You can't teach graceful

When I was five, I was a great ballerina. I was graceful, I got to dance with older girls and everything. By age seven it was over. I was clumsy. We don't know what happened, but I lost my ability to float across the stage. By no means did I give up dance right away and instead put myself through pain and embarrassment for a good 8 more years. Fortunately, I came to see the truth and retreated to the world of basketball, softball and swim.

Just like I stepped away from ballet some women need to step away from heels. Clomping around like an elephant is not exactly going to bring the boys to the yard. I have seen more women teetering, limping or stomping (but not in a fierce way) down the street lately. Heels can be a lot to deal with. As an expert, you should see me run in them, I recommend building yourself up. Start with some kitten heels and go from there. Obviously, the higher the shoe the better your legs look, but no one will be admiring your gams if you're stumbling all over the place.

Whenever I am out in the city in my heels I always focus on my walk. I think about Tyra Banks from ANTM. She always reminds the girls to stay fierce, walk hard, and you have to just ignore the pain.

Basically, if you are not up for the challenge keep the heels at home. :)

Looking underage

Note: this post was supposed to go up Friday night but I ended up hanging out with a friend from high school. I am way to lazy to change any of it so please just go with it.

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Today I was having lunch with my mom and sister. Out of the blue my sister exclaimed "I know why you're wearing dark eye make up [this is referring to my amazing eyeliner and mascara], she looks older with it on...like actually 25". This caused both my mom and me to laugh but I quickly stopped and realized that my sister may be spot on with this.

See the two of us always get questioned about our ages. When she was 19 she was told that she couldn't sit in the emergency exit row on the airplane because you need to be at least 15...True story.

Other examples would include any time during our trip to Florida last December where every waitress carded me when I attempted to order a drink while out with my parents and sister for dinner. You may think that they waitresses were just doing their jobs. Or that they they were confused because there are so many old people down there. Well you would be wrong. Most of the places we were at were bars/pubs filled with families.

Since this seemed to happen to me for too often when we were out as a family (see time on plane when my sister sat in the emergency row, I tried to get a drink with a free drink ticket and the stewardess said that I had to be 21, I replied I just turned 24) we started to try and test the waitresses' judgment. Basically we would ask them guess how old I was. Most thought 18, one realized that she should probably guess at least 21 because we gave her a strange look, but broke down and said she wouldn't put me past 20 and that was being generous. Again, we let her know I was 25. My sister didn't fare much better. Since most of these people were making me her age, we wanted to know where they thought she fell...apparently she is 14. One waitress did make my sister a year older than me, that was not my favorite guesser.

So why am I telling you all of this? My sister turned 21 earlier this month. I did not return home to celebrate with her so I chose to take the family out for dinner tonight. I ordered us a scorpion bowl. As soon as the words came out of my mouth the waitress immediately asked for some ID. Obviously she overlooked my parents, was about to leave the table when we stopped her and informed her that my sister would be drinking this too. She did a double take, asked for ID and after carefully thinking about my sister's birthday, told her that she really didn't look the age and somewhat jokingly said it was a fake ID.

Yep. People think my sister and I should be thankful that we have such young faces. No, it is kind of annoying. People seem adamant that when we are 40 we will appreciate that we look 32. Who knows whether or not that is true. The silver lining I am giving myself is that even though children are so not in any part involved in my immediate future, if I had to become a mom sometime soon, I'd like to think I could be considered a MILF because of this :P

Funny animal stuff, to make you giggle

It has been a while since I posted up things that make me laugh. I figured I would fix that today with a video and some news articles.

See more funny videos and Cute Animals Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Life gives you lemons, give them to a squirrel. Speaking of squirrels yesterday I had a small run in with one. He wouldn't get out of my way when I was trying to walk into a building. We had a small awkward stand-off.

"High as a kite" wallabies blamed for crop circles
If poppy plants are there for the snacking, can you blame these guys? Officials say that there have been many documented cases of wildlife feeding on the plants and subsequently getting high. They run in circles creating what appears to be crop circles. :)

Tigers say 'Bye, mom' to dog that raised them
A dog raised some tiger cubs, who are now too big to play with their "mom" and "sister". The tigers had one last hurrah with their mom. It's cute.

Death comes in Threes

If Farrah Fawcett wasn't enough at 5 pm I received a cnn breaking news story that Michael Jackson suffered from Cardiac Arrest. 35 minutes later on Twitter a friend had tweeted RIP MJ but I could not confirm the news anywhere. I had to run a few errand before a game night at a friend's house and stopped at the Parking Office to grab my new parking sticker - FYI prices went up to $15 AND more streets in Somerville will require them in the coming months.

The line is always long there but it was interesting to see that everyone was on their iPhones and whatnots checking the news to see if he did in fact pass away yet. I received a text from a friend confirming his death just before I reached the counter. Within a very short period we have lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and the king of pop MJ. Death really does come in threes.


Given that everyone is doing MJ Tribuits here are my two favorites:

ABC from when he was still small and cute and in the Jackson Five



And then Beat It. Couldn't get an version to embed. But I still know this whole dance from my high school senior float. :)

Farrah Fawcett has passed.

I don't normally post about celebrities who pass away but I feel that Farrah deserves some recognition. She was quite the cultural icon, who because of this, lived her last dying years in the spotlight of the media. May she rest in peace now.

U.O. you seduce me

Urban Outfitters somehow found my email address. And by somehow found, I mean I signed up for their emailing list willingly. This means that I get emails, almost every three days, letting me know of new releases or AMAZING sales. Such a tease and temptress. There was a $5 sale the other week and I had already been looking longingly at some dresses and so I ordered. I ordered a lot. Fortunately, their return policy is awesome!

