EliStar Sparkle

Back in Business!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:05:00 +0000

So, my last post ended on a pretty dreary note. When I last left you, I was working on getting my spine working again. I know, sounds so easy right? Wellll, I'm happy to report that after three more epidural injections and tons of meds and doctors visits and a new round of physical therapy - I am finally starting to feel like a human being again! Freaking FINALLY.

Can I get a hallelujah?!

The past few months have been ROUGH. Like, horrible, depressing not even playing around, ROUGH. There were a few points when I was absolutely sure that I wasn't going to get better, that I was going to spend the rest of my life with chronic back pain and agonizing flare ups of sciatic nerve pain and I was just going to have to deal with it. If you can believe it, a lot of doctors have told me that (pretty much verbatim) over the years. Assholes. So yeah, I was having all kinds of crazy thoughts, man. Luckily, I'm surrounded by lots of awesome people who didn't let me give up. And now, much sooner than I expected, I'm functioning like a semi-normal person again. Woohoo!! I actually even went shopping this weekend! ::GASP:: I know!!

And in equally awesome news - I've lost 16 lbs, bitches!! When I started easing off the hardcore meds (which, by the way, were not fun - as widespread as the notion is that percocet = a good time, for me it equals lots of throwing up and passing out in a closet at the office - yes, that actually happened) I was finally able to start dieting. It's not easy to eat less when you need to eat a friggin three course feast with every. single. pill. or you'll be throwing up the whole day. So as soon as I stopped taking them on a daily basis, I started dieting. That was over a month ago. I'm still dieting, but I rewarded myself over the weekend with a few new shirts and a new pair of work pants. I deserve it, right? Damn skippy.

My immediate goal is to be able to fit into some Sookie Stackhouseish shorts and a Merlotte's t-shirt for Halloween. I am determined to lose another 20 lbs before then so I can look semi-decent in clothing that shows my legs, though I'm having a hard time trying to convince the hubs that he can work a blonde wig and black leather so he can be Eric. He is much more keen on my friend Joyce's idea of having our husbands/boyfriends dress up as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Boys.

So what else have I been up to? A lot of reading. My niece turned FIVE (um, how the heck? That totally just happened overnight) and my baby brother celebrated his twenty first birthday. I promise I'm going to try and be more diligent about posting, now that I'm not convinced that my life is getting back to normal. I'll leave you all with a picture of me and my adorable niece Alyssa at her birthday party.

Since I've been gone...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:58:00 +0000

Well, I've been MIA again because I've been dealing with a health issue. Not something new - I have a slipped disk in my spine and while it had been manageable for almost two years, it's been flaring up for the last few weeks. And by flaring up, I really mean making my life impossible. The pain is AWFUL. Like -- can't walk, can't sleep, can't sit in a restaurant or movie or even at my desk without squirming with pain kind of awful. The reason it hurts when you have a slipped (herniated) disk is because it's out of place, literally pressing on the nerves running along your spine. Here's a little diagram:

You see the little mushy thing popping out of the bone? That's the disk pressing on the nerve. Everyone asks me what it's like - and the only way I can describe it is it's like you hit your funny bone REALLY REALLY hard - now imagine that pain in the middle of your lower back, traveling into your buttocks and down your legs. And it won't go away, no matter what you do. Only drugs help. Heat sometimes. Massage. It's depressing. I'm dealing with it as best I can, trying to keep a brave face on at work, and I've already scheduled another spinal block for next week, which is basically a cocktail of meds they inject directly into your spine during a quick, outpatient procedure under general anesthesia. In the meantime, I've been operating under a hazy, drowsy, percocet-induced fuzz and trying to stay positive.

That's my new mantra - Must. Stay. Positive. It's easy to feel restless and hopeless and desperate when you suffer from chronic pain. I'm not a great candidate for surgery, so there's no easy fix either - almost all of the doctors I've seen have told me that an operation would really only have a 50/50 chance of success - which, as you can imagine, is not enough to risk someone operating on my spine, especially when there's a high chance that surgery might even makes things worse, let alone someone in their midtwenties who has a higher probability of recurring injury. I've seen more doctors than I can count and it's hard to leave appointment after appointment feeling like you're never going to get better. I'm just praying that this spinal block will work and that I won't have to start yet another regimen of treatment.

If it weren't for my husband, family and amazing friends, I don't think I'd be able to deal with this. It feels like I've been battling for sooo long. Eight years now. I'm tired already. The thought of seeing more doctors exhausts me. Since I was 17, I've been trying to find a solution that will take the pain away permanently and allow me to have a normal life. So far, all the remedies I've found have only been temporary - epidural injections, nerve medication, painkillers, physical therapy, accupuncture, chiropractors. You name it, I've done it. So, here's hoping this round will be the LAST and that I can finally move on from this. Wish me luck!

July the 8th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 07:00:00 +0000

July 8th wasn't always an important day to me - when I was a child, my mother's birthday was pretty insignificant as holidays go. Everything revolved around me, and usually mommy's birthday involved Daddy taking me to Walgreens to pick out a card and whatever trinket my allowance could afford, and then focusing on much more important matters. Like MY birthday.

