the fine art of procrastination

I can't fall asleep and am procrastinating deciding what my New Year's resolutions will be. Here goes another survey(taken from Angie):

JANUARY

1. Who kissed you on new years? Mel and I were talking about this the other day. I can't remember what I did for New Years last year. I know I was supposed to make an appearance at Dan's party and never made it. Was I sick? Either way, I don't know.
2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year? Yes, 4 of them and I kept 3 of the 4. Not bad.
3. Does it snow where you live? yessssssssssss
4. Do you like hot chocolate? umm, it's ok, sometimes
5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? No, and quite frankly, it really isn't on my list of things to do.

FEBRUARY

1. Who was your Valentine? Jenne. We had a lets be happy that we are single and not in a bad relationship par-tay. Or maybe we just hung out and drank wine.
2. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class?For sure and put candy in every envelope.
3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? Nope

MARCH

1. Are you Irish? nope
2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? not usually, and if I do, it is only in an attempt not to get pinched
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2006? Went to Wrigleyville with Aaron et all
4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? I don't hate winter, but I like the spring better

APRIL

1. Do you like the rain? I love a rainy night. I like the rain hitting my face and really don't mind getting soaked as long as I am not going somewhere that I need to be dry. Storms are the best.
2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone?probably
3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter? no
4. Do you celebrate 4/20? nope
5. Do you love the month of April? it's alright, but not my favorite

MAY

1. What is your favorite flower? calla lilies
2. Do you like the spring? I love the spring
3. Finish the phrase "April showers": bring my birthday
4. What is the first color you think of when you think of Spring? pastels

JUNE

1. What year did/will you graduate from high school? do i really need to date myself?
2. Did you do anything fun during this month?oh yes. lots of travel and visitors

JULY

1. What did you do on the Fourth of July?i worked
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month? I went to visit my brother...always a good time
3. Do you blast the A/C all day? no, I am a window open kind of girl as long as it is 90 or below

AUGUST

1. Did you do anything special at the end of your summer?i went to Columbus to visit Aaron and attend his party which would have serious karmic retribution on all of us
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '06?So many. Lots of traveling and hanging out with friends. I think it was one of the best summers.
3. Did you have a sunburn? Oh yes. I think we all got burnt in Jamaica.
4. Do you go to the beach a lot? I like the beach, but not dirty beaches.

SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend school/college in '06? nooo
2. Who is your favorite teacher? I've had a lot of good teachers, but I think my first favorite teacher was Mr VanBuskirk. He was my 8th grade history teacher and track coach. I hate the subject of history but I liked his hard ass ways.
3. Do you like fall better than summer? Fall brings college football...so, yesssssss.

OCTOBER

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume? Hmm...I like the creative ones that are plays on words and you have to figure out what they are.
2. What is your favorite candy? hands down, regular starburst
3.What did you dress up as this year? nothing

NOVEMBER

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?usually my aunt and uncles, but I haven't been to turkey day in 3 years
2. Do you love stuffing? no. gross. it is soggy and i hate soggy foods.
3. What are you thankful for? happiness

DECEMBER

1. Do you celebrate Christmas? yes, but i have never understood why we don't eat birthday cake on Christmas
2. What is December 1st, 2006? i had the day off work, so anything could have happened
3. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe?yes....and ang, i totally remember the danger zone in dan and einhorn's room. that was the best
4. Get anything special last year? yes. i didn't have to work and got to spend time will all my family. it was great.
5. What do you want this year? world peace
6. Do you like cold weather? yes, because sometimes you breathe in the cold air and you realize that you are alive...and i know that sounds really corny and it probably is, but that is how i think sometimes

movie reviews and a shout out to nate

I like to keep it short and sweet.

The Departed- brilliant and twisted. if you haven't seen it yet, do. soon.

Casino Royale- i like daniel craig as the new bond a surprising amount. the dialogue between vesper and bond, i loved. if he were alive, i would really want to have dinner with ian. and yes, we would be on a first name basis.

