Crazy store hours...

Take a look at our hours for this week...

Sunday 12/14: 8a-11pm
Monday 12/15: 8a-11pm
Tuesday 12/16: 8a-11pm
Wednesday 12/17: 6a-11pm
Thursday 12/18: 8a-11pm
Friday 12/19: 8a-11pm
Saturday 12/20: 6a-11pm

That is only THIS week... I'll let you imagine what they are the week of Christmas.

Why don't we just stay open 24 hours a day? We might as well considering we're only closed an average of 8 hours each day...
I don't know about all of you but I think these are ridiculous. Who goes shopping at 6am on a Wednesday? Who?! Nobody, that's who!

Crazy times...

Things have been so crazy for me! Here's what has been going on...

1. I found out the company I work for is shutting its doors, so after Jan. 31st I will be unemployed... (luckily the severance package is decent, so I will be okay for awhile).

2. I moved into a house with a friend of mine.

3. Ran into an ex, who is basically the love of my life (so far), I know a little melodramatic, but it's true! Got back together for a minute, then broke up again.

That is the quick update on me! I'm still "computer-less" at home, but I'm planning on getting my laptop fixed with my severance in February, so probably around March I will be back to blogging regularly!

I hope you all are having a great holiday season!!

I have been tagged by Lesli!

1. Clothes: Romantic and girly. Mainly dark colors, I own a lot of black but not in a gothic way. I just think black looks best on me. Lots of heels and jeans and comfy sweaters.
2. Furniture: Light green suede furniture, very shabby chic. Lots of neutral colors with black and red thrown in here and there.
3. Sweet: Uhh, chocolate! :) Or I love Skittles!
4. City: My heart belongs in Des Moines :) Some of my favorite cities to visit are Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Denver.
5. Drink: I'm a beer girl (I know, ewww! haha!) if I don't have that I will have a Malibu/Diet or a glass of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir (depends on what I'm eating, if I'm eating with it). For non alcoholic, I always have a coffee :)
6. Music: Love the newer alternative rock! I guess you might classify it as emo or punk I guess. But bands like Paramore and Panic! at the Disco are my favs.
7. TV Series: Lots of reality tv... The Girls Next Door, Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, The Hills, The Rachel Zoe Project... I also like Grey's Anatomy and the new 90210!
8. Film: Almost Famous, Across the Universe, Fever Pitch, The Devil Wears Prada... and tons more! I could go on and on!
9. Workout: Elliptical or group fitness classes like Step, Body Pump and Kickboxing.
10. Pastries: Actually I'm happy with just a bagel and coffee!
11. Coffee: Medium to strong with lots of Splenda and sometimes non-dairy creamer.

No, I'm not missing! Stop the search!

Wow, I have been gone a long time! I feel like my only posts are "update posts"!! Sorry guys! I'll try harder -- really, I will! :)
Things have been pretty good. I've been trying to make myself more available to the dating world and put myself out there. So far, I have little luck. I went on a date with one guy who Lesli and I like to call "Sushi Guy" because he asked me out for sushi with him and his friends. This guy is a classic case of why a girl should trust her gut instincts. On the surface and on paper this guy seems perfect. Successful, attractive (not really to me, but to most he is attractive), seemingly polite and funny. He just seemed a little too smooth if you know what I mean.
So after the first date I caught myself dodging his texts and phone calls so I decided to let him down gently and tell him that I feel like I'm too busy to date right now, but to keep in touch.
A week later I get a text from him:

Sushi Guy: Hey, what is your friends name that is a nurse? I think I saw her downtown.

Me: Her name is Blondie* and yes you probably did see her, she works downtown.

Sushi Guy: Ok. So I take it you still don't want to date?

Uhhh, duh. It was only a week ago and nothing has changed.

Me: Yes, I just can't right now. Keep in touch though!

I'm just trying to be nice!

Sushi Guy: Well, at the risk of sounding like an ass. Is your friend Blondie single?

Whaaaaaaaat?? Ok, it might be okay for dudes that are friends to date the same girl. It is not okay for chicks. If anyone has seen the most recent episode of The Hills they would know that!

Scratch this guy off the list for potential people to date. Yes, I know he was technically already "scratched off the list" but I was trying to date like a dude and keep him on my radar! You never know!
I immediately called Blondie and told her the story. She was disgusted and said She did think at first he might be a great catch but she would never date someone one of her friends dated. To quote Audrina from The Hills, "Who wants sloppy seconds?" Amen!

*name changed to protect identity

Should I, or shouldn't I?

