A few things I've done

My calendar has been pretty full as of late and while the events are winding down (only to be taken over by the holiday season) I still have a few comings up:
This Thursday Steve and I are taking advantage of Restaurant Week in the Twin Cities (does your city do this? A list of restaurants offering 3 course dinners for a fixed price..) and going to The Oceanaire - I'm SO flipping excited.  not only have I wanted to check this place out for YEARS, but after the Taste event Steve and I went to a few weeks ago where I was able to sample some of their food.. it's all I can think about.  I could live off seafood if I had a better paying job.
Saturday we are going up to Duluth for a Halloween party.  I have all the supplies for my costume, but I've yet to make/put it together (you'll see next week in pictures).  I hope to take advantage of The Anchor Bar while we're up there - last time we tried to go we were barely noticed to order our food, so we left.  Bad service or no bad service, I want to eat their food.
The weekend after that, we are going to be downtown Minneapolis for my cousin's fiance's 25th birthday party.  It should prove to be a good time!

This past weekend was a shit ton of fun!  I'll share all the photos from my weekend after I tell you about it.
On Friday I planned a last minute photo shoot of my brother and his family Cayden is about 1 and a half, Jordan is 4 - and they are so damn cute!  Some of the photos have turned out so wonderful!
After that I took Jordan over to my moms place and the 3 of us went to the pumpkin patch to let Jordan play with all the stuff and ride a pony and jump in the bouncy house... she had a blast and I love watching her grow up and see how she interacts with other kids!

Saturday we ran some errands and then went home and started drinking before 5pm... and drank until midnight.  I edited photos for the most part (even though I wanted to work on my Halloween costume) and we watched The Wizard of Oz on Blu-Ray.  It was a good night, simple, low key, and I got to spend it with the man of my dreams.

Sunday we headed to the train station to make our way downtown Minneapolis to tailgate and then go to the Vikings vs. Packers game.  We got drunk, I shotgunned my first beer, the Vikings lost, but overall I'd say the day was a big WIN!  It was Steve, myself, my brother, and my girl Amanda.

Monday (yesterday) after work Steve and I headed over to my friend Abbie's house to carve pumpkins and eat dinner!  This is our second year doing this down at Abbie's house.  It was Abbie and Nick, Pam and Nick, Steve and myself, and our friend Amanda.  Pam is preggers and due in 3 weeks... this is probably the last time I'll see her before she is a mama!  I'm so excited for her - a few weeks ago her man proposed (totally forgot to blog about that)... so they are engaged as well!

What a successful few days!
From Family Photos:

I LOVE this photo

From tailgating:

At the train station

the beginning of the shotgun

Mid shotgun (I look pro; don't I?)

The end of the shotgun (my brother is slow)

Afterwards, the dude taking the picture said "Say Skol!!!" which just solidifies the fact that saying "Cheese" during a picture really is the best thing to say!  LOL, I love this picture!

At the game with Amanda

From dinner and pumpkin carving with friends:

My pumpkin

All the girls' pumpkins lit up

The girls

The group

Steve's pumpkin

I'm going to try and take some better photos of them lit up at our house tonight - so hard to see them here.

That's all :-P

The Story Of My Life, Literally.

I'm not real sure how to start this or where its going to go... so bare with me.

I'm writing to fill in some blanks based on the comments to my post yesterday.  Back in April I announced I was going to have a little brother or sister - it was in passing - no matter how much I say I'm 'at peace' with it.. it's still a hard thing for me to deal with.

Back story goes like this:
It was the summer of the year 2000, I had just graduated high school and just gotten over a case of mono from too many late nights celebrating my freedom.  I was about a month into a relationship with a boy I was sure was the one.  We had just picked up a couple of pizza's and were all set up over at a friends of his house to watch something, I don't remember what.  My phone rings and it's my dad... he's asking me to come home right away.  He tells me he's leaving and I need to come be with my mother.  I panic, I cry, I drive home in a state of confusion.

I get home to my mother, in tears and hysterical, telling me my dad has left us to be with another woman, Raquel.

I've never felt so much hurt in my life.  To this day it still hurts to talk/type about.

