left off as Steve put in an offer.  After some back and forth (aka counter offers) - buyer (Steve) and sellers finally agreed upon an offer!  Contingent inspection, the house was to be his!  The inspection was this past Monday.. and it went very well - so Steve signed his life away and the closing is to be at the end of February!  Fucking exciting as shit people!

Now that it's all but final - I figured I would take a few moments to show you this beauty of a house Steve was lucky enough to snag! I did steal some of the shots from online, but some are from one of the times we viewed the home.

You walk in the side door and up into the kitchen and see this:

Another view of the kitchen

From the kitchen you walk into the formal dining room:

Another view of the dining room:

In the dining room looking back towards the kitchen (kitchen has a swing door, shown here on the right.  Door on left is a 'broom closet')

From the dining room you go into the living room:

Off both the living and dining rooms there is a door leading out to a front sun porch:

The porch and front door

You walk up the stairs:

and find 2 full bedrooms and one room without a closet (they have to call it a nursery as it can't be a 'bedroom' without a closet and it's pretty small too)

Nursery

master bedroom

Second upstairs bedroom

Also upstairs you have a bathroom... but not just any bathroom... ready for this?

Yes indeedy - it's all pink.  Pink toilet, pink sink, pink tub, floor, walls... Steve plans this to be the first thing to go - he wants to keep it classic to match the charm of the age of the home, but feels the pink needs to go.  I will be helping in that DIY project and will post blogs about it.  

Moving right along - there is a half finished basement.  When you walk down the stairs there is a decent sized closet:

future wine cellar?  I think so!

There is also a living room down there with a bedroom:

A bathroom with a shower only (upstairs bathroom only has a tub, shower will be added right away in some form):

And a little area for laundry:

So... the home was built in 1923, it has 3 official bedrooms and a nursery, it has 2 baths, a 2 car (plus some extra room for a workbench or something) garage, and the entire home has been kept in great shape.  It's so clean ... and just simply beautiful!  All the old wood reminds me of the house I grew up in and now, as an adult, I just love the character in older homes!

I need to start packing - turns out I have a lot of stuff.  

To Do or Not To Do

On my way into work this morning I was thinking about my upcoming trip, obviously, and thinking about bringing some things for my hair.  Once upon a time, when my hair was longer, I used to wear scarves in my hair; I'd put them at the top of my head and tie them under my hair in back, so it looked like a headband and there was some of the pretty scarf hanging out the back - the only picture I could find online of what I mean is this:

I absolutely love wearing these in my hair and I tend to go on streaks of wearing them all the time... then not wearing them at all.  So I was thinking Hawaii would probably be the perfect place to rekindle my romance with head scarves.

Then I got to thinking about one time, in high school, I was given instructions on how to wear a do-rag (durag/doorag/du-rag - however you want to spell it) - and it was also explained as to why it's worn.  Let me show you a popular example of what I'm talking about:

You may remember him from such popular films as Napoleon Dynamite?

So... the point, as explained to me, of a do-rag is to create waves in hair - now, without sounding too judgmental or racist here - this doesn't work on the hair of... Caucasians.  It can also be worn to simply protect a hairstyle of braids or something of the sort.  Again, this was how it was explained to me in high school.

So yeah - this is an example of my brain and how it works... I start by thinking about my beautiful head scarves and end up wondering if I should go buy some do-rags to bring to Hawaii.

What do you think?

Random v.11.01

Welcome to the first installment of my randomness bullcrap in the year 2011.  Where I simply aim to bore you.

• I've been getting rid of clothes like mad!  It's a good thing, because this new house that I'm going to be living in... the closets are not that big.  and I have a LOT of stuff.  Most of the stuff I've given to Goodwill, however, I have a few hoodies that are Triple Five Soul brand and they are just too damn nice to give away.  I can usually get a pretty penny on ebay for these as I keep my shit in mint condition and this brand is very good quality - so it lasts forever.  Anyhow - point here: I have about 4-5 Triple Five Soul hoodies that I'm going to try and sell on ebay when I get back from Hawaii... UNLESS someone reading this has any interest in buying them.  I don't have any details with me here at work other than they're Men's Medium or Large (most likely Large)... but I can certainly get you the deets if you're interested.  I'll give you a good deal on them.
• I can count on 2 hand, using less than all 10 fingers, the days until I leave for Hawaii.  Bob, here at work, just got back from Hawaii yesterday.  Now I get to rub it in his face for a change.
• Probably going to wait to redo my banner until I'm back from vacay - obviously!  Why wouldn't I use the pics I come back with to design a banner?  It'll be much needed as the winter won't be over yet.  However, I should learn how to mobile blog; I won't be taking my laptop with me, but that doesn't mean I can't share mobile photos with you, right?!
• I pinched a nerve in my back yesterday (I know, it's not nice to pinch)... not the greatest timing.  This morning on the way to work, it hurt to turn and check my blind spots.  If it doesn't begin to feel even remotely better by tomorrow, I'm going to my chiropractor.  He's super cute, so I don't mind going.
• I'm going to borrow some Wii games from my dad and his wifey - EA Sports Active - I'm hoping that I can begin using those and quit the gym... in effort to save the monthly gym payment and still do something for my body.  Anyone out there tried this game?  Opinion?

