Say Cheese, Pumpkin or Whatever!

My first attempt at a "real" cheesecake (meaning I actually made the crust myself and used a spring form pan). The true test will be how it taste tomorrow for Thanksgiving.

Proposal 2.0.... this time with a ring

As most of you know Nathan proposed to me and of course I said yes. He didn't propose with a ring the 1st time around because after looking at titanium set rings I thought they were hella expensive and I could get something else with that type of money since I don't wear rings anyway. Well I thought I didn't want a ring but deep down inside I really did and Les helped with that feeling. Plus deep down I wanted a real proposal, on bended knee and the whole shebang. Well I got it today and I teared up a little bit. Job well done Natedogg (he even came up with the idea of using my birthstone instead since neither of us care too much for diamonds).

Damn boy can move

Even Nathan was entertained and agreed that he moved better than Beyonce.

No Child Left Behind

David Alan Grier is genius.

Something for the Wallflowers

Out with the old

Well the new face of SnS hit homes this week (check your MailSouth coupons). I must say drastic improvement. I've let a privileged few see November's mailer, so the rest of you will have to wait.

Little Lots

Ok so I've wrote how much I love Big Lots and I still do but Little Lots in Boaz has stole my heart for now on home decor and kitchen stuff. For the past couple of months they've been getting in a killer selection of Kmart stuff by Martha Stewart and Essential Home. I missed out on the full Martha Stewart Bed In A Bag set I loved for a mere $25 (Martha's sets are nice too, so far it's my fav brand)cause I thought o yeah they'll have this when I get paid again. Nope sold out of the size I needed. But if you are in the mood for say Roman and those bamboo shade thingies they got em for $3.95 to $4.95 I priced those bad boys of exact and discontinued ones on the Kmart site and the cheapest was $30 even big lots can't beat that price at $20-$30. They even had floor lamps ranging from $17.95 to $29.95 ( I bought the last floor lamp style for $17.95) I love my new lamps cause they are the super nice ones that are brushed stainless and have a Natural weaved oval shade. But they still have a killer selection left of the other styles.

So far my recent Little Lots findings Martha Stewart everyday stoneware $3.95 a box, Essential Home canvas with wood slats Roman shades $4.95, New bed set for Ivy comforter $16.95 and sheet set $7.95, Essential Home swivel floor lamps $17.95, Todd English cordless hand blender $29.95, Crock Pot brand baby crock pot $4.95, Hunter care free humidifier $19.95. Monopoly Spongebob edition $9.95. All of them items priced 50-80% lower than stores/online.

I no longer work in Albertville or Boaz so since dad is coaching pee wee football for the Blue Devils I've made deals to drive him to his games on Sand Mountain since my car gets better gas mileage so I can hit up the shopping centers. All of that will be ending soon so I'll have to make special trips of my own. I'll try to roll up that way once a month my only excuse is getting my car washed at the $5 car wash (they use foam on their rollers and you just can't get that in town) I fell in love with the foam wash in Abingdon, VA while in college less damage to your cars paint job. Plus apparently after asking the worker they get in shipments everyday so I'm already slacking by not being able to go as frequent as I'd like. I'll be more than welcome to let others join me on my monthly pilgrimage.

Day 1 of pills... Sing us a song your're the Piano Man

I must say i'm impressed with my fat burner pills. I was super tired this morning from worrying all night about cleaning up the mess in the living room from new furniture coming in to old going out. So I popped a pill and I felt better, I actually had energy to do it. Not just any old crazy energetic burst more of the "focus" just like they said you would have. I wasn't bouncing off walls or just what to do next more like get it done but not tired or blah. I will say the appetite suppressant is quit impressive. I had 1 blueberry waffle plain for breakfast and 1 plain for lunch. I didn't start feeling hungry until 5. I could tell I was coming down off the 1st pill so I popped another around 6ish. The directions say not to take one after 4 due to not being able to fall asleep but ehhh what the hell. I think my limit is definitely 1 pill 2 times daily although you can do up to 3 pills 2 times daily but that to me would be overkill. I guess since I got the pills this means I have to exercise, my honest excuse today was cleaning/ putting away up until 3:30, shower, allergist, grocery store for last min items and back home to cook for guest.

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Twas a good day. Got Jaimie, Les & Scotty to make Karaoke fools of themselves with Sing Star. I guess they sang for food. It was magical. More magical times to come in a couple of weeks.

Wanna Get Lean

Normally I would never buy "As Seen On TV" products but damnit this one sells itself. (The free ab straps got me man)

I'm A Mess

I've let myself go. Tis a shame cause I used to be all organized, tidy, fit and so forth. I blame all of this on love and getting too damn cumfy (not to mention the dude I fell in love with is a BUM). But I'm on a baby step track to getting my shit together. I can tackle the nonsense and foolishness (as Ms. Niecy Nash would say) one thing at a time. Right now my big project is complete organization and tidyness. Not sure how Nathan is gonna like it when I crack down on all rediculousness. I'll say this when I had my apt. in college you could eat off the floor literally sinced I cleaned everday (it helped I had laminate floors, man do I miss those cause carpet freaks me out). I went to class, worked, workedout and spent countless hours in the various labs and studios, and busted out 2 internships all in my senior year on top of being a double major in mass comm and art ( o the good ol days of being young).

