Last night is my one and only evening off during the week. Brandon usually works until at least 10pm on Thursdays but the bar actually wasn't too busy so he was done early. After some Marshall's and Ross scouring for leftover baby stuff that my SIL needs I used my fancy new phone with it's Fandango App to check show times for Avatar. I figured we could have a little date night! Well, long story short, I messed up the movie times AGAIN and we wasted two hours waiting around for the movie that "started" at 9:50. Well, the 3D one started at 8:00 and I wasn't about to see Avatar in the regular theater! Duh. I can't read show times, apparently. This happened to us when we were trying to see The Hangover too! So, I was determined to see something and we decided on Extraordinary Measures.
Now, Brandon wasn't super thrilled over this choice but the other option was Sherlock Holmes and I wasn't too into that either. So, of course, I won. Ha! They actually had to turn the movie on for us as there was no one in there and we got the whole theater to ourselves! Whoo hoo! No worries, we didn't behave like teenagers would have.
Anyway, the movie proved to be a bit slow. It was definitely "good" in my book but I can see how people may think it's slow. I really think that Keri Russell should have had a more dominant role in the movie as she's a better actress than Brendan Fraser is an actor. I just don't really think he's that great. But, you couldn't help but love him in this move. Also, Harrison Ford was good, as usual. So, this is not my favorite movie ever, but it definitely is worth renting. The plot is a little dry and drawn out but I think that it's good they didn't make it a fluffy "happy go lucky" type of movie and stuck with the seriousness. I did cry several times, but I'm a crier! I want to read up on the actual story that it was based off of.
My favorite part of the movie? Well, besides the important stuff... The HOUSES! Oh my, they were fabulous. I can't find any pictures of them online but... in the words of Rachel Zoe "I die. I die. Oh.My.God. I die." It helped that they family lived in Portland so the homes had just the PNW charm that I adore.
I've been thinking about my pet peeves a lot lately. Maybe it's because I'm over tired and irritable this past weekend. Maybe it's just because I'm a terrible person. I tend to agree with the first statement. None the less, mispronunciations are at the top of my pet peeve list!
Let me start by admitting that I am not perfect. Nor am I an English professor or a Professional Linguist.However, this girl is highly annoyed with mispronunciations and misspellings of common every day sayings and words.I also tend to get annoyed with short versions of words that are used in text messaging.Is it really that much more time consuming to write out “good” instead of “gud?”I don’t get that, at all.Anyway, recently I’ve been keeping track of the mistakes that bother me the most.
Expresso.This one makes my skin crawl! I suppose it’s because I spent quite a few years as a barista.There is no X in this word.In fact, the real word is ESPRESSO. I would now like to express my love for espresso!
*Ahem* that was good, right? Oh, it wasn’t? Ok, note taken.
Acrossed/Acrosst.I agree that the double “s” sound is awkward for the end of a word, but it is just that! There is no “t” or “ed!”
Axs.I really don’t understand this one. I suppose I should look it up.Until then, I’ll just set the record straight and say that the correct way to spell this word is ASK so it should be pronounced as spelled!
Dialate.There is only one “a” in that word.It is simply DILATE.
Excetera.I am guilty of mispronouncing this word every now and again.However, I have made a great effort to think about the word in enough time to say ET CETERA. Hence the abbreviation of this word being ETC not EXC!
Febyuary. Maybe I’m a bit partial to this word because I’m a FEBRUARY baby.Or, maybe it just bugs me.Whatever the case, there are two “rs!”
This next one REALLY gets me… Are you ready?
Irregardless! Oh, the nerve! My first thought is that this word is a double negative! How is it possible to have “less” and “ir” in the same word!? So, this word should mean: not without regard? Hmmm… I’m confused!Thisspelled it out perfectly, I think.
Libary.There are definitely two “rs” in this word!
Perscription.How is it that a Doctor could PRESCRIBE a PERscription?Doctors only prescribe PRESCRIPTIONS!
Probly.This is another mispronunciation that I am guilty of.It is just way easier to say PROBLY or PROLLY than to actually sound out PROBABLY! I'm definitely working on this one!
