a year in rewind

so i've been laying here reading through all my posts for the year 2010. they're really all over the place, arent they?

i guess you dont realize how bad things were until you can look back on it. and last winter, i was a mess. thank the good lord for anti-depressants. and you people, bc you listened to my rambling mess and were here for me through the whole thing.

i am proud of myself, bc once i realized i had to do something, things in my life really started turning around. i got help, i got a new job, i got a new living space. i got the stranger.

common trends throughout my posts were: how the weather changes my moods (we knew that already though), crazy dreams i've had, and random childhood memories.

there has been some of the same old worries, same old 'what ifs'. but i've got a whole new set of what ifs ahead of me. and i know for the first time that they are good what ifs. that i'm important in the grand scheme of things and that i have a future. The Stranger has done more good for me than he'll ever realize. i fully believe that the universe and eharmony got it right hand picking him for me.

i've tried to do good things this year charity wise, and i know this wont change next year. i feel better when i can do things for others and i think i always will.

i've had a lot of fun memories including going to the nuthouse for my birthday, getting to spend time with brandon and mandy in the summer, the gator pool goodness, everything that has happened with my job and the friends i've made there, extra special christmas gifts, trips to see everyone in the tri-state area, etc. i have many many things to be thankful for.

there are a lot of changes that are going to occur in 2011 and i'm equally happy and scared for them. there's still no set date for the wedding, which is ok really, i dont mind if it is in 2012. then there are several other things coming up, like whether the Stranger decides to go to law school, and where, that could change a lot of things. like where we live. while i love our little townhouse, it is just that, too little for the two of us and our stuff. so even if we dont move, we're probably going to move at some point.

i'm not going to pretend that i have a clue about this next year. but i know i'm in a better place and i can see when my ups and downs happen and have a better idea of how to deal with them. in fact i'm going back to the doctor on tuesday just to get my medicine tweaked bc i realize i've been sliding down again. and i want to head that off. a good start to a new year. going to the gym, trying my damnedest to keep my head above water.

and for now, i'm going to lay here and read for another hour, before i go pretty myself up for a NYE with some of the people i love the most in this zipcode. i hope everyone has a great new year and know that i love each and every one of you and i'm grateful to have you in my life.

I love Joe Beth bookstore in Lexington. I took the last of my winnings and bought two tshirts. But not just any shirt, oh no. Book cover image tshirts. http://www.outofprintclothing.com/Shop_a/152.htm

Do you know how hard it is for me to choose?! I finally settled on pride and prejudice and lord of the flies. I want them all. The nerd in me squeals with joy.


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I finally watched Inception last night. I can see the draw of wanting to live out life in the dream a little to clearly. My dream world would be nothing like this. Does that mean I'm unhappy or just have a good imagination?

We are heading back to Morgantown today. I've had a really good time visiting Laura and Mark. I wish they lived closer. Who knows, maybe we will end up here, restoring one of these beautiful old houses.

I'm in a weird mood. I blame it on how grey it is outside. Meh.


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Day two of vacation, why am I awake before noon? This is unacceptable!

So overall I would say the holidays have gone pretty well. Once you get past the family drama, waking up first on Christmas only bc I have a migraine, and your friend nearly driving over the hill bc your road is solid ice, I'd say it was pretty good indeed. I got the usual assortment of books (hooray Pride and Prejudice and Zombies graphic novel!), movies (Shirley temple, much to the strangers dismay), and clothes. I still haven't figured out where or how I lost my black dress coat, but I got a very awesome military-ish one to replace it. And a new north face fleece bc I don't know if you know this but it's damn cold out there.

My mom, being my mom thought it'd be funny to get the stranger a ridiculous gift. Luckily he's ridiculous enough to play along. So for a better part of two days I saw this walking around:




Can you take that seriously? Bc I can't. Haha.

My friend kellie and her husband came to visit and forgot what it's like to drive in wv in winter and nearly put their car over the hill. Dad and the stranger had to go rescue them, so that was how they met for the first time. She was more than impressed and had wholeheartedly given her blessing. Especially to his accent, haha. It seems to win everyone over.

So now I'm in Lexington enjoying the first part of my vacation with Laura, mark, and Weezer the dog. Last night we saw quite possibly the most amazing (and by that I mean horrifying) karaoke on the planet. An epic win for all in attendance.

Speaking of winning, I totally hustled the stranger for an obscene amount of money on Sunday. He kept betting me that he'd get a better score at the dance game on Kinect than I would. I tripled his measly score more than once. Being the type who can't handle losing, we kept going. I had a lovely time spending my winnings at Express yesterday and I have my eye on a Uk hoodie that he will be purchasing today. Winning is GOOD.

I have no clue what we are doing the rest of the week. For now I'm enjoying being able to sleep and read as much as I please and getting to spend time with people I don't often get to see.


I hope your holiday was a good one and that you've got your new year goal. I'm still trying to decide on mine. I've got a pretty good idea.

Much love in this cold and snowy weather!







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Merry Christmas from my crazy family to yours!!




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Who has two thumbs and got a kindle and book gift card for Christmas?

Excuse me while I fall off the planet for the foreseeable future.

Yay reading!!!!!

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headache and the holidays

this holiday season, besides the migraine that kept me at home today, has actually started out really wonderful. I really enjoyed spending time with the Stranger in Laws. they are fun and they are really great to me and I'm thankful for that. they spoiled the hell out of me like i really was one of their own.

we stopped in charleston on the way home to see moms side of the family at their big christmas party. all my aunts are in love with the Stranger and the way he talks. they kept making him say different words and even made him count to sixty. haha. i was embarrassed but he seemed to enjoy himself and it all went great. until the whole getting pulled over by the state police. as it turns out, my plates have been expired since June. woops! thats what i get for counting on dad to keep my car in shape. so that will all be taken care of when we head to braxton in a few days.

yesterday we had a christmasy lunch at work. i cant say enough about how much i love my job and the people i work with. they arent just coworkers, they are some of my best friends.

however today i feel like death with a migraine. i suppose life cant be perfect all the time. i did get a lot done workwise while i watched Golden Girls all day. and when the Stranger gets home we're having surprise dinner and then playing Kinect. or probably, me continuing to lay on the couch watching the Stranger attempt to play the dance game. God love him, he's terrible at it. he has rhythm but trying to do preset dancing is beyond him. i spent part of the evening last night yelling 'right clap left clap back two three four fist pump fist pump robot two three four' i spent more time laughin than anything.

i really want some brie.

i'm excited for the rest of this week. this holiday season is so much different than last years. this whole winter is so much better than the last. i cant even begin to put it all into words. thank you lord for antidepressants. and a multitude of other things, haha.

also, happy late bday to the CRJ all the way out in the middle of nowhere.

i hope everyone is having a good day/week/christmas season. much love to all of you

On the second day if Christmas, the state trooper gave to me, a bullshit ticket in my subi.

Which I refuse to pay and he can kiss my ass.


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On the first day of Christmas, the Stranger gave to me, a Kinect and the dance game cd!




