fun weekend!

The last few weeks have been fun. And the coming weeks are going to be a blast! My birthday is in a few weeks (November 18th to be exact. I'll be expecting presents!). I am seeing Taylor Swift with Shannon at MSG two days before Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving I am going to my friend Ashley's wedding. It's just going to be such fun!

This past weekend I spent some time with my best friend April! She has her big-girl-adult job working as a reporter for the UN section of Japan's largest circulating newspaper's NYC bureau. Seeing her is rare because if she comes home for the weekend, it's late Friday night and I am working 95% of the time. So Saturday morning I took the train into Penn Station, where she met me. We walked around in that area for awhile before going to see a play. I feel very "cultured" after seeing a play in NYC. I don't know why but I do! We saw "Follies" which had Bernadette Peters in it. It was a rather interesting play about these people who were actors and having one last party in their theater before it was condemmed. They were having flashbacks. It was nice. But the weather was crappy! Umm, snow for OCTOBER? What in the hell?!

After the play we went back to her apartment after eating at a cute cafe Omonia or something that designed the cake in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". We watched "Bridesmaids" because April had not seen it yet and drank some wine with her roommate Katie when she got back. Katie, April and I all went to high school together so it was nice. Sunday morning we walked around SoHo and shopped. I am on a mission to find some red high heels to wear with a dress to a wedding next month. I found a pair in a Marshalls that could work but didnt feel like lugging them around (I was already lugging my purse and my small Vera Bradley duffel). Overall, it was a fun weekend and I can't wait to go back in the spring. :)

And speaking of shoes, I tried 7 different stores today at the mall looking for red heels! I am not exaggerating when I said 7. I tried Macy's, JCPenney's, Aldo, Bakers, Shi, Steve Madden, White House Black Market, Sears, H&M....okay I lied. WAY MORE THAN SEVEN! Everything is like stilettos. And while some tall girls like myself feel comfortable wearing them, I by no means do not. I want to feel comfortable in them. I want to dance my pants off! I'd still like something with a heel...even if it was a kitten heel. If I have to, I will wear black but I'd like to do something different. I am going to try DSW this week and also if all else fails, the outlets!

I need to upload pictures like whoa. I am also super excited to see Footloose tomorrow! $6 tuesday...can't beat that!

.friday's confession.

Yeah about that....



1. I confess I am SO TIRED of people asking me to cover their shift when I say I am NOT available. There is a REASON why the manager asked for which days you can work and which days you can't. Not my fault if you have open availability and I have class and you don't wanna work. Suck it up. I'm all for making money but suck it up!

2. I confess I procrastinate going to the bank. It's not like it's a 5 mile drive. It's literally up the block. I just am too lazy to go to the bank.

3. I confess I am that person that will pick something up in Target and decide when I'm on the other side of the store I no longer want to buy it. So I just leave it somewhere. Yes, I am one of those. I figure "Hey, I'm giving someone that works there something to do!"

4. I confess that I'd sometimes rather just step over stuff on my bedroom floor than clean it up. Lazy much? Nah, just get suckered in to facebook, blogger or the TV.

5. I confess if Patrick Dempsey was standing in front of me, there would be naughty things done to him.*giggles* I mean, he is way older than I am but he is a hunk! Look at this sexy face:

6. I confess I am addicted to eyeshadows. Or just makeup in general.

7. I confess...I really dont feel like studying for the Spanish CST but seeing as I am working with someone who has taken it four times, maybe I can get some pointers. I'm hoping to pass it next month and be done with it!

.randoms.

I gots lots on da mind, and so I'm going to dump it all here. :)

-I wish I knew how to change the fonts on blogger. I am so not technologically savvy in that aspect. Way to be a LOSER!

-I am super excited to be going into the city this weekend! April is my BFF from home who got a job as a journalist one month after graduating/four days after moving back home! She works for Japan's largest circulating newspaper in NYC but she lives in Queens. So I am going to spend Sat & Sun with her. YAY! We're gonna try and see a play, Sister Act, with rush tickets. We shall how that goes.

-WAHOO for not having a $25 co-pay when I went to the gyno today. I was kind of shocked but it had something to do with the insurance companies trying to cover the annual exam and not make you pay. So hopefully I won't get billed for it. =) Also, I have to say I love how my doctor makes sure I get samples of my BC when needed and makes sure I have the insurance card to make it cheaper. Gotta love a doctor who looks out for her patients!

-I have a good work schedule next week. As in I do not have to work any doubles...WAHOO! I work Monday night (and yeah its halloween and does not bother me!), Wednesday Night, Fri night, Sat night and Sunday morning. Also I love this work schedule compared to my last job. My last job would be waitressing either 630-3 or 4 or 8-4. And i lived far away and had to wake up at the butt crack of dawn. let's face it that ain't a pretty sight in the AM!

-I'm pretty sure I am the only person who hopes to get picked to do jury duty! I got the questionnaire in the mail last week and finally submitted it online (watching Law & Order SVU reminded me to do that!).