**I owe a big thanks to Nate. Tonight on the way home, I managed to leave my cell phone in the cab. Fortunately, Nate was online and and repeatedly called my phone until the cabbie answered it and Nate convinced him to drive it back to me. Now, I am perched at my window waiting for mr cabbie to return. I owe you big time, Nate. Thanks buddy.
So, after an hour and a half and the cab driver not showing up, I enlisted Tommy's help. He with the help of a friend was able to call my cell until said driver answered. Finally, with much help, I was able to get my phone back and pay this man a hefty fare. Thanks guys.

celebrating Christmas via phone

So, my Christmas started off on a high note. When I left work last night I had several Merry Christmas texts and voice mails. The first one received was from my brother...never put it past him to be super thoughtful.

This morning I was woken up by a phone call from my uncle wishing me a Merry Christmas and was then passed around to everyone in the family. Then, Jenne, my old roommate called and we talked for about an hour as it has probably been about 2 months since we have really had a chance to catch up. I also got to talk to Mel and Megan and received several more Merry Christmas texts and a few Feliz Navidads.

Then, work called and said that actually, I wouldn't be working today as too many people were on the schedule and it was my turn in the rotation to get called off. As soon as I hung up, I got a call from my cousin's little girl wishing me a Merry Christmas and was again passed around to the entire family. Feeling a little bummed that I got called off, my dad encouraged me to go out and do something.

So, I decided to pick up some Subway(i love it) for lunch and returning home, I had 3 missed calls from my brother. On the 5 hour drive home from my grandparents on Christmas it is tradition to set our resolutions for the new year. So, I got the call to state my resolutions. Of course, while I am on the phone with my brother, my mom thinks it is hilarious to also call my phone from her cell...and they are all in the same car.

Through work we get free movie tickets a lot and I have multiple that are about to expire, so I thought I would go see a couple movies that I have been wanting to see. I am pretty excited to see The Departed and Casino Royale. My brother was a little bummed that I was going to see Casino Royale, because we usually watch Bond movies together, but who knows when we would have time to see it together. My critiques of the movies to come later...if I can make it through 2 movies.

Alamo Bowl

I just realized that I am going to be home and get to watch the Hawks play in the Alamo Bowl with my family. That almost makes up for having to work Christmas.

The last time that Iowa played in the Alamo Bowl, they upset Texas Tech. What a fun game to be at. Aaron, Dan, Jill, Lauren, Angie and I road tripped to San Antonio, spent some time on the River Walk and went to the game. There is video of that trip somewhere, but hopefully it has been burned since then. OLFHND.

Merry Christmas!

one word

One. Word. Survey. You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word.

1. Yourself: stace
2. Your sibling(s): bubs
3. Your mother: beautiful
4. Your Father: rational
5. Your favorite physical feature on others: smile
6. Your dream home: comfortable
7. Your best friends: amazing
8. Your dream last night: none
9. Your Favourite drink: water
10. Your Dream Car: none
11. The room you are in: bed
12. Your Ex: who
13. Your fear: kakorrhaphiophobia
14. What you want to be in 10 years: laughing
15. Who you hung out with last night: mulveys
16. Something you’re not: prissy
17. Muffins: blueberry
18. One of Your Wish List Items: vacation
19. Time: flies
20. The Last Thing You Did: phone
21. Your Favorite Weather: football
22. Your Favorite Book: cook
23. The last thing you ate: orange
24. Your Life: fun
25. Your Mood: tired
26. What are you thinking about right now: sleeping
27. What are you doing at the moment: typing
28. Your summer: adventuresome
29. Your relationship status: ask
30. Who You Are Now: me
31. Who You Want to be in Five Years: me
32. What is the weather like: chilly
33. When is the last time you laughed: today
34. Who should fill this out: Swope

christmas?!?! what's that?

