thatchickgirl

In a year.

2015-09-09T12:43:00.000-04:00

In case you were wondering, which I assume you are because you keep coming back here, I have no clue what I'm doing with my life. This has been one of the hardest, yet most rewarding year of my life. It's hard to believe how much has changed in a year but despite everything that's happened, I've never been happier. I'm proud of the person I'm becoming again. I'm happy. And that's all that matters.

Why does country music hate on brown eyes? And other such rambles.

2014-10-28T12:17:00.000-04:00

Seriously though, how come there are not more songs about girls with brown eyes… Those blue eyed beauties and green eyed gems have plenty of songs. But there’s a select few of us brown eyed babes that wouldn’t mind a country song or two...

I digress...

It’s Tuesday but a weekend recap is still plausible. My weekend was filled with wine, Chinese food and a house party for a friend’s birthday. It was also filled with leaves… So. Many. Leaves. Now that I live in a house with two dogs, the backyard was becoming quite the mess of leaves and land mines in the form of dog business. I spent a majority of the sunny, fall-filled days this past weekend cleaning up my parent’s back yard. I usually detest yard work, but I hate losing a pair of shoes over discovered landmines a lot more. It was pretty relaxing actually. I dug out my dad’s old 1-hp leaf blower and made a huge pile of leaves that was eventually transferred to a ridiculous amount of compost bags… gloves were a definite for that process… Is this TMI? Sorry, not sorry.

Toby was happy as a clam during this whole process. I hooked him up to the run in my parents backyard and he finally got the chance to spend endless hours outside doing whatever he pleased. Which turns out is mostly just tipping his head back in what looks like utter bliss and smelling all the smells. He’s definitely the type of dog that would live outside if given the chance… I know this because whenever I let him out, it usually ends with me picking up that 30lbs of fur and carrying him back inside. His beagle skills were in full force as he investigated his new home’s backyard and slightly turned his curiosity to the windstorm I was creating. I didn’t get a picture of it but for a few minutes he let his jowls fly as he tried to eat the wind coming from the leaf blower. At one point I lost sight of him but when I turned the corner I found him sitting on my parent’s two seated swing… That little character even figured out that if he jumped off and back on he could get it to swing. I caught him doing that a few times and eventually found him all curled up as the swing rocked him to sleep…

The other highlights of the weekend including meeting up with some friends Saturday night. First up was a trip to Keith’s house were we enjoyed a nice home cooked dinner with his girlfriend. After dinner we headed over to another friend’s house party to celebrate their birthday. Beer pong, a campfire for s’mores and an old wooden swing were enjoyed by all. It was nice to get out of the house and catch up with friends. The rest of the weekend was filled with the perks of living at home which included Chinese food and wine compliments of my folks.

I gotta say though… I can’t get over how good I’ve been feeling lately. This new atmosphere has been so good for me. For instance, I’ve been walking Toby every night after work. It has been so nice to unwind from the workday as he and I enjoy our little walk loops. I think that was something I was missing from before… taking the time to relax and unwind. Plus I know Toby is reaping all the benefits of this because that little monster definitely needs the walks to keep him from going stir crazy inside. But this change of scenery for us has been so nice. I feel like myself again while simultaneously learning more and more about me… does that even make sense?

I also have been spending more time catching up with the people who really do appreciate and matter to me the most. I wish I had paid attention to all this sooner but for now I’ll make up for the lost time and enjoy every day here on out.

Hope everyone is enjoying the cool fall weather we’ve been having. This is by far my favorite season. Although, I heard a rumor from a little birdy known as the weather man that snow might be in the forecast for Saturday… Might be time for me to pick up a snow coat for sir Tobster to wear on our walks! I won’t let you down though; pictures will be in full force if that is the case!

Toby... aka Sir Chews-A-Lot.

2014-01-29T20:08:00.003-05:00

Last week I opened my mailbox to find two packages. I immediately thought they were the shoes I had ordered because it made perfect sense that a pair of size nine boots would not only come in two separate packages but fit in the mailbox… *cue blonde moment*. But as I looked closely at the package, I saw they were from Doggy Loot and they were addressed to the one and only Toby!

Have you guys heard of Doggy Loot? They are the largest website for dog product discovery. Their mission “is to spoil your dog by making it easy for you to discover new dog chews, toys, treats and more at discounted prices.”

A couple weeks ago I had asked Doggy Loot if they had any toys they thought were indestructible and would like to put to the test. They sent Toby a black bear (which I thought was cute since we live in Maine!) as well as 10 low-order bully sticks.

The black bear is made by Tuffy and is part of their Zoo Series Bear - Beaufort.

Its tag says “Extreme durability” and “Built to last” but it also gives a disclaimer that “There is no such thing as indestructible!”

Well… I’ll get that in a second…

As I mentioned here, Toby is very skilled at destroying any and all things. This pup is even pretty creative… One afternoon, I was playing with Toby and he was getting a little too mouthy so I had sprayed a shot of the Bitter Apple Spray into his little mouth. He immediately ran away from me. I assumed he was hiding from me, but what I didn’t know what that he was off getting revenge. In the matter of 5 minutes he destroyed the zipper on my favorite fleece vest. A vest, mind you, that was hanging up between other coats and scarves that were much more accessible to him… I truly believe it that he went specifically for the vest because I had been wearing it that day… If it hadn’t been my favorite and only vest, I would’ve been impressed but… Ok who am I kidding, I was impressed… the zipper was straight!

Can you see it?

Here... I'll help you...

He even went on to one up himself by going after the trim board of our stairs. In the early days of having Toby, we didn’t like the idea of crating him all day while we were at work so we used two baby gates to pen him in a little bit bigger of an area. Well that last about a week. We came home one day to find he had not only jumped one of the gates, but he had decided to go down to the basement to snack on the laces on our winter boots. The next day, we thought we’d outsmart him and slightly raise the gates. When we got home, he was still penned up and all look normal. But about an hour later as I went to go upstairs I noticed wood shavings on the floor… and then I saw the stair… Toby ate the trim board of the stair!

Again, annoyed but still impressed. (Although I think Toby is the annoyed one now since he has to be crated during the day.)

But his destroying skills don’t stop there… We are constantly replenishing his toy supply. Toby has a way of finding the weakest part of the toying and zeroing in until either the squeaker is out or the fluff has been removed, because that’s usually when we intervene and take the toy away from him. And it’s not like we’re buying him flimsy toys… We’re constantly looking online for toys deemed “indestructible” and sometimes even go as far as to play tug of war with each other in the store. We figured if two adults can’t break the toy, surely it must be good! WRONG!

And unfortunately, that is the case with the Tuffy Black Bear Doggy Loot sent us…. I had extremely high hopes for this black bear! First glance, it looked far superior to any of the toys we had previously bought Toby. The seams looked very well constructed and the material felt strong! The eyes were even sewn and not plastic like most toys. And unlike most toys, it was very full of stuffing, which I thought would be a strong suite for the this black bear.

Its tag also said it had a squeaker… but the toy was so stuffed I never found it… that is, *spoiler alert* until Toby had taken all the stuffing out and low and behold a squeaker came out too….

