Getting to know you, Christmas edition

Megan emailed this to me a while ago....


Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE !!! Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send.
Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you...... Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
wrapping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial?
I prefer real, but we have had artificial since I was about 5 because I almost died in a fire or something

3. When do you put up the tree?
right after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down?
whenever

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I don't know. Maybe my yellow sweatsuit with bows and buttons all over it

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
My mom has one and I like to put the animals on the roof. She gets mad at me, though.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
everyone in my family is pretty easy to buy for

9. Easiest person to buy for?
my mom

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
mail

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
nothing that I can think of

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
we have a while tape of retro ones from when we were kids that I love to watch

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
as soon as I see something that I want to give to someone

14 Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
no

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
my mom's Christmas candy

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
clear or all red

17. Favorite Christmas song:
The Christmas song, All I want for Christmas is you, Joy to the World

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
we always travel

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
sure can

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
an angel that my great aunt Fern made

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
presents whenever we are all together, stockings on Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
nothing. I LOVE CHRISTMAS

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
hodge podge

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
one where I am with my family

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
just to hang out

26. Who is most likely to respond to this?
no one, this is a blog...maybe Angie

27. Who is least likely to respond to this?
Megan. She sent it to me

Merry Christmas 2007

I was fortunate that I was able to spend Christmas with my family this year, despite the fact that it involved a lot of traveling. On Friday I went from Chicago to Burlington to Early, Iowa. After spending the night at my grandparent's farm, we headed to Rock Rapids, IA for my dad's family's Christmas dinner. This is always a nice get together, as I usually only see these members of the family every other year.

We headed back to the farm where we had my mom's side of the family Christmas on the 23rd. We had a nice dinner and played some traditional Domino BINGO. We were all winners. On the morning of the 24th, we were up early and back in the car for 5.5 hours back to my parents new house in Burlington. We had a nice dinner, opened gifts and attempted the casino...but it was closed. Christmas morning we woke up to stocking stuffed by the chimney with care. We had the laziest Christmas Day in history. I was still in my pajamas at 3pm and layed around and watched sports most of the day. We did have a vicious mid day game of Monopoly, where I cleaned up.

Tomorrow morning I will head back to Chicago bright and early.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

my crazy busy never ending life

People tell me all the time that I am too busy and I am crazy. I personally like my life busy and don't like to have too much spare time in which I am allowed to let my brain rot...and we have always known that I am a little weird.

This past week was exceptionally busy. Tuesday night, Mel came into town for a 5 day stay as she had a conference in the city. I am pretty sure she just went to a book fair, but insists it was a conference. Starting on Wednesday, I am on an 8 day stretch at the hospital, which is extra busy because we are full with kids right now.

Thursday I worked 14 hours at the hospital then went to Oak Park to meet up with Sanj and hang out for a little while. Since it is the holiday season there were even more social commitments...like a Wig Out it's the Holiday's party on Friday night that a friend from college was hosting. Mel, Lisa and I threw on out hottest wigs and made an appearance at the party. A very fun theme with some interesting hair pieces.

Saturday proved to be another long day as I worked at the tanning salon, the hospital then attended my work holiday gathering. The work holiday gathering was definitely a quality over quantity attendance and a blast. We had so much fun hanging out outside of work.

Megan was also in town for a conference so I had the opportunity to have lunch with her and a few hours of quality hanging out time before heading back into the hospital. Tomorrow is another long day of tanning salon and hospital with a break from work on Wednesday.

I really need to get to work on my Christmas cards. I am pretty excited about the one's I picked out this year, so it would be a shame if they didn't make it in the mail.

The biggest thing I am looking forward to this month is heading home for Christmas. I have 5 days off and can't wait to bub it up.

new favorite

For quite some time I have wanted to try Brussels sprouts. Well, I made some the other day and they were amazing. I love them. They might be my new favorite vegetable.

Mel's birthday

I was in Indy this past weekend for Mel's 30th birthday. Ok, so it was really her 27th, but we decided that we would celebrate her 30th for the next 3 years so that it will be less traumatic when the big 3-0 actually rolls around. We had a lot of fun just hanging out.

So, happy belated Mel!

Hula hula hula

My trip to Hawaii was off to a quick start when I landed and learned that I had an event to attend an hour and a half after landing. My main reason for going to Hawaii was to support Aaron's AMA campaign. So my first 48 hours was filled with AMA event, which I must say, were surprisingly fun.

After all of the campaign hoopla ended, I took to relaxing to the max on the beach. I bought some amazing tanning "lotion" called maui babe at the local gift store. I call it "lotion," because it is actually two types of oil and coffee extract mixed together. While Aaron and I layed on the beach, we developed the routine of the slathering this stuff on, laying there until we were too hot to take it anymore(usually 30-45 minutes) and then frolicking in the ocean until sufficiently cooled off. After the 3rd or 4th round of this, we discovered a way to put our arms at the bottom of the ocean and hole ourselves there like doing a push up with our legs floating behind us. This became the way that we tanned our backs and only had to be out of the water and in the intense sun to tan our fronts. I would recommend maui babe to anyone that wants to get an intense tan in a very short amount of time.

There was also a lot of good eating while on the trip. Mostly seafood, but we did also eat at a great Korean BBQ. I am sure I have never consumed so much ahi in my life, and it was all delicious. One day on the way back from lunch on the beach(a brief hiatus from tanning) we were walking down some steps when an Asian tourist stopped Aaron and I. She had a disposable camera and said something about a picture. With a good 2 minute confusion and us repeatedly agreeing to take her picture, we finally figured out that she wanted a picture of US! Maybe we looked like celebrities, or we will be photo shopped on some foreign porn site, or maybe she just wanted to show the people back home the white people she saw, we posed and let her take our picture.

The interesting thing about Hawaii is that there were 3 things that I saw everywhere...Coach stores(like the bag), Starbucks and ABC stores(like a general convenience/souvenir store). There was an ABC in the shopping center of our hotel and the lady that ran the cash registered remembered Aaron from Day 2 on. When he went to check out one day, she said "Aloha" and not realizing it, responded "Hola." We had a good laugh about it.

I think one of the best parts is that unless I told them, no one figured out that I was
a) not a med student or
b) part of the AMA.

hawaii recap

coming soon.

was going to do it on my break at work tonight, but didn't get one.
hopefully tomorrow.

