Facebook

My computer has been officially put to sleep. It was a Dell Latitude from 2001 and had turned into such a piece of junk that I couldn't even access Facebook without it crashing.


Inability to do any online banking? That's fine.

Can't access the website to submit your work schedule? Ok, that can wait until I am AT work.

Can't log into the website needed to check a credit card balance? Eh, that's ok. While the Good ol' Dell was overheating and crashing, I dialed the 800 number on my credit card and did it by phone.

But once Facebook could no longer be accessed without some major difficulties including freezing, I was in the car and on my way to buy a new Laptop faster than you can say "Windows 2000".
$1220 later, I am the proud owner of some miracle piece of technology that can do things I never dreamed of. It's pretty sad, because you can most likely find me at 1am on the internet, with my iPOD and cell phone perched conveniently next to the keyboard. I am the material girl.

Four+ days without Facebook had me cryin' mama, foaming at the mouth, and muttering something about superPoke! and Flair. Adam wasn't sure what to do with me, so he turned on his PS3 and clicked away to Fallout3. Yeah, he didn't care.

Once I could finally log back into my account (at lightening fast speeds by the way - intel Centrino you are my hero) I had something like 14 requests for various time wasters and 2 friend requests. I clicked on the "14 New Requests!" only to be bombarded by such things as "Throw a Water Balloon!" , "ER scavenger hunt!", "Pass a Drink!", and "Lil' Green Patch". These are all highly educational and productive apps. I, for one, didn't know that there is a drink titled "Dirty Mother". Only on the facebook app "Pass a Drink" can these social necessities be learned.

The stuff they don't teach you in school.

The amount of time I spend on facebook is directly proportional to the number of IQ points I lose. I get dumber with each log on. For example: I can spell intelCentrino without any difficulty but I had to google "necessities" to make sure of it's correct spelling. I'm fairly certain my writing will be at 4th grade level within the next few months. But not to worry, I'm sure there is an app for that too. Or at the very least, a flair button to make fun of my inability to form a sentence.

I also love the selective anonymity of facebook. You can send a request to a long lost friend and use it as a platform for reconnection, or you can secretly search for the ex that scorned you right after high school, only to find out that he is still living in his Mamma's basement and is a proud owner of a 2lb Yorkie that he named Honeyfox.

Ahem.

That's hypothetical of course.

Klassy With A "K"

My brother-in-law, Mr. Auto, invited my husband to attend some sort of drag-race-car-man-thing for Saturday afternoon, so my sister and I jumped at the chance to have our own afternoon soiree. I guess we figured if there was "race" and "car" and "drag" all in the same sentence, it would probably involve beer, belching, sweat, oiled up Jaeger girls, and loud manmobiles. Maybe even some grunting and chest banging. We opted for shopping, gossiping, and spending money. We have class.

We all met up at a mall near the racetrack, and the boys drove off in Mr. Auto's pimped out '87 Firebird around 10:30 in the morning. Let me pause here to tell you that the car is a Klassy Shade of Primer Gray. Don't make fun, people. Primer Gray is the new Black. Oh, and the passenger side does not have an exterior door handle. Sleek. I think my sister needs to keep a close eye on that one because that car is a TOTAL babe magnet. I can envision Jaeger Girls writhing all over the hood as Whitesnake booms from the sweet sound system. (For all you youngin's: go here)

I could hardly restrain myself from writing "MARRIED!!!!!" on Adam's forehead. I felt the jealousy surging, even after Adam spent the entire 1 hour drive that morning chewing off his fingernails while flying down the interstate. Nothing gets me more excited than watching him feed off his hands. I wonder what the calorie content of hangnails would be?

Wowsers...got a little off track there.

So Sis and I head into the mall, and I quickly determine that out of the 8-10 malls in the entire city we have just chosen the second most shady one in the entire valley. Second only to the mall with the metal detectors. This place was rockin' the outlets! Every store was either close-out or deep discounted, except for the Victoria's Secret where the yoga pants where $65. We window shopped for a little while, bought some soaps at bath&body, scoffed at the $65 yoga pants, and then decided to browse the pet store.