I brought back a couple items that didn't really fit well, super easy, the employees don't even ask why you are returning the item they just take them right back. The cashier did ask me if I had wanted to exchange them for other mechandice, which was super tempting because U.O. was having its yard sale at the time. But I was strong and said now.

That being said, I then continued with my other errands downtown and bought new underwear at Victoria Secret's Semi-Annual sale (do you notice that these sales seem to last like a month?); they are super cute!

But yeah, Urban really does get me. Lately they have been sending emails letting me know that I would get an additional 15% off sale items. So far I have stayed strong. I think I can make it. Ideally, I don't want to buy more clothing until after my move (August). Part of me thinks that I should un-subscribe from their email list, but the bigger part says hell no!

S.A.D. in June

I would actually invite lightening storms at this point.
At least that would be interesting

At book club last night - my life is not all kickball and shoes, I do intellectual stuff too - we were talking about the weather. Everyone is talking about the weather, as it officially hit summer this past weekend and you could have fooled anyone living in the Boston area. People have begun referring to this current month as June-uary. My boss said at staff meeting yesterday that he heard on the news that we have had the fewest number of sunny days since 1905 for the month of June. I couldn't find this statistic anywhere, but I would totally believe it.

You never realize how much the weather can affect a collective mood until something like this happens. Everyone is tired, grumpy or blah. I definitely am having a hard time staying focused towards the end of my work day and have been hitting the caffeine hard. This of course then causes me to not be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour only making me even more tired the next day.

I really need the sun to come back and the temperature to rise. Allegedly things will be getting better this weekend, but I am not going to hold my breath. I just want to wear dresses and skirts to work and not freeze my butt off on the walk to the office. Additionally, I can't remember the last time I wore a bathing suit! When I was younger my bathing suit to underwear ratio in the summer was so high, now underwear totally wins. I would love to have a nice week where I wake up put on a suit and enjoy the weather till nightfall...sigh. Oh to be young and jobless...

Kickball In the News

I follow WAKA (world adult kickball association) on twitter and today it posted an article from the USA weekend addition which mentioned the league. The article focused in on kickball, air guitar and rock paper scissors as activities that are sweeping the nation. I will say I was a little offended by the opening line:

Lack a pro athlete's skills? Don't worry. These alternatives are fun and offer new chances at glory

Lacking in athletic skills? I don't think so. Well, maybe yes. My glory days as a town league basketball, intramural volleyball, and that one year stint as a rower are kind of behind me now. But I don't feel I am a complete waste. Maybe I shouldn't disclose to you that my captain recently questioned my kickball skills.

"I don't know if you are actually good at kickball, or if you are really more of a visual distraction"

I have to agree, I am not quite sure myself. My costumes do draw a lot of attention. Hot pink spandex will do that... But I am pretty confident that my kicking skills are legit and I run like a crazy person, but at least I run my heart out to the bases.

Kickball is probably the best activity that I think I could have joined out here, I'm pretty psyched to have landed on such a great team :) It's awesome WAKA made the papers. Maybe fewer people will look at me like I'm crazy when I say that I am a 25 year old kickball champion.

Mission Accomplished!

I got the THE SHOES!!! Yes, while walking from Port Authority to Penn Station, I opted to poke my head into a small shoe store. I could see some high heeled pumps out of the corner of my eye. Not only did a find a pair of kelly green shoes, but next to them were some hot pink. The hot pink did not come in a size smaller than the 8.5 and 1.5 sizes too big is just not something one can work with. Fortunately, the green ones were in stock.

AND I GOT THEM.

(these photos don't do the color justice)

They aren't exactly like the rest of the pack. But maybe it is good for a little variety. They are still the right height and a pointy shoe, but they are a little less severe. The heel is really what sells these shoes.

I am somewhat embarrassed to have to admit that these are Jessica Simpson shoes. But then again, I have a J-Lo bathing suit (it was the only one I could find that could cover my butt). At least I can feel comfortable knowing that there is no way in hell that she had anything to do with the design. They just merely put her signature inside my shoe.

So this hunt is over. I am still on the prowl for hot heels. I could really go for a pair of hot pink ones...

Jamming out in NYC

Part of my weekend involved listening to live bands. Thursday night The New Surreal was playing at Uncle Mike's. I sadly just missed them. They are awesome. I have seen them play in Providence, my friend dates the guitarist... But really check out their myspace! I can't really review them right now as it's been awhile, but I'm sure if my bus had been 2o minutes faster and the stupid metro machine didn't give me a hard time it would have been awesome.

After they packed up I saw this kid named Clayton Senne play. He is now located in Florida but originally from Kansas. I enjoyed him a lot. At the time I was convinced he sounded like Ben, but now that I am not drinking I realize he does not at all. But I am pretty sure his speaking voice sounded similar. He plays keyboard and it is just him up on the stage. It was a great set to listen to while we all unwound from a day at the office. The waitresses at Uncle Mike's have to dress in costumes! They were really great girls and we totally chatted about different dress-up ideas. One was a slutty ghostbuster recently and was reprimanded for it, which seems ridiculous based on the idea that what they were wearing that night was acceptable. I am not one for "slutty [insert occupation]" costumes, but I would have liked to see/steal that one.

Saturday night we went to the National Underground to see a friend of friend play in Comic Tales of Tragic Heartbreak. The girl who was on before them was a folkish hippish singer. Her voice was pretty sweet and she was later pulled in to do an impromptu duet with the lead singer of Comic Tales. She skat for a while in the duet, I have never seen someone do that before, and I am pretty sure what I heard was skill. She totally was able to feel the beat and rhythm of the music. The singer of Comic Tales was a total ham and would go around dancing with girls in the bar and play his trumpet where ever. At one point he came over to us and had me push the keys while he played. While you can go ahead and listen to the music that they put up on their sites, I have to say that they are way better live. The lyrics are hysterical but the main reason we all liked it was because he was really about getting us involved and dancing.