Vaca-a-palooza

This past weekend, I went to Lenora's lake house on Diamond Lake in Michigan. Three other ladies I work with and I all went up on Friday night and stayed until late evening on Sunday. When we got there Friday night, we unpacked and promptly headed out to the deck and built a fire in the fire pit. We stayed up talking around the fire until 5am on Saturday morning.

When we awoke around 9am Saturday morning, we made breakfast and took our chairs and sat down by the lake until about 2 when we headed back to the house to eat lunch. After lunch we did yard work and gathered wood for Saturday night's fire and returned to our chairs to watch the sunset. With the sun down, the chilliness settled in and we had a fire burning by 7pm. That fire kept us warm until we went to bed at 6am on Sunday morning. We napped until 10am then got up to make breakfast. After breakfast we took about a 8 mile walk most of the way around the lake. After lunch, we lounged around the house until it was time to pack up and leave.

We had an awesome time just relaxing and hanging out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am home for 3 days then pack my bags and head for Hawaii...I CAN'T WAIT!!! Hopefully, I can have as good of a time as my parents had when they went for their anniversary. Let me refresh your memory:

Dad after completing the Hawaii Marathon:

Mom riding the dolphins:

Two days after I return from Hawaii, I head to Indy to visit Mel for her birthday!

OOT

I'm out of town for the weekend, but am sure there will be a good update on Sunday or Monday.

Have a good one.

Grams

Today would have been my Grandma's 86th birthday. Sadly, she is no longer with us, but is no longer in pain.

Happy Birthday, Grama pama.

The Darjeeling Limited

Yesterday, I saw The Darjeeling Limited. It has gotten mixed reviews from many, but I thought it was a good movie. Not phenomenal by any means, but a zany and offbeat movie that is fun to watch. The characters were played very well. Owen Wilson cracked me up, because some of his neurotic behaviors reminded me of myself at times. I also loved Adrien Brody, reminding me at times of Mel. Some of the situations that they get themselves into remind me of adventures that I have had with friends. The bottom line: I would recommend it if you want too see a movie that is a little more original.

4 things

4 things about me. Fun and short.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Subway sandwich artist
2. Resident Assistant
3. I worked several positions at a summer camp for girls
4. front desk girl and master bed cleaner at a tannery

Four places I have lived:
1. Marcus, Iowa
2. Iowa City, Iowa
3. Burlington, Iowa
4. The Hut

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. The Wisconsin Dells
2. San Diego
3. Toronto, Ca
4. Jamaica

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Subway
2. Hash brown casserole
3. Tater tot casserole
4. Eggplant Parmesan

Four friends that I think will respond first:
1. Angie(on her blog)
2. maybe my brother
3. Mel on her blog(probably not, though)
4. ??

Another year older

Last weekend I trekked back home where I met my mom and brother and continued our journey across the great state of Iowa to visit my grandpa and throw him a surprise birthday party. On Oct 25th Gramps turned 86. He was very surprised by the party and had a great time. It was a small gathering of my mom, brother, aunt, uncle, my cousin and his wife and 2 1/2 kids. We had a really good time, ate an amazing meal that my mom cooked and hung out.

I let my cousin's little girl Brianna help me make Grandpa's birthday cake. Needless to say, she got a little messy and needed to take a quick bath in the sink before the party started.

My mom took my grandpa out for a drive while my brother and I decorated the house. He had no clue what was coming for him!

My grandpa loves carmel corn, so I stopped at Nuts on Clark and picked some up for him right before I left Chicago. When he opened it, my brother asked him what the bag said(Nuts on Clark). My grandpa yells out, "NUTS ON CRACK!" Hi-lar-ious!

Josh and Adrianne. He loves her, probably because she can eat as much as he can!

Sanj's going away party

Sanj is an awesome coworker, or was. I sadly had to say goodbye to Sanj this month as she accepted a new job after 21 years on our unit. She was a great mentor and a wealth of knowledge that people could always go to for anything. In honor of her, we had a backyard BBQ complete with fire pit. Sanj is an outdoorsy gal with a love for encased meats, so this was right up her all. We had a fabulous turnout and a great time.

Dan, Michael, Kevin and Keno
Look at that great fire

Nina, Sanj(showing off her encased meat), and Beth

Beth, me, Kristen, Sanj and Dan

Sanj showing off her chicken livers(one of her favorite foods...gross!)

Iowa vs Wisconsin

Since Iowa usually plays Wisconsin around this time of year, I waited to post the pictures of the game until now...or I have gotten really bad at blogging.

Lisa, Katie, Dames and I went to a bar to watch the game and Vanessa and Tim met us there. I also ran into a girl I went to high school with while I was there. It was pretty fun. So, flashback to late September:

SFGA

I went for my yearly visit to Six Flags Great America Fright Fest visit this weekend and what a time it was. I should have been called sweat fest. It was nearly 90 degrees with 80% humidity. Whoa doggie, it was a hot one.

I think the most entertaining part of the day was when Sanj and I were waiting in line for Raging Bull and there was a group of 5 European men in front of us. One and only one of them smelled and he was very ripe. Fortunately we were behind them in line, so we could keep a safe distance from passing out, but others were not so lucky. We greatly enjoyed seeing him walk past groups of people and watching the affect change on people's faces when they would smell him. Some people made very hilarious faces. The best would be when people would keep sniffing because they couldn't identify who was the culprit. It was highly entertaining to me.

in my eye

I was working at the land of the tan last Wednesday morning and enjoying a 24oz bottle of Diet Coke. Cold, refreshing, crisp Diet Coke. Well, this particular bottle had been in the cooler a little too long and had partially frozen...delicious, right?

Well, the ice would come down and block the opening where the pop flowed into my mouth when trying to drink, so I couldn't get the pop out. Sooooo, I used a little suction and lo and behold, I got some beverage. Well, I tipped the bottle up...apparently too quickly, as Diet Coke came right up out of the bottle and flew up into my eye. Let me tell you, Diet Coke in the eye stings. Pretending I was back in a chemistry class, I flushed out my eye and let my pop thaw a bit more before resuming drinking.

in disguise

It's already October, which has me thinking, "What will I be for Halloween this year?"