The first day I gave Toby the toy, he was beyond excited. I swear he played with this toy differently than any other toy we had given him. In fact, we would catch him prancing around the house with the toy in his mouth, occasionally shaking his head like crazy, as dog owners know, to make sure it was dead….

Sorry for the blur.
I couldn't help myself with adding this photo...

By day two though, I noticed one of the ears was ripped apart… then later that night the stitching on one of the back paws was coming loose.

Four days later, the toy was pretty beat up and that night I found Toby lying on top of it pulling the stuffing through the toy’s paw.

We tried to take all the stuffing out in that area and gave it back to him, but he just continued to make the hole bigger and more accessible to the rest of the fluff.

It was then we mournfully deemed it dead and laid it to rest on our kitchen counter… Toby followed the procession with much anticipation (and jumping), but I think he knows by now what happens once a toy reaches the kitchen counter…

It eventually gets buried in the trashcan*….

Toby - 1, Tuffy Black Bear - 0.

So with that said, if your furry family member is the type of dog who focuses on finding the weakest part of a toy and destroying it from there, this toy, unfortunately, will not hold up to the test.

But there is some good news. The bully sticks Doggy Loot also sent us have been lovingly chewed. While they do have some odor, it’s not overwhelming. I looked online and found out they are low in fat and high in protein as well as 100% natural and digestible, all of which is really important to us. With Toby’s destroying skills, we love to give him treats that can keep him occupied while not causing him any harm.

Toby ate about half the bully stick within a half hour. We took it away from him and he finished the other half the next night. Toby is known to demolish treats so we have to watch him closely with things like bully bones and rawhides. We think its the beagle in him... he just doesn't know when to stop!

The three of us are really thankful for the gift from Doggy Loot and because of their great prices we plan on ordering more from their site. Speaking of their website, it is updated every day with at least 4 new doggy products that range from toys, apparel to chews. And when you sign up they will email you the new daily deals every day! I definitely recommend this site to any dog owners who are looking for a fun variety of gifts (at a great price!) that even get delivered right to the door for their furry family member.

To stay more up to date on deals, follow Doggy Loot on Facebook and Twitter @doggyloot.

And, hey, while you're at it, go ahead and follow me @thatchickgirl!

Thanks again Doggy loot!

*We haven’t had the heart throw the Tuffy Black Bear away yet… I might try to revive it with some amateur sewing skills… We’ll see!

Discount Dog Love.

2014-01-07T18:46:00.000-05:00

Just like that guy or girl you were seeing that happens to mysteriously be MIA during the holidays I'm back.

Since we last left off, Josh and I adopted a puppy!!!

Meet Toby!!

Granted he's three years old and technically not considered a puppy, he's a beagle/bull-terrier mix so his hyperness will always keep him in puppy mode. (We do wish there was an off-switch some days...). He has an amazing personality for a dog and always finds a way to crack us up.

You might be scratching your head right now so let's play a game...

After a crazy year of moving in, furloughs, spontaneous adventures, a part time job and even some stressful things, why did Josh and I decide to get a dog?

A. To up my ranks in blog land by becoming a dog owner.
B. Because it was a Black Friday special and we got him half off.
C. Because thought we could casually stroll into the SPCA and not leave with a dog.
D. Because we both grew up with dogs and we knew we wanted that furry love in our lives.

The correct answer would be secret option, E. All of the above.

While I'm sure my page views will not soar any higher just because I got a dog, we really did get Toby on Black Friday and he was in fact half off. I'm pretty sure that's how stories of getting dogs like Cujo start.

But let's backtrack a bit for a second... because let's be serious, this blog is more for my personnel records than for getting famous on the interwebs.

Early last fall, Josh's parents dog had passed away. After a few months of wavering back and forth about getting another dog, they found out the NH SPCA was having a special on Black Friday and decided to check it out. Meanwhile Josh and I had been talking about getting a dog long before I moved in. I grew up with beagles, my dad grew up with beagles and I was hell bent on continuing on the beagle legacy. Josh however, wasn't so keen on beagles since they are "nose-down-and-go" once outdoors, LOVE to bark and howl, and to put it bluntly, they are not extremely trainable. He was leaning towards more of a lab or boxer type of dog.

We played the Petfinder game for a while, trying to find a good mix of what we liked but when it came time to actually fill out the application we talked ourselves out of it. I had only just moved in and we wanted to wait till we were more settled in financially and with ourselves.

When we heard Josh's parents talk about how they were planning on going to check out the Black Friday special at the NH SPCA we were excited for them but never thought of going ourselves. We had a plan and we were going to wait. Plus, we had to work too. We told them to send us pictures and let us know how the process worked in case we wanted to try adopting from them in the future.

Then around 3pm, as we were getting ready to leave work, we got a call from his parents... In one of the lonely cages, was a timid and shy beagle named Royce. They thought about getting Royce for themselves but they knew how much I wanted a beagle so they told us to come check him out. Josh and I talked and decided it wouldn't hurt to go see him, check his file, and figure out the adoption process...

As we drove down to the SPCA we told each other that if Royce wasn’t available we wouldn’t adopt at all, just look around and get more information on adoptions. When we got to the SPCA, Royce was no longer in his cage. He was out for a walk with a family and the volunteer told us they were most likely going to adopt him. He encouraged us to fill out an application anyways. As I filled out an application, Josh was out checking out the dogs and talking to the volunteers. I met back up with Josh and we walked around looking at all the dogs again. As I scanned the cages, one dog in particular kept catching my eye. He was labeled “Toby - Beagle” and while he had the beagle body style, he didn’t have the floppy ears. Regardless though, he was adorable. And funny! He was pretty content with himself chewing up and playing with his own toys and didn't seem to notice everyone walking around. He was keeping himself entertained; something the other dogs were not doing. After a few laps of the dog area of the SPCA, we kept coming back to Toby’s cage. We hemmed and hawed and finally asked the volunteer if we could take him for a walk.

When they got him leashed up and handed him over to us, I was amazed at how strong this little guy was. Never has a beagle been able to pull my arms out. Josh and I gave each other a look that said something along the lines of “this probably isn’t the right dog”. Once we got outside though, he was a completely different dog. He was content and playful, jumping up on us and giving us those lovely dog kisses. We stayed outside for a while with him and talked about how he wasn’t really what we wanted and he definitely wasn’t what we came here for, but there was just something about him. We brought him back inside and the volunteers asked us what we thought. We were so undecided so they encouraged us to go through his file.

He had been rescued from somewhere in West Virginia. They had found him with an embedded collar. When we had taken him for a walk we noticed he had as scar that wrapped around his whole neck. While we don’t know his whole story for sure, he had been found with a collar that has been so tight around his neck, it cut into his skin and eventually his skin grew over it. Toby has a lot of muscle to him, which is very unbeagle-like. We assume he had been neglected and tried to pull free making his collar tighter and tighter… or maybe someone was just very cruel to him… we don’t know. But regardless the little guy had to the have the collar surgically removed and he will forever have a ¼ thick scar around his neck.

