Ah, to be Young Again

Today I am going to share with you some of the things that I miss about being a teenager.

First off, NOT HAVING TO PAY BILLS. I mean, yes, I had to pay for my own gas. But I didn't have to pay for my cell phone, or car insurance, or cable bills. I only had to shell out money for things that I WANTED. Basically I only worked to pay for things like clothes of my choice (my parents would pay for school clothes that they approved of, but the fun stuff like tight tube tops and jeans that tied up the sides were my own responsibility), or beverages from the coffee stand next door to my work.

Two Words: Drinking Games.

Talk. About. Fun.

A little Kings, maybe some F*** The Dealer... man, THOSE WERE THE DAYS.

Nobody plays drinking games anymore. Well, that's probably a lie. But WE don't. We sit around while Chad talks about whatever hobby happens to be in season while I read blogs or paint my nails.

High School... there, I said it.

I LIKED high school. Seriously. I met some of my best friends in high school. Aside from math, I didn't even mind the learning (I had math after lunch and, despite my best efforts, fell asleep almost every damn day).

Wearing size 3 jeans. *Sigh*

Still being able to trick or treat (at least at SOME houses).

What things do you miss about being a teenager?

Hey kids.

Notice anything different?

Something like, oh, I dunno, a new LAYOUT?!

Likey? I do. It's the first real blog layout I've ever had, and it is much more "me", if you will.

Anyways, on to the real reason for this post.

I'm here to tell you some things that I have realized I am really bad at. Or really good at.

The Bad:

1. Sending attachments in e mails. I 95% of the time I am sending someone something attached to an e mail, I forget to attach it the first time. People always have to e mail me back "there wasn't any attachment there...?"

2. Putting my shoes away. Chad hates it. They end up EVERYWHERE.

3. Putting my laundry away. If I don't do it right when it comes out of the dryer, it won't get put away. it will be moved around 5 times until I deem that it's not clean anymore, and then I wash it again.

4. Drinking a whole cup of coffee. There is a point where it is PERFECT temperature, and if it gets too cool, I usually fail to finish it.

The Good:

1. I'm really good at composing e mails and letters. I hate to toot my own horn, but I can write a really professional document.

2. Surprises. Especially when it comes to gifts (except the time that I was so mad at Chad for bringing a bow home that I spilled the beans that I bought him one for Christmas).

3. Balancing my check register. That's right folks, it's a good skill to have! I have 4 different colors for different transaction types. People think I'm crazy, but I think that paying overdraft fees is crazy.

4. Prioritizing. With just about everything. I know what needs to be done and in what order. Thank God or nothing would ever get done.

Anyways, that's all I have for you today guys, sorry I have been so damn boring lately, not much I can do about it.

FAIL.

Beware, this post could contain a little too much information for you readers. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This is a true story. 

I changed my clothes about an hour ago. In the dark.

I just went pee. 

Guess what I discovered? 

No, I didn't have anything on inside out or backwards.

But, my underwear was definitely torn. 

Not torn like the waistband has a tear, or there was a thread snag or something normal.

Nope. A big giant hole. Right in the important part.

Just so you know. This is my life.

Monday Mashup

Since I don't really feel like doing a real weekend review post, I thought I'd try out Mrs Monologues newest link up.

Weekend Activities

This weekend basically consisted of fishing. A lot of it, actually. We went out Friday night, then Chad went Saturday, and then we went again all day Sunday.

I LOVE fishing. But I hafta admit, I have a hard time doing it for 8 hours straight.

Horse Stuffs

I finally let my horse out of isolation this weekend. I think she's much happier now that she can see her other horse friends and is back where there is some grass. She still has her skin infection to clear up, but Chad and I bathed her (he was SO happy to help, ha).