The answer, probably nothing. I do always like to think up a few good costume ideas, but to be honest I haven't been out on Halloween in years.

When I was at Target today, I saw a great Chewbacca costume but was shocked to see that it was $99.99. No thank you. Overdone, but always funny is a pregnant nun. For about 3 years in a row, I was an inflatable sumo wrestler. While, it was an amazing costume it did have some downfalls. It was insanely hot, despite having an interior fan. And, because it was inflatable, people always jumped into me, thinking they would bounce off. No, no, no. The costume would deflate in that area and I would get slammed into, every time. It led to a lot of bruises, but never a serious enough injury to deter me from wearing it. Sadly, on it's third year of existence, a party got a little too rowdy and the sumo got a hole in it.

chop chop choppity chop

At about 10pm tonight, I had the great idea of making some stir fry veggies to have on hand to eat this week. Well, I started chopping vegetables and chopping and before I knew it, I had a HUGE mound of veggies. No problem, right? Just get out the biggest pan we own(which is very large) and stir fry them up in there.

W-r-o-n-g!

I had to use our two largest pans and they were both quite full. My roommate walked out and just started laughing at me. Because, as she said, I had just made stir fry for the whole neighborhood. Oh well, at least I can freeze some of it.

Random pics

I wasn't able to post pics with several of my last posts, because I had been posting while I was on break at work.

Here are some pics from Beth's wedding and the Iowa NIU game:

Beth jokingly told Sanj and I that tiaras and elbow length white gloves were part of the dress requirement to get into the reception, so Sanj and I joking wore tiaras for a little bit.

Sanj, Nina, Dan(my boss's husband), and John(Nina's husband) at cocktail hour

And that's no bull!

This reminds me of when I was driving back from Iowa last year and there was an overturned truck of cattle on I80 that I had to stop for.

I was alerted to this story by my brother who lives in the St L.

Taken directly from www.postdispatch.com:

By Joel Currier
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A tractor-trailer transporting about 60 head of cattle overturned on the ramp from the Poplar Street Bridge to westbound Interstate 70 about midnight, trapping many of the animals and loosing others to roam the Arch grounds.Part of the truck was dangling over the edge of the bridge as firefighters used flashlights to peer inside and check on the cattle. Five were walking on the ramp behind the truck. Several other animals had crossed to the Arch grounds.Animal rescue was called to the scene to help; authorities said some animals were injured and would likely need to be euthanized.The truck driver was taken to a hospital, fire officials said, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.The ramp was closed early Thursday morning, as were the westbound lanes of I-70 and parts of Interstate 55 beginning south of the bridge, including the depressed section of the roadway.One motorist reported crashing his red Ford Thunderbird into a streetlamp that fell from above near the site of the cattle truck crash. He was not injured.

ST. LOUIS -- The last of the roaming bulls was found about 6 a.m. today and died about four hours later as rescue crews tried frantically to save it.It died about about 10:30 a.m. in a bushy and rocky embankment along a tree-lined area between the Mississippi River and railroad tracks just east of the intersection of Broadway and Bates Street.The bull was initially spotted in the 3800 block of Gasconade Street in St. Louis. People who spotted the bull called 911 and dispatchers alerted animal rescue workers.The bull nearly ran onto busy Interstate 55, but crews were able to coax it away from the highway. The bull then took off and ran for about two miles south along railroad tracks. Crews pursued but the bull eventually stumbled down the steep embankment.
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Crews tried to free the bull which had its legs twisted and wedged between boulders but the animal quickly went into shock and died."It's very disappointing," said Roger Vincent of the Missouri Emergency Response Service. "We were hoping to save him and send him on his happy way."Crews now are struggling with how to get the bull out of the embankment.The bull was among many in a truckload that escaped early Thursday after a truck accident on a ramp on the Poplar Street Bridge.

Deck the halls?!?!

Seriously, it's getting a little bit ridiculous.

I love Christmas and it is probably my favorite holiday, but the commercialism needs to back it up. I was recently in Target and they already have Christmas stuff on DISPLAY! Are you kidding me...it's September!!!

Can we take it one holiday at a time, please?!? Yes, right next to the back to school stuff was 3 aisles of Christmas lights, decorations, stockings and cards. I think it would be reasonable to put out Christmas stuff after Halloween, but NOT 6 weeks before.

I do have to admit that I did look at the Christmas card selection, as I am very selective about the Christmas cards that I send out. I usually have separate ones for my family and friends. Sadly, there weren't any that jumped out as me as perfect, otherwise I probably would have fed into this craziness by buying them.

Indy

This past weekend, Aaron, Steve, Jeremy and I met up in Indy to visit Mel for the night on Saturday. We had an absolute blast. We mixed mojitos and sat around and talked for a long time before we ventured out of Mel's apt to conquer the city. We even had time to play a quick game of capture the flag. Aaron dominated. Sadly, the boys had to leave early on Sunday morning to head back to Columbus as Aaron had to tutor at 1pm. Mel and I had a leisurely day bumming around the city on Sunday and I didn't leave until late evening.

I'm back.

After receiving a thoroughly harassing email about not updating my blog today, I am updating. I actually have a lot of updates to give, but won't be able to fit them all in right now. Over Labor Day weekend, the fam came into town and we all went to the Iowa vs NIU game at Soldier Field. We had a ton of fun tailgating and hanging out. It was great to be able to spend such a large amount to time with them, as we usually only briefly get to see each others. Josh's friends TJ and Tonya were also in town and were generous enough to let us use their truck as the tailgate mobile of the day. Cramming 9 adults into it to leave was quite a funny sight.

Obama girl...back in the news

After being in People magazine and on several tv stations, Obama girl is back in the news. Apparently, Obama's daughters don't like Obama girl, saying things like, "Daddy already has a wife."

I however, think the videos are quite clever and funny. Check it out for yourself. Obama girl has a website, http://www.barelypolitical.com

New travel bans imposed on APK

In an effort to save the world, the US Embassy has imposed a travel ban on my good friend Aaron. It seems that every time he visits a foreign country, it is devastated by an unusually strong natural disaster after his departure. Three days after leaving Peru, it was left in shambles by an 8.0 earthquake and today Jamaica is getting demolished by Dean, a Cat 5 hurricane.