-You know you're a teacher when you have 20 books on your wishlist on Amazon for your future classroom! Nerd alert!

-I have added so many good books (and free ones at that!) to my Kindle. Now when will I find time to read them?!

-I need a maid to clean my room. I really find no point in dusting it until the guys come back to finish my ceiling. Why clean up one mess when another one will just be created?!

-Considering how addicted I am to my iPod touch, my next phone will probably be an iPhone. My contract with my mom isn't up until April so we shall see. I LOVE my number and don't want to have to change it because of going onto my own plan (that's what they told me last year).

-The more adoption blogs I read, the more I feel inspired to pursue adoption. I have actually known for the longest time (probably since age 7 or 8) that I wanted to adopt. I wanted to have four kids of my own (preferably 2 boys, 2 girls) and adopt a fifth. I have been reading this family's story about adopting their little boy from Korea and the pictures/story are just heart warming. It shows me that there are still good people left in this world who want to make a different and share their love. Hopefully this does not come across as a creepy thing but the stories of these families inspired me greatly. I pray that the guy I marry shares my hope & desire to adopt. If not, well that can all be changed. :)

-Note to self: DO NOT BUY PANTS WITH THE ZIPPER IN THE BACK! I freaking kid you not a woman came into my job yesterday with her kids wearing these. Hey, more power to ya if you want easy access. But umm, it's weird the zipper is in the BACK. Unless she got dressed backwards in which case I'd still be laughing.

-It is really weird to not have my brother working on a Friday night. I mean, there have been occasions in the past where he has had the night off but this week and next week he is doing the "opening" shift in the morning. I'm so used to him being a closer. He is working a double tomorrow night but next Friday he is only working the morning shift (yes I loveeeeee that my job lets us see who is working on the days). Oh hey, we hired three new servers too. Let's see how many make it out of the training classes. I kid you not, they are hard. We take quizzes. Yeah, you read that right.

-I am going to see Footloose with Shannon & Olivia on Tuesday (holla $6 day/night!) and we're gonna have lunch beforehand. Wahoo.

-Okay, I for real need to go to bed. I'm going to eat bagels with first graders tomorrow morning with my niece. At 8:30am which I consider to be an ungodly hour. All because my lovely goddaughter asked me to. Who can resist this face?!

Oh, and I'm going to leave you with this picture of ghetto swag from the streets of NYC on Sunday. For real? Who the heck dresses like this and goes out in public?! (the chick all the way to the right wearing a gold tube top!)

.seriously.

Y'all need to link up with Becky at From Mrs to Mama for Seriously Thursday. It's those things that make you think "Seriously?!"


1. Seriously I cannot believe my boyfriend has NEVER seen the movie Forrest Gump before. Like, are you for real?! That movie is a classic! So I made him watch it last night. Well, what was his reaction? When I asked, he goes "I rate it a 6.5/10." SERIOUSLY?! SERIOUSLY?! That boy does not know a good movie.
Me and Jenny. We were like peas and carrots.

2. Seriously I cannot wait til my Thursday night class is over. Honestly, how many more sessions? It is a complete waste of my time and I honestly feel like I have learned diddly squat. And this professor is not my favorite to top it off.

3. Seriously...I am not looking forward going to the gyno doctor today. Oh the things we get to do because we are women. The utter joy. At least I won't have to go back for a year!

4. I just want it to be my birthday already so the boyfriend will tell me already where he is taking me on the cruise! I have been patient and waited long enough...seriously!

5. I'm not sure why but the whole concept of the show "Sister Wives" on TLC kind of creeps me out. Seriously, I would not want to have to share my husband with three other women and their kids! But if that's how you wanna roll with the flow in your family/life, more power to you.

6. Speaking of TLC, the Duggar family cracks me up. I was watching their episode the other night and Josh (the oldest) and his wife Anna live in this tiny little house, yet she drives a Hummer. Granted, I know he runs a car shop but still. It just cracks me up. That lifestyle is a whole other facet compared to living in New York but seriously, they crack me up!

7. I am about to cancel my credit card I have through my bank. They are pissing me off. I missed last month's payment because the bill got lost in the mess of the mail that comes into my house. So I paid it last week before it's due. First off, I get a bill saying it's late. Then they charge me the late fee AFTER I already received the bill. Then I get a letter saying my account is delinquent today?! Seriously TFCU....you make me angry! I just got off the phone from calling them and it is all fine and dandy now (minus the fact that looking at my bank account I got charged $12 in overdraft fees). Looks like I won't be using THAT card for awhile.

8. Seriously, I need to go to the bank like whoa. The amount of $$ I spent recently bewilders me. I have like zilch in my saving's account. I need to transfer my student loan money in PRONTO only hey, the bank won't let me. And I need to see if Chase will let me link it with that account. Otherwise, here goes Kristin spending $25 to have a check sent to me with that money. Seriously...that's a pain in the arse.

9. Seriously, I need to win the lotto. Or marry a rich dude. Until I can get some moola, I'll deal with my too big pants before I buy new ones.

