Next week on 'The Couch' ...

Today was better at work. I'm slowly getting more things to do, which is nice. I was really worried Monday, my first day, that I'd made a mistake in leaving my other job. There wasn't much for me to do in my new job, and some of the things were so different it seemed bad at first. Tuesday, it was a little better. And today was a little better than that.

I'm really enjoying getting to interact with people! I really missed that at my old job! It sounds like several of my co-workers meet up each week for a happy hour. I'm actually planning on going to one on Monday. I'm excited about it! We only got together at my old job if someone was leaving or it was Christmastime. Woohoo ...

But the coolest part of my new job is that my commute is only 20 minutes to work and just about 30 home, since traffic is heavier then. It's great getting home before 6:30. I have more time to eat dinner and just chill out a bit before I go to the gym. (Hopefully my attendance will get better now than it has been the last few weeks. I do have Hawaii looming less than two months from now, so that'll help.)

Being home so early gives me plenty of time to watch awesome TV shows I'd always missed (catch that double meaning?) with my old job. Tonight after I watched Wheel of Fortune (I'm so cool, I know), I watched The Hills. I have to admit I think it's weird that I'm watching a real person's life on TV. How interesting does that make mine?

Yes, the show is about bratty kids in California who are pretty much set for the rest of their lives because their parents are loaded. Yes, most of the kids in the show probably don't know what a real job is. And yes, maybe my life would be more interesting if I could have a job like planning parties instead of one that will give me enough money to pay my bills.

But hey, those girls have their own reality show. If I had my own reality show, I don't know that anyone would even watch it (especially the part where I'm sitting on the coach snacking on chips watching Wheel of Fortune and The Hills).

It's kind of sad when you realize you're spending part of your life -- even if it is just 30 minutes (okay, an hour) -- watching someone else live theirs. And then I actually watched the show.

I swear, those girls are so pretty, but a couple of them are so dumb! The guys they stay with, the things they pass up or take for granted ... They have so much drama in their lives.

The biggest drama of my life today was when I realized Wal-Mart didn't have The Three Amigos in stock and that I have to order it online (it's part of K's Valentine's Day present). Of course, there was the dilemma I faced in choosing what to make for dinner: a hot dog or chicken nuggets. I mean, I was craving hot dogs, but I was also craving salad, and those don't go together. What to choose, what to choose?

Since my life is not a reality show that you can just TiVo to find out yourself, I'll tell you I went with the chicken nuggets and salad. I know it's these juicy tidbits of my day that keep you coming back here day after day.

I may not be cool enough to fill a 30-minute TV show, but dangit, I can find something to write about in a blog! (Although, with my recent experiences, the next hour of my life at the gym might make a pretty good comedy series.)

Getting better

Day two at work was much better than day one. Things are still kind of slow, but I was more able to appreciate the laid-back environment today. I chatted with a few co-workers, and I was even able to enjoy (sort of) a beer at my desk (it would've been better if it were a Bud Light instead of Fat Tire).

I'm anxious for things to start picking up workflow-wise, but it'll happen soon enough.

Southern girls have got it goin' on!

Five finalists for Miss America 2007: Miss Texas, Miss Oklahoma, Miss Alabama, Miss Mississippi, Miss Georgia.

First runner-up: Miss Texas

Miss America 2007: Miss Oklahoma!

She was crowned by Miss America 2006, also Miss Oklahoma.

Not only do Southern girls rock the house, but everyone loves us Oklahoma girls! :)

Please let it just be a first-day thing

I got to work plenty early this morning, and my first impression was that I was absolutely going to love the place. The commute is awesome compared to my old job, and it's really laid back. The people seem really nice, and it just seemed like it'd be cool.

I went through an orientation, and the girl taking us around told us that on their first day, people are either really busy or really bored. Lucky me, I wound up being in the really bored category.

Today absolutely dragged by! The tasks I'm doing seem kind of mindless compared to my old job. I was really only able to do one example of what I'll be doing, and evidently they're always different. I'm hoping that it's just a first-day thing, that once I get the hang of things, I'll stay busier and the day will go by faster.

My desk is pretty sad compared to the really nice office I left behind. As I told myself many times today, it's more money, better hours and the commute is much better. I really hope all the boring parts were just because I'm getting used to it and because it was only my first day.

We've got a bedroom set (chosen, anyway)

K's bedroom set is really terrible. It's awful. It's nickname is Caesar. It's this black laquer furniture with this ugly gold scroll ... really, it's awful. He said it was the nicest the store had when he bought it, which, given the city he was in when he bought it, I believe him. He really needs a new mattress, and he's been ready to get rid of Caesar for some time. So this Saturday, we went shopping.

K had never been to Ikea before, and one of his friends had just gotten a new bed from there. K hadn't seen it, but his friend thought he got a pretty good deal. We went to Ikea and were looking around the beds. Ikea is great. It has some really cute things, and ER's apartment is primarily decorated in Ikea furniture. It's adorable, but it's not quite my taste. I asked K if this bed was supposed to be something that will be his just to replace his current set, or if he was looking for something more longterm. He said both. I asked him if this was supposed to be something I was going to share, too, and if I was supposed to help him choose. He said yes. There weren't any beds there either of us were crazy about, so we decided to go to a few other stores the next day.

That night, we met up with ER and her boyfriend. They are seriously the worst double date couple ever! We'd gone out with them once before, and it was the same, but we thought maybe it had more to do with the fact that it was like 25 degrees outside and it had been icy all day. That kind of makes you tired. We gave them the benefit of the doubt, and we shouldn't have. They work pretty closely together every day, so they kept talking to each other about work and all these other things, rather than talking to us. As K said, it was like they were on a date, and we just happened to be there, too. Bummer.

