weekend tidbits

- I finally treated myself to a manicure & pedicure on Friday, and picked OPI Gargantuan Green Grape... new fave, for sure. it's a lot lighter and more pastel than it looks in the picture from OPI's website - it would probably take a million coats to achieve that! 

via OPI

- we ran errands on Saturday and did some serious shopping for house stuff.

• we bought tons of random things at Target that we've been meaning to get... like a garlic press, a tiered shelf for spices, and a new bath rug. 
• and then we hit Home Depot for even more randomness... potting soil & new planters, a raised garden bed (for veggies, which was on SALE for about $40), a quart of paint, and a door knob. 
• finally, we ended our day at a lighting store, where I stumbled upon the coolest lamp ever. the only one in stock was the display, so I snatched that sucker up. I LOVE it. it really brings a good amount of light to our living room, and it's got that funk factor I've been looking for. 

- we have big plans for the landscaping at Casa de Quinn this year. this week we're going to pay my brother to come in and tear out all the ugly bushes that surround the house (and subsequently hide it) so we can plant flowers and put in our raised garden bed. AND he'll be completely demolishing our existing deck so that we can install pavers in it's place. I'll be getting outside after work today to take some "before" pictures to show you all, although it's slightly embarrassing. 

- since we picked up potting soil at HD, I finally planted the herbs I bought to go in these planters (which I mentioned here). I'm pretty excited, considering it's my first planting adventure.

- I wrote a 1500 word paper yesterday comparing Nora from A Doll's House to Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby, discussing their abilities to exert power as women. I have one more paper to write this evening for my final exam and then I am done with my English class. I CANNOT WAIT to be done, but I'm thrilled to take new classes in the fall.

- I just finished reading Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin and was utterly disappointed in it. I guess I shouldn't have expected much, since I'd heard that her books got progressively worse as they went on, but I was hoping that it'd be a least worth a 4 star rating. it wasn't terrible, but it was way slow in the beginning and I felt like the ending was rushed and cleaned up a little too nicely for my tastes. 

- this is what I wore out and about on the gorgeous day we had here on Friday. not pictured are khaki capris and white flip flops. I love my mustache necklace, which I got as a birthday gift from Kaley.

- running and working out has unfortunately taken a back seat in favor for school work and house work the past couple days, but I hope to get back into the swing of things this week! 

Happy Monday!

listomania

• my next tattoo appointment for my sleeve is this weekend! I can't wait to get some work done now that I have some birthday money to spend. I plan on at least getting the rest of the color done, and hopefully will be able to start on the background as well. ideally, I'd like to get it finished, but I don't know how long I'll be able to sit. we shall see! 

photo taken after my last tattoo session in October.

•  we have been total rockstars when it comes to gymin' it up. we've successfully worked out at least 3 days a week for 4 weeks now, and it feels amazing! I took spin class last Wednesday and had a serious case of the DOMS until Sunday, so I spent a few days doing upper body exercises. I downloaded an app on my phone to track my workout routine, and it's really helped to make sure I'm working all of my muscles and I can even check to see that my form is spot on. I've noticed a huge difference in my strength and I can tell that I'm slimming down again after my month long hiatus during the winter. 

• regular season hockey is almost over! I'm counting on my Caps to bring home the Stanley Cup this year... that is, as long as we can make it out of the first round. we're hoping to score tickets for at least ONE playoff game this season... if they're in our budget, of course.

photo taken from last season's game 7 of round 1 against Montreal, which we lost.

• I'm walking on May 1st for our local March of Dimes, and I could NOT be more proud of our team. so far, we've succeeded in becoming the largest team in our area and one of our members is currently in 4th place for most money raised by an individual. we are walking in honor and support of our friend's baby Gianna, as well as others babies who were born too soon. so far, we've raised almost $2,000! if you'd like to help us out and donate (or if you're local and would like to walk with us), you can check out my personal page. go to the homepage for our team (appropriately named Gianna & The Baby Steppers) to read more about Gianna's story! 

photo belongs to Gianna's mama, Stephanie. don't steal, or I will CUT YOU.