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i dont know if you know this, but it is snowing outside.

our office sent everyone home before it got too bad out, which it already was by the time i left, but it's still pouring it down out. i'm worried about the Stranger getting home, bc he works out in bfe nowhere, and his snow tires are currently sitting in the hallway as they finally came in the mail today.

this weather better let up soon bc we are heading to KY tomorrow evenin. i may work from home tomorrow just bc i can. hooray for a solid week of christmasing. i'm actually really in the mood this year. maybe its enough time away from working retail finally, or maybe bc for the first time in a long time i'm going to have a legitimately good christmas. to top it off, neither mom or dad have to work christmas eve/day/night so we actually get to wake up at an ungodly early hour and do that christmas thing that most people do, instead of sleeping in and watching crap tv waiting for dad to get home from the hospital. and we decided that if the weather cooperates, we're going to head to lexington for the beginning part of vacation. i'm excited at the idea of spending time with laura (probably discussing weddingy type things and/or being lazy) and the stranger is excited to get to go spend time with his friends and have boy bromance whatever it is. the gumby suit will probably be making the trip with us, so be prepared for ridiculous photos.

everyone be safe out there. stay inside and watch tv if you can (harry and the hendersons is on netflix and i'm beyond thrilled at the moment.)

much love to everyone from the arctic circle of motown!

When I was in first grade and started dance class, I did it because I wanted to tap dance like everyone in Shirley Temple movies.

I still want to.

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Holy delicious smelling ornaments, batman! Not sure what came over me. The whole house smells wonderful. The dog may have eaten one. But I'm feeling festive and do not care. Up next: key lime fudge.




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i'm trying to decide if i should be ashamed or not that i am sitting here on the computer while the Stranger is dusting. i'm sure there is some guilt buried down in there somewhere, but if he wants to clean, i'm not going to be the one to stop him.

at last, all of my shopping is 100% complete. i like seeing all the presents under our sad little tree. most of the ones that need shipped off to the far reaches of the planet have made their way, and i think they've been well received. i'm told i'm getting many cookies from Kansas, and for this i am MOST excited. of course, i also got excited (and a little alarmed really) to see that kroger was already selling cadbury easter eggs, but, i am not one to complain about them. yum yum.

this week officially starts the holiday get togethering. tuesday we are taking a photo at work of our tackiest holiday attire as a surprise for our company president. i'm going to have to break out the finery for this one! and then this weekend we are heading for the wilds of Kentucky for christmas with the Stranger in Laws since we're spending the actual day with my family. we got his niece the coolest crayola glow in the dark spinny thing that, if i'm being honest here, i want her to open so that i can play with it with her. why didnt we have anything this awesome when we were little???

sunday on our way back north we are stopping at moms side of the family's holiday get together. this is when the stranger will finally get to meet ALL billion of them. (maybe thats an exaggeration. but mom does have 6 brothers and 2 sisters. and when you add in spouses and children and grandchildren... well i'd have to take my shoes and your shoes off to count us all.


the wedding planning has come to a halt for now. we're seriously debating putting it off til 2012 so that we can have exactly what we want without any compromises. it's not what we'd rather do, but sometimes, you just have to make choices. we'll see.

it's starting to snow again and we are expected to get quite a bit. thank goodness the Stranger goes to work before i do, bc he digs my car out while he does his. as long as it snows on christmas, it can stop immediately after for all i'm concerned.

we still havent finalized plans for new years. the strangers work gave him some tickets for some sort of special hockey game in pburgh that happens that day. something about it being outside? i dont know. but i cant imagine that that would be any kind of fun sitting in the snow all day. i guess we will see, i could be wrong. we may not even go up there. (it kills me not having a plan. i NEED A PLAN)

i have pretty much been a sloth all weekend and i am not ashamed. sometimes you just need to stay in your sweatpants.

i hope all is well wherever you may be. lovelove and sunshine

Yes. I am watching Shirley Temple in the 1937 version of Heidi. I love this movie and it has nice christmasy bits and makes me miss snow days at my grandmas house.

All I want for Christmas is my childhood back. And a Shirley Temple doll.




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And now for a super disgusting holiday moment, brought to you by my mother:




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i've felt like garbage all weekend.

so i made the stranger get out his gumby costume and post for our christmas cards to cheer me up.



this is so wrong. yet so incredibly right.

Call me a sap, but laying under the Christmas tree, listening to Judy garland makes this time of year a little more ok.




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The absolute best thing to do after you've had a terrible day at work isto sing Christmas songs at the top of your lungs while driving home until you lose your voice.

And/or heavy drinking.

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Things I accomplished today: locking my keys and phone in a running car. With, ithought my spare locked inside but actually it's in Braxton county. Fifty dollars later, I'm on my way to work in a toasty car that I didn't have to scrape thr snow off of. Lose win?


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I got new glasses. You can't tell from the crappy light but they are red. I am slowly but surely becoming that old lady librarian with garish hot pink lipstick.

However I feel the hairbow makes me look younger. I'm a walking contradiction.




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its raining. again. to the point that half of town is flooded and the interstate is one giant pileup. people in this town just cannot drive. i didnt have to make up stories for the other people in traffic, you could see it on their faces.

to try to get out of this very grinchy mood i'm trying to finish wrapping christmas presents while the Stranger is at class. he is a worse damn snoop than i am.

side note, they played Christmas in Hollis on the radio this morning and i was very happy.

side side note, one of the shithead teenagers in our complex purposefully broke some of our outdoor christmas decorations. i know i wasnt that bad when i was that age. even though they were only a few dollars, it still really upsets me to see things like that destroyed.

thanksgiving was overall good. like everyone else i ate too much and visited with family and friends. some of the highlights include watching the stranger and his cousin drink four loko (seriously, do not drink it. i see why they are pulling it off the market. i was woken up every few minutes that night bc the stranger thought he was having a heart attack.), getting another lap blanket for the nursing home completed, and going to the new restaurant at home that my friend's father opened. its the type of place that sutton needed years ago, so people can go hang out, have a nice meal (i am biased, my cousin is the chef. he came home from Sun Valley just to cook there!), and listen to local music.

other than that i feel like i've lived in a car. the first thing i did when i got home was lay down in the floor and sleep on the heating pad. i'm such a baby.

i'm counting down the days til christmas, not so much bc i'm excited for christmas (i'm trying, honestly) but i'm ready for a week off work. i dont care that we arent going anywhere. i feel like i just need to stay in bed and hide under the covers for awhile.

meh

Do you ever make up stories of the lives of the people stuck in traffic around you? The car in front of me is clearly an overworked father trying not to fly off thr handle at his deadbeat son, explaining to him why an after school job is necessary for character building and the like. The son obviously is too cool to acknowledge his father, as he slips on his sunglasses and tolerates the next fifteen minutes home.


Yeh. I'm a little weird.


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My mother just asked if I wanted a star wars piniata at my wedding reception.

I think she's finally starting to get withthe program.

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Had a mini identity crisis as I walked into the hair salon and saw myself in the mirror. Argyle sweater with coordinating slacks (and they are ironed!! With CREASES!!), my set of pearls, a frigging adorable bow in my hair, and a hugeass holiday starbucks drink.

Sellout.

It's time to seriously reevaluate my life. I'm putting tiedye on immediately.


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My workday just got a thousand times better as the boss bought our office a flat screen tv and a wii. Goodbye productivity!


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Ps

I know. Posting too much. BUT. Don't forget to go outside tonight thru the 20th and watch thr Leonids meteor shower.

Yes. I am a nerd.


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this is one example of how screwed up i am.