As we approach the pet store, Sis stops dead in her tracks staring straight ahead. I followed her gaze to a security guard on one of these:






I'm laughing to myself because the mall hasn't had a fresh coat of paint since Reagan was president, but they can afford security guards on motorized Segways. I looked over at Sis who was clearly not laughing, but was frozen in state of shock. I realized then that I had missed it: Segway Security Boy was on his Playskool walkie talkie summoning police to assist in removal of a Drooling Drunk who was nearly passed out- on a bench - in the middle of Klass Act Mall.

And there he sat. Drool pouring from his mouth, running down the front of his shirt, as he slowly slumped over on the bench. He then proceeded to vomit all over himself as his eyes started to roll into the back of his head. Sis and I scurried into the pet store where we watched from the pet store window while playing with some small furry rodents situated near the entrance. I can't resist small and furry, and she can't resist a visual train wreck.

As we were elbow deep in hamsters, the cops finally arrived where they pulled Drooling Drunk to his feet who promptly fell flat on his face. I guess the local police aren't trained in Face Plant Prevention. But who am I to judge?

Drooling Drunk was hauled out to the curb and removed by police and EMTs. I went to Starbucks for a Skinny Tall Latte.

I had decided we had enough of Klass Act Mall, so we made a quick stop to the bathroom before heading out.

The horrors never cease: There was a sharps container attached to the wall in the women's bathroom. As in a safety box to deposit used needles.

As in this:




WHY would you need that in a mall bathroom?! Has the meth problem gotten THAT bad?

I hurried to the car to depart the Mall from Hell, and as I was starting the car I looked to my left and saw that the van parked next to us was riddled with bullet holes.

I'm serious. If I had thought about this post as I was fleeing for my life I would have taken some photos.

Sis and I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon painting pottery as a local pottery shop while we waited for the boys to catch up with us. We ended the evening at a lovely pizza bistro where I proceeded to make Sis laugh so hard she Peed Her Pants. But I'll save that for another post. :)

Chiropractic Crap

After 3 months of severe lower back pain, my sister talked me into paying a visit to her chiropractor. She declared him to be a god of the spine, a miracle worker, and a genius. He's not too hard on the eyes, either, so I was there faster than you can say "subluxation".

I have to say I am really glad I started going. I've just returned from my third visit and already I'm feeling some relief from my back pain. However, I apparently slept like a contorted fool last night because I woke up with a stiff neck and the inability to turn my head. Lucky for me, Dr. Sexy helped me there too. I really like the feel of his phalanges on my head.

Anyway, I digress.

At my first visit, I was required to fill out a questionnaire about my symptoms and medical history. To summarize, I have a lot of back pain, headaches, sciatica, and constipation (Oh yeah, constipation baby). On the final page of the history forms was a human body outline where I was supposed to circle my specific location(s) of pain. Ten seconds later, my outline looked like a 3 year old had drawn spirals all over the torso, and I was feeling pretty crappy about my pain levels.

It didn't help that I had spent that last four days pretty much writhing in pain, and rolling around on the floor like a seizing bull dog.

So after I submitted my forms, we moved on to a series of X-rays. Now I don't know if it's my medical background, or just general insecurities, but I am REALLY uncomfortable playing the part of the "patient". Dr. Sexy stepped out of the room while I could disrobe and doll myself up in that stupid hospital gown they give you. I caught myself hiding my bra under my jeans, as if he has never seen a racer-back target special bra before. I decided to keep my socks on and then realized that I looked like a complete doof in red socks up to my calf with little snowmen all over them.

So there I stand, braless and in a johnny, complete with red snowman socks. I could hardly restrain myself from taking a photograph and posting it on Hotornot.com

It didn't take long to get the xrays back, and let me tell you, they are horrifying. My spine is twisted very much like a corkscrew and my right hip is 9mm higher than my left. But that's not the worst part....

My colon takes up my entire pelvic space. It looks like 6 Chipotle burritos end-to-end and scrunched into an intestine. No joke, and I just vomited in my mouth. After looking at my xray, and reading the part where I checked off "constipation" I'm pretty sure Dr. Sexy muttered to himself "Uh....Duh." I'm also pretty sure he secretly refers to me as "That Large Colon Girl". It's okay, Dr. Dreamy. I still love you.