The EYES have it

On Friday, my friend and I did some shopping in NYC. Sephoras are all over the place and so we hopped in, as I was still in major need of a new eyeliner and one of y'all said it was a good place to find some. Needless to say, the women there are amazing. I was wandering around with no idea of what to look for and eventually was able to catch the eye of one of the employees. She immediately took me around the store showing me her favorite products for not only stay put waterproof eyeliner but also a number of other products that my make-up shoe box desperately needed. Here is the run down of what was purchased this weekend:

Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil - ZERO. This was by far the best of the eye liners I tested. Before consulting the expert, I had drawn a number of lines on my hand testing out other brands. She showed me this one as I asked for a really dark shade and again I drew on myself. It looked amazing. When I went to clean off my hand with the make-up remover they have out for customers all the other lines wiped off easily. The Urban Decay line stayed put for a while longer. I did already use this pencil Saturday night, and it really was so much better than what I have been using.



Dior's Diorshow Black Out Waterproof Mascara They have a whole display that compares mascara lines. There are even little graphics which help you understand which will lengthen, curl, volumize or something else that I can't remember. The cut-out was still a bit much for me to comprehend so I asked my expert her opinion. I explained that since I wear contacts I needed something that didn't flake. She said that any good waterproof mascara should never flake. I also said I wanted the product to volumize my lashes as the stuff I currently had just lengthened and that wasn't helping with the overall look I was aiming for. She pointed me to Dior. I was a little gun-shy about going for this one as it is DIOR, but thought I should just go for it. Again, used it Saturday night. AMAZING. I am in love with this product.


eye BRIGHT by benefit This product is an eye brightener. It helps combat dark circles under your eyes. I have never really attempted to deal with the fact that my poor sleeping habits do affect my appearance. There are times that I attempt to use concealer, but that really doesn't do much. This pink stick will neutralize the color! (I also learned that if you suffer from a more red tone, green will neutralize that. Make up is really fascinating at times). I haven't used the product in real life yet, beyond when the expert attacked my face with it. But it did appear to work its magic.

I did come away with a few other boring things. Concealer stick, brush cleaner and pencil sharpener but those items don't seem to warrent their own little paragraphs. I will note that the casher that I had was super nice. At the swag thing I went to a month or so ago, I had signed up for Sephora's rewards card. Apparently, my information was entered correctly because she couldn't look me. I had to refill out the form. When the woman and I finished chatting and what not, she threw in a free lip gloss. I made sure to compliment her on her rings - they were fabulous.

Myth busted!

Everyone always says how mean New Yorkers are, and by New Yorkers, they mean New York City folk as no one actually makes reference to the rest of the state's residents. Well, that is a bunch of bull. I spent an amazing long weekend down in the city and had nothing but sweet and polite interactions with strangers.

Example one: I got off the bus and immediately on the subway to meet up with my friends at a bar. I was sitting in the car and a man kept looking over at me who was sitting near by. After a few minutes he cleared his throat and said, "excuse me, I wanted to let you know you look lovely tonight. I didn't want you to think I was staring at you inappropriately, I am just going home from work and thought you looked beautiful". What an amazing complement! Especially since I just got off the bus.

Example two: Walking downtown on Friday, we saw the tail end of an old woman completely wiping out as she stepped off the curb to get onto a bus. Three different individuals helped her to her feet. As she went to hoist herself on the stairs, the youngest male happened to look over at her again and saw that she was about to fall off backwards and reached out to steady her back up.

Example three: Also while shopping, my friend and I were constantly complimented on our clothing and general appearance. Never happens to me when shopping around here. People especially loved the bright blue sunglasses :)

Example four: When I showed up at the bar, the people in front of me were trying to get in without paying cover. They were insisting that there was a "list" that they were on because they were friends with one of the bands. The bouncer said that there was no such thing and that they needed to pay $10. Obviously, they did. I went to show him my ID and give him money when I heard my friend's band on stage say their name. So I said "YES, I made it! That is my band. I was hoping to make it in time as I just got off the bus from Boston". He then told me that I actually just missed them and that they had just finished. He then said that he would let me in for free because of my long travels! We chatted for a bit. He used to date a girl from Boston while living in NYC, so he knew it was a pain trying to time trips.

But yeah, those are my first four examples. The weekend was awesome. I had so many random interactions with complete strangers. The city is definitely way friendlier than people give it credit for.

Definately worth the $15

Apparently there is a bus terminal at South Station. I was completely unaware of this until yesterday. I had kind of just thought I would get on the bus to New York on the street. Nope. There is a whole area for buses to come in. Its like the airport with arrival and departure signs. It is a pretty nice facility. Just so you know.

I was there because I took the Bolt bus into NYC last night. The bus I was riding was brand new, had that new bus smell to it. Seats were made of leather and we pretty comfortable. We hit a little traffic, but overall the ride was really smooth and basically arrived on time. Based on this experience, I would recommend this as a cheap way to get from Boston to NYC.

The guy that sat next to me was an interesting guy. Not too creepy. He was clearly older than me, and lived with his parents out in the burbs. He tried to justify this by saying he was going to be moving to Spain shortly to get an international MBA. Doesn't really matter that you are eventually leaving the country, you are old and have been living your parents for far too long...

I did try to keep to myself after our initial conversation ended by putting on my headphones and reading my book. Unfortunately, I feel asleep for a short while and when I woke up he took this as an opportunity to start a conversation again. Sigh.

As soon as the bus stopped I hopped out and ran to the subway to meet up with my friends at a bar, so whatever, the bus did its job.

