Buddy the Elf, What's Your Favorite Color?

LIST!!!!!!

• I love Christmas. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I love Christmas music (which has been playing on my work radio for the past week- Sunny 99.1, non-stop Christmas music since Thanksgiving. Word.). I love Christmas trees. I love the general merriment the season brings. I love spending time with family. I love giving gifts (and duh, getting them). I also love Christmas movies- Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, etc etc. Call me a sap, but this is the best time of the year, bar none. My heart is full, people.
• Brittany Murphy died, which is really sad. She was just so young. Favorite Brittany Murphy movie: Clueless. I have seen it about 5 million times. "Cher, I don't want to do this anymore. And my buns: they don't feel nothin' like steel."
• Famous people die in sets of three, right? Eeessh.
• Has anyone seen Avatar? I can't decide if the movie will be good enough to offset how much the freaky blue people scare me.
• A certain boyfriend of mine has made it clear that he does not care to hold my keys if it can be avoided, as I have acquired quite a few obnoxious keychains and crap on them over the years. Well, I took a big step away from my mild hoarding tendencies today. I finally took off the LA Fitness and Darque Tan plastic scan cards that I still had flopping on my keychain, despite not having been members of either establishment for more than a year. I couldn't, however, part with the Petco one, even though I haven't lived with an animal for over 3 years. What if I get a cat some day?? I might NEED it. They don't just hand those out you know...oh wait... I also removed: cap from a long since lost green mini sharpie that used to live on my keychain; key from our old house that my parents moved out of in June; key that I have no idea what it actually goes to but for some reason have kept on my keychain for years hoping one day I would figure it out or all of the sudden need it; keychain I got from Disney World my senior year of highschool that used to say "Sheridan" and now says "eridan". I did, however, counterproductively add a key chain I received from a coworker for Christmas. Oops. Baby steps.

Strike 2, Immune System.

I got strep. Again. Second time this year. Second time in 8 month span. I hate you, body. Fortunetly, this case was not as bad as the last- as in I did not feel like I was knocking on death's door. I think I caught it early enough to avoid the most painful and dramatic parts, thankfully. I mean seriously, I can pretty much diagnose myself now. Who needs a doctor and a $20 copay? Oh right, I do, because I can't write my own prescriptions. Maybe when some of my friends become doctors I can abuse that relationship and bribe a prescription out of them when I know I have it. Probably not. And now that the sore throat is pretty much gone, I am left with this hacking gagging awful sounding cough that I am pretty sure inspires paranoia in my coworkers, considering one literally just threw a cough drop at me and sprayed lysol into the air. On the bright side, I only had to use one vacation day from work this time, regardless of whether I should have stayed away longer, so yay medicine. See you again in 6 months, old friend.

In other news, you should go see "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock. If it doesn't make you smile, vow to be a better person & never take your life for granted, then your heart is made of stone. K- you probably shouldn't bother, as this is based on a true story.

101 in 1001

I saw this list in a friend's blog and thought it was a really cool idea. I mean how many times do I sit around saying "I should do that" and then forget about it or never get to it? Well now I have some accountability in the form of an over the top life "to-do" list. Starting tomorrow, December 1, 2009 and lasting until... I believe August 27, 2012. Math is hard. Anyway, I will be checking things off as I do them or as I am in progress of doing them. And if the things I accomplish are especially noteworthy, I will make a blog post about them too. I made a link to the full list on the top right corner of my blog page to make it easily accessible for updates on my progress, should you ever be tempted to check up on me.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start date: December 1, 2009
End date: August 27, 2012

Items in bold are completed
Items in italics are in progress
Related blog posts are linked where applicable
Donate $5 to charity for each thing I don’t complete

Personal:

Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years.

Decide what I want to be when I grow up.

No gossip of any kind for a week.

Relationships/Friendships:

Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find.

Call a friend I haven't spoken to in a long time. (February 2011.)

Buy an "out of the blue, for no reason" present for someone I care about.

Send 10 "Just Because" cards. (0/10)

Family:

Ask my grandmothers to tell me about their life at my age.

Hear the full story of my parents’ first date, engagement & wedding.

Culture:

Go to a book signing.

Read a book written by someone I disagree with.

Nature:

Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day.

Carve my name on a tree.

Play in the rain.

Buy fresh flowers to display in my house just because.

