My hubby, Rob, wins major, MAJOR points today. I've been struggling lately. I feel lost, like I don't know what I should be doing with my life. It's emotionally draining. And on top of that, I've been overwhelmed with tasks, for work and outside of work. I basically feel as if I'm drowning. To be honest, it's my own fault for taking on so much. I shouldn't, especially since I'm horrible at prioritizing.
Anyway, today proved to be another rough day. I was so frustrated midday that I called Rob blubbering about my unhappiness. He listened. He advised. He rationalized. And then I went back to work.
Two hours later, as I'm fighting with my printer, Office Space style, I see Rob out of the corner of my eye holding lunch, a card, and these:
Gestures like these from Rob the Robot are few and far between, but they always seem to come at the moment I need them most. I know that no matter what, Rob will always be there to support me, encourage me, and help me through rough patches. I'm a lucky gal!
Devon and Jeope are much more prompt than I am, but I'm finally getting around to posting a few images from their voyage to the P-H-L.
What can I say? I had a fantastic time. I'm so grateful that they made the trip out here, and I hope I don't have to wait a few more years before we get together again. They are ma homies, and I have mad love for them.
And huge virtual hugs to Dave H., Patti, Karma, Keith, Jenn, Nikita, Marta, Dave S., Steph, and Chele who also helped make the weekend superb. Gotta love the interwebs!
That's me. For some reason last week, I decided that my outgrown bangs were ruining my "look", so I was going to get a blunt cut. But since it was a holiday week, I couldn't score an appointment with my stylist. Drats! So thanks to some coaxing, (thanks a lot, Jeope) I got the idea in my head that I could cut my own hair. I used to do it. And there were rarely any disasters, except for the time my mother took the scissors to my bangs the day before 9th grade class pictures and they ended up a whole inch shorter than I wanted.
I stopped at the grocery story on the way home from work last Wednesday and bought a $20 pair of barber shears. I stormed into the house and shouted to Rob, "I have to take care of something!" SNIP!
Whoops.
That first snip was a little shorter than I wanted. Dammit!!! Well, it was too late now, so I had to do the whole thing. I walked out of the bathroom with a new 'do and said to Rob, "I think I made a terrible mistake."
The next few days I started to get accustomed to my fringe. And now, I don't hate them at all. I might even like them. I think it'll look even better once my non-bang hair grows longer.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was delightful. Spent the day with Rob's family and then went to my parents' house for the weekend. I have instilled a love of Rock Band in my father. I'm so proud.
This morning I went around the neighborhood hanging door hangers for a neighborhood food drive. I got the idea a few weeks ago and I'm pretty excited about it! My only fear is that some crotchety neighbor will leave me an angry voicemail about leaving garbage on their door. But hopefully people are filled with the holiday spirit. Here are the door hangers I whipped up.
So I suppose that's all that's going on right now. I'm also trying to organize our holiday soirée, but it seems that a lot of people already have plans on the 20th, so it may end up being a small group of us pigging out and playing games. I'd be perfectly happy with that!
It's creeping up quickly. Christmastime. Pretty soon I'll be pulling my grandmother's tree out of the garage and struggling with hanging lights. But I'm vowing to make this Christmas different. Come on, I'm the NICE girl, right? It would be out of character if I didn't try to do something socially responsible.
At Barnes and Noble the other day I picked up this book, 1001 Ways to Do Good. When paging through, one jumped out at me.
#361. Organize a Neighborhood Food Drive
Hmm. Well, I live in the perfect neighborhood. It's a small, confined suburban development filled with townhouses and condos. I could hit a lot of homes in a short amount of time. The more I started thinking about, the more I liked the idea. I could design little cards to leave at their doors...no, door hangers! And I could ask people to either bring their bags to my house or leave them on their doorstep at a particular date and time and I could go around the neighborhood picking them up. Easy! I mean, everyone must have some cans or boxes of something they aren't using in their pantry. Right? So I contacted the Food Bank of South Jersey, and they are super supportive of the idea! My goal is to do this the first week of December. I really hope all goes well. If it does, I'd love to make it a yearly tradition!
My other good thought was actually Rob's step mom's idea. She mentioned at the last family function that instead of buying gifts, she'd rather just chip in and buy a family a llama, something her mom continues to do with her friends. We chuckled at the idea, but I really think it's brilliant! Every Christmas, we painlessly stand in front of the grocery story gift card wall and select presents for Rob's family. And you know what? We get the same things in return. Not that I'm not grateful! But it seems a little pointless to give someone a $50 Lowes gift card when they give you the same exact thing right back.