But like I was saying… He traveled from West Virginia and was brought to the NH SPCA. A few months later he was adopted by a family that ended up surrendering him in only a few short weeks. They had young children and Toby was very mouthy. This made us nervous right away. Neither of us wanted an aggressive dog. The file said the family recommended that he was placed with families with teenagers or older. After going through the file we were even more undecided but realistically leaning towards not adopting him. When we brought the file back the volunteers asked again about what we thought of Toby. We told them our fear with having a mouthy dog and the fact he was surrendered so quickly. They said realistically he could’ve been surrender for a number of reasons. Although Toby is three, he was probably never trained. Maybe the family that adopted him wasn’t prepared to have a dog. Toby is a very playful dog and dogs like that nip when they are excited. Who knows what the real reason was, what mattered was what we thought of him.

All of the information kept us wildly undecided. There was just something about Toby though. Finally the volunteer told us to take him for one more walk. They gave us a tennis ball and said to take as long as we wanted with him. Leashed up and ready to go, Toby pulled Josh right out of the building, but once outside he was a completely different dog again. Alone with the just the two of us, Toby played with the tennis ball and us and really just melted our hearts. We could see where his mouthy-ness came from when we played with the ball, but it was really just playful nipping. Nothing vicious. We probably stayed with him for close to an hour outside till we decided Toby was going to be ours.

We were met at the door by a volunteer. She asked point blank what we wanted to do. Together Josh and I said we’re going to adopt him. The volunteer was so excited and started telling other volunteers. Based on the “What!? Toby is getting adopted!” and “Yay! Toby found a home” responses we started to wonder if we were really adopting Cujo. (They assured us we weren’t….)

So much excitement filled that car ride home and towards Petco. Excitement from Josh and I though. Toby clung on to my arm with his legs for dear life.

At Petco we must’ve looked like idiots… we had literally nothing at home for him so we had to buy food, bowls, a bed, toys, etc. And of course we had no idea what to even start with… We put toys in his face asking him if he liked it. I think a part of me actually expected him to be like Woof-yes! People came up to us in the store saying what a cute dog he was and asked questions like “Aww how old?!” –We think 3?, “What an interesting face, what is he?” –Beagle Mix? , “Does he like treats?” –Uh sure? We don’t even know; we’ve had him for twenty minutes…. (In case you wondering, he didn’t like treats at first). All the while, poor timid Toby just pinned his ears back and followed us through the store.

At home it was like Christmas opening all of Toby’s stuff up. He just kinda stared blindly at us. He didn’t like Milkbones at first. Just a sniff and head turn. Water seemed to be a whole new mystery to him. Josh and I took all the toys trying to play with him. Out of everything we squeaked and shoved in his face, Toby took the Kong bone-shaped toy and went off into the living room. And then that’s when it happened. Toby took the toy, bit into it and started squeaking it like crazy. Like really crazy. Then his ears pinned back, his head tipped up and he started howling…. With the toy in his mouth, he did a combination of bite-squeak-hoooooowwwl-repeat. Josh looked at me and goes “Well you definitely got your beagle!”

Its been over a month now since we adopted Toby. At the first vet visit we learned he was most likely a beagle-bull-terrier mix. Maybe some jack Russell, maybe some boxer, but realistically he’s a Heinz-57 dog. He can jump like crazy. He is a solid 30lbs. He loves to run. Any squeaker toy turns into a squeaker-howl fest. Outside he is nose-down-and-go. He has the appetite of a large dog. He finally likes treats now, but carrots are his favorite. He is super snuggly, but prefers to sleep upside down and legs sprawled in the air. Funny though… When we left the vet, I immediately googled “Beagle Bull Terrier Mix”. The first picture that popped up was a dog that looked just like Toby! Then I googled Bull Terrier traits since I’ve never looked into that bread before. The first sentence I read was “The best way to describe a bull terrier is a three year old child in a dog body.” Yup. That was Toby for sure.

As for the mouthy-ness, he has calmed down a lot. The first week was a little rough. He loves to play and he plays hard. We used the bitter-apple spray to help teach him not to naw or nip our hands when we’re playing. We also taught him the phrase “NO BITE”. If he starts to get mouthy we can usually say “NO BITE” and he starts licking the area he tried to bite. We’re hoping in time we’ll completely get rid of his mouthy behavior.

As for Josh and I, It’s been a huge learning curve. Toby has forced a lot of structure into our lives, which is great. We now wake up with our alarms because once that goes off, Toby is up. There’s no more hitting the snooze button once or twice. The second that alarm goes off its time to get up because Toby is already doing laps around our bed.

He’s also forcing us to be more active with walks and being outdoors more. We found out the dog park is only a 10 minute drive from our house and boy does Toby love that. Speaking of drives, Toby loves to go for rides now. The first two weeks we had to literally pick him up and put him in the car because he was so scared to go in it. He also loves the beach… which is extremely unbeagle like.

Also you’ll notice in almost all the pictures that we have been using a harness. Since he had the embedded collar and since he still likes to pull when we’re walking him (we’re working on that now), we got him a super durable harness that he basically lives in except for when he is crated or during the night. He doesn’t resist us when we put it on him or try to bite it off. The shelter had given us a simple gentle harness when we left but he literally ate that within the first week… Yes, he ate right thru the material, while wearing it.

Speaking of things he destroyed:

Decorative couch pillow
Stair case trim board. Yes… stair case trim board….
His bed
My favorite vest…
Josh’s carhartt work gloves
The corner of our comforter
His leash
And countless toys

Anything super fluffy is destroyed within minutes. We’ve had the best luck with Kong toys and this one random Chicken that our friends brought over made by Durables… knock on wood, that’s the only toy that’s lasted since we got him. We’ve probably got him over 30 toys since Black Friday. Its almost impressive the amount of toys he’s destroyed within days and even as little as minutes. Most of the things listed above were destroyed some time during the first two weeks. We’ve since figured out his destructive behavior and now are more cautious with what we leave lying around.

Anywho… If you’ve made it this far, congrats… and thanks. We are so happy to have Toby in our lives and he made our first Christmas together even more special. I’m excited to share more Toby stories with you as time goes on.

Now for your viewing pleasure he is an overload of Toby pictures…

He destroyed every toy in this picture.

Nom nom nom

Goodbye my favorite soccer shorts.

Goodbye Christmas lights.

TOBY!

Dog Shaming Take 1.

"That pillow tasted aaamazing!"

"I grow tired of your pathetic dog shaming attempts."

"I got your sign!"

Limps, Signs and Placards.

2013-04-03T15:26:00.001-04:00

So this whole *writing almost every day for the world to see* thing is still pretty challenging. I have a ten-page running Word doc open with ideas galore. But as soon as I say “Ok, organize this and hit publish” all that comes up is “Uhhh, what should I write for the first sentence?” So once again, here is a boring opening paragraph that will surely draw you in.