If he continues to travel, we won't have any foreign countries left to visit.

All tatted up

I saw an article today on interesting anatomical tattoos. If I got a tattoo, it would probably look something like one of these. Check out some other pictures here.

Indianapolis

I often jokingly refer to Indianapolis as Indiancrapolis, however, I don't believe I'll be using that term after my visit to see Mel this weekend. It's actually quite a fun city.

Here's a look at Mel and I having fun:

Mel spotted this car on the street and we found the mass amounts of faux wood on it hilarious. It's even a convertible!

We heard some great live music on the patio at the Rathskeler. It is home to the largest outdoor patio in Indianapolis.

Enjoying a mojito martini at Nicky Blaines.

Guest blog

Everyone has a time when they need to rant or rave. I was recently talking to a friend on the phone when she was telling me of some boy troubles and I recommended that she write it out. Well, this person didn't want their name to be attached so I said, why not be a guest columnist on my blog. A few days later, I received an e-mail with this attachment. Enjoy.


Guest Blog…
By "Karen"

We’ve all been there… you wade through the creeps and the clowns and meet someone you really connect with – the conversation is flowing, you’re both laughing, smiling, and talking a mile a minute trying to get in every hilarious story that comes to mind. The physical chemistry is there too: you’re leaning in, legs are crossed towards each other, maybe you kiss, maybe more? Regardless, your faith has been reaffirmed that there are "good ones" still out there and maybe you won’t be single forever.

You talked all night long… about your families, your histories, your disappointments and your greatest victories. You shared your hopes for the future and even your most embarrassing moments. It felt right; it felt good. He told you how beautiful you are, how he can’t believe you would even talk to him. How soft your skin is. How you’re the type of girl a guy could settle down with. How he can’t wait to see you again. When you part – whenever that may be – your walls are slowly crumbling down and you’re strangely optimistic. You think to yourself, "maybe something will actually happen with this guy? We had so much in common. He took my number and said he was going to call, of course he will."

The days go by with no contact and you get to a point when you realize, I’VE BEEN FED A LINE. And it sucks.

Now let me point out that it is completely acceptable to just go out and have a good time, talk to new people, laugh and joke around, even make-out with them and have no expectations for future contact. Those make for some of the most fun nights sometimes.

But let me set the record straight: don’t tell me how beautiful I am, don’t take my number and say you are going to call, don’t tell me you can’t wait to see me again, and do not tell me I’m the type of girl a guy could settle down with if you have absolutely no intention of calling me. What’s the point?!? I’m not a delicate little flower that needs to be coddled – you can be upfront and direct about what is or is not going to happen. I like honesty and straightforwardness. I don’t like my time, thoughts, or energy wasted waiting for you to call (because you said you would). I appreciate the truth I don’t need my ego uselessly stroked. We all have needs to be met and you don’t need to feed me a line in order for yours to be met.

So what’s the point of this rant? Don’t waste my time – it’s too valuable to me. I understand that if you really do like me you absolutely would call – just don’t say you will call when you know you won’t. Put your cards on the table – if you’re just looking to hang out for the night, laugh and have a good time, that is totally cool – just put that out there. There’s no need to butter me up with the lines. Almost every other woman I have talked to feel the same way about this kind of situation, don’t say you’ll call when you have no intentions of keeping your word. It sucks.

everything you never cared to know

Confessions...A fun questionnaire
1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be? i don't know
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? usually
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? talker
4. Do you take compliments well? no, or so i have been told
5. Do you play Sudoku? occasionally
6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? i could probably hold my own.
7. Do you like to ride horses? YES!!!
8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? yes, horse back riding camp
9. What was your favorite game as a kid? monopoly and ghost in the graveyard
10. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was married, what would you do ? nothing
12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? yes
13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? be pursued.
14. Use three words to describe yourself? the wild child
15. Do any songs make you cry? no
16. Are you continuing your education? i'm illiterate
17. Do you know how to shoot a gun? yes
18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? a fire extinguisher
19. How often do you read books? frequently
20. Do you think more about the past, present or future? depends on the situation
21. What is your favorite children’s book? cars and trucks, trucks and cars
22. What color are your eyes? blueish green
23. How tall are you? 5′11"
24. Where is your dream house located? right next to Hank's Hardware and it is flamingo pink
27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? noooo
28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? years ago
30. Where was the furthest place you traveled today? all over the world on the world wide web
32. Do you like mustard? Yes.
34. Do you look like your mom and dad? people say I do
35. How long does it take you in the shower? not too long
37. What movie do you want to see right now? Blades of Glory
39. What did you do for New Year’s? drove back to Chicago
40. Do you think The Grudge was scary? I didn't see it
42. Do you own a camera phone? yes
44. Was your mom a cheerleader? yes, she always cheered us on in whatever we did
45. What’s the last letter of your middle name? H
47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 3-7
48. Do you like care bears?. I did when I was a kid.
49. What do you buy at the movies? diet coke
50. Do you know how to play poker? yes
51. Do you wear your seatbelt? ALWAYS!
52. What do you wear to sleep? it depends, but i do own a certain pair of fairly famous pajama pants
53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? define "big"
54. How many meals do you eat in a day? depneds on the day
55. Is your tongue pierced? no, it's bad for your teeth
56. Do you always read MySpace bulletins? no
58. Do you like funny or serious people better? funny
59. Ever been to L.A.? no
60. Did you eat a cookie today? no
61. Do you use cuss words in other languages? no
62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? ummm....
63. Do you hate chocolate? no, but i don't really like milk chocolate. i am a dark kinda girl
64. What do you and your parents fight about the most? nothing, really
65. Are you a gullible person? not really
66. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? definitely not
67. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be? a model
68. Are you easy to get along with? sometimes
69. What is your favorite time of day? fun time

Some of my favorite things

I love, love, love seeing people trip and/or fall. Maybe it's because it happens so unexpectedly and is completely unplanned humor, but nothing makes me laugh harder. You may think it's mean that I find this hilarious, but it is not a mean spirited laugh(nor a quiet laugh), it is a genuine, all the way from my toes laugh.