Oh, if any of you are thinking of taking Bolt and taking it often, you should apply for their loyalty plan. For every ten rides, you get one ride free and you always get an A boarding pass. It costs nothing to join and there are no restrictions to when you have to use the rides. This is all information I got for the nice man that works for the company and stood at the gate with us.

Gone for a few days

I'm off for a weekend in New York City. It'll be a blast, so I will catch up next week!

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND :)

For the Person Who Doesn't Like to Touch Toilet Paper

Thank God someone invented this product. I mean, toilet paper is so archaic.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

I don't know about you, but I could really use those extra 18 inches of reach. At first I thought this product was just too complicated to use, but then I was assured it was like using a shower brush. PHEW.

Another Gem

This is the article my father sent me today. I really enjoy the statistics that show how the world is changing.

Harvey Mackay's Column This Week

Commencement—the beginning of life changes

Commencement is that rite of passage where mostly young people stare up at the speaker and patiently tolerate one final lecture before they have signed evidence that they have completed their studies and are ready to take on the world.

I had the privilege of being the commencement speaker for all the MBA graduates at the University of Southern California in May. I gave them a refresher course on important topics including education, networking, adversity, change, communication, ethics and, finally, success.

A large chunk of the speech was devoted to change, a word we've heard a million times in recent months. Times change, I cautioned them—as if they didn't already know. And so must they, if they are to survive and thrive.

I referenced a YouTube video that Sony played at an executive conference this year. It points out how dramatically the world has changed and is changing:

• China will soon become the #1 English-speaking-country in the world.
• 300 million people play basketball in China—the same number of people who live in the United States. I was amazed to initially learn this fact when I attended the Olympic Games in China last summer.
• The 25 percent of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the total population of the United States. Translation: India has more honors kids than America has kids. (this is my favorite of these five facts - fraz)
• We are living in times of exponential change. There are 31 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, this number was less than a billion.
• For students starting a four-year technical degree, half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

Change certainly includes changes in jobs. When I graduated from college, the odds were high that I would have the same job for the rest of my life. After a brief stint learning the business on someone else's dime, I bought a struggling envelope manufacturing company when I was twenty-six, and I still have it more than 40 years later.

Nowhere is this truer than in careers. We now know that today's grads will have 3-5 career changes. And, the U.S. Department of Labor has updated that job change projection: Today's student can expect to have "10-14 jobs by the age of 38."

The Sony study I mentioned earlier says that the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2009 experts contend did not exist in 2004. The Department of Labor estimates that one in four workers has been with their current employer for less than one year. One in two has been there less than five years! Firms are choosier because they can afford to be. If job candidates want to get picked these days, they must be prepared to satisfy very picky people.

The amount of change is overwhelming—in demographics, technology, standards and the employment market. But every time I reflect on change, I always think about how certain principles endure.

Don't wait until it's too late to change, I warned the graduates. Start to take the true measure of your success now. What do you possess that you can offer to other people, to your community, to the world? To simply ask the question, "How can I make a difference?" is to answer it, because the answer is to never let yourself stop asking the question. Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.

Being rich isn't about money. Being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to take the time to stop and enjoy the fruits of our labors. And some of us will be rich without ever being more than a paycheck ahead of the game.

I challenged this USC class, and I challenge all 2009 graduates to:

• Never stop learning.
• Believe in yourself, even when no one else does.
• Find a way to make a difference, because if you do all these things, odds are good you'll change the times you live in and the world around you!

Mackay's Moral: My hope for all of the new graduates: continued and well-earned success.

Can't remember the last time...

I was this engrossed in a book that wasn't embarrassing to admit to - not like the Twilight days.

Just finished "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. The book is amazing. I borrowed it from a friend of mine and at the beginning I had expressed that I liked it and it was an easy read. She replied back, saying that the end was intense! Oh man, she was right! I coudn't put the book down. I was about half way down the night of my most recent kickball game and when I got home from the game I ended up reading till 2 am. The only reason I put the book down was because I knew I needed some sleep before I go to work.

The next night I started reading around 11 and finished around 12:30. It was such a great ending. I can't wait to read the next one. The author handed in three manuscripts to the publisher and passed away before this one was even published. It has gotten rave reviews. The second one was released this year, I don't know when the third one is set to go, I hope soon!

Go out and read it! I would lend you a copy but I don't own it myself. :)

MTV, No!

JUNO may have been hysterical (I loved it) but teen pregnancy isn't. Not only that, it does not need to be made into a reality show. MTV seems to disagree. They have a program called "16 and Pregnant". The name doesn't hide much. The transition between sections of the show consisted of still shots of the action, that would then turn that image into a pen and ink drawing on notebook paper. cough**rip off JUNO**cough

My friend and I had been looking for something to watch because a show called "Mental" came on the channel we had been watching and that just looked terrible - at least it didn't have a "the" in the title - so we saw on the guild "16 and Pregnant" and thought to give it a shot.

This show really needs to be pulled. I can't see how this is helping. Especially when they show the pregnant mom hanging out with her friends. The other girls find nothing wrong with her situation, and ask really dumb questions. We found out that the new soon to be mom told her mother about the pregnancy via text.

This girl was in high school and got pregnant by her first boyfriend, so she had to stop playing volleyball and quit the cheerleading squad. The boyfriend proposed to her after finding out about it - he was definitely older, but I missed his exact age - and they moved in together. Things were very painful to watch, we saw the end of her prenancy, her going to the hospital, and the first six months of raising Bentley.

