On the Ball

My friend Tara and I implemented the balance ball as our desk chairs last week. Apparently, it helps to strengthen your core and helps with posture. I figured I'd give a whirl and so far, I'm loving it. It's actually comfortable to sit on for longer periods of time. And if it helps me to get some sort of ab workout while I sit reading e-mail--even better.

I actually had a student come in to the office and say "It's true, you are sitting on a ball" His girlfriend had told him and he wanted to verify. Proof that it's a good conversation starter at the very least.
Also, I wanted to share the bag-o-the-moment. It's a simple tote from Old Navy and I HAD to have it. Not only for its message of sustainability, but because Green is my favorite color. For obvious reasons, of course.

Happy last day of September!

Rewind

The weekend turned out to be one of those weekends that just make you feel good about...just about everything. The highlights: Saturday I joined Weight Watchers. I've always wanted to but just never did because I was nervous. But now that I've conquered Phase 1 of the new and improved AG, it's time for Phase 2. I'm psyched about it. It was actually really fun to go to the meeting. And with my great expertise of the two days I've been doing it, I've decided it's like a game. And I like games. A lot. So I'm going to win.

Went to the mall in Albany after the meeting. Got a few cute things and my affection for scarves has returned in full force. I can't wait until it's cool enough to put one on.
Sunday was Sedaris. Cristina and I headed to Albany for a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then proceeded to head to the theatre. No problem getting there. (Not even from the Hurricane force rains that prevented visibility of street signs. ) The problem was parking. Not a parking space to be seen. And the parking garage closest to the theatre is conveniently closed on the weekends. (Well played, Palace Theatre, well played.) Luckily, we found a spot and dashed in to catch our author crush happily signing autographs before the show. We found our seats (with help from the enthusiastic staff) and settled in for the show. A lovely evening all around. Except for the rain and the parking. And my need to climb over 4 people in the middle of the show to use to the restroom. Twice. But Sedaris is well worth any minor mishaps. If you've never read him, check this out.
(Note: the pictures are from around campus today and have nothing to do with anything--but this is why I love living here)

Old Crow

It's official. I don't enjoy Meredith Grey. (For those of you that don't follow...she's the annoying character on Grey's Anatomy.) She is self-obsessed. Her "person" got stabbed by an icicle and she STILL managed to whine about her love life. Ugh. Annoying. Maybe she should start a blog so she can release some of her feelings. I mean really.

Despite the annoyance over a fictional character, I enjoyed craft night at Sabrina's. Sabrina is a very talented crafter and came up with a very cute project for us to do tonight (fabric silhouette) Normally, I consider myself pretty crafty. Tonight was not my night. See below. If you receive this for Christmas, pretend to like it.

I'm kidding. Maybe.

The good news is I am going to make fabric covered canvas' for over my bed. It will be fab. And crow free. (hey, it's good news for me)

Wake Up Call

At 6:10 am I was peacefully sleeping. Only 40 minutes until my alarm was scheduled to go off. I was awoken to the annoying sound of my cell phone. I saw that it was Angie (I didn't answer in time) I immediately think something bad happened because we don't usually chat that early. So I called right back. She thought I had called her because she saw my name on her caller ID. That's true. But I called her last night.

The good thing is that I was up early so I showered and had the intention of finishing my library book (due tomorrow). Nope, I fell asleep again until 8:30. By the time I awoke, my hair was dry. And it was without product so it wasn't nice. Yikes. Only 30 minutes to get ready. What would I do?

Then I remembered with enthusiasm that this may be the perfect day to bring out the beloved CHI. I haven't used it in months. Since May. I've been sporting the wavy look for the summer weather. But today was the day. It was glorious to have straight hair again. A CHI-tastic hair day indeed. And Ava gave me this picture tonight after I watched her for a few hours while Angie had something to do at work. I had to share because it's so cute. I love that we have matching outfits in the picture. It's definitely fridge worthy.

