LOL Fri

Crazy week for me and I'm so glad it's the weekend! Here are some things that are keeping me LOL'ing. 

 This peanut butter cup squirrel.

This ginormous pan we bought in NYC at a restaurant supply store. It's bigger than we thought.

Silly kitty face close ups (he only has 1 tooth so his lip is curled up sometimes)

I definitely need to link up with Whitney  to get this weekend started! This is what I'm doing all weekend!

Liebster- is that German?

Twu of my favorite blogs Champagne-n-Pizza and The Party Girls Guide nominated moi for a Liebster. I have to admit I didn't really know what it was, but I am honored to be nominated for any award, and after a little Google research, I am really honored!

 

  The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

So here are the rules:

Tell 11 facts about yourself

1. My mom was born in Austria, so I’m “exotic” and “European” by default 
2. I was born in NY, but grew up in Knoxville, TN (Go Vols)
3. I work for the Federal Gov in DC, but am not really supposed to say where exactly ;)
4. I met my hubs when we both worked at the Gap in TN
5. I love to bake, but not cook (meat grosses me out)
6. My vice is sugar (see above)
7. We just bought our first house in Maryland
8. Eight is my lucky number (like I’m freakishly into it, my first, last, and maiden name all have 8 letters)
9. I like to give things/ people silly names- my car is the “Taur-dogg”, the hubs is “Easy-Beasy”, my brothers are “G” and “P-Dizzle”
10. I am double jointed and can do weird things with my shoulders and feet. 
11. I read everyday and my favorite book is White Oleander or The Pillars of the Earth.

Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger created.

From Party Girls Guide

1. If you could bang any celebrity who would it be? Married ladies don’t think about such things, BUT in the spirit of things, I don't think Joe Manganiello is that bad looking :)
2. What is the coolest place you have ever traveled? Holland
3. What's the funniest thing that has happened to you this month? I sent an email about something I drafted and it auto corrected to farted.
4. Coke or Pepsi? Coke
5. Favorite TV show? True Blood (or Dexter, or Downton Abby, or Workaholics)
6. Describe your personal style? Girly and the dreaded comfortable on the weekends  
7.  What's your idea of the perfect night out? Dinner & a walk with ice cream somewhere quaint 
8.  The perfect weekend? Read by the pool all day & do no chores
9. What type of dog is the cutest in all the land (other than Fred) Golden Retrievers!
10. How did you lose your virginity? Just kidding...how many shots do you usually take on a Friday night? 0, I prefer wine & not to embarrass myself.
11. What do you like best about where you live? The street festivals, walking around the tidal basin, museums, cultural restaurants

From Champagne & Pizza

1. How'd you decide to name your blog? My hubs calls my random thoughts “brain droppings” and I love pink, so little & pink  sound like a nicer way to describe what is otherwise known as rabbit turds.
2. What is your favorite thing to do when you get home? Put on comfy (read: ugly) sweat pants
3. First word that comes to mind in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... go! dog
4. Never have you ever... held a gun
5. Weirdest place you've... eaten. On a ferry boat to Martha’s Vineyard
6. Favorite food to eat?  (You must eat it tonight now.) Ice cream!
7.  What will you name your first child or next animal (if you don't want a kid)? Boy: Connor , Girl: Juliana
8. Hot button issue:  gifboom or A Beautiful Mess.  Which app do you like more?  (If you don't have either, feel free to download them and thank me for letting you know about them.  Now that you have them, what do you think?) hahah- I’m terrible, I have neither, but will be getting them!
9. If you were to take me on a blate (blate= blogger date), where would we go? To the first lady dress exhibit at the American History Museum or a cool street festival and then to my fav BierGarten Haus for their pretzel balls, brats, and beer!
10. What is the most interesting thing you know about Texas? Thanks to my girl, a lot! Their flower is the bluebonnet & a possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road (j/k I made that second one up).

List 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers that you believe deserve some recognition.

Well, I'm terrible. I can't nominate the blogs that nominated me and apparent all the other blogs I read have more than 200 readers, sooo I have a new goal to support more of these blogs!