You could see the girl trying to balance community college, dance troupe, a part-time job and the baby. She joined a dance team so that she had something that was just hers. Sadly, she had to drop it. The guy didn't do anything! Since he wasn't helping, and instead going out every night with his friends, she had to quit her one activity. I really felt for her, and just want to smack him. The lowest point of the episdoe would be when they were arguing about why things seemed weird between them and the guy came out and said that if they didn't have a baby they wouldn't still be together!! That night, while sitting by herself with the baby, the girl took off her engagement ring and left it on the table.

Needless to say, their engagement fell through when the baby was around 2 months, not surprising, but the parents were trying to make it work for the sake of the kid. I really hope that this kid has a functional life. The parents are dying to take him quad racing and his grandparents already bought him a dirt bike.

So that was the recap. I hope this show doens't last. I don't feel like it helps anyone. But maybe I'm being narrow-minded.

ACK What time is it??????

I got to work and realized that I left my cell phone at home. Immediately I had a sense of dread come over me. Not because I was somehow less connected to the world - let's be honest I don't normally get calls during the work day - no, it was because my cell phone is my replacement watch. I knew that while I was at work I usually checked the time on the computer but was concerned about wanting to know what time it was once I stepped away from my desk. There were a few errands that I hope to complete between now and Thursday (going on a trip to visit an amazing person!!!!).

At first, I thought I could manage with just my iPod. Then, I immediately remembered that I had left it in the office last night and it was on its last leg. This left me with one option: to postpone my ventures until tomorrow. The idea of walking around Boston without the ability to communicate or know the time was just too much. The plan simply became, go home after work and run errands tomorrow. I am dead serious. I just couldn't do it.

My dependency on knowing what time it is can best be illustrated by comparing the feeling I get when I have no idea what time it is to that guy who is in the experiment in the movie IQ. You remember that movie it had Meg Ryan and that guy from Shawshank Redemption. Her fiance is running experiments where he is keeping a guy in a room with no watch or clock and I am pretty sure he didn't have a window either. The guy was screaming and going nuts, completely understandable. Andy Dufresne ends up sneaking the guy his watch which he wears on his ankle. But yeah, the screaming thing is what I feel like when I can't get the time.

When I first got into the apartment I couldn't locate my phone either. Fortunately my alarm happened to be going off and I was able to find it in a pile of pink tutu and accessories from my kickball outfit last night - I was Suzy Homemaker.

Tempting. Very Tempting

My kickball captain sent me a link to The Uniform Project. She said when she saw it, she thought of me. :) I totally dig that.

The project revolves around the idea of wearing the same basic dress every day for 365 days straight and jazzing it up with accessories and layers. (the girl has seven copies of the dress so it doesn't get gross) She takes a picture each day and allows for viewers to rate her style. I find that viewing the month of outfits really helps you get a sense of the project.

It sounds like it would a really fun idea. The nice thing is that you outfit is partially planned for you. Lately, I have had such a problem trying to get dressed in the morning. Part of this has to do with the weather, part with the fact that I needed to do laundry, then I did laundry but didn't bother to put stuff away right away, and then there is the appropriate for work vs what is comfortable. Once I can get the base of the outfit down, I have a blast adding the extras, but lately I haven't been able to really think about the extras as I have been racing out the door to get to work on time. Yeah, so, this would really help.

But, unfortunately, there is no way I could pull it off. No matter much I love the funky extras, I think I would crave the ability to really just wear something completely different. I have too many favorite pieces and while I don't really care if I match regularly, I do need to feel that I look decent, ya know?

Wellm I raise my glass to this girl. GOOD LUCK!

Dance Dance Revolutionist

This video is amazing! I kind of want to try and see if I can start such an awesome dance party. The closest that I have come so far was that I got a couple of guys to join me when I was dancing along to the Pops in the Hatchshell on the Fourth of July when I was still in college. But that was not nearly as cool as this video.

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

I can understand why Ashlee Simpson did it.

Not get a nose job - well I do understand why SHE would get one (just kidding...?). But I am talking about lip syncing. Singing with a live band is HARD. You may be asking yourself, what kind of experience do I have with singing with a live band? I mean, for lack of a better description, I am tone-deaf. Well, I'll tell you how -that would be LIVE BAND KARAOKE.

Wednesday a bunch of us went out to celebrate an upcoming wedding by hanging out at various bars in the Faneuil Hall area. Hennessey's was our second stop and where we all experienced Live Band Karaoke for the first time.

It seems like it should be easy. They provide a piece of paper with the lyrics, so it isn't like you have to remember them all. Yeah... You don't realize how much you rely on the words changing colors or the bouncing ball for karaoke.

I chose "These Boots Were Made for Walking" by the lovely Nancy Sinatra. It was well within my range for my raspy sick voice. The band started playing, and I just stood there. I couldn't figure out when to come in. The song does not start with the chorus so I kind of waited it out for the part I knew. After that I was able to hold my own and keep the song going. But it was rather nerve wracking. Its hard to have good stage presence if you are constantly thinking about when its time to sing again.

The band definitely heckled me when I missed the first verse, but by the end they were calling out my name and cheering me along. My guess is it had to do with my sweet dance moves...or suspenders. Suspenders really do make smiles :)

Stop with the Quizzes

Today's Facebook is so different from the social college-only network site that began back when I was in undergrad. Some of the innovations have been fun, most are simply annoying. With the last update to the Home screen, way most shit I just don't care about is now listed. I can no longer see when my friends change their profile picture or make changes to their personal information, but know what I can tell? If they take a quiz.

These quizzes are so innane and random. Some are not even quizzes. One will tell you how common your birthday is, or so it claims. Out of curiousity I clicked on that one to see how this could possibly be considered a quiz. It asks you what month you were born in. Then instead asking you what exact date, it provides random choices. Some of these are a particular day, like the 4th, but other radial buttons contained a range like 20-24. If you choose a range answer, which I had to, it doesn't ask you to further narrow it down, the quiz ends and gives you an answer. I failed to see a) how this could be at all accurate and b) how this is a quiz....

