Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Why I am moving south!

Today is my final day as an employee of public service... I would like to thank my future former employer, The City of Boston, for this lovely reminder:

"The Boston Public Health Commission advises the following precautions to stay warm and avoid the dangerous effects of extremely cold weather:

- Wear layers of comfortable clothing and warm boots or footwear that protect your feet.
- Cover exposed skin — especially ears, hands, and other extremities — as skin is vulnerable to frost bite at such low temperatures.
- Keep moving if working or playing outside.
- Avoid getting wet, and avoid walking on frozen ponds or lakes as ice may not be fully frozen.
- Drink warm, non-caffeinated fluids.
- Keep Pets Indoors."

Unfortunately it was -6 degrees yesterday with so much wind that I swear my train was almost pushed off the tracks (or maybe not but you get the picture, so these kindergarten-like reminders of how to stay warm were not enough! I must move to at least Washington D.C. to get minimum 10 degrees back in my life to unfreeze the blood in my veins.

Today I am being taken out to a (hopefully) lovely goodbye lunch, finishing my work (or letting my mind wander to figure out what to wear tomorrow!), and heading home. New, fancy, corporate job starts Monday! Hurrah!

P.S. I mentioned in yesterday's post I needed ideas on how to spend $100... No worries Micheal Kors and I figured out a way to spend much much more than that silly hundred :-P

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Unnecessary

Under my tree I found:
- Tall black suede boots
- Blush pumps
- Work clothes
- Jewelry
- Samantha Who? (the second and final season)
- A cookbook with "simple" recipes... we shall see about that

I picked everything out myself so it all fit and was missing any element of surprise, but oh well! I guess that is what happens as you get older...

Also, I have $100 credit to spend anywhere I please. Did anyone get anything amazing/ wish they got something that I could spend it on? Ideas please :-)

I have been spending some quality girl time catching up with old high school friends, but somehow every conversation ends back with boys. Really are we 12? The reason these girls cannot get boys/men off their minds is because of good old holiday break ups. Two of my closest friends were both left by their boys just before Christmas. They talked A LOT about themselves (which they deserve to do.. after a break up you need a friend to listen to you blab non stop about what a jerk he was and how you can do so much better and how he was getting fat anyway...)

After they had explored every woulda/shoulda/coulda... I was suddenly attacked.
"You have been dating Mr. A for 6 years... that is an eternity"
"You know some people get engaged after 6 months?"
"When are you planning on getting married?"

I do not think about the future... I think about today. Today I am happy. Isn't that enough? Today I am not ready to think about marriage. Today I just want to do dinner and a movie in my new heels.

I explained my "one day at a time" theory and they were shocked.
"But your parents got married at 23... if you arn't getting married what is the point?"

SERIOUSLY? Girls. We need to relax. This is EXACTLY why relationships fail. It is not just your boyfriend doing something stupid, but the father of your future children. If you fight, you are not just risking the date you were going on tomorrow, but also the Cape house where you two would eventually retire! Do relationships really need this added pressure? I think not.

Now, I think it should be said I am not against marriage at all. I think when you find that person it will feel right, and it will happen. What I do not believe in is forcing relationships to get there, just to be married.

*For the record, my parents got married after 9 years of dating! and Khloe Kardashian got married after 4 weeks! There are no rules :-P

"Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera!"

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Lessons Learned

Several bad things happened yesterday... let's count down.

#5: I drank coffee. It only made me feel a little sick, but the worst part was that I lost my month long coffee virginity to a luke warm cup of burnt hazelnut. Not the dreamy creamy steamy hazelnut the Green Mountain Coffee description promised. I settled like Britney with KFed. Coffee Whore.

#4: I took the wrong meds... WHOOPS! This was a biggie. I am supposed to take... are you reeady?
- 1 pill every morning for my stomach
- 1 antibiotic pill for my lack of wisdom teeth every 4 hours
- 2 pain pills every 2-3..er... I mean 4-6 hours so my face doesn't hurt me as much as it's killing all those poor soals in my office that have to look at it
- 1 controller of birth at night... because labor sounds painful (except I always fail at remembering this one so who knows? :-P haha... not/really not funny)
So how did I mess this up? Instead of my antibiotics I was taking some random pill prescribed to me in 2004! For I have no idea what! After my second pill of the day I got bored and read the label... was very eye opening. Instantly felt naucious, but because I refuse to throw up ever, I sat with a fist over my mouth as pale as Anne Hathaway until my body gave up and relaxed. Luckily I looked it up and nothing dangerous would happen if I combined it with all the other pills mentioned above. FEUF!

