kick-ass weekend recap

Friday

• found our couch on the world wide web and tried it out in person (SUCCESS!)
• got crafty: turned a regular ol' scarf into an infinity scarf/snood with a pair of scissors, the ability to tie a knot, and a little patience
  

Saturday

• my first good run in a while, even if it was <2.5 miles
• made our place sparkle
• ate Kel's delicious crock-pot jambalaya
• pre-game beer and football at a bar
• Sharks vs Capitals: row five. you hear that?! ROW. FIVE. it was so much fun...the game is so much faster and the guys are so much bigger when you're up that close. every time the Caps were on penalty, our section was in a heckling uproar. and they WON.

Sunday

• hit up the shooting range for my stepbro's birthday: it was my first time ever shooting a gun. it was so loud, it made me giggly at first. then I felt like a bad ass. fired a .22 pistol, 9mil, 40, 45, and a .22 rifle. I counted it as my workout to withstand any and all recoil.
• lounged around (hey look, I even blogged!)
• early to bed for some solid sleep

cool story, Hansel.

well lookie here!

Why, hello! Yeah, its been a while. My bad. For some reason, finding any spare time to do the dishes, much less blog, has been a bit of a challenge of late. Meh.

Here's a quickie for you:



Yes, Summer, you did post this on your blog today. Call me a copycat. Whatever.

This video has burrowed its way into my brain (for reasons aside from the strange song). I've been to the official WTHIM site I've watched his "how I did this and got paid for it" presentation and I find myself actually getting jealous of this guy. Like crazy jealous. Which is a super-mature reaction, if you ask me. I'm green with envy that this kid has been to SO many rad (and some not-so-rad) places, has brought hoards of people together simply by doing something goofy, made a living doing it and that he made it look so damn easy. It makes me wanna yell HEY, I'm goofy. I'm creative. When the hell am I gonna get paid to travel and show it off?!?!?!

This video comes at a strange time, as Rob and I sort of stand at the edge of our post-Thunderbird-future and I continue to try to figure out what I want to do for a career. I'm trying to inch toward being a big girl with a real job that I enjoy and then freaking Matt pops in and -bam!- my priorities feel all askew again. Dammit.

I must admit, it was pretty fun to watch the country name pop up and go I've been there! but there were just too many not yets for my liking...

Dear Future Employer,
I'm gonna need about 6 months per year off -paid, of course- to go do this kinda stuff.
Kthxbai.
High-five,
me

UPDATE: I just learned that "everybody in world has seen this", so hey everybody: sorry for showing up late to the party. And non-everybodies like me: enjoy the show.

oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

just a taste...

...of what Rob gets to deal with on a daily basis (this time, via Skype chat):

[6:53:23 PM]
nicole: oh shit. i just made eye contact with the secret zebra/grama-cakes that i stash in the cupboard. i'm pms-ing hard core (youre welcome) and now i cant get them out of my mind.
Rob: did they look back at you ?
Rob: they aren't chocolate thogh?
nicole: yup. hence the eye contact. (our eyes made contact) WHAT DO I DO/!??!?!?!? HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
nicole: theyre full of good-for-you things, just like chocolate.
nicole: i'm scared.
Rob: are you saving them for a special occasaion?
nicole: no. just for being a fatty. tell me no.
Rob: haha
nicole: please.
Rob: no
Rob: don't eat those
nicole: what am i gonna eat instead, praytell?!!
Rob: save them for when you REALLY NEED THEM
nicole: i may decimate a 1/2 pound of goldfish crackers, then.
nicole: which is worse?!?!!
Rob: i am not sure
nicole: who do i save: the zebras or the fishes?!?!?!?!
nicole: HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!
Rob: would you only eat 1?
nicole: cake!?
Rob: yes
nicole: well, no. they do come in a convenient 2-pack (not tupac).
Rob: haha
nicole: i'd have to eat both. its like a law.
Rob: i did not know that
nicole: what would YOU do?!?!?!
Rob: it is 7pm. could you just eat dinner?
nicole: i havent started thinking of dinner yet.
nicole: which is a whole other danger.
Rob: why don't you make dinner
nicole: becuz i dont have to if i eat zebra cakes and goldfish!
Rob: you can have 1 cake with milk for desert
Rob: and by being good
nicole: oooooh oreos! now i want oreos. in ice cream.
Rob: put the other in ziplock and take it for lunch tomorrow
nicole: oh this isnt gonna end well.
nicole: this cant possibly end well.
nicole: ruuuuuuuuuun kali! runnnnn for your life!!!!!!!!!
Rob: ok. then eat dinner and reward yourself with one of the many frozo options nearby
nicole: oooooooooh froyo.
nicole: gummi worms. not bears. worms.
nicole: and caramel corn.
Rob: jeezus woman
Rob: when was the last time youate?!
nicole: like 3pm.
nicole: i'm not even hungry.
nicole: just craving the moon. and stars.
Rob: apparently you are...
nicole: fine. i'm gonna try to be a growed up and make an actual meal, rather than standing in the kitchen snarfing down things that come in cellophane...
nicole: ...but i'm not going to pretend to like it...
[7:01:18 PM]

floo-ers!

my farmer's market loot from Saturday included a giant $3 bouquet of cornflowers...three vases worth!

and she walked away unscathed.