Starting in 1987, this was pretty much the only christmas cd (tape? whatever) played in my home. therefore, i thought the way these songs were sung was how they always were. I believed that 'baby please come home' must have bono's screeching need. or that silent night had to be sung very very low, a la stevie nicks after all that drug use. AND I THOUGHT CHRISTMAS IN HOLLIS WAS A REAL HOLIDAY SONG.

all i'm sayin is i wouldnt mind getting this for christmas this year, if you know what i mean.

I'm not sure which disgusts me more, the fact that it costs me more money per month for those pills that keep me sane and not pregnant than it does to buy a pair of ugg boots, or that I bought a pair of ugg boots.

Either way. The man is behind this.

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things happen. what the hell.

i was told i dont write on here enough anymore, and i didnt realize my boring life was that entertaining. granted, the writing does get better when i'm depressed, but do we really really want to go back down that road?

at any rate. i have finished wrapping all my christmas presents. well, not all i suppose. there are still a couple floating about in the universe, but. i put in a very very good start, right?

so because of some silly rule we are not allowed to get a second puppy from the shelter. the rule is that you cant have a dog over 25 lbs. calypso and the min pin we wanted combined do not make that much. but, too bad for us. it really makes me mad bc there are several people around who have two, if not more, pets. but i'm not going to tell on them bc i know how i'd feel if calypso was taken away. so, another puppy will just have to wait for a little while longer.

so i'm 2.5ish weeks into working out. and i have to say, i actually am enjoying myself. it takes a few tries to convince myself not to turn the other direction toward home after work, but once i'm there, i usually spend an hour and a half. i'm sore. i'm out of shape. i sweat like a disgusting pig. but. i'm starting to feel better, and that was the goal. i'm never going to be a size zero, but i can get myself in a healthier state. so, i'm hoping it continues to go as well from here on out.

today started the childrens hospital telethon on the radio, which means i cannot wear mascara for the next few days, bc by the time i get out of the car at work/gym/home/wherever, i'm usually a sobbing mess. i came into the office early this morning, and every single person that came in after me said something along the lines of 'is andrea here yet? dont let her listen to the radio.' they all know how i am. i've already gotten them involved in the salvation army christmas stockings and the united way reading program. but i decided to go ahead and make my donation so i dont feel like an asshole and get it over with. but the stories are very sad and i'm glad i can help. i know too many wonderful little kids to ever not want to help other children and/or potentially those kids themselves. i'm a bleeding heart. i just want everyone to be given a chance i guess.

so i'm very excited to have found The Hogfather on netflix. it's based on a terry pratchett book (which i love love love), has christopher lee as the voice of death, AND is a christmas special. what's not to love? i'd recommend watching it, but it doesnt make as much sense unless you've read the book i think. i dont know, the Stranger liked it having not read.

i saw seagulls this evening in the parking lot of the gym. this confused me greatly.

our trip to SC over christmas may not be happening, which makes me very sad. but our reservations were "misplaced" and we may not be able to get an alternate. oh well. i suppose i should save up those vacation days for next year. i might still take a day or two off and just sit around here in my pajamas watching Golden Girls reruns.

at any rate. we are putting up the christmas tree this weekend. which means even less room around here. we need to move. it just needs to happen. meh

at any rate. i hope everyone is having a good week.

lovelove

Is it strange that my earliest memory is from when I nearly drowned in our pool. I jumped in full well knowing I wasn't allowed to bc I couldn't swim yet. And I remember being underwater thinking that while it was pretty and all that I was pretty sure I done goofed. And then getting pulled out by my hair.

Is it weird I remember that??


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do you ever have dreams that are so unsettling that you wonder if that's what you are really thinking that you want or that maybe it really just is some sort of nightmare? i woke up with a real pain in my chest in a panic because of the things i was trying to say (but couldn't get out) in my dream. instead, i kept taking pictures of the past.

more than anything in my life, i'm afraid of letting people down.

meh.

Two car family again

So I know I'm bad at impulse spending but I think the stranger just took the cake. I sent him to pick up dinner and he calls home to say he's going to be late bc he's buying a car. At least it's a Subaru. Does that make us super lame to have the same kind of car? Oh well. Going for a test drive. Maybe I can convince him to impulse buy me some shoes....


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getting old

so i figured the only way to top going to the elk lodge last weekend was to go to the fire dept for an event. luckily they were having vera bradley bingo on sunday. 25 dollars later i hadn't won anything. but i did come home with a bingo dauber for the next time. and oh, there will be a next time my friends.

also, it snowed this weekend. i'm not ready for this. sure it's beautiful, but everyone i've talked to said i moved to the worst possible place when it comes to the winter weather. at least i sorta have my car back. and its all shiny and new looking on the back half. which just makes all the dings and scratches on the front look all the worse. one day, i'm going to get the subi fixed and not be business in the back, clusterfuck in the front. also, the week with the rental car made me realize i don't really like driving bigass suv's. sure its nice to tower over everyone, but they are a pain in the ass to park.

the cesspool that is my office has the plague. i'm taking vitamins and sanitizing my world like a crazy person. luckily i got to work from home today bc the Stranger had my car. i am so glad, once again, that i dont have to work from home anymore. its horribly boring and the dog sleeps all day. i've off again on thursday (thank you lovely gov't paid holiday) but the stranger also has the day off, so i think we're going to go adventuring.

so when do you think is too early to put up the christmas tree? the stranger tried to get me to put it up this weekend and i dont want to put it up til thanksgiving. maybe its bc i worked retail and know that they start decorating in august, but i cant handle overlapping holidays like that.

at the arts and crafts fair this past weekend (yes, i know, old lady hobbies. i'm going to get back to my knitting when i get off of here) and found the most awesome earrings made of antique russian porcelain. that covers three of my favorite loves. i also got wv produced honey which was delicious and i may or may not have eaten it all. the stranger got third place in the univ's photo contest at the fair, so we are most proud.

also, we are actually really going to the gym. and guess what, i actually.... enjoy myself. i know. its shocking. i have a whole circuit routine to do, and on the off days do cardio. i'm sore as hell but already i'm feeling better. if nothing else, i'm so exhausted in the evenings that i'm going to bed at a real hour. i'm hoping by christmas to see some real progress.

anywho. this was a boring post, but me and my old lady hobbies are just not that entertaining as of late. much lovelove to everyone out there!

Sometimes when things are really crappy and it's been raining forever, it's a really nice feeling to wake up to roses on the bathroom sink.