The Art of Sarcasm

Another favorite quote from Sedaris:

"Everyone loves me. I'm the most important person in the lives of almost everyone I know and a good number of people I've never even met. I don't say this casually; I'm just pointing out my qualification."


David Sedaris from Barrel Fever

5 Days! Can't wait.

Random

Cristina posted facts about herself the other day and I thought it would be fun to do it too.

Random Things about Me:

• I really, really hate chipped nail polish. On anyone. It just bothers me and causes me to judge.
  
• I wrote out a life to-do list about 6 years ago. It needs to be updated in a big way.
  
• I get really freaked out when someone takes their mitten or glove off with their teeth. Ugh. Yuck. The feeling also applies to pampered chef stoneware.
  
• 9 out of 10 times that I cry, it's because I'm touched, not sad. True story. See me in the morning during the Today Show.
  
• I've kept a list of every book I've read since 2002 (it's now in excel)
  
• I love the smell of magazines and books. Especially new books and magazines.
  
• I was voted most enthusiastic cheerleader in senior year of high school.
  
• I've never seen Footloose, St. Elmo's Fire, Risky Business, Animal House or Breakfast Club. Even though I was a kid in the 80's.
  
• I like containers of any kind. Including baskets and boxes. This may explain my love for bags. The container store is like Disney World to me.
  
• I absolutely hate the theme music for "Unsolved Mysteries" I don't know if this is ever on TV anymore but I know I hate it.
  
• One of my oldest dreams is to become First Lady. Seriously, ever since I bought a book of the first ladies in 3rd grade, I've been hooked. I once played Mary Todd Lincoln in a play.
  
• I can pretty much tell you anything you want to know about Friends or Sex And The City. I have a very good memory when it comes to details of those shows. I should, I've watched them enough times.
  
• The longest I've ever lived anywhere consecutively is seven years.
  
• I can still remember every word to a song from a Cabbage Patch Kids tape I had when I was little.
  
• I really love making lists of just about anything. I keep a to-do list in a spiral notebook complete with boxes to check off when things are completed.
  

Crazy Cat Lady

Yesterday I stopped by the SPCA on my way home to play with the cats. Unfortunately, I can't adopt any more animals right now so I figured I'd go visit. I've been thinking about volunteering with animals so I figured I'd inquire about that while I was there.

I stayed for about an hour. There were some really sweet cats and it made me sad that they don't have anyone to love them yet. I didn't even make it out to see the dogs. A girl can only take so much.

(I've often thought about the unfair assessment of people (especially women) that love cats. We can't talk about our feline friends without someone making a comment about our status as the "crazy cat lady" But people send out pictures of their dogs on Christmas cards and we find it adorable. I'm not the kind of person that wants to get my pictures done at Sears with my cats in tow, but I would like to think that it's just as acceptable for me to like my cats as the person that buys a Coach collar for their dog. I love dogs too and I hope to have several of them when I have a big backyard. But right now, I'm happy to have two spoiled cats. And that doesn't make me the crazy cat lady.)

Back to the SPCA. Not only do they like volunteers, they also need supplies:

Towels

Blankets

Sheets

Paper Towels

Bleach

Sponges

Laundry detergent

Canned cat/dog food

Dog/cat treats

Dog/cat toys

Highlighters

Sharpie Markers

Copy Paper

Pens

Post Its

So if you happen to be cleaning out your house and come across any of these items save them for a shelter. And those of you in O-town, I'll be glad to take them over there for you.

Have a good week!

Fly Girls

Remember the show In Living Color? I always wanted to be a Fly Girl. It always seemed really cool.

Although there was no dancing involved, today Angie, Beth and Cristina (listed in alphabetical order to not show favoritism) and I had fun at Fly Creek Cider Mill. The kids had a great time in Tractorland and we got to have cider and pumpkin pie (although it was really too warm for either.)