10. I am seriously excited to come home tonight after class, get in my PJs, pig out while watching Grey's Anatomy & then going to bed. Life will be good.

What are you loving today?!

Today is one of my favorite link ups! Head over to Jamie's blog @ This Kind of Love to show what you're loving on What I'm Loving Wednesday!

{1}
I'm loving the color of my hair! Stephanie colored it for me last week when she got here and no one recognized me at my job when I went to work with my friends for dinner. One of my managers, Alyssa, told me to keep it the color I have now because it looks great. It's chocolate chestnut but Garnier but I love the look! IDK if you can tell what it looks like in this picture but this was a few hours after coloring it:

{2}
I'm loving that I passed the Students with Disabilities CST for my Special Education extension. It was a hard test but I passed! Now I can apply for my certificate and hopefully start applying for jobs. :)

{3}
I'm loving Kelly Clarkson's new album! I have been in the need of some new music and this was the perfect addition to my week!


{4}
I'm loving the text message my SIL Laurie sent me last night. My niece had called me and left my a message about something and my SIL told me it was that she wants me to go to a breakfast party at her school on Friday morning. Sara (my niece) said "Mommy-she probably won't--she has to work nights you know!" (Such a smartypants). To which when I said I'd love to go my SIL sent me this: "I was just going 2 text u 2 tell u how awesome u r, u take genuine time 2 b w/your nieces & nephew & they will always feel close 2 u. i had an awesome godmother growing up who always made me feel special. u do the same 4 sara-she loves u so much. u just needed to know that."

{5} I'm loving that my birthday is three weeks from Friday! I cannot believe how OLD I will be. OMG.

{6} I'm loving that Christmas is about two months away!! HOLY COW. Where did 2011 go?! I can't wait to decorate the tree, wrap presents, and watch this movie on repeat for 24 hours on Christmas eve. I can do without the snow this winter! ;)

Life in the fast lane

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"-John Lennon

Well, that about sums up the past week! I realized while I have been reading my blogs, I haven't written. I think it just got chaotic! Wednesday my ceiling got finished and the guys are *suppose* to come back this week to finish it. Let's see if they actually do because they have not been here the past two days!

Thursday, I drove to LaGuardia airport to pick up my best friend from Georgia! Allison came with me and we were the nerds that made signs for her. Allison made a "Welcome Home" sign and I wrote one with her name, as if I was her limo driver picking her up. She got a chuckle out of them when she finally came down the escalator. It was SOOOOOOO good to see her! The last time I saw her was 6 months ago when I went to visit her. The time before that? Two years ago when she came to visit all of us (our circle of friends) at school the semester after she graduated. We went out to dinner that night and up to New Paltz on Friday, which was an AMAZING time. I have TONS of pictures to upload but here's one of us (with my boyfriend being cut out of it) at Dave & Buster's on Thursday:



One downside is while Steph was here, she lost her license! It somehow disappeared between the bar on Friday night and Sunday morning on the train to NYC when I realized it was gone when I saw it wasn't in her wallet. Of course she had it to show to the bouncer to get into the bar but I don't honestly remember that much after that. On the train to the city Sunday, we called the hotel we stayed in, the bar, the pizza place we went to to use their bathroom when the bar wouldn't let us back in at 4am, etc. No one had it. She only has to pay $5 to replace it compared to $80+ here in New York. But she freaked out about flying home. Luckily she had her SS card, credit cards, her school id, etc and was just subjected to a little extra screening.

I am oh-so-sad that she is back in Georgia. :( It was such an AMAZING time this weekend and a rather quick visit. I cannot wait to go down to Georgia/South Carolina with Olivia and Shannon in January and plan out the areas we want to visit to look at for possible living situations and moving to! Any suggestions in the Atlanta area or South Carolina, please let me know!! I will *always* be a NY girl but I need warmer weather in the winter!!

Good news is I passed my Students with Disabilities Content Specialty Test that I took back in September! WAHOO!!! Once I finish my two classes this semester and apply to NYS for the certification, I can teach anything special ed. How awesome is that? At least I think that's all I have to do. I need to email the certification coordinator to double check and be sure. And if I could just pass the Spanish CST on November 12th, I will be completely done with certification for NYS! And can then worry about Georgia certification, ha ha.

Also, I didn't really appreciate the email my professor sent me. Not going to get into it but her response was a bit snobbish. I really despise that class and cannot WAIT until it is over. Thank the lord.

Sleeping 11 hours last night did my body wonders. As I sit here watching 19 Kids & Counting (btw, I seriously think Michelle Duggar needs an update on her hair...this isn't the 90's anymore), I realize that I wanna go sleep. Until tomorrow, home skillets.

Hello fall!

It has definitely gotten colder over the last week, week and a half. Ever since Saturday I have woken up with a congested nose that when I blow it is like the Nile River (sorry, TMI) and a semi sore throat. I get like this every fall, which is why I DETEST this season. I totally prefer summer!

