Healthy Valentines Swap!

Yikes! Valentines Day is just around the corner, and I can't think of anything more fun than getting paired up with a swap partner to exchange some Healthy Valentine gifts. The last thing I want need is crazy amounts of chocolate, but I love an excuse to shop for fun girly gifts :)

Stop by Janna or Kenz's blogs to read more about the details. This is my second swap, and I think I've gotten myself addicted!

Good News!

The subject mater for this post and this post are finally blogable (is that a real word?). I'll be starting my new position-Relationship Support Specialist IV, Wealth Management Group-in a few weeks.  I interviewed for the internal job posting a week ago, had a second interview on Friday, and they called to offer the job to me today! I felt great about my interview(s), and super happy that the waiting is over. I hope it means I'll get some good sleep tonight!

I'll miss the customers and coworkers I've grown to love, but I'm really excited about developing myself further and working in a more silent roll-less stress is always a good thing!

To top a great day off, I made a DELICIOUS dinner. I've made a few recipes from Noble Pig in the past, and I was really excited to try one they posted a few days ago, Sweet and Sour Pork. I used yellow onions instead of scallions because it was what I had on hand, but the recipe was very easy and a big hit! I think I'll add it into the rotation in the future.

I meant to take a picture of it served on my plate but I forgot to :( It might not look terribly impressive but it was flavorful and tender

Friend Makin' Monday-a lil bit early!

My friend Kenz hosts these survey's on her blog and I have such a fun time completing them and seeing other people's answers. Stop by her blog if you want to join in!

Answer each question using only one word...

1. Where is your cell phone? charger

2. Your most significant other? Shawn

3. Your hair? Brownish

4. Your mother? Thoughtful

5. Your father? Funny

6. Your favorite? Vanilla

7. Your dream last night? Scary

8. Your favorite drink? Water

9. Your dream/goal? Promotion

10. What room you are in? Study

11. Your hobby? Reading

12. Your fear? Clowns

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Thin

14. Where were you last night? Bed

15. Something that you aren't? Man

16. Muffins? Where?...

17. Wish list item? Kindle

18. Where you grew up? Arizona

19. Last thing you did? Ebay

20. What are you wearing? PJ's

21. Your TV? off

22. Your pets? Bailey

23. Friends? sGreat!

24. Your life? Hectic

25. Your mood? Sleepy

26. Missing someone? Always

27. One place that I go to over and over? Work

28. Something you want? Vacation

29. Your favorite store? B&N

30. Your favorite color? Blue

I have a simple request...

See all these boxes on my stairway? The ones on the left I've received payment for, but the other ones I haven't. I'd love if these ebayer's would PAY ALREADY, at least before Monday! I've been to the post office

Every

Day

Last

Week

And I'd prefer not to repeat it this coming week. That is all.

Dachshund Meetup Day!!

Here are a few pictures from my afternoon with Shawn and Bailey at the Georgetown Bark Park! This is an off-leash park that allows for small/large dog segregation. Bailey does MUCH better around dogs his own size :)

I'd guess about 15 peopled RSVP'd, and at the busiest time there were probably 20+ dachshunds! We hung around for about an hour and a half chatting with the other owners and watching all our pets interact. It was a great day!

(Bailey's the cute one in the rowdy green sweater, if you don't recognize his mug)

He fell asleep about 2.3 seconds into our drive home and has been napping the rest of the day away. Can't wait for the next meetup!

Friday Confessional

There's not too much on my mind right now...

I confess I'm excited to go to the Dachshund Meetup group tomorrow, and hope Shawn decides to come with me and Bailey.

I confess that dressing like a million bucks is painful, hot, and uncomfortable (can I take these stupid heels off yet?!)

and

I confess I think I am anxiously awaiting what I hope will be some good work-related news!

Stop by my bloggy-friend Mamarazzi's page if you want to sign up and confess some of your own thoughts!

