Shiny Object Syndrome

So, a few weeks ago a girlfriend of mine from work invited me to come try adult beginner figure skating lessons. So I paid for the skate rental, and off I went...now as a former roller-blader from the 90's, this seemed like it was gonna be cake. However, there's no brakes on ice skates. At all...Seriously. And oh, by the way it's really freaking cold in there! Ahh! Like a brand new deer, this little bambi hobbled toward the ice and death-gripped the inside of the rink for a few moments steadying myself. Yep. That feeling that your feet are about to shoot out from under you at any moment, sending your behind straight down to the ice is not the most settling feeling I have had. I don't know which is scarier, seeing my fiance bring up the rest of his clothes into our bedroom to put away or the fear of falling while ice skating. By the end of the lesson,  after only one tiny fall I was super hooked. Bad hooked. I popped into the shop to decide which skates would be the best for purchase and then it occurred to me that I had found the best thing ever about ice skating- (brace yourself) LEG WARMERS! Yes, it's 2012 and I purchased a pair of hot pink, glittery leg warmers to wear over my brand new ice skates and very thick tights. "But what could be better than legwarmers?' you ask? Ohhh perhaps the fact that attached to all the girls skate skirts in the store was a matching scrunchie. For real, a scrunchie.

So pretty and white!!!!!

Supportive boyfriend!

I've now taken about 3 more lessons and it gets better every time :) Never saw myself doing this, but as an adult finding something new and exciting to dive into is fabulous!!! Just wanted to share! Have a wonderful week!!!!!!

Digging my garden...and casa nueva.

Our home before.... (brace yourself)

Bedroom. Seriously 

What will be my sitting / craft room

Such a disaster! 

At least the TV works!

AFTER!

Just a little peek of the downstairs for now- upstairs is still in shambles until our dressers arrive and are utilized. Enjoy! 

First house!

:)

Handmade wreath on our front door! (by me) 

Entry 

Front door inside

Hallway to guest room and man cave 

Garage entry

Sweet Basil

Cilantro, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Spicy Basil, and Chives

Gonna taste so good!

Oh, and living a block away from the beach isn't too shabby either :) Thank you, Uncle Sam!

Ben paddling out

This is nice!

My handsome surfer!

View of the Channel Islands...from my blanket.

Hair this!!!!!!

Well, today was my last hair appointment at my salon here in Virginia.  I was a little sad as I waltzed out, doing the obligatory 'hair flip' as I put on my shades and headed to the car.  After 2 and a half years, my girl Ashley has helped me go from weedwhacker victim to proper lady with big southern hair!  I'm going to miss her...

Pre-Ashley's Magic:

OCS was not a kind place for girls...

Muffin hair is sexy! hahahaha

Post Ashley's Magic...

Pre-Deployment

Pause for Bahrain tragedy...

HOLY F...I had bags and flippy things.

Thank goodness, it grew and I recovered in time for Greece!

Ahhhh....Ashley rescued me!

Hello America! My hair is BACK!

She even cut Ben's hair a few times! (sorry babe)

YAY! Normal, big, long hair!

...In short, many thanks to my fabulous hairstylist Ashley :)  I will miss her mad skillz and friendship dearly. If anyone in Norfolk / VA Beach is stylist shopping, go to Twist Salon. They are fabulous!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

For my birthday this year, my sweet boyfriend took me to Wyoming (i.e. The Most Beautiful Place on Earth!). We are visiting his grandparents at their ranch. So far things are off to a good start. We've never spent more than 2 days apart in almost 7 months. Soooo after 5 days of missing him, the aiport was bound to be an embarrassing scene..haha! See how this went:

Unsuspecting boyfriend...

Then he sees me...barreling toward him 

Needless to say, I was excited to see him!

...and embarrass him with lots of PDA!

Of course, the kitties were missed...but they'll make the next trip. Whether boyfriend likes it or not!  heh!

Tootaloo Cariboo

B leaves for California this weekend. He will be there sans moi until May of 2012. Darn military!!! LUCKILY his little cross-country voyage includes a little stop in Wyoming...where I'll be joining him to celebrate my 27th Birthday. Then it's farewell until Thanksgiving. Hmpff! To keep things light, since our distance is only temporary, I have made a few cartoons... enjoy :)

As you can see, I'm not a fan of his departure.

So maybe I'll just sneak me and the kitties in the UHAUL :)

30 Day Photo Challenge

365 Days. 365 Photos. Yeah. Right. That's gonna take some serious dedication on my part to complete such a tasker. But 30 days? Bring it!!! I did snag this idea from a blog I admire: Story of My Life. The author is a lot like me in her fancy for being a successful domestic diva; gorgeous, sassy, likes to whip up delicious treats [sometimes for others], loves her family, friends, and most of all her man!

So, 30 Days. 30 Photos. This can't be too difficult since the next 30 days are going to quite an adventure. B is transferring very soon to our future home of sunny California. Yep. I said "our". Such a big step and I can't wait! So from October - March we'll be doing the distance thing. These photos should keep things fun since he's a regular reader of this oh-so-fabulous-blog. What will these pics be of? Let's see....