My room is finally in the process of being finished. Two years ago my brother Mark painted it a lovely shade of lime green for me (my choice!) When he painted the ceiling, it started bubbling and when he tried to peel it to fix it, it ended up just being a big old mess. Plus I had no molding around my closet doors. My mom finally found a handy man to do all these repairs we need around the house. My ceiling was spackled and primed yesterday and will be painted today! YAY! The guys were here yesterday, today, and tomorrow. My mom told them I am having company on Thursday so they'd have to come back next week. I am super excited that it'll FINALLY be good again and will be able to finish the decorating I have wanted to do. =)

Last night was a super slow night at work. So much to the point Sarah and I were eating cupcakes that I baked. Really. Haha. And I played with a flashlight. Sarah has a picture of me on her phone with it because a customer was on the phone begging me to look for her wallet that she lost on Sunday night. That thing someone probably stole, is long gone, or she lost it somewhere else. And then I was introduced to the wonderful app "Hanging with Friends." It's Scrabble & hangman put together. In addition to already being addicted to playing "Words with Friends," this spells bad news!!

I am standing in my kitchen as I type this since my room is being worked on. Which is completely fine because I need to at least attempt to pick up the downstairs since Steph comes...in two days! So excited does not even begin to describe it. She keeps telling me she does not care if my house is clean (because let's face it, as soon as I clean off a counter or a room, someone messes it up...a casualty of living with 3 of 4 brothers at home.

I really don't feel like going to class tonight. At all. Its from 7-10:45. I am hoping to only be there til 9:30 the latest. It's not that bad considering he cancellled last week but I really just dont have the patience after 930 to be in class. My fault for taking it now but I'd rather drive 10 minutes down the road then 25 in the opposite direction to the other campus. At least I only spent $40 renting the textbook when it is like $90 to rent from the school bookstore. Seriously, that was always the biggest rip off!!

I am also re-dying my hair when Steph comes to visit. The first time I colored it was when I was in high school right after prom. I had grown it out and donated it to Locks of Love the day after prom. Let's see...which shade looks best on me?

(Dark freshmen year)

Going back to my natural-ish color sophomore year (wow my hair was LONG!! I kind of miss it!)

(Blonde before I dyed it junior year)

Reddish-brown tint senior year.

I think I am going to go to a darker route. Some people love me as a blonde but I personally like a darker color!! The only question is since my eyebrows are a natural-ish color, do I dye them with the hair dye?

I'm going to leave you all hanging in a loop and wait to see what color it ends up being!

{Ugh, As if!} Seriously

All right y'all. This is another favorite link-up of mine. Seriously Thursday with Becky at From Mrs to Mama!

1. If you're going to drive up my @$ when I'm already speeding and I can't go faster, you need to calm yourself down and move over. I HATE when people drive up my butt and you can't do anything about it. SERIOUSLY!

2. Seriously, I am BEYOND BEYOND excited to see my best friend next week!! AHH!! The countdown is now into SINGLE DIGITS! :)

3. Seriously, I'm wondering how many phone calls/texts I will get next weekend to cover people's shifts. No thank you, I put my RO in months ago!

4. Seriously, my thursday night could not be more of a waste of my time. I don't think I have learned one thing in it!

5. Sometimes, my dog thinks she is a human. She could be in a deep sleep in the hallway and hear you open a bag of pretzels or something and INSTANTLY finds where you are. Seriously, it's kinda annoying....yet kinda funny at the same time.

6. Seriously, the job market for teaching in New York just stinks. I am on OLAS every day and I cannot find a teaching job. Seriously, this just gives me more motivation to move to the South!

7. Seriously allergies, not cool. The ability to breathe out of my nose would be splendid. Looks like I'm investing in stock for Claritin. Where are my coupons?!

8. Can someone seriously smack some motivation and get my butt moving? I need to work out. I know I am the only person that can make myself do it. But I would like to actually feel better about myself. I need to see about an arm guard for running with my ipod touch. I have one for my nano which I might use but sometimes with music ad/hd, that ain't gonna fly.

9. I wanted to go apple picking this weekend on Sunday with my boyfriend and possibly another friend & her boyfriend (with whom my boyfriend is friends with). Seriously, most of the online sites for the local places out East say they have no apples due to Hurricane Irene. Seriously?! Sometimes I hate mother nature.

10. My boyfriend can tell me where he is taking me for the cruise that he says he is giving me as my birthday present. Seriously, I have done ENOUGH waiting. I just wanna sit here:

and sip this:

{Extreme Couponing}

If you're like me and you like reality TV as mindless television, well awesome! This is one of my favorite shows. I love a good bargain. Probably because I was raised by a good bargain lady herself. My mom is one of my role models (although she probably forgets/doesn't know) because of her ability to rasie 5 kids (one of with a disability) all by herself (not her choice...my dad died before I was born) in a good school-district town. She is the HARDEST person to get her to buy something for herself. If she does, 95% of the time she ends up returning it. It's like you have to convince her to keep it. And she did use coupons when we were growing up/used any money saving tactic for a family of 6 on one income.

