The hundred-and-fifty-ninth day...

I'm still powering through my class readings. I actually took a vacation day so I could take it easy and relax. Everything was going fine this morning; I was reading and working the heck out of my highlighter. Then I made the mistake of checking my work e-mail and it was welcome back stress. I now know what's waiting for me tomorrow, and it's not pretty. At least the office is closed next Monday so I can look forward to the long weekend.

In the meantime, here are two signs that made me laugh recently:

Some target practice for the Target sign?

I'm heading back to reading...after I watch How I Met Your Mother.

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-fifty-seventh day and hundred-and-fifty-eighth days combined...

My weekend has been pretty mellow. Mostly, I've been working on the first week's readings for class. I did go to Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday. I love that store - it makes me wish that I just bought a house and had to buy all new everything to deck it out.

I love clocks and would buy these two if I had anywhere to put them :)

I also liked this piece:

Well, it's back to reading for me; but I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Have a great night!

The hundred-and-fifty-sixth day...

Today is laundry day. I don't mind the sorting/washing/drying part; but I really hate the folding/hanging/putting everything away at the end part. Seriously, you never realize how many clothes you have until you have to wash 'em. My arms are sore and I haven't even really gotten into putting everything away yet. It's going to be a long night :)

Yesterday was another lunch swap day. P made baked mac and cheese, salad, and cookie brownies (half chocolate chip cookie, half brownie). She also bought bread and some cookies.

I may be biased since I love mac and cheese, especially when it's made from scratch, but I though it was delicious.

P was getting a little annoyed with some of the other people in the lunch swap group because they kept asking her where the meat was. A couple of our co-workers are of the belief that there was no entree because there was no meat dish offered. I couldn't believe that they even argued the point. It's free food...just let it go. Those same co-workers were all oohs, aahs, and yums while they were scarfing down seconds and thirds though.

Well, enough procrastinating :) Time to put away the laundry.

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-fifty-fifth day...

My commute to work and back usually takes about 1 hr 45 min to 2 hours, each way. I believe that's long enough, don't you? 4 hours a day. Well, this morning, due to signal malfunctions, stalled trains and idiots who don't get that they can't stand in doorways when those doors are trying to close, it took me 3 and a half hours to get to work. It makes it even worse that since I was underground, I couldn't call anyone to let them know what was up and that I was going to be late. When I finally managed to catch a train that let me off in the vicinity of my job, I called my boss. Her response? To tell me that my ears must have been burning as she was just talking about me (never good) and to remind me to stop by her office when I arrived to let her know that I was there. I was an hour late for work. It was a craptastic morning.

During lunch, I foolishly tried to do what I thought would be a simple 10 minute task. I tried to return an item to Best Buy. The problem arose because I purchased two items at the same time online. I did a store pickup for one and had to have the other shipped. The item that I picked up in the store was broken and I wanted to take it back - for a return not an exchange. Now, even though I had asked if i could return the items individually (I actually asked three times, once when I did the store pick-up and then during two subsequent phone calls to the store), and was told that I could, the machine would simply not allow it. It seems that I needed to bring both items to the store...even though the shipped item has not been delivered yet...and the 14 day return period for the picked up item is almost up. I was basically told that the situation 'sucks for me'. I wasted my entire lunch hour (and then some) there while the cashier and her assistant/a manager/someone who never identified herself messed around with the computer. They looked up every so often to say sorry and then went back to accomplishing nothing. I was there for 1 hour and 20 minutes. At the end of that time they had still accomplished nothing and I had to settle for an exchange. Total bull! The cashier I was dealing with was pregnant and managed to groan and rub her belly before she looked up at me - every time. I couldn't yell at her - she's pregnant :) I see a scathing letter being written to Best Buy Headquarters in my future.

Good thing? A few pictures that I managed to take as I trekked to work this morning.

I hope everyone had a much better day than I did :) Enjoy the rest of the night!

The hundred-and-fifty-fourth day...

Just like yesterday, I am beat.

I was exhausted going in to work this morning and I'm exhausted now. I feel like I should throw an apology out there to the woman who was standing over me on the train this morning. Something along the lines of 'I'm sorry I hit your purse with my head each time I nodded off,' but whatcha gonna do :)

So, I'm off to sleep, but before I go, here are some more pics from my wonderful and relaxing ride into work yesterday...


and last, but not least...


...oh, weird advertising :)

Enjoy the rest of the night everything!

The hundred-and-fifty-third day...(a little belated)

Sorry for the belated post everyone :) I collapsed in an exhausted heap as soon as I stepped through the door last night. I hope I'm not coming down with something as 1) I hate being sick, and 2) being sick is inconvenient - too much work to do.

