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<?xml-stylesheet href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl" type="text/xsl" media="screen"?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css" type="text/css" media="screen"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:02:58 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>Michelle &amp; the City</title><description /><link>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>236</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/michelleandthecity" type="application/rss+xml" /><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6574354534541958960</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-14T10:12:58.160-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">loving life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>My Idea Of A Perfect Week</title><description>&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHtc1ZF8HXI/AAAAAAAAA_U/UgWHmpbtXX0/s1600-h/weather.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHtc1ZF8HXI/AAAAAAAAA_U/UgWHmpbtXX0/s400/weather.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222870265204841842" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How beautiful is THAT forecast?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Also:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another date :)&lt;br /&gt;Volleyball night&lt;br /&gt;Happy hour with a few friends&lt;br /&gt;So You Think You Can Dance with Anna&lt;br /&gt;And a visit from my future roomie!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A more detailed update on life soon :)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What do you guys have planned this week? Anything fun I should add to my list? ;)</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/335139170/my-idea-of-perfect-week.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-idea-of-perfect-week.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-1573129701830392099</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:02:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-09T21:56:50.830-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">i'm single therefore i date</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>And The Winner Was...</title><description>#2!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHVf-A-0CbI/AAAAAAAAA_M/o8YdXDjk3wU/s1600-h/DSC00146.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHVf-A-0CbI/AAAAAAAAA_M/o8YdXDjk3wU/s400/DSC00146.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221184862025943474" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And I think it went over rather well... &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Thanks guys!</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/331311686/and-winner-was.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/07/and-winner-was.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-44412181978887663</guid><pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-08T00:00:41.816-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">all things girlie</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">i'm single therefore i date</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">my name is Michelle and I'm a shopaholic</category><title>Let's Play Dress Up</title><description>Hey ya'll I need your help!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have a date tonight, and though I've breezed thru quite a few lately, I cannot decide for the life of me what to wear! Maybe it's the new hair, or maybe it's because I went shopping over the long weekend and have TONS of new options ;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Things to keep in mind:&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Casual dinner date, think Max &amp; Erma's/Olive Garden-esque &lt;li&gt;It might rain, but will be in the high 80s &lt;li&gt;I have red hair now! Will orange/pink clash? &lt;li&gt;When we first met, I was wearing a dress so I'm sort of hesitant to wear one again. Silly?&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Vote in the comments!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Option #1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Floral halter top, khaki capris and bronze thong sandals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLOL57CiAI/AAAAAAAAA-k/Ghzy11jzC2g/s1600-h/option1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLOL57CiAI/AAAAAAAAA-k/Ghzy11jzC2g/s400/option1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220461621998159874" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Option #2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Black polka dot top, jean skirt and black belted sandals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLOgNmJ6NI/AAAAAAAAA-s/QFMcqhwRLV0/s1600-h/option2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLOgNmJ6NI/AAAAAAAAA-s/QFMcqhwRLV0/s400/option2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220461970876655826" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Option #3&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Bright green halter dress and tan heeled sandals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLPtWSqf8I/AAAAAAAAA-0/V9tyxsB2Bfc/s1600-h/option3.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLPtWSqf8I/AAAAAAAAA-0/V9tyxsB2Bfc/s400/option3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220463296060751810" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Option #4&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Orange tube top, pink and orange plaid walking shorts and brown flip flops&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLRYxaECxI/AAAAAAAAA_E/zo2NhfDph_Y/s1600-h/option4.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLRYxaECxI/AAAAAAAAA_E/zo2NhfDph_Y/s400/option4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220465141585546002" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Option #5&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Floral blouse, brown dress capris and brown heeled sandals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLQu0za5dI/AAAAAAAAA-8/wQMyqfahEaU/s1600-h/option5.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHLQu0za5dI/AAAAAAAAA-8/wQMyqfahEaU/s400/option5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220464420942702034" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, what should I wear?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, Jesse?! DeAnna picked Jesse on the final episode of the Bachelorette! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Jason, if you're reading this, call me! &lt;/span&gt;;)</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/329469231/lets-play-dress-up.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/07/lets-play-dress-up.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-2401524343813465362</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-07T00:00:16.042-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">i'm single therefore i date</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>Just Call Me Vixen</title><description>&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;vix·en&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;/ˈvɪksən/ [vik-suhn] –noun   1. a female fox.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHFqd3QK25I/AAAAAAAAA-c/98aAZb2fS1c/s1600-h/me.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHFqd3QK25I/AAAAAAAAA-c/98aAZb2fS1c/s400/me.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220070504379636626" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes guys, I went red. And some of you know what that means...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The fierce, fiery Michelle is back in full force. Watch out!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The most common reaction from friends?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;"What boy pissed you off this time?"&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reality? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It tends to attract more of them... ;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHFp8oSwaoI/AAAAAAAAA-U/rsT4NTojQ24/s1600-h/redhead.