Post Weekend/Pre-Week Highlights

Weekend:

*While reading the book I made for Regan for her 1st birthday, my sister pointed at the picture of me and asked, "Who is this?" and Regan said, "Coco" My sister then proceeded to call and leave me a voicemail, having Regan say it again...and she did. Melted my heart.

*A long overdue visit with my good friend Justin. L and I got the scoop on why he's been MIA and had a fun time walking down memory lane.

*A 4 mile run at Gray's on a cold but sunny morning. It was not my best run, to say the least, but JW kept me going.

*Picked up the first book for the book club a few friends and I have created.

Pre-Week

*Picking out fabric for our Red Flannel Run outfits. (Shout out to you, Mom, for helping us out!)

*Yoga

*Volleyball

*Naomi's Birthday Bash

*Celebrating my dad's birthday

To Whom It May Concern

*Dear Mother Nature,
Hi. How are you? I am not so good. Please stop bringing us nasty winter weather. No more blizzards, no more snow, no more ice, no more fog, no more white-knuckled drives to and from work. I'm ready to be blanketed by the sun's warm rays and take vacation days to enjoy the nice weather, instead of taking days to protect me from going outside. Think you can work on that? Thanks!
Love,
Nic

*Dear Soccer Mom Driver of the Cadillac Escalade on I-235 this afternoon,
I've got an idea - rather than talking on your phone while driving a vehicle you clearly can't handle, get off your damn phone, stop cutting people off by weaving in and out of lanes, and realize that 4 wheel drive does not exempt you from winter driving conditions. Face the facts, you aren't going to make it to the PTA meeting on time. News flash - there's a blizzard - and no one on the interstate is going more than 35 mph right now. It gave me much pleasure to meet you at the stop light of the 50th street exit....guess all that weaving didn't get you too far ahead of the rest of us.
Best Regards,
Nic

*Dear James (customer service rep from Verizon),
Thank you for helping me with my billing question. Although I was not jazzed about being on hold for 6.46 minutes, listening to all the nonsense recordings you had for me before you answered, I do appreciate you sticking to your script of, "I understand your concern and will be happy to help you with this billing issue." My faith was fully restored in your company when the billing issue was resolved without a problem. And by the way, I'll be pressing "1" next time to volunteer to take the customer service survey at the end of my call - betcha I don't wait for more than 1 minute before someone answers.
Sincerely,
Nic

You Know....When....

*You know you have a devoted father when he answers your phone call while in the movie theater to make sure everything is okay.

*You know you have made a good impression with someone when after realizing he's old enough to be your dad, his first thought isn't, "F, I'm old" but "If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be like you."

*You know you have a good roommate when she graciously gives up the opportunity to park in the 1 car garage everyday without so much as a fuss, especially during snow/ice storms.

*You know you have a lot of shoes when you are running out of room in your closet to store them and  start to wonder where you will store the 2 new pairs that are on the way.

*You know your sister loves you when she travels 4 hours round trip in the car with an 18-month old just to spend a few hours with you. 

*You know your best friends with someone when you can go weeks without talking and then as soon as she calls, you can pick right back up where you left off and talk for hours.

*You know you have the most loving and reliable mother when she spends the majority of her freetime with her mother in her time of need.

*You know you are blessed to have such good friends when they spend a lot of their time planning a vacation for the group, letting you in on mega sales, preparing countless meals they share with you, planning all sorts of fun events (i.e. birthday parties, NYE activities, etc), and the comfort of knowing they'd be there in a heartbeat if you needed them.

*You know you are well on your way to training for the Dam to Dam when you run 6 miles without a problem.

*You know your niece means the absolute world to you when all you have to do to make you smile on a bad day is see a picture of her.

Monday Funday

Monday was a great day, and not just because I didn't have to work. Thanks to the holiday, I was able to spend the day with my sister and niece. A day full of eating, shopping, and just quality time with both Katie and Regan. Katie and I both think Regan said "Coco" yesterday. (which is my nickname with her) She was trying to get my attention at the Creative Kids Store to show me something and she uttered a "ca" sound. A paramount and proud moment for me as her Aunt! :) I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day off!

Here are a few photos of Regan:

 

 

A New Found Love

I finally bought my ticket to the Glee train, thanks to JW, and I've got to say - I'm hooked! Here are 3 reasons why:

The Men:

Mr. Schuester: Spanish teacher, super cute, LOVE his style, good voice, has rhythm, and he's a good guy. He genuinely cares about his students and finds ways to both relate to them and inspire them.

