Random Tuesdayness - Christmas is Coming! Christmas is Coming!

It's Tuesday (I think) which means it's time for some Random... Not that that's anything other than what you normally get around here. I just have an excuse for it on Tuesdays. If you don't know the rules by now, or want to play, go talk to The UnMom. And while you're out there talking to people, tell whomever's idea it was to travel for work this week that he or she is a raving lunatic. Thanks.

I mentioned last week that I'm getting a new tattoo next month. I'm 99.9% sure I'm going with a lotus flower. Purplish/Pink in color. No black outline. I want it to look more lifelike. With leaves and such... I want color. Do you guys have any suggestions for somewhere to look for pictures for reference?

BTW? I'M GOING TO DENVER IN 9 DAYS!!! To see Cassi!!! OMG!!! I'm dying. I'm so excited. I can't wait. The woman has been without internet for over a friggin' week and I'm dying over here! Could someone in Denver go fix her shit, please? Thanks.

I'm not menopausal... yet. But I thought this was funny. It kind of applies to PMS as well, so it works. Don't take offense guys, you know it made you laugh!

Have any of you watched Million Dollar Money Drop, or whatever the hell it's called? I'm watching it right now and it's giving me massive anxiety. Also? These people are friggin' idiots. I don't consider myself any smarter than the average person, but I've got some common sense. The people on this show? Not so much.Am I the only person missing True Blood and all the hotties on the show? I follow "Alcide" on FB, mostly just for the sexy pictures... and what sexy pictures they are, no? Good lord, that man is too hot for words. If I met him in a dark alley, he's the one that would be runnin' from me. Whoo whee! Hottness! I think I need a cold shower.

I saw this over on my friend Jen's FB page and I really liked it. So I stole it. I'm not sure who wrote it... there's some writing down in the bottom corner but it's waaay too small to make out.

I'm not sure what's going on with Blogger, but I can't move pictures around like I used to and it's REALLY pissing me off. I guess I should start using FireFox and see if that helps. Or maybe just move the blog altogether... who knows!? (Maybe the threats will get it to start working properly again.)

So, Jessica was over at my house a couple of Sundays ago, hanging out with me while I packed for my trip. She and NeNe were sitting on my bed lounging around and NeNe fell asleep. Naturally, she started farting. And naturally Jessica started laughing hysterically. See, the part that's so funny is that NeNe farts out loud. Most dog farts are Silent But Deadly (SBD), not NeNe's. Randomly throughout the day you'll hear, Pbbbt! Pbbbt! Pbbbt! It's awesome. I've never heard a dog fart like that. Neither has Jess, apparently, because she was laughing so hard she was crying. It was pretty entertaining.

And with that, I bid you adieu!

My Inner Designer at Work ... Or, I Just Really Enjoy Spending Money

I've been on a decorating kick the last few weeks... I think the white and/or bare walls all over my house are starting to make me mental. My mom heard about a sale at the Overstock.com warehouse in Salt Lake and we went down to check things out.

Look what I found for, guess how much??? $56!!!! Can you believe it?!?!?! I finally have an adult piece of furniture in my bedroom! The only bad thing is I'm never going to want to spend more than that on a piece of furniture ever again. It's kind of hard to see the colors, but it's kind of a celery green color with different color stripes.

On Friday we got new carpet... Most of my friends/family said it was too early after the dog at the old carpet, but honestly, I couldn't live with it any longer. I was able to put a slip cover on the couch, but I couldn't effectively hide the carpet. We got the carpet from The Carpet Guy and I couldn't be happier with the experience! Totally reasonable price, great customer service, and they offered to lay it the next day! This is the carpet before...

This is the pad underneath that the puppy gnawed on... we were able to just patch it up!

And Voila! The new carpet is in! I went with the darkest option, and although I was a bit hesitant before it went down, I absolutely love it! It changes the entire feel of the room and it looks sooo rich! I got some pics of the room after I put it back together, but they're on my camera and I left the cord at home... again!