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SHFp8oSwaoI/AAAAAAAAA-U/rsT4NTojQ24/s400/redhead.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220069933428271746" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What crazy things have you guys been up to lately?</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/328548672/just-call-me-vixen.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/07/just-call-me-vixen.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6269099219524627530</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-03T05:00:01.301-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">conversations</category><title>Subtle Hint?</title><description>&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;[Scene: Discussing an up and coming young professional here in town that is up for an award]&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Me:&lt;/span&gt; So is he hot? &lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;(I have my priorities)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;J:&lt;/span&gt; I've never met him but I've heard he's a really nice guy&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Me:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;*nodding in approval*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;J:&lt;/span&gt; But that's not your type now is it?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hmmm. I wonder if he's trying to tell me something...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He may have a point.</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/325632858/subtle-hint.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/07/subtle-hint.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-8853019864139682068</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-01T00:50:58.499-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">i'm single therefore i date</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">that's kinda funny</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>Gay, Straight, Or Taken?</title><description>The age old question every single girl asks herself when she sees hottie material. (It's also a reality dating show on Lifetime, quite lame, but gets the point across.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the real world, it's not as simple as picking the straight available man, however. There are many sub-categories your potential suitor could fall into that parallel hiding his wedding ring in his back pocket. I will detail below a few I have encountered myself in recent dating escapades (&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;all of which you will want to AVOID at all costs&lt;/span&gt;):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The wallflower&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;: He's usually alone at the bar. Leaning against the wall, beer in hand, watching you from afar. He may shift positions to get closer to where you're seated. You smile, he winks. But when you make eye contact for too long he looks away, fearful that you may have caught him checking out your cleavage. When your friend makes a trip to the restroom, the empty chair... remains empty.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Why you want to steer clear:&lt;/span&gt; If he can't grow a pair and actually TALK to you, who's going to be making all the moves in bed? Sounds like too much work if you ask me.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The smooth-talker:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; He brings his A-game round one. "You have a beautiful smile" is his leading line. Not lame, but not sleazy either. It's easy to fall for his quick wit and irresistible charm. By the end of the night, he thinks he has this one in the bag.&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Why you don't want to go back to his place:&lt;/span&gt; His A-game will only last that one round. The sweet compliments and tender kisses are out the window on date #2. He's the guy who likes to hit it and quit it. If you know what I mean...&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The booty call&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;: This guy will usually be with a bunch of friends at the bar. A crowd pleaser. Normally gathered around the pool table, arcade bowling machine or dart board. He'll ask you to join in, this way the whole group can flirt with you. He doesn't seem to mind that you're getting everyone else's attention.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Why you shouldn't hand out the digits:&lt;/span&gt; This guy isn't interested in a serious relationship. He thinks you have a nice ass and would be fun to make out with. His calls will consistently come Sunday evenings after 10 p.m. or after a late night at the strip joint.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The extracurricular overachiever:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;: In conversation you find out that after his 9-5, he works a second job three times a week. He seems put-together, determined, with a good head on his shoulders. He then goes into detail about his many hobbies: biking, golf, hiking, the two softball leagues he plays for every week. How he barely has time for sleep, and comes home to Conan O'Brien every night.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Why you shouldn't pencil him in for a date:&lt;/span&gt; Don't get me wrong, it's nice when your significant other has a life outside of you. If I didn't have my weekly date nights with Anna, happy hours with different friends, volunteer work or (soon-to-be) golf lessons, I would be a pretty boring person. But, with a life as jam packed as his seems, you will find it impossible to squeeze into his routine. And besides, where does sex fit in to that schedule of his? Dead last. RUN.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And finally,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The over-exaggerator&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;: Constantly references his many "achievements". How he turned down Harvard to stay close to home and care for his elderly relative or neighbor. That he could have taken that fantastic corporate job right out of college that paid six figures, but it was his dream to Save Darfur. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Why you should avoid a kiss from those tainted lips:&lt;/span&gt; With so many lies escaping that dirty mouth of his, how will you ever know where it's really been? And girls, if he's not being up front about something as simple as what he does for a living, should you believe it when he tells you he's pleased every woman he's ever been with? I think not.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have any categories of your own to share?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh, and just in case you fear you won't be able to resist guys like the ones mentioned above due to their six pack abs, cute dimples, nice ass or fabulous head of hair; simply wear this t-shirt:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SGm1KOp_0pI/AAAAAAAAA-M/IUSXQk6_HoA/s1600-h/best-youll-never-have.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SGm1KOp_0pI/AAAAAAAAA-M/IUSXQk6_HoA/s400/best-youll-never-have.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217900830622995090" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Because you're worth it ;)</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/323777103/gay-straight-or-taken.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/gay-straight-or-taken.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-2980939412535327744</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-24T22:45:32.127-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">loving life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><title>I Am</title><description>&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;I am stubborn.