She Speaks Like Silence

A Weekend Revisited

2010-04-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I really had a great weekend! Yeah yeah yeah, I missed Tony and all that, but really, I had a wonderful weekend alone.
Let's look at our list again, shall we?

1. Read the whole book for my bookclub meeting on Saturday, minus the first 50 pages which I already read on Tuesday.

YES. I did this and I am proud. In addition to reading the entire book between work on Friday and 3:00 on Saturday, I hung out with my friend Liz, and later with my friend Katie and went to breakfast with my friend Jamie. So take that, book!I finished EXACTLY at 2:45.

2. Finish sewing the presents I am making for my best friend's baby shower in two weeks.

Nope.

3. Clean my entire house, room by room.

Nope. I was only in my house for the sleeping portion of the weekend, so yeah. Didn't do this.

4. Do a little bit of job searching/applying/researching.

Yes. I don't know why I wrote researching, I don't even know what that was supposed to mean. But I did job search and apply to a few pretty awesome places.

5. Remember to go to church an hour early because I have eucharistic minister training this weekend.

Yes, but the training person didn't show up. So... I guess I won. Or I lost. Or... well. whatever, I don't even know what's going on.

6. Not turning on the tv.

Not one second of tv. Yay! It's easy because I don't OWN a tv and I only watch at Tony's house, but still... a win for me.

7. Getting some exercise. Bike ride maybe? Maybe find a neighborhood pool I could use?

I rode my bike AND I went for a long walk! I put pool here because I was talking about excersize at work recently and said that I really like swimming, and so I meant to search for the nearest pool. (There aren't any gyms in my neighborhood really, it's kind of weird actually.) But obviously I didn't do that part. Still, a win.

8. Maybe, maybe, learning how to knit the scarf I've wanted to start. My friend Liz and I chatted about this today and it inspired me.

Ha. Nope. Not even close.

I did have a great weekend though, and got a lot done! My friend Maggie (also alone this weekend) was so kind to call and check in with me, but she'll be proud to know that I was out and about. When I called her back, hopefully she didn't answer because she was doing the same.

Oh, and I did go to bed on time, every night. A total win!

A Weekend Alone

2010-04-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend Tony is in Las Vegas for his friend Jeff's bachelor party, and I'm here spending the weekend alone. I know, this is not a big deal in any way, but I do have to say, it's my first weekend alone in awhile. And I gotta give some credit to my single ladies out there because there are a few things that I'm really bad at when I'm left to my own devices:
1. Cooking for myself.
2. Going to bed at a reasonable hour.
3. Leaving the house.

Like for realsies, when I'm home alone for a night or weekend, I'll cook me up a box of mac n cheese, and stay up till 2am sewing or reading or watching old episodes of the office on my ipod. (um. i need more than seasons 1-3, just sayin'.)

So I'm all alone this weekend, and here are the things I plan on doing:
1. Read the whole book for my bookclub meeting on Saturday, minus the first 50 pages which I already read on Tuesday. Yes, I have the whole book to read by Saturday at 3:00 pm. No, I'm not a procrastinator, why do you ask?
2. Finish sewing the presents I am making for my best friend's baby shower in two weeks.
3. Clean my entire house, room by room. I feel like I just did this last weekend, but you sure as heck wouldn't know by looking at it, so... yeah... maybe I didn't.
4. Do a little bit of job searching/applying/researching.
5. Remember to go to church an hour early because I have eucharistic minister training this weekend. (I'm only including this because maybe now I'll actually remember.)
6. Not turning on the tv.
7. Getting some excersize. Bike ride maybe? Maybe find a neighborhood pool I could use?
8. Maybe, maybe, learning how to knit the scarf I've wanted to start. My friend Liz and I chatted about this today and it inspired me.

That's actually a pretty hefty list. We'll revisit that Monday and see if I actually succeeded at those. Let's be honest though, I'll be reading from now until Saturday at 3, so...

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Neglectful Blogger

2010-04-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have been a neglectful blogger.
I have no excuse.