That's it for today - I've got some things to do today.

Reform

I don't have a ton of time to write today because I have laundry to do and things to prep for my trip (yep I'm that fucking bomb that I'm prepping a week and a half before my trip) - actually... hold the phone, let me pee and throw in a load of laundry before I sit here and type - TMI, I know.
6 minutes later... it's funny, I say brb but in the world of blogging, you don't really know that I left, huh?  stupid.

Ok - so I'm doing a blogging reformation of sorts.  The other day I posted some of my most random thoughts to you from past blogs and it got me thinking about how my blogging style has changed over the years.  Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I kind of want to try and get back on track with what I used to be.  I never used to blog my day to day life and as of late, in below zero temps, there isn't much of a day to day life going on.
So while I may lose some followers because I say words like fuck, retard, and gay (yep, and I'm not ashamed of it) - I'm okay because if someone really wants to read my blog in the first place, they'll be okay with who I am, the words I use, and things I do.  I'm going to live with my boyfriend and we're clearly not married - while I probably won't share deeds of my sex life here because boyfriend wouldn't approve, it's obvious that we'll be sleeping in the same bed.

I don't want to censor who I am just because I blog.  I am what I am and that's all that I am, yo.

So that's that.  I'd love for you all to stick around, but I understand if some of you can't deal with my lifestyle and the choices I make.  It's been real, for real.  While I'd really like some of you stalkers to come out of the woodwork and say hello - I simply don't care anymore; if you don't want to be my friend that's fine.  I'll go private one day and you won't be able to read anymore.

One quick little bit of life I'd like to share with you is my morning - I cleaned my grandma's apartment this morning and she asked me if I wanted to go to lunch afterwards - of course I agreed.  Even if I hadn't wanted to, I would have said yes because you just don't say no to grandma!  At lunch grandma was telling me stories about the past and how life has changed to much since she was young.  Obviously I know this - hell, things have changed since I was younger.
I never met my grandpa - he died when my dad was young and my whole life I've always wished I could have at least met him.  I always think about one question I'd want to ask him ... I just have a huge desire to know the person who I'm a part of.  Nothing I can do about it, I know.
My grandma was talking about how she used to be an alcoholic - not a secret in our family as she's overcome it with flying colors and been sober for 31 years - one thing that she said I few times was that if she had the guts back then, she'd have left my grandpa.  It kind of made me want to cry because I have this super high opinion of who he was and, you know, you put people you've never met on a pedestal... well, his pedestal started to crumble when she said that.

She wasn't making him out to be a bad man, but he was addicted to his job and never romanced her.  On the weekends it was always going up north to the lake and him hanging with the guys while she took care of the kids, never a weekend away just the two of them.  Never bought her flowers or little things to show appreciation for her - and she raised 4 kids, essentially alone.  Back then, it was the womans job to raise the children, so... it's not completely absurd.  It just struck me as sad, sad for my grandma, living a life with someone who didn't truly make her happy.

So - I'm not sure the point of this other than... just to say that happiness is hard to come by and you should always show appreciation for the one you love.  Even a small gesture will go a long way.
Sometimes though, life just sucks.  Don't forget to find your happiness!

I figured it out

I know why I had that dream the other night...

Quickly: at work we are in the process of converting to new accounting software - and there is this dude, I call him the software guy, and for our immediate purposes the software guy he shall remain.  well this guy has a lot of the same mannerisms of the ex... you know, not the ones you loved, but the ones that bothered you.  I find myself focusing on it a lot.  It annoys me.
The software guy was here on Tuesday, all day, the dream happened Tuesday night.  Makes complete sense, ya?

That is all.  Thank you.

Dreams

I had a dream last night... a bad dream.  Not so much a nightmare in that it didn't have monsters or I didn't wake up scared - but a bad dream meaning it was something I didn't want to think about.  Something that made me feel uncomfortable.  Something I left in the past.  It was about an ex.

I suppose with all the big changes coming in mine and Steve's relationship, it could be normal?  By no stretch of the imagination do I still want to be in a relationship with that person - as a matter of fact - I can't believe I ever did.  I seriously thought that I wanted to marry that guy - and maybe people change - so maybe he was who I thought he was at the time?  Most likely not.   Our relationship was destined to end; have you ever read that one poem type thing: Reason, Season, or Lifetime - it's about how some people come into your life for a reason, season, or a lifetime - you learn and grow from them, whatever, thats the point of it.  I'm convinced this person was there for a reason - I did learn a lot in the relationship, so I have that, but it would have never worked.

