Stack 'em high

Believe it or not, I am entering my third week of unemployment and I have yet to crack open a book. Hard to believe, since I normally average a book or two a week.

I have been so desperate to keep myself busy, to prove that I can still be productive, that I have barely taken any time to actually enjoy my time off. This weekend I finally scratched the last item off my Unemployment To Do list, so maybe now I can spend a little more time doing things I enjoy - like plowing through this stack of books I got today at Half Price Books.

I swore up and down I was going to consign my little box of books and get the heck out of Dodge, but alas the line was long and the clearance section was calling my name. I need more books like I need another hole in my head, but how could I resist some of my all time favorite authors and every book just $1?

At that price I'm lucky I didn't walk out with more books than I came in with!

The Reason and the Truth

{image via google images}

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. - John 3:16-18 (The Message Bible version)

Let me upgrade ya....

Look at me, busting out the song lyrics for two posts in a row! Perhaps I should consider a new career path as a lounge singer?

I digress.

We had a major upgrade at our house today. This one has been a long time coming and I couldn't be happier about it. We got a new baby!

No, not that kind of baby.

This kind....


Doesn't he look handsome? And the guy in the brown jacket's not half bad, either....

That's right, we finally took the plunge and bought Nate a new car. For as long as we've been married, he's been drooling over the Ford Mustang. First we were waiting for him to finish grad school, then we moved twice, then we bought the house. There was always some reason to keep putting it off. Meanwhile he was driving this....



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is duct tape holding up the window. Any good Southerner knows that duct tape is the solution for everything.

Nate had mentioned a couple of times how much he was digging the Dodge Challenger but I never in a million years imagined him with anything other than a black Mustang. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he rolled up from his test drive in a fire-engine-red Challenger.


The grin on his face said he was already a goner. So we got our stuff in order and headed back to the dealership to do the deed.


Five hours later we were cruising back home with the sunroof open and the bass thumping. Men were breaking their necks to get a look at this baby on the road. And Nate was loving every minute of it. I was afraid I wasn't going to fit in the car with Nate and the big fat smile on his handsome face.


I hope you enjoy every minute of it, baby. You deserve it.

And they call it....puppy lo-ove

That's me doing my best Donnie Osmond, Puppy Love imitation. What, you'd like an encore? Oh you make me blush. Maybe later.

Jennifer over at Pour l'Amour De tagged me with this special request - a picture of me, however I am, right at this very moment. Thank the good Lord she posted it in the afternoon, otherwise you poor readers would have been subjected to Sara: the Raw Morning version. Not a pretty sight.

Rules:
Take a picture of yourself right now.
No primping or preparing.
Just snap a picture.
Load the picture onto your blog.


I was cuddling Lola while catching up on my Reader so I let her make a guest appearance in my picture.

Hello, Old Friends

Pulling out my summer clothes is like Christmas, my birthday and a family reunion, all rolled into one.

Hello, old friends, so nice to see you again.

Magic in a bottle

{image via resolve}

This stuff is MAGIC.

We had our first incident on the carpet today. I know I should be grateful that we've gone six months in the new house without one, but mostly I was just pissed because, well....we went six months in the new house without one. These two are lucky I don't know who threw up on my carpet because the culprit would have been banished to the laundry room until their tummy troubles were settled.


At least whoever it was had the decency to do it toward the edge of the room behind a table rather than in the middle of the floor. As soon as I saw it, I went dashing for the bottle of Resolve Triple Action. I read a review on it many moons ago and bought it before we even closed on the house (I knew this day would eventually come!).

I sprayed the spot, let it sit for five minutes and when I came back....MAGIC! The spot was gone before I even scrubbed it. Of course, I still scrubbed it a bit to soak up the wet spot, but you can't tell a bit. If you have pets or children or happen to be really clumsy when holding beverages, I highly recommend this stuff. It's magic in a bottle.

with much love, wangy

{Living it up in Jamaica last summer for our 5th anniversary}

I must start with my apologies to my handsome husband. Yesterday was his birthday and I fully intended to post something about it but the day got away from me. Although I don't think he's complaining because it was a pretty darn good birthday.

On the bright side, I finally, finally, finally surprised him with a gift. Go, me! The man always seems to know what he's getting - usually in three guesses or less. It could be the most random gift on the planet and he will somehow intuit what's in the box before he opens it (hello, year of the watch). But yesterday, I totally got him. He's had an ipod shuffle for a few years and has mentioned in passing several times that he wishes he could have play lists for his runs. But every time I mention getting a new ipod he shrugs it off, saying his is just fine. But birthdays are meant for getting stuff you don't need, right? So he is now the proud and very surprised owner of a new ipod nano. Shock and awe, baby, shock and awe! Score.

I love you, Nate! Happy (one day late) birthday!

Whodunit?

Curses on whoever brought the Necco Malted Milk Eggs into my house.


