A Lessen Learned... The Hard Way

Let me start out by saying, when medications come with warnings that say such things as "Taking this medicine alone or with alcohol may lessen your ability to drive or preform hazardous tasks," what they really mean is, "If you're gonna drink, prepare to be TRASHED... and then beg for death."

This was my weekend. I thought I was going to the Indianapolis 500 to enjoy festivities. I thought it would be a fun time, a new experience (I'd never been) and plus, My boyfriend got free tickets through his work.

We went up Saturday afternoon. We got through traffic and whatnot at about 6 and met up with his friends from work. We intended to stay the night, walk around, and watch about half of the race the next day. Unfortunately, about 6 hours and 4 16oz beers later, I was curled up in the back seat of my car with a plastic sack on the floorboard full of vomit. (Someone had so thoughtfully grilled me a delicious steak, and even through my drunkeness, I couldn't be rude and turn it down). Oh yes, steak and beer vomit. It was horrid.

I would also like to emphasize what an OUTSTANDING impression I made on Eric's colleagues, most of whom I had never before met. So they either thought I am a total lush, or I just can't handle my alcohol. Not to mention I'm sure it reflected marvelously on Eric. Luckily, he did a little explaining of the circumstances concerning my anxiety and my new medication, and they were understanding and forgiving. Thank god. I felt like a complete ass. And we had to leave early.

Thankfully, by the time we arrived safely at home, I had long-since successfully evacuated all the contents of my stomach (and then some), had a chance to sleep it off, hydrate with some water, and I actually felt well enough to shower and eat some Wheat Thins without yacking some more.

Moral of the story, I will NOT drink like that again. 64 oz of beer might not seem like a lot, but considering all the factors, including the fact I'm only 5'2", 115 lbs, I'm thinking it was about 50oz too many. Lessen learned. But I ruined what was potentially going to be a really great weekend. Go me.

Here's to hoping your weekend was better than mine...

CONCERT!!!!! & a Dirty, Dirty Thief

Eric and I went to a concert this weekend. Sick Puppies, Shinedown, and Breaking Benjamin opened for Nickelback. I like Nickelback, but I can easily say that Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin are two of my favorite bands. Sick Puppies are pretty decent too. Oh, and we got completely hammered. shwasted. 

Traffic was horrid.  The concert started at 6:30... we didn't get there until 7:30, and we missed Sick Puppies and heard a few songs of Shinedown as we made the hellacious walk to the stadium from our parking spots. We stayed in a modern, funky hotel that was way nice and comfortable. It was only 7 miles away. It took us an hour and a half to make it that 7 miles. Talk about some bullshit. But it was still awesome..

I got a sweet Shinedown T-shirt

And the Sick Puppies autograph on their newest CD

Sweet, right? I think so :)

Other than that we just enjoyed our time in the city, went out to dinner, went to a few different malls & bought a few different things. The only bad part of our entire trip, & it was a HUGE bad spot- We got robbed.

 In a store at the mall, sit my 2 bags down, walk about 20 feet away, realize what I had done, go back, and they are gone. In the first bag was a pair of $60 black strappy cage stilettos I got on sale for $30. The other bag... well that was a fiasco. 

When Eric and I went on spring break to South Carolina, we went to a Nike Outlet (which we don't have one of those within 4 hours of us) and we found this AWESOME pair of Air Jordan Flight's. They were white and the prettiest color bright blue; simple, but caught a lot of eyes and tons of compliments. And they were very very very well taken care of. They were literally like brand new. We always look in every shoe store to see if we can find them and we have not EVER came across another pair like them. It probably seems silly, but these shoes very meaningful to both of us. We bought them on our first major vacation together. Oh, and they were $140.

Well anyway, Eric had just bought a new pair of Air Max's and decided to wear them out of the store, and put the Jordan's in the new shoe box. That's right. I'm to blame for his beloved shoes being stolen. We both wish that the $100 pair of Air Max's were the ones in the box because we could've replaced them easily... well not that easily, most shoe stores only get 1 pair of size 13's, and this was the only store we could find them in.

