Thursday, January 28, 2010

Craving, craving

{Image found here}

For some inexplicable reason, I am craving Little Caesar's pizza today. I didn't see a commercial, I didn't drive by one, I didn't overhear someone mention it - I just suddenly wanted it. A lot.

This happens to me a lot. I'm going about my merry way, doing whatever it is I'm doing these days, and suddenly - BAM! - I get a craving. And they tend not to go away. Last week? I ate broccoli slaw five meals in a row. The week before that? We had toasted turkey and pepper jack sandwiches for dinner two nights in a row. The week before that? I couldn't get enough chicken salad.

And our weekend dinner dates? I usually know where we're going and what I'm going to order by Wednesday. This Saturday night? PF Changs - lettuce wraps and orange peel chicken.

Nate calls this behavior 'weird'. I prefer to call it 'anticipation'. Po-ta-to; Po-tah-to.

Surely I can't be the only person who does this? Do you look forward to your meals with such enthusiasm? Or am I really a weirdo?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Hello, Puberty. Long time, no see.

I don't know what the deal is the last few weeks but my skin has gone crazy. It's like how I imagine puberty is for most people, except that it never actually happened to me back then.

My skin never gave me a bit of trouble. Ever. Not in middle school, not in high school, not in college, not in my mid-20's. I get the random blemish once a month or so, but even those are mild compared to most people. I'll take pale and freckled any day, so long as it comes with a smooth porcelain veneer.

So why, all of a sudden, has Puberty decided to pay me a visit - three months shy of my final year in my twenties?

It's like every pore has suddenly started hoarding dirt and oil and then waving it around in the form of a big red flag on my face. WTH?

I've racked my brain for changes in my daily routine. I haven't changed face wash, make-up, laundry soap or anything similar recently. No new vitamins or supplements. No, I'm not pregnant. I am less stressed than I've been in months and my diet has actually improved now that I'm not eating my misery all day at my desk. So what gives?

Could it be the weather? Am I over moisturizing? Under moisturizing? I seriously have no clue where to even start trying to fix this because it's never been an issue before. HELP! What do I do?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

All the pieces come together....

{Image found here}

One week, ya'll! I am beyond excited! Who's with me?

Monday, January 25, 2010

MIA

{Image found here}

MISSING

One gaseous mass. Answers to the name Sun or Mr. Golden Sun.

Height: 865,000 miles
Color: White, but may appear yellow from a distance
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen

Last seen approximately 8 days ago, heading West.

If found, please return to the Eastern Horizon.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Well ain't that a pickle?


Task #15 on my attempt to look productive for the sake of my husband To Do list last week was to clean out my closet. As you can tell from the picture above, this project was a smashing success.

Well, except for the fact that it spawned a completely new To Do item. Task #16 - Clean up the mess that my closet clean up created.

Currently this disaster is residing on one of our guest beds. Luckily, we have two guest beds, and no imminent plans for guests, but still...I should get this taken care of. Or so my husband reminds me every evening when he asks if I did anything about the mess I made in the guest bedroom.

In closet purges past, I would simply pack up my giveaway pile and trundle it home to my baby sister, who has long been the lucky recipient of my short attention span when it comes to clothing. Sadly now (for both of us!), the 12 hour drive no longer makes this option number one.

When we moved to the house a year ago, I took a dozen items to a local consignment store to test the waters, hopeful that I could make at least a small amount of pocket change for my almost-as-good-as-new items. Much to my dismay, I didn't sell a single thing. Three months later, my lovely clothes were given to Goodwill. Not that I am knocking donating to Goodwill, but seriously, these clothes were all still in style and worth a decent amount of money.

So maybe it was just the wrong consignment shop? Granted, it was a bit out of the way and I didn't find a single thing I'd want to purchase there, but still. Surely someone with good taste (such as myself) wanders in there occasionally, even if by accident.

I Googled consignment stores in the area and came up disappointingly empty-handed. I'm considering selling some things on eBay, but I'm not entirely sure it's worth the effort. I've shopped on eBay before, and scored some fabulous deals - which is kind of the point. I love it because I pay next to nothing for department store labels that I love. I don't exactly see myself ecstatic over selling my stuff for pennies on the dollar.

What do you do with your still fashionable, but no longer wanted clothing? Have you sold clothing on eBay before? Is it easy? Is it worth it? Is there some other website that's better for that type of thing?

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Master of the House

What does this look like to you?


A full bowl of dog food, you say? Funny, that's what it looks like to me too.

"Au contraire, Mama!", says Master Oliver. "Completely unacceptable."