• speaking of participation, I decided to sign up for the April Photo Hunt Challenge - you can find the link over on my sidebar under "Current Projects." I've been a huge slacker when it comes to taking photographs on a regular basis, so I'm hoping that the challenge will give me a little more motivation to get my camera out more often. I think now that the weather is nicer, I'll have more interest in getting out and about with my camera. 

• I need a vacation. badly. or I might kill someone. I have 4 weeks left of classes, which includes 3 more discussion posts, 1 more essay (600-700 words), 1 research paper (1200 words), and the final exam, which is in essay format. I am SO ready to be done. 

Happy Tuesday! 

tidbits, yo

• UGH. slacker blogger. very busy weekend for this girl - beer night Friday, errands Saturday afternoon, birthday celebration Saturday evening, and hanging out with friends/writing a paper Sunday. 

• as you saw in this post, I finally upgraded my phone. I was the proud owner of the LG Dare for almost 2 years. my upgrade day was St. Patrick's Day (luck o' the Irish, say what?), so on Friday, we ventured out to Verizon to get the Droid X. I was torn between that and the Thunderbolt, but I just couldn't justify paying $250 for a cell phone... and the extra memory and the kickstand was just not worth $100 to me. so far I'm really loving my Droid. if you have any recommendations for apps, let a sister know! 

• check out my sweet birthday card I got from Kaycie. does she know me well or what?

• I went out with friends this weekend to celebrate my 25th birthday! we started out with a small group and dinner at a local Japanese Steakhouse, and then moved next door to Cadillac Ranch. I was so happy to have so many people come out to celebrate with me - we had an amazing evening full of laughter, flowing drinks, and memorable conversations. I am a lucky girl. here are some pictures (most were not taken by me, and I'll have more to post once Kaley uploads hers! AHEM!)

• on the other hand, I don't know if I'm ready to turn 25. I know that 25 is not old by a long shot, but I just feel very "adult" saying 25.

• I'm slowly moving through my 2011 Reading Challenge. I've now read 9 books this year - I finished two of Emily Giffin's books within about a week. I loved the first, Something Borrowed... I was really drawn to the narrator, Rachel, and was thrilled with the ending. The second book, Something Blue, was... alright... it's from the perspective of the other main character, Darcy, and I honestly hated her. I ended up liking her a bit more by the end, but overall, I was kind of underwhelmed with the story in comparison to the first. I'll be doing lengthy reviews for both books when I have the time. 

• speaking of reading and writing - I wrote an 800 word essay on the reliability of Nick Carraway as the narrator of The Great Gatsby for my English class yesterday during my lunch break. I started it Sunday and emailed it to myself to finish and send over to my professor from work. went to save the file, and it was corrupted. instead of copying & pasting like an intelligent person would do, I just x'ed out of it. lost the WHOLE thing, minus the measly two paragraphs I had written the night before. talk about pissed... I had to re-write the entire thing last night. 

• Bear is really ridiculously good looking. just sayin. 

• spring is officially here and I am SO excited. that's pretty much all I have to say about that. 

• since I had my last training session in February, I've only been to the gym once, and that was for a spin class. last week. I really need to get back into the swing of things when it comes to working out, but if I'm being honest here, that month off felt amazing. I'm still doing well with my eating habits... still staying away from fatty, greasy, and non-nutritional food. I need to stop making excuses as to why I can't work out, starting with tonight!

Happy Tuesday! 

random tidbits

- you know those Chevy commercials that show the Rockies and the theme song says something like "like a rock"? when I was a kid, I thought the words were "lock her up." dumbass. 

- after my horrible hangover last Sunday, where I admittedly spent at least 6 hours at or on the toilet, I couldn't poop for a week. IT WAS TERRIBLE. I can say it was honestly one of the worst weeks of life. I've always had a pretty regular digestive schedule, so the sudden bout of "I have to poo, but I can't" really fucked me up. 