 

Puck: I know I shouldn't like him but it's that bad boy thing - that snide half smile, the mohawk, and smoldering looks. *sigh* 

 

The Music:

Defying Gravity: So moving, especially when knowing the storyline. This was one of several episodes that had me in tears.

The Fashion:

Emma: Her J-Crew-esque style gets high marks in my book. Lots of cardigans, pencils skirts, and the perfect accessories to complete the ensembles.

Rachel: Her style is geek chic - plaid skirts, knee highs, and vests. I dig it.

 

 

 

Mr. Schuester: His sleek and stylish put together look grabs my attention every time. The tie and sweater combo, the rolled up sleeves of his button ups, and the cardigans - all hot looks in my book.

(ignore Jane Lynch)

 

 

'Tis a sad thing that I have to wait until April to start watching new episodes. 

Shuffle Challenge

The past few days I've 'challenged' myself to put my music on shuffle and just let iTunes pick the songs. I'm all about playlists and mixed tapes but the unpredictability of the shuffle has been rather humorous and enjoyable. Here is a sampling of what I heard on Saturday:

1. Love Song - Amanda Blank
2. The Luckiest (Live Version) - Ben Folds
3. Untouchable Face - Ani Difranco
4. Wild Wild West - Will Smith
5. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab For Cutie
6. All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands - Sufjan Stevens
7. Oops I Did It Again - Britney Spears
8. Blood Roses - Tori Amos
9. Rescue Me - Madonna
10. Everything - Michael Buble
11. Different People - No Doubt
12. Mamma Mia - Abba
13. Hey Jude - Joe Anderson (Across the Universe)
14. Food Chain - Eric Hutchinson
15. Who Do You Think You Are - Brett Dennen
16. Unknown Greek Song
17. Voice In My Head - K'Naan
18. Sundrenched World - Joshua Radin
19. Wrestlers - Hot Chip
20. The Bruised Reed - Anathallo

Dating Expectations

I've found that I've engaged in several conversations recently about dating and it got me thinking about the different expectations people have when it comes to the first few dates. What is really important to some is not a factor at all for others. So I thought a little homework assignment might be in order...it'll be fun, I promise.

Homework assignment: Make a list of your expectations when it comes to the first date in the comments section. I think it will be interesting to compare/contrast, especially the girls' answers vs. the boys' answers.

My Expectations For a First Date:

*Taking charge in planning the date (the more creative, the better)
*Being picked up (unless it's a blind date, then it's more appropriate to meet there)
*Coming to the door at the beginning of the date and walking me back to the door at the end of the date
*Holding doors open and just being gentlemen-like in general. (Don't let chivalry die!)
*Giving a compliment
*No cell phone activity (no texting, answering phone calls, or keeping your phone on the table)
*Picking up the tab
*Eye contact
*Avoid "heavy" topics such as exes, politics, religion, etc.

This Week At a Glance

Things I'm looking forward to this week:

Abs and Back Class - I took advantage of an abs class through work before and loved it. A short but effective workout of your core. Washboard abs - here I come!

OSF - Covert Op

The Horrific Killer Pandas return to the court after a long holiday break.

 It's been close to a month since I've seen KC and I'm ecstatic to be having dinner with her and catching up on all the new developments in her life.

Y-M-C-A!

The Village People said it best, "...and I'm sure you will find many ways to have a good time." So true.

L and I got up bright and early today to join the gym. Why the Y? It all started back in November when JW and I were talking about doing a Yoga class. We looked at a few Yoga studios before JW suggested the Y. I loved the idea of having so much more at my fingertips than just a Yoga class - pool, gym, weights, machines, etc. And so it was decided.

There were a few other things that made the decision even easier:
-L had also been talking about joining a gym, and she too, was on board with the Y
-We learned there would be no joiner fee if we joined on or before 1/17
-More friends hopped on the Y train, including LW, Naomi, and Rod
-We each could save a little money by pairing up and doing a family membership
-You can quit the gym (I want to quit the gym!) at any point - no contracts or penalties

L and I checked out our new surroundings this morning and proceeded to work up a sweat on our first day, complete with a high-five in the locker room afterward, to congratulate ourselves.