It was a long distance relationship too, so why the fuck I thought that could work is beyond me.  Why should I move to be with a guy - just because you have a job, doesn't mean I'm the one that should move; I have a job too.  
That is one thing I cherish daily about the relationship I have with Steve; I get to see him everyday, if I want.  I often times sit and wait for him to come pick me up and can't help but think to myself I'm so lucky he lives so close to me.  I can plan things with him and not have to worry about flights or taking time off work.  We can drive 2 hours to Duluth just for a malt or we can lounge on the couch and watch a movie - any.time.we.want.  I love it; I love him.

I digress; the dream, it really had me all fucked up this morning.  I don't necessarily believe that people's dreams mean something but I can't help but wonder why the hell it happened.  Kind of like if you have a dream that you killed your parents, you would most likely wonder why you had that dream, right?  Don't worry I don't dream shit like that, I'm just sayin'.

It just made me feel all icky and my blog is a place I can get rid of icky.  So there you go.

A plug, an update, and some random

A website plug, not a butt plug or anything crazy like that..
A good friend of mine has started a recipe website - Dinner with Ease - if you like cooking and want to try out some new recipes, follow her - she's been on a posting spree!  She is a wife and busy mother of 3 children, so I think she has the cooking thing down (I actually know from experience that she does!)  Anywhos - check it out and maybe learn a thing or two; who couldn't use a new recipe?!

Update: on the home front.  As I told you a few weeks ago, Steve is looking for a home to buy.  He's been pretty much super awesome and asked me to come along to everything from First Time Home Buyers classes to looking at each home with him - it's been a lot of fun and super informative for me.  Well, on Monday Steve put an offer in on a beautiful home built in 1923!  It's so full of character and has been very well kept - beautiful woodwork and hardwood floors... amazing!  Currently waiting   Anyhow, just wanted to share the bit of fun/exciting news with you - obviously I'll keep you posted.

I was thinking the other day about how I used to blog.  My random blogs were seriously... random - this was more when I was blogging to a certain audience and since then, I've change a bit to blog for my current audience, you!  Anyhow - I wanted to share some snip-its of the random posts that once upon a time were posted on myspace and copied and pasted when I started this blog:

**I love to have my window down, but I drive by the dump in Elk River everyday and not only does it stink something fierce but there are always trucks in and out, up and down on Hwy. 169. I had several huge rocks hit the windshield on my van, a couple even put a chip in it. What if those rocks came in my rolled down window and took out my eye?!

**Have you ever thought about what would happen if you are driving... you are wearing sunglasses (or regular glasses)... and your airbag (assuming you have one) deploys?! Would those glasses break leaving shards of glass or plastic in your eyeball?

**Does anyone know what is on the other side of the world… directly across from wherever you are?! 

**Last night I met up with the most amazing guys friends near me- we went to "All-You-Can-Eat Crab Legs" (YUM-O!!), no big deal, I shouldn't be tired from that... well I had a few glasses of wine and 5 plates of crab legs- i probably should have stopped at 2 glasses of wine and 4 plates of crab legs. {NOTE: the most amazing guys friends near me <--Steve was one of those people}

**I am sitting at work, I am very tired from lack of sleep this weekend and all I keep thinking about is laying my head in my desk for like 5 minutes.  So I was just having that thought, only this time I have a 3 ring binder on my desk with the rings open to take stuff out.  My head is heavy... my thought to follow was 'What if my head fell onto my desk with the rings open on this binder and my eye hooked on one?' 

**sometimes... I look up at the clouds on a sunny blue sky day and I think "Damn, those clouds really look like the clouds in the intro to The Simpsons."

**So all week, i've had to use my automatic power window, and by automatic i mean that if i push the button in the down position real quick it will roll itself down all the way.  So as i'm driving away and trying not to crash while fumbling with the deposit receipt, i would like to be able to push that same button in the up direction and have it roll all the way up.

What would you like to see?

I'm thinking it's about time for a new banner and color scheme.

Would you people like to have any input on what you see?  I'm open to anything; layout ideas, pictures on the banner itself, no pictures on the banner, colors on the blog...  I'm even willing to set up a specific photo shoot (of whatever) just for you, if you'd like!

If you don't have any ideas, that's okay too - I just thought maybe I'd open up the door to you, the people who come here and see my place.  So... hit me with your best shot, fire away ;)

RAoK

Thought I'd share a few RAoK with you all.

