Pretty Polish

Although I was admittedly addicted to fake nails throughout high school and college, I refuse to pay for a manicure now that I am paying for everything on my own (sorry, dad, for wasting your money all those years).

I just bought this color:

It is OPI's "Manicurist of Seville" and I HIGHLY recommend. I love it!

I have a fresh mani / pedi and I'm all set for another work week.

Painting my nails may have been the only productive thing I've done all day, but everyone deserves a day off. (I'm assuming catching up on DVRed Project Runway and taking a 2 hour nap doesn't count as productive..?)

Side note: I also attempted to balance my checkbook today and realized several weeks back I ADDED $500 instead of SUBTRACTING that purchase! No wonder my statement wasn't balancing...oops! I've fixed that minor mistake now just in time for payday this week.

Fall in love with Fall

Have I mentioned just how much I LOVE the fall?!

Here are several reasons why:

Order a "Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte" from Starbucks and I promise you will not be dissapointed. Everything great about fall in one little cup.

• Weather is cooling down and I can begin to wear turtlenecks and scarves - my favorite!!
• Seasons of my favorite shows - including Desperate Housewives - have started once again. I love curling up with a blanket and watching some TV to relax.
• It is now acceptable to make chili. I have this delicious recipe for White Chicken Chili cooking in my crock pot currently. Try it, it's super easy: 

2-3 cooked chicken breasts

1 (32oz) box of chicken broth

1 jar of mild or medium salsa

3 cans of northern beans

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

1/2 onion chopped and sauteed

Add all the ingredients to a crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Delicious with corn bread or by itself! Enjoy :)

• All the leaves are beginning to change colors and they look B-E-A-utiful!
• My birthday (the most important day of the year, if you didn't already know...) is less than a month away!

• Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner...and that means days off from work! woohoo!

Hope you all are enjoying this season as much as I am!

Obsession.

I cannot peal my eyes away from this show.

I know, I know, I'm no longer a teenager...in fact, i'm several years removed. However, this drama-filled, totally unrealistic show has me hooked.

Please, Peyton and Lucas get back together soon!

BOOtiful Idea

Halloween is coming up and I need a little help with costume ideas, seeing as I've been an indian 4 years in a row.

Last year I copied the fabulous idea of being a rock star. Which I LOVED because it was so out of character for me.

Please note the fabulous acting skills.

I was thinking of being a rock star again this year, but I'd hate to be a repeat costume offender yet again. I better get to work...the big day is getting close. I have Halloween plans before I even have a costume...eek!

I'll eat healthy starting next week...

I learned first hand last night why it is a bad idea to go to the grocery store hungry and unsupervised.

Came home with iced animal cookies, reeses peanut butter cups, chips and salsa, and ingredients to make homemade fudge. Oops ;)

Day at the Races

I may have gotten the best deal ever. Yesterday, through a group of "young professionals" that I am a member of, we took a big trip to Keeneland Horse Track for a day of trying to stay warm, tailgating, betting and fun.

For only $45, we were served breafast (Bruegger's Bagels-my favorite!), lunch (which was terrible and made me very grateful that I ate the entire bagel), and dinner, all you can drink, transportation on charter busses there and back, a tailgate (with flipcup and cornhole), admission to the track, and an afterparty once we got back home! Although I didn't bet on any races, I think I came home a definite winner.

The five of us signed up for the trip together hoping to meet new people in the area. What better way than being stuck on a bus for hours?!

I'm so grateful for my friendship with Laura. I may go crazy up here without her constant optimism.

As an added bonus, I also got to see sorority sisters who were having a separate tailgate. I miss them every. day.

How quickly habits change with a full time job...

I'm so proud of myself because I got up at 5:45am (!!!) this morning to workout before heading to the office. Although I would not classify myself as a "morning person," this was a great start to my day. I know it will get even harder to wake up as it gets cold outside, and it's depressing to get to the gym and return before the sun is even in the sky, but as of now I plan to maintain this routine. I need to go to bed at about 9:45 to get enough sleep, but I really enjoy having my whole night free to do nothing whatever I want. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up. My alarm is set for early early again tomorrow morning so I better get to bed. Goodnight!