I met this guy Saturday night and we went out for drinks last night. I only allowed myself a couple hours out b/c I knew today would be a long day. We had three drinks each and were out for almost exactly two hours. This guy is pretty much perfect on paper (so far) I'm just trying to decide if I'm physically attracted to him. I definitely think I am a little bit and that it will grow with time. My last boyfriend I wasn't attracted to at all at first, but it grew very quickly and he was my most significant relationship (so far!).
Let's call last night's guy... Dude. Dude wants to go out again tomorrow night to a sushi restaurant. Him and his friends usually go every Thursday night and he wants me to join them tomorrow. I think this is a little odd to be going out with him on a 2nd date to such a regular event with his friends.
Should I go? What would you all do?

Fav. vending snack...

Of course my office has a "vendo-land" full of fattening and yummy snacks. Currently in the vending machine is the extremely over-processed yet delicious Lunchable.

I. Cant. Stop. Eating. Them.

With 8 grams of saturated fat per serving and over 300 calories, I really shouldn't be eating them as a snack. They're just so good! I could eat cheese and crackers all day long!!
Yum, yum, YUM!

Fridays

I have a love/hate relationship with Fridays.

I love that it is the day before two glorious days off.
I hate that it's only two days! (hehe)

I love that I get off work at 2:30.
I hate that there's not much to do until 2:30.

I love that there aren't any students at work (which means no issues).
I hate that it's so quiet I can hear myself think.

I love that I can usually get a million errands done on Friday afternoons.
I hate that this weekend (and next) are jam-packed busy with no time to relax! (Who am I kidding? I don't know what to with myself if I'm not busy! =)

There you have it. My first "Love/Hate" blog modeling one of my favorite blogs, Love is Blonde.

Power outages and an escaped cat

Today started HORRIBLY! (It's gets better, so please don't let that discourage you from reading!)

Late last night we had a terrible storm and 40,000 people were without power all night - me being one of them. I didn't think much of it, just kept sleeping. I didn't have to be into work until 10am so got to sleep in. When I woke up around 7am it was sweltering in my apartment so I got up opened the windows and the sliding glass door (assuming the screen door was locked) and went back to bed for an hour. At around 9am I rolled myself out of bed (I know... little more than hour snooze... haha) I walked into the living room and the screen door was open about two feet and Libby was gone.

I panicked. A lot.

I flew out of the apartment down the stairs (I live on the second level) and frantically looked for her. After a few minutes I found her, she had made her way back to the stairs up to my apartment and was meowing and looking right at me. She let me pick her up immediately and looked really scared. I'm so thankful she didn't try to play games with me and run away, which is what my cats always did when I was a kid.

I have never been so scared! My worst fear is that she will get out of the house and get hit by a car and I will find her body. I know, very gruesome, but I can't help it. It's my fear!

Thank god I found her and she was okay. As soon as I picked her up I said, "Never, EVER do that again!" I'm sure I sounded like a mother that just had a child wonder off, but it just came out of my mouth before I even thought about it!

The rest of my day has gone fine, rather quickly actually! I have 2 1/2 more hours to go at work, then I get to go home and head to the gym.

I've been pretty unprodcutive today (current job-wise), although I have been researching schools to go to and I believe I have it narrowed down. I'm actually trying to get a job at the school because they offer FREE tuition to employees! Isn't that awesome! It's a really, really good university here in Des Moines too, so keep your fingers crossed for me that everything works out. I have applied for three positions so far, mostly administrative assistant work (which I think looks really fun!), what office can't function with their administrative assistant??! They're like the most important person in the entire office!!!

I'll keep you all posted! Hope you have a great week!!!

It's happened again...

Remember when I was interviewing for that job for 2 months back at the beginning of the year and didn't get it? Well it's happened again. I have been interviewing for this certain job since APRIL and I just found out today I didn't get it.

I have to get more aggressive about this job hunt. When my computer crashed it just made it that much harder to hunt for a new job. That is just an excuse though. I cannot make excuses!

My question is... what profession should I go for? I have been in retail management and now I am working in higher education (in administration). My bachelors is in Fashion Merchandising, which is now seeming like a huge waste of time.

Any advice on a career field I should break in to?

I have been contemplating going back to school for a degree in elementary education, I have always loved kids and I think I would be good at teaching. I'm just nervous about having to take out more student loans and worried about teachers salaries when I'm done. I've grown accustomed to a certain salary range...

Tips? Advice? Words of wisdom? ANYTHING!

Scary drill . . .

At my office we do fire drills and tornado drills periodically so everyone knows what to do during a disaster and do it quickly. Today we had a Violence Drill.

As I heard the siren go off, which was several intermittent blasts, I shut the door to my office and shut the light off. Then I was to hide somewhere so that I could not be seen through the door. At first I wasn't taking it seriously, I thought, "I will just continue to sit at my desk and work." Then I thought about how real that is. I work in a school, a college to be exact.

The scenario that we are practicing for could very well happen at my place of employment. I have come across several students that I would call capable of violent acts towards others.

This, to me, was just so scary and made me stop and think about what a vicious world we live in.

Pushing 30??

