Out like a light

I’m not sure what has been wrong with me lately, but I have been so tired.  For the past few weeks, I pretty much fall asleep on the couch every night.  The times that I doze off vary – sometimes it’s been as early as 9:30 p.m, other times it’s closer to 11 p.m.  I don’t know why I let myself get comfortable and cozy enough to drift into dreamland, but I do.  And being under a snuggly blanket with a cat curled up next to (or on) you doesn’t make staying awake any easier.

I know part of it is a vicious cycle.  I sleep for a couple of hours, wake up and go upstairs, then get ready for bed and lay down.  The problem is, it’s usually around 1 or 1:30 a.m., and it takes me about 20 minutes to wash my face, brush my teeth, change and crawl into bed.  Sometimes I go right back to sleep, but other times it takes me a while.  If it takes me a while, it means that my sleep cycle gets all messed up.  It also means that I don’t get a continuous amount of sleep, which results in me being tired the next day.  It sucks and drives me insane!

I think part of my tiredness also comes from the time change.  By 6 p.m., it’s pitch black outside.  This makes me feel like it’s really late (even when it’s not), and I get tired fairly early.  A few weeks ago, when it was still light around 7 p.m., I didn’t feel nearly as wiped out all of the time.

Tonight, I will NOT let myself fall asleep on the couch.  Once I feel myself getting groggy, I will drag my butt upstairs and lay in bed.  This way if I do fall asleep, at least it’ll be where I’m supposed to do it.

So, are you a random couch snoozer or do you actually make it to bed before dozing off?  And, is the time change messing you up too?

Things that are making me smile today

I am in such a giddy and happy mood this week.  Why, you ask?  Well, my birthday is this weekend, and there are a lot of fun things in the works!  So, without further ado, here are the things that are making me smile today:

1.  My birthday is in 5 days!  I love birthdays, especially when you’re able to get together with all of your friends and celebrate.

2.  I am getting a new computer – we just ordered it today!  After much deliberation between a Mac and a PC, T and I decided that we would go with a PC after all.  Last night we spent a good hour at the Apple store playing around with the different MacBook Pros, getting a feel for them.  While we really liked them, we had a really tough time justifying spending so much money on one laptop.  Instead, we went with Dell, and ordered 2 and a printer for a teensy bit more than the Mac we were considering.  I went with a 15-inch purple Inspiron, while T went with a Yankees version of the same one.  I am so excited to have a working computer again soon!

3.  My best friend ASP is getting married this weekend!  Saturday night all of us will gather to have pre-wedding dinner and drinks.  Then we’ll head to the hotel she is getting married at for her late-night wedding.  I bought a new dress for the wedding last night and was kind of upset that it cost so much, but when I got to the register it was $50 off.  So I was super excited – plus the dress makes me look really skinny!

4.  A couple of our guy friends are going to be in town from NY visiting this weekend, so that will be fun.  We haven’t seen them since May.

5.  Since ASP is getting married during the wee hours of the morning on my actual birthday, I will be celebrating on Friday night.  I wanted to do something different this year, so we are doing a bar crawl in the Virgina Highlands.  I have the places picked out and the length of time we should stay at each place decided on, but I still haven’t come up with funny things that we need to do in each bar.  If you have any bar crawl suggestions, I’m all ears (or eyes).

6.  On Thursday, T and I are planning of going to Woodfire Grill for an early birthday dinner.  For those Top Chef fans out there, that’s Kevin Gillespie’s restaurant.  He’s our favorite chef on the show, and we totally hope he makes it to the end.  His dishes always look so creative and tasty – I can’t wait to go try them for myself!

7.  My family (parents, Little S and JT, and T and I) are all going to see the show Cavalia in the next few weeks.  It’s a show combining equestrian arts, music and acrobatics that was created by a former Cirque du Soleil mastermind.  I keep hearing amazing reviews about it, so I’m very excited that we will be able to check it out while it’s in Atlanta.

So, what’s got you smiling these days?

The bachelorette party break down

This past Saturday, we took my best friend ASP out for her bachelorette party – her last weekend of freedom.  We had a group of 10 girls, and we had a ton of fun!

The day started with ASP and I heading to get body wraps at Suddenly Slimmer.  It was one of the weirdest things I have ever done! You are wrapped up from head to toe in ace bandages that have been soaked in a mineral solution.  Then you are covered with a poncho and have to do an hour on one of those gazelle fitness machines.  Every 20 minutes you are “basted” – like a turkey – and your booties are emptied – the toxins from your skin and overflow from the bastings gather in your foot booties.  Nothing is stranger than being wrapped up like a mummy and not really being able to move while doing exercise.  It was a very odd experience, but my skin looks great.  Everything was smoother and soft.  I also had some scars/marks that faded some, which was awesome.