Hear that? That is the noise Oliver makes when the food in his bowl does not meet his liking. You see, Picky Pom here only likes the red (meat) and green (veggie) pieces that come in his food. The tan (barley) and brown (wheat) simply aren't acceptable to his palate. So after he eats all of the red and green pieces, he will sit by the bowl and make this woofing noise until you come and: a) stir the bowl to reveal more red and green OR b) replace the offending tan and brown with a new helping loaded with red and green.

Spoiled much?

Nate says this is all my fault. He only does it when I'm around. Never when Nate is home alone. This happens at least once a week, usually more often. Yes, I know that I should not give in. I know this in the sane part of my brain. I never give in immediately. I am always going to STAND MY GROUND and SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS. This turns into a Stand-off of Epic Proportions, where I continually scream, "Oliver, knock it off!" while chasing him away from the bowl and he defiantly returns bowl-side and continues carrying on.

The longest stand-off to date? 45 minutes. He can keep this up for 45 minutes!! Why is it that when we play fetch, he has the attention span of a gnat, but he won't be lured away from the food bowl with anything less than brute force?

Needless to say, 20 minutes into most stand-offs, the sane part of my brain is no longer functioning and the Dear-God-make-it-stop part has taken over. At which point, I stomp into the laundry room, slap food in the bowl and hurl it at him, muttering "Stupid dog!" under my breath.

Oliver 101, Mommy 0

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Book Worm

Many weekends, you can find the Mister and I parked on opposite ends of the couch. He with a video game controller and I with a book or magazine in hand. While this may not be everyone's idea of 'romantic quality time', it works for us. The way I look at it, we're in the same room, on the same piece of furniture, both doing what we enjoy most. That's quality time, right?

Sadly, when I started working in an office again (and commuting an hour each way!), my reading time was one of the first casualties. I normally average a book per week, but as you can tell by my 2009 reading list, I only made it through 41 books this year. My 'To Read' list for 2010 is already a mile long, but luckily with my new Sony e-Reader (a Christmas gift from my darling hubby), I never have to be without a book again! It's so small and light, it slips right into my purse for convenient reading anytime. Here's to making it to 52 books again this year!

Sara's 2009 Bookshelf
*Please note that I never claimed this was worthwhile reading. To me, the entire point of reading fiction is to escape the real world. Yes, I do occasionally read books with lasting meaning, but those are few and far between. Feel free to judge me, I don't care.

Barbara Delinksy, While My Sister Sleeps
Candace Bushnell, One Fifth Avenue
David Baldacci, Total Control
David Kinnaman, UnChristian
Harlan Coben, One Final Detail
Harlan Coben, Long Lost
Heather Gudenkauf, The Weight of Silence
James Nicodem, Prayer Coach
James Patterson, Alex Cross's Trial
James Patterson, Honeymoon
James Patterson, Double Cross
James Patterson, Kiss the Girls
James Patterson, The Big Bad Wolf
James Patterson, The 8th Confession
James Patterson, Cross Country
Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care
Jodi Picoult, Picture Perfect
John Grisham, The Associate
John Grisham, The Testament
John LesCroart, The Second Chair
Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Laura Lippman, Life Sentences
Lee Child, Gone Tomorrow
Lee Child, Die Trying
Lee Child, Running Blind
Lincoln Child, Death Match
Lisa Gardner, Gone
Lisa Scottoline, Look Again
Lisa Unger, Die For You
Michael Connelly, A Darkness More than Night
Michael Connelly, The Poet
Michael Connelly, 9 Dragons
Michael Connelly, The Brass Verdict
Michael Connelly, The Closers
Michael Connelly, The Last Coyote
Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song
Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One
Tori Spelling, Mommywood
Tori Spelling, sTori Telling
Whitney Gaskell, She Myself and I

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The One Where Sara Gets Laid Off Again

Oh, the titles I could have given this post....

Don't Cry for Me Argentina Bloggerina

On The Dole Again

I Kissed A Girl I'm on the Dole and I Like It

Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish Bosses

Breaking Up is Hard Easy To Do

Sayonara, Suckers


For those of you who don't follow me on Twitter (whatcha waitin' for, an engraved invitation?) or Facebook (friend me!) or my other blog (shame on you for not reading that too!) I got laid off on Monday. For those of you keeping count, this makes twice in less than a year.

Unlike last time, though, I am less than heartbroken about this one. In fact, calling me in any way upset by the news would be overstating things. I knew from Day 3 at this company that this was not a long term situation for me. While I didn't talk about it much here (because we all know that's a no-no in the business world) I dreaded going there every day. I fantasized on a daily basis about quitting. It literally sucked the joy right out of me. It's not my nature to be a Debbie Downer, but that's how I felt every time I walked into that place. I hated who I was when I was there.