Now that I'm all grown up, I realize how much my mom sacrificed for me. How much she gave up so that I could have a wonderful life and how much she deserves to have given back to her. I'm sure we all come to that point in our lives, but when I was little, I'm sure I never fathomed just how special my relationship with my mom would be. I never realized that not every girl is adored and cherished and understood by her mom like I am, and that is something I try very hard not to take for granted.

So today, I've assembled a post in honor of the woman who gave me life and without whom my life would be imcomplete.

First, let me introduce you to Marlene:

Isn't she beautiful?? This picture was taken on my wedding day, and here she is all aglow. My mom shines in every way.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about why she's so special to me.

If you asked anyone what their first impression of my mother was, their response would most undoubtedly be: "she's bubbly!". In fact, when people accuse me of being bubbly, my response is usually "You only say that because you haven't met my mother." And when people accuse her of being bubbly, I know what they're really trying to say is that my mother is kind. My mother is good. She is genuinely nice and sweet and everything that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My mother could make friends with a rock. If you opened my mother up, you'd probably find that her heart was ten sizes too BIG. And if it wasn't, it would probably be because she's found other places to store all the love and warmth she brings to so many lives. Because lord knows, my mom finds places to store everything.

She taught me lessons. Lessons like, why friends are important - but family is much, much more important. How to pick a good husband. How to spot people who are going to break your heart. Why Christmas is so special. How to ignore the haters. How to let go of the people who add nothing to your life. Why it's really important to do what you love.

I hope every one of you have someone in your lives that has helped you realize these things.

My mom is not a natural blonde, and neither am I. But we both like a little peroxide in our lives. Everyone thinks we look so much alike, but really if you look close up, we don't. We just see the same hairdresser. Look:

But that doesn't matter.

We are alike in many ways. We're both always smiling. We try to make the best of things. We both have addictive personalities and we both have a really soft spot in our hearts for dogs. Especially this one:

And this one:

We're different in many ways, too. I have a temper. She never loses hers. She cries - alot. But it's ok, because whenever she cries - it's because she really means it. People with big hearts feel things differently than the rest of us.

She loves her family more than anything. When I was going through my teenage years, I always told her I'd never ever be like her. But now I realize that I am like her. And that makes me proud.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us. She was younger here than I am now, but I will always picture her this way.

Happy birthday Mom! I love you so very much!

Eclipse gets a big thumbs up!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:21:00 +0000

Yes, I know my posts have been unbearably fangirlish lately. Too bad. I'm an annoying, squealing, clapping, vampire t-shirt sporting FANGIRL. And proud of it, too.

The highlight of my day yesterday was when I learned that my best friend had gotten her hands on 4 tickets to the Burger King pre-screening of Eclipse at Sunset Place. ::cue high pitched squeal::

I KNOW! I was flippping out with excitement. A little nervous about being let down again, but still really stoked. After all, Twilight was pretty "meh" and New Moon was better but not as good as it could have been. Eclipse was my favorite book of the series and therefore had the most potential to disappoint.

But yay, it didn't!! The movie was fantastic! I know a lot of you haven't seen it yet so I won't post any spoilers, but let's just say Rob and Taylor were at their ultimate hotness! And the special effects were MUCH better this time around, along with Rosalie's god-awful wig. Unfortunately, I think Kristen Stewart will annoy me to the end of time, but in this movie she seemed a tad more human and less like a pouty, grunting robot. Loved that Jasper, Alice and the rest of the coven were a more central part of this movie. Am totally itching for Breaking Dawn to come out now!!

Annnnnddd, as if seeing my favorite Twilight book translated on screen couldn't get any better, they played an AMAZING trailer for the last (and my favorite) Harry Potter book, which will be coming out this November. I was literally tearing up at the end! I've posted it below for your viewing pleasure :)

Guess who's going to the Eclipse sneak preview tonight?!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:38:00 +0000

::points to self::

THIS GIRL!! AH hahahahaha!!! My lovely BFF's church friend pulled through for us again this year and got us a few tickets to the Burger King sneak preview. Needless to say, we are kissing the ground she walks on!

I shall report back tomorrow with a full review! Now how the heck am I going to get any more work done today??

Potterheads Rejoice!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:46:00 +0000

As I'm sure all of your Potter fans know,The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is OPEN! And luckily, those brilliant muggles at Universal decided to build this magical paradise right in my backyard, a measly three and a half hour drive from my home - so of course, I made plans to be there opening week, ready to brave the insane lines and brutal (and I mean BRUTAL) Florida summer heat. Rest assured, I took about a million pictures and they will follow below :) I will do my best to relay the entire experience for all of you who don't want to deal with 8 hours of your trip wasted in lines and near-heat-stroke-inducing temperatures.

