Good News and Bad News

The good news is I'm feeling a bit better since the last time I posted. Thanks to everyone who expressed warm sentiment. It was nice to read/hear.

The bad news I'm not sure I will be posting as much for a bit. I'm trying to work really hard to get my comps done and I have a lot of other pressures. So, it's not you, it's me. And we're taking a break. I'll try to post things when I can. Don't be too sad. It's just that the weight of the world is crushing me. Oh right, I just told you not to worry. Well, still you don't have to worry, I'm good. Just working I guess.

In other news there are a lot of birds around now. I started noticing it last week, I could hear bird singing. And yesterday I saw a cardinal and today I saw a bunch of robins and heard more birds, so I guess spring is coming. Let's hope it's not that the birds have a calendar that tells them when it's February 15th and then they head back into town regardless of weather conditions. Let's hope they have some sort of calendar that gets at the heart of when the warm weather will be here and they consulted that.

Alright, I'll be back as soon as I can. Keep the faith. Stay strong.

How to Tell that Your Cranky Pants are Crushing the Life Out of You

Just trust me, you don't really want to know about my day yesterday. It involved getting so upset that I threw up. Or maybe it was the cold. I was either really upset at the time and practicing what I can only assume is some sort of evolutionarily beneficial coping mechanism of gagging uncontrollably or it was cold and all the mucus I was producing made me ill. I can't be too sure. But you can be sure of this, listening to me gag for no reason is amusing to some, and I'm one of them, but it's all fun and games until someone gets sick and throws up in the snow. Then it's not as funny any more. Then it's just sort of sad with a dash of pathetic.

Zach was, as always, a sweetheart, a loyal supporter and a fine nursemaid. Truly, I am a lucky woman for I have a man who is willing to watch me puke in the snow and gag like an idiot and still get get me dinner and make me comfortable.

I'm trying to put the whole process I am currently going through at school in the proper perspective. I just feel totally overwhelmed by the amount of work that I have to do and the short period of time in which to do it. And I feel stupid. That's not a good combo for working hard, you know? To feel as though it's fruitless from the start is not confidence inspiring, but I'm conquering it piece by piece and trying to take things as they come. Plus Zach says that if I do flunk out of school, he'll still love me and we can move away from Iowa ASAP, which I'm not going to lie to you, sounds fantastic.

Anyway, I'll try to keep updating and working and maybe try to tone down the gagging until I throw up thing. Or at least next time make a video because it is pretty entertaining I'm told.

Cranky Pants

Apparently Zach and I now have a matching set of cranky pants. I've always wanted to dress identically with someone and now I can, if only in the abstract. We're very cranky at Chez My Blog is Better Than Your Blog. Very. I think it's just the little things that are wearing us down and making it so that every day seems just a little bit harder to function. If only we could get some Prozac in our water. The government should really start working on that program. Oh yeah, sure you can put fluoride in the water, but you won't consider mind-altering substances. Lazy. Just lazy.

Here is a list of things that have made Zach and I cranky recently:
1. Work - the fact that we have to go to it. I'm worried about comps because I think I might be too stupid to actually pass and that makes me really sad.

2. The cold - it's bitterly cold and icy and snowy lately and that makes going to work pretty crappy.

3. The dark - it's dark a lot and that's not good for anyone's mood. Plus not only are we in the time of year when daylight is scarce, but it's cloudy here. Cloudy all the time really. Big fat lie about Iowa being sunnier than State College.

4. The house - let's see. Where to start? So many fantastic things there. Maybe I'll just go with the fact that the garage door got stuck open yesterday and both roommates just left it open and only one (who didn't even get the door stuck, just found out about it as she was leaving the house) even told me. I respect that not everyone knows that the release for the door is the big, red handle thing that hangs down and that if you pull it you can move the door manually. But I also think it's somewhat odd that everyone just decided to leave the door open, not call the landlord, not tell me about it until I was close to going home and then expect that I would take care of it. I mean, I assume that was the expectation and I did. Zach and I called the landlord, manually put the door down and told him he needs to come fix it...he's in Miami though. Apparently when you are a landlord you get to leave town, not tell your tenants and if something breaks tell them to hang on and you'll be home in about a week.

Oh there are other things. Wedding planning. The environmental cost of electricity. The condition of the roads. All sorts of things. If I had to guess I'd say we've caught a little case of cabin fever.

Perhaps your lives are going swimmingly. If so, I wish you the best. If not, join the club.

It's really cold outside and icy

I think that the title pretty much sums up my feelings about this week. It's cold, icy, and it makes you not want to go anywhere which makes it even sadder that I had to go to work today.

Enjoy President's Day. If you are lucky enough to have it off, then keep it to yourself.

More when I feel like it. Let's all just hope that's soon.

Pity Party

We here at My Blog is Better Than Your Blog are throwing ourselves a pity party and I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you're not invited. Don't feel too bad, the chips and dip ran out hours ago, someone drank all the champagne and we're pretty much playing, "It's My Party and I'll Cry if I want to" on repeat. You're not missing much.

I invite you instead to check out Bizarro.com. Home of Dan Piraro. I love this comic strip. It's very beat and makes me laugh. And he's a vegan. Who knew? I have a comic that hangs on my bulletin board that has a guy at a board meeting with a bunch of people. On the wall behind him is one of those charts that charts financial progress and it's sloping down. The word bubble above his head says, "I wouldn't say the ship is "sinking", but the mast is broken, we're out of food & water, sharks are circling, and the captain is insane." Love that.

