I want this.

And I had my bedroom all planned.

And I don't know why I searched online anyway.

B/c now I really want this.

And it's more expensive than the other one I wanted. B/c it's piece by piece.

But it's all the pieces that make it AWESOME.

I mean hellllllllo giraffe print WITH paisely that's black and white with throw pillows and Euro shams?!

My name is Jax and I may have pulled out the credit card as though drawn by some other force. *picture that. it's funny*

Then put it away to think about it. B/c I need curtains. And a dresser. And a rug. So, just gonna be really sure what I want.

And then... I think I somehow broke my power cord and might need to buy a new one. :( FOILED! *pounds fists on table at sides* haha.. So...yeah we'll see about other superfluous expenses.

My friend (no names here.. She's MY connection..haha) is seeing if she can get my speeding ticket reduced... if so, that comforter is MINE. And so is a nice gift for her b/c that would totally make my day. pleasepleaseplease... hahaha...

I was going to finally catch up on some blog awards tonight or my United W@y post, but those posts would take longer and kill my ever-draining battery....so soon. :)

Wishful Wed...Genre!

Kelsey's got a great topic today, peeps, so I had to participate.. All this blogging is making my blog feel so loved compared to last week... :)

Okay, so.. I wish my life was a movie and I would want it to be.....Action-Adventure-Romance..ish.

Yes, that sounds like a crazy category. And if I was choosing everyday life, I'd totally go with romantic comedy adventure. :) But, I opted to take a different spin...even though hello.. Jax and Eric in a romantic comedy adventure? Duh. However, I added the romance part b/c I'm a total girl and it would feature Eric :)... but really it might be more of a comedy adventure b/c let's face it, I'm really clumsy. ;)

Soooo I went ahead and thought "hmm.. If I could just insert myself into any given movie for a short period of time for fun, I'd totally want to be a spy...or solving some crime...or racing fast cars being pursued by the bad guys (I'd get away. Duh. It's my movie.) And of COURSE there'd be an element of romance between me and my co-spy (who would be Eric-obvi.). And we'd save the world in our movie and then resume our normal lives as though nothing had happened. ;) Yup. There ya go!

Happy Wednesday! Just trucking along back at the regular jobbie.. and settling in again pretty quickly. :) I missed these peeps. Off to grab a sandwich.. XOXO!

Ringing in 2010 in Costume(ish) and WBW :)

So, it's not even close to New Years, but I want to blog this. (It's only November. I'm ridiculous. I know this. Admitting it up front.) Today, got an invite from Eric's friends who are hosting a SPEAKEASY for NYE! Um.. flapper dresses! 1920s! Hellllo awesome! It's gonna be a small shindig at their casa, but to be really honest, that fits what I wanted to do to a t!! Just not feeling a huge, cuhrazy event this year. I am so excited to find the perfect flapper dress since I think we've both determined this sounds like a fabulous plan to ring in 2010!

And um, I immediately recalled Gossip Girl's flapper attire... I heart Blair. I also heart the girl who plays Blair, Leighton. I just do. And a party that enables me to use her for inspiration rocks.my.socks. PS.. have you SEEN her new photos from Dec's GQ mag? They're haute... For reals.. Prepare yourself (and make sure no one is behind you.. haha). Here they are. Click on em to make em larger.

Oh yeah.. HillDuff is also in flapperish attire for the show. I'm liking her character, Olivia. Hoping she doesn't leave.

I.love.theme.parties. :) If you've seen any fun dresses lately, feel free to recommend, peeps! XOXO! :)

And for Way Back Wednesday, why not post some prior years NYE pics?

Last year at Oscars-such a good time! Easily my fav nye as long as I can remember.. for reals. Good plans. Good friends. Fabulous date. (and great dress on major sale, too. haha).

The year before in Chicago with Lauren! Blondies in black. Love it. :)

And the year before that one at the Ice Ball with Maureen and lots of other peeps :) Just b/c they start selling the champagne by the bottle reallllly cheap after midnight, that doesn't mean it's a good idea to buy it and switch to champagne only. Just sayin.

And the winner is...

I did a random number generator my friend used for her giveaway here! And I tried to copy/paste it and then it totally regenerated a new number! AGH! After clicking it a zillion times trying to make it get the original winner's comment number back, I finally gave up and decided ya'll are just gonna have to trust me here...haha... So the original comment number it picked was comment #36...which is....easily a favorite blog of mine and we even share the same background...drum roll please....