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preventative measures

i guess i havent written a real post in a few. i dont know why i just havent felt like writing lately. probably bc we've been so busy at work and the last thing i want to do is come home and get on the computer. but, the Stranger is out for the evening, and i figured i'd get caught up on some stuff. including my laying-on-the-couch-in-my-pjs time.

so. i cant even begin to explain what a ridiculous experience goin to the Elk Lodge was. we went to a 'cash bash' where you pay to get in and get all your dinner/drinks for free and have a chance to win a hundred bucks every fifteen minutes. none of us won, but we definitely made our moneys worth in drink if nothing else. and mashed potatoes. which were delicious. they had a band there which i think would best be described as comparing them to the band at the end of Animal House, only about 10-15 years older. the lead singer was amazing and the most adorable old man. he came and talked to us during one of his breaks. i heart old people. i think one of the things i enjoyed the most was watching all the old people dance (btw, i should point out that we were probably the youngest there by a good 15 yrs). these people are of a generation where dancing was an art. not just humping someone's leg. so it really made getting out there and dancing with them a more enjoyable experience. plus they are so damn cute. i can only hope i can have something like that when i'm old and decrepit.

the highlight however, was marlene. marlene was 77 and looks like your typical put together old lady, perhaps a one time Avon Lady, in her smart little suit dress and pearls. little did we know what was under that perfectly coiffed hair. marlene informed us (after several drinks, of course) that she was the first pin-up girl of the Eisenhower administration and that she was one of the few ppl to shave her hoo-hah during that time, before it became customary. I AM NOT JOKING. she talked about how perky her t-wordies were and that she was so proud of them. at this point, i really shouldnt be surprised by anything. it was wonderful.

laura came up to visit after she told the man to stick it and quit her job. it was really good to hang out with her and catch up on things. she's looking into getting more into graphic design type stuff, which i will surely push on here once its all up and running. her work is spectacular and i'd recommend it to anyone.

i've been thinking about this for awhile, but today i finally got up the nuts to go look at this newish gym in town. its one of those for-women only places, but its not weird like Curves. I dont have an excuse not to join a gym since work pays for our membership. so i ran up this evening after work and really liked what i saw, namely that its not super busy and there aren't a bunch of bimbos standing around looking at their makeup and designer exercisewear in the mirror.

while i have felt so much better these last few months having started eating real meals at real intervals the way normal people eat, all the bad i'd done to my metabolism up to this point has caught up with me. plus, i know if i get in a routine now, it will really help with my winter blues. i've already started to feel them, so i want to head them off before i end up in my gray pajamas for days on end, eating oreos and pepperoni sticks. i'm actually really excited about this and meet with a trainer on Thursday. i'm telling myself i cant weener out since work is paying for me to go. even a couple days a week getting on the treadmill will be better than the nothing that i'm doing now. :) i've just been really inspired by my friend ranae (i really should start posting links to fellow bloggers, but i keep forgetting to find them ahead of time) and how she's really got hardcore into working out and being healthy. she's kicking ass and taking names as she gets certified in zumba, does a 5k, and all around inspires me to be healthy. thank you ranae for being awesome. :) now all of you have to help me keep up with this and be accountable for sticking to it. i know in the long run i always feel so much better. its the getting there thats the hard part!

in other news, because i am a loser, i've already started my christmas shopping. I KNOW. but i just want to get everything done and taken care of. i hate that i dont enjoy it as much as i used to, but it's just so much more convenient to get online and sign my paycheck away to amazon.

the dog is snoring. i think i will join her.

lovelove

That's to be expected, when you are Infected.

You must go watch Repo! The Genetic Opera right now. It is amazing.




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It is seven pm. I am at the elk lodge. I am drunk. The coolest old people band is playing.






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ps

mock me all you want for liking a bright eyes song, but i really really do love this song. and the video. and the adorable people.

zee tornado!

we are currently in a 'tornado watch' until 9p when it becomes a 'tornado warning.' excuse me, tornado? we have these things called mountains. however, if there were to be one anywhere in mon county, it would be on my road. it's officially the most dangerous place in the county. yesterday there were three wrecks before i left for work. THREE. where do these ppl think they're drivin, ohio?

tangent. breathe.

so the masquerade ball was very fun. it was awesome to see so many people dressed up. some just wore regular clothes and a mask, some wore fancy dress like us, and some went all out and got marie antoinette wigs and the like. i would very much like to go back to the art center sometime when i have the time to tour around. all in all, i call it a success. we're hoping to convince our higher ups to make this year's holiday party theme masquerade. it would be a good follow up to last years casino night.

sunday i read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in its entirety. it took me about 150 pages to decide it was actually a good book. i recommend it.

i'm back to not sleeping again, which is annoying. but, i guess it's just a part of life. i'll sleep someday.

we are carving pumpkins tonight, which really means i'll get the guts out and start to carve it and immediately lose interest and let someone else finish the job. and then i'll go roast the seeds in a gallon of butter. the end.

is it sad that i've already started writing out my christmas shopping list? it physically pains me how much money will be funneling out of my life in the next year or so. but in my mind, getting all this stuff out of the way now is more logical. i can spread everything out a bit more. i'm trying to think what craft project to supplement gifts with, as i do every year. i'm thinking maybe i'll try bath bombs. they seem easy enough (famous last words.)

the old brick house i fell in love with has been sold which makes me very sad. especially since the Stranger wants to speed up the house hunting process bc he's determined to be out of here (off this killer road) before it snows too much. i think he's just a worrier and i'll be fine. the subaru can withstand anything. it gets a whole new back end next week and it'll be back in business. i have to say though, i'm super excited about getting a rental car. i dont know why. thats always my fav part of traveling for work is having the surprise of a different car to drive. (although, if you're curious, our portion of the govt work only has impalas as their fleet vehicle. which dont get me wrong, is a wonderful car to drive. i just think it's interesting that they arent pushing more for hybrids)

i'm rereading jane austen's collective works because its fall and i do that and i'm a nerd.

i may or may not have figured out and drew a diagram of how the table settings for the reception will go. that makes me way lame. especially bc i drew it all up in Paint. but having a visual image of what is floating around in that crazy brain of my really helps me make sense of things.

imma nut job, yes?

anywho. i hope everyone has a lovely evening. lovelove to you all!

this is why fall is my favorite time of year.

The stranger shocked the hell out of me and can dance! I had so much fun at the ball. We should have one every month.




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if i happen to go to charleston sc over christmas and come back married, its bc my family has made me completely flip shit. laura, you are still invited. getting married is not supposed to be such a huge pain in my ass.

on a better note, my masquerade mask is halfway done and it looks pretty awesome if i say so myself. i cant wait for saturday.

i got to finally talk to the CRJ for more than 30 seconds last night which was wonderful. I miss his daily dose of sanity. And if you've not followed his writing, you need to know that he bought a wicked awesome leather coat. so awesome that i peer pressured myself into deciding that i too need a leather coat. it came in today and i just want to curl up with it and snuggle. Michael Kors, you make one delicious coat. this is my impersonation of someone who was just recently crying angry tears, who hasnt brushed her hair today or bothered putting on makeup, but is attempting to look hip while standing in her bathroom, taking a picture with her phone. also, that means i'm lame.


i will totally be a rubber stamp for Michael Kors.

disclaimer: in theory i will make up with the parentals and will still have a real wedding to which you are all (well, some of you) invited. if not, then you prob are still invited, just be prepared to drive to the beach on short notice.

what would yours say?

i think you must look at this project immediately. i think i am going to send in a polaroid.

mine would say "before i die, i want to understand why i'm here. and also get a tattoo."

I think I have a fever, my sweater smells like hippie, and my head is splitting in two.

These post-it's basically sum up my attitude.