Anyone who knows me - and I mean really really knows me - knows that my feet are pretty much off limits. Like the Mona Lisa. Small. Cute. Protected by sixteen inches of bulletproof glass. I buy them (lots of) pretty things (shoes) and you keep your grubby mitts off 'em. You then get to look at my awesome shoes and we both don't get maimed. It's a win-win.

Until yesterday, in line with the don't-touch-approach, I'd never had a legit pedicure. I do all my own stunts, folks. I'm crazy ticklish, complete with violent and expletive-laced reactions (seriously, I'll gouge your eyes out), and one wrong clip of a toenail and I'm down for days. Literally. Hence the lack of pedis in my past.

When my Mom mentioned that we should/could/would go get manicures and pedicures together for a belated-Mother's Day-and-birthday-celebration, I guffawed. Aloud. Yes, I'm an ass. We went anyways, so you see what being an ass gets me: pampered. ; ] While I may have blacked out for portions of the experience, this is my rendition of the 56-minute appointment:

Petrified of being cut, tickled, contracting a staph infection, I reluctantly climbed into the pedi-chair. Naturally, of the FOUR Spa-Ladies appointed to our little group, I got the one who spoke shattered English, and did so well below a whisper:

Spa-Lady: Houw ah ewe toodai?
NicB: Ummmm, super ticklish.
S-L: (uncomprehending smile)
NB: Seriously. I apologize preemptively if I nail you in the teeth while donkey-kicking to get you away from my feet. ((by the way: immediately after uttering the word "preemptively", I threw up my hands because I knew I'd lost her...though I'm no quitter, so I finished my sentence))
S-L: whaa culla you wahn fo yow toess?
NB: (thrusts bottle of own polish in her small, unmanicured hands) This one! I want this color! Please!

((annnnnd all talking ceases))

Terrific.

Everyone else's Spa-Lady started with their feet/toes. Mine: hands. Awesome...can't wait to delay the inevitable here. I'm not scared of blood, by the way. I'm scared of pain. Lots and lots of pain.

While my Mom, Kellie and Aunt Amy settled back into their massage chairs, I plotted an escape route. Okay, once she puts the topcoat on my fingernails, I'll claim the swine flu and run for the door. I can totally walk back to Mom's from here. Reaaaddddyyyyy... 'Cept that sneaky devil woman didn't give me time (or eye contact) to tell her of my hellacious (non-)disease and got right to work on my footsies. At this point, I swear I was close to hyperventilating. Cold, sharp, pokey tools are within inches of my little piggies. Are those gem-appraising glasses?!?! Did she just scrub up like a surgeon?! I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadie!

A damn interview with Lauren Conrad in a water-warped issue of Glamour magazine was the only thing to divert my eyes from the horror I imagined would soon follow. Thanks to some hardcore yogic breathing and severely concentrated focus to drown out a fellow salon patron directly across from me yellllllllling into her cellphone, I only jerked/winced/yelped twice (that I recall). Spa-Lady walked away with all the teeth she'd brought to the appointment, and I walked away with all my toes.

Overall, I didn't die, I didn't hate it, and the results are remarkably similar to those of my own handiwork. Huh. Suppose I could go again, sometime...and, oh yeah: THANKS, MOM!

a flurry of randomly recent pics...

...and some recently random ones too. Meh.

this guy is literally drinking a glass-bottled Corona while 'working' as a sign swinger at 11am. don't believe me?! go 'head, click on the pic to blow it up...ohhhhh, Glentucky...

Summer's FIRST Krispy Kreme donut. ever. she's had like fourteen since.

Kal helped us move...

...while Evan did not.

Ohhhh man do I miss blogging. The last three posts were all written/set up in one night. Fingers and toes crossed that my schedule'll slow down a smidge so I can do this more! Blogging makes me a better person. With bouncier, shinier hair.

neat.

I would not be exaggerating (or challenged by any one of my four readers) if I said that I'm obsessively neat. In most things. Spreadsheets? Uh-huh. My fridge? Yup. My closet? ...not so much these days. You see, we moved into our new adorable pad, and there's not much closet to it. No biggie...I'm not above folding stuff on shelves. I'm not too good to store off-season clothes in the balcony's storage closet. I am, apparently, way too cool to actually hang up my clothes.