~Leslie at A Blonde Ambition! ~

YAY! Congratulations, chica! I'll email ya as soon as I'm done posting-just shoot me an email back with your address so I can renew my subscription AND sign you up for yours! YAY!

Thank you all SO much for entering my giveaway! This was super fun! LOVED reading all your answers to the question I posed! And as for my answer to what I'd do with $1,000 solely on making myself feel glam, I'd DEFINITELY get an awesome handbag (have one in mind from Cole Haan right now for 300 bucks) and then spend the rest on re-doing my bedroom...likely some awesomesauce sheets/lush linens for sure!

Roses & Thorns

I first saw this on Mrs. EyeCanSee and have since seen quite a few of my other fav bloggers out there doing it too.. and today, it seemed fitting. :) Except.. I'd like to end on the positive, so I'll start with Thorns and then switch to Roses (plus it'll make the roses make more sense).

* Thorns to the hose in the back of my toilet bursting on my day off- floor was filled with water in .2 seconds

* Thorns to not being able to get a hold of my LL, calling a plumber and being told to call the fire dept to shut off the water

* Thorns to 8 firemen in my apt, traipsing around...awwwwwwkward...hahaha...

* Thorns to not getting as much done today as I originally intended thanks to the toilet drama...

* Thorns to not receiving some news I've been somewhat waiting on...

* Thorns to getting a little pimple on my chin! What is THAT?! Sheesh.. haha..

* Thorns to the 206 emails my blackberry says are waiting for me at work tomorrow...

* Thorns to realizing I have like a month to get Xmas presents and am clueless! Agh!

* Roses to being home at the exact.right.time.today when the toilet thing burst b/c if I hadn't been, would have ruined everything in my apt!

* Roses to Eric for being calm and giving me a plumber's number when I called him at work, exclaiming "my bathroom's flooding and my LL isn't answering-WHATDOIDO?!" Jackie=apparently not calm in household emergencies. Good to know.

* Roses to getting my apt fixed up pretty quickly and my LL washing all my towels I'd used for the mess, folding them and leaving them on my table. :)

* Roses to having a roof over my head, in a cute warm apt, despite a plumbing issue today.

* Roses to Eric's official first day today in his new dept at work! (yes, I called him on his first day in the new dept with my potty drama.. Good gosh...)

* Roses to my mug of hot peach tea I just made for this cold night

* Roses to my adorable pup laying beside me

* Roses to preparing a yummy dinner tonight thanks to those pre-cooked chickens at Target :)

* Roses to going to Sephora to get lipgloss & realizing I never got my free bday gift-so got THREE addl fun lipglosses!

* Roses to figuring out exactly how I want my bedroom to look when I'm done!

* Roses to seeing all my co workers tomorrow and the regular jobbie and having a cafeteria on-site again (fountain sodas whenever I want. So unhealthy. So amazing.)

* Roses to New Moon coming out this week!

* Roses to having a shorter week since I took the day off today!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway (a few posts down) by noon tomorrow! I'll draw a winner tomorrow night!

Weekend Recap!

So, I have quite a bit written on the UW post and quite a bit to go... It's really more for my memories, ya know.. Anyway, in the meantime, I'm going to post pics from the weekend! I feel so behind on blogger.. ever get like that? With this being Eric's last week before the first section of the CPA exam (aka he will be locked in studying all week/weekend)....and no more UW (kinda sad admittedly), I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to catch up on all things internet and dvr... :)

Friday, I headed to my friend's house-she's an excellent cook and was so sweet to make dinner for us! Then, we made cookies (and they were yumtastic!). No photos for some reason. :( But, fun and chillax night. Then, headed to Eric's and watched some tv (after he was done studying for the night) to continue chill time. With all the studying he has to do, his free time Sat needed to be spent doing some stuff in the yard, etc while the weather was good... so I helped to both get to hang...and help him cut down on yard work time. :) It's likely b/c I don't own a home yet.. but I really get a kick out of all things having to do with raking, yard-cleaning, etc...haha..

I also get a kick out of this photo...

We took all the leaves and some plants to the "green dump" just outside of town.. which I'd never been to.. It's the little (admittedly bizarre) things that get me kinda pumped.. haha.. Please remember this when I buy a house and am complaining...