Health:

Find out my blood type.

Floss every night for a month.

Take a dance class. (2/10/10: Took a beginner jazz class @ the Houston Met with my friend D who I was in dance team with in high school. I was surprised how much it was like "riding a bike". Will probably try intermediate class next time.)

Avoid fast food restaurants for a month straight. (March-April 2011. I plan to keep this up as long as I can- never felt better.)

Get lasik eye surgery. (6/30/10: I bet this was the one you thought I was LEAST likely to actually do, but I did it & now I can see! It is a miracle!)

Work out at least 3 days/week for an entire month. (November & December 2010: I run now. Something I never thought I would be doing. Shall continue.)

Use the stairs up and down at work for 2 weeks.

Do 50 crunches per day for a month.

Education/Creativity:

Expand my vocabulary by 100 words.

Write a short story.

Read 5 classic literature books that I have never read before- (1/5): 10/17/10: Read "Catcher In the Rye" for Book Club. Underwhelmed, I must say. But I can see how it would have been a bigger deal when it came out many moons ago.

Travel:

Attend a live taping of a TV show.

Go to a music festival.

Take a road trip up the east coast of the United States.

Visit Joanna when she moves for her residency.

Take a completely spontaneous weekend adventure/trip.

Fly somewhere in an airplane.

Go see people from LJ we know on Broadway with my mother.

Drive to Sheridan, TX for the day.

Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

Go to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Go to the Harry Potter theme park in Florida with equally fanatical Harry Potter fan friends.

Activities:

Sing karaoke at a bar.

Draw something in wet cement.

Fly a kite.

Host or attend a board game night. (My friend J had some friends over for games 2/19/10. Wanted to get to "Mall Madness", but for some reason the guys used their veto power on that one.)

Jump on a trampoline. (Hello, my boyfriend has one. So much trampolining.)

Visit a winery.

Go bowling with a group of friends. (4/18/10: Went to 300 Houston for a spur of the moment bowling fix. Decent prices, very nice interior, big screens down at the end of the lanes all the way across showing music videos and random sporting events. Very chic for a bowling alley. You have your own waitress who serves food AND alcohol. Awesome- highly recommend.)

Attend a Murder Mystery.

Go to a roller skate rink.

Ride on a ferris wheel.

Houston Activities:

Visit 10 new places in Houston. (5/10)- (12/08/09: went to a play at Alley Theater in Downtown; 2/26/10: Attended the HLS&Rodeo Cook-off. Free food and booze. Sweet deal.; 3/19/10: Went to Sam Houston Park in Downtown. They have several historical Houston homes there to see and learn about. And a pond with ducks and turtles.; 3/19/10: Stared out on Houston from the observation deck on the 60-something floor of the Chase Tower. Pretty amazing view. 4/7/11: Saw a play for free @ The Miller Outdoor Theater.)

Take a tour of NASA. (Went with Mark in October 2010. Very cool. Got to sit in the cockpit of the shuttle simulator!)

Attend a ballet.

Texas A&M Events:

Take a walking tour around my college campus again. (Completed on 2/6/10. Very strange being there again, but brought back great memories. See 2/9/10 blog about it.)

Go to 3 Aggie football games. (1/3). (8/4/10: Attended the SFA vs. TAMU game @ Kyle Field with my sister, Bro-in-law, and Jason. We beat their butts pretty bad- Gig Em!)

Finally go to an Aggie Baseball game for the first time.

Survival Skills:

Learn to drive a stick shift/manual vehicle.

Go to a gun range and shoot without crying at least once.

Assemble a first aid kit to keep in the car.

Learn how to change a tire.

Charitable Activities:

Donate to a charity (2/27/10: Donated all of the ill-fitting clothing from my closet, plus other various items to the Hospice.)

Find a program/place to volunteer on a regular basis.

Donate $5 to charity for each task I don’t complete.

Rescue a cat from an animal shelter.

Fashion & Beauty:

Have a little black dress.

Eliminate non-fitting or “hasn’t been worn in a year” clothing from my wardrobe. (1-25-10)

Wear a dress every day for a week straight.

Go to a spa for the day.