Because of her awesome saving skills have transpired over to my brain, she consistently jokes "you'll be able to buy a house before you get a man!"....Gee, thanks ma! But no, I kid. I like to get things on sale. My mind is almost trained when I go into a store to go from clearance items, to sale items, to full priced. I once got a zip up hooded sweatshirt in Aeropastle originally priced at $40 for $2.99!! I do like to clip coupons for me for makeup or other items...and for my mom when I go grocery shopping for her.

But Extreme Couponing....that show brings it to a WHOLE new level. Some of the stores these people shop at, we don't have in New York. Also, after the first time I watched this show I looked up the coupon policy at the two stores my mom and I do the most shopping at (Stop & Shop and Pathmark). They only allow ONE manufacturer coupon per item.

So when you look at these people on Extreme Couponing, it makes me laugh. Yes, you are providing for your family. But do you really need to buy 300 bottles of soda?! That WILL expire. Or allergy medicine?! How can you possibly use all of that before the expiration date?! I can't even finish one pack of Claritin and there are still four other people in my house. I mean, there was one lady on an episode last night (she was from CT) who called her insurance agent for a quote for insurance on her stockpile (and she said she was not kidding)...ARE YOU FOR REAL?! That is a whole new level. Don't get me wrong. I'm ALL for a bargain and saving money. It's a fun game to play at the grocery store. But some of these people are in the store for almost 9 hours. Or buy 200 newspapers a week to get coupon inserts. That's ridiculous! If you want to dedicate 35 hours a week to that, the more power to you. I think there is the possibility to coupon, just not to that insane extent!

I would like to figure out some sights online to get coupons from to try to do this more. Don't get me wrong..there is NOTHING wrong with coupons. I just dont think I will EVER do it to the extent on the show because I wouldnt want all that stuff.

Ipod mishap!

I am SERIOUSLY addicted to playing words with friends on my ipod touch. Like it's bad. I have multiple games going with the same people (my aunt & I have three games going!).

So naturally, I was playing it tonight when I got out of work early as I was eating a bowl of soup. Suddenly, it slipped into the bowl of soup. I SCREAMED! I mean, I pretty much made this face:


So I ran and got my towel and dried off the screen, the holes where the charger & headphones go in, the headphone buttons on the side and the "hold" button at the top. I also sucked any of the soup out of any holes and cleaned the screen with the cleaner I use for my macbook pro. I still finished a few games of Words with Friends. But it is currently sitting in a bowl of rice on my desk, drying it out. Hopefully it'll work! I would be pissed if it ended up being fried! So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Wednesday Fun

Time for my favorite link-up of the week! It's What I'm Loving Wednesday with Jamie over at This Kind of Love. Link up to show what you're loving!

I'm loving that in EIGHT days (aka 10/20) my best friend Stephanie will be here from Georgia! I cannot wait to see her:

I'm loving that my class was cancelled last night. I felt productive doing all the stuff I did while NOT in class.

I'm loving that after working two doubles this weekend, I will have the next two weekends off. =) After working 6 days straight last week at work, I was in a major need for a lazy day off (which I had yesterday!)

I'm loving rerun marathons of Law & Order Special Victims Unit on USA. That's what I spent my lazy afternoon/night last night doing. 6 hours of episodes=a happy Kristin! Only the current season would be better if this hottie was in the episodes:


I'm loving the activities my friends and I are planning this weekend. Saturday night I think a bunch of us are going bowling (it's so much fun!) and Sunday, my boyfriend, my BFF & her boyfriend (who is friends with mine) are doing a double date out East to pumpkin pick/apple pick. I just hope I can find a place with apples left that are not wiped out from the hurricane!

I'm loving these Essie nail colors:










I'm loving this little munchkin and how she'll be 7 on December 6th. SEVEN?! Where did the time go? She is my precious munchkin/goddaughter:

(her kindergarten picture last year)

{i can see clearly now the rain is gone}

Ummm, well there is no rain. In fact, we've been having an Indian summer here on Long Island the past few days. It's so nice! I hope this means we won't be bombarded with insane amounts of snow this winter. PLEASE MOTHER NATURE, no SNOW! I HATE IT!

And in other news, the title of this post refers to my last post about that lost contact. I have worn contacts (when not wearing my lovely glasses) since I was in 8th grade. Way back in the years 2000-2001. I have NEVER had an issue with them and feeling like I lost them...until last night. When my brother woke me up at the ungodly hour of 7:30am on ONE of the few days I could sleep in (why he did that I do NOT know) to move my car (cause i dont hang my keys), my right eye felt like it was sore/irritated/possibly swollen a little. I ended up calling my eye doctor and they squeezed me in. Couple of drops and a poke in my eyeball later, turns out the lense must have fallen out and disappeared into the abyss last night when i came home from work. He lifted my eye up to see if it was wedged up there but he says it wasn't. So my eye was just REALLY irritated and he said I was good to go. While I am glad I had it checked out, I hope my eye stops bothering me once I go to sleep tonight. I'd like to know where that sucker went.