Dieting and whatnot

I have been trying to get back on my good eating schedule. I made quite an extensive grocery list full of things that will keep me on track. These long weekends don't help either. I do pretty well during the week (with admittedly some slip ups) but on the weekends I get completely derailed. I eat at odd hours and don't have real meals, which makes me feel like I need to keep eating (even though I don't). I've also been trying to get back into a regular workout routine. We'll see if i can get back on track without gaining a bunch of weight back.

House Business

We still haven't heard back from the bank about the house we put the offer in on. It's kind of annoying because while things are pending, we really can't do anything else. We can't put money into our savings accounts, we can't look at other houses... ugh.

Well, that's about all that's on my mind at the moment. I hope everybody has had a good weekend and took a few minutes to remember WHY we get a 3 day weekend...

Frustration. Times 1000.

This is a venting post. Just to warn you.

But before I begin, let me tell you that I caught up on The Bachelorette today On Demand. Kalon = TOOL. In case you guys didn't know already. And Jef is my favorite.

But now on to my frustration. With Chad.

And before you guys get all "I hate it when people bitch about their boyfriend on their blog behind his back! blah blah blah..." I will tell you that I definitely voice my frustration to his face and tell him how I feel... but that doesn't mean that I don't sometimes need to let it out some more.

So, Thursday night, Chad was meeting up with a friend of his to get a trolling motor from him. I talked to him at about 5:30 and he said he had to wait another 15 minutes or so for Bob to get home. He also told me that he had to go see another friend of his, but he wasn't sure if he was going to do that before or after dinner, so he would call me in a little bit to let me know. 

Cut to 7:45 when I text him to say "um, so are you going to eat dinner with me or not?" and he finally calls me and was like "oh, sorry, I got caught up talking and will probably be leaving here in another 10 minutes or so, so you don't have to wait for me for dinner."

I'm annoyed at this point. Because a) he didn't call me when he said he would, and b) he waited until after I had to reach out to him before he let me know that he wouldn't be home for dinner (backstory, we have eaten dinner together just about every single night since we started dating, which was 7 years ago)

So, I make some dinner and hop in the shower, thinking he will be home by the time I get out of the shower (since our friend only lives 20 minutes away).

I finally called him probably an hour and a half after we last spoke and he had JUST left our friends house.

By the time he gets home I am so mad and frustrated and crying and he was like "well SORRY". 

UGH.

I am not that girl that gets mad that he is hanging out with his friends, so please don't think that. The last thing I want to be is the nagging girlfriend who calls every 20 minutes and gets mad anytime she's not included in something. That's not what it is.

All I want is for him to follow through when he says he's going to do something. Don't tell me you'll call me at a certain time to let me know what the plan is and then leave me in limbo for an hour. Or tell me you'll be home at a certain time and then just blow it off. 

I hate feeling like a second thought, ya know? I don't like to feel like I'm "just his girlfriend" and it's okay to tell me one thing and then blow it off, or for him to not even care that I'm putting off things that I could be doing on hold because I ACTUALLY expect him to do things when he says he is going to.

Anyways, after we talked about it that night, I thought I got through to him.

Apparently not.

We were talking about going fishing this afternoon with our friend Dustin. But as the day went on, it became obvious that Dustin's girlfriend Hayley wouldn't be able to go because she had to work tonight and there wouldn't be enough time (and Dustin would have their 3 year old Mason, so he won't take the boat out without at least one other person with them). So since I have had a headache since yesterday afternoon, I told Chad that I would stay home so him and Dustin could go out and fish with Mason for a few hours.

When he was leaving, it was about 4 and he said they would be back probably around 7. Works for me.

So I just mellow out at home relaxing, no big deal. Next thing I know, it's about 7:10 and I hadn't heard from Chad. So, just to touch base, I call him to find out when they would be back. He told me that they were still fishing and Mason had just fallen asleep. So I asked him when he really thought they would be back, and he said "well if we leave right now, it will be at least another half hour". So I point blank asked him if I was going to be eating dinner alone again and he said "Well, way to make me feel bad!" to which I responded that i wasn't trying to make him feel bad, but I wanted to know so I don't sit around on the pretense that he'll be home in a half hour and then have him not show up for another hour.