I couldn't tell you a single thing he said to me while going over my xrays (something about it looks bad, but we can fix it) because I was mortified by my colon.

So, tonight I have traded my usual cup of tea for a very large glass of water complete with a soluble fiber supplement.

Benefiber you are my hero.







I found this tonight and it made me laugh out loud:

Technical Errors and Pictures of the Kitchen

***UPDATED 4/30/09 with more kitchen pictures for the Tour of Homes***

Ok I figured out how to post pictures in order with text between! Woo hoo!

Here's the kitchen:




As promised, here's the picture of our finished kitchen! Love it! Paint is by Behr (both shades), and the stools were on clearance from BB&B (for some reason they look really tall in these pics.) The rug is from Home Depot. Table and chairs from JC Penney. Most of the decor came from BB&B, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or little shops from our travels.

On a silly note, I came across a photo of my hubby and our dog, Sherman, that was taken a couple of years ago...I just love this picture. Doesn't Sherman look SO happy?

I'm Back!

I can't believe it's been over a month (a month!) since I posted last. Things have been absolutely crazy but I want you to know that I am BACK and I will be posting more frequently.

I promise :)

I want you all to know that I have stuck to my new year's plan of more writing (I've been writing for myself, a potential book) and have started painting. I'm starting out small with an 11X14 canvas, so we'll see how it turns out. I am just so excited to be doing something creative once again.

This post will be a all over the place but I want to share some of my cooking with you as well. On the easy side, I tried out Poppy Seed Chick from Kelly's blog. It was SO good. Just go to her site and search for it! I made it after painting my living room hallway, AND going to yoga so I was pretty tired but still was able to cook a delicious dinner. And, FYI I can't stand poppy seeds usually but this was A.mazing.

Tonight, Adam and I are cooking Parmesan Tilapia. I love seafood! After moving from Vermont to Arizona I was pretty upset to discover that the seafood selection in the desert is pretty scarce. Go figure. BUT we have found a pretty decent selection of fresh seafood at a local market that has really good tilapia. I'll be making it with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. MMMM Wonderful. I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

We finally finished the painting in the kitchen! I say finally because we had been working on it off and on since last summer. So, 6 months and two paint color changes later (long story people) it's finally done! And let me tell you, I LOVE cooking in my newly decorated kitchen! I'm having a hard time posting photos IN my entry so I will post it a little later...does anyone know how to post a picture in the middle of your text? It keeps placing the photo at the very top of my entry and I want it down here. I'm such a newbie. :)

Shopper Keeper

I've noticed lately that the space in my walk-in closest is dwindling by the day.

Hello, my name is Genesis and I am a shopaholic.

After being locked out of my own house and waiting for nearly 2 hours in the cold for a locksmith to arrive (see previous post about Season of Giving), I rewarded myself with a new sweater from one of my favorite stores. Yeppers...I rewarded myself with shopping after waiting for a locksmith. This has to be the world's lamest excuse for a shopping trip. Oh, and let's not forget that I got a new sweater for myself and Christmas, at that point, was 6 days away. Shameful.

I feel like I deserved it though....I was cold from being locked out of my home and sore from the Hot Yoga class Allyson talked me into. I didn't know your neck muscles could get sore. I didn't know it was possible for muscles surrounding your ribs to get sore. AND I didn't know sweat could literally run off your forearms and feet. It was nasty and it felt great until I woke up the next day.

I digress.

I can't help that I get down right teary-eyed over a sale at Macy's or that I become absolutely giddy when my husband needs to go to Old Navy for new underwear and socks because it means I can browse the ladies section while waiting for him. I feel like 2 year old that has finally conquered the potty chair, and in exchange receives a handful of Reese's pieces. Sales are MY Reese's Pieces.

So.

Thanks to my addictive behavior to all things that can be worn (don't even get me started on purses or shoes, I may start foaming at the mouth), my closet runneth over. It's reaching maximum density in there. It's quite possible that my husband might suffocate upon entrance one of these days. Drowning via cotton.