Finally find make-up that works for my skin and buy nice, all new stuff. (1-30-10: Bought Mac foundation primer, foundation and waterproof eyeliner. Spent an arm and leg, but it seems to take to my face better than any make-up has ever, given my oily "doesn't want to hold make-up longer than 10 minutes" complexion. Also bought waterproof mascara to combat my propensity for ending up with black under my eye every day.)

Computers/Social Networking:

Not log into facebook for a whole week.

Figure out how to transfer music and picture files from my Macbook to my external hard drive and make sure everything is copied to it. (3/11)

Food:

Bake cupcakes for no other reason than to eat them. (3/26/11- OK so they were technically for my 2 year anniversary with J, but I ate them and they were awesome.)

Eat something I have never tried before. (12/08/09: Ate a "crab shooter"- a piece of crab dipped in a special sauce with cucumbers @ Reef restaurant downtown- you eat the crab then "shoot" the sauce like a shot. Delicious. ALSO, for extra credit- 12/29/09: Ate fried shrimp and cheesy bacon grits with hot sauce @ Shade restaurant in the Heights. HIGHLY recommend.)

Cook a full breakfast- eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausage, oatmeal, etc.

Eat lunch at home for a month straight- no take out. (September 2010.)

Try a type of food I have never liked before.

Go to dinner somewhere that requires appropriate attire- dress and heels. (3/27/10: Celebratory dinner at Pappa Bros Steakhouse on Westheimer in honor of J and mine's 1 year anniversary. Fantastic steak and company.)

Buy a cute apron and find cause to use it. (1/9/10: Thanks to my friend Jo! Thank you for the adorable apron! Finding cause to use it everyday!)

Find and eat at 10 restaurants I have never been to in Houston. (10/10)- (12/08/09: Ate at Reef in Downtown Houston- delicious risotto and crab cake.; 01/03/10: Ate at Perry's Steakhouse for my birthday dinner with J. Steak is to die for. Lobster Bisque soup that almost made me cry it was so good.; 2/2010: Went to Cadillac Bar- excellent Mexican food. Had a fabulous queso with spinach in it. YUM.; 3/18/10: Tried out Zoe's on Washington. SO GOOD. And healthy to boot. Try the chicken and spinach eggrolls.; 3/31/10: Celebrated a friend's birthday with dinner at Ruggles Green. Delicious spicy chicken pasta that has now lasted me in leftovers for 4 total meals- stays well refrigerated for an entire week, just fyi. I know, I am a shamefully cheap leftovers eater.; 4/17/10: Ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for my annual company party. Delicious steaks and had some awesome crawfish appetizer cracker things. Best part: free to me. 6/21/10: Laurenzo's- Located on Washington, this place had the most amazing guacamole burger I have ever had. It included asiago cheese, arugala, pico de gallo, and some sort of special chili sauce. It had the perfect flavors. 2 thumbs up. 8/9/10: Truluck's- Delicious seafood- best lobster and king crab I may have ever had. 8/11/10: Vic and Anthony's Steakhouse- cooked my steak wrong, but other than that- delicious! Brought us free dessert for Jason's birthday, so bonus points. 10/19/10: London Sizzler- authentic little Indian food restaurant with a British flair. Delicious. I had actually never even had Indian food before, period, so some major branching out points here. Recommend: the Nonn (sp?) and Red Spicy Curry.)

Cook dinner at home once a week for a month. (September 2010.)

Holiday Themed:

Buy and decorate my own Christmas tree. (12/05/09: It may be only 2 feet tall, but it counts.)

Music:

Spend an hour finding new artists on iTunes.

Join a choir.

Television:

Unplug the TV and computer for an entire weekend.

Netflix “True Blood”.

Drop one TV show for good. (1/12/10: As of today, I will no longer be viewing Law & Order: SVU new episodes. I don't think seeing the occassional repeat on USA when nothing else is on will hurt...)

Movies:

Go to Rocky Horror Picture Show showing at midnight.

See 10 classic movies I’ve never seen (1/10). (1/9/10: Watched "Thelma & Louise". Not satisifed with the ending, but otherwise an enjoyable chick flick. Young Brad Pitt to stare at as well.)

Have a scary movie night with friends. (1-23-10: I am going to go ahead and count the night I watched "Paranormal Activity" with some friends for this because even though the event was not "planned" to be a scary movie night, I was unable to sleep without the lamp and tv on for a week after viewing this movie. So it counts.)