So I feel like a huge piece of shit. And I cried. A lot. I still can't believe it happened. He was as dignified with me as can be hoped for, though I know he was very very upset, he accepted my 5 billion apologies, hugged me, and still held my hand and took me to see Shrek: Forever After in IMAX (I had never been to an IMAX theater.. OMG OMG OMG. that's all I can say about that experience.) The movie was pretty cute, but very short. We both would've preferred to see Iron Man 2 but it wasn't playing in IMAX that day. 

And even more so, I can't believe the people in this world. That was a very very dirty thing to do to someone. We both work very hard for the things that we have. I have integrity and morals, but I feel like it's becoming less and less common. So as of this very moment, I feel very down about the state of humanity. 

How many good people are there left out there? Not enough, I don't think...

Lazzzzzzy weekend

Today, I'm really excited. I have my very first follower. LOL. But seriously, I'm much more excited than I anticipated :) :)

So let's see, what happened this weekend. Oh, that's right, a big fat sack of nothing. I do have to say though, that nothing, I repeat, NOTHING comes close to even comparing to the feeling of a completely clean home. I'm a bit of a clean freak. Sure, I like things to be neat, but clean is much more important to me than neat. And my boyfriend knows this.

Before I get home, If Eric is there, he does his ritualistic "tidying up", which basically translates into: "I'm going to pick up some crap from one area of the house and move it to another, more discrete area of the house, but nothing is truly getting placed where it belongs."

Ok, maybe I'm a little harsh, but I blame my mother. Is it really my fault that I'm a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning? Is it really my fault that I like things to be done MY way, and if they aren't, well then they just aren't right? Eric tries to use the excuse that he "would've" done something but he wasn't sure it would have been up to "my standards", and my common reaction is, "oh, you mean actually CLEAN?!?" I mean, is it really that difficult?

Ok, so I know I'm some sort of control freak and I've really been trying to work on it, but when Eric so considerately does the dishes for me (which I truly do appreciate) and I reach in the cabinet and pull out a drinking glass that still has greasy finger prints on the outside of it, I get really really irritated...SICK. Honestly, what is the sense in doing something if you're only going to do it half-assed? That's definitely NOT how I roll.

I love the idea of being a stay-at-home mom, but not because I'm lazy, lack an education, or don't want to contribute financially. I would love to be able to take care of my kids, husband, and home. I would love to be able to have a clean house and dinner ready every night for my lover man. I would love to be there every day when my kids got out of school. But, unfortunately, in the world we live in today, this is rarely possible, and I don't see it as being possible for my life. But that's ok too. As long as everyone is healthy and happy and well-adjusted, that is all that really matters at the end of the day.

So anyway, we spent Friday running errands, Saturday cleaning house, and the ENTIRE day Sunday cuddled up on the couch, watching movies on our glorious flat screen, playing card games, and pigging out.

cherry turnovers, cheesy scrambled eggs, and bacon for brunch (we slept in)
boneless bbq ribs, mac n cheese, and green beans for an early dinner
white chocolate fondue with graham crackers, strawberries, and apples for dessert

...hoping it's going to be a good Monday and a good start to the week!

Hot New Bikini & "Just a Guy"

On-line shopping will be the death of me. Ok, so I used to have a severe shopping problem. I just love to shop. I love to have new things. I love fashion. I love shopping for what suits my particular body type, and I'm pretty good at it (at least I think I am). I love feeling like I'm in control of something.. even if my shopping is out of control. I mean, really, what girl doesn't like these things?