Ryan & Colleen
Cristina & Sam
And my favorite picture of the day...Colleen. I love those cheeks.
After we parted ways, I went to the SPCA to play with the kittens. (More on that another time) It seemed like a good day to run my errands. Really, I just wanted to finish my book on tape so I am finding any reason to drive around. I went to the mall to get my nails done. It seems they had no power. Weird. So I go over to the Evil Empire (aka Wal-mart) and figure I'd have my oil changed and get my nails done at the place in Walmart. Great idea. Work smarter not harder, right? No power there either. Dang. I came home and napped.

If that isn't a Fly Girl day, I don't know what is.

The Best Compliment

What's the best compliment you've ever received?

For me, the best compliment I've received is about my organization skills. For real. Don't get me wrong, I love to hear that my bag is cute, or that I'm nice or whatever but I really feel good about myself when someone notices my love for being organized.

Example, my supervisor walked in my office and noted "Your office is the neatest I've ever seen." Translation: You don't mess around, girl.

So I don't say this because I want to boast. I say this because I actually really enjoy the process of organizing just about anything. It's like doing a puzzle. It's satisfying. And I'd like to share my love for it with others. I'd like to be a pro organizer (as a hobby, not a career) and help others make order in their physical surroundings. I'd really like to host my own organizing show on HGTV or at the very least appear on Clean House or Clean Sweep. I've toyed with this idea for a while now and I haven't done much to make that happen. It's okay, I don't think it's the time just yet.

So why am I talking about this? Well, it's because a few days ago, my friend told me that she had been at a meeting on campus and they were coming up with professional development topics to present to faculty/staff and someone in the group suggested that they ask me to do a session on organizing. And apparently someone else chimed in that it was a good idea because they've seen my office. I know both of these people and I like them but we aren't in the same work circles at all so I was actually pretty flattered by this suggestion. And I'm not sure if they are really going to ask but it's nice to know that my name came up for that topic. And it was nice of my friend to tell me. She knew I would be happy to hear it.

Now I find myself thinking of things I'd like to touch on in an hour long presentation. I might just drop some organizing tips from time to time to test it out. Consider yourself warned. :)

But no tips tonight because it's Friday and I'm ready to relax with some celebrity gossip magazines on the couch. Enjoy your weekend!

Product Placement

It's a slow news week with me. Work is busy. I'm still behind. I left work with the intention of getting my nails done, but instead I ended up going to dinner with Melissa and Alisha. After we stopped at Bath and Body because I wanted to get one of those cute pumpkin candles. Along the way this is what I found.

I think it'll work wonders for my nighttime routine. I just put it on and I'm sleepy already.

I'm a sucker for cute socks and slippers. And these are cute.

And of course I had to pick this up because it was $5 with any purchase. I'm thinking of the holiday party. Or David Sedaris.

No pumpkin candle.

Obviously I'm feeling very product friendly today so I might as well add the most exciting thing that happened materialistic wise today. I know a girl that works for Coach. I mentioned that I loved this bag. The Leather Business Madeline. She said she might be able to hook me up. It comes with the bow. How very Elle Woods.
Do you think her discount is 95% off?

Proudly Brewing

I was up late last night watching the SATC movie. I could only borrow it for one night. So I did laundry and got cuddled into bed to watch. This was my third time watching it and I think I cried more this time than I did the first time. I'm kind of sentimental that way. Needless to say I was tired all day because I was up late. (I'm definitely getting old)

My day was super busy. I feel like all I do all day is talk. It's a very good thing that we are "proudly brewing Starbucks coffee" on campus now because it makes all the talking more pleasant.

Tonight was one of my late nights at work. I had a meeting with the Up 'til Dawn girls and we watched a St. Jude video. I was feeling very good and positive and accomplished as I left the meeting because that meeting always has a way of doing that. Those videos are really inspirational. Anyway, as I neared my car, I remembered that it's bid night. And alas, I hear a group of men yelling somewhere in the distance. For a moment, I feel a little bit of excitement to hear them. THEN they say something about "balls" and not as in basket or foot. Great. I'm so proud. Can Starbucks proudly brew right in my office? :)


I want this bag. And the matching tech case. My camera needs a cuter home. Luckily, I think I will be able to go to Fly Creek this weekend. Not only will I get to spend quality time with Beth, Angie, and Cristina, but also my very good friend, Vera.