I even have SAVED entries, all ready to post, just waiting for me to not be lazy and add the images.

And here I am, not having posted in an embarrasingly long time.

In other news, why is embarrasingly not a word?
And why haven't I blogged lately?

Nevermind. Let's leave the past behind us, shall we?
So when we last left off, I was babbling about weddings and puppies and new clothes, right? Or not?
I didn't get a puppy, if you were wondering. But I really really REALLY want one. Tony promised me one too, just as soon as we figure out a few things (like where we're going to live. More on that later, perhaps.)

I did get some new clothes though. It's part of my "I will dress nice and be confident every day in my appearance" campaign. Here are some of the things I've purchased:

Plus some jeans, and a few sweaters that I can't find pictures of because I bought them at Nordstrom Rack plus a handful of other things here and there. Slowly but surely I am building up my wardrobe. And then I am going to host a
NAKED LADY PARTY*

*there will be no naked ladies.

This is where people bring their good-quality, non-smelly clothes and exchange them for other good-quality non-smelly clothes. I have plenty of things that are perfectly FINE, just not my style anymore. Or that I just don't really feel that great in, but that may look amazing on you. You know? I'm sure you all have these things too. So I will have my naked lady party and then my entire wardrobe will be all things that I love. How perfect will that be?

Sorry for the blog deliquency as of late. I am back, and I'm here to stay, my blog friends.

Wish List!

2010-03-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Okay I'm in the camera-shopping business because I'm planning on upgrading to a new, amazing camera. I haven't been this excited about a purchase in maybe, oh, years!?

So imagine how excited I was when I saw THIS:
http://www.haveanepiphanie.com/home/2010/2/28/epiphanie-give-away.html

HOLY CRAP!!
That's the camera I want!

... must ... win ... now ...

I want this very badly. :)

What a great giveaway! Good luck to whoever wins! (But I hope it's me.)

More Wedding Babble

2010-03-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Listen, ok? I never said I wasn't going to blab about my wedding all the time on this blog. Oh. I did? Well, whatever.
I totally am.

Not all the time, but sometimes a girl's gotta talk about what's on her mind, ok?

We ignored wedding planning for the first, oh, two months of our engagement (except for the occasional small talk), but now we're full force into it.

And now we're wedding-venue shopping. And dude, this ish is tuff.

Here is what we've looked at so far:
A new super swanky event space that literally JUST opened for events. It's so fancy and classy and nice. Oh, and did I say expensive? It's a reasonable price but it doesn't include tables and chairs, lighting, parking, or pretty much anything you need to throw a reasonable party. But I love it so much. So, yeah. We talked with the (exclusive) caterer the other day and she's going to send us some things within our budget and we'll see.

Tonight we are looking at a place in Portland's Pearl District which is like the super trendy and nice part of Portland that people write about in magazines when they come to visit. This place is also brand spankin new and therefore seems to have not capitalized on the cash cow that is the wedding industry. I have seriously high hopes for this place. It includes tables and chairs, there is no corkage fee for alcohol, there is no exclusive caterer (a HUGE plus!) and it's big enough for our massive entourage. I'm so excited to see it. I feel like this is a first date with someone I met on match.com who has a perfect profile. (I've never been on match.com but like, I imagine this is what it feels like?)

We are also going to look at two golf courses/country clubs but I feel a little silly about that because I'm not a country club kinda girl and I've never played golf in my life.

Then yesterday Tony discovered that his favorite restaurant in Portland, a Cuban restaurant, does catering. This was like finding his soulmate on match.com or something. (I need to stop with the match.com references since clearly I know nothing about it.) But for real, it was like the best day of Tony's life. So if we get the place in the Pearl that we're looking at tonight, and we can bring in our own catering, and it's Cuban food? Um yeah, best wedding ever.

Also I didn't give the full update on the dress. I went back and bought it. It's so beautiful and I know that I will love it, even if I'll be wearing it a full year after I purchased it. It's sparkly and pretty and classic. And I got a great deal on it and I just bought it upfront and paid for it and now I don't have to worry about putting it in our wedding budget. Not that I have one of those, or anything.