So in that book, they mention Heifer International, where you can provide needy families with resources like cows, llamas, sheep, chicks, etc.
I'm going to print out the info and bring it along to Thanksgiving. I feel like I might be maturing. (Finally, at 28 years old!) Normally, I'm pretty greedy. I want gifts. Good ones. Lots of them. But really, for the first time this year, I don't want anything. And I can say that in all honesty. I always thought my parents were crazy when they said things like that, but maybe they are right. Maybe I got to the age when I have everything that I need. A wonderful husband, a good job, a beautiful home, a loving family. What else could I ask for?
I took off work today so I could work on a project, but I haven't even started and it's 2:15 pm. That's bad. And it's all your fault! I could have started, but nooooo. I had to post for you! You'd better feel special.
Anyway, I wanted to get some work done today because I'm not going to be around this weekend. We're headed up to my parents' house tonight, since they are closer to NYC. Tomorrow we're going on a walking food tour in Greenwich Village with my in-laws. Unfortunately, the weather couldn't be crappier. "Windy with morning showers evolving to a steady, soaking rain in the afternoon." Awesome. That's kind of putting a damper on the fun of the whole thing.
In other news, I wanted to share this with you. Suzie, who is an absolute sweetheart and writes the blog Button & Squiggle sent me a package of goodies! Blog readers, meet Gelb (left). Gelb, meet my blog readers. She was holding a little blog contest for Gelb and she ended up making a bunch of Gelb friends so that she could send one to everyone who had entered! He's so lovely! She also sent me an assortment of paper goodies too, which you know always wins my heart.
But in addition to all that, I got a special treat. Suzie creates these beautiful illustrations, and she drew a picture of me and Gelb! I think it's the best drawing of me that exists! I was so excited about it that I ran out to Target to buy a frame, and I hung it in my office. Isn't it great?!
Other than that, I have no news. I'm working on this project, sort of having to do with Operation NICE. If all works out, it could be really amazing, but I don't want to get my hopes up just yet. I'm not going to share in fear of jinxing anything, but I'll let you all in on it when the timing is right.
Rob called me when I was in the middle of this post. After our conversation, he said, "I love you, now go right." I replied, "What?" And he kept saying, "go right, now, go right." So I look right, and there's my window. I'm thinking, is he outside and he's trying to tell me he came home early? "Huh??" Then he says, "Write, like type. Go write!" Ohhhhh. Those dang homonyms. They get me every time.
Hi everyone! I've been around, I swear. I know you've noticed that my posting has not only diminished in quantity, but also quality. Sorry for the lame video posts, life has been a tiny bit overwhelming lately. Work is...well, work. It's busy season for us. And unfortunately our busy season is much like the baseball season. Excruciatingly long. (Um, I mean, go Sox!)
Aside from work, Operation NICE has been quite the time-sucker lately. I mean that in the best way possible! I love this project, I do. But sometimes it's tough sitting in front of a computer for 9 hours straight and then eating a quick meal only to sit in front of a different computer for a few more hours. Do you know how behind I am in Top Model, Project Runway, and Gossip Girl?! Egads! But in the end, it's all worth it. (Oh, side note. There's a giveaway going on over there now, so you may want to stop by.)
My Roberto has been coaching soccer, which means he isn't around to do his wifely duties like dishes, vacuuming, and laundry. And lord knows I'm not pickin' up those tasks! Therefore, you can imagine the state of our home. I could probably write "WASH ME" in the layer of dust on our hardwood floor.
In hilarious news, my mother called me today to tell me that they had a sewage blockage which resulted in the explosion of their bathroom. An explosion of poop! My clean freak mother bleached the entire area approximately 40 times, but she claims she can still smell poop in the house.
Excuse me for a minute.
HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA!
Okay, I'm back. I tried to show her how funny this situation is, but she doesn't see it that way. One day she will.
No other news to report, as of yet. I hope you all are doing super duper!
Last Friday was my 28th birthday. One year closer to 30, as my grandchildless mother likes to remind me. It was a fun day, particularly since I didn't have to work. I took this photo in the morning, so I have one to document my 28th year. People still think I look like a kid. I suppose that's a good thing.
