Happy Birthday Daddy!

My father recently had his 55th birthday last week. I'm over at my parents house for dinner and I came across the card my mom got for my dad. It said:

"Everybody needs somebody"

and inside it said

"I'm glad that somebody is you"

Isn't that sweet??! My parents have been married 27 years, will be 28 this August. The card my mom got couldn't have been more perfect. They have had their ups and downs but their love is unconditional and something I definitely hope to have somebody.

I agree with the card, everybody does need somebody!

It's a sickness...

Today is my last day off before Moving Day. Which means, it's the last day I have to pack all of my crap belongings.

Instead, you know what I'm doing?

Laying in bed reading, alternating between Google Reader and Jodi Picoult's Handle With Care. Oh, and Little Miss Sunshine is on USA. I'm still in my pj's too. Shockingly, I have already put my contacts in and am not still sporting my glasses!

If procrastination is a disease, I have it.

Mmmmmoving!!!

Moving in less than a week! I'm so pumped!!!

I cannot wait to decorate with MY stuff again, to cook again, to walk around in my undies if I want to.

I took off Monday and Tuesday to move. I'm going to do as much as I can on my own on Monday, then the movers come early Tuesday morning and my mom is going to help me. My friends had offered, but since I chose such odd days they all have to work.

It's okay though. It's completely my fault, so I don't blame them one bit. We are doing so good at work, and since I am a control freak (seriously, I am) I wanted to take off the days with the slowest traffic through my store.

Honestly, I would really rather work by myself (am I weird?) I just have my own way of doing things and since this is marking my 16th move I have a very specific way I do it. How many ways can you move across town you ask?

Several.

Do you take the clothes off the hanger and box them up? Do you break things down (if possible) like the dining room table, coat rack or entertainment center? Do you take the clothes out of the drawer and box them up? Do you toss everything in the fridge and start over? Do you wash things like bedding before or after you have moved?

To answer those questions. No. No. No. No and before.

Unless I am moving out of state, which I have done 5 times, these answers are usually always the same. I am not counting moving from Missouri into Kansas because Kansas City is on the border and it was like moving across town.

There are a couple of concerns I have. Libby is my cat, her friends Oscar and Maverick are my roommates. I do not plan on getting her a new friend. In fact, after living with three cats in this tiny house I do not plan on owning multiple cats. Ever. How is Libby going to handle being an only child again? My roommate things I'm going to have to get her a friend.

I guess I will deal with that if and when the time comes. If she seems depressed and new toys don't seem to satisfy her I might start looking for another cat. I'm just so fed up with the shedding lately, I'm ready to shave Libby. I know she's just shedding her winter coat, but seriously?! It's E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E!!

Another thing I am thinking about is... not getting cable. I think I would read and write a lot more, which is so much better for me than sitting in front of the tube every night for a couple of hours!

Do you guys have cable? Anybody try to go without it? I have had cable/dvr for so long, I'm not sure if I can last...

One last thing...

Be sure to check out Michelle's giveaway! It's her first one, and let me tell ya, it's a good one! If you check out her blog (which, come on. Why wouldn't you?!) Please let her know I sent you! Good luck to all who enter! :)

Plagiarism

I woke up to a little a lot of plagiarism action today.

I'm sure many of you have already heard about the shenanigans *Miss Musing* has been up. Stealing work from cjane enjoy it and Velveteen Mind. Two blogs that I have added to my google reader and cannot wait to go read now.

Oh wait, I've read some of them already on MISS MUSING'S BLOG!

None the less, I'm still excited to add them and start reading them asap because that was where the true talent was. I have also added The Jet Set, because she did some of the investigating on this case and the little bit of her blog I have had time to read, I have liked.

I'm still a little in shock over this.

I read Miss Musing's blog all the time, and she even commented on mine a few times. Like Amber said, she seemed, well... perfect! It did not cross my mind to think her life seemed too perfect to not be real.

Now, I'm wondering. Who else out there is a phony? I'm wondering if now should I branch out more? Which sometimes I wonder how is even possible. If I don't read my Google Reader every day, it gets out of control full. This is a strange feeling of deception that I have never felt before!

I really want to know now, who is Miss Musing? Was any of it true? What is her life really like? Who else has this happened to? What did you do?

Looking forward...

To... new books this summer by Jennifer Weiner, Jen Lancaster, Jane Green, Jane Porter and Sophie Kinsella. Lots of chic lit!

To... Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince coming out in July!

To... laying out by the pool, tanning and reading cheesy beach reads!

To... wearing flip flops everyday!

To... more Saturdays like the one we had a few days ago. Number 1 store out of ALL 900 STORES! Unbelievable!

To... Jen Lancaster book signing with Lesli!!

To... moving back into my MY OWN PLACE!

To... New Moon coming out in theaters!

To... celebrating one of my best friends birthdays next weekend!

To... boating this summer on Lake Okoboji!

To... shopping for a new summer wardrobe!

To... cooking more once I get settled!

To... everything SUMMER! :)

Dear Libby...

Dear Libby,

I love you very much, but your cat hair everywhere is beginning to be a problem.

Understandable, you are shedding your winter coat. That is great! But, if you could refrain from sleeping on my pillow and leaving a bunch of matted white cat hairs all over it I would really appreciate it. Having to use a lint roller on my pillow and bedspread seems a tad ridiculous to me.

While you're at it, could you please stop drinking water from my water glass? I don't want to know how many times I have drank after you and to be honest, that disgusts me. Also, please stop jumping into the shower and getting stuck in there, then scratching at the door of the shower until you wake me up at 4 am? Let's just not jump in there, ok?

Now, I am not asking you to not sleep in my bed, or to not do the things you like, like jump in the shower. I just want you to stop sleeping on my pillow and to not jump into the shower when the door is closed and you know you will get stuck in there. That's all.

Also, please tell your friends Oscar and Maverick that they are not welcome on my bed. White cat hairs is enough, I do not need to add black and orange cat hairs to the mix.

Your loving human,

Amber

PS: Enjoy the last 6 days with your buddies O and M. We're moving a week from today...

Free as a bird...

"If you love something set it free. If it comes back to you, it is yours; if it doesn't, it was never meant to be."

I'm not sure who said that quote, but I have loved it for about as long as I can remember. I agree with my whole heart.

When I was 13 I met the person who I thought was "the one" for years. We let each other go many, many times and we came back to each other almost every time. Each time we went opposite directions I thought of this quote. I always had a funny feeling it wasn't the last time we would be together. I knew he would be back, or I would be back. We both had to grow up, figure out who we were or who we wanted to be.

Well, now we are grown-up. We both have adult jobs, homes and even a child (him). We may not have figured out who we are completely yet, but we know who we want to be. We know who we are when we're together, and who we are when we're not.

We put each other through hell sometimes and weren't always very nice. We still aren't. He's the only guy I have ever been truly myself with, and I didn't care. I could say something silly, or ask any stupid question and he was probably already anticipating it. That grin would give away everything he was thinking.

In January we broke up for the bajillionth time, and this time I don't have that funny feeling in my stomach. He isn't mine, and it wasn't meant to be.

And, you know what? I'm okay with that.

We aren't 13 years old anymore, as much as I wish we still were. When "I love you" wasn't such a loaded sentence, yet we still meant it. When holding hands and a quick kiss was enough. When hours on the phone was normal, verses a quick text every now and then.

Back when everything was shiny, new with excitement. When everything we said was sincere, when the emotions were real and raw.