The night of debauchery began with drinks at JD’s place.  She has a lot of bachelorette party items, so her apartment was perfectly decorated with a variety of penis paraphernalia.  There were 10 of us girls, and ASP wanted to head to the Atlanta landmark Mary Mac’s Tea Room for dinner.  It was a funny experience because some girls were true Southerners, while some of us were not.  This led to us transplants trying some new and interesting foods like pot likker with cornbread.  I was a little scared to try it, but it ended up being really tasty, so I was glad I did.

After our Southern dinner, we jetted back over to JD’s to have the most delicious cake ever from Southern Sweets Bakery.  Then ASP opened her presents.  We had a mini champagne toast, then headed over to The Clermont Lounge.

We arrived just as the guys were heading in the door – they had also decided to head to the scariest strip club ever.  We all went inside together, but stayed fairly separate.  JD and I bought ASP’s fiance a lap dance from a 60-something year old stripper who wears a Little Red Riding Hood outfit.  Nothing is more awesome than watching someone wedge their granny panties (literally) into a thong and stick their butt in a poor guy’s face.  Priceless.

We had a lot of laughs, but unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures of our craziness inside because they don’t allow that.  But I do have some pre-Clermont images to share with you.

ASP and me with the world’s strongest hurricanes ever – I was loving mine!

JD rocking the special fake penis undies – yes they were brought to Clermont and yes they were worn in public

Who needs a veil when you have this spiffy penis hat?

All of us ladies before we headed inside…

So, how was your weekend?

 

Toot your own horn

I have been thinking about writing this post for a few days now, but just haven’t had the time to sit down and actually do it.  Lately, the idea of what is considered beautiful has been on my mind.  Being a female, I feel all of the societal pressures to always be thin and pretty, and frankly it sucks.  Anytime you turn on the TV or pick up a magazine, you are assaulted by an image of a waif thin girl (if she isn’t naturally waifish, she’s probably been retouched to look that way).

When did being a walking toothpick become the beauty ideal?  What happened to the curves that were previously embraced?  And why are they suddenly being shunned?  I don’t know how you feel,  but to me, real women need to have some curves.  Encouraging grown women to look like teenage boys is not sexy, it’s creepy.  When was the last time you thought a skeleton was hot?

What I am starting to admire are the magazines and companies that are embracing real women.  I think Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is great.  Personally, I enjoy seeing a picture of a beautiful woman who may have some flaws over someone who is considered “perfect” for being stick thin.

I know that I am by no means perfect.  I could shed a few pounds (ok maybe like 15-20), but overall I am pretty happy with myself and the way I look.  Instead of us ladies always trying to compare ourselves to these non-realistic standards that we are barraged with every day, I think it’s time for us to embrace what makes us special.  So I’m going to toot my own horn and share the things that I think make me look hot!

In no particular order:

My eyes – I have brown eyes, and I love it.  They are a pretty warm shade, that changes from time to time, depending on the color of my eye make up.

My lips – My lips are naturally full and always look like I am wearing a stain.  I’m not sure where I get this from, but it’s awesome.  I don’t have to wear lipstick, which drives me crazy because it makes my lips feel dry.  One time I was at the dentist, and they asked me to wipe my lipstick off.  The dental assistant couldn’t believe it when I said I wasn’t wearing any.

My chest – Luckily for me, I come from a family of chesty ladies, especially on my mom’s side.  Even though they can be a hassle sometimes when I’m shopping for clothes or dresses, I wouldn’t trade them for the world!  Lots of ladies pay a lot of cash for something I have naturally.

My legs – They are nice and long, which means that they always look nice in a pair of heels.  I don’t ever have to hem my pants, and I can get places fast because I take long steps.

Those are some of the things about me that make me feel beautiful.

What makes you feel beautiful and hot?  Go ahead a toot your own horn!

Happy weekend!

Blog Carnival: Can’t Live Without

I thought this month’s topic for the Blogger Carnival was interesting, so I decided to participate.  As I was trying to decide what I “can’t live without,” I realized that I have categories of items I couldn’t image being on this earth without.  So instead of just one important item, I will share with you a series of things that are pretty damn important to me.