The other day my mom commented on how I'm "pushing 30".

Immediately my stomach did a little flip. THIRTY?! Don't I at least get until I'm 27 to be considered "pushing 30"? Isn't 26 still considered mid-twenties? It doesn't really bother me, it was just the term that kinda hit me, and I thought, "wow, I'm getting older..."

I have never been one to boo-hoo over my age. I have always looked forward to getting older. People that sit and whine about how old they are, or hide their age really irritate me. I think it's silly! We should be proud of our age!

What got me was why my mom would comment on that. Is it the fact that she wants to be a Grandma? Or see me wear a wedding dress soon? Probably.

I know it will happen, but she's just going to have to be patient! (and stop making those comments!).

Another Harry Potter post...

I have recently taken up the task of finishing all the Harry Potter books and I'm finding myself enjoying them more than anything I have read in a very long time! Thank you Brandy over at "It's like I'm mmmmagic" for helping me convince myself I need to read this series!!

I'm on the seventh and final book. It's really bittersweet, half of me is saying "read it slow, this is the last one. Savor it." Then the other half is saying "hurry up, hurry up! Find out what happens, finish it NOW!"

They are soooo good! I can't get over it! (I know half of you are say DUH!)

My dad and sister have read all of them as well, and actually my dad is who I borrowed all the books from. I recently went on a trip with my parents to visit my cousin who has just had a baby (Congratulations, Erin!) and during the entire trip it was like this:

"Is Snape really bad?"
"Do Harry and Ginny get together?"
"Do Ron and Hermione get together?"
"Does Dumbledore die?"
"Does HARRY DIE????!"
"WTF is Draco up to?"
"Who is the half-blood prince??"
"Why does Sirius have to die?? WHY?!"

I could keep going... but I won't!! Haha!

Those that have read them can probably tell that I just finished the sixth book by those questions. The only one I made my dad answer was the first one. It was really bugging me, I just had to know.

Another thing about these books that really gets me, is the hatred I feel for some of the characters. Every book has a villian or villians, obviously. The Harry Potter series has many, many villians. The way J.K. Rowling writes makes the reader feel as if they're right there at Hogwarts and you're apart of the threesome that Harry, Ron and Hermione make up. This writing also makes me hate some of the other characters as much as Harry, Ron or Hermione!

Here are the characters I particularly "hate" (Which, hate is a word I try not to use, but in these cases, it is necessary).

Voldemort
Bellatrix (She is right up there with Voldemort)
Snape
Draco and Lucius Malfoy
Kreacher (Actually I don't feel actual hatred, just extreme dislike!)

Now you're thinking, of course you hate them, you're not supposed to LIKE them. It's weird though... I really want these characters to die in the end. They're just so horrible!

I'm sure I'll post again once I'm done with the seventh book... which probably be soon! =)
If you haven't read them, read them!

Declawing a cat-- is it cruel?

I'm considering getting Libby declawed. Her claws, or actually I call them nails, are vicious! I have taken her to PetSmart once so far to get them clipped down as far as possible. She is a kitten though and she's growing F-A-S-T! I try to clip them myself and I cannot get her to sit down long enough, the most I have gotten clipped was four at one time. I really don't want to have to take her to PetSmart every couple weeks for $10, that seems ridiculous to me!

When I adopted her I signed paperwork for her stating that I would not get her declawed. The shelter that I got her at finds that cruel to animals, and I agree. Although, I don't plan on taking her outside very often and she will never be outside without a leash. Libby pretty much has a life to look forward to in the comforts of my home, which is pretty comfy if I don't say so myself! ;)

I'm sick of her sharp claws though! She hasn't ripped any furniture (thank God!) but she does tend to use my leg as a scratching post when I'm standing. She doesn't realize when she's playing that she's scratching me and it hurts! :( The other day at work one of my co-workers commented on the scratches on my arm! It's that bad.. I do think that after awhile she will end up putting a rip in my furniture as well. I have all new furniture and I really want it to stay nice for a long time-- who wouldn't?!

Do ya'll think I just need a few more scratching posts for her? I don't have any actually scratching posts, I just have the ones that sit on the floor and she does use them. Or do you think I should just go ahead and get her declawed? I know I signed something saying I wouldn't, but seriously, how would they know?!

I cannot make up my mind. I keep going back and forth on the idea, one minute I think it's cruel and the next minute I think f**k it, I'm getting it done! What does everyone think I should do? How do you feel about declawing animals?

I have a confession...

I have not read any of the books in the Harry Potter series. I have not been living under a rock either. LOL! My father and sister have read them all and just love them! I decided I needed to read them to find out if they're really THAT good! My mom said she pulled them all together for me but couldn't find the first book! I'm bummed... I was looking forward to reading them but I can't start with the second one, right??!

For the love of books!

