Faboooo

Allison was so kind to give me the "Your Blog is Fabulous" award. Since she is one of the main reasons I even started a blog of my own, I must oblige to her request for a blog about all things fabulous (besides me, that is) ;)
I would insert the cute picture but my computer at work- circa 1980 will not allow it. Boo.

And so, I must list 5 things that I find fabulously addictive:

1) Cookies and Cream ice cream. Im pretty sure that if it were socially acceptable Id eat an entire gallon in one sitting. Too bad its not.

2) One Tree Hill. Sure I jumped on the bandwagon about 3 or 4 years later than everyone else but I am full blown addicted. Be it a new episode, an old one on Soap Net or an even older one I rented while recovering from my wisdom tooth removal, I. LOVE. IT.

3) Facebook or MySpace. Im sure lots of people find them silly, but I really enjoy them. I have found some of the most random connections and oldest friends imaginable. Not to mention its a great way to pass the time should you ever find yourself with an hour to kill. Im still so mad its blocked at work...stalking efforts foiled.

4) Pedicures. I wish I had the money to get two per month. Who am I kidding? I wish I could afford one the second my polish is chipped or when Ive had a bad day. Since money doesn’t grow on trees Ill have to save them for a time that I really want to spoil myself.

5) Pool days. Nothing is more enjoyable than a Saturday spent at the pool, with friends, floats, coolers and maybe even a little snack to cook out. Its so nice to sit/swim in the cool refreshing water when its 110 degrees outside here in Texas.

And now- to all you fellow fabulous bloggers- its your turn:

Sarah
Velma
Kelly
Kim
Katie

….get to it!

Warm Fuzzies

Despite having been awake since 4:45 AM, today is one of those days I want to wrap my arms around the world and give it a giant hug. Something about Thanksgiving being right under our noses makes me feel especially grateful (as it should).

When we were in college, Michelle started a tradition that eventually spilled over to all of us. She would write a daily list of all the reasons she was grateful. When I hopped on the gratitude train, Id email it to my loved ones and make sure they all received their due shout-outs. Not only did it serve as a reminder of all the reasons I should be grateful, but it also helped me to stay positive and look for the good things in each and every of my days.

I realize this year that I have so very many reasons to be grateful and wanted to share them with you. Perhaps the spirit of Thanksgiving will reach each of you, and you can make you own lists!

I have two sets of wonderful families to spend the holidays with.

I have my own, from my aunts and uncles who feel more like siblings, cousins and great aunts and uncles, a grandmother who flies in each year just for the occasion, all the babies and little ones in our family and last but certainly not least, my amazing great grandmother- for which I feel especially grateful. How many people my age know their great grandparents? I feel so blessed to be able to spend my holidays with four generations of our family. It is all of these people that help me feel that necessary family tie when my mom is out at sea and cannot be here to celebrate/overeat with.

In addition to all of those wonderful people, I have Dereks family to share the holidays with. His parents, who make me feel as though I have belonged at their table all along, his brother and sister in law who feel more like friends than Derek’s siblings, their precious daughter Macey, all of his cousins, aunts and uncles. As a matter of fact, two of his cousins- Riley and Kelby, are people I consider to be my friends as well.

I have an amazing job that makes me incredibly happy- it pays my bills, keeps a roof over my head, keeps me fed AND its fun. I have found that not everyone can say they love what they do. I finally feel that I have found a job and a place that I truly enjoy being. Each day is filled with both fun and challenging experiences and I have loved every minute of learning the business. It helps that 99% of the people I work with have an equally happy outlook, so we all walk around with really silly looking grins on our faces. Its hard to be in a bad mood, even at our 6:00 or 6:30 AM meetings. The icing on the cake would have to be my boss, Eric. He is so laid back, patient and a very cool lunch buddy-I count my lucky stars twice for him when I think about my job.

My friends. How on earth would any of us survive adulthood without our friends? Not only does it help to have your support system remind you that maybe youre not all that crazy but they also help pass the time between my ups and downs- and they make it fun. I can honestly credit my friends with so many of my accomplishments- not that Ive done anything all that impressive, but it helps to know theyre right behind you,ready to catch you if you fall. It helps to know that if you fail they will still love you and they’ll still be behind you- waiting to lend a hand or a provide good hearty laugh.

I am grateful for my health (which may have something to do with the fact that I am paying out the nose for coverage until my new insurance kicks in from my new job). I found a plan that costs less than the ungodly amount COBRA expects you to pay, but if anything were to happen to me, I would be paying off that ever so high deducible for what I can only guess would be the next 300 years. I feel lucky to feel healthy and strong when I wake up in the morning. Sure, I'm not a morning person but I still get to wake up every morning- that itself is a blessing.

Rest assure I could go on for days about all the reasons I am grateful, but for now- I will leave it at the above reasons.

Be sure to count your blessings as often as you can!

Things That Make You Go Mmmmmm...

