Wednesday, January 18, 2012

And days go by... I can feel 'em flyin' Like a hand out the window in the wind The cars go by... Yeah it's all we've been given, So you better start livin' right now.

Another year has gone by and my goal to "blog more" has successfully failed.. horribly failed actually. But in the past year I have achieved so many important things that while I may not be a world renowned blogger I have been living quite a bit.

Since March of last year...
I followed a college basketball team to San Antonio and Houston Texas for the Final Four Basketball Tournament. VCU GO RAMS GO!
Made my first diaper cake for my co-worker who was hosting a baby shower. It came out so cute! lol
The All-Star Team I coach took 2nd in their Regional Competition in Virginia Beach.
Saw my first catfish.
Got hired and coached my first High School Cheerleading Team. It was amazing! We place 4th (the highest the school has ever placed at a competition). Now we are already starting on next year and things are looking like they will be amazing!
Rush the field at Scott Stadium for the UVA v. Georgia Tech Game
Starting searching for houses with my boyfriend
Baked rainbow cupcakes with my BFF
Dressed up as Mario and Lugi with my BFF at work. I have always wanted to dress up like them with someone! She is pretty awesome and shorter than me which is hard, so I actually got to be Lugi.
Was on TV in Charlottesville for coaching my all-star team!
Went snowboarding in Snowshoe, WVA twice.
Went "camping" with my parents on a 33 acre property
Got a hand gun for christmas!
Saw Wicked on Off-Broadway. Amazing!

So while it was not a blog filled life it was a life filled life. Hopefully I can start to blog more and even change up some of the boring things about this blog (like the fact that it is missing pictures) but until I have time to breathe blogging will just have to wait a little bit! :)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The World is a playground. You know that as a kid and somewhere along the way everyone forgets it."

So I watched the movie, "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey last night. I have always been a Jim Carrey fan (I even follow him on twitter). For some reason when I ordered the movie on Netfilx, I thought it was going to be similar to his popular flick of the 90's, "Liar, Liar". I am glad I was wrong because "Yes Man" was even better.
It was the story of a man, who was so afraid of people thinking he was not good enough, he shut the world out. One day, after losing a promotion at his dead beat job, he ran into an old friend who convinced him to attend a "YES" seminar. At the seminar he learned the power for saying yes. When he left the seminar, he began saying YES to everything, regardless of any circumstance. He ended up getting a raise, learning how to fly (among many other fun activities), and meeting the love of his life. As with every romantic comedy, there were downfalls, but I will leave those out for my potential viewers.
I challenge all of you, to say "yes" to everything possible this week. I am going to try for the next month, to say yes and be open minded to everything. I am going to try to change the way I am living in the universe. Hopefully, I will start living life to the fullest! :)

Monday, January 3, 2011

“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.” - Helen Keller

Every year around December people around the globe begin to decide what their personal goal for the upcoming year will be. Will it be to join a gym and lose ten lbs? Will it be to be more positive? Will it be to spend less money and more time with your family? Each personal goal or project represents more than just a new year but it represents the ability for each and every one of us to have what we feel is a new start. It is a way for us to take the cold drab of December and turn it into something great, a new chapter in each of our lives.

While many people do not believe in the malarkey of the New Years Celebrations and Resolutions, I do. Now, I have spent the New Years Celebration in many different ways. I spent it drunk in a hot tub with hometown friends, at a crowded bar with blaring music and a champagne toast, and best of all I have spent it in Times Square. However, no matter how you spend it there is nothing like staying up late watch Dick Clark count down to midnight, the ball dropping, and having the perfect midnight kiss with your loved one.

This New Years Eve was by far the least eventful, it actually included cleaning my room and watching football, but I did walk away from it with a great New Years Resolution. I will be more adventurous in 2011.

In the summer of 2009, right after I graduated college, I spent the summer really living in the moment and flying by the seat of my pants. While, there is no way I can entirely go back to this haphazard life style I am going to do what every mature adult does, I am going plan to be more adventurous. =)

Adventure #1:
My boyfriend and I completed adventure #1 of my New Years Resolution this weekend. He was given free Redskins/Giants tickets for being an amazing salesman at his company. We (more so me) decided that since we didn’t do anything crazy on NYE we were going to spend the weekend in Alexandria and attend the football game. We drove up and spent Saturday night in a hotel and bar hopped in Old Towne Alexandria/ The National Harbor in MD. Both locations were a blast and we actually got to sit next to two Redskins players, DeAngelo Hall and Brian Orakpo.

Game day we slept in super late and then went to a local hockey bar to watch the Vikings game. We met some locals, drank some beers, and had an overall fun time. However, the game was the opposite experience. Being rookies to FedEx Field, we parked approximately 2 miles away and walked through ridiculously drunk fans in the rain only to get to a massive amount of a cluster *beep* disaster that was the “special” line for the club level tickets. I felt as special as an old dirty penny. After being groped by the security guard lady we got to the seats where we found the Redskin’s fans to be overly “rednecky” and obnoxious and this is coming from me who frequents Yankee Stadium (home of the most obnoxious fans). We ended up leaving at half time and driving home to watch the Seahawks v. Rams game which was a pretty good game even though we rooting for the Rams and they lost.