&lt;/span&gt; After three days of attempting to kill a small army of ants (and using the last of my Pledge), I gave in and went to the store for ant killer tonight. Seriously, pain in my ass.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;I am scatterbrained.&lt;/span&gt; Cleaning up my apartment is a workout in itself. Upstairs folding laundry I hear the dishwasher finish and run downstairs. I catch a glimpse of the Bachelorette and become engrossed in the show. Hearing the washer stop, run back upstairs so my clothes don't end up a wrinkled mess. I am either scatterbrained or ADD. Can't decide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;I am happy.&lt;/span&gt; A smile hasn't left my face in weeks. Co-workers I hardly talk to are commenting on my "glowing" persona. Happy tears welled up as I saw the picture text from a very good friend of mine saying "She said yes!" There's a skip in my step as I walk to work, I'm humming along to songs at my desk. I would say I'm normally a happy go lucky person, but this is happy on steroids. Not that I'm complaining.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;I am secretive.&lt;/span&gt; Only a few people know what (or who?) has been contributing to my happiness. I've been wanting to share with all of you, but life has been semi-crazy lately. Let's just say, "I can sleep when I'm dead" right? Details to come.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;Life's too fun&lt;br /&gt;And I'm too young&lt;br /&gt;And the night ain't over yet&lt;br /&gt;Like I said,&lt;br /&gt;I can sleep when I'm dead&lt;br /&gt;~Jason Michael Carroll&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/319357652/i-am.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-am.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-4449109277045830072</guid><pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-19T22:41:32.087-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">loving life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>Happiness Is...</title><description>&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;finally spending time with my niece outside of the hospital&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFsXLhKKbQI/AAAAAAAAA-E/rO9FeSIcqBs/s1600-h/me-n-kenz.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFsXLhKKbQI/AAAAAAAAA-E/rO9FeSIcqBs/s400/me-n-kenz.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213786480258477314" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;a So You Think You Can Dance marathon with the best friend ever&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;wine &amp; pizza, yeah we're classy like that&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;a wii bowling tournament&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;dancing with "the baby" to cell phone ring tones&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;knowing tomorrow is FINALLY Friday&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;having a jam-packed weekend scheduled&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;receiving text messages that are too cute for words&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;when you CAN'T STOP smiling :)&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What has made you guys happy lately? &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Fill me in!&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/315892921/happiness-is.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/happiness-is.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6499726049558819848</guid><pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-15T22:16:42.809-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">loving life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>My Birthday In Numbers (And Pictures)</title><description>&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I have come to realize I am truly lucky. I have some of the best friends in the world, spread out far and wide. I love each and every one of you. THANK YOU for making my birthday unforgettable.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1 Flower delivery&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;I was SHOCKED by this delivery at work! Aren't they gorgeous? Thank you to &lt;a href="http://theslightlydisorganizedmind.wordpress.com"&gt;my other half&lt;/a&gt;, you are truly amazing. (And how did you know that was one thing a guy's NEVER done for me?)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJwDCfW56I/AAAAAAAAA9s/psaodm6zDcc/s1600-h/birthdayflowers.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJwDCfW56I/AAAAAAAAA9s/psaodm6zDcc/s400/birthdayflowers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211350916331399074" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJwFyX-TNI/AAAAAAAAA90/5uKUhjfnAA0/s1600-h/birthdayflowers2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJwFyX-TNI/AAAAAAAAA90/5uKUhjfnAA0/s400/birthdayflowers2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211350963545066706" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1 Care package&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;From my long time friend &lt;a href="http://puremotif.wordpress.com"&gt;Rachel&lt;/a&gt;. Love you girl!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJwKT8IOrI/AAAAAAAAA98/txgZ9rNEzKc/s1600-h/carepackage.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJwKT8IOrI/AAAAAAAAA98/txgZ9rNEzKc/s400/carepackage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211351041274559154" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2 E-cards&lt;br /&gt;3 Glasses of wine&lt;br /&gt;4 Pieces of flair&lt;br /&gt;5 E-mails&lt;br /&gt;6 Facebook messages&lt;br /&gt;8 Birthday cards&lt;br /&gt;9 Phone calls&lt;br /&gt;12 Text messages&lt;br /&gt;25 Years under my belt&lt;br /&gt;26 Sexual favors&lt;br /&gt;36 Facebook wall posts&lt;br /&gt;75 Blog comments&lt;br /&gt;200 dollars in spending $&lt;br /&gt;Tons of Birthday wishes&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Not to mention:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;A stick of gum (inside joke)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Lunch at &lt;a href="http://www.noodles.com"&gt;Noodles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ice Cream at &lt;a href="http://jenisicecreams.com/"&gt;Jeni's&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Happy Hour and drinks with friends/co-workers&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Homemade Birthday dinner with the &lt;a href="http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/tribute.html"&gt;bestest&lt;/a&gt; (which included CHEESECAKE! does she know me or what?)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Dinner tonight with my lovely hometown ladies&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;A new birthday outfit worn with a pair of HOTT red pumps!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJubffpIFI/AAAAAAAAA9k/jdAV-B6CI8A/s1600-h/dress.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFJubffpIFI/AAAAAAAAA9k/jdAV-B6CI8A/s400/dress.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211349137410826322" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WHAT A DAY!</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/311150956/my-birthday-in-numbers-and-pictures.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-birthday-in-numbers-and-pictures.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-3547806562229467479</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-12T00:00:01.580-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">starting over</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">all about me</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">loving life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">and the meaning of life is?</category><title>The Beginning Of The Second Quarter</title><description>25 years are over. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My quarter-life has been full of ups and downs. Breaking hearts and, currently, a severely broken heart of my own. Becoming an aunt for the very first time. Graduating college. Living on my own. Moving to a new city. Making new friends, becoming closer with old friends and growing apart from some.