I don't feel like Christmas is 3 days away. Maybe it's because I worked Thanksgiving or the unusually warm weather this year but Christmas snuck up on me. I still haven't finished my Christmas shopping, but I did get all my Christmas cards sent out.

I am working Christmas Eve and day. It will be fun to be with the kids on Christmas day and it looks like we will have a lot of kids at work this year. We have been unusually busy the past week or two.

It will be a little(or a lot) sad not to be with my family for the holidays. I always stay fully informed on the family happenings, as they call me every time something funny happens...which is a lot in my family. The best is when I pick up the phone and all I hear on the other end is my mom and brother laughing and trying to tell me a story, but they can't get it out because they are laughing too hard.

I hope everyone has safe travels this holiday season.

Do these things happen to anyone else?!?!

So, this guy I know is in the entertainment business called me the other day to see if I wanted to hang out this week and he had some promo tickets to a movie. So, I said sure. We hadn't seen each other since this summer, but thought it would be nice to catch up.

So, we met up for the movie and when he saw me, he picked me up and spun me around. I let out a little yelp. I don't think anyone has ever been so excited to see me, not even my parents after being away for a while. People that know me well know that I am not a very touchy-feely person unless I know you well, then can be very affectionate(he doesn't fall into this category).

After the movie we were sitting there talking and he was updating me on the new ventures in his life. He constantly has 50 different projects going on and is always trying to promote them...which is fine. Then red flags were going up left and right...it went something like this...grabs my hand and says...I remember the first time I ever saw you and heard your voice...blah blah blah...red flag red flag red flag...He then made it apparent that he is single(last time we hung out he was dating someone) and that he wanted 2007 to be our year....what?!!?

Umm, I thought we were just hanging out. Anyway, I let him know that we could hang out but that we wouldn't be a "we" in 2007. He then insisted on walking me to the L where he continues to profess his love for me on street corners and received several odd glances from people standing on the corner with us. Finally, the L steps were in sight and I was ready to head down them when I was trapped into another uncomfortably long hug. Finally, freed from his grip, he grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go as I went bounding down the stairs until his arm just wasn't long enough to reach anymore.

This guy might have a touch of the crazy.

[Edit] Less than 3 hours after getting home, I have an email in my inbox saying how great it was to see me today and he will be getting in touch with me soooooooooooon.

Oh dear.

Top 1%, that's me.

Following the special on dwarfism on tv tonight was a special on the world's tallest people. The average height of the American male is 5'10" and the female 5'6". Only 1% of the male population is above 6'3" and female population is 5'10" or taller.

That puts me in the top 1%.

I found out all kinds of interesting things. I could belong to a tall people's club and enter special tall people beauty pageants. While I don't think I will be doing any of the these things it did remind me of the fact, I am tall. The show talked about physical and social difficulties of being tall (I don't think that I am socially retarded). I have been told that I am too tall to date on a couple of occasions, but then again, I thought they were too shallow.

I like being tall...except when I need to buy new pants.

Stop by your local newstand...this issue is worth reading

Since graduating from college, I have been really bad at keeping up with world news and current events.

I have never had a love for history and am awful with geography. It is also really hard for me to catch the news because I work evening shift. The combination of these things can leave me dreadfully clueless with what is going on in the world sometimes...which is horrible(and embarrassing to admit) and I am attempting to work on it. Perhaps it will be a New Year's resolution for '07.

To start me in the right direction, I read the December 4 issue of TIME magazine from cover to cover tonight and really enjoyed it(I already know that I am a total geek). Here are some interesting things I read:

--People with personalized license plates or have names for their cars are more likely to express road rage.

--There was a thought provoking snippet on Ian Thorpe, an Australian swimmer that has 9 Olympic medals(5 of them gold) that has retired at the age of 24. Ian reported that he had met all of his swimming goals and wanted to start the rest of his life, stating, "You can swim lap after lap, staring at a black line, and all of a sudden you look up and see what's around. That's what it feels like for me."

--An interesting analysis of Bob Gate's options on the Iraq war as Bush's nominee for Defense Secretary.