What really sucked is that ER had told me she was getting dressed up that night, so I did too. We were both wearing heels, lacy tank tops and cute jeans. It was Saturday night! Well, ER and her boyfriend announced at 8:45 that they were ready to leave. Granted, we'd met them for dinner at 7, but the reason we went where we did was so we could have dinner and drinks afterward. Instead, K and I wound up heading home at 8:45. All that was for nothing!

Sunday, K and I went to several different places, and I absolutely fell in love with this bedroom set. What's really great is that K loved it, too. I totally wanted to buy it right then, but it doesn't really make sense to. K would have to get it to where he is in Louisiana, and he's just going to be transferred to another base at the end of the year. It wouldn't make sense to move it twice in 8 or 9 months. I just hope they still have the set then!

We did pick out a mattress together, and it's so comfy! K really needed a new one, so I'm glad he'll have a more comfortable bed. It'll be weird to have his bed be more comfortable than mine!

Of course, doing all those things together made me really wish we were living in the same place.

I am officially unemployed

Well, sort of, but only 'til Monday.

Today was a good day at work. I actually managed to not cry at all. I did get teary-eyed a couple times, but no crying. In college, I got really good at dealing with things by pretending they didn't happen. I think I must have done that today. Or I'm really excited about my next job.

My co-workers today brought me flowers, and they had a nice all-day breakfast spread, complete with a fruit tray and muffins. I love fruit!




























One of my co-worker who is a huge texas longhorn fan made sure I noticed that the plates were "crimson" for me. (Red was close enough, and it's the thought that counts.)

Later in the afternoon, there was chocolate cake as well. I'm sorry to say there is no photo evidence of that. When there's chocolate in the room, my priority becomes consumption, not taking photos.

All in all, it was a good last day. But you know how I'm looking forward to getting off work at 5 and Fridays being the easiest day rather than the toughest? Well, leave it to my last day to make sure I'm extra glad of it: On my last day of work, I raked in some overtime. Yup, I was definitely there until 7. At my new job, I'm pretty much never going to have to stay later.

I'm going to love this new job.

Tomorrow's the last day!

I cleaned out my office today. I took down all my pictures, and I cleaned out my drawers. I even took home my Kleenex box. All that's left are my Clorox wipes so I can clean off my desk for the next person. Well, that and a granola bar and some gummy bears. I mean, c'mon -- I still have to work tomorrow. I'm going to need snacks.

After I had taken everything down, I did one other thing in another part of the building before I left for the day. As I walked through the hall, I found myself smiling. Instead of being sad or nervous or suddenly hit with dread, I was smiling. I was excited. I'm sure tomorrow will be sad, and I'm sure Sunday and especially Monday will be full of butterflies. But right now, I'm looking forward to my new job.

I'm looking forward to the dress code, meeting new people, the environment of the new office, the much closer distance from my apartment and the higher paycheck. I'm looking forward to walking out of work for the day at 5 p.m. FIVE p.m.!

Through all my frustrations and the parts I didn't like so much, it's been not so bad. I'e met some great people, and I'll have a great addition to my resume. It's been a great experience, but it's time to move on to the next chapter.

And I'm excited.

At least now I know why

I found out last night from ER that K had told her the reason there has been no proposal yet: He still has to get rid of CM's ring. He paid a lot for it, and he can't find anywhere that's going to give him even a fraction of what he paid. Bummer.

On the one hand, it's nice to know it's not something else. But on the other hand, it's just one more reason to really dislike CM -- even if I have never met her.

Maybe it's a sign I'm not supposed to go to the bathroom

First, I read this post when I really needed to go to the bathroom. Then, my co-worker came in and informed me that a woman is actually sleeping -- sleeping! -- on the couch in the bathroom.

Knowing a snake could pop up out of the toilet was bad enough. But now, knowing some woman will be incorporating my peeing and flushing into her dream? That's too much to handle.

Looks like I'll be holding it longer!

Things I am VERY excited about

• Today is my last day to take my current method of mass transportation, which I will now tell you is the train. I hate having to rush out of work to try to catch it, only to get to the station and see that my train was 1 minute early, and it's another 20 until the next one comes. There will be no more creepy people freaking me out on my way to or from work. No more people yawning by me when they haven't brushed their teeth that morning (seriously, ew!), and no more freaky old guy coming to sit by me to ask me what color my panties are. In all fairness, sometimes the train ride could be pleasant, but most of the time, I hated it. And after today, I'm done with it!
• My wisdom tooth pain is starting to go away. Or Extra-Strength Tylenol is a gift from God. I have a suspicion it's probably a combination of the two.
• I talked to my cousin last night, and it's official: K and I are going to Hawaii! We have plane tickets! K is calling today to make hotel reservations for us.
• I have two and a half days left at my job.
• I am eating pizza for lunch.

I hope you have just as many exciting things in your day. If not, be excited that it's Wednesday. The week's halfway over!

Life outside the cult :)

I had a great weekend with K in Louisiana. We didn't do anything special. We pretty much laid around, slept in and spent a lot of time just the two of us. It was great.

We did spend some time with friends as well, and we went to the gym both Saturday and Sunday. We met three friends -- a husband and wife, and a friend whose husband is on his way to Iraq -- and us three girls went outside because it was so nice outside. We walked around a trail outside, but we ran up the hills. The girls are just getting into working out, so I was in pretty good shape in comparison. It made me feel pretty good! If I had been doing that with K, we'd have been running the whole way. I'd have been ridiculously out of breath before K was so much as breathing heavier or breaking a sweat. It was good for my self-esteem to work out with them.

One of them, though, did say, "You're in better shape than you let on. Of course, if I were 40 pound lighter like you, I'd probably be able to run like that, too." I know she didn't mean anything by it, but that bothered me. For one thing, she's skinny! She thinks she needs to lose 15 pounds while her husband's gone, but I don't know where she'll lose it. I think she looks fine. She says she does a good job hiding it, but 15 pounds? She's gonna look like Nicole Richie! And I've been going to the gym regularly for over a year. I can't just pick up and run. I worked to get here -- thanks.