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Overall my 20s have been a learning experience. I know more about myself and what I want from life than ever before. I am stubborn, determined and dramatic. Creative, hardworking and loyal. I'm a daughter, sister, friend, aunt, blogger and confidante. I love with my heart on my sleeve, like I have nothing to lose and everything to give. I am sensitive, nurturing and understanding. I take pride in my accomplishments but sometimes am a bit too self-critical. I'm more relaxed then I've ever been. I've learned when it's safe to let it all "hang out" and when to keep on my game face. I take risks. I cherish the people who care about me and crumble when they can't follow through. But I am strong enough to pick myself up, dust myself off and start over. I've done it before, I can do it again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I know these next 25 years are going to be just as turbulent, but I'm looking forward to it. Learning, growing, loving and laughing. I have a hell of a lot more life to live. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hello, 26!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFCcO2SWzqI/AAAAAAAAA9c/bgdxXE5RZwc/s1600-h/26.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SFCcO2SWzqI/AAAAAAAAA9c/bgdxXE5RZwc/s400/26.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210836547772272290" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/310142336/beginning-of-second-quarter.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/beginning-of-second-quarter.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-3324232010842465370</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-11T10:35:09.862-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">friends 'n' family</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">letters</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>A Tribute</title><description>To a friend that has been: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My shoulder to cry on.&lt;br /&gt;My voice of reason.&lt;br /&gt;My boost in confidence.&lt;br /&gt;My comic relief.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SE_F1qRxrDI/AAAAAAAAA9U/yDC97mRVEpg/s1600-h/meandanna.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SE_F1qRxrDI/AAAAAAAAA9U/yDC97mRVEpg/s400/meandanna.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210600819563539506" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;June 2008, Celebrating our birthdays at Max &amp; Ermas :)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anna,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't think I could ever truly express to you how much your friendship means to me. You welcomed me into your home last year when I couldn't face my own. Even though you have a husband and child to care for, you have always made room for me in your life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You listened to me sob on your back porch last fall and again a month ago without ever saying "I told you so". You were the friend that helped me bounce back when I first saw &lt;em&gt;her&lt;/em&gt; with him, dragging me out and telling me not to let this bring me down (and not caring how many times I played Carrie Underwood on the juke box). You encouraged me to start dating again and didn't criticize me when I played with fire. You giggled right along with me to text messages, glad to see me smiling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You agreed that now I need to focus on me and I'm not afraid to be without a "special someone" because you're only a 5 minute drive away. Thanks for being my So You Think You Can Dance buddy. A guaranteed spot on your couch every week to feed my obsession. Thank you in advance for spending my birthday with me tomorrow. My first birthday "alone" will go down in the history books as a night filled with so much dancing it made our heads spin. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some day I hope to be half the mom that you are. You are raising a fantastic little boy with a big personality. His smile has brightened many a day for me lately (and his "WOW"s and "Dude"s). Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry for his new obsession with sunglasses ;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You are a wonderful friend. Thank you for being there for me when I needed someone the most. I hope you know I would do the same for you in a heartbeat. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I love you girl! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~Michelle &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;p.s. Wii bowling rematch? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SE_Fx6oiOzI/AAAAAAAAA9M/bw9qtMQ6zic/s1600-h/meandanna.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SE_Fx6oiOzI/AAAAAAAAA9M/bw9qtMQ6zic/s400/meandanna.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210600755234487090" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Christmas 2006, you were pregnant with Drew then! It doesn't seem like that long ago does it?&lt;/em&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/309665517/tribute.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/06/tribute.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-2205327927130258309</guid><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 12:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-27T08:45:00.892-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">auntie Michelle</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">friends 'n' family</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>New Life, New Beginnings</title><description>&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDv7qzn20yI/AAAAAAAAA88/3eYCkVPtOnM/s1600-h/DSC00001.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDv7qzn20yI/AAAAAAAAA88/3eYCkVPtOnM/s400/DSC00001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205030507187196706" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As some of you already know, on Friday afternoon, my niece was born. My weekend plans to stay in Columbus for Memorial Day quickly changed and after a night of drunken debauchery on Friday (which will be discussed later), I headed to Erie and Buffalo. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDuBBzn20wI/AAAAAAAAA8s/aiq2cIHclXU/s1600-h/PICT0285.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDuBBzn20wI/AAAAAAAAA8s/aiq2cIHclXU/s400/PICT0285.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204895662393971458" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My niece's name is McKenzie Marie (or M&amp;M for short) and she was born one month prematurely weighing 5 lbs. even. She is still in the NICU so our contact with her was brief, but she is doing well. Hopefully, the proud parents will be able to bring her home soon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I did learn one thing this weekend: my brother is going to make an awesome dad. He was so attentive to his daughter. Kissing her forehead constantly, which made her face scrunch up every time - it was adorable. I hope when I find my future husband, he loves kids as much as Kyle does. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDuBlDn20xI/AAAAAAAAA80/cwXBBXj2P3M/s1600-h/0524081531.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDuBlDn20xI/AAAAAAAAA80/cwXBBXj2P3M/s400/0524081531.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204896267984360210" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My brother's description of the birth (which was REALLY quick):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"She came out, said ABC, 123, hand me my backpack I'm ready for school." He even added in the little motion like she was throwing the book bag over her shoulder. Hilarious.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDv8lDn20zI/AAAAAAAAA9E/mkD69iPL-sQ/s1600-h/DSC00010.