One of my all time favorite trips was when I was probably in 4th grade. My mom made my brother and I breakfast every morning. While my brother spread out on the kitchen table, eating his toast or Pop Tarts over the paper(folding up the crumbs in the paper to be dropped all over the next unsuspecting reader) I was left with a small area to eat my Smore's Pop Tart. On this particular morning, my mom also made us bananas with peanut butter on them. As she was bringing the plate over to the table, she caught her toe on the floor, flying forward into the kitchen table and throwing the plate of bananas and peanut butter towards us, not to mention scaring the living daylight out of us. With amazing skill, the plate landed right side up, salvaging the bananas. My mom's pride may have been a little bruised, but the food was saved and I was left with a sore side from laughing so hard.

Another thing I love to watch is people attempting to parallel park. Why do so many people have such trouble with it? It's really not that hard. In front of the tanning salon that I work at, it is all street parking so I get to watch people parallel park all morning long. What a treat!!!

The best parallel parking story I have is from one summer when my brother, his (now) wife and I were all having appetizers and drinks at the TGIFriday's in downtown St Louis before we headed to a Cardinals game. We were sitting outside having good conversation when a new yellow VW bug was attempting to park in the worlds largest spot right across the street. The car tried several times and could not master the art(even though the spot was twice as large as this little car needed). After about 4 attempts and bumping(sometimes ramming) its bumper with the car in front and in back of it every time, the passenger got out to help direct. By this time, every person on the patio was tuned into the parallel parking show. With guidance from her passenger and 3 more attempts the bug was finally parked. When the driver got out form the nearly 20 minute parking ordeal, everyone on the TGI's patio started cheering and clapping for this poor lady. She was so embarrassed that she got back in her car and left after all that effort. Good luck finding a non-parallel parking spot in the downtown of a large city.

Happy Belated Birthday

I'm sorry that this post is almost two weeks late, but you are still another year older!

I bet Jenne will show up at their front doors

My old roommate Jenne loves IKEA meatballs. Now that there is an IKEA hostel that gives free sleep and meatballs, there is no doubt that my little Jenne will be showing up at their front doors...in Norway.

Summa', summa', summa' time

Wow, I am getting really bad at posting. This summer has been flying by.

My brother had a birthday this summer and I didn't even get to see him around his birthday, which may be a first ever. Fortunately, he is visiting Chicago in a few weeks and I will be very excited to see him then. So...Happy Birthday Josh. Even more exciting is the Iowa vs Northern Ill game on Sept 1st that truck loads of people are coming in town for.

As a follow up to my last post, I was at work the other day and a teenage patient asked me if I was 1/2 black. I told her I wasn't then she said, "So you mean to tell me that both of your parents are white?!?!" I laughed pretty hard and told her that they are in fact, both white.

My new favorite thing is eating lunch on my back patio and sitting out there when I get off work at night chilling with my roommate. There is a wolf dog in the back yard next to our that barks and howls at everyone, except us. It's pretty funny. We also feed it through the fence. This week, the dog tried to get through the fence and come over to us and nearly got it's head stuck.

That's enough for now.

You know you're tan when....

Tonight at work, I got floated to the adult floor and an African American woman told me that I had the same skin coloring as her daughter.

Ha ha ha. I have been out in the sun a lot.

A trip to the farm

I just returned from 5 relaxing days on my grandparents farm in Iowa. It's so quiet there. No radio on, the tv was hardly ever turned on...just nature noises and farm machinery. It was great.

I did realize while I was out driving around that I can tell the difference between farm animal smells without seeing the animals. It never occurred to me before, but I could tell if we were coming up to a hog lot or cattle. Random, I know.

While there, I got to spend some time with my cousin his wife and their two children with a 3rd on the way! My mom, grandpa, uncle, aunt and cousins family all went to Popcorn Days, held in the popcorn capital of the world, Schaller, IA. There, I went on a few kiddie rides with my cousins kids. It was so hot out, though. My grandpa sat on the corner and people watched. It was really cute.

I don't really know much else, but I really enjoyed myself and got to spend some quality time with family.

New Apartment

I have moved and have a new apartment and a new roommate. Feel free to stop by and visit us anytime. We are both very busy and hardly ever home, but you can still ring our doorbell.

I am most excited about our back patio and new bistro set. I can see lots of good times being spent out there with some great conversations.

May's wedding

This past weekend, I ventured back to the old stomping grounds of Iowa City to celebrate May tying the knot. On my way to the wedding, which was at Kinnick Stadium(very cool), the strap broke on my dress. So, I had to pretend like it was a strapless. Fortunately, I had a back up dress in the hotel and changed dresses between the wedding and the reception. I think one of the coolest things about the indoor area of Kinnick is that there are Iowa symbols EVERYWHERE. They are even on the soap, paper towel and toilet paper dispensers in the bathrooms.

Needless to say, Vanessa and I were up to our usual Iowa City antics. On the way to the reception we saw a bike sitting in the ped mall and I told V to ride it around. So, she did, until the owner saw here and yelled, "Hey! That's my bike!" So, she yelled back, "Well, you should lock it up!". She put the bike back and we continued on. At the reception we saw extra flowers lying around. Knowing that we were important to May, we both decided to wear one.

It was a beautiful wedding and ceremony and I am very happy for May and John. Congrats!

A road trip to Miami

In mid June, my former roommate Megan moved to Miami. Needing to get her car to Miami, I offered to road trip it down there with her. Well, it proved to be quite the interesting trip.
Some of the high points were:

--While I was driving through the mountains of Tenn, Megan needed something out of my bag that was in the back seat. So, Megan offered to take the wheel while I turned around to dig through my bag. Turning back around, I felt the car moving over. I looked up to realize that we had drifted across 3 lanes of traffic, I turn, look and yell at Megan. She was looking at a blister on her heel!!! Then she said, "Oops, I forgot I had the steering wheel in my hand."

--Also going through the mountains of TN, there was a car in the far left lane going very slowly in front of me. Out of no where, Megan yells at the car, "You had better move out of Stawoj's way or she'll make you call your daddy's name!" I have no idea where that came from, but it was very hilarious.