I will admit to not only taking the "inner internationality quiz" but having to agree with the description. Apparently, I am Spanish.

Being Spanish means the following:

The world is your oyster. You are confident -- or at least, confident in your self-expression, and this often leads to confidence in all things. You love your friends and hate your enemies, and when you want something, you go out and get it. You are both bold and friendly, sunny and perspicacious. You laugh frequently, smile even more, but are not a sucker and will always fight for yourself.

Cool. I think this describes me well. I can't say I won't take a few more quizzes when I am completely bored out of my mind, but I don't think I will blogging about any more results.

AMAZING comparison

This blogger made the best comparison regarding 30 Rock and the Muppet Show. This entry is insightful and amazing. I may have to agree with him in that Tina Fey has ripped off Jim Henson big time. He does make reference to the 30 Rock segment Sesame Street did recently (aka Jim Henson stealing back)



But seriously, I suggest you reading the comparison. Tina Fey is Kermit, Jenny is Miss Piggy and Kenneth is Scooter.

Enjoy!

is this fun or crazy?

Style is personal, and I don't know if I could truly sum up the theme of my wardrobe quick and easy-like, maybe funky or eclectic (that is sort of a cop out word....). One statement for sure is that about 50% of it came from Urban Outfitters. Those stores suck me in whenever I walk by, and their almost daily emails keep me wanting more.

This brings us to today's fashion quandary. Pant Jumpsuit: yes or no?

I have to be completely honest I am completely drawn to them and then slightly appalled about this very feeling all at the same time.

This first one, is interesting. It has pockets. Overall, I think it looks pretty comfy. I actually like how it is a skinnier pant leg. The one thing I am not too thrilled with is the colors. The green and black just isn't really calling to me. So maybe, I need to keep looking.


Now this second look, is a jumpsuit that can just be a pair of pants if you so desire. This concept just seems something that would be very much "me" as it is not uncommon for me to wear one of my hippie skirts as a dress in the summer. I like most of the details to this piece. Problem this time, is that I kind of feel like the pants are a bit too baggy in the crotch area and it might look like one just had an accident if you know what I mean. This one makes me feel like we are getting closer.

I guess there is no reason why I should feel that I need to stick with the pant jumpsuits. I mean, they are more interesting to me. But they may cause more problems given my proportions. I tried on a jumpsuit a few months ago and while it was long enough, the waist simply was just no where near where mine was. It just made me look so frumpy and awkward.

Solution to the poorly placed waistline? Short jumpsuit! Ok, so this is adorable. I don't like wearing shorts (they have always looked too short on me due to the crazy legs I have and well that just makes me feel awkward) but I would totally go for this one. PLUS there are POCKETS. So awesome.

In fact, I just saw a dress at the GAP (I am just as surprised as you are that I found something I liked there - almost as weird as that time I bought clothing a JCrew) that looked very similar to this little number. Slightly torn about which one to consider adding to my wardrobe. But, I guess I need to be realistic...neither would be work appropriate and I really need to focus about wearing appropriate clothing to the office...

Now I have written a bunch and not really said anything. I still am unsure if this look is for me. Maybe I just need to take a deep breath and try one on. I just hope that I get enough courage to do so before the trend passes. By the time I was ready to try high-waisted pants (this was purely to make my friend laugh, there is no way I ever thought that looked flattering) they were no where to be found!

Until tomorrow...

Zack Attack!

Everyone was posting up about the Zack Morris interview on Jimmie Fallon's show the other night. It is amazing.



He doesn't break character and, I am not trying to spoil anything, the phone does make an appeareance! :) I am so on board for a Save by the Bell reunion and I don't know anyone my age that wouldn't be totally excited to see it either. I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so scared?

There is a great interview out there about this sketch. Apparently, it was Mark-Paul's idea to come out as Zack! Who knew he was that creative. Granted he said he would have his writer to talk to Jimmie's, but the concept was all Mark-Paul's.

Bucket flowing over

One time in college, I was participating in a group exercise where two words were read aloud and assigned to either side of the room. You were to walk over to the half that you felt best described yourself. This was to help you self-realize and allow your peers to get to know more about you. Some hippie liberal shit :P The one set that surprised most of my friends was introvert/extrovert as I considered (and still consider) myself an introvert.

The question that I find most relevant to today would be the "are you an umbrella or bucket?" I would say I am a bucket. To catch you up to speed, an umbrella is a person who reacts to each individual issue (drop of water), while a bucket take on more and more and eventually will overflow. Up until recently I would say I was 100% a bucket. Now, either I have switched (which I don't really think has happened) or my life has gotten a little out of hand and the bucket just fills more frequently.

I'm thinking that there are just a few aspects of my life that I need to find a way to finally be in control of and maybe things will balance out. It seems like I am breaking more frequently then ever before. Then again, it is a more stressful time for most of my friends as well, with the economy (duh) and layoffs. The bright side is that I still have PHENOMENAL days - like this past Saturday - and have so many amazing people in my life that make the bad days/eggs more bearable.

Until my life evens out more, I will probably continue to shop and eat away my frustrations. Today, I bought pizza, ruffles, french onion dip and half baked ben and jerry's. All of this waited for me at the house was a bottle of wine.

I think I will start up yoga in the morning again. That plus the crunches I was doing, well at two days before I got sick, will hopefully up my endorphins. Happy people don't kill their husbands :)

I wish I was little bit taller

When I was little I hoped to be 6 feet tall. Did not make it. Stopped at 5'9". Part of me still wishes I hit the six foot mark. I am already well aware of the fact that I am taller than the average American female (5'3.8") and as tall as the average American male (5'9.4"). So why would I want to make my life even more awkward by growing a few more inches? Well for one thing, I feel that since I am already tall I might as well be TALL. And second, I'd like to be a little more proportional.

