I broke down today...

and bought shoes. Two pairs.

This is big.

First of all, the only shoes I've purchased (except for my bridesmaid shoes) since September were $9 boat shoes from Payless.

Second of all, I am well on my way to paying off my credit card and have one good size pay check in the bank and another on the way.

Third of all, I am a professional at justifying purchases when I really want to buy something. (I got an awesome deal, have been wanting grey pumps for forever, and have the perfect dress to wear the blue pumps with.)

Needless to say, I am pretty excited, cannot wait for them to arrive, and feeling absolutely no regret.

Also, thanks to The New Black I used Mypoints and earned points on purchases, which will soon add up to a gift card. Can't wait!

Plus, I only work for an hour today, from 5-6 p.m. So I can no longer complain about my hectic work schedule.

And the sun is shining.

It's just one of those days. In a good way.

Now, if I were cloned...

The reality of my life is that I am working 6-7 days a week. Some days are much longer than others.

Today I worked somewhere between 9 and 10 hours. I'm not really sure though because I have two jobs, both are somewhat unpredictable.

Needless to say all this work has impacted my blogging, in case you haven't noticed.

And by "you," I mean all my avid fans.

This is the reality of my life and will continue to be until June.

Then, life will do a 180 to tons of free time and practically no job. I mean, I'll be employed, but it's confusing to explain really.

I don't really have a point, here. Except to say that life is crazy.

The end.

Beer of Root

We have a number of lawn care customers that give us cold, refreshing beverages at the end of the job.

And by a number I mean 3 or 4.

Yesterday we visited one such customer, who usually hands a cold root beer as we drive away.

As we headed off, root beer in hand, after a nice chat, I unscrewed the top (no small feat with those metal lids) and took a gigantic swig.

What can I say, I was thirsty.

And what did I taste???

Beer.

Plain, old beer. Which isn't bad in and of itself, but when you are expecting the sweetness of root beer, it is a little unsettling.

That's for sure.

Changing it up

I've never been good about getting my hair cut/trimmed regularly.

6-8 weeks is the appropriate time frame for regular hair cuts, or so I hear. I, however, regularly go 4-6 months between cuts.

Apparently your hair is healthier and will actually grow faster. Who knew?!

But I actually did it today, and went somewhere nicer than a Great Clips with a stylist who knows what they're doing. It's a pretty exciting life I lead.

Now my hair is about 4-ish inches shorter than it was at the beginning of the day.

And my shampoo and conditioner will last a whole lot longer.

Go with a Bang

I almost saw my life flash before my eyes today. Literally.

I'm not even being dramatic about this...things got serious. Seriously.

My dad and I were at the gas station. I was sitting in the car waiting for him. The day was sunny and warm--just setting the scene for you.

I was soon joined by a couple young men, of what seemed was a white-trash variety. Now, I'm not trying to sterotype, but they were. Ghetto fabulous boat of a cruise machine, white wife beater, and inappropriately bumping bass included.

Anyways, it was no big deal. Everyone needs to gas up, and in that machine it probably happens more often than not. (Sometimes I'm really thankful for my hybrid.)

Next thing I know, one of these gentlemen is lighting up a cigarette.

Bad idea.

I couldn't get the image of my dad coming out of the mini-mart (complete with 27 varieties of soda to quench your thirst) to a huge explosion killing me, the two guys, and the grandma pumping at the far island.

Did this man not see the movie Zoolander? I thought it was a required film.

My arms were quivering, not out of fear, but due to the fact I just spent the past 45 minutes wielding a weedeater. (Confused? My second job is lawn care.)

As his friend started pumping gas and we pulled away, leaving the possible disaster in our wake.

And Granny to fend for herself.

Would you like sleeves with that?

I've made a few tactical errors in recent days in regards to the current temperature.

This is serious folks! Wipe that smile off your face.

But seriously, I'm joking.

My point, if I can make it there, is that even though the calendar tells me it's spring and Mr. Sun is making a more regular appearance, it's not actually warm yet.

Funny that I have to remind myself of this after last week's rant about girls already sun bathing in their bikinis.

Luckily that wasn't the mistake(s) I made.

I had to open my window (a.k.a my dad opened my window) the other day because there was a small episode with burning hard boiled eggs in the kitchen. Pretty much, my father forgot about them long enough for the water to completely evaporate and flames to sprout.

(Okay, maybe it was just a lot of smoke.)

I tried to open my own window, but was not strong enough so I had to have my dad do it. The good news, no one is getting in through my window without pulling a muscle.

Following opening the window, I decided to change my sheets AND take off my down comforter. Whoops! I woke up frozen.

Then, yesterday I attempted to mow in a cut-off t-shirt. I had goosebumps and turned a disturbing shade of blue, but I don't have a farmers tan.

Moral of the story: I pretty much live in Canada, which means it isn't warm here. At all. Although I heard rumors of the temp reaching the mid 70s this weekend.

I'm not holding my breath.

These aren't your great-great-great grandfather's pirates

You've probably noticed by now, by apparently the high seas are filled with pirates.

Before you get excited about peg legs, rum, and eye patches though, I feel honor bound to clear up any misconceptions you might have.

You might imagining someone like this:











But today's pirates have rocket-powered granades, automatic weapons, and a thirst for American blood--apparently.

These guys are pretty serious about their "job." An AP article shows just how crazy things have gotten.