--Needing to be in the sun while in Miami, we headed up A1A to the beach. Oddly, we had to pay $5 to park to go to the public beach. So, we crossed A1A instead of taking the tunnel over, because there wasn't much traffic. Once we got over to the beach, we notice that there was a fenced off area. Confused we asked a runner which part we were supposed to be in. Well, the fenced in area where we paid to be was a NUDE BEACH. We laughed hysterically and stayed on the clothed side until right before we left. Then we had to go to the nude side to used the little shower things to wash off our feet. So, there was Megan and I and 8 fully nude men washing off our feet. Except for one lone cowboy who was wearing nothing but a belt and a cowboy hat. I hope he didn't get any bad tan lines. Oh, the best part... it was father's day and I called my dad from a nude beach to wish him a happy father's day.

Can't wait to get back to Miami to visit Megan.

No, I'm not dead

Wow. It has been brought to my attention that I have been really horrible at blogging lately. My life has been crazy busy since right before my brother's wedding, which may have been my last post.

In the next three weeks, my roommate is moving to Miami. I am moving into a new apartment with a new roommate, I am going to Miami, out of town to a bachelorette party and out of town to a wedding. In between being out of town, I will be working every day that I am in Chicago. I still have lots of packing and preparing to do.

Exciting things that have happened lately are that Megan(my roommate) was successfully duped twice in one weekend. Her boyfriend flew in from out of town to suprise her and we threw a suprise going away party for her the next day and she had NO idea what was coming to her.

This past weekend, Lisa(my new roommate) threw a suprise birthday party for her friend Katie that was a ton of fun and again, Katie was shocked to see all her family an dfriends gathered for her.

Photos of both events to be coming soon.

Must get back to work...yep, blogging on my break.

Eat. Spit. Be Happy.

That is the slogan of David's brand sunflower seeds that I have been eating, spitting and am very happy about it.

Their new product puts a smile on my face. I picked up the new DILL PICKLE flavored sunflower seeds on the drive back from St L this past weekend and am loving them. They take me back to the days when I played softball and really did spit on the field...and dill pickle, delicious!!!

I have reached a new level of classy.

DJ, take it on down

Recently at the tanning salon we got a new Sonos music system, which is awesome. We have a giant iPod like remote with a connection to a huge music library(pretty much every song ever made). So, I get to DJ when I work and create my own play list for the hours that I am working. I also have the option to connect to several commercial-free "radio stations"...if I'm feeling too lazy to make my own play list.

Currently playing:

Buy U a Drank by T-Pain
I'm a Flirt by R Kelly
Rehab by Amy Whinehouse
We Takin' Over by DJ Khaled
P.D.A. (We just don't care) by John Legend
Look after you by The Fray
Pain by Three Days Grace
Candyman by X-tina
U + Ur Hand by Pink
Say It Right by Nelly Fertado
Last Dollar(fly away) by Tim McGraw
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer
Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani

and always a little of:
Jack Johnson
Counting Crows
Prince
Queen
Madonna
MJ
Lupe Fiasco
Jay-Z
Bob Marley

If you haven't heard some of these songs yet, I suggest you check them out. If you stop in to visit me, I always take requests, too.

Astroglide-everyone knows if you got some

If you have requested a free sample of Atroglide in the past four years, your name and info has now been leaked on the internet.

Read about it here.

Josh and Jill's Wedding

So as many of you know, my brother got married this past weekend. What a weekend. I do have to say, it was the most fun reception I have ever attended in my life. The DJ was awesome, the food was phenomenal, the alcohol was flowing(maybe a little too much at times) and the reception site was amazing. It was a very busy weekend and I am exhausted.

It all started on Friday morning when my roommate(who was singing in the wedding) and I made the road trip to St L. I knew it was going to be a great trip when on the first bathroom break, Megan used a toilet that automatically flushed 4 times while she was sitting on it. We had the giggles most of the weekend from funny things happening. When we arrived in the Loo, we checked into the hotel, which was really, really nice and got ready for the rehearsal. The rehearsal was speedy and painless. Rehearsal dinner was really good at a very cute restaurant called Duff's in the Central West End, where again, the alcohol was plentiful. Our table included, Josh, Jill, Megan, Nat and Matt...who are two of Josh's groomsmen and a very good time. When I went to take a picture of the whole table everyone was posing normally, except my brother who appeared to be doing a glamour shots pose. So, I called him out in it and then we took a glamour shot of the whole table mocking him. Afterwards we hung out and had a few beers with some relatives.

Saturday, I was up at the crack of dawn to get ready and to our hair appointments at 8am. After lots of primping, we were ready for the real deal. We got to the church plenty early to do pictures. The ceremony was nice and not too lengthy. Afterwards, the wedding party drove around in an Escalade limo and took pictures at various sites in St L and had a beverage. The reception was the most fun and nicest that I have ever attended, not that I expected anything less than classy with Josh and Jill. The reception site was gorgeous and a great location. The food was phenomenal...some of the best food I have ever eaten, lots of champagne, great DJ and the bride and groom had great presence and were very attentive to everyone. I have never seen so many people on the dance floor for the entire night at a reception. Everyone had a blast. In fact, I could hardly walk today from so much dancing. Afterwards, some of us headed to Mike Shannons to have couple more drinks. I can't lie, I was so tired that I didn't last long there. I headed back to the hotel and crashed.

If I had to rate this weekend on a scale of 1-10, it was at least an 18.

I just had this conversation

I just had this conversation with a friend the other day(not that Mel isn't my friend, it just happened to be a different friend).

All I have to say, is that the guy just did the same thing as the girl, yet the girl gets the bad rap. What is that all about?

READ IT HERE!

Where have I been?

My life has been pretty crazy lately.

Work at the hospital has been busy with lots of young kids that keep it interesting. I have also recently started working part-time at a tanning salon for fun. I like the social aspect of it.

My brother is getting married next weekend which is also very exciting. So, I will be rocking it in the STL all next weekend. My parents came into town last weekend to help me get stuff done.

My roommate is moving in June, so I need to find a new apartment. (time consuming).

On a more exciting note, a Michael Keaton movie was being filmed the other night at a restaurant by where I live.

More later.

Cameltoe video

This is hilarious.

Writing with the deceased

Nadine Jarvis, an artist, makes pencils out of the deceased remains. Approximately 240 pencils can be made out of one person.

I don't want to know how she discovered that you can make pencils like this or why she would want to , but it can be done.