Reel-a-tor.My mom has been a REALTOR for twenty years. The Association of Realtor’s radio and TV ads even mispronounce it! Oh my gosh!
Nucular. I once was guilty of saying this word incorrectly but have since corrected myself! Now, it drives me nuts when people don't say NUCLEAR!
Last but not least… The one that drives me the most insane!
Supposably. Maybe someone accidentally write their “d” backwards one day and that’s how this mispronunciation was born.I can’t come up with any better suggestions! Supposedly, someone just started saying it incorrectly and it stuck!
I love laughing until my guts hurt with my mom and her sister about these. They crack us up! Well, after they annoy us, that is. What are your word/spelling/grammar/mispronunciation pet peeves!? Please share so I feel better about myself!!!
Kelsey is hosting Wishful Wednesday again this week and this is the topic:
'I wish' .... I could have worn the gown that ______ wore at the 67th Annual Golden Globes Award"
It is kind of a coincidence that I actually saw a lot of the Golden Globes on Sunday because usually I don't watch award shows. But, I was at work and there are like six big screens on so it was kind of easy to catch a few glimpses!
If I could have worn anyone's dress I think I'd have to go with Sandra Bullock's. I love her and I love purple... so that decision was easy! I totally disagree with people that say she's past her prime. I think she looks awesome and the movies that she's done this past year have been good. The color of the dress looked great on her and did anyone catch the back of the dress? Gorg! :)
I used to be embarrassed about what I'm about to share with you all. I used to think that if I told people my deep dark secret that they would think I was a lonely cat lady that watched infomercials late at night and called into them for human contact.
I'm not embarrassed anymore. My name is Chelsi and I am a QVC addict. That's right. I'm down with the lingo; hotpick, TSV, easypay, one time value, autoship and item number are part of my vocabulary.
There. It's out. QVC has a long history with my family. My Grandma, Aunt and Mom are all down with the Q too. That is, of course, how I acquired this habit of mine. It started for me with some simple Christmas tree ornaments and re-orders of my beloved bareMinerals foundation. See, I've worn bareMinerals since before it was available at Sephora, Macy's or Nordstrom. I've worn it since you had to either order from one of the two boutiques in the country or the Q.
There are only certain shows I will watch and none of them involve clothes, shoes or jewelry! Ahhh! I hate the jewelry shows! I might add, I only watch QVC late at night or when I just want the TV on for background noise. It's not like I pop a bowl of popcorn and plant myself in front of the boob tube for hours watching it. I don't even have a favorite host, I promise.
Their return policy is awesome, it's super easy to order and I've never bought something that wasn't a good value for the product. Brandon's family likes to give me a hard time about my addiction. His dad told him that we shouldn't have cable anymore! Ha! Too bad everyone reaps the rewards of the Q as I do much of my birthday and Christmas shopping there!
So, let's get to the good stuff. These are my favorite purchases from the Q last year....
Hold it High set of 2 Non-slip Handbag Holders- I must tell you, I've given plenty of these as gifts and always get compliments on them. Who likes putting their purse on the nasty floor of restaurants or *gasp* the BATHROOM!? Yuck! My purses are always heavy and these work like a charm on most tables/bars and even on the bathroom stall door.
These glass hurricanes with flameless candles are gorg! I have them on a high shelf in our living room and the candles are on a timer. So, they come on for four hours daily! The hurricanes are super pretty and larger than you may expect for the price of $39/pair WITH the candle sticks!
Vacuum Insulated Auto Seal Stainless Steel Tumbler- This may be my favorite Q purchase of all time. I got these because while I've always carried a nalgene or a water bottle, whenever I take coffee in my Starbucks tumblers it leaks like mad! I was really looking for something I can stuff in my purse/bag and not have it sweat or leak all over the contents of my bag. Voila! These things rock! The technology really is leakproof and it keeps things hot for 4 hours and cold for up to 8. These come in AWESOME colors too!