Happy Birthday Auntie Lori =)

I'll be thinking of you and hoping you have a wonderful day! (Although I wish we could be together...)

You are such an inspiration to me. Thank you for being so supportive during this transition time in my life.

I love you!

Dinner Date

Don't get too excited..my date was not with a boy.

However, it was with a new friend, which in my book is equally as exciting.

I was invited by a girl at work to come to her apartment and eat with her and her roommate. I was really looking forward to it and beyond impressed with her cooking skills! She cooked Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Grape Tomatoes and Zuchinni Orzo topped off with Pumpkin Pie for dessert~so fancy! And it was delicious! Inspired by the pumpkin pie dessert, we decided we are going to make our own Thanksgiving meal. One of the girls is from Guatemala, so she has never had an official Thanksgiving dinner. I feel it is my duty to introduce her to my true loves, stuffing and sweet potato casserole. Forget the turkey. We are sticking strictly to side dishes - bring on the carbs.

Although all three of us work for the same company, we are all in completely opposite departments...from IT to Finance to Consumer Knowledge. It was nice to meet them outside of work and to hear about their experiences with work so far. They began working the same time as me, and seem to be adjusting really well.

I'm so glad I went over for dinner, and I can't wait to hang out with them again soon!

Wonderful Weekend

After an awful week, all I could think about was spending the weekend at home. I cried almost the entire drive home, and after quality time with good friends I made the drive back in a much happier mood. =)

Mom and I went for sushi on Friday night when I got in town, and then came home and got distracted by a puzzle and mom believing she could sing oldies music.

On Saturday, I woke up early to go wedding dress shopping with one of my best friends. She found a dress that she looks stunning in. I feel so fortunate to get to go through this experience with her. I am beyond excited for her and her fiance, they are a beautiful couple.

After shopping all day, we went to dinner and hung out at her house (even though we had chinese food for dinner, we also made brownies...yumm!)

I have been so lonely lately (in fact, lonely is an understatement). It is hard to see the positive things in my life because I am currently surrounded by so many things I am uncomfortable or unhappy with. Being surrounded by people I love was just what I needed this weekend. It has given me new perspective, and I have realized I need to take action and begin finding out what makes me happy. I pray that I have strength to get through another week of work. I think I can, I think I can...

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times,
For during those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes,
For they will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings.
~Author Unknown

Perhaps by the tone of my last post you could tell that I'm feeling down today, and this quote was just what I needed to read. My dad always says you must go through tough times so that you can better appreciate the good ones. I need to focus on these positive thoughts. Although I'm feeling down and lonely today, better days are coming soon.

p.s. I did make it to the gym. And more imporantly, I made it home safe.

So. Annoying.

Let me start by saying I thought I was overall very satisfied with my apartment.

However, this week the people living above me have been extremely noisy. I swear they literally ROLL out of bed at about 4am. As in, they don't step out of bed like a normal person. I do believe their entire body slams on the ground as they summersault off their mattress. This leaves me trying to fall back asleep and staring at the clock while counting how much time I have left to sleep before my alarm goes off at 6-something. They wake me up 5-10 times during the night. When I am trying to fall asleep they are stomping around above me. I'm not sure when they actually sleep because they are always walking around up there. Although I've been cold, I've been keeping my fan on in my bedroom to attempt to drown out the noise. Not working.

Then, to top it all off, I got home after a long day of work today to see that our parking lot (both entrances) was blocked off. Apparently they are "resurfacing" the parking lot and we are not allowed to drive/walk on the lot. I had to drive elsewhere and find a random parking spot. Awesome. We'll see if I get motivation to walk in the dark to my car in BFE to go to the gym. Not likely.

Goalllllll!!!

Change of plans...instead of going to step class, I got the pleasant surprise through a text message that my brother had a soccer game up here tonight.

Although it was "misting" which is MUCH worse than raining because umbrellas become pointless and my hair completely frizzes and sticks to my neck, I headed to the other side of town after work for his game.