In every single closet I've had, its the same story: pull item down, try on and/or wear it, disrobe at a later time and lay said item over a chair, the laundry basket, whatever is nearby. Lame. I do love that I poke fun at Rob for doing the EXACT SAME thing (yet he uses the floor...which somehow justifies my mocking)...whoops!

no photographic proof today...hah! the control freak regains her position! : ]

woot - first post of the year!

...and if the seven days that have passed between entering a new year and actually blogging about anything at all are any indication, its been interesting thus far. Here's a very very brief update on what I've been up to in the last 19 or so days:

Work has literally kicked my ass since the beginning of December. Shouldn't things slow down a smidge during the holidays?! The Devil himself may or may not have joined me in my little gray-carpeted cubicle this week. He's an asshole. Yay.

Rob's still in town, and that still makes me happy. He heads back to school next week, and that makes me sad. I have a few trips already booked, and that makes me less sad.

We're moving. Again. Across the hall from Summer this time. No freaking joke. I might be a stalker, but now we won't have to ever worry about driving home, which means we'll drink lots o' wine and beer. Win for the economy. Lose for our health. Things balance.

With this oh-so-riveting post, I am officially the most boring and lame-ass blogger I've read. Sorry. Maybe I should erase everything above and just type: "I'm alive, welp...see ya later"?!

the season of giving...

...to MYSELF:



I simply could not (and would not) resist this teeny tiny impulse buy. Its a little 4"x4" print that I found on Etsy by a radtastic artist in New Zealand.

Dear Internet, thanks for making it easy and fun to find awesomeness from all over the world. Kbai.

If you know me at all, you're not surprised by this purchase. My yet-to-be-named-but-you-know-he-will-be little ninja will be living with us soon - woot!


(ps: since 96.4% of my Christmas shopping is done and I'm under budget, I call an "a-okay" on my little 'shopping transgression'...now you know that.)

Tuesday Shoes-day

In honor of Black Friday and the fact that I'll be sleeping, working out and relaxing while millions of crazies roam the stores and the streets, I'd like to offer a little mathematical equation dated 11.24.09:

Summer + Fargo + Nicole + sushi at Yokohama - the presence of any alcohol + joyriding in the sick new Haines-mobile + a get-boots-for-Sum-mission at DSW + a jaunt to Valley Fair mall = 8 pairs of shoes purchased in 2 hours.

That's right, EIGHT. By three people. That's 2.66 pairs per person, or 1.33 pairs per person per hour...yikes. We basically each bought 2% of a shoe every minute for a solid 120 minutes...wow.

Oops. I'll have you know that:
A: most pairs were on riiiiiiidiculous sale
B: I bought the fewest of the bunch (small victories!)
C: I'm completely aware that my insane recent shopping spree won't fill the void left because Rob is temporarily away (for just 21 more days folks - woot!)
D: I'm going cold turkey, starting NOW. Seriously. I have to...

Yeah...I may add pics at some point, but YOU try wrangling up pics of 16 shoes between three girls. It's no easy "feet" (hah! Lame...but I had to).

my love can be bought...

...but it doesn't need to be! In a longish chain of events, I stumbled upon a new addiction: Ruche. Lately, I've been trying to step up my game in the wardrobe department (the cooler weather this season definitely helps that...years of living in NorCal and SD don't equal a lot of clothing for chilly temps), and Ruche has been a key player.

I found the online boutique through the fantastic Stephanie Williams, Elissa and Lee's engagement/wedding photographer. She shot the Ruche lookbook this year, and inadvertently sent me into a shopping tailspin. Ooopies. The prices are suuuuuuper reasonable, the staff is fabulous, and the clothes...oh, the clothes. So delicious. *sigh*

So when I saw a post on the Ruche blog announcing a MASSIVE Black Friday sale and a $100 giveaway, I responded with, "Oh, you'd like me to jump, would you? How high?!" Here's the hard work I'd have to do for it:

Go there. Buy pretty things. Be happy. Everyone will win.

A little free advertising for them could mean a little spending money for me. Fingers (and toes) crossed!

y-o-g-a

Yoga is one of those things that I ADORE...when I'm there. Getting to a class, however, takes an act of God most days. Things tend to get in the way: Target, happy hour, my general laziness. After the shenanigans of this weekend, I neeeeeeeeded yoga in my life. So I went. For the second consecutive Monday. That's big progress for me. And as usual, I loved it. The end. *sigh*

just another indication that teaching ain't for me...

So bummed that this one got by me...from one of my fave sites, Texts From Last Night:

(541): my math teacher staples burger king applications to failed tests

Totally wrong? Sure is. Completely hysterical? Yup.

this, my dear friends, is an email that I actually sent...I am smrt.

check out the work I just spelled correctly on the FIRST shot:

paraphernalia

those spelling bee kids ain't got NOTHIN on me!

we neeeeeed these in our lives again!

