literal LOL.

8 things...because I am avoiding a paper.

that's right, it is the first week of class and I have a paper due tomorrow.  redonk.  so I took this from vicki smalls, with it's spirit of informal tagging.

8 SHOWS I WATCH:

1.  family guy

2.  30 rock

3.  law & order svu

4.  grey's anatomy (for shame.)

5.  the colbert report

6.  south park

7.  the office

8.  the soup!

8 RESTAURANTS I LOVE:

1.  pf chang's.  ooooomg.

2.  houston's

3.  red lobster

4.  panera bread/abc

5.  cafe mexico

6.  outback

7.  any place with chips & salsa, only for the salsa.

8.  pf chang's again.  OM NOM NOM

8 THINGS I DID TODAY:

1.  woke up at an unnatural hour

2.  watched the sun rise while I made myself a delicious breakfast

3.  went to donate blood and left because there were 8 bajillion people there

4.  got a good parking spot on campus

5.  dressed adorably (if I do say so myself)

6.  took chad downtown to explore

7.  went for a walk

8.  kidnapped my own dog

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO:

1.  obama's changes

2.  wedding

3.  finishing my master's

4.  birthday

5.  internship

6.  naps

7.  kids

8.  good food

8 THINGS I WISH FOR:

1.  job security

2.  a whole bunch of money

3.  peace

4.  good things for the planet

5.  a speedier metabolism

6.  cake.

7.  more time

8.  happiness.

8 SONGS I JUST LISTENED TO:

1.  you found me - the fray

2.  santeria - sublime

3.  stand up - flobots

4.  lazy eye - silversun pickups

5.  troublemaker - weezer

6.  sex on fire - kings of leon

7.  wish you were here - incubus

8.  love hurts - incubus

8 MOVIES I LOVE:

1.  anchorman

2.  basically anything with tom hanks

3.  ferris bueller's day off

4.  love actually

5.  little miss sunshine

6.  talladega nights

7.  office space

8.  the die hard series

in accordance with the rules, I tag any and all of you who wish to participate.

hello, wednesday.

so I realized I made no blog-a-licious posts about the inauguration yesterday.  I don't feel the need to get all political on anybody, especially since 90% of the people (that I know of) that read my blog are not guilty anyway, but I'll say this - to all the people out there who are insistent on Obama eventually causing Earth to implode: even if you didn't vote for him and you don't necessarily agree with his politics, he is your new president.  The very least you can do is give the guy a chance to do some good and hope for the best.  Take a deep breath, people.  Besides all that, I am pretty optimistic about the next four years.

moving on.  I started grad school on tuesday...ore deposit geochemistry, advanced isotopic hydrogeology, and environmental geology are my classes this semester.  there are 3, count 'em, 3 people in my isotope hydro class...including me.  there are 6 guys + me (one is a chemical engineer...why??)in my ore geochem class, which is taught by my thesis advisor.  my environmental class is supposed to be a capstone course for undergrad seniors, but I am taking it for fun because we didn't have it at baylor and I am pretty interested in such things.  it's a lot of review of a lot of things I have already done 100 times though, so it shouldn't be very demanding.  I start teaching intro labs next week, which is sort of intimidating, but sort of exciting because I get to lead field trips, which is exciting to my nerdy self for no apparent reason.

other exciting nerd news:  I may be doing an internship this summer at a gold mine company in Nevada.  they pay room & board or whatever and over $20 an hour.  I don't know for sure yet because it really depends on the schedule and the exact compensation, but I'm working on it.

other than that, my life is pretty boring.  I went running for the first time in probably a month last night, and my right hip is now yelling at me for it.  

comedy/make you doubt humanity moment of the day: dlisted article

vote please :)

I also posted this on theknot and facebook, so please disregard if you've seen it/done it already :)

Chad and I are entered into a contest to win a free engagement session on a photographer's blog in denver.  We have to get at least 20 votes to win one of the 6 sessions, and you can vote for us by leaving a comment on the blog with our number (we are #5 - the ice skating picture).  if you have a second and wouldn't mind, it would be awesome if you would vote for us!  you can only vote once per person/IP address or you can get disqualified so only vote once please :)

http://www.thetatteredveil.com/blog/

if you haven't seen this...