As for yesterday, there were a few other annoying things that happened later in the day, but not anything that hasn't happened at my job before. Things wound up getting better. I met up with a former co-worker, Sarah, and a future co-worker at my new job, Swift, (who I happen to know through Sarah) for dinner. We met at a Mexican restaurant and had margaritas (and dinner, obviously). We talked about work and co-workers. It was great. I'm really excited about starting my new job. The three of us met at about 6:15 and were there until a little after 10. We had a lot to talk about! It was great.

What's funny is Swift actually used to work at the place I'm leaving this week. She knows quite a few of my co-workers as a result and understands why I want to leave. What's funny is Swift and Sarah talked about how great things have been since they "got out." Another former co-worker who left last fall came in just before Christmas, and she looked great. Things are really changing at work, and it just seems like a good time to leave. Everyone who does is so relieved and relaxed and in love with life in other careers that they tell those of us who are still there about it. It's almost like it's some cult or something that everone's slowly leaving. It's kind of funny.

If it weren't for Swift and Sarah, I don't know that I'd be leaving my job. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'd just be suffering longer. Honestly, I had thought about leaving quite a while ago, but I didn't know where to start. It was talking to Sarah that gave me a push to start looking more actively, and she's the one who got me in touch with Swift. From there, everything fell into place.

We'll see how it all goes next week!

Another reason to be glad I'm leaving my job

I promise to post a happy blog post tonight about last night (my day did get much better!) and about my weekend.

My wisdom tooth (bottom left, thanks for asking) has been coming in over the last year. I remember it being pretty sore during football season of 2005, but my other wisdom tooth (bottom right) is the one that's been coming in and giving me grief every once in a while over the last year.

Saturday, though, I noticed my gums were a little tender by my bottom left wisdom tooth, and by Sunday, my gums around it were swollen and sore. Yesterday was a little uncomfortable, and today is pretty painful. In fact, the pain has shot up to my ear. Ick. (Bless you, inventor of ibuprofen!) Luckily, this should only last another day or two before it just randomly (thankfully) goes away. That's how it's been in the past, anyway.

It would be great if this stayed true to past wisdom tooth experiences. If I had dental insurance (or benefits, period) at my current job, I'd say screw the three weeks' notice and get this taken care of now. However, since I was yanked around for over a year before I finally became a full-time employee, I still don't have benefits. I became full time last September, and you have to be full time for three months before you're eligible for benefits, which meant I would have been set this month. Only I decided to give my notice that I was leaving for this new job.

The new job that's closer to my apartment, has cooler hours and that loves me enough to give me benefits after being there only one month. Which means that in March or April, I'm getting these suckers yanked out!

Be the bigger person, be the bolder person, or be the absent person?

This morning, I get to work to see an e-mail from ER. WK has asked her if we'd like to go to dinner tomorrow night.

Now ER and I, along with another friend (Softball), get together on Thursday nights for what we call Home-Stretch Thursdays to eat and watch Grey's Anatomy. Our gatherings used to be on Wednesdays, and WK used to come as well. Until she moved away, pretty quickly stopped coming and stopped talking to us. We were actually kind of relieved that she stopped coming to dinner, since she didn't allow any of us much of a chance to talk, since she told so many, "Oh my gosh, the funniest thing happened at work today" stories to the point that we became convinced she wrote them down and rehearsed them on her way to dinner.

Or she and her coworkers just think of lame things to do all day that they think will be funny to talk about later (Which could actually be partially true, since at the journalism party WK crashed -- that was the last time I saw her -- one of her best friends and co-workers said, "I hope my car doesn't get towed. But that would be a funny story: 'Hey, remember the time we were at the Gaylord Texan and my car got towed?' It's already funny, and it hasn't even happened yet." Totally not kidding. She actually said that. I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was LAME.).

Honestly, I don't want to see WK. I don't. But do I go to this dinner to prove I can be the bigger person? It'll be hard to not mention the journalism party. I mean, I'm sure she'll bring it up that that's the last time I saw her: "Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you in forever! What's going on?!" And I'll feel like saying, "Yeah. Since the journalism party." And then I'll feel like saying, "You have no integrity because you took those tickets. Just so you know." But just because I feel like saying it doesn't mean I will.

I won't be able to get together with ER and Softball because some co-workers are throwing a goodbye party for me that night. I might be able to meet up later with the girls, but I'm not sure. If I met them tomorrow night, I wouldn't miss seeing them this week.

But WK would be there.

What to do ... what to do?

Happy freakin' Monday

I totally hate my job, and I'm counting down the days I have left here.

Days left until freedom: just over four and a half.

Approximate work hours remaining: 37 (but probably closer to 40). I could see myself being here late today. Hence, this lovely post.

Hope your Monday morning is going better than mine.

Sometimes I'm so sneaky & smooth

From a phone conversation with K this morning.

K was singing. I decided to join in, but realized he was singing a different song than I thought.

Me: "Oh, I thought you were singing Blur."
K: "'Song No. 2'?"
Me: "No, it's 'Song No. 9.'"
K: "No, it's 'Song No. 2.'"
Me: "No. You're wrong."
K: "No I'm not! It's 'Song No. 2.' Wanna bet on it?"
Me (doubting myself, for good reason): "Okay. If I'm wrong, you have to buy me something small and sparkly."
K: "If you're wrong?"
Me: "Yes. And if you're right, then it also has to be something shiny and round."
K: "Ooooookay."
Me: "And if we're both wrong, it has to be really sparkly. Deal?"
K: "Deal. You didn't give me a time limit."

In case you're wondering, K was right. It is "Song No. 2." And I didn't give him a time limit on purpose. I'll hint heavily, but I'm not going to pressure him too! :)

If I'd left my iPod at home this morning, I might still be at Wal-Mart

I worked late last night so I can hopefully leave work a little early today to get a head start on my drive to Lousiana to see K. It's supposed to rain tonight, so any head start I get will help.