Thoughts on the Year of Yes

On March 22, 2006, I took a vow with my former roommate that we would say "yes" to every guy that asked us on a date for the entire next year. The idea came from the book titled The Year of Yes by Maria Headley. With both of us being single at the time, it sounded like a fun adventure to partake in.

The first thing that made it very interesting was that "date" was defined EXTREMELY loosely in the book. If a guy even suggested that we "talk" or "hang out" that would be considered a "date". Outside the year of yes definitions, I do not personally consider those things to be a date, but never the less I was required to go along with it.

Another thing that made it very interesting and exhausting is that you had to be on your "A" game if a guy approached you anywhere. You weren't allowed to give off negative vibes and try to get rid of him. This meant that I was required to be highly social to the point of inviting to any guy that talked to me. This put a major damper on girls nights out, because I couldn't dismiss a guy just because I was out with the girls. (An apology to all the girlies that had to suffer though this.) This was perhaps the worst part, because sometimes you just want to grab a cocktail with a friend and talk about your day, but if someone approaches you have to give them your full attention.

Besides blog updates, I did not advertise that I was doing the Year of Yes. Some people who knew I was doing it thought that it was kind of mean and that I was stringing people along, but I disagree. I saw it as more of an opportunity to give people a chance that I would normally not(I was amazed at how many first impressions are quite inaccurate), for one reason or another. I really tried to go into it with the attitude of, what is the worst thing that could happen if I talk to this person that I may not otherwise talk to? I could learn something from them and possibly make a new friend. You can never have enough friends and learning is always great...and learn some interesting things, I did.

Would I do it again?

Most likely, NO. I greatly enjoyed doing it, but it was trying at times. I did take about a two week break from it in August, but got back on the train. I think it is a great way to meet people, but sometimes a girl needs to be able to just go out with her friends and be able to focus on them. I would encourage people to do it. It is a great way to get out of a rut, meet new people, break through stereotypes, hear interesting stories and learn about lots and lots of random things.

I think an entire year was a bit long and think that the intended lesson to be learned could be done is 3-6 months(depending on how much you leave the house and are in social situations).

So, there it is. The Year of Yes is over. I hope you enjoyed my updates throughout the year.

Cell phone built into cigarette pack

Also striaght from www.boingboing.net:

"This Chinese phone comes built into a pack of cigarettes and sports a government health warning, an MP3 player, dual GSM radios, a VGA screen and a microSD slot, all for $175 (purchase price includes cigarettes). "

More interesting photos here.

Paper made out of elephant poop

Straight from www.boingboing.net:

"The Elephant Poo Poo Paper company makes stationery and related goods out of dried, odorless elephant shit:

We can make about 25 large sheets of paper from a single piece (or turd) of elephant poo poo!!! That translates into about 10 standard sized journals including the front and back covers! Neat, huh!?!?!? "

Talk about environmentally conscious. I kind of want one of these notebooks.

Manly Man silverware

I don't really know what kind of dinner party you would use this silverware for, but it is kind of fun.

It's over. All over.

The Year of Yes officially ends at midnight today. I am too tired to blog on it right now, but will be posting more later...you just wait.

I just have one more word to say.


NO!

This one is for the people

Alright.

Mel and I had a conversation tonight...probably one that we should have had when we were 12 so that I could have set her straight(because I am never wrong). This was a conversation about kissing related to a recent discrepancy.

Our disagreement was on what constituted as "making-out". Mel said that it just had to be a kiss(did not specify open or closed mouth kissing) for 5 minutes or more**. I laughed hysterically at the thought of Mel holding out a stop watch to stop kissing someone at 4min 59sec so that she could say that she didn't make out with them.

I said that I would define it as open mouth or using tongue...rather synonymous with "french kissing"...a term that I greatly dislike.

This is what Urban Dictionary had to say:

kiss: the meeting of two pairs of lips

French kiss: An open-mouthed kiss with tongue

making out: open mouth kissing usually with tongue, and occasionally groping between 2 individuals.


**According to Mel's definition, if she held her closed mouth to her mom's closed mouth for 5 minutes, she just made out with her mom. Ha ha.


What do you have to say?

3 Beers

An Irishman moves into a tiny village in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone. An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more. This happens yet again.

The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the "Man Who Orders Three Beers."

Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around h! ere are wondering why you always order three beers?" "Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond." The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the "Man Who Orders Three Beers" became a local celebrity and source of pride to the village, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.

Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening: he orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.

The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know-the two beers and all...."

The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.

Beautiful People

As I was talking to one of my friends on the phone today, my theory was confirmed.

This particular friend and I share a lot of the same friends. One friend we do not share, was looking through many of my friend's pictures today(of friends that we have in common) and commented, "You have a lot of really beautiful friends."

It just goes to show, my post the other day was quite accurate.

New Testament and Theater Discussion

So, I have had my AOL email address for a billion years. Apparently, some years ago...when I was a sophomore or junior in college I programmed the events calendar with my class schedule. I must have set it that I would be doing the same thing for years to come.

When I logged in to check my email today it said that I also had 2 events today. Curious, I click on the tab. AOL informed me that I had New Testament Survey Discussion from 8:35-9:25am and Theater and Society Discussion from 9:30 to 10:30am. This is probably true as I usually had a light load of classes on Tues and Thurs, until the nursing program took over my life. I wonder if anyone is still Waiting for Godot?

Ok. Let's talk basketball.

I am pumped about the Big Ten tourney this weekend. Iowa plays Purdue tomorrow at 1:30pm. Should be a good game. Iowa usually pulls it together for the Big 10 tournament.

Highly disappointed in Duke's loss to NC St tonight. I was glad I got to watch the game, though. I really enjoy watching McRoberts play...and of course Wojo coaching it in style on the bench. I am still waiting for him to propose to me.

I am excited to see Ohio St debut their new uniforms tomorrow. Sounds like the men will be showing a little leg. Woot woot.

For you Dad

My dad told me today that he loves this song. Since the album hasn't dropped yet, I am adding it to my blog so he can listen to it anytime he wants. Enjoy.



Apologies to those of you that can't stand country music and are subjected to it just by viewing my blog.

Much love,
Me

Are noodles the new sushi?