Watch “The Matrix”. - I was confused for the majority of the movie, but I watched it.

Buy DVD copies of all my VHS tapes.

See a drive-in movie.

Watch 5 cult classic 80s movies I have never seen. (4/5): (5-9-10: Spent some time with my new Wii netflix instant and watched "Ghost" [surprisingly, I really enjoyed it] and St. Elmo's Fire". 5-21-10: Watched "War Games" starring Matthew Broderick. I found it silly and underwhelming, but Jason really liked it. Maybe you have to be a guy. 9/25/10: Watched "The Pick Up Artist" with Molly Ringwold and a young, cute Robert Downy Jr. Typical 80s cheese fest, but overall a good watch.

Go see a movie by myself.

Spend a rainy day watching films in my PJ's

Religious:

Go to the morning church service 4 weeks consecutively.

Tithe for 3 months straight.

To Buy:

Own a flat screen LCD TV. (5-2-10: Bought a 1080p, 120 Hz LCD HDTV 40" flat screen. And I fell in love. Best idea ever.)

Own an iPhone. (7/2010: Going from a 2.5 year old Blackberry to an iPhone 4 was like the best thing ever. For lack of a better way to describe it. Currently loving my newly acquired iPhone. Worth the 2 hour wait in line.)

Buy cowboy boots. (Done and done: 3/6/10. Wearing them right now to go see Rascal Flatts @ the Rodeo.)

Work-Related:

Plan out what I am wearing each day of the work week the night before for a month.

Go a single day at work without making a negative comment of any kind.

Buy a coworker lunch.

Extra Cash:

Go thru my CDs, books, VHS, and DVDs and sell the ones I don't want to Half-Price Books.

Life in Pictures

The one, the only... Regina Spektor. Live at Verizon Theater. AWE-SOME.

Renaissance Festival.

I never volunteer to go on stage. They always just FIND me and drag me kicking and screaming.

She got her Monte Cristo!!

Aggie Football at it's finest. We actually played well AND won this game.

Mute Math concert. No words for its awesomeness.

No caption needed.

Sequence of close-up pooch cheek pictures. No reason.

Volunteering to D'Feet Breast Cancer in Galveston and super happy about it!! Good times there.

The boy thinks it is funny to take candid walking photos. I apparently do not.

Life size chess game in Galveston = necessary photo op.

ANGER AT TRAFFIC ON THE WAY TO SEE MUSE/U2!!! MUCH RAGE.

Biggest sweet potato pancakes ever. With ceramic cow. Gig Em.

Bullet Point List #5,612

Lists allow me to put down all my random and incoherent thoughts on one page for your viewing (mocking) pleasure. And it is easier than sculpting a meaningful blog post. Me likey.

• I would be such an awesome rich person. Seriously, give me all your money, you won't be sorry.
• Regardless of what my sister tells you, November is awesome. thisclose to Christmas wonderfulness, but far enough away that you get to look forward to all the ensuing festivities and good times. PLUS, Thanksgiving turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie? GET OUT OF TOWN.
• Sometimes I wonder why certain obscure bands get radio play [Kings of Leon] and some are tragically ignored [Mute Math]. Don't get me wrong, I like Kings of Leon and despite what J thinks, they earned their current level of fame. But I challenge you to listen to both Mute Math CDs, catch their concert, and watch their videos online and EXPLAIN to me why they aren't rolling in the mainstream fame and success they deserve. Although I have to say, I like it when really good bands don't have that one hit song plastered all over the radio non-stop until a once treasured melody makes my ears bleed. Plus, white people would have no indie music to brag about liking if they all got radio play. So I guess I will stop complaining. Or stop listening to the radio.
• Holy crap, start watching "Modern Family". Best new comedy of the year [votes taken from me and tallied by me].
• Who else wishes they had thought of Jim Halpert's Halloween get-up first? Who will admit it took them in excess of 5 minutes to actually figure out what his costume meant? Just me? Well then ok.
• I have been craving Layne's for a week now. I might crack if I don't get my fix soon. If you have ever lived in College Station, you probably know what I mean.
• Ever notice how when you work in an office, things that are supposed to be fun, like say "Secret Santa" or "CSR Bingo", always end up turning into just another set of rules and regulations that you have to follow and be held accountable for, laced with guidelines that must be met based upon standards that are ridiculous and/or unattainable for everyone, until your boss has eventually sucked all the potential fun out of the activity? No? Just my office?