I went on a little shopping excursion to Home Goods yesterday. For those of you who don't have a Home Goods, it's the Home Store for TJ Maxx. I absolutely lurve that store! This is the first of my fabulous finds from the day! It's three separate pictures, about 12x12 each, and I got them for $17 total! I'm going to put them up on the far wall in the family room and the orange will pop off of the similar colors in my big green canvas on the other wall.

The original reason for my trip to HG was to find either a mirror or a picture to put on the large wall behind my kitchen table. It's been bare for an entire year now and it's time to find something for it. I was originally thinking about a much larger mirror, but this one was only $30 and that way it won't overpower the space. And it'll be easier to clean!

I found this canvas at HG as well for $15. I'm going to put it up on the wall next to or near the big mirror. I think it'll add a pop of color and just enhance the space. And if I decide it's ugly, it can go somewhere else, or go back to the store!

I scored this rug at Costco on Saturday for $12! It's the perfect colors for my house and it's nice and big. Hopefully the dog doesn't munch on this one... I've gone through about three rugs by now. I also acquired two purple velour, down-alternative pillows for my bed for a total of $15! I'm on a roll here, people! I NEVER find deals like this!

Finally, I absolutely fell in love with this mirror. It doesn't really fit in with my main living area, so I figured I could use it in my bedroom. I also found it at HG and it was only $40. I'm not sure where I'm going to put it yet, but I'll figure it out! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

That's the end of my decorating for the week... I'll share pics once I get everything put up!

I Can't Sleep So I'm Blogging at 2 AM

Why it occurred to me to blog at this time of day/night is beyond me, but I guess that's what I do now when I've got stuff on my mind. I may not be able to sleep because I told Noelle earlier that caffeine doesn't affect me (apparently I'm a liar). It may be because I feel like I have sand in my eyes (and they hurt a lot). But most likely, it's because I'm putting an offer on a townhouse tomorrow and I'm freaking out. Not freaking out because of the money so much (although it's going to be a major commitment), but because there's going to be so much to do. And there is going to be some major adjusting as well.

And yes, I'm getting the original one I wanted!

I've always lived at home, with my family. Neither my brother nor I have ever moved out. It's time to fly the coop. I have lived in two houses my entire life. And better yet, I've always lived in the same neighborhood. The first house we lived in until I was 14. We moved maybe 1/2 mile up the street and we've lived in this one ever since. My family lives in a nice area in the suburbs and we are just about as middle-class as they come. We are kind of the "typical" family... Mom, Dad, daughter, son, a dog and a white picket fence. Well, not white picket, but we live in a nice house. There are no complaints here.

My new townhouse is going to be in a different part of town. Still in the suburbs, but I'll actually be in a different city altogether. I think the shock of driving "home" is going to take some getting used to. I've always driven on the same roads to get me where I need to go. Now I'm going to be taking different paths to get places and that just seems strange to me. Most people would just get over it, but I've come home to the same area for nearly 30 years. Wow. It's gonna be weird.I'm scared about all of the adjustments that I'm going to have to make in such a short period of time. Moving out, having a mortgage, being an adult for the first time in my life. I'm looking very forward to it all, but at the same time, it scares the shit out of me. In the past, I wouldn't have been ready for all of this. I'm ready for it now. I'm just scared. I think that's a justified feeling, no?

So, tomorrow I take the first step toward fulfilling a major life goal. I'm putting an offer on a townhouse that I love and I'm excited/scared/nervous all at the same time. Granted, my brother and I are buying it together, but it's going to be life changing, nonetheless. I'm 99.5% I'm ready for it. The other 0.5% is keeping me awake and causing my brain to run a million miles an hour!
I have a few basics (e.g., martini glasses, a vacuum, steak knives, serving bowls and a toaster oven), but there is going to be so much that I need to buy... dishes, silverware, a fridge, a washer & dryer, hopefully a new bed and a dresser ... lots of stuff! I need a loan just for the other stuff I have to buy!

I'll let you guys know how it goes if I don't die from a panic attack!

I Spent HOW MUCH on Glasses?