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDv8lDn20zI/AAAAAAAAA9E/mkD69iPL-sQ/s400/DSC00010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205031507914576690" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can't wait to watch her grow up, and be a part of her life. It's going to cost me a fortune in gas, but I'm going to visit all the time!</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/299078013/new-life-new-beginnings.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-life-new-beginnings.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-3409038933463136177</guid><pubDate>Thu, 22 May 2008 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-22T06:00:01.568-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>Remedies For Heartache</title><description>A bakesale...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTeojn20uI/AAAAAAAAA8c/Qvn55yAlfco/s1600-h/cupcake.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTeojn20uI/AAAAAAAAA8c/Qvn55yAlfco/s400/cupcake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203028257858310882" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A new scent...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTfaTn20vI/AAAAAAAAA8k/ElhLAhSqv8E/s1600-h/perfume.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTfaTn20vI/AAAAAAAAA8k/ElhLAhSqv8E/s400/perfume.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203029112556802802" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A new pair of shoes...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTePzn20sI/AAAAAAAAA8M/Anc8kDp1S8Q/s1600-h/shoes.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTePzn20sI/AAAAAAAAA8M/Anc8kDp1S8Q/s400/shoes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203027832656548546" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And best of all, a new 'do!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTdijn20pI/AAAAAAAAA70/A2_pAKnN8Hs/s1600-h/me3.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SDTdijn20pI/AAAAAAAAA70/A2_pAKnN8Hs/s400/me3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203027055267467922" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Still pondering yesterday's post. Don't worry - I'll let you guys know what I decide.</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/295719625/remedies-for-heartache.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/remedies-for-heartache.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-3053597856126619795</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2008 14:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-21T11:13:54.907-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blogging</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">questions</category><title>To Blog Or Not To Blog?</title><description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;That is the question.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How Shakespeare of me, right?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, I know I've been hiding lately. Not because I want to. More so, because I don't know what to do in regards to this particular blog. I don't want to delete it. Erasing what happened is not an option. The good times were really good times and I don't want to forget them. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But I know that from this point on if I write anything on here I will be holding &lt;em&gt;something&lt;/em&gt; back. Something I don't want him to know. Things I don't want him to know I'm feeling. Because if he wants to know, he can ask me. Loving and caring about someone takes effort. It shouldn't be dished out for all to see.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This blog has been an outlet for me for over a year and I hate to lose my URL and header that I love, but what choice do I have? I want to tell you guys about what's going on in my life. I hate that I haven't been able to do that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So what do you guys think I should do? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Start a new blog. One that is completely anonymous. Make this blog private so only I can view the archives when I want to.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Keep writing on this one, but don't reveal too much.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Start a new blog and maybe write on this one once in awhile with updates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Stop blogging all together.&lt;/ol&gt;And would you all still stick around if I moved?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What a hassle all of this is.</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/295112283/to-blog-or-not-to-blog.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/to-blog-or-not-to-blog.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-290511947216282508</guid><pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 12:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-15T10:47:39.446-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">music makes the world go round</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">misery loves company</category><title>Should I Give Up, Or Should I Just Keep Chasing Pavements?</title><description>I never thought it would get here. Chasing someone that doesn't recognize I'm worth it. Doesn't respond to me or my feelings. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="400" height="345"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://media.imeem.com/v/hbuif_-yK_/aus=false/pv=2"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://media.imeem.com/v/hbuif_-yK_/aus=false/pv=2" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="345" allowFullScreen="true"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think I'm giving up. Chasing pavements tends to give me skinned knees.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(thanks &lt;a href="http://eachofthetwo.blogspot.com"&gt;Each&lt;/a&gt;, this video is beautiful as is the song)</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/290918692/should-i-give-up-or-should-i-just-keep.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/should-i-give-up-or-should-i-just-keep.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6100840127946333591</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2008 13:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-12T09:26:39.202-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">blogging</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">misery loves company</category><title>What Kind Of Gone?</title><description>&lt;em&gt;Is it the kind of gone where (s)he's at her mom's, coolin' down (s)he'll come around?&lt;br /&gt;Or the kind that says you've had your chance and (s)he ain't comin' back?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Don't know when/if I'll be back, but I wanted to let you all know. Thanks to the few of you who connected with me, knowing something was up. I really appreciate it. This time, I just can't get by. I've done this to myself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fool me once, shame on you.&lt;br /&gt;Fool me twice, shame on me. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Someday I'll learn.</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/288686466/what-kind-of-gone.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-kind-of-gone.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6266100743019542152</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2008 12:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-06T08:16:28.598-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">misc</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>Straight To My Thighs</title><description>But, OH MY GOD, when you open the bag the smell is &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;spot on&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SCBL2BWrHiI/AAAAAAAAA7s/J25YPj2GXg8/s1600-h/bk.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SCBL2BWrHiI/AAAAAAAAA7s/J25YPj2GXg8/s400/bk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197237361434107426" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/284615513/straight-to-my-thighs.