When I got to my car last night, I noticed my driver's side front tire was pretty low. I first noticed it Tuesday night at the gym, honestly, but it wasn't "emergency-level" low. Since I was not dressed warm, I decided I'd take care of it Wednesday night when I got home from work. Well, Wednesday I wound up working from home thanks to "Arctic Blast 2007" (yeah, right), so last night was the night to take care of it. I drove over to a gas station to check my tire. There was about 16 or 17 pounds of air in my tire. It's supposed to have 32. I aired it up, but I knew it was only a matter of time before my tire was low again.

It was already after 8 when I got home, so I called Wal-Mart during Grey's Anatomy commercials to get the hours for their tire center: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. That worked out well, since I wouldn't have to rush out and miss Grey's to get my tire fixed. (Although missing it might not have been so bad, since I bawled my head off. Good thing our weekly girls' night fell through this week. I would've looked like a blubbering idiot! lol)

I got up early this morning and was at Wal-Mart's Tire & Lube Center at 6:50 a.m. I wanted to be the first one there so I wouldn't be late for work.

I was definitely the first one there. In fact, no one was anywhere to be seen in the Tire & Lube Center. Until 7:10.

People, why would you have a SIGN on your door announcing you open at 7 a.m. if you're not going to be open at 7 a.m.? The sign does not say:

"Staff arrives: 7:10 a.m.
Staff acknowledges you: 7:15 a.m.
Staff opens tire center door: 7:20 a.m.
Staff actually begins work: 7:30 a.m."

But that's exactly what happened. I stood outside as soon as I saw this older man head back to the registers. He kept trying to avoid eye contact with me because I was stuck outside in the cold, staring in and waiting for someone to help me. Finally, he came over and told me they were looking for the person who had the key to open the door. About five minutes later, another younger guy came up and told me the same thing.

I was getting cold, and I could see that they had no sympathy or concern for the fact that I was standing outside -- not enough, anyway, to really try harder to find whoever this person was with the magic key that would open the door to the Tire & Lube Center. I went back to my car and waited by the heater until they finally opened the door.

I went inside and explained the problem with my tire. I didn't want to go too far from the tire center so they wouldn't have to page me over the intercom. Besides, I didn't really need any groceries from Wal-Mart at 7:30 in the morning.

I walked around the camping and tire area. I remembered I needed wiper blades, so I went to go buy them. I called my dad to ask what brand he recommended. I searched for size 26 in that brand. Nothing. In fact, Wal-Mart was out of all size 26 blades, no matter what the brand. Go figure.

I stayed on the phone with my dad for a little bit. We talked about the weather in Dallas and in Oklahoma. We talked about my brother and his new job. We talked about Kevin's truck.

After we got off the phone, I sat down in the tire center to wait. I started thinking about how early I had gotten up (6 a.m.!) and how late I'd gone to bed (12:30-ish). It was going to be a long day at work (Fridays suck at my job), and I had a five-hour drive to make tonight. I was going to need some energy. I got up and walked across Wal-Mart to get some Naked fruit juice (good stuff, by the way). I bought two -- one energy, one superfood -- paid for them, and went back to the Tire & Lube Center.

I restaked my position on the bench in the tire center. I remembered I had my iPod with me, so I pulled it out. And go figure, I'd listened to it for maybe 30 seconds when they called me to tell me my tire was finished. Isn't it funny how that always happens?

You just get comfy or find a great magazine article; you just get wrapped up in a TV show, or a good song finally comes on, and they call your name in the waiting area to leave it all behind. You wait on food at a restaurant for 30 minutes, and as soon as you leave for the bathroom, it arrives. Go figure.

Maybe I should've pulled out my iPod in the parking lot when I got to Wal-Mart at 6:50.

Why you should save cardio for the end of your workout (or not drink water while you're on the treadmill)

I always run on the elliptical when I'm finished with my workout. Saturday morning, though, K and I went to the gym, and we did the treadmill for a warm-up.

Last night, I decided to run on the treadmill for the cardio portion of my workout. So tonight, I decided to beat last night's run. I was on track to beat it when I started feeling thirsty. Both Saturday and last night, I took a drink while I was running on the treadmill. It wasn't easy, but I had done it just fine.

I still had a good amount left in my running, so I grabbed my water bottle, unscrewed the lid and tried my best not to spill it all over myself as I drank and ran simultaneously. Somehow, though, the water didn't quite go all the way down my throat or in the right tube. I could feel myself choking, so I tried to figure out my next move.

I could hit the red emergency "STOP" button on the treadmill, but I'm not sure how that works. Does the treadmill immediately stop? Should I stop running as soon as I hit it? Or does it slow down? If I do stop running but the treadmill doesn't immediately stop, that would be bad.

Maybe I could lift myself up to stand on the sides of the treadmill that don't move. Only I had the water bottle in my hand. I needed both hands to do that. I needed a different solution.

I tried to hit the stop button and exit the back of the treadmill. But I was on the Woodway treadmill -- the ones with the cusioned treads. I started to trip, and I tried to catch myself. After several surely ungraceful attempts to not trip, I finally fell off the side of the treadmill. I didn't fall on my face or anything, though, and I jumped up quickly to do a damage survey.

No one was directly behind me, but two rows behind me and a couple treadmills over was this older man who had definitely seen my tumble. Next to him was a girl around my age who looked away after I stood up. I couldn't tell whether she'd seen me or not. Her face didn't hold the expression of a person trying very hard to hold back either laughter or concern. The man looked at me, somewhat shocked and unsure what to do.

"I'm okay," I mouthed. I smiled and held a finger to my lips as a joke to pretend nothing had happened.

A few treadmills down from me was this woman who looked to be in her late 30s or early 40s. "Are you okay?" she asked incredulously.

"I'm fine, thanks."