Happy as a clam was the best way to describe me when I found out my three hour, 45 minute class (and I do not lie) was cancelled for Tuesday night. I was actually productive in finding ALL the papers I needed to copy to mail in to try to get a payment for my hospital bill from when I had surgery at the end of 2010. Oh the joys. Sure, let's take a 9cm tumor out of you and charge you a gazillion dollars (Not really). Maybe once they see I owe SO MUCH MONEY in LOANS from undergrad and grad, they'll take pity on me...
fat chance!

Also, the Duggar family tends to creep me out. First off, I would never EVER have 19 children! God Bless your heart if you can! I'm one of 5 (the baby) and I think that is PLENTY! I had myself a good laugh because Michelle (aka the mother who popped them all out) tried wake boarding....in her t-shirt and dress. Hello?! Do you NOT own a bathing suit? I get every family has their own ways of living and values and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I just dont think I could ever dress the way they do (hello, they don't wear pants?!) but to each their own.

Paris, anyone?!? April (my BFF...the small one as I like to refer to her) and I have always discussed the idea of doing a vacation in Paris. Paris and Italy were two places (of many) I did not get to travel to while I studied abroad. *enter sad face/play the violin here* Now that she has her "I-put-on-my-big-girl-pants-and-have-a-real-life-job" and I could just figure out how to get the money, we are looking into going! I googled some flight prices for roughly 10-11 days (of maybe just Paris or maybe both Paris and Rome) and it seems cheaper to go in May/beginning of June. It is only in the works, so this is something we will have to discuss further.

My mom hired a handy man to finish a bunch of miscellaneous repairs around our house...like finish the molding/fix my ceiling/shelf in my room, regrout the tub in the bathroom upstairs, eventually have her bathroom fixed, etc. *All of this makes me NOT look forward to owning a home one day!* I am excited for this to finally happen.

Also, I will be doing back flips (not really) on Friday. My brother Eric is FINALLY getting his car back (or so he says because he has been telling me this for weeks now) so I will stop carting his ass around town. Tomorrow is the last time he is allowed to borrow my car and if he does not have it back by 915 (he has to do something in the early am and um, NO THANK YOU to driving him there) I will be pissed off. Seriously, he's 30...he needs to get his act together and stop relying on me. I BETTER be getting a birthday present and good Christmas gift from him for all the "favors" (aka driving him) I did the last two-three months. If he is still carless, I will flip out.

Also, I need to work out. Like whoa. I just wish I didn't look so dumb when I ran out in public. maybe...just maybe i'll get some motivation soon and run with my ipod.

peace out homies.

Lost Contact in my eye..OW!

You might be wondering how I'm typing this if the title says there's a lost contact in my eye. Well, I wear both contacts and glasses. Obviously not at the same time, duh. That'd be weird. I wore my contacts today and when i came home, I went to take them out. I have NO idea if the right one came out. My left one did but I looked on my desk (I was standing near it using the mirror to take them out)...no where. On my carpet, no where. On my body? Nope. I can DEFINITELY feel something poking me in my eye/it feels sore. My mom tried flushing it out with water and while it BURNED my eye, nothing. I am currently wearing my glasses...hence why I am able to see and type. I am hoping by going to sleep, it'll move down my eye and "fall out" so I am able to see normal again.

Would I be a big moron to go to my eye doctor tomorrow to see if it is lodged up there somehow (I dont know how it would be)? Watch it not be and it fell out somewhere and my dumb brain didn't notice.

Off to dream land...and praying this thing does not blind me in my sleep.

Thanks Columbus

Dear Columbus, Thank you for giving us this day off from school. Not that it applies to me because I am not teaching nor do I have class today. That will change once I get an *actual* teaching job (in 257232365034 years). HOORAY.

I do not mind working. And I get when I'm teaching I'll work 5 days straight. But at my job right now, when it is super slow and you're on the second day of listening to people whine (aka co-workers) about how slow it is, you just want to slap them. It was super slow at work. What did I wake up to today? A text message asking me to cover the am shift? Oh work a double after working 6 days? No thank you. I have a ton of school work to catch up on (as I relax with movies before I go to work later). I am SUPER excited for my day off tomorrow. Don't get me wrong. I do like my job & co-workers. I'm just tired of people whining.

My mouth is killing me. I had a dental cleaning last week and it left my mouth sore all day. After Tuesday, it went away. But I woke up this morning and it is killing me. Hopefully it will pass because I am actually hurting. Boo.

I just might want to clean my room...and have a floor so the air mattress will fit on it! HAHA. Maybe I should go do that and be productive.

{Weekend Pinterest fun}

I am so tired right now. Probably was not the smartest idea staying up til 4am but I had an awesome day/night (after work) with my friends. We watched "Bridesmaids" (seriously, so funny) and had some drinks. Nothing like good conversations with good friends to make you realize you are the luckiest. ;) And during our conversations we came up with the following things:
-No big butt bows....or no butt bows AT ALL....on bridesmaid dresses
-We all have to go to shopping with each other for wedding dresses...to make sure we don't let our friends walk down the aisle in something heinous.
-Have an open bar. Because that just spells good time right there =)
-Seeing as two of us are teachers (myself & Shannon), do not name your kids something ridiculously hard. Hello, do you want the kid to be made fun of in school?