I took a small downward spiral  - did some drugs, drank a bit, didn't care much about anything.

As a secondary result, my still young relationship ended a few months later... I clung to him as a support system and we weren't ready for that yet.

There was a lot of back and forth over the next year - my dad came home a time or two - then left again.  Each time it hurt me a bit more and set me back in my grieving.

After a LOT of anger (including but not limited to: driving to Raquel's job and confronting her, writing lots of probably hurtful letters, and trying to give my father an ultimatum of her or me) I finally realized that I have no control over this and I'm a daddy's girl and I always will be.  I didn't know what he is going through and I couldn't even pretend that I don't love him anymore.

If I wanted to have my father in my life, I needed to figure out how the hell I was going to deal with it.  Then I needed to just do it.  I didn't have to forgive or forget, I just needed to cope.  My mother was non-stop bashing him - which I understood but I couldn't listen to anymore.  I needed to begin healing and that wasn't helping.  I asked her to stop talking to me about it.

in 2001, my parents were divorced.

I began trying to accept my dad and Raquel's relationship, even though she is 19 years younger than my dad and the way they went about entering into a relationship was wrong.  I started doing little things like spending time with them and trying to get to know her.

In August of 2003 they were married.  I was there, I drank to ease the pain, and I had my best girl Pam with me to help as well.

I made some more progress after that point and began spending more time with them as a couple.

In 2007 a new issue arises and I find myself being set back again.. I already had enough going on in my life with a long distance relationship that was getting me nowhere, I didn't need to feel all of these negative feelings again.  This issue was causing lots of problems for my dad and I found myself 99% of the time worrying about him.  My dad asked that we support him in his decision to try and work through the bad.
Not a pleasant time in my life, but I didn't follow that same downward spiral - this time I did the opposite - I found myself in the gym more than ever and got myself to a point where I was proud of my body - the gym was a good distraction and a helpful way to get out frustration.  This was also the same time that I started hanging out with Steve more, as a friend.
Even though I don't feel like I ever went into great detail with him about what I was going through, he was a great support system for me as well, it was nice to have a friend that I could talk to about something other than the bad stuff.  I don't think he has any idea how much I needed him at that time.  Maybe I should tell him?

After some time my dad assured me that things were better and he seemed happier than I'd ever seen him, so all I could do was trust that.  Just because I had a broken line of trust with Raquel didn't mean I couldn't trust my dad, so I figured I'd start to let that trust build back between Raquel and myself.

I still don't know exactly how I did it; the saying Time heals all wounds is a very true statement to me.

Fast forward to this year, back in February - the first day I'm back at work after Hawaii, my dad wants to take me out to lunch, obviously I go.  We eat and talk about the trip, no big deal.  Then as I think we're getting ready to go, he drops the bomb on me they're having a baby... I cry, a lot.  I go home and cry, I cry to Steve, I cry to my mom, I cry to my brother.

Over the next several months of Raquel being pregnant I somehow flip a switch and my entire way of thinking changes.  I realize that I care for this person and that little baby inside of her is going to be my brother or sister (we now know, brother).
I never used to give Raquel hugs when we'd go our separate ways after being together, I don't know if I ever called her by name on my blog - it was always my dad's wife, never step-mother as she is only 3 years older than my brother - it's hard to think of her as a 'mother' to me.  Things have just changed for me mentally.

Yesterday when I found out she was in labor I was excited and very nervous.  Since I'm being so honest here, let me continue by saying that I really wanted for them to have a boy.  Not only would that assure the last name be carried on (since my brother had 2 girls and they talk of being done), but I didn't want someone else to take my place as daddy's girl.  I can't even type that without getting teary-eyed.  I know that no one would take my place in my father's eyes, but I didn't even want to have to think about it.

I got home from work last night still with no news of a baby, I sat on the couch with my cat and cried a little bit.  I wouldn't love the child any less if its a girl, but the thought of it made me sad.  That AND the fact that my dad was having another kid just hit me hard yesterday.
I went to bed last night still with no news, I laid there trying to fall asleep and cried a little bit more.  Parts of me were sad, other parts excited, other parts scared.  It's a very emotional thing for me.  My dad is 55 in a month - that's old for having another kid!  I'm going to be 30 in a couple of months and I have a new sibling, my nieces have a new uncle,; it's just odd to think about!