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fact. i may or may not have convinced the Stranger that I will walk up the aisle to "Lets Get Married (REMIX)" by Jagged Edge ft. RunDMC. and i am not sorry. i'm totally going to play this off as long as i can.


sidenote, i'll probably actually walk down to my friend playing an acoustic version of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl"

breaking news thats more important than anything else going on in your life.

the sea monkeys, the very ones that i swore i killed 3 weeks ago, are mysteriously swimming around in the tank today.

zombies?

finding, losing, sleeping

oh kids. its 8pm and i've not made it out of my pajamas. i dont think this is necessarily a bad thing.

friday we had my postponed scavenger hunt. not as many people were able to attend, but i think those that did had fun. it's been so long since i've ran around downtown. i got to do things like get a photo of a cop smiling, forking a yard, finding 12 different fast food condiments, and my personal favorite, getting at least five strangers to do a yoga pose. i think we were very successful on that front:
so much ridiculousnessness. and my team won. the only part of the hunt i didnt like was going in the graveyard and trying to find a headstone with our name. i dont like graveyards anyway, but going at 11 at night is very unsettling. not so much that i was afraid, but that it made me overwhelmingly sad.

yesterday was the perfect day to go out to coopers rock, so i did. and so did about eighty bajillion other people. there were 2 weddings and a family reunion out there. needless to say, i can easily mark that of the list of possible places for next year. plus the dont allow alcohol, and that alone would cause many problems. but. it was still pretty up there, what little i could see through the crowds of people.

p.s. the buffalo chicken wrap thing at black bear is ahmazeingggg. the end.

in other news i changed the top of my dress. i decided i didnt like how it was looking on me. i'm not going to show you any more pics though, bc i guess maybe even i want a little bit to be a surprise. so i have that to do tomorrow. woot.

i had the most realistic nightmare this morning that i still cant get out of my head. someone was trying to kill me bc i knew too much and they had me pinned down and were taunting me with a knife. i woke up right before they gutted me. and then i didnt sleep again until the sun came up. i think its bc we were watching all those commercials for paranormal activity 2. i will NOT be seeing that, thank you very much. the end.

this week i need to put together my mask for the masquerade ball and try to find one for the stranger. he's never been to parkersburg before, so i'm going to take him over to blennerhassett island and all the other neat little things around there. i need to get all my hipster cameras out and take with me. i'm sure there will be some neat things to photograph. and also, i'm excited to dance. to 'fancy dance' as the stranger jokingly calls it. i have a feeling he has two left feet. but it's about time someone swept me off mine.

i also need to put my halloweener costume together. i was going to go as ms pacman but i'm feeling lazy and that's too much work. instead i'm going to go as Mia Wallace (Pulp Fiction) post-adrenaline shot. bc nothing says happy halloween like a near drug overdose. i'm trying to get the stranger to go as vincent vega (travolta's character). i think i have him sold on the bolo tie.


i'm feeling very meh today. probably bc i haven't left the house.

i hope everyone has a good week ahead. much love from the sloth.

Some things you can't unsee. No matter how much you wish you could.


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The stranger bought calypso Halloween pajamas. Bahaha



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why i love govt holidays, pt 2

the most successful thing i accomplished today was putting on pants. i got paid to put on my pants today, folks! i'm going to take 30 seconds to relish in that fact.

no. but seriously. today was the perfect holiday off. i moved my sloth self from my couch to rachael and amanda's couch, where we watched not one, but 15 episodes of Say Yes to the Dress and ate gnocchi. trash tv and pasta made of potatoes pretty much sums up perfection to me. and shortly i'm getting taken out for ice cream which is the finishing touch on this day. i needed the lazy, no drama, laughter filled hours.

i dont know if any of you watch say yes to the dress, but from watching it, i'm convinced people are crazy. i understand that brides want to look great on their wedding day, but there is absolutely no reason to spend that much money on a dress. these people just blew me away. sure it's some well known store, but you can find just as beautiful, or in most cases more beautiful, dresses for so much less. and then when you factor in how much else theyre spending on a wedding... thats a down payment on a house!

i dont know. maybe i'm a simple girl at heart. but i know i can have my dream wedding for so much less than these crazy people are spending. example:

here is part of my potential dress:

this dress is effing beautiful if i say so myself and costs less than 200 dollars and is hand made with vintage lace.

call me a cheap ass, but i think that's pretty alright.

also, the state of maryland is out of the running for locations. we looked at a place and were underwhelmed. as much as it kills me (and believe me, it kills me) we may have to look at a place closer to b.county. but we have a year, right?

in other news work tomorrow is going to be awesome. the only work involved will be taste testing chili for a united way chili cookoff. can i just say, one more time, how much i love my job?

and i cant remember if i wrote about this or not (short term memory loss!) but i'm doing a 5k in a few weeks. i'm really excited about it and excited to be going with ranae.

hope everyone had a great day today!


in any event.

Why hello lovely govt holiday where I'll be sitting in my pajamas all day eating cotton candy.


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Ugh. So I went back to the dr and they think now that I've got a mild concussion and bruised kidneys. I feel like balls.


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oy my back hurts. i feel like i'm 80 yrs old. but i really dont want to take too many of the muscle relaxers bc i read they are very addictive and thats the last thing i need, eh?

since things have been topsy turvy the last few days and tensions have been past high, the stranger decided instead of going to KY that we're going to do wedding stuff this weekend and be lazy. i frankly cant think of a better thing to do. and to top it off he's bringing dinner home from murieles tonight and for that alone i'm overjoyed.

i think once we find a place for this shenanigan then everything else will come together smoothly (so says a dumb bride, right?) this is going to be the most nontraditional traditional event. whats your thoughts on Brown Eyed Girl playing as i walk down the aisle? haha

working from home is the shiz (i say that bc its only for a day and not for 2 months.) i've got netflix and part of an ice cream cake that the stranger brought home for me yesterday to occupy my time. and a nap. which i think i will take right now.

much love, with a heating pad on the side.

having never been in a car wreck (that i remember anyway, i was in one as a baby) i really had no idea what to think about all this.

i was driving to work and was slowing down cb traffic was stopped getting off the interstate. i saw that the tahoe behind me wasnt slowing down so i tapped my brakes a few times thinking they'd notice. they kept coming so i tried to swerve over onto the shoulder. they clipped my back left side and then flipped six times (i didnt make up the number, thats what the police report said). the girl is pretty banged up but was to check out of the hospital this evening, so i really hope she is ok. i've got a seatbelt mark on my chest and my back is sore, but i think thats mostly bc i tensed up knowing i was about to be hit, so it knocked me all kinds of out of whack. i know i just sat there on the side of the road gripping the steering wheel watching a car flip and i was in shock.

so still in shock, after everything got checked out and they let me go (the car is still drivable), i drove to work. everyone there made me go get checked out bc apparently i looked like a nutjob. luckily we have our own doctor and nursing staff at work (it's good to sell out to the govt sometimes) so i went over and got the full work up and was sent home with prescriptions and told to lay down. i'm supposed to go back tomorrow or friday and get checked out again once the apparent pain really sets in.

one of the eighty thousand great things about my job is that i can work from home for as long as i need. but staying home today was boring enough for me. i think i'll go in tomorrow even if i have to be wheeled in.

the stranger and my dad both said i did a smart thing by trying to swerve out of the way. had i not the tahoe would have hit me straight on and probably hurt us both much more than we are. i think it only hit me in the last hour or so exactly what happened and i freaked the fuck out.

october has just been a really crappy month. :(

So this morning started out wonderful. I got rearended on the Interstate! I'm fine. The car that hit me flipped. She's ok though. They are givin me muscle relaxers though bc my back hurts. Thank God I'm ok though.

I'm probably still in shock. Disregard everything I say.

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dear depression,

why hello. long time no see. i've got plenty of room on the couch if you want to lay down, i'll be here for awhile.

sometimes i think i plan things in my head to be grandiose like the red square only to realize in real life they are built on chopsticks. one seemingly ok movement will bring the whole thing down in one deafening crash.

i get it now.