With an recent article on Metromix asking "Are noodles the new sushi?," my response is, huh?!?!

The article lists several noodle houses that have opened around town recently. I ate at noodle houses in college...and I'm beginning to think that isn't so recent(ha ha). Z'Mariks is a popular noodle house in Iowa City that many of the students frequent, so I was shocked to see that they are just up and coming in Chicago.

That leaves me with just one question: Is Iowa trendier than Chicago?

YOY Update

50 weeks down...2 to go.

Iowa senate raises teachers salaries

The Iowa Senate passed File 277 on Monday, allocating $145 million to raise teachers salaries an average of $2000 over the next two years. This will bring Iowa up significantly on the national average and hopefully keep more new graduates in the state.

Any ladies looking for a good man?

This is a pretty funny video. It's a guy that put it on a dating website to hopefully lure in ladies.

http://emuse.ebaumsworld.com/watch/5529

Pronto condoms: The quickest way to get it on(and reduce AIDS in Africa)

Roelf Mulder, an industrial designer, of South Africa’s XYZ Design made this condom applicator with the hopes of encouraging the use of condoms and reducing the spread of AIDS. The application directions are:

"The user holds the device with the thumb and forefinger of both hands, pulling the condom down over the penis in a single rapid movement. "

Sounds easy enough, right? What will matter most is the willingness of the people to use the device.

The applicators are currently being sold(a bit pricey as you would have to get them shipped from Africa) through Pronto condoms. Their website is really interesting and has demonstrations(here and here) on how to use the device. I highly recommend checking it out.

They have a great slogan too, "Pronto condoms, the quickest way to get it on."

Get better sleep...naked

Sleepnaked.org is a website promoting people to sleep naked.

The site claims that a person will actually have a better nights sleep if they are in the buff. The theory(I don't see any citations on the site, they claim to have a research page, but i couldn't get to it) is that when nude, you are more relaxed and comfortable, resulting in falling asleep faster and into a deeper and longer sleep.

Sleep Naked also encourages partners to sleep naked together and they will have an increase in intimacy. Studies also show that it showed improved fertility in men, due to the lack of clothing and cooler conditions(just like men that go commando or wear boxers are more fertile than men that wear whitey-tighties).

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

I don't have any unattractive friends.

This is not a conscious gesture. Maybe it is a subconscious thing, I don't know. Really though, all my friends are physically attractive. One acquaintance suggested that I thought they were all beautiful because of their "insides." I agreed, but they are also beautiful on the outside. I don't know why this is, because I consider myself just average looking. I think some of them could be models.

Sorry, this is a really random blog post but it has come of multiple times recently.

A-Z

The Letter A
Are you available?: yes
What is your age?: 25
What annoys you?: stupid and uneducated people

Letter B
Do you live in a big house?: not currently
When is your birthday?: May 4th

The Letter C
What's your favorite candy?: regular starburst and junior mints
When was the last time you cried?: my grandma's funeral

The Letter D
Do you daydream?: yes
What's your favorite kind of dog?: a friendly one
What day of the week is it?:Thursday

The Letter E
How do you like your eggs?: probably scrambled...whites only
Have you ever been in the emergency room?: once. I had a hematoma
What's the easiest thing ever to do?: hmmm....

The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane?: yes, i love flying
Do you use fly swatters?: only on the farm
Have you ever used a foghorn?: no, but i have used a megaphone

The Letter G
Do you chew gum?:i love gum, especially the whitening kind
Do you like gummy candies?: oh, yes

The Letter H
How are you?: very happy
What's your height?:5'11"..I'm a tall girl
what color is your hair?: brown

The Letter I
What's your favorite ice cream?: i don't really like ice cream, but vanilla or mint chocolate chip
Have you ever ice skated?: yes
Do you play an instrument?: i used to play the flute

The Letter J
Whats your favorite jelly bean?: jelly beans are nasty
have you ever heard a really funny joke?: yes, i love funny
Do you wear jewelry?: not very often...i'm not a jewelry type of girl

The Letter K
Who do you want to kill?: no one, what kind of question is this?
Do you want kids?: if it works out
Where did you have kindergarten?: in Marcus

Letter L
Are you laid back?: to a point
Do you lie?: everyday, but jokingly about dumb stuff

The Letter M
Whats your favorite movie?: i don't have a favorite
Do you still watch Disney movies?: yeah, i work on a peds unit, they only watch PG, so I see a lot of Disney
Do you like mangoes?: yeah

The Letter N
Do you have a nickname?: yes, a lot of them
Whats your favorite number?: 4 or 25

The Letter O
Whats your one wish?: to be happy
Are you an only child?: definitely not
Do you wish this was over?: sure

The Letter P
What's one fear are you most paranoid about?: failure
What's a personality trait you look for in the opposite sex?: humor

The Letter S
do u prefer sun or rain?: i like them both
Do you like snow?: yes, i like to sled
What's your favorite season?: spring, because it's my birthday and fall for football season

The Letter T
What time is it?: 11:43pm
What time did you wake up?: 8:07am
When was the last time you slept in a tent?: umm...2 summers ago

The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear?: yeah, actually i am.
Have you used an umbrella this week?: no, i never use them, i hate them

The Letter V
Whats the worst veggie:? i can't think of a veggie i dont like, maybe beets
Where do you want to go on vacation?: anywhere warm right now

The Letter W
Where do you live?: Chicago

The Letter X
Have you ever had an x-ray?: many of them
Have you seen the x-games?: no
Do you own a xylophone?: i wish

The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow?: sure
What year were you born in?: 1981

The Letter Z
Whats your zodiac sign?: taurus
Do you believe in the zodiac?: um, it's kinda sketchy
What's your favorite zoo animal?: the elk-deer

It might be my new favorite patio drink

This weekend, when buying some beer for the guests, I stumbled upon Blue Moon's Spring Ale. I enjoy Blue Moon, but what is this spring ale business? Intrigued, I bought a six-pack. Well, it was a hit. It is a very spring/summer tasting beer that is very refreshing. The type of beer that you want to drink while sitting out on the patio, enjoying the weather with your friends. The perfect cure for cabin fever. The ale is infused with exotic Kieffer lime leaves and lime peel.

My only lingering question is...do you serve it with an orange, lime or both?