I can’t live without:

1. My family – I don’t mean to brag, but I have the most awesome family on the planet.  I get along really well with both my parents.  For the most part, I always have (minus some tumultuous teenage years where Dad and I butted heads).  But now that I’m grown, I can appreciate their company so much more.  I really enjoy spending time with them (and their friends), and we often will spend evenings together hanging out.  I also have an awesome sister.  Little S is one of my best friends, and we have always been close.  Growing up, we did so many things together and to this day, still do.  We hang out with each other’s friends – it’s great!  She is also my working out motivator – she gets my ass up and moving!  My husband, T.  Even though he drives me bat shit crazy sometimes, I couldn’t imagine my life without him.  In our 10 years together, we have gone through so many things, and he is my rock when I need a shoulder to cry on.  Love you guys!

2.  A good pair of jeans – You can’t live your life without a great pair of jeans.  They can make or break any look you are going for.  I am a huge fan of any dark wash that can be worn with flats, heels, flops or boots.

3.  My cats – Even though they can annoy the living day lights out of me some mornings when they wake me up before my alarm goes off, I can’t imagine my life without them.  They have been a part of my “family” for nearly 4 years.  There is nothing sweeter then sitting on the couch or laying in bed and having a happy kitty curled up next to you, purring.

4.  Chapstick – I know I have written about this before, but I am obsessed and addicted to Chapstick.  I can not go anywhere without it.  I’m not even kidding! If I forget it at home, I will stop at a store and buy another one.  I hate the look and feeling of chapped lips.  Plus, I have naturally red lips, so I don’t need to wear lipstick.  Chapstick is pretty much all I ever wear.

5.  Good food – I consider myself a foodie.  I love to cook and enjoy experimenting with new recipes.  I also enjoy going to new restaurants and branching out to sample new types of cuisine.  Life is too short to not know how to cook or be afraid to try new edibles.  Life is also too short to restrict yourself and diet constantly.  Food is out there for us to enjoy, and enjoy it I will – even if it means I have a few extra pounds to carry around with me. 

So, there you have it.  My top 5 things I can’t live without.

What is something you can’t live without?

“This post is a part of 20SB’s Blog Carnival: Can’t Live Without, and Alice.com is awarding prizes to lucky bloggers and readers!”

Halloween was Spooktacular

I just want to say how much I love Halloween!  You are encouraged to be creative and pick out an awesome costume and go out and have fun.  Love it!

This year JD and I hosted our 3rd annual Spooktacular.  This was the first time we had it in her new condo, and the space was perfect.  We rearranged her living room and dining room furniture, giving us a ton of space.  Plus her new place is very open, so it was perfect for a party.

Friday night we almost went mad while we were trying to get items for the party.  Every store we went to had no Halloween stuff out.  Everything was Christmas.  We were about to go insane because it wasn’t even November yet!

I’m sure you are probably wondering why we waited until the last minute to shop…well, we thought we had a lot more decorations leftover from our past parties.  In fact, a lot got trashed last year, so we threw them away.  Of course neither one of us remembered this until we found the few we had left Friday night.  We didn’t end up finding too much stuff on Friday, but we hit the jackpot at Walgreen’s on Saturday – my new favorite Halloween shopping spot.  We got so much stuff, all for half off or even more, so it was perfect.

Everyone had super creative costumes and we all had a ton of fun.  Check out some pictures from the party.

The decorations:

The lights blinked and played the theme song from Halloween

I am the spiderweb queen

Everything looked so cool in the dark, but then you couldn’t see the details.

The costumes:

T and Me as Bill and Sookie

We even made some bottles of TruBlood

The party hostesses - JD as Cyndi Lauper and me

Little S and JT as Jon and Kate Plus 8

Group shoot – Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood, Axel Rose, Cyndi, Bill and Sookie

RC as Joel McHale dressed as Rainbow Brite (from the Soup) and CMc as Captain Planet

It’s not a party until beer pong and flip cup come out

So, how was your Halloween?  Did you get dressed up?

CYOB: Diner Dilema

This is my addition to NPW’s  Create Your Own Blogventure Spooktacular. If you are coming to read my post for the day, and haven’t read any of the other segments, make sure you go back and start at the beginning. Choose wisely to create your own exciting story!