At that point, I looked down at my hands. They were really scratched up and bleeding. I guess in my final attempts to save myself as I was falling, I got my hand between the treadmill and the side. I left the treadmill and headed to the front desk, where I asked an employee for a Band-Aid.

I went back to the women's locker room and cleaned off my hands. I noticed I had lost a little bit of skin on my shin as well, but not bad, really. Both shins were slightly black from the rubber of the treadmill.

I had planned on going back out to finish my cardio. Part of me wanted to do it to show I was tough and could take a fall like that. I didn't need to run out of the gym like a dog with its tail between its legs. I'm hardcore, dang it! A little fall wouldn't get in the way of my cardio!

But I decided I should probably get home and clean my hand with peroxide. I didn't know how long it would take to stop bleeding. Still, I was kind of embarassed to be walking out of the gym. The people who'd just seen my tumultuous fall might see me leaving like a total loser. I held my head high, though, as I walked out, and I laughed at myself.

The good news is it doesn't hurt (my hand or my pride). I do have some vicious-looking scratches, though (on my hand, not my pride).




























The coolest part is that even though I probably looked very ungraceful and like a total klutz, through all that -- the choking, the trying to figure out what to do, the hitting of the emergency stop button, trying to catch myself about 50 times, falling and finally jumping up -- I didn't even spill my water.

I'd like to buy a U

I woke up this morning, and just like I do every morning, the first thing I did today was go in my living room and turn on Good Morning America so I can listen to the news as I get ready for work. Today, the traffic and weather reports were on. Only they didn't go back to GMA. I started wondering what was going on that would make the weather and traffic people think what they had to report was more important for Dallas residents to see than whatever news GMA had to deliver. I walked over to my window, opened my blinds and saw snow all over the cars and my apartment parking lot.

Now it made sense.

I started thinking about my commute and trying to decide which way would make me least likely to get in an accident. One way involved many overpasses, which freeze faster than roads over the ground. The other way put me on lots of neighborhood streets that would be full of people who panic when it drizzles, much less snows.

I tried calling my boss several times to see if I could just work from home or to, at the least, get his opinion of the best route, since he's lived in Dallas for several years. No answer.

When I left my apartment, I was able to see traffic moving on the overpass route, so I opted for it. Somehow, it seemed safer. I had been crawling along for about 20 minutes at 15 miles an hour and less when I decided to try to call my boss again. He answered this time. He told me to just work from home. I turned my car around, went to Wal-Mart for some groceries and then went home.

I was actually home in time to watch Wheel of Fortune tonight. I love that show. I would totally kick butt at it.

What has never made sense to me, though, is why people buy vowels when it's unnecessary. I mean, those things eat at your profit!

Tell me, do you need to buy a vowel for this, because the person tonight did:

(The category was "phrase.")

S P _ _ A D / Y _ _ _

_ _ N G S / A N D / F L Y


Does that expensive "E" really just make you sure that's what the puzzle is?

Then again, I am really awesome at Wheel of Fortune. And I've always appreciated the value of a dollar. (But evidently not the value of a vowel ...)

I'm officially the hugest sap ever

Unless you know someone else who gets teary-eyed whenever a person makes it through to Hollywood on American Idol.

No?

I'm totally stealing this pose for my next 'candid' photo

So this is how Beyonce arrives at the Golden Globes.





(Photo from MSN TV, entertainment.msn.com)












I'm sure she was just jutting out her hip to -- in a more lady-like way -- try to squirm out of some underwear fiasco that we can't see under that tight dress. And I'm sure she's only scratching at some terrible itch in the middle of her bare back, which is why her hair is thrown seductively to one side. Her hand is probably on her hip for balance, right? And that serious face is due to her intense concentration at trying to get rid of the itch without breaking a nail.

I mean, with lyrics like, "You must not know about me," -- totally hate that song, by the way -- anyone can see Beyonce has some serious self-confidence issues. That's why I think my analysis of the pose is closer to the truth than that she just is so full of herself that she actually intentionally positioned her body that way.

After all, everyone else merely waves at the camera, smiles over a shoulder (Charlize Theron), gives the peace sign (Lindsey Lohan) or blows a kiss (Lindsey Lohan, again). Who would Beyonce think she is to just waltz onto the red carpet and strike some weird "See? I shaved my armpit! Now kiss me!" pose?

Just be careful where you are when you're scratching next time, Beyonce. Those paparazzi are everywhere!

Ice, ice baby

K had a four-day weekend, so he made it into Dallas Thursday night. We girls did our usual Homestretch Thursday, and luckily, Grey's Anatomy was ending just as K got here. It was so nice to see him on a nonweekend day! It was really hard to go to work Friday, though, with him at my apartment.

K came to my office for lunch. One thing about where I work, though, is that Friday is the worst day. Monday is the lightest, and things slowly build and build through the week. Thursday is pretty hectic, but Friday manages to edge it out just a little more most of the time. It's one of the reasons I'm glad I'm leaving my job. I'll get to have a normal week like everyone else, where Monday is tough and Friday is pretty much a cakewalk. That's how it should be.

So K came around lunchtime, and I totally felt bad for leaving since things were so hectic. But I don't usually take a lunch break. My boyfriend was in town, and dang it, I was taking one! It was nice to get out, and we had a really good lunch. Thank goodness we did go out, because I wound up having to stay at work until 7. Things just weren't going right, and we didn't finish up until then.

I drove home through pouring rain. I did miss the traffic, though, thanks to my late departure from work, so there's the bright side, I guess.

K and I were originally supposed to go to Oklahoma to spend time with my mom and her husband, then go see my dad and grandparents for a day or so. Well, Oklahoma got hit with a pretty heavy ice storm. K and I were leaving at around 9 to go to dinner with some friends who'd just gotten into town when my mom called to tell me their power had just gone out. Glad we'd decided to stay in Texas!