But honestly? The hardest thing so far has been the freakin bridesmaid dresses! I don't even know what to do with them. I will save this for another post because dude, this is a disaster. I'm looking for six dresses for six very different women that don't match and maybe aren't all solid colored but that look good together and make everyone feel comfortable and beautiful. And so far I'm getting resistance to just letting them pick their own dresses, so I think I'll have to do it. Like I said, saving that for a new post.

/end wedding babble. For today.

My Very Own Blog Award

2010-03-01T15:55:00.001-08:00

Ooooh lucky me! I just got a blooooogggg award!
It came from this lovely blogger: life of a doctor's wife.
clearly i'm not the wife of a doctor. i'm not even a wife... yet. (i'm working on that though. sorta.)
but i like her blog anyway.
and now i like her even more because she gave me this totally sweet award!

without further ado,
Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog. (done.)
2. Pass on the award to 15 ummmmm..... a handful of other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are great!
3. Contact the other bloggers and let them know they have been chosen for this award.
4. Say 7 things about yourself.

okie dokie, artichokie:

1. I have lived in all of the following cities: portland, oregon. spokane, washington. orange county, california. florence, italy. orlando, florida. tampa, florida. miami, florida. jacksonville, florida. atlanta, georgia. washington, d.c. baltimore, maryland. philadelphia, pennsylvania. boston, massachusetts. las vegas, nevada.

2. I lived in Portland for the first 18 years of my life. I'm only 26, and I've been living in Portland for the last three years. You do the math. Or actually, don't. I'll break it down for you. Between ages 22 and 25, I lived in a lot of places.

3. This is the result of having a super awesome job wherein I traveled around the country and filmed cities for Google Street View. Yes, I really did that.

4. I'm Italian and as a general rule, we don't eat super super sweet things. Oh, we love ourselves some dessert (cannoli, anyone?) but we shy away from things that are oozing with sweetness. Therefore I don't love cakes and candies, but the exception is that I love brownies like they are their own food group. And they should be.

5. I have five nieces and nephews (specifically, two nieces, three nephews) and they rock my world. Everything I (think I) know about children, I learned from living with my sister when my nephew was 18 months old and my niece was born. My sister and I still have ~~disillusions~~ fantasies about living on a large plot of land where all of our (eventual) children can play together and hang out, and where my sister and i will lounge by the pool and get served margaritas by our butler, who we shall name Jeeves. Even if he protests.

6. I don't own a tv. I still watch all of the following shows: LOST, The Office, 30 Rock, Community, Big Love. In my defense, three of those are just on in a row, so that's just one night of tv watching. And then I have no defense for the other ones. Oh, and yeah, I should add that I also watch shows like Say Yes to the Dress (even though I bought my dress. Did I tell you that? I did.), Platinum Weddings (because I like to make fun of it- I mean, for real- a Louis Vuitton cake? I'm not making this up. I wouldn't even know how.), and any home decorating show.

7. Tony, who is my fiance, used to live in an apartment with two of our mutual friends. And their apartment had a Nielsen box. (they don't live there anymore, so I'm pretty sure it's kosher for me to blog about this on the internets.) Anyway, Nielsen is the company that does all those tv ratings. So whenever we watched tv, we were logged in and they knew all kinds of information about us. (Well not me, technically I was a "guest" and they only knew my age and gender. But Tony & co they knew their race, age, where they worked, what kind of car they drove, how much money they made, etc.) So Tony's roommate, a friend of mine, actually the girl who was my partner for point number 3 (above) and I used to watch a lot of Jon & Kate Plus 8. And of course we were logged in, so every time either of us was watching, we accounted for 30,000 americans. And we all know what happened with that show. And to this day, whenever anyone says the name of the show, my friend shakes her head and says, "I ruined that family."

Those are about the most random 7 things I can think of on this Monday afternoon. So now, I must name my fellow bloggers.
To be honest, I haven't added many subscriptions to my blog feed lately, so some of these are just not going to be all that new.