#3: I listed to a song called "LOL :-)" (LOL Smiley Face... yes that is the same of the song not just me smiling at you) It is a fabulous tune that my younger sister with terrible taste in music put on my iPod. I am now in love with it, and I should not be. It is stuck in my head... A little excerpt so you do not youTube it and never get it out of your head like myself:
"Go to my page and follow, if you got a body like a Coke bottle.
Shorty sending twit pics sayin come and get this
LOL smiley face, LOL smiley face"

#2: I got in this horrible habit of not being able to go to sleep until I have had 2 bowls of ice cream, and 8-10 cookies. Last night I did coconut ice cream, coconut macaroons, and chocolate chip cookies. I have gained 5 lbs in 1 week exactly. That is unhealthy America. Do not imitate.

#1: By far the worst thing I did yesterday was watch a Dateline special on that girl "Jaycee" that was kidnapped by a couple on her way to the bus, and kept in the backyard in tents for 18 years!? Raped, tortured, and brainwashed. Gave birth to 2 girls and raised them in the backyard. That awful story combined with these strong pain meds gave me the weirdest dreams. I kept imagining the two little daughters were knocking at my window crying for help or that the kidnapper was on my ceiling spiderman style watching me sleep. Really freaky stuff. Dateline and pain killers DO NOT MIX.

Well everyone says mistakes are good if you learn from them right? So I woke up today much smarter and have already done some good things :-)

1) Some J@CK@$$ getting onto the train today yelled at me for rushing to catch the T that was about to leave... umm hello? Don't be jealous if your slow suburban ass can't rush to the train like my quick city slick behind!

He yells: HEY LADY! We are all trying to make the train! (In a husky def. smoker voice... bet that lack of lung capacity doesn't help you move faster MISTER)

I respond by saying nothing and getting my ass on the train, but once I realize I have made it I was so proud and I turned with a huge smile and said: Would you like me to hold it for you? :-) :-) And I stood in the doorway so it wouldn't close and leave the last string of stragglers behind. HA!

2) I got French Vanilla coffee today and it is delectable!

Tonight I am off to Newport, Rhode Island. Home of the mansions. All the girls from high school get together every year and we do a little swap nothing expensive because it is ALL the girls, not just the really close group I had in high school of maybe 4... but more like 20 girls. One of the girls now lives in some fancy place in Newport and offered to hoast this year, should be fun :-)

If I do not write again, becuase this is a long post which may take several days to read :-P ...Eat, Drink, and Be Merry! Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas

Friday, December 18, 2009

Chubby Cheeked

I got my wisdom teeth out! I am starting to feel rather jolly and catch onto the Christmas spirit since my face is as chubby as Mr. Claus!

Besides having chipmunk cheeks... (and a double chin why does getting teeth pulled make your neck fat?) I have also officially determined that for the month of July I will be in Central Europe! Main locations will be Prague, Budapest, and Vienna! I am very excited!

Now that both of my procedures are done, I have to go back to work on Monday, so it looks like Sunday is my main day for Christmas shopping! Hopefully the malls wont be crazy, but who am I kidding? They will be.

Things I want:
- A cookbook so I don't get lazy and live off of canned soup for dinner
(should include lunches to-go so that I am not buying lunch everyday at work)
- A pair of nude/blush pumps
- A new pair of tall black boots (mine are all worn out... all 3 pairs)

Not all that exciting, but necessary :-)
Presents I still have to buy:
- Mr. A
- Mr. A's Mom (funny how I only get his mom a gift, not his dad)
- My lovely mother
- My moody sister (I do not understand high school kids these days)
- My suddenly health concious father (after 50 my parents really started changing it up with working out and eating better)

Any gift ideas for either myself or others? I will be checking the sales online all day since I had to drag my puffy faced self into work. AND as a reward for coming into work on the most popular week to take off ever... I am about to take my first sip of coffee since my ulcer. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Medical Marval: The Chocolate Theory

Endoscopy was a success! I have been diagnoised with gasteritis, which means I have to listen to my body because it will tell me when I am eating something it doesn't like, and then I need to stop eating it.