And on another note, I have been watching Lifetime movies all evening. All depressing ones. It's not often I get a night to myself. =) Seriously, I could be productive and get onward with cleaning my room since Steph will be here in 12 days! But rather, I am having fun on Pinterest. Here are some of my favorite things that I love and have made me giggle:

so cute. i wish it was still warm weather!

melt my heart. i would put this above the bed in the master bedroom in my future home.

i love this quote.

love this quote!

isn't that the truth?

HAHA many of those nights in college.

rick astley!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. i think i laughed for 5 minutes when i saw this.

o...m...g...i want a dog like this! so precious!

PS....I love this commercial. Maybe I am a nerd and it's because I am a Spanish teacher but I find it hysterical!

Thursday...it's SERIOUS!

This is one of my favorite link ups. Who does not love a good rant?!

Link up with Becky at From Mrs to Mama!


Seriously...how do I ALWAYS get stuck behind old people that seem to drive 30mph when its 55mph? OMG IT DRIVES ME INSANE!!! I am probably one of the worst people to drive with because stupid drivers tick me off.

Seriously...I really enjoy paying $2400 for a class and the teacher does not teach crap! It's a three hour class and I have taught myself more reading the textbook than sitting in her class. Very nice & personable..just not teaching what I hoped.


Seriously...the amount of stuff I have to do before Steph is here in two weeks is kinda big. And tedious. And annoying. I REALLY need to clean my room. Like bad. And pick up the rest of my house. And clean out my car. There are simply not enough hours in the day.


Seriously...Snooki is probably the FUNNIEST person on the Jersey Shore. (Okay, so this one is not a rant). She is pretty funny. Example from tonight's episode: "When people function this early in the morning, I feel like this isn't real life. It's like a video game." or "I've never seen a nun before!" *runs after said nun*


Seriously...can Meredith & Derek just get back together on Grey's already? It makes me sad.


Seriously...cannot believe I met Teresa Guidice last night! She was super nice!

{WILW!}

It's Wednesday, y'all! I am back with my favorite link-up What I'm Lovin Wednesday with Jamie @ This Kind of Love. Be sure to check out her cute blog!

I'm loving that I got to meet Teresa Guidice tonight from Real Housewives of New Jersey. I got my number early this morning, switched my shift with a co-worker and waited. She wore a red dress and was REALLY nice! I kind of wish I had leaned in closer when I got my picture taken (which I will post tomorrow). I'm just happy. My first celebrity encounter!

I'm loving that I have a fabulous day on Friday with friends...including a wine & movie night after I work. We're gonna watch this fantastic movie (you have to see it if you haven't):
(Bridesmaids!)

I'm loving that two weeks from tomorrow Stephanie will be here!!

I'm loving the book "The Help." I may be behind on reading it (I already saw the movie) but it is fantastic!


I'm loving that all my fall shows are back. I love watching Extreme Couponing (seriously, who has time to dedicate 20 hrs a week to couponing?!). I'm sad Dance Moms is done. I hope it comes back for another season!!


I'm loving that I have Saturday night to myself! I think I'll spend some time with my mom and watch a movie. =)

I'm loving my Dunkin Donuts K-cups in french vanilla coffee...thank god for it or I would not be able to function in my days.


I'm loving that my boyfriend's mom's doctor called back with *GOOD* news about her surgery from last week. Praise the Lord she is in good health. =)


What are y'all loving this week?!

{Exciting NEWS!!}

Raise yo hand if you are a Disney fan!!! *raised hand high!!* (Seriously, if you are not, SHAME on you!). I absolutely love Disney World. I went twice this year....January with 4 college friends and in August with my brother & his family & my mom.

So I was super excited when they re-released The Lion King in theaters. It didn't matter to me if it was in 3D or not. Shannon, Olivia and I were super thrilled and saw it opening day! Sidenote: it is now the top 10th grossing movie of all time apparently according to the radio today.

Tonight, I looked at Disney's facebook page and there was a status update that said Disney & Pixar studios were re-releasing four movies next year (well, starting). And what might those movies be? Well, two of the four are my FAVORITES! They're re-releasing Beauty & The Beast (omg SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!), The Little Mermaid (I was just talking about how I wanna see this again/buy it on DVD), Monsters Inc & Finding Nemo. I feel like the last two are not that exciting because they're more recent. The other two were out when I was little. I am SO FREAKING EXCITED! *does the happy dance*