Carried Away

I'm in a bit of a funk this week. There is nothing wrong at all in life. I think I'm just stressed out at work and feeling behind. Stress makes me tired and unmotivated. Great combination, huh?

Sometimes a girl just has to be happy about completely random simple things to get through the week. I bought these shoes a few weeks ago and am loving them! They are the most comfortable shoes ever and from Payless. As Angie says, "The Devil Wears Payless." (I just want to point out that that's the funniest thing she has ever said)

And perhaps the most fun thing about today is that I will be watching this momentarily.

Sometimes it really is the simple pleasures in life.

Vacation Time

Wanna know what I realized? That I have approximately 8 weeks of vacation stored up. I feel that I'll be taking some days off in the not so distant future.

That thought cheers me.

So does Chelsea Handler. She's wildly inappropriate and I love it!

Warning

Had a good weekend. Saturday was going to be the day I finally ventured to the Fenimore Art Museum, but it seems that that is only interesting to me. So I didn't end up going. I've rescheduled it for October 11th (just in case anyone is interested). Don't fear, I didn't waste the weekend. I did still end up going to Brewery Ommegang with Tara and Kathleen and her daughter Annemarie. We had a good time. It was the fall fest so we walked around and did the Brewery tour. It's just nice to get out of town and do something different.

While there, I picked up this cute little bag at a craft vendor. While admiring it, the vendor told me that it was made from a place mat. Intriguing. I had to have it so I could possibly make more. For gifts. Maybe for you. When I learn to use my sewing machine.

I came home from Cooperstown and decided that I was too tired to do anything more social because I've either got a cold or I'm suffering from some sort of crazy allergies. So I settled in to watch Baby Mama. Cute movie. Glad I didn't go see it in a theatre but happy to be laying on my couch watching it.

Today was a lazy Sunday. I still didn't feel great so I slept a lot. I finished my book in between napping. I finally got up and went to a program on campus and came home and made Grandma Green's mac and cheese and baked cookies for work tomorrow. Anyway, after my domestic triumph I was washing dishes and I washed this plate that I had picked up at the dollar store a while back. I got it to be a cat food plate. I don't love it and I don't have a matching one so I rarely use it. (I like the cats to have matching plates when they eat--I know it's weird.) But I did use it this weekend.

So I was washing it and turned it over and this is what I read:


Um, what? No wonder it's a dollar store plate. I've never seen that on any dishware. It's now safely in the trash where it will no longer cause a threat to kitties or me. I want to know exactly what kind of chemicals are in this plate? Yikes. And why is it only known to the state of California?

Hope you all had a nice weekend! And for those of you interested, yesterday was my one month mark. :)

Awesome

Whenever I'm sad I just stop being sad and be awesome instead. True Story.

--Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother

Tonight I'm taking Barney's advice and being awesome instead. So to forget about the my irritation I'm off to do something fun....maybe the movies or for some drinks. You never can tell.

Enjoy your Friday night!

Remembering

I remember very clearly what I was doing and how I felt 7 years ago today. One of the things that I remember the most is after a very long day, was talking to Beth on the phone. We were talking about nothing but I remember feeling comforted by that phone call because we didn't have to say anything. There weren't really words formed for what was going on. And every year on this day I think back to that terrible day and the tragedy. And how lucky we are to have such good friends to turn to in those moments.

Don't Drink the Water

This kind of grosses me out. I am a little freaked out by fish. I've had a few pet fish (RIP Scout and Elle the Homie Fish) and I'm fine with them when all is well, but if I think about their squishyness it freaks me out. In any case all these little fish got new homes tonight. We had a program on campus to give the first 200 students that lined up a pet fish complete with a little carrying case bowl. Great idea. I just hope they live longer than 24 hours. I mean, what if this is the thing that pushes the homesick, socially awkward student over the edge when his/her new fish friend is belly up next to his/her bed tomorrow morning? I can just imagine the parent phone call after that.