While the game was not the best experience it was fun to have my first adventure of the year and I am super excited for more adventures to come.

But it is not too late for all my stragglers out there. Pick a New Years Resolution and stick to it. Have your fresh beginning and really enjoy it. =)

Monday, August 9, 2010

"Clever father, clever daughter; clever mother, clever son." -Russian Proverb

To most it appears that my blogging career was short lived. However, that is not the case. I have suffered from extreme writers block and instead of blaming it on myself I am going to be like every other child in the world and blame my parents, more specifically my step-dad!

Seeing as I am 22 years old, this may seem shocking to you but it is not a shock that I am blaming him for the fact that I can no longer amuse people with my words. Why you may ask? Well because he said he enjoyed reading my blog! Yes, that is not a type-o, HE ENJOYED IT… My step-dad is pretty much the coolest guy you will ever meet, a retired navy seal, runs marathons, treats my mom great, ANNNDD is the author of two books and a screenplay (and I am not exaggerating or kissing ass here). Yes, that is correct, the one person in my family with enough expertise in an area of something I did, actually enjoyed it. Well from the moment my mom called me and told me the great news, my brain shrunk to the size of a pea, my fingers swelled up so I could not type, and my memory forgot my blog password. If I was going to write and have him enjoy it, it had to be good. So for the past month, I have been racking my brain to come up with clever topics that I know will be insightful and witty on and with nothing coming to mind, all I can say is if there is always this underlying pressure, I am very glad I did not grow up “Daddy’s Little Girl”.

Now my step-dad by no means threw the weight onto my shoulders when he told me he thought my blog was good but rather he wanted me to know that he was proud of me for another one of my cool accomplishments. Since he has been around, he has always been proud of my sister and me for everything that we do (as long as he doesn’t have to pay a court fine for it). He has not asked for much besides to graduate college (which he helped pay for out of generosity) and get a job, which is not unreasonable.

The catch is that he came into my life sometime during my high school years. I cannot think of which year to be exact as that my high school life was filled with lousy friends, boy drama, more boy drama, and lots of self-involved tears. All I can remember is that my parents were married the summer before my senior year in high school. My “real father” (or sperm donor as my sister calls him) and my mother divorced when I was younger so most of my years were spent in what we called our little sorority of my sister, my mom, and myself (sometimes grandma when she was not reading a book). We had tampons lying around the house, bras on the back of our doors, and did not hesitate to walk around in our underwear. So when my step-dad came along it was quite the change, but we welcomed him with open arms.

I have always looked to make him proud because he is successful and one of the smartest people I know, (we always say that he would win big bucks if given the opportunity to play on cash cab) and I am very happy that I have done so. However, now there is the looming need to make every post I make better than the last, thus giving me the severe writers block. I could only imagine if I had had him around when growing up, “Your room looks so clean”. The need to clean it even better would have taken over my ability to focus and the next thing you know I would have been covered in organizational tabs with the vacuum cleaner cord wrapped around my ankle.

So the lesson learned, don’t have kids because everything is ultimately your fault? No, but for now it will just have to be that having a dad proud of you can be the best feeling in the world even if it makes you want to pull your hair out from time to time. And for all you dads out there, be careful to walk the fine line between being proud of your kids and being too proud of them. Mine does quite a good job of walking the tight rope, but your love for their success could actually end up stiffening them.

*Disclaimer- The rest of my family is proud of me too but they have to be they are related by blood. :)*

Thursday, June 24, 2010

“A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.” -Fred Allen

I am not one to get inside of the celebrity gossip. I would not be caught dead buying a Star Magazine and I only buy the Cosmos for the sex tips (most of which are more hysterical than usable). However, lately celebrities have been pushing my buttons. I wish someone would let the rest of us citizens know what day the skies split, the sun shined down on the world, and everyone decided that if you have over 500,000 dollars in the bank you are allowed to and are in fact encouraged to break the law, cheat on your wife, drive drunk, and even harass a masseuse (Al Gore)? Because if that is the case, screw saving up for vacation, I have to save up to buy my get out of jail free card! Even better idea, I will become the first "get out of jail free card" broker for the celebrities. Give me a grand and ill make the rape allegations go away.. oh wait we already have those, they're called lawyers.

And for all of you celebrity junkies who will be up in arms that I am hating on your beloved shrines, there are a few things I have to say.
1. I fully understand that crime happens everywhere and if there are more people watching you, you are more likely to get caught. Don't do it in the first place and you wont get caught.
2. I understand that the "stress and pressure" of their "demanding lives" lead them down the wrong path. Get some therapy or take a bubble bath.
3. And I do understand that people can get bored with all of that money. Buy a puppy (but don't fight it).

But the thing I understand the most is that, if someone is looking up to you or watching you all the time *cough cough almost the entire NFL* you shouldn't rape a girl, get caught up in a drug scandal, or even drive with a suspended license. Did you know that in June alone there were 9 NFL related arrests or crime reports and in May there were 11? You may be the biggest and best tackle or receiver in the world. I don't care, don't break the law.