We started our day with breakfast as a nearby café. I heart breakfast foods. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, toast. Mmm. Artery-clogging goodness! Then we went to see the Real Pirates exhibition at the Franklin Institute because I had received free tickets via Starbucks. (Thanks Starbucks!) It was really neat. I was blown away when I saw the real pirate's treasure spilling out of the cliché treasure chest. We were even able to touch some of the "pieces of eight", but Rob refused because "do you know how many people have TOUCHED that????"
Afterwards we headed to Marathon Grill for a burger and then I had a delicious milk shake on the way home. I was able to rest for a few hours before we headed back to the city for bowling with our friends.
The best part of the night was the end of our final game. The boys side finished early because they had one less player. Rob had the lead with a 149. When it came to my 10th frame, I had a 130. I told everyone that I needed either a strike then a spare or a spare then a strike, which was highly unlikely, to beat Rob. But everyone was rooting me on because apparently no one ever wants Rob to lose. Plus it was MY birthday! My first ball ended up being a strike. The crowd cheered! My next ball was a 6. Not great. The pressure was on. I threw that final ball and we all watched intently. It felt like slow motion. SPARE!!! I won with a 150, highest game of the night! Haha! It was glorious!
After bowling we went to the 700 Club and boogied down to some old school hip hop. There's nothing like a little Skee-lo on your birthday. All in all , a way fun night!
I was teasing Rob because he kind of blew it a bit. The bowling party wasn't a surprise, since he had to ask me for my friends' phone numbers. And he didn't buy me a birthday present. No card. No cake. Nothing. And his reasoning? "You don't need anything." Well duh. He said that my present was breakfast, lunch, and bowling. He's right, I don't need anything. But I admit it was a little sad not having any gift to open. And no surprises. Even if he would have picked up some grocery store flowers of something, it would have been a surprise. But Rob has never been the greatest with surprises, so I kind of expect it now. That's why I spoiled the heck out of myself that whole week. Someone's gotta, right? Luckily I take good care of myself since my hubby isn't the "spoiling" type.
But I loved my birthday! And I have a feeling my 28th year is going to be a really great one!
I came to my parents' house this morning for a few days of quality family time. On the agenda for today was a manicure, eyeglass shopping, lunch, and a trip to Barnes and Noble.
Picking out frames was much easier today than it usually is! I normally go through a good hour of indecision before I decide on a pair that I really feel so-so about in the end. But today I found about five similar frames, and I really did like all of them. But the pair I ended up buying was the easy winner. Check 'em out!
While waiting for Lenscrafters, my parents and I went to kill time at Barnes and Noble. At the recommendation of my father, I picked up Creative Visualization. I have this feeling inside of me that I should be doing something more meaningful with my life than formatting faxes or powerpoint presentations, so I'm going to see if I can find a bit of guidance. My father is a brilliant man, and I take his opinions very seriously. He truly believes in the idea of creative visualization, so I'm going to give it a shot.
I visualize myself doing some serious shopping tomorrow with my mom. I think I can make that happen.
Rob and I spent the weekend up at Rob's dad's house for his 4th annual summer bbq extravaganza. It was a great time! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Rob and I dominated Ladder Ball. I spent some quality time with all of my in laws. I ate so incredibly well.
I should have taken a photo of the actual party to contrast these photos of the area where they live.
Friday through Sunday was a treat. I was able to spend it with one of my favorite people. Maria came to visit for the weekend and it was just what I needed. When she's with me, I feel like I can be completely myself: loud, quiet, honest, goofy, crazy, whatever!
Now she's gone and I'm a sad Mel. But I'll be counting the days until I can visit her (in November!) and look back on these photos remembering the crazy fun we had!
Not to mention some crazy embarrassing karaoke:
(I'm being very brave by posting this silly video!)
Rob's birthday bowling was a hit! Perhaps I only feel that way because I kicked tons of bowling ass. Who knew I had such skillz? I believe my friends are very impressed. Or embarrassed. I couldn't really hear them.
My wonderful husband turns 30 today! I don't know what I'd do without him.
He makes me sane. He makes me insane. He makes me eat dinner when I'm not hungry. He makes me take vitamins. He makes me swoon. He makes me presents. He makes me give him a kiss as soon as I walk in the door. He makes me safe. He makes me more confident. He makes me sing duets with him in the car. He makes me walk on the inside of the sidewalk. He makes me laugh uncontrollably.
This past week was the Philadelphia Film Festival, so for the first time ever, I decided to take advantage of that. I ended up seeing six movies, and while I'm kind of happy that I can go home after work and spend an evening at home relaxing for the first time since April 3th, I'm disappointed that I won't always have such a diverse array of films at my disposal.