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing
But I
I love it when you read to me
And you
You can read me anything
The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anything
The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we're all too young to know
But I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings






meh.

Can I go to bed and start this month over? I'd do it entirely different.

Meh.


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As it turns out, my fear of clowns is still alive and well.

My work took us to pburgh for dinner and then fright night at kennywood. Dinner was great. Kennywood lasted all of twenty minutes until a clown jumped at me with a fake chainsaw.

There was much profane language and hitting of the Stranger. So we left and met up with Jenny and her fiancé in shady side and went out til all hours of the morning. It was good to talk girly wedding planning with someone else who is getting married soon, and it was good for the boys to bw together again and drink. Thanks to the stranger and his KY accent they got several free pitchers of beer. Needless to say we poured them home.

Since we didn't get to come up my bday weekend we went to the church brew for lunch today and I got my delicious perogies. We also went shopping which is never a good idea.

So it's dreary and rainy and we are headin back to the Mo. This week is busy as we have wedding locations to check out and hopefully go look at that house we like. Getting approved foe that homeloan really kicked things into high gear with moving, especially since we can afford much more than we originally anticipated. I still love that old brick house, but it may just not be enough apace as we would like. We will see.

So. As the stranger is driving and we still have an hr to go, imma take a nap. Much love!


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today has been a good day as it's been like a birthday part two! first i got a wonder bacony bday card from brandon and mandy (and can get a lot of slushies from sonic!!!!!!!!) but then my brother sent me a gift card to sephora. my brother is a cheap ass, so this surprised the hell out of me. so i'm sitting here with my orange cream slush ordering wonderful makeup things. and my 4frame camera and my black and white film came in and i cant wait for it to STOP RAINING UP IN HERE so i can go take some photos.

tomorrow is going to be a good day. or a bad day. either way, we'll see wont we?

one of the old ladies i work with said my hair color and glasses makes me look like a dirty librarian. i dont know whether to cackle or be offended. haha.

New dark hair. Closest to natural color that it's been in many moons.




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rollercoaster weekend

well then.

the bad news is i, and everyone i was around this weekend, am sick. start from the beginning i should (which makes me think, a car i saw today had a yoda license plate and was yoda-color)

so saturday we went to the insane asylum. i know this probably seems very strange to most people, but i was/am genuinely interested in the architecture and the history of this place. it is HUGE. they began building it before the civil war and purposefully put it on 666 acres of land to show people that demons were housed there. the irish builders would put gargoyles and dragons and other good-luck emblems over the doors to keep the demons in the building and not let them into the public. there are hidden tunnels (that are sinking and breaking interestingly) that go all over the town of weston that the rich people paid for so that no one would see them taking/visiting ill relatives. men could get paid fifty bucks for dropping off their wives! what kind of crazy mess is that!

but all the buildings are awesome and spooky. its hard to imagine that it was still open in the early 90s bc it's a wreck. there were whole wings for people with syphilis, a huge ballroom that the highschool held their proms in right next to the ward for the criminally insane, a whole building for ppl with TB (which actually caused more tb than helped) and just worlds of interesting things to see. i took some photos with my hipstomatic, and they turned out super creepy.

we stopped in charleston to see shainna, which was really great. the stranger finally got to meet her parents, which was really important to me. and like everyone else, they loved him. so it was a really good time hanging out. and then we headed for KY.

we got to town in time for the viewing and ran up to his grandmothers house to change. only the door was locked. so in true only-andrea-gets-in-these-situations fashion, we got dressed in the carport and brushed our teeth with bottled water. if all else, i think the strangers grandad would have had a good laugh at us. the viewing made me uncomfortable since i only knew a handful of people there, but i know it was important to the stranger that i was there. afterward we had a lovely dinner at the local pizza place and then went to his cousin's to watch the football games, where i fell asleep on the couch. and so ended my birthday. the day started out very happy and ended melancholy.

sunday was hard. partly bc of the services and partly bc it was cold and dreary. no one was dressed for the weather and now we're all sick. we planned to drive all the way home that evening, but the weather was so bad we made it as far as braxton before we gave up. i slept all the way from bcounty to here, just in time to get dressed for work. needless to say, i'm still exhausted.

in brighter news, i may have found my wedding dress. i dont want to put it on here bc heaven forbid the stranger reads my blog. its handmade antique champagne lace. i am muy excited.

This make look gross, but mammaws biscuits and creamed tomatoes is the best way to start ones bday. It has been a really nice morning so far.

Lovelove




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happy birthday to me.


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my brain hurts. i've been trying to keep my shit together the last, oh, couple months, but i feel like i'm just floating. i'm afraid i'm sinking again.

maybe there's just been too many life changes to have to think about lately.

needless to say, i'm going to take a nap now.

I've determined calypso has stolen my credit card bc I came home to this bday present from her



That's pretty fancy schmancy!

In all seriousness, the stranger has been slowly doing my bday early bc we are probably goin to have to go to KY in the next few days as his grandad is in the very last stage of lukiemia. It's caused all the big plans to be postponed, but like I told the stranger, there are other weekends and other bdays. I'm just sad his grandad is in so much pain. I really liked him. He always called me Sweet Thing and cried when I showed him the engagement ring. I'm going to miss him.

But. Gotta think the positive. There is a lot of love and that is the best thing one can have.

Lovelove.


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Look what calypso got me for my bday:



This leads me to believe she has an outside source of income she is hiding from me. And also that she knows my amazon account.

The plot thickens!!

:)

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Location:Smithtown Rd,Morgantown,United States

scratching my sunburn

so. picture it. driving home from work, deep in thought debating what exactly i would do for a Klondike bar, when i get on 79 North toward pburgh instead of 79 south toward home. one would think i would have noticed immediately my error. or maybe noticed when the scenery looked wrong. or the exits were wrong. or hell, maybe when i passed the Welcome to PA sign. but no. it took me a good 15 miles to realize something was wrong.
i am an idiot.
in other news, the football game was great! not only did we win, but i had such fun with my friends and coworkers. its just such a great group of people and it's always fun when everyone gets together. have you ever seen jello shots in giant plastic syringes? bc I have now....


my Office Season Six came in finally, so we spent friday night and most of yesterday watching it.

the dog is equally entertained and has a strong love for Kevin:
since i still had a ton of flowers left, and i didnt totally eff up the bouquet, i figured i'd try to make the corsages and the... the man flowers that for the life of me i cant think of the word. here's my attempt at those:
they are very colorful, yes? i know some people wouldnt in a million years make this stuff and would rather have fresh flowers and all. but. i'm weird and i like making things and putting a little bit of myself into something. if nothing else, it's special to me.

i'm excited for the upcoming week. friday is my bday scavenger hunt around greater morgantown, saturday we're going on the historical tour of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (super nerdy excited about this!!!!) and sunday i get to pet the penguins at the pburgh zoo and eat perogies at church brew! color me twelve kinds of little kid excited.

anywho. i hope everyone has had a good start to their week. i think it's going to be a good one. :)

lovelove!

watchin it rain

so the whole not sleeping thing is back again, which really isnt a surprise. for the past week i'm good to get four hours. last night i got nearly two. i figured it would be in my best interest to work from home today, in the event that i fell asleep and didnt want to make an ass of myself, but instead i feel like i've drank eightyfour thusand cups of coffee. tonight its sleeping pill land whether i like it or not.

so i've sat here and watched it rain with the dog and actually got a lot accomplished, which is good. the season six of the office finally came in and you better believe i'm spending tomorrow night watching it.

on sunday we're taking off adventuring to look at wedding places. there is one place i really want to look at that is just across the border in MD bc it just looks awesome. there's a couple other places around here that we want to check out. i think if we can just figure that part out then it will be easy.

things i'm trying to do. or rather, not do, include biting my nails. i've tried for however many years now to stop, and it is not easy. i know its my nervous tick, or one of them at least. maybe thats why i cant sleep, bc i'm going nuts without chewing my hands off.