What is my inspiration? Simple, wedding in approximately 1 year. And if I don't loose 50lbs yep 50lbs in the meantime I honestly don't want to walk down the aisle. I want to be hotness on my wedding day and 50lbs in a year isn't too much to take on. I've already ordered some top rated fat burning pills from the trusy smarts of bodybuilder.com. I carefully selected ones that gave you focus engery and not that jittery bullshit that makes you feel like you are on speed. I've taken those kind and I felt like shit but lost lots of weight. So I'll probably blog and whine about my perils in the next weeks/ months.

True Blue

Ivy Katherine McCurley is officially "Blue". She got her "Moxie" on yesterday by the wonderful K-ris. She even dressed for the occasion. Wow I don't know many 8 year olds that can say they have had pink, red, and blue hair. Let's just say I had the pleasure of introducing her to the wonderful world of kick-ass hair.

Breakin'

I had never been graced with the presence of this wonderfully 80s cheeze eva until today. I made it to this scene before Natedogg took back over the TV. Let's just say hospitals would be so much more lively if this totally happened.

R U Buzzin'

Man I love love love Big Lots, and maybe just maybe I love it that much more because the most beautiful boy in the whole wide world works there and he smiled big at me not once not twice but three different times! Ok so maybe I spent way more money because of him but probably not so. Big Lots is one of those places you go and and are like o I need a 9x13" non stick baking pan (I did I really did), o Eagle Brand lemon bars deluxe mix for a mere $3.80 I so need that, super humongo box of Frosted Flakes $4 i'm on that! Little Debbie snack cakes $1 a box o hell I need 7 of those (for Dad & Eric) Jelly Belly Appletini mix $3.50 o gah I want you (place in buggy) how often do I even drink (take out of buggy) o but I do have Vodka from 2 months back (place back in buggy) but damn this would require me to buy a shaker (don't have that, but want one just haven't had much need until this very moment) shit I don't need to spend more money (back on shelf). Damn it was hard to put the Appletini mix back, but o well. Big Lots is the shit! I love you and the pretty boy who works there now.

August is my hero!

So from what I thought was a meeting for freelance work totally turned interview/ getting hired for the sweetest damn gig I can imagine for a Graphic Designer in Attalla, AL (hell Etowah County). This job is so grown up man! I get a nice salary, benefits and freedom to work from home or the office.

Yesterday Aug. 7th marked the day I got hired at Boaz Printing and my 90 days at Nvius Graphics (tons of shit goes down in 1 year man). I've noticed a pattern I leave one SHIT job to only get hired for sweet, sweeter and SWEETEST gigs. Thing is these last 2 have found me (I must be a damn celebrity and didn't know it). Thank you resume that was frantically sent out to any and everything graphic wise 1.5 year ago and Google.

August is now my favorite month!

LBC, flower power, mod, graphic & geisha

So the wonderfully brilliant Laura came up with the idea for the Graphic Artist chicas to do a logo for one another (Laura for Les, Les for me, and me for Laura). Cause well I know I've been "designing" my own logo for the past 2 years (nothing has come of it). And like she said, it's hard to design for yourself to get the "look" that represents you. So here are 5 moc ups I did for her.

The Natural Solution

I found out about this leafy cool company from an e-newsletter I get called Liquid Treat. They use leaves and steam to make biodegradable/ earth friendly disposable dinnerware. The coolest part is it's durability to be reused and used in the microwave & fridge. It's definitely designed well for any of you "green" folk who like to entertain. The cost is relatively inexpensive (think of the environment you are saving, Al Gore will be so proud) you get 10 plates for about 90 cents each, but you must use quick since it biodegrades within 2 months.

CrocsHatah35

This is the funniest rant I've read about Crocs. I too think they are pretty damn ugly. The mary-jane style not as bad. But this new "high heeled" version is a bit ova the top.

Thanks Drill Sergeant Sir!

So in convo with a customer today (cause I like to be thorough on things, since I do confuse myself) he said two quotes of what his drill sergeant told him in his army days.

"Never Assume anything cause it makes an ASS of you and me." &
"There's always one more thing you can do."

I like both of those. Thanks drill sergeant!

Music Is My Hot Hot Sex

No really it is. Me and music are getting reacquainted quite well. I've been having a gay Ol' time sitting in my undies downloading via Limewire Pro. So yeah, so what if music is my boyfriend, ain't nothing wrong with that.

MP3 Meltdown

So me thinking I was actually making progress on organizing my life, accidentally deleted my largest music folder. I discovered this today when I put Winamp on shuffle and realized it was skipping quit a few songs. So I investigate and yes they are all gone. Did I mention this was my largest/ best collection. The one my best college buddy Dove and I dl'd for our countless late nights in yearbook, my endless art projects, late nights of drinking, and just driving down Hillman Hwy.