While reading what Brandy's been up to over at It's like I'm... mmmagic! I found a great blog that she contributes to called Book me in!. I had to check it out and it's great! It has a lot of reviews on books that I have already read and some that are on my "to be read" shelf. I have always wanted to join a book club and I thought this would be perfect!

There was a comment on the blog about looking for more contributers, so I figured, why not??

I'm so excited, I just hope my writing can live up to the great reviews that everyone else has written! I plan on writing my first review on Jodi Picoult's most recent release, "Change of Heart". (at least that is the plan so far!)

Go check it out!

Just one word!

From Lys over at Just Because... the rules are:

You.

Can.

Only.

Type.

One.

Word.

Not as easy as you might think.

Remember: one word answers.



1.Where is your mobile phone? Here
2.Your significant other? None
3.Your hair? messy
4.Your mother? patient
5.Your father? smart
6.Your favorite thing? reading
7.Your dream last night? unknown
8.Your favorite drink? dietcherrycokezero
9.Your dream/goal? writer
10.The room you're in? LivingRoom
11.Your ex? Stupid
12.Your fear? Failure
13.Where do you want to be in 6 years? Married
14.Where were you last night? Movies
15.What you're not? motivated
16.Muffins? chocolate chip
17.One of your wish list items? iPod
18.Where you grew up? Iowa
19.The last thing you did? Shop
20.What are you wearing? jeans
21.Your TV? On
22.Your pets? Sleeping!
23.Your computer? Working
24.Your life? good
25.Your mood? mellow
26.Missing someone? Yes
27.Your car? Accord
28.Something you're not wearing? skirt
29.Favorite Store? VonMaur
30.Your summer? humid
31.Like someone? Nah
32.Your favorite color? pink
33.When is the last time you laughed? today
34.Last time you cried? dunno

Thanks Lys! :)

Cat names

Here are some names that I have been thinking about:

Isabelle

Belle or Bella

Chanel ( I have always thought that would be so cute!)

Libby

Pearl

Sassy

Stella

Fiona

I have the kitty and I did choose one of these names. Although I am not going to say which one, because I'm curious which ones ya'll like! :)

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

Not really, just work. haha!

I decided I needed DVR. I have had it before with Timewarner when I lived in KC, as well as TiVo (which is amazing by the way) and I decided I needed it again! When I first moved in I requested it but there was a wait on the boxes so they said they would call me in a month when they came in. They didn't call. I thought "oh well, I'm living without, I'll be fine without it."

After a while though I got sick of rushing home for the programs I so desperately HAD to see! (haha!) So, I called Mediacom Sunday to order it... and lo and behold... I have been paying for it since November and I didn't even have the service! AARGH!!!

Now they were scheduled to come out today between 7:30 and 10 am. Guess what time they show up? 9:30. I'm a little peeved. I have to get to work! If I was my boss I wouldn't consider the "cable guy" a necessary excuse to be late for work! Maybe I'm just a tough boss... hmm??

The guy is still here and I"m really late to work. I have a phobia about being late. I hate it.

Ugh, hopefully he's almost done.

Sentimental... over sand??

I got my car back today! Yay! It looks awesome, I cannot even tell it had major body damage! They even detailed it for me and shampooed the carpets! It's smells like a new car on the inside! =)

I am a little sad though... I don't know if I have mentioned this, but I have not vacuumed the inside of my car... ever. I haven't had the car for very long. I bought it after I moved to Myrtle Beach. when I lived there I went to the beach at 3-4 times a week if not more, so there was a TON of sand in the car. I felt bad for anyone sitting in the backseat because they ended up with sand all over their bums! LOL! I just couldn't bring myself to clean it out!

Looks like I didn't have to. The bodyshop did it for me. I didn't realize it until about 30 minutes after I left. I immediately got a little teary. I feel silly, but for some reason I wanted to be the one to clean it out. Is that weird??

Anyway, the point of the story... I really miss the beach! It's all snowy and cold here. We've had such a long winter, and I know Spring is getting closer... but sheesh! Hurry up already!

Some of my favorite things. . .

1. Daisies (especially gerbera daisies)
2. Chick lit... hopelessly addicted!
3. and of course... Chick flicks!
4. The vegetarian line of Boca foods... so delicious!
5. Fires in the fireplace on a chilly night
6. The color pink
7. Hello Kitty
8. Tall beds... mine is so high it's sometimes hard to get into! LOL
9. Pictures
10. Coffee
11. Rachael Ray (and anything that has to do with her!)
12. Von Maur
13. Snow Days!
14. High heels
15. The beach! I love the ocean!
16.


This list will grow as I think of more things I can't live without! =)

Yummo!

Tonight's dessert... roasted marshmallows in the fireplace... YUMMY! :) Nothing like some burnt crispy gooey marshmallow on a cold snowy day!

PS. Go NY Giants!