We all like to spoil ourselves, do we not? Sure, sometimes more than others- but doing nice things for ourselves every now and then is well deserved. I got to thinking this morning while I got ready for work (at 4:45 AM, mind you) that I often wonder, do I spoil myself too much or am I on par with the human race?

Some things I do to spoil myself:

- Buy cookie dough at the grocery store for no good reason at all.

- Watch Gossip Girl or One Tree Hill in my pajamas when I get home from work.

- Get a pedicure- need I say more? Or if money is tight, Ill buy myself a new nail polish at the grocery store and sit down to give myself an at-home pedicure.

- Deep conditioning treatment (as many of you may have read about my Einstein like hairdo, this was a huge help).

- Eat cereal for dinner- sure it may not be the most well balanced meal, but its easy and oh so delicious.

- Meet my boyfriend or a friend for lunch during the week. Now that I have more flexible hours at work, I don’t have to scarf my meal down in 30 minutes at my desk, and I don’t even have to eat at home everyday if I don’t feel like it. It’s a nice treat to see loved ones and talk about how our days are going and its far less depressing than eating alone off of your own coffee table while digging through the dvr for something to keep you entertained. Not to mention, it’s hard to go back into the office once you’ve been home and caught sight of your couch and/or bed.

- Bargain shop. Long live Ross, Marshall’s, Target and Old Navy sale items. I think this one is self-explanatory.

- READ. This one tends to happen in waves- Ill be on a crazy reading kick for a few weeks, then Ill take a few weeks off. Either way, it leaves me totally satisfied and is an awesome way to pass the time while traveling, getting ready for bed, or just a rainy afternoon spent at home.

So, am I self-centered or is this about on par with what you guys do for yourselves? How do you feel most spoiled?

FINALLY!

I guess I asked for it- winter finally seems to be here. Sure, the afternoons still reach the 70-degree mark and the sun still shines intensely enough into my car during the day that I need to sometimes click on the AC- but there are some tell tale signs that winter has finally arrived.

1) My hair is ridiculously ridden with a ton of static electricity. It doesn’t help that my hair happens to be in that awkward in between stage of just below the shoulders and right above the spot that I longer want to shave it off all day everyday. My hair sticks to my face, stands straight up down the center of my part and I walk around feeling my head may resemble Einstein’s own hairdo a little too much.

2) I am having a hard time waking up. No matter how early I go to bed, I'm still so tired and still very much dreading that moment where I peel the covers off of myself and stand up to face the day. I have found myself sleeping until the very last possible moment on more than one occasion and am sad to say that my appearance may be starting to suffer. Shame on me.

3) I am frustrated with everything in my closet. I did already make mention of the cold and dry mornings that are followed by warm and sunny afternoons. So, I ask you- what on earth do you wear on a day like this? Today I went all in and opted for a turtleneck but I bet you about $300 that come noon, I will look like a downright fool. The only option for this indecisive weather I have come up with is layering and most women know how annoying that is. Not only does it make you look bulky in the worst ways but most of the time youre dressed, youre rearranging one thing or yanking on another. I cannot stand when one top is bunched up under another or the seams don’t match up… UGH!

4) Getting to the gym is at an all time low. I made a great effort last week and worked out three whole days in a row (yes, Id like a medal) and it felt great. Yet somehow this week, I'm too “Wintered out” to lift a finger. Perhaps this has a direct effect on how I look in layered clothes? Hmm..

5) I don’t want to end this post having only made 4 points, so Ill move on to point #5. Soup sounds good for almost every meal. I love soup. Ill admit it, my name is Desiree and I'm addicted to soup. Having rifled through all my recipes over the last few days I managed to find some new soups to try that I may add to my list of favorites. Soup warms your bones (that’s also what I say when I eat oatmeal), its comforting and its not all that bad for you if you eat it in small portions or opt for a healthier type (duh, right?).
All in all, here is a warm welcome to winter. I'm so glad you finally showed up. Please don’t make me look any more foolish than I may already look in my turtleneck today and leave town for the next week or so. Thanks.

I Must Be Hungry

When I grocery shop, I like to write my lists in order of where I might find things in the store. Ill put all cleaning items together, meats in one section of my list, toiletries in one corner and so on and so forth.

Occasionally, when I'm feeling extra adventurous, Ill pick a few recipes out of my cookbook and make a secondary list of ingredients. I also arrange this list into sections, and categories. This week, I have been going through a lot of my saved recipes and submitting them to our family cookbook so I guess it occured to me that some of my favorite dishes may also be some of the most boring or overused. Dont get me wrong, theyre yummy to chow down on, but my collection could use a facelift. Most of my recipes are featured from the Kraft magazine or website but I am looking for maybe some easier, warm and cozy meals to try.

I ask all of you, loyal readers-submit your favorite easy home cooked meal for me so that I may branch out even more! If you have the time, I would very much appreciate the shared knowledge!

