Christmas Carols

I can't believe it's almost Christmas--09 has flown by! I've been listening to Christmas music since mid November and I just can't help wondering where some of these people got their lyrics from?

Let's examine a few cases.....

• "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth..."--Seriously, did some little kid really sit on Santa's lap and ask for his/her 2 front teeth? Not a football, doll, or game? You're telling me that a little kid would ask for teeth over toys? Doubtful....
• "Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring it right here..."--This is so wrong. $10 if you can actually tell me what figgy pudding is. $15 if you've ever eaten it and seriously enjoyed it. And--how demanding is that?! Who sits down for Christmas dinner and demands dessert?
• "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus..."--Seriously? They might as well promote cheating. Some little kid saw his/her Mommy making out with Santa, not Daddy, and they decided to write a song about it. Really?!
• "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas.."--Who's parents would actually be ok with that? Can you ever imagine your parent saying "No problem--a hippo makes a great pet!"???
• "Grandma got run over by a reindeer. Walking home from our house Christmas Eve...She'd been drinking too much eggnog, and we begged her not to go. But she forgot her medication, and she staggered out the door into the snow. When we found her Christmas morning, At the scene of the attack, She had hoof prints on her forehead and incriminating Claus marks on her back..."--I can't even comment on this one. This is just not right!! Who wrote this?! Someone who apparently hates their Grandma?!

Here's some of my favorite, nicer Christmas songs:

• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (this one NEVER gets old for me!)
• Hark The Herald Angels Sing
• O Holy Night
• Rocking Around The Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas everyone! May all your holiday dreams come true!

Advice for my Fellow Quarter-Lifers

If I had to make a list of advice for my fellow Quarter-Lifers for thriving in their 20s, it would include the following:

• Always carry a nail file on you. You'll always need it and there's nothing more unsightly than uneven, chipped nails
• Be sure to glance in a mirror after lunch and make sure there's no lunch stuck in your teeth (perhaps consider carrying floss right next to your nail file...)
• Throw some lip gloss in your bag. Even if you're half asleep, hungover, or more pale than a ghost, some lip gloss can perk up your face for that very important meeting
• Hmmm seems like this list is geared toward female Quarter-Lifers....
• Have a calendar easily accessible at all times. With so many work and social obligations (ok--mostly social...), a calendar is key! I'd recommend your cell phone calendar if possible
• Always have wine at home. You never know who will pop over and you don't want your guests to be thirsty. Or if you need to go somewhere and bring a gift, wine is always a hit!
• If you're feeling cranky and are annoyed with the world--exercise! It makes you feel better instantly and will give you a better outlook on life!

Wisdom of the Ages

"Sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the fire hydrant."
--Daniel F. Ponstingle (aka--Dad)

Hawaii Pics--Part 2

1. Even chickens love drinking out of coconuts!
2. Mt. Wai' ale-ale--the wettest spot on earth (and perhaps a LOST filming location??)
3. An endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal! The three of us swam on shore together and then he hit the beach for a nap!
4. Steve and I and the top of Waimea Canyon. See that waterfall in the background? We hiked to the top of that waterfall!
5. Steve and I at the unbelievable Kalalau lookout.

Hawaii Pics--Part 1

1. Dinner at an awesome roadside place--ahi and shrimp skewers flow like water!
2. Sunset at the Bonzai Pipeline
3. Jumping for joy
4. Beach on Oahu--we left from here for our kayak/snorkeling trip
5. On the plane on the way to Hawaii. A LONG journey--but every minute was worth it!

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I do every year, but I feel especially lucky this year. In no particular order, here's what I'm thankful for this year:

• My FIANCE! (because I have one now!!) He's the greatest guy in the world and my love for him grows every day! (sorry to be sappy, but it's true and I don't care who knows it!)
• Hawaii--I can't believe that state is part of the US. It's amazing and I'm so lucky to have spent 10 days in this paradise!
• Family--their love and support is never ending and that's amazing
• Friends--I love my laid back, hilarious, crazy friends SO much
• Boots--I only have a few pairs but I love all the options and styles that are out there. Thanks fashion designers!
• My Health--This year I ran a half marathon, my best 5k ever, donated blood several times, and fought off e-coli and the worst sinus infection of my life. I'm thankful my body has held up for all that and I hope it does for years to come!
• My job--as much as I complain about it, I'm thankful to have one and to have kept it while thousands got laid off this year. Yowza.
• Sunshine
• Rainbows
• My pet cat, Sparkles (she's heaven!)
• Stars
• Nutella (be prepared to eat a whole jar at once if you've never had it--it's that good!)
• Diamond rings
• Addie and Sam--the best niece and nephew EVER. (especially in Halloween costumes!!) They light up my life!
• My apartment--even though it's cold and the floors are creaky-I love it so much!
• Quiet neighbors--quite a novelty if you've never had them!! Amazing!
• Having a reliable car! Yeah!
• Espresso makers--especially when they're free!
• Nature
• Avocados
• Safe traveling--I've been lucky enough to go on a lot of trips this year and I'm so very thankful to make it home safely after every one of them!