Islands of Adventure opened at nine, so we got there at about 8ish, and though there was no line outside, the line inside the park just to get into the Wizarding World was un-friggin-believable. I mean, my jaw literally dropped. I kept asking the attendant if he was sure this was the line just to get in, to which I received an annoyed nod and a stern gesture towards the end of the line. For those of you who have never been to Islands of Adventure, the park is sort of a giant cirle around a lake, and the park is divided into a few themed "islands", which aren't really islands at all but whatever. So adjacent to Harry Potter land on either side is an ancient Greek themed island and Jurassic Park. We started the line just outside of the ancient Greek themed island, in Suessland. Now I know what you're thinking - that doesn't sound so bad, right? We just had to get through that island and Bam, we're there. WRONG. We started at Suessland and went ALL THE WAY AROUND Islands of Adventure before we were even allowed in. I mean, this line was thousands of people long, at least. We went through Suessland, the entrance to the park, Marvel Comics land, through Popeye's island (whatever it's called) and through Jurassic Park before we even caught a real up close glimpse of Hogsmeade. Three and a half hours in that line, but that wasn't even as bad as the people who braved the lines on Friday, opening day. And here are a few pictures of Hogsmeade, from outside the Wizarding World, and the pictures of when we first entered the Wizarding World.

The newly added sign

We could see Hogwarts from the line - this was about halfway through it, entering Popeye's island.

Hogsmeade, from the outside. Glorious.

Here we are, entering Hogsmeade at around noonish. I was literally FREAKING OUT with excitement and covered in sweat at this point, though I really didn't care!

OMG moment!!

Our first up-close glimpse of the castle. *Swoon* This is also the site of the new ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, details to follow.

Ollivanders!! I am so, so bummed I couldn't get a wand, but the line was always at least an hour long and by the time we finished exploring all the rest of the Wizarding World, I just didn't have the energy. Next time!

All of the shops in Hogsmeade were just perfect. I couldn't get over how detailed and gorgeous everything was. Love!!

When we walked in, we were totally overwhelmed. I didn't know where to look or what to do first! There were lines to do everything, including getting into any of the shops in Hogsmeade. At that point though, we were starving and dying of thirst - so first things first, we made the line to try what I had been most looking forward to since I learned they were going to bring the Wizarding World to life. What else - Butterbeer!!!

I swear, I was like a little child jumping around in line, watching everyone else walk away from the cart with their frosty souvenir mugs, I was ready to have a heart attack from the anxiety!!! But finally, it was our turn and $40 bucks and 4 souvenir mugs later, we were all ready to try the fabled beverage.

Cheers!!!

Notice my face is beet-red from the heat. But it was allll worth it. Butterbeer is everything I thought it would be. If I had to describe it, I'd say it tastes kind of like a honeyed cream soda with a caramelish foam on top. We ordered both the draft and frozen kinds and both were awesome but the frozen kind was de-friggin-licious. Similar to a root beer float. Is it terrible that I've been dreaming about it since we left the park?

I was downright GIDDY here.

Here we are, all loving our butterbeer. The lovely lady to my left is my mom :)

How will I manage without it?

After we got our butterbeer fix, we NEEDED to eat. We were starving, and since we were in Hogsmeade, there was nowhere else we were going to eat but The Three Broomsticks. Honestly, I was sort of underwhelmed by the food there. I had the fish and chips, which were pretty bland, and Anth got the Shepard's Pie, which was, unfortunately, also bland. My mom complained that her chicken and ribs were dry, and my little brother got the most shriveled chicken fingers I've ever seen. Oh well. Maybe they were just too packed to concentrate on the food. I did try Pumpkin Juice there, and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It was very sweet, and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Yum, but not really to pair with a meal. Instead, I engorged myself with more butterbeer.

We had to wait about an hour just to get in!

The inside

Ready to eat!

My meal. Pumpkin juice to the left, fish and chips and frozen butterbeer.

My mom did love the corn. lol.

Ha Ha. I love that the boys are such good sports and pose for pictures whenever I want them to. My instructions to my little brother here were "Look like you are super full from a delicious meal!"

Full and happy. Next on the agenda - exploration!

We walked around Hogsmeade for a bit before we started the line for the Forbidden Journey, which was estimated at 120 minutes but ended up being more like 3 hours because they kept having mechanical problems. It was worth the wait, and we totally enjoyed our time in line! There was SO much to see inside Hogwarts, where the ride is located. The greenhouse, the room of requirement, Dumbledore's office, the pensieve and the portrait of the fat lady, just to name a few hallmark Potter places. I took a whole mess of pictures. The ride itself was so cool. It's kind of like the Spiderman ride at IoA, in that it's a simulator/rollercoaster, and they tried to pack as much into it as they could - Spiders, Dragons, Quidditch, Dementors, all the major characters - I thought it was a perfect tribute to Harry. I couldn't take any pictures on the ride, so you'll have to experience that for yourself when you go! But I LOVED it.

Perfect.