I almost cried because that whole collection of music was my most memorable of my life, senior year at E&H and my first year post college. Music saved my soul at times, I would get lost in it. Especially the hard time I had coming home from college with no close friends and having to figure it all out with having a degree but no job for 7 months. I couldn't even get Dollar General to hire me (the curse of higher education!)

So I did what any person would do in a time like this (thankfully not panic) and called up my good ol' buddy Dove aka (Dove Dizzle, Dove Deezey fo Sheezey, & Dove Delicious). She helped me remember the gist of music I collected. But there is no way I'll remember it all (we are talking close to 7 gigs of stuff here). She did make a good point however in that I'll remember the ones that meant the most and had frequent play time.

At least now I do have a bit to keep me busy this week. Limewire Pro here I come!

Mojito!

We had wonderful Mojitos Thursday thanks to Eric for bringing the stuff and Carol for whipping them up. Since Carol hasn't seen the Bacardi commercial of which I had to keep busting out the dance from, here it is.

Fillings nothing more than Fil-lings, Why are you sitting so funny

Thursday I had to get a filling in my very back bottom molar. I don't like the topical anesthetic they have to offer so I go for pure pain of the needle (cause yep I'm a masochist, and I know secretly a lot of you are). Well when I say pain from the needle I mean hells yeah it hurts like a mutha. I actually felt a tear forming if he stuck me one more time with that needle, but since it is carrying a numbing agent the pain slowly dissipates and I felt my life drifting away. No not really, but you do start to loose feeling in I would guess 4 stages with stage 1 being it doesn't hurt anymore from the needle stick, 2. you slowly loose feeling, 3. it starts to tingle, and lastly holy shit my left jaw feels like a bag o bricks. Now you are all ready for some drilling.

Damn I think the whole drilling process is the single most uncomfortable feeling ever. And it's weird cause it's not that it actually hurts it is just radonculously uncomfortable because you feel the pressure of the drill. But tada! no more cavity. And of course since it was a bottom filling they offered 2 choices: the more expensive white filling that didn't last as long as it less expensive metal version ma thingy counterpart. They do reassure you that "hey it's in the back no one will see that unless you are yelling at them or they failed to mention if you laugh your ass off like I do. But of course I went with the more sensible metal "non white" type. Why the hell would I want to pay more for something that doesn't even last that long. I guess if I had money falling outta my ass. And with that said I'll move on to the next segment.

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Poor K.B. has tape worms. Tim discovered them after wondering why she was walking and sitting funny. Brace yourselves cause this next part is gross. Tim said he discovered she had tapeworms after thinking she was pooping some crazy diarrhea like substance but instead of poop he thought he was about to scoop up it was moving and a fly landed on it, eww ewww ewwww. So being smart he collected the specimen so Eric can take with him when he gets poor K.B. some meds. For now she looks so uncomfortable it hurts my heart.

Thank You Comic Sans

The only time Comic Sans will be a hero.

All my font geeks (Laura, Les, Eric) you will totally appreciate this.

Scripted & I Dare Science Prove Anything

At times I truly believe my Zune is in tune with my emotions. (Que super sap music). So on my way home from a lovely pizza eating and beer infused fun evening of TNJ@B (Tuesday night jazz at Blackstone) with the coolest folk I know of the Fleegan type, my Zune plays me this. Light In Your Eyes- by Blessid Union of Souls. I already still feel like shit at times for reasons most of you who read this know. But damn if this song would have to play. The best part is it's ending right as I pull up to the house and park and turn off my engine right at the lyrics of.

"There's a light in my eyes but it's too bright to see
And a pain in my heart where you used to be
Guess I was wrong to assume that you were waiting here for me
There's a light in your eyes
Did you leave that light burning for me"

And I be damned if as i'm reaching to grab my purse and things, the interior light shuts off right at the last line with exact timing. (way to drive the damn point home).
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So at work today I asked a co-worker why the bossman didn't like his shirt that read "don't think of yourself as an ugly person, but as a beautiful monkey". He replied because of the whole evolution thing. Apparently my bossman and co-workers including the one who wore the shirt DO NOT believe in evolution.

So then I opened my big mouth to ask how can you not believe something that science has proven and hello do you not watch Discovery Chanel Planet Earth. O shit I opened up a can. Cause well, replies ass muncher (not shirt wearer), God created man we did not come from some tiny organism that came from nowhere. Did you catch that "that came from nowhere" cause I sure did and almost hurt the poor boys feelings simply because where is the proof of his said theory of which he argued no proof of mine (and well there is). I can definitely say this is the most worked up I've gotten over an issue in awhile. But I quickly calmed myself and said OK you believe what you wanna believe and I believe what I want to nothing more cause I'm about to piss you off. So I thought it was squashed but o no since the boss man wasn't there to witness this the ass muncher is all "O I gotta let the boss man tell you what he thinks" Um no thanks (I've been "counseled" before by a boss man at a previous job and frankly it pissed me off).

Creating Reality

Simply put, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Our thoughts determine the present and future of what is contained within our lives. It’s all about our choices. How and what we choose, upon what we focus, concentrate, or direct our attention, and where we spend our mental and emotional energies -- this is precisely what we will attract or draw to ourselves.