This awesome gift wrap caddy is what I use for all non Christmas wrap. All of my birthday/baby/misc papers are held in the elastic loops and then there are plenty of pockets and slots for tissue paper, gift bags, scissors, tape, etc. I LOVE this thing! It has a sturdy frame so while you're using it it locks in to "a" position and then when you're done it flattens right down. It takes up maybe the width of a large snow jacket in the closet. Love it!
This is a classic Rach Ray pan but instead of the orange I ordered it with red handles. I loved watching RR on the Q and I'm not much into her classic orange, lime green and bright blue colors. So, I was super excited to see this available on QVC in my favorite kitchen color, red!
I suppose that's enough sharing for one post. But, my point is that they really have quality stuff that is a great value. If you've ever been on the edge about calling in and ordering something that looks great, I urge you to do it! If you don't like it, returns are easy!
Once again, Kelsey has posed a good question for Wishful Wednesdays... 'I wish' .... I had the startup funds to build that company I have always dreamed about, and it would be _____!
Staying with the restaurant theme of our current life, I want to open a casual dining establishment of some sort... The basic idea behind the restaurant would be kind of buffet style (but not the ICKY buffet style.) There would be staples on the menu that were constant: home made soup of the day, basic sandwiches and salads and then other menu items that would change. For instance, I think it would be fun to have each night of the week a different theme.
Mondays: Baked Potato Bar
Tuesdays: Pasta Bar
Wednesdays: Panini Bar
Thursdays: Pizza Bar
Friday/Saturday: Baked Potato/Pasta Bar
Sundays: CLOSED (THANK GOD!)
So, it's really a "bar" themed thing... so people can enjoy all of their own tailored food! C'mon, it's a good one.... right? I promise it won't be icky and nasty like a buffet. In fact, I think the whole "bar" thing won't actually be physical. It'll just be in the menu and then people choose all of the different options. The Baked Potato idea is definitely my favorite! I'll take... grilled onions and mushrooms with swiss OR broccoli and cheese sauce on mine, thanks! What would you want on your baker?
In addition to the food we would offer a cozy environment that would house local musicians and even artists to display their work. Luckily, here in Olympia we tend to be pretty artsy fartsy and there are quite a few places that are similar to what I'm thinking... But, they don't have the dang potato bar!!! :)
My second idea is one of the first things to come up when the Mr. and I discuss if we were to win the lottery. We both would like to open a recreational center of sorts for kids of all ages. This idea stems from Brandon having worked one of the local city's summer programs for several summers a while back. He had a blast taking the kids hiking, rock climbing, camping and all of that fun outdoor stuff that a lot of parents don't get the extra time to do. The sad thing for him was that these camps can be so cost prohibitive for SO many parents. Some of the camps are hundreds of dollars per child, per week! That is SO crazy. I mean, I understand where the costs come from, but wouldn't it be great to have an organization that provides kids with outdoor options in the summer time and during breaks? I know that I'm about to sound OLD but it seems like things have changed so much in even the past ten years since I was a tween riding my bike with my neighborhood pals. The Xboxes, Wii's and computers have taken over!!!
So, those are my two ideas. A non-profit organization that keeps kids busy in our beautiful state and a cafe that has a baked potato bar! Unfortunately, I doubt we'll ever win the lottery! Dang it! What would your entrepreneurial wishes be?
Usually these first few months of the year are rather uneventful. We find ourselves completely over winter weather and it seems like such a long stretch until April and May when we start to get some better weather around these parts. Well, I say we very loosely as I live in the PNW for a reason. I love the rain. But, I've found over the years that I am a minority in these parts.
Anyway, this really wasn't meant to be a post about weather. What I was attempting to get at is that I have PLENTY to look forward to in the first few months of 2010. I have four showers within the first two months! Two baby showers and two bridal showers, to be exact.
Cakes, invites and games... Oh My!
First up is a shower I am co-hosting with my sister-in-law's sister-in-law. Um, is there a better way to say that? Anyway, I am in charge of invites (check!) and decorations (semi-check!) We decided against a "themey" shower and are going with colors instead. Brown, green & blue will be the main colors and I chose those based off of the paper that I found to use for the invites. I fell in love with a patterned paper and went from there.