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/straight-to-my-thighs.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6731593358647247339</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 May 2008 12:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-02T08:59:31.460-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">rants</category><title>Michelle v. The Spawn Of Satan</title><description>My hate/hate relationship with the spawn of Satan (AKA the snooze button) has been &lt;a href="http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2007/08/spawn-of-satan_16.html"&gt;documented before&lt;/a&gt;. It's no secret that every morning I see that damn alarm clock perched on my nightstand I want to smash it to pieces.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today it was set for 6:15. And because I like to try to trick myself into thinking it's later than it is to in some way make myself leap out of bed when the alarm goes off, the clock is set 10 minutes fast. What time did I wake up? 7:00 (actually 6:50). UGH. I don't even &lt;em&gt;remember&lt;/em&gt; hitting snooze. Not once. I swear the alarm clock is out to get me. It wants me to have flat, limp hair (that at least smells good) and wear an outfit that I threw together in about 5 minutes. Lunch today? Too bad, you'll have to get takeout.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then there are days when I am completely aware of the buzzing, but justify hitting snooze anyway:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One day I wanted curly hair because I was going out later that night. &lt;br /&gt;"Oh, I'll have time to curl it when I get home from work with the rollers."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Hit snooze.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another day I had an outfit picked out that required ironing.&lt;br /&gt;"Oh, I'll just throw on one of my suits instead."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Hit snooze.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Thank god I took a shower last night."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Hit snooze. Multiple times.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Noticing a pattern? I am the queen of excuses just for another 10 minutes of sleep! I don't know why I torture myself because when I go &lt;em&gt;back&lt;/em&gt; to sleep after my alarm goes off, when I wake up the second (or third or fourth) time I usually feel even more tired than before. And on top of that I tend to dream the most vivid, often violent dreams during those brief minutes of extra sleep. Normally, I never remember my dreams. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, not only am I yawning on the way to work, without a packed lunch, sportin' hair that is so flat it looks like I ironed it, I am replaying my car crashing into a brick wall and exploding in fire over and over in my head. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Those are the days I turn on a little Jack Johnson, pop the sunroof and remember that my beloved car is doin' just fine. And so am I.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sidenote:&lt;/strong&gt; How classic was that last elevator scene on Grey's Anatomy last night? McDreamy, McSteamy, Meredith, Addison and the new girl. I was laughing my ass off. &lt;em&gt;"Don't you wish you would've taken the stairs?"&lt;/em&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/282091418/michelle-v-spawn-of-satan.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/michelle-v-spawn-of-satan.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-7214549981076744741</guid><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 12:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-01T09:18:10.917-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">woah that's deep</category><title>In Need Of A Dr. Phil Stand In</title><description>Guys I am enlisting your help. The worrying I mentioned in my last post? Maybe I wasn't as forthcoming as I should have been. It's gotten out of control. Yes, you all comforted me by saying "it's a girl thing". And while I believe that is true, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm over the top.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mostly I worry about the future. I hate not knowing where my life is headed and I've been feeling like I'm in a sort of limbo lately. I like my job, I love my boyfriend, I have great family and friends. The here and now is good but I can't seem to focus on &lt;em&gt;living&lt;/em&gt; in the now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your twenties are such a weird time because it's a transition period. You graduate college and enter the "real world". Often times experiencing your first real job, first time living on your own, first serious relationship, etc. That's a lot to deal with at once. And at the same time you're also dreaming of what's to come. The time in your life where you get to settle down with the person you love and start a life together. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was just talking last night with a friend of mine about engagements. She's been dating her boyfriend for six years and they're finally getting married this year (possibly in Vegas!). While it's all very exciting now, she was telling me it was hard for her to wait that long. Really hard. Seeing other girls she works with walking around with rings on their fingers made her want more. (We also discussed the kicker - when you see a rather unattractive girl with an engagement ring and think to yourself, "If &lt;em&gt;she&lt;/em&gt; is engaged, what is wrong with me?")&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me? I don't want to get married right now, but I want to know that's where my life is headed. The problem is you can never really &lt;em&gt;know&lt;/em&gt;. The fact that I'm a control freak doesn't help either. There are certain things in my life I can control, but the future isn't one of them. I want answers to unanswerable questions. I'm afraid I'm always going to want more and I don't know how to overcome that. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;But dammit I'm going to try.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Any advice? I could really use it ;)</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/281448795/in-need-of-dr-phil-stand-in.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/05/in-need-of-dr-phil-stand-in.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-4587588732776953743</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-29T09:04:10.423-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">misc</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">questions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>Things I've Been Pondering</title><description>In no particular order.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why do contestants on Deal or No Deal think "strength" and "determination" have anything to do with winning the game?&lt;/strong&gt; Have they never seen the show before? Last night was a Star Wars themed episode and the woman had left a foreign country (Vietnam I think?) and made it to the U.S. as a child. I'm sure she's a very strong person and has been through a lot in her life, but really? It's a game of chance. Crossing your fingers would have the same effect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If Reverend Wright supports Obama why is he continuing to preach his extremist views knowing they will be detrimental to the campaign?&lt;/strong&gt; He has to realize what he's doing. Is this a backlash for being disinvited to speak on the day of Senator Obama’s presidential announcement?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why would Miley Cyrus' parents even allow her to pose in a photo shoot topless in the first place?&lt;/strong&gt; I understand that she is regretting her actions &lt;em&gt;now&lt;/em&gt; after the negative attention the photos received from the media. But would she have had the same reaction if the press would have adored the photos? Regardless, she's 15 years old. Someone should have put a stop to the shoot as soon as the words "Miley, we're going to have you remove your top now" were uttered.