Anyway, this is what the leaves looked like when we got there.. hi.larious.
Then, this is embarrassing to admit. But, if you read my blog, you remember the bed I've been trying to paint black for.ever. Yeah, well....life happens, people. Things get busy.. haha.. Soo, here's me priming and finishing the last piece! Almost done! YAY! I need to pick out new linens for a bigger bed and a new room design!
Saturday night, housewarming party! Beth threw the party for her boyfriend who just bought a home in an older area of town redone with modern amenities...like my fav-the awesome staircase that you see here which extends down to a finished basement.

Here they are-aren't they adorable?
I.love.chandeliers. I don't really blog about that b/c well.. I can't put any in my apartment (without my LL's being pissed.. haha), but Beth found this one at an estate sale and I made her take a photo with it...haha...
Our friend cooked and it was so yum. As Marla said, "this is so guy style-I love it!" Very camping-comfort food.. mmmm... .
Some of the girls :)
Then, Timberly and I headed to Oscars for a glass of wine and met up with some friends. :) This pic amuses me b/c everyone is doing something kinda random.. haha.. Scott and I are in our own photo.. Timberly has "sexy face" (as she puts it..lol!), Sara photo bombed and Robbie doesn't look like he likes us with how far he's sitting.. haha..
Today, taiiiiilgating!! Sunday night game! It was cold and rainy and that didn't stop us! We're fans, people! Someone loved his grilling gloves....
His dad invited everyone from work tonight so we expected about 100ppl. So.much.food! :) The weather kept some peeps away, but we still had a good crowd!
Grills-good for cooking annnnnd warming hands....
Our tailgate! Rented an extra tent (the pointy one) for more peeps this time :) I kinda heart the blue trees... Just sayin... Good call, TU.. Good call.
Timberly had tix in the club level (inside).... and shared with her friends Jax and Eric. Thank you, Timbo for contributing to my warmth and comfort tonight.. I kept saying we had the princess seats.. I'm okay with that. haha. :)
Coach's face... We look scary...
Better. Or at least less frightening... hah! :)
Hope you had a great weekend! Don't forget to enter my giveaway ending Tuesday! :) Loved reading your answers to my question! I took tomorrow off and feel like I have a zillion things to do... On the list...a trip to sephora. As lame as it sounds, I've been conserving every ounce of lipgloss b/c I haven't had time to go out there...haha.. That's gonna be my favorite errand tomorrow out of the zillion I have to run... Hope your week starts off fabtastic, blogfriends. :)

Hi peeps!

Hi peeps! I'm working on a blog about my time at the UW..and trying to get stuff done. It's been a BUSY week, but I'm glad to say WE MET GOAL! There was so much celebrating on Thursday, I think my cheeks still hurt from smiling! ha! :) I did, however, get a speeeeeeeding ticket. in my work rental car. on the last day of the campaign. And the motorcycle cop totally didn't care that I was working for the Un!ted Way (jerk.). Anyhoo, I hope you're having a great weekend and I'm sorry I'm missing in action... Tonight is the TU football game and then tomorrow, I took the day off to play catch up on lots of things I haven't gotten to do lately-regular errands and the like. Then, I start back at my regular jobbie on Tuesday! So, updates soon and I think I'll use some time right now to catch up on what some of you have been up to!

This week is FLYING!

Just a quick blog to say thanks for signing up for my giveaway! So fun! You still have til Tuesday to sign up if you haven't yet! I wanted to do Way Back Wed and Wishful Wed, but I am pooped. I had an EARLY meeting (7am) and we busted it all day long (I even got on channel 8 answering phones at our phone bank earlier!) trying to hit goal before our deadline tomorrow.

23 million. 898 thousand. 673. We.can.do.it.

There's so much I've learned about our community...about generosity...about what it means to give back to those who need it... and as we inch closer, I actually get kinda emotional as stupid as that sounds....

I think I also need sleep in all fairness.

So, I will try to blog tomorrow, but as you're working, know we're busting it again in the final hours trying to make goal so our area citizens in need can receive services next year...

...and on this Veterans Day, I am reminded how many stories the agencies told me about our local Veterans being served by the agencies. Did you know the avg soldier today has over 200 concussions during his/her tour(s)? Did you know many suffer from PTSD? And many have no where to go to receive help...except to our agencies. And with the state cutting funding, our funding is more impt than ever.

So I hope we can do it.

Tomorrow evening, I will be at the campaign's Celebration event downtown! We're celebrating regardless b/c raising the amount of money we've raised in this economy is definitely something to cheer about!

I want to blog all about how much this experience has meant to me as it's coming to an end-things and people I will miss... Things I won't miss as much but will definitely take with me as I move forward....