With our trip winding down, Rob and I have been joking about the things we're most excited to see/eat/drink when we get back. Here are a few worth sharing (in no particular order):

Nicole can't wait to...

• hold KaliLou!
• go to Target (I think I heard that their stock has been down since I left)
  
• carry a purse, rather than wear a money belt at all times
  
• eat sushi (four months, folks! FOUR MONTHS!)
• take more than 6 minutes to get ready in the morning, and therefore feel presentable
• visit the delectable java goodness that is Barefoot
• watch Hot Rod
  
• hug people that I know and love (hugging strangers is how you go to jail, you know)
  
• get a haircut
• have a no-pool-pool-party
• send text messages
  
• use an actual closet. with hangers.
  
• go to a farmers market (preferably with a Great Bear iced coffee in hand)
  
• have more than two options for footwear
• be able to use a public restroom without having to pay for it

Rob can't wait to...

• get a Rock Bottom sampler
• just know where things are, rather than needing a map to decipher everything
• see the new Angels & Demons movie
  
• take KaliLou on a balcony
• be able to stand up in the shower
• drink coffee with actual caffeine in it (so he can drop his new 2-espressos-a-day habit)
  
• not need to calculate conversion rates when deciding what to eat or buy
• go to the chiropractor
• understand a menu
• watch real sports on TV...in English!
  
• drink legit milk
• eat barbecue that actually tastes like barbecue
  
• not have to take mass transit with...the masses
• buy Advil, etc over-the-counter
• be able to plug things directly into the wall, instead of hunting for the adaptor
  

Question: you know what's the opposite of fun on your birthday?!

Answer: suspected food poisoning.

Wait, that sounds like someone dropped cyanide in my drink or something. Not the case. However, something that has been tossed down my throat in the last 12 hours has severely disagreed with me. And Rob's in the same boat. This boat sucks. I want to eat pasta and gelato and drink wine, but my tummy's saying nuh-uh. Dammit.

I must say, though, that my birthday was lovely until this crap kicked in. We've arrived by train in Rome, and from our room, I got to hear an accordion (?) play the typical Italian music, which was awesome. Upon checking into our hotel room, I opened the door to a beautiful room outfitted with a vase of flowers and a bottle of champagne...Rob is such a wonderful guy. (Okay, mushy stuff over). We'll be saving that bottle until tomorrow, methinks.

Oh yeah, and I didn't write this post for sympathy, really. I'm on a world tour and loving it. I'm a VERY lucky girl. Hell, I could even explain that this is the best possible time on this trip for us to be feeling like this. Really. I wrote this post so that next year, when I go, "What did I do on my 27th birthday?," I can remember it.

I might be boring...but I'm damn lucky.

Although I'm currently in Vienna, I can't possibly begin to document all of the running around we've done. I just can't.

I'm exhausted, and my wit has flown out the window. I even tried to find some inspiration by checking in on some of my fave bloggers, but no dice. Typically when I stumble across new blog, I fall for it because it's fun and happy and hilarious. Today, I found a new blog to follow, although its not a sunshine and posies type of blog. I found the link on one of my photog's sites (actually the one that'll be shooting Lis & Lee's wedding!), and I started reading about a premature baby and the chronicles of her struggles. I checked it out because it reminded me of Sum's nephew Ryder, and the writing is amazing. I love the voice that my new blogstalking victim uses. Here's the link...and I do feel responsible for warning you that the little one recently passed away. It's odd to have zero connection to someone and to become enraptured by their story, but that's precisely what happened to me today...

Made me think: I am beyond lucky. I'm healthy, I'm happy, I'm traveling the world with my best friend, and although I enjoy sassing and bitching, I've really got nothing to complain about...nothing. Nada. Zilch.

My apologies for the downer of a post, but maybe it'll help us all focus on how rad our lives actually are, rather than what they could/would/should be. I know that sometimes I need a kick in the pants like that. I'll be back to my jolly ol' self in no time. I return to Prague on Saturday, so check back for a post on Sunday!

bringin' it back to the old school...

...'cuz I'm an old fool, who's so cool.

I was poking around my photo folders on my laptop, and came across something I'd kinda forgotten about, a best-of folder of sorts. Its chock full o' some of my recent faves (recent equals pre-2008...I told you it was old school...):

Grama & Grampa

crush crush crush

Kellie's 21st birthday/pirate party - 2006

Guatemala - 2006

Lis & Lee...hah!

KaliLou! KaliLou! I love you, KaliLou!

Summer's birthday in SF - 2008

Neil Bonnet

Mom & Brian's wedding - 2006

PS: Summa, there are SO many pics missing from this post, like the kickball shitshow, or you falling out of a tree...those'll have to wait for a post that I'll dedicate to you. Like an ode. That word's weird.

Look! I think I figured out how to pre-blog and set it up to post later...whahoo!