So it was with something closely resembling elation that I graciously accepted the news of my lay-off. I'd been forewarned by an in-the-know friend on Sunday - and forewarned is forearmed. I was able to put my thoughts together before going in there and was prepared to say what needed to be said to HR before I left. It also gave me the opportunity to say good-bye to the few friends that I'd made while I was there.

Now I'm back on the government dole again, but wiser and more prepared for unemployment this time. I've learned a valuable lesson - as bad as unemployment feels, an ill-fitting job feels worse. I never should have accepted my last position. I knew it was a bad fit before I even accepted it; in fact, I struggled mightily with the decision to accept it at all. But I felt guilty for being unemployed and with no other options on the horizon, I figured I could put up with the job for the paycheck. Big mistake. One that I won't be making again.

I will also embrace this time with enthusiasm, something I didn't do the last time around. I felt so much guilt for not contributing to our checkbook that I didn't enjoy the time the way that I should have. I'm not naive enough to think that the old guilt won't resurface - it's already trying, every day when Nate comes home and asks me what I did today - but I'm trying not to let it suck the fun out of my time off. I've got a long list of things to do, people to reach out to, goals I've put off long enough. It's time to embrace this season in my life and I am walking into with open arms.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

No More Mr. Nice Spy

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Chuck is back tonight on NBC! This is one of the few (read: two) shows that Nate and I agree on. I was so sad when I heard the show had been cancelled but it looks like the power of the people pulled it back from the Graveyard of Great Shows That Ended Too Soon.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

OOOOH, NOOOO

To say I had a rough day at work today would be an understatement. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself until this commercial came on for the zillionth time. And for the zillionth time, I laughed like a lunatic at it. If you haven't seen the Geico Pothole Commercial yet, get ready. Note to first time viewers: You might want to swallow whatever you're drinking before you press play. Unless, you know, you like the sensation of snorting diet soda through your nose.


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Jigga, what?!

{Image found here}

Well that picture just about sums up my afternoon!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I had a cavity filled back in mid-December. At the time, I didn't mind so much because, hey, it got me out of another afternoon of the most mind-numbingly boring job on Earth. But more than a week later, I was still having stabbing pains in my tooth every time I chewed on that side - not good. So Tuesday before our vacation, I went back to the dentist to have it checked out. There was much talk of filing it down a little more, bruising, swelling, waiting, pain tolerance....and then the dreaded words 'root' and 'canal' right next to each other in the same sentence. I went home hoping and praying that the dentist had fixed the problem and that a few more days of rest would solve the problem.

Not so much. Two weeks later, vacation is over and I still can't use that side of my mouth. On the bright side, I have some fantastic jaw muscles on the right side of my face now.

So to the endodontist I went this afternoon for a consultation. Yay! Another missed afternoon of work! I figured a thirty minute consultation at 2:00 and then I'm out and home a full two hours earlier than usual. Wahoo!

The tech girl comes in, taps around on my tooth, touches it with cold, touches it with hot, makes me bite down, takes an x-ray. Looks like I definitely need a root canal and she'll have the endodontist come in to look at it. Enter Dr. Endo, who taps around on my tooth, touches it with cold, touches it with hot, makes me bite down, looks at the x-ray. Yup, I concur, you need a root canal.

Major bummer, right? My wallet feels lighter already.

So as I'm laying there listening to exactly how a root canal works, he sticks a cotton swab in my mouth and suddenly my cheek goes all tingly. Which is when he says, 'We'll just numb you a little before we do the injections'.

Whoa, wait a minute. Jigga, what?!

WE'RE DOING THIS NOW?

I'm pretty sure my face looked exactly like that monkey up there. I was totally and completely shocked. I was expecting a consultation and a follow-up appointment, before which I would take copious amounts of relaxants and possibly mix them with alcohol (KIDDING! Sort of.) What I was not expecting was a root canal. Silly me.

Apparently it's standard operating procedure at that office to follow up a consultation with a two hour opening for an immediate procedure. Um, might be nice to tell the patient this on the phone, don't you think?

They, of course, offered to let me come back if I preferred, but that was clearly not what they wanted me to choose. And being that I was already there and all tingly anyway, I bit the bullet and forged ahead. The procedure itself was not bad at all, if you don't mind having your mouth wedged open and the smell of burning teeth in your nostrils for nearly an hour. And lucky me, I get to go back to my regular dentist for a crown in two to three weeks. Hear that sound? That's my wallet crying quietly in the background.

But when all was said and done? A surprise root canal is still better than an afternoon at work.
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