- I met with our accountant over the weekend. thanks a huge financial decision we made early last year, we now owe the federal government $5,000. not cool, especially since I was counting on that refund to get some things done around the house. ya know, maybe buy a dining table? maybe some chairs for the dining table? looks like we may be refurbishing the old set in the garage after all. 

- my Bear cub is the cutest kitty ever. 

don't mind the eye boogers... he's been getting them a lot lately.

- thanks to the suggestions of many people, I started reading The Hunger Games last week. started on Friday, finished on Thursday. started Catching Fire (the second book) on Friday, and I should be finished with it this evening. 

I AM HOOKED. I'm pretty sure there's crack in the pages. it's such an odd and morbid concept that it makes me value the government of our society, as corrupt as it may seem. I'm also considering naming my first born Primrose. thank you, Suzanne Collins. I will be posting reviews of all three once I finish, which shouldn't be long! 

- yes, I still have The Help review to finish and post. slacker. 

- I'm actually really liking my English class this semester. I'm not big on reading pieces of literature and analyzing/interpreting them, but unfortunately, that's the gig for this class. professor seems really laid back though, so that's awesome.  and the other classmates seem really nice and supportive.

- I'm going to email everyone who donated to the Miss Chow Fund and get their addresses. a happy ending like this one deserves proper thank-you notes.

- according to Bear, this is his couch. 

Happy Tuesday! :)

a typical day, as of late

hear my alarm go off. 

drag myself out of bed. take temperature.

brush teeth & maybe wash my hair.  makeup.

pack my food for the day & make coffee. ahhh coffee.

go to work. work ALL MOTHERFUCKING DAY long.

eat my money saving, healthy, and delicious packed lunch. 

work some more. sign into Google Reader and attempt to read some blogs.

finally leave work.

work out with trainer or take spin class. 

(if not going to the gym, go straight home to cook dinner and clean up)

go home, exhausted.

cook/help cook dinner & clean up kitchen. 

::pause::

awesome dinner, cooked by YOURS TRULY - full recipe post coming soon

::play::

chores around the house. 

homework/reading for class.

::pause:: 

kitty cuddle time

::play::

shower. do not want to leave warmth of shower.

maybe watch TV or read before bed if I can keep my eyes open.

try to read as much as I can before my eyelids start getting heavier and heavier by the sentence. 

sleep. sleeeeeeeeep, sleep.

notice something missing?

blogging. 

my stupid busy life is not giving me much time for blogging lately.

I have some posts started that just need a little tweaking. 

as soon as I have time for a substantial post, you'll see it, I promise. 

ALSO, I miss you guys. 

I'll be back tomorrow, at least for Wee Bit Wednesdays. 

Happy Tuesday.

fill in the blank... Sunday.

I'm not gunna lie. I'm totally avoiding some reading I have to do for my sociology class. apparently, I'm a fucking idiot, and I decided it would be a cool idea to take a winter class... which means that instead of studying all this crap over 15 weeks, I'm doing it in 2. 

yeah, two weeks. which means something is due pretty much everyday. 

yeah, not so cool after all. 

KILL ME NOW, and also forgive me if I suck at blogging for the next few weeks. 

_______________________________________

ANYDOODLE. play along with Lauren here. 

1.   New Year's is (awesome/lame/other)  pretty cool I guess. I don't think it's totally lame, but it can be a bit cheesy with all the optimism floating around. 

2.  Last New Year's Eve I  stayed in at home... Sean was working nights, so I just hung out with the kitties and went to bed early.

3.  My New Year's resolution is  to be awesome. oh wait. 

4.  The best way to spend New Year's Eve is   with people you love and with a kiss at midnight, even if it's with your cat/kid/self.

5.  My prediction for an up-and-coming trend in 2011 is     blogging. oh wait. for real though, I think scrunchies are coming back. 

6.  This New Year's Eve I will    stayed in at home, because my stupid husband got me sick.

7.  A fresh start is  not something I'm in need of this year. I'll stick to my old funky start... it seems to have served me pretty well. 