--As of January, Henry Waxman will have subpoena power as the new chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and why that should strike fear in the heart of every government official.

--A great article on the irrational fears of humans and how they worry about the wrong things.

--Of course, I was interested in the article, The Year in Medicine A to Z. The most interesting fact I read is that driving while using your cell phone(hands free or not) is roughly the same as driving with the blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08%...the same amount that will get you arrested for driving under the influence in all 50 states and D.C. If that isn't a reason to hang up and drive, I don't know what is.

--Sewing is coming back in style. YAY!

--TIME gave Jay-Z's new album a bad review...but I like it a lot.

I'm going to go a little white trash on you

I love caffeine.

I am possibly an addict and I get withdrawal headaches when I don't drink it.

My preferred choice of caffeine is fountain pop. In fact, I would really like my own machine. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work at a place that had a fountain soda machine and am well trained on how operate and clean them.

One of my favorite things about road trips is the giant truck stops with the giant fountain pop machines that have every flavor of pop(that is the white trash part, my love for truck stop soda machines). The problem with most fountain machines is that while they have 8-10 varieties of pop, only one or two of them are diet.

While out to lunch today, Megan asked me what soda flavors I would have on my own machine. Here they are:

*Light Minute Maid Lemonade
*Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi
*Diet Coke
*Diet Mountain Dew
*Diet Dr Pepper
*Diet A&W Cream Soda
*Diet Grape Soda
*Diet Tonic Water
*a couple of regular pops for my friends

On a side note, if you want the best fountain Diet Coke go to McDonalds. Hands down the best...at any McDonalds in the country. They have the carbonation to syrup ratio perfected.

Aaron Aaron Aaron

This weekend, while Aaron was in town, we hit up Michigan Ave to do a little Christmas shopping. Going with the assumption that we would have lots of bags when we left, I decided to drive instead of taking the L. Parking turned out to be quite a fiasco.

The first ramp we went in didn't have a single open spot and we got charged $13 for driving around to look for a spot. On the way into the ramp, you have to insert a credit card to get in. Well, I kept putting the swipe bar in the wrong direction and the man working there came over to assist me and Aaron told the man that I was mentally retarded. On the way out, we couldn't get out and I had to press the call assistance button and the conversation with the man in the speaker went like this:

Me: Hello. There were no open spots and we need to get out.

Speaker guy: You want to boing?

Me: Do I want to what?

Speaker guy: Do you want to boing?

Me: Do I want to what?

Speaker guy: Do you want to boing?

Me: Do I want to WHAT!?!?

Speaker guy: Do you want to GO IN?

Me: No! I am trying to get out!

Speaker guy: Let me press the button for you.

Mean while, Aaron is laughing hysterically in the background, because he also thought the man was asking me if I wanted to boing.

Next, we decided to park at the Hancock. We pull up and the man asks me to roll down my window, so I did. He informed me that he would have to check my trunk before going in. Aaron yelled out to him, "She has junk in her trunk." Again, thank you Aaron.

At lunch in Water Tower there was a Nutcracker on roller skates. Aaron pulled him over to me and made him take a picture with me. He was also wearing a button that claimed to be a hug therapist and told the nutcracker to hug me and he did. We all know how much I love hugs.

After lunch, we met up with Courtney and Chrissy and did a whole lot of shopping. We made friends with a guy working in Guess and he was very helpful as he took jeans off of a mannequin. I think I am definitely better at shopping for guys clothes than girls clothes and think I am now very well acquainted with every single style of guys jeans ever made.

i didn't think i was THAT picky

ilovepaperproducts!

i love journals and planners and stationary. especially handmade paper products.

i love my planner from last year and have had a difficult time finding a replacement for it(8 stores later, and i don't really like shopping...that much).

finally at borders tonight, i found not one, but two that i really liked. the covers weren't exactly what i wanted, but you can't always judge a book by it's cover, right? the big dilemma between the two was one had lines and the other had blank pages. i often like to doodle little pictures that correspond the event that i am attending, but i also like my writing to be very neat.

the deciding factor was the lined one had smaller spaces for saturday and sunday than the weekdays...i have more happening on the weekends than the weekdays, so i went with the blank pages.

let the doodles begin.