Saturday, K and I went to the gym before meeting our friends to go to the Body Worlds exhibit. It was really neat and totally not gross at all, and I'm probably a person who is easily grossed out. If you're ever anywhere near one of these exhibits, go. Seriously. It's really neat. It doesn't smell funny, it's not freezing in there and you totally forget you're looking at the insides of bodies that used to be living and breathing. (I wondered about all those things and more before I went.)

It really is a neat thing to see, and a couple of the exhibits are actually -- believe it or not -- kind of pretty. Sounds morbid, I know, but the poses really do make you forget what you're looking at. I promise I'm not weird.

That night, we all stuffed ourselves at Maggiano's, which I'd always wanted to go to. It's okay, I guess, but nothing will ever beat Johnny Carino's. It's my all-time favorite restaurant. You can't beat their bellinis!

Sunday, our friends had to check out of their hotel and head home. They were staying over by the Galleria, which is a really ritzy, but nice mall with an ice skating rink. K and I met them there and walked around for a while. We did some shopping, and K was really patient with me while I looked around in a couple stores.

I am now a new fan of Ann Taylor Loft. I found a black cardigan there on sale, and I'd been looking for one for months. I also found a cute little black shrug to go over a dress I bought in December. I've never been a big fan of shrugs, honestly, so I didn't want to spend too much on one. This one was $10, which was awesome. I won't have to feel bad if I never wear it because I decide it was a stupid idea to buy it.

K also came to Express with me and helped me pick out a new pair of jeans. I really appreciate that he doesn't grumble and gripe whenever we go in the mall. Brad always pitched a fit and made it miserable. In fact, it always turned into a big fight. Sometimes I think maybe that relationship was part of God's plan for my life so I'd appreciate every single thing about K more and so I wouldn't take him for granted. If that was the plan, it worked. (I suspect his relationship with CM may have had the same purpose for him.)

We hung out at the Galleria for a while with our friends before they had to leave. What's funny is that when we walked out of Ann Taylor Loft, K (as in not me) spotted a Bailey, Banks & Biddle downstairs and said, "Wow! Those things are everywhere!"

Well, when our friends left to head home, we were standing above the ice rink watching the skaters when K said, "All right, are you ready to go check out some diamonds -- I mean, American Eagle?" I told K again that I didn't want him to feel pressured to do anything like that. I reminded him that I want him to pick out the ring, and that he only needed to know that I don't want yellow gold, and that my finger is a size 6. Other than that, it's up to him. We'd talked about that before, and he knows that. I didn't want him to think he had to do that or something.

Obviously, I wanted to go. But at the same time, it's kind of scary! I mean, that would really get my hopes up and get me excited. What would happen? He can't buy the ring while I'm there. Since he doesn't live near a big mall, he'd wind up buying it online, which I figure is probably how he'll get it anyway. He knows my taste, and I trust his judgment.

I've gone and looked with a friend three different times, and every time, I wound up liking something I didn't like the time before. I know whatever he picks I'll love, so that's what I want to happen.

We spent the rest of our time together relaxing and staying indoors. It got pretty cold here Friday night, and our cars have been covered with ice. It's nice that it's finally winter here -- it's about time! I've enjoyed wearing my scarf and my sweater and my coat, gloves and beanie (toboggan/warm-weather knit cap/snow hat). :) <--- (That was for you, s!)

As we were driving around yesterday afternoon, K said, "Man, I hate getting used to being around you." Spending four-day weekends together is so much fun, but it always comes time to go back to our different lives in our different states.

At least this time, it's only four days until the weekend!

Way to go, little bro!

My brother just called me to tell me that he was leaving a very good job interview. It went so well that he got the job! So he'll be starting work on Monday ...

FOR RICHARD PETTY!!!

I'm so excited for him!

He only moved to North Carolina to pursue NASCAR in July. He worked a couple odd jobs through the summer, then moved to the area where he is now in September. He started school at a NASCAR school in October and graduated the last week of December. Now, he's working for one of the biggest names in NASCAR!

At this rate, he's going to be a NASCAR superstar in about a year! :) (And I'm SO gonna be his manager!) I am so unbelievably proud of him right now!

Wishing on stars

I just realized that last night, I had a dream that I saw tons of shooting stars. What's weird is I was in Dallas. You can't see stars in Dallas -- you see planes!

There were five or six in a row at at time, and it happened two times. They were really bright, and some of them streaked all the way across the sky before disappearing. I decided there was a meteor shower or something, and I'd just managed to not hear about it.

Obviously, I made a wish on the stars. If you've read my blog for any period of time at all, then you know what I wished for, but I won't say it on here because -- hello?! -- anyone who saw Cinderella knows that totally ruins your wish.

All I have to say is that I hope wishes made on shooting stars in dreams count equally as wishes on real shooting stars when you're awake. (That would be a lot of points on my side!)

P.S. How pathetic is it that I've resorted to wishing on stars IN DREAMS for what I want to happen?!

I'm definitely eating BEFORE I go to this

Check out what I'm doing on Saturday!

Seriously -- get moving on No. 1

ER's parents live outside the country. She plans on visiting them this summer. The other day, she asked me when I think Kevin and I would get married if it happened this summer so she could leave after that. I thought it was funny, so I mentioned that to K when we were on the phone. His response: "This summer?!"

Of course that was frustrating, since I really wanted to get married last summer. Then, he said, "I mean, there are steps that have to be taken before that." I said, "Trust me -- I KNOW."

Then, after some prodding from him on why my mood had changed so quickly, I explained to him that I think we play games with each other, and it's frustrating. I've told him I know it's not official, but we've acknowledged that we both want to get married and that it will happen someday. But sometimes he says things like, "Someday if we get married ..." and it's confusing. It's like mixed messages. I know he's just joking, but I'm still a girl, and we're paranoid. But why do we have to joke like that?