There are so many things I'm looking forward to:
-Fitness classes, including spinning, abs and back, Y-pump, body jam, and of course Yoga (what started the gym talk in the first place)
-The ability to run inside on days when it's too cold to run outside.
-Taking advantage of open gym, by organizing a friendly basketball game with the whole group
-Keeping a workout journal and documenting what I've done each day. I think it will be both motivating and fun to see my progress.

Operation stay fit is now in place! 

Love Is a Mix Tape

I just finished reading Love Is a Mix Tape yesterday and I've got to say, it will be shelved as one of my favorites. The way Rob Sheffield is able to explain life through song is truly a gift. This is one of the those books that makes you laugh one chapter and cry in the next.

A few of my favorite excerpts:

* "Rick James helped me understand the lesson of the eighth-grade dance: Bitch power rules the world. If the girls don't like the music, they sit down and stop the show. You gotta have a crowd if you wanna have a show. And the girls are the show. We're talking absolute monarchy, with no rules of succession. Bitch power. She must be obeyed. She must be feared."

* "There are all kinds of mix tapes. There is always a reason to make one...
  -The Party Tape
  -I Want You
  -We're Doing It? Awesome
  -You Like Music, I Like Music, I Can Tell We're Going to Be Friends
  -You Broke My Heart and Made Me Cry and Here Are Twenty or Thirty Songs About It
  -The Road Trip
  -No Hard Feelings, Babe
  -I Hate This F***ing Job
  -The Radio Tape
  -The Walking Tape..."

* "I have built my entire life around loving music, and I surround myself with it. I'm always racing to catch up on my next favorite song. But I never stop playing my mixes. Every fan makes them. The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with - nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape. It does a better job of storing up memories than actual brain tissue can do. Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they add up to the story of a life."

* "What is love? Great minds have been grappling with this question through the ages, and in the modern era, they have come up with many different answers. According to the Western philosopher Pat Benatar, love is a battlefield. Her paisan Frank Sinatra would add the corollary that love is a tender trap. The stoner kids who spent the summer of 1978 looking cool on the hoods of their Trans Ams in the Pierce Elementary School parking lot used to scare us little kids by blasting the Sweet hit 'Love Is Like Oxygen' - you get too much, you get too high, not enough and you're gonna die. Love hurts. Love stinks. Love bites, love bleeds, love is the drug. The troubadours of our times all agree: They want to know what love is, and they want you to show them.  But the answer is simple. Love is a mix tape."

Pink Power

One of the highlights from the game Tuesday night, for me, was when the commentators paused from "game talk" and talked about Stanzi's pink bracelets he wears, representing Princess Jenna, a four year old girl battling a form of liver cancer. Stanzi visits Jenna often and has formed a close relationship with her.

We have become so accustomed to hearing about athletes getting suspended due to drug, alcohol, assault, and other criminal charges, so how refreshing it is to hear about an atlete doing good and giving back to the community.

Naomi emailed me the link to a website created for Jenna that tells her story. It is truly moving. The pictures alone had me in tears. Her mom just posted an update on Jenna's health and after a doctor's appointment, learned that right now Jenna is cancer free! This story is such a good reminder of how amazing the power of prayer is.

Job Outlook

While perusing through NPR today, I read this article, which discusses the forecasting for occupations that will provide the most jobs for this decade. Here is the list:

1. Registered nurses
2. Home health aides
3. Customer service represenatives
4. Food preparation and serving workers
5. Personal and home care aides
6. Retail salespersons
7. Office clerks
8. Accountants
9. Nursing aides, orderlies, attendants
10. Postsecondary teachers

It was interesting to see what Bureau of Labor Statistics came up with, although many on the list didn't come as a surprise to me. The one that was most surprising to me was postsecondary teachers, given all the budget talks schools have been discussing. But according to the BLS, it's the expectant number of retirements and growth in enrollment that gets this one on the list.

I wonder why commercial engineering underwriting tech specialist didn't make it on the list?

Welcome 2010

I'm not going to lie, for whatever reason, I'm never too excited about New Years Eve. And this year was no exception. However, after the long email chain of possible plans I came back to from lunch on Tuesday, my anticipation level for Thursday night grew. Naomi, Rodderick, L, and I decided on the DMSC. It would be a new and different experience for all of us - a great way to ring in the new year. And being the responsible adults that we are, we decided to not take any risks and book a room at the Hotel Fort Des Moines - so none of us would have to worry about driving back out to the 'burbs.