I have read in more than one location that your femur should be 1/4 the length of your body. Well based on my femur I should be 6 feet.

While I know I have talked about this A LOT in real life, why am I bringing this up now? Honestly, it is because I just saw a CSI episode and the guy that does the autopsies just said he estimated a person's height (they only had a sample of bones) by measuring her femur...

Yeah, sometimes I still wish.

PS - based on this height chart I think I just realized I should head over to the Netherlands.

Saturdays Don't Get Much More Perfect

After my second night of Nyquil I was feeling pretty good and was excited for the nice little Sunday that a friend of mine had planned out for himself and a few of us jumped on.

1 pm The Hangover at the Lowes by the Commons
3 pm Harpoonfest
7:30 pm Dinner at BostonBeer Works and then continue on with a farewell celebration



The Hangover - AWESOME. See it. You will laugh. There is a little shock nudity but not much. So many one-liners...the previews do not ruin it at all. There are tigers, baby, an amazing cast, and Mike Tyson. What more do I need to say to sell you on this one?



This was my third Harpoonfest and by far the best one. Mainly due to the free beer we all got, gotta love connections. Four beers for the $20 cover charge not bad. When we got there - NO LINE. And for a good while the crowd wasn't too bad. We were able to move in and out of the sun as we pleased. I'm relatively sure we got away sunburn free. For awhile all of the other people I was with kept seeing friends, I was feeling a little unpopular...That was until I ran into a RI friend from HC. And by ran in I mean I was showing friends that your foot is the same length as your forearm (check it out, its true) and she came up and started tapping one of them asking if I was who I am. Nice little reunion.

I am quite pleased with myself. I was on par with the two guys I arrived there with, but fell behind at the end. Overall, I am pretty sure I got my moneys worth. :)

We all got back to the T and headed over to the Fenway area for dinner at BostonBeerWorks, an hour stop over at A Tua Nua and ending up at kareoke. Nothing like a few hours of fun topped off with a few close friends belting out along with Britney, Whitney, the Backstreet Boys and the like. The one real ringer from the evening would have to be "Last Christmas" because that just gets in your head.



The day was wicked fun. We had a little of everything and was just a great day to be wondering around the city. Sadly, by the end of the day my voice was beyond shot and I could barely give my address to the cabbie, but sometimes there are causalities in the name of fun.

I can't wait for the summer day that tops this one...

Finger Fetish?

Legs, I get. Boobs, I get. Eyes, I get. Hair, I get. But nails?


Lately, I have been on nail polish kick. Bright blue, neon green and hot pink. Often the nails match the outfit. I have now been complemented 3 times on my blue nails by three different men in three different nights at three different bars. I realize that sentence may have been a little painful to read the number three so many times, but I wanted to make it a point that these individuals were not part of a group who all happen to like blue finger nails.

The thing is if the nails were the only interesting aspect of my outfits, maybe MAYBE, I could understand why they choose to mention them. But I am fairly certain my outfits were a little more interesting. For example, my first night, I was wearing my new micro mini strapless dress. (See to the right - my body is not as curvy but still it looked good). So what's the deal man?

In addition to the blue nail polish compliments I have had a number of men comment on my new huge ass pink flower ring. Again, I have never had a piece of jewelry complimented on by the opposite sex so often in such a short period of time. And its on my hand. How often are you looking at someone's hands?

I'm thinking that maybe this is seen as a safe and easy way to compliment a female without sounding perverted. I mean, the 34 year old who was hitting on me at 6B would really have to be smooth to find a way to make a statement about my outfit without sounding like a jackass. Don't get me wrong the 34 year old wasn't getting anywhere anyway, but at least he was trying to sound like a nice guy. The others also seemed like genuinely nice people, it just was not what I was expecting to ever hear from people. The others weren't trying to pick me up like the first one, at least I don't think so, but my guy friend tells me that I miss a lot when it comes to this kind of thing.

Basically, with bright colors in, I assume many girls are painting their nails crazy colors too. So use this as a heads up, you may get more attention now then ever before...

HELP please

I am in the market for a new black eye liner. Lately, I have opted to wear it most days and am kind of sick of it smudging.

Any suggestions???

Mute.

My cold and I have been in quite a battle. Every time I think I may be winning, it comes down and whoops my ass. Saturday I had a ton of fun - which will be recapped shortly - and I was sure that I would be taught a lesson this morning when I woke up.

As I arose from bed, I didn't feel any soreness in my throat and I could breath easily out of my nose. (I didn't even use the Nyquil last night) I was feeling like maybe things were looking up. So I let out a sigh, and no sound came out. I then tried to speak. NOTHING. The last few days my voice has been a little husky. By the end of Saturday's festivities many people noted that I had definitely dropped a few octaves, but at least I was making words. Well, I guess I should take that back, giving the cabbie my address took every ounce of strength that I had left at 1:30 am. But I thought it was just from belting along with everyone at kareoke.

Yeah, no.

Honestly, I couldn't say anything for most of today. One of my roomates tried to say good morning to me and I tried to say something back, thinking I had just gotten out of the shower, maybe my vocal box would have warmed up. I opened my mouth and no words came out. She was a little shocked, as was I....

I really wanted a coffee and I had to take a deep breath and use every bit of vocal power I had to ask for a "medium iced coffee, milk and sugar". To be sure that the guy heard me and didn't attempt to make me repeat my order I also leaned as far as I could over the counter and got inside his personal space bubble.