I actually think that it's the work that's making me so tired. I've been running myself ragged for the past couple of weeks with these 4 projects. They all just decided that they have to start immediately (one on 9/4 and three on 9/8). It wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that I will be out of the office on Friday and Monday, and so those just become wasted days during which I know my counterparts on the other end of the equation will take my absence to mean that they can forget about everything until I get back. I hate when I have to scramble around at the last minute - especially when it's not my fault.

One wonderful thing that happened yesterday though was that my man surprised me by picking me up in the morning and driving me all the way to work :) That was wonderful. It is so much nicer to start the day relaxing in the car with the one you love instead of being squashed into a bus and then a subway car with irate strangers. We drove through the Midtown Tunnel on the way into the city.

I love driving through these long tunnels, but they've always kind of freaked me out ever since I saw Daylight - yes, Daylight from '96. I mean the lanes are so narrow. At least the Midtown Tunnel isn't as long as the Lincoln Tunnel.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Hump Day! Enjoy the rest of the night!

The hundred-and-fifty-second day...

I must have been super tired while I was writing yesterday's post because I didn't mention the amazing lunch that my family had on Friday. We went to Quaker Steak and Lube, and the food was Delicious (yes, the capital D is in order). I have been a bit obsessed with eating at this place ever since I saw it on Man vs. Food and Sis 1 informed me that there was one right by her (and Sis 2's) school.

I knew that the restaurant was famous for its wings, and the selection did not disappoint. There were so many different kinds that it took a while for us to decide what to get.

We all got something different so we could share, but I wish I'd been able to taste all the flavors - yes, I am a wing fan :) I'm a sucker for spicy sweet mixtures, so I ended up getting the Thai "R" Cracker sauce. Amazing!

I stayed far away from the Atomic Wings though. Any food that requires a release waiver to be signed before ingestion does not get invited into my stomach.

Our appetizer was a sampling of huge crunchy onion rings, mozzarella sticks, soft pretzels and breaded pickles with a trio of sauces.

It was gone in a flash :)

The Wall of Flame listing all those that braved and conquered the Atomic Wing Challenge.

It was such a great lunch and great time out with my family, and our waitress was hilarious. She invited us to come back for all-you-can-eat-wing night. Apparently, if you eat 500 wings, you don't have to pay. If I ate 500 wings, paying for the meal would be the least of my worries. She told us that she was up to 91 wings in one sitting. I had about 10 for lunch and I was done. True, that was along with the appetizers and the additional pretzels that came with my order, but still 91 wings in one sitting! Wow :)

Well, now I'm hungry :)

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-fiftieth and hundred-and-fifty-first days combined...

Well, my sisters are all set back up at school now, and I'm back home. Thank goodness it's only Sunday. I need the day to recuperate and catch up on my blog reading :)

Here are some pictures from the trip...

We saw some interesting business names and trucks along the way.

I saw some lovely flowers...

at the laundromat...

and some interesting billboards along the expressway...

Part of the Values.com billboard campaign. You can see a clearer picture on their website here.

and, of course, we hit the dollar store along the way.

And now, I'm going to do some cleaning and then take a nap :)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-ninth day...

I'm in PA, helping to move Sis 1 and Sis 2 back to college this weekend :( This summer really flew by way too quickly. Le sigh...

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-eighth day...

How did Thursday treat all of you?

There's not much to say about today...oh, except that...today is Sis 2's birthday :)

Happy Birthday Sis!

I love you bunches and bunches and whatnot :)

I'm semi-glad that I didn't make that Funfetti cake last night as we're having some birthday cake tonight (and I get to save the Funfetti for another delicious day).

I went to Sephora with P today. She just had to get some of Dylan's Candy Bar's Birthday Cake Batter Body Smoothie Lotion. I just have to say that that lotion is amazing. It smells so delicious - and, of course, made me want cake [insert birthday cake here] - but $16 bucks a pop? Hmmm. It was funny though that after she bought it, she went around our department, so everyone could smell the loveliness, and our Director took the bottle from her hands, squirted out a handful, and proceeded to lotion up her hands and legs while standing in our Manager's doorway. It was hilarious!

Wow, I just noticed how much cake I've had on the brain for the last couple of days.

Anyway, I saw two other things during my lunchtime walk. One disgusting and one (so) adorable.

First,

What the heck is this? It was one of teh food options at the buffet. They took down all the signs, and the workers were busy cleaning so they had no time to tell me. It looked like balls of spinach? Wrapped in cheese? Or something?