Whether it be Paris Hilton getting a DUI or Lindsey Lohan's mother attempting to steal an ice cream cake, it needs to stop! It is a shame that the morals of our alleged heroes are lower than probably some of the lowest paid, hard working people in America. And what is worse is that most of them believe they are entitled to get away with the bad things they do. I mean common Martha Stewart did you really think that you could hide the paperwork to your insider trading in a perfectly knitted pillow?

For all of us commoners, all we can do is sit back watch the hell that is called Hollywood and hope that the next time we get pulled over for speeding the cop mistakes us for Pamela Anderson or Brad Pitt.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

“You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said 'Parking Fine.'” -Tommy Cooper

I am not surprised that my first non-introductory blog is on driving as I do it for 120 miles every day in my commute to work. I love my job (in one city) and where I live (in another city) so it was a choice. I don't know how people who either hate their home life or hate their job commute though, I would get so angry. However, I do know one thing, and it is that no one knows how to drive properly, besides myself of course. =}

The Fast Lane. It is for the big boys. If you are not ready to play with the big boys, do not even think of putting on your left blinker. For all the over forty year old men, in their pick up trucks or SUVs, who drive in the fast lane to prove they are manly and may not understand this concept, lets compare it to sports. Let's put it this way, the fast lane is the Major League Baseball of driving. You are only drafted into the Majors as a pitcher if you throw fast and well enough. You should only be driving in the fast lane if you drive fast and well enough. It's that simple.
If you wear a suit M-F and own a squeaky clean huge pick up truck with nothing to haul, simply because you know your wife stole your manhood on your wedding day, that is fine. Just don't slow the rest of us down.

I had similar frustration towards a freshman from James Madison University on Friday afternoon as I rode behind her going 55 miles per hour on a 65 mile per hour road. How did I know she was a freshman you may ask? Well, as I tried so very hard to pass her, I was essentially riding in her back seat as she and her very best gal pal, dressed for the beach, danced to the latest Katy Perry Song. You are in Virginia. You are not a California girl. This is not a laid back driving on the beach kind of road. It is an interstate highway, speed up, move aside, or be prepared to be tailgated. And I don't mean the kind where you get sloppy drunk and eat hot dogs before a football game.

My favorite traffic creator that I have found thus far in my years of driving, was actually spotted yesterday. She is what I like to call the soccus mater, which is Latin for Soccer Mom. I spotted her on the black pavement of interstate 64, creeping along the left hand side in her Ford Freestyle, with sponge bob playing in the back seat. Mini-Vans, especially mini-vans with televisions spark a whole debate of their own. However, this soccus mater held up not just me but 23, yes I counted, 23 other vehicles behind her as she drove perfectly perpendicular with a tractor trailer. When she finally edged up the courage to pass the truck we all sped past her and I am sure more than half of us gave her a look that wouldn't but could kill.

Now do not get me wrong, I have had a reckless ticket and I have cried myself out of way more tickets than cops should allow, so I am far from the perfect driver but I do know that if I am not passing anyone I should move over to the right so people can pass me. It is just the way it works to make traffic move along with ease.

This inability for people to understand the rules of the road will never cease to amaze me as I work my way to and from work. I do know one thing though, even if you are driving a bus that will explode if it goes over 50 miles per hour, and someone is doing 80 behind you wants to pass, you still shouldn't try playing with the big boys.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

"When I was a kid, I had a blog" - Me =)

So, normally I criticize people who have blogs seeing them as people who are unlinked with reality due to the fact that they get online and talk for pages about themselves. I always believed that no one really cared about your life, your thoughts, or your weekend, besides yourself, your family, and maybe your significant other, but even sometimes men are caught not listening. But then I started getting into social networking and the media department at work and it changed my opinion greatly.

At work I am in charge of two blogs, three facebook accounts, four twitter accounts, and an interactive online website regarding the world's public domain patents. To me it sounds like the 12 Days of Social Networking rather than Christmas. And, most days I would rather have 12 pipers piping over uploading my boss's face onto his twitter account. But do not get me wrong, I love my job and my boss's face, I just like Christmas more.

So I started checking out my friends twitters and blogs, like my cousin's and one of my sorority sister's. I just wanted a taste of what they post so I knew what would be good content for blogs and tweets. Now I am guilty as charged with a twitter and blogger account. I am even to the point where I tweeted at The New York Yankee's right fielder Nick Swisher yesterday about his awesome performance on How I Met Your Mother. Sad and pathetic, I know, yet oh so addicting... and I don't mean twitter, I mean Nick Swisher. ;-}

But for real, when did this revolution of social networking come about and why was I apparently a bear in hibernation? Or maybe I was pretending that I had better things to do with my time? This answer I will never know but I do know one thing for sure, I am hooked. And the worst part is, I do not expect people to read my thoughts, opinions, and anything else I deem "blogable" but I am going to write them anyway because why not. When my grand kids have bar-codes embedded in their wrists and flying cars, I can look at them and instead of saying, "When I was a kid, I walked 20 miles to school.", I can say, "When I was a kid, I had a blog!".