Anyway, he said he wished I'd said something sooner, since he's been doing that a lot for a while now. I told him it was hard to say it in a way that gets across what I mean but doesn't sound like I'm saying, "Propose already!" I told him "while we're on the subject" that I didn't want him to hint about it when he started taking steps toward proposing so that way, if it didn't happen, I wouldn't be disappointed. His answer: "You don't have to worry about that." So I blurted out, "Umm, it already happened."

He asked when. I said, "You don't know?" Once I named off things he'd said that made me think it was coming (and there were more outside of the one I blogged about), he laughed like he realized how it sounded. He said, "So I guess that means I need to (1) hurry up and (2) not hint about it beforehand." I said, "Yes -- on both of those. ... But especially the first one."

K told me this summer a proposal was coming soon. And then he got sent to Afghanistan.

I'm not one of those girls who is obsessed with the future or talking about the future. I've never been obsessed with weddings or the idea of getting married. Even now, I don't have my wedding planned. I'd like K to be part of that. My old roommate had an entire wedding folder on her computer, and she wasn't even engaged. She had everything from floral arrangements to her dress, to bridesmaids' and flower girls' dresses, to cakes -- all in color schemes for a winter wedding or a summer wedding. I thought she was crazy.

I dated my college boyfriend for three and a half years, and I told him if his knee ever got close to hitting the ground in front of me, I'd break up with him because I'd know he went insane.

The reason I want to be engaged so badly to K is that it's the key to the beginning of everything I want. Once we get engaged, I'll know when we will be married. And once we're married, we'll live in the same state. In the same city. In the same house.

Sunday nights won't suck. I'll be able to see K on a Tuesday or a Thursday or a Monday morning. I won't have to fly somewhere to see him over the holidays. I'll get to spend Christmas with him. I'll get to go grocery shopping and do laundry with him. I'll get to cook him dinner and have him cook dinner for me. Heck, we could cook together.

I'll get to cuddle with him instead of the teddy bear he got me for Christmas last year. That's why I want it so badly.

I really hope K hurries up with No. 1.

Only in Oklahoma ...

K and I were supposed to go to Oklahoma this weekend to visit my family. They haven't seen him since before he left for Afghanistan. Pretty sure they're going to have to wait a bit longer!














from channeloklahoma.com

Check out that drop from Thursday to Friday!

Leave it to a girl to say this

I watched the Ohio State-Florida game while I was playing with iTunes and updating my iPod. Let's face it -- the Gators didn't make it a very interesting experience, so I was really listening as I was working on my computer.

Anyway, as I glanced up from time to time to watch the game, I couldn't help but notice that Florida's quarterback Chris Leak has the most gorgeous eyes! No wonder Ohio State lost -- they were probably distracted!

Holy cow ...

I just handed in my three weeks' notice at work. That was scary.

Productive weekend

I got quite a bit done over the last couple days! Friday night, I ran a couple errands, then came home and just vegged out. It was nice. I considered going to the gym, but I decided to just put it off until Saturday morning. I even tried to get K to tell me I should go. I said to him, "I should go to the gym, right?" His answer: "Why don't you just relax tonight? You can go tomorrow." (Who couldn't fall in love with that guy?!) I did take all my Christmas decorations down after watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, so it wasn't a completely lazy night.

Saturday I got up and went to the gym as I'd planned. It felt good to work out after being out of town or busy unpacking and settling back in over the last couple weeks, which has kept me from going as much (at all, really). After that, I met a friend of a friend for lunch to talk about her job. I've been offered a position at the company she works at -- a completely different kind of company than I work for now.

The job seems like it'll be a really good fit for me. Bonuses: (1) I'd make quite a bit more a year. (2) It's fewer hours of work (9-5, baby!). (3) I get 20 days of vacation a year there (They don't get sick days, so those count as vacation, but seeing how I haven't taken a sick day in the year and a half I've had them, odds are good I'd get 20 vacation days!). (4) The company actually cares about employee morale. (5) It's half the distance from my apartment than my current job is. (6) I'd get to work around people!

The only part that's bad is I'm going to have to walk into my boss's office and totally sideswipe him with this news. It's pretty much going to suck.

After that lunch, I was productive again, then had dinner with ER and her family and several friends. I got a gift card for Christmas so I could buy the desk I really wanted, so I picked that up and spent the rest of Saturday night putting it together. It looks awesome, and I'm totally proud of myself.

I've gotten really into putting furniture together lately. I think it's awesome that since I'm a girl, I can be very proud of myself for doing that.

Today, I cleaned my whole apartment. I also went to David's Bridal to try on my bridesmaids dress for my cousin's wedding. She picked out a really cute dress, so I'm really excited about it. It's one I'll be able to wear again, so that's awesome

It was really hard, though, going into David's Bridal. Part of me wanted to cry for a minute or two in there. All these girls were standing on these pedestals with their big, white dresses on.

As soon as I walked into the store, this girl asked if she could help me. I told her I was there to try on a bridesmaid's dress. She said she would get someone to help me. I happened to see on a rack right in front of me the dresses like I was there to try on, so I picked one up. I looked toward the back of the store, where the dressing rooms would be. There was a maze of brides in poofy dresses, and I figured they had special auditorium-sized dressing rooms to get those things on. I didn't need anything like that, so I asked the girl who'd bombarded me at the door if there were smaller dressing rooms for nonbrides. (What I really wanted to call them were reject dressing rooms. At David's Bridal, that's what it feels like.)

The girl looked at me like I'd asked a dumb question, since obviously there are smaller rooms for nonbrides. "I'll get someone to help you," she said.

"Really, it's okay," I told her. "I have the dress in my hands. I can do everything else myself. I just need to know where to try it on."

I was trying to make it simple for the girl. "I'll help you," she said. Then, she called over this other woman to take me to the dressing rooms. The only one that wasn't occupied was a handicapped dressing room. I went in and closed the door, and I noticed there were no dressing rooms. That explains why every wall around the dressing room area was mirrored, but I didn't need to see the dress from 360 degrees. All I needed was to make sure it was the right size. I tried my dress on, and I barely opened the door and stepped out to make sure it fit right. I just felt weird, since everyone else was there with at least one other person. One person in each group seemed to be a bride in her gown on her pedestal, with her one friend or many friends standing below looking up at her with this huge, awestruck smile. I wasn't there for that. I wanted to get in and get out.