Ebay R Us

This is what one corner of the computer room looks like...  I've been helping Shawn categorize, organize, and price his childhood toys to sell on ebay. We sold some packaged/mint ones a few months ago pretty easily, and decided to tackle the 3 blue tupperware containers full of an assortment of packed and loose toys. So far we have 38 listings, about 11 purchased and the majority of the rest pending :) It's not gonna make millionaires out of us, but it's surprising how well this stuff sells!

We're a lot more organized this time around. Shawn sorts through it all to gather the proper pieces, and looks up parts and pricing. Then he sticks them in little baggies with a user-friendly piece of paper with the selling instruction. I take the pictures, create the listings, package and ship. We are a well oiled machine!

Here are a few things I've learned....

1. There are a lot of guys out there willing to buy Generation 1 Transformers. Even if they're missing parts and the stickers are worn out.
2. I can take better pictures with my cell phone camera (droid x 8 megapixel) than my fancy schmany camera (sony something-or-another 12 megapixel). Seriously?? I have resorted to reading the instruction manual and looking online for help. I must be the lost cause of camera-ing.
3. You can buy a box full of boxes online for cheap. Cheap cheap-like between 14cents-28cents a box. I am sticking it to the 250% marked-up boxes at USPS/Fedex/UPS!
4. De-cluttering is exhausting, but rewarding in the end.

Your opinion is requested (and highly valued!)

So, I have an important meeting on Tuesday and I need to be dressed to impress. My confidence (and wardrobe) need a serious boost, but I did something about the wardrobe part for now. The confidence is always a work in progress :)

Should I wear option A or B (with black pants and heels.) The jacket is kind of charcoal black, even though it looks like a different color in every single picture. They didn't have my pant size to make the set but it's been ordered-just won't arrive before Tuesday.

A

B

Also, my hair is my mortal enemy. For those of you who don't see me often ever, my hair comes to about my bra strap and it's very yawn-inducing. I was thinking of washing it...and that's about as far as I've gotten :)

Thanks in advance!

Friday Confessional!

It's late but it's STILL Friday, so I'm taking part in my blog friend Mamarazzi's Friday Confessional blog post. Better late than never :)

I confess that like Janna, my Christmas tree/decorations are still up.

I also confess that even though I have promised to take them down, I have no intention of doing so for at least another week.

I confess that I have 14 un-opened packages of Vanilla Mint Chapstick in my dresser drawer. It's my favorite and is really hard to find in stock, so whenever I spot any I buy the lot.

I confess that I only check the mail a few times a month, and often get nasty grams from the mailman.

I confess that I go to bed with wet hair, and that I very rarely wear a coat during the winter. These confessions would shock my mother.

I confess that I still don't eat yellow m&m's, and that I think the blue ones taste the best.

I confess that I need to go shopping because I don't own any non-work outfits, and all of my pajama pants have holes in them.

I confess that I also don't like to shop, especially when it involves trying on clothes.

I confess that I have a hard time crying about my own life, even though I cry very easily about other peoples (especially TV/Movie people).

I confess that I DVR Grey's Anatomy episodes off Lifetime and watch them during my lunch break every day (even though I own the box set DVD's and I've seen every season like 3x now).

I confess that I don't like Private Practice but I continue to watch it because I feel obligated to.

and...

I confess that I snore...not just when I'm sick, all the time. It's not very lady like.

....moving on, what do you have to confess?

Book Club!

My friend Janna and I got together tonight to attend our first book club meeting for the Central Texas Women's Book Group. A simple google search turned into a really awesome night! We got there a little early, so we stopped off at had a quick bite at Louisiana Longhorn Cafe (sorry no pictures, my cell phone/camera was dead!) and I had Shrimp Etouffee. Our sweet waiter let us have a little taste test of the different bases and OMG I loved the Etouffee. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

I didn't count, but there were maybe 10 or so gals that showed up and they all seem so sweet and funny! It was hard to hear each other talk at times (due to the impromptu concert going on in the other room), but it was a lovely evening. We picked out our first three books to read, all of which are new ones to me. It's going to be a lot of fun reading new and different books and having some girly time away :)

Blood Drive Day

A few times a year, my employer partners with the H&R Block in our shopping center to host a blood drive. I participated last time and volunteered this time too. Although my fear of needles if real, I know how important it is to donate if you can :)

My arm is a little sore now, but they gave me a free drink and crackers so yay!

