Got a job!

I'm in a middle school instrumental music class today...

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So far I have subbed in Math, Social Studies, Geography, Chemistry, In School Suspension, Vocal Music, Language Arts, Drama and now... Instrumental Music. ;)

What was your favorite subject in school?

Wine & Love v6

It's Thursday, which means it's Wine & Love Thursday, similar to What I'm Loving Wednesday, but not quite.

Wine & Love is hosted by Nora each week and is more along the lines of what is making you reach for the wine (out of irritation) and what is making you reach for the wine (out of happiness!) where as WILW is more along the lines of what I'm loving that I want to buy....

So, now that we have cleared that up... on with the second meme of the week. (I swear my blog is not turning into daily memes. I promise).

Here is what is making me reach for the wine out of happiness...

♥ The fact that my new(ish) black ballet flats are completely broken in and go with every outfit I own. No more blisters!

♥ The fact that another friend of mine has started a blog! Am I creating monsters here? (Or, more accurately, new addicts?) Nevertheless, go check out her blog, you'll love her witty writing style and snarky comments! She's blogging over at Observations of Miss Oakley!

♥ The fact that a school in a small town in Iowa is using exercise balls as chairs! How cool is that??

♥ That I had a wonderful sushi date with my sister last night and it was blissful - and scrumptious!

♥ Most of the reading I have due for the month of October is for children's lit, which means... I will be reading a LOT of YA in the next few weeks. HAPPY!

♥ Jessica is sending me an ARC of a book that I have been pining for lately -- and I cannot wait to read it!

Here is what is making me reach for the wine out of irritation...

♥ My sister and her boyfriend are fighting like whoa lately and it's making me want to pull out the mama bear act and defend my little sister. It's not my battle though. (That is what I tell myself).

♥ No subbing jobs! Seriously. Stressing. Me. Out. C'mon teachers! Get sick! (Ok, that was mean and just not right. Let's re-phrase that. Use a sick day! Take a fricken day off. You know you want to...).

♥ I didn't get a chance to do the Shred yesterday... I had my chance in the morning and spent too much time bumming around and said that I would do it at night when I got home. That so did not happen. I'll get back on the saddle today!

♥ Friday night I am working - which is fine, I love working with the clients at the agency, but this one particular client is an energy zapper. She just sucks it right out of you... Thank goodness it's not an overnight and I am off at 10pm...

That's pretty much all the wines and loves for me! It's been a good week, I hope it's been the same for you!

Are you having more of a Love week or more of a Wine week?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's been awhile since I linked up with Jamie for "What I'm Loving Wednesday!" If you haven't checked out her blog, you should. She's the sweetest blogger, she's Southern and she's a teacher! :)

Here are the random things I am loving this week!

Trendy Top- The Top, that's not!

Has anyone seen this infomercial??

I have to admit... I kind of want this product (not that I have EVER worn a shirt like the one in the Before picture!) Trendy Top is a shirt... but, for your hips! It's used to create the layering look without extra bulk and also to avoid the dreaded plumbers crack showing (I know you all know what I mean).

Watch the video here - I couldn't embed it in the post, I don't know why! But, go watch it! Let me know what you think... I'm seriously considering trying this out, but I wish I could buy it in a store.


Leggings and sweater dresses! I am so glad it's fall and leggings are in style again. They are so comfortable, and so forgiving! I'm still debating on if I'm going to buy another pair of Uggs this year. The pair I bought last year are still fine, but I needed to go down a size. They make my feet look ginormous. I might be over the Ugg trend though... they're just too expensive and I'd rather find a cute pair of boots that are "unknown" and make people wonder where I got them. ;)


30 Day Shred - I have never been sold on working out at home because I just do not have the self discipline, but I have been doing the shred for the past week and I am loving it! I can really feel myself getting stronger (yes, in a week!) and I love that it is only 20 minutes. Before I would spend 20 minutes just driving back and forth from the gym! This makes so much more sense and I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner.


Lean Cuisine Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni - Yes, I am blogging about a Lean Cuisine meal. This one is so GOOD. I cannot get over how good it is, I think I eat this meal at least three times a week. It's kind of ridiculous.

Couture Allure Coat from Mod Cloth - Isn't it adorable?! I just love this coat!