Oh, wait. Dang, that was me.....well, then, uh....

Curses on my complete lack of impulse control when in the Wal-mart Easter candy aisle.

One-armed, er, sleeved bandit

{image via fug girls}

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Carrie Underwood and I was thrilled to see her take home Entertainer of the Year at the CMA's last night, but seriously, honey....this is what you choose to wear? Don't you have a stylist? Yes? Well then she should be shot. No? Then I'd invest in one, pronto.

I'm sure people are always telling you, 'You're so pretty, you'd look good in a potato sack', but darlin', it's just a metaphor. They didn't really mean that you should dress in a potato sack (or pillowcase as the, uh, case may be). And what's up with that hideous sleeve-that-they-forgot-to-attach-to-the-dress-so-we-just-hooked-it-to-my-necklace-instead? Sleeves are not accessories. Sweetie pie, less is more.

Better luck next time. Bless your heart.

Homesick

It's days like today that make me miss home the most.

The tax man cometh

Every year on January 1st I promise myself that I will get our taxes done the minute we have both our W-2's. And every year it's somehow April 1st before I get around to even thinking about it.

Guess what is sitting on the desk in front of me, staring ever so rudely while I try to read blogs, check email, procrastinate as long as humanly possible and catch up on Facebook? Stupid W-2's.

This is the first year since we've been married that I am going to attempt to do them on my own. Every other year we've had some reason or another to pay someone else to just do it for us. I tried that this year, but the guy at H&R Block kind of skeeved me out and honestly, I'm a little bit embarrassed to even call last year's guy so late in the tax season. Surely this can't be too hard, right?

At this point, I think I'd prefer this to spending the next two hours trying to figure out if I should subtract Line 452.b.ii from Line 987.g.vii, or was that Line 987.d.iii?

{image via active rain}

Just in the nick of time

Who has the best parents in the whole entire world?

Me, me, me! That's who.

Not only did they get me exactly what I wanted for my birthday, but they somehow knew I was not going to make it another two weeks until my birthday before I bought it for myself.

I am now the proud owner of a year-long subscription to Netflix! Suh-weet!

Thanks, Mom and Dad! You're the best whole world.

Fare thee well

{image via google}

I just boohooed my way through the 2-hour series finale of ER. I was 13 when the show first started and I begged my mom to let me stay up until 11 so I could watch it with her. That was a big freaking deal to stay up that late back then.

I have watched every season since. Even when it got slow, or campy, or a little bit mundane. I must say, this last season did not disappoint. I thought they got the final episode just right too - just enough sappiness but mostly the business of County General still goes on.

Man, I'm going to miss this show.

{image via nbc.com}

My tastebuds thank you

{image via Godiva}

Dear Godiva Chocolates,

Thank you for creating the milk chocolate cheesecake truffle. It is a little bite of heaven wrapped in chocolate. I thank you even more for having the presence of mind to sell it only four weeks out of the year, so that I do not blow up like a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade float.

Blissfully yours,
Sara

Hey, hey, it's my birthday....

Speaking of birthdays.....wait, what? We weren't speaking of birthdays? Well, it's my blog, so we are now.

Happy first day of April and welcome to the month-long celebration of my birth. The way I see it, your birthday is the perfect excuse to get away with bad behavior live it up, so why limit yourself to just one day?

Let's say I just happen to find myself wandering through the mall when I come upon a pair of fabulous purple heels. But I am unemployed, so I should save my moolah and keep moving, right? Unless...it happens to be my birthday, then I could buy them as a birthday gift to myself, right? But this only works on a single day each year. Hence, the birthday month. Instead of a single day, I get 30 whole days to use the birthday excuse. Genius!

Note: The birthday month excuse also works well for indulging in cake (Well, it is my birthday!), getting out of cleaning the house (But, honey, it's my birthday!) and other impulsive behaviors for which you need an excuse (What can I say, it's my birthday!).

__________________________________________

A few of the items on my birthday wish list. Oh, don't pretend like you don't have one too!


1. A subscription to Netflix. I am totally obsessed with Netflix lately. It's only $8.99 a month for unlimited rentals. Um, hello?! You can't rent two movies at Blockbuster for that price. This will happen, I'm just giving Nate the opportunity to call it a birthday gift.



2. I've been stalking this dress from Victoria's Secret since last spring, but it absolutely refuses to go on sale. I don't need it, so I can't bring myself to spend $75 on it. But that's kind of what birthdays are for, right? I feel a birthday month excuse coming on....

{image via sincerely, kristin}

3. A month of Bootcamp. Because trying on my bathing suits the other day was a rude awakening. Enough said.

{image via google images}

4. A giraffe print purse. Love it. Sigh.



5. A Tempur-Pedic Pillow. My sister has one and I am insanely jealous every time I see it. I would just steal it, but she will know immediately that it was me. Wonder if the birthday excuse would get me out of that one?