Hmmm I'm sure there's a lot more, but this is my definite list so far!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Blog Failure

I'm a blog failure! I've been out of town and busy and sort of forgot to post some comments...oops! Ahh the crazy life of the quarter-lifer...

Aloha Hawaii--Here We Come!

It is SO hard to focus at work when you're leaving for vacation in approximately 71 hours!! (but who's counting!?) I'll be spending 10 days in Hawaii with my boyfriend and I can't even wait!!! Honestly...who can focus on anything when you'll be headed here in just 71 hours!

Bathroom Etiquette

When you gotta go, you gotta go! No big deal--everyone HAS to go at multiple points throughout the day. It's human nature!

I'll give $5 to the person who can tell me why people feel it necessary to discuss why they're going to the bathroom in the first place! I can't tell you how many times I walk into the restroom at work or elsewhere and hear women say "Oh I drank too much coffee today!" or "Oh I shouldn't have had all that pop" or "Goodness! I drank so much water today". Is that really necessary?! Everyone is in the bathroom for one (or two!) purpose--no need to explain!

And how awkward is it when you hear people on the phone in a stall? If someone ever calls me and I hear toilets flushing in the background--you better believe I'm hanging up!

Next week's discussion....locker room etiquette at the gym...

Domestic Diva? Or Homemaker Horror?

Earlier this year I upgraded from a small, one bedroom apartment to a large, two bedroom townhouse/apartment place and I love it! It feels like a house, which makes me feel like I should do house-like things: cleaning, cooking, recycling, etc. I do a decent job with cleaning and recycling, but cooking is a different story...

I really enjoy cooking and baking, but as it turns out--I'm not very good at it (as evidence by previous blog posts highlighting several smoke alarm incidences...). Last week, a coworker gave me a starter kit for homemade bread. I was so excited with thoughts of homemade bread and I couldn't wait to impress my family and friends with it's deliciousness! I made the bread on Tuesday. I bought all the right ingredients, measured everything out exactly, and even poured the mixture into 2 brand new loaf pans I bought at the grocery store. My apartment filled with the tasty scent of homemade cinnamon bread!

I set the timer and took out the bread after 45 minutes, as instructed by the recipe. It still looked a little soupy, so I popped it back in the oven for a few minutes. When I took it out again, same result--still soupy in the middle, but the top was looking dry and burnt. After a few more minutes, I pulled out the bread again, only for the top to be char-grilled and black! Devastation! I let it cool for a while and then attempted to cut into it. The first slice came out great--delicious and warm! When I cut into the loaf for the second slice, the uncooked middle came oozing out the end! I started chopping up the loaf to inspect the damage and found multiple pieces of eggshell!! OOPS!!

Naturally, I did what any quarter-lifer would do--threw the destroyed loaf away and put the other loaf of denial in the fridge (out of sight--out of mind!) Then I called my mom to relay yet another story of cooking failure...

Genius.

I ironed my shirt this morning with my flat iron. Yes, the same flat iron I use on my hair.

Healthy.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything! But if you have something nice to say, then open your mouth!

It was cold and gloomy this past Monday and to make matters worse--it was a Monday! I was having a rough day until I ran into a random lady in the hallway at work...

She complimented my outfit and then said "I like the way you dress! You always look nice and smart!" How nice is that!

Pay someone a compliment today--it will make their day :)

It's Permanently Winter Inside

If anyone can tell my why corporate America insists on keeping the office temp at a balmy 55 degrees, I'll pay you $5! Seriously!

If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen!

Well, I apparently tried to torch my apartment last night...AGAIN...

I made a semi-nasty cheese/tomato quesadilla in my quesadilla maker and a lot of the cheese and tomato oozed out. I unplugged the quesadilla maker and let it cool while I ate it, then plugged it back in so I could heat it up and scrape off the cheese (that really is the best way to clean it!).