This dress from Ryu that I found on Tara's blog. Love, love, love. She's a big boutique shopper and I love how unique all the clothes are. I love Gap and Banana Republic just as much as the next person, but I hate when people automatically know where my outfits came from, and I will rarely wear something that has the store name splashed across the shirt. Boutique shopping is perfect for me! Unfortunately, Des Moines has very few boutiques (that aren't extremely, extremely overpriced).

What are you loving this week??

I'm on a huge leggings kick so if you have any cute outfits - send them my way! :)

Blogging buddies are the best buddies!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you know I have a pretty great group of friends. Most of us met in college, and we've been through thick and thin with each other.

Graduations, tough break-ups, buying your first home, marriage, death of a loved one, moving far away, moving back home, moving back in with the rents, losing jobs... you name it!

We all lived in the same dorm hall. The dorms we lived in was where a lot of the freshman and sophomores lived and was known as the party dorms... and party, we did! Living in those dorms are among my most cherished college memories and these girls have a LOT to do with it!

Since starting this blog I have kept it pretty secret, only mentioning it every so often. A part of me wanted to keep it to myself and I also knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the rejection if one of them didn't like it.

Well, now that I am going to meet bloggers in person more often, keeping it myself is a bit harder. These girls know everyone I know! So, I figured I would stop being so damn secretive and start sharing this passion of mine.

Little did I know that they would love it too and would want a blog of their own! I'm so excited to introduce one of the sweetest, most caring person I have ever met, Angie!

Angie's a nurse at an agency like the one I am a counselor at (she got me the job!) and is damn good at what she does! She genuinely cares about these clients SO much and gives so much of herself to them - it's truly inspiring! Angie's also interested in personal finance and making the most of her money. She has two cats (that are adorable!) and a super sweet boyfriend. She's the type of friend that is up for anything and can make conversation with just about anyone! She sees the good in everyone and is always positive and uplifting.

Go say hi and welcome her to the blogging community - I know she's going to fit in just right! Reflections from Ang!

PS: Don't skip playing the cat video she posted the other day - it's hilarious! I was cracking up the entire time!

Dream Analysis 101

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Dreams have always been interesting to me. The fact that my subconscious is telling stories while I am sleeping is just … weird.

I was so interested in the stories our subconscious tell that when I was in high school and worked on the school newspaper, I had an entire column devoted to dream analysis. Each month students would send in their dreams for me to analyze and publish. Cheesy? Yes. Humiliating? Maybe for some, but I enjoyed it. The other editors made fun of me for it, but I didn’t care. Now, almost 15 years later and I am still interested in dreams and sleep patterns.

As of this year I have been extremely intrigued by sleep patterns and have even been tracking my sleep with an app on my phone – but that is a post for a different day. I promise!

Today, I’m talking about a dream I had last Thursday night. I just have to get it on paper before it vanishes from my mind.

This particular dream included two of my ex-boyfriends. Yes, TWO!

Many of you will remember the dirtbag, Cy and some of you remember the nice (although too young) Nick. I don’t know why I protect Nick’s identity, but I do Cy’s.

Alright, I digress. The dream…

I had a dream that I ran into Cy’s best friend and we exchanged some pleasant, “Hi, how are you?” conversation before the conversation turned serious. His friend casually mentioned that Cy felt terrible for what he did to me, and that he would talk about how he missed me right after we broke up. Of course this made me angry (all in my dream of course) and I blew up at his friend, "How could he miss me? How could he be so cruel? So selfish? He’s bleeping married (again) now!"

That’s really all I remember about that part of the dream. Maybe there isn’t anything else, I’m not sure. I can’t remember anymore.

Then the second dream about Nick (both dreams in the same night!) and we were together, but he had proposed. I had said yes, but didn’t really mean it. I didn’t want to marry him, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings either.

A week before the wedding we hadn’t sent out any invitations and only a few friends and family members knew about our upcoming wedding. I knew I had to call it off, but just couldn’t bring myself to hurt him like that. On the day of the wedding he had decorated the diner (yes, a diner!) with his high school graduation decorations and when I walked into the restaurant and saw “Class of 2004!” draped everywhere I knew that I had to do it. I had to call it off. This was ridiculous.

That is all I remember.

Weird, right??! Why would I be dreaming about running into my ex-boyfriend’s best friend and possibly marrying another one? Hopefully this is my subconscious’ way of telling me that neither of these guys were the ones for me and that the right one is on his way! The right one is just being held up… That’s what I like to think anyway. That is along the lines of what I would have said back when I was writing the EHS Scroll’s dream analysis column.