A Brief Photo Essay

And so, you loyal reader type people came through with some ideas. I've considered them all ( thanks for the whole Israel v Gaza thing Dash, i might have to jump on Wikipedia before i tackle that one.... ), but i thought this might be the easiest, and most fun, for a Sunday afternoon. A few of you said " hey, stories from your childhood " and of course you wanted accompanying pictures - plus, this is my official entry into Andy's photo challenge. And so, please enjoy a few photos of yours truely, accompanied by a short commentary on each shot:

Firstly, yes thats me as a cute, chubby little baby. And, yes, you're eyes are not deceiving you - i am wearing a baby bikini. ( Also, this is as close to naked as you will ever get to see me, so enjoy it while you can. Or, actually, dont enjoy it - enjoying it would be wrong... ). I believe i'm almost a year old in this photo, playing in a blow up pool in my Nan's backyard. Dont ask me what those green things floating around me are - i dont exactly remember - but i'm pretty sure they must have been fun to play with.

On to Picture #2 - thats me on my first day of school, 5 years old. All together now - awwwww. Its sometime in late January of 1989 ( yes, Northern hemisphereans, we start school at the start of the calendar year, not in the middle ). Please take note of my awesome, late 80's fashioned, school uniform - a sad green pinafore, white cotton blouse and little knee socks ( that dont quite come up to my knees ). Also, please notice that I am completely rocking a mullet. Yes, a MULLET. Business in the front, party at the back. To this day, i cannot believe that my mother willfully did that to my head. The missing teeth at the front though are all my fault - they came out while i was eating an apple.

Check me out - that is me, and my new bike, circa around 7 years of age. My dad and my pa made me that bike - yes, you read that right, they MADE it out of second hand bike parts, instead of buying me and my brother a new bike each (we werent dirt poor, but neither could we afford two brand new bikes ). My bike rocked - i chose what colour i wanted, i put cool stickers on it, and you better believed my brother and ruled the neighbourhood on them. We had a group of around 6 or 7 kids in our street and we'd ride around on weekends playing " bike-tag " or we'd ride down to the Death Track. Oooh - sounds dangerous, doesnt it ? Kind-of, sort-of, but not really. It was basically this huge hill of dirt ( maybe 2 storeys high ) on some land owned by the NSW Railway. Some older kids had made a walking track to the top and then a long, bumpy, dipping track to ride down. Woo hoo! I'm proud to say i never suffered a single injury there. My brother, however, did take one memorable spill which saw him fall into a patch of weeds and end up with a whole patch of thistles in his butt....

Picture #4 - this one is especially for you Andy. Anybody who reads Andy's page will recognise that he and I may have in fact owned the same pair of glasses as youngsters. Those things are freakin' huge! Again, I have my mother to blame for my complete lack of style ( an affliction I am to do this day trying to overcome ). In case you wondered what the hell is going on this picture let me explain - i am in my PJ's and I am apparently trying to kill my younger brother ( the little kid in the blue PJ's with the pained expression on his face ). And i'm smiling because jumping on your younger brother and trying to squash the guts out of him is fun. Right ? Right ?

And lasty but not leastly, Picture #5 - me before my Year 12 Formal ( read: Senior Prom ). This one isnt exactly in the humiliating category, but i thought i'd share it anyways. Please bear in mind when looking at this picture that i have lost aprroximately 17ish kgs between then and now ( i've changed from a size 16/ US size 12 down to a size 10/ US size 6 ). I think if i had my time again i wouldnt have picked that dress. It was a velvet dress with spaghetti cross over straps and, looking back, it didnt really fit all that well. I could have found something so much more flattering. As it stands though it wasnt all that bad - definately a more timelessly chic choice than some of my friends....