THESE ARE REAL WORLD PROBLEMS, FOLKS.

positive things: tomorrow is bday cake day for sept babies at work tomorrow, which means i get to bask in attention and icing. saturday is the MD football game and work is taking us and tailgating. i dont know if i've mentioned this but i love my job. i love what i do, the people i work with, and the fact that they do things like this. in fact, the next weekend they are taking us to kennywood for fright night! yays

the electric flickered. storms a comin!

much love everyone

afraid of braxton

so i just found out another classmate died today. what is most eerie is that this fellow was also a year ahead of me in school, also had children, and also died of a motorcycle wreck. too many people i know have been hurt or died from those machines and that will always be one thing i put my foot down on. i will not get on a motorcycle.

that really was a downer on what was otherwise a good day. i went and made jewelry with the girls from work and then had dinner with them. its really something i needed to just.. have a minute and be a girl.


when i was little we had this cd of christmas songs. it was sorta like one of those "now thats what i call music" collections, but it wasnt that name. at any rate, i loved that cd to death. my favorite song was Run DMC "christmas in hollis". now. you have to watch that video to appreciate how ridiculous it was, me a tiny white girl with coke bottle glasses rapping to myself about christmas and macaroni and cheese. so wrong.

anywho. lots to think about today.

lovelove

updating my 101 goals

i hadn't looked at my 101 goals list in awhile, and i had completed some of them and had several i could go ahead and take care of now. I'd told someone special how much they meant to me, i went and saw airplanes at the airport (the B-17), i'd watched a couple more foreign films (I can't recommend Day Watch and Night Watch enough.), and I've tried to keep up with my banned books (One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Lorax (baha, that one is so cheating), One Hundred Years of Solitude). So, as it was recommended to me, I wrote mammaw the letter telling her how important she was to me. being the chicken i am, i left it in her room when we were coming through town on Labor Day, and i have a feeling the letter meant more to her that day bc that's when i got engaged. but she has been a major factor in my life, and i do hope with everything i am that i am a person that makes her proud. she said she really appreciated the letter, and that made me feel really good.

i think next i'm going to work on sponsoring the soldier, and maybe finding a 5k to run/walk. I also need to adjust some of the goals since they do not apply anymore. Like the getting the christmas present for the lonely neighbor kid. He moved away before christmas, so i cant exactly get him a gift. i think instead I will donate more to some organization that helps people around the holidays.

for me, who makes all these plans and always falls through with them, i'm really proud that i have accomplished as many goals as i have. yeah some of them are silly, but the fact that i've actually completed them is big for me.

Workin for the weekend

Overall I think it has been a very nice weekend. A group of us went to the wine and jazz festival and for once u actually enjoyed it. I even found a type of wine I like. It has cinnamon and other spices in it. Very yum.

And we decided to brave the Big Kahuna, the sketchy looking bar down the road. Turns out it may be one of the nicest bars I've ever been to.

And today I didn't leave the house. Instead I was crafty. I had a bunch of flowers left over from my wreath and some other projects, so I made what I think will be my bouquet. I promise his website won't turn into a lame wedding blog. But you know me, I want to have everything in place. We are shooting for next fall, probably October. Some part of it outside so the leave are all pretty. We still have a lot of mess to figure out.

At any rate, here is what I made. Tell me if it sucks and I should scrap it.




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Fall!!

These last few days have felt and smelled like fall. This makes my tiny heart very very happy. To celebrate I went out and made a wreath for the front door.




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Location:Lockwood Dr,Morgantown,United States

All. Please send good thoughts to my friend kellie's sister Sara and her husband Ritchie. Sara is several months pregnant and Ritchie was just diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that has spread to his liver. I don't know if you know much about cancer, but this is awful. So please send good thoughts their way. :(


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News

So wvu and uk both won yesterday. Hoorays. I thought that would be the most exciting part of the weekend. Until this morning when I was getting ready and putting on my makeup and the stranger asked me if I wanted a present. I thought it was the Office season 6 DVD and was excited. What I got was a lot better:





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Squeeeeeeee!!

this has officially been the absolute best day of September so far. (nevermind that it is the first day of sept. that is an insignificant detail.)

the commemorative air force has a B-17 from WWII that they bring around on an airport tour in the summer/fall, and it just so happened to stop at our own little morgantown air strip. they let a select few people go on rides (i didnt get to but i'd probably give up calypso to be able to) and then anyone could go tour around the plane. we got their after work and got to see it take off and land. at first they werent going to let the last group tour it bc they had to close, but i think enough people looked pitiful (myself included) and they let us out on the tarmac for a few minutes.

so here are some photos i took with my phone, both on regular setting and with the hipstomatic setting. i'll post more photos later bc we also took the Stranger's awesome camera and got some amazeballs shots.

squeeeee!!

a real post. for realsies.

i dont know that i can quite wrap my brain around the goings on of these last few days.


a guy i grew up with died in a motorcycle accident on thursday night. i was never super close to him but he was always really nice to me and made the school douchebag stop picking on me when i was a freshman in high school, so i always looked up to him. he'd had a rough time of things lately but had gotten his life back in order and had the most adorable little girl. it was a completely freak accident, hitting a deer. it really left me in shock and once again reminded me how quickly our time here can be taken away.

last night the stranger and i went on our 'fancy date' which means we put on clothes without wrinkles or holes, put on makeup (just me for that one, hah) and went to my most favorite italian place on the planet in fairmont. it was, as it always is, most delicious.

today we had several options but decided to head out 68 on an adventure. i took the stranger to the antique mall that i love dearly, and i found a 1909 copy of the book rebecca of sunnybrook farm and an equally old pewter figurine of a lady in a ball gown. the stranger found an some sort of old mining knife for his dad for his birthday. so we both came out of there happy. we then figured since we were out that way that we'd go out to coopers rock since the stranger had yet to see the henry clay iron furnace. so we start meandering down the rocky path, wearing the absolutely wrong footwear but convinced it would be fine. clearly you can see the error in this already. about 3/4 of a mile down this hill my sandal breaks in half. me being me i am livid and start marching back up the hill with one sandal on. at this point i should also point out (because i have no filter or shame) that i realized i had just met up with my monthly friend. this.pissed.me.off. so i start going off about how bears are going to eat us (bc as Brick Tamland said in Anchorman,"periods attract bears. The bears can smell the menstruation!")

the stranger being the chivalrous southerner that he is wouldnt let this obviously psychotic woman walk the rest of the way barefoot (probably feared my wrath upon reaching the top of the hill) and gave me his shoes and he went barefoot. he made it about a quarter of a mile before he figured he'd try to find a way to jimmy rig my sandals for him. so we sat down on a rock to rest and take some nature photos while i tried to think of a good way to keep said broken sandal on a foot. and the best thing i could come up with was my arm full of hairties. so we tried that and it held enough to get us back up the hill. so we think, this is funny, this kind of thing only happens to us, when!