How about I fill you in on what is happening in the life of that Chick girl? Today I found out my knee is ready for surgery. When I tore my ACL and all that other fun stuff, the swelling my knee was so severe that I had to wait to have surgery so that I wouldn’t traumatize my knee again too soon and risk possibly never getting my full mobility back. Ironically, just barely a week after the incident, my doctor recommended that I should start walking on it without my crutches or brace. This was supposed to improve my pimp walk… I mean, get my knee strength back. Initially it was painful and awkward. Now, after two weeks and going to physical therapy, it feels like its back to normal… almost. Randomly I'll get this feeling that my knee wants to give out or it actually buckles. It’s also accompanied with a wave of nausea… But it passes and I’m back to moving again. I’ve noticed however, that if I sit at my work desk for too long it will stiffen up and I look like Frankenstein on her way to the bathroom. (One coworker has nicknamed me *Stumbelina*)

Since this happened almost three weeks ago, I’m pretty sure I’ve manage to tell everyone in my office (by the onesies) why I was walking with such a funny limp AND why my doctor says I should be walking on it. I work in an office environment that bears an uncanny resemblance to a Dilbert comic strip mixed with a hint of Office Space; So no matter how inconspicuous I tried to be, someone as graceful as me on crutches just wasn't going to go by unnoticed. That first week I felt like holding up a sign that says, “Why yes, I am on crutches and wearing a huge leg brace. It’s from a skiing accident. Not sure what is wrong yet. Hurts a lot.” Last week I felt like having a sign that stated, “Torn ACL. Torn Meniscus. Strained MCL. Bone fracture in Tibia. I did good.” This week the big question has been, “When are you having surgery!?” to which my sign would say, “Cleared for surgery. Date unknown at this time.” But I'm not sure I can actually set up a sign like that at work so I'll stick to telling people when they ask...

One of the biggest things I have taken away from this injury is that I think I would have loved being an MRI tech or working somewhere that designs biomedical devices. Things like the TENS unit has thoroughly intrigued me and I couldn't stop talking to the MRI tech about how it worked. But since I honestly have no desire to go back to school just yet, nor could I afford to spend any more money on school, I’ll put that one on the back burner. Funny though, had this injury happened a lot sooner in my life I wonder if I would’ve pursued careers in those areas.

But moving on... Have I told you that because of this injury I now have a handicap placard for my car? At first when I was on crutches that little wheelie guy was a blessing. Now that my knee is starting to get better I feel a little embarrassed getting out of my car without having any physical symptoms showing I need it. Some days it will stiffen up on the drive to where ever I’m going so I do get a funny limp when I get out of the car but lately it doesn’t look like I’ve done anything to deserve that sweet parking spot near the door. It’s only a three month temporary placard and I’m sure after my surgery I’ll definitely need it but for now I feel a little guilty using it.... Well, until that moment my knee buckles and I want to cry and vomit at the same time.

I suppose that’s all I have for you today. I could go on and tell you about my latest addiction to having hot coco every afternoon but I’m pretty sure I just saw your mouse move towards the “X” in the corner of the screen so I’ll take that as my cue to peace the hell out.

*Insert snazzy sign off here*

You have to start somewhere.

2013-04-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

I swear the first sentence is always the hardest. So since I've already knocked that out, let’s discuss something that made me want to smack myself in the face this weekend.

As I last left off I told you I wanted to move forward and really start to make changes. This past weekend I was cleaning my condo and after staring at my bedroom for a while I started to think that if I bought a new comforter and maybe some sheer curtains that would brighten up my room, I would feel better. But here’s the thing. I don’t have any money to spend on such purchases but I got it in my head that I wouldn’t feel better till I had new bedroom décor. So off to Amazon I went in search of a décor that would brighten my room and therefore my life. But after setting up my shopping cart and getting ready to hit purchase I paused and realized I felt this guilt. I don’t have the money for this stuff so what makes me think I can possibly afford any of this. My room is fine. It’s my attitude that needs to change. If I want to brighten my room, why don’t I open those dusty blinds and maybe add some $7 flowers… And that my friends, is what I did.

I’m pretty sure you could classify me as a binge shopper. My credit card debt would tell you such too. Before my surgery last October I went into this whirlwind of shopping like crazy… I had to have this shirt to feel better, I needed the latest face cream from Ulta to not feel stressed, hell, a pair of boots would make me feel confident… I spent over $200. I already felt the guilt of spending so much money as soon as I got home and saw my damage. I kept the tags on everything and after my surgery, when my head was clearer, I returned everything. “Anything wrong with these items?” Nope. “Reason for return?” Over-zealous shopper…

I almost made that same mistake this weekend and updated my bedroom. I’m slightly proud of myself for not actually buying anything but the fact I go in these moments of extreme shopping needs to stop. My credit card debt is nothing to be proud of. I’m almost 26 and the weight of all that debt combined with my student loans is starting to get heavy. It’s time to grow the hell up.

A lot of times before going to bed, I wonder what I would do if I didn’t have any debt, if I didn’t have almost $1200 a month going to loans… I dream of someone coming up to me going “Here, I paid off everything, go live your life!” or what it would’ve been like if my parents had paid for my college. I buy $2 scratch tickets every now and then with the feeling of “This is the one. With this ticket, I am totally going to win the max $20,000 and start to get my life together.” I rarely win over $2. I did win $40 once and I thought hell yes! I’m on the road to the big winnings… and then it’s back to random $2 winnings…

I dream of getting out of debt quickly but in reality, I did a lot of damage and similar to losing weight, it didn’t happen in a day and it’s going to take a lot of work and determination to lower that number again. And in all honesty, it’s time to realize no one is going to pay off my debt for me. If I put as much time and effort as I did into hoping and dreaming and buying scratch tickets, I would probably be out of credit card debt by now… My student loans? Ya well I’ll probably have those for another 28 years…

It's time to realize I can get out of most of this debt with slow wins. Eating out less. Only going grocery shopping for what I need. Staying the hell away from Target haha. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Like in those moments with friends, its easy to say yes to dinner AND drinks. In my last post I mentioned that I’m realizing its time to say No to things. The more I say No to little things like a new comforter, curtains or that glass of gin and tonic, the more I might be able to say yes to bigger things, like say vacations… tropical vacations. Haha we’ll see… A tropical vacation is a long ways away from happening; Maybe what I needed all along was some $7 tulips.

First Step.

2013-04-01T09:17:00.001-04:00

Sometimes when I’m driving or relaxing or sitting at work, I write amazing and awesome blog posts. In my head though. Never pen to paper or keyboard to Word. And what frustrates me the most is that I’ll have this amazing story and when I finally get to typing it in… it’s all gone. I know for me personally writing is healing for me. But sometimes, when life gets crazy, the thought of actually writing tires me out. Then I get to a breaking point and write like my life depends on it and things start to become clear again. So why am I constantly putting off something so simple?

This weekend I’ve decided its time to just write. As much as I can. Whether it’s to vent, to make a statement, or to share a story about my life, I’m going to just write it down. Here specifically. And like I said in my last story, I have come to terms that I am not the blogger that will have all those amazing photos. I tried, and failed. But I did try. I think the camera on my phone breaking and being completely unable to “open” was my last straw.