I was hoping to get lunch with a friend, but was kind of glad she was hanging out with her bf as I realized I would be the worst dining companion ever - or maybe the best for someone that never shuts up...but that is not the kind of person this particular friend is, so it would have been weird. Instead, I spent the afternoon wandering around with my headphones and book. It was actually a really relaxing afternoon, it has just been painfully awkward when someone attempts to ask me something.

Just now the roommate I saw this morning heard me "talking" to our upstairs neighbor, and exclaimed "you can almost talk now!". I am almost back to where I ended Saturday night, which is pretty bad.

I ask that you keep your fingers crossed for me as I do have to answer phones at work, and funny enough, you need a voice to do that. Eeeeep.

Nyquil, you are a GOD

My cold is not getting in the way of my life. Problem is that I need to find a way to get healthy quick as I quickly learned Thursday that just willing myself better is not working. After getting sent home from work in the afternoon I first took a 3 hour nap. This nap was then followed by a trip to the grocery store to stock up on chicken soup, vitamin C filled foodstuffs and other comfort foods. I nestled myself on the couch and watched a bit of tv and ate some rice. (don't worry my stomach was fine, this was a throat and congestion type sickness, but rice is really comforting to me)

Anywho, I realized I should get ready for bed again and attempt to get as much sleep as possible. To get good sleep requires drugs. Since I had just run out of tissues I walked over to Walgreen's to get some cold reinforcements. That's when I saw the Nyquil. I was talking to my mum on the phone and she told me that I had to buy it. I had a little arguement with her about how bad that stuff tastes. But she won with the point that if I really wanted to go out and party it up with friends all weekend, I needed my sleep and Nyquil would give it to me. Moms are just so smart -- I brought some home.

As soon as I got home down went 30 ml of green ass-awful medicine. Really, I can take most shots without a grimace. Nyquil causes me to somewhat gag and cough immediately. But I licked that plastic top clean, and off to bed I went.

11 hours later I awoke slightly refreshed and feeling I was on the way to recovery. I went to work Friday and was pretty much functional. Sadly, I did have to take a taxi home around 11:45 from the double birthday festivities, but I did make a good run of it. Downed somemore Nyquil slept another 10.5 hours and now I have a nice little Saturday planned. :)

Thank you Nyquil. Without you I would probably be in a pretty bad state. I really appreciate that you can just knock me out!

Long Dress Gladiator Sandals?

As much as I'd hate to admit it I can be a bit girly at times. In order to deal with some of the stress in my life I have turned to retail therapy. Urban Outfitters has always been good to me and their online shopping policies for returning unwanted items is pretty top notch, so I have gotten a little hooked.

Today, I put together an outfit that was so comfy and I kind of wish I was a bit healthier so I could enjoy it more. But it started with.... a maxi dress! Yep, teal and to the floor, it felt like wearing sheets. It was kind of amazing.





For shoes, I went with the gladiators I bought at Aldo earlier last month. They are pretty awesome. I have become a fan. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way hanging up my Barbie pumps, but for the summer months you may see me sport these flats :)







I could tell that the maxi dress needs to be hemmed a bit so to try and keep myself looking a little more professional I grabbed my new old man sweater. It actually reminds me of a 1950s jock sweater. Totally suggest it.










And of course, no outfit would be complete without a pair of sunglasses. U.O. had a $5 sale and I got these. The 80s are definately calling my name and adding all sorts of fun to my wardrobe.

But, yeah, this in a nutshell was my outfit today. I was pleased with it, so I figured I'd share.

Breaking News

Fire Destroys Topless Coffee Shop in Maine

This is the same bar that I blogged about when High Heels Short Skirt was first born! I was really hoping to go there some day :P

Maybe they will rebuild?

The Turbo Shot should not be taken lightly

Yesterday, I was feeling a little unproductive. I had started the day strong with going to the laundromat and getting breakfast. The landlords were coming to show the apartment at noon, so I even attempted to make my room not look like my wardrobe exploded and get all the clothes put away. (Definitely didn't make the 12 o'clock deadline for that). But everything eventually got into the proper drawers and hung up on hangers -- well minus the pile that is currently on my desk. After this, my day kind of began to stall as I got sucked into watching HP 4 Goblet of Fire on ABCFamily. A couple hours in I realized it was gorgeous out and I needed to go for a walk. There isn't much in my bank account right now for frivolous shopping thanks to first/last and half fee on the new apartment (SOOO EXCITED FOR THAT) so I needed to stroll and try not to tempt myself. I figured I would head down to Harvard Square, make my way up to Davis and turn back home. Nice long route.

I realized quickly that even though I had only just finished my morning coffee, I already needed a pick me up so I stopped at DD and got an iced coffee. They have had that deal for a free turbo shot for a while now and I have yet to try it out. But as my friend pointed out, "the deal may or may not expire on an unknown date" and so I should probably try it out before I would have to pay for that extra jolt.

With the first sip, I knew that the shot was totally worth it. It would help me with the few miles between me and home. Only problem, as I start my stroll up Mass Ave I realize that I have to cut it short! There were some seriously dark clouds forming to the North, which was the direction I had been heading. This means that I had to return after only walking for about an hour and half. Boo.

I returned to the couch with my subletter and watched Bridelizas. Such messed up people. After a few hours of it (yeah I am embarrassed by how much I watched) I went to read and get some sleep.

Freaking turbo shot.

I spend the rest of the night in a very restless state. I think I got a just about 2 hours of sleep before I was awake. I should have known better. Putting it out there, buyer beware, those shots are not to be messed with. I was still jittery this morning at work. But that is more likely due to the fact that I didn't sleep much and immediately hit the coffee when I got to work.

Can't fight an addiction. At least I didn't go get a latte...?