My friend Liz just started a blog: Aus dem Garten.

How about Michelle at Things I Said And Meant To Say, just because she hasn't blogged in a while and maybe this will make her come back :)

And it would be silly to not include Melissa of Duoly Noted, my real life friend who is mad at me because she didn't know I created this blog until the other day :) It's a new blog Melissa, don't be mad!

And Suz at 30 Before 30 because I like her, and her blog.

I'll tag Tony. Because Lord knows we'll be entertained by his seven things. He has a special blog called Geeks R We.

And how about Oh Hay, it's KK. Because for real, this girl makes me laugh. And she's Italian. What what!

And even though she probably won't tell us seven things about herself, I think you should read her blog to see much more than seven things that she is not. Not That Kind of Girl.

Okay, I didn't tag 15. I tagged 7. But whatever man, I'm not that cool.

But for real, there are more blogs on my left hand column if you want to see what else I read.

Thanks again for the award, Mrs. D!

Things I Hate/ Things I Love February Special

2010-02-17T16:07:00.001-08:00

Things I love:
- Sunshine! In February!

Things I hate:
- Windowless offices.

Things I love:
Blue skies! In the winter!

Things I hate:
Working the duration of daylight hours.

Things I love:
Flowers blooming! Before spring!

Things I hate:
Knowing that it will rain for the next three months.

Highlights of the Conversation I Just Had with Two Nephews and a Niece

2010-02-14T13:49:00.001-08:00

Oldest nephew, recently turned seven:

Him: I was not sick on my birthday this year. I was sick the last two years. I told my teacher 2010 is going to be my good luck year.
Me: What else is going to happen in 2010?
Him: Well I started first grade (technically, he started in 2009 but I have no business stopping a seven year old when he's on a roll.)
Me: Yeah, that's really cool.
Him: Except first grade is basically like kindergarten because I'm not learning anything new. All the other kids think it's hard but I'm always done in like a few seconds, so I'm not even learning anything.
Me: Really?
Him: Yeah!
Me: Well you're so smart! You know, when you get to the bigger grades then usually they let the smart kids do different work that is harder than what everyone else is doing.
Him: They already do that for me. The teacher gives me problems like 40 + 50.
Me: Wow, really?
Him: Yes, and I know what 40 + 50 is. It's 90. It's so easy. If you know the single digit, if you know that 4+5 = 9 then four-deeee plus fif-deeee is nine-deeeee. You just add the deeeee.

--
You know what one really funny Valentine I got at school was? This kid in my class gave me a valentine and it had a lolipop on it and it said Bee Mine. Like B-E-E. Isn't that so funny? Oh yeah, it's funny because there was a bumble bee on it.

--

Him: There are two kids named Owen in my class.
Me: Really? That's strange. Are there any other kids with your name?
Him: No
Me: That would be funny if there were two kids with your name and your same first initial.
Him: What if there were two kids named (his first, middle and last name)?
Me: That would be so confusing for the teacher!
Him: What if the entire class was kids named (his first, middle and last name)? And they were all copies of me, so they all looked exactly like me? Then she couldn't even say "the brown haired one, or the black haired one or the blonde one!
Me: Sounds confusing, she'd probably have to start calling you (name) #1, #2, and so on.
Him: Yeah! That would be so funny! (Laughs histerically.)

Here I told him about the sextuplets in Raising Arizona named Larry, Mary, Terry, Gary, Jerry and Nathan Junior. Then we started talking about sextuplets. I only have myself to blame.

---------------

Niece, age 5.5
Today is Chinese New Year. If I have time today I'll probably like make a dragon or something. I mean, I don't really know if I'm going to have time though, but if I do, I'll make a dragon.

--
I will go see if my brother wants to talk to you, okay? Hold on. I will just ask him and then I'll let you know what he says. If he wants to talk to you then I will tell you, okay?

---------------

Nephew, age 3.