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why does &lt;a href="http://www.google.com/reader"&gt;Google reader&lt;/a&gt; take so long to show published posts?&lt;/strong&gt;I know this has been a pet peeve of a lot of bloggers lately, but really I just don't understand it. I normally publish posts before work in the morning and sometimes the time stamp shows 3 or 4 in the afternoon! I'm not editing posts after I hit publish (which I know can delay it sometimes). What's the dilly yo?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why do I worry about &lt;em&gt;everything&lt;/em&gt;?&lt;/strong&gt; Is it a woman thing? Am I alone? I feel like no matter how great my job/relationships/life/health is going, there's always something on my mind. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;And lastly, how in the world can we justify SNOW flurries on April 29?&lt;/strong&gt; For those of you who &lt;em&gt;still&lt;/em&gt; think Al Gore is full of shit, ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?!&lt;/ul&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/280083270/things-ive-been-pondering.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/04/things-ive-been-pondering.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-3744448680648360946</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-24T09:00:52.676-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">all things girlie</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>A Good Hair Day</title><description>There's just something about getting your hair just right that puts an extra bounce in your step. Know what I mean? I'm having one of those days today and after spending some quality time with the beau, I am in a fabulous mood.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"New" steam curlers from Clancy's mom this weekend. They're old school but seriously they work better than any curlers I've ever used before.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCBbBWrHcI/AAAAAAAAA68/UX3heowb23A/s1600-h/curlers2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCBbBWrHcI/AAAAAAAAA68/UX3heowb23A/s400/curlers2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192792671578168770" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rollers in...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCB_xWrHdI/AAAAAAAAA7E/aNvRV0RU-Zw/s1600-h/curlers.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCB_xWrHdI/AAAAAAAAA7E/aNvRV0RU-Zw/s400/curlers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192793302938361298" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Makes for a great hair day!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCCORWrHeI/AAAAAAAAA7M/PN1h4y9akQc/s1600-h/curlyhair.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCCORWrHeI/AAAAAAAAA7M/PN1h4y9akQc/s400/curlyhair.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192793552046464482" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Off to work in style. And in a new print dress ;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCCVxWrHfI/AAAAAAAAA7U/kM40YdYqc2c/s1600-h/car.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCCVxWrHfI/AAAAAAAAA7U/kM40YdYqc2c/s400/car.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192793680895483378" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh and another thing that can make your day? Packages. Got &lt;a href="http://trishryanonline.blogspot.com"&gt;Trish's&lt;/a&gt; book in the mail, can't wait to crack it open. Oh the perks of knowing the author! Thanks for the copy and congrats on it hitting shelves early!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCCuRWrHgI/AAAAAAAAA7c/AXTuuW0ew8Y/s1600-h/book.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SBCCuRWrHgI/AAAAAAAAA7c/AXTuuW0ew8Y/s400/book.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192794101802278402" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/276891931/good-hair-day.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/04/good-hair-day.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-1148225342943157333</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-23T09:49:13.796-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">all you need is love</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">stranger than fiction</category><title>Love At First... DNA Test?</title><description>Most of us aren't lucky enough to meet the love of our life in high school, stay with them through college, get married after graduation and pop out a few little ones. While I wish it was that easy, it's just not realistic anymore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Women are more focused on their careers, getting married later in life. Men aren't ready to "settle down" in their early 20s, they want to spread their seeds for awhile first. Inevitably, a large majority wind up in the dating scene. I've done it myself and it's no walk in the park. It's easier to date people you know for awhile first, are more comfortable around and build a bond with over time. But how often does that really happen? Those aren't odds I'm willing to bet on. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is where the internet has come into play. Making it easier to find people who are looking for that special someone just like you. Although, a first date with someone you've only seen a picture of is a little intimidating. Yet millions of people are doing it. From match.com to eHarmony couples are hooking up like bunny rabbits. Why? Everyone wants somebody to love and quite a few aren't willing to leave it up to fate. And recently, some are going as far as letting a DNA test figure it all out for them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, people around the country are getting their blood drawn to find love. Dating sites? They're old hat. The traditional first date leading up to marriage? Why bother? Love is in your &lt;em&gt;genes&lt;/em&gt;, or rather your immune system according to &lt;a href="http://www.scientificmatch.com"&gt;ScientficMatch.com&lt;/a&gt;. Not only are you guaranteed not to marry your 3rd cousin, but ladies - according to the site "women tend to enjoy a higher rate of orgasms with their partner". Sign me up!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One study they did involved sweaty t-shirts. Guys were asked to wear the same shirt to bed every day for a week without washing it. Women in the study had to take a whiff of each shirt and rate how much they liked the smell. The results? The higher the woman rated the scent, the closer the match between her immune system DNA and that of the man who wore said shirt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seriously? Yes, seriously. I can't make this stuff up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I've always been a believer in the "to each their own" philosophy. You've known him two weeks and you're running away together to Vegas?! Congratulations, I hope you're still married in 5 years. Having an arranged marriage to a man you've never met? Have fun, I hope he doesn't leave the toilet seat up. But this? Having SCIENCE decide who you would be most compatible with? I don't know if I'm buying it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, "you have a greater chance of a more satisfying sex life" they say. Can you put that in writing?</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/276179475/love-at-first-dna-test.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/04/love-at-first-dna-test.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-383258148630408149</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-22T08:47:41.372-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">that's kinda funny</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">the animals in my life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a picture's worth 1000 words</category><title>Retaliation</title><description>&lt;a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SA3b7BWrHWI/AAAAAAAAA6U/HIfB42uKGOs/s1600-h/28576a542f49.