Gotta love 'em

So, last night amidst all the McDonalds lack of McFlurry chaos, I realized I won a RAK from Kim of HMITM.

I said to Brad, "Honey! I won a RAK!"

I was very excited.

He replied, "You won a rat?" He has selective hearing when it comes to things scrap-related.

"No. I won a RAK." I said with more emphasis this time.

"You won a boob job?!?!?" He said in amazed, but grateful disbelief.

Ahhhhhhhh. I'm expecting scrappy goodies in a box from Kim. Brad is expecting Dr. 90210.

Princess Babs (Edited 9pm)

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm a princess at times.

Take this lovely example from earlier today . . . . .

We were driving home from a Brewers game (where it was as hot as I imagine HELL might be). I decided I'd like nothing more than a Take 5 McFlurry and exited the highway on an exit with a McDonalds sign. Brad didn't really want one but said I could stop anyway.

We drove about 10 miles from the highway before finding the McDonalds. Grrrrrrr.

SIDE NOTE: There was a scrapbook store in the strip mall by the McDonalds. It was closed.

We waited in line another 10 minutes before the following happened:

Cashier (C): What can I get you?
Princess Babs (PB): I'd like a Take 5 McFlurry.
C: I'm sorry. (Smiling patronizingly.) We're out of the ingredients.
PB: (Long pause.)
Brad (B): I'll have a Peanutbutter Cup McFlurry.
PB: I guess I'll have an Oreo McFlurry (Complete annoyance in voice).
C: It will be $5.41.
PB: No! I won't have an Oreo McFlurry. I won't have anything.
B: What? (Complete annoyance in voice)
PB: They don't have what I want. I won't have anything. (Stomps away)

Um. Yeah. I acted like a total baby.

The worst part, though, is that Brad munched on his McFlurry for quite a ways down the road-- the same McFlurry he didn't even want.

What he doesn't know is that later tonight I will insist that he goes to get me a Take 5 McFlurry from our local McDonalds. [Insert evil laugh here. Bwahahhahahahaha.]

Edited (9 pm)
I made Brad drive me to McDonalds to get the McFlurry.

The following conversation occured:

PB: I'd like a Take 5 McFlurry
Cashier: Actually, our McFlurry machine is broken.
PB: Shut up! (more disbelief than annoyance)
C: No. It actually is broken. You could go to the other McDonalds.

How does this happen to the same person twice in one day? Is it the health food gods having an intervention to tell me it's time to stop eating fast food. Well! It didn't work. I'm just pissed off, fat, and hungry!!!!!!! A lethal combination.

Confessions of the Unfit

I've been thinking about this story all week and have decided that since the parties involved don't read my blog I can share it.

On Monday I went to a park with some friends for what I thought would be a leisurely stroll through the woods and a nice picnic. The picnic part was very nice.

There was nothing leisurely about the stroll.

It was actually more of a jog. Well. It was a BRISK! walk. But, for the terminally out-of-shape, it felt like a jog.

I tried to keep up at first, but it didn't take me long to discover that my body would have been found on the trail if I continued to keep up.

I thought if I just fell far enough behind, the other two girls (one of whom bikes 80 miles just for fun!) would slow down. Not the case.

At one point, the biker actually said, "I just like to RUN up the hills. It goes so much faster." And she took off running. Straight up hill. CRAZY!

At one point, the other girl's dog just laid down. Completely exhausted. Kind of like me!

There were spider webs and bugs and mud and sweat. More sweat than any human should produce.

The hell that was the leisurely stroll lasted for more than an hour.

Experiences like this just remind me that I will never be fit. Why? Because I don't really enjoy the activities that result in being fit.

I will especially never be a jogger. What are those joggers always smiling about when they're running? The only time I have that kind of smile is when I'm flipping between re-runs of Friends and Sex and the City.

Now, don't be offended, Fit Friends. We can still hang out. Just don't ask me to do things that require being fit. Let's go to dinner or watch a movie or scrapbook or gossip or something else that burns very little calories.

Birthday List--Super Sweet 16 Style

Last night (pre- and post- The Hills) I caught a few episdoes of My Super Sweet 16. Brad will try to deny watching it with me. But, I'm telling you the truth. It's his second favorite show--right behind 24.

Anyway . . . . .

The girls on this show are whiny and spoiled. But, you've got to give them credit. They know what they want. You've got to respect a girl who knows what she wants.

Drum roll, please.

My birthday list--Super Sweet 16 style. My birthday isn't until December, so you have plenty of time to save up to purchase any item on the list. Feel free to go in with someone, too.

1. Kate Spade bag. I won't be particular. Any bag will do. In fact, I might request each guest bring me a different Kate Spade bag.
2. A performance by U2 just for me and my closest friends. The Edge is my fav rock star. No birthday bash would be complete without him.
3. Daddy always gets the birthday girl a car. Here is my choice. It's even a hybrid.
4. Diamonds are a girls' best friend. And these come in a little blue box!