You can find the previous part of the story here:

____________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Ansel stared into the thrashing water reminiscent of Niagara Falls with horror, and did what any other person in his situation would do – he plunged his long arm into the whirlpool, trying desperately to grasp hold of the sparkling silver chain. To his dismay, the talisman was long gone. Defeated, Dr. Ansel removed his toilet water-soaked arm and trudged over to the sink. He stared at the grim face watching him from the mirror. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

He took a long time washing his hands, pondering the seriousness of the situation. Without the talisman, he wasn’t sure how long he could control the posse of flesh hungry zombies waiting on the other side of the old wooden door, sitting in the diner with Jenny and Annelise…oh my God! Annelise. His only child was sitting in a room with the living dead, completely unaware of the mishap that had just ensued. Finally, he snapped back into action and flung himself out of the men’s room.

As he stumbled out into the room, he realized that the zombies were getting restless. They stared aimlessly around the crowded diner, blood dripping from their undead lips, there teething gnashing at air. Jenny was busy piling platters with raw steaks while Annelise sat at the counter, poking her apple pie with a fork. Trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible, Dr. Ansel gently grabbed Annelise by the arm and pulled her behind the bar. He motioned ever so slightly to Jenny and told them of the bathroom mishap.

“We have to get out of here,” he muttered under his breath, cautiously eyeing the monsters, “I…I dropped the talisman into the toilet, and it’s gone. I don’t know how much longer I can control the zombies.”

Annelise’s brown eyes went wide with fear. Jenny clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream, “They’re ZOMBIES!?!” she gasped. Dr. Ansel didn’t meet her eyes as he nodded ‘yes.’

Annelise knew what this meant – there was no time for playing around. “We have to get it back, and fast!”

Her mind started racing at warped speed. Luckily her friend Luke’s father was a plumber, and they had both spent the past summer “helping” his father with his work.

“We have to get into the septic tank and fish out the key,” she said breathlessly as she ushered Jenny and her father through the diner’s back door. “Where is the tank?”

Jenny pointed with a shaky finger toward the old, rusted behemoth barely sticking up out of the gully that ran beside the diner.

“At least it’s not completely underground,” Annelise exclaimed as the group marched toward the tank.

Luckily, there was an old clunker sitting in the parking lot with a tool box in the back. Dr. Ansel looked slightly uncomfortable as he hoisted his aging body into the truck to rummage through the kit. Eventually he emerged with some small saws. He passed the tools out to the girls, and they all began to saw at the tank with an urgency none of them had ever experienced because the zombies had begun stirring in the diner, hungry for more flesh.

Dr. Ansel was the first one to break through the decaying exterior. Once the hole began to form, they all began frantically kicking and pulling at the steel. Once it was big enough to look inside, they all eagerly peered in.

There, sitting in a pool of muck, sat the shiny talisman.

“Honey, I hate to do this to you, but you’re the smallest one here. We’re going to have to lower you in to grab the damn thing,” Dr. Ansel said.

Annelise nodded understandingly as she belly crawled toward the hole, leaving her legs free for her father and Jenny to hold, “You’re gonna owe me big time for this Dad!”

She reached down into the sludge and grabbed for the talisman just as the zombies burst through the diner’s back door.

* If you think Dr. Ansel and Jenny were able to hold on to Annelise and the talisman, go here.

* If you think the zombies made it to the tank before Annelise grabbed the talisman, go here.

TMI Thursday: TMI Thoughts

It’s that time again, where you share a little bit too much about yourself with thousands of strangers.  To read about everyone else’s horror stories, go to LiLu’s TMI Thursday page. 

This isn’t really a “real” TMIT, but just some random thoughts that I have on a regular basis that may convey just a little too much information about me or the people around me.

1.  Having long hair is a newer experience for me.  Since about early 2001, my hair hasn’t really touched my shoulders.  Now it goes a little below them, which is pretty long for me.  What I’ve noticed about this is that my hair tends to end up in very random places.  It falls down my shirt and feels like a bug crawling around.  After showers, I tend to notice that sometimes some strands are in my butt crack.  Yeah, it’s strange.  Does this happen to anyone else?

2.  Boob sweat.  What is the deal with that?  It drives me INSANE.  I’m pretty well-endowed in the chestal region, so my girls get a little toasty in my push up bra sometimes, especially in the cleavage area.  What’s even worse is when the girls are commando and you get the under boob sweat.  It’s so not sexy.  Is there a boob deodorant out there?  If not, maybe someone should invent it.  That would be awesome.  Do any of you chesty ladies have this issue? It doesn’t seem to be a problem for my average-chested friends.