Additionally, I thought I'd mention that when you go to my bank you not only get candy thrust at you, but free wedding advice. Just in case you see yourself needing any of that some time soon.

Have a good weekend. Stay warm.

My Funny Valentine

This is my valentine, Jesse. Cute, no? Trust me he is. This picture shows him looking slightly cranky, but he's not. That's a paper hat that he made because he's talented. That's right single ladies, he's whimsical, talented, funny and cute. He's the total package. And for Valentine's Day he sent me these:
Which I'm not going to lie to you made me ridiculously giddy. Also, I look fat in this picture. I'd like to pretend it was a trick of the light or something, but I'm guessing it's just 'cuz I'm fat. But I'm fat and engaged and I got flowers. So what the hell ever.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU JESSE! for the lovely flowers. They are super, super pretty and they made me really, really happy. They made Zach happy too. He thinks they are really pretty as well and said, "It's really like a gift to everyone in the house because they are so pretty and we all get to look at them." It's nice to have a friend that gives you flowers and a fiancé that enjoys them as well. It's win-win. I'm so lucky.

I've never liked Valentine's Day because it seems like a day designed to make people feel bad about not having a significant other. And I say there are 364 other days in the year when you can feel bad about not having someone, let yourself have one day when you don't. Ha, no, I'm kidding. Don't feel bad. Valentine's Day is an invented holiday that allows businesses to charge exorbitant prices on items that you would otherwise not buy. I guess it's good for the economy though and I'm not looking forward to living through a recession, so everyone get out there and spend. Jesse's doing his part, the rest of you need to pick up the ball now.

Enjoy this day in whatever manner you feel comfortable. Just be safe out there. They don't call it VD for nothing.

And finally, enjoy this picture of all the roses, ha! Get it? My name too. And I do smell as sweet, so there.




P.S. Don't worry, Jesse, I'll tell Teresa the flowers are for her.




Ridiculous Joke of the Day (thought up by Zach and Rose at pretty much the same time):
Q: What do you get if you mix a border collie and a chihuahua?
A: A South of the Border Collie

Bringing Culture to the People

I thought I might do a "Meme" today. I've seen them on other blogs and have to admit my ignorance as to what they might be. I mean, I've seen them so I get the idea, but I wasn't sure the origin or whatever. The internet is a strange kettle of fish. So many weird "facts" out there. I'm not real up on the lingo of technology or popular culture for that matter. I'm sort of a dwelling in my own metaphorical bubble. God, I wish I had a real bubble. Anyway, feel free to answer this on your own blog or just write down your answers when you play at home. It's fun, it's free, it's interactive. Yep, it's always a damn good time at My Blog is Better Than Your Blog.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Um...sadly, I can't really remember what I was doing a week ago at this time, so I can't really imagine. I would imagine that I was getting ready to graduate high school and most likely pondering if Jesse would give me anything for Valentine's Day. It might be that this was the year that Sara and Jesse delivered flowers from a "Secret Admirer". That's probably what was happening.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was in State College. I was probably making reservations for a dinner out for Zach and I for the next day. Likely...I was blissfully in love on account of the fact that I was with Zach.

Five snacks you enjoy (in a perfect world in which I would actually allow myself to snack on such calorie filled wonders):

1. Popcorn with lots of butter and salt
   
2. Cheese in any form
   
3. Fresh Fruit of all kinds
   
4. Nuts
5. Chips and dip
   

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to (or Things I learned while playing Rock Band):

1. Theme Song to the Fresh Prince of Bellaire - I don't want to know them, but I do.
2. Maps - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
   
3. Creep - Radiohead
4. Buddy Holly- Weezer
5. Say It Ain't So - Weezer

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Reinvest the money so that I would continue to be rich.
   
2. Travel around the world.
   
3. Never work again and make it so that as many people as I know wouldn't have to either.
4. Buy houses (modest ones) near all of my family and friends and Zach's family and friends.
   
5. Give as much to charities as I can without being back to where I am now - I mean, I'm not going have to start working again just to do a "good thing".

Five bad habits:

1. Biting my nails even though I don't do it that often any more, I still do it on occasion.
   
2. Putting off today what I can do tomorrow.
   
3. Worrying ALL THE TIME about things beyond my control.
   
4. Trying to control everything.
   
5. Washing my hands all the time...although some might say that this is next to godliness.
   

Five things you like doing:

1. Laying in bed with Zach.
   
2. Reading.
3. Being entertained.
   
4. Hanging out with people I love.
   
5. Not talking about the wedding.
   

Five things you would never wear again:

1. Skinny clothes? I'm just guessing here.
   
2. Any sort of turtleneck type top.
   
3. That sweater dress from 3rd grade...although that was a sweet dress.
   
4. My prom dress...but I really wish I could. I miss that dress so much.
   
5. If I had my choice, in a perfect world, a jacket, scarf, hat, 2 pairs of gloves, 3 sweaters and boots.
   

Five favorite toys (or things I like right now):

1. Iced Tea Maker - it counts because I love it.
   
2. Ipod or MP3 player - neither of which work now, but would be awesome if they did.
   
3. Computer with internet - although I do nothing productive or all that fun with it.
   
4. Engagement ring- love it. So much fun to stare at.
   
5. Zach - you can take that any way you want, but keep it clean.
   

***And yes, for those of you wondering, I did just figure out how to link to things from the words on my blog and I can't stop using it.