I'll report back if I notice any excessive toilet flushing around campus.

Balance

For the last 4 years I have been known to spend many nights at work at meetings or getting stuff done in my office, get home at 9 or 10 and then go to bed and start all over again. It was exhausting. Don't get me wrong, it totally goes with the field. It's not like I'm ever going to have a 9-5 schedule. It's what it is. But in the last year it started to bug me that I was giving up time with my friends and family to be at work. And by giving up, I mean I simply was too tired to call people and wanted to come home after work and just lay on the couch. I didn't want to be social because I was just too tired all the time. I knew some stuff had to change. I wasn't taking care of myself and I needed to find some balance. Luckily, I had an epiphany moment at some point in the last six months. Although I can't eliminate night meetings completely, I've tried to condense it to only 2 nights a week rather than every day. There will still be weekends that I have to work. I can live with that. I'm actually eating dinner at a normal hour and getting to have some quiet time in the evening to do anything I want. And though it's a little crazy with the beginning of the school year, I'm feeling much more confident that I'm on the right track. Finally.

The Tale of Two Kitties

Sadie Wants a Treat

Gracie Hard At Work

Friendship Pumpkin 2008

I had a great weekend. I got most of my to do list done and even got to relax some too. I went to work for a sorority recruitment event today and got some work done while waiting for the event to get over. I must have been fueled by the large DD coffee I drank because when I came home it was time for me to get busy. I put out some fall decorations. My apartment smells like apple and pumpkin goodness. Who cares if it's still almost 80 degrees out--I'm ready for fall. I was cleaning and organizing stuff (my favorite past time) so I turned on MTV for some mindless entertainment and realized that tonight was the VMAs. Britney actually won an award this year. Good for her. Also, there is a commercial for Paris Hilton's new show (My New BFF). I could puke. But what annoys me the most is I almost want to watch it but I will not. She's a fool.

But anyway, the real focus of my post today is my friend Angie. We have a lot of fun memories but the one that inspired me to take the above picture is about this time last year I went to our local farm stand to get some stuff and ran into Angie. She immediately looked at the cute sign I was holding that said "Pumpkin Patch" or something fallish like that. I had every intention of purchasing said sign. Angie really liked it too. Being the good friend I am, I handed it to her so she could buy it and I headed to find another one. I'm sure you can figure out where I'm going with this. Yes, that's right. There wasn't another one in the store. Angie laughed when I told her and still bought the sign...with a wave of her hand and a cheery "Kiss Kiss" shouted behind her, she was gone. It was a funny moment and one of my all time favorite Angie stories. She's a good friend. Perhaps she should be on the Paris Hilton BFF show.

All kidding aside, she's a great friend and very generous. In fact, last night she loaded my trunk up with cute decorations that she was getting rid of (she was tired of looking at them). And among those cute decorations was a little sign that said...what else...pumpkin patch.

Kiss Kiss!

Motherhood for Dummies

Tonight was the babysitting night. I have successfully kept Tyler (my friend Tara's son) content for over 8 hours. We went over to Angie's house tonight to play (me with Angie and Ava and Ty with Brock and friend) and then even went to Walmart to pick up Orange Juice so the kid doesn't have to drink diet coke or coffee (I mean, it might stunt his growth) After brushing his teeth and getting on jammies, he cuddled up on the couch to watch High School Musical and fell asleep. He's such a nice kid.

I've babysat my whole life and love kids. I want my own kids someday. But there is a part of me that wonders if I'll be a good mother. Will I nag too much? Will the words "because I said so" become a part of my vocab? Based on my experience with the 8 year old tonight-- probably. Those things are bound to happen. And I might not make a terrible mother because of that. I might just be the normal kind of mother that says no to the tube of liquid candy in line at the Walmart. (I mean honestly, are kids that lazy? They can't be bothered to chew candy?) And I might be the kind of mother that lets the kids stay up late on the weekend. I guess I won't know until it happens to me.
But for now, I'll fall asleep tonight feeling confident that I'm a damn good babysitter. :)