All the pictures moved, just like in the books! Again, it's the detail they put into this place that made it so magnificent. Hello there, Sirius :)

We made the line for Honeydukes later in the day - omg. Candy heaven!

The chocolate frog in the display window actually croaked and moved. I have a video of it somewhere that I'll have to post when I figure out how to post videos.

Approaching the castle!

Beautiful, isn't it??

Detail, detail. Just gorgeous.

The entrance to Hogwarts

The masses and masses of people waiting in line inside the Greenhouse.

Cute little plants? Look closer! Those are mandrakes in there!

Well hello there... You are too large to fit in one picture.

And therefore, you are split in two.

Ahh, I see Gryffindor is winning the race for the House Cup, closely followed by Slytherin!

You know what this is - I screamed like a little girl when we passed the entrance to Dumbledore's office!

It's a bit dark, but the pictures all talked and moved. So COOL!

This hall of portraits had about a million paintings hanging and talking! Epic.

Dumblie's office. Who is that I spy in the back??

A long deceased DRAGON ;o)

The defense against the dark arts classroom, where Harry, Hermione and Ron were waiting!

Can you see em?

The fat lady! She was adorable, as ushe.

An assortment of Potter paraphernalia,

You know this guy. The sorting hat! He talked as you walked by.

Ready to get on the ride! Those are all hanging candles.

After we rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, we made the non-existent line for The Dragon Challenge, which was just a re-vamped Dueling Dragons (a ride that used to live at IoA). Tons more Potter memorabilia, including the goblet of fire and the Triwizard cup!

There were tons of Potter signs like this one.

And this one.

Along with signs for those other schools no one cares about.

A nice photo op! Please ignore my crazy, fugly hair and sweat-ridden skin. It was a LONG day and we were really really hot.

Cool, huh? It even honked!! It nearly scared the pants off some stupid girl walking in front of us who gave us major 'tude for taking so many pictures. I laughed REALLY hard and I hope she heard me.

My lovely hubby carried my girly backpack all day. Why? Cause he's awesome.

So exciting!

I wish the blue flamed coming out of the goblet had shown up better, but they were so cool!

The triwizard cup was also on display.

And just outside? The Hogwarts Express! Just as amazing as I'd imagined.

Hello, beautiful.

Our last stop in the Wizarding World was to Honeydukes and Zonko's Joke Shop. Including that line, we did about 8 hours worth of lines on Monday. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and I seriously can't wait to go back!

You can see just how packed it was. You could barely walk!

The inside of Honeydukes.

Candy buffet, anyone?

Yes, you'd better believe we got some of these babies to take home. I hope I don't come across any vomit flavored ones!

Inside Zonko's

Sneakoscopes for sale!

And that's it - I think I was too exhausted to take any more photos! We all headed back to our room and knocked out, and I don't think I'd ever slept so good in my life. The next day, somehow, we found the energy to do four Disney parks in one day. My legs still burn. I'll post that update some time this week.

It was an amazing day and I can't wait to hear about all of your experiences at the Wizarding World!

Happy Anniversary to Us!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:13:00 +0000

Anthony and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary on Wednesday. How crazy is that? It doesn't feel like it's already been three years since I was about to lose my mind trying to get every last detail sorted out before our wedding, three years since we finally got hitched after what seemed like a lifetime of planning and hopped on a plane to Italy, France and Spain for our honeymoon. Our wedding day was perfect. I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it, and it was truly the most beautiful day of my life. So to be celebrating our third anniversary and to still feel as giddy and love-sick as newlyweds feels pretty damn good.

When we're in particularly mushy moods, I make sure to remind him that marrying him was the best thing I ever did and I have no doubt in my mind that I'll feel the same way 50 years from now. Ok, so enough gushing. Sorry. I get a little carried away when talking about my awesome hubby. How was our anniversary? It was actually pretty quiet. Traditional third anniversary gifts are supposed to be metal, and he went all out and got me a precious metal, a beautiful diamond necklace!

Isn't it lurvveellyy?!! He did good. I'm the first to admit that I am a total pain in the ass when it comes to picking out anything for me - I'm so picky! But I absolutely loved what he picked out, though I was horrified when I found out what he spent on it. In fact, I BEGGED him not to tell me because I hate spending money on anything for myself and I knew that the second he told me I'd start picturing a thousand more practical things we could have spent that money on, but Anthony told me to "shut up", because "we only live once and you're my wife, god damn it. I'll spend money on you when I want to."

I know, I know. Love him.

I actually got him jewelry as well. He needed a new wedding band since he can't wear his to work - it has a diamond and could pop out into someone's food and kill them - so I bought him a plain titanium wedding band with a brushed finish that he can wear all the time, and save his pretty diamond one for when we go out.

Tada! He loves it.

We didn't end up going out because unfortunately I was having monster back problems on our actual anni, but we do have a trip to Orlando planned in about a week so we're going to have dinner at the Polynesian one night instead. I've always wanted to go there but it's kind of pricey, so I always make an excuse as to why we should go somewhere else. I am so excited for our trip because not only are we going to Disney but we are going to Islands of Adventure for THE GRAND OPENING OF:

::jumping up and down with excitement::

OMG! OMG! OMG!