Anyways, long story short, I ate dinner by myself (which wasn't really dinner since Chad was supposed to be getting the stuff for dinner from the store on his way home). I also reminded Chad that we are supposed to be meeting some people at 8:30, so he said they would leave the lake shortly. It's now 8:00, so we'll just have to wait and see how things go...

Book Review: These Girls

The book I'm gonna tell you guys about today is These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen.

Amazon has this to say about it:

In her third novel, internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen examines the lives of three women working and living together in New York City and shows that family secrets may shape us all, but it’s the rich, complicated layers of friendship that can save us.

This was an easy read. It was a good book, but it wasn't a GREAT book. 

I liked the fact that it didn't give away all the secrets right away, so it did have something that made you feel compelled to keep reading (even though the "secrets" these girl had weren't all that surprising.... kind of saw them coming).

I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. Nothing too special, but a nice easy read. 

Sometimes I Wish I Was an Idiot

I really do.

Sometimes I wish I didn't have any common sense.

Because then maybe all these weight loss "revelations" would make a difference.

Like when you see the advice "drink 8 glasses of water a day and you will melt your fat away!"

Hi. I've been trying to lose weight for years. I already drink a shit ton of water a day. I don't drink soda very much. I still have a gnarly gut!

I also hate seeing "working for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week and the pounds will come off". No, they don't. I've worked out an hour at a time, twice a day, SIX DAYS A WEEK before and the weight doesn't seem to come off.

It's annoying. It's really frustrating. It makes me want to give up.

Sometimes i think that if I weren't so damn smart (I know that sounds cocky) and I weren't already trying those things and failing with them, maybe I would be happier. Maybe I would be more optimistic and would be able to say "well EUREKA! I just need to stop drinking full fat mochas and soda all day for a while and I'll be a size 6 again!"

I'm reaching that frustrating plateau again where I've lost 6-7 pounds and it just stops and i just want to scream and cry and give up.

FML.

50 Shades of Grey

I know I may be a little late to the party here, but I am now going to share with you my thoughts on the oh-so-popular Fifty Shades of Grey.

For those of you who blush easily, you should probably just not read any further. And definitely don't read this book. It's not for you.

I didn't want to read this book at first because I didn't think there was a real storyline and I am FAR too mature to just read a book about people having kinky sex.

But then I was at Costco and it was the last copy they had and I just HAD to have it.

Then I was too nervous to read it at work because HELLO that's like secretly watching porn on your cell phone on your lunch break.

I have to tell you though, I was pleasantly surprised. There is a REAL love story in it. 

And if Christian Grey weren't so freaking cracked in his head, he would definitely be one of those guys that girls fall head over heels for. I mean, I guess already do, but he's definitely got a few kinks that need to be worked out.

Anyways, to the topic everybody wants to talk about... the sexy bits.

It was VERY shocking for me when I first started out. I was really expecting something more along the lines of the stories at the end of Cosmo every month. You know, the stories where the lonely reporter is caught up in a crime story that has made her a target, and the hunky undercover officer woos her.

This was not like that.

However by the end of the story it was a little less intense. I don't know if that is because I was used to it or if it was because I was so much more focused on what was going to happen with them.

And then it leaves you hanging, and I just want to know what happens next!

Overall, it is a good read if you aren't opposed to reading about dirty dominant sex. I swear there's a good story line in there.

But don't read it at work. Or around your parents. Or in public. 

Or on a plane. You may want to join the mile high club with a complete stranger.

DEFINITELY not at a school.

You should probably just only read it on your honeymoon. That would be the best idea.

Just sayin.

Things I've Learned

Over the past 25 years, there are some things that I have learned that might fall into the category of "incredible life lessons". I've decided that now is the time to share some of them with you.