Date night!

Shawn and I went and saw True Grit tonight, but didn't fall in love with it. The acting was great, but the story just didn't catch me like it did in 3:10 to Yuma. The Oscar-buzz movies usually don't do it for me-I should learn to expect that!

It was a nice date night out at least, and Shawn held my hand all the way out to the truck because I was freezing. He's not unromantic or embarrassed by me (at least I don't think so!), it's because I'm "too short and bounce when I walk". I get the bounce in my walk from my dad :)

Tomorrow's bound to be a long day at work. We have an afternoon meeting downtown, but I'm looking forward to some fun activities later this week. I have a friend in town for business and we're going to try to meet up for dinner on Wednesday. I went and joined The Central Texas Women's Book Group, and they have their first meeting of the year on Thursday. I haven't been part of a book club in ages, and I really hope it's full of new friends and fun reads. Maybe it'll give me a new excuse to buy a Kindle???? I have to work on Saturday, but after work is a Dachshund Meetup in Georgetown that I'm going to take Bailey to. I read the forum post wrong and we showed up this past Saturday to the sad state of no doxie's to play with.

It's late and time for bed, but I'll leave with some pictures of the guy who's near and dear to my heart!

New Years 2010

Shawn and I stayed in on New Years Eve. I fixed Chicken Parmigiana for dinner and we watched Clash of the Titans together. I'm looking forward to 2011 and my commitment to my resolutions :)

Christmas 2010

I hope all of you had a wonderful, safe Christmas. Things were pretty quiet for Shawn and I. Here are a few of the highlights!

What a cute Christmas Tree

Shawn and I went to Gold Class Cinema's on Christmas Day to watch Tron. While the food was pretty disappointing, the movie watching experience was pretty comfortable.

Shawn bought me a Brighton Purse and I LOVE IT!

Shawn bought me some white gold/diamond earrings. They are just what I would have picked out, he's so sweet to me!

Droid-X = cell phone on crack. Thanks babe!

Shawn's mom recently returned from a 6-week trip to Korea. She bought Shawn a few blankets (per his request) and bought me some little bags, a lovely paper fan, some phone tassles, and nice place mats/chopsticks.

Christmas Cards on the Fridge, I love this time of year!

Delicious cookies from my dear friend Winter. Stop by her blog or facebook for ordering info if you live in the Gilbert/Chandler AZ area. They're so good!!

We had a Secret Santa exchange at work. My manager Ed had me and bought me a Scentsy warmer/bars. I've been wanting one of these for such a long time!

Awesome cookbooks from my family. These will come in handy!

My mom bought me another shell for my Miche purse (black). The green and floral ones she gave me for my birthday. Sooo spoiled!

Cute Nativity from my family. Baby Jesus was MIA from my other one :)

Some of the various penguin stuff purchased by me/for me. A girl can never have too many adorable penguins!

My manager's wife sewed one of these for each of us. I'm using mine as a makeup bag :)

My friend Janna and I met for dinner at Sushi Zushi and exchanged gifts. Her gift to me is two movie tickets and vouchers for mani/pedi's. I can't wait to plan our date!

Kentucky Wildcats Jersey I bought for Bailey

Bailey wearing said jersey. Shawn added the bow on his bum :)

One of my many attempts to convince Bailey to wear his Santa Hat long enough for me to take a cute picture. He'd rather eat it lol.

Secret Santa Gifts from my friend Kelly. Does she know what I love or what?!

The picture my friend Bengi drew of our group of friends

The Christmas Card/Picture Bengi drew of me and Shawn