Once again I'm plagued with having a lot of things to talk about and then can't remember anything when I sit down to write. I've actually started keeping a list. I got this cute little notebook to keep in my purse and I pull it out every time (almost) that I think of something (e.g., grocery list, blog ideas, poll ideas, things to do, etc). Anyway, prepare yourselves for another fairly random post... Or at least, my weekend in a nutshell!On Friday night Noelle and I planned on going to the Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake, but the weather had other plans for us. Auri ended up getting called off work at the last minute so she was able to join us... By the time we met her at her house it was clear that being outdoors was not in our best interests that evening. We ended up going to the Bayou for some dinner and a couple of beers. We had a good time chillin'.... I tried some Peroni beer (not Pepperoni!) and liked it a lot... and that was about it!

Saturday turned out to be gorgeous... sun shining, no clouds, and more importantly, no rain. It was a little on the HOT side, but I'll take it!

My mom and I ran a few errands (as we do on Saturdays) and went to look at a few townhomes. There is a development out by Daybreak that I looked at a while back but I couldn't remember what it was I didn't like, so we decided to go back. I need to put a book together of all the brochures so I can keep track of all the information.

We went to look at a little development in Murray and I totally fell in love with it. I'd share pics with you, but I forgot the name of the place... so I'll show you tomorrow. The best thing about it is the upgrades are pretty minimal and are things I wouldn't care about anyway. It's got 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and is 2 levels. It's at the top of my price range, but I think we (i.e., Dad) can make it work. I'll keep y'all posted.

That night we ended up going to the Arts Festival (Noelle, Maddie & I) and had a lot of fun. I saw some glasses I liked at one of the glass blowers' booths and decided if I didn't find any others I liked better, I'd go back to buy them... so I did. I spent $70 on two hand blown drinking glasses, but they're awesome! I'll take a pic of them tonight and share tomorrow. I look at them as my first investment for my new home. I also bought a pair of earrings that are totally funky, and I love them!

Yesterday I went up to Ogden with Noelle and Maddie to visit Noelle's parents. Their house is sooo cute and they are adorable. When we got back, I went to give my grandma her shot and then headed over to Auri's house to watch the naughty monkeys. Aidan informed me multiple times that I'm not the boss of him, Taryn watched Indiana Jones, and Tristan & I played Battleship. It was quite the eventful evening.

Last night I watched the 3rd episode of True Blood and the series premiere of Hung. Season 2 of True Blood is great, but I was a little let down by Hung. I'll have to "hang" in there (that was obnoxious) and see what the rest of the series brings. Can I just tell you how much I love Jessica (the new vampire)!? She's fab... I love her attitude and can't wait to see what they're going to do with her! And can I just say I'm pissed that next weekend HBO is NOT showing new episodes!? I have to wait 2 effing weeks for more! Ugh!

Why Do I Make Myself Miserable?

Seriously... what is my problem? What is my problem, you're asking?! (I just realized I've been asking a lot of rhetorical questions lately. Is that technically a rhetorical question? I don't know that I even know what a rhetorical quesiton actually is. My mom said that the other day and my brother spattered off the definition of a rhetorical question, which is totally unlike him).
ANYWAY... My problem is that I have anxiety about looking at my checking account online. Looking at the "recent activity" and balance causes me severe anxiety. And that's just on the days when my balance isn't in the hole. So I'll periodically get an insufficient funds notice in the mail indicating that I've overdrawn my account (thank the Lord for overdraft protection) and get whacked with a $25 fee from the bank. Which is better than bouncing a check, but whatever. What the hell is wrong with me that I can't bring myself to check my account?! I get anxiety about how little money I have, which is stupid, because knowing exactly how much money I have would completely eliminate the full-blown, cracked-out panic attacks I have when I realize I'm in the hole, and have overdraft fees on top of the "in the hole" balance. I need to get my shit together.

I just had to vent about myself and my psychoses to myself (and all you wonderful bloggers out there)... and now I feel slightly better. Kind of. So I think I'll do a new, completely unrelated post. Because who wants to taint (yes, I just said taint) a fun post with a post about panic attacks from lack of funds...