So anyway, Eric and I share our finances, which works out pretty well; we do our best to ensure if things don't work out between us, we'll still survive financially, and considering we've made a commitment to each other not to give up, no matter what obstacles we face, it's been working out well, so what's the harm? Anyway, before I get way off track, since we began sharing our funds, I've worked very hard to be frugal and cognizant of where every penny of our income goes, and also to make sure we both get the things we want and need. This has taken quite a bit of communication, consideration, compromising, and sacrificing, which is a constant work in progress. I handle all the bills, the shopping, the saving, the little "extras" we want to do, the vacation planning, etc.

Sometimes handling the money makes me feel like a good-time nazi. Sometimes it really sucks telling Eric, "no we don't have the money for that because we are trying to save money for this," and so forth. And sometimes, he has a little "tantrum" and figuratively stomps his feet and holds his breath, but most of the time, even if he doesn't like it, he understands we are working toward a common goal that we decided together. It's not like I always get things I want, I just don't voice that I want them, so they go unnoticed by him.

But anyway, today I got something I wanted. Well kind of. I'm more than willing to settle. I am more than happy to shop from the sales racks. Which is exactly what I did today.

Victoria's Secret! 

I just love VS. 

I got the top on sale for $24 

and the bottoms for $14.50.
Now that's a decent deal!

So this is an older design- a year, maybe two, but I like it, and these colors are on my color wheel. It would be really nice if I was as hott as the girl wearing it, but that's never going to happen. For starters, I'm only 5'2".. in the morning. 

FYI: Did you know you're taller in the morning? Gravity from standing and sitting compresses the spine, thus, making you shorter as the day wears on.  

On a completely unrelated subject, I'm starting a new book today. It's called Just a Guy -Notes from a Blue Collar Life. It's a memoir by Bill Engvall (You know, the guy from Blue Collar Comedy that's not Jeff Foxworthy or the "Tator Salad" guy or the guy that always wears red flannels with the sleeves ripped off that talks really slow and twangy.) 

I got it for Eric for Christmas last year.. it was something he had mentioned hearing about and wanting to read, but couldn't remember who wrote it or what it was called. So, without much to go on, I searched and searched and finally found it. I guess I should go ahead and mention he's only read about the first 10 pages. Anyway, I though what the hell, I'm going to read it. I'm hoping it's funny. 

The back cover's first paragraph is:

Here's the official definition of a guy: a person who doesn't think before he speaks. He's can't. He's not that deep. Because a guy has only three basic needs: eating, sleeping, and sex. That's it. Just a Guy chronicles a lifetime in pursuit of those needs.  

Have a wonderful Friday!

:: My "Family" ::

Eric & I met in 2007. We worked in the same steakhouse, both trying to figure out what we wanted from life. He was fresh out of a relationship. Ok, not entirely true, but I would like to highlight the fact that he did not leave his fiancé of 6 and a half years for me; he left her, and THEN we started dating. We were completely JUST friends before that point- I have a strict "no home-wrecking" policy. I'm sure his ex doesn't believe that, just as I'm sure she doesn't believe that he didn't cheat on her with me, but he & I both know the truth, so it's ok I guess.

Initially, I thought Eric was... well, an asshole. But I got to know him and realized we had a lot in common... not to mention the fact that he makes me completely hott, big nose and all. I don't know what it is, something about the way he carries himself, or the way he smiles his little dimpled grin, or the way he moves his tongue when he talks... I know, I'm ridiculous, but I'm completely smitten, to this day.

And now, my fuzzy butt, my furbaby, my sissydog, my wrinkle-face, my wittle wion, my little cuddle bunny, my snuggle bear, my china-dog,. my slobber box, mommy's sweet babydog, etc, etc: Barlee. Barlee is 5 and 1/2 years old. Barlee's mommy was a full-blooded Shar-Pei, and her daddy was a full-blooded Yellow Labrador. That combination lead to the most loyal, loving, playful, smart, cuddly, sweet, well-behaved, beautiful, sensitive, understanding, obedient dog you could imagine. She's truly my best friend. I never knew it was possible to love an animal as much as I love this little girl.