I love watching him play soccer! The team played so well! They won 3-0, and my brother scored 2 of the goals! Woohoo!

Lil' bro is so excited this year because he was named soccer team captain. I'm very proud of him and am glad he gets to have the experience of being on a sports team in college.

Even though I only got to talk to him for 5 minutes, this surprise visit from family made my night :)

Step, Sweat & Spandex

A friend and I have been taking a step class at our gym for some time now. Flash back to the 80s, I know.

The class is taught by a man. Who has been teaching longer than I have been alive. He wears spandex shorts. That show more thigh than any clothing I own. And are colored lime green, purple, and turquoise. He has been on vacation for the past 2 weeks. He returns tomorrrow.

I may have actually missed this man.

To be honest, I can't wait to go and sweat for an hour tomorrow after work!

True Life: I may be a penny-pincher.

I took yet another trip to the mall this afternoon and made some exciting purchases. Have I mentioned I love fall/winter clothes!?  I got really cute maroon colored pumps for work that are perfect for fall.

I also bought two pairs of winter dress pants from Banana Republic. However, I am really annoyed because as I was signing my receipt, the employee gave me coupons for 40% off 2 regular price items for every Wednesday in October. Those would have been nice to have before spending a ridiculous amount of money on those dress pants. I got the pants pinned to be altered so I was afraid they couldn't be returned. Now I'm wondering if I should go back tomorrow and return them after work...so that I can repurchase them on Wednesday...all I can think about is how much money I could have saved. Or is that too much work?! Maybe I'm being a tightwad...

Party "Pee"ople

Last night a group of us went to dinner after I got off work (at 7 again I might add...). We somehow got into a discussion completely inappropriate for the dinner table about gross bodily functions, and I was reminded of a traumatic experience from freshman year. Some friends may remember this, and for others please let me explain:

I was feeling pretty cute in my version of a "slut top," which is in fact still ultra-conservative going to a house party as a new member of my sorority. We drove up in a new Hummer H3 as a pledge dropped us off. I also felt cool getting out of such a nice car. New to college, I was excited to meet people and experience the much talked about fraternity parties.

Feeling good. Until...

We were walking under the deck towards the door, and I felt something hit me on the top of the head. Naturally, I looked up to see what it was and the wetness got all over my face. In shock, I had a delayed reaction and did not move out of the way nearly as fast as I should have. There was a guy standing above me peeing off the deck!

No longer feeling good.

Disgusted and nearly in tears, I told my friends I was ready to leave. They said it was not a big deal, I could just wipe off the mess in the bathroom. Yeah right, I needed to scrub down about 10 times in the shower.

I went to the bathroom and remember throwing every roll of toilet paper they had into their toilet. And hoping it would clog. Or totally destroy their facilities. Obviously these boys didn't use their restroom, so I didn't see why they'd need a working toilet. Or toilet paper for that matter.

I admit, this was a low point.

However, I did have the most disgusting story to tell at dinner last night!!

Nordstrom = Fail.

Nordstroms just opened last week at the mall by my house. Everyone around here, including me, was super excited for it to finally open!

I heard rumors that on opening day the employees were lined up by the doors clapping and cheering as people entered the store. The guy that sits at the desk next to me at work went with his wife not once, but twice last weekend. So, needless to say, I had high expectations of this place.

Since it has gotten so chilly and I am living up here without any warm clothes, I decided to swing by the mall after work (although I was there until after 7pm tonight..blahh..) to try to find a cute new jacket.

While the employees were friendly, they did not have a single jacket. She said jackets weren't in season yet. I thought stores were known for putting things out way too early. I swear I've already seen Christmas decorations in several stores...

I walked through the shoe section...again, nothing that caught my eye. Jewelry...nothing. Maybe I wasn't in a shopping mood, but I left empty handed. I thought it was going to be dangerous for my wallet to have the store so close, but maybe I'll be alright afterall!

I counted the walk around the store my workout for the day, so at least the trip wasn't a total waste of time ;)