I want my dad to be happy - and I've said that from the beginning of my healing process.  I truly mean that.

Some days are better than others - some days I have to wear a fake smile to get by with thoughts of my dad starting a new life, other days my smile is real.  I want people to see me as a strong person, I'm almost 30, I should be able to deal with this like an adult.

I'm happy for them and the new chapter they are entering in their lives, I just hope it doesn't mean less time with the rest of the people they love.  I know how busy people get when kids are brought into their lives.

So.. that's the history - some of you know parts of that, others know nothing of it, but that's how it went and how it goes.

Introducing....

~Introducing Wyatt Lewis~

~Born 10/19/11 at 10:11pm~

~7lbs. 13 oz. ~ 21" long~

Waiting...

I'm guessing withing the next 24 hours I'm going to be a big sister!

My dad and his wife, Raquel, have been in the hospital since 5am this morning.  Hard labor started at 7am.

It's only a matter of time now... and it's driving me crazy!  I wanna know if I have a baby brother or sister!

Weekend 10/15-16/11

My weekend was a lot of things - exciting, nerve-wracking, relaxing, busy, sexy...

On Saturday Steve and I woke up, ate breakfast, and then watched Little Shop of Horrors while we drank our coffee.  I haven't seen that movie in years, like since I was little, and while it's completely awful, it's pretty entertaining!  The rest of the day was pretty chill.. I tried to do some yard work, Steve did a lot of yard work, I didn't want to do anything or eat anything that would make me feel bloated for Sunday.  So it was pretty low-key overall.

Sunday I woke up, ate a semi-light breakfast, drank coffee, took a shower, relaxed for about a half hour and before having to leave to go get my hair and make-up done.  Krysten and I did our boudoir shoot on Sunday!    It was so much fun and I can honestly say I never thought I'd know Krysten on that level!  LOL... we pranced around in our skimpies like we'd known each other forever!  It was funny, but also very comfortable!  Britt at Render Photography did our photos (you can view some other boudoir on her site).  She was wonderful and very professional (and very preggers!)  I'm excited to see how they turn out and I promise to share some here as well.  Thinking back, there were a couple of poses I wanted to do, but never did - it was all such a rush and happening so fast... it just never crossed my mind!  Oh well, next time, right?

post photo shoot

When I got home Steve was up on the roof painting... I was obviously too pretty to start painting and there wasn't much left to do.  A little bit later he came knocking on the window and threw his hands in the air to imply "Victory!" He finished!  Our house trim is all painted and we did it all ourselves!

We obviously had to celebrate - even though it was a Sunday night, my face was too pretty to not go have a cocktail.  So we had a shot of tequila, dinner and then went to Bennigan's and I had a martini (or two).  It is so good to finally be able to cross that shot off our list!  Now... we have to start tearing apart our pink bathroom tile to find a leaking pipe; fun shit, eh?

Oh.. and the Vikings lost last night.  Surprised?  Didn't think so.  What a horrible season.

My name is Angela

I just went to party city to return something I didn't use for Pam's shower... The lady says she needs the credit card it was charged on and my ID; fine. 
As she is entering my info for the return, she types my name as Angie, when my ID CLEARLY says Angela.  It took every ounce of self control to not say something.  If it had been anything other than a simple return, I would have definitely said something!

There is nothing I hate more than being called Angie, by anyone, other than my gma.

Bitch (the cashier, not my gma).

Zoya Nail Polish

Ok, so I bought some nail polish from Zoya because I've heard good things about it; here is their 'About' verbiage on their website:

Zoya Nail Polish has been awarded as the longest wearing natural nail polish by an independent panel in Women’s Health Magazine. Zoya Nail Polish is a nail polish free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. Nail Polish by Zoya offers over 300 gorgeous nail polish colors to choose from, plus 4 seasonal collections of nail polish every year. Zoya Nail Polish was specifically formulated to deliver the longest wear possible on natural nails. Zoya Nail Polish can be found in better beauty salons, spas and online at www.zoya.com.