Do you remember your dreams? Do you think they have any special meaning?

S & S Stacks v4 - Banned Books Week + a GIVEAWAY!

It's that time of year again, Banned Books Week - 2011! For the past couple of years I have made note of this week, and urged friends to read a banned book via Facebook, but haven't really done anything else about it. This year, I am changing that!

This year, I am giving away your choice of two banned books - I'm letting you choose, because... well, if you're here, you probably already have some of these. I'm assuming you don't want duplicates!


There are 4 books to choose from that all have conveniently come from a local bookseller, Beaverdale Books. This shop just might be cuter than Shop Around the Corner...


The Catcher in the Rye: the main character, Holden has become a hero in many rebellious teens' eyes, which undoubtedly leads to many adults trying to keep it from getting into a teenager's hands. For over two decades, this book was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the US, which makes it perfect to give away during this week! (Only to spread the love, of course. Not because I don't want it - I already have a copy!)

A Wrinkle in Time: Why are some of the best books commonly banned? Because some people are grumpy, old fun-haters - that's why! This book has witches - GASP! This book has crystal balls - THE HORROR! This book talks about - Shhhh! RELIGION! Quick, cover it up!

Go Ask Alice: I can sort of see why this book is banned - but for people like me, this book did the opposite of bad. It did a world of GOOD! I was a very curious child. Let's just say I wasn't afraid of much and pretty much thought I was invincible. After reading this book there were drugs I wouldn't come within 5 feet of. Certain "things" were offered to me, coincidentally after reading this book and I said, "Hellllll to the nooooo." See? Good. A book that's banned did something good? Wha-what? This book will forever be a favorite of mine.

The Hunger Games: We all know you love this book. And, if you haven't read it. Get off the couch, go to Barnes & Noble (or even Half Price Books, it's probably there) and BUY it. Or, just win this giveaway and I will get this book to you quicker than you can say Katniss Everdeen. Seriously, why is this book banned again? Too much imagination? Too much gore? Have you played a video game lately?! Ban those things! Not this book.

You can earn up to three entries to win:

1. Leave a comment with which two books you would choose and your email address.

2. Be a follower of ALPITC and leave a separate comment.

3. Follow me and post about this giveaway on Twitter or post about this giveaway on your own blog. Leave another comment telling me if you did so.

That's all you've gotta do! Easy peasy! You have until October 1st at midnight to enter and the winner will be announced Sunday, October 2nd via random.org.

Good luck, and happy reading!

S & S Stacks v4 - Anna and the French Kiss review

Earlier this year when I first saw Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins circulating around the book blogs, I thought, "Wow, that book looks super cheesy. Are all of these bloggers getting paid to gush about this book?"

Seriously. I thought that! I figured it was completely overrated and publishers were pushing bloggers to push it.

Now, I get it. This book was adorable. Completely, utterly adorable. I fell in love with Anna almost immediately.

Stephanie Perkins nailed these characters and developed them just right. The anticipation that she wrote into the story was almost too much to bear! In a good way!

I completely identified with Anna and actually wished I was more like her. She was totally herself, and such an individual at such a young age without being too far out there. I loved that she didn't try to be something she wasn't, she accepted her own quirks. She was selfless and put the happiness of others before hers, even if that did keep her from falling in love for the first time (well, for awhile at least!). I loved that although she was falling hard for St. Clair, she held back because he was going through a lot with his mom. On the other hand, that is what made it so anxiety-inducing! I wanted to reach through the book and shake them both and make them kiss already!

I cannot write this review without mentioning another important character. Paris, the most romantic city in the world... supposedly. I have never been sold on Paris... I don't know what it is. Although I haven't been there, I just didn't think it sounded that great! Now that I am getting closer with Lisa and when I read books like this... I'm thinking I need to give the City of Lights a chance!

Anna wasn't sold on Paris either. She wanted to go back home to Atlanta and hated Paris when she first got there. In fact, she didn't even leave campus for quite a while! Luckily, she did and the descriptions of the city really nailed the spot for a skeptic like me. Now, it's definitely on my bucket list of places to visit.

If you're a fan of YA and you like some romance with a dash of boys with English accents (yep, St. Clair is English!) then you're gonna love this! Definitely worth checking it!

Do you stay away from YA or is it a genre you enjoy?