Common trigers include:
Coffee
Chocolate
Alcohol
... but vary with each person

So I got home from the hospital and decided to test the chocolate theory because I LOVE chocolate and cannot live without it. Result? I CAN eat chocolate :-) HURRAY!

How I tested the chocolate theory:
- A sleeve of oreos (1/3 of a box... approx 18 cookies)
- 3 double chocolate brownies
- 5 chocolate chip cookies
- 3 white chocolate covered dark chocolate truffles (amazzzing)
- Oreo ice cream
- Vanilla ice cream with crushed real oreos

Yes I am obsessed with oreos. I finished off the oreo ice cream, which caused the switch to vanilla ice cream with real oreos (no these oreos do not count in the 1/3 of a box calculation... so I guess I ate closer to 25 cookies... my bad)

*As a disclaimer I should be fair and confess that even though I normally eat a ton of cr@p, I am eating extra extra crappy these days because my gastro-whatever has caused some weight loss. I MISS MY BOOTY! So I am gaining it back... apparently in oreos.

This plan could backfire Kelly Clarkson style

Friday, December 11, 2009

Decaf Please

Since I last visited blog land, I have been dealing with the repercussions of my ulcer. Medication and doctors appointments... I have an endoscopy on Tuesday to find out what is wrong with me. They are putting me to sleep from 2:30PM-5:30PM while they stick a tube with a camera down my throat and look inside my stomach and pull biopsies to test my stomach wall.

The worst part about the endoscopy? It was a rushed appointment, so they had to "hard block" the time AKA making room for me when there wasn't any... which puts me at 2:30 which means I cannot eat ALL DAY until I get out at 5:30 all drugged up. The worst part about my ulcer? I have not had coffee since it happened! Yup, almost two weeks ago I had my final cup (not forever, just for now). Thankfully, the withdrawal headaches have stopped, and I have started slowing back into it by drinking caffinated tea, but I miss my warm black cup of heavenly coffee in all the assortment of flavors that Green Mountain, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts have to offer!

I did manage to sneak into Crate & Barrel to get some Christmas shopping started. That store is so festive :-) I also heard Ann Taylor calling my name with 40% any full priced item in store today! I got a $48 super soft cardigan for $28! WIN.

All I really want for Christmas... is a cup of coffee AND to be drinking it next to/ in a fireplace. Boston is 25 degrees today! That is Fahrenheit NOT Celsius!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

I thought I was in labor...

... I was actually having my very first ulcer!

How exciting! Apparently my body did not like the truckload of garbage I fed it over Thanksgiving, because Monday night my lovely roommates accompanied me to the emergency room AKA the ER... except George Clooney-less.

I got a doctor pretty close to Clooney (as close as a non god species can get) his name is John Jesus...no lie. How reassuring is a name like that? With a smile like his... I knew everything would be alright :-)

Tests I endured include (but are not limited to):
- Blood samples
- Urine sample
- Blood Pressue
- Tempurature checks
- Two exams in the nether regins that I will not name
- Chest X-Ray
- Ultrasound of every organ between my heart and my hips: rather interesting actually! I never took anatomy so it was nice knowing where my pancreas and gall bladder are (not that I remember)
- An IV WITH pain meds :-)... John was so considerate

It all started with dinner. A delicous dinner I was enjoying sitting on the couch, relaxing after work. I started feeling weird pains coming from my stomach, but I thought maybe it was all those chocolate squares and peanut butter cookies. So I ignored it and finished my dinner. Stomach pains got really sharp. I started getting a little weirded out, so I googled. Never google a pain. Google will tell you, you are dying. Every. Time.

I layed in bed for a little, but I was curled in a ball because the pain was getting worse and worse. I called my doctor who asked a bunch of questions including, could you be pregnant? I instantly reached under my bed and took my handy dandy emergency preggers test. Negative. Called back and she said I need to go to the ER because of all the organs in a stomach it could be nothing or it could be serious.

8 hours later I leave the hospital feeling better, tired, got a prescription for stomach meds, AND an appointment with a Gasternologist (or however you spell stomach doctor).

Too bad John Jesus will no longer be taking care of me...