Ok, tweenish fit of hysteria over. But seriously, I am so friggin pysched to check out this park!!! I can't believe I'm going to get to walk through Hogwarts and to ACTUALLY TASTE BUTTERBEER! AH!! I hope it's good!

So, now that this post has gone way long enough, I'll leave you with a few pictures of our June 9, 2007 wedding :)

That's all folks! I'll report back with tons of details and pics of the Harry Potter park after our visit :)

Ladies, choose your husbands wisely!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:06:00 +0000

I got married young.

Not so young that I couldn't drink champagne at my own wedding, but young by most people's modern standards. I didn't care. Anthony and I dated for almost four years before we finally wed, but either one of us will tell you that after only three short months into our very young and carefree relationship, we both knew that our dating careers had come to an end.

Prior to my wedding, I received about forty six thousands bits of unwanted advice from strangers and friends alike, most of them warning me that marriage, in a word, SUCKED. Don't do it, they said. Enjoy your youth and put marriage off as long as possible. As if it was an expensive, one way ticket to a black hole of drab, confined misery.

And after almost three years of relatively trouble-free marital bliss, I have to say - What kind of craptastic marriages are all of these people in?

I LOVE being married. Our relationship has changed in so many wonderful ways. We knew each other very, very well before we wed, but living together as man and wife has given us endless more opportunities to learn about each other and I wouldn't have it any other way. And I certainly didn't expect that I would learn so much about myself in the process of living with my better half - like how to control my temper and the delicate art of compromise. Of course, it's not always cupcakes and rainbows - some days I want to grab him by the throat and squeeze. But then there are those shining, outweighing moments when he does something monumentally sweet to remind me of why I married him in the first place. Marriage is about finding balance. Somehow, despite our crazy life and endless responsibilities, we manage to find that balance and thrive in it.

Here is a small example:

Monday, my back was acting up again. I knew it was going to be one of those nights, so I spent most of the day playing phone tag with my doctor's office, trying to get a prescription filled. Finally, at 5:30, when I was leaving the office, they called to let me know that they had called it in. Score!

So I drive through traffic to get to the Walgreens by my house, only to find that it wasn't ready. What was supposed to be a 15-20 minute wait turned out to be an hour and a half. Grr... So, when I get home at 8:00, having been working all day and stuck at the stupid pharmacy, and my husband had been home doing NOTHING all day, I expect that he would at least have dinner made, right?

Wrong. I walk in the door and immediately notice that the house is completely and totally wrecked. Dishes in the sink, crap all over the floor, opened mail scattered on the dining room table. Even Chewy looked dirty. The sink is running so I know that whatever meat I reminded him to take out is still defrosting, and in my ears, the unsettling echo of gunshots and explosions, sound effects from Anthony's favorite pastime - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

I will give you a brief moment to register the extent of my horror at this scene.
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The resulting outlash of pure, unadulterated rage (including, but not limited to: name calling, tupperware throwing, and I may or may not have told my husband to shove his partially defrosted fish up his a$$ and then proceeded to make myself a tuna sandwich) was not my proudest moment as a wife. I was blinded with fury at his inexplicable laziness, tempted to throw his god forsaken XBox out the window along with his feeble apologies. All in all, one tuna sandwich and a very strong, numbing painkiller later, I had cooled down and decided to forgive my (very lazy) husband.

I know what you're thinking: "Isn't this post supposed to be about how awesome marriage is?" Well give me a minute, I'm getting there.

Yesterday, I had another long day at work, more back pain, and when I was dreading having to clean the house and worry about dinner. But - when I walked in the door, I see that the dining room table is set, candles lit, dinner is already served and ready and the house is CLEAN!

::sigh::

See? Marriage has its ups and downs. But the ups definitely make up for the downs - having someone to share your life with is worth the occasional meltdown. I realize that not everyone is as lucky as I am and I know it's because my husband just happens to be wonderful, understanding and considerate. And I thank God for sending him to me every day!

Sweet success!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Quick update - the diet of misery is working. I've lost 8.4 lbs! (And that does include three weeks of half-ass dieting I did prior to the weekend of gluttony.)

Aaaand, in addition to feeling pumped about those 8.4 lbs, I'm also feeling the "get skinny" pressure now that Anthony and I have decided that we're going to take a 7 day cruise to the Carribean to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. We still haven't decided exactly which crusie we're taking yet, but I have my eye on the Liberty of the Seas, a Royal Carribean ship that sails to Jamaica, Mexico, Grand Cayman and Haiti.

If all goes as planned we'll leave around mid-June, so that leaves me approximately two months to get bikini-ready!

Day 2 - Carb Deprived Hell

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:11:00 +0000

After the gluttonous weekend I enjoyed, I decided to start a hard-core diet yesterday. The actual diet is preceded by a "fat flush" of sorts, where you basically starve yourself silly for three days so that by Day 4, the idea of a strawberry (or anything with sugar, for that matter) is akin to manna from heaven.