Also things this blog will probably never be. A crafty, designer blog. Or even a fashionista blog. I don’t have a very fashionable wardrobe of clothes… If anything I like to call my style comfortable. I don’t need to get dressed up for work so I don’t focus on cute blazers, heels or curling my hair. And I’m ok with that. You probably won’t find any advice or tips or daily exercise plans here. I doubt I will ever run a marathon or do anything of the sort.

But what you will find is me. Trying to figure things out. Recapping moments in my life that have shaped me into the person I am today. A 25 year old (almost 26) that’s pretty broke. Who is finally learning it’s time to say no to certain things so that better things can happen. You’ll find I’m basically stumbling through life. I have a lot of good things going for me but a many times I have a hard time finding the positive. I seem to get stuck in finding the negative and sometimes I wonder if I like it. But I know I don’t want to be that way. I hope by writing here, for the world to see, I will be reminded of all the good things I do have and how much I have left to accomplish. I have noticed lately that, for lack of a better phrase, I haven’t stopped to smell the roses. I find myself just passing through life. Weeks have gone by and good intentions have passed but I haven’t actually accomplished things or even noticed the time has passed.

I feel lethargic about life a lot. I stay in bed a little too long too often. I think I’m content with literally doing nothing but then I have regret that I’ve wasted so much time. I joke that I don’t want to be a lifer in this area or this job or something… but I haven’t been actively doing things to change that. It’s time to change and get out of this rut. I know I’m missing out on great opportunities, even if it’s just getting coffee with a friend. I know with writing, I’ll be able to see things clearly and start to map out my next moves. And maybe along with writing more, the funny stories I know I have deep inside of me will be able to come out faster. And maybe I will evolve to become a different type of blogger.

But this is my first step, an easy one… just writing.

Honest, raw, uncategorized, sometimes boring, sometimes epic, random writing.

This is why we can't have nice things... Like limbs.

2013-03-29T17:23:00.001-04:00

I’m going to start off this story with a bang. Are you ready?

I tore my ACL... along with my meniscus (which is a funny word to say), fractured my tibia and finally, tweaked my MCL.... Sounds lovely right? I would love to explain things to you with amazing pictures of me in the ER with my knee that resembled the size of a watermelon, or pictures of me on my crutches being even more pathetic and what not. But alas... I'm not that type of blogger. I am horrible at taking pictures and don't think of these things till they've long passed... After many attempts of trying and forcing myself to take more pictures, I have come to terms I will never be that photographic blogger. And besides I'm muuuch better at Paint.

Skiing.

Born in New England I was basically pushed out of the womb with ski’s already strapped my legs… No, that’s a lie. But I did start skiing when I was five years old. Which I realized this year means I’ve been skiing for 20 years. Holy crap I’ve been skiing for 20 years…. That’s a long time. It’s also a long time one has enjoyed a hobby without injury.

Well I’ve been skiing *almost* every year since I was five. Because it’s a freaking expensive hobby and last year I had a good excuse because New England barely got any snow… But not this year… This year we were blessed with ridiculous amounts of snow storms (including a blizzard) and I decided to ignore my economic situation and hit the slopes three times this season!! It was great… *was* being the keyword.

On my third and fateful ski trip of this year, it was just me and my best friend and we were having just a grand ole time. Each run felt great. I mean honestly, I don’t know how to describe it… skiing that is… just that moment of flying down the slopes and the wind biting your face. The feeling of cutting into the snow and controlling it. Gah. I love it and yes, I realize my description doesn’t do it justice. And maybe I’m alone in this, but my favorite part of skiing is the song that gets stuck in your head. I always seem to get a song stuck in my head that only magically starts playing in my head as soon as I start down the trail. I sing along and find myself just getting into a groove that’s me, the song and my skis cutting and digging into the slope… anywho, I digress… Simply put… Skiing is absolutely one of my favorite things.

So like I was saying… We were having a great time. As it was nearing the end of that particular mountain’s ski season, not many people were on the slopes with us for Friday night skiing. It also seemed that whoever was there, they stayed mostly on the terrain park. This in all honesty, was fine by me… I've learned a long time ago that Stacey’s don’t possess the agility and gracefulness that is required for jumps. For the most part I try to keep my skis against the slopes as much as possible.

*If I was a good blogger I would have an actual picture of us, but since that is not the case, here is a lovely Paint version.

While everyone was on the terrain park, my friend and I had found this one trail that I was absolutely in love with and had just about no one on it. Each trip on the chairlift I asked if we could do that run again and again. I’m pretty sure we hit that trail about 5 or 6 times in a row.

*Since I'm already in Paint I might as well keep pretending there's more pictures of the night...

But to get to this particular trail we had to the pass the terrain park and on my way to this amazing trail for the final time, I caught an edge just right that caused my right ski to immediately turn to the left while the rest of my body decided it was going to keep going straight… I fell pretty quickly and as I went down I felt that wave of nausea as my knee popped and crackled. My friend told me later that he was about 15 yards away and heard the pop. Yuck.

I went into an immediate panic though. I’ve fallen before, and even had fallen earlier that night. I know I lack the gracefulness that is falling and getting back up on skis… sometimes I just end up being pathetic and sliding down the mountain a little bit more than necessary but I still manage to get back up. For this fall however, I was in this weird shock where I couldn’t feel my knee but I could feel pain. I knew something was wrong and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to stand up again. I yelled for my friend to help and was worried he had skied too far away and down the trail to help me. Luckily he wasn’t far.

He was able to help me up but when I went to put weight on my right leg, it was so painful that I almost had fallen over again. I realized in that moment that I wasn’t going to be able to ski back down, so my friend skied down and alerted the snow patrol that I need assistance. While he was gone I was wondering if maybe I was milking it and that maybe I wasn’t actually hurt but more shocked I had fallen a little harder than I normally have. I tried to stand up again and was flooded with more pain. Dammit, this was the real deal.

Ski patrol showed up and after assessing the situation, I was strapped to a sled that snow patrol skied down. I would like to say it was fun but all I can remember is being so upset (read: pissed) that I was ratcheted to a sled with a yellow tarp and more importantly, that I couldn't stand up on my own.

Unfortunately, the night of pain didn’t end there… I’m not sure if you, the reader, are familiar with ski boots, but they are an underappreciated device for torture. While skiing is wonderful and amazing, putting on a ski boot is never quite easy. And taking it off, well for me… it’s a mix of panic of “GET OFF BEFORE MY FOOT CRAMPS UP” to a relief of “I can move my ankles again, how fun”. But taking off a ski boot while the muscles and tendons in your knee and leg are already cramped up and in pain, I began considering chopping the whole leg off. I wasn’t very lady-like in those moments following my fall on the mountain and in the ski patrol office. I was actually reminded at one point that “This is a *family* resort”…

Once the boot was off, there wasn’t much they could do except recommend we go to the hospital… On the way to the hospital I started to wonder, again, if I had made a bigger deal of this than it really was. My co-pilot now-chauffer said we were going to the hospital regardless…. Which I’m glad he did.