So that will be coming soon... along with some much overdo blog awards (that I really really appreciate and want to be able to put some thought into...hence waiting to blog about them). :)

I am also debating of taking Monday off instead of heading straight back to my regular job.

As for tonight, I had a much needed girly night with my friend, Marla (and some vino) and decided to go tan reallllllly briefly (dont judge me..I needed it. lol!) However, I was so tired, I may have fallen asleep in there for the full 20 min. And people, I'm like Casper right now. Soooo yeah...tomato city, one way ticket for me. Sheesh. haha....Hopefully it won't be too bad. *nervous* haha..

Anyway, hope ya'll are having an awesome week! :)

My First Giveaway!

Hey everyone! :) A testament to my day.. I started this blog post at work at lunch and am just now getting around to finishing it... haha...busssssy day!

Sooo..here goes.. I wanted to do a giveaway when I hit 100 followers...and the week I hit that mark, I was crazy-busy so it just got away from me...(still astounds me that I have over 100 followers-thank you, peeps! :))

Anyway, I rec'd some mail this morning that presented the PERFECT giveaway! I opened a letter from Glam0ur with my renewal details, and when I renew by the end of next week, I get a FREE subscription for a friend with my paid one! YAY!

So I think you see where this is going... I'm giving away a year's subscription of Glam0ur to one of you fabulous blogger friends!

So, without further adieu, the rules to this Glam0ur Mag Giveaway are simple!

* Leave a comment on this post with the answer to this question: If you had $1,000 to spend solely on something(s) to make you feel glamorous/pretty/sassy or just plain good, what would you buy?!

* You must enter by one week from today, or Tuesday, November 17th by noon CST

* I'll pop everyone's names into a random drawing and select a winner! From there, I'll announce the winner and get in touch so I can get your addy to send your free subscription!

:)

Nasty Car Weekend Recap!

Hey peeps! How was your weekend? We got back from Dallas around 11 last night, so I opted to catch up on some of your blogs last night in bed and update mine today... :) I was tiiiiiired (still am), but what a fun weekend! And side note.. I didn't get to say thank you for all your sweet comments on my post about the news interview last week! So thank you thank you! :)

Okay, Nascar weekend heeeeeeere we go!

We left Friday night and headed south to Texas! En route, stopped at a casino and Eric's dad won! We were seriously there long enough for a restroom stop and he won 30o bucks from playing 10 bucks a dollar at a time-Not.bad! haha! As Eric's mom said "He wins everything..." in a semi exasperated "no-fair-type" tone.. haha! Cute.

Then, Saturday, Eric's parents headed to one of the races and we opted to hit up the outlet mall.. for an embarrassing 5 hours. (haha...oops). I think I needed some retail therapy or something.. I dunno... So, last time we went to Dallas for Nasty Car, Eric got two sofas (from American Leather's Warehouse there) and some other stuff.. Jackie.. a big phat 0. This time, the outlet mall and I bonded. My credit card felt violated.

LOL! (I'm also hold one of Eric's bags for effect, but still). I got the CUTEST dress and a high waisted skirt (I've been wanting one so badly!) from the BCBG outlet along with some other stuff that was on major sale (MAJOR.) Eric helped me justify the dress... (think "I can so wear this for new years or something, right?" with his response in his best supportive boyf voice "Oh yeah.. definitely.. or even if we go to a nice dinner or something..") My boyfriend rocks. hah! ;)

Met his parents for dinner then headed to Ikea so I could get some fabric and E could get some other stuff. Why did I need fabric? Well.. b/c Eric is gonna make me a fun wall thing like he made himself! This is on his wall and he totally MADE it! (side note:This isn't supposed to be a "my boyfriend rocks!" post.. but it is what it is. *shrug* haha...) Anyway, super excited-think it'll go in my room I plan to re-do!

Then met friends Ryan and Ashley, also in town for the race, for a drink... :)

Afterwards, we bought the TU game in our room...and we ended up losing. Again. In the very.last.second. of the game-literally. *sigh*

Sunday-It's NASCAR time, peeps! Walking around before heading to our seats...
All the racers have trailer things where you can buy merchandise. This one is where my hat's from! He ended up finishing second, I might add... Sometimes picking the hat you like best pays off.. haha..

Before the race started...

With Eric's parents in our seats!