TGIF

Nothing interesting to mention. But I've never been so glad for a weekend. These are my plans so far:

1. Nails inthe morning (check)
2. Oil change (maybe Wednesday)
3. Laundry (check)
4. Maybe a football game...if it doesn't rain and if I feel like being social. (It rained)
5. A reception for Greek Alumni (check)
6. Cleaning up this apartment (check)
7. Putting out fall decorations (check)
8. Babysitting or going to dinner with members of the Real World cast ( babysat)
9. Sorority event on Sunday (check)
10. Netflix--I have Entourage Season 3 or 4 (check)
11. Finishing my book (almost)
12 . Naps--as many as possible (eh, naps are overated)

I'm quite an exciting girl, aren't I?

Blerg!

This is upsetting. Politics aside. Sarah Palin looks like Tina Fey. This creates a problem for me. I really like Tina Fey. I really don't want McCain/Palin to be in office. But think of the possible comeback of Fey on Saturday Night Live...

Why couldn't Obama pick a Jimmy Fallon look alike?

Hangin' Tough

I realize that I'm not 13 year old girl with posters from Teen Beat and Bop hanging all over my bedroom. That ship sailed a long time ago. However, while I was at Walmart tonight I bought the new New Kids on the Block CD. It's true. I really needed to do it. There is something about the New Kids that always turns me into that 13 year old girl. While I no longer dream of becoming Mrs. Knight and I can admit that the dances and songs were a little cheesy, there is still that part of me that reverts to the girl that listened to The Right Stuff on repeat (okay, so I had to rewind it every few minutes on my tape player) and thought of whatever boy I liked at that moment. I had a New Kids scrapbook, I had that huge button to wear on my jean jacket, I made my Dad record them every time they were on TV. I was a fan. A big fan.

While a lot of time has passed and my musical taste has evolved, I can admit that I was excited when I heard of the NKOTB reunion. And it's kind of nice to know that no matter how old I am, I will always be that 13 year old girl. And maybe, just maybe, deep down I do still dream of becoming Mrs. Knight.

Am I A Groupie?

While I was sitting at my desk trying to find anything more interesting to do than finalize the plans for Family Weekend, I caught a glimpse of 2 tickets for David Sedaris hanging on my bulletin board. On September 28th I have a hot date with Cristina to go to Albany (maybe we can see Beth for dinner) to see our favorite author. He's hilarious. If you enjoy writing dripping with sarcasm and wit. It's even better hearing him read his stories in person. We went a few years ago (when she was VERY pregnant with Sam) to see him. I secretly hoped that she would give birth while we were there so that we could appear in one of his stories. She didn't.

But anyway, I'm pretty excited to go to see him again. I mean, how can you resist writing like this?

"Sallie Mae sounds like a naive and barefoot hillbilly girl but in fact they are a ruthless and aggressive conglomeration of bullies located in a tall brick building somewhere in Kansas. I picture it to be the tallest building in the state and I have decided they hire their employees straight out of prison. It scares me."

This is why I love to read his work. And you should too.

Congratulations

I've never been so tired in my life. Well, maybe that's a tad dramatic but I'm pretty tired. My feet hurt and I haven't had a hot meal in days. BUT, I don't care about any of that because I had a great weekend and hope that the bride (and her mom) had a great day yesterday. The wedding was lovely. I loved the location and the weather was perfect.

But J-Lo (Wedding Planner, not Jenny from the Block) I'm not. She made that crap look easy. Not that I was the wedding planner by any means. I was just there to do whatever came up. I think being a wedding planner would be fun. Not as fun as being a pro organizer, but a close second. I just hope I was helpful and not a hot mess walking around. In any case, I had so much fun with the bride and her family and friends. Rachel and Jess were F.U.N. (If you girls are reading this, just imagine me giving you the Kangarooby sign) Here are some pictures that I got of the reception room during the decorating process.

The Sweetheart Table (not finished yet)

Barb made the chair things. Cute huh?

The Room (it's a bit blurry)

The Buffet

Kangarooby out!