Day 1. Self Portrait
Day 2. What I wore
Day 3. Clouds
Day 4. Favorite Color
Day 5. Someone I love
Day 6. Childhood Memory
Day 7. Something New
Day 8. Technology
Day 9. Faceless self portrait
Day 10. Something I made
Day 11. Something Fun
Day 12. Close-up
Day 13. From a distance
Day 14. Flowers
Day 15. My shoes
Day 16. What I ate
Day 17. On the shelf
Day 18. In my bag
Day 19. Where I slept
Day 20. What I read
Day 21. Pretty pattern
Day 22. Trees
Day 23. Sunset
Day 24. A smile
Day 25. A sunflare
Day 26. Something old
Day 27. Afterdark
Day 28. Daily routine
Day 29. Purchased
Day 30. In motion

And for the record, B...you will likely end up as #26 since you made fun of this whole project. So there! =P

MANswers

The day after Irene, B and I spent the day at his place with his roommates. An AMC. As the afternoon passed, we were bumming around the living room completely engrossed in MM. They are now just as hooked as B and I are. Yay! First it's fun because anytime we finish an episode via Netflix, we finger-to-nose to see who'll click "Play Next Episode". Really mature, right? And second, now I have another gal to gossip about the drama of the show with. B likes the show, but for different reasons than me. I mean, when I gush about loving a character's wardrobe; there's really nothing for him to contribute to that. Then it's just a one-sided conversation and that sucks. I can do that all by myself! And it's completely fine that he doesn't smack his hands together and say "oh yes! her shoes are just fabulous!". Well, sometimes he does but he's certainly not serious.
 Also during our lazy afternoon MMM (Mad Men Marathon), the boys suddenly ganged up on the girls and vice versa and I learned a new word. "Manswer." What is a manswer? Let's explore, shall we?!

MANswer: an expected, sarcastic, and often not-quite-true response from a man that does not answer his lady's question.  (noun; adj; verb.)

I will get you!

Example #1
FB: "Oh since you're up can you get me another beer?"
FG: "Why? Am I your maid now?"

WARNING! WARNING! MANSWER ON THE WAY!
FB: "No, but you just look so sexy when you pop the top off the bottle."

TRUTH: He did not want to get up off the couch and tricked you with a complement! Beware of "MANswers" ladies... BEWARE!!!!!!

Thank You, Fate!

Better you than me, pumpkin!

Today started out like most days off. Woke up, got some coffee, and signed onto Facebook. (I've accepted my addiction to social networking.) Scrolling through the updates to see what everyone is up to, I began to think about what I'll do with my day... I kept scrolling, and then I stopped. There it was. One of my ex's. Standing next to girl. With multiple chins.  

(cue the giggles)

Not much else says "you won" like seeing such a jerk with such a healthy, happy gal. It made my day. No, seriously. It did. And yes, I know it's not very Christian to laugh at someone else's misfortune. Then again he broke up with me via text message.

Repel This!

Let me put this out there: I absolutely L-O-V-E The Man Repeller. While 90% of her style choices would look like absolute garbage on me, her funky fashion-forward looks are fantastic on her lean frame. She's so lucky to have such long legs and gorgeous hair- hell, she'd look good in a freaking potato sack!

Anyway, what I do want to address is the models in her recent post... (no disrespect to them or TMR for choosing the pics.) I just couldn't stifle my giggles as I read through her latest post. The expressions call for some C&S expressions added.

Are you shitting me? These pants belong on MC Hammer's wife's bridesmaids.  ("Can't marry this!" Duuh-na-na-na. Dadum! Dadum!)
No really. Why? Why the hell are parachute pants even being made? It's bad enough that certain branches of the military still think that pleated pants are a solid choice for ladies uniforms. Now they're actually being VOLUNTARILY PURCHASED?? Holy smokes!

No joke, I think my mother has this scarf...and this jacket. And so does Melanie Griffith. She got it off the set of "Working Girl". Hello, ladies. It's 2011 and life is too short for poor fashion choices.

 No, ma'am. Leopard print should be worn SPARINGLY!!!!!! Unless you're married to Ice-T, don't do it. It's just not fair to my eyes. But you work it, model girl. Strike that pose!

American Pickers is a show about people who rummage yard sales and flea markets for valuable treasures. Clearly, this girl found the best treasures of all! WINNING! A 'picked' over sweater paired up with Britney Spears' tossed aside jean shorts. The best part of this outfit [seriously] is her shoes. They are fun and sexy. However the model doesn't seem to think so, based on her "I look stupid and I know it" expression. Yes, dear. Yes you do.

NO ONE LOOKS GOOD IN A MULLET. Be it haircut or dress, it's bound to be a disaster. Look how pissed off the model is? I bet she was late to the shoot and they decided to stick her with the dress that all the on-time-models were like "Paha! i ain't wearing that garbage!"