First of which was way back on my birthday - this was a RAoK I received.
So.. it's my birthday and I expect a lot of attention, at least from those closest to me (boyfriend, mom, dad, etc.).  After work Steve and I went out to dinner - we met at the restaurant, so we had to leave in our own cars.  As I'm driving home I get a phone call, from some unknown number - lame, I usually don't like to answer those phone calls but... since it's my birthday... I obviously do.
It's a man named Ed (last name withheld for privacy) - this man has been a part of my life... for as long as I can remember.  He has been a good friend of my dad's for years, he was in my parents wedding, and my dad has a ton of stories from before that time... so, life long friend.  A great guy, actually.  Since my parents have divorced, my mom keeps in good touch with him and when he is in town - we've been known to go out a time or two and enjoy a cocktail.  You see, Ed travels to ... everywhere ... for his job.  Different countries, states, continents!  So when I get this call I'm thinking Ed is in town... turns out he's not.  I ask where he is calling from and he tells me Bangladesh!!
He went out of his way ... in BANGLADESH to call and wish me a happy birthday!  The conversation was short and when we hung up, I teared up.  It was seriously the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me!  A little gesture, but something that made my day!

The next is just a small little thing but it was one of those things that you just know made a difference.
I'm a huge believer in holding doors for people, it's no trouble for me and it's a pretty easy thing to do to be kind to a stranger.  On Friday I was running some errands and decided to stop at the coffee shop for a latte  - as I was walking out there was a chick coming in - still pretty far away from the door yet, so I stood there and held the door for her.  She gave me one of those genuine "Thank You!"'s - where you could tell she was really thankful and surprised.  I'm pretty sure I made her day a little better and I know I walked away feeling pretty darn good about it!  Win-Win, if you ask me!

What have you done for a stranger today?  What will you do today?  What about tomorrow?
Did anyone do something kind for you over the weekend?!

Extra NYE Pictures

I forgot I had some random pictures on my camera from New Years Eve - so here is me sharing a couple with you:

Vinturi Essential Wine Aerators

Just before Christmas I logged into my credit card rewards website and realized I had just over 10,000 points that we going to expire at the end of the year.  That was a shitty feeling.  However, it meant that I got to shop for something I wanted.  With the Christmas on the way and Steve laying down a firm law of you can't buy anything for yourself this time of year, I had to look for things not on my list and hope that no one would just think to buy these things for me.  I was pissed though, because I was hoping to save those points until I could get something I really wanted (like a lens for my camera or something wicked cool and expensive).  Anyhow - I got some heads for my electric toothbrush, because they are expensive and I got a wine chilling bucket because I thought it'd be nice to have.
Then the big ticket item I picked up was a set of wine aerators - one for white and one for red.  Here is the link to these things on Amazon. 

I got them just before New Years Eve and decided to drink wine that night just to be able to test these things out!  We did a taste test on both red and white wines and overall noted a pretty significant difference in the bouquet (smell on the forefront), the taste of the wine, and the finish/aftertaste.  It was pretty cool!  These things are pretty solid too, I'm not very concerned about them breaking.

Basically these devices pull air into the wine and allow it to breathe - as wine needs to do.   It's a quick process; you pour glass by glass, and they come with neat little stands to hold them.  I would highly suggest these fancy things for any wine connoisseur, even if you just enjoy wine on an amateur level, not only will they help you enjoy the wine experience a little bit more, but they sure will make you look fancy when you host a party!

So on Amazon they are normally priced at $99, currently on sale for just under $60.  I got them for free just by charging things to my credit card.  :)  Pretty neat, huh?

Have you ever used anything like this for wine?  Did you notice a difference?  Do you want to invite me to a party now so that you can try these out? ;)

**in no way have I been compensated by Amazon or Vinturi for reviewing this product, this is solely my opinion**

Anonymous bloggers

Do you read any blogs by anonymous bloggers?  I do.
Do you want to know these people in real life?  Some I do, others not at all.

There is one blogger in particular who I really want to be friends with.  Maybe if I ask nice she'll add me as a friend on facebook?

Anyone else out there feel this way?  Why do you keep reading anonymous blogs?

Amaryllis

Have you ever seen an Amaryllis plant?  It's basically a bulb you can buy around the holiday season at say... Target or wherever, then you put it in some dirt and watch it grow.  It shoots up this tall green stem and then it starts to bloom - they say it should bloom by Christmas time, in most cases.  The blooms are large and crazy beautiful - if you're lucky enough to get one of the super bright colors, you're truly blown away.

Well, my mom buys one of these plants every year in December and we sit and watch it grow - I'm always anxious to see what color its going to be and to just be amazed by the growing process.
It's finally bloomed and last night, while I was waiting for my dinner to cook, I decided to take some pictures.  I don't like taking picture in my kitchen because the light sucks and it was already dark so natural light wasn't an option.
Here are a few I've played with ... a couple with a basic edit then a duplicate of that photo with a texture overlay.  Just trying out some new stuff....