Please note that I am not a professional photographer nor am I a professional invitation making scrapbooking queen. However, I am pretty impressed with myself. You can't see the detail but the animal stamp is embossed with a light glitter as is the word stamp at the bottom. The inside left of the invite displays a picture of the parents-to-be and on the right side of the invite is the shower information printed on coordinating cardstock. I had to make thirty or so of these and while it was a pain at first it really was not too bad and I plan to make more invitations in the future. I should add that I elected to do these! I could have bought premade invitations but I wanted to try this!
The second shower is for my cousin who is due in February! She doesn't know what she's having which I think is kind of exciting. I like the element of surprise in not knowing what sex the baby is. However, it does make it a tad more difficult to buy things. There are plenty of neccesity type of items that are probably better shower gifts than cute outfits anyway! Just writing about this makes me excited to know what she's having! I would like to think that I'd be able to not find the sex out... but who am I kidding? I am a tad nosey! I kind of feel like she is having a boy. Our dad's are the only two brothers of the family and both of them had girls (her and I.) So, it'd be fitting if we both had boys.
I have purchased my gifts for both of these showers but I'm looking for a couple more "little somethings." What is your favorite gift to give at a baby shower? I love giving personalized things so maybe I'll go that route. However, my SIL has just confirmed my to-be nephew's name and I feel like it may be a bit premature to buy something personalized within a week of the name confirmation. Does that make sense? I just think I need a good month of name confirmation to solidify buying personalized things... This may or may not stem from having "ADD decision making syndrome." None the less, tell me what your favorite gifts to give the new mama-to-be are! It would be a bonus to tell me what your favorite gifts were that you received AS the mama-to-be! Thanks in advance!!!
The third and fourth showers are for my LA BFF and I'm currently making the invitations for one of them. I will continue this post when I'm through with the invites so you all can see! I hope they turn out!
Apparently Short Southern Momma is a very generous woman (with great hair, I might add!) because she gave me this award already! Thank you SO much! So, off I go t claim my very first blog award! The Happy 101 Award is to thank the wonderful bloggers that make you smile!
Here are the rules: List 10 things that make you happy. (try to do one of those things TODAY!)
Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. Make sure to link back to the person that tagged you!
1. Knowing this guy is with me for the long haul...
2. Our families... as crazy as they can be.
3. My animals, they truly make me smile every. single. day. 4. My fabulous five BFFs (more on them to come...) Claire, my Chicago BFF
5. Food. I know, that's terrible but its so honest. I LOVE food and it makes me SO happy. Tom Kha Gai, my favorite Thai indulgence!
6.A big whiff of fresh laundry smell... Except, we use free & clear because we have sensitive skin. But, YUM! I loooove bounty!
7. The weather in my great state. I love the freshness in a fall day and the glory of the mountains on a clear summer afternoon. Most people gripe about the weather, no matter the season. It's too hot. It's too wet. It's too grey. It's too cold. It's too muggy. I will take this opportunity to ask all people who hate the PNW to leave. There will be more room for me this way! Thank.you.very.much! My favorite mountains, The Olympics
8. A good laugh. The gut wrenching kind... who doesn't love that? Stephanie just made me crack up... see what you think about her "Blondie's Year in Review!"
9. A clean house. This rarely happens in this place! In fact, that's what I'm supposed to being at this very second...
10. Last, but not least... MUSIC! I am a music fanatic. I am not a music SNOB, however. I love all types (well, except artists like Slipknot... *ahem*) If you can't tell... That lovely lady is my favorite (of all time,) Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland! Oh, OH! *goosebumps* The concert I saw them in this summer was amazing... I can't wait to see them again!
Now its time to tag the top ten blogs that make me smile...
A Daily Dose of Davis -- Jen is a great blogger and a good friend. I hope to meet her IRL some day.
Live.Love.Laugh. -- Heather is a great blogger about every day life. She brought us along her journey to marriage and now she's a new Auntie!