At the hospital the doctor asked, since I was still in my ski pants and leggings, if I could take my pants off. I immediately told him he would have to buy me dinner first… (And this was before I was given the fun meds!) Well after a short laugh from everyone, everyone started helping me undress and in that moment I heard my mother’s voice in my head… you know, something about “Always wear clean, good underwear because you never know who’s going to see” or something like that…. I was fortunate to find myself in something nice and conservative… And in this moment right now, I’m wondering why I am telling the world about my underwear.

ANYWHO! Upon taking off my pants…. It was pretty clear I had done a lot of damage. What should’ve looked like my right knee now looked like someone had replaced with a skin colored watermelon. I was taken in a gurney, in all my glory mind you, to get x-rays. The x-rays didn’t show much except that I didn’t break any bones but because of the swelling they could assume I had torn something (s). I was sent home with some fun meds, a huge leg brace and some crutches…. They did let me leave with pants on so that’s was a plus.

Needless to say, the rest of the weekend was a blur. I do remember that at the hospital they had given me some fun meds before I left the ER. It’s a little known fact that while fun meds relieve my pain; they cause me to get quite emotional. Upon seeing a flight of stairs I began crying and I couldn’t fathom how I would get up them…. Insert *first world problems* here.

After spending the weekend icing, sleeping, and crutching around (Side note: apparently *crutching* is a word, I thought for sure I would get squiggly lines under that one…), I met with an orthopedic doctor who set me up with an MRI appt. From there we learned all the wonderful damage I had done. Completely torn ACL, two tears in my meniscus (Still a fun word to say!), I had severely sprained my MCL as well as had a non-displaced fracture in my tibia just below my knee. Luckily the MCL and the fracture will heal on its own. The meniscus might also heal on its own as the tears are still within areas that get blood supply. The ACL unfortunately, that will require surgery… womp womp.

I’ll find out in a next week when I’ll have surgery. So far, it’s been about two weeks since the ski incident and I’ve gotten better at moving around; People say I have definitely perfected my *pimp walk*… As if I need an excuse to draw more attention to myself, I’ve added a hint of swag….

Reason #88 why I'm single

2012-08-10T13:56:00.001-04:00

Today has been so busy that I wound up taking a working lunch. But no worries I thought, I’ll just enjoy some Cheddar Chex Mix and keep plugging away. Oh Cheddar Chex mix… seriously one of the most addicting snacks and not surprisingly, I mindlessly grazed through a good portion of the bag. Unfortunately, I might have underestimated one particular pinch of cheddary goodness I was about to devour. As I brought the little handful to my mouth, out of the corner of my eye I saw one chex go rogue. I immediately stood up to look around for the little guy but he was nowhere to be found. I actually started to get self conscious and began to pat myself down and check my hair. Still no luck. As I continued to look around at the floor, I glance down at my black t-shirt and wouldn’t you know, there’s a trail of cheddar... like a perfect outline of the trajectory that starts at the scoop neck part of my shirt and stops by my right boob (yes.. I said boob). At first I was all excited that they were big enough that the chex didn't fall straight to the floor but then I felt like a total fat-ass for actually having a line of cheddar, like a diabetic’s version of coke, on said boob. Any who... short story long (yes I said short story long too).... I followed the path of the chex but still couldn’t find the cheddary bastard.

I'm praying no one else saw this and that it doesn’t come up somewhere embarrasing, because I'm pretty sure this is one of the long lists of reasons why I'm single.

I'm horribly awkward.

2012-07-31T17:34:00.000-04:00

It has been brought to my attention... no, who am I kidding, I knew all along about this...

But I am extremely awkward.

Now normally this wouldn't be so much of a problem, I've come to own it. But now that I'm single this does not help in the dating department... In fact, I'm pretty sure that what ever chance I have of meeting "someone" probably won't go well. And I think that's why I'm scared shitless of actually dating again. Seriously how did I do this before? I'm going to blame college and the never ending supply of friends of a friend, because now as an "adult" I am at a lost of how to meet someone. I tried the grocery store and while I do plan on trying that again (i.e. better store, more opportune timing... like when they are preparing for a cookout, I'll be hanging out in the beer aisle, casually leaning against a 30 rack of budlight with a basket of buns and patties...) there's a strong possibility that will not work. The bar, I am told, is not the best place to meet someone either. And I'm starting to realize that sitting at home after work does not help the potential either. But nontheless, here I sit typing...

So what do I do? There's no way in hell I am signing up for match.com or some other online dating website (my grandmother suggested christian mingle....). A co-worker suggested I join a running group... um hello, I can barely play soccer... I doubt running at 5am is going to increase my chances.

And you know what the worst part is... I actually don't want to date... I would like to skip forward to the part where we are comfortable with each other and I'm swearing at them in my head because I tripped over their shoes that I already asked them twice to put away... I'm pretty sure that's what real love is....

Nothing new.

2012-07-11T12:56:00.001-04:00

Well you keep coming back (not that I'm pathetic and check that stuff...) so I figured I should post something. Sooooo... ya... um... I'm sorry. I have nothing to really share. Hopefully I will soon. This whole getting a new life thing is weird. Turns out I have a lot of spare time that doesn't involve impromptu dinner outings or texting/calling anymore. So now I sit at home and watch shows like Gossip Girl... yes, please judge me. Even I'm disgusted with myself. But in all honesty, I had to.

You see, I tried watching The Walking Dead. And as much as I think that show is amazing and quite frankly, I love anything zombie-related, unfortunately when its time for my head to hit the pillow and I'm in those critical moments about to fall into a deep sleep, my brain all of a sudden goes "Hey.. you know what we haven't thought about in a while? Zombies. Remember that face? You know the one that barely has any skin, sunken eyes and disgusting gum line.... ya remember how it was breathing? Remember that scene where the zombies are trying to get inside the abandoned houses in that development and the survivors are stuck in the garage? Could you imagine if you looked out your window and saw zombies staggering around? What would you do?" And even though I try and think of anything, shoes, what to wear to work tomorrow, what kind of dog I would like, hell even thinking about someone else... Nope... back to zombies and how I'm horribly unprepared.

I guess its more of a love/hate relationship? To my keep my mind off that and to hopefully get more sleep, I decided to try and watch other shows... so far so good. Because now, right before I fall asleep I think about those stupid girls, with their stupid trust funds, contemplating what stupid Ivy league school to go or which boy to mess with... damn high schoolers.... <----See, this is where I become pathetic....

So ya, I haven't been up to much of anything and can't think of any good stories to share with you guys.

Although, I did try to go grocery shopping on a Friday night to see what kind of people are there. I told my brother this and he informed me I should reconsider what I do for fun on Friday nights. Anywho... Like I said, I wanted to check it out and I actually needed to get groceries. I had a feeling going to the Bucket wasn't the best place to do my research, but I can't afford that fancy Hannafords or Shaw's stuff. I noticed as soon as I walked through the Bucket's automatic doors, Friday nights are diversity nights. But! There was also a sprinkling of attractive guys.