The Great Escape

Today my boobies made a run for it. Can you believe that ? No, they didnt up and leave my chest area, and no i dont have prematurely aging saggy boobs. No, i was at work and my bra broke.... can you believe that? I'm just standing at my desk talking to J and all of a sudden - the elasticity is gone. Every woman out there must know what i'm talking about : when the girls are strapped in there is a firmness, a secure feeling. When that hook lets go, all that security is gone. And so it was today - and chesticles tried to make a break for it. Thank God that a) it was so freaking hot today that my bra was glued to my skin by sweat ( i know, gross, buts thats an Australian summer for you ) and b) that i work in the central shopping area of my town ( i was close enough to duck out for a minute and go and buy myself some new undergarments ).

Thank God, this wasnt exactly a Girls Gone Wild moment. I mean, i did have a shirt on after all, so it wasnt like i was falling out of anything, but there is a brief moment of mortification where you hope nobody has noticed ( even if there isnt all that much to see ). Its kind of like a guy being almost pantsed ( or dacked, as we call it here in Australia ). Sure, there isnt exactly anything on show - except maybe your boxers or your favourite tighty whities - but for a minute there you wonder if anyone has noticed anything else. (As an aside, dacking people is funny, unless your the one being dacked ).

You know how it is right ? Any intentional exposure of other peoples bodies, in the aim of embarrassing them, is funny, unless your the target. I cant remember how many times the boys in my grade during high school would run up behind someone and yank their pants down. Boy-on-boy, after a while, seemed a little homoerotic - so of course it progressed to either trying to do the same to us girls ( unless we were wearing a skirt, in which case they were just trying to get a glimpse underneath, anyway they could ). And what other form of torture did they devise for us ladies ? Bra strap flicking and, occasionally, intentional unhooking of the bra. During science class. Luckily whilst seated in the back row.

Oh, wait.... yea, thats where they got me. Science was not exactly my favourite subject, so my friends and I in the back row spent a lot of time fooling around back there. Usually we threw pieces of eraser at people, or passed notes, or talked in low tones so the teacher wouldnt hear, but one day my friends L and Jay decided it was Pick On Amy Day. This newly celebrated holiday involved L reaching behind me andi n one foul swoop, pulling at the back of my bra and miraculously unhooking it with one hand. O.M.G! How, like, totally embarassing! I had to slide underneath the desk and try and fiddle underneath my shirt and hook it back up without the teacher noticing i was gone. No mean feat let me tell you.

And so, we have learned two things: pantsing people is funny. Unhooking girls bras in science class is not.

Also: either my breasts have magically grown a cup size overnight ( please God, say its true! ) or they just dont make bras like they used to....

You know that album ?

You know that album ? The one that you loved all the way through, or the one that reminds you of a certain time in your life or specific event, or the one who's songs kept you company during rough times ? Everyone has one of those albums and, for me, its " Dizzy Up The Girl " by The Goo Goo Dolls. Its the album that i will always come back to, no matter what. I was reminded of it yesterday ( by a god-awful rendition of a Goo Goo Dolls song on the radio ) and so i was playing it today, whilst i got ready for work, and put it on in the car. Its funny how comfortably i can slip back into the feelings the songs give me, how i may have changed, my circumstances, my life, but the songs resonate the same way.

" Dizzy Up The Girl " was released when i was in Year 9 and it remained my favourite album all the way through high school. I listened to it with my friends but, more often then not, i'd listen to it by myself, shut away in my room. Everyone knew " Iris " - to my friends it was a love song from a movie soundtrack, or just a really good Top 40 song, but to me it was something different. The chorus to that song almost summed up exactly who i was for the formative years of my life. I know one of you out there has blogged about the same chorus fairly recently, but here's my take :

" I dont want the world to see me/
Cause I dont think that they'd understand/
When everything's made to be broken/
I just want you to know who i am ."