House of Rose -- Mandy makes some really cute baby shoes and her little P Man is adorable! She's currently in labor with Bentley so I doubt she'll be blogging a whole lot in the next few days...
Life According to Candice -- I don't even remember how I found her, but Candice is hilarious. Definitely NOT PG -- consider yourself warned! :)
The Branches -- Becky is about ready to have her son Connor!
The Browns -- Becky's twin sister, Bonnie's blog about her life with her brand new baby Jarrett!
Another Day In Paradise -- DAR is quite the lady... She's a runner, new attorney and I love reading her posts.
Live.Laugh.Love. -- I'm a new follower of Stephanie's but I'll be returning to her blog a lot, I can tell already!
Seattle Smiths -- A fellow PNW blogger and the host of Wishful Wednesdays!
I have never been the type of girl that is overly concerned with her looks. Maybe I should be a little more concerned. However, I have always wished my hair were better. It is straight, dishwater blonde in color, fine and doesn't hold a curl for CRAP! Except for the hairs around my face that are always curly. What the heck? I have straight hair but have to use a straightener just around my face... I call that odd. Anyway,quite frankly it usually ends up in a pony tail and never comes down. That's just the way it is. Especially because I've been in some sort of food service environment for a while and I don't know about you but I hate to see food service people with their hair down. Yuck!
Kelsey over at Seattle Smiths hosts Wishful Wednesdays and this week is all about hair.
The top qualities I wish for are...
1. ThickER hair that will hold a curl! I emphasize thickER as I don't want too thick of hair either.
2. That thing called... Volume! And LOTS of it please!
3. The option to be a redhead or brunette... so sexy! I have blonde eyebrows so my options are limited in the dying of hair department.
I would SO take Jessica Simpson's hair, any day. However, I also love the locks of Debra Messing, Marcia cross and Eva Longora Parker!
Hop on over to Kelsey's blog to check Wishful Wednesdays out!
I have followed some of the blogs on my list for well over a year. I began my blogging journey in 2007 and it's a habit I haven't kicked, thankfully. I'm not too good at that habit kickin' thing anyway. What I'm realizing is that while I've followed several blogs and know about their background, I need to fill in the gaps about our lives as this has been a one way road since I began reading blogs.
I'll give a short summary of our last seven years together.... SEVEN years. Woah! Seven is my lucky number so I think that is an omen (or something) that 2010 will be great for us! I will surly go more in depth on many of these things I am about to summarize!
Brandon and I are "Highschool Sweathearts." I've always hated that title, by the way. I feel like it has a very negative connotation to it. People assume we were the clingy overly dramatic couple that was on-again off-again throughout the years. Ok, or I assume that people assume that. Maybe my assumption is off. Never the less, I'm certain anyone who knows us well will tell you that we're anything but that. In fact, Brandon and my relationship is the easiest one I've experienced. I mean relationship in general, not solely romantic. I'm lucky to say that I suppose. Anyway, we've been together since February of 2003, our Junior year of high school.
We graduated in 2004 and both went to community colleges around our home town. Brandon played golf all through high school and received a scholarship to a nearby CC in Tacoma. I went to the closer CC here in Olympia. I finished my Associate's in December of 2006 and we made a BIG move to the desert on 1/1/07. Arizona was full of promises for us. A big University for myself and golf courses galore for Brandon -- seemed like it would be so perfect! However, there were several things that brought us back to the Pacific Northwest. Our families were the main reason, though. Money was a second contender! Turns out, it's really expensive to golf all of the time and out of state tuition is even more expensive! Ha! Not to mention that this girl was BORN to be in the PNW. 119 degrees is not my cup of tea. Ever. Period. While in Arizona we had some great times, met some great people and learned to be a bit more independent. Brandon proposed to me at a gorgeous hotel in Scottsdale on December 16, 2007. We moved home the first week in February of 2008. We bought our first house in June of 2008 and were married in August. **WHEW** We were busy for the first half of 2008!