Here's the lowdown of NYE 2010:
4:00 - Rod and Naomi pick L and I up to head downtown.
4:05 - We make a pit stop at Dahls to pick up a few last minute items
4:35 - We arrive at Hotel Fort Des Moines. We load up the luggage cart (which appeared to the hotel employee that we were staying multiple nights) and check in.
4:55 - After getting everything unloaded, we crack open the first beers of the evening and turn on the Iowa State vs. Minnesota game
5:05 - L and I watch as Naomi and Rod open their gifts 
5:15 - We set up the "dip cart" and dive into the snacks
6:30 - We order pizza
7:00 - Pizza arrives
8:00 - Game over, Clones win!
8:05 - Pod comes out - Ester Dean kicks off the start to our dance party and we begin getting ready
9:30 - We are all ready to go and the dance party continues
9:45 - Kyle and Sarah join us for a drink before we head to the party
10:35 - We hop in the shuttle, awkwardness ensues with the driver (He was not easy to converse with)
10:40 - We arrive at DMSC.

Enter buzzkill:
1. As we walk towards the entrance, some drunkard tells us not to go inside because it's not fun and "there are a bunch of weirdos in there" (we learn as soon as we get in the door that he got kicked out)
2. As we attempt to check our coats, they tell us "coat check is full"  Umm...what?! (thankfully Naomi worked her magic and we got our coats in)
3. After L, Kyle, Sarah, and I waited in line for about 15 minutes for drinks, (they should have used bottles, not kegs) we learn that they are out of Bud Light. Como? It's 11:30! So we were left with the decision of either Miller High Life or 312....yum.
4. After meeting back up with Naomi and Rod to find that they were still waiting in line for Naomi's drink, we decide to head to another room to see if we could get Naomi a drink any faster...$6 glass of wine it is.
5. We head back to a room that makes us all a bit uncomfortable - we decide to forge ahead and see what the next room has to offer - "wait, no, go back, it's even worse in there," Naomi says.

Overview of DMSC
The crowd was a little, shall I say, colorful, which I expected on some level. Let me say that I feel like I'm a pretty open-minded person and I do a pretty good job of accepting people for who they are. And I know that I, myself, am a little weird. Now that being said, this event drew in a very different crowd, and mix that with the what I'll call "off beat activities" and I realized that I was under prepared. Clearly, the 312 wasn't strong enough. Perhaps I would have appreciated it more if I had a buzz from something other than alcohol. Too bad for me that that's not really my thing. 

As the countdown came upon us and Naomi, Rod, L, and I stood in a little circle, looking at each other with the same look of "this kind of blows" I boldly declare, "You know what, let's just make the best of the situation. We are celebrating with good friends, and it shouldn't matter where we are. We are with each other and we can have fun anywhere!" And so we did...for a little while at least...

We watched the lame human ball drop and counted down to the new year...4,3,2,1 - Happy New Year! *cue Auld Lang Syne* We hugged each other and then decided since we were having so much more fun at the hotel, we'd grab our coats and head back.

I've got to say, it was a fantastic decision! We got back to the hotel and decided to go on a little adventure.


Our Adventure:
2nd Floor: Piano playing, a real coat check, and secret agent missions
3rd Floor: Deciphering maps and exploration
4th Floor: Tripods and convincing Corey Baker to put L's nylons over his head, Old School style
5th Floor: Talking to Dean, Liam, and Corey (There were 3 dudes standing by the elevators when we got off this floor and we started talking to them like we had met them earlier in the night. I think we had them convinced for a second that their names were indeed Corey, Liam, and Dean - all of which names I made up as we spoke to them)
6th Floor: We head to the gym for a little late night work out. "Put your mind to it, go for it, get down and break a sweat."
7th Floor: We finally get back to our room and the adventure comes to a close.

In Conclusion:
Lame? Maybe to all you readers, but it was a NYE for the record books as far as I'm concerned. We made the best of our night, and didn't let the buzzkill get us down for too long. L said it best when we were reviewing our first experience at the DMSC - an unorganized event that overpromised and underdelivered. But we persevered and made it into a night we soon will not forget!

Photo Proof:

Dressed to the nines

Showing off on the piano

 

Rod and I demonstrating how a coat check works

Bond girls
 

I've never been good with directions

Tripods

Corey Baker + L's nylons = good sport

 Me: Where the heck is 309? 

Les: We're 709

Me: Shut up Les!

(Our "escape from danger" plan)

Team Hot Sundae