Post 11 questions for them to answer.

Um, see above, I'm passing :)

Cheap Shizz I Do

I am so honored my girls at Champagne-n-Pizza and The Party Girls Guide nominated me for a Liebster. I promise I will do my homework soon!

Anyhoo, I’ll be doing that later since I have a busy day today. I am doing a focus group on cat food. And they’re paying me $200 bones. That’s right my friends, of all the focus groups available, I get picked for one on cat food.(I've submitted for hair care, shopping, banking, etc.)

If you’re in the DC area you can sign up to participate in focus groups here: http://www.shugollresearch.com/

It got me thinking about some of my other money makin' & money savin' schemes:

•  I also secret shop. Hey, I got a free oil change this month. https://www.shopperscritique.com/
•  I use coupons, and
•  sometimes if I see coupons on the top of the recycler, I take them!
•  I’ll get a $50 gift card on eBay for $48
•  I get free filtered water (in a cup) at Starbucks (we also get a ton of coffee there, so I think that’s fair 
•  I scout Travel Zoo for hotel deals for a fun trips (like to NYC this weekend)
•  I sneak snacks into the movies in my purse 
• When the laundry detergent is almost out, I turn it upside down and for good measure, I swirl washing machine water around in it & dump what little remains into the load. 

What schemes do you have to save or make money?

A Gripe & A Foodie Weekend Wrap Up

Late post today, but I have been preoccupied with bad news about our loan. The loan officer didn't lock in our rate a month ago (dummy) and now rates have gone up (of course). He said I told him not to lock in the rate, but I obviously didn't understand because I would have never not locked in with   the option to still go down if something better came along.
We are going to transfer loans, have a higher interest rate AND monthly payments, and hopefully can close on time still.

I already cried in the abthroom- all this is too stressful, esp. coming back from vacation.

Soooo, onto a fat kid Memorial Weekend.
I had some adorable summer outfits picked our for our weekend in NYC, but guess what- it turned out to be in the 50s and rainy. Plus, I got to buy new shoes and a sweater that will be great in the Fall ;)

Friday: 

Lunch at John's followed by a "snack" at Momofuku's Milk Bar, and then Yuka for their all-you-can-eat sushi, one of our favorite places when we lived in the UES. I also hit up my favorite second hand and consignment stores.

Saturday: 
Breakfast/ lunch at Katz's. We went shopping for pans in the Bowery, a la Anthony Bourdain, then carried them all over NYC to the Strand, several Starbucks, a dog park, Big Gay Ice Cream, and then to a dinner of macaroni and cheese at S'MAC (we don't mess around). We walked to the 911 Memorial (which was closed at night, but got to the Freedom Tower.

Sunday: 
We're getting tired of eating, but the show mucst go on. We had brunch at Brassiere Athenee, where I had Nutella crepes for the first time. I will be having them again! Then it was back home via the Megabus.

How were your long weekends?

The Worst First Date Ever

College, 2000-ish, a guy from my public speaking class asked me out. I think we hung out a party before- isn’t it funny that most of college dating is "will you go to a party with me?"

Who wouldn't want to date all this blonde, over- plucked mess?

Anyhoo, he picks me up at my dorm (where I was a RA) in his busted up Jeep. Not that I care what a guy drives, so long as it is safe. The floorboards in the passenger side were ripped up and I could see the road below me as we were driving- eeeks!

First thing he said we needed to do was go to the mall (Baskin Robbins) where his brother worked to pick up something. Not sure what it was, but he told me I could wait in the car while he went in. What a gentleman! I sat and looked at the pavement, when I should have escaped.

He asked if I liked scary movies, which I said no. He said OK, we were going to see Red Dragon, which might be scary, but probably not. (It was the dumb prequel/ sequel? to Silence of the Lambs and wasn't "scary"). We somehow were talking about being intoxicated while watching movies, and he asked if I wanted to sneak a 6 pack into the theater in my purse. I said not really.  (I do enjoy a bev, but I’m old fashioned and would prefer a “proper” first date). We did not have a 6 pack while watching the movie-, which he was a little butt hurt over this.

