farewell february

February is a very peculiar month. First of all, the whole 28 or 29 days is just weird - and, even if it is a leap year 29 days is still the shortest month.

Then there is that extra "r" - does anyone even pronounce that "r"? Shouldn't it just be Febuary?

Also, I noticed that this year in particular, February starts on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday - so it is a perfect four week calendar month. (I just read on wikipedia that this only happens every 11 years - yes, I'm a nerd)

And, when you are in Texas, the weather is the craziest in this second month of the year. Thursday was 89, beautiful and sunny. Today? 55 and overcast.

Don't get me wrong, I really have no ill feelings towards the month. February has a lot of things going for it: Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day and various friend's birthdays (Lindsey, Lauren, Jaime). I just think it is a strange little month.

access denied...

The internet is a great source for relieving yourself from boredom! However, when you work at a big corporation with 'the man' monitoring everything you do, your internet is limited. Take today for example, I'm very curious to look up all The Bachelor gossip - so, of course I type my info into the Google toolbar and this is the screen I'm faced with...

Now really - is there a need to block me from my beloved websites? Like IMDB, what harm would that site inflict??? Wouldn't know here, I'm DENIED! Are my 15 minutes of surfing any different than Camel Joe who takes a smoke break every hour? Don't think so! Guess that is just part of 'the man' keeping me down... Guess I'll go back to work.

birthday blog: JAIME

Tomorrow, February 21st, is my big sister's birthday! In honor of her special day, I thought I would dedicate this post to all things Jaime loves, using the letters in her name. For her birthday, we are going to do a little shopping and then meet the whole family out for dinner. Be sure to leave her a comment here to wish her a happy birthday!!!

J- JUNK FOOD

It's true, Jaime loves junk food. She can't help it, it is how we were raised (not you Mom!). So, what are her favorite junk foods, you ask? Chips - any type, any flavor - she loves 'em! Candy - Twizzlers, Skittles, Hot Tamales (wow, now I'm hungry!)... the list could go on and on. But, most of all, her most beloved junk food is Chick-fil-a!!!

A- ALEDO

Jaime and her family live in a cute little town named Aledo. And, yes, she loves it. They are building a new house (and by house I mean castle) and plan to be there forever. The kids are already really involved in all the sports and they are all involved in their church. Jaime even represents Aledo in public (photo below- courtesy of 2007 Turkey Trot!).

I- iPhone

I'll be the first to admit that we are both addicted to our iPhones - but, Jaime started it! Her iPhone has totally been pimped. She has a sweet Paul Frank holder for it and has more Apps than I can shake a stick at (hey- I wonder if there is an App that shakes a stick?)...

M- MACY & ZACHARY

Macy and Zachary are Jaime's two precious kiddos. They are seriously the cutest kids eva' and Jaime loves them to death (don't let her tell you otherwise). Jaime's full time job is to chauffeur the kids to and from: school, football, t-ball, soccer, gymnastics, church, miscellaneous birthday parties, etc... She's the best mom - you can tell from these photos!

E- EDWARD CULLEN
It's funny that I was able to save the best for last... but, yes, Edward Cullen - she loves him. But seriously, who doesn't (if you don't, we need to talk)? Fortunately, I was able to convince my sister to read the Twilight series, and she too fell madly in love.

Happy Birthday Jaime!!! Thanks for being such a wonderful sister, I so glad we are such good friends. I can't wait until your birthday present comes in, you're going to love it!!

for the record...

One of the blogs on my daily-look list is TryJM, a John Mayer blog. The other day they had a list of Ten Things You Never Knew About John Mayer. Good list, but for the record I knew all ten things about John Mayer! So, there. That's all for now, more on John at a later date when I have more time to dedicate... (btw, the photo is one that I took at the concert in August - 2nd row baby!)

my wii fit hates me...

Why else would it give me a totally absurd wii fit age??? I mean, seriously, doesn't my wii know that I work out everyday? And, I don't mean that I just wander down to the gym, lift a couple 3 lb. weights, walk on the treadmill at a 3.5 for 10 minutes. I mean 30-minute-focused-training-sessions with like 15 lb. weights (ya, I'm strong) and at least 30 minutes on the treadmill RUNNING at a 6.5! So, yes, the wii fit must hate me. Want to know what age it said I was...
That's right 44! That is +15 years on my real age. Whatever wii fit, I'm over you.
Check out all the praise my trainer gives me while I'm working out!YOGA MASTER - take that!
BODY BUILDER - wait, I'm not sure I want to brag about that!

But, seriously, I get that kind of praise and you're going to add 15 years to my age. So what - my balance might be a little less than stellar - but, if you were standing on a 12 x 18 piece of plastic looking straight up at your flat screen trying to keep the red dot in the 1 inch yellow circle, you might be a little off too. That's all I'm saying. I'll take my 44 for now and I'll show you.

because I'm random...

So, the 25 Random Things List has been going around Facebook - and I finally gave in and made my list. I had a really good response, so I thought I would share it here. Who knew I was so interesting??? Oh, I did! By popular demand, here it is...