A Night in Brookfield Estates

Derek and I went for a walk around his neighborhood last night. We don’t make the time to do this very often, but when we do, its really nice. Last night was a little more unusual than our past walks- starting out with a lost dog and ending with some angry neighbors.

Right when we neared the edge of Derek’s driveway at the start of our walk, a small black dog (one that looked much like Molly) approached us and started barking. We looked both ways up and down his street to see if we could find anyone- looking frazzled, chasing this leash less dog. Much to our surprise, there was nobody running in our direction apologizing and begging us to please grab his or her dog. Perhaps our surprise was due to the fact that when Molly gets away from us (and bolts all the way down the block) were usually more worried about her running up to a little kid and licking them to death than we are about actually grabbing her- not to mention were usually immensely frustrated and desperate for someone to reach out and lend a hand by scooping her up. Because this dog seemed to be out on its own without the knowledge of its owner I immediately suggested we grab it and look at its tags to call someone. Here is how the conversation went:

Me- “Hurry up and grab it”
D- “What if it has rabies?”
Me- “Its to cute to have rabies, Molly is cute and she doesn’t have rabies”
D- “That’s not logical”
Me-“Sure it is, it has tags which means someone cares for it and most likely got this dog its rabies shot”

-Silence-

Me- “Fine, you hold Molly and Ill grab the dog”

Well let me tell you... this dog did not want to go home! Not only would it not allow me to grab it but also barked like crazy once I got within two feet of it. Id get close and it would run off- then stop and wait for me to catch up. This game of cat and mouse continued on for about as long as I could stand until I finally picked up speed and went jogging after the dog. Much to my dismay, this poor dog eventually made a turn and disappeared into the darkness and I was left worried, a little broken hearted at my shortcomings as a hero and of course out of breath.

Derek was still two blocks behind trying to keep Molly at bay, though I still think he might think that rabies is airborne and he was protecting himself.

After I finally came to terms that the dog was not going to come back, show up out of the darkness and certainly would not allow me to grab him, I gave up and waited for Derek to catch up to me. We carried on and it only took a few more blocks for the excitement to kick in again.

We heard a couple arguing loudly right as we rounded a corner and me being the nosey person I am, immediately slowed my pace so I could be nosey, take in the fight and pick a side. Derek and I both quickly realized that this was no small argument and when we heard cussing and accusations of hitting, a windshield being broken, and LOTS of cussing back and forth, we knew not to linger too long. Derek started walking faster and was annoyed when I didn’t do the same.

D- “Come on, we don’t need to stand around for this”
Me- “Wait, I cant hear from this far away”
D- “That’s the idea, you don’t want to mess with angry people”
Me-“But…. I want to hear what happens”
D- “NO, COME ON”
Me- “Fine. But youre no fun at all on this walk tonight”

Anyone want to come along on our next dog-catching-eavesdropping adventure?

Where is Winter?

Seeing as how we live in Texas, the coldest day we have had this year would most likely have been in the 40s at the absolute lowest. I realize that there is a very small and short window to actually experience a winter in this state of ours, but is it too much to ask for an actual cold snap somewhere in the near future? The weatherman keeps promising a “cold front” and I keep waking up feeling disappointed. The closest we have gotten to chilly has been humid and hot days where the mornings are gloomy and the afternoons are clouded mixed with hazed sunshine (ozone action day much?) WHERE IS WINTER?!

There are so many things I look forward to around this time of year. Winter, for me, is associated with so many cozy thoughts and ideas. Hot chocolate is fun to pour with friends and family, the fire is usually roaring (though not in my apartment as I am lacking a fireplace of my own), the sweaters and fleeces are pulled from the far corners of closets, Christmas lights are strung up in the neighborhood, fall colors make an appearance in home décor shops, there is pumpkin pie and Christmas is near!

Am I jumping the gun a bit seeing how Thanksgiving is still a few weeks ago? Sure I am— so sue me!
Side bar- Happy Birthday to Katie!!!

In the Words of Hillary Duff: Im Coming Clean

I have a confession to make... I have never voted.

When I was in my senior year in high school, pretty much everyone I knew was 18- but I was still falling short at the age of 17. That is the last time I can remember really feeing very passionate about voting or having such a strong opinion that I wanted to shout it from a mountain top.

The next time I was eligible to vote, I was in college and lived in Fort Worth. Being the planner that I was/still am, to this day, I cannot believe it escaped me until the last minute that I was registered to vote in Austin and was living in Fort Worth. Being involved with the greek system, a cheerleader, a Student Ambassador and a Guardian of the Golden Shears all while trying to have a life- I literally didnt have time to pack up and head to Austin to vote. Pathetic, I know.

Having said all of that, I have been raised to not discuss certain things. Money, religion and politics. Its just not polite and you never want to risk offending someone. Im all about keeping the peace, trust me. I just wanted to share with you all that today will be the very first time as an American that I will exercise my right to vote and I couldnt be more excited about it. WHo knew a little red white and blue sticker that proclaimes "I Voted" could bring so much joy?!