I'm no critic. I know nothing about film. So I refuse to give movie reviews because I know I'm not qualified to say anything more than, "I liked it" or "I didn't like it." So that's pretty much what I'll do.
Cartoonucopia The first film I saw was actually a collection of animated shorts. Some were funny, some were boring, some were eye candy. My favorite would have to be "Fantasie in Bubblewrap", which was video of bubble wrap with little faces superimposed on the bubbles. It was a few minutes of the bubbles freaking out and shrieking as a sadistic hand with a pencil destroyed them, one at a time. Hilarious!
Join Us This was the one movie I really wanted to see. It was a documentary about a small religious cult and what happens to the folks that decide to leave and go through cult rehabilitation. Creepier than Jesus Camp. I was so captivated by the film that I ended up buying a book about cults, which was difficult to find. Apparently Barnes and Nobel and Borders don't carry books on cults.
Eleven Minutes I had to see this, being a Project Runway fanatic and a Jay McCarroll fan. But it was even better than I could have imagined! I was nearly in tears from laughing so hard throughout this documentary! McCarroll is quite a character!
California Dreamin' Described in the program book as an "astounding international comedy", I was really disappointed. First of all, I chuckled at one scene, but it was far more depressing than funny. Secondly, it had that shaky hand-held camera feel, so I started feeling sick after about 30 minutes, and the next 2 hours weren't any better. There are such great reviews for this film, so maybe I just didn't "get it". I can accept that. But I was checking my watch every five minutes. (Trailer below is not in English.)
The End I'm glad Rob picked this documentary about Cockney gangsters. It was really entertaining, and I loved the art direction. I probably never would have chosen to see this movie, but I'm happy I did.
Son of Rambow My favorite BY FAR! We almost skipped this one. Thank goodness we didn't! All I can say is that you have to watch the trailer, and if it comes to your town, I recommend seeing it!
Well, that's it! No more films for me. Maybe I can get back to my Netflix queue. I've had Before Night Falls at my house for a month. One thing that I really enjoyed was all the Q&A with the directors. I wish I could have that at every movie I see! Well, I'll be waiting for next year.
Last night Rob and I went to a free screening of Morgan Spurlock's (of Supersize Me fame) upcoming documentary Where in the world is Osama Bin Laden?, along with a Q&A with Spurlock after the movie.
What a great movie! I feel like I was able to take a lot away from it. I have to applaud Morgan Spurlock for making a movie about the Middle East that was simple enough for me, someone who knows very little about US foreign policy, and yet compelling enough for Rob, who is very knowledgeable on the subject, and happens to be currently reading two books about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
The only downside of the event was the irritating college student sitting across the aisle from us, who during the Q&A, frantically waved her hand around like an 8 year old the entire time, going "Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!" and mumbling loudly each time she was overlooked. SO FREAKIN' DISTRACTING! And her inappropriate question showed her level of immaturity because it was addressed in the movie, as well as by Spurlock when annoying chick's friend asked a similar question 10 minutes earlier. She was obviously so focused on trying to get "called upon" that she wasn't even listening to a word Spurlock was saying throughout the entire Q&A. I kind of wanted to punch her.
But despite that incident, it was an edumacational night that sparked much conversation between me and Rob on the subject of the Middle East. It's nice having a husband that is so interested in World Affairs so he can keep me updated.
Anyway, if the movie comes to your town, I suggest you see it. I have to put Supersize Me in my Netflix queue. I avoided it for a while because I love fast food so much! But I suppose it'd be good for me to watch it.
For the last few weeks, Rob kept mentioning how he had a "surprise" for me, but he needed some time to work on it. I wasn't expecting much. In fact, the last time Rob had a "surprise" that he had to "work on", I ended up with a life-size Rob doll.
So last Friday, when Rob received the phone call from school letting him know he had a snow day, he told me that he'd have time to finish my surprise. (I was still bitter that he had the day off.)
Anyway, when I get home from work, he escorts me into my office (craft lab), where I see this sight:
He had constructed a miniature guitar out of cardboard, paper, string, and really sloppy double sided tape! It was so adorable! And yet, I wondered to myself, "what the heck is this?" Then, taped above the little guitar was a notecard with a name, phone number, and "eight 30 minute guitar lessons." He had researched a guitar teacher so that I could get on my way to becoming the rock star I always knew I was!! (See previous blog ramblings.)