We watched speed skating on tv last night. And this guy pushed this other guy and that is so cheating! And the guy's hand hit the ice! But it's okay because he was wearing gloves. They wear gloves in speed skating, and in baseball and football. But when he pushed that guy, that was cheating.

--
We got a new tv. The old one wasn't really working out for us any more.

--

(Earlier in the conversation with my sister, their mom, she told me that the two oldest kids are playing spring soccer and their team names are Team USA and Team Netherlands. Something about the World Cup.)
Nephew: Do you know the names of their soccer teams?
Me: No, what?
Him: But my mom just told you!

Overheard

2010-02-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

Today we invited some of the people who work in our new office building to our conference room for pizza.

There were two awesome quotes.

1. "There could not possibly be enough bacon in the world."

2. Person Number One: "This is Danny."
Person Number Two: "Daniel?"
Danny: "Yes"
Person Number Three: "Do you prefer Danny?"
Danny: "Yes, sure."
Person Number Two: "I don't call people by nicknames, because I am not lazy."

Wedding Dress Shopping

2010-02-11T10:58:00.000-08:00

Ok.
So I went wedding dress shopping.

I went on Friday with my mom and Tony's sister who flew up from Texas. We went to 3-4 shops together and I tried on a wide range of dresses. I thought I knew what I would like and hate, but I just wanted to try on a variety just to be sure.

I was pretty accurate with what I liked. I like lace, and I liked the lace dresses I tried on. I didn't want strapless, and I didn't really like any of the strapless dresses. And I didn't want poofy, and I looked like a balloon in the poofy dresses.

Then on Saturday I went with Tony's sister again and three friends to another shop. I tried on two that I liked, one lace and one um... well we'll come back to that.

So the lace one was pretty, super expensive and too low cut for my taste. Come on folks, a girl's gotta be modest in a church before a priest and a whole bunch of old folks.

But the other one I really liked. It has a sheer part at the top and it's super sparkly (!!!) and has lace and beads and all sorts of craziness. But it's not tacky. I promise. I know what you're thinking, BEADS? UM, WHAT? But you'll just have to trust me. Last week I would have told you, you will not catch me getting married in a dress with beads.

So I went back with my mom yesterday and we looked at it together. I liked it more the second time even, especially because she showed me how the poofiness could be taken out of the skirt, which made it look way better.

It's on hold.
Until today.

Okay, so seriously? I couldn't sleep last night! I kept having all these dreams about the dress!
Like, should I buy it? What if I find a better one later? I'm not even getting married for a whole year. But on the other hand, it's really pretty. And it's a great deal (it's super marked down). And it's very classic, and modest without looking Amish.

Then in my dreams I would look at the dress again and it was green. Or pink. Or it had a row of pink flowers. Um, hello. No. I may go for beads unexpectedly but h-to-the-double-l no I will not wear pink flowers on my wedding dress. Not going to happen.

And then in my dream I tagged along with a roller derby team. I don't know what that was about.

I digress.

So I have to decide today. Buy the dress? (It's the last one, I have to buy the floor model, that is why I have to decide pronto. )

AHHHHHHH!

I hate making decisions.

I'm leaning towards buying it.
I'll let you know.

A Good Read

2010-02-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

There are many blogs that I follow along with in my Google Reader. Some are by single people, some married people, and some parents. Recently one of the blogs I read changed so dramatically, when Kelle (the blogger) gave birth to her beautiful daughter with Down's Syndrome. I've been following along with her blog, Enjoying the Small Things, for many months and have been awaiting the birth of her highly-anticipated second daughter. She is a beautiful writer and photographer, thus putting her high on my list of favorite blogs.
Recently she posted her daughter's birth story.
It is so beautiful.
It takes a lot to make me cry. I am pretty sure this story will bring those tears out of you, if you take the time to read it. Set aside a good chunk of time, grab your tissue and read this.
Please, read it.
It is so beautiful.
I love that she is deeply honest about everything. I love that it is accompanied by gorgeous photos. And I love that her love shines through, in what is simultaneously her darkest and brightest hour.
Here is the story.