The latter half of 2008 brought some great struggles within my family that have lasted through 2009. We lost my dear step dad in February of 2009 and I still can't believe he's gone today. I've began back in school to finish my BA and we both work at Brandon's family's business. We're both essentially bartenders but we both do a little bit of everything around the place. Brandon does managerial type things and I can be found either cleaning or bartending/serving. I have grown to love the place and enjoy my time spent there. I also care take for a 8 month old little girl. She's such a doll and I love spending time with her!
Over the years we have acquired four animals. We only have three of them currently. Our first baby was Libby. She's quite the cat! She has quite the attitude but is a very beautiful girl. Next was Jackson, found running on Lindsay Road in Mesa, Arizona. He's an 8 year old Border Collie with quite a history. After Jack was rescued I received my very favorite *boy* kitty for Christmas in 2007. Riley was the perfect tabby with white toes and he was as friendly as any kitty could be. The last addition really wasn't an addition for me, but was for Brandon. Rainie is my family's pet that found herself homeless after my step dad passed last February. She's a 14-16 year old (we adopted her so we're not sure of the age) chow/golden retriever mix. She's a pain. I love her and I heard Brandon tell her the same today. Unfortunately, she is old and that comes with quite a few challenges but she can't control her age anyway, right? Let's just say that I wish I owned stock in Bounty and it's not for cleaning up kitchen messes. However, she has gone through just as much grief as the rest of us this year and I'm happy to announce she hasn't had an accident in over two weeks! I am sad to end the pet segment of this post with the news that Riley has been missing for over two weeks. I miss him dearly... all of his family does. Libby spent all of last week checking each room for him, meowing constantly. She hasn't touched his food dish and hasn't left our sides for every moment that we're home. I miss my favorite *boy* kitty. I say that *boy* part so I don't hurt Libby's feelings. She knows she's my favorite *girl* kitty. :) Anyway, I can hope that Riles will come home... but the odds are that he's in Kitty Heaven now and his Mama misses him. :*(
Yes, I am a crazy pet owner. All of my animals have several nick names and I talk to them all of the time. They are my (our) life, that is for sure. Spoiled as ever. I am the type of person that cries when those danged ASPCA commercials come on. You know? The Sarah MacLaughlan ones? Sheesh.
Now that I'm full blown crying over my cat's disappearance, I better go for now. I know that was a lot of information crammed into one post. But, I figured I'd try to catch everyone up really quickly. For now, at least.
I've often thought that I should start a blog for our lives. Mostly, I decided I had this frequent thought because I have become quite the avid reader of a handful of great blogs and I figured that if I read their blogs they'll read mine, right? That is where the idea gets stuck. I think I'm scared of failure and scared that no one will follow or read my blog!
The more I think about it though, I'd love to have a record of a lot of the happenings in my (our) life. Whether anyone else reads, comments or cares is really not important. Well, really isn't AS important. Who am I kidding? I want followers and comments galore! Anywho, upon this new year of 2010 (woah!) I am going to document our lives and love every minute of it!
I've decided that while this will certainly be about Brandon and my life as a family... I will be the author. Brandon barely even checks his own Facebook.... let alone post on a blog. In fact, he barely even knows what a blog is. But, I love him anyway. Maybe someday in the future I will get him to write about something interesting. But, for now... this will be my gig. In fact, he doesn't even know I'm starting a blog. Ha!
My friend, Jen at A Daily Dose of Davis has encouraged me to blog before... but I just hadn't worked up the guts to do it. But, I DID IT! I'm not sure what I'll write about. That's a pretty big problem, if I do say so myself. I'm quite the jibber jabberer so I suppose I'll figure it out. I often times set out to write a three sentence email and have it turn into a novel. I suppose blogging may follow along the same lines for me. I will leave no topics off limits. However, I doubt I will ever blog about religion or politics in depth. My purpose in blogging right now is simple: to document things happening in our lives.
In fact, I feel like I'm lingering a bit too long in this first post as it is. So, I shall say goodnight for tonight and hope to find my groove in writing about something funny or interesting.... Ohhhh boy!
Brandon and I are high school sweethearts that married on August 16, 2008. We both work for our family's business and I go to school full time. We love our animals which are like our children! We also love to cook and travel to cool places!