1. It is always best to be honest with people, even if it is something that they wouldn't want to hear. Especially with your friends. A real friend will tell you the truth, even when it's hard. You don't ever want to be caught in the middle where you've told someone else the truth, yet lied to your friend in order to spare their feelings. This WILL backfire on you.

2. Chances are, you will never be fully happy with your appearance. You either have to learn to embrace it, or do something to change it. The choice is yours.

3. If you are embarrassed about something you have said or done, chances are it's a choice you shouldn't have made. Think things through for this reason, you never want to be in a position where you are hiding something in order to spare your reputation.

4. Learning to use the delay cook setting on your oven is a good idea. 

5. When you're trying to lose weight, you will lose it first in the most annoying places. Like your right boob.

6. Death in your life is inevitable. You may lose friends. You will lose family. Pets will die before you are ready. IT WILL HURT. You will be sad and confused and lost. 

You will also get through it. The holes will be there, but they will stop hurting so much and you can get past it.

7. Relationships fail. Friendships fail. You find that you are at different places in your lives and have different goals. For every person who walks out of your life, you will either find another one walking in, or a renewed sense of appreciation for the people still there.

8. Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders were much more entertaining as a child.

9. If you put on a happy face, even if it's a fake one, it can make your day better. If you actively put a bad attitude on display, it will always bring you down.

10. Try to see both sides of every story. You will be a better person for it.

Erg...

I know everybody is talking about season finales today on Boob Tube Babble... and I sincerely hope there are other people out there that are feeling the same way I am about the finale of Hart of Dixie.
I hafta say, I was really happy when George decided to go through with the wedding to Lemon. I think they need to be together, although I really wanted him with Zoe in the beginning.NOT. ANY. MORE.Now I want her with Wade.Because he's a hot piece of man meat.

Hello there...
Ahem, back to the point of this post.I was SO STOKED when they got trapped in that barn together during the storm. I KNEW it was going to bring them together. 

Look at that smile... *swoon*.
And then when they went back to the plantation and Zoe deliberately flipped the power breaker to make Wade come over to her place where they did the dirty. I said to myself "this is it, this is when they finally realize that they really love each other!" And then who comes along? That bastard George Tucker. Talking all about how he left Lemon on their wedding day and how he and Zoe have SOOO much to talk about, obviously not realizing that Zoe and Wade had just consummated their turbulent relationship.
And rather than telling him, "hey there mister, you had your chance! I've moved on!" she just stands there like a fracking moron and doesn't say anything. And then she goes back into her bedroom and there's Wade... all hot and happy and naked in her bed. And she has that stupid look on her face that you just know Wade sees right through and knows what it means.
And then it's OVER.
What. The. Hell.

Harry Potter, Mario Kart, and some Sweet Outfits

I would like to tell you that the first two pins that I have in this post have made me laugh SO MUCH. I can't explain it... maybe I was drunk. But they are AWESOME.

Source: static.fjcdn.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: safepiercing.tumblr.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: cynthia335.polyvore.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: boards.weddingbee.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: styleofe.polyvore.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: pinterestgreatdeals.com via Carly on Pinterest

Happy Birthday!

Today's post is dedicated to celebrating the birth of one of my favorite people in the whole world.

Such an amazing presence you have brought to our lives.

I feel so blessed to have such great friends who were able to bring such a great little person into the world.

These are some of the things that I adore about you:

When you would put the beer hat on and jump on your trusty steed and wave your arm around when the music would start

From the moment you could, you decided you wanted to be just another one of the guys.

The way you get so excited about your favorite movies and want everybody else to love them just as much as you!

The way you used to grab my hands and pull me over and say "CARS!" and then dump them out on the floor for me to play with.

When you think you're a ninja and sneak attack Chad.

How stinking cute you are as a bumble bee! And the way you finally realized that trick or treating meant you got all that candy...

The way you want everybody to watch you do things, and how happy it makes you when you make other people smile or laugh.