Donkeys

Today, I realized I have a problem. Today, I realized that my instinct leads me to run out the door half dressed and frantic and then finish getting ready for work in the car upon discovery of a roach loose in the house (and from here on out in this blog I will use code word "donkey" to signify this demonic creature- the term my family and friends are familiar with using on a regular basis so that I don't have to HEAR the name, as the mere thought frightens me so. Crap. I am already sounding like a crazy person and this is just the "parenthesis back story"). I am sure everyone has their odd "fear" or endearing "quirk". Well this is mine (although the countless people that have been called upon to rescue me from this precious quirk would hardly call it "endearing" I am sure.) I have always known I was a little overdramatic and ridiculous when it came to donkeys, but I don't think I quite grasped it until I began living by myself. Apparently, all these years of having roommates and family to do the dirty work for me, has shielded me from just how much I cannot handle killing a bug 1/5000th my size [made up fraction.] Logically, yes, I know it can't do anything to me. But try to convince me of that when it is just sitting there, silently plotting my demise, awaiting its next move so it can attack when I least expect it.

Slightly helpful email exchange today between my sister and I:

Me: I feel anxious that I can't go in my house until later this afternoon. What if it has eaten everything before J kills it? Do you think it is just sitting there being evil or is it all over my stuff? I really have a problem.

K: hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Me: Stop laughing and do your job as my sister and put my fears to rest!!! Tell me something comforting like "I am sure it is dead by now" or "Donkeys only crawl on the wall, your stuff is fine." or "It is probably just sitting in the same spot where you left it." COME ON. Help the crazy, don't hinder.

K: It probably IS dead. I'm sure your apartment complex exterminates regularly, most of them exterminate every 3 months. And even if it isn't dead for some reason, they don't generally go crawling all over everything. And it certainly isn't EATING anything.

OK so it probably isn't eating everything. Slight overreaction there. But I am STILL not walking in that house until J comes to rescue me this afternoon (thank God for him) lest it flies at me like a spider monkey of death. And I am still going to fully disinfect my house and wash all sheets, towels, etc. Send for help. I have reached a new level of paranoia.

Ways In Which I Am Becoming My Parents.

Wow, it has been a month since I have blogged. I'm back!

I have always been told (more often than not by my own mother) to "be nice to your mother because someday you will turn into her". As a naive youth, I scoffed "No, not me! That's crazy speak!" Well I am here today to validate that this does, indeed, happen eventually, whether you want it to or not. And you might become your dad too.

Yesterday was a perfect example.

Instance #1: Background info for this story: When I was in high school, my friend and I were hanging out in our small podunk town one evening when I received this frantic call from my mother: "Are you ok!?!? I just heard an ambulance!!" Not as in "I saw you in an accident when I was driving by" or "heard someone with a car like yours had a wreck", just checking in the general sense of "I heard a siren somewhere, in some part of town and had a panic attack." Overprotective? Yes. But ultimately, I chalked it up to mom being cute and I laugh about it to this day.
Well, yesterday, before I could even realize what I was doing, I was leaving a voicemail for my friend who lives in the vacinity of a street where I was driving past and saw ambulances. You know, just to make sure she was ok. Yes, it's as silly as it sounds. She's fine by the way. May still be laughing at me though.

Instance #2: I actually proved I am turning into my father as well. Background info for this story: My dad NEVER stacks plates after a meal. NEVER. He claims that it is ridiculous to do so because then you have to wash BOTH sides of the plate. We all know much better than to ever break this cardinal rule in his presence. And while I see his point to an extent (and it makes sense in family gatherings to humor him as he is the only one that ever does the dishes), I always join in with others to lovingly mock him for his adamant stance on dishwashing techniques.
Cut to last night- I was having dinner with my boyfriend and his sister and bro-in-law, and as J offers to take my plate, I actually grimaced as the bottom of my plate grazed the top of his. He has been warned how my father is about this, so he knew exactly where the look came from, and therefore I was immediately mocked. Apparently this is one habit that will forever be ingrained in my psyche. So take note: apparently there will be no stacking of plates in MY presence now.

My parents are great, so hooray I am turning into them and not, say, Paris Hilton. But still. Tis creepy.