Yes, its contradictory - you dont want to be seen, but you do. By one person. I think for me, that was part of the point. I DIDNT want the world to see me, EXACTLY because i didnt think they'd understand - in fact, my major problem was terrified of people knowing, and not liking the real me. I thought people would judge me, they'd find me tto smart, or too quirky, or too uncool, or too " whatever " and i lived in fear of being judged and humiliated by those judgements. But at the same time, i wanted to be broken down and just have at least one person really, truely know me, and love me anyways. I'd wanted to break down barriers and have at least one person, whether it be a friend or a boyfriend or whoever, know my innermost thoughts and feelings and ideas and be able to look at me and say " You know what ? You rock! ". And what is weird is that i found myself singing that song again in the car today - and wanting exactly the same things.

But it wasnt just " Iris " - i connect to almost every single song on the album, and those that i cant find a deeper personal meaning in are, at least, still good songs. " Slide " despite seemingly being about abortion ( i've had that discussion/disection with a friend too - i'm sticking with the abortion theory ) was the first, and only song, i have ever sung solo in front of people, and i love it for that. The only reason i COULD sing it in front of people - classmates, on a school excursion, because i was the only one who actually knew the words - is because i loved it so much. I couldnt have got up the courage to sing a song i had no feeling for.

" Name " was the same kind of thing as " Iris " - just wanting to find that someone who knew me and wouldnt go sharing my secrets with the world, who wouldnt risk my humiliation or embarrasment. Plus, it has that great guitar bit towards the end where i could imagine that Johnny Rzeznik was singing just to me. " Black Balloon " was a comfort to me when i was really depressed and contemplating killing myself. I just liked thinking that maybe someone would miss me too. I later found out the song is actually about heroin addiction, but everytime i hear it, i think back on how bad i used to be and am glad that its not that way anymore. " Slave Girl " was a cover, and not technically a fantastic song, but i liked the rhythm - it was a song i could rock out to in front of my bedroom mirror.

I have other albums too - " Tuesday Night Music Club " by Sheryl Crow, " Hybrid Theory " by Linkin Park - albums that arent technically brilliant, that werent absolute best sellers, but that meant something to me in a time and in a place and that i'll always come back to. I guess thats the best part of music- you can always come back to it, and it will, if you love it enough, almost always come back to you.

I am so NOT old...

Not that i ever thought i was... but it seems like everyone else thinks i'm getting on a bit. Which i resolutely am not. At all.

Yes, i know it sounds like i'm trying to convince myself of the fact that i'm not old, but its just that i've been pondering at what age one BECOMES old, and surely its not 23? I mean what state is the world in if i'm old ? I plan on living to at least 100 years old for God's sake.... and its definately a do-able ambition. I mean, if we go off episodes of " Futurama " surely i could even be a cryogenically frozen, re-heated talking head if i wanted to .....

What has any of this got to do with, well, anything you ask ? WEll, i had dinner with an old high school friend last night, a Finnish girl ( yes, a girl from Finland ) who was an exchange student when i was in Year 12, and the more we reminisced, gossiped about who went where and who did what with who, the more it seems like Year 12 was a long, long time ago.However, i have come to the conclusion that this seems so not necessarily because i'm old, but because i'm a changed woman.... it seems like a lifetime ago because it kinda is.

But over and above that old chestnut ( readers of my previous blog will know what i'm talking about - everyone else stay tuned for further explanation at another date... ) is the fact that i seem to have a completely different mindset to most of my friends when it comes to age. We're sitting there talking last night and my exchange student friend, and my otehr high school friend we were with are both moaning about how old we're getting, and the fact that everyone else seems to be getting married, or at least partnered up. Firstly - I AM NOT OLD. Even when i am sixty, i will not be old. I firmly believe you are only as young as you feel, and therefore as young as you act. I dont wana be 15 forever, but i dont wana prematurely wrinkle up and die either. Secondly - I AM NOT OLD. Sure, if Prince Charming finds me tomorrow, sweeps me off my feet and asks me to marry him then woo hoo! If not, please refer to the fact that i am not wrinkling up and dying anytime soon and therefore have plenty f time to live it up, party ( ok, maybe on the odd occasion, sleep with ) the wrong people, or the Not Right, But So Good Right Now People, and eventually everything will into place.

Right ?