Yes, it's a teddy bear. I think it's cute and I want one :) I love Build-a-Bear. It's just so full of fun and so devoid of stress (unless you get surrounded by a horde of screaming parents and kids) - and the bear has peace signs all over it. Again, too cute.

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-seventh day...My care package is here :)

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Work was hard today, but a huge smile came to my face the second I got home. Why? Because I had a care package waiting for me (I love care packages :) I was the lucky giveaway of an amazing care package-o-stuff-to-make-you-smile hand selected by the wonderful SunshineMeg over @ the upbeat and fun Float On...

My smile grew wider and wider as I started taking stuff out of the box; and when I reached the silly string, I started laughing out loud. I haven't played with silly string in years :)


I took the yo-yo out of the packaging the instant after I took this picture. I'm such a kid sometimes :)

I have had the pleasure of winning one contest and one giveaway - both with awesome prizes that simply made my day and made me smile :) So, I'd just like to say thanks again Jeanette (@ Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese?) for the candy, the wonderful letter and for allowing me to guest post on your site a few weeks back; and thanks to SunshineMeg for sending me a great letter and fun-filled box-o-snacks-and-goodies (care package notes included)!

I just have to decide when to make the cake. I almost baked it tonight, but I think that I'm going to heed SunshineMeg's suggestion and save it for a day when I need a pick me up - it's so hard to not bake it though...it's Funfetti cake and she included Funfetti icing...maybe tomorrow :)

Have a wonderful night filled with Funfetti or [insert a desert of your choice] dreams everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-sixth day...

It was just too hot today. I stepped out only to go to the bank and then practically ran back to my office. On my way back, I did see that J Crew updated their window display again. Books for back to school? It's kind of cute.


I also had a popped collar sighting as the owner of said collar almost pushed me into oncoming traffic. Apparently her quest to get to Sephora/Coach/insert-store-name-here was simply more important than my life. I managed to educate her on the meaning of common courtesy (abridged version :) and explained exactly where she could stick that snide look she gave me as we crossed the street. What happened to manners and courtesy? I mean, I know it's NYC, but come on!

Well, I'm off to try and find some Benadryl cream for my mosquito bites - yet another reason why summer is my absolute least favorite season. Only a little over a month left until fall though, right?

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-fifth day...Who likes chocolate? I do, I do!

Today was a good day. Not only did I get to leave on time - well sort of - but the team from one of my projects sent me chocolates as a 'Thank You' for all the work that I did on their project :) How sweet is that? It's nice to feel appreciated and recognized every now and then. As it was, I was completely surprised - and I mean completely caught off guard surprised.

I was out of the office on Friday, so when I arrived at work today, the cardboard box that the chocolates were shipped in was sitting on the floor in front of my chair. When I picked it up it was very heavy and I immediately tried to guess what was inside. I didn't order anything. The box was too big for any paperwork that I was expecting. I was stirring myself up so much; but I managed to reign in my train of thought before my mind started wandering too much into holy-crap-someone-just-sent-me-something-horrible territory.

I grabbed my scissors, tore into the box and pulled out...Styrofoam and an icepack. What the?! I refused to overreact and kept hauling stuff out of the box until I reached the good stuff - a box of Jacques Torres Chocolates. Yum...yum...yum!

Did I already say "Yum...yum...yum"?

For any one who is interested, the legend for all the flavors in the box I received can be found here. I've only tasted a couple of them, but everyone seemed to like them - yes, I did put the box out to share with the whole office. Why not? It was a nice thing to do (sharing is caring, right) and it helped prevent me from scarfing down the whole delicious box. A whole tray was left, so I brought that home for my family to share. Of course my mom and sisters all went to the dentist today so they can't actually eat any of them, but they'll still be in the fridge tomorrow...maybe :)

How did the day go for all of you?

I think I'm going to eat 1 more chocolate - maybe a Ginger? Haha, or maybe I'll just go to sleep :)

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-third and hundred-and-forty-fourth days combined...

Today was a wonderfully lazy Sunday filled with hanging out with my sisters, sleeping, watching TV (True Blood was so good, but so sad this week), and catching up on some of the blogs that I follow.

I can't believe that it's already August 16th. My sisters head back up to school on Friday, and I start my classes on the 31st . Where did the summer go? I mean seriously - the year is getting away from me. It feels like just yesterday that it was January, and I was thinking about my 2009 to do list. Now here I am, half the year - more than half the year - is done and I feel like I've accomplished almost nothing. I need to kick some of my laziness and pick up the pace a bit. Easier said than done :)

I've got a long week ahead of me so I'm off to sleep, but before I go - two pics from my weekend.