Currently Somali pirates are holding over 280 sailors on 15 ships, usually for ransom.

With the rescue of an American captain over the weekend, war has been declared.

So watch out you pirates, we've ninjas and superheroes (a.k.a Navy Seals) coming to take you down.

And the French are right behind us.

Now excuse me while I go practice my jousting skills. You never know when they might in handy.

The Name Game

I think our society has an unhealthy obsession with spelling children's names as oddly as possible.

Like, it's not enough to spell a name such as Ashley, just like everyone else. Instead parents use Ashlee or Ashleigh. Or for the (girl's) name Erin, they choose, Arin or Aryn or Errinn.

I am not even making this up.

Or there's the name Mikel. This could be pronounced Mick-el or Michael. No joke.

Then the children have complexes because no one says their name "correctly." Teachers can barely read through the roll sheet, let alone teach their classes.

I know you might want to be "unique" or be able to use a certain nickname.

But first of all, there are 6.7 billion people (or something like that) on the planet. You are not unique no matter what spelling you use. Second of all, half the nicknames I hear for people don't even relate to their name so why even worry about it.

Rest assured my children will have very normal names like Mildred and Georgette. (If they're girls, that is.)

Small update on the whole not spending thing.

I am actually doing really well. It helped that at one point this week one of my many bank accounts was into the double digits.

But I am fighting temptation, mostly in the form of sweet and/or greasy foods. It doesn't help that I have a three hour break at work today.

Must. Not. Spend. Money.

But a cup of cookie dough sounds so gross/appetizing. What can I say, I'm currently a conflicted person.

The only thing holding me back is the fact I only have a single dollar bill, and tax would put the price over, and the fact that my parntes are treating me/my sister home for the weekend to some delicious Italian.

Instead I'll just eat my orange.

Fine. Whatever.

Mr. Golden Sun

It may appear as if I'm about to blog about the weather, but try to stick with me through the first couple paragraphs to get to my real point.

Before today dawned slightly cloudy and cool, we had enjoyed a couple sunny, warm days here at home.

Finally that is. Just a few days before it snowed.

Not surprisingly the sunny weather brought the college students outside in droves. I never realize how big the university actually is until the sun comes out bringing the students with it.

Unfortunately, some students don't really bring their brains with them.

Here's the thing, when I say warm I mean low to mid 60s. That's farenheit, not celsius.

This isn't really a smart time to be runny around shirtless or in your bikinis as attractive as that might sound.

Yes, you are pasty white from the dark, gloomy winter months.

But do I really need to remind you how far away we are from the sun in our corner of the world. You probably won't get any color...we are that far away. Plus, you should probably just wait until it actually is summer.

If you really want to get some color, you might as well use a tanning salon.

Or you could just take care of your skin.

Maybe that's just me, though.

A Major Life Choice

I finally overcame my laziness enough last Friday to purchase a pass to the fitness center on campus. I kept meaning to do, but other things (like hunger and the need to sit down) got in the way.

Surprisingly enough I have already made use of the Rec twice since Friday.

I'm really feeling rather impressed with myself.

Or at least I was until this morning.

After my first class, I had a three hour break due to a class cancellation.

"Perfect," I thought. I can work out, eat, and stroll across campus to my last class of the day. I was even proactive last night and this morning, making a lunch, gathering supplies, etc.

All went according to plan, until I finished up my shower after the work out session.

First of all, I was thrilled with the postcard size towels they provide which cannot fully cover an entire naked woman. You kind of have to pick your battles.

Secondly, I realized as I opened my miniscule day-use locker (which didn't even hold all my stuff) that I had neglected to bring a change of underwear.

Genius.

This left with me with a dilemma. I could either put the worked-out-in pair back on again, or I could go commando.

The choice was clear.

If your unsure about which option I went with, let me paint you a picture.

My on the exercise bike, sweat pouring off my body because, in part, I chose a bike with full-on sunshine.

Isn't it obvious to you too now?!

To Summarize

In the past few days, weeks, however long it's been, I've collected a number of thoughts, stories and random stuff for this space.

And it's creating havoc in my head.

Like today, I murdered hundreds of ladybugs. I really didn't have a choice about it. I swear.

I am doing well with the whole not spending thing. Granted it's only April 5th, but besides a few groceries so I can pack a lunch, I haven't spent money since last Saturday.

Congrats to me, I know.

I've also discovered an excellent form of torture. Having to watch everyone else go through a buffet line as you sit with your stomach grumbling and rumbling.

Another great moment in life was when a student in a class last week took a picture of the PowerPoint instead of taking notes. How far we've fallen.

Now, in a few short paragraphs I've pretty much used all my good material from the past few days.

As you can see, you didn't miss out on much.

Not happening to me.

I have recently discovered a major fear: not having all my teeth as I get older.

The only real problem with that is that I am in most inconsistent flosser in the history of floss. (I was going to say in the history of the world, but that doesn't really make sense.)

After recently encountering more than one person of an advanced age with missing teeth, I felt gripped with a sense of panic.

Is that what I am headed for? No more apples, or steak, or who knows what food because my few remaining teeth can't handle it.

Sounds horrible.

So I plan to take up the floss more often. I'm not even joking about this.

I believe that missing teeth is a large problem in our country that we have just left in the dark. And I am not okay with that.

Floss and brush people. Floss and brush.

Plus, your breath will smell better. Bonus.