At the moment, my usual cheery demeanor has been starved into oblivion, replaced instead by a ranting, raving bitchiness that is being fueled, I hope, by dripping heaps of excess fat melting away from my body. The amount of food I am allowed is meager - disheartening, even. For example -- my breakfast consisted of a hard boiled egg; my lunch consisted of 4 ounces of grilled chicken and lettuce; my dinner will probably consist of the same, and maybe I will treat myself with half of a grapefruit. I know it works, because I tried this diet before my wedding and lost more than 30 lbs.

I am in carb deprived hell. And for now I may be a bitch, but at least I'll be a skinny bitch!!

::cue deranged laugh::

Wish me luck!

Ode to the World's Unhealthiest Burger

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:05:00 +0000

I know how ironic this post sounds in light of my recent frustrations with dieting - but, to be fair, it is literally impossible to diet while at a county fair. It was a very last minute outing, as knowing that I would become a half-crazed-carb-and-grease-scarfing machine at the Fair, I had been avoiding it like the plague. That all seemed to have slipped my mind Saturday afternoon, though. I did think about attempting to eat healthy, but then kept having visions of myself collapsing into shrieking sobs, clinging to the base of the elephant ear vendor. Don't judge me.

And so, I gave myself a little break (okay, maybe not so little - more like, approximately, a 5,000 calorie break). Do not fear, I have picked up the dieting again today, though with much less crankiness to date as I bask in the memory of what was, quite possibly, the most delicious, indulgent morsel I have ever put in my mouth.

The Doughnut Burger
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Yes, you read that right. A hot, delicious, greasy burger patty smothered in salty bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato and nestled snugly between two sugary, sticky grilled Krispy Kreme doughnuts. A little slice of heaven, wrapped neatly in tin foil and boasting at least 1,500 calories to boot.

I know what you're thinking. My thought was the same when my friend Joyce described this remarkable confection to me - Uhm, Gross? Doughnuts and burget meat?? She assured me that it would be incredible, and me being the adventurous spirited eater that I am, I decided to split one with her.

Oh. My. God.

I cannot really describe to you how truly magnificent this "burger" is. Thank God the fair left town last night, or I would probably become their new best customer and my diet would be completely shot to hell. But if you have not yet tried this amazing creation, I urge you to attempt to create your own doughnut burger as soon as possible!

Chewbacca, the Alpha

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:43:00 +0000

My little bugger turned five last month. He's older than me now - 35 in dog years - so by my estimate, Chewy should be having a mid-life crisis right around December.

Actually, Chewy was none the wiser that we were celebrating yet another year of his life last Saturday. He is oblivious to pretty much everything except
1.) where his food is kept;
2.) whether my pants smell vaguely of foreign dog hairs or food;
3.) the distinct sound of a Kraft American cheese single wrapper;
4.) where his food is kept; and
5.) where his food is kept.

I wish dogs could get as excited about their birthdays as we bipeds do. I could tell that he was somewhat suspicious of all the activity surrounding him Saturday morning - his hair brushed (quite the pain-staking ordeal), his UM bandana attached to his neck, his food and materials getting packed away in a big travel bag.

My BFFs Charriza, Joyce and I had planned a picnic lunch at the Tropical Park dog park. Charriza brought along her furbaby, Roly, and her (our) brother Bryce. Joyce brought her expensive, nifty camera. Everything was fine and dandy as we secured the dogs to our bench, unwrapped our food, unpacked our bags and settled to eat cold cut sandwiches and baked Cheetos by the lake. It seemed like it would be a blissful afternoon.

And then... the barking started. And not the tolerable kind of barking. Not even reasonable barking. No, it was the incessant, annoying, vicious barking at Every. Single. Animal. that walked by. Noises were coming from my dog that are usually reserved for exotic carniverous animals, or what I would imagine a baby T-Rex might sound like. The disapproving, accusatory looks were coming from every angle - from nearby picnicking families, from the quiet, well-behaved dogs who were ::gasp:: leash free, even from the ducks haughtily scooting past our little bench of shame.

And then we realized. Our dogs are those dogs. The babies crying on the airplane. The kid in the movie theater everyone wants to drag out by their ear.

Eventually, we managed a system to calm them down. When a nearby animal would approach, I'd distract Chewy (by quickly covering his eyes) and Charriza took her Roly into her lap and showered him with attention.

This wasn't even in the actual dog park.

After we finally finished eating, we took our spoiled brats into the caged area where you are allowed to let your dogs off their leash. We claimed a little bench in the middle of the park, where our dogs started to act exactly like the alpha males they are. Oh yes, the both of them. It was exactly like the little bench was their "turf" and no other four-legged creature was going to get anywhere near it. Chewy was quiet, at least, but he promptly began pissing on every available visible tree or post and quickly established himself as the ring leader of the "butt sniffing conga line" while Roly stood guard, angrily howling at any dog that got within two feet of our little bench. Apparently, to our dogs, we are their "gang".