1. I'm Random - that's why this list will be easy for me. Mostly I think I'm random b/c my brain moves faster than my body does, it's hard to keep up some times.

2. I'm Loyal - I've been at the same company since the day I graduated college. (JCP)

3. I'm a Mover - While I've been at JCP for almost 8 years, I've had 6 different jobs and 12 different desks.

4. I'm ADD - I just got distracted by the TV... and it was a commercial!

5. I'm an Addict - to TV, I watch and Tivo all these shows: Heroes, The Bachelor, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, The Biggest Loser, Dirty Sexy Money, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Ugly Better, American Idol, Kath & Kim, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Extreme Makeover Home Edition

6. I'm Obsessive - for real: I love John Mayer, I've been to (about) 20 concerts since 2001. I have a JM poster at my desk at work - next to the picture of John and me.

7. I'm Hooked - most recently to Twilight. David would probably put this in my "obsessive" category. I swear I talk about it everyday, but it will fade (after all the movies finally come out, then the DVDs... okay, it could last for awhile).

8. I'm a Lister - as you can tell, I love lists. I'm actually surprised I didn't do this a lot sooner. I make all sorts of lists at work, and I love when I can mark things off.

9. I'm an Aunt - one of my favorite things! I have a mild infatuation with all of my nieces and nephews, they rock my world - I love them all and can never get enough of them.

10. I'm a Neat-Freak - even if things aren't necessarily clean, they have to be picked up and in order.

11. I'm OCD - works back to 10, but going further. My closet is hung by sleeve length, color, end-use... makes it very easy to get dressed in the morning. And, I never leave hangers, they come out when the shirt does.

12. I'm Blonde - I tried to go back to natural (light brown/dirty blonde), it lasted for 3 months and just changed over the weekend!!!!

13. I'm a Perfectionist - it's really pretty annoying, I'm for sure my biggest critic, I need to get over it.

14. I'm (almost) 30 - will be this year, doesn't really freak me out - it is more just realizing that I'm going to be 30, but I still rock.

15. I'm a Runner - believe it or not! After 1 day of track practice in HS I thought I would die. Now I usually run about 3 miles a day - everyday at lunch!

16. I'm a Creature of Habit - I eat the exact same thing for breakfast and lunch EVERY DAY during the week. And, every Sunday David and I go to the Pancake House and I get the same thing every week.

17. I'm Married - and in love with my husband, really he rocks my world. It will be 4 years next month and he's the best thing that ever happened to me.

18. I'm Cheesy - because I write things like that above that my husband will kill me for.

19. I'm Mean - I find humor in people getting hurt, it's true. America's Funniest Home Video cracks me up!!!!

20. I'm a Picture Taker - I don't think anyone else in the family carries a camera anymore. Especially since they can go to my website anytime to get them. I love pictures, can never have enough!!!

21. I'm almost done... four more....

22. I'm a Procrastinator - it kind of goes against everything that I'm about, but I put stuff off if it isn't high on the priority list.

23. I'm Punctual - to a fault. Ask David, it annoys him, but I can't stand to be late.

24. I'm secretly British - I have to be! I'm in love with everything about England! Love the flag, love the country, love the people, love the styling, love the accent, I even flippin love fish n chips!!!!

25. I'm a Traveler - I've been to 9 countries outside of the US: England, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy

****EDITS BELOW: so, my sister texted me to let me know that I had left some very important points off the list. And, since I'm a perfectionist, I had to come fix it.

26. I'm Cheap - it's true too. I pulled this back around to why I write lists... Jaime said that she doesn't even write a grocery list. And, I realized I do, but mostly to save money and only get what I NEED.

27. I'm a Returner - this goes back to being cheap. But, I do return about 60% of clothes I buy. Jaime said 90%, but I'm thinking she exaggerated.

28. I'm a Bad Speller - I just had to look up how to spell exaggerate. In 6th grade my only B was in Spelling (my brother will leave a comment making fun of me for this).

29. I'm a Googler - I Google EVERYTHING, I flippin love Google.

David was right

Eric just called to let David know that he has been right for the last 32 years - Van Halen rules!

Sometime's I'm bored in the car...

So, my nephew, Carson, is a pro at the Slug Bug game. I'm sure you're familiar, need a refresher? Say you're in the car cruising with your best buds jamming along to the radio. All of a sudden a Volkswagen Beetle pulls up beside you - your friend yells "SLUG BUG!" and punches you in the arm. Well, Carson's game is similar, but he doesn't hit you - you get points instead. (Don't ask me how the points system works, he gives a different values to different people for different color Bugs at different times of the day - I told you not to ask) So, my point... ever since Carson re-introduced me to this game (over 8 months ago) I cannot stop looking for VW bugs, and I have to restrain myself from yelling "SLUG BUG" to absolutely no one in the car. My husband grew up with the game as well, but they had extra value for convertible red VW bugs. So, the hunt began to find said bugs again. Below is my find - caught on camera, this sighting solidified my position at the top of the winners board. Now it's your turn to curse me when you can't stop looking for darn VW Bugs and yelling "SLUG BUG!"

Please do not be alarmed - I am not taking camera phone pictures while driving, I was safely stopped at a red light!!!!