Even the birds enjoyed the wonderful weather.

Yet another single family house for sale. If only mortgages could be paid with hope and wishes :)

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-second day...(a little belated)

Today was absolutely beautiful. Hazy, hot and way too humid - but absolutely beautiful! My family and I ran a few errands, so most of my day was spent in Kohl's and JcPenney, but it was pretty great. I bought a few shirts, had an amazing mango smoothie, and took some pictures of people enjoying a wonderful day.

My man and I saw G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra last night. I didn't remember much of the Joe back story, but my man filled me in a bit along the way, and I have to say, I really enjoyed the movie. I think all of the actors did a good job, and the action was great. Oh and Ray Park, you are awesome! If only we got to see your face a bit more in your movies :)

I love laid back weekends.

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-first day...

I am exhausted. I lead a workshop tonight and the sheer amount and depth of people's questions just wore me out. I couldn't finish an answer before three more questions were hurled at me. I was a pro though (pat on the back pour moi, si vous plait :) and answered everything as best as I could, handed out my card, etc, etc, etc. It was a long night. I don't really get it. When other reps lead the seminars they are always out by 7:30. I am usually there until 8pm - though today was even more intense. I was answering questions until 8:15.

It's getting a little weird too - some people have been stating that they only want to attend the seminar if I'm leading it. I'm just left to wonder if no other rep answers questions when they lead it, because I mean please. I am all for helping out and providing answers, but I also want to get home at a reasonable hour. I just hope that the attendees actually took something useful away from the night. There was a guy who sat next to me that kept repeating the last thing that I said - after every sentence. He would then laugh to himself and make some notes. It was like having the Joker beside me. It wasn't so much weird as annoying - whatever though. I have tomorrow off to recover and rest. Thank goodness.

Today's picture is of the sadness in the kitchenette at work :(

No snacks. No soda (oh, sweet orange soda bliss). No nothing. Look at them all stuck in there with no way to get out :(

Our office only has the one vending machine and it's been down for the whole week. The sign went up yesterday. I just happened to overhear that it wasn't working on Monday. Co-workers C and P were talking and I couldn't help but hear (they were very loud) C say that she was told not to use the vending machine as there was water all over the floor (from the water cooler) and there was too great a risk of electrocution. It sounded to my like someone was lying to her, but who wants to take that chance? I can already see that Darwin Award entry. Point is, no orange-flavored carbonated goodness for me today. On the bright side, I saved 75 cents so, yea me!

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-fortieth day...

So how was everyone's day? Mine was less than stellar. Work stress combined with exhaustion and inconsiderate co-workers makes for a pissed off me. There is a light on the horizon though...tomorrow is Thursday! Hip, hip, hooray for it being the last day of my workweek - Thursday took way to long getting here.

Tomorrow is also my day to bring in food for the lunch swap. I'm going to try to remember to take a picture, but I might just get so hungry that I completely forget. I'm, of course, not cooking (I want everyone to actually like the food :) My dad's cooking - yum! On the menu are chicken Kiev, lemon-herb rice, garlic-herb broccoli rabe, salad, and apple pie. I'm hungry already.

While on line at the fruit salad stand earlier this week, I saw this man.


I don't know why he left the long piece in his hair. Culture? Style? Just plain randomness?


Who knows? It's not my taste, but I do like seeing people express their personal styles :)

Well, I'm tired and looking to live a little vicariously :) So...what's something interesting that you've all seen or done so far this week?

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-thirty-ninth day...It's hot outside, but it's lovely in here - oh, and questions are getting answered too :)

The questions have been asked :) So what did inquiring minds want to know?

From Fidgeting Gidget…

1. Since your blog is all about pictures, what is your favorite picture that you've ever taken?
My favorite pictures tend to change with my mood, but there are two that I'm very partial to.

First, a view of the city streets that was taken from the Empire State Building Observation Deck. I just love how the streets look like a maze. This is pretty much how I think of NYC - a maze of streets, people, buildings, and yellow cabs.


Second, is a picture that I took of Jeff Goldblum the first time I was lucky enough to meet him. My legs were shaking so bad that I'm surprised the picture came out so clear :)



Both of the above pictures were taken on the day when my man took me to see Mr. Goldblum in The Pillowman. The play and city exploration day were my graduation gifts from him, and I loved 'em!