It was quite entertaining.

Here are a few pictures from our outing:

Chewy watching Roly in awe as he scares away pesky intruders...

It appears I have only pissed her thirteen times. Once more cannot hurt.

Sacre bleu, I have missed one!

Don't mind me. Your butt smells fantastic.

All in all, they had a great time. When Chewy got home, he was so pooped out that he crashed for the rest of the night. Charriza and I decided we need to bring our perfectly misbehaved dogs to the park more often, to interact with other animals that aren't ridiculously spoiled and see if their good behavior will rub off on our heathen furbabies.

Shameless Plug!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:11:00 +0000

Just why have I been so behind on my blogging? Well, since you ask, my dear friend Joyce and I started a reading challenge blog : 52 Books Challenge wherein we have been writing reviews on the books we have read this year. As I'm sure you've deduced by the blog's title, we are intent on reading at least 52 books this year, or one for each calendar week.

Follow us! You can pretend to read it. At least humor us :)

I am a bad, bad blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:46:00 +0000

Dear Bloggers,

Friends forgive me, for I have sinned. It has been more than a month since my last blog post.

This girl, two months ago, was determined to become the best and most committed blogger ever. I recruited followers and fellow bloggers, formatted my layout until it looked muy cute. Every week or so, I would open blogspot and sit down to type. And then, I realized....

My life is boring.

::sigh::

I just don't have interesting stuff to write about. No travels to document, no adorable baby pictures or fabulous home re-decorating projects to show off. Just me, my husband, our funny little dog and a happy family life. We shy away from drama. We go to dinner and a movie on Friday nights. We pay our bills on time.

My projects at the moment are the never-ending novel (that I seriously hope I finish some day) and trying desperately to stick to this god-forsaken diet that has me pulling my hair out for at least 50% of the day. Like for example, at the moment, I am bummed because I just finished my afternoon snack (a banana) and that means I don't get to eat again until dinner. And I forgot to take anything out to cook this morning. Which means, I will have to wait for something to defrost, or order in. Which means, I'm ordering in because the good lord knows that this calorie-starved woman will not wait more for more than thirty minutes after walking through the door to start ransacking the kitchen to find the Golden Oreos my husband hid from me.

(Dieting brings out the savage, uncivilized side of my nature).

Lately (mostly in sugar-withdrawal induced bouts of manic depression) I have been pondering...Who the hell decided to make the fattening foods taste so damn good? Who decided that chocolate cake would have 5,000 calories when it could just as easily have the same nutritional value as celery? Also, I have found out just how horrible and empty it feels when you reach the last cookie of your 100 Calorie Chips Ahoy-Pack.

Yeah, whoever made up that saying - "A second on the lips, forever on the hips" should be shot. Because they're right and I hate know-it-alls.

Hello, Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:08:00 +0000

Hey everybody! It's Monday and I'm so excited to be back at work!

.

.

.

.

NOT!

::sigh:: Anyone else got the Monday blues? Can I get an Amen?

As usual, this past weekend flew by way too fast. And as usual, just as I was getting used to waking up late, my alarm rang, quite annoyingly, right on schedule at 7:30 this morning. To make it worse, it was POURING outside, and even Chewy poked his head out of the covers long enough to glare at me with an expression that clearly said "Hey, lady -- yeah you, the blonde one who just turned on that bright light in the corner -- what the hell are you doing out of bed?!"

Oh Chewy, you will never understand. I chuckle at how much you hate to be left at home every day, to sleep and snuggle in your little bed with your little pillows and toys, with only the sound of rain ringing in your oversized, but lovable ears. No phones ringing, no reports to go out, no files to organize. If only you knew what was out there, beyond the confines of your your house, your yard, your safely leashed area. You might not give me that dirty look every day as I scramble to burst out of the house in my high heels, iphone in hand, trying to remember everything that needs to go in my giant bag while waving a meager goodbye to you, which is always met by the same hollow, melancholy gaze. No, you probably wouldn't. In fact, you'd probably wave your little paw back at me, and wish me luck. Or at least I'd like to think that you would.

The weekend was relatively tame. I got my hair done on Saturday, and the hideous roots are gone and replaced by skinny blonde highlights (I appreciate anything skinny and blonde on my body, thanksverymuch). I finished the book for my book club, "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay, which was a sad, poignant work of fiction about a little girl who survived the Holocaust at a great cost, and a modern woman in present day France who discovers her heartbreaking story. I give it a B+.

I saw "Edge of Darkness", Mel Gibson's new movie, which was, in sum, just a decent Mel Gibson movie. Yesterday I met with the book club, a bunch of friendly, chatty 20-30 somethings who were a pleasure to have dinner with.

So yeah, relatively tame. This week promises to be a just as tame, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it's nice to have a little peace and quiet in your life.

Nap time!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Today, I realized a few things worth noting.