you should visit.

onesentence

weekend update.

so, 101 progress:

15.  try a new recipe once a month.

saturday night we had a little soiree with some friends here and my mom and I made these delicious concoctions that I have no name for.  they are very simple:  take a green pepper chopped into reasonable appetizer sized pieces (I suppose you could use any, but I liked the flavor with these), spray with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, crumble some feta cheese on each piece, and then sprinkle some sliced kalamata olives on top of the feta cheese.  grill (or bake) until the peppers are softened.  OMG.  amazing.  they tasted nothing like I expected them to, and they were gone in about 2 minutes.

41.  try a new wine every month.

I tried Black Opal shiraz this month.  I was not such a fan - if you like dry red wines, you would probably be impressed by it, but it was a little too much for me.  It had a good flavor, but it was not quite what I like.  I did use it to make some marinara for my baked eggplant parmesan, and it was a nice touch there, though!

32.  keep my car clean - especially if I get a new one!

check.  I have had the car for almost a month and it has been kept thoroughly pristine.  I scrubbed it down last week, and there is no trash piling up inside.  victory, so far.

64.  clean out my closet and donate/consign what i can.

I did this right before we moved back to Colorado, and I did it again when we got here.  I have a cargo area full of clothes to take to the consignment shop.

75.  get my parents to switch lightbulbs.

by this, I mean from traditional ones to the energy efficient spiral ones.  well, turns out they had pretty much done most of the household bulbs on their own!  success.

78.  register for practical wedding gifts - and at least one splurge.

we registered last tuesday.  it was fun but really pretty exhausting.  I would say our splurge was the Dyson we registered for.  my parents have had one for a few years and I love it - so I must have one.  I really wanted the pink breast cancer one they came out with, but I will settle for the allergen one we registered for.  I was also excited for the free gift we got from crate & barrel - they give you a crystal heart bowl when you register there.

confessions:

- I start grad school on tuesday.  I know I should probably be excited or something, but I am really just dreading more school.  plus, I am not all that psyched about my schedule right now (it is still sort of in limbo though...so that might change).  I know that it should go by really fast due to the fact the 3.5 years of undergrad pretty much flew by, and theoretically I should only be in my master's program for 1.5 years, but I really, truly, with every fiber of my being hate school.  I want the advanced degree, but I hate the process.

- I have not heard from my doctor since my ovarian ultrasound.  I am not sure if this is good or bad, but either way I do not like being in limbo.  

- I am not sure if I know how to be a teacher, so I don't know how this TA position thing is going to go.  ack.

- chad jacked up my favorite (of our 2) guitar controller for guitar hero being a drunken fool on saturday, and I want to punch him.  okay, maybe not the violence, but I am ticked.

healthy?

so starting about two and a half years ago, I started having a neat health problem (no need to go TMI here, right?).  I was put on medication for it, and although it wasn't working, I was told to give it at least 6 months.  Nope, didn't work.  So, they switched me to a different medication.  It worked for about a year, but right before Thanksgiving last year, it stopped working, too.  neat.  I thought it would work itself out, but it didn't, so I went to the doctor on Thursday.  

Chad and I were pretty scared (read: terrified), because based on my mom and grandmother's medical history, I was expecting cancer.  My mom (and grandmother, but much earlier) had the same problems as me and ended up being diagnosed with ovarian cancer basically right before it was too late.  This was in the early 90s, it was dealt with, and she is fine now.

Luckily, after my appointment, I *appear* to be cancer free - but possibly have PCOS.  I have to go for an ovarian ultrasound on Monday, and have to do this every year now to be sure, but I am okay for now.  Even if I have the PCOS, it's not completely horrible and can be treated.  I also have a new medication for my symptoms, and I am hopeful, because I am already feeling a little better.  The doctor said I should see huge improvement before my follow up appointment in February.  Cross your fingers for me.

random thoughts...

1) revlon beyond natural make up is amazing.

I am usually a strictly Clinique girl, but I kept seeing Jessica Alba on TV, taunting me with the magic powers of this make up (it's the one that goes on white, but matches to your skin color when you apply it).  I am pretty impressed.  It feels really light, and I like it.  I may just switch...*hides from lady at Macy's Clinique counter*

2)  I love broccoli salad.  I love it too much.  