So I did. I have to go back in February because I had to order my dress, since they didn't have it in the right color. Do I dare say that next time, hopefully I'll be going there in search of one of those poofy white dresses?

Outdoing ourselves

I know I manage to say this after every weekend I spend with K, but it's amazing how quickly time can pass.

Too bad that didn't apply to the 7 hours I spent in the airport on Friday thanks to menopausal Mother Nature. It was pouring like crazy in Dallas, so both my flights had gone elsewhere because of the weather. My options were to fly to Cincinatti and put myself up overnight there, and catch a flight to Pennsylvania to arrive at 1:30 Saturday afternoon; fly to Atlanta and do the same thing to arrive at the same time; or stay in Dallas at my own apartment for free and catch a flight Saturday morning to arrive in PA at 1:30 Saturday afternoon. I did the sensible thing: I flew to Cincinatti.

Just kidding. I went back to my place and wound up meeting ER and a couple friends at a sports bar to watch the Texas Tech game and have a beer. It was fun, since a friend was in from out of town ER wanted me to meet since she said we both have "such strong personalities." It was fun.

My day started at 4 a.m. Saturday. I got to Pennsylvania around 2:30. Kind of a bummer I lost half a day, since I'd only be there a three full days. I got to see K's new truck, which is a 2007 Tahoe. It's really nice. It's a little bigger than the Trailblazer he had, but it's nice. K seems to really like it.

We exchanged gifts when we got to his house. He really liked the iPod home speaker/alarm clock I got him. I also got him a button-down American Eagle shirt. He wore it for New Year's. It looked good on him.

K definitely went above and beyond on his presents for me. He spent an insane amount. I really felt kind of bad, almost. I know he just is a generous person, though, and that's just how he is. He got me a really soft robe from American Eagle. I'd seen it when we went by there after he got back from Afghanistan. I'd commented on how soft it was and how I needed to get a new robe. He remembered. He also got me a crimson thermal shirt from there. He got me a blue 4GB iPod nano, along with a wristband to wear over it while I'm working out. His video iPod has gotten some surface scratches, so he got me these clear things that look like the stickers that come on cellphones when you get them to protect it from getting scratched. He also got me a bluetooth headset for my cellphone, which came with a carrying case and car charger.

Remember my yummy cheesecake? Well, last time I made it for my family, I had some problems with my makeshift method of melting chocolate. I burned my hands a couple times and managed to catch a potholder on fire. I mentioned to K that it works better when I melt the chocolate at his apartment because he has a metal bowl. I use a glass one at my apartment. K bought me a double boiler so I don't have to rig something together and burn myself (and potholders) again. And last, but not least, he got me the complete series set of Da Ali G Show, which I've been a fan of since my freshman or sophomore year in college. It came on HBO, and it's the show featuring three of Sascha Baron Cohen's characters, which includes Borat.

We got up early Sunday morning and drove to Boston, where we spent New Year's. We had an absolute blast. Boston is such a cool, neat city. I'd never been before. I was worried after spending New Year's in NYC last year that we wouldn't be able to beat that. We totally did -- by far. We were actually able to enjoy ourselves more. We walked around quite a bit the first day we got there. We saw an ice slide and posed for a picture on an ice bench, saw the Cheers bar and had drinks at several neat pubs in the city.

(in case you can't read the mug, we're at Cheers)

It was a little colder in lovely Boston than it was in Pennsylvania. For some reason, I hadn't expected this, so I'd left the two scarves, two beanies, my coat and my three pairs of gloves I'd packed back in PA. I was pretty cold in my long-sleeved t-shirt and loosely knit sweater, so I wound up buying a better sweater, a scarf and a cute beanie while we were there. It was worth it to be warm.




It's amazing how much warmer a good sweater and beanie can make you!

We rang in the new year at this little bar not far from our hotel downtown. K and I were kind of the life of the party. Believe it or not, by the end of the night, I was dancing like crazy. All over the bar (meaning the establishment -- not the actual bar like something from Coyote Ugly), around other people, when only a couple others were dancing, at the sink in the bathroom while I was washing my hands ... I was dancing! I didn't care who was watching or what they were thinking. Yeah, I'd had a couple Bud Lights. And jager bombs. But whatever. It was fun. And everyone else who wasn't dancing was lame. :) Aren't you proud of me?

The next day, we spent pretty much in the car driving back to K's house. It was raining, and traffic was pretty heavy headed to NYC, so it was pretty slow until we passed that exit. We got back just in time for the Fiesta Bowl, which turned out to be a pretty rollercoaster, emotional game at the end. I'm glad that we at least showed up late in the third quarter. We finally really started playing then. We did well and didn't go down without one heck of a fight. We played well at the end, but Boise State played well through the whole game. They fought hard, and they deserved to win. They pulled out every play in the book, and we didn't see it coming. I don't think anyone did. I'm still proud of my team, though. I wore my OU sweatshirt when I flew back so people in Pennsylvania, Cincinatti and Dallas could see my loyalty, and I wore my OU polo shirt to work today. Through thick and thin, dang it!

Anyway, so my last day -- Tuesday -- was spent just hanging out pretty much. I couldn't believe it was already time to leave. I wasn't ready to go back to work, and I really wasn't ready to leave K. We had an awesome time, though.

When he was saying bye to me at the airport, K said, "We just keep outdoing ourselves." I asked him what he meant. Last year, he said, New Year's was awesome, but this year, it was even better. He said every time we hang out, we have a blast, and the next time, we have even more fun. Everything with us just keeps getting better.

I definitely have to say I agree with him.