1.) The quality of my mood is inextricably tied to the amount of traffic on the way to and home from work. For serious. I work at least an hour away from where I live, so an accident on the way really, really, really screws up my day. How can something so trivial affect me so much? Is it the control freak in me? Probably. But I was positively giddy when there was no traffic on the way home. It felt like Christmas morning. Better than Christmas morning. After the day I had, at last, baby Jesus took pity on me!

Second, my mood is also related to whether or not I've had my caffeine for the day. This afternoon, when I was seriously crashing, I realized that no one had made the usual afternoon colada. Suddenly, I was in a grave, dangerous situation. Would I make it past 4:00 PM without zonking out on my desk and getting fired? It was touch and go for a while. Luckily, a kind soul had brought leftover chocolate cake from her daughter's birthday and left it in the kitchen - total lifesaver! Chocolate has tons of caffeine, you know. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Last but not least, my mood depends heavily on whether my husband was home late the night before. This whole sleep deprivation crap is really messing with my normal 'tude. Last night was a late one and I got about five hours of sleep. So today, I was pretty much a zombie all day. I know people were talking to me, but all I heard was blah, blah, blah, blah.. Right now I am snuggling in my bed with Chewbacca, about to take a LONG nap before, dun dun dun, The Bachelor!! Woot! Gawd that Jake is just delicious!

Until we meet again!!

Tell me, what is stickier than Robitussin?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:13:00 +0000

I invite you to come up with something.

You can't, can you?

Of course you can't. Why? Because Robitussin is the STICKIEST, grossest and most vile tasting substance on Planet Earth. Bet you didn't see that on the Discovery Channel. You can suck it, Sigourney.

Just my luck, (and I am certain, in retribution for my vapid vent regarding yesterday's overall suckiness), I was fortunate enough to have half of a king size bottle of Robitussin empty itself out in my purse. As is also just my luck, I didn't see that the bottle was un-capped (and that half of it's contents were now a gloopy, red puddle at the bottom of my Juicy Couture bag) until I was already shaking it all over my desk. Holy Shitmess Batman.

My bag is most certainly ruined. As is my day.

Curse you, Robitussin!!!

Dear baby Jesus,

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:04:00 +0000

If you make the next 25 minutes fly by and spare me from the wretched hot mess that is sure to be US-1 traffic this evening, I promise to:

1. Be a good wife and make dinner for my husband;
2. Put those dishes that have been staring at me for two days where they belong - in the dishwasher;
3. Stop wishing evil, evil thoughts on the brainless individuals I have spoken to today; and most importantly
4. Go to bed on time tonight so that tomorrow won't be as miserable as today.

I am not very likable when I'm sleep deprived and for some reason, I just cannot sleep until Anth gets home. Which means I've gotten very little sleep for the past three weeks (except when under the influence of Nyquil, of course - that stuff is POTENT). If his schedule doesn't get any better soon, this new, cranky Elizabeth may just stage a coup and take over.

::shudder::

::::UPDATE:::

Traffic sucked. Bad. Thanks alot, baby Jesus.

My very first post!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:47:00 +0000

Hello Readers!

So, I figured I'd jump on the blogging bandwagon. I'm still working out the kinks but hopefully should be fully functional soon :)

A little about me - My name is Elizabeth (Eli, to my friends) and I live in West Miami. I have a love-hate relationship with this city. The weather is great most of the time, though not really cold often enough for my taste. It's over-crowded and the traffic is ridiculous. I love living in a big, vibrant city where there is always something to do, but sometimes crave a quieter, laid-back lifestyle. Maybe someday, when I can convince my family to come with me.

Somehow I was lucky enough to end up married to the most wonderful, understanding,
kind guy I know. There is nothing I can't tell him. It doesn't hurt that he's tall, dark and handsome, either.

We have a spunky little silky terrier named Chewbacca, who likes to bark at bugs and brooms and other harmless objects. I am secretly convinced that he fully understands me, and but for the lack of vocal cords, would be able to carry a more intelligent conversation with me than many people I know.

I'm a legal assistant. For now. This is not a career for me, only a job. I know plenty who have chosen to stay in this field for their whole lives, but not many that are happy. I figure when the right career finds me, I'll know it.

My husband is a chef and everything he makes is pretty awesome. I'm lucky, I know.

My favorite pastimes? Reading. Working on the great American novel. Baking (especially cupcakes... see Sugarcups, my cupcake blog, for pictures of my goodies). I'm a TV junkie, and not ashamed of it. I'm a hopeless fan-girl, and love all the usual suspects - Harry Potter, Twilight, True Blood, Lost. I love music, have an unhealthy obsession with my playlists, and could listen to Muse and Ray LaMontagne all day and not get bored.

My dislikes? Oh, the usual. Liars. Hypocrites. Mosquitos. Bad hair days. Anchovies.

An important tidbit about today - It is my husband's 28th birthday! Happy birthday baby!

So, that's just a little glimpse into my life. Hopefully this year will bring me lots of exciting experiences to write about.

Tata for now!