I started my grocery shopping and tried to enjoy the random bits of eye candy but after the first aisle, yes the first aisle, I realized again, I am so not ready for this. I spent a majority of my shopping looking at either the shelves or the tiled floor. When it came time for me to check out, I was minding my own business loading the groceries on the counter and I hear "That should be a diamond on your finger". I look down at my finger immediately, it was as if I thought he was mistaken. Haha nope... no diamond there, just a large turquoise ring.

So then I look up, thinking maybe it'll be something good... And that's when I see... baggy pants... In my head I'm thinking "Aww noooo".... Scanning upward I see, one shirt? No two. Two over sized shirts... "Noooo... Maybe?? Ehh noooo" .... A six pack of natty-ice.... "yuck"... Keep scanning up and I see, ghetto flat brimmed hat and a face to match... "dammit"... just my damn luck. I wish I could tell you I said something witty to shoot him down or at least something funny, but no, I say in the lowest voice ever "ohh...." and quickly went back to putting my groceries on the counter while he went on to serenade me with the Thunder Song from the movie Ted. I can't make this up.

So yup. That's the most exciting thing that's happened. I think next time I'll try going to the fancy stores and walk around filling my basket as if I shop there. And then I'll walk back around and put away all of my groceries, nonchalantly of course... (Hey I can dream can't I?). Hell, maybe I'll treat myself to a $10 pomegranate and then finish shopping at the ever affordable, yet not adorable, Bucket.

Ugh. Wish me luck. Or hell... come watch....

Am I the only one?

2012-06-28T11:49:00.000-04:00

Am I the only one... that gets so excited to drink water that they choke on it?

I was sitting at my new desk, surrounded by people who don't fully understand my "quirkiness" yet (and probably never will). I had just refilled my water bottle and took a big swig when all of sudden it was like my esophagus said "No... no water Stacey". And then I get that overwhelming panic of, OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO CHOKE, and I'm stuck deciding between coughing up the water on my keyboard or forcing it down. This time, because I'll admit this probably happens once a week, I was able to not ruin my work keyboard or documents but I envitably erupted into a fit of coughing, which of course gets the attention of everyone around me. I sit there trying not to cough, but that only makes it worse, and then my eyes water, uncontrolably... to the point of where mascara starts to run. My god I am awkard. Wasn't this lesson one in life? Being able to drink? Twenty-five years later... I still fail at it.

Miserable business idea.

2012-06-25T19:43:00.001-04:00

What is the deal with watching romantic girly chick flicks when your heart is most vulnerable?

Its like you're teasing yourself with this over-the-top view of how love should be. What happens to that couple after those credit roll, when that honeymoon phase of being together really stops? Because that's the movie that is hard to watch. (Seriously, The Breakup was a horrible and shitty movie. No disrespect to Vince Vaughn fans but really, that movie was painful to watch.)

Therefore, I think you should have to answer a series of questions before even getting to the opening scene of a sappy romance film. Like a heartache breathalyzer. If you happen to be at a borderline limit of heartache then Transformers or Anchorman will be (gently) suggested. If you're way passed the limit and dangerously drunk on heartbreak, well then, you get to watch The Boondock Saints or Fight Club or hell, Horton Hears a Damn Who.

I'm not sure how to go about this heartache breathalyzer, but I have a feeling once I sober up from this wine I'll be able to think more clearly on the business venture... or I'll just take down this post....and change the channel....

Annoyed.

2012-06-08T08:59:00.002-04:00

Dear co-workers,

I just have a simple question. What is the deal with clipping your nails at work, AT YOUR DESK?? Its been three years... and I'm about to go crazy (for real this time). I understand life gets the best of us and sometimes it takes typing at keyboard to realize how bad your nails have gotten, but for the love of god and my stomach, can't you go into the bathroom to take care of your personal hygiene?! With every clip, I pray that you succeed in scoring in that tiny itty bitty trash bin you are aiming for. I really try not to think about if you miss, because honestly, if you're already willy-nilly clipping your nails at your desk then what's the say you care about the rogue pieces that land on the carpet... yep, I shouldn't have wrote that..... I'm gonna be sick. But seriously, knock that shit out.

However, if you decided to keep doing it, then I'll start bringing in nail polisher remover (that smells wonderful) and give myself a manicure at my desk, weekly. You've been warned.

Sincerely,
Stacey Chick

Facebook is an asshole. Part 2.

2012-06-01T10:03:00.000-04:00

So a couple months ago, as you may remember, I wrote an open letter to facebook asking them to be a little more respectful and put better thought into the ads they showed on my wall. I think my letter fell on deaf ears....

Fungo Face.

2012-03-21T09:27:00.001-04:00

Source: http://www.americanfitness.net/

When I was a sophomore in high school I pretty much had life figured out. Just kidding, but I was a manager for the Boys Baseball team. It was a pretty sweet gig. I got to manage with my best friends Amy and Becky. We liked to think that we did a lot of important and helpful things, but really all we did was fill a 5 gallon cooler with ice and water and then struggle to carry it from the locker room to the baseball field.

Boy did we struggle. Even though I played soccer, I had no upper body strength that was hatsoever beneficial to carrying that beast. Plus have you seen the handles on those things? There really was no convenient way to carry it. The cooler was either too heavy to carry alone or too awkward to carry with two people. We would beg the trainer who had the sweet golf cart to let us put the cooler on his cart and drive to the field but that would only happen a handful of times.

By the end of our first season with the team, I think the boys felt really bad for us because they started carrying the cooler to the field themselves.... or they probably got sick of us complaining.

But when I think back to those baseball days there is one memory that really stands out. It was a couple weeks into the start of our very first season. Amy, Becky and I were glued to each other's hips and were often found sitting on the bleachers or off to the side giggling like HS girls do in a room full of boys. One day we were at the gym in Recreation Center that was just behind the high school to watch them practice. At the time I actually worked at the Rec Center a few nights a week so I knew all the ins-and-outs of the place and had keys to everything. This would prove to be very useful.

So there we sat, on top of a table that was used for score keepers for basketball games. Somehow we got our hands on a bat and somehow I got sole custody of that bat.

I didn't know it at the time but it was a fungo bat. As we sat upon the table chatting away, one of the players made the motion of throwing a tennis ball at us. Being naive and cocky as hell, as HS girls can be, I yelled back to him to *really* throw it.

I brought the bat back into the "ready position" and prepared for the throw. If I recall correctly, Amy moved out of the way. That probably should’ve been my first clue that something about this wasn’t going to work.

Well I didn’t take into account the laws of physics or common sense really, and when the ball was lobbed to me… I swung away…. To this day I’m not sure if I even hit the ball or whiffed it, but I do know for a fact I had a solid swing and I made contact with something…

I made contact with Becky’s face. Specifically and *luckily?* her forehead. Before I knew what I had done I could hear Becky saying (or yelling maybe?) a muffled “Oooomygodmyfaceoooo”. I instantly panicked and got super embarrassed for hitting my friend in the face.

I tried to make the situation better by running to the storage room in the Rec Center where we had an ice machine and made a baggy of ice for her to apply to her face.