My haircut

2010-02-03T17:17:00.001-08:00

Dying to see my haircut?
Okay, okay.
Here you go.

Ramblings from a Wednesday at Lunch Time

2010-02-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

1. I cut my hair. I know you were all dying in anticipation for the update on that. I decided to go crazy and I gave myself straight bangs. I've tried this before but it never really worked. I keep trying though. My hair is thin, so I had to grab a lot of hairs to cut off to achieve the look. We'll see how long I wear them this way without pulling them back and waiting impatiently for them to grow in. I am sorry I don't have a picture yet. It is Wednesday at lunch time, after all.

2. Does wearing loud shoes make you high maintenance? I always feel high maintenance when I'm wearing loud shoes, but 99.9% of the time, they are just loud boots. I don't even wear heels. I don't think loud cowboy boots make me high maintenance, but sometimes I feel like it when I'm walking.

3. How do you pronounce these words: bag, beg, bagel. I say "BAEG" apparently. I think its because I know that "bag" should be pronounced differently from "beg" but I can't quite get there. So I make it a hybrid. And bagel? I always get made fun of for that one. I say BAG-el. Not beg-el.

4. Every Wednesday I email a photo to my friends and family. It started out when I was traveling around a lot in 2006 to update everyone. I've just basically been doing it ever since. Today's photo was from a Wilderness Survival course Tony and I took last weekend. On day 2 of the course we made baskets from ivy. (I don't really know why. If I was stranded, I don't think making baskets would be a high priority. And if I had time to sit around and make baskets, I'm sure I could figure out a method that would work.) Anyway this is Tony with his, er, um, deliquent basket.

(That's not what his face normally looks like.)

5. LOST. Holy crap. I am lost. I didn't really get what was going on. What was with the flight? Was it an alternate reality? That's what Tony thinks. I think it's trying to show us that being on the island was a good thing. I mean, if they made it so that the plane didn't crash on the island, they'd all go back to their miserable lives. But why did Juliet say that it worked? And what's with people dying and not really being dead? Also CLAIRE! CHARLIE! BOONE! I like that they're bringing back old characters. I've always liked Claire and Charlie. And Boone had a good heart. Speaking of hearts, I might have a heart attack watching Lost this season. It's so suspenseful and all that.

6. I am going to have lunch now. Pho, specifically. I always order Bun Ga. Vermicelli noodles with lemongrass chicken. Yum.

Happy Monday Ramblings

2010-02-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some things I'm thinking about this Monday morning:

- Whether or not I should cut my hair.
It's pretty long right now, chest length (is that a length?). I like it long, it's kinda wavy and I'm starting to actually wear it down after 26 years of ponytails. I kind of want bangs, but my hair is so thin that they never really look that great. And then there's always chopping it all off, which I do every year or two. But I think I want it long at the wedding, so I guess I should keep it long and maybe attempt to add some layers and possibly some bangs. I'll let y'all know what I decide.

- I started saying y'all. I realize that I'm marrying a Texan, but hello!? I'm an Oregonian. I made this my Facebook status and now people think I'm moving to Texas. I'm totally not.

- Tony's sister is coming this weekend! I am taking Thursday and Friday off to hang out with her. I am so excited! I am thinking of fun places to take her and things to do. I know she wants to go to Powell's, which is our super awesome bookstore, and I also think I'll take her to the Saturday Market which is just a hippie craft market in Portland. And then we're going to do some wedding dress trying-on and cake-tasting (just because). We might do a few more wedding things too, but since we don't even have a date yet, it will mostly just be fun girl stuff instead of real, actual wedding planning. So we'll have to show her all of our cool Portland sights, and maybe we can convince her to move here :) Also I hope it doesn't rain all weekend!

- I am listening to a Pandora station made of "Destiny's Child" and "Boys II Men". Yes, it is 1998 on my Pandora today.

That's all for now.
Have a nice Monday, my internet friends.