a dog bites the stranger. i cant even make this shit up. there is a college couple walking a german shepherd down the hill, and it lunges at me. the stranger kinda pushes my ass out of the way and the dog latches down on his arm. at this point i flip the fuck out and the stranger gets incredibly quiet. this is his way of flipping out. it is scary to behold. the people basically just piss of and only say they are sorry one time. so we walk the rest of the way up the hill, broken sandal, blood dripping down his arm, me trying not to puke/pass out from the blood/freak out loudly.

he got all doctored up at the urgent care and got a scrip for some lovely drugs that should, in theory, kill dog mouth germs. while i was sitting in the waiting room for him i thought of all the crazy shit thats happened to him just in the last few months. saw a dead body from a car wreck, nearly got mugged (he says picked up for the sex trade) in the walmart parking lot, and now got bit by a dog. i am starting to think i am very very bad juju for him.

to try and make it up to him i took him to Tailpipes for dinner. it's a newer burger place in morgantown and i highly recommend it to everyone. i got a burger with peanut butter, bananas, onions, cheese, and bacon on it. and i know you are thinking to yourself that this sounds disgusting, but i'm telling you with everything in me that it was quite possibly the most amazing burger i've ever eaten in my life.

so now we're going to stay in and do our best to not get hurt or mauled by wild animals or set on fire or any other freak disaster that could possibly happen.

of course, there is always tomorrow.

Update

Why yes. The first thing I did when I got in Braxton county was fall down a flight of stairs. Don't worry, my ass saved me.

With all the fun options here for an evening like going to the high school football game or the uniplex, I'm sitting on the couch watching scrubs. Roger Dorsey is a goldfish.

I get to experience my first UK/Louisville tailgate. I used it as an excuse to buy blue shoes. I am not ashamed.

Kinda sad today. But I'm ready for a lovely long weekend.

Location:Dogwood Rd,Sutton,United States

The good includes sleeping In and finding prizes at the antique store. The bad includes the stranger getting bit by a dog. We are sitting in the urgent care waiting to be seen as he continues to bleed. There is a good chance I am going to puke.

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Location:County Road 857,Morgantown,United States

Dear fiber one fake poptart. You're not fooling anyone. You taste like brown sugar cinnamon garbage. I want my tastebuds back.

Regards,
BarelyAware


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Location:Morgan Dr,Morgantown,United States

making a statement i shouldnt have to make

listen.

it's been pointed out to me i have two comments referring to the name of the trivia team from the other night. while i appreciate other peoples' opinions, and wholeheartedly ask for them, i believe if you are going to make a statement, that you do so with a name. not as anonymous. yes, that team name is offensive to some. did we set out to be offensive? no. did i even have anything to do with the naming of the team? no. do i think people are overreacting in regard to this? absolutely. yes it is crass, yes it was a horrible event in history, but people, get over yourselves. we live in a world of self-depricating humor bc if we didnt we'd never come out alive. if you cant, then at least have the testicular fortitude to tell me yourself instead of hiding behind a screen of anonymity.

i apologize if i have offended people, but at the same time, i dont. i open myself up here to scrutiny every day, you see the good, bad, and psychotic. i'm bound to offend someone. if it helps, i hate most WASPS in our world (see? i can make fun of myself!) i am an equal opportunity sarcasm machine. no one in this world is 'better than that' because someone is always going to offend someone else. you cant hide away in a box all your life or else you'll have missed out on the best part of it.

i'm all riled up now. i shouldnt have to apologize to people who wont even tell me who they are. at least i -am- better than that.

in other news, i grabbed the wrong tupperware out of the fridge this morning and will be having a lovely lunch of cucumbers. (oh man, she's talking smack on cucumbers. where are all the vegans out there)

1. maybe its the weather (dont i always blame that?)

2. the stranger convinced me i have a knot in my spine. which in my mind (i.e. blow that shit out of proportion) i'm now convinced i'm a hunchback. a hunchback with what i still believe was once a tail? i'm a whole world of genetic fail.

2a. i know i have crappy posture and i know if i sat correctly this would probably help. i'm thinking about taking myself to the chiropractor for my birthday. hello, back brace!

3. i dont care if i had wings all weekend, i could really go for wings.

4. i think brick red is a very beautiful color.

5. i only slept 3 hours last night, and those three hours i had crappy dreams.

6. i need to go to the eye doctor bc everything in my right eye is cloudy. this is probably not a good thing. or maybe i just need to take out my contacts.

7. if you could have anything on this earth, what would it be?

8. so.... hows things?

9. i'm crocheting again. i dont know what i'm going to make. i just need to keep my hands busy.

10. i dont know why i wrote this. i think its bc my brain is going eighty four thousand directions. and it's raining. and i cant sleep.

11. is there ever a place and time where fantasy can become a reality? or is 99% the best there is?

12. i havent had caffeine. that probably explains this post.

Team Anne Frank Hide and Seek Champions 1941-1945 did not do so well at trivia tonight. 8th place.

I only knew the answers for star wars and a Michael Jackson questions.

There will be a rematch.


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Location:Lockwood Dr,Morgantown,United States

Things I've accomplished this weekend include eating my weight in poultry at the chicken wing cook off, finding the cow house in south park, talking myself out of buyin eight books at the store (but still coming home with four. Let's be honest here.), reading two of said books (although one was mostly photos as it was a history of Morgantown ), and preparing my brain for trivia night at the pub in an hour. No, not grand by any means, but I've been in a gloomy type of mood as of late, so these simple things are good enough for me.

I hope everyone had a good and delicious weekend. Lovelove.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Lockwood Dr,Morgantown,United States

you gotta eat your spinnach, baby

so i'm beginning to realize how amazing netflix is. do you know that they have most of the shirley temple movies on the instant queue??

i dont think i've ever explained my love of shirley temple. when i was little i wanted to be her. i had the vhs of all her movies. i learned all her dances and songs. i tried so hard to have corkscrew curls (this was obviously impossible as i had long, stick straight hair). i remember reenacting some of my favorite scenes with laura and michael. she was my tap dancing hero.

i couldnt sleep the other night and stayed up watching Rebbecca of Sunnybrook Farm. i've probably not seen this in 15+ years easy. but each part came back like i had just watched it yesterday. i've said it before but i'll say it again... they do not make movies like they used to.

in slightly more grown up news, i found a house that i want to buy. i know it's just pipedreaming, but i was made for this house. maybe it's because i'm still stuck in the mindset of looking at all those old morgantown photos, but this is my dream house. its an old old old brick row house in the older residential part of star city. i loved it from the outside and when i looked it up online (yes, i did some research) it is absolutely beautiful on the inside. i showed it to the Stranger and he liked it too. to the point that he started doing math to figure out if we could get it. we both have good credit and with his raise kicking in we could well afford it. but holy cow. that brought on a big ol panic attack. thats serious. like, serious serious. but i'd give most anything to live in that old house.

i found a new part of the rail trail and i think i'm in love with nature again. its on this side of town and there is a marina that i didnt know existed and its just a really nice quiet hobo-free part of the trail. i think i'll be spending a lot of time there once its not so muggy.

saturday is the chicken wing cook-off in town. you know what that means. i'm eatin my weight in wings. nom nom nom.

i've been having crazy realistic dreams lately. ones that mess up my whole day. i'd really appreciate if they would stop.

lovelove