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SA3b7BWrHWI/AAAAAAAAA6U/HIfB42uKGOs/s400/28576a542f49.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192047752450350434" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For the broken butter dish...&lt;br /&gt;For paw prints on clean counter tops...&lt;br /&gt;For losing my favorite pair of earrings...&lt;br /&gt;For hiding my inhaler...&lt;br /&gt;For digging through my purse...&lt;br /&gt;For scratching under my bed...&lt;br /&gt;For ruining my rugs...&lt;br /&gt;For breaking that picture frame...&lt;br /&gt;For waking me up at 4 in the morning...&lt;br /&gt;For dragging yarn around the apartment...&lt;br /&gt;For rifling through garbage...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SA3cDxWrHXI/AAAAAAAAA6c/icR4iB76hl8/s1600-h/2be6712dab43.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SA3cDxWrHXI/AAAAAAAAA6c/icR4iB76hl8/s400/2be6712dab43.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192047902774205810" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Let the squirting begin!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SA3eERWrHZI/AAAAAAAAA6s/ms_06tKIx68/s1600-h/target.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HmqqqNg2gdc/SA3eERWrHZI/AAAAAAAAA6s/ms_06tKIx68/s400/target.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192050110387395986" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/275380713/retaliation.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/04/retaliation.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-6217741960536297039</guid><pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-17T08:52:18.864-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">loving life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lists</category><title>Looking Forward</title><description>to hanging out with Kari tonight. Girl talk, dinner, maybe some knitting will actually be accomplished this time. Now I just have to convince her that alcohol should be involved!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to going out with the "Lunch Bunch" tomorrow afternoon. Lunch at a local cafe to celebrate the birthday of one of our "members".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to date night with my main squeeze tomorrow. Sounds ridiculous, but it's been two days and I miss him!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to a birthday celebration Saturday night for a friend (and co-worker). Bowling and FREE BEER. To do: learn to like beer by Saturday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to seeing Mr. Billy Joel himself live and in concert Sunday night!! Hopefully taking Clancy's parents to one of our new favorite restaurants beforehand. I've been looking forward to this weekend for so long :)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to a much needed, no reason at all vacation day on Monday. They're predicting highs in the 70s and sunny skies. I'm thinking a bike ride is in order.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to summer! My 26th birthday(!!), the birth of my niece, possible road trips to Virginia and Chicago, my cousin's graduation party, Clancy's birthday, his work picnic in Hershey, PA, my work picnic at King's Island and hopefully spending some time on the beaches of Lake Erie and visiting Niagara Falls. And of course a ton of swimming, tanning, and bike riding. I love this time of year!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What are &lt;strong&gt;you&lt;/strong&gt; looking forward to?</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/272155361/looking-forward.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/04/looking-forward.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959132334086483355.post-8270619041658266225</guid><pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-16T12:33:38.490-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">meme</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">daily</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">guest posting</category><title>Back, Way Back. Back Into Time.</title><description>Let's deal with the present day first. Guest posting today over at &lt;a href="http://www.wickedlyscarlett.com"&gt;Angela's place&lt;/a&gt;. And it's Wednesday so you know what that means! Have beefs? &lt;a href="http://www.wickedlyscarlett.com/tomorrow_is_another_day/2008/04/whats-your-beef.html"&gt;Head over there and rant&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now that I've told you that tidbit of information, moving on to my post for today. &lt;a href="http://karijo09.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/lets-do-the-time-warp-again/"&gt;Kari&lt;/a&gt; tagged me for a &lt;a href="http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/inner.php"&gt;magical song journey through my life&lt;/a&gt;. Here goes!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;The Number One Song on:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I was born: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 12, 1982&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ebony &amp; Ivory - Paul McCartney &amp; Stevie Wonder&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I turned 5:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 12, 1987&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Always - Atlantic Starr&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I turned 10:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 12, 1992&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jump - Kris Kross&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I turned 15:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 12, 1997&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy and Faith Evans (absolutely LOVE this song)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I "lost my innocence": &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Middle of May 2000 &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;and &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I graduated high school:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beginning of June 2000&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Maria, Maria - Santana&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I turned 21:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 12, 2003&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;21 Questions - 50 Cent (great song)&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I met my &lt;s&gt;husband&lt;/s&gt; how about boyfriend: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Early May 2006 (I think?)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;SOS - Rihanna (interesting)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day we had our first date:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;September 20, 2006&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sexy Back – Justin Timberlake (hahahaha, perfect, no?)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I graduated college:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Late May 2004&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Burn - Usher&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I got married:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hasn't happened yet!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The day I turned 25:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 12, 2007&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Umbrella - Rihanna featuring Jay-Z (good lord, I HATE this song)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tag! You're it (if you want to be that is) ;)</description><link>http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/michelleandthecity/~3/271441647/back-way-back-back-into-time.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Michelle &amp;amp; the City)</author><feedburner:origLink>http://michelle-and-the-city.blogspot.com/2008/04/back-way-back-back-into-time.html</feedburner:origLink></item></channel></rss>