3.  Nose blowing in public.  I know this can’t be avoided all the time, but nothing grosses me out more than people who blow their nose at the table or while they are around other people.  I know you can’t always escape the situation, but I definitely feel that there are ways to be more discreet about it.  The weird thing is, if you’re my friend it doesn’t bother me as much as when you are an acquaintance.  I’m strange…I know.  What is your stance on this?

I’m sure there are more TMI things I could share, but I’m drawing a blank right now…

Blog Swap: Toilets of the World

I decided to participate in this month’s blog swap.  My partner and I were a little slow, so we are posting today instead of on Monday.  What?  It’s better to be late than never. 

My swap partner is Olivia from Powered By Tofu.  She has traveled the world and seen some very cool things – including some very strange toilets.  In honor of my post about German toilets a few weeks ago, she has decided to share some of her potty humor with you!  Without further ado, here’s Olivia!

You’ll always remember your first squat toilet.

During my year of traveling around the world, I’ve seen my fair share of toilets. My first non-Western toilet experience was in Panama. The country had a mix of regular toilets, squatters, holes in the ground, outhouses, and fields… well, the field part was only because I didn’t want to use the filthiest bathroom I had ever seen (this was pre-China). My apologies to the farmers who may or may not have seen me peeing in their field (I still have no idea where they came from).

Next stop, China — home of the squat toilet, if you’re lucky. Seeing Chinese girls come teetering out of the toilets in 5 inch heels, I was completely baffled as to how they balanced on those “starting blocks”. Apparently they have the same confusion as to why we would sit on a filthy toilet, as evident of the signage in the [rare] Western toilet stalls.

In contrast, Japan is home of the futuristic toilet. Think heated (yes, I said heated) seats and more buttons than you know what to do with. They even have a musical “toilet flushing sound” button, because they’re that proper.

Finally, there was SE Asia. Toilets in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia are about the same standards as China… bring your own tissues and make it quick! Most hotels have Western-style toilets, but be prepared for pretty much anything when you’re out for the day.

What’s your most memorable travel toilet experience?

A hi-tech Japanese toilet

A toilet sign in Cambodia

“This post is a part of 20SB’s Blog Swap, and has been graciously sponsored by Bouncer, the latest in cellular and Internet-based privacy services.”

You can read my post about the 10 things that make me happy about Germany at Olivia’s blog!

We like to party – bachelorette style

One of my best friends, ASP, is getting married on November 15 (which also happens to be my birthday)!  She was one of my bridesmaids and helped me out during the stressful pre-wedding times, so I want to throw her a really awesome and fun bachelorette party!  There is a slight catch though…she’s not your typical bride.

Let me explain…ASP and her fiance have been together for years, and got engaged while I was in Germany.  They didn’t do it the traditional way with the guy getting on one knee and proposing.  They talked about their future, decided they wanted to get married, and bought ASP a ring.  My parents did the same thing when they got married.

Originally they had planned on a destination wedding to Las Vegas or a beach, but then her fiance’s father’s health issues ended up changing the plans.  They decided to look around the Atlanta area for a site, but just kept coming across super expensive options.  Then someone e-mailed her about a wedding opportunity that would benefit an Atlanta children’s shelter, and she thought it would be a good option.  It isn’t too expensive, the proceeds go to charity, and it is a fairly quick ceremony and reception – one hour.  They decided to go this route on October 15 – one month out from the day they will tie the knot.

And this is where I come in.  Since ASP was such a good sport and helped plan my showers, my bachelorette, and was in my wedding party, I wanted to show her how much I appreciated what she did for me by throwing her an awesome bachelorette party the weekend before her wedding.

I have a couple of ideas that I’ve come up with and discussed with some friends, but I wanted to get some of your opinions for a bachelorette party for someone who isn’t a typical bridey-bride (I hope that makes sense).

Idea 1:  Gather at someone’s house, make a nice dinner with some wine, and hire a male stripper to come over and surprise the bride!  I think that would be fun and hilarious…but how does one go about ordering one?  I’ve never done that before, so I don’t even know where to start looking!  Haha!  Are male strippers sketchy?

Idea 2:  Go out for dinner and drinks, then wind up at the Clermont Lounge – Atlanta’s trashiest and oldest strip club.  It’s a famous ATL landmark that everyone loves, and Amanda has mentioned she’d be down with going there.

So, that’s all I have for now.  If any Atlanta readers have suggestions, please let me know!  If you’ve ever thrown a bachy party for a more non-traditional friend, I’d love to hear what you did!

Thanks lovelies!