2. Are you or have you ever posted a pic of yourself on here? If so, I think I missed it.
To date, I’ve never posted a picture of myself – at least not one where my face is seen. I may post one in the future, but that time has not yet come :)

3. Tell us more about your man. How'd you meet? What's he like?

Well...My man and I met in high school :) We actually said hi to each other a couple of times during our freshman year, but didn’t really talk to each other until sophomore year – he was the cute, sweet guy who always took the time to talk to the girl with her head in a book. We lost touch junior year, and met up again at the senior year Halloween dance he came as Puff Daddy (which meant that he was dressed to kill in an amazing suit), and I was dressed completely out of character as a black widow queen (fishnets, high heels, dramatic makeup, and a slinky black dress, etc). I saw his from across the room, he singled me out and asked me if I’d like something to drink…it was all very cute and I loved it! Through the long distance thing during college and law school, we’ve been in love and together ever since.

What’s he like? Well, he’s a cute, funny, sexy, video game fanatic who gets my jokes (he even waits patiently for me to finish laughing at my own hilarity – as I often do). He gets my friends (we are a crazy bunch) and my movie addiction (seriously, he counted it out and, all told, we saw like 120 movies last year – or something). He is fiercely loving, loyal, respectful and protective, and he always makes me feel sexy, loved, safe, and happy. He’s a family man, and I know that he’ll be a wonderful hubby and father some day. He’s my soul mate – nothing plain and simple about it, but lots of things that are awesome and wonderful about it. I knew it back in our senior year of high school. I knew it when my family drove over to his house at like 3 in the morning on the day when I had to move to Boston for college and our moms watched and gushed about how cute we were as we just stood there hugging and saying how much we were going to miss each other in the month before I’d be home again; and I feel it and know it more each and every day. Well, that was a bit mushy gushy :)

From Lee…

1. Do you have a Mac?

No, I use a PC. My poor Toshiba is a little sick, so I’ve been mainly using the family HP.

2. How many songs are on your mp3 player? If you have one.

I have about 200 songs. I don't really download much music, and am currently too lazy to transfer the rest of my cd's to my computer.

3. What kind of camera do you use?

I mainly use a Fujifilm FinePix J10; but I also have a Fujifilm Finepix S1000fd that I use every so often. On the odd days that I forget my camera at home (gasp!), or the battery dies, etc. I usually use the camera on my phone (a Samsung Gravity).

4. What do you do for a living?

I work for an entertainment union. I work with producers, etc to obtain and review all of their paperwork and chain-of-title to make sure that everything is in order, and get them to the point where they are able to use performers from our membership in their films.

From Badass…

I feel like I've seen this done somewhere before... =)

I don’t know what you mean :)

1. Are you left or right-handed?

I am a righty, though I used to (still do actually) wish that I was ambidextrous.

From Moonjava…

1. I've always been a little curious about the dayjobs of my blogger buddies. What do you do currently (career, etc)? And do you love what you do?
Well, as I said above I work for an entertainment union. It can be challenging, and it often is, and while I don’t love what I do right now - due to a mix of work stress and job environment stress – I do really like it. I’ve been working there for a little over two years now, and hope to be there for many more.

Now, what would I really love to do as a career? I would want to be a psychologist (specializing in international psychology). I’m actually going back to school, p/t, to get my M.A. degree in this so we’ll see :)

From Optimistic Pessimist...

1. Wine or beer? Why?
Beer. I've never been a fan of wine - maybe I just haven't found the one for me - but I do enjoy a nice cold one every now and then.

2. What's one of your favorite things about NYC? Least favorite?

One of my favorite things has to be the diversity. The city houses so many different kinds of people, food, cultures, clothes, etc.; it's great. It's exciting to know that I have a seemingly unlimited set of possibilities and experiences so close by.

One of my least favorite is the grime. The city can be a dirty, smelly, disgusting place - especially on hot and humid summer days.

3. Are you going to come watch me run the NYC marathon?

I would love to see some of the marathon live. I've only ever caught it in bits and pieces on TV. I just may come and join the ranks of people cheering you on :)

4. You are in NYC right, if not...why do i think you are?

I live in Queens, but I do work in NYC :)

Thus ends today's question and answer period. That was fun - feel free to ask me more questions anytime :)

In other news...

The wonderful ____j over @ this is me, consequently just awarded me with this lovely award. ____j's blog is lovely, and she just reached her 100th post so congrats to her :) Thanks for the award ____j!

Rules:

1. Add the logo to your blog; 2. Link to the person from whom you received this award; 3. Nominate 7 or more blogs; and 4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know they are One Lovely Blog!

I’ve seen this award floating around quite a bit so I’m not going to tag anyone, but everyone should feel free to take it and post it on their blog - I mean seriously, all of your blogs are too lovely and cool for you not to!

I'm off to sit in front of an air conditioner - it's HOT! Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!