Right after that, my friend came over and we decided to go for a walk to walk her wolf/dog and hang out for an hour or 2. When I returned to my apartment, I couldn't help but notice that it smelled like Panera when they burn an asiago cheese bagel! I guess I forgot to unplug the quesadilla maker....when I lifted the lid smoke came pouring out. Then of course I had to open the window and door AGAIN so the smoke alarm didn't go off AGAIN......oops....

Celebritory Dreams

Do you ever have those dreams where you're afraid to wake up because your dream is SO good--you just want it to be real?!

I had a dream last night that I met Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige!! Seriously! I walked into my parents house and there was Whitney--just chilling on the couch! She shook my hand like we were old pals. Then in walks none other than Mary J. Blige!

We all chat, hug, and have a photo shoot. They were so happy to have a photo shoot with me--even though I was wearing my pajamas (old black shorts and a t-shirt that says "Someone Who Loves Me Very Much Went To Boston And Got Me This T-shirt"). I really wanted to change into something MUCH cuter for the photo shoot, but I was afraid that Mary J. and Whitney would leave while I was perfecting my outfit! I'm hoping someone can Photoshop my pajamas out of the pictures.

After our photo shoot, we all broke into joyous song and started singing "The Greatest Love Of All"!

Chew on that Freud....

Watch out Milton Bradley!

I think they should make a board game called "Downtown Driving". Each game piece would be a car and the objective would be to drive one mile from the center of downtown to your destination--the entrance ramp to the highway...

The rules of the game would be:
+2 spaces if you made more than one green light
+5 spaces if you made more than 3 green lights in a row
-10 spaces if the parking meter ate your last quarter and you've now lost a precious 15 minutes of your lunch hour
+5 spaces if you easily swerve to the next lane to move out the way when an ambulance is quickly approaching the back of your car
-15 spaces if you swerve to the next lane to move out the way when an ambulance is quickly approaching the back of your car-- but hit a parked car in the curb lane...
+10 points if you realize a car is being towed 3 blocks ahead and you move to the next lane to avoid getting stuck behind the tow truck
-5 points if you don't realize a car is being towed 3 blocks ahead. You move to the next lane to avoid getting stuck behind the tow truck only for everyone behind you pass it up while you wait for 5 minutes for traffic to clear
-10 points if you run a yellow light only to find out two weeks later that this particular stop light had a red light camera on it and now you have a ticket to pay....
+25 spaces if you make it to your one mile destination in under 20 minutes!

Golf---A Timeless Sport

Well the 3 day Labor Day weekend was a smashing success! I played my first 18 holes of golf. Turns out I'm just as bad at 18 holes as I am at 9 holes....ah well! Thank God for the scramble feature!

I did find myself thinking that I'll probably also be playing golf during my mid-life crisis too...Hopefully I'll improve over the next few decades...? Cross your fingers!

The 3 Day Weekend

There is nothing better in the corporate world than a 3 day weekend! Having a paid holiday off when you don't have to work at all is pretty much the best thing EVER! Not working and getting paid to not work is amazing.

T.G.I.A.T.D.W!!!!! (figure that one out....!)

Candyland

I have a candy jar on my desk filled with those square, powdery dinner mints. I have a spoon in there so people can scoop out the mints and NOT stick their dirty hands in the jar.

A coworker just walked by and scooped some out and apparently shared the same sentiments as he said "I love these mints. You know what I really love though? I love when there's a big, giant delicious bowl of mints filled with hepatitis B sitting near the hostess stand."

Good thing I put a spoon in...!

Life Lessons

I'm learning loads of things during my quarter-life years, including the following:

1. If you keep your apartment clutter free, it's a lot easier to clean!
2. Everyone in the corporate world is very boring.
3. If you find a gray hair, pull it out immediately and just pretend it was a very, very light blond strand.

Where There's Smoke--There's Fire!

I set the smoke alarm off in my apartment last week. Who knew you couldn't put wax paper in the oven?!

My First Blog Posting!

I can't believe it--I'm starting my very first blog! I have no idea how to use Twitter and I've never been on My Space, but here I am--starting my very own blog!

When contemplating the start of a blog, I thought long and hard (for at least 15 minutes...) about what it should be about. Should there be a theme? A goal? A general commitment to the well being of other readers out there? That all sounds great, but as most quarter-lifers know--you just have to get it together the best you can. Thus begins my blog--a random collection of stories, adventures, and tales from a quarter-lifer's perspective.

Peace, Love, & Amateur Writing,

M