A day at the park

Saturday I was able to see Marla, Tony and Kyler and also meet the newest addition of their family, Bethany. They are such a sweet family and it was the perfect afternoon to spend some time at the park. (It was also my first experience at watching lacrosse.) Unfortunately, I came home with a sunburn but that was to be expected.

Levi's big day

Saturday I joined Becky and friends as we celebrated the third birthday of her son, Levi. He was so excited! It was also my first time at Chuck E. Cheese and it wasn't nearly as scary as I had expected. A good time was had by all.

Me with the guest of honor, Levi.

The girl next door

This is an addendum to my earlier post about the crazy, bizarre dreams I've been having lately. The night before last I dreamt that I lived at the Playboy Mansion. I really wanted to have my friends over so we could swim in the pool but I was afraid to approach Hugh. Last night my dream was something out of War of the Worlds.

Paris is for me

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?

A potpourri of my thoughts

• There has been a lot of discussion lately amongst my friends at the great lengths that women go to in order to remove unwanted hair. Threading (which sounds so painful after reading about it), waxing, shaving, laser removal, etc. We do all sorts of crazy things just to maintain our beauty and to keep our self-esteem. It just doesn't seem quite fair but I know I'm not about to stop any time soon.
• Hugh Grant has been arrested for allegedly throwing baked beans on a photographer. I love Hugh. (Who doesn't love a confused, yet charming, British man?) I can't decide how I feel about this incident. Perhaps it makes me like him even more.
• Joe Simpson supposedly wants to be Britney's new manager. Joe, you are so creepy.
• I am listening to Damien Rice 9 and I love it. More exciting is that Breanne and I will be seeing him two weeks from tomorrow in St. Louis.
• I'm preparing for a conference in Chicago next week where I will also be seeing friends and the musical, The Color Purple.

Jackpot

It's true, I am a pack rat. I keep everything and so it should be no surprise that I still have cds from junior high school that I know will never get listened to again. I started cleaning out closets a couple weeks ago to prepare for my move and realized that I had four very large boxes full of nothing but cds. Ridiculous. I decided to sort through them and came up with three large shopping bags full of cds that could be re-sold and only a box and a half of cds to keep. Last night I cashed them in for store credit. After almost two hours, I finally left the music store with $260.49 worth of store credit and one shopping bag of stuff they couldn't take. Why didn't I do this sooner? I am a pack rat no more.

Amy, meet Dog

I have been having crazy, bizarre dreams all week long. I don't even know where to start. Last night, I dreamt that I was a bounty hunter.

Friday's Feast

Feast 140

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of bread?
I'm going to say Asiago Cheese Bread because cheese makes everything better.

Soup
When was the last time you bought a new pillow?
I bought new pillows in August when I got my new bed.

Salad
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend surfing the ‘net?
Usually when I'm on the internet I'm going to sites for something in particular but I probably spend a couple hours a week just randomly looking around at stuff.

Main Course
What’s the highest you remember your temperature being?
When I was in middle school I remember my temperature being 103 or 104 while I was on vacation with my family.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: When I shop, I feel better.

Baby love

Taina's foster baby, Jamie is probably the most content baby I've ever met. I've rarely seen him fussy before and he's constantly smiling. I always enjoy loving on him.


Rachel enjoys loving on Jamie, too.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite?
I don't recall having a favorite crayon but I think blue was probably my favorite color.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?
Right now, I'm not looking to change jobs but I'm also not married to the idea of staying put forever. If it were my dream job, with a huge salary increase, I'd say an 8.

Salad
Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?
What kind of a question is this and who has time for that?

Main Course
Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?
I have a feeling that if you are a re-gifter it's usually not something you want others to know about you...isn't the point to act as if you came up with the gift all on your own? Sometimes if I get things I don't need or like I ask my sister if she wants them. Otherwise, I might re-gift to Goodwill.

Dessert
Name something you need from the store.
Lightbulbs

Note to self

Note to self: Next time you get really horrible service at a restaurant and decide to stage a walk-out with your friends, don't "forget" your keys and give yourself a reason to return. Even worse, said walk-out is not only ineffective, you've realized missing keys are in your pocket.

Chicago recap

I spent my weekend in Chicago with Joe. It was nice and relaxing. No set plans and not a lot of schedules but a lot of "hanging out" time which I needed. I did have dinner with my first cousin once removed and her son, Adam. I think that makes Adam my second cousin, right? (I'm not so good with this stuff.) We had a lovely time and the rest of the weekend was spent playing video games (yup, I was Superman) and watching movies. And aside from Grindhouse, it was a lovely weekend.

Terrie and Adam

Joe and me at dinner with Terrie and Adam.

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred and Thirty Eight

Appetizer
When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?
Short trips, under four or five hours, I prefer to drive; long trips, I prefer to fly.

Soup
Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?
I think I know all of my blogging friends. I tend to blog with people I already know.

Salad
When was the last time you were really, really tired?
I was pretty tired by the time I went to bed last night after traveling to Chicago.

Main Course
If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?
The first person who comes to mind is Detective Alex Cross from the James Patterson novels. I would have a lot of questions for him about the cases he's worked on.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see the Louvre in Paris.

Joseph

I think I have found my new favorite musical. I saw this last night and absolutely loved everything about it.

We the jury

We all play the role of juror from time to time and it’s true that I can be a bit judgmental. It’s easy to do without even thinking. For instance, I found plenty of people guilty last night of various “crimes” committed while I was watching The Bachelor. Some women were guilty of fashion crimes, some guilty of being way too desperate and some guilty of using really cheesy ploys to get a man. And let's not forget those who were guilty of being just plain mean. At any rate, in all seriousness, I am on jury duty this week – for real. I have never been on jury duty before and I’m still waiting to see if I get called in. So far, so good. The entire process has made me think a lot about our judicial system and what it means to find someone guilty or not guilty. It's a huge responsibility and as much as I think it's necessary, I really hope I don't get called because I don't want the responsibility. What about you? Do you have any jury duty stories?

My weekend with D

I had a great weekend spending time with Dorian in Edwardsville, IL/St. Louis. Dorian and I don't get to see each other much these days but I can always count of her to partake in my three favorite activities: napping, eating and watching movies.