The Blah Blahs

It's an inat7outat7comehomeandworkmore kind of week, and I don't see life slowing down any time soon.

Say something to make me laugh ~ I dare ya!

Several things that are making me smile at the moment:

• The thought of me walking in to Ann Taylor to return another cardigan something THREE times (on separate days) and changing my mind each time. Indecisive maybe? Those cardigans are so good but so bad all at the same time...
• All the posts about our NYC trip on Casey's Blog ~ she can depict the weekend prettier than I can, she's in advertising :)
• Knowing that my mom is coming up on Saturday.
• Visions of outdoor dining in nice weather.
• This hilarious video. Who would ever videotape this and then proceed to post to the internet!? Lord only knows {well, I guess my mom knows too} how I acted when I got my wisdom teeth out. I swear I thought I was being totally normal ~ I was craving a chocolate milkshake afterall...doesn't that sound like me?
• These disgust me and make me LOL at the same time.

Ok, this is clearly procrastination at its finest...off to be productive...

Happy Friday Eve to all!

Best. Trip. Ever.

Made in part by:

 

The best hosts ever...

Thanks a million, Casey and Todd!!

 

 

Who let us act like the biggest tourists ever...

Peace, dorks.  

  

 

In the best city ever...

Times Square is amazing - just like I imagined!

 

 

Full of the BEST food ever...

Does Shake Shack deliver?! Send a canoli {or two} my way as well.

 

And the prettiest park ever.

Central Park, obviously. We even witnessed a random wedding there.

I will never forget this vacation. Ever.

It's true - there IS an app for that!

I joined the Android network this past weekend. 

And I'm loving every minute of it.

There seriously is an "app" for everything imaginable. 

Sprint HTC Hero found here.

So far:

• I put the camera feature to use. It has the same megapixels as my digital camera {hmm...hint, hint future gift idea}

• My parents and I spent mucho time in awe of "Shazam" ~ the song reader. You hold the phone out while music is playing, the phone listens, and then responds with the song and artist. {I am pathetic at this game, so this app is very helpful for future "iTunes-ing"}.
• I am attempting to control my eating by tracking my food and exercise in a "CalorieCounter" app with built in details on thousands of foods ~ much more reliable than my mental math ;)
• The "MyCoupon" App continues to feed me discounts in my area ~ 20% off at Macys this weekend? Yes, please!
• More along the lines of shopping, the "ShopSavvy" feature allows you to scan a barcode or search any item and it will tell you where to find it for the lowest price.
• "Where" gives restaurants, stores, gas stations, etc nearest to your current location even if I have no idea where I am in this city.

...And this is only the beginning, there are thousands more free downloads available. 

I'm amazed. What WILL they come up with next?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sidenote: Thank you so much for all the NYC suggestions. Can't wait to put them all to good use!! Have a great weekend whatever you will be doing :)

Ok...now I'm seriously outta here to go pack. I hate packing. But it will all be worth it!

The Big Apple

I am getting so excited I cannot contain myself!

On Thursday I leave with KariMac for my first trip to 

NEW YORK CITY.

View of the Midtown Manhattan skyline, looking north from the Empire State Building

All images from Wikipedia

The best part of it all ~ we found flights for $38 (!!!) and we are staying with one of Kari's gracious friends who is lucky enough to live in the city. I can't wait to meet her and her hubby in person after possibly stalking and being completely jealous of her blog.

Visiting this city has seriously always been on my "bucket list." Dad grew up in the Bronx, and I have always wanted to see more of his 'hood.

So far, we have a tour of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island scheduled {so cool because I think my grandparents came through Ellis Island from Italy}, tickets to the Broadway musical "In the Heights," a possible bus tour in the works, a visit to Amy Poehler's comedy club {I secretly LOVE comedy shows ~ and we may or may not be wishing for a surprise guest appearance by the owner}, and many many wonderful food joints in mind.

I will be sure to take lots of pictures.

If any of you have been to NYC and have recommendations for while I'm there, please do share!

For now, I'm working working working like crazy to get things finished so I can catch my flight in just two short days!

Off my Rocker

I feel like things are totally out of control in my life.

I haven't been to the gym once this week. That may be a record.

Today as I was packing up to leave work, I realized I left something important in the conference room we were in all day yesterday. I never do this. In school I was known for counting the number of items I removed from my backpack and then making sure, one by one, each item was returned. Every class.

Until tonight I hadn't really cleaned my apartment in over 2 weeks. Gross. I saw mold forming in my toilet. Absolutely gross. This is so unlike me, totally against what I stand for ;)

Tonight I got online to check the status of my tax return that was filed in FEBRUARY and the IRS by internet and phone said they had no record of my forms. Turbo Tax charged $170 for their services and no services were provided. Good thing I checked. Normally I would have been so crazy and stressed about ensuring my taxes were properly taken care of. This year I decided to calm down and look what happened...we officially became the last minute slackers at the USPS right before midnight.