My Wish List

Incase anyone that reads my blog wants to get something for Christmas, here are some items that I would like but know that I am not getting(and won't be getting).

**The Gap Product(RED) cashmere hoodie in white(first choice) or cinnabar red. I like that it contributes to the AIDS effort in Africa and it is incredibly soft. I could live in this sweater. Even if you don't buy it for me, you should at least go to the store and just stroke it a few times.

**I am also in love the Product(RED) iPOD.

**A watch from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I like that it doesn't really look like a watch.

News I'm currently reading

Cologne Rules for Men, I love #10.

Just because she's a lesbian doesn't mean she won't be a good parent

Ex-spy's death...it wouldn't even be believable as a movie script

Ohio goes smoke-free

Eddie Murphy is Scary Spice's baby's daddy?!?!

Cardinals don't want no stinkin' Bonds

Make a loved one last forever

Urns of ashes may be a thing of the past.

Ashes to Portraits is a company that lets you send in your loved ones creamated ashes and they will mix them will a special oil based paint and create a painting of your choice. Just think, you can have your loved one's burned body smeared on a canvas and hang it on your wall.

I should have done this with my recently deceased pet.

**I would like to note that the artist is listening to an iPOD in the photo. Do you think you can request to have the artist listen to the deceased's favorite music while painting them to get a true sense of the person?

Plane lands because passenger passes gas

A plane had to land because a lady passed gas. It wasn't the stench of the gas that caused the plane to land, but what she did to try to cover the fact that she had farted.

Copy Cat

Many people have been posting on how quickly the year has been flying by. I have to agree.

I pretty much don't remember anything that has happened since I turned 25 in May. Maybe it is senility.

With only 20 days until Christmas, I have yet to start my shopping or really even think about it. Everyone might be receiving fruit of the month, meat of the month and cheese of the month gift subscriptions. Seriously. I usually take pride in getting people thoughtful gifts, but I have really been slacking this year. I haven't even sent out my Christmas cards or figured out what I want to write in them.

Maybe I was thrown off by that much advertised extra week of shopping in between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Perhaps, I thought, "why worry, you have plenty of time." We all know that I like to procrastinate with the excuse that I work best under stress...maybe I am subconsciously doing that. Who knows...any way you look at it, I'm behind.

In short, sorry if your presents really suck. I will make sure I get gift receipts and give them with my gifts.

St Louis without power due to ice storm

My brother was lucky to have power a few days longer than some of his neighbors, but he and Jill are too, without power now. I talked to him as he stayed in a hotel tonight.

Here's more of the story that has left close to 400,000 people without power for days now.

What will they think of next?

German scientists are in the process of creating a spray-on condom that should be available by 2008. The concept is pretty interesting.

Obama, Ludacris rap about AIDS

After speaking to students at Northwestern University yesterday about AIDS awareness, Luda met with Obama.

Updates and randomitis

--Today is world AIDS day. Do something.

--A little known fact about me is that I love Fanta grape soda, but I never really drink it because of all the empty calories. So, I was very excited to find Fanta grape Lipsmackers chapstick at Walgreens the other day. I feel like a 3rd grader when I wear it, but it is so great. It was a very exciting purchase for me.

--I got very exciting mail today. In an unmarked envelope, I received one picture without a message. It was a very funny picture and I laughed very hard. Thank you for whoever(and I know who) sent it to me.

--Today, my roommate and I put up Christmas decorations in our apartment. Our Christmas tree looks like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree with the old school fatty lights. It's just great. One of my all time favorite smells is pine tree.

-- I made really good coffee today.

--I learned how to play Rummikub today and love it. Megan and I also played 3 games of Scrabble. I love playing games.