Wedding Planning

2010-01-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, as you know, I'm engaged.
I got engaged on Christmas Day.
Like every girl, I have planned my wedding out in my head my whole life. And trust me, it's changed a lot. (Good thing too, those bridesmaid dresses I liked in 1989? Not a good choice.)

But here's kind of how it happened.
Tony got on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I stood there like an idiot, completely shocked, and managed to spit out the word yes.
I called all my friends and family.
I texted a lot of people.
I put it on facebook.

So then the next day, Tony's sister came home from work with a whole bunch of wedding magazines.
(This is a true story.)
I stared at them for a minute.
Then I said something profound like this:

"HOLY CRAP. Being engaged means I have to actually plan a wedding!"

This was a full 24-hours + after getting engaged. The thought of planning a wedding had literally not even crossed my thick head yet.

Anyway I posted some rambling wedding thoughts on Seven Dames A Week, so you can check those out here.

Yes, yes it does.

2010-01-27T15:47:00.001-08:00

via le love

Things I Love, Things I Hate, Tuesday Morning Edition

2010-01-26T11:34:00.001-08:00

On my current list of things-I-hate:
- Speaker phone.
Speaker phone is for using in the following situations: while driving (alone), while washing dishes or cleaning your room (alone), while multitasking in your office (alone), when two or more people are involved on one end of the phone call (like, say, when two people are calling to wish someone a happy birthday). Speaker phone should not be used in the presence of others, unless everyone within earshot of the receiver is involved in the phone call.

So, for example, don't put your desk phone on speaker phone and let it run through the whole "You have four new messages" part of the call before picking up the receiver. I personally don't care how many messages you have, and frankly that lady's voice is ruining my pandora station.

- Pants.
Yes, pants. I have a serious problem buying jeans. I have only ever owned two pairs that I've ever loved, and both have been worn to the point of ripping. I can't find these exact same jeans any more. One I even went as far as to buy on ebay, but they arrived at my house and they were six inches too short (they had been hemmed). So basically, I have no pants. I have about 6 pairs of jeans hanging in my closet right now, two are missing the button (I swear, I'm not so obese that buttons are popping off my pants. Although, I don't have any other explanation for that phenomenon, so... ). One pair is too small (totally the dryer's fault), three pairs are ripped (what am I supposed to do with ripped jeans?). Two pairs are okay, but just okay. I don't really like them. So every morning I'm standing in my closet and I'm like, crap. I have no pants again. Solution- spend a lot of money on jeans, or else start buying tights so I can wear more skirts in the winter.

Let's switch over here. I want to talk a little bit about some things I love.

- My electric blanket. My house was built in 1885, yo. They didn't have heating back then. They didn't even have a bathroom. Fortunately, these two essential features have since been added on to the house, but the bathroom is basically sloped downwards and tacked on to the back of the house, and the heating? Questionable at best. Have you ever lived in a place with room-by-room baseboard heat? It's cold. So I bought an electric blanket, and basically it's the best investment I've made in the last year. Only downside? I haven't been on time to work since I bought it.

- Big Love. Do you watch this show? Because I sure as heck-fire do. ("Do you remember me? Because I sure as heck-fire remember you!" Name that movie.) Anywhoooo, Big Love is basically the suburban polygamous soap opera drama I've always wanted. And who hasn't wanted that? Who is your favorite character? Mine is Sarah. I think she is the most interesting and complex character.

Back to Pandora now.
I'm listening to the Adele station.

well HELLO there!

2010-01-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, dear internet.
I am Maureen. But you probably know that already.
You see, you might remember me from here, or maybe here.
And on Wednesdays, of course, I visit you here.
I am engaged to Tony. You probably know him from here. And, sometimes I talk about him here.

But enough with the links. It's time to start fresh.
Welcome to my new blog.

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, the beautiful City of Roses.
I like taking photos.
I've traveled a lot of places.
I'm getting married.
I have one sister, two brothers, three nephews, and two nieces.

I think that's enough introduction for today. We'll be discussing many things on this blog, so stay tuned to learn about the inner workings of my silly brain.