Also, I am keeping my fingers crossed. Go ahead and laugh but I am a fan of Teresa Guidice (from RHONJ aka Real Housewives of New Jersey). I have loved her from season 1 of the show. So when I stumbled upon the fact that she was doing a book signing tomorrow at the Barnes & Noble right at the mall where I work...TWO doors down from where I work....I freaked out! I begged my boyfriend to go stand in line for me and get her autograph! He said he would, except now he might have to work. :( Boo. And of course, I can't switch my shift. So here's to hoping I can BUST out of work at 930 and see if she's still there. It was originally suppose to start at 7 but now it's starting at 7:30. (I secretly hope there's a ton of traffic from Great Neck to the mall where I am so she's late & I can attend ;) I also just mapquested the other store she's doing it at and it's roughly a 49 minute drive w/o traffic....in Long Island, good luck! I hope it works out. I'm still going to go get a number tomorrow morning at 930 to see if I have a slim chance of meeting her)

I actually bought this cookbook from Barnes & Noble (her second one of course) and want to try some recipes from it!:

{Oh how the years go by...}

And oh how the years go by...
And oh how the love brings tears to my eyes
All through the changes the soul never dies
We fight, we laugh, we cry
As the years go by...


College. Oh how I miss it. Well, I don't really miss the classes and homework/papers. Or the dining hall food. Our dining hall was called "Hasbrouck"...my friends and I lovingly referred to it as "Haspuke" because let's face it, it was NOT mom's home cooking! Although I was utterly upset when they got rid of the chicken patties that were on Tuesday/Thursdays...those were the days I liked going to the dining hall!

They say that college is the best four years of your life. Or sometimes five years in certain cases. You can meet your future spouse, make life altering decisions (like completely changing your major or something) and meet your life long friends. I had an amazing four years at New Paltz. Part of my heart still is up there in the mountains. I cannot wait to visit there when Steph is here in a few weeks! (Almost 16 days!)

I often get nostalgic about these memories. My friends and I made some interesting choices...to say the least. There were a lot of nights that we tried to piece back together the next day. Lots of laughs. Lots of memories. And forgive me for the picture overload now as I look back. =)

FRESHMEN YEAR (wow, we were such babies!)

Liz, Me, Heather & Olivia at church street

One of many nights hanging out in Room 204

The GIANT Dr.Seuss picture my RA put on our bathroom door

Pretending to be the Spice Girls haha

Springtime!

One of those many "Oh that night"

FYI Food Drive! {Note, I was not part of this first year group...all my friends were}

Sitting on the New Paltz sign walking to town

Spirit Day!

My birthday! And yes, my friends gave me a menorah.

Buddha & I

Suitemates! {Liz, Becky [my roommate], Esperanta, Kara, Theresa, Nikki [our RA/suitemate] and me}

HAHA Olivia...oh those "innocent" nights

Secret Santa!

Freaky hair night

Yeah, we had dry erase boards on the back of both of our stall doors. And had conversations.

My frat buddy Andrew. I miss my Vermont friend!

Me, Nikki, Jenny and Cara the day I moved out. These girls were Nikki's friends and I became friendly with them. I miss them all! <3

SOPHOMORE SLUMP (aka the year we'd like to all forget!)

Steph & I at a KDPhi Party

Dressing up as Jen A for Halloween

Orientation buddies! {Me & Eric}

Halloween....Britney Spears {her baby one more time video} and Girls Gone Wild!

Kindergarten night!

Group shot at KDPhi!

Ran into Cara outside the bar! <3

Girls Gone Wild

Cara & I again!

South Side Complex Girls

Heather's birthday

Me, Steph and Jenna @ KDPhi party

Playing around before Christmas break

One of my favorite pictures

Playing "Kings" in Lefevre 303!

Allison, Me, Steph and Steph's friend Kristen on Spring Break!

Water Balloon fight night!

Palm Trees! Anna Maria Island, FL

JUNIOR YEAR! (half way there!)
*This is a rather short year because part of my year was spent in Spain! My spring semester, I studied abroad!*

21st birthday!

Me & Mariel {I look pretty good for just getting off 9 different medicines for bronchitis}

First *legal* drink purchase at Applebee's!

My roommate Allison being a dork

Spirit Day!

Halloween...we both went as waitresses.

Roomies! {Lord, my hair was BLONDE}

Getting in touch with my Jewish side!
Allison & I used to have contests of balancing the recyclables until it fell over to see who had to take it down to the trash room.

Circle K conference in Lake George!

SENIOR YEAR! {Look How Far We've Come!}

Secret Santa

Me with the giant cookie Liz baked for my birthday!

Trailer Trash Night....interesting night!

One of my favorite pictures from senior year!

Fishbowl Thursday!

Halloween!

The weekend Steph came to visit. The best friends a girl can have!

The table at Church Street! <3

Best friend {My hair was really blonde!}

Heather & Me

One of our last nights hanging out at Church Street!
{Shannon, Amanda, Me}

{Girls Just Wanna Have Fun}

{Out to dinner for Heather's birthday!}
{Me & Olivia!}
{BFF Always}

Graduation!
{Emily, Jade, Olivia, Sarah, Shannon, Heather, Me}

{The best friends anyone could have asked for in four years of college}
{This depicts us all PERFECTLY}
{Olivia & I!}

{Exit off the NYS Thruway for school}

There are places I remember
All my life
Though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all