When I got an email about a BOGO deal they were having, I figured it would be a good time to finally give them a shot.  Below are the colors I decided to order:

Charisma

Source: zoya.com via Angela on Pinterest

Charlize

Source: zoya.com via Angela on Pinterest

Diana

Source: zoya.com via Angela on Pinterest

Dea

Source: zoya.com via Angela on Pinterest

I got them yesterday finally!  So as I stood in the kitchen I began painting my nails while Steve watched - one nail in each color - obviously to see what they look like.  I feel like Steve thought I was crazy and quickly walked away after seeing how effen bright that top color is.

Welllllll... I would certainly suggest reading the fine print (or even the FULL description) on their website - that top color (Charisma) dries matte and, while I get that matte is trendy AND I get that a top coat will bring it to it's original beauty, I don't keep top coat on hand because I don't use it!  So yeah.  It's also A LOT more Purple than I expected.  I don't dislike it, I just need a top coat to truly tell.

The other colors I like just fine - I used to have a Brown nail polish that I LOVED and I used it all up and was unable to ever find it again - it made me sad.  So I decided to try this Brown (Dea) - it's very similar to the shade I had before - but the polish itself was ... not as wonderful.

For some reason, I've become accustom to nail polish that is ... hardy.  The Zoya brand goes on so thin, I found myself considering a third coat just to even it out.  Maybe its the because this nail polish is free of so much of the bad stuff?  I don't know and I really don't care as long as the color looks pretty and it lasts!

I got right into the shower after I painted them, one of my fingers has a tip that is slightly peeling, which is fine, cause I just wanted to paint them to see the colors.  So here I sit with one hand painted with 4 different colors (I used Charisma on the thumb and pinky), wondering if I should leave it on to see how long they last or take them off and do a REAL paint job on them.  I guess I need to invest in a top coat first, eh?

They sure do have some pretty colors though... and they go on nice, no matter how many coats you have to put on!

I'll let you know how long they last after I wear it for a bit.  I use my hands a lot (on top of my 9 to 5, I have 2 cleaning jobs I do), so my nail polish usually doesn't make it very far!

Don't get bent out of shape - this is my opinion only.  I've not been asked to review this product by anyone, nor have I been given ANYTHING in return for it.

ETA 12/7/11: I'm now in love with Zoya nail polishes!  It was a change in thinking, as stated above, but just because they go on thin doesn't make it any less of a polish!  This stuff lasts on my nails forever - I've done toes and fingers in a few of the colors and I've had to take them off for nail growth over polish chipping.  I've NEVER been able to do that.  I'm impressed and I'm now a lifelong user of Zoya!  I just ordered 3 more colors and should be getting them soon!  Follow them on Twitter - sometimes they have promo codes for some pretty great deals - @Zoya_NailPolish

BIG fat RANT

Before I get started - LOL at those who commented on my last blog title and how it no where was mentioned in my post.  It's my way of keeping you on your toes!  It's how I roll.  (and yeah, Jamie Foxx... I know!!)

Now, begin rant -
Want to know what pisses me off more than pretty much anything lately?!
Steve and I always walk side by side when we're in public, as any couple would, right?  Most of the time we will hold hands (unless he knows someone near by, he gets all weird and tries to not hold my hand..).  So even as we're walking by other people - we have it down to an art where we continue to hold hands; he bends his arm behind him and I just scoot to the back until we pass the people.  No biggie.

Lately, it's come to my attention that no one moves for us!  I get that we're OBVIOUSLY better/nicer than most everyone because we're kind enough to move.. but what gives - why does NO ONE else do this?  It's not just couples either, it's simply every.one.
I made a vow to stop moving for people, I'll scoot over and get closer to Steve, but I'm DONE walking behind him!
A woman and her friend/sister, we walked by them, I scooted closer to Steve, they didn't even budge.  So we end up hitting our arms against each other - and I fucking hate touching other people, especially people I don't know, it was so nasty.  She didn't even move over to get kind of out of the way.  Bitch.
This is just one story - I kind of tested the market on Saturday as we were strolling around in Stillwater and then around the Xcel Energy Center (on the several block walk to the game, not while inside the Xcel, obviously you've gotta take drastic measures inside a sports venue).  People suck.  That's the conclusion I've drawn.