This is proof I'm meant to be a crazy, obsessive perfectionist. I thrive on my OCD {and on chocolate, but I've yet to actually prove this}.

At least I haven't lost my ability to be a total drama queen diva.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I need sleep.

Happy 100th Post!!!

And on a totally unrelated note...

Thank goodness I signed a new lease for a condo down the road.

Apparently a pack of wild wolves moved in next door.

Ok, technically they are across the hall. And technically they are dogs, not wolves. But nonetheless, they bark. A lot. At all hours.

And it just so happens that on the other side of the wall where I've parked my bed is the {cement} echo-chamber stairwell out to the dog park.

Sweet. I love animals {said in a very sarcastic voice for those who don't know me well}.

Happy Birthday Buckwheat!

I am in shock - my little brother turns 21 today! 

This little munchkin is officially legal!

 I am so thankful that in him I had a nonstop buddy growing up.

I am thankful that my tutu-wearing dance partner and easy bake oven chef did not turn out totally scarred from too much "girl time."

I am thankful for the many nights of trampoline dodgeball and "nightgames" we enjoyed together.

And for the laughs I got from him running around the house naked whenever we had a babysitter {I have no doubt we were the most difficult children to watch. ever.}

I love his subtle sense of humor that always surprises me and totally cracks me up. 

Even as a kid he was hilarious ~ When riding in public elevators, Tony would collapse to the ground when the elevator stopped at a certain floor. The shock on the innocent bystanders' faces was priceless. And so was the look of embarrassment on my mother's :)

I admire his athleticism ~ from rollerblading down our big, steep driveway to impressing everyone on his snowboard at the age of 4 to being a total soccer stud throughout high school and college, Tony has always had the sports gene {apparently this gene totally missed me}.

I am thankful for the friendship we had in each other during difficult moves and big life changes. 

I love that he respects my opinion and comes to me for advice. 

I enjoy watching him grow and mature. He is capable of so much more than he realizes, and it is fun to watch him find his own strengths.

I find comfort knowing that this boy would do anything for me, and I would do the same in an instant. Just thinking of him suffering breaks my heart because I wish him a life full of happiness.

Although our lives are constantly changing, I will always be your lifelong friend and protective older sister. I love you. You deserve the best.

Happy 21st Birthday, Tony!!! :)

Of course I'll pray for you...

Check out this song. It totally cracks me up!

What a nice way to be totally jealous and mean. 

Now meet the singer/funny-man, Jamon:

 

{totally cute boy found here}

He's not ugly...Where are these boys in real life?!? :)

The more I look at this picture the more I fall in love. Seriously.

Workin' for the Weekends

Welp, I've kept my face off the lobby floor so far this week, so not much exciting to report here except...

• I had a fabulous long weekend - patio "lunching" with a friend {and also alone on Sunday}, sleepovers {two!}, Keeneland, and even some shopping.
• I spent the night at a friend's house on Friday night. We woke up bright and early {we're talking before 7:30 on a Saturday!} to try a well-known breakfast joint in her hometown. It. was. to. die. for.

I love me some pancakes, and I don't eat them often enough!

Here we are waiting outside the restaurant because we got there before it opened. Oh hiiii, dorks! :)

• I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery around our neighborhood. I think the trees that line our streets are simply gorgeous. 

• The Easter bunny did good as always ~ so excited about new makeup and LOTS of candy! :) At work, we've reached the consensus that Easter baskets {and other childish holiday traditions} are acceptable from my parents until I am married...which at this rate, could be a while...
• I cannot contain my excitement for this upcoming weekend ~ Dad comes in town! Tony turns the big 2-1! College alumnae reunion at Keeneland! Celebration on Saturday night! My first Crossfit Experience! Bahhh so much to look forward to!
• A new season of "Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood" started last night...freakin' love this show. I would marry Dean. But I also love Tori, so I won't do that to my girl.

 

{presh pic found here}

• I began packing my lunch this week...well, today. So far, so good. We'll see how long this habit lasts.
• With plans every night this week, it is going by pretty fast so far ~ hopefully we don't get drowned out of the baseball game tomorrow night!

I warned you this would be a boring post...but now off to bed. Here's to hoping I only "snooze" 35 minutes in the morning. Baby steps. Nighty night!

Snooze you Lose

I "snooze" no less than 40 minutes {ok, honestly ~ closer to an hour} in the mornings.

Image found here.

I so desperately want to be a morning person, but I cannot get my butt out of bed.

This has resulted in me setting my alarm for 5am to prevent me being severely late to work every day.

I just feel like that last hour is the most precious hour of sleep I get all night. Like I know that morning is almost upon me, so I have to indulge and completely enjoy every last minute of shut-eye.

What is wrong with me? Why am I so so tired?

And most importantly, why do they give nap time in preschool but not at work? I'm sure adults would appreciate this precious time much more than those little rascals do!