Anyone that knows me understands that I'm not really into sports. But my husband is into ALL sports. (Unless it's a women's sport, because that doesn't count.) I couldn't care less that the Superbowl is tonight, although as an advertising junkie, I love to critique the commercials, which have been remarkably terrible the last few years.
I'll root for the Giants for three reasons. #1-They are a huge underdog. #2-My dad is a giant Giants fan. #3-Rob hates the Patriots. Events like this always remind me of one night when I was at the North Star Bar for a show and a big group of people were watching some important sporting event and cheering loudly. As the cheering subsided, a guy shouted, "Sports!!" very sarcastically. That's how I feel. I'd make that into a shirt, If sarcasm could be conveyed through one.
What would I rather be doing? Listening to some of the awesome music I scored at a used record shop yesterday, of course. I picked up six albums.
Death Cab - Transatlanticism Stereolab - Seren Velocity Björk - Debut Joy Division - Permanent Ray Lamontagne - Till the Sun Turns Black The Magnetic Fields - i
It was a marvelous holiday this year! On Christmas Eve we went to Rob's grandmother's house, where his family got together and scarfed down as much seafood as possible. Fried shrimp, scallops, calamari, salmon, crab legs....mmmmmm. I ate so much I couldn't have dessert. There was some Wii. We watched Santa go by on the fire truck. All in all, a great night. I was pooped by the time we got home, but I had to be up early the next morning to prepare for the arrival of my parents and grandfather.
But before that, Santa came! Rob and I had a scaled-down holiday since we just treated ourselves to a new tv. We had a limit that I know he blew. But I deserve it! Here's a little holiday montage.
1.) New Coat #1 - from Rob; 2.) Spiderman card - Rob had some snazzy SpiderMel artwork on the inside; 3.) Rob modeling his new Puma jacket; 4.) Rob's favorite gift of the year - from my parents; 5.) My favorite present; 6.) "Thanks for the coat, darling!"; 7.) Gifts are exciting; 8.) New Coat #2 - from my parents
I snagged some great loot. Besides my awesome two coats, I received some great gift cards, a whole "nap" set including blanket, pillow, and socks, and a car stereo. After a big meal (thanks to Boston Market), a ginormous chocolate cream pie (thanks to Wegmans) and loads of presents, we all gathered round the fire to relax. Mindy (my mom's puppy) looked especially comfy. After my family left, I put my "nap" set to good use on the couch in front of the fire. The perfect end to the perfect holiday.
For my mom's birthday, I'm going to offer to take her to Atlantic City tomorrow. She loves that place, but now that her dog has taken over her life, she won't leave it at home for longer than an hour or two. So since Rob and my dad will be around to puppy-sit, I might actually get her out of the house.
My mom is a big gambler. Video poker mostly. And I can see how addictive it is, but I try my best to avoid casinos. One too many bad roulette incidents. Damn that "0" and "00"!! Maybe I'll bring a book and hang out at the bar.
So anyway, I promised I wouldn't be diary-like, so let me share some shopping notes. I want to have a holiday party on Dec 15th. Despite my challenges regarding what time to hold the stupid thing, my other big question has to do with paper plates. Well they have to look nice! Here are some of the ones I was checking out.
Plum Party's Solid Scalloped Plates These might be fun with a funky patterned cocktail napkin. Not crazy about the shape. Plus, I don't even know if I want to do red and green. I was thinking maybe a deep red and ice blue. Then again, I'm a sucker for a lime green.
Bambu's Veneerware They don't scream "Christmas", but they are very earth-friendly. Who knows? With the right napkins, these could be very cool! It's not glitzy, that's for sure. But I could decorate around these, I think.
It's my mom's 50th birthday today! I'll be heading up there this weekend to "celebrate." By "celebrate" I mean lie around and do nothing, except maybe take a nap. I just have to say, I am so proud of her. I just found out that she quit smoking a month ago! I have been pestering her for my entire life. I really hope she sticks with it because I need her to stay around as long as possible.
In other news, I spent 4 hours of my life nearly crying over Leopard yesterday. The stupid thing screwed me all up. It ended up just being minor, and easily fixable issues, but it was high stress. Especially since I'm swamped at work. So my advice? Upgrade at your own risk!
Oh yeah, and we bought a new tv last night! It's a 26" LCD that was on clearance at Circuit City. Not that big, but way better than the 20" tube from the 90's that we had in our bedroom! It's so thin and light. Purty cool. So we said that's our Christmas present to each other. A little early.
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