Have some damn respect for other people and at least move the fuck over and pretend like you want to be nice.

I'm OFFICIALLY done moving behind my man, I'll continue to stand proud next to him while holding his hand.  Being a nice person by nature, I'll probably continue to move closer to him, but that's fucking it.

/rant

How often do you shave?

I just tried to post a blog from my blogger app on my  super awesome android phone... then the fucking app encounter and error and force closed on me.  Unbeknownst to me, the stupid blogger app doesn't save as I type, so it was all lost.  fuck that app.  It's coming off as soon as I'm finished here.

Last night Steve and I made Beef Wellington, inspiration stemming from Chef Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen.  It was good.  I was blown away by how much flavor it had - so many different tastes and textures... I felt overwhelmed.  I'm glad we tried it; Steve is good not trying it again, but sometimes Steve is wrong.  I think one day, some time in our lives, we'll be giving this another go.

Looks good, huh?

The last thing here...
I woke up this morning because of a dream... the dream had Jamie Foxx in it... he was kissing me.  What the hell?!  I don't even think I like Jamie Foxx - but he sure did like me.  It was so rude of him to kiss me while Steve was in the same room too... ugh.  The nerve!

Oh, last question, I promise: Is chivalry dead?  You know, the days of men holding a door open for a lady (their lady or not)... following the "ladies first" rule... I could go on and on.  I'm just wondering if being a Gentleman is still 'cool'?

Blogger Meetup 10/5/11

I feel so amazing that I blog in real time (Kristi and Dana, you should try it sometime!!!  kidding, mostly ;) )

So last night was the little get together that, I guess, I planned?  I don't know - Krysten gave me credit for it in one of her posts and it caught me off guard, but whatever - I'll take credit for amazing ideas!  word.

So we met at Axel's Bonfire in St. Paul - I got there early as I went right from work, so I bellied up to the bar and ordered myself a perfectly dirty martini.  Next in rolls Kristi and Kim - now, I've known Kristi since before I started my blog but not like since childhood or anything and we've never been like BFFs where we hang out all the time. ANWAYS- Kim was the only new face of this meetup to me.. and I was SO interested in what she'd be like and, at first, I was kind of surprised by just seeing her.  I felt like I kept staring at her and I even apologized to her in case I was... she just looked so different to me than she does on her blog.  Until I found out she 'airbrushes' herself... which made me chuckle a little bit.  Sorry if that was supposed to be a secret Kim!
Krysten arrived next and bellied up with us and we were all able to get a little bit of chit-chat in before Dana arrived and we went to our table.

Forewarning: All these pictures are from Kristi given to me with permission to use them - I did not steal them because (most of the time) stealing is wrong; there was NOTHING Photoshop and/or I could do to make me look less white than I actually am without making everyone else look shades of Yellow.  I'm not a ghost, don't be scared, I won't hurt you.

All the lefties on one side:

Kristi and Kim on the other:

At one point when Kristi was adjusting her camera settings she wasn't focusing on any of us in particular, just  aiming off into space... well... I always see this as an opportunity to share my beautiful white face - in an unsuspecting manner.  So this morning as Kristi was emailing me photos she showed me this one and pointed out that she didn't even notice last night - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

again with the wide open mouth - I've got to stop that!

Group shot after dinner:

Not a whole lot else to say other than Kim is a lot sassier than I expected!  Always a good thing in my book ;)

If you want to see pictures of our food and read a review of the place, keep checking out Kristi's Restaurant Review blog: Twin Cities Restaurant Blog.  She's usually a bit behind on her reviews, but there are plenty of other restaurants to read up on in the mean time; what are you waiting for, go look!

In all it was quite a lovely time - I would have loved to stay a bit longer and chit-chat, but ... well... I don't know why we left right away!  I seriously can't wait to do it again!