I'm not proud of myself for missing photo ops of the 8-beer koozie necklace....or the man changing clothes in the stands.. but I got some cute pics of our little group.. haha.. :)

We shared one of these.... You hook your headphones into it and listen to any of the racers inside their cars communicating with their pit crews (and it even has a little tv on it). Kinda fun!
It's a little hard to hear with all the noise and the headphones on.. This pic demos that.. haha...His mom was trying to get him to tell me the headphones have adjustable volume on them.. lol!
Getting started! The cars communicate with spotters perched on top of that building in the background (left) and in other areas.. Spotters let 'em know if other cars are coming up on them, etc.. I find that especially interesting for some reason...
My guy's car at his pit.. I counted once and he had all four tires changed, gassed up, etc in less than like 12 seconds...
Look closely.. b/c you might see Eric's eyes closed...hahaha! As he said "It gets a little slow after lap 50" haha... This is totally demonstrative that he can sleep anywhere. Anywhere. I'm so jealous of that btw... He didn't exactly nap... but I just thought this was funny I caught him kinda nodding for a few seconds....
I dunno.....

This was my second race (and his mom's too!) and I liked knowing more of the drivers than I did at the first one, their cars, etc... I felt very in the know.. haha..And the people watching was fabulous per usual. It's actually a really fun event! If you've never been, I highly recommend. And I just love Eric's parents-we all had a really good time together! Lots of laughs, some gambling winnings, some racing, some shopping, quite a bit of eating, some funny stories of Eric as a kid (haha! Awesome). And one of my favs... some hanging/down time with my favorite candidate for an upcoming CPA exam. :)

And how well Eric knows me: he packed an extra contact case and a hair tie I'd left at his place...and what things did I forget? Yeah. Exactly.

Well, peeps, this week, I might be a little m.i.a. b/c it's my last week at the Un!ted Way... It's weird how quickly it's all coming to an end... We only have til Thurs to meet our goal of almost 24 million dollars.. We're almost there, but we're utilizing every second til the ceremony on Thursday night to get there....and I think we'll need it. The economy is no joke...*sigh* One company comes in over their goal as another comes in below...way below. So, if I'm not as active as I usually am, that's why. I plan to do a post later this week with some of the stuff I'll miss about the experience....just so I don't forget... I also have some super fun blog awards I need to do!!!

Hope you had a great weekend, everyone, and hope your week's starting off fabtastic!

Send a Christmas Card!

Okay peeps, I wasn't even going to blog tonight... b/c I have to pack for our trip since we're now leaving tomorrow instead of Saturday... :)

But, really after reading this, my little heart broke and I had to post it. Eric sent me this story just now..and after checking it out, it's true...checks out on snopes, news websites, etc...

Noah Biorkman is a 5 y.o. boy who is dying of cancer. His family is celebrating Christmas next week as he may not live to see it this year. All he wants is Christmas cards. Lets try and see how many we can get to him. His address is: 1141 Fountain View Circle South Lyon, Mi 48178

(Here's the snopes article...)

So, whatcha think, peeps? Ya with me? Eric and I are getting cards and droppin em in the mailbox on the way out of town for sure.

I was going to do a Thankful Thursday post....but really I'm going to just say I'm thankful for today...for my blessings...and am saying a prayer for this little boy and his family...Hope you'll join me in sending a card his way...

So I was on the news...

...and no, I didn't get arrested or anything bad. LOL!

So, my friend is a local reporter and needed another person for a story on local agencies having trouble meeting funding with the economy and she came to interview me! I was just glad I didn't fall on my face.. But really, help is needed more than ever. Watch the whole story b/c the end of it makes me tear up when the lady is talking about Christmastime...

Anyway, here ya go....





Also, I went to sushi tonight with Maureen and I ran into someone.. This is what happened. Sheer embarrassment:

She looked at me and smiled....

Me: Hi! ...... Please forgive me, but I just can't recall where we know each other from...

Her: I live in your building.

Me: Oh. I'm so sorry.. (I live in a small apt building..and have talked to her like 10 times.. granted, she was in sweats then, not in the dress she had on tonight. But still, I should have known this.)

Nice one, Jax. Good gosh.. (In my defense, she just moved in, but still.... wow.) And usually, I just fake it like I remember someone if I don't.. I am HORRIBLE with names.. and when you grew up in a city, went to college in a city, went to law school in that SAME city, people begin to mix together sometimes. Why did I have to say anything at all?! Doh! *sigh*

Guess if I was gonna make a jerk outta myself, would rather it be with one person like that instead of on the news earlier... (see how I kinda tied that in together? haha...)