When you found that some of your easter eggs had candy in them, and when your Daddy asked for some and you would start to put it in his mouth and then change your mind and eat it yourself.

The way you can turn even a big meanie like Chad into a big ole softy and hold your new slide up for an hour so you could slide before your swingset was put together.

The way you add your own dirtbike sound effects "brapppp brappppp!!!"

When you want to do something and just keep saying "Daddy 'mon Daddy!" until he does it.

The way you've given your mommy the biggest and best reason to better herself as a person and follow her dreams!

So, to dear Mason Anthony Lobb,

I've  loved you since before you were born and I am so happy to be celebrating your 3rd birthday. I look forward to watching you grown over the year and can't imagine a better little fella to come into all of our lives.

Except for if/when Chad and i have our own baby... then you may have to step aside and show him/her the ropes :)

Love you so much GooBall!

A Mother's Day Suprise...

I hope everybody has had a great weekend. I know mine was packed full, but great!

Friday:

Friday night after work, Chad and I met with one of our realtors to amend our offer on the house. Basically the negotiator let our agents know that the bank had gotten a prior offer that was lower than what we had. It's good news because the other people backed out a while ago and went a different route, but the lines of communication with the bank have been opened up. The told the negotiator that they won't even LOOK at an offer under $195k, and he passed that info along to us. So we raised our limit to $198k and they will hopefully look at it on Monday. Eeek!

After that, Chad and I went to Dustin's house to hang out a little bit and play with Mason (who turns 3 tomorrow!). We ended up staying there for dinner with Dustin and his parents. It was a nice low key evening.

Ignore the blurry status... they were going too fast for my cell phone camera!

Saturday:

Saturday morning, Chad and I got up and went to the farm. I brushed my horse out a bit, treated ANOTHER little cut (looked like she was scratching herself on one of the barbed wire fences and got a little too agressive), and Chad tried to call in some coyotes.

After that, we met up with Dustin and our friend Matt to go fishing. We loaded up the boats, ourselves, and Mason and headed out.

It definitely wasn't my favorite lake. We didn't start getting any bites until probably around 7 pm, and when we did get them, they were little fellas. I actually only got ONE bite. It was quite discouraging. All it all it was a good day though. We ended up getting home around 9:30, eating a late dinner and passing out.

Sunday:

As you all know, today is Mother's Day!

This morning, Chad and I braved the Sunday morning crowds to run some errands. We went and picked out some new fishing tackle (since most of Chad's good stuff got lost when he moved in with me), got breakfast at a popular restaurant right away, and did some grocery shopping. 

As these errands were being run, I was keeping updated on what was going on with one of my good friends Morgan, who went into labor early this morning with her first baby.

He eventually made his way into this world at 11:05 weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces.

Welcome to the world, Michael Duane Brittan IV!

Anyways, this evening we took my mom to dinner at a newish restaurant called WildFin American Grill. I made reservations earlier in the week and I'm glad I did. As we were leaving, a family came in and the girl had to turn them away because they were packed for the entire night! 

The service was good, the food was great. If you are ever in the area of Issaquah, I strongly suggest you check it out. And get the smoked salmon/spinach/artichoke dip. OH. MY. GAWD. It was good.

The evening ended with a little bit of light shopping at Ross and Petco for a new harness for the kitty and a new tee shirt for little Jasper.

"It's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone"

Totally appropriate considering the fact that he scratches himself until he's raw and bleeding, which is why he has to wear the shirt in the first place. (BTW, if anybody has any ideas on what to do for an itchy dog, please let me know. We've tried all the flea stuff, but we don't think it's fleas because none of the other animals have them. We've also tried gentler shampoos and anti itch shampoos... it's no use!)

Anyways, that's pretty much it for my weekend. I'm bummed that it's Sunday night already because i feel like i haven't even enjoyed the weekend yet, even though I really did get a lot of fun stuff done.

Oh well, here's to another work week!