Afterwards, I get to the block my car is on and I see a car with a ticket on it and think that sucks, hope I don't have one... then I see this little red sticker on ALL the other cars that are parked there, like a permit type sticker, so I'm thinking that it's probably a sticker allowing them to park on this street and well, I knew I didn't have one... I get to my car and low and behold... BIG FAT TICKET.  I was instantly pissed off... I looked up at the sign and read the times for NO PARKING and I was fine, I wasn't parked there during those times, until I realized that the hours listed were from 10am (maybe it was 11am) to 2am... so you know, that's like ALL DAY LONG.  I couldn't clearly see the AM/PM part of it, and I think I just assumed it was 10pm-2am (bar hours)... either way it sucked.  I was fully prepared to fight it until I saw those times and almost punched myself in the face for being so stupid.  Now I have to wait 3 days to even find out how much it is.. yes, that's right, they give you a ticket but don't tell you what the fine is.  Stupid.
This morning when I got on Facebook, I found out that Kristi and Dana also got parking tickets on the street.  I wonder if they read the times wrong too or if it wasn't even posted for them.

All photos taken by and/or copyright Kristi Sauer - don't steal this stuff people, it's just plain WRONG!

Weekend 10/1-2/11

On Friday - I kicked ass cleaning - I clean my gma's apartment, I cleaned our basement bathroom (top to bottom) and I cleaned our upstairs bathroom (top to bottomish).  We then went to Red Lobster with my grandma, my dad and his wifey.  We then came home and Steve took on another weekend of making homemade margaritas; this time using freshly muddled grapefruit and oranges.  They were not as good as the margaritas he made the weekend before.  Overall, it was a good night!

On Saturday, Steve and I went to Taste! which is an event put on my MSP Mag.  Basically food and wine tasting, held at TCF Bank Stadium (where the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team plays) - what a beautiful venue on a beautiful day.  They even had some of the Minneapolis food trucks outside giving away samples - which was fun for me as I don't work downtown, so I really have no way of trying these places!  I had high hopes for taking pictures of EVERYTHING, but it turns out most of the time I had wine in one hand and food in the other... so you're left with just these:

Food Trucks

Beautiful Stadium!

Gophers Locker room - it is HUGE!!

CELEBRITY SIGHTING - Eric Perkins - one of the strangest guys on TV, I threatened to ask for an autograph, but chickened out.  Imagine if I met a real celebrity!

all the people!

Sushi from Aji Sushi in Hopkins - delish! (couldn't find a website to link to)

We were given a glass (to keep, yay!) and a tasting notebook to write down all of our tasting notes - I think I wrote like 3 things down.

Saturday night there was a surprise 30th birthday party for my dear friend Abbie - I don't have any pictures with her, but I do have one of myself with my other dear friend, Amanda (with bunny ears, never gets old people!!):

On Sunday, Steve and I decided to partake in some of the Parade of Homes Remodeling Showcase on our way to Minnehaha Falls.  Not only did we see some stuff worth remembering, but we also added to our list of dreams - so many things we could do to our home.  In the midst of it all, we stopped at an antique store in St. Paul and purchased a nice Pyrex casserole dish (aka hotdish dish) that looks exactly like this and matches our antique Pyrex mixing bowls and we never actually made it to Minnehaha Falls.  It turned out to be a great day!  Tatertot Hotdish was waiting at home for dinner!  yum!
Oh, and the Vikings lost again... bringing them to an amazing low of 0-4.  That's zero games won and four games lost, for those who don't follow.  What the fuck Vikings - how am I supposed to have a blog with football in the title if you can't even give me something to write about?!  I'm still a fan and always will be (us Vikings fans never set our sights too high), but I'm already setting my sights on next year, as per normal. ;)  and here I thought it was just Childress holding us back....

So yep - that's the weekend, in a nutshell.
Tonight I'm meeting up with Krysten, Dana, Kristi, and Kim for dinner in St. Paul - it should prove to be a good time, right ladies?!


One last question to direct you in your commenting: if you ordered ~$50 worth of stuff from a website and received those items only to receive them again a few days later (aka double shipped)... what would you do?  No one has contacted me from the business saying they messed up...