3)  we visited that wedding venue today - it was awesome.  We're very excited.  I have pictures, but am too lazy to find my camera cable.

4)  I don't actually know where my camera charger is.  Damn.  Also, I have been taking pictures for the 365 project and I should upload them.  sigh.

5)  I love Wii fit.  It is awesome because you can do an hour and a half of aerobics without even realizing it.  Because it is fun.  Yesssss.

6)  I haaaate time warner cable.  They are ridiculous.  I don't even have their service anymore and I am still dealing with their shenanigans.

Potato)  There are a lot of new movies I want to see.  And some that I am embarrassed about (coughBrideWarscough).  

fingers crossed...

I mentioned in my last post that we were frustrated with our original venue choice because of the coordinator's mistake. Tomorrow, we are going to visit a second venue which seems amazing from pictures/information/other brides' opinions, and seems to "fit" much better with our general theme. It's a great rustic-style (but actually new) lodge on some acreage in an upscale neighborhood. It's very affordable, open to any and all vendors we want to bring in, and has great outdoor spaces/views. I'm hopeful and excited.

Fingers crossed, we will have a venue tomorrow.

p.s. we're getting married in 8 months!

checks, rants, raves, christmas, and a new year.

Happy new year, everyone!  I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season, and wish everyone the best this year.

I haven't updated in a little while, but that's because we were so busy getting everything taken care of to move, and then getting settled in Colorado.  We're done now, and we seem to have made it in one piece.  Chad starts grad school on the 13th, and I start on the 20th.  

On to Christmas!  I love Christmas.  My present to myself was basically my new car (I shouldn't have!).  Chad got me Guitar Hero III and a new guitar, which I love much better than the one that came with World Tour.  It's much more responsive/less noisy.  

Chad also got me a giant jar of my favorite Yankee Candle, the mistletoe scent.  I have no idea what mistletoe is supposed to smell like, but this smells like a wonderful, piney dream.  He also got me the Wall-e DVD.  I LOVE this movie.  I have a slight obsession.

My aunt got us a Wii Fit, which is ridiculously fun.  I love the hula-hooping, ski jump, and step aerobics.  I highly recommend it!

My parents also got us both some clothes and some nice boots.  Question for you fashionista-types: what color tights would you wear with a gray sweater dress?  My mom picked out an adorable sweater dress from Macy's, and bought some gray textured vera wang tights to wear with it, but this seems like way too much gray to me, and I don't really know which color would be better.  Any thoughts?

Moving on to some checks: #17 is in progress.  This is hard for me because I am one of those people who fears change and am terrified to try new foods.  Last Monday, we were driving around Denver running errands, and Chad decides he simply must have food from some hole-in-the-wall Mexican place we drove by.  My stomach said no, but whatever.  It ended up actually being very delicious - I would definitely eat there again.  They had fabulous salsa, which is really my only requirement in life.  

#35 is also in progress - our trash service picks up recyclables as well, so its quite easy.  I feel really good about it!  

#42 is in high gear.  It's much easier to do here, where the tap water is actually delicious, and not painful to drink.  I have been chugging it since we got here, and hopefully it will do me some good!

A rant:  in October, we found a place up here that we absolutely loved for our wedding.  I checked with the coordinator several times about the date still being available, etc. and she assured me we had a hold on the date and we would be alerted if anyone expressed interest in our date.  Well, last week, we went up to the venue to tour it and we were right, we loved it.  So we contact the coordinator to book, and she says the date is booked.  Excuse me?  We have it in writing from her saying we have a hold.  She says that it is a big misunderstanding, she thought we had a hold on the date, but she was wrong, and she was new at the time so she wasn't sure how to handle it, etc.  but she can offer us another date at a discount because of the confusion.  WTF?  I am so annoyed.  We still love the venue, but I am too upset with them to use their facility now...how do I know you will get it right this time?  Will we order chicken and beef and get served fish and veal?  I want to smack someone.

So now we are on the look for a new venue.  We have found a couple we really like, we just need to go visit them.  But really, UGH.  I am over wedding planning.