After the movie (at the $1 theater, where I did not get popcorn or candy), he asked if I liked to play pool. I said not really-  I hadn’t really played much, so I was probably not good. He said good, we could go to this (redneck) sports bar to play pool and have a drink. He got us a table right next to another couple. The woman playing was a dishwater blond with her hooters all sorts of on display (nope, not jealous, I was more blessed up there than her).

Anyhoo, date strikes up a conversation with them to discuss one of the sports games on. My date seriously did not stop talking to the woman. When her dude left to get more drinks, he was on her like a fly on poo. He didn’t even look up from her (chest) when it was his turn to play. (I think he got her number too). It obviously wasn’t going too well. 

 via

He did walk me to the door afterwards, which was the only plus. We didn’t have a second date and public speaking class was a little awkward for the rest of the semester.

My close runner up for worst first date ever is the guy who asked me out when I was working at a fancy spa (he came in for a waxing- should have known better). We went out for drinks after dinner when he starting taking shots and getting obliterated (and he had picked me up). I asked if he was going to be driving me home- yes, yes he was planning on doing that after several cocktails and shots. I called my little brother to pick me up & he took me home. Drinking- OK, drinking & driving- deal breaker!

P.S. my first date with my husband was at a restaurant by the river and we went for a nice walk along the water afterwards. He opened my door and spoke intelligently, as well as asked me questions about me, my family, etc. Those are keepers ladies.

What's your worst first date (or best)?

(Gross) Tales from Work

I do procurements, budget, and admin for a technical dept in the government. I am also our safety coordinator, recycling POC, fixer of copiers, jack of all trades. Example, once people were fighting over the ac/ office temp. One person would call in and say it’s too hot and then someone would call and say they were too cold, so now I’m the only one who can call in when something is broken or needs maintenance because. This has led to me calling about everything.

My request today:

Feces and water are coming up from a drain in the men’s room. (Don’t worry; I wasn’t in the men’s room). BTW, the person reporting the issue to me did not say feces, but I try to be a professional.

Speaking of feces, here’s my all-time favorite service request:

There appears to be dog feces in the hallway by the elevator (yup people bring their dogs in occasionally, to a government office building, and apparently don’t realize when they take a shadoobie in the halls). It was originally, “there’s dog shit in the hallway. At least I hope it’s dog shit”. See how professional I am.

I’ve also complained about giant dead roaches in the hallway that no one has picked up, mice that have made a nest in the bottom of someone’s bookcase, loud noises coming from a vent, theft of Fiber 1 bars out of a desk, and the list goes on. 

In case you've missed it, here's what my office looks like. Please try to contain your excitement.  

 I am here at your service. No dog pile is too offensive for me to handle.

What's the weirdest thing that's ever happened in your office?

 

A New State

Whenever E and I are on a road trip (like the many 8 hr drives we make to Tennessee) we play games or just start naming states & their capitols & birds & such. We also play what animal would win in a fight to the death (the one we can never agree on is mongoose vs. badger). So here’s my state vs. state fight to the death (I’m doing Maryland- where I’m moving to, Virginia- where I live currently, and Tennessee- where I’m from).

Round 1: Flowers

MD has the black-eyed Susan, VA has the dogwood, & TN has the iris. It's a toughie, but I'm going with the iris. 

 

 WINNER: Tennessee

Round 2: Flags

Wow, Maryland’s flag is major fugs and Virginia’s is a little violent, but Tennessee's is a little boring. I’m going with VA! 

 WINNER: Virginia

Round 3: Birds

MD with the oriole, VA with the cardinal, and TN with the mockingbird. Also a toughie, but since there are 6 other states with the cardinal (played out), I’m going to give it to the Oriole!

 

 WINNER: Maryland

 A three-way tie, now we need a tie-breaker! 

Tie-Breaker: Trees

MD has the white oak, VA has flowering dogwood, and TN has yellow poplar.
Um, no comment, we're still moving, but Maryland better get some things together!

Anyway, I had fun looking this up . If you're interested in your state (or any state)'s stuff go here.
2 days until NYC!