I cling to old items for sentimental reasons. I still have the dress I wore to high school graduation. HIGH SCHOOL! And I do believe the straps of the dress are still tied in the exact same spot I had them in on that hot day in June. Wrinkles remain imprinted across the front of the skirt from sitting and listening to speeches anxiously awaiting my diploma. I remember feeling like that day would never arrive and now I find myself wishing it hadn't passed so quickly.

I still have the shirt and shorts I wore on my last day of college. The last day full of smiles and laughter and joy as we, my best friends and classmates, realized we would no longer have to study together, complete projects together and meet for clinical rotations at 6am together. The day we also realized we would never GET to do these things together again. As joyful as I was that day, I was sad too. I was saying goodbye to a part of my life I could never get back even if I wanted to. Sometimes there is a piece of me that would like to relive some of those days over. It wasn't the end, but it was the end of the beginning.

I have my scrubs I wore as a student for my clinical rotations, the dress I wore to college graduation, various outfits from special events and days that I hold near and dear to my heart. As I look around my closet I see clothes, but I also see memories. I see segments of time, places I have been, things I have achieved. People I've met, friendships that have developed, relationships that have grown and some that have fallen apart. And among my memories that flash before me, I see people I wish I could gather up and hold onto. As we move on to new chapters of our lives we inevitably leave some people behind, separated by time and distance.

Going through my closet is like going through a photo album and it really breaks my heart to part with a lot of this stuff. I know there are people out there who need these things WAY more than I do, and I will be donating everything I decide to eliminate. It's just difficult for me to let things go. Things. These things. Why do we hang on to material items? None of this defines who I am. These items are not what is important in life, it's not what really matters. And yet, on some sentimental level they are difficult to part with. Letting these things go is a marker, to me, of how much time has passed. It's a reminder of who I used to be and what I have become.

Time goes by so fast, doesn't it? Do you ever wish you could slow time down or relive a few of your most extraordinary days? I wish I could re-experience some of those exciting moments. This is impossible of course, and that is why I am going to make a better effort at letting go of so much "stuff". I want to live for now, be in the present and not hang onto the days of my past. Besides, isn't that what photographs are for? :) So this week, I will arm myself with several Glad bags with the goal of filling each one for donation. And after I learn to let go, I will be Glad I did! :)

P.S. I might just post a few pics of some before and afters !

New Year

Happy 2009 to all! (I think I have something like 2 readers now...maybe even 3. Thank you for keeping me company!) I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year and a wonderful Christmas! I certainly did!

I've been thinking about everything that has changed in the last year...At this time in January of 2008 I was newly engaged, building a house, packing to move in February of 2008 and thinking about where I wanted to be married. One single year seems so long and at the same time, so short. Does it for you, too?

As I enter 2009 as a newlywed :) I hope to finish up decorating our house, travel a LOT this year, work on my photography album, scrapbook, paint and hopefully sell on yessy.com, work-out and become healthier, maybe get another dog, and do a lot more writing.

I was falling asleep the other night after Christmas thinking about what the future holds. My mind started running wild - it usually does when I'm falling asleep - and the most unusual idea for a story came to mind. I won't share my idea here, just yet, but I will tell you that I confided in two people very close to me and they both think it's a wonderful idea for a book. I explained the entire concept and the ending to my story and was met with complete shock at my creativity. To be perfectly honest, I have always wanted to try my hand at writing a really good story and it's a fantasy of mine to have a book published. In the past, my insecurities have had a tight grip on my confidance and I haven't written what I'd like to.

Adam and I went to see a movie this week and one line really grabbed my attention. I thought about it the entire drive home.

"Our lives are defined by opportunities...even the ones we miss."

Isn't that true for all of us? How many opportunities have defined your path and have determinied what and who you would become? How many opportunities did you miss that you wish you could have another chance at? I have a few regrets of lost opportunites.

I want this year to be different. I am planning on trying lots of new things this year and want to make this year one of personal growth, discovery, experience, and hope!

What are your hopes and dreams for 2009?

Happy New Year! It's going to be a great one!