I remember as I brought the bag of ice over to her I could already see the lump on her forehead. Somewhere in or around that moment the guys on the team started calling her “Fungo Face”. Oh and did I mention that our sophomore semi-formal was the following weekend? Yup. I think someone made a comment about how lucky she was that I didn’t hit her in the mouth and break her teeth. I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach, full of guilt, but all I could say was “Ya… but its ok mom’s a dentist and she would’ve fixed it” (Unfortunately this wouldn’t be the only time I’d say that) (Oh and I should note, my mom isn’t actually a dentist, she’s a dental assistant…not that that is a bad thing, its just ya know... not the *same* thing)

Anywho… after the incident if I recall correctly, the lump on her forehead went away before the semi-formal, but the name lived on for quite a while. I visited Becky last year in Moab and she asked if I remembered people calling her fungo face… and oh… I did. Thank god we laughed retelling the story...

Facebook is an asshole.

2012-03-09T09:30:00.007-05:00

Dear Facebook,

I write to you as a concerned user. I have been a faithful patron since 2005. Remember when you were just a year or two old and the talk of social media was only a whsiper? I've been with you for all the ups and down of interface changes, privacy issues, and the increasing amount of notifications. Some people consider you smothering and deleted you, only to return in a mere 6 months. I have never left you.

But just recently (today) I've notice a change in you. This week has been crazy and only yesterday I changed my facebook status to "single". I made sure to remove this update from my news feed immediately and I hoped we could all quietly move on from this. You, however, decided to take this "opportunity" to update my ads. I never really notice them to be honest, they were mostly just make-up suggestions and drinking things. But you have really kicked a girl when she's down with this and I will not stand for it.

I understand my profile admits that I'm originally from Rochester, but really? An unexpected pregnancy ad followed by a match.com ad? How did you come to that conclusion really? And at least give me a year or two before suggesting match.com, I think I deserve that respect.

And is this necessary? You're already making suggestions for me? Facebook you know me! Why would you even suggest that ad but most importantly, WHY SO DAMN SOON? Again, I only clicked "single" yesterday! I do admire your suggestion of Mud, Beer, Music, and Glory for some competition but I am still hurt by your smack in the face of ads reminding me I am in fact single...

I sincerely hope you clean up your act and change your ways. Until then I'm searching for shoes, lots of shoes! with the hope that my ads will refer to only shoes...
Match.com.... pfft... I thought you were better than this....

Sincerely,
Stacey Chick

(Original post on 3/9/12)

I think he saved like $2.00.

2012-03-07T15:52:00.000-05:00

....so I went to the kitchen at work to make some popcorn and I notice this co-worker is rinsing his turkey deli meat in the sink... even letting the slices that he already rinsed rest on the bottom of the sink near the drain... I asked what he was doing and he said they "weren't quite fresh anymore" and he didn't want to throw them away... he then assembled a sandwich out of said deli meat. I lost my appetite.

Slightly funny. 100% Pathetic.

2012-03-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

These times they are a chaging.

A lot of things have changed in the past weekend. I'd rather not get into too many details but I told a few friends this story and they laughed (hard), so I figured it would be good enough for here...

So this past Friday after careful consideration, he-who-shall-not-be-named and I have splits ways and which makes me now single. This is not the funny part.

What is the funny part is that while I was a blubbering mess I really needed to blow my nose... and I slightly needed to pee.... So I went to bathroom and realize that I was completely out of toilet paper, like down to the cardboard. The worst part is that I couldn't be mad at anyone but myself because I live on my own. I was that asshole... to myself.... But I start to think, "Ok, life sucks but I'll blow my nose with a paper towel." NOPE. I somehow forgot that I was out of paper towels too... who does that to themselves???

So there I stood, a complete hot mess, mascara everywhere, my nose a little runny and a growing desire to pee. I finally got up the nerve, wiped off my makeup completely and ventured in to public. Where you ask? Why WalMart of course! I went to where they wouldn't judge me, at least not that bad. I left WalMart defiantly with 6 rolls of toilet paper (sale!) and a rather large bottle of wine.

Overall the night sucked, but it was nice to see that even in shitty times my luck is ever the same....

(Original post on 3/6/12)

Treadmills

2011-11-29T13:24:00.016-05:00

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother...

A few weeks ago I was in Mystic, CT for work. While I was there I decided to use the gym at the hotel. I did maybe four times. It was a very quaint gym. Nothing fancy by any means but it had your basics. I stuck to using the treadmills after I realized the elliptical was broken. I am sure of this because I tried to use it for 10 mins and the damn screen never lit up...

Now I'm not normally one for treadmills... I prefer the elliptical or stationary bike because you have less of a chance of looking like a monkey trying to run.... or like this picture...

Source: Pinterest.com

But I had to say, treadmill number 2 was pretty sweet. It had its own personal tv! And even though I spent countless hours perfecting the most amazing gym playlist ever, I ended up watching episodes of "Friends" and "How I Met Your Mother". (And by episodes, I mean one episode per gym visit... the episode varied on what time I got to the gym... I didn't want you to think I ran for more than a half hour, because that's just silly.)

After successfully using the treadmill for a few sessions, I decided I should treat myself to new pair of running shoes... the kind that are nice and squishy and make you think you're running on a cloud.

So... I buy said running shoes. Go to hotel gym. Get on treadmill number 2. Put room key card in convenient nook on treadmill. Put on headphones. Grab water bottle. Realize I need water. Take off headphones. Walk to water cooler.

Now let me help you with this image...

I'm on the treadmill.
I need to fill my water bottler.
I walk to water cooler.
I'm ON the treadmill.

Do you see where this is going?

Yup. I walked right to the part of the treadmill that rolls and fell off oh-so-gracefully....

But gracefully, I wish! Instead my left ankle bent in this weird direction and my right knee buckled, causing me to fall forward. I then skidded across the carpeted gym floor, solely on my right knee cap. After coming to a stop and falling back on my ass.... I started laughing. Here I was, sitting sort of Indian-style with my knee all scrapped up and bloody and my ankle feeling a little tweaked. And why was my knee all bloody? Because I FELL OFF A TREADMILL! Who does that? Me. Unfortunately, these sort of things happen to me quite frequently... usually in a room full of people who I want to run and hide from after.

Then looked around and suddenly it dawned on me; no one was in the gym to witness all this. I could not believe it. So I sat there for a few more seconds, made sure my ankle was not broken or sprained and that I wasn't going to bleed to death. Then I decided to actually do what I came to do.... run.

And run I did... for about a minute. I was doing good, clicking my way to the channel so I could watch "Friends", when out of nowhere this random guy comes running to the glass door of the gym. He ran around all panic-like in the hall outside the gym and then settled his search on me.

The first thought in my head... he must have seen my epic fall via the window that faces the parking lot... and then I assumed he was still standing there amazed that from that epic fall, I not only survived... but I was running on the treadmill! After a few more seconds of random guy creepily staring thru the glass door, he left.... At that point, whether random guy had seen me fall or not, I had had enough of that damn treadmill! I carefully got off the treadmill and went back to my room.

The end.

Updated: I assume this is what someone would've seen...