Besides my birthday wish list, there are the details of the big day:
1. Ali Edwards will design the invitations.
2. Each guest will get a customized cupcake rather than a traditional birthday cake.
3. There will be lots and lots of totally fabulous flowers.

What's on your crazy birthday wishlist?

A Plea to Em, Updates, Some LOs

First order of business . . . . A Plea to Em

Em. You know how much fun we had hanging out on Sunday. We are officially old friends. Move here. We'd have that much fun all the time (although we couldn't eat that much ice cream all the time!). I guarantee Maddie and Justin would both have a great time. Maybe I'd even raise money for some kind of signing bonus if you'd agree to MOVE HERE soon!

Second order of business . . . . Updates

Memphis had a little incident on Saturday that required a trip to the vet and a diagnosis of extreme lower back pain. Figures my drama queen dog would have an issue like that. He's good as new now, though.

Miranda came for a visit on Saturday. Seriously love this girl. Had a great time just chatting and hanging out.

A. Amy and Jen came for a visit Tuesday and Wednesday. Ate tons. Brad even finished off 12" of pizza! Got some scrap on--which takes me to my next order of business.

Third order of business . . . . Some LOs

Hang in there dear brother, Rob. I know you don't like when the blog goes all scrappy. But, you're in the minority.

LO 1: Summer Eats (for Chiara's Challenge @ HOP)

LO # 2: Another challenge @ HOP from the weekend (use SEI).

LO # 3: Ali Edwards' PP Challenge # 2 (See 2Peas thread for more info.)
Had some serious issues trying to create this LO. It's so different from what I've been doing lately that I'm having a hard time lovin' it. Plus, the day and the pictures were just so fun that I guess my expectations were a little too high.

LO # 4: Grow (HMITM Challenge # 7)

Have also been VERY busy working on a scrappy surprise for a friend. It's more than half done. I'm very excited about it.

What I Should Do vs. What I Did

I should have cleaned tonight or went to bed at a decent hour. Instead, I did one of the challenges for this weekend at House of Paper. This LO is a scraplift of one by Audrey Neal.

Shout Out!

Thought I'd take a few minutes to say nice things . . . .

• Tomorrow is the fabulous Em's last day of grad class for the summer. Applause for Em!
• The amazing Becky is having a Ms. Scrap-tastic Beauty Pagent. Brad got quite a laugh out of this. He thought--quite incorrectly--that beauty pagents were an event that involved nakedness. He assumed the pagent would involve placing LOs in key places to cover nakedness. Ugh. Boys.
• Angie competed in a Powder Puff Fishing tournie yesterday. Brad is incessantly asking how she did. I'm sure she kicked some fish tail!
• Received the CJ of Michelle aka Burberry Girl in the mail today from Hailey. Am totally in awe and am slightly afraid I might have gotten some drool on the CJ. I've admired Michelle's work from afar forever. Crazy to have a little piece of it right here in my house (for a few weeks anyway).
• Miranda is coming for a visit this weekend. Hooray! Haven't seen this girl since New Year's Eve. Am totally pumped!
• A shout to myself for some fabbity scrapbooking: Check it out @ 2peas.
• Last week my aunt Amy and I kidnapped my grandpa to go to Lauber's. It's a great old fashioned ice cream place. Would you believe that my grandpa only drank a root beer while Amy and I hoovered down turtle sundaes? Ahhh. If only I had inherited his will power.
• My little brother (published author) has apparently returned to the world of blogging. If you've read his lengthy comments on my blog you've gotten a taste of his fabulous writing. He's a crazy CA lib. Gotta love him!
• Can't believe Lauren on The Hills. Honestly. How much of Jason's crap is she going to put up with?!?!? WTF. Dump his sorry goat-eed ass and redeem at least a little of your dignity, girl.

Odds and Ends

Normally, with a customer service issue, I take the bitchy route. I decided to take the apologetic, friendly, embarrased route at the bank yesterday. I got all the $6 fees waived! Plus, I closed the account. My finances are back on track.

Did a little scrapping yesterday. Check it out!

How Much is Too Much? # 6: Rainbow

Also, had a totally great dinner last night. I'm back on track with my new meal each week. This week it was Salmon Baked in Foil and Noodles with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto. Both recipes were compliments of Giada--Everyday Italian (my current fav show on the Foodnetwork). I tricked Brad in to eating both spinach (in the pesto) and tomatoes (on the salmon). Bwahahahahaha.

Financial Super Sleuth

Did a little sleuthing. Found the souce of the massive over-draft:

Student loan withdrawl.

Damn student loan company. I haven't made a payment in three years (loans weren't being paid in grad school). What do they do? They randomly withdraw the money for my payment from a checking account I haven't used since my last payment three years ago.

I have to go get a physical and then I'm headed to the bank to take care of it.

I HATE MONEY! I think the secret must be to have a lot of it. Then a $6 daily overdraft charge for 15 days might not seem like such a big deal.

Wish me luck.

Whiny Me

I'm back from vacation. I had a great time visiting with family, and I got to meet Becky! I'm excited about all of these things. Really. I am. I'm just to crabby to blog about them.

Because . . . .

I opened the mail this morning (after being gone since Wednesday). It is incredibly insane how quickly my mood can change. I went from being excited about having an entire Sunday with nothing to do (Brad is on vaca with Memphis) to being raging mad.

I got a ridiculous notice from my stupid bank about a dumb account I haven't used for more than six months (check card cut up and checks never used) that I'm over-drawn by an insane amount of money and being charged $6 each day I let it go. The letter was dated July 10. Am very angry about this, especially because the bank isn't open today. And--have no idea where the money was spent or who spent it. UGH! I should not be allowed to have money. I spend it all to avoid situations just like this.

Also, got several emails and /or snail mails about things I have to do this summer. Basically, I'm a whiny baby. I love having nothing to do and am annoyed that of the 29 week days in August, 14 of them are already filled. Ugh. Now I'm dreaming of summer 2007--the summer where I actually will have nothing to do. Yeah. Right.

Since I'm complaining, let me also mention that it is hot here. Wet. Sticky. Cannot breath is you go outside hot.

Man. Can't believe any of you stuck around to ride this whiny crap. Hope you enjoyed my pity party.

What I'm lovin' today

Ugh. Things have been busy. Summer always gets the best of me, and I'm forced to wonder how I ever manage to live my life while actually working from September until June. I LOVE NOT WORKING!

Here are some other things I love right now:

• Cherries. We were in Door County for the weekend. It was cherry filled because cherries are just starting to be harvested there. YUMM-O. The best cherry dish--by far--was french toast stuffed with cherries and cream cheese. Totally, totally fabulous.
• Working out in the morning. It's just me and the white helmets. Plus, re-runs of Dawson's Creek are on from 8:00 until 9:00 (today Dawson found out his mom had an affair and Jen's grandma caught her making out on the kitchen table).
• Grey's Anatomy. I watched a re-run on Sunday. I was doing okay with my Seattle Grace withdrawl until I watched that episode. Love, love, love this show!
• Ali Edwards. Got the new book in the mail today. I might actually have drooled on it. She's just so darn sweet and fabulous and amazing and talented.
• Sweaters. They are starting to be back in stores again. I love fall clothes and fall weather and fall food.
• Vegas, baby! We leave in about a month ladies. Are you ready?!?!?
• Road trip. I'm headed to visit the fam-dam-ily for the next few days. Will shop, shop, shop on Wednesday, eat some ice cream on Thursday, and shop again on Friday. Saturday Aunt Amy and I are doing a fundraiser walk. Did I mention I'm cropping at Becky's on Wednesday?!?!? Hooray! This will be my first official face-to-face meeting of a scrappy Internet friend.
• Cupcakes. Still love 'em. I bought the pan (see previous post from June) to make the ice cream cone cupcakes. They definitely didn't look like the picture, but it was a fun little project.
• Chores. Bet you never thought you'd hear me say I love chores. But, I do love chores--when they're all done. House is clean. Dishes are washed. I even vacuumed the couch. My house is sparkly clean. Drop by. Please. It's clean.

What are you lovin' about life lately?

1 little LO

I know I said I was going to be gone for awhile (and you probably got your hopes up!), but here's one LO from my scrapping festival.

Used some Sassafras Lass for the July contest @ Scrap-Tastic. Have I mentioned that I get to crop with Becky next week?!?!? Am so excited to meet her!

Bug spray, Hot dogs, Making out

What do these things have in common?

Drive-in movies. Of course!

As a kid, my family always used to go to the drive-in. My dad had a red 1966 hatch back Charger. We'd hide my sister in the back (so my parents didn't have to pay for her). We'd sneak in a party sub from Cousins, and my mom would pop huge paper grocery bags full of popcorn. We'd (the kids anyway) always wear our pajamas. I never remember what movies we saw--just that we always had a great time.

In high school and college, I worked at a drive-in. One of my favorite things about working at the Gemini was that there was always an interesting cast of employees. Some of them I became great friends with (including Angie, Rachel, Jesse) and one of them I even married! Many, many, many things went on at the drive-in that are best not discussed in a blog posting. Some things, though, can be discussed:

1. Bitch names. Rachel--a tough girl with a love of tattoos--insisted we call her Vivian when she was in a bitchy mood. If she came to work and said, "Just call me Vivian!" we knew to stay away. I know this prompted all of us to have bitch names. But, I can't remember what mine was.
2. Phase 10. If you were assigned to sell tickets, you had to sit in the box with another person for a LONG time. There weren't always a lot of customers. We used to play cards all the time! Phase 10 was my personal favorite.
3. Food! Pickles on a stick. Footlong hot dogs. Popcorn. YUMM-O. I once, however, started a rather large fire with the arcane popcorn popper. It was powered by natural gas and actually had to be lit with a big lighter. The secret to the perfect corn was the let the oil heat up. I just let the oil heat a little too long (to the point of flames). Luckily, there was no damage done.
4. Old Car Night. Brad and I got dressed up (poodle skirt and 1950s) suit and took my dad's convertible to the drive-in. Totally fun!
5. After hours. Cannot discuss what happened after hours. Always fun, though!

What brings about this bit of drive-in nostalgia? We've decided to take a mini-break (Bridget Jones talk for weekend away)! We're going to camp out (don't ask me how I feel about that!) and go to the drive-in. HOORAY! So, I will be MIA for awhile. . . Have a great weekend.

What's wrong with this picture?

I was totally a work-out queen (as much as someone who is as out of shape as I am can be) today at the gym. Did me some elliptical and walked 3 miles on the treadmill.

Now--I'm eating mint chip ice cream out of the container with a spoon.

Guess that explains why my behind doesn't fit in to my clothes from last summer.

Neighbors

I am quite confident that my neighbors do not read my blog. Therefore, I feel it is okay to tell you about some of their strange-i-ties.

I should start by saying that they are not loud or disruptive or sloppy. They are not completely horrible people to live next door to. Just weird.

Problem # 1: Tackiness
They installed a white rock garden directly adjacent to our driveway (between the time we looked at the house and the time we did our final walk through). It's hideous and makes me think of Miami Vice. I don't really get the purpose of a rock garden and just can't bring myself to tell them that rocks don't grow! But, I do have to give them credit for filling the Miami Vice rock garden with figurines from the Dollar Store and a green plastic bird bath that never has water in it. They provide me with endless hours of entertainment.

Problem # 2: Red-Neck-ness
They have three dogs. One of the dogs is named Lil' Bit. Please. Do not confuse that with LITTLE. It is Lil'. I know this because the neighbor lady is constantly coming outside in a moo-moo with a cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other to scream at Lil' Bit to be quiet (she's quite a barker).

Problem # 3: It's Pat!
There is a teenage CHILD that lives in the house next door. We've had endless conversations about the gender of said CHILD. Turns out (judging from the bathing suit) that the CHILD is a GIRL. Who would've guessed?!?

Anyway . . . I've obviously run out of things to blog about and have to resort to sending bad Karma in to the universe by making fun of my neighbors.

Happy 4th! Any exciting plans?

Together (HMITM)

I know I said I wasn't going to do a Dare / HMITM combo LO, but I ended up putting a little list on this page. Don't be confused though, it is definitely my HMITM page for this week. . .

There are 80 stickers on this bad boy.

Have a happy Sunday.

Dare 34

I know I said my Dare 34 was going to be "The B List." But, I guess I ended up making a different kind of list.

Am so totally annoyed that this scan isn't perfect. I tried taking a picture, but no luck there either. I am in love with this page and just want everyone to be able to see it perfectly.

There are a few other challenges I want to get done:
How Much is Too Much?
Sassafras Lass (July Challenge at Scrap-Tastic)
Dream Street (July Challenge at House of Paper)

No more scrappiness until tomorrow, though.

The "B" List

I'm going to the the Effer today. And the How Much is Too Much? Although, I vow not to combine then in to one page. I think both challenges are worthy of THEIR own page. Don't get me started on how I feel about this, really.

So, here it is. The "B" List (or maybe I'll call it My Good Things or Things that Make me Happy). Soon to be scrapped.

Popcorn with M&Ms (salty with sweet)
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ginger Lotion from Origins
Caramel Mochas from Starbucks
Pajama Pants
Ribbon & Buttons
Great first lines (in books and movies)
Grey's Anatomy
Boat Rides (preferrably on my grandpa's boat with the polka blaring)
Cuddling with Memphis (the dog)
Sunsets
Fresh snow stuck to trees
Bubbly Christmas lights
Hugs
Laughing so hard I cry
Watching Brad catch fish
J. Jill
Suduko
Bridget Jones
Ice cream
U2
Lists of Things to Do (with all items crossed off)
People watching
Traveling
Getting packages
Burt's Bees Lip Balm
Playing